caulfield12

QUOTE (greg775 @ Mar 29, 2017 -> 11:13 AM) I feel like you are closed minded on this. Q: Would you ever ever praise Trump if he did something in your eyes that was good? Or would you bash him? I agree he's very unlikeable and I tend to disagree philosophically with the very rich who run the country, but I also defer to the zillions of Americans who thought he was the best choice. It seems to me you don't want him to do anything deemed as productive. The two party system IMO has become a detriment to America. More and more (I realize it's been this way for decades) one side hates the other and will not cooperate at all for a better America. Just 67,000 votes flipped in Michigan, Wisconsin and PA would have given Clinton the election....2.9 million spread for HRC in popular vote. Not zillions. The Democrats were not once approached by Trump or Ryan about a health care deal. The final negotiations with the House Freedom Caucus drove the bill so far and hard to the right that the moderate Tuesday Group and the GOP Senate couldn't even vote for it. How was that negotiating in good faith or in a bipartisan way? Republicans had from 1993/94 until 2016 to work with Democrats on health care reform and did nothing but protect insurance companies and big pharma. As a Christian, how do you feel about the biggest humanitarian famine/crisis happening in Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, etc., in the history of the UN and Trump gutting those food programs and the State Department and Meals on Wheels and Head Start to pay for 62 miles of border wall and an increase in the defense budget when his own Secretary of Defense says a 3% increase (as opposed to 10% projected) is sufficient? What about Kansas voting to join the Medicaid expansion and potentially covering covering 150,000 more, some Republican moderates have joined with Dems and almost every hospital to support it. Do you stand with Brownback? Keep in mind, all the extra security costs for 12 Trump golf outings and Melanie/Barron staying in NYC would more than cover it.

Greg, there's a pretty decent chance if he spent MORE time getting involved in the details (I won't use the policy wonkish word minutiae) of the health care reform instead of outsourcing it to Ryan/Price/Pence, etc., then he wouldn't have offended the House Freedom Caucus. He only wanted to make a deal because that's what he does...what he was giving up or compromising on didn't matter to him particularly, and that was very offensive to a lot of career politicians who are really invested in the policy arguments (even if I may happen to disagree with the HFC). Whether it was the travel ban, the health care law, the first engagements in Yemen and Mosul...the fact that he hasn't been fully engaged and aware of the details smacks of him being another version or Jimmy Carter/GW Bush and a failed, lame duck presidency which isn't particularly good for the country to waste four more years when we should be addressing the issues of health care, immigration, infrastructure rebuilding and the environment. Delaying for another four years our preparations for a high-tech, automated, globalized economy isn't going to alter the fact that a tsunami of change and disruption is coming down the pike. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-spr...&yptr=yahoo Trump spreads more fake news on Hillary's 'uranium deal' Uranium One was a worldwide producer. Among its assets were some U.S. uranium mines. The decision was taken by pension-fund managers, other institutional investors and private investors from Canada, the U.S., Europe and elsewhere. The deal had previously been approved by company management and independent directors on the board. This is what’s known as “private property,” “commerce” and “capitalism.” Trump should read up on it. The burden of proof for a U.S. government official to intervene in a Canadian stock-market transaction would have to be pretty high. No, Hillary didn’t “approve” the sale, either. She was just one of 14 — count ’em, 14 — people who sat on a U.S. government committee that might, in theory, have intervened but didn’t.The others on the committee included the secretaries of the Treasury, homeland security, energy and defense; the White House budget director; the attorney general; and the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. So, as far as we know, none of them said peep.

Compromising on single payer, for example...is what got the Democrats where they are with this current health care mess. The Massachusetts/Romney plan was so watered down that you got a hodge-podge of different policies intersecting, and you knew it was going to have to be fixed. The problem, of course, is finding the political will to fix healthcare on a bipartisan basis. The GOP has to see it as in their best interests to repair the current system, rather than doing everything constitutionally possible to see it fail so they can use it as an argument (Obamacare/Dems are still to blame) in the 2018 midterms.

to see it rationally/have a fair discussion. There's half of the problem...there's never going to be a fair/objective/unbiased discussion or progress in this area if it's just people screaming at each other and not even attempting to listen to the other side. Of course, the obvious problem here is the idea of "sides," because you have that split on the left already over some of these issues, and then the much larger split between liberals vs. moderate/independents and these women simply won't get anywhere with conservatives (the positions will become even more entrenched). In fact, even with the state of North Carolina losing BILLIONS of dollars over the bathroom issue (and tons of jobs, especially in the service industry related to special events/conventions/basketball tournaments), there's no signs of the right giving in at all. So you're certainly not going to get anywhere by appealing to reason or emotion or the good 'ol compassion argument. Instead of un-friending or de-friending people you seem to care about....why not simply make an agreement not to talk about these specific issues and vow to work together instead on the areas of common agreement which are not so divisive? Eventually, every movement runs into obstacles/roadblocks and realizes they need to adapt and change their tactics in order to see any progress, or they just dissolve like Occupy Wall Street.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Mar 28, 2017 -> 07:04 PM) Smog builds character, makes children tough The Chinese economic situation here is way too precarious for them to make all the changes (retrofitting factories) to comply with environmental standards. They're bleeding GDP, there's way too much debt at the government and "shadow banking" level, and they can't afford to have massive "one off" layoffs in all those industrial production areas such as coal, cement, steel, etc., because the biggest fear for the CPC is for widespread discontent with leadership to spread too quickly or organize itself on the internet/social media. Finally, the solar power cell movement created a tremendous amount of oversupply, and most have already exited that in search of higher profits in other areas of the economy. Not to mention the electric car charging network and general level of trust or reliability has a long ways to go in China, Taiwan and South Korea.

Since when did Hunter Jones (former Indians of prospect) join the Sox?

http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/28/opinions/tru...nion/index.html Trump's policies have now put China in charge of the world's environmental future

Simple, just tell them you agree with most of their points philosophically....ask as a white man what it is that you can be doing "right now" to help and ask if there's any upcoming projects or events you can participate in as a white male that will involve direct service/action to change things (and that do not require a debate about viewpoints, historical perspectives, etc.)

QUOTE (nitetrain8601 @ Mar 27, 2017 -> 09:42 PM) In any rebuild, you're going to acquire assets that just bust for whatever reason. It's just the nature of the beast. It's why prospects are called prospects and not "Future Superstar". I think many people have to realize that the Cubs rebuild went way better than expected. They pretty much hit on everyone which I can't really recall ever happening. With that said, we are 4 months into a rebuild and it's asinine to me that fans can be calling for the heads of the FO. You can argue Soler underachieved or just plain couldn't stay healthy...and Baez two years ago was a huge disappointment but became quite useful in 2016 more for his defensive wizardry than projected 30+ homer numbers. Other than that, it's hard to express disappointment with any of the higher profile guys. And even then, a (healthy) Wade Davis isn't exactly chopped liver.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/27/politics/tru...ance/index.html Now the wall ask is just $1 billion for barely 60 miles. Immigration ban: two strikes Health care: one strike Wall costs absorbed by Mexico or Ryan's proposed (even more unpopular than AHCA with GOP) border adjustment tax: one strike Labeling China a currency manipulator from Day One: one strike At the rate he's going, lame duck status will arrive sometime between now and August if tax reform, discretionary budget cuts and infrastructure spending ($1 trillion, good luck!) all are DOA. David Gergen argued that it was the worst 100 days of an president in recent history. Even the Wall Street stock market bump is running into trouble as investors realize things are way overpriced compared to perhaps unrealistic expectations of what Trump would actually be able to accomplish fiscally just a month or two ago. Perhaps why you're not hearing as much anti-Chinese rhetoric these days...? http://finance.yahoo.com/news/rich-chinese...TVfMQRzZWMDc2M- China’s wealthy, using not-always-legal means to skirt capital controls to get their money out and at the same time gain residency in the U.S., are continuing to dwarf all others as the largest participants in the EB-5 program, despite heightened measures by the Chinese government. The initiative channels money to high-profile U.S. real estate projects from New York to Miami to California -- including those by the family of Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser. A current plan by the Kushner family to refinance and reconstruct its New York office building at 666 Fifth Avenue is seeking $850 million in EB-5 funding, as well as cash from Anbang Insurance Group (they're the ones who bought the Waldorf-Astoria) and other investors, according to terms of the proposal reported by Bloomberg News. A spokesman for Kushner Cos. declined to comment. At stake if the EB-5 is curtailed is a program estimated to have played a role in creating at least 200,000 U.S. jobs and drawing as much as $14 billion from Chinese investors alone, based on data provided by Rosen Consulting Group and the Asia Society. Past projects taking advantage of EB-5 include New York’s Hudson Yards, Hunter’s Point Shipyard in San Francisco, and a Trump-branded tower in Jersey City. Kushner volunteered to testify over his role in arranging meetings between top campaign aides and Russian envoy to the US Sergey Kislyak. He met Kislyak in December during the presidential transition and sent his deputy, Avrahm Berkowitz, to a second sit down. Kushner also met Sergey N. Gorkov, the head of Russia's economic development bank, at the urging of the Russian ambassador, a senior administration official said. Gorkov has deep ties to the Russian government and was appointed by Putin. The meeting between Kushner and Gorkov is attracting extra intrigue because VneshEconomBank, or VEB, has been under US sanctions for three years, and because Kushner has been trying to attract financing for a building project of his in Manhattan. Trump also said during the campaign that he could lift some sanctions on Russia. http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/28/politics/don...ency/index.html

Gavin Floyd would be a pretty good example, but he didn't go from arguably the top pitching prospect in baseball to "maybe a 4th/5th" starter or Luke Hochevar because of 21+ IP in the majors and a measly 93 (as opposed to 97-98) mph fastball in spring training. (Meaning he had MUCH MUCH longer to prove himself with the Phillies than Giolito had in WASH in the heat of a pennant race.) Sure, it would be great if he was throwing at 97-98 mph, but we should have learned by now that movement and location are equally important, if not moreso. We've all watched pitchers that were throwing in the mid 90's get lit up like a Christmas tree, whether it was location, pitching behind in the count, etc. Giolito will be fine as long as he can get his offspeed stuff across the plate consistently and not get into hitter's counts more often than not. It all comes down to that. For those who remember Jose Contreras at his peak in 2005-2006, he was basically a two pitch pitcher with that forkball and fastball. Of course, his FB velocity was 94-97 and touching 98 that year. It also goes back to that 10+ mph differential on the fastball and offspeed stuff. Giolito shouldn't have to worry as much about that, with a dominant curveball instead of a slider (like Rodon), which tends to inch up closer and closer to his FB velocity at certain times during the season.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 27, 2017 -> 02:53 PM) lol. The budget resolution for the current fiscal year dictates that any reconciliation measure must reduce the deficit, which the GOP's Obamacare repeal was designed to do. Republicans then could draft a new budget resolution for the upcoming fiscal year with easier deficit targets, allowing for more aggressive tax cuts. Technically, tax reform passed through reconciliation still can't add to the deficit. But there are ways for lawmakers to sidestep that rule, for instance by adopting alternative baselines. http://kpcw.org/post/what-failure-obamacar...reform#stream/0 Yes, it's a thing. You really believe potential loopholes are going to protect a huge tax break for the top 10% and corporations in this current political climate? That would require the HFC again...so the only way is giving a huge middle class tax cut to bring Dems on board. Will believe it when I see it.

QUOTE (bmags @ Mar 27, 2017 -> 11:53 AM) Seeing on Twitter that Virginia and Kansas now look likely to take Medicaid expansion. edit: said Nebraska meant kansas. Well, KS pretty much has run out of financing options at the state and local level. The government there is sub Trump level in terms of popularity. http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-go...e141024998.html Brownback's office STILL talking veto if bill passes to get to his desk

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 27, 2017 -> 12:02 PM) Unlike health care reform, the right is pretty unified on tax reduction. That one is a slam dunk. Yes, but they were counting on offsets from the health care reform. The caveat is they ca't add to the deficit, and won't be able to cut enough from discretionary spending to get anywhere close to one trillion. Broad and sweeping tax reform hasn't happened since the Reagan/Tip O'Neill days in the mid 1980's.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/trum...ret-pact-236507 How a secret pact made by the House Freedom Caucus brought down ObamaCare repeal

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Mar 26, 2017 -> 11:17 AM) So it turns out that Trump handed Merkel a NATO invoice for $374 billion dollars during her visit. What a despicable conman and an embarrassment to the US. And that adjustment to 2% of GDP isn't even a rule/law...it's a "guideline," and those 23/28 countries under 2 all still have until 2024. Not to mention Merkel is dealing with the refugee crisis and immigrants that the US is largely responsible for...they're spending is over 2% already including their "soft" spending on unwinding the crisis in that region. That doesn't even include the political costs and consequences.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/angry-over-u-hea...-001902655.html Trump voters (largely) spare him blame for health care debacle

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/protesters-arr...s-during-march/ Three protesters arrested for illegally using pepper spray on Trump supporters. So basically, it's pretty much all even now between the two sides.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Mar 25, 2017 -> 09:50 AM) There's an ongoing lawsuit right now where House Republicans were suing to have the courts rule that the ACA subsidies weren't properly funded. If Trump really is going to gleefully and openly cheer for the collapse of health care for millions of Americans, this is the easiest way. He can choose to instruct his government to simply not defend the lawsuit in court. http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/obam...-lawsuit-231724 FWIW the CBO has also recently said that the ACA exchanges are stable, so unless this lawsuit were to succeed, ACA won't be collapsing in on itself before exploding any time soon even with Congress and the WH trying to break and cause harm to Americans who rely on it every way they can. Trump cutting all advertising for the exchange enrollment period is believed to be the cause of lower than expected signups this year, and there's a federal investigation of that underway. http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/tru...fate/ar-BByIkWN http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/20...surance-status/ President Trump’s executive order restraining Obamacare is already in effect at the IRS. The IRS will (now) accept tax returns that do not declare health insurance status. https://www.yahoo.com/news/obamacare-explod...1--finance.html

So time to take a deep breath? I’d say a shallow one. I can see two possible scenarios that could follow a drawn-out Trump slump. One is the nightmare I’ve been having for more than a year now. A president hobbled domestically by his own party’s divisions and the opposition’s new energy may be tempted — Putin-like — to change the subject in a way that vaults him back to popularity. A foreign altercation from which he will not back down? A trade war? A smidge likelier, I’d say, is an over-the-top response to an inevitable jihadist terror attack in a major American city. A demagogue loses much of his power when he tries to wrestle complicated legislation through various political factions, in the way our gloriously inefficient Constitution requires. He regains it with rank fear, polarization, and a raw show of force. Heaven knows what the Constitution will look like once he’s finished. The other possibility is that Trump really does at some point realize he’s sinking fast and decides on a hard pivot. He wants to win and be loved, and if he keeps losing and becomes more widely loathed with his current strategy, it’s by no means out of character for him to recalibrate. He could use the possible failure of Trumpcare to feed Paul Ryan to the Breitbartians, and reach out to Democrats on a tweaked Obamacare and infrastructure package. He could dump Bannon the way he dumped Manafort and bulls*** his way through all the inconsistencies (the one thing he remains rather good at). He could wrest himself like Kong on Skull Island from the giant lizards and become the tribune of the forgotten men and women he wants to be, and combine nationalism and protectionism with, er, socialism, like his heroine Marine Le Pen. He could finally realize the potential he has thrown away so far, and become an American Perón. The only snag with this strategy, of course, is that he could hard-pivot only to find himself a Kong who’s alienated from the GOP and obstructed by the emboldened Dems, a rogue, bleeding president without a party, marooned on his own island of polarized irrelevance. http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/...nald-trump.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the...m=.751d2e694763

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/201...re-trump-214947 Inside the GOP's health care debacle Donald Trump had heard enough about policy and process. It was Thursday afternoon and members of the House Freedom Caucus were peppering the president with wonkish concerns about the American Health Care Act—the language that would leave Obamacare’s “essential health benefits” in place, the community rating provision that limited what insurers could charge certain patients, and whether the next two steps of Speaker Paul Ryan’s master plan were even feasible—when Trump decided to cut them off. "Forget about the little s***," Trump said, according to multiple sources in the room. "Let's focus on the big picture here." The group of roughly 30 House conservatives, gathered around a mammoth, oval-shaped conference table in the Cabinet Room of the White House, exchanged disapproving looks. Trump wanted to emphasize the political ramifications of the bill's defeat; specifically, he said, it would derail his first-term agenda and imperil his prospects for reelection in 2020. The lawmakers nodded and said they understood. And yet they were disturbed by his dismissiveness. For many of the members, the "little s***" meant the policy details that could make or break their support for the bill—and have far-reaching implications for their constituents and the country. "We’re talking about one-fifth of our economy," a member told me afterward. Ultimately, the meeting failed to move any votes. Two Freedom Caucus members—Brian Babin and Ted Poe, both of Texas—told the president that they had switched to yes, but their decisions had already been registered with White House vote-counters prior to sitting down with Trump. (Their colleagues didn't appreciate the gesture, feeling that Babin and Poe were trying to score points with the president at their expense.) Upon returning to Capitol Hill, the Freedom Caucus gathered in a meeting room inside the Rayburn office building, discussed Trump's admonitions to them and took another vote. The tally had not changed: Of the group’s roughly three dozen members, two-thirds remained opposed, with only five or six of those saying they were "soft" in that stance.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/24/politics/don...lame/index.html Deal or no deal, Trump ready to cast blame 33-36 no votes still. Great leadership...bigly impressed. Trust me. Wonder what actually losing would feel like?

The laughable thing is the AHCA would have multiple millions more without insurance than if the ACA never even existed at all and system "as is" continued in 2010...and yet the cost savings are less than $200 billion even with 24 million theoretically losing coverage. Or the fact that premiums will actually rise the next 2-3 years despite missing essential services in "bare bones" packages.

The amount of legitimate debate at SoxTalk...might STILL be above the negligible amount of genuine engagement and civility that's being exhibited in the House of Representatives right now. And Mr. Munchin, look at all the quantitative/AIish trading programs that have already replaced human fund managers and brokers on Wall Street. Here in China, the high school students are talking about AI and virtual reality nearly every day...is America really falling so far and so fast that students have forgotten how to dream?

http://www.vox.com/2017/3/23/15044354/ahca-plan-friday-vote "The Republican Health Care plan is totally nuts" By the way, 34 against the AHCA is the whip count now