October 14, 2017

Started rewatching The West Wing (on Netflix)

It still has to be one of the greatest (or IMHO The Greatest) TV series of all time. Great writing, great acting, great pacing, and a President who, for all his flaws, has empathy, honor, and a total sense of trying to do his best for the American people, and who surrounds himself with same.

It also helps to wash the Trump taste out of my mouth. Do yourselves a favor and go watch it again. It does help!

October 13, 2017

Trump to Scrap Critical Health Care Subsidies, Hitting Obamacare Again

Source: New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Trump will scrap subsidies to health insurance companies that help pay out-of-pocket costs of low-income people, the White House said late Thursday. His plans were disclosed hours after the president ordered potentially sweeping changes in the nation’s insurance system, including sales of cheaper policies with fewer benefits and fewer protections for consumers.

<snip>

Without the subsidies, insurance markets could quickly unravel. Insurers have said they will need much higher premiums and may pull out of the insurance exchanges created under the Affordable Care Act if the subsidies were cut off. Known as cost-sharing reduction payments, or CSRs, the subsidies were expected to total $9 billion in the coming year and nearly $100 billion in the coming decade.

“The government cannot lawfully make the cost-sharing reduction payments,” the White House said in a statement.

It concluded: “Congress needs to repeal and replace the disastrous Obamacare law and provide real relief to the American people.”

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/12/us/politics/trump-obamacare-executive-order-health-insurance.html

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So, pull FEMA and the military out of Puerto Rico, allow insurance companies to sell junk policies, don't make insurance companies cover anything they don't want to, don't cover contraception, decertify the Iran nuclear agreement, toss out the dreamers, ignore the California wildfires, and don't say a word about the Green Berets killed in Niger.

I hope the Trump voters are thrilled with their President.

October 12, 2017

The attempted terror attack right here in the US we never heard about.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/airport-bomb-north-carolina-suspect-war-us-soil-michael-christopher-estes-asheville-regional-airport-a7996306.html

Man suspected of planting airport bomb 'wanted to start a war on US soil

Michael Christopher Estes was arrested after an unexploded device was found at Asheville Regional Airport on Friday morning. The FBI’s criminal complaint states that Mr Estes admitted planting the bomb, which tests revealed contained Ammonium Nitrate, an explosive often used in terrorist attacks. Sterno, a form of jellied alcohol, was used as the fuel source. Mr Estes used a rigged an alarm clock, set for 6am, to strike matches that would have set it alight, the complaint states.

Other links:

https://www.salon.com/2017/10/11/a-thwarted-airport-bombing-receives-little-national-press-and-some-activists-cry-foul/

https://theintercept.com/2017/10/11/terrorist-donald-trump-airport-bomber-estes-asheville/

https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2017/10/10/us/ap-us-north-carolina-airport-explosive-the-latest.html

And we haven't heard a word about this attempted terrorist attack. The suspect (who has confessed to setting the device) says he 'wanted to start a war'. But he is a right-wing white guy. White guys, by definition, aren't terrorists. The are 'lone wolves' or 'white nationalists' or 'extremists' but never terrorists. In order to be considered a terrorists you have to be Muslim. Don't you suppose this would have been all over the news of it had been a non-white? But we can't have white guys being called terrorists, now can we?

October 10, 2017

Judge grants rapist joint custody of victim's child.

Last week, Michigan Judge Gregory S. Ross granted a rapist joint custody of his victim's eight-year-old son.

The rapist, Christopher Mirasolo, was convicted of raping the woman when she was 12 years old, resulting in her becoming pregnant. Nine years later, after the woman applied for assistance from the state, Judge Ross gave Mirasolo the woman's address, ordered that Mirasolo be added to the child's birth certificate, and granted him custody rights and parenting time--all without her consent.

Note that the rapist did not ask for any parental rights, custody, or to have his name added to the birth certificate. The mother didn't even know that custody was in question. But, the judge showed an appalling lack of judicial sense.

See:

http://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw/index.ssf/2017/10/man_did_not_seek_joint_custody.html

http://www.eclectablog.com/2017/10/judge-who-awarded-michigan-rapist-joint-custody-with-the-woman-he-raped-as-a-child-had-other-options.html

There are a couple of petitions circulating to remove the judge from the bench.

See:

https://act.weareultraviolet.org/sign/judge_ross/?t=2&akid=9195%2E2152271%2EAOmfq7

October 9, 2017

Why do the taxpayers get the bill for Pence's football stunt?

Maybe I am missing something here, but from what I have heard, Pence flew from Las Vegas to Indianapolis (ostensibly) to see a football game honoring Payton Manning. When players took a knee, he (ostensibly) left in a huff and flew to Los Angeles for a fund-raiser.

Now, seems to me that going to a football game is not government business, nor is a fund-raiser. So, why are WE the American taxpayers paying for a gov't official to fly to go see a football game and then fly to a fund-raiser? Why doesn't Pence have to reimburse the gov't for his non-official use of gov't aircraft?

October 9, 2017

Poll: Americans Hope Trump Follows Pences Example and Leaves Early (Borowitz)

https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/poll-americans-hope-trump-follows-pences-example-and-leaves-early?mbid=nl_Borowitz%2010092017%20Experimental&CNDID=27161810&spMailingID=12102728&spUserID=MTMzMTgyODIwMTg3S0&spJobID=1260734375&spReportId=MTI2MDczNDM3NQS2

INDIANAPOLIS (The Borowitz Report)—A poll taken after Vice-President Mike Pence made headlines on Sunday with an abrupt early departure reveals that a broad majority of Americans hope that Donald Trump follows Pence’s example and leaves early, as well.
In a striking result, the poll shows that Trump’s early exit would be approximately a thousand times more popular than the one Pence participated in on Sunday.

While Pence defended his decision to leave early on Sunday by saying that he did it out of patriotism, a substantial majority of Americans agreed that a premature departure by Trump “would be, by far, the most patriotic thing he could ever do for his country.”

And while the price tag of Pence’s departure on Sunday, estimated by some to be approximately a quarter of a million dollars, raised eyebrows across the country, poll respondents overwhelmingly said that they do not care how much Trump’s departure costs, as long as he leaves.

Finally, in one of the poll’s more negative findings, a broad majority of Indiana residents said that they were “angry and upset” that Pence did not leave early when he was governor of that state.

October 8, 2017

SNL Weekend Update just came up with how to solve the gun problem in the US!

Just convince Trump that the 2nd Amendment was Obama's idea. There would be NO guns in the US within a few days!

October 5, 2017

Trump just basically said: If I don't say it is true, it isn't true!

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/915907150333009920

October 5, 2017

When is the right time to discuss gun legislation?

https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=&w=480