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Read the rules in the OP before posting, please.In order to ensure that this thread continues to meet TL standards and follows the proper guidelines, we will be enforcing the rules in the OP more strictly. Be sure to give them a re-read to refresh your memory! The vast majority of you are contributing in a healthy way, keep it up! NOTE: When providing a source, explain why you feel it is relevant and what purpose it adds to the discussion if it's not obvious. Also take note that unsubstantiated tweets/posts meant only to rekindle old arguments can result in a mod action. |
On March 30 2017 11:34 Nevuk wrote:
You know what Trump surrogate has really vanished into the wind? Giuliani. Pretty weird that I haven't been hearing batshit crazy things from him in the last couple of months
He jumped the shark when he admitted that the travel ban EO was a way to ban Muslims legally.
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I was watching some Kremlin propaganda, and the news channel backed by the ex-KGB thug Vladimir Putin pointed out how 'deaths of despair' were rising across white Americans. They attributed this to white people feeling crushed as they realized they could not live up to the aspirations that had been instilled upon them. Blacks and hispanics don't suffer from this because they had low expectations to begin with.
I thought it was an interesting assertion, and a little bit of googling brought me to the following article at Bloomberg. Some highlights:
‘Deaths of Despair’ Are Surging Among the White Working Class
Researchers who sounded the alarm on increasing white working-class mortality blamed the trend Thursday on economic upheaval that created a web of social issues so tightly interwoven that even successful policies would take years to unsnarl them.
Distress born of globalization and technological change probably drove the deadly outcome, new research by Princeton University’s Anne Case and Nobel Prize winner Angus Deaton shows. Their findings point to a cycle of despair that’s deepening: Middle-aged whites today are more likely to report pain and mental-health problems than their predecessors and are experiencing symptoms of alcoholism at a younger age.
Less-educated whites are unique in their plight. Mortality has continued its long-run decline for whites with bachelor’s degrees, Hispanics and blacks. In 1999, the rate for whites between 50 and 54 with only high-school degrees was 30 percent lower than the mortality rate of blacks that age. By 2015, it was 30 percent higher, a cross-over echoed across age groups.
Source
I think this is reflected in the white people that voted for Trump because they've begun to feel marginalized.
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On March 30 2017 21:42 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:Show nested quote +Pastor Jerry Morrell was not playing to his audience. “I was asked if Donald Trump is a man of God,” the evangelical preacher told the congregation of The Way of Holiness church on the outskirts of Buckhannon, West Virginia. “I said: ‘No, I don’t see him as a man of God. Or, at this point, a godly man. I think he’s a man whose heart can be touched by God. I think he may be open to that’.”
A silence fell. The cries of acclamation greeting much of the Pentecostal pastor’s sermon drained away.
“Y’all got real quiet when I said that but I have to tell it like it is,” Morrell pressed on. “I’m praying for our president. Let him have the wisdom not to say some things and not to put some things out on Twitter,” he said. “We ask you to set a guard over Mr Trump’s mouth and Twitter”.
On that, there was agreement. Eighty percent of white evangelicals backed Trump for president, but worshippers at The Way of Holiness church were not without their doubts.
“To be honest with you, I voted for Trump but if I’d had another choice I probably would not have,” said Thrayron Morgan, a grandmother from a military family attending church that day. I pointed out there was another choice: Hillary Clinton. “No! That’s not my other choice. We’ve had enough of that,” she said with a laugh. “It was very difficult for me. Very difficult. In fact it was a toss-up between not voting at all and voting for him. I really had to pray about that.”
Morgan had lots of problems with Trump but a big one was the way he spoke about women and immigrants. “I don’t think he should talk about people like that. Even the homosexuals, you hate the sin not the sinner. As a Christian, I don’t believe in treating people the way he treated some people,” she said.
Morgan’s mind was made up by the supreme court. She wants to see a court “following Godly principles” and she had little doubt that Clinton would have nominated the wrong kind of justices. “That’s important to me. On abortion number one. Same-sex marriage. Anything to do with either one of those. And I have a feeling there may be some issues come up even later that may touch on Christian principles too. I have no clue what, but you never know when something might come up that’s against my beliefs,” she said.
In parts of West Virginia, it is said there are two reasons to vote: God and coal. Both have been in retreat for years. In a state where families still pray at the restaurant dinner table, and mines were once the engine of prosperity, Trump won with the promise of revival.
But there’s a paradox. Evangelicals may doubt Trump’s commitment to God, but they calculate he will be good for their push to inject more religion into American life. On the other hand, those who voted for Trump because he promised to bring back coalmines often admire his business skills – but they do have doubts about whether he can deliver.
So far, conservative Christians have not had reason to be disappointed. Trump’s appointment of evangelicals to his cabinet – including an attorney general who advocates an end to the wall between church and state, and an education secretary who wants to “advance God’s kingdom” through public funding of religious schools – has sent the right signals. And just in case Trump veers off course, evangelicals are counting on Mike Pence, an advocate of teaching creationism alongside Darwinism, to steer the president straight. The most eye opening of this article: Show nested quote +The belief that America’s leaders have been more interested in foreign adventures than looking after those at the bottom of the pile back home runs through many West Virginia communities.
Ricky Farnsworth flies a Confederate battle flag from an improvised steel rod flagpole outside his trailer home. When I ask why he’s hoisted such a divisive symbol in a state mostly carved out of Virginia to join the Union cause, he smiles.
“I will not fly an American flag other than that one. I would rather have a Chinese flag, a Japanese flag, a Russian flag. Fuck the United States. They’re the most cruelest country there is. Letting your own people starve and sending aid overseas. Going over and killing people in other countries and then building them back up. What business did we have in Vietnam? What business did we have in Iraq?” he said.
Farnsworth used to work on oil rigs but the toll of injuries, including a lost finger, and the general wearing down of his body forced him out of a job. Now, at 59, he lives on a little more than a $1,000 a month in disability payments. Farnsworth is an unflinching if maverick Trump supporter. He denounces the rich but believes the billionaire president will Make America Great Again. He speaks of Obama as “the black guy” and said he knows for sure the former president is not American. Yet he supports Obamacare and doesn’t understand why the US can’t replicate Canada’s health system.
“Money don’t excite me. I don’t worry about it even though I don’t have it. I don’t hardly buy food because it’s too damn expensive,” he said. “I go to the diner and eat a little bit. Two beets, a half spoonful of bacon bits, a half spoonful of shredded cheese. I’ll put a little bit of coleslaw, a little bit of cottage cheese. Four peaches. I’ll eat that. I ate that yesterday. I ain’t eaten nothing since that. I won’t eat nothing today. That’s what I live on.” That and a steady supply of chewing tobacco.
Farnsworth sees Trump’s wealth as evidence that he is looking out for ordinary Americans.
“Why would he downgrade himself if he didn’t want to help the United States? His home was more valuable than the White House,” he said.
The retired oil worker regards taxes with the same scorn as much of conservative America, although his objection comes with a twist not so often heard among Republicans. Why, he asks, should the poor pay taxes when the rich don’t contribute their fair share? Yet Farnsworth doesn’t blame Trump for avoiding taxes with his business maneuverings. SourceThat is how terrorism is born and far right militias take hold.
And this is why education is so important.
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On March 30 2017 22:25 opisska wrote:
If people don't like having old representatives, they can just not vote for them, can't they? I don't think prescribing this opinion to them for their own benefit is a democratic method.
Pure democracy needs to be tempered with republican mechanisms in order to prevent abuses to the system.
Whether age limits or term limits are a good idea, I'm not so sure. But hand-waving them away by saying "just don't vote for those people" is not an adequate response. I am reminded of the fact that Octavian Augustus's 40-year-long reign practically guaranteed that Rome would be a monarchy, since by the time he died, the youth had no memory of how republicanism was supposed to work.
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It is funny(odd) how the restrictions on things like pilots are so much stricter than on politicians.
I would like to have some sort of standardized routine dementia screening given how old many politicians are.
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On March 30 2017 22:39 Kevin_Sorbo wrote:Show nested quote +On March 30 2017 21:42 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:Pastor Jerry Morrell was not playing to his audience. “I was asked if Donald Trump is a man of God,” the evangelical preacher told the congregation of The Way of Holiness church on the outskirts of Buckhannon, West Virginia. “I said: ‘No, I don’t see him as a man of God. Or, at this point, a godly man. I think he’s a man whose heart can be touched by God. I think he may be open to that’.”
A silence fell. The cries of acclamation greeting much of the Pentecostal pastor’s sermon drained away.
“Y’all got real quiet when I said that but I have to tell it like it is,” Morrell pressed on. “I’m praying for our president. Let him have the wisdom not to say some things and not to put some things out on Twitter,” he said. “We ask you to set a guard over Mr Trump’s mouth and Twitter”.
On that, there was agreement. Eighty percent of white evangelicals backed Trump for president, but worshippers at The Way of Holiness church were not without their doubts.
“To be honest with you, I voted for Trump but if I’d had another choice I probably would not have,” said Thrayron Morgan, a grandmother from a military family attending church that day. I pointed out there was another choice: Hillary Clinton. “No! That’s not my other choice. We’ve had enough of that,” she said with a laugh. “It was very difficult for me. Very difficult. In fact it was a toss-up between not voting at all and voting for him. I really had to pray about that.”
Morgan had lots of problems with Trump but a big one was the way he spoke about women and immigrants. “I don’t think he should talk about people like that. Even the homosexuals, you hate the sin not the sinner. As a Christian, I don’t believe in treating people the way he treated some people,” she said.
Morgan’s mind was made up by the supreme court. She wants to see a court “following Godly principles” and she had little doubt that Clinton would have nominated the wrong kind of justices. “That’s important to me. On abortion number one. Same-sex marriage. Anything to do with either one of those. And I have a feeling there may be some issues come up even later that may touch on Christian principles too. I have no clue what, but you never know when something might come up that’s against my beliefs,” she said.
In parts of West Virginia, it is said there are two reasons to vote: God and coal. Both have been in retreat for years. In a state where families still pray at the restaurant dinner table, and mines were once the engine of prosperity, Trump won with the promise of revival.
But there’s a paradox. Evangelicals may doubt Trump’s commitment to God, but they calculate he will be good for their push to inject more religion into American life. On the other hand, those who voted for Trump because he promised to bring back coalmines often admire his business skills – but they do have doubts about whether he can deliver.
So far, conservative Christians have not had reason to be disappointed. Trump’s appointment of evangelicals to his cabinet – including an attorney general who advocates an end to the wall between church and state, and an education secretary who wants to “advance God’s kingdom” through public funding of religious schools – has sent the right signals. And just in case Trump veers off course, evangelicals are counting on Mike Pence, an advocate of teaching creationism alongside Darwinism, to steer the president straight. The most eye opening of this article: The belief that America’s leaders have been more interested in foreign adventures than looking after those at the bottom of the pile back home runs through many West Virginia communities.
Ricky Farnsworth flies a Confederate battle flag from an improvised steel rod flagpole outside his trailer home. When I ask why he’s hoisted such a divisive symbol in a state mostly carved out of Virginia to join the Union cause, he smiles.
“I will not fly an American flag other than that one. I would rather have a Chinese flag, a Japanese flag, a Russian flag. Fuck the United States. They’re the most cruelest country there is. Letting your own people starve and sending aid overseas. Going over and killing people in other countries and then building them back up. What business did we have in Vietnam? What business did we have in Iraq?” he said.
Farnsworth used to work on oil rigs but the toll of injuries, including a lost finger, and the general wearing down of his body forced him out of a job. Now, at 59, he lives on a little more than a $1,000 a month in disability payments. Farnsworth is an unflinching if maverick Trump supporter. He denounces the rich but believes the billionaire president will Make America Great Again. He speaks of Obama as “the black guy” and said he knows for sure the former president is not American. Yet he supports Obamacare and doesn’t understand why the US can’t replicate Canada’s health system.
“Money don’t excite me. I don’t worry about it even though I don’t have it. I don’t hardly buy food because it’s too damn expensive,” he said. “I go to the diner and eat a little bit. Two beets, a half spoonful of bacon bits, a half spoonful of shredded cheese. I’ll put a little bit of coleslaw, a little bit of cottage cheese. Four peaches. I’ll eat that. I ate that yesterday. I ain’t eaten nothing since that. I won’t eat nothing today. That’s what I live on.” That and a steady supply of chewing tobacco.
Farnsworth sees Trump’s wealth as evidence that he is looking out for ordinary Americans.
“Why would he downgrade himself if he didn’t want to help the United States? His home was more valuable than the White House,” he said.
The retired oil worker regards taxes with the same scorn as much of conservative America, although his objection comes with a twist not so often heard among Republicans. Why, he asks, should the poor pay taxes when the rich don’t contribute their fair share? Yet Farnsworth doesn’t blame Trump for avoiding taxes with his business maneuverings. SourceThat is how terrorism is born and far right militias take hold. And this is why education is so important.
I threw up in my mouth a little reading the excerpt. Where do we start as society in educating people? How can we get past this layer of ignorance? We'll never reach Type 1 civilization at this rate.
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On March 30 2017 22:49 zlefin wrote:
It is funny(odd) how the restrictions on things like pilots are so much stricter than on politicians.
I would like to have some sort of standardized routine dementia screening given how old many politicians are.
Something about how pilots are responsible for a lot of lives. Hell, architects have to take out insurance if a building they designed goes down. Or there's a defect large enough to warrant a lawsuit.
Here's another thing. All of those professions(architect, lawyer, doctor, etc) can be barred from practicing ever again by the representative governing agency. Politicians don't have that fear hanging over them.
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On March 30 2017 22:49 zlefin wrote:
It is funny(odd) how the restrictions on things like pilots are so much stricter than on politicians.
I would like to have some sort of standardized routine dementia screening given how old many politicians are.
I know this is tongue in cheek, but this is a really slippery slope. The election system needs to be as straightforward as possible with as little points of influence by any government institution as possible. Because simplicity is the only "default", anything else can easily lead to manipulation by those that happen to be in power - once people start setting up conditions, the system will only go to less fair (see gerrymondering for a great US example). Naively, it would be cool to have competency tests for politicians, the only problem is the insurmountable lack of an independent body to conduct those. It's really the same story about how the best system would be enlightened monarchy, if only it was possible to reliably obtain an enlightened monarch, which isn't, so we are stuck with democracy.
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On March 30 2017 08:47 Karis Vas Ryaar wrote:remember when athletic sex scandals got everybody mad? Show nested quote +USA Gymnastics, the national governing body for the Olympic sport, was a no-show Tuesday at a Congressional hearing into its handling of sexual abuse allegations — drawing a sharp rebuke from one lawmaker.
"I'm deeply disappointed they've sent a statement but no witness to question," Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said.
"If they really cared, they would be here," he added. "They have to answer for what happened here."
USA Gymnastics told NBC News that officials did not appear at the hearing because of pending lawsuits spawned by the sex-abuse scandal surrounding former Olympics doctor Larry Nassar.
"The health and well-being of our athletes of all skill levels and ages is of the highest priority," the organization said in response to Blumenthal's comments.
"We believe one instance of child abuse — whether at a school, church or gym — is one too many, and we are angered when any child has been harmed during his or her athletic career."
USA Gymnastics said it endorses the legislation that was the subject of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing — a bill sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., that would require all Olympic sports bodies to immediately report accusations of abuse to police.
While USA Gymnastics bowed out, the committee did hear from a trio of elite gymnasts who say they were abused and that a mandatory-reporting law would prevent other young athletes from being preyed upon.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/usa-gymnastics-blasted-skipping-senate-hearing-sex-abuse-n739506
Let's get back to the issues that matter.
Michael Irvin is being investigated for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman at a Ft. Lauderdale hotel ... something he vigorously denies.
Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Sports, a 27-year-old Florida woman filed a police report, claiming she and the NFL Hall of Famer were out at a bar in the early hours of March 21 when they went back to the W hotel, where Michael was staying.
The woman says they were in Michael's room when she began to feel sick. She says the last thing she remembers is fighting him off. She says when she woke up he was about to check out, leaving her behind. She took an Uber home and called 911 at 7:30 AM.
She told cops she feared she was drugged and raped. She was advised to go to a medical lab for a swab and a blood test, which she did.
...
He says the woman -- a cosmetologist -- texted him a day later saying, "Come for a facial when you get back to Ft. Lauderdale."
TMZ
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On March 30 2017 22:51 ZerOCoolSC2 wrote:Show nested quote +On March 30 2017 22:39 Kevin_Sorbo wrote:On March 30 2017 21:42 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:Pastor Jerry Morrell was not playing to his audience. “I was asked if Donald Trump is a man of God,” the evangelical preacher told the congregation of The Way of Holiness church on the outskirts of Buckhannon, West Virginia. “I said: ‘No, I don’t see him as a man of God. Or, at this point, a godly man. I think he’s a man whose heart can be touched by God. I think he may be open to that’.”
A silence fell. The cries of acclamation greeting much of the Pentecostal pastor’s sermon drained away.
“Y’all got real quiet when I said that but I have to tell it like it is,” Morrell pressed on. “I’m praying for our president. Let him have the wisdom not to say some things and not to put some things out on Twitter,” he said. “We ask you to set a guard over Mr Trump’s mouth and Twitter”.
On that, there was agreement. Eighty percent of white evangelicals backed Trump for president, but worshippers at The Way of Holiness church were not without their doubts.
“To be honest with you, I voted for Trump but if I’d had another choice I probably would not have,” said Thrayron Morgan, a grandmother from a military family attending church that day. I pointed out there was another choice: Hillary Clinton. “No! That’s not my other choice. We’ve had enough of that,” she said with a laugh. “It was very difficult for me. Very difficult. In fact it was a toss-up between not voting at all and voting for him. I really had to pray about that.”
Morgan had lots of problems with Trump but a big one was the way he spoke about women and immigrants. “I don’t think he should talk about people like that. Even the homosexuals, you hate the sin not the sinner. As a Christian, I don’t believe in treating people the way he treated some people,” she said.
Morgan’s mind was made up by the supreme court. She wants to see a court “following Godly principles” and she had little doubt that Clinton would have nominated the wrong kind of justices. “That’s important to me. On abortion number one. Same-sex marriage. Anything to do with either one of those. And I have a feeling there may be some issues come up even later that may touch on Christian principles too. I have no clue what, but you never know when something might come up that’s against my beliefs,” she said.
In parts of West Virginia, it is said there are two reasons to vote: God and coal. Both have been in retreat for years. In a state where families still pray at the restaurant dinner table, and mines were once the engine of prosperity, Trump won with the promise of revival.
But there’s a paradox. Evangelicals may doubt Trump’s commitment to God, but they calculate he will be good for their push to inject more religion into American life. On the other hand, those who voted for Trump because he promised to bring back coalmines often admire his business skills – but they do have doubts about whether he can deliver.
So far, conservative Christians have not had reason to be disappointed. Trump’s appointment of evangelicals to his cabinet – including an attorney general who advocates an end to the wall between church and state, and an education secretary who wants to “advance God’s kingdom” through public funding of religious schools – has sent the right signals. And just in case Trump veers off course, evangelicals are counting on Mike Pence, an advocate of teaching creationism alongside Darwinism, to steer the president straight. The most eye opening of this article: The belief that America’s leaders have been more interested in foreign adventures than looking after those at the bottom of the pile back home runs through many West Virginia communities.
Ricky Farnsworth flies a Confederate battle flag from an improvised steel rod flagpole outside his trailer home. When I ask why he’s hoisted such a divisive symbol in a state mostly carved out of Virginia to join the Union cause, he smiles.
“I will not fly an American flag other than that one. I would rather have a Chinese flag, a Japanese flag, a Russian flag. Fuck the United States. They’re the most cruelest country there is. Letting your own people starve and sending aid overseas. Going over and killing people in other countries and then building them back up. What business did we have in Vietnam? What business did we have in Iraq?” he said.
Farnsworth used to work on oil rigs but the toll of injuries, including a lost finger, and the general wearing down of his body forced him out of a job. Now, at 59, he lives on a little more than a $1,000 a month in disability payments. Farnsworth is an unflinching if maverick Trump supporter. He denounces the rich but believes the billionaire president will Make America Great Again. He speaks of Obama as “the black guy” and said he knows for sure the former president is not American. Yet he supports Obamacare and doesn’t understand why the US can’t replicate Canada’s health system.
“Money don’t excite me. I don’t worry about it even though I don’t have it. I don’t hardly buy food because it’s too damn expensive,” he said. “I go to the diner and eat a little bit. Two beets, a half spoonful of bacon bits, a half spoonful of shredded cheese. I’ll put a little bit of coleslaw, a little bit of cottage cheese. Four peaches. I’ll eat that. I ate that yesterday. I ain’t eaten nothing since that. I won’t eat nothing today. That’s what I live on.” That and a steady supply of chewing tobacco.
Farnsworth sees Trump’s wealth as evidence that he is looking out for ordinary Americans.
“Why would he downgrade himself if he didn’t want to help the United States? His home was more valuable than the White House,” he said.
The retired oil worker regards taxes with the same scorn as much of conservative America, although his objection comes with a twist not so often heard among Republicans. Why, he asks, should the poor pay taxes when the rich don’t contribute their fair share? Yet Farnsworth doesn’t blame Trump for avoiding taxes with his business maneuverings. SourceThat is how terrorism is born and far right militias take hold. And this is why education is so important. I threw up in my mouth a little reading the excerpt. Where do we start as society in educating people? How can we get past this layer of ignorance? We'll never reach Type 1 civilization at this rate.
It's amazing that on some issues he's preposterously ill educated (believing the CSA didn't find a war to own black people, Obama wasn't American, Trump isn't a con man) but even he knows that a single-payer health system is a great idea. rofl.
Oh, hey, his name is Farnsworth. Good news, everyone!
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On March 30 2017 21:32 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:Show nested quote +(CNN)Sen. John McCain said Wednesday he will do whatever it takes to make sure that military spending is increased in the next spending bill even if that means shutting down the government.
The Arizona Republican told CNN he wouldn't vote for a continuing resolution, a funding bill that maintains the previous spending levels. When asked how far he would go, McCain said he only had one vote, but that he wouldn't rule out a shutdown.
"If that's the only option. I will not vote for a CR no matter what the consequences because passing a CR destroys the ability of the military to defend this nation, and it puts the lives of the men and women in the military at risk," McCain said.
"I can't do that to them."
McCain's comments come as leaders are making a serious effort to negotiate the remaining appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2017 that would likely include some of the new military spending that McCain is pushing for.
Congressional leaders are up against a tight deadline. After last week's failure to pass the health care bill out of the House, there are questions about how much leaders can get passed even if their goal remains to finish appropriations bills instead of passing a continuing resolution. Congress has to come to an agreement before the government runs out of money April 28.
Raising the stakes? Congress is on recess for two weeks in mid-April.
McCain has long been an advocate for increased military spending and has voted for continuing resolutions in the past, but this time, McCain says he just won't do it and that the military would be set back by another CR.
"I will not vote for a CR. I don't care what's in it," he said.
McCain's comments may put pressure on leaders to see that some rank-and-file members are serious. They won't accept just another, last minute continuing resolution. If that's the only option, there could be a shutdown ahead. Source
Pretty sure a shutdown when Republicans control the government would be the ultimate embarrassment for the party.
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United Kingdom13775 Posts
On March 30 2017 20:54 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:
Why is this woman giving interviews or even appearing in public?
Everytime she speaks the GOP gets a political ad out of it.
She did nothing wrong; her resignation was just taking one for the team.
Yes, the Democratic Party apparatus is stupid enough to think that people buy that. Trump winning would not dissuade them.
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it's just another tire in the fire at this point?
though i don't see a shutdown being much of a condemnation of the party. i admire how this huge divide in the party is actually inspiring some politicking. best thing that's happened in this administration imo.
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"Trump vows to fight hard-line conservatives in midterm elections" (Link)
‘The budget from hell’ and raising the debt ceiling: Republicans are not ready for this (Link)
Summary: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin knows that it would be a catastrophe if the debt ceiling were not raised. But OMB Director Mick Mulvaney thinks it's no big deal. (Trump once spoke casually about defaulting on the US's debts, but it's unclear if he still thinks it's no big deal.)
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On March 30 2017 22:20 LightSpectra wrote:
Someone needs to represent the seniors, so I wouldn't say an unconditional age limit is a good idea.
Maybe certain Congressional committees or Cabinet posts should have age limits though, particularly technological ones (e.g. the director of the NSA) or ones that are subject to changes in societal values (e.g. the drug czar).
Fair point, I do think that there needs to be better control over how the committee posts are assigned. There are far too many people with little to no knowledge of the committee they are supposed to be presiding over, but I also don't want it to be a place where someone who has good ideas is shut out from getting the opportunity simply because they aren't a proven expert... its a tricky situation.
For those not aware of the current rules on committee member appointment see below from wiki
+ Show Spoiler +
Standing committees
Standing committees are established at the time that the rules of the House are adopted or by amending the House Rules. The jurisdiction of each standing committee is specified in the House Rules. Under the House Rules the chairman and members of standing committees are selected through a two-step procedure where the Democratic Caucus and the Republican Conference recommends members to serve on Committees, the majority party recommends a Chairman, and the Minority Party recommends a Ranking Member and finally the full House can approve the recommendation of the Party Caucuses. It is important to note that the Rules of the Democratic Caucus and the Republican Conference determines the nomination procedure of its own members. Rules of party nominations may therefore differ but approval by the House of these nominations is conducted according to House Rules. Seniority on a Standing Committee is based on the order of the members on the election resolution as approved by the House. The number of members who serve on a committee along with the party ratio of a committee is determined by the Majority and Minority Leaders of the House with the exception of the Committee on Ethics which is limited by the Rules to 5 majority members and 5 minority members.
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Politicians and appointees not understanding the things they're in charge of is a problem that's faced basically every society since the birth of the state. There's no real solution for that beyond outrage and protests for the particularly bad ones. The last time I remember any particularly fierce backlash in the USA over unqualified appointees was the head of FEMA during Hurricane Katrina.
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On March 30 2017 23:32 LightSpectra wrote:
Politicians and appointees not understanding the things they're in charge of is a problem that's faced basically every society since the birth of the state. There's no real solution for that beyond outrage and protests for the particularly bad ones. The last time I remember any particularly fierce backlash in the USA over unqualified appointees was the head of FEMA during Hurricane Katrina.
Right, but what can we do about it? Do we just say "that's just the way it is" and leave the status quo?
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On March 30 2017 23:32 LightSpectra wrote:
Politicians and appointees not understanding the things they're in charge of is a problem that's faced basically every society since the birth of the state. There's no real solution for that beyond outrage and protests for the particularly bad ones. The last time I remember any particularly fierce backlash in the USA over unqualified appointees was the head of FEMA during Hurricane Katrina.
No, there is a real solution - clear separation of political responsibility from technical one. That's why the EU mandates clear procedures for selection of important government officials for its member states via the common law. In short, politicians now can't anymore appoint people to posts of certain importance and higher in various departements and institutions at will, those people have to reach those posts via a gradual career system with certifications and qualifications. The whole institution can then be led by a politician minister or overseen by a parliamentary committee, but competence is assured by the "bureaucrats" below. This system exists for a long time in the UK for example (that's what's mocked so often in Yes, minister) and has its issues, but it also solves a lot of issues.
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United States42772 Posts
We could see some interesting changes in tax policy at least. Ryan's border tax adjustment is probably unworkable and I doubt he has the clout to push it through but significant corporate tax rates changes are entirely possible. The US has the highest corporate tax rate of any comparable country for profits recognized in the US but very favourable tax rates for the individual stockholders who then reap the profits. Corporations pay 35% on their profits but individuals generally pay long term capital gains (0% for most people, 15% for some people, 20% for Warren Buffett) when those profits are passed on to them. This makes corporations unwilling to recognize profits and want to defer them offshore. Most other countries use the inverse system, letting corporations pay low taxes on their profits and then chasing up the individuals who the profits are passed to because it's much easier to get taxes from people than companies and people generally want the companies they own to pass the money on to them.
If we see lower corporate rates but also an end to preferential treatment of LTCG that would be a huge improvement in the way taxes are collected in the US. But it's entirely possible that they may just pull a one time repatriation stunt, giving the corporations that have delayed recognizing profits in the US a tax holiday to reward them for their recalcitrance.
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EPT
