coming to the US for 20/20 elections

[Vincent]

I have decided to come to the US for the 20/20 elections,I figure it will be a really interesting time to be over there,and there will be a lot of political activity.
I'm posting this for 2 reasons.
one is to chat to other political heads and
2 is advice on what i should do before entering the US,in terms of FB and political activity here.Ive had 2 friends put back on planes and returned to Sydney,but I think that was due to possible overstay.
It would be cool to meet folks in the community,but maybe that should be posted in a social forum.?

[kittygrrl]

— when it comes on any political discussion on FB, keep it light and positive when discussing U.S. Just in case the government checks. And it wouldn't surprise me if they did.

[Vincent]

Originally Posted by kittygrrl

— when it comes on any political discussion on FB, keep it light and positive when discussing U.S. Just in case the government checks. And it wouldn't surprise me if they did.

I wont be bringing in any devices,no phone or computer,and i will email a friend all contacts so i have no names on me.

[homoe]

Originally Posted by Vincent

I have decided to come to the US for the 20/20 elections,I figure it will be a really interesting time to be over there,and there will be a lot of political activity.
I'm posting this for 2 reasons.
one is to chat to other political heads and
2 is advice on what i should do before entering the US,in terms of FB and political activity here.Ive had 2 friends put back on planes and returned to Sydney,but I think that was due to possible overstay.
It would be cool to meet folks in the community,but maybe that should be posted in a social forum.?

Yes, it should be interesting indeed! Not only a Presidential Election BUT many Republican Senators are up for re-election as well!

Six Republican Senators yesterday broke with party lines and voted to back the Democratic proposal that would have reopened the government. Several of these are up for re-election! I would like to think the main reason for their change of heart was them finally listening to their constituents instead of them being worried about saving their own skin come election time but I just can't!

Susan Collins I think your breaking party lines for the vote is going to do very little to benefit your re-election bid and in the end altogether! Voters have a long memory and I think they'll remember how you held steadfast in
your vote to confirm Kavanaugh! I think as time gets closer to elections, you're going to see more and more Republicans distance themselves from the current Administration but sadly to say ONLY because they are trying to save their political careers!

[Vincent]

Originally Posted by kittygrrl

— when it comes on any political discussion on FB, keep it light and positive when discussing U.S. Just in case the government checks. And it wouldn't surprise me if they did.

Yes,Ive had friends put on planes back to OZ

I'm not sure it's such a good idea,being trans and getting arrested in the US,is actually very scary,maybe If I was my younger self,but I'm headin to 60 soon.........................far out when did that happen? And even scarier where was I for all those years
Plus Nov is cold brrrrrrrr
Anyway we shall seee

[Vincent]

Originally Posted by homoe

Yes, it should be interesting indeed! Not only a Presidential Election BUT many Republican Senators are up for re-election as well!

Six Republican Senators yesterday broke with party lines and voted to back the Democratic proposal that would have reopened the government. Several of these are up for re-election! I would like to think the main reason for their change of heart was them finally listening to their constituents instead of them being worried about saving their own skin come election time but I just can't!

Susan Collins I think your breaking party lines for the vote is going to do very little to benefit your re-election bid and in the end altogether! Voters have a long memory and I think they'll remember how you held steadfast in
your vote to confirm Kavanaugh! I think as time gets closer to elections, you're going to see more and more Republicans distance themselves from the current Administration but sadly to say ONLY because they are trying to save their political careers!

We have elections here in May,I dont know If I can survive another racist election,its been 20 yrs of nutty conservatives,and quite frankly our oppisition could be an opposition,if they only opposed anything,instead of the politics of "me too"

[C0LLETTE]

Originally Posted by Vincent

We have elections here in May,I dont know If I can survive another racist election,its been 20 yrs of nutty conservatives,and quite frankly our oppisition could be an opposition,if they only opposed anything,instead of the politics of "me too"

Maybe we should all just come to Tweed Heads and help out with your elections in May. Your coast is gorgeous; Aussies are an interesting lot ( yes, somewhat racist, sexist, and homophobic but friendly enough if you find the right crowd ); the beer is very good; and it's not that far from New Zealand.

I have a wee Aussie grandson near Bondi so I do have a serious interest in the future of Australia.

Be happy to help out.

[Vincent]

Originally Posted by C0LLETTE

Maybe we should all just come to Tweed Heads and help out with your elections in May. Your coast is gorgeous; Aussies are an interesting lot ( yes, somewhat racist, sexist, and homophobic but friendly enough if you find the right crowd ); the beer is very good; and it's not that far from New Zealand.

I have a wee Aussie grandson near Bondi so I do have a serious interest in the future of Australia.

Be happy to help out.

Well if you ever come over,your quite welcome to come to the Tweed,Ive only been up here a short time from Sydney,so its a culture shock,VERY white.
But yes its a beautiful area,and still fairly unravaged by the hunt for fossil fuels.

Yes scratch the surface and racisim will pop out,beginning with I'm not racist but,and a lot of traumatic old white men fearing they can't be fuckwits anymore,but this seems to be all over the world.

I could go on and on, how stupid our happy clapper PM is,trying to be Trump,and failing at that,so you get my gist of what an idjit he is.!!!!!!

Well we are fighting so your grandson will have a planet for his future,and the effects of climate change has really hit home here,and is seriously on the Menu as an election issue.

crazy Ive not been to NZ

[C0LLETTE]

Keep up the good fight. He's only 2 with a long way to go.

I'm Canadian and, much as I admire Australia, I've never forgiven my daughter for marrying an Aussie and moving there.

[cathexis]

Originally Posted by kittygrrl

— when it comes on any political discussion on FB, keep it light and positive when discussing U.S. Just in case the government checks. And it wouldn't surprise me if they did.

Why bother, the FBI keeps files on anyone suspected of non-mainstream political actions. I regularly log on Granma, the Cuban Government newspaper which provides a translated English version daily. After reading a letter to the American People by President Meduro from Venezuela, tried logging on a link to a Cuban government site to express solidarity, this message I had never seen before that it was only blocked but "FORBIDDEN." Sure that went straight to my file which already spans 5 decades of leftist political activity.

When the Freedom of Information Act was passed in the late 1970s, You could order your own heavily redacted FBI file.

[C0LLETTE]

So, if I thank you for a post, will the FBI open a file on me?

I'd hate to think that some poor FBI agent is dragging around a Banker's Box full of "thank" references made by a nice, old, healthcare-card-carrying Canadian woman.

[Vincent]

Originally Posted by cathexis

Why bother, the FBI keeps files on anyone suspected of non-mainstream political actions. I regularly log on Granma, the Cuban Government newspaper which provides a translated English version daily. After reading a letter to the American People by President Meduro from Venezuela, tried logging on a link to a Cuban government site to express solidarity, this message I had never seen before that it was only blocked but "FORBIDDEN." Sure that went straight to my file which already spans 5 decades of leftist political activity.

When the Freedom of Information Act was passed in the late 1970s, You could order your own heavily redacted FBI file.

I'm not surprised RE Cuba ,Venezuela given the coup the US is trying to impose in Venezuela.
I did go to the UK in the mid 90's and had trouble entering the country,in the form of filling out papers of my movements,we had a round the world ticket,flying in and out of England
My GF just walked through customs,but I kept getting pulled up,in the end I got jack of it and asked the guy why was I being stopped,his response was,"I dont know what you did,but they stamped your passport in a way that,they wanna know where your staying all the time"
I ended up thinking they must know I had been a supporter of the IRA and that was before the internet.
In the US,they seem to think I'm an international drug dealer,LOL.I have NO idea why!!!!!!!

[cathexis]

Yeah Vincent, it may well have been the IRA support.
By the time I was tagged as an IRA sympathizer, college major had been Marxist Studies, went to Greensboro rally in which many different factions of The Fourth International had marched (not speaking one another as usual) lol. There were people who bussed in from all over the US. Feds were on top of buildings snapping pictures and with automatics trained on the protest. Tension was palpable, and violence anticipated.

Political activity could be traced back to the Right to Choose Movement and failed ERA work in '76. I started young with a mom, who was Republican, volunteered with League of Women Voters, born in the year women got the vote, who taught about the importance of being active. She was disapproving of the direction it went, but was happy to see the activity before even old enough to vote.

Point of this story, that your IRA online support is probably a minor footnote buried in some agent's paper files. They are probably not tracking me as much anymore either. They've got bigger fish to fry now who are not just supporting revolutionary work that could be justified as First Amendment rights in the US Constitution. It was a while back, right? Defeat was back in the '80s...now just Sinn Fein. Though, I read that there's discontent brewing again.

[Vincent]

Yeah,more than likely,I joined The Communist part at 19 "1979"

I had no worries getting into the US the last time

But now is a very different political climate,although I now have white male privaledge.

wow you have had a really interesting path,I met a lot of activists,in SF when I was over there,they were about 10 yrs my senior,awesome stories of unionisim and activisim.
I met them at a private BDSM party during pride,but I must say all i was interested in, was these amazing political stories,and histories