“READERS FORUM” APRIL 10, 2019

1. Looks like the Mayor was asleep at the hub on the Casino bill.

2. First off I must tell you I’ve not been in the new casino yet. I only went to the old boat three times. I never won so I see no reason to go back. I thought the new bill would allow sports betting? If I wanted to bet on the Kentucky derby or Super bowl I could go and watch at the Casino. I think the city would make money from this. It may hurt Ellis Park because my big ten dollar derby bet would be in Evansville.

3. The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Tuesday shows that 53% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Trump’s job performance.

   http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/current_events/politics/prez_track_apr09

   • Republicans Hate The Truth and News Media

     The hallmark of a prejudice is that you don’t have to prove it: You just know it.

     For Republicans the existence of a media bias is an established “fact” like the temperature at which water freezes. Attacks by Trump that he constantly makes resonate. A Cato Institute survey found that 63 percent of Republicans believe that journalists are an “enemy of the American people” just like Trump

     Academics and others have long sought to understand why this prejudice has taken root with the right wing. Maybe it’s simply a case of blaming the messenger for bringing bad news. Republican media haters don’t want to hear about the bad press Democrats have received, or other evidence contrary to their position. To bolster this selective perspective, the haters frequently skew poll findings

     In a time of increasing partisanship, where more and more Americans believe you’re either with us or against us, lack of devotion to the Republican line (as disseminated by programs by Fox) is proof enough of bias for media haters. A defining characteristics of the right wing is a sense of grievance, like the Fox perennial year-end coverage of the supposed “war on Christmas”

     In a four-part documentary program about the New York Times, right wing hate-monger Steve Bannon is shown at a political rally condemning the “fake news” media. He actually slams the Times, but then he shares a car ride with Times political correspondent Jeremy Peters, and it’s clear the two have an amicable relationship

     Call it hypocritical, call it love-hate, call it pragmatic. For whatever reason, elite Republicans, namely those in national office and their high-level staffers, court the media

     Maybe someday Republicans will tire of press bashing and face reality

     http://bit.ly/2FDIGNf

4. Federal Judge Blocks Trump Administration Policy Targeting Asylum Seekers

   “Try as it may, the Trump administration cannot simply ignore our laws in order to accomplish its goal of preventing people from seeking asylum in the United States”

   U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg issued a preliminary injunction against Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) — also known as “Remain in Mexico” — a policy that would force non-Mexican asylum seekers to live in Mexico while their immigration cases are pending in the United States

   Seeborg concluded that the immigration law MPP hinges on does not apply to asylum seekers and lacks proper protection for vulnerable asylum seekers

   “This case presents two basic questions: Does the Immigration and Nationalization Act authorize DHS to carry out the return policy of the MPP, and even assuming Congress has authorized such returns in general, does the MPP include sufficient safeguards to comply with DHS’s admitted legal obligation not to return any alien to a territory where his or her “life or freedom would be threatened”? In support of their motion for a preliminary injunction, the plaintiffs have sufficiently shown the answer to both questions is ‘no’” Seeborg wrote in his decision

   Immigration groups repeatedly warned the administration that the policy would endanger the lives of thousands of asylum seekers while stripping them of their due process rights

   “The court strongly rejected the Trump administration’s unprecedented and illegal policy of forcing asylum seekers to return to Mexico without hearing their claims. Try as it may, the Trump administration cannot simply ignore our laws in order to accomplish its goal of preventing people from seeking asylum in the United States”

   MPP was first implemented at a single port of entry in January and has been expanded to the entire San Diego sector of the U.S.-Mexico border, in addition to the Calexico Port of Entry and the El Paso Port of Entry. As of April 8, over a thousand asylum seekers from Central America have been sent to Mexico to await their cases

   Monday’s decision is just the latest in a string of legal defeats for Trump’s aggressive immigration agenda. From his family separation policy to restricting the number of domestic violence survivors seeking asylum in the United States, the administration has made repeated attempts to target immigrants and asylum seekers, several of which were blocked in court. According to multiple sources, Trump wanted to reinstate the zero tolerance policy at the border and separate families even if they arrived at a legal port of entry and were legal asylum seekers

   http://bit.ly/2uSuSZb

5. Nation’s Evangelicals Warn They’ll Only Give Trump 1 Or 2 Hundred More Mulligans

   The vast majority of the nation’s evangelical Christians stressed Friday that they were “this close” to abandoning their support of Trump as they coped with a seemingly endless string of moral scandals surrounding the president

   “I swear, if 197 or so more egregious moral failings come to light, I am DONE supporting this guy,” one evangelical from Idaho declared, drawing a clear line in the sand. “My support for this president is not limitless, nor is it unconditional. Just a couple hundred more clear examples of belligerently immoral behavior and I’ll jump off the Trump train so fast it’ll make your head spin”

   At publishing time, American evangelicals had upped the number of passes they’re willing to give the president from one or two hundred to one or two thousand, stating “we didn’t elect him to be the nation’s pastor, for crying out loud”

   http://bit.ly/2UaqZJg

6. As the Trump administration has leveled more threats to close the southern border to immigrants, the number of illegal immigrants stopped at the border hit 103,492, the highest in five years, according to just-released U.S. Customs and Border Protection numbers.

   The agency seized around 92,607 immigrants at the southern border last month, including 53,000 family units and 8,900 unaccompanied immigrant children….

   rinceton Policy Advisors President Steven Kopits, who has closely followed the surge in immigrants, said that the change in the expected numbers doesn’t lessen the concern.

   “I think the trends suggest a really bad April followed by an even worse May. Potentially really bad,” he said.

   He is predicting a yearly total of 1.285 million for calendar year 2019.

   https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/washington-secrets/border-patrol-nabs-92-607-in-march-3-000-a-day

   • Scathing Washington Post Editorial Attacks Trump For Keeping His Taxes Hidden

     On Tuesday, an editorial in The Washington Post warned Trump about the dangers and unpopular precedent he is setting by refusing to release his tax returns

     The editorial ripped Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin for saying that Congress would “never” see Trump’s tax returns

     “How does he know? Would the White House stop the Internal Revenue Service from turning over the files? Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin revealed Tuesday that Treasury Department attorneys discussed the issue with White House lawyers, despite laws meant to minimize White House interference in the IRS”

     “As with so many puzzling statements from administration officials, Mr. Mulvaney’s had two interpretations, one sinister and one foolish”

     “The Democrats who have demanded Mr. Trump’s returns anchored their request in a powerful federal law, which commands that the treasury secretary ‘shall furnish’ congressional committees ‘with any return or return information’ upon request”

     It explained that Trump is failing on his own promise to release his tax returns

     “Trump has been wrong to conceal his tax information from Congress and the public. Mr. Mulvaney argued Sunday that the president got elected anyway, so the issue is settled. Actually, Mr. Trump won an election in which he repeatedly promised to release his returns. He is well past due to keeping his promise”

     Noting that all presidents should be required to release their tax returns for transparency reasons. Presidents in the past have voluntary released their tax returns, unlike Trump

     “Doing so would make clear no president can duck the responsibility to be transparent, and it would save the House Ways and Means Committee from relying on an old, obscure law to make the point. This is a norm that deserves to be restored and made mandatory” the editorial said

     https://wapo.st/2KlYNmX

7. Hey CCO, 2 posts on topic and the rest not even local. While JB and RR are quite entertaining, we only need posts relating to the days topic.

8. Why don’t we all drive down the “too narrow” North Main street and watch a JoeBiden Vs Ronald Reagan cage match at the “failing” Ford Center. Proceeds go to paying the McCurdy overdue water bill.

9. Perfect idea. I am so damn fed up with the posts on the CCO. Again, if RR and JB want to opine on Evansville topics, A-OK, but stop the off topic rants. All this does is continue the divide of a once proud country, state, county and city. Give me a good old political topic and I am in for all takers, but if it is CCO topic, lay off the banter.

10. Evansville has had a 20+ year head start in the gambling business, it was treated like a cash cow. I don’t think Terre Haute gambling will affect Evansville gambling but if Kentucky ever decides to allow casino gambling at Ellis Park, watch out. The revenue from the casino has been a boon for the Evansville high snots.

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