Where you watch news is best predictor of your position on immigration

Nothing is ever an exact correspondence, of course, but according to this survey the best predictor of how you feel about immigration is whether you watch Fox News, broadcast network news, or CNN. This correlation is even stronger than political affiliation (although obviously more Republicans watch Fox News, not all of them do. And not everyone who watches Fox News is a Republican. Some are people stuck in bars or airports.

What is perhaps surprising is that CNN watchers are most sympathetic to immigrants, rather than those who primarily watch broadcast network news.  The poll does not seem to have included MSNBC watchers, which may be more a reflection of MSNBC's rating not providing a statistically valid sample.

Yes, I'm snarky this morning.

unanticipated additional impacts of making it harder to receive federal assistance.

 Was reminded by reading this Ars Technica article that a lot of state and federal aid programs (as well as a lot of assistance programs run by private companies like pharmaceutical companies to forestall federal regulation and have a captive audience of adorable puppies to threaten when regulators come around) are linked to being on one of the 4 major federal aid programs: disability insurance, SNAP (aka food stamps), and TANF (aka Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, aka welfare), subsidized school lunch program. Most programs use these to determine eligibility because actually figuring out who is poor and needs aid is expensive and controversial and an overall pain in the butt. So why do it yourself when you can rely on the feds?

Raising the bar to kick people off these programs therefore does more than deny them the benefit of the program. It has a cascade effect for other safety net programs such as Lifeline (phone service).

Actual Data On Supposed "Free Speech Crisis" On Campus

According to a study by Georgetown University's Free Speech Project.

1. The number of incidents that could qualify as "free speech infringements" (e.g., rescinding an invitation to speak) is extremely low. From 2016-18, there were roughly 60 incidents that could qualify. There are approximately 4,500 colleges and universities in the United States.

2. The bulk of incidents directed against conservatives involved only 3 specific speakers: Anne Coulter, Ben Shapiro, and Milo Yanopolis. As the report notes, all three have a history of actively inviting protest. Indeed, the single largest number of disinvitations involved Milo Yanopolis' "Dangerous Faggot Tour."

3. Incidents against liberal/progressive speakers were widespread and significantly under-reported. 

4. An analysis of college and university disciplinary actions against faculty showed that professors were more likely to be disciplined over controversial liberal views than over controversial conservative views.