Calexit is back.
This time around, the campaign is allegedly not being funded by Russians.
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Because they’re running out of money?
Most likely, the new funding path hasn’t been identified.
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Does the plan contain provisions for taking on any sort of reasonable share of the national debt, discuss what to do about federal property and assets, whether military bases may remain, federal pensions and Social Security?
Looks like they’re saving those details for later (perhaps very well aware that Congress won’t consent).
In 2 weeks, probably…
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…but they probably have concepts of a plan.
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The Economist makes the theoretical argument why Canada should join the EU rather than the US.
I feel like this has a lot of potential…
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Does Canada “need people”?
I keep hearing about how there’s been too much immigration and housing is so expensive. Just build new cities in the boonies and hope people come a la Field Of Dreams?
Isnt that several state capitals already? Or brasilia?
Yes and no.
Canada’s birthrate is below replacement level and we’re probably on the low side for new workers.
On the other hand immigration rates were set at excessively high levels creating issues around the cost of housing and getting medical care. Additional, our temporary foreign worker rules were/are ridiculously lax. Rural Newfoundland and Labrador has chronically high unemployment rates (>10%). However, under the TFW program, fast food restaurants in rural Newfoundland could use TFWs to fill up to I think it was 20-30% of their employee spots. This was done as a result of a shortage of workers during Covid, but the workforce is back now that income supports are gone. In suburbs of Toronto there were issues with private colleges letting in lots of no-show students and 20+ international students sharing housing.
The other possible issue was that many of the new immigrants are allegedly of lower quality than we’ve typically had moving here. Apparently a lot more immigrants with questionable credentials and/or weaker English or French language skills have been coming in recently. I don’t have enough experience with new immigrants to comment knowledgeably on this.
So yes we need people, just not at the rate that they were coming in. I’m guessing 50 to 75% of that rate.
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So is joining the EU really going to help? Then there’s no limit to immigration.
From their beginning to their most recent page, the annals of human history reveal the transcendent importance of marriage. The lifelong union… always has promised nobility and dignity to all persons, without regard to their station in life. Marriage is sacred to those who live by their religions and offers unique fulfillment to those who find meaning in the secular realm. Its dynamic allows two people to find a life that could not be found alone, for a marriage becomes greater than just the two persons. Rising from the most basic human needs, marriage is essential to our most profound hopes and aspirations.
The centrality of marriage to the human condition makes it unsurprising that the institution has existed for millennia and across civilizations. Since the dawn of history, marriage has transformed strangers into relatives, binding families and societies together.
The petitioners acknowledge this history but contend that these cases cannot end there. Were their intent to demean the revered idea and reality of marriage, the petitioners’ claims would be of a different order. But that is neither their purpose nor their submission. To the contrary, it is the enduring importance of marriage that underlies the petitioners’ contentions. This, they say, is their whole point. Far from seeking to devalue marriage, the petitioners seek it for themselves because of their respect and need for its privileges and responsibilities. And their immutable nature dictates that same-sex marriage is their only real path to this profound commitment.
Recounting the circumstances of three of these cases illustrates the urgency of the petitioners’ cause from their perspective. Petitioner James Obergefell, a plaintiff in the Ohio case, met John Arthur over two decades ago. They fell in love and started a life together, establishing a lasting, committed relation. In 2011, however, Arthur was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. This debilitating disease is progressive, with no known cure. Two years ago, Obergefell and Arthur decided to commit to one another, resolving to marry before Arthur died. To fulfill their mutual promise, they traveled from Ohio to Maryland, where same-sex marriage was legal. It was difficult for Arthur to move, and so the couple were wed inside a medical transport plane as it remained on the tarmac in Baltimore. Three months later, Arthur died. Ohio law does not permit Obergefell to be listed as the surviving spouse on Arthur’s death certificate. By statute, they must remain strangers even in death, a state-imposed separation Obergefell deems “hurtful for the rest of time.” He brought suit to be shown as the surviving spouse on Arthur’s death certificate.
April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse are co-plaintiffs in the case from Michigan. They celebrated a commitment ceremony to honor their permanent relation in 2007. They both work as nurses, DeBoer in a neonatal unit and Rowse in an emergency unit. In 2009, DeBoer and Rowse fostered and then adopted a baby boy. Later that same year, they welcomed another son into their family. The new baby, born prematurely and abandoned by his biological mother, required around-the-clock care. The next year, a baby girl with special needs joined their family. Michigan, however, permits only opposite-sex married couples or single individuals to adopt, so each child can have only one woman as his or her legal parent. If an emergency were to arise, schools and hospitals may treat the three children as if they had only one parent. And, were tragedy to befall either DeBoer or Rowse, the other would have no legal rights over the children she had not been permitted to adopt. This couple seeks relief from the continuing uncertainty their unmarried status creates in their lives.
Army Reserve Sergeant First Class Ijpe DeKoe and his partner Thomas Kostura, co-plaintiffs in the Tennessee case, fell in love. In 2011, DeKoe received orders to deploy to Afghanistan. Before leaving, he and Kostura married in New York. A week later, DeKoe began his deployment, which lasted for almost a year. When he returned, the two settled in Tennessee, where DeKoe works full-time for the Army Reserve. Their lawful marriage is stripped from them whenever they reside in Tennessee, returning and disappearing as they travel across state lines. DeKoe, who served this Nation to preserve the freedom the Constitution protects, must endure a substantial burden.
Can’t believe that the guy who wrote that was ok with being replaced by fricking Kavanaugh.
…and definitely not at a rate faster than new housing is becoming available.
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Oh well, requiring airlines to disclose fees was a nice rule while it lasted:
Don’t you love the airline industry’s rationale:
A group of major airlines sued the Biden administration last year over the rule that required them to disclose extra costs, also called junk fees, on customers’ purchases. They argued that the rule would confuse consumers
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Asserting facts not in evidence. He didn’t pick Kavanaugh, and he was 82 when he retired.
If he wanted a non-Trump Republican to name his replacement he would have had to wait until at least January 2029 to retire (as opposed to July 2018 when he actually retired). Waiting an extra 10.5 years to retire (if he even lives that long… he’s already 88 and we’ve got a minimum of 4 years to go) is a big ask. Not many justices serve until age 92. (Have ANY? RBG was 87.)
And while he may not have predicted, in 2018, the winners of the 2020 and 2024 elections, there was absolutely zero chance of electing a non-Trump Republican in 2020 and very little chance in 2024 either because if Trump had won in 2020 then the Dem probably would have won in 2024 and the writing may have been on the wall that Trump was going to run in 2024 if he wasn’t term-limited.
So January 2029 was the earliest “decent chance” of electing a non-Trump Republican.
He likely decided that a Heritage Foundation pick was better than a Dem pick.
It’s not like Kennedy didn’t know him. Kavanaugh clerked for Kennedy, as did Gorsuch.
As in
“I’m confused as to why you jack-holes are charging me this nonsense fee?”
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