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NEVERENDING ♾️ The NEVERENDING Political Discussion Thread

michaelskis said:
Ok. this is getting stupid. I read over a few reports on the health care law that would 'replace' Obamacare and it is as bad as Obamacare but in different ways.

That with the proposed cuts to HUD and everything else, once again I think that the Federal Government is failing the American people. It does not matter who is in office, who runs congress, or the letter behind their name. Best government is local government... and it goes downhill from there.
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We are more alike then you think, Michael!

anarchy-lead.jpg
 
Rex Tillerson is now saying that military action against N. Korea is on the table. If we do something, do you think it would spiral into WWIII?
 
michaelskis said:
Rex Tillerson is now saying that military action against N. Korea is on the table. If we do something, do you think it would spiral into WWIII?
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I think the Chinese would protest and maybe put up a nominal fight but I don't think they are nearly as vested in North Korea's protection as North Korea thinks they are. They may be one of their few remaining communist allies left in that part of the world, but China has moved much more towards a free market than North Korea has and I would imagine that they wish the Koreans had moved along with them. These days, I think China would be more concerned about the possible humanitarian crisis or a steady stream of Korean refugees streaming across their border in the event of a military campaign. A better possible solution in that part of the world would be to get China to lean on North Korea to open up their markets and to allow western observers into the country on a regular basis. That would probably do more to improve the lives of the North Koreans and to ease tensions than any military action would.
 
michaelskis said:
Rex Tillerson is now saying that military action against N. Korea is on the table. If we do something, do you think it would spiral into WWIII?
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I don't think so. I don't think China is really a fan of North Korea and is pretty tired of the hermit kingdom constantly putting them on edge. If anything, I think China would reach out to us and basically say "hold off and we'll stage a coup" in order to stabilize the peninsula. Of course, that presumes anything resembling a communicative diplomatic relationship with China.

Honestly, I'm surprised China hasn't already done this.
 
What a crappy budget proposal. I think I'm most mad at the fact that this thing clearly took the Trump Administration about 10 whole minutes to draw up. "Hey let's add X amount of dollars to the military budget! Let's just take that X amount of out random programs, the SOCIALIST ones!!". No thought to it beyond that. Idiots. I don't envy the next President, because the clean up work is going to take the better part of their first term. :not:
 
Yeah....

Our oil minister seems to be setting things up nicely for a war....a terrible president could benefit from a good old fashion war.....SAD!
 
FBI Director:
No information to support Trump wiretap claim
Russia wanted to hurt US and Clinton, Help Trump





NOW what do you think will come of this? My take is a lot of words but ultimately no punitive action at all. But damn it if this had been half of anything close and it was Obama, FauxNews and the Rs would had been on this like a fly on sh!t. :-o:-{:-@:-x
 
Planit said:
NOW what do you think will come of this? My take is a lot of words but ultimately no punitive action at all. But damn it if this had been half of anything close and it was Obama, FauxNews and the Rs would had been on this like a fly on sh!t. :-o:-{:-@:-x
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This is probably the best analysis of the hearing that I've read so far. From this, it sounds like if anything, some of Trump's closest advisers could potentially have charges pending against them, but the best guess is that Trump himself will avoid any sort of charges.

https://www.lawfareblog.com/how-read-what-comey-said-today
 
The Rs broke almost every rule to block Merrick Garland, yet now they're outraged that anyone would challenge their precious nominee.

I mean come on. This continues to be one big ole crybaby party.
 
Planit said:
The Rs broke almost every rule to block Merrick Garland, yet now they're outraged that anyone would challenge their precious nominee.

I mean come on. This continues to be one big ole crybaby party.
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I am not questioning if they broke the rules, but I am curious as to which rules they broke. As a personal note, I am let down by his abortion answer...
 
Compilation of Sean Spicer's Press Briefings

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfAeMtcURg0







Rules for holding a hearing on a presidential nominations; constitutional respect of duties and the oath of office.
Mskis, the point of the post was not the rule section, but more to the oversized umbrage the present legislative and executive branches vomit with blatant disregard.
 
Planit said:
Rules for holding a hearing on a presidential nominations; constitutional respect of duties and the oath of office.
Mskis, the point of the post was not the rule section, but more to the oversized umbrage the present legislative and executive branches vomit with blatant disregard.
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I was just curious as to the severity of it being that both sides only apply particular rules when it helps them and disregards others when they are trying to push their party's agenda. I have not been following along with a lot of this and just waiting for the moment when the impeachment proceedings begin.
 
Any predictions on the outcome of the Health Care Act? I'm thinking it doesn't get approved. But with all the last minute wheeling and dealing, who really knows.
 
I think Trump, Pence, McConnell & Ryan suffer their first major legislative defeat. I don't think they can amend it enough to put the act over the top without alienating other critical votes. It would be tremendously risky for them to push an 11th hour unvetted amendment.
 
Suburb Repairman said:
I think Trump, Pence, McConnell & Ryan suffer their first major legislative defeat. I don't think they can amend it enough to put the act over the top without alienating other critical votes. It would be tremendously risky for them to push an 11th hour unvetted amendment.
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This is really complicated.
 
Suburb Repairman said:
I think Trump, Pence, McConnell & Ryan suffer their first major legislative defeat. I don't think they can amend it enough to put the act over the top without alienating other critical votes. It would be tremendously risky for them to push an 11th hour unvetted amendment.
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That's what they were saying on NPR. Any concessions made will alienate some other group of supporters.
 
Suburb Repairman said:
I think Trump, Pence, McConnell & Ryan suffer their first major legislative defeat. I don't think they can amend it enough to put the act over the top without alienating other critical votes. It would be tremendously risky for them to push an 11th hour unvetted amendment.
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It's not just that, but if the mid term GOP senators get any sense that the bill isn't well liked by their constituents they won't pull the trigger on it either for fear of losing votes. This single bill could topple the entire power structure the GOP holds in the House too because all 435 seats are open for re-election.
 
APA Statement on FY 2018 Federal Budget Proposal

https://www.planning.org/policy/statements/2017/mar16/



The federal budget proposal released today utterly fails to meet the needs of the nation's communities. If the proposed cuts to essential community development, housing, and transportation programs are enacted, communities across the nation would face serious threats to economic growth and prosperity. At a time when cities and towns face significant challenges to infrastructure investment, affordable housing, and economic development, the elimination of critical and proven federal programs is damaging and unacceptable . . .
 
Suburb Repairman said:
I think Trump, Pence, McConnell & Ryan suffer their first major legislative defeat. I don't think they can amend it enough to put the act over the top without alienating other critical votes. It would be tremendously risky for them to push an 11th hour unvetted amendment.
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The problem with the bill is that it does not do what the GOP said it would do and does not address any of the issues with the system.
 
michaelskis said:
The problem with the bill is that it does not do what the GOP said it would do and does not address any of the issues with the system.
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To be honest, I don't think it's possible for them to accomplish what they said they would. The way I see it, if they remove any of the coverage options the Freedom Caucus discussed (mental health, drug rehab, primary care, hospitalization, prescriptions, maternity care, etc.), then it's basically removing the effectiveness of the insurance coverage. You'd be going back to a catastrophic care policy, which really wouldn't help most lower middle class/lower income people that don't qualify for Medicaid, and we'd be back at people using the ER instead of utilizing preventative care.

I'd still be interested in pursuing these primary care memberships that would then be subsidized with a catastrophic care policy, but that's nowhere close to being a nationwide option, and would also likely still be problematic in a lot of rural areas.
 
Health care bill is dead on the House floor.

Ironically, this would have been the result of the bill for many Americans...dead on the house floor.
 
AG74683 said:
Health care bill is dead on the House floor.

Ironically, this would have been the result of the bill for many Americans...dead on the house floor.
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Oh come on. Hyperbole much? Health care (well more accurately health care insurance and costs) is a shit sandwich in this country. And it doesn't matter what party is in charge, only the kind of bread changes.
 
MD Planner said:
Oh come on. Hyperbole much? Health care (well more accurately health care insurance and costs) is a shit sandwich in this country. And it doesn't matter what party is in charge, only the kind of bread changes.
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Just a joke. Shamelessly ripped off from Conan.
 
I'm celebrating the Trump/Ryan failure. My only question: is there some obscure parliamentary procedure that could return this smoking turd to the House floor?
 
So does anyone think that we will get real tax reform or some special interest nonsense that will only make things worse?

As I said before, I would like to see tax rates lowered and total elimination of deductions. You make x then you pay y. It can be that simple.
 
michaelskis said:
So does anyone think that we will get real tax reform or some special interest nonsense that will only make things worse?

As I said before, I would like to see tax rates lowered and total elimination of deductions. You make x then you pay y. It can be that simple.
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I don't think we'll get a flat tax. And we MIGHT get "real" tax reform that comes at the expense of cutting pretty much any federal program that doesn't directly benefit corporate interests. But I'm hedging my bets that anything they try to get passed will not benefit the average working folk like us.
 
michaelskis said:
So does anyone think that we will get real tax reform or some special interest nonsense that will only make things worse?

As I said before, I would like to see tax rates lowered and total elimination of deductions. You make x then you pay y. It can be that simple.
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Based on the clusterf*ck that was the AHCA bill, I wouldn't be surprised if a big tax reform also sees the same fate and never gets a vote. If they continue to try to push bills through without trying to get any Democratic input or buy-in, Trump and Ryan are going to have a long few years of nothing getting accomplished. Trump and Ryan both burned through a lot of political capital trying to heat this turd of a bill.
 
Based on the last bill I'm expecting tax cuts for the rich and corporations with the rest of us paying for it.
 
What amazes me is that no one has done a story on Paul Ryan. Paul Ryan, in his legislative career, is one of the most ineffective representatives. Only three bills he originally sponsored have ever become law. For all his powerpoints and theoretical bullshit he puts out there, he actually has very little to show.

I fully expect any tax reform to be a bunch of word soup like the repeal/replace was, successfully pissing off everyone to the point it is DOA.

I don't agree with their reasons, but I'm a little impressed at how the Freedom Caucus stuck to their guns.
 
I heard this little tid bit this morning on the way into work:

"The republicans have whined and cried for 7 1/2 years about the ACA. When it came time for their plan, they didn't even have one. So they crammed a bunch of stuff together very quickly and it wasn't good."
 
Planit said:
I heard this little tid bit this morning on the way into work:

"The republicans have whined and cried for 7 1/2 years about the ACA. When it came time for their plan, they didn't even have one. So they crammed a bunch of stuff together very quickly and it wasn't good."
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Pretty much tells it like it is. I'm a bit heartened by how ineffectual Trump and the GOP have been thus far. I'd like to think they will continue on this trajectory and thereby significantly limit the damage they might cause over the next two years, but I'm too much of a pessimist to expect the political tires to spin like this for two more years.
 
BINGO

Suburb Repairman said:
What amazes me is that no one has done a story on Paul Ryan. Paul Ryan, in his legislative career, is one of the most ineffective representatives. Only three bills he originally sponsored have ever become law. For all his powerpoints and theoretical bullshit he puts out there, he actually has very little to show.

I fully expect any tax reform to be a bunch of word soup like the repeal/replace was, successfully pissing off everyone to the point it is DOA.

I don't agree with their reasons, but I'm a little impressed at how the Freedom Caucus stuck to their guns.
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His 2nd hand man....#2 (literally) has the same theoretical bullshit legislative career. I think he got a rural post office named and some other building named....and that is it.

I can't specify here....the walls have eyes and the eyes have ears.
 
"All I can say is, we can't let them just stop one of the best nominees ever nominated to the Supreme Court because their far-left constituencies are screaming and shouting," Hatch said of his Democratic colleagues. "They can't seem to do that and don't seem to have the courage to do that."
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You crusty old man, how freaking dare you?! You and your GOP counterparts did the EXACT SAME THING when Obama nominated Merrick Garland, and there is absolutely no doubt that he was by FAR the better candidate. Now they are simply going to change the filibuster rules from 60 to 51. I guess when you can't play by the rules, you change them. One day this will bite them in the ass, and I'll love it.
 
The whole thing

"I’m just saying …
On a political cartoon site, one otherwise liberal cartoonist made the mistake of expressing doubt about the Russian connection to Donald Trump, to which a poster (handle “Radish”) provided the following amazing response:


I don’t know – it’s hard for me to see any U.S. ties to Russia…except for the Flynn thing and the Manafort thing
and the Tillerson thing
and the Sessions thing
and the Kushner thing
and the Carter Page thing
and the Roger Stone thing
and the Felix Sater thing
and the Boris Ephsteyn thing
and the Rosneft thing
and the Gazprom thing
and the Sergey Gorkov banker thing
and the Azerbajain thing
and the “I love Putin” thing
and the Donald Trump, Jr. thing
and the Sergey Kislyak thing
and the Russian Affiliated Interests thing
and the Russian Business Interests thing
and the Emoluments Clause thing
and the Alex Schnaider thing
and the hack of the DNC thing
and the Guccifer 2.0 thing
and the Mike Pence “I don’t know anything” thing
and the Russians mysteriously dying thing
and Trump’s public request to Russia to hack Hillary’s email thing
and the Trump house sale for $100 million at the bottom of the housing bust to the Russian fertilizer king thing
and the Russian fertilizer king’s plane showing up in Concord, NC during Trump rally campaign thing
and the Nunes sudden flight to the White House in the night thing
and the Nunes personal investments in the Russian winery thing
and the Cyprus bank thing
and Trump not releasing his tax returns thing
and the Republican Party’s rejection of an amendment to require Trump to show his taxes thing
and the election hacking thing
and the GOP platform change to the Ukraine thing
and the Steele Dossier thing
and the Leninist Bannon thing
and the Sally Yates can’t testify thing
and the intelligence community’s investigative reports thing
and Trump’s reassurance that the Russian connection is all “fake news” thing
and Spicer’s Russian Dressing “nothing’s wrong” thing

so there’s probably nothing there
since the swamp has been drained, these people would never lie
probably why Nunes cancels the investigation meetings
all of this must be normal
just a bunch of separate dots with no connection."
 
Veloise said:
"I’m just saying …
On a political cartoon site, one otherwise liberal cartoonist made the mistake of expressing doubt about the Russian connection to Donald Trump, to which a poster (handle “Radish”) provided the following amazing response:

SNIP

so there’s probably nothing there
since the swamp has been drained, these people would never lie
probably why Nunes cancels the investigation meetings
all of this must be normal
just a bunch of separate dots with no connection."
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ANNNNND... Hillary still lost to him.

You forgot that his wife is from Yugoslavia, which was once greatly influenced by the Soviet Union, which Russia was also part of.


I think that there is a connection, but the question is what will be done about it? Will Trump be removed from office? Will this result in Hillary becoming president?


I don't like the guy anymore than you do but this is yet another example of how broken the system is at the Federal level of our Government.
 
Michael Flynn is this generation's Oliver North.


Nothing will be done because of who controls the legislature. pResident tRump is as teflon as Reagan was. That is becoming apparent.
 
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