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untonugganThere's one very "Trump like" piece of legislation that has actually had me worried about how "Trump-like" the rhetoric it is, and because it doesn't actually do much to make people safer (other than the way "duck and cover" drills in the Cold War were meant to make you feel safer in the case of nuclear war.)
It's the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) something something fancy name bill, and it's passed the House and has White House support, which means the only means of change right now is the Senate -- and it's attached to the appropriations bill. So, I don't know if there's much chance at all of it changing but in that historical "what did you do when bad things happened" rubric I want to spend spoons on this one.
Basically, if the bill passes, it affects US citizens and I think also those in the EU (38 countries total) by creating a second tier of citizen: those who are from Iraq, Iran, Syria, or the Sudan; are citizens of those countries by birth; have traveled to those countries since March 2011 (even if your work was as a human rights activist). In those cases, you are no longer eligible to have visa requirements waived for the 38 participating countries...so you would have to pay for a visa and undergo a lengthy screening process.
***
via Huffington Post:
[The bill] treats people as being "from" places that they are not "from," simply because they happen to carry the nationality of that place, even if they have never set foot there. Under the House-passed bill, a French citizen who was born in Paris, who never in her whole life left France for any purpose, would be excluded from the visa waiver program as "Syrian" if her father happened to be Syrian, would be excluded as "Iranian" if her father happened to be Iranian. And since the visa waiver program is reciprocal with France, if these provisions became U.S. law, France might do the same to U.S. citizens - exclude them from the visa waiver program by treating them as being "from" places that they are not "from."
***
Here is a petition. There is also another petition. You can also contact your Senators directly. If you live outside the US, I would advise petitioning your government to pressure the US government not to pass this bill, as it would probably affect travel regulations in your country as well. (And right now I think backers are relying on "nobody will notice, it's the holidays, we need the appropriations bill passed" to get it through; it's also a toned down version of what Republicans wanted to do to incoming refugees which is a not good compromise in my opinion because it sets a terrible precedent and has no expiration date.)
ETA: so apparently despite checking several bill trackers and Congress, I missed that this did pass. On Friday. You can still sign petitions to make a point, amendments are possible in the future. I do not know at this point what next steps are, but please let me know and ugh.
It's the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) something something fancy name bill, and it's passed the House and has White House support, which means the only means of change right now is the Senate -- and it's attached to the appropriations bill. So, I don't know if there's much chance at all of it changing but in that historical "what did you do when bad things happened" rubric I want to spend spoons on this one.
Basically, if the bill passes, it affects US citizens and I think also those in the EU (38 countries total) by creating a second tier of citizen: those who are from Iraq, Iran, Syria, or the Sudan; are citizens of those countries by birth; have traveled to those countries since March 2011 (even if your work was as a human rights activist). In those cases, you are no longer eligible to have visa requirements waived for the 38 participating countries...so you would have to pay for a visa and undergo a lengthy screening process.
***
via Huffington Post:
[The bill] treats people as being "from" places that they are not "from," simply because they happen to carry the nationality of that place, even if they have never set foot there. Under the House-passed bill, a French citizen who was born in Paris, who never in her whole life left France for any purpose, would be excluded from the visa waiver program as "Syrian" if her father happened to be Syrian, would be excluded as "Iranian" if her father happened to be Iranian. And since the visa waiver program is reciprocal with France, if these provisions became U.S. law, France might do the same to U.S. citizens - exclude them from the visa waiver program by treating them as being "from" places that they are not "from."
***
Here is a petition. There is also another petition. You can also contact your Senators directly. If you live outside the US, I would advise petitioning your government to pressure the US government not to pass this bill, as it would probably affect travel regulations in your country as well. (And right now I think backers are relying on "nobody will notice, it's the holidays, we need the appropriations bill passed" to get it through; it's also a toned down version of what Republicans wanted to do to incoming refugees which is a not good compromise in my opinion because it sets a terrible precedent and has no expiration date.)
ETA: so apparently despite checking several bill trackers and Congress, I missed that this did pass. On Friday. You can still sign petitions to make a point, amendments are possible in the future. I do not know at this point what next steps are, but please let me know and ugh.
no subject
Date: 2015-12-21 11:47 am (UTC)I got nothing else, just. UGH. Why.
no subject
Date: 2015-12-21 03:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-12-21 12:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-12-21 03:02 pm (UTC)though stress-wise, indirectly
no subject
Date: 2015-12-21 05:13 pm (UTC)And it is still worthwhile to sign petitions and pester Congress creatures. Pressure from constituents can help amendments and revocations be passed down the line.
no subject
Date: 2015-12-21 05:18 pm (UTC)It was signed. By POTUS. On Friday. Before the holidays. And it took me forever to find those links, because apparently mysteriously no one had any coverage.
>.>
Pretty sure this was part of the "how do we get the appropriations bill past the tea pary" which is a very scary horrible shitty thing.
And yes, pretty sure grassroots activism is needed to make this less shitty now.
no subject
Date: 2015-12-21 05:24 pm (UTC)I only heard about it at all because of Iranian bloggers on Twitter, and what I had initially seen was several days old.
And when I looked at the Congressional bill tracker, it hadn't even updated that it was on the Senate floor. (again, with my displeased face. I could have been looking at the wrong bill if it got rolled into appropriations, but I feel like that should have been linked more easily somehow.)
also, the appropriations bill apparently packed some super shitty stuff about internet and tech that I haven't even managed to look at yet.
ugh.
no subject
Date: 2015-12-21 05:35 pm (UTC)That is truly shitty news. ::hugs::
no subject
Date: 2015-12-21 11:43 pm (UTC)I am disappointed in this country.
no subject
Date: 2015-12-21 05:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-12-21 05:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-12-21 05:26 pm (UTC)Re internet shitty stuff: yeah, that just happened. >.<
Commented elsewhere about this, so copy/pasta here:
I was reading a book the other day (Schneier's Data and Goliath, which I highly recommend although the subject material is likely ragemaking, as it's all about privacy and data control) - and one of the things that stuck with me most was, we've had this problem before.
The technological means to invade privacy have always preceded reasonable limitations on their use.
And generally, we figure it out pretty quick, through the efforts of people who get ticked off about crap like this.
no subject
Date: 2015-12-23 10:57 am (UTC)I've never been a patriotic sort, but neither have I been actively *scared* of living in the States before now. Maybe it actually is time to find a new country. ...or planet? Mars!? O.O
Thanks for the post.
no subject
Date: 2015-12-26 08:26 pm (UTC)