rehmwa

That's enlightening. So the ENTIRE HEALTH CARE PROBLEM is execs taking too big a cut. got it. it's not fair, policians want their share too ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

But one of the many stunts that helped him win an election.....so your comment appears to go directly the the electorate that put him in office. As has been said in so many places - facts no longer matter in the USA. plenty of empty shallow stunts to go around. the people lap up bumper sticker politics ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

Got it - So the increase in spending is something the current ACA already causes, it would just push the expense downriver. I don't see anything substantial between: 1 - we all pay out of the butt for our own health care 2 - we all pay out of the butt to have the government broker our health care other than who takes a cut for the effort ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

'all for the sake of' ???? They already have the votes. What, exactly, are they negotiating (i.e., they allow more spending in trade for anti-ACA votes). this doesn't sound like a tit for tat - this sounds like two separate things 1 - going after the ACA (either cosmetic or significant), we knew that was in place 2 - dramatic increase in spending - we knew that was happening. Trump's campaign was about out of control spending. Maybe not on the scale of Bernie, but still....And any time both houses get the same party = SPENDING. I don't see how one leads to the other. Both should be expected independent of the other. Any politician that says 2 is necessary to achieve 1 really does think pretty poorly of the general voter's intellect. nothing good will come of this. we can just hope for Congress to get split up again in 2 years. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

I absolutely love this - it's more than parades and walls, it's pretty much the entire public face of politics. anyone with a brain during the campaign would realize the 'wall' pitch was a PR stunt. At best, the taxpayers would pay for a huge 'public works' project (look how great that worked out for the previous pres). Then the economic misdirection and rationalization arguments would be made how the national economic impact resulted in less money being sent to mexico by illegals resulted in a net/net that could be argued it 'in effect' was paid for by those savings. weak, and nearly impossible prove or disprove. and this only if any structure is actually erected. (if not, then Trump's team would make arguments that the mere 'thought' of a wall going up would have a similar effect - we are probably already seeing this start....) so the left arguing 'against a wall' and the right arguing 'for a wall' were both just a bunch of shiny objects designed to pander to votes from people already on board their trains. I'm kind of hoping they try to save face and come up with economic plans and immigration policy that could be treated as a philosophical 'wall' - just so the taxpayers can avoid another round of a publics works fiasco. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

I'm not bothered. We get who we get. You note that I don't consider much difference in professional politicians regardless of party. So why would I care. I think if Cali (or another highly populated state) split up 3 ways with the intent to divide by population, or chose to go with proportional distribution of Electoral votes, then that would be a big statement. I'd more likely be opposed if some place with (minimal population already) tried to split up into 100 states in an attempt to hijack the electoral college and the Senate. But I suspect the country would safeguard against that type of obvious effort. I could see an analogous discussion that all the single Senator states might represent this situation already being offered. But intent does matter as do historical boundary definitions. I'd say that eliminating the EC would mean a huge shift in the intended basic philosophy of our original structure. I don't see people wanting this. What I see is cycles of those that didn't get their personal wishes and trying to place blame. YMMV ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

I've seen a lot of mythology. I've seen descriptions of Zeus throwing thunderbolts from clouds. I'm reasonably certain that doesn't happen. If by "Zeus" you mean accumulation of electro static energy resulting in an atmospheric discharge? ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

People have wishes. States are inanimate entities that have no more consciousness than rocks or rivers. Why do you hate the Declaration of Independence: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal Yes, states are large land masses and unless you are some kind of naturalist/mystic that thinks land has consciousness, then you are correct. Thank you for the lesson and for missing the point. Just because I note the intent of the rules doesn't mean I advocate it (or oppose it). Try to keep up. The problem is people keep complaining about the rules after the fact instead of prior, and they also actively choose to forget the intent of the rules too and try to 'voice' their displeasure in memes and bumper sticker discussions. Again and again in politics, the shallowness of arguments used completely destroys the good arguments that could be made. It's amazing how many ideas in politics take this route. As for that conflict (states vs individuals), did you talk to the founders about it at the time? What are you doing to change the rules other than complain? I'm not doing anything, though I'm not opposed to a popular vote, I'm still on board with the intent of the electoral college - even if it sometimes doesn't swing toward my personal preferences. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

"Popular vote TOTAL" .... ?! (No I think a few people in the other 49 states may have cast a vote or 2 for her also) So what? Californians are Americans too. This just means Dems are doing a better campaigning job there than anyone else. The point is the electoral system is set up to level out the wishes of the states, not of individuals. So in this case, it worked as intended by not letting a huge upset in a single highly populated state reverse the wishes of the rest of the country. A huge upset in a state like Utah just wouldn't have the same effect would it? Even if it gives us a scary orange faced creepwad. another thing to give us hope that is designed in - balance of powers ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

you're actually pretty close. but it's just on this site. Maybe something fresh will come out soon. If not, just accept the cynicism, it's not totally unfounded if you watch the patterns. As for it's 'not worth analyzing' But what we need "to do" is try something different, and stop rationalizing one side or the other of two incredibly terrible positions. we'd learn a lot more if the typical lefties here started picking apart their own team, and vice versa instead of the same old crap every day ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

I agree; and this applies to almost everything that they do Thanks, but I don't want to oversimplify......someone might wet themself ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

you see the irony don't you? ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

if i didn't know you were such a sincere writer, I'd think you were being sarcastic like I hurt your little feelings. But I know better. So happy to be of service. and I think you are equally awesome if that helps. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

he's learning quick from his predecessor. Dems in Congress already pre-blaming the Reps too. And Obama already advising them to stand back and let the Reps own the messy cleanup - just for the very reason is so they can also point fingers at the other guys. See? politics at that level is very easy and predictable. nothing gets done other than a couple hundred people on each side pointing at each other. an eye could get poked out which, I believe, is mandated to be covered, still ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

it'll be easy and fast - 1 - Everyone is agreeing that you can't just delete it and leave a void in its place. --- Everyone..... any argument based on that is a ridiculous strawman. So revising/replace/adjust/fix is the right way to approach or talk about it. 2 - The fix will be somewhere between two positions (I'm really narrowing it down ): ----a. It'll be put back on the private market with very popular revisions to insurance company rules (like existing conditions, kids on parents' policies to a later age, cross state sales, etc) ----b. No substantial change - just a cosmetic name change. 3 - Regardless of the results: ----a. Dems will proclaim the Reps FAILED to repeal the ACA. Though more important to claim Rep failure, some will also claim Dem success at 'improving the ACA' even more. The media will support and advertise that spin. Half the people here will also do so with great smugness. ----b. Reps will proclaim the Dems FAILED to keep the ACA. Though more important to claim Dem Failure, some will also claim Rep success at coming up with an improved plan. The media will mock and ridicule that spin (except for Fox). another half of the people here will also agree with the Rep spin and do so with great smugness. ----c. Politicians from both sides will try to cash in on their spin every other years for nearly the next decade. ----d. Speaker's Corner on the subject will involve childish insults and people completely talking past each other 4 - In reality, it'll be a little better, but still suck and cost more than when we started the original. And even those tiny gains will take a long time. 5 - Trump will tweet something or the other and manage to piss off both reps and dems. Comedians and talk show hosts of all kinds will flourish. 6 - Anyone in Congress won't understand because during the entire cycle of the last decade THEIR plan didn't change at all. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

nonsense 1 - Trump wants to spend a lot of money on a public works effort like a wall, bridges, roads 2 - Trump is surrounding himself with a bunch of people that agree with him 3 - Trump thinks he's the smartest guy in the room 4 - Trump panders to his voting base 5 - Trump gained popularity by taking groups of people and treating them like they are nasty and despicable - in order to gain political popularity with certain demographics 6 - Trumps followers are smug and think they are smarter than all the others 7 - Trump will probably award companies and industries that he's favorable too. 8 - Trump comments a lot about policy even when he's not the president not like the big O at all ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

Though I like the idea of Alec Baldwin getting beat up....I think the Secret Service should be on the job here. Maybe we compromise - the Secret Service can beat up Baldwin. Why? This makes me kind of like him. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/20/arts/television/a-tangerine-wig-and-a-tightrope-walk-alec-baldwin-as-donald-j-trump.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0 the characterization is hilarious though it's hard to like someone that abused his daughter so bad - verbally or otherwise ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

It's not "every" state. It's 'each' state. Each individual state has the ability to do that. Who's going to go first? If California legislated it and no one else, do you still think the 'usual' crowd would applaud them? They might? if they philosophically believe in the system but want to move to closer to something analogous to a popular vote result. But I don't think so, they want to force all 50 states to do it at once rather than let each choose for themselves. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

Though I like the idea of Alec Baldwin getting beat up....I think the Secret Service should be on the job here. Maybe we compromise - the Secret Service can beat up Baldwin. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

So more arguments about two despicable groups fighting for who's slight less nasty when they think no one is listening?.....yay!!!! I'd assume a photo finish - and Yes, I'd love to see those if they exist. (and No, that's not me asking my friend Putin to hack the RNC, it's just a comment that I'd sure like to see the crap they say behind closed doors.) ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

Who said anything about torture? I think being locked up is worse than death. If you disagree that's fine, but if being locked up is torture than we're going to need to make some serious changes to our criminal justice system. so a treatment that's "worse than death" in your book isn't a form of torture.....interesting I'll spell it out for the slow ones in the crowd - The death penalty is about removing a threat to society - it's about the innocent people and their expectation of safety (not the desire of some for revenge). It's not about trying the make the criminal "feel as bad as we can possibly make him feel". That's a childish position and a non-starter to the debate of pro vs con on the DP. It's the worst strawman of the bunch, and sadly, it's used in various forms by both sides of the debate. So starting out with a "What's worse" comment as if it is the prime motivating factor of justice, is, at best, an emotional tactic that should be rejected immediately. Justice isn't about making 'you' feel better by maximizing someone's pain (which is twisted), it's about making 'everyone' actually safer. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

I'll take a stab at it - 1 - yes 2 - yes 3 - yes and add another 4 - making political hay on one or two in order to obtusely distract from the others? Neat thing about #4 is I'm sure you both think the other is doing just that..... ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

Torture is not a legitimate argument for or against the death penalty. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

Mumm Ra all the way - 2020 ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

^ this another hypocrisy is when one side simply states their labels are true, so it's not the same as the other guys who just need to admit they are less human than everyone else ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants