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Kaz Weida

26 Sep, 10 tweets, 4 min read

This morning we're asking how 14,000 Haitian migrants ended up at the US Mexico border camped under the Del Rio bridge.

It made for a damning photo op, but the situation is much more complicated than it seems and has its roots in centuries of imperialism.
(THREAD)

(2) The images of border patrol on horseback riding down black men and whipping them certainly got our attention.

Our particular cruelty towards Haitian asylum seekers can be traced back to the 1970s. But Haiti's current situation is extremely dire.

vox.com/22689472/haiti…

(3) Most of the refugees trying to enter the US have been living in South America in encampments for years. Their country has been devastated by hurricanes, earthquakes, political instability, and violent crime.

And yet we're sending them back anyway.

apnews.com/article/texas-…

(4) The Biden administration is leaning into a policy that encourages expulsion to avoid making camps into mass infection sites during the pandemic.

They have already dispersed the Del Rio camp and sent 4,000 back to Haiti on expulsion flights.

reuters.com/world/americas…

(5) But it's worthwhile to ask how 14,000 Haitian refugees who up until this point had been living in Brazil and Chile decided to suddenly come to the US.

It appears they were victims of misinformation.
Rumors the border was open spread like wildfire.

vpm.org/articles/npr/1…

(6) Interesting, this isn't the first time this has happened. It also happened to Canada back in 2017.

Social media started circulating a video claiming to be from someone in the Canadian government inviting Haitians to apply for asylum.

cbc.ca/news/canada/mo…

(7) Because the truth is that many of these Haitian refugees have been in South America for a long, long time. Some of them since the last earthquake that devastated the island back in 2010.

They don't really have a home to go back to.

washingtonpost.com/world/2021/09/…

(8) They'd just begun to rebuild when Hurricane Matthew blew through in 2016.

Haiti just can't catch a break and there's a reason for that. The island sits in a geographically vulnerable spot along the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone.

npr.org/2021/08/16/102…

(9) So what should we do about Haiti? Biden has a unique opportunity to embrace a more enlightened (and frankly less racist) policy when it comes to Haitian asylum seekers.

It might not be politically expedient, but it's LONG overdue.

rantt.com/how-biden-can-…

@janadegrand

(END) Thanks for stopping by for our Sunday thread, suggestions courtesy of @janadegrand . Come back next weekend and we'll do this again.

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More from @kazweida

Kaz Weida

@kazweida

16 Sep

In today’s thread we’re taking a closer look at the CA recall. Does it tell us anything about Dem chances in the 2022 midterms?

What lessons can we learn about how to motivate voters and get the kind of turnout even the GOP can’t gerrymander away.

(THREAD)

(2) Saying the recall failed is a bit of an understatement. It fell flat as a pancake. 70% of CA voters said no to recalling Dem governor Newsom.

So the media framing that Dems should take to heart hard lessons here seems misplaced.

cnbc.com/2021/09/15/cal…

(3) In fact the CA recall, widely seen as a referendum on Biden and aggressive pandemic management should be seen as a bellwether.

CA overwhelming said yes to vaccines. Yes to science. And yes to abortion rights.

The GOP should sit up and take note.

usatoday.com/story/opinion/…

Read 11 tweets

Kaz Weida

@kazweida

14 Sep

In today's thread we're taking a peak into the dark corner of the internet that is Facebook. Is anyone trying to do anything about the threats unregulated social media platforms pose?

Is Facebook going to be allowed to continue to poison us with misinformation?
(THREAD)

(2) One of the items Biden's FCC was set to tackle is what to do about tech giants.

After the role Facebook played in disinformation campaigns ahead of the 2016 election, it's clear we have to do something. And anti-trust laws aren't going to cut it.

brookings.edu/blog/techtank/…

(3) Facebook knew this moment was coming and tried to position itself for the new era of accountability by suggesting some measures they could impose for better self regulation.

Basically a laundry list of relatively ineffective stuff they already do.

theverge.com/interface/2020…

Read 11 tweets

Kaz Weida

@kazweida

26 Aug

In today's thread we're asking what's the cost of COVID? This is a difficult question to answer for several reasons.

Let's start at the beginning.
With straightforward healthcare costs.
Who is paying for the unvaccinated?

The short answer? All of us.
Let me explain.
(THREAD)

(2) The economic impact of the virus extends in all directions. Unemployment, loss of life, long term disability. All of these effects have costs.

A Harvard economic study published in JAMA last year estimated COVID had already cost the US 16 trillion.

jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/…

(3) Many of these costs might have been avoided early on with investment in more robust testing and other mitigation measures.

This year we have vaccines. And they are worth every penny. But the unvaccinated continue to cost us in more ways than one.

marketwatch.com/story/unvaccin…

Read 12 tweets

Kaz Weida

@kazweida

24 Aug

In today's thread we're talking about adult content. Don't get too excited, though. Because something rather insidious is happening and I'm not sure we're all fully grasping the issue.

And at the bottom of this mess is Mastercard and Visa.
Let me explain.
(THREAD)

(2) Mastercard & others quietly changed their rules for processing charges earlier this year. Adult content needs to demonstrate consent & age to process payments.

On the surface, this seems aimed at preventing abuse. But it has unintended consequences.

thehill.com/policy/technol…

(3) One consequence was OnlyFans had to ban adult & explicit content.

Many lawyers suggest that the risk of being associated with enabling sex trafficking, child pornography, and revenge porn was just to great for the banks and the sites they serve.

newsweek.com/why-visa-maste…

Read 10 tweets

Kaz Weida

@kazweida

10 Aug

In today's thread we're tackling a question everyone is asking these days. Why on earth does Louis DeJoy still have a job as postmaster?

You'd assume the Biden administration could find a way to kick him to the curb by now, but it's more complicated than it seems.
(THREAD)

(2) News that DeJoy's company just earned itself a big juicy contract from the USPS has everyone more than a little outraged.

It's clear that Republican members of the USPS board of governors seem to be milking the agency dry at the expense of taxpayers.
washingtonpost.com/business/2021/…

(3) Coupled with continued cutbacks on mail service and mounting delays, DeJoy still seems to be doing everything in his power to sink the USPS.

So why is he still in charge and what can we do about it?

npr.org/2021/08/06/102…

Read 11 tweets

Kaz Weida

@kazweida

9 Aug

I know people like to compare requiring licensing or seatbelts on roadways to requiring masks.

But those comparisons don’t convey the crux of the problem.

If you crash without your seatbelt, the person who gets hurt by your negligence is you.

Not so with masks.
(THREAD)

(2) Your refusal to wear a mask makes my mask less effective at preventing infection.

It would be like if your failure to wear a seatbelt exposed me to a greater risk of death.

I think the best metaphor for mask wearing if we want to talk motor vehicle laws is speeding.

(3) We have speed limits most places but especially in residential areas. Why?

We’ve decided slowing down prevents fatal accidents for everyone.

Your right to go the speed you want even if it’s risky is overridden by public safety.

Read 7 tweets

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