A ship crashed into a Baltimore bridge and demolished the lies about immigration

[j brown's body]

"In normal times, the deaths of these six migrants would serve as a tragic parable about how our American landscape was etched into existence by the big dreams, hard-earned sweat, and occasionally the sacrifice of each new generation of Maynor Suazos as they came from Ireland, then from Italy, then from Honduras and all over the globe.

But these are not normal times. Even before the first divers had arrived on the chaotic scene, an army of pampered coffee shop keyboard commandos and a few overpaid TV hairdos were denying the reality that the Baltimore bridge disaster was a tragic disruption of the diversity that keeps America running. Instead, lacking not just evidence but basic sanity, the worst people on your screen claimed the push for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) took out the Key Bridge.

“This is what happens when you have governors who prioritize diversity over the wellbeing and security of citizens,” tweeted a GOP Utah state representative, Phil Lyman, who is running for governor, atop a post hailing a new Baltimore port commissioner who is Black. A former Republican lawmaker in Florida, Anthony Sabatini, posted a video of the bridge accident with the bizarre caption, “DEI did this.” Another right-winger posted the dead-of-night news conference by Baltimore’s Black, youthful chief executive, Brandon Scott, and called him a “DEI mayor.”

The immigration debate America ought to be having is one that safely manages asylum-seekers at the border while creating a more efficient pathway to citizenship and the American dream for the likes of Suazo, who was said to be close to gaining legal U.S. residency and making plans to return to Honduras to complete the process.

Instead, an ex-president who launched his political career in 2015 by claiming Mexican migration was larded with murderers and rapists — and who doubles down as he seeks to return to the White House by telling his mostly white rally crowds that today’s refugees are “not people” — is echoing the worst tyrants of the last century by inventing demons to gain power."

Link

On the one hand we have Republican demagoguery and racial hatred, and on the other side, millions of immigrants, documented and undocumented, keeping America going.

 

[Peacenik]

How in the world are they possibly arguing that diversity caused failure of a ship's engine and caused it to slam into a bridge?

That makes no sense.

But I guess with today's right wing extremist run Republican party, making sense is not required.

All they need is an emotional appeal, and the ability to dominate the news cycle by attaching their own propaganda to every major story.

 

[ttwtt78640]

Hmm… the OP linked (opinion) article seems to assert that government (funded) construction contractor work creates jobs that “many other Americans simply can’t or won’t do”. That quote, of course, omits “for the wages and benefits offered”.

IMHO, that Baltimore contractor, Brawner Brothers, should be barred from receiving any further publicly funded work because they (knowingly?) employed numerous ‘undocumented’ immigrants.

Using ‘undocumented’ (aka illegal) labor for publicly funded contracts is well beyond DEI and is against the law.

 

[samiam5211]

Hmm… the OP linked (opinion) article seems to assert that government (funded) construction contractor work creates jobs that “many other Americans simply can’t or won’t do”. That quote, of course, omits “for the wages and benefits offered”.

IMHO, that Baltimore contractor, Brawner Brothers, should be barred from receiving any further publicly funded work because they (knowingly?) employed numerous ‘undocumented’ immigrants.

Using ‘undocumented’ (aka illegal) labor is well beyond DEI and is against the law.

Is there some claim that the people working on the bridge didn't have work authorization?

 

[jpn]

FWIW:



There's no trend either up or down.
Virtually none of these failures were due to age or bad design.
The vast majority failed due to floods, being hit by trucks, being hit by barges, or by construction work.

 

[Manc Skipper]

Hmm… the OP linked (opinion) article seems to assert that government (funded) construction contractor work creates jobs that “many other Americans simply can’t or won’t do”. That quote, of course, omits “for the wages and benefits offered”.

IMHO, that Baltimore contractor, Brawner Brothers, should be barred from receiving any further publicly funded work because they (knowingly?) employed numerous ‘undocumented’ immigrants.

Using ‘undocumented’ (aka illegal) labor is well beyond DEI and is against the law.

How did a handful of guys fixing potholes cause the bridge to collapse on top of a passing ship?

 

[ttwtt78640]

How did a handful of guys fixing potholes cause the bridge to collapse on top of a passing ship?

They didn’t and I never made that claim. This thread is in the Law and Order > Immigration sub-forum, so I elected to address the immigration portion of it’s (linked) content.

 

[j brown's body]

Hmm… the OP linked (opinion) article seems to assert that government (funded) construction contractor work creates jobs that “many other Americans simply can’t or won’t do”. That quote, of course, omits “for the wages and benefits offered”.

IMHO, that Baltimore contractor, Brawner Brothers, should be barred from receiving any further publicly funded work because they (knowingly?) employed numerous ‘undocumented’ immigrants.

Using ‘undocumented’ (aka illegal) labor for publicly funded contracts is well beyond DEI and is against the law.

Thanks for pointing out the failure of the law.

Things need to change.

They are not animals.

 

[eman623]

How did illegals get government job in the first place? Were they waved in by the Biden admin and given work authorizations? Or did the just walk in and buy fake SS numbers?

 

[samiam5211]

How did illegals get government job in the first place? Were they waved in by the Biden admin and given work authorizations? Or did the just walk in and buy fake SS numbers?

Is anyone claiming that they were not legally authorized to work?

 

[j brown's body]

How did illegals get government job in the first place? Were they waved in by the Biden admin and given work authorizations? Or did the just walk in and buy fake SS numbers?

Waved in as they got their voter cards, lol.

I suspect when government funds a project, they don't do the actual hiring.

 

[ttwtt78640]

Thanks for pointing out the failure of the law.

Without adequate enforcement, ‘the law’ is treated as a mere suggestion.

Things need to change.

Agreed.

They are not animals.

I also agree that ‘undocumented’ immigrants aren’t animals, but they are easily able to illegally find employment even on (allegedly well regulated) publicly funded contract jobs.

 

[samiam5211]

I also agree that ‘undocumented’ immigrants aren’t animals, but they are easily able to illegally find employment even on (allegedly well regulated) publicly funded contract jobs.

Is there some evidence that they were here illegally?

 

[j brown's body]

Without adequate enforcement, ‘the law’ is treated as a mere suggestion.



Agreed.



I also agree that ‘undocumented’ immigrants aren’t animals, but they are easily able to illegally find employment even on (allegedly well regulated) publicly funded contract jobs.

You want to throw away even more money on failed policy.

It's called supply and demand.

 

[j brown's body]

Is there some evidence that they were here illegally?

One of the workers described in the article is said to be undocumented. And that's fine. It is way past time to accept that undocumented workers contribute to our society and they are not our enemy.

 

[ttwtt78640]

Waved in as they got their voter cards, lol.

I suspect when government funds a project, they don't do the actual hiring.

The government doesn’t hire the workers employed by the contractor (or their sub-contractors), but they do directly hire (and pay) the contractor - who is supposed to pay ‘scale wages’ (Davis-Bacon Act) on federally funded contracts and assure that applicable labor laws are being followed.

The ease of finding employment in the US is a significant reason (pull factor) for the constant addition of ‘undocumented’ (aka illegal) immigrants.

 

[samiam5211]

One of the workers described in the article is said to be undocumented. And that's fine. It is way past time to accept that undocumented workers contribute to our society and they are not our enemy.

I would like to know more details before i accept is true though.

I've seen people on TPS incorrectly referred to as "undocumented" in the media. It does matter.

If undocumented people were working on that bridge, the contractor needs to be held accountable for violating our laws.

 

[ttwtt78640]

You want to throw away even more money on failed policy.

It's called supply and demand.

Nope, I want to have an eVerify mandate become the law of the land, coupled with changes to the federal income tax code, for job creators (employers of W-2 or 1099 workers), to allow the IRS to act as the primary enforcement mechanism.

The (increasing) supply of ‘undocumented’ labor is what helps keep downward pressure on US wages (in several industry sectors). After all, an employer is unlikely to offer more compensation (pay and/or ‘fringe benefits’) than that which is required attract and retain qualified labor.

 

[Manc Skipper]

They didn’t and I never made that claim. This thread is in the Law and Order > Immigration sub-forum, so I elected to address the immigration portion of it’s (linked) content.

So there is no substantive connection between immigration and the bridge being knocked over.

 

[EdwinWillers]

So there is no substantive connection between immigration and the bridge being knocked over.

Nor is there any substantive (or logical) connection between either of your posts and anything you're assuming he posted.

 

[j brown's body]

Nope, I want to have an eVerify mandate become the law of the land, coupled with changes to the federal income tax code, for job creators (employers of W-2 or 1099 workers), to allow the IRS to act as the primary enforcement mechanism.

The (increasing) supply of ‘undocumented’ labor is what helps keep downward pressure on US wages (in several industry sectors). After all, an employer is unlikely to offer more compensation (pay and/or ‘fringe benefits’) than that which is required attract and retain qualified labor.

Those things will, in fact cost more money and yet do nothing to address the need for immigrants. In fact, they make the problem of labor shortage worse.

The war on immigrants reminds of the war on drugs. Both are losers, because they are not really problems that can be solved through law and order. But there is so much money to be made on both, and Americans are so punitive in their approach to social and economic problems, they continue.

This is almost comical in its absurdity. We could fund these programs and policies that arrest undocumented workers because they cause downward pressure on on US wages while doing nothing to provide needed labor, or we can simply document them and solve both problems.

 

[Integrityrespec]

"In normal times, the deaths of these six migrants would serve as a tragic parable about how our American landscape was etched into existence by the big dreams, hard-earned sweat, and occasionally the sacrifice of each new generation of Maynor Suazos as they came from Ireland, then from Italy, then from Honduras and all over the globe.

But these are not normal times. Even before the first divers had arrived on the chaotic scene, an army of pampered coffee shop keyboard commandos and a few overpaid TV hairdos were denying the reality that the Baltimore bridge disaster was a tragic disruption of the diversity that keeps America running. Instead, lacking not just evidence but basic sanity, the worst people on your screen claimed the push for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) took out the Key Bridge.

“This is what happens when you have governors who prioritize diversity over the wellbeing and security of citizens,” tweeted a GOP Utah state representative, Phil Lyman, who is running for governor, atop a post hailing a new Baltimore port commissioner who is Black. A former Republican lawmaker in Florida, Anthony Sabatini, posted a video of the bridge accident with the bizarre caption, “DEI did this.” Another right-winger posted the dead-of-night news conference by Baltimore’s Black, youthful chief executive, Brandon Scott, and called him a “DEI mayor.”

The immigration debate America ought to be having is one that safely manages asylum-seekers at the border while creating a more efficient pathway to citizenship and the American dream for the likes of Suazo, who was said to be close to gaining legal U.S. residency and making plans to return to Honduras to complete the process.

Instead, an ex-president who launched his political career in 2015 by claiming Mexican migration was larded with murderers and rapists — and who doubles down as he seeks to return to the White House by telling his mostly white rally crowds that today’s refugees are “not people” — is echoing the worst tyrants of the last century by inventing demons to gain power."

Link

On the one hand we have Republican demagoguery and racial hatred, and on the other side, millions of immigrants, documented and undocumented, keeping America going.

Asylum seeking has become just a catch phrase for all the illegals who think it will get them into the US to stay. Unfortunately Joe Biden and democrats agree with them. The truth is that less than 10% of those who claim they are seeking asylum qualify under the asylum statute. However, Joe told them to come, and so they are coming. It's on Joe Biden. All the bad things happening because of it are on Joe Biden because he created this current invasion.

 

[Manc Skipper]

Nor is there any substantive (or logical) connection between either of your posts and anything you're assuming he posted.

Why is this thread about a ship crash in the immigration section then?

 

[americanwoman]

Waved in as they got their voter cards, lol.

I suspect when government funds a project, they don't do the actual hiring.

Correct me if I am wrong but wasn't this crew doing pothole work? From what I understand most, if not all, of that kind of work is contracted out to private companies who are more than happy to pay undocumented workers less money and totally exploit them.

 

[ttwtt78640]

Those things will, in fact cost more money and yet do nothing to address the need for immigrants. In fact, they make the problem of labor shortage worse.

The war on immigrants reminds of the war on drugs. Both are losers, because they are not really problems that can be solved through law and order. But there is so much money to be made on both, and Americans are so punitive in their approach to social and economic problems, they continue.

This is almost comical in its absurdity. We could fund these programs and policies that arrest undocumented workers because they cause downward pressure on on US wages while doing nothing to provide needed labor, or we can simply document them and solve both problems.

I’m not advocating for the arrest (with expensive detention and deportation) of ‘undocumented’ immigrants. An eVerify mandate places (and enforces) restrictions on US job creators (employers), but would likely cause many (if not most) ‘undocumented’ immigrants to self-deport due to decreased employment opportunities.