Marriage New Watch: May 18, 2014

Canada to Favour Asylum For LGBT Russians

From the Globe & Mail: 

Canada’s refugee board is likely to look favourably on claims of persecution by gay asylum-seekers from Russia, the Immigration Minister says. 

Chris Alexander said Monday in Surrey, B.C., that Russia has taken the wrong path in restricting the fundamental rights of its gay community, and that any refugee claims “related to this particular issue will of course be looked at very seriously by our very generous system.” 

Russia has passed a new law banning gay “propaganda” – a catch-all that prohibits gay pride events and providing information to minors on “non-traditional” relationships, and exposes those who express pro-gay views to prosecution. Foreigners can be hit with fines of about $3,000, and 15 days in a Russian jail. 

Lawyer Rob Hughes, who is representing two gay Russian men claiming refugee status in Canada, says he expects more Russians to make claims based on sexual orientation.

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Canada accepts gay asylum-seekers in the same way as it accepts members of any other persecuted group, like a religious or ethnic minority. Asylum-seekers can file a claim after they arrive in Canada because they face persecution by their government, or because they are persecuted by others and the government does not offer protection.

No Wonder Republicans Are Anti-Immigration Reform

Gee, I wonder what Rep. Michele Bachmann has to say about this issue...

It is interesting that here we have a member of the Republican party worried about Democrats getting into power and changing election law when Republicans have come into power in several states and - you guessed it - changed election law. The problem is that when Republicans change election law, there is less access to voting. They eliminate early voting/reduce early voting periods, they pass ID laws that disproportionately affect people that are less likely to vote for Republicans, etc. It is a well known fact that the lower the turnout on Election Day, the better it is for the GOP.

It is also both interesting and telling that the arguments Mrs. Bachmann is making are purely political. The primary reason that she is against the immigration bill has nothing to do with people's rights and has everything to do with how it affects the Republican party. Way to show how much you care about liberty and freedom. Then again, we already know how much (read: little) she cares about liberty and freedom. What she - and the rest of her party - seem unable to realize is that the reason people are not voting for them is because of their policies...and how much those policies suck. If you want to regain power, you have to come up with better ideas than the GOP-led House voting against Obamacare 37 times at a total cost of 55 million dollars to the taxpayers, filibustering everything you do not like in the Senate, and saying that your number one job is defeating the President. These are the "ideas" that have led the GOP nationally. Clearly, America believes it deserves better...and America DOES deserve better.

Also, spanking the President? Those are really the words she wants to go with? No wonder no one takes her seriously (at least no one in their right mind).

And lastly, if Mrs. Bachmann want to know what is wrong with Congress, she need look no further than the nearest mirror.

How SCOTUS Instantly Changed Lives & Looking Forward

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The Tyranny of Distance: Why DoMA Must Fall

Immigration Reform is on the Verge of Passage

From The Hill: 

"The bill will pass. I think we're on the verge of getting 70 votes. That is my goal," [Senator Lindsey] Graham said on "Fox News Sunday." "We're very, very close to 70 votes. The Hoeven-Corker amendment I think gets us over the top."

The Senate is slated to vote on the border security amendment by Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and John Hoeven (R-N.D.) on Monday. The amendment is viewed as key to securing more GOP votes for the bill.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) wants to finish work on the sweeping immigration bill this week and hold a vote to end debate on the underlying bill on Thursday. 

Graham, a member of the bipartisan Gang of Eight, called the Corker-Hoeven amendment "the most aggressive attempt to control the Southern border and regain our sovereignty."

Given how notoriously dysfunctional the Senate is, it would be something of a miracle to get 70 votes for anything. The good news is that when the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office scored the immigration bill, they stated that it would reduce the deficit by $197 billion over the next decade.

CBO: Immigration Reform Will Reduce the Deficit $197 Billion

From Washington Post: 

The CBO’s score of the Gang of Eight immigration reform bill is out and it’s very positive. While the bill increases spending by $262 billion over 10 years, it increases revenue by $459 billion, for a deficit reduction of $197 billion in total. Additionally, it projects $690 billion in deficit reduction in the second decade of implementation, from 2024 to 2033. 

The reports predicts that the bill will add 10.4 million permanent U.S. residents and 1.6 million new temporary visa-holders, and reduce the undocumented immigrant population by 1.6 million.

So Republicans and conservatives will support it...right?

Sen. Graham (R-SC): We're in a Demographic Death-Spiral

A Looming Problem For Republicans

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Bachmann, the GOP, & Immigration Reform

The Tyranny of Distance: Divided By Discrimination

House Republicans Get a Chorus of Boos

From Think Progress:

To a chorus of boos from the gallery, House Republicans voted 224-201 on Thursday to approve an amendment that defunds the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The amendment, from Rep. Steve King (R-IA), undercuts the flexibility that allows the Department of Homeland Security to halt deporting DREAMers and instead focus on people convicted of crimes. 

After the vote, the House Hispanic Caucus tweeted,”House Republicans just voted to treat DREAMers and undocumented spouses of servicemembers in the same way as violent criminals.” Only six Republicans voted against the measure.

The Miscalculation of the Heritage Foundation

From the Daily Beast:

...With their report last week putting a huge $6.3 trillion price tag on immigration reform and again calling any attempt at reform tantamount to “amnesty,” DeMint and Heritage were trying for an encore performance. 

The circumstances of 2013, however, are considerably different from the ones of 2007. Then, the Republican Party was convinced of its ability to win elections sans significant support from minorities, and Latinos in particular. Now—after President Obama won reelection with a minority of white voters but an overwhelming majority of blacks, Latinos and Asian Americans—many Republicans are convinced they need to make sustained outreach to minority communities, and Hispanics in particular. A GOP push to pass comprehensive immigration reform, they argue, is a necessary move in that direction and a way to open doors for further conversations. 

Which is why, after Heritage dropped its report at the beginning of last week, a whole host of pro-reform Republicans went after it in a fierce backlash. “The Heritage Foundation document is a political document. It’s not very serious analysis,” said former Mississippi governor Haley Barbour. Likewise, Arizona Senator Jeff Flake—a co-sponsor of the immigration bill—challenged the study’s assumptions. “Here we go again. New Heritage study claims huge cost for Immigration Reform. Ignores economic benefits. No dynamic scoring,” he wrote on Twitter. 

But it wasn’t until the Washington Post revealed the racist ideology of one of the report’s authors, Jason Richwine, that things really began to unravel for DeMint and Heritage. Within a day of the revelation, reporters had combed through Richwine’s Harvard dissertation—where he argues that the IQ of Latino immigrants is too low for them ever to assimilate—and his history. In 2008, for example, Richwine had given a presentation at the American Enterprise Institute where he explained the racial hierarchy of intelligence: “Decades of psychometric testing has indicated that at least in America, you have Jews with the highest average IQ, usually followed by East Asians, then you have non-Jewish whites, Hispanics, and then blacks.” 

Not only did this cause a public relations crisis for Heritage—which found itself pushing a report authored in part by a modern-day phrenologist—but it gave Republican proponents of immigration reform an easy way to dismiss the full report. By giving Richwine a platform and making him one of the prominent voices against immigration reform, Heritage has tarnished its cause; now, it’s even more associated with prejudice and nativism. Immigration reform advocates have gained the moral high ground and a new sense of urgency—they need to pass a bill to show Latino voters that racial animus has no place in Republican politics...

Immigration's Tough Road Ahead

From the Washington Post: 

...During a 7¹/₂-hour hearing, the Judiciary Committee wrestled over 32 proposed changes focused on border security and control as the committee began a long and grueling amendment process that is expect to last weeks.

Proponents managed to resist the most significant changes as a majority of senators voted to reject proposals from GOP members that would require the government to build 700 miles of double-layered fencing and maintain complete operational control of the entire southern border before allowing illegal immigrants to gain citizenship. 

As each proposal was defeated, frustration mounted and tempers flared among the most conservative Republicans. 

“The committee has voted down every serious border security amendment presented,” said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), who lost his bid to scrap the legislation’s entire border-control section and replace it with his own. “This committee has consistently rejected any attempt to put real teeth in it, and if it does not have that, in my opinion, this bill will not pass...”

...Many Republicans have argued that [border security measures currently in the bill are] not enough, and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who helped negotiate the bill, has said he agrees that border provisions must be strengthened for the legislation to have a chance in the GOP-controlled House...

A Bible Verse the Right Does Not Quote

Like the photo says, this is a verse you will not hear quoted by Republicans/conservatives, especially those in elected office. It is particularly interesting that the verse comes from the book of Leviticus. This is the selfsame book that these same GOP politicians use to excuse their opposition to LGBT equality. That particular verse is in chapter 18. Yet one chapter later is this verse which they categorically ignore, saying that we should make life for illegal immigrants here in America so bad that they self-deport. This is yet another example of theocratic hypocrisy, cherry-picking from the Bible on one issue while ignoring the Bible when it does not jive with their opinion. You can not have it both ways. The Bible condemns many things (like shellfish) and no one thinks twice about it. The Bible also upholds somethings (like stoning a woman to death if she is not a virgin when she is married) that we as a society find absolutely reprehensible. This is why someone using the Bible as the sole justification for supporting/condemning a given policy does not hold up to scrutiny. The Bible is good for some things, but creating legislation for a locality, state, or a pluralistic, diverse nation is definitely not one of them.

Will Caucasians Be Profiled Post-Boston?

Conspiracy Theories & the Immigration Bill

Jeb Bush Flip-Flops on His Own Book

March 5, 2013: The Day In 100 Seconds

Stephen Colbert on Gay Immigration