8 votes

Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of June 21

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Tags: usa, politics, recurring.weekly

This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant US political content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate topic, but almost all should be posted in here.

This is an inherently political thread; please try to avoid antagonistic arguments and bickering matches. Comment threads that devolve into unproductive arguments may be removed so that the overall topic is able to continue.

2 comments

  1. nukeman
    Link
    Not really news per se, but I thought this was interesting:

    Not really news per se, but I thought this was interesting:

    Some "Twitter is not real life" data, using Pew surveys:

    • Twitter users are D+15 - which would tie HI & VT for the most liberal state.
    • The 10% of Twitter users who post 92% of all tweets are D+43 - which would make it America's 2nd most liberal House district.

    Also, 3% of the population creates 90% of all tweets.

    Twitter still matters and can be a leading indicator, but its outsized influence on media, corporations, & politicians seems to be the illusion of numbers.

    3 votes
  2. Kuromantis
    Link
    Biden backs funding more police to fight crime wave Not sure how to see this. My immediate reaction is assuming that Democrats are losing the debate on crime. My secondary assumption is generally...

    Biden backs funding more police to fight crime wave

    President Joe Biden has unveiled a plan that includes funding more police to combat a nationwide surge in homicides, which he blamed on lax gun control.

    He said officials in high crime areas can hire more law-enforcement personnel using coronavirus relief funding.

    Mr Biden's crime-fighting strategy calls for curtailing rogue gun dealers and firearms trafficking.

    Republicans are depicting Mr Biden's Democrats as weak on crime, amid calls by left-wingers to defund the police.

    Announcing his five-point strategy at the White House on Wednesday, the president urged cities and states to use $350bn (£250bn) of funding from a Covid-19 relief bill on public safety efforts, including adding more police officers, even beyond pre-pandemic levels.

    Republicans have offered an explanation - that the anti-law-enforcement rhetoric and "defund the police" efforts from last year's Black Lives Matters demonstrations have led to the current situation.

    On Wednesday, Biden offered a counter-argument, that lax gun regulations are to blame, creating an environment where even minor arguments can turn deadly.

    With an eye on 2022, however, the White House may be calculating that inoculating itself from Republican attacks is worth the risk of intra-party unrest.

    Not sure how to see this. My immediate reaction is assuming that Democrats are losing the debate on crime. My secondary assumption is generally agreeing with the second quote block I made.