Hot takes on the Democratic frontrunners

[slang]

Pete Buttigeig seems like the most reasonable of those democrats running.

He's likable. He's gay but doesn't seem to define his life around that fact.

I don't know if I could ever vote for a democrat but Mr. Pete's not a polarizing personality.

Buttigieg’s immigration policies are very vague — he favors a “path to citizenship.” My own view is that the only Democrat who will beat Trump next year will campaign for control of immigration, legal and undocumented, in a sane and humane way. The issue will be dominant again — because of a huge wave of migrants, many of them rural Guatemalans, who are overwhelming the border, trying to enter the U.S. at a current pace of 100,000 a month. Their ability to claim asylum under current law permits them to show up at the border, get admitted and processed by the Border Patrol, and then released into the interior, to reside here until a court date, which could come up years later. The backlog in the underfunded immigration courts is vast, with more than a million still in line for a hearing. Many of the migrants won’t show up for the court date; those who do can still resist deportation indefinitely.

What this means is that the U.S. now has an effectively open border with Mexico, and, according to the American Bar Association, the immigration system is “irredeemably dysfunctional and on the brink of collapse.” Repeating the Democratic mantra that there is no border crisis will not work for much longer. This year will see more undocumented immigrants than in any year under Obama. And the high rate of success among those trying to enter to the country now encourages more migrants to make the journey, especially given the forces of disorder and climate change that are forcing people to flee. The lesson from Europe in 2015 is that a migrant surge fuels itself, as word gets back home. And then white nationalism takes off.

[glatt]

Originally Posted by slang

This year will see more undocumented immigrants than in any year under Obama.

This is the kind of quote that seems like it's cherry picking information. Why only look at the Obama years unless the author is trying to hide or skew something?

I get your overall point though, and you sound reasonable. I hate the optics of a wall though. We aren't East Germany.

[sexobon]

Originally Posted by slang

… Repeating the Democratic mantra that there is no border crisis will not work for much longer. This year will see more undocumented immigrants than in any year under Obama.[/b] And the high rate of success among those trying to enter to the country now encourages more migrants to make the journey, especially given the forces of disorder and climate change that are forcing people to flee.

[Bold mine]

Not to worry. Corporate America is getting ready for them even if the government isn't. What could possibly go wrong (holy Blackwater Batman)؟

Climate Chaos Is Coming – and the Pinkertons Are Ready

As they see it, global warming stands to make corporate security as high-stakes in the 21st century as it was in the 19th. ...

Now over 150 years old, having long outlived its reputation as Andrew Carnegie’s personal militia, the agency has evolved into a modern security firm. Over the last decade or so, Pinkerton began noticing a growing set of anxieties among its corporate clients about distinctly contemporary plagues — active shooters, political unrest, climate disasters — and in response began offering data-driven risk analysis, in addition to what they’re more traditionally known for. ...

… For Pinkerton, the bet is twofold: first, that there’s no real material difference between climate change and any other conflict — as the world grows more predictably dangerous, tactical know-how will simply be more in demand than ever. And second, that by adding data analytics, Pinkerton stands to compete more directly with traditional consulting firms like Deloitte, which offer pre- and postdisaster services (supply-chain monitoring, damage documentation, etc.), but which cannot, say, dispatch a helicopter full of armed guards to Guatemala in an afternoon. In theory, Pinkerton can do both — a fully militarized managerial class at corporate disposal. …

Unlike the US military, civilian organizations like this are not Constitutionally prohibited from operating within the USA. Government can provide oversight; but, it doesn't have to provide oversite...whichever it feels is in its own best interest at the time.