The Nightman Cometh wrote:The partisan democrat in me is kind of glad the Republicans didn't renew it. Completely tone deaf, and only reinforces their demographic weaknesses, which are growing.

td11 wrote:

The Nightman Cometh wrote:The partisan democrat in me is kind of glad the Republicans didn't renew it. Completely tone deaf, and only reinforces their demographic weaknesses, which are growing.

i hate that it comes to this, and i understand where you're coming from, but i don't think it does quite as much damage to the Rs as we might think/hope. not enough people pay close enough attention to see this #$!&@.

The White House sent Reid a list of suggested concessions as his staff debated what to send back to McConnell. Reid looked over the concessions the administration wanted to offer, crumpled up the paper and tossed it into his fireplace. The gesture was first reported by Politico and confirmed to HuffPost by sources with knowledge of it, who noted that Reid frequently keeps his fire going and is fond of feeding a variety of proposals to it.

CalvinBall wrote:in other things house republicans failed to do:

the VAWA act expired.

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/ ... n-act?lite

td11 wrote:

The Nightman Cometh wrote:The partisan democrat in me is kind of glad the Republicans didn't renew it. Completely tone deaf, and only reinforces their demographic weaknesses, which are growing.

i hate that it comes to this, and i understand where you're coming from, but i don't think it does quite as much damage to the Rs as we might think/hope. not enough people pay close enough attention to see this #$!&@.

The Adams bill adds burdensome, counter-productive requirements that compromise the ability of service providers to reach victims, fails to adequately protect Tribal victims, lacks important protection and services for LGBT victims, weakens resources for victims living in subsidized housing, and eliminates important improvements to address dating violence and sexual assault on college campuses. Among the most troubling components of this bill are those that jettison and drastically undercut existing and important, long-standing protections that remain vital to the safety and protection of battered immigrant victims.

The Adams bill takes a significant step backwards from the existing law by allowing immigration officials to interview an alleged offender and consider the information obtained in making a determination about the adjudication of a battered immigrant’s petition for status. This not only undermines the critical protection of confidentiality relied on by victims to find safety for themselves and their children, it also allows abusers to manipulate the immigration process to cause further harm. Because the risks of serious injury and homicide increase when a victim is taking steps to leave an abusive relationship, this provision puts victims directly in harm’s way. This proposal guts nearly 18 years of established law and undermines the very foundation of VAWA. Never before have policy makers retreated on the core VAWA principle of victim safety.

The bill also discourages immigrants from reporting sexual assault and other crimes by placing other unnecessary restrictions on the U visa program and fails to provide an increase in the number of available visas. The U visa is a tool widely used and supported by law enforcement officials in order to help keep our communities safe by prosecuting criminals. Many law enforcement agencies have called upon Congress to increase the number of available U visas so that they can encourage victims to come forward, report crimes, and receive the help they need to be safe.

Finally, the Adams bill will decentralize the VAWA immigration adjudications process – bypassing examiners who are specifically trained in domestic violence and sexual assault – and mandates additional interviews for battered immigrants, causing unnecessary burdens on victims. Immigrant victims often have limited options to escape abusive relationships and the provisions in the Adams bill contradict the very purpose of VAWA by putting victims’ lives, health, and safety at risk.

Houshphandzadeh wrote:what is tcot?

The Nightman Cometh wrote:Unless you want a new constitution that isn't happening.