Quote of the Day
“I dissent.” — The cutest, most lawful, most feminist, and most notorious Halloween costumes, you may have missed this Halloween. (Also, hard not to vote tomorrow with the mental image of these adorable RBG’s shaking their heads in disappointment.)
“Take me, Spanish Caravan”
The Story
Thousands of migrants make their way through Central America and are nearing the United States.
New? Or used Caravan?
Although some of us haven’t heard of a migrant caravan before late this summer, every year migrants make the trek to the United States seeking asylum. And though you may have heard of the caravan only recently, it has been in the news since April, as part of an ongoing wave of migrants, although it hasn’t hit the same pages in the papers as politics until the past couple months.
Caravan response…
Back in April, Trump vowed to meet the migrants with a militaristic response. That has only grown, since then. Now Trump plans to deploy troops in numbers that out-proportion that of the troops in Afghanistan. The number grew from just under one thousand, to over 5,000, and now about 15,000 to assist Border Patrol and other U.S. agents. The President clarified Friday that the military “won’t have to fire” on travelers. (The fact that citizens even had to be concerned about that tho…)
USMCA, Caravan, and afta NAFTA…
Back in October, Trump renegotiated NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, and announced the successful re-agreement between the United States, Mexico, and Canada, the USMCA. Last week, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R -SC) warned Mexico: turn the caravan around or the US will pull this agreement over. This was another economic threat, to follow up those from the President.
Reception of the caravan…
While some smaller groups have made it to the border, the immigration debate has flared up (just in time for midterm elections, what a surprise!), and the ignorance has flared up as well: starting with, well, a caravan of alternative facts. The worst may be when journalists get it wrong, and let’s say, call the caravan a “ragtag army of the poor” (shame on you AP). Trump fanned the flames, claiming that most of the migrants were “hardened criminals” but really they’re mostly women and girls, and children and babies, traveling in such a large group for their own protection. For Democrats, the question of the caravan is pretty straight-forward and a lot simpler to answer than subjects such as ICE, to shrink or to abolish? Or the White House-led debate on crime. Or how exactly to win in the healthcare department.
thebreez
Shepard Smith (on Fox, no less!) said that the caravan wasn’t a big deal, and was only being blown out of proportion to fire up the Republican base for the midterms. (Basically!) For more info, here’s a link to PolitiFact. Now go out there and vote tomorrow if you haven’t already!
Caught in TheBreez
And in local news…
In a recent poll conducted on Nextdoor, the top issues affecting the local community include the following topics that may lead to future investigations:
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Rising housing costs (residents say: thanks pot)
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Municipal broadband
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Crime rates and justice:
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Car Break-ins
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Porch pirating (when people steal your fresh swag from Amazon right off your stoop)
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Front-yard Thievery and Destruction
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Neighborhood Watch program revitalization
Colorado tho…
Colorado has a referendum that’s catching eyes on the ballot for tomorrow: slavery. Yeah, you read that right. Two years ago, Coloradans failed to repeal the Constitutional amendment allowing for slavery in the prison system. Tomorrow, Coloradans may actually vindicate themselves. Fingers crossed and all, but this isn’t solely a CO issue; this is a national problem inherent in the interpretation, by some, of the 13th Amendment of the United States’ Bill of Rights.
Speaking of voting…
Get all the deets on the midterms from PBS, RealClearPolitics, and FiveThirtyEight. Whether you’re from New York, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Arkansas, Florida, or one of the other 31 states engaged in gubernatorial elections, you can find a fun interactive map of all the action here, but don’t forget to Vote Smart no matter what the race is. There’s a lot at stake and 435 House seats to fill. Have fuUun!
Back to prison…
VICE released a new docu-series following the criminal justice system’s biggest issue. One which has over 100,000 individuals wrongly convicted. The series is called “Innocence Ignored.” (Another thought on the justice system: could the legal/judicial system be overhauled by artificial intelligence?)
#MeToo
Since late last year, the #MeToo Movement has been on fire. From actors to Supreme Court Justices, the movement now has a new target in its sights: unfair practices from large corporations regarding sexual harassment. Looking at you Google!
What’s transpired…
Here’s the wrap in recent transgender news: after Trump came for the community, attempting to define it out of the UN’s Human Rights protections, universities, over 1600 scientists, about 60 corporations, and activists, all had something to say: no you don’t. The struggle continues in states across the U.S. this midterm, however, such as Massachusetts. If you find yourself on Netflix looking for a documentary to educate yourself further about the community, give Katie Couric’s Gender Revolution a gander.
Okay, the obligatory Trump wrap up…
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Some may not believe that Trump has always been so hard on trans people as he has been lately. Well, here’s some reading on that, because he has.
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Speaking of his actions… here are his Presidential Actions and bills signed into law in the first 500 days. Or even better, a timeline of everything he’s done thus far. And a look at how much effect he really has had on the economy (Obama would disagree)
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Since taking office 28 staff members of the White House have left or plan to leave by the end of the year. Here’s more about what Trump has done to fill vacancies.
And in news, that won’t make you want to tear your hair out… unless you’re a fan of anyone but.
The Red Sox. They won the World Series, for the fourth time this century! Boston was abuzz with excitement, celebrating with a parade, after totaling nine wins overall since 1903. Not a baseball fan? Well, how about them trades in football, eh?
Don’t forget, your weekly dose of science…
Science isn’t sexy? Tell that to these photos! Ow ow! Still no? You actually like politics more? (Really!?) Well, you’re in luck.
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Brienna Parsons 