The Biden Presidency - 2020

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Dutch

They are human shields, yes. And that is illegal. The Israelis have not bombed them for a year straight like Hezbollah has done to Israelis. They look to me like they are fixing the problem. The reality is, if people are being bombed because they are human shields, the world needs to recognize this and make sure they are not held in eternal bondage by the terrorists. If the Lebanese government won’t fix this and the world won’t fix it and the USA won’t fix it, who’s left to fix it if not the nation that is being bombed daily by the terrorists?

Hezbollah isn't intentionally bombing civilians. They are lobbing missiles into illegal settlements. Literally shooting at violent international criminals. They're not even meant to kill (as evident by the lack of civilian deaths), just annoy and force the terrorists out of the region.

And wtf are you talking about? Israel has been routinely bombing Lebanon for 50+ years. They literally took over half the country for like 20 years.

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

The money literally can't be spent on hurricane relief.

You could do this with anything in the budget. Biden is literally more concerned with copier maintenance at HHS than he is with hurricane relief. Why is MTG's pay more important than hurricane relief? Why does Trump charge the Secret Service to stay in his resorts instead of helping the people impacted by the hurricane?

There's no reason to get into an argument about this is more important than that if the two things are in no way connected.

I’m good with figuring out why we’re spending $600 million per year under FEMA for illegal immigrants. But you are right, we need to recalibrate the government for priorities that actually help Americans.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by Dutch

I’m good with figuring out why we’re spending $600 million per year under FEMA for illegal immigrants. But you are right, we need to recalibrate the government for priorities that actually help Americans.

Where does the $600 million figure come from?

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Where does the $600 million figure come from?

The GOP is twisting it as FEMA funds being diverted. Considering the sources pushing this are Greg Abbott, Dan Crenshaw, and Trump, you can guess the accuracy.

The Shelter and Services Program is a Congressionally funded program that provides money to non-federal agencies to provide humanitarian aid for non-US citizens. It was approved for $640 million this year. That's it. You could play transitive property-like games with the budget until the end of times to twist the narrative.

[JPhillips]

It was spent because Congress directed FEMA to spend it.

From NBC:

FEMA has dedicated disaster relief money that cannot be used for other purposes. Separately, it was tasked by Congress in 2022 to disseminate money from Customs and Border Protection to help communities that received influxes of migrants.

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Hezbollah isn't intentionally bombing civilians. They are lobbing missiles into illegal settlements. Literally shooting at violent international criminals. They're not even meant to kill (as evident by the lack of civilian deaths), just annoy and force the terrorists out of the region.

And wtf are you talking about? Israel has been routinely bombing Lebanon for 50+ years. They literally took over half the country for like 20 years.

Jewish people lived there and have historically lived there long before Muslims did. They were getting back what was rightfully theirs, similarly Istanbul is rightfully Christian territory, but, they lost the war with the Turks and so that settled it.

In 1947, Israel declared their independence. The Arab nations declared war and attacked them. Israel won. That settled it.

In 1967, Egypt, Jordan and Syria prepared themselves to destroy Israel once and for all, but Israel bombed the shit out Egypt’s fueling Air Force and decimated them all military. Israel agreed to give the Suez Peninsula back as part of the agreement after they won the war. They settled it.

In 1973, Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack and Israel won again. That settled it.

In 1982, the PLO attacked Israel from Lebanon, and Israel won. That settled it.

In 1987, the first Intifada began with suicide bombers killing Jewish people, the USA and the Oslo accords under Clinton ended it. That settled it.

In 2000, the second intifada was launched with countless suicide bombers killing Jewish civilians. I don’t remember how that ended, but it was settled.

In 2006, Hezbollah started taking Israeli soldiers captive, Israel invaded and won. That settled it.

In 2008, Hamas conducted missile launched against Israel, Israel went in and forced them to stop. That settled it.

In 2012, Hamas began shooting tons of munitions into Israel. Israel defended itself until they quit. That settled it.

In 2014, Hamas ramped up their attacks on Israel once more and Israelis once more had to go in and stop them. Hamas quit again. That settled it.

In 2021, more rocket fire rained down on Israel from Gaza, Israel was forced to defend itself once again. Settled…

Last October, Hamas invaded Israel’s and slaughtered 1,400 civilians. Hezbollah started firing rockets the next day.

When the Arab governments say, “From
The River to the Sea”, they mean genocide. They want all Jewish people expelled or destroyed. It’s the same mentality Christians had 500 years ago and the Nazi had 85 years ago.

The Israeli people aren’t doing anything wrong by living on the lands they possess. While there have been agreements, those were meant to appease the Arabs, but when the remaining holdouts of the Arab world (Iran, Syria, Qatar) refuse to agree to any peace terms, well, they gonna get what they get. It’s not a genocide, it’s defense and you can’t play defense if there isn’t an offense.

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by Atocep

The GOP is twisting it as FEMA funds being diverted. Considering the sources pushing this are Greg Abbott, Dan Crenshaw, and Trump, you can guess the accuracy.

The Shelter and Services Program is a Congressionally funded program that provides money to non-federal agencies to provide humanitarian aid for non-US citizens. It was approved for $640 million this year. That's it. You could play transitive property-like games with the budget until the end of times to twist the narrative.

And last year it was $700 million. I’ve seen the figure of $1.4 trillion thrown around a lot but I think it covers two years.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by Dutch

And last year it was $700 million. I’ve seen the figure of $1.4 trillion thrown around a lot but I think it covers two years.

Where do you see 1.4 trillion being thrown around at?

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Dutch

And last year it was $700 million. I’ve seen the figure of $1.4 trillion thrown around a lot but I think it covers two years.

Last year it was $360 million.

[RainMaker]

Shelter and Services Program is part of the CBP budget, not FEMA. FEMA is just the one who distributes the money for them. At least get your agencies right in your dumb talking points.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Dutch

Jewish people lived there and have historically lived there long before Muslims did. They were getting back what was rightfully theirs, similarly Istanbul is rightfully Christian territory, but, they lost the war with the Turks and so that settled it.

Most Jewish people in Israel are from Europe. And the religion of a person on that land thousands of years ago doesn't matter to me. I don't think I should be able to declare I'm Jewish tomorrow and steal someone's olive farm in the West Bank. Just as I don't think someone who says they're Midewiwin should be able to bulldoze my home and kill me.

What you're describing is an ethnostate. Something I oppose. I don't think land should belong to a particular racial or ethnic group.

Originally Posted by Dutch

When the Arab governments say, “From
The River to the Sea”, they mean genocide. They want all Jewish people expelled or destroyed. It’s the same mentality Christians had 500 years ago and the Nazi had 85 years ago.

That phrase is literally in the charter of Israel's ruling party. Netanyahu says it all the time. Sort of seems like you're upset that someone with some darker skin is using it.

Originally Posted by Dutch

but when the remaining holdouts of the Arab world (Iran, Syria, Qatar) refuse to agree to any peace terms, well, they gonna get what they get.

This is a lie. All 22 Arab countries got together and offered terms to Israel. They asked for a 2-state solution and the end of the genocide.

[Dutch]

“What you're describing is an ethnostate. Something I oppose. I don't think land should belong to a particular racial or ethnic group.”

It is, but let’s be real.

Israel is 74% Jewish.
Syria is 92% Muslim
Egypt is 90% Muslim
Jordan is 97% Muslim
Iran is 99% Muslim
Iraq is 95% Muslim
Saudi Arabia is 100% Muslim

One of these is more accepting than others on that front and to ever give way to a Muslim rule would accomplish what, exactly? I’ve got a pretty good idea, not sure if we want to talk about or not.

[illinifan999]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Hezbollah isn't intentionally bombing civilians. They are lobbing missiles into illegal settlements.

Seems like a gross escalation. Perhaps Hezbollah/Hamas/Palestine should try to de-escalate the illegal settlers?