Hi — I’m back posting again. Had a busy month behind me, but more on that another time.
This will be short for now, but Vern and I (and perhaps others) will likely be adding to it in time.
For now, I just wanted you to have a look at a brief introduction to a speech, at this link:
In it, a Republican who opposed Obama aggressively and (he now admits) unfairly, talks about what happened to him when he was diagnosed with a medical condition in college. What happened to him, that is, besides losing his insurance eligibility, forgoing necessary treatment, bankruptcy, and a few other things. What happened to him was: Obama signed the Affordable Care Act. Watch the rest yourself.
This is your Weekend Open Thread. Talk about that, or anything else you’d like, within reasonable bounds of decency and decorum.
Somewhat verbose attorney, semi-disabled and semi-retired, residing in northwest Brea. Occasionally ran for office against jerks who otherwise would have gonr unopposed. Got 45% of the vote against Bob Huff for State Senate in 2012; Josh Newman then won the seat in 2016. In 2014 became the first attorney to challenge OCDA Tony Rackauckas since 2002; Todd Spitzer then won that seat in 2018. Every time he's run against some rotten incumbent, the *next* person to challenge them wins! He's OK with that.
Corrupt party hacks hate him. He's OK with that too.
He does advise some local campaigns informally and (so far) without compensation. (If that last bit changes, he will declare the interest.)
His daughter is a professional campaign treasurer. He doesn't usually know whom she and her firm represent. Whether they do so never influences his endorsements or coverage. (He does have his own strong opinions.) But when he does check campaign finance forms, he is often happily surprised to learn that good candidates he respects often DO hire her firm. (Maybe bad ones are scared off by his relationship with her, but they needn't be.)
I empathize with this man’s position. But let’s face it – his viewpoint isn’t close to being objective. It’s been tainted by his own personal circumstances.
For the last 50 years our health care system has been broken. It still is. Moreso now than ever, just in a different way. Obama coined it the “Affordable Care Act”. Those of you who work and purchase private health insurance for your families know that’s far from the truth. Costs continue to rise over 10% a year. Some health care plans are now unaffordable for many. Deductibles have grown tremendously. Premiums as well. And you can’t always see the doctor that you’ve trusted with your life. Obama lied.
Did you know that the percentage of GDP America spends on health care continues to grow? It’s at about 20% of GDP now – much, much higher than the rest of the industrialized world. Why?
The ones you elected to office (both Democrats and Republicans) sold out to the health care industry. They’ve taken massive amounts in legal bribes and have given the health care industry monopolized power over the consumer via the laws that they’ve enacted.
You are forbidden by Law to purchase American made pharmaceuticals from foreign countries. Yet across the globe (Canada, Europe, Asia and in the 3rd world) American made pharmaceuticals cost 50% or less what you would pay for the same drug at your local drugstore. Essentially, you are subsiding pharmaceutical care for the entire globe.
Same with medical devices. US manufactured MRI machines are sold to foreign lands at heavily discounted prices. Reimportation is illegal. You pay for it.
Why do you think an American can fly to India and get a quadruple bypass at a 5 star hospital by US trained cardio-thoracic surgeons with all the needed aftercare at 10% of the cost you’d pay here?
Why do you think you could fly to Japan and get an MRI and the services of a radiologist and vacation on the island for a week at a lesser cost than the same MRI would cost you in America?
Who do you think wrote the ObamaCare Law? The health insurance companies, the pharmaceutical companies, the AMA, etc… As Nancy Pelosi told you. Congress had to pass ACA in order to find out what was inside. Is that any way to run a government?
Obama didn’t solve a thing except for providing free or accessible health care to many that many more would have to pay dearly for.
If the monopolization of health care in the US stopped – that is if the pols stopped taking legal bribes to sell votes to pass Laws favorable to the health care industry – health care prices would fall by 60% overnight.
Until you actually see price lists in your doctors offices the bezzle is still in place.
“Obama didn’t solve a thing except for providing free or accessible health care to many that many more would have to pay dearly for.”
That overstatement couldn’t be more wrong.
Tell us, oh wise one, is it a good thing that people may no longer be turned down for health insurance because of a pre-existing condition?
Is it a good thing that Obamacare set at least SOME new standards for insurance policies so that insurance companies can’t sell crap policies to unsuspecting consumers?
Just two examples.
Obamacare isn’t perfect, but to claim that it “didn’t solve a thing” is just plain ignorance. Oh, and it’s also unobjective.
I don’t think I could get consensus from you on the time of day. 🙂
I guess if you looked hard enough you could find a silver lining in the bubonic plague.
If we keep the same sort of insurance driven health care system I too believe that pre-existing illness should not be denied coverage. But I also believe that those with pre-existing illnesses should pay a sharp premium for their coverage. Those at a higher risk for car accidents must pay higher auto insurance rates. Those at higher risk for fires or floods must pay higher homeowner insurance rates. Those at higher risk for death must pay higher life insurance rates. Why shouldn’t those at higher risk for illness pay higher health insurance rates?
There are still crap insurance policies out there. Have you looked at the bronze plans? The deductibles are over the top. You pay $6,000 a year in premiums and there’s a 90% chance that you won’t meet your $5,000 deductible before your benefits kick in. How is that not a crap policy? You’ve got better odds in Vegas. The problem is you aren’t forced by law to play roulette. But you are forced by law to buy health care insurance as mandated by ObamaCare.
The bottom line is that there is no ‘free market’ left in the health care for consumers. Don’t you find it strange that no one asks his or her doctor what a certain procedure costs before you purchase it?
What would you do if you walked into a supermarket and none of the items were marked. When you took your basket to the cash register and asked for the pricing you were told you’d be billed in 3 weeks after you made your purchase. Would you complete the transaction?
Obama allowed the health care industry to design ACA so that they would maximize their profits. Why? Because Obama and his colleagues have received hundreds of millions of legal bribe dollars from the health care companies. That goes for both Democrats and Republicans. You see, I’m objective. No political party or ideology owns me.
Ziegfried’s position that both Democrats and Republicans are equally responsible for the state of healthcare in this country could not be more wrong.
Only the Democrats have been proactive in putting forth solutions and policy in place to move the country forward. Yes, Obamacare is not perfect, but it is better than what we had before. Ziegfried dismisses an anecdotal story, but multiply that story by 20 million newly insured and the millions who don’t have to worry about pre-existing conditions or lifetime caps and it certainly is significant.
Obamacare could be improved, a single-payer option could be added and problems could be solved but we have one party, the Republicans, who not only refuse to help make those improvements, but whose overwhelming objective is to destroy Obamacare.
Where are the Republican plans to replace or improve healthcare? They’re either nonexistent or a poor, piece meal hash that virtually puts us back to square one.
Democrats are not flawless, but as a party they do embrace new ideas and they do try to move the country forward. The same cannot be said of the Republicans, especially where health care is concerned.
Ziegfried
Posted March 6, 2016 at 11:47 AM
If the government gave everyone who does not own a home a free one would that make for a better country?
The problem with your analysis is that you examine one side of the equation while completely ignoring the other.
I told you what the problem is. Health care companies purchase votes from lawmakers that become health care laws which punish American consumers. Democrats are notorious for selling their health care votes. And this has increased the price for medical care in America tremendously.
Did you forget what the former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi told us prior to the ACA vote….that they had to pass it to find out what was in it? Again, that’s no way to run a legitimate government.
Donald Trump has come out with his health care plan. Did you read it? His makes more sense than what we have now. He wants more scrutiny over the American pharma companies who have gouged the US consumers and forced us to subsidize pharmaceutical costs for practically every nation on earth. He also wants to allow insurance companies to do business across states lines adding more competition to bring costs down.
Giving stuff away for free never made anyone prosperous. However, if we played our cards right we could reduce the cost of health care so that it would be affordable for all Americans.
Let’s think outside the box and stop being politically partisan which got us into this mess in the first place.
anon
Posted March 6, 2016 at 12:37 PM
“Democrats are notorious for selling their health care votes.”
Well the problem is that you examine one side of the equation while completely ignoring the other.
The party split chart should be of particular interest to you;
Of course what you failed to mention is that in the years leading up to the passage of ObamaCare by congress that the dems received much more in PAC and pharma contributions than the pubs.
“Lobbyists have donated twice as much to Democrats as Republicans this year -– and corporate PACs have sent 60% of their money to Democrats, according to the data. That’s a reversal from just a few years ago when Republicans controlled Congress and the White House.”
You also conveniently failed to disclose that ObamaCare was approved by the dem majority in congress and a democrat President after Nancy Pelosi told us that they had to pass it to find out what was in it.
No wonder since they received most of the health care lobbyist money leading up to the vote.
Today the pubs have the majority in congress so it makes sense that they would receive most of the lobbyist money.
You seem to view everything in black and white. Dem vs. Pub when the truth is they’ve combined forces to create a one-party system.
Objective people can figure that out.
Which is the reason Trump has catapulted into the lead in the GOP race for POTUS.
The problem is that the dems continue to be fooled by Hillary who is leading by a wide margin in the Dem race for POTUS.
Are you beginning to see where the problem lies?
Always rooting for the home team is a terrible method to use in selecting your elected leaders.
Most of you now admit that Obama’s “hope and change” slogan was a fraud.
Now you’re going to double down on Hillary? 🙂
anon
Posted March 6, 2016 at 1:50 PM
All that insurance and health sector money bought a lot of no votes on the ACA. Fortunately, they failed.
anon
Posted March 6, 2016 at 1:54 PM
Additionally, spare us all the post-partisan shade you like to fling. Making an observation about the money one side takes and then trying to backpedal with all your non-partisan BS is really lame.
“If the government gave everyone who does not own a home a free one would that make for a better country?”
What does that have to do with health care? Oh let me guess, single-payer, the health care plan embraced by other countries that not only holds down costs, but makes for a healthier citizenry.
***********************
“The problem with your analysis is that you examine one side of the equation while completely ignoring the other.
I told you what the problem is. Health care companies purchase votes from lawmakers that become health care laws which punish American consumers. Democrats are notorious for selling their health care votes. And this has increased the price for medical care in America tremendously.”
It is true that lobbying by pharmaceutical and insurance companies has a corrupting influence on congress, but which party is more likely to do something about it (hint: it ain’t the Republicans).
“Big Pharma tends to spend more on Republicans than Democrats, and the GOP benefited from 58 percent of the industry’s federal contributions in 2012 and 2014 while Democrats received 42 percent, according to the CRP.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s a group of 18 House Democrats, not Republicans, who are demanding that the CEO of Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Michael Pearson, join Shkreli in front of the House Oversight Committee during the first week of October to answer questions about recent price hikes on two drugs produced by his company.”
“Did you forget what the former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi told us prior to the ACA vote….that they had to pass it to find out what was in it? Again, that’s no way to run a legitimate government.”
That’s an out-of-context right wing talking point, to supposedly prove that congress was voting for things they had no idea about.
The truth is that Pelosi was referring to the fact that the senate hadn’t passed their version of the bill and you have to have a bill before you know what’s in it.
**********************
“Donald Trump has come out with his health care plan. Did you read it? His makes more sense than what we have now. He wants more scrutiny over the American pharma companies who have gouged the US consumers and forced us to subsidize pharmaceutical costs for practically every nation on earth. He also wants to allow insurance companies to do business across states lines adding more competition to bring costs down.”
Donald Trump’s “plan” is woefully short on details and makes no mention of pre-existing conditions.
As for buying insurance across state lines, that’s a race to the bottom. You earlier mentioned “crap” bronze policies that have high deductibles, these are really catastrophic plans for the healthy and they at least assure a decent level of coverage. Those across state line plans won’t have any such guarantees, they’ll be cheap because they be really crappy. Case in point: I bought a new house last year and it came with one of those homeowner policies that are based in the south. I had a water heater go out and was given an approved plumbing company, after being stood up for the first three appt. they finally came out … skip ahead … restoration company called … skip ahead… after about nine visits, I had a water heater. It was a nightmare, but when I called to complain I got a sugary, southern voice, but no satisfaction. The Yelp reviews on the plumbing company that others with this cheap insurance plan were forced to use were scathing. I can just imagine the level of health care that kind of insurance would provide. So, try again.
***************************
“Let’s think outside the box and stop being politically partisan which got us into this mess in the first place.”
I see only ONE PARTY trying to get us out of this “mess” and that’s the Democrats. The Republicans only offer obstructionism and empty platitudes. Where is the Republican party’s healthcare plan? They’ve had years to craft a workable alternative to the ACA, but all they offer is ‘crickets’, also why not help make the ACA better? Most important legislation needs amendments and adjustments to make them better or to keep up with changes.
And if you want to talk “partisanship” how can you possibly justify the Republican party’s vow to block Obama on everything? From the moment Obama was inaugurated to the naming of Scalia’s successor the Republicans have put partisanship over the welfare of the country.
The Republicans have devolved into an extremist party and no amount of comparisons and both-sides-do-it gibberish will change that.
Ziegfried
Posted March 6, 2016 at 2:23 PM
“What does that have to do with health care?”
It’s an analogy.
I would say that single-payor is much better than what we have today. But there are other options that are much better than single-payor.
“It is true that lobbying by pharmaceutical and insurance companies has a corrupting influence on congress, but which party is more likely to do something about it (hint: it ain’t the Republicans).”
Unless you support your claim with evidence I can’t take it seriously.
“Big Pharma tends to spend more on Republicans than Democrats, and the GOP benefited from 58 percent of the industry’s federal contributions in 2012 and 2014 while Democrats received 42 percent, according to the CRP.”
Check out the WSJ link I sent to poster ‘anon’. The dems received by far (over 60%) more legal bribes from health care companies leading up to the passage of ObamaCare. The dems had a majority of seats in congress back then just as the pubs do now. If we use our common sense we can figure it out.
By demonstrating your political partisanship you fall right into their trap and perpetuate the status quo. You are a good friend and supporter of the political establishment.
So don’t complain when nothing changes.
anon
Posted March 6, 2016 at 2:39 PM
“Unless you support your claim with evidence I can’t take it seriously.”
You missed anonster’s reference to the Valeant and Shkreli cases.
Which should be plenty for you, since you like to point to a single case to make a larger point.
Ziegfried
Posted March 6, 2016 at 2:44 PM
“The truth is that Pelosi was referring to the fact that the senate hadn’t passed their version of the bill and you have to have a bill before you know what’s in it.”
Untrue. If the Senate modified the bill it would have to return to the House for another vote. The House vote essentially was the final vote that approved ObamaCare. Go back and do your research. All of us knew what Pelosi meant. And most electeds admitted to not reading the bill which exceeded 2,000 pages – all written by lobbyists.
“Donald Trump’s “plan” is woefully short on details and makes no mention of pre-existing conditions.”
What’s Hillary’s plan? More of the same. How’s that a strategy for change? Do you want costs to continue to rise over 10% a year? Then vote for Hillary!
At least Trump has put a plan on the table for all to see.
“As for buying insurance across state lines, that’s a race to the bottom.”
Not true at all. An insurance company could modify the insurance plan according to the needs and laws of a particular state. Competition is what made America great. With more competition the consumer wins. If you are anti-competition you favor higher health care costs. Simple economics.
“I see only ONE PARTY trying to get us out of this “mess” and that’s the Democrats.”
OMG. That pretty much says it all. And with that said there’s really nothing left to debate, as I perceive you (and like-minded individuals) as an integral part of the problem as opposed to being part of the solution.
“And if you want to talk “partisanship” how can you possibly justify the Republican party’s vow to block Obama on everything?”
You’re sympathetic to the closest thing we’ve had in the White House to a dictator in American history? Obama (the constitutional law prof) has violated the US Constitution several times – and has repeatedly exceeded his authority on executive actions – and as the Nobel Peace Prize winner invaded Libya and Syria in violation of the Geneva Convention and international law – and driven millions of refugees from their homeland.
“You missed anonster’s reference to the Valeant and Shkreli cases.”
That was one isolated piece of low-hanging fruit ready to fall from the limb that has nothing to do with the obscene laws approved by the dems that forbid the reimportation of American made pharmaceutical from foreign lands which force American consumers to pay excessively high prices for medicines and thereby heavily subsidize pharmaceutical care for the entire world.
Valeant was the sacrificial lamb to fool you into believing that the dems are tough on pharma price gouging. It appears to have fooled you. You took your eye off the ball and were called out on strikes.
Let me know when the dems do something to stop the monopolization of the health care industry that has resulted in Americans spending 20% of our GDP on health care.
Well, it’s kind of hard to have a “discussion” when one party claims to be non-partisan and then devolves into Obama-is-a-dictator crapolla.
I’ve learned it’s not really worth the effort trying to reason with a closed mind.
Ziegfried
Posted March 6, 2016 at 3:09 PM
“Please, feel free to enlighten us with details.”
I prefer to go back to the health care system that was in place when I was a kid.
Insurance was meant to cover catastrophic illness and hospitalizations. Not day to day medical care. That was mostly paid out of pocket when prices were actually affordable. Naturally, in those days we didn’t subsidize the rest of their world for their health care and the legal bribes paid to our electeds by the health care industry were miniscule compared to what we have today.
Didn’t you read my previous comment? Your open secrets link did not address how much the health care industry spent on the dems in legal bribes leading up to the passage of ObamaCare. The dems received over 60% of the legal bribes. Do you research. I am not fooled easily. The pubs hold the large majority of seats in congress today. So logic has it they would currently collect more legal bribes than the dems. See how it works? Common sense.
Btw, I am not a pub or a dem. I can view this through objective eyes.
When you start linking stuff like that I smell the scent of victory.
Ziegfried
Posted March 6, 2016 at 3:21 PM
“Well, it’s kind of hard to have a “discussion” when one party claims to be non-partisan and then devolves into Obama-is-a-dictator crapolla”
Obama is a quasi-dictator and a proven fraud.
Most of my democrat friends agree that Obama has been a huge failure and disappointment.
Illegal invasions of Libya & Syria, failed transparency, troops remain in Afghanistan until year 2025 or longer, mismanagement of Iraq, constitutional violations, abuse of executive powers, etc…..
The facts speak for themselves.
I said much worse things about GW Bush, which supports my non-partisan viewpoint.
You give yourself away when you say “my democrat friends” that’s like a right-wing club secret password.
I can understand Donald Drumfs appeal for you, he’s long on bravado, arrogance and over-estimating his intelligence, but short on details, policy positions, civility and most importantly, fingers.
He’s the fill-in-the-blanks candidate and most of his supporters fill-in-the-blanks with themselves, he’s you, so of course you’ll support him.
Good luck with that.
anon
Posted March 6, 2016 at 5:40 PM
“…which supports my non-partisan viewpoint.”
Mmm hmmm, keep telling yourself that. You know, like a daily affirmation. I’m sure you can convince yourself of anything.
Ziegfried
Posted March 6, 2016 at 7:00 PM
Both of you are long on partisanship, short on independent thought. Exactly what your owners want. I suspect both of you will vote for Hillary. She’ll give you more hope and change. 🙂
“Ladieeees and Gentlemen !….Now… in the center ring… the Death Battle of the Dueling Santa Clauses!……..Pay no attention to the consequences behind the curtain !…….
Actually, there are 5 Stoopids, not 3. Were there any Marx brothers movies made with one dressed in drag ? That would do it. The scary thought is that barring worse catastrophie, ONE is sure to win.
I believe that we will end up with full European style socialized medicine in the next POTUS administration if it is a democrat/ If not a dem we are going to watch more tilting at that windmill.
Seriously? Well, I gotta give you credit for being optimistic.
Just a couple problems, though:
1. A Republican-led House of Representatives.
2. The botched rollout of Obamacare. It’s going to take longer than just a few years to re-create the momentum toward single-payer. That was dealt a serious blow by the way Obamacare was handled.
Yep. Head on straight. Now compare with Todd Spitzer, Lou Correa, Sharon Quirk and a host of our local worthies who are TERRIFIED of not getting the police unions’ endorsements.
Yes and what’s more that mind-set also cultivated the pro “public safety” taxpayer-funded jamboree that continues to this day, accelerated by 9/11. We pay more and more and get less and less.
In the case cited, the cop deliberately and maliciously lied to instigate a false prosecution. In OC that DA would have pursued the case with vigor even if the DDA knew the cop was lying. Consider the case of Veth Mam who was not only assaulted by a Fullerton cop, but was himself tried for assault even though the DA knew about the exculpatory video; and the cops who lied on the stand? No punishment, no accountability.
We are still living from the fallout of Prop 47 – Chief Rojas says that crime is through the roof in Santa Ana over the past 2 years – and he links that to Prop 47.
David Zenger
Posted March 5, 2016 at 1:39 PM
Oddly enough, I wouldn’t put much faith in the pronouncements by a chief of police.
Ziegfried
Posted March 5, 2016 at 1:48 PM
If statistics proved that Prop 47 (or AB109) were the primary reasons for the recent surge in crime the police/DA unions/associations would be all over it like white on rice.
If it were true it would be very easy to prove statistically.
I don’t view police abuse as a political party issue. IOW’s that the Republicans endorse it and the Democrats condemn it. Take the city of Santa Ana, for instance. Isn’t the Santa Ana city council exclusively Democrat?
Why isn’t the Santa Ana council pressing the Santa Ana PD for their findings on the marijuana dispensary raid that caught their officers on video destroying thousands of dollars of privately owned electronic equipment and narcotic cops said to be indulging on dispensary product? The raid happened last year in May about 10 month ago. Were the officers in question given drug tests following the raid? What are the results? Investigating allegations of sworn narcotic officers indulging in controlled substances on camera during a drug raid should be a top priority for any city. What about the destruction of the private property? Do those cops still have their jobs? Is anyone going to be charged? Why aren’t the Democrats on the Santa Ana city council talking about this and demanding answers?
What about the Santa Ana cops caught on video beating Edgar Arzate while he lay prone on the ground with his arms spread in June 2014? Edgar was hospitalized with injuries after the beating. The evidence was clear. The camera doesn’t lie. Do all those cops still have their jobs? Any charges? Where are all those good Democrats on the Santa Ana city council? Why aren’t they publicly demanding answers from the police?
My point is that both political parties turn a blind eye to police abuse. Not just the Republicans.
Once we acknowledge that maybe we can drop our political banners, come together and fix the problem instead of fighting among ourselves over which political party is responsible.
“My point is that both political parties turn a blind eye to police abuse.”
Point taken.
But if you’re claiming that there is some sort of historic, exact equivalency (and I don’t know that you are) when it comes to the vigor with which each party condemns police abuse, well, I think you’d be skating on thin ice with that position.
In Huntington Beach, a seaside city in Orange County, Officer Brad Smith says Prop 47 means more drug addicts are out, living on the street. He pulls his patrol car up behind a case in point — a silver Volvo that serves as the home of two young heroin addicts. The officer seems to have a cordial relationship with them, even though he arrested them a few weeks earlier.
“We found heroin in the car,” Smith says. “We also found stolen property from three or four victims.”
NPR –
I suggest that you tell Brad Smith and his friends of like mind to put up or shut up. If they can analyze the data and unequivocally demonstrate that Prop 47 is responsible for the upsurge in crime – then do it. I’ll accept it provided that they don’t use fuzzy math in the process. If what Brad and others say is true – statistics should support their claim. I contend if it were true that police unions and associations would have already been waving it in our faces. They have all the data. Analyzing whether those who benefitted from Prop 47 are responsible for the rise in crime would be a relatively easy job. Some kid with a community college AA degree in computer programing could probably do it.
You see, the problem here is that America has the overwhelmingly largest per capita prison population in the industrialized world. You can find the data on-line at Wikipedia if you question me. So we’re doing something terribly wrong. It needs to get fixed. Freedom and being the nation that holds the unsavory title of having the world’s largest per capita prison population are not compatible. I think all of us, regardless of our political affiliations, could agree on that.
Total GOP delegates to date: Trump: 382; Cruz: 300; Rubio: 128.
Total DEM delegates to date: Hillary: 1,121; Bernie: 481.
Cruz gained slightly on Trump in delegates.
Even though Bernie won 2 states to Hillary’s 1, she topped him in delegates by 6.
I really don’t understand what the Dems see in Hillary with her baggage. Don’t they understand she’s deeply indebted to Wall Street?
Rubio should just drop out. I read that there are some strong allegations of infidelity on his part that just surfaced too. He’s as good as done.
Several reasons I could not vote for Cruz:
1. He married a Goldman Sach’s banker.
2. He lied about Carson suspending his campaign to win Iowa.
3. There’s a cloud over his citizenship status. He was born in Canada in 1970. He became a Canadian citizen. At that time it was forbidden by Canadian law to hold dual US-Canadian citizenship. This requires additional investigation. In good conscience I couldn’t vote for a man for President when there are unresolved questions about his US citizenship.
I still don’t understand why Bernie didn’t go for Hillary’s jugular in the Dem race. There was so much material at his disposal. He just refused to take advantage of it and essentially handed her the win. Now he’s just barely hanging on by a thread.
Looks like Trump is leading in the polls in the big pending states of Michigan and Florida. A Trump win in Florida would be humiliating for Rubio. That would certainly be the end of the road for Marco.
Romney seemed to hurt Marco more than help him. After his poor showing against Obama in 2012 he has no room to talk about 2016’s GOP candidates. Romney surrendered in the last month of the 2012 race. He went MIA. He’s another one of those who came into politics riding on his dad’s coattails. (Ref: GW Bush).
Joe Dunn lands a BIG union endorsement, the SEIU. He TOLD me in our November interview that he had “plenty” of endorsements, and would release them all when he felt like it. He told me right:
“Members of California’s Largest Union for Service Employees and Health Care Workers Choose Joe Dunn for Congress.
“Santa Ana, Calif. – The Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which represents more than 700,000 workers in California, has endorsed Joe Dunn for California’ 46th Congressional District, announced the Dunn campaign.
“‘For his entire career, Joe Dunn has stood up for the working people in our communities, especially when it meant taking on powerful corporations,’ said Arturo Perrilla, a janitor in Orange County. ‘SEIU members are backing Joe Dunn for Congress because he has the strongest record of helping workers and our families get ahead. We need someone to fight for us and we know Joe will.’
“The SEIU represents California in all of its diversity. They are social workers, nurses, classroom aides, state workers, security officers, college professors, home care workers, janitors, and more. Members of the SEIU are also some of the most politically active in the state. Joe has stood with SEIU members to improve access to reliable and quality public services in our communities. He is currently working with the University of California at Irvine to permanently fund a labor center that would give workers a stronger voice in our local economy….”
I wonder if Dan C will print this one like he does everything from Lou?
If you don’t like organized service employees, I don’t think that you’re his target demographic. You might enjoy voting for Lynn Schott or someone like that.
Down about 700 delegates to Clinton, Bernie is finally starting get in her face. Hey, Bernie….little late for that, isn’t it? But it gives the audience a thrill.
My gut instinct is that Bernie had no intention of beating Clinton. He was just part of the act. I guess they needed a fall guy to stand there and debate her. But it seemed cut and dried from the start.
Politics American style.
Maybe Hillary will give Bernie a cabinet post for going through the motions. It’s only fair. Sort of like what Obama did for her.
You’re counting superdelegates as if they are committed. They aren’t — and there’s a huge cost to going against the candidate favored by the voters. He’s down about 200. BUT…
Pretty much everyone in the game knows that the primary calendar up through March 15 favors Hillary and then after that it favors Bernie. Just sit back and enjoy the show.
California is now enacting “registration by default” via the DMV to force more participation in a choice many have little interest in making. Some states have the opposite problem-
I empathize with this man’s position. But let’s face it – his viewpoint isn’t close to being objective. It’s been tainted by his own personal circumstances.
For the last 50 years our health care system has been broken. It still is. Moreso now than ever, just in a different way. Obama coined it the “Affordable Care Act”. Those of you who work and purchase private health insurance for your families know that’s far from the truth. Costs continue to rise over 10% a year. Some health care plans are now unaffordable for many. Deductibles have grown tremendously. Premiums as well. And you can’t always see the doctor that you’ve trusted with your life. Obama lied.
Did you know that the percentage of GDP America spends on health care continues to grow? It’s at about 20% of GDP now – much, much higher than the rest of the industrialized world. Why?
The ones you elected to office (both Democrats and Republicans) sold out to the health care industry. They’ve taken massive amounts in legal bribes and have given the health care industry monopolized power over the consumer via the laws that they’ve enacted.
You are forbidden by Law to purchase American made pharmaceuticals from foreign countries. Yet across the globe (Canada, Europe, Asia and in the 3rd world) American made pharmaceuticals cost 50% or less what you would pay for the same drug at your local drugstore. Essentially, you are subsiding pharmaceutical care for the entire globe.
Same with medical devices. US manufactured MRI machines are sold to foreign lands at heavily discounted prices. Reimportation is illegal. You pay for it.
Why do you think an American can fly to India and get a quadruple bypass at a 5 star hospital by US trained cardio-thoracic surgeons with all the needed aftercare at 10% of the cost you’d pay here?
Why do you think you could fly to Japan and get an MRI and the services of a radiologist and vacation on the island for a week at a lesser cost than the same MRI would cost you in America?
Who do you think wrote the ObamaCare Law? The health insurance companies, the pharmaceutical companies, the AMA, etc… As Nancy Pelosi told you. Congress had to pass ACA in order to find out what was inside. Is that any way to run a government?
Obama didn’t solve a thing except for providing free or accessible health care to many that many more would have to pay dearly for.
If the monopolization of health care in the US stopped – that is if the pols stopped taking legal bribes to sell votes to pass Laws favorable to the health care industry – health care prices would fall by 60% overnight.
Until you actually see price lists in your doctors offices the bezzle is still in place.
“Obama didn’t solve a thing except for providing free or accessible health care to many that many more would have to pay dearly for.”
That overstatement couldn’t be more wrong.
Tell us, oh wise one, is it a good thing that people may no longer be turned down for health insurance because of a pre-existing condition?
Is it a good thing that Obamacare set at least SOME new standards for insurance policies so that insurance companies can’t sell crap policies to unsuspecting consumers?
Just two examples.
Obamacare isn’t perfect, but to claim that it “didn’t solve a thing” is just plain ignorance. Oh, and it’s also unobjective.
I don’t think I could get consensus from you on the time of day. 🙂
I guess if you looked hard enough you could find a silver lining in the bubonic plague.
If we keep the same sort of insurance driven health care system I too believe that pre-existing illness should not be denied coverage. But I also believe that those with pre-existing illnesses should pay a sharp premium for their coverage. Those at a higher risk for car accidents must pay higher auto insurance rates. Those at higher risk for fires or floods must pay higher homeowner insurance rates. Those at higher risk for death must pay higher life insurance rates. Why shouldn’t those at higher risk for illness pay higher health insurance rates?
There are still crap insurance policies out there. Have you looked at the bronze plans? The deductibles are over the top. You pay $6,000 a year in premiums and there’s a 90% chance that you won’t meet your $5,000 deductible before your benefits kick in. How is that not a crap policy? You’ve got better odds in Vegas. The problem is you aren’t forced by law to play roulette. But you are forced by law to buy health care insurance as mandated by ObamaCare.
The bottom line is that there is no ‘free market’ left in the health care for consumers. Don’t you find it strange that no one asks his or her doctor what a certain procedure costs before you purchase it?
What would you do if you walked into a supermarket and none of the items were marked. When you took your basket to the cash register and asked for the pricing you were told you’d be billed in 3 weeks after you made your purchase. Would you complete the transaction?
Obama allowed the health care industry to design ACA so that they would maximize their profits. Why? Because Obama and his colleagues have received hundreds of millions of legal bribe dollars from the health care companies. That goes for both Democrats and Republicans. You see, I’m objective. No political party or ideology owns me.
How ’bout you?
Spare me. Your “the only thing…” comment has a lack of objectivity written all over it.
No good answers, eh?
I thought so. 😉
Ziegfried’s position that both Democrats and Republicans are equally responsible for the state of healthcare in this country could not be more wrong.
Only the Democrats have been proactive in putting forth solutions and policy in place to move the country forward. Yes, Obamacare is not perfect, but it is better than what we had before. Ziegfried dismisses an anecdotal story, but multiply that story by 20 million newly insured and the millions who don’t have to worry about pre-existing conditions or lifetime caps and it certainly is significant.
Obamacare could be improved, a single-payer option could be added and problems could be solved but we have one party, the Republicans, who not only refuse to help make those improvements, but whose overwhelming objective is to destroy Obamacare.
Where are the Republican plans to replace or improve healthcare? They’re either nonexistent or a poor, piece meal hash that virtually puts us back to square one.
Democrats are not flawless, but as a party they do embrace new ideas and they do try to move the country forward. The same cannot be said of the Republicans, especially where health care is concerned.
If the government gave everyone who does not own a home a free one would that make for a better country?
The problem with your analysis is that you examine one side of the equation while completely ignoring the other.
I told you what the problem is. Health care companies purchase votes from lawmakers that become health care laws which punish American consumers. Democrats are notorious for selling their health care votes. And this has increased the price for medical care in America tremendously.
Did you forget what the former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi told us prior to the ACA vote….that they had to pass it to find out what was in it? Again, that’s no way to run a legitimate government.
Donald Trump has come out with his health care plan. Did you read it? His makes more sense than what we have now. He wants more scrutiny over the American pharma companies who have gouged the US consumers and forced us to subsidize pharmaceutical costs for practically every nation on earth. He also wants to allow insurance companies to do business across states lines adding more competition to bring costs down.
Giving stuff away for free never made anyone prosperous. However, if we played our cards right we could reduce the cost of health care so that it would be affordable for all Americans.
Let’s think outside the box and stop being politically partisan which got us into this mess in the first place.
“Democrats are notorious for selling their health care votes.”
Well the problem is that you examine one side of the equation while completely ignoring the other.
The party split chart should be of particular interest to you;
https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?ind=F09
Closer in the health sector, but Republicans still lead the way.
http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?ind=H&cycle=2006
Of course what you failed to mention is that in the years leading up to the passage of ObamaCare by congress that the dems received much more in PAC and pharma contributions than the pubs.
“Lobbyists have donated twice as much to Democrats as Republicans this year -– and corporate PACs have sent 60% of their money to Democrats, according to the data. That’s a reversal from just a few years ago when Republicans controlled Congress and the White House.”
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2009/09/29/lobbyists-pacs-donate-more-to-democrats/
You also conveniently failed to disclose that ObamaCare was approved by the dem majority in congress and a democrat President after Nancy Pelosi told us that they had to pass it to find out what was in it.
No wonder since they received most of the health care lobbyist money leading up to the vote.
Today the pubs have the majority in congress so it makes sense that they would receive most of the lobbyist money.
You seem to view everything in black and white. Dem vs. Pub when the truth is they’ve combined forces to create a one-party system.
Objective people can figure that out.
Which is the reason Trump has catapulted into the lead in the GOP race for POTUS.
The problem is that the dems continue to be fooled by Hillary who is leading by a wide margin in the Dem race for POTUS.
Are you beginning to see where the problem lies?
Always rooting for the home team is a terrible method to use in selecting your elected leaders.
Most of you now admit that Obama’s “hope and change” slogan was a fraud.
Now you’re going to double down on Hillary? 🙂
All that insurance and health sector money bought a lot of no votes on the ACA. Fortunately, they failed.
Additionally, spare us all the post-partisan shade you like to fling. Making an observation about the money one side takes and then trying to backpedal with all your non-partisan BS is really lame.
“If the government gave everyone who does not own a home a free one would that make for a better country?”
What does that have to do with health care? Oh let me guess, single-payer, the health care plan embraced by other countries that not only holds down costs, but makes for a healthier citizenry.
***********************
“The problem with your analysis is that you examine one side of the equation while completely ignoring the other.
I told you what the problem is. Health care companies purchase votes from lawmakers that become health care laws which punish American consumers. Democrats are notorious for selling their health care votes. And this has increased the price for medical care in America tremendously.”
It is true that lobbying by pharmaceutical and insurance companies has a corrupting influence on congress, but which party is more likely to do something about it (hint: it ain’t the Republicans).
“Big Pharma tends to spend more on Republicans than Democrats, and the GOP benefited from 58 percent of the industry’s federal contributions in 2012 and 2014 while Democrats received 42 percent, according to the CRP.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s a group of 18 House Democrats, not Republicans, who are demanding that the CEO of Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Michael Pearson, join Shkreli in front of the House Oversight Committee during the first week of October to answer questions about recent price hikes on two drugs produced by his company.”
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/33010-how-much-of-big-pharma-s-massive-profits-are-used-to-influence-politicians
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“Did you forget what the former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi told us prior to the ACA vote….that they had to pass it to find out what was in it? Again, that’s no way to run a legitimate government.”
That’s an out-of-context right wing talking point, to supposedly prove that congress was voting for things they had no idea about.
The truth is that Pelosi was referring to the fact that the senate hadn’t passed their version of the bill and you have to have a bill before you know what’s in it.
**********************
“Donald Trump has come out with his health care plan. Did you read it? His makes more sense than what we have now. He wants more scrutiny over the American pharma companies who have gouged the US consumers and forced us to subsidize pharmaceutical costs for practically every nation on earth. He also wants to allow insurance companies to do business across states lines adding more competition to bring costs down.”
Donald Trump’s “plan” is woefully short on details and makes no mention of pre-existing conditions.
As for buying insurance across state lines, that’s a race to the bottom. You earlier mentioned “crap” bronze policies that have high deductibles, these are really catastrophic plans for the healthy and they at least assure a decent level of coverage. Those across state line plans won’t have any such guarantees, they’ll be cheap because they be really crappy. Case in point: I bought a new house last year and it came with one of those homeowner policies that are based in the south. I had a water heater go out and was given an approved plumbing company, after being stood up for the first three appt. they finally came out … skip ahead … restoration company called … skip ahead… after about nine visits, I had a water heater. It was a nightmare, but when I called to complain I got a sugary, southern voice, but no satisfaction. The Yelp reviews on the plumbing company that others with this cheap insurance plan were forced to use were scathing. I can just imagine the level of health care that kind of insurance would provide. So, try again.
***************************
“Let’s think outside the box and stop being politically partisan which got us into this mess in the first place.”
I see only ONE PARTY trying to get us out of this “mess” and that’s the Democrats. The Republicans only offer obstructionism and empty platitudes. Where is the Republican party’s healthcare plan? They’ve had years to craft a workable alternative to the ACA, but all they offer is ‘crickets’, also why not help make the ACA better? Most important legislation needs amendments and adjustments to make them better or to keep up with changes.
And if you want to talk “partisanship” how can you possibly justify the Republican party’s vow to block Obama on everything? From the moment Obama was inaugurated to the naming of Scalia’s successor the Republicans have put partisanship over the welfare of the country.
The Republicans have devolved into an extremist party and no amount of comparisons and both-sides-do-it gibberish will change that.
“What does that have to do with health care?”
It’s an analogy.
I would say that single-payor is much better than what we have today. But there are other options that are much better than single-payor.
*************************************************************************************
“It is true that lobbying by pharmaceutical and insurance companies has a corrupting influence on congress, but which party is more likely to do something about it (hint: it ain’t the Republicans).”
Unless you support your claim with evidence I can’t take it seriously.
***************************************************************************************
“Big Pharma tends to spend more on Republicans than Democrats, and the GOP benefited from 58 percent of the industry’s federal contributions in 2012 and 2014 while Democrats received 42 percent, according to the CRP.”
Check out the WSJ link I sent to poster ‘anon’. The dems received by far (over 60%) more legal bribes from health care companies leading up to the passage of ObamaCare. The dems had a majority of seats in congress back then just as the pubs do now. If we use our common sense we can figure it out.
By demonstrating your political partisanship you fall right into their trap and perpetuate the status quo. You are a good friend and supporter of the political establishment.
So don’t complain when nothing changes.
“Unless you support your claim with evidence I can’t take it seriously.”
You missed anonster’s reference to the Valeant and Shkreli cases.
Which should be plenty for you, since you like to point to a single case to make a larger point.
“The truth is that Pelosi was referring to the fact that the senate hadn’t passed their version of the bill and you have to have a bill before you know what’s in it.”
Untrue. If the Senate modified the bill it would have to return to the House for another vote. The House vote essentially was the final vote that approved ObamaCare. Go back and do your research. All of us knew what Pelosi meant. And most electeds admitted to not reading the bill which exceeded 2,000 pages – all written by lobbyists.
****************************************************************************************
“Donald Trump’s “plan” is woefully short on details and makes no mention of pre-existing conditions.”
What’s Hillary’s plan? More of the same. How’s that a strategy for change? Do you want costs to continue to rise over 10% a year? Then vote for Hillary!
At least Trump has put a plan on the table for all to see.
***************************************************************************************
“As for buying insurance across state lines, that’s a race to the bottom.”
Not true at all. An insurance company could modify the insurance plan according to the needs and laws of a particular state. Competition is what made America great. With more competition the consumer wins. If you are anti-competition you favor higher health care costs. Simple economics.
****************************************************************************************
“I see only ONE PARTY trying to get us out of this “mess” and that’s the Democrats.”
OMG. That pretty much says it all. And with that said there’s really nothing left to debate, as I perceive you (and like-minded individuals) as an integral part of the problem as opposed to being part of the solution.
****************************************************************************************
“And if you want to talk “partisanship” how can you possibly justify the Republican party’s vow to block Obama on everything?”
You’re sympathetic to the closest thing we’ve had in the White House to a dictator in American history? Obama (the constitutional law prof) has violated the US Constitution several times – and has repeatedly exceeded his authority on executive actions – and as the Nobel Peace Prize winner invaded Libya and Syria in violation of the Geneva Convention and international law – and driven millions of refugees from their homeland.
And you have the hubris to defend him? 🙂
Thanks for the discussion.
“I would say that single-payor is much better than what we have today. But there are other options that are much better than single-payor.”
Please, feel free to enlighten us with details.
*****************************
“Unless you support your claim with evidence I can’t take it seriously.”
I think anon has provided this to you already, but maybe you missed it.
http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?ind=h04
***********************************
As for Donald Trumps healthcare plan you either demand accountability and details or you’re embracing the whining, do-nothing, partisan status quo.
May I suggest:
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/03/donald-trumps-big-lie-health-care
“You missed anonster’s reference to the Valeant and Shkreli cases.”
That was one isolated piece of low-hanging fruit ready to fall from the limb that has nothing to do with the obscene laws approved by the dems that forbid the reimportation of American made pharmaceutical from foreign lands which force American consumers to pay excessively high prices for medicines and thereby heavily subsidize pharmaceutical care for the entire world.
Valeant was the sacrificial lamb to fool you into believing that the dems are tough on pharma price gouging. It appears to have fooled you. You took your eye off the ball and were called out on strikes.
Let me know when the dems do something to stop the monopolization of the health care industry that has resulted in Americans spending 20% of our GDP on health care.
Until then, it’s all noize.
Well, it’s kind of hard to have a “discussion” when one party claims to be non-partisan and then devolves into Obama-is-a-dictator crapolla.
I’ve learned it’s not really worth the effort trying to reason with a closed mind.
“Please, feel free to enlighten us with details.”
I prefer to go back to the health care system that was in place when I was a kid.
Insurance was meant to cover catastrophic illness and hospitalizations. Not day to day medical care. That was mostly paid out of pocket when prices were actually affordable. Naturally, in those days we didn’t subsidize the rest of their world for their health care and the legal bribes paid to our electeds by the health care industry were miniscule compared to what we have today.
****************************************************************************************
Didn’t you read my previous comment? Your open secrets link did not address how much the health care industry spent on the dems in legal bribes leading up to the passage of ObamaCare. The dems received over 60% of the legal bribes. Do you research. I am not fooled easily. The pubs hold the large majority of seats in congress today. So logic has it they would currently collect more legal bribes than the dems. See how it works? Common sense.
Btw, I am not a pub or a dem. I can view this through objective eyes.
****************************************************************************************
Mother Jones? 🙂
When you start linking stuff like that I smell the scent of victory.
“Well, it’s kind of hard to have a “discussion” when one party claims to be non-partisan and then devolves into Obama-is-a-dictator crapolla”
Obama is a quasi-dictator and a proven fraud.
Most of my democrat friends agree that Obama has been a huge failure and disappointment.
Illegal invasions of Libya & Syria, failed transparency, troops remain in Afghanistan until year 2025 or longer, mismanagement of Iraq, constitutional violations, abuse of executive powers, etc…..
The facts speak for themselves.
I said much worse things about GW Bush, which supports my non-partisan viewpoint.
You give yourself away when you say “my democrat friends” that’s like a right-wing club secret password.
I can understand Donald Drumfs appeal for you, he’s long on bravado, arrogance and over-estimating his intelligence, but short on details, policy positions, civility and most importantly, fingers.
He’s the fill-in-the-blanks candidate and most of his supporters fill-in-the-blanks with themselves, he’s you, so of course you’ll support him.
Good luck with that.
“…which supports my non-partisan viewpoint.”
Mmm hmmm, keep telling yourself that. You know, like a daily affirmation. I’m sure you can convince yourself of anything.
Both of you are long on partisanship, short on independent thought. Exactly what your owners want. I suspect both of you will vote for Hillary. She’ll give you more hope and change. 🙂
More news about “the most transparent American Administration in history” –
https://lamalfa.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-lamalfa-demands-answers-on-klamath-dam-removal-shell-corporation
“Ladieeees and Gentlemen !….Now… in the center ring… the Death Battle of the Dueling Santa Clauses!……..Pay no attention to the consequences behind the curtain !…….
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/03/bernie-sanders-tax-increases-220267
Actually, there are 5 Stoopids, not 3. Were there any Marx brothers movies made with one dressed in drag ? That would do it. The scary thought is that barring worse catastrophie, ONE is sure to win.
I believe that we will end up with full European style socialized medicine in the next POTUS administration if it is a democrat/ If not a dem we are going to watch more tilting at that windmill.
Seriously? Well, I gotta give you credit for being optimistic.
Just a couple problems, though:
1. A Republican-led House of Representatives.
2. The botched rollout of Obamacare. It’s going to take longer than just a few years to re-create the momentum toward single-payer. That was dealt a serious blow by the way Obamacare was handled.
It was botched by the GOP.
uhhh….
the GOP did everything they could to destroy it, and they still are… but I think the “botching” anon refers to can NOT be laid at their feet.
The GOP controlled the rollout of the government website?
How so?
Hey, Republicans! I’ll show you a hero from your party if you’ll let me share him.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/03/03/1493476/-Republican-defense-attorney-s-Twitter-rant-goes-viral-and-rightly-so
Okayyyyy ….. thanks sooo much ………………….. Are you attempting to make a point with this?
Yep. Head on straight. Now compare with Todd Spitzer, Lou Correa, Sharon Quirk and a host of our local worthies who are TERRIFIED of not getting the police unions’ endorsements.
We’re still living with the fallout from the “tough on crime,” three strikes, mandatory-minimum sentencing era.
Yes and what’s more that mind-set also cultivated the pro “public safety” taxpayer-funded jamboree that continues to this day, accelerated by 9/11. We pay more and more and get less and less.
In the case cited, the cop deliberately and maliciously lied to instigate a false prosecution. In OC that DA would have pursued the case with vigor even if the DDA knew the cop was lying. Consider the case of Veth Mam who was not only assaulted by a Fullerton cop, but was himself tried for assault even though the DA knew about the exculpatory video; and the cops who lied on the stand? No punishment, no accountability.
We are still living from the fallout of Prop 47 – Chief Rojas says that crime is through the roof in Santa Ana over the past 2 years – and he links that to Prop 47.
Oddly enough, I wouldn’t put much faith in the pronouncements by a chief of police.
If statistics proved that Prop 47 (or AB109) were the primary reasons for the recent surge in crime the police/DA unions/associations would be all over it like white on rice.
If it were true it would be very easy to prove statistically.
So don’t fall for the propoganda. Seek the truth.
I don’t view police abuse as a political party issue. IOW’s that the Republicans endorse it and the Democrats condemn it. Take the city of Santa Ana, for instance. Isn’t the Santa Ana city council exclusively Democrat?
Why isn’t the Santa Ana council pressing the Santa Ana PD for their findings on the marijuana dispensary raid that caught their officers on video destroying thousands of dollars of privately owned electronic equipment and narcotic cops said to be indulging on dispensary product? The raid happened last year in May about 10 month ago. Were the officers in question given drug tests following the raid? What are the results? Investigating allegations of sworn narcotic officers indulging in controlled substances on camera during a drug raid should be a top priority for any city. What about the destruction of the private property? Do those cops still have their jobs? Is anyone going to be charged? Why aren’t the Democrats on the Santa Ana city council talking about this and demanding answers?
What about the Santa Ana cops caught on video beating Edgar Arzate while he lay prone on the ground with his arms spread in June 2014? Edgar was hospitalized with injuries after the beating. The evidence was clear. The camera doesn’t lie. Do all those cops still have their jobs? Any charges? Where are all those good Democrats on the Santa Ana city council? Why aren’t they publicly demanding answers from the police?
My point is that both political parties turn a blind eye to police abuse. Not just the Republicans.
Once we acknowledge that maybe we can drop our political banners, come together and fix the problem instead of fighting among ourselves over which political party is responsible.
“My point is that both political parties turn a blind eye to police abuse.”
Point taken.
But if you’re claiming that there is some sort of historic, exact equivalency (and I don’t know that you are) when it comes to the vigor with which each party condemns police abuse, well, I think you’d be skating on thin ice with that position.
Name a few local Democrat politicians who have led a crusade against police abuse in recent years.
Most are collecting legal bribes from the police unions.
So I think you’re the one skating on thin ice. Not me.
Ahh, so you ARE claiming some sort of historic equivalency…
…by pointing to one local example.
Weak.
No good answers, eh?
I thought so. 😉
“No good answers, eh?”
Sorry if my reluctance to fall for your “change the subject by asking other questions” tactic displeases you.
Actually, no I’m not.
In Huntington Beach, a seaside city in Orange County, Officer Brad Smith says Prop 47 means more drug addicts are out, living on the street. He pulls his patrol car up behind a case in point — a silver Volvo that serves as the home of two young heroin addicts. The officer seems to have a cordial relationship with them, even though he arrested them a few weeks earlier.
“We found heroin in the car,” Smith says. “We also found stolen property from three or four victims.”
NPR –
Oh, well if Officer Brad Smith says so, it must be true. I’ll take his say so any day.
I suggest that you tell Brad Smith and his friends of like mind to put up or shut up. If they can analyze the data and unequivocally demonstrate that Prop 47 is responsible for the upsurge in crime – then do it. I’ll accept it provided that they don’t use fuzzy math in the process. If what Brad and others say is true – statistics should support their claim. I contend if it were true that police unions and associations would have already been waving it in our faces. They have all the data. Analyzing whether those who benefitted from Prop 47 are responsible for the rise in crime would be a relatively easy job. Some kid with a community college AA degree in computer programing could probably do it.
You see, the problem here is that America has the overwhelmingly largest per capita prison population in the industrialized world. You can find the data on-line at Wikipedia if you question me. So we’re doing something terribly wrong. It needs to get fixed. Freedom and being the nation that holds the unsavory title of having the world’s largest per capita prison population are not compatible. I think all of us, regardless of our political affiliations, could agree on that.
Well, Super Saturday came and went.
Trump won 2 states as did Cruz.
Bernie won 2 states. Hillary won 1.
Total GOP delegates to date: Trump: 382; Cruz: 300; Rubio: 128.
Total DEM delegates to date: Hillary: 1,121; Bernie: 481.
Cruz gained slightly on Trump in delegates.
Even though Bernie won 2 states to Hillary’s 1, she topped him in delegates by 6.
I really don’t understand what the Dems see in Hillary with her baggage. Don’t they understand she’s deeply indebted to Wall Street?
Rubio should just drop out. I read that there are some strong allegations of infidelity on his part that just surfaced too. He’s as good as done.
Several reasons I could not vote for Cruz:
1. He married a Goldman Sach’s banker.
2. He lied about Carson suspending his campaign to win Iowa.
3. There’s a cloud over his citizenship status. He was born in Canada in 1970. He became a Canadian citizen. At that time it was forbidden by Canadian law to hold dual US-Canadian citizenship. This requires additional investigation. In good conscience I couldn’t vote for a man for President when there are unresolved questions about his US citizenship.
I still don’t understand why Bernie didn’t go for Hillary’s jugular in the Dem race. There was so much material at his disposal. He just refused to take advantage of it and essentially handed her the win. Now he’s just barely hanging on by a thread.
Looks like Trump is leading in the polls in the big pending states of Michigan and Florida. A Trump win in Florida would be humiliating for Rubio. That would certainly be the end of the road for Marco.
Romney seemed to hurt Marco more than help him. After his poor showing against Obama in 2012 he has no room to talk about 2016’s GOP candidates. Romney surrendered in the last month of the 2012 race. He went MIA. He’s another one of those who came into politics riding on his dad’s coattails. (Ref: GW Bush).
if this were anywhere else you’d take the crown for greatest number of words no one will ever read.
Okay, I know funny…
Short Term Rentals : “Airbnb Pits Neighbor Against Neighbor in Tourist-Friendly New Orleans”
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/06/business/airbnb-pits-neighbor-against-neighbor-in-tourist-friendly-new-orleans.html
Joe Dunn lands a BIG union endorsement, the SEIU. He TOLD me in our November interview that he had “plenty” of endorsements, and would release them all when he felt like it. He told me right:
“Members of California’s Largest Union for Service Employees and Health Care Workers Choose Joe Dunn for Congress.
“Santa Ana, Calif. – The Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which represents more than 700,000 workers in California, has endorsed Joe Dunn for California’ 46th Congressional District, announced the Dunn campaign.
“‘For his entire career, Joe Dunn has stood up for the working people in our communities, especially when it meant taking on powerful corporations,’ said Arturo Perrilla, a janitor in Orange County. ‘SEIU members are backing Joe Dunn for Congress because he has the strongest record of helping workers and our families get ahead. We need someone to fight for us and we know Joe will.’
“The SEIU represents California in all of its diversity. They are social workers, nurses, classroom aides, state workers, security officers, college professors, home care workers, janitors, and more. Members of the SEIU are also some of the most politically active in the state. Joe has stood with SEIU members to improve access to reliable and quality public services in our communities. He is currently working with the University of California at Irvine to permanently fund a labor center that would give workers a stronger voice in our local economy….”
I wonder if Dan C will print this one like he does everything from Lou?
Thats like getting endorsed by Cheveron in my veiw!
What about the PEOPLE Joe Dunn?
If you don’t like organized service employees, I don’t think that you’re his target demographic. You might enjoy voting for Lynn Schott or someone like that.
How many Special Districts exist in OC, and how well are their meetings attended by the public?
Down about 700 delegates to Clinton, Bernie is finally starting get in her face. Hey, Bernie….little late for that, isn’t it? But it gives the audience a thrill.
My gut instinct is that Bernie had no intention of beating Clinton. He was just part of the act. I guess they needed a fall guy to stand there and debate her. But it seemed cut and dried from the start.
Politics American style.
Maybe Hillary will give Bernie a cabinet post for going through the motions. It’s only fair. Sort of like what Obama did for her.
“Sort of like what Obama did for her.”
Good zing.
You’re counting superdelegates as if they are committed. They aren’t — and there’s a huge cost to going against the candidate favored by the voters. He’s down about 200. BUT…
Pretty much everyone in the game knows that the primary calendar up through March 15 favors Hillary and then after that it favors Bernie. Just sit back and enjoy the show.
California is now enacting “registration by default” via the DMV to force more participation in a choice many have little interest in making. Some states have the opposite problem-
http://www.capoliticalreview.com/capoliticalnewsandviews/think-elections-are-honest-election-group-141-u-s-counties-have-more-registered-voters-than-people/?
OC – founded Carl’s Jr. is leaving California for Tennessee-
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/company-707286-offices-anaheim.html
But on the other hand, Nancy Reagan is staying !