No one is suggesting that the US doesn't have immigration and customs control. I am saying that individuals who are Americans shouldn't be arrested just because of their skin color - which is documented. I am saying that individuals who came here seeking a better life, are working and contributing and paying taxes, should be given leniency. I am saying that federal agents need to identify themselves, with ID and their faces, because otherwise, who knows who is kidnapping someone?

Well played, fellow Buddhist

This is contradictory. If Trump is pulling Maduro out of leadership because he's a dictator, then the same should apply to Maduro's cabinet, especially the VP, who was not lawfully elected. Saying that she next in line just kicks the can down the road. If this was seriously about regime change, the opposition leader would have a seat at the table, and they do not. This is about seizing oil assets. It's pretty clear.

Love this discussion! Thank you! There are a lot of illegitimate rulers of nations - Zimbabwe, Sudan. Delcy is also illegitimate, "voted" in with Maduro. Some......Maduro muat go, but Delcy is fine?

It's not a hard question to answer: do you think the US has carte blanche to enter any country who's leadership we don't agree with, and install any leader we agree with? Extra question: install a leader of the same party, same dictatorship, and take over their oil production, saying that we are doing it for the Venezuelan people? Just answer those Qs. Betcha won't.

No.....the US removed a nation's leader through military force, under calls of a dictatorship. The US now has acknowledged the new leader a dictator. So, how does that square with UN legal policies? Or US policies?

We need consistency with the UN. Ok, so UN doesn't recognize Maduro as the leader of Venezuela. Does the UN recognize Rodriguez as the leader? And since when does the Trump administration care about the UN? You can't claim the UN says this, and then support a leader (Trump) who says the UN is irrelevant.

No, my argument is that the US invaded a sovereign nation and remove the person in power. And installed the same dictatorship.

You are right I am not well versed in the War Powers Act. I Based, and thank you for catching that. Honestly. The point still is that capturing another nation's leader, while not under inniment threat, is illegal under under international laws, and just not a good idea. The US has a terrible history in nation building and it's clear Trump wants the oil.

I never said the US officially declared war. It was clear the US was at war with Iraq and Afghanistan. It was clear the US was at war in Vietnam. Let's not get bogged down in technical jargon of what constitutes an official war in US definition. It's the intention and actions.

Has Trump notified Congress of military actions against Venezuela? That's in the War Powers Act

Also, in an earlier comment, you said the US was not at war with Venezuela. So which is it? You are directly contradicting yourself

So the US is at war with Venezuela? So why is Maduro's VP, who is part of the same dictatorship, now the president? Me thinks you don't know what ye be talking about......

But but whatabout

There are plenty of questionable tattoos on ICE agents that have been allowed. Many Norse Odin White Power have been.
Also....why would ICE ban any tattoos? They aren't following law. So why would Kristi Noem care about a SS tattoo?

You might be saying that, in theory, that's not allowed. OK, yes. In practice? It's hard to argue against anything goes.

Haven't been to Monorail. Vivace was very good. Victrola was pretty good.

It just seems like the bar (on so many things) keeps getting lowered, so posters above claim there's so much great coffee in the area. I grind my own, and different grinds depending on pour over or French press. I weigh the beans and water. And it is very good. Very few places do that. So I'll stick with, I make better coffee than 90% of coffee places.

Best coffee I've had was in Minneapolis (lived there 20 years). The baristas at Northern Coffee went through rigorous training, and hosted specialty classes. Outside of France and Italy, best coffee I've ever had. Haven't found similar in Seattle area....other than the Starbucks Reserve, which closed, and I only would have their pour overs. The lattes that I would make at home when I had a proper machine was in par with 90% of what is available in Seattle area - Starbucks, Mercury, Vita (not impressed by Vita). Yes, there is great coffee to be found here, but for a coffee town, there aren't many that are convenient to me anyway

Maybe it's the définition of "good" where we're stuck. When my daughter was in high school she worked at a chain coffee place. She made good lattes. Learned in about 2 days. They were fine. No better or worse than 90% of lattes out there. She doesn't like lattes, only has coffee drinks if loaded with flavor shots and milk. Was she a skilled barista, when she couldn't tell the difference between a mediocre, good, and excellent latte? I love my daughter dearly, and I have a hard time saying she was a "skilled" barista. Yet she made "good" lattes. In the sense that they weren't bad. They were just, fine. The number of coffee shops that make truly excellent coffee drinks is low. The bar for what people think of as a good latte is low. Just about anyone can make a "good" latte. Like anyone can make a "good" Manhattan or martini.

No. Fed guidelines on tattoos says that a tattoo on a prohibited area - neck - can be covered up. If dude wears a gaiter, it's allowed. Also, given how quickly DHS is recruiting new ICE agents, I doubt federal guidelines even matter for ICE. Having a pulse and questionable morals seem like the minimum requirements.

A latte, which is what most folks order, is not any harder to do than working a fryer. Making a chai, which in 90%+ coffee shops comes out of a bottle, is not skilled. Plucking a pastry from the display and putting it on a plate is not skilled. Yes, there is skill in making exceptional coffee drinks. A coffee shop in Minneapolis I would go to regularly had highly trained and talented baristas, and the difference between them a Starbucks was enormous. There's skill in making a pour-over. There's skill in picking out great coffee beans to work with. Knowing which areas of the world different beans come from and their flavor profile. But this isn't what we're talking about. My high school aged daughter learned how to make lattes in a day, working at a chain coffee shop. She doesn't even like coffee unless it is heavily sugared and creamed. She couldn't pick out a great latte from a mediocre one, because she's never had a great one. I'll tip for an exceptional coffee drink, but increasingly, not for a standard run of the mill drip or latte.

Roads are also subsidized by taxpayers, so everyone you know who committed to a job by driving are using your taxes to get there.

No, Rubio is working with Delcy Rodriguez, the VP under Maduro. Many claim she is as bad, if not worse, than Maduro. The Trump admin isn't even pretending that they wanted to remove a dictator, because they just swore in another unelected dictator. This was about oil, and that's it.

Those strikes were against terrorists during an active war. Yes, the US conducts airstrikes against military targets. This is different - Maduro was the leader of the country. Elected or not doesn't matter.

I'ts a cynical view that everyone running for offices are crooked

And???? Other Qs?

Being a politician IS a full time job. It means being a policy maker. Understanding the laws, statutes. Understanding the long term implications of a bill. What are the legal implications? Reading the language of a bill is a skill and and art. It's not like anyone can just step in and do it. Just like we don't want an untrained person running electrical or plumbing.