caulfield12

Did Clinton also have only one State Department position filled at this point...who essentially has been neutered already because other countries are learning to go to Jared Kushner instead? Can't imagine if the Clinton's did the same with Chelsea's husband, it would an impending international catastrophe of Biblical proportions.

https://www.yahoo.com/tv/snl-wants-sell-com...-054353817.html Wonder how long before the first defensive Trump tweet or Conway promo of how her Ivanka's real life perfume line has shot up to #1? Wouldn't be a surprise to see this exact product start selling well here in China, since so few know what the English word complicit even means...it will sound exotic and vaguely French. http://www.thewrap.com/snl-alec-baldwin-trump-space-aliens/ This one will get under his skin as well... http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/12/opinions/snl...llah/index.html CNN opinion piece on Complicit sketch

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/201...-chicago-214895 The (role playing) video game trying to stanch the carnage in Chicago http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/11/us/muslim-fl...fire/index.html Another attack on immigrants confused for being Muslim The fire at the Met Mart in Port St. Lucie was quickly put out Friday morning and did not cause much damage, Mascara said. The store was closed and protected by security shutters. According to CNN affiliate WPEC, Lloyd told investigators he tried to buy a bottle of Tropicana orange pineapple juice at the store a few days ago but was told they didn't have any. He was also upset because he assumed the store employee was Muslim, WPEC said, citing the investigative report. Lloyd told investigators he planned to burn the building because he "was doing his part for America," WPEC said. When deputies arrived Friday morning and found the fire, a man in front of the store put his hands behind his back and told officers to "take me away," Mascara said.

You don't trade Burdi until he's succeeded as closer for at least one year. See the Addison Reed and Santos deals (that both sucked). All things considered, the biggest value is in that second and third year before arbitration hits...but trading him in 2017 would be completely illogical. Of course, we also have to consider that Lopez and Fulmer also might end up in the pen eventually. There are plenty of candidates for future Sox closer. Kopech would be another if he suffers some injuries throwing at that sustained velocity as a starter. As far as desperation to have a closer, we always point to Takatsu, Hermanson and Jenks all taking the ball in the 9th in 2005.

http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2017/03...nski-ac-dnt.cnn Jared Kushner is basically acting as de facto Secretary of State...with Tillerson out of the loop and press pool not even allowed to accompany him to China https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the...m=.cd2c64f7062d The Winning Argument Dems Have Against Trump

http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/10/politics/ukr...exts/index.html More Manafort allegations in connection to "consulting" work in the Ukraine (from daughter's texts)

http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/10/opinions/tru...izer/index.html Trump's hidden success...destroying government, faith in presidency, court system, media, etc. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archiv...&yptr=yahoo Good news for Trump Family's bottom line

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/201...an-union-214889 Now it's starting to make some sense. Steve Bannon, the man who wants to undo the EU and Western global order A United States hostile to the EU would be terrifying for Europe at any moment, but never more so than right now. Economic weakness, a flood of refugees and a drumbeat of Islamic State terrorism have combined to create what EU official Verhofstadt calls “an existential crisis.” Making things worse, the EU-bashing Marine Le Pen has a chance in France’s spring presidential elections, while anti-EU candidates have gained traction in the Netherlands, which votes in March, and Italy, which may call elections this summer. In September, voters in the EU’s anchor state, Germany, will deliver a verdict on Chancellor Angela Merkel, a staunch defender of European unity whose popularity has severely eroded in recent months. Some European leaders worry that Trump and Bannon could issue a de facto endorsement of Le Pen, turbocharging her supporters and her media coverage. In a post-election tweet, Le Pen’s niece Marion, who is also a prominent member of her party, wrote cryptically that she accepted Bannon’s alleged “invitation … to work together.” A few weeks later, French officials were startled to learn that Le Pen had been seen in the lobby of Trump Tower, though a Trump spokesman denied that she had been in any meetings there. But tweets and photo ops might not be where Trump could inflict the most damage. The White House commands the awesome economic and political might of the United States, and can employ that power as a sledgehammer against the weakened, post-Brexit EU. “I think Brexit is going to be a wonderful thing for your country,” Trump told Britain’s prime minister, Theresa May, during her January visit to Washington. Last year, Obama had tried to discourage Brexit by promising it would put Britain “at the back of the queue” for American trade deals. Now Trump was making clear that it had a place safely at the front. “You’re going to be able to make your own trade deals without having someone watching you,” Trump added.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/is-trumpism-an-e...-100032958.html Is Trumpism an existential threat (to the US and the world)?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-l...m=.8574e70b0402 Trumpism is now getting exposed as a monumental fraud... So the best ideas in the last 48 hours are choking the ACA to death by encouraging health insurance companies to bail and doing everything to sabotage it for two more years...blaming everything on Obamacare/Dems...and cutting off Medicaid in 2017/18 instead of 2020. Brilliant.

Is there any chance they give Kevan Smith a position over Narvaez? Looks like an interesting battle between Liriano, Davidson, Leury Garcia, Hayes and Delmonico for that last roster spot. Of course, a lot depends on Tilson's health as well. Are they still playing to play Avi Garcia in RF nearly everyday or put a better defender out there and DH him? I would guess they want to give him this final shot playing in the field, and rotate DH or let one of the names listed above have an extended opportunity (well, probably not Leury there).

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Mar 8, 2017 -> 06:32 PM) I just heard this doctor on the radio. Seems like a genius. At least the premise of his model seems smart to me. This is an old article but it still sums up his idea more or less. What are some of your thoughts on it? https://www.theobjectivestandard.com/2013/0...mine-obamacare/ He doesn't seem partisan. He's just one of the thousands of pissed doctors but it seems like he actually did something to help people get care. Undermine Obamacare as part of the title of the article doesn't seem partisan at all? If it was non-partisan, it would be 1) reforming/improving the ACA to make it the most efficient possible program, or 2) starting over from scratch and creating an even better program. Undermining Obamacare seems to have a very explicit political message to it. Choke the current system to death so the blame can be placed on Obama/Dems rather than anything that follows after. The "failures" here are not the ACA itself, but the fact that insurance companies don't want to give up any of their profits at all. Naturally, they're going to decline to offer insurance in areas where they are losing (or at least arguing that they're losing) money offering plans. But the same exact thing (only worse) will happen with the new GOP plan. There's nothing in the bill dealing with the health insurance industry, or the supply-side issue with declining numbers of doctors/clinics/hospitals, especially in rural areas.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Mar 8, 2017 -> 06:26 PM) Can somebody explain how this plan would drop 15M Americans? I thought anybody who signs on to Medicaid through 2020 gets grabdfathered forever or until they leave the program. Where's the drop Part of it's all the people (think those in their 20's not covered by parents, and those 45-64 who can no longer afford the much higher premiums that will increase another 25-75% for some of them) no longer paying for coverage, which obviously increases the number of truly sick in the risk pools and therefore creates another spiral of increasing prices for everyone with insurance. Remember, only 10% of those with health insurance are soaking up nearly 2/3rd's of all the expenses in the health care industry. The other large group is all those who are going to be cut out over time because they're in the bottom 20% (mostly low wage earners, some unemployed) who are going to see their costs increase from let's say $50 per month to $150-250. Over time, as the Federal monies allocated to the states dry up and state budgets continue to be pushed to the limits, you're going to see a large amount of poor people dropping out as well because the monthly cost is not worth it (cost/benefit analysis). They probably feel they will just go to the emergency room and get taken care of, or they will pay for a policy again when they really need it, but carrying increased monthly premiums won't work with limited incomes.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Mar 6, 2017 -> 01:59 PM) Fran has legitimately built up this program from the Lickliter stuff. I was dissapointed how the last couple years Hawkeye teams struggled down the stretch, but to be where we are at with this years club is definitely shocking. So many freshman/sophomores contributing and they are all guys who I would suspect will be here the next couple of years. If Fran's son is a stud, that will be a huge boost to an already good/building nucleus. Hopefully Iowa shocks us and gets into the tourney and then next year continues to take steps forward. Uhl definitely took a step backwards, but he's more of a "glue/intangibles" guy anyway. Has really struggled with his confidence in terms of shooting. A month ago, it felt like you were going to lose a number of players to transfer. There were rumors that Wagner and/or Moss were unhappy. It's very hard with those two, along with Tyler Cook and Pemsl and now Kreiner to get everyone enough playing time across three positions. Four of those guys have led the team offensively for stretches with Peter Jok hurting and Bohannon cold from the outside. Courtney Williams will likely be gone, but that's probably addition by subtraction. They definitely need a "creator" at point guard (think Tyler Ulis, who they finished second to Kentucky on), which would allow Bohannon to freelance a bit offensively and to design more plays to free him up on the perimeter. Of course, Bohannon's not a typical two guard in terms of size. As far as needing to beat Wisconsin twice in two weeks...it just depends how the other conference tournaments go, and the various bubble teams. Illinois and Iowa look to be in similar positions, with Iowa rising and Illinois falling due to Rutgers. The one thing that really hurts Iowa is those two losses to Illinois, along with Univ. of Nebraska at Omaha.

The young/healthy are better off...but they're all going to sit on the sidelines and wait until they get sick.

Looking forward to seeing Tilson, Hayes and Delmonico get their opportunities to hit this year. Would be quite fortunate to get one regular from that trio.

Republicans are now paying the price for a years-long campaign of Obamacare lies http://www.vox.com/2017/3/8/14843762/ahca-...-lies-obamacare http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/cart...andowski-235784 Trump campaign approved foreign policy advisor Carter Page's trip to Russia in July, 2016... Hearings to begin March 20th on the Russia issue.

CIA spying accusations will surely provide some additional cover to Trump, or, at the very least, muddy the waters even more. Not coincidentally, all this (leaked documents) is coming from Assange/Wikileaks again...trying to take the focus away from Russia, Sessions, healthcare and the "Obama is bad (or sick) guy" for wiretapping Trump Tower set of storylines?

To help avoid this political liability, the Republican plan calls on insurance companies to continue covering and offering coverage to Americans with pre-existing conditions. This, despite the fact that the sickest 10 percent of Americans account for a whopping 66 percent of the nation's health care spending. Back to the drawing board, take your time & get it right. We've been waiting since Hillary Clinton and Ira Magaziner in 1994 for a legitimate/innovative Republican plan. Did all the good ideas and original thinking go out the door with Jack Kemp?

As an Iowan, could someone please prevent Grassley and King from opening their mouths, lol. Embarrassing. https://www.yahoo.com/news/gop-representati...-174638632.html “We are talking about the emergence of a deep state led by Barack Obama, and that is something that we should prevent,” King told the Times. “The person who understands this best is Steve Bannon, and I would think that he’s advocating to make some moves to fix it.” The term “deep state,” which is relatively new to American politics, has been used to describe a permanent military, intelligence and law-enforcement bureaucracy manipulating government policies in secret. King added that Trump “needs to purge the leftists within the administration that are holdovers from the Obama administration, because it appears that they are undermining his administration and his chances of success.” King’s remarks echoed a previous statement made on his Twitter account, where he wrote the president “needs to purge Leftists from executive branch before disloyal, illegal & treasonist [sic] acts sink us.”

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Mar 7, 2017 -> 02:51 PM) Reminder: iPhone-Shamer Jason Chaffetz Has His Healthcare Subsidized by Taxpayers Chaffetz also told Camerota that FBI Director James Comey has not responded to his attempts to discuss President Donald Trump's unverified allegation that former President Barack Obama ordered the wiretapping of Trump Tower phones. Chaffetz said lawmakers plan to investigate Trump's claims and that his attempts to reach Comey have been unsuccessful. How Congress responded to Trump's request to investigate the Obama administration. "I texted him," Chaffetz said. "I said, 'Please call me, if you can.'" But Comey did not return Chaffetz's call. "No response," he told Camerota. "But that's not atypical." www.cnn.com

http://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2017/3/7/1...iums-cost-price Average premium will rise $1542 in the first year, and continue increasing as 2020 hits to $2409. In general, the impact of the Republican bill would be particularly severe for older individuals, ages 55 to 64. Their costs would increase by $5,269 if the bill went into effect today and by $6,971 in 2020. Individuals with income below 250 percent of the federal poverty line would see their costs increase by $2,945 today and by $4,061 in 2020. Older and poor people would be particularly hard hit. That's the political third rail, because of their voting rates and many being on fixed incomes (due to forced early retirement/jobs being outsourced/physical health problems) without many cost of living adjustments in recent years. https://www.yahoo.com/news/house-gop-health...--politics.html With $600 billion in tax cuts for the rich, how can this meet the "go/no go" criteria of not increasing the deficit ten years down the line?

QUOTE (illinilaw08 @ Mar 7, 2017 -> 11:33 AM) It's the catch-22 of a healthcare system that relies on private, for-profit, insurance. If you don't penalize people for not buying healthcare, then people won't buy it until they need it. For-profit insurance relies on premiums from those who are healthy (or in the automobile industry don't get into accidents) in order to pay out the claims for the sick. It's the whole reason that the ACA required people to have coverage in the first place. What's most striking is how derivative and unimaginative the whole thing is with 7-8 years to study the weaknesses of ACA. That's the best they can come up with? Gutting Medicaid and disadvantaging everyone over 60 that's not rich (fixed income population)? No wonder everyone is losing faith in government. Bannon is getting his way, and so is Ryan. Hope they can deal with protests and primary challenges the next two election cycles. That's their new reality. When the GOP starts pointing to the success of anything Scott Walker has done in WI, look out.

Whether it's a floor or ceiling set way too low, it won't work...because the costs will outpace that 30% and you'll end up with everyone gaming the system. Run the risk of not paying when you're young/healthy, which inherently increases the risk pools for everyone else (driving up their premiums to compensate for lost revenues from all those previously paying but not utilizing it who are no longer in the pools)...then try to max out all the benefits you possibly can when sick. End result, for profit insurers will bail on that system eventually as well. Not to mention the emergency rooms will be overrun again by those without any insurance. That's leaving out the moral dimension and even more expensive consequences of taking the insurance away from 10-20 million people and simultaneously reneging on all your campaign promises to help the middle class, providing a better quality of care at a lower price. Yeah, sure.

Not only that, but criticizing Obama and his ex staff for being too political after the election by engaging back and forth with Trump through the media. Baiting. Works consistently with the GOP base, and feeds the conspiracy theory that his admin is being sabotaged by nefarious external forces and protesters/rioters who don't want to give him the opportunity to be the next transformative president like FDR or Reagan. Don't engage and defend, Trump will keep crowing about Obama being guilty and silence speaking volumes, etc.