The only problem is, Obama's administration ha...See MoreCritics of Obama kept telling us he was having his "Katrina moment." First the BP oil spill was Obama's Katrina. Then ebola was Obama's Katrina. The it was superstorm Sandy that was Obama's Katrina.
Swine Flu, the Great Recession, unemployment. Haiti (a foreign country!). Dad jeans.
The only problem is, Obama's administration handled each crisis with quiet competence. His critics tried, but the meme just never caught on.
Boy it didn't take long for things to fall apart under Trump. To be fair, he was slammed with two major hurricanes at once, during a time when he was pushing an ambitious legislative agenda (in spite of his insistence "healthcare will be 'so easy'").
You can properly decry Trump's pure ineptitude. People are tested and even great men fail.
But what is unforgivable is the fixation Trump has had on what people playing a stupid game do when a song is played.
A president's "Katrina moment" is when they bungle a leadership test. But now we have a new metaphor, and it's called an "Irma moment."
You have to go back to Nero to find leadership that disastrous.
The reason you think Obama did just fine is Obama was doing what the co...See MoreTo be fair, and not to defend Pres. Trump, Obama's handling of the BP oil spill was criminal. I am referring to allowing the use of Corexit 9500 and 9527 to disperse the oil. This made the environmental disaster worse for more reasons than just the toxicity of Corexit.
The reason you think Obama did just fine is Obama was doing what the corporate powers wanted, and the corporate controlled news media did not criticize Pres. Obama. Thus, many were fooled.
Regarding Haiti, Obama allowed the Clinton's to be in charge of most of the funds for the Haiti recovery. Bill then gave most of the contracts to "his friends" and Haiti got the shaft, while the Clinton Foundation got kick-backs.
Needless to say, this happened under Obama's watch, but again, the corporate world and their media did not care if the people of Haiti were screwed, so you heard little to nothing!
Pres. Trump is awful, but trying to say "Trump is awful and Obama was good" is a non-starter if you are interested in the truth!
Obama always was a "corporatist", and he served them well! IMHO, Obama thought being rich after his presidency was better than doing right by this country.
PS: On the other hand, the news media is now looking to demonize Trump - not that he does not deserve it, he is incompetent - so again, we are not getting a clear picture. Yet, if you think our government is interested in helping Puerto Rico, you have not been following how we have been allowing the bankers of Wall Street to rip that territory asunder. Quit pretending this country is compassionate! This country is not - and the evidence can be found from Puerto Rico to Yemen!
LuluFor anyone who's not aware, Earnhardt's tweet was in response to one by Donald Trump this morning. "So proud of NASCAR and its supporters and fans. They won't put up with disrespecting our Country or our Flag - they said it loud and clear!"
The article describing the CDC study is titled, "Hookworm Returns to the United States—Did It Ever Really Leave?" The answer is, these parasites never leave. They just wait for you to give them a chance, and, with poverty, we have! If you read the whole article, you find hookworms are not their only problem. Sewage is dangerous stuff!
Interestingly, America ended hookworm infections when FDR's CCC (Great Depression work program) built the needed infrastructure in the southern US.
(Quote)
For their study site, the investigators chose an environment where hookworm would typically flourish—Lowndes County, Alabama—a place known for its "previous high hookworm burdens, degree of poverty, and use of open-sewage systems," according to the study's abstract. Lowndes County is one of the poorest counties in the country, according to NPR, one that cannot afford a septic system, leaving residents to create their own sewer line through the use of PVC piping, which goes from their toilets "and stretches off some 30 feet above ground until it reaches a small ditch."
"This seems safe to [the residents]," lead investigator Rojelio Mejia, MD, a pediatrician and infectious disease specialist at Baylor College of Medicine, said in the article. "But Alabama is very hilly, and any drizzle of rain causes flooding, so whatever they delivered to the site spreads to the entire area, including their neighbors' area."
http://www.theamericanmirror.com/video-elizabeth-warren-scrambles-c...See MoreIt couldn't be because schools pay lecturers $350k to teach a class, could it? Seems a wee bit extreme to me (although at my schedule for that rate, I would love to move into the 1% with Ms. Warren.). I guess she also persisted when it came to getting overpaid for her gig.
You may be right about the average salary of a professor, but do you not believe that paying one professor 350k for teaching one class is outrageous? And, 350K does put her close to the evil 1%ers who are destroying this country. Add on to that her other full time job of being a Senator, she is firmly entrenched in that top 1%. Not to mention her salary really shows that there is huge income inequality.
I did say staff, TEC ... Warren was just an example. So, it's not just one professor, Lulu. TEC, are you saying that ONLY the biggest problem should be addressed?
Lulu, you say that funding has declined while costs have risen. What costs have risen? Is salary not one of the costs? Does anyone really deserve to make that much for a part-time job?
I am not saying that those who have taken a vow of poverty should be the only people able to advocate for the poor (however, I'm going to bet that an institution like Harvard doesn't really cater towards poor students). I'm saying I find it hard to believe how she is for affordable college for all, yet takes a salary over 4x that of the average professor. Then again, when you are a winner of life's lottery and have wonderful health care outside of Obamacare (why didn't lawmakers force themselves into this great program?), it's hard to believe you mean what you say.
I also wrote about coaches' salaries. The point here is simple. We have a system that has long allowed for inequality. To then pick one person from that system and decry their pay. This is no more helpful than decrying the pay on one coach without addressing the system.
Simply put, rather than appearing to address a real problem, you are passing on the core issue in favor of defaming an individual. America has for decades seen scientists, economists, and more who are leaders in their field paid exorbitant salaries - and you pick now to bi*ch about Warren's salary in particular.
But more, this country has, for a long time, been moving toward a system of good education for the rich and the worst education for the poor. Why are you surprised when someone employed by the rich is paid a lot!
About the 1%, if you have read on inequality, you know that using "the 1%" is a nice label, but the real problem is the 0.1% or even the 0.01%. Warren is not in the group that is destroying our democracy. See the graph below!
PS: I am saying you should start with an honest look and address the biggest problem first.
"Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say 'get that son of a b**** off the field right now - he's fired,'
Federal offense?
U.S. Code ' Title 18 ' Part I ' Chapter 11 ' § 227
18 U.S. Code § 227 - Wrongfully influencing a private entity's employment decisions by a Member of Congress or an officer or employee of the legislative or executive branch
(a) Whoever, being a covered government person, with the intent to influence, solely on the basis of partisan political affiliation, an employment decision or employment practice of any private entity—
(1) takes or withholds, or offers or threatens to take or withhold, an official act, or
(2) influences, or offers or threatens to influence, the official act of another,
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than 15 years, or both, and may be disqualified from holding any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States.
(b) In this section, the term "covered government person" means—
(1) a Senator or Representative in, or a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress;
(2) an employee of either House of Congress; or
(3) the President, Vice President, an employee of the United States Postal Service or the Postal Regulatory Commission, or any other executive branch employee (as such term is defined under section 2105 of title 5, United States Code).
(Added Pub. L. 110-81, title I, § 102(a), Sept. 14, 2007, 121 Stat. 739; amended Pub. L. 112-105, § 18(a), Apr. 4, 2012, 126 Stat. 304.)
And Kathleen, I agree. Lock him up, if and when he is proven guilty of crimes. That hasn't happened yet. I know that when it comes to the Republicans, you're all about guilty until proven innocent, and even then guilty. I, for one, will wait and see what comes of this investigation. It would also be nice if Mueller could run a tighter ship and keep these illegal leaks from happening. Hopefully someone investigates these leaks when Mueller is done.
Curry's response to Trump's juvenile tweets? "I don't kno...See MorePuerto Rico may be without power for a month. 10's of thousands are threatened by a failing dam. People in parts of Florida and Texas have lost their homes. The US Virgin Islands have been devastated. So what's Donald Trump focussed on? Sparring with Stephen Curry and Roger Goodell.
Curry's response to Trump's juvenile tweets? "I don't know why he feels the need to target certain individuals rather than others," Curry told reporters in Oakland Saturday afternoon. "I have an idea of why, but, it's just kind of beneath, I think, a leader of a country to go that route. It's not what leaders do."
The people of these three devastated areas will be told what Americans of today always tell people. That is, "pull yourself up by your bootstraps!", or to "have self-reliance"
In fact, if Houston, Florida, and Puerto Rico go the way of New Orleans, the poor will be pushed out of any area with valuable real estate, the schools will be privatized, and the public hospitals closed in favor of private hospitals and more tax cuts for the rich.
Donald Trump is only an expression of what America has become!
Trumpcare enjoys abysmal ratings and would decimate the GOP in swing states if they pass it - but by framing it as a guard against the Sanders proposal - which lacks majority support even among the minority Democrats - the GOP leadership can pressure their senators to vote for the unscored bill. A bill which would substantially raise premiums especially for the most vulnerable and result in many millions losing insurance.
It's not just Bernie this time, quite a few Democrat hopefuls for 2020 have thrown their support behind the vaporware proposal. Demonstrating once again why the Democrats may have more registered voters - even more votes cast - but still can't get out of their own way.
The Trump hurricane is giving the Dems a mighty tailwind for 2018 and what should be a perfect storm in 2020 - but leave it to the dems to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory....
It's truly amazing how much energy the GOP puts into fighting exploration of healthcare reform that would reduce their own costs, increase their satisfaction, and improve their outcomes. Some people are just especially resistant to change, I suppose.
Instability: that's the main reason for the increases. We're trying to give carriers some sort of certainty," said Franchini, whose office told the insurers to assume Cost Saving Reduction payments would not continue.
(End quote)
So without the payments the insurance companies make a profit. But then we have this:
(Quote)
If the Trump administration continues to make the CSR reimbursements (or if Congress steps in to appropriate the necessary funds), these insurers could potentially reap a windfall, financed largely by federal taxpayers who pick up the tab for the cost-sharing program.
If the CSRs do come through, could the rate hikes be rolled back? "I cannot guarantee that will happen in New Mexico," Franchini said, adding that insurance and medical companies "don't do well" with revising contracts once they're signed.
(End quote)
This is the ultimate in using capitalism for profit and socialism for losses. This system has to go! This is not, I repeat, not capitalism. We, the taxpayers are guaranteeing everything anyway. It would serve us to cut the insurance companies out of the loop and do it ourselves.
The American public gets this, even if those in Congress think they are too stupid to see what is going on! That is why Medicare for All is coming. Sadly, it is just a matter of time. I say sadly, because in the interim we are killing tens of thousands of Americans per year!
"This is just another example of fiscal irresponsibility run amok," he cried on CNBC, denouncing the use of private jets by Congress. But at some point, the former orthopedist lost his way....
The reason you think Obama did just fine is Obama was doing what the co...See More