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June 23, 2017 07:40 AM UTC

Friday Open Thread

  • 26 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

“The great proof of madness is the disproportion of one’s designs to one’s means.”

–Napoleon Bonaparte

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26 thoughts on “Friday Open Thread”

      2. As vile as the designated hitter rule is, it was approved by a majority of officials in the (Un) American League.  Trump took power in a sort of Constitutional coup after three million more Americans voted for Hillary.  His illegitimate regime thus stinks more than the designated hitter rule.

         

  2. From the New York Times:

    This gutting of Medicaid is central to the health care bill that Senate Republicans released, at long last, yesterday. The Senate bill cuts Medicaid even more than the House bill would, as Drew Altman explains in an op-ed. The money saved by the Medicaid cut would then finance tax cuts for the affluent.

    The Senate bill would not merely repeal a central part of Obamacare, which expanded Medicaid, but it would also undo major parts of the program that have existed for decades.

    I wonder if Gerbils knows if Trump will take another victory lap to all the small towns that voted for him last year — you know the ones that will have Medicaid taken from them so that Trump and other wealthy people get their tax cuts?

    1. Speaking of losing Medicaid… Disabled  and wheelchair-bound Protesters occupied McConnell's office. They were removed and arrested by Capitol Security. It's pretty brutal and riveting to watch.

      I thought about putting this in the "Good News" diary, but it really isn't. Except that I think it was an effective protest, hard for McConnell to trivialize.

      And there’s a Colorado connection; ADAPT protesters in Denver pushed RTD to start offering accessible transport in the 1980s. ADAPT organized the McConnell protest yesterday.

      To skip Maddow's endless windup, go to about 15:00 or so in the embedded video below:

       

  3. Another good read from Colorado Indy's Mike Littwin:

    This bill, which is polling somewhere between 20 and 30 percent, could never possibly pass but for two things: Republicans have been promising to repeal and replace Obamacare for seven years, and Trump, who has no idea what’s in the bill, thinks it would be humiliating not to pass something, even if it doesn’t have “heart.” So there it is, like it or not, and most people seem to be in the or-not camp.

    The Senate version of Trumpcare is no better than the terrible House version of the bill that Trump celebrated in the Rose Garden before deciding it was too “mean.”  That’s one White House moment, by the way, they do have on tape.

    And not only is it a terrible bill, Republicans are pretty open about the fact, having drafted it in secret and refusing to hold any hearings. It was almost as if they were begging fake-news punditry to point out the irony that Republicans had complained for years that Obamacare had been rammed down their throats. Now, in the updated 2017 version of bill-ramming, you apparently do it while blindfolded.

    1. I have a couple of personal examples of the difference between having insurance or not:

      My wife just had some tests done by a radiologist.  The retail charge was $386.  Our insurance provider (UnitedHealth) knocked the charges down to just $100, of which our responsibility was $35.

      I just had a simple blood test as part of my annual physical.  Retail charge?  $369.  Insurance knocked it down to $37 of which I paid $3.

      Free market?  Riiiight.  No visibility, hyperinflated retail prices about which you have no visibility or choice.

      Pity anyone that doesn't have an insurance policy with as much bargaining power as I do, much less those soon to be exposed to the full force of a rigged health care provider system that can set prices at any level they care to in order to play the game private insurance companies have set up.

    1. About the only way to process this, and the whole Republican plan regarding healthcare, is to presume that 1) they are evil or 2) they truly believe that the only way to save healthcare is to slash funding for Medicaid. To avoid the first conclusion, McConnell and Gardner are leaning hard on the second. I do not believe it, but even if it were true, what is their justification for the $1,000,000,000,000 tax cut for the most wealthy? That's one trillion if you have difficulty with all the zeros.

      In what alternately reality, fake news, delusional state does giving the most wealthy in our society a trillion more dollars fix the health care system, fix the health insurance industry, or help any Americans, other than those who clearly need no economic assistance? I have not seen or heard anyone try to defend that, and I do not expect to. 

      1. Cutting Medicaid is a FEATURE, not a bug… actually it is the main feature. 

        The entire POINT of the Republican legislation is to cut taxes for the wealthy: Take $1 Trillion from Medicaid and give it to Millionaires.

    2. McConnell should rot in hell for what he wants to do to to Medicaid, but the meme is not true. He received treatment at Warm Springs, which was not a government-funded facility. It was founded by FDR and operated by a non-profit (the March of Dimes).

  6. V,

    This is for you.

    Retired Husband!

     

    After I retired, my wife insisted that I accompany her on her trips to Target. 
    Unfortunately, like most men, I found shopping boring and preferred to get in and get out. Equally unfortunate, my wife is like most women – she loves to browse.

    Yesterday my dear wife received the following letter from the local Target:

    Dear Mrs. Harris,

    Over the past six months, your husband has caused quite a commotion in our store. We cannot tolerate this behavior and have been forced to ban both of you from the store.
    Our complaints against your husband, Mr. Harris, are listed below and are documented by our video surveillance cameras: 

    1. June 15: He took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in other people's carts when they weren't looking.
    2. July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in House wares to go off at 5-minute intervals.
    3. July 7: He made a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to the women's restroom.
    4. July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an official voice, 'Code 3 in Housewares. Get on it right away'. This caused the employee to leave her assigned station and receive a reprimand from her Supervisor that in turn resulted with a union grievance, causing management to lose time and costing the company money. We don't have a Code 3.
    5. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and tried to put a bag of M&Ms on layaway.
    6. August 14: Moved a 'CAUTION – WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area.
    7. August 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told the children shoppers he'd invite them in if they would bring pillows and blankets from the bedding department to which twenty children obliged.
    8. August 23: When a clerk asked if they could help him he began crying and screamed, 'Why can't you people just leave me alone?' EMTs were called.
    9. September 4: Looked right into the security camera and used it as a mirror while he picked his nose.
    10. September 10: While handling guns in the hunting department, he asked the clerk where the antidepressants were.
    11. October 3: Darted around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the 'Mission Impossible'
    theme.
    12. October 6: In the auto department, he practiced his 'Madonna look' using different sizes of funnels.
    13. October 18: Hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed through, yelled 'PICK ME! PICK ME!'
    14. October 22: When an announcement came over the loud speaker, he assumed a fetal position and screamed 'OH NO! IT'S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!'
    15. Took a box of condoms to the checkout clerk and asked where is the fitting room?

    And last, but not least:
    16. October 23: Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited awhile, and then yelled very loudly, 'Hey! There's no toilet paper in here.' One of the clerks passed out.

      1. The Pear is OK.  We don't agree on much but life is too short to choke on politics.  Love your family , love your dogs and cats, cuss the designated hitter rule and never willingly drink light beer.   Life is good, for a' that!

         

    1. Well gee, golly whiz — When did you think that Russian meddling in our elections and the ensuing diversion of limited resources to find out how deep it goes would be a good thing for us?

      Note that a majority (75%) want the investigations to continue, which is why it is good to have the special prosecutor's office handle it rather than the Kabuki Theater in Congress.

      But other surveys have found strong support for the special counsel investigating the Russia probe. A Harvard-Harris survey released last month found 75 percent support for former FBI Director Robert Mueller’s investigation.

      73 percent — say they’re concerned that the Russia probes have caused Congress to lose focus on the issues important to them. That figure encompasses 81 percent of Republicans, 74 percent of independents and 68 percent of Democrats.

      “While the voters have a keen interest in any Russian election interference, they are concerned that the investigations have become a distraction for the president and Congress that is hurting rather than helping the country,” said Harvard-Harris co-director Mark Penn. 

      It's never a good thing to have a President and his team (or family as the case may be) under investigation for possibly illegal and/or impeachable offenses.  But Mueller's investigation will go where ever the evidence leads, and let the chips fall where they may.

      Both the electorate and the news media will have renewed interest when tangible evidence becomes available.

      1. Passionate Pulp wants to conceal the recent evidence that Russians meddled in elections in 39 states.

        "Fair minded voters grow weary of Russia probe……."  That's the equivalent of saying: "hey, let's talk about Hillary's e-mails and Benghazi" so the far right can distract attention away from Trump's ineptitude in office. 

        1. Conceal? You must be joking, my good man. That's all this blog has covered for the last 8 months. No wonder people are getting tired of hearing the sky is falling.

          Love the Special Investigation. Sweet Loretta gets to testify about her golf and grandchildren conersation with Bubba. And explain the Federal Bureau of Matters, along with how Clinton campaign officials had assurances the Comey investigation would not amount to anything. Let's play Jepordy. Will Loretta take"Lying under oath" for 5,10,15,20 years or "Flip on Clinton Campaign" for Immunity, Book Deal, MSNBC Gig, or Loose Law License.

    2. Lord knows, I'm tired of it.   Yes, the Russians interfered, 17 intelligence agencies aren't wrong.   No, Trump didn't collude.    Whether Manafort and other minions did is for the FBI to determine.

      Wake me when they do.   Meanwhile, what are the Broncos doing for a running game this year?

      1. Jamal Charles, if he can stay healthy. Got to play more than 6 games a season. Maybe hold him out for the first 4 games like Brady and then let him run wild. Except Monday night, October 30, against my Chiefs.

      2. Colluded?  Oh heavens, no!  (You'd have to believe that Putin was stupid enough to enter into some kind of arrangement with an untrustworthy and erratic fool like Trump.)

        Are there many dealings and doings in Russia, and with the Russians, that Trump knows about and is scared spitless about their coming to light??? — You betchyar bottom rubles there are!

        The Broncos?  Keeristycakes, I got tired of them 30 years ago . . .

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