caulfield12

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jun 25, 2017 -> 11:18 PM) One articles view as to why it was kept from congress for so long and then ramrodded through legislation: The reasons for all this were mostly political, this was supposed to be Obama's signature reform and his legacy. The Democrats weren't interested in negotiating with republicans because the had won big in the 2008 elections and this was also partly their victory legislation. The bill was also getting more and more unpopular as the "debate" went on and got uglier and it started becoming apparent that anyone who voted for the bill that wasn't in a totally safe district would face major challenges in reelection bids, especially for republicans, for supporting the bill, so passing fast there was hope that the public's short memory would forget the worst transgressions. The bill was also passed quickly because it has huge welfare spending in it in the form of medicaid expansions and premium subsidies, which once implemented would be nearly impossible to repeal. The spending in the bill was huge and it needed years of extra taxes being collected to build up a cash reserve in order for the bill to be rated as budget neutral. Now you may not think it was and others may not have but others thought so and still think so. Again when you only look at things from a single point of view, it really colors what you see. This is getting to be like Illinois politics so I'm going to bow out of this "discussion." One big problem. The ACA was to the right of Romney's health care plan for Massachusetts...and was a headlining element of his national platform when he ran for President in 2008. It was widely praised and considered to be about as bipartisan as possible for a GOP governor in a deep blue state. Suddenly, by 2010...it was anathema. Fwiw, the biggest enemy Trump's bill currently has is the Koch Brothers, who are threatening to spend $300-400 million in the next election cycle, including the primary targeting of Republicans who cross them because the bill's "not conservative enough."

Trumpcare would send her to Mexico for birth control (Planned Parenthood provision) http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/26/health/plann...ears/index.html

The White Sox hardly have a bad bullpen...nor do they project to have a bad one in the future. Defense is another story.

Here are some facts: Rodon hasn't pitched yet. Q has had his worst season statistically (still Top 25ish fWAR), Anderson has regressed. Cabrera statistically (defense and power) has been of the worst AL players until recently. There would be no Eaton. A competing White Sox team isn't giving opportunities again to Avi, Leury Garcia, Yolmer and Davidson. Kahnle, maybe? The core of the team (Abreu, Frazier, Cabrera, Anderson) entering the year has only had an above average performance from Abreu (and his defense has been shakier), with the others disappointing. Now if you assume we brought back Austin ackson and Avila (both counterintuitive but actually would have worked), we still have a rotation of Sale, Q, Holland, Shields and Miguel Gonzalez. Mix in Pelfrey, Sale cancels the Covey starts. Other than Sale and Q, Pelfrey and Holland are probably 3/4 or 4/3. Miguel Gonzalez has been worse. Shields started off well but is getting bombed out of the park again. Jennings much worse in the pen. Still not seeing a team that's realistically going to compete with the Indians, Twins and Royals...

QUOTE (ChiliIrishHammock24 @ Jun 26, 2017 -> 01:45 AM) Bellinger and Buehler was 2 guys I really really wanted from LAD, and now Bellinger has 24 HR in his first 57 MLB games, and Buehler has a 2.49 ERA, K/9 near 12, and BB/9 at 2.5 in the minors so far this year. With how many pitchers with big contracts, Ryu/Maeda/Rich Hill/McCarthy/Kazmir, counting on Urias for full season....and health concerns about Adrian Gonzalez (he might prematurely retire at end of season) at 1b, this never made any sense for LA. Already had plenty of lefties, etc.

Obviously....this will change by the middle of August with a number of players (5-7?) being traded Stock is up/Excited about... Moncada, Robert, Kopech, Hansen, Burger, Dunning, Hickman, Guerrero, Stephens, Delmonico (mostly because he's next up), Engel (for the moment), Micker Adolfo, Zavala, Sheets, Gonzalez (CF), Henzman, Abbott, Skoug Concerned about... Rodon (a bit, will find out soon enough), Tim Anderson, Collins, Fulmer, Basabe, Nate Jones, Tilson, James Shields (more from financial standpoint, but a sunk cost already) Holding pattern Quintana, Lopez, Giolito, Burdi (though about putting him in the concerned category), Fisher, Call, Hayes, Booker Pleasant surprises Avi, SANCHEZ, Davidson, Leury Garcia, Kanhle, Holmberg, Willy Garcia

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/kus...m=.be1a196245b8 Jared Kushner under scrutiny again...no wonder they banished him to the Middle East temporarily.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 25, 2017 -> 05:23 PM) No excuse for the Charlotte starting staff to be performing as poorly at it has. Every single one of them has stunk this year. McCatty?

Can't blame the fans for not supporting the team this year during the rebuild... Attendance now up 17% through 29 home dates. 638,942 (22,032 per game) 2017 546,600 (18,848 per game) 2016 +3184 per game compared to this point last year with a first place club much of that timeframe

Disaster.

Petricka over Swarzak? And Jennings is terrible once again.....might as well try Holmberg or Bummer.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jun 25, 2017 -> 01:18 PM) It's not about civility. It's about coming up with agreements (not just on healthcare) that works for everyone. No policy set to one extreme liberal or conservative will be the best for everyone. Extremes on either side are rarely good. Of course this one is about cut, cut ,cut. The last one was far too expensive and really didn't work very well. So because there was no way any of the politicians were going to compromise it had to swing way to the other extreme. this probably isn't going to work very well either. but again when people aren't willing to work together, this is what you are going to get. And I mean the willingness to work together on both sides. conservative are as guilty on this as liberals. It just atmosphere of politics today. To say that it wasn't working well is pushing it, when 75-80% were better off and maybe 20-25% were worse off. Trump admin actively tried to kill it, pulled publicity about sign ups this year...look at insurance industry quotes, invariablybthe uncertainty caused by threatening to not make required payments has "forced" them to withdraw from markets. They know they can use that leverage to improve their position (collectively）with this new repeal bill. Paying both sides against each other, but premiums and markets were actually stabilizing until just the last year or so. Growing costs slower than before, but still high than inflation.

Greg needs to call out Derek Holland more frequently...

Zavala vs. Collins, discuss...Collins all the way down to .210, Zavala with second homer of the weekend. Late starts for most games.

Moncada triple from previous game http://www.milb.com/multimedia/vpp.jsp?con...83&sid=t494 Two run homer (9th) http://www.milb.com/multimedia/vpp.jsp?con...83&sid=t494

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/will-t...alth-care-bill/ Will the Senate be able to pass the Better Care Reconciliation Act?

BAA Kimbrel, Jansen, Knebel, Wade Davis and Greg Holland, Brach, Robertson and Iglesias WHIP Kimbrel, Jansen, Osuna (anxiety/depression), Brach, Wade Davis, Robertson, Knebel

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 25, 2017 -> 01:27 AM) When Holland gets roughed up Sunday for a sweep by the lowly A's, do the Sox release him? I'd definitely make up an injury and sit him 2 weeks. He's that bad. Whoever recommended signing him should be suspended without pay a couple weeks. The main reason they signed him was to protect Giolito, Fulmer, Lopez and Kopech from having to pitch in Chicago. If they could spin him for another asset, great.

http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2017/06...er-wall-sot.cnn Or building a solar-powered border wall...who knew it could actually pay for itself?

http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/23/health/opioi...rcan/index.html One way to MAGA, turn librarians into opioid experts/drug abuse counselors. Saves money to spend on defense and tax cuts. Brilliant example of multitasking, especially since library science won't exist 25 years from now as a field of study.

Just the opposite. We can't trust crooked Hillary and Bill, but that Sanders sure seemed like a different kind of politician who didn't care about money or personally enriching himself. At least Trump doesn't pretend to be something he's not. Translation, Democrats are less truthworthy than even Republicans, and, in this Sanders case again, more connected to banks and Wall Street than Main Street, where most of the country lives. (If they can make it stick...still seems 75% partisan and 25% smoke more directly related to his wife).

Six earned runs and still not out of the sixth with a 70ish pitch count. More "personal issues" to blame? 4.48 era. This is what we expected out of Fulmer, not Lopez.

In a recent, exclusive interview with Truthout, we asked Noam Chomsky about his take on climate change and the state of the planet. Here's what he said: "Every part of [the world] is trying to do something. The United States alone is trying to destroy it, and it's not just Trump, it's the whole Republican Party. You just can't find words for it. And it's not reported. It's not discussed." He forgot to criticize Syria!!! And applaud the other Central American country for arguing it didn't go far enough to make an impact.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Jun 24, 2017 -> 06:00 PM) http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/33930...healthcare-bill First, that is the definition of a death panel. Second, how is that not exactly what the GOP complained about with the ACA, a mandate? The difference is the money in the ACA was going back to the government, rather than directly into the pockets of the insurance industry. Or into the pockets of the very richest taxpayers and out of the pockets of the middle class/elderly.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Jun 24, 2017 -> 06:00 PM) http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/33930...healthcare-bill First, that is the definition of a death panel. Second, how is that not exactly what the GOP complained about with the ACA, a mandate? The difference is the money in the ACA was going back to the government, rather than directly into the pockets of the insurance industry. Or into the pockets of the very richest taxpayers and out of the pockets of the middle class/elderly. http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/24/t...g-prices-239916 California billionaire activist Steyer takes on pharmaceutical industry