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Professors arrested for blocking Mass. Ave. in Harvard Square in DACA protest


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Good. They should have protested in a less disruptive way, but honestly, when is Mass Ave in Harvard Square not being blocked?

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Setting - A Church.

Minister - "Choir"

Choir - "Yes Minister"

Minister - "Do you hate Satan and all his bad works? Can I get an Amen?"

Choir - "Amen!"

Minister - "Ok then let's all sit down in the aisle so none of us can move around"

Choir - "Ok then" "Isn't this great!"

Who are the nice people at Harvard trying to hinder so that they can change their minds and come over to support the Dreamers? Themselves? Other people who already support them?

This was a stunt to impress themselves. Something tells me most of the denizens of Cambridge are already on their side (as the son of immigrants, so am I). However, Who was giving them advice on how to effect change, Clinton's Wisconsin and Pennsylvania coordinators?

You want to really piss off the conservatives until change is forced, block 93 in Methuen, just south of the 213 interchange. Block Route 104 in front of the Home Depot in Bridgewater. Block Route 125 in Plaistow right by Heavenly Donuts. Those are the people lying in conservative areas of MA and NH that would need to be convinced that your cause is true and you are willing to do something radical for your cause, not blocking Chinese tourists from getting their bus to J. August in order to buy Harvard sweatshirts.

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This was a stunt to impress themselves
Who was giving them advice on how to effect change
You want to really piss off the conservatives until change is forced

You seem to know all about how it should be done. So tell us: what are YOU doing?

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Thanks for playing, but your tedious response was childlike and approaches the Pew Wee Herman level of answering questions.

I was only offering advice on how to get things done. The Harvard crew seems to think the Martha Coakley approach to things wins people over, it doesn't.

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The "Martha Coakley" approach is sitting at home and assuming that you're going to win.

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to look beyond personal ambition and privileged obliviousness.

Making an example of thinking of someone other than oneself is a start.

Some will get into it, and start learning more.

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Thanks for playing, but your tedious response was childlike and approaches the Pew Wee Herman level of answering questions.

Tedious? It was one line, not really on the order of your critique. I think the Pee Wee Herman line you're looking for is "I know you are, but what am I?", which doesn't fit here. You are "offering advice on how to get things done". Is it good advice? Your experience in using it could tell if that's the case. Absent any experience, aren't you really just spitballing?

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If pedestrians stand in a street they are arrested by a huge swarm of cops. If drivers block sidewalks, bus stops, bike lanes, drive in the pedestrian zone, drive onto the green line tracks and delay hundreds of people, speed through red lights etc the cops do nothing. They arrest the peaceful and ignore the dangerous. That is a huge reason why there are so many killed by drivers in this state.

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Which is fantastic, especially considering metro Boston is one of the largest metros in the U.S., Boston is the 3rd most densely populated big U.S. city (after NYC and S.F), and MA is the 3rd most densely populated state, after N.J. and R.I.

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Citations?

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http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/t/general-statistics/fatalityfacts/state...

We have the lowest vehicular death rate per mile driven, and the second-lowest per person.

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The protestors had told the Cambridge PD that they were going to be there on Wednesday night. This was a planned stunt, not a spontaneous protest. That is why the cops (and news media) were there.

If you live in fair Cambridge or Brookline or Boston, or wherever, tell the cops where you seeing cars do all these bad things. It is amazing when you talk to them in person as opposed to complaining online. They actually with a little prodding go out there and run patrols. I'm not kidding. It works. Is it perfect, no, but then again, nothing is.

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Here's the thing, they see people doing unsafe things on a daily basis and do nothing. It happens all the time, I'll see a motorist or cyclist blatantly break the law in front of a cop and nothing happens.

And talking to them, even in a polite manner, doesn't get anything accomplished. I asked an officer if they could please help with a line of cars blocking the bike lane on Comm Ave and he simply replied "They have a permit."

Or how about the time I was chased up the road by a plumbing truck, which tried to hit me and intentionally opened the door into my path, did BPD feel like lifting a finger when I went to the station to file a report? "Did he hit you with his car? No? Then whats the problem?"

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Park your car perpendicularly for half an hour in the main Harvard Square crosswalk and you'll get arrested. That's the car equivalent of this protest.

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I bet nothing happens.

Particularly if you use a brown or white truck.

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I know right? I see swarms of cops every day in the financial district with riot gear on just beating the crap out of jaywalkers, pedestrians crossing again the lights in crosswalks and generally anyone looking at their cell phone while walking down the sidewalk. And then drivers just plow into crowds of people at least 3 times a day and the cops just help push the cars off the bodies and send the drivers on their way with a chocolate and a hug. It's insane. Then the cops remove bicycle seats and kick the wheels on any bikes locked to bike racks as they leave the area. I always wondered why I was the only one to notice this phenomenon. Now I know I'm not alone. Can you untie my jacket now please?

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.

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Or a poor proposal by the GOP? Something tells me the latter is more the case. But sure, the Democrats can rest on their laurels and think that most of America don't want changes to the ACA. Good luck with that.

Costello's right. Explaining to the bulk of America why it's wrong to force those who were brought to America by their parents illegally either back into the shadows or away from the land they know as home involves more than blocking a street in the People's Republic of Cambridge. Also, coming up with better plans than "let's let the lawbreakers be rewarded with citizenship" or "do nothing" would help these Dreamers more than street theater at Harvard University.

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Explaining to the bulk of America why it's wrong to force those who were brought to America by their parents illegally either back into the shadows or away from the land they know as home involves more than blocking a street in the People's Republic of Cambridge.

Why thank you, o wizened sage, I don't think anyone would have known that if you hadn't told us!

Seriously -- the fact that you posit this, even as the absurdly transparent strawman that it is, shows how out of touch you are. Not that I think you have any sincere interest in any of these issues, but what makes you think that nobody is doing anything more than this one single action?

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So let's delude ourselves to think that "the resistance" was responsible for Trump's healthcare failure. You know, the same resistance that defeated the GOP in all those congressional special elections, the same resistance that kept all those controversial cabinet appointees from being confirmed, and that kept Gorsuch off the Supreme Court.

Or, Anonymous' side could take a practical approach to the issues, which is what got McCain to vote against a bad bill.

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Resistance and town halls in Cambridge sends a message to their congressperson and Senators. Similarly resistance and town halls in Arkansas, Arizona or New Mexico sends the message to their congressperson and Senators. In Nevada though, it wasn't resistance that got Dean Heller to oppose repeal and replace, although he was leaning against, it was Steve Wynn promising him a primary from the right if he didn't vote for it. Can't wait to see how that general election goes.

Resistance and town halls is why there as no support for repeal period (no replace until later).

Resistance is why Republicans will think twice about defunding medicaid services for the disabled and elderly in nursing homes.

Also, polling show DACA isn't just popular with left of center and center, it's popular with Republicans. It's in Trumps interest to at least get the DREAM Act passed. We'll see.

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So Congressman Capuano and Senators Warren and Markey will be swayed towards their point of views, as if they weren't on their side before.

I do have to give you this, giving some kind of permanent protected status to the "Dreamers" is very popular. Sure, there is a segment that does think that they are being rewarded due to the crimes of their parents, but come on, they were young. Their parents, on the other hand, will probably not get as much support. There will need to be some border security (no, not a wall per se, but assurances that we will not be revisiting this issue every 20 years) horse trading for them to get anything other than a plane ticket home.

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Supported by? Yes. Validated that they are representing their constituents? Yes. More resistant to being pushed in the other direction, given the outcry and support? Yes.

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are you allowed to honk in this situation?

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Muy Divertido!!!

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Maybe if they built their wall on the southern border rather than across Mass Ave we wouldn't be needing to deal with this issue.

The professors probably actually realize that Trump did their cause a favor by doing what he did and providing 6 months to wind down the program. They just don't want to think about it since they are the Resistance. 10 state Attorneys General were planning to add DACA to their already successful suit against the Deferred Action Program that had already had a court injunction. Had the court granted an injunction against DACA the government would be obligated to end the program immediately. Trump is giving the DACA supporters 6 months to get congress to do something--and that is the only legal way to deal with this issue.

Of course totalitarians like Obama just want to do what they want to do when they want to do it regardless of the law. Because he had a pen and a phone. Now he just has a twitter account so all he did can be rather easily undone.

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That's a truckload of unstubstantiated batshit crazy talking points!

Too bad you aren't in Florida - Rush Limbaugh says that Irma is fake news, you know!

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Commentary in Politico and the Wall Street Journal are my sources. Why don't you yell up the basement stairs and ask your Mom for some meatloaf.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-dreamer-debacle-1504654115?mod=wsj_revi...
https://www.wsj.com/articles/obamas-deplorable-daca-decision-1504735892
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/05/obama-trump-dreamers-daca-242355

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We'd also accept "adora-bullshit"

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The Shelled One's point about Congress is quite valid. President Trump just gave them plenty of time to fix it, if they can.
It's a card to play. Maybe Al Franken will stop blocking court appointments to get a form of DACA passed...but I doubt it.

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to force Congress to do something.
I hate Trump, Republicans, idiots, etc just as much as the next guy.
But anyone with a brain can see what he is doing here. His administration wants LEGISLATION passed. Period. Good or bad Donny hasn't gotten to scribble his name on a real bill yet. And he sooooo wants to.
Obama got the ACA and an infrastructure stimulus bill passed in his first term. Once the GOP got a hold of both houses any progress ground to a halt. After 2010 all progress made happened via the courts or executive orders (all of which Donny is reversing).

The DACA move and siding with Dems on the debt ceiling deal are shots across the bow to DO SOMETHING.
We're zoning in on a decade of congressional incompetence/ stalemate.

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Canada is looking at taking in the DACA program people. Why?

Educated, but not at Canadian expense
Professionals and highly trained technical/vocational people
Young
Law-abiding - signed up for the program to get legal status, 100% no felonies

Going to be a great deal for them. Meanwhile, we'll have to import more workers from India because dimwit paranoids like you aren't going to be able to do those jobs.

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And, in gratitude, start taking our climate refugees.

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and, in fact, there's tremendous pressure on Trudeau to pull up the welcome mat.

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You need to read more than the National Post. Canada has a wide range of media perspectives. A bit of Tory bombast doesn't represent all of Canada.

My brother lives in one of the most conservative and insular parts of Canada and there is a fair amount of support for taking DACA kids for reasons described above.

Bonus points that many are from the parts of the US where they are employed in different sectors of the energy industry. Basically English speakers with plug-and-play capability. With fuel prices rising again, the oil provinces are going to need the help.

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Your anecdote sounds sound, but this op-ed from the Canadian newspaper of record seems to indicate that Canadians are a bit less welcoming than baby Trudeau makes them out to be.

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I've never understood the urge to block traffic as a form of protest, especially in Harvard Square. I remember once a few years back when left-wing protesters blocked traffic one day, and right-wing protesters did it a few days later.

Unless the traffic contains immigrants en route to deportation, or a convoy of conservative lawmakers en route to an anti-immigrant planning meeting, this is just spiteful behavior.

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Gets attention!

Special people in much larger than them boxes feel special - but they feel less special when they can't move someplace because something besides other special people in special boxes is blocking them.

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Shouldn't Harvard take disciplinary action against its professors for being arrested?

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Do you think they should also discipline them for getting speeding tickets?

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It'll probably help them get tenure.

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Did the professors cut in front of pedestrians seeking to cross legally, like the DACA "children" cut in front of those seeking to legally immigrate?

Harvard is an appropriate place to support those who cut in line, after multi-millionaire Sen. Elizabeth Warren was hired as a "Native American" with a laughable 1/32 Native American bloodline. Were real Native Americans left behind? Any protests? Perhaps I'll whip up her crab cake recipe from Pow Wow Chow in tribute. Let me warm up the campfire Wolf Range.

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All quiet at Mar a Lago? Plenty of time for strike outs and flagrant cultural insensitivity?

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What's with all the random Mar a Lago references? What does that even mean?

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You don't know?

Actually, some anon started it on another post, but it does sound like something Fish would claim.

Fishy here would have us believe that he's buddy buddy with Drumpf. He would also have us believe that he had a career in police work.

So, what better time would there be to work a detail at Mar a Lago, the Pres' sacred resort club home in Palm Beach? After all, Rush Limburger says that Irma's just fake news and exaggerated.

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I hope a person who references crab cake can distinguish backfin from claw. And know what to do with the cellular flesh that just above the crab body. This constant droning of 1/32 mimics Trump's droning lies about Obama. Lies that continued until he was elected. But being Trump he sets himself above human beings by refusing to admit he was lying. Trump acts as though he believes he is superior to the rest of us after all. Do you believe that Obama was not born in the U.S.? Do you believe that you are superior to everyone else?

How many Americans don't have relatives who are Native American or, OMG, African-Americans! Or worse, Italians. Or the lowest of the low, Irish. If Warren had a relative that constituted 1/32 Native American then that is a simple fact. How many other whites have manipulated various social systems to get what they didn't deserve. I can think of one right off the top of my head: Donald Trump (we're still waiting for the coward's tax returns).

Chasing after Warren with an obsessional drive raises questions. Does it indicate an admiration but due to fear of truly strong (not the inevitable some of my best friends are...) the obsessive has to hate her? Deeply rooted sexism, fear of the vagina dentata drives straight men to ridiculously silly, and even sometimes horrid acts. Or this incessant antipathy might represent a deeply repressed desire for the Senator which is thwarted by the phobia of women who probably would look upon the obsessive with pity for being stuck in a psycho-sexual loop.

But I'm sure that does not describe anyone in this society of probity, fairness, rectitude and virtue.

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