tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post7729978027915578015..comments2024-03-28T10:56:52.861-07:00Comments on CONTRARY BRIN: Tax "reform" or not?David Brinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-3197187157075410022017-05-04T15:14:27.647-07:002017-05-04T15:14:27.647-07:00onward
onwardonward<br /><br />onwardDavid Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-39366882588604848282017-05-04T14:24:25.782-07:002017-05-04T14:24:25.782-07:00AHCA says that mutlti state organizations can pick...AHCA says that mutlti state organizations can pick which states insurance rules they want to follow. So just because Illinois choose to keep pre-existing condition protections, you might lose this protection from your employer.<br /><br />Source: http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2017/05/04/the_republican_health_bill_might_ruin_employer_based_coverage_too.html<br />David Snoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-5252007127412183452017-05-04T14:21:18.160-07:002017-05-04T14:21:18.160-07:00Now that churches can speak about specific candida...Now that churches can speak about specific candidates and money is speech, it follows that churches can funnel money to politicians. There no limits on the amount you can donate to churches, this becomes another method of funneling untraceable funds into campaigns.<br /><br />In addition donations to churches are tax deductible (most charities are 50% organizations which means that you can deduct up to 50% of your adjusted gross income, the excess carries over to the following year.)<br /><br /><br /><br />David Snoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-5086070506035435152017-05-04T14:13:55.950-07:002017-05-04T14:13:55.950-07:00Frankly, I hope the whole bill passes. They must ...Frankly, I hope the whole bill passes. They must own this thing.<br /><br />onward<br /><br />onwardDavid Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-46048866716214015562017-05-04T13:40:31.168-07:002017-05-04T13:40:31.168-07:00Berial:
Now that is has passed the House in harsh...Berial:<br /><i><br />Now that is has passed the House in harsher form, do you believe me?<br /></i><br /><br />You sound as if you expected an argument. I would have agreed with your statement even before this monstrosity passed the House.<br /><br />The #FreedomToDie Caucus most certainly nixed the first repeal because it wasn't cruel enough. I'm not surprised that they went along with a worse version of the bill. I'm disappointed that the #SoCalledModerates did. Bill Maher absolutely nailed the modern Republican Party when he said that their guiding principle is now, "What Would A Dick Do?"<br /><br />Note also the "I know you are but what am I?" hypocrisy of the party. Remember what was so terrible about Obamacare? It passed without a single Republican vote? They had to vote on it without reading it? It was <i>too many damn pages for one man to understand</i>? Well, check, check, and check.<br /><br />My one satisfaction is that, despite a Republican governor (who at least fancies himself a populist and avoided the Trump convention), I doubt the Democratic Illinois legislature will have us opting out of the pre-existing condition requirement. Not so for the poor schmucks who voted for Trump in rural red states. Maybe enough of them will die before the next election. Harsh? Well, if a foreign gunboat decided to shell a few coastal cities, that would be taken as an act of war. As far as I'm concerned, the Republican Party has just declared war on my family and me. And I'm not going meekly to the "Holocaust Centers".<br />LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-4474650752264486002017-05-04T13:16:37.805-07:002017-05-04T13:16:37.805-07:00@LarryHeart
A friend of a friend posted this on t...@LarryHeart<br /><br />A friend of a friend posted this on twitter:<br /><br />"When the first attempt by this Congress to repeal the ACA failed, some people said it was due to pressure from Democrats - marches, phone calls, petitions, emails. I said it was because it wasn't harsh enough for the Freedom Caucus. Now that is has passed the House in harsher form, do you believe me?<br /><br />They don't care what we think or do. We are not even a consideration at all."Berialnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-7123273021616368862017-05-04T13:08:21.898-07:002017-05-04T13:08:21.898-07:00Well, the Republicans in the House of Representati...Well, the Republicans in the House of Representatives just voted to make me die.<br /><br />This means war.<br />LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-22122985856349408292017-05-04T11:56:30.056-07:002017-05-04T11:56:30.056-07:00I heard mention of this on the radio this morning....I heard mention of this on the radio this morning. Apparently, Dr Brin's "worst man in America" had belatedly had enough of President Snow.<br /><br />http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/331882-george-will-trump-disabled-by-inability-to-think-speak-clearly<br /><br /><i><br />Political commentator George Will in his latest column blasts President Trump as someone who is not able to "think and speak clearly."<br /><br />"It is urgent for Americans to think and speak clearly about President Trump’s inability to do either," Will wrote in The Washington Post.<br /><br />"This seems to be not a mere disinclination but a disability. It is not merely the result of intellectual sloth but of an untrained mind bereft of information and married to stratospheric self-confidence."<br />...<br /></i><br />LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-80230199558347511462017-05-04T08:46:58.382-07:002017-05-04T08:46:58.382-07:00"I wonder what they'll do when they reali..."I wonder what they'll do when they realize that black churches, Reform Jewish synagogues, and mosques might also get into the business of politics."<br /><br />And I wonder what those churches will do when they find out that Trump's silly XO does NOT have the power to negate the Johnson amendment (which is an actual law) and they find themselves being sued and indicted.Zepp Jamiesonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16261339498383415026noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-68936528809535908562017-05-04T08:01:17.877-07:002017-05-04T08:01:17.877-07:00"I wonder what they'll do when they reali..."I wonder what they'll do when they realize that black churches, Reform Jewish synagogues, and mosques might also get into the business of politics."<br /><br />They'll be shocked, SHOCKED, to discover all these white male lone wolves (with mental problems, of course) start bombing and shooting up churches again, for no reason that anyone can understand.Berialnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-11927015654903962792017-05-04T07:56:27.094-07:002017-05-04T07:56:27.094-07:00BTW, my daughter likes an internet image of a cute...BTW, my daughter likes an internet image of a cute, perky puppy with the caption "...And I want chocolate, but it makes me die!"<br /><br />That should be the logo for the Republican health-care plan. In fact, it would make an appropriate logo for the Republican Party future elections. "I want to elect Republicans, but they make me die!"<br /><br /><br /><br />LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-12695063866496945732017-05-04T07:27:05.315-07:002017-05-04T07:27:05.315-07:00several things from today's www.electoral-vote...several things from today's www.electoral-vote.com :<br /><br /><i><br />Actually, it is not hard to speculate about why Comey did what he did (and didn't do) in October. After he announced in July that no charges would be brought against Clinton, he went on at length about all the bad things she did. This violates FBI protocol. Clinton was hopping mad about this. Although FBI directors are appointed to 10-year terms, they do serve at the pleasure of the president and there is little doubt that Clinton would have fired him had she won. So one way to save his job would be to make sure Clinton didn't win.<br /></i><br /><br />That actually makes more sense than anything I had heard or thought of previously.<br /><br /><i><br />Donald Trump is expected to celebrate the National Day of Prayer today by issuing an executive order making it possible for churches and other religious groups to support or oppose candidates for public office without risking their tax-exempt status. Some conservative religious groups have long longed for such an order. Others don't want it because it could split their congregations along partisan lines and interfere with their religious message.<br /></i><br /><br />This relates to the "It's OK When A Republican Does It" meme we discussed yesterday. Trump and Republicans clearly mean this to empower right-wing churches to support and endorse Republican candidates. I wonder what they'll do when they realize that black churches, Reform Jewish synagogues, and mosques might also get into the business of politics. Maybe they can say it doesn't apply to institutions located in counties which contain more than a million residents?<br />LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-11674363115162549692017-05-04T07:20:01.886-07:002017-05-04T07:20:01.886-07:00Paul SB:
Larry, that phonebook comment is pretty ...Paul SB:<br /><i><br />Larry, that phonebook comment is pretty cringeworthy (to say nothing of really stupid, since Ho isn't a Japanese name. If it was a phonebook in Beijing or Seoul, that would be different.<br /></i><br /><br />It wouldn't rhyme.<br /><i><br />As it stands, it just shows ignorance, which is appropriate for anyone who would describe have the human race as "hos". <br /></i><br /><br />Paul, I love ya, but <i>chillax</i>!<br /><br />It's a line from a hip-hop musical, written by the same guy who did "Hamilton". And the character who speaks the line isn't necessarily supposed to be coming off as Einstein. He's fantasizing about what he'd do if he won $96,000 in a lottery, and another line is "Donald Trump and me on the links, and he's <b>my</b> caddy."<br /><br /><i><br />Then there's the apostrophe thing. Why do so many people today think an apostrophe means plurality?)<br /></i><br /><br />In general, I agree with you. My daughter's friend's family has a sign hanging up on their house that says (name changed to protect the innocent) "The Smith's", and I cringe every time I see it.<br /><br />But when people spell ho', the apostrophe seems to be in there for "missing letters" rather than for plural or possessiveness. The plural just adds an "s" to the word that already has an apostrophe in it.<br />LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-24845785690795653612017-05-04T07:17:15.359-07:002017-05-04T07:17:15.359-07:00Note Mr. Ho was a fighter pilot. In another time s...Note Mr. Ho was a fighter pilot. In another time stream, he became President Ho in 2000.Jumperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11794110173836133321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-52082599400197086372017-05-04T07:14:58.463-07:002017-05-04T07:14:58.463-07:00https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Hohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_HoJumperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11794110173836133321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-26168104758233731872017-05-04T06:40:38.981-07:002017-05-04T06:40:38.981-07:00Tony,
Do you do so in the hope of convincing 99% ...Tony,<br /><br />Do you do so in the hope of convincing 99% of conservatives to abandon the Republican Party, or attempt to remove their sociopathic and self-servative leadership? I think the recent election shows that strategy has backfired.<br /><br />Larry, that phonebook comment is pretty cringeworthy (to say nothing of really stupid, since Ho isn't a Japanese name. If it was a phonebook in Beijing or Seoul, that would be different. As it stands, it just shows ignorance, which is appropriate for anyone who would describe have the human race as "hos". Then there's the apostrophe thing. Why do so many people today think an apostrophe means plurality?)Paul SBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-51790644318835479862017-05-04T05:44:34.120-07:002017-05-04T05:44:34.120-07:00Unknown:
AND - following on our...or at least my....Unknown:<br /><i><br />AND - following on our...or at least my....earlier discussion on Fantasy: recent exceptions are Hellboy, Watchmen, and the current Luke Cage<br /></i><br /><br />I hate to make you feel as old as I do, but <i>Watchmen</i> was published more than 30 years ago.<br /><br /><i><br />Spend DAYS rubbin down them ho's!! Um, yeah, you white boys might not know anything bout that........<br /></i><br /><br />Oh, I was able to explain to my teenager the line from <i>In The Heights</i> that goes: "Got more ho's than the phonebook in Tokyo". She didn't know what a phonebook was. :)LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-44768728425326956712017-05-04T03:31:45.583-07:002017-05-04T03:31:45.583-07:00Have not perused the Motherboard site; now on &quo...Have not perused the Motherboard site; now on "favorites." Thanks, David.<br /><br />Read a thing on Martian soil-bricks yesterday on another site; then noticed Motherboard's piece on lunar brick-making tests using heat.<br /><br />I wonder if anyone has tried brickmaking under an electrical field as in the work of Dr. Hans Conrad?Jumperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11794110173836133321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-25751714187376182562017-05-03T17:29:15.076-07:002017-05-03T17:29:15.076-07:00@Tony Fisk,
You're not kidding that Southern ...@Tony Fisk,<br /><br />You're not kidding that Southern Illinois is part of the South. Cairo might be physically closer to Atlanta than to Chicago. People don't realize how long this state is in the north-south direction.<br /><br /><br />LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-45884072245829290742017-05-03T17:02:58.187-07:002017-05-03T17:02:58.187-07:00Calling it the Party of sociopaths and self-servat...Calling it the Party of sociopaths and self-servatives appeals to sociopaths and self-servatives too. I do so in the hope that 99% of conservatives... aren't.<br /><br />Berial, your scenario for southern cities plays out in <a href="https://medium.com/@Chris_arnade/a-town-forgotten-c870c317417b" rel="nofollow">Cairo, Ill</a>. (Neil Gaiman set part of American Gods there twenty years ago. Sounds like it's got even worse since)Tony Fiskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14578160528746657971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-46402988615180527372017-05-03T16:12:14.658-07:002017-05-03T16:12:14.658-07:00Paul SB:
Even calling the Republican Party the p...Paul SB:<br /><i><br /> Even calling the Republican Party the party of white people can have a negative affect, convincing many fence-sitting Caucasians that it must be the party for them<br /></i><br /><br />Good point.<br />LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-69443766842907848172017-05-03T15:53:51.450-07:002017-05-03T15:53:51.450-07:00Hey Dr. Brin,
Nice family pic, but who's that...Hey Dr. Brin,<br /><br />Nice family pic, but who's that guy in the Roman duds? Not exactly 18th Century appropriate (Hume was born just a couple days before me, which makes me like really, really old ...). <br /><br />Larry,<br /><br />You make good points all around, and reasonable admissions. I still think that the white-state moniker threatens to become self-fulfilling. Even calling the Republican Party the party of white people can have a negative affect, convincing many fence-sitting Caucasians that it must be the party for them - with or without Jerry Kimmel or other sane white males. It might be best to just call it the Party of the Rich, because race isn't everything. Look at how easily our Troll Brothers were duped by that sort of identity politicking, and they are just the minority who hang out at a blog full of thinkers (who can shoot down every fallacious statement they make, yet they keep coming back for more, proving that stubbornness blinds).<br /><br />But if you find more holes in my logic, let me know. My concentration hasn't been at its best lately.Paul SBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-30595372173340005342017-05-03T14:19:13.231-07:002017-05-03T14:19:13.231-07:00@Berial: I second that, but it's the consequen...@Berial: I second that, but it's the consequence of sudden overturn followed by one-party rule. Incompetency soars in such a scenario. It's not just in the South either. You just described the fall of Detroit, frex. St. Louis had this scenario for a while.<br /><br />Some places avoided it to a large extent: Memphis and Nashville merged city and county governments precisely to avoid this free-rider problem. <br /><br />I suspect the differing publication behavior by the FBI was in part because Hillary's investigation was primarily criminal in nature (violations of classification law) and Trump's was counterintelligence (smoking spooks). The latter tries NOT to publish its results as they are more useful not being public.Catfish N. Codnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-59654808327404411852017-05-03T13:27:33.897-07:002017-05-03T13:27:33.897-07:00
I think another difference between the handling o...<br />I think another difference between the handling of the Hillary e-mail investigation vs the Trump-Russian investigation is that while both opposing parties were aware of the information, the parties were responding differently. The Republicans were preparing to leak it and accuse Obama of covering up the information to get Hillary elected. The democrats (primarily Obama) had decided not to go public with the existence Trump-Russia investigation because they wanted to avoid Republican accusations that Obama was doing this to help Hillary win. <br /><br />Given that the Republicans were going to expose the investigation and the Democrats were not, I think Comey felt he had to get ahead of the Hillary leak. Since the Trump-Russia investigation was not being made public and a focal part of the campaign, Comey followed standard procedure and say nothing until the investigation is completed.<br /><br /> David Snoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-64708563340615733022017-05-03T13:08:53.039-07:002017-05-03T13:08:53.039-07:00"regularly topics of dreamers who propose mig..."regularly topics of dreamers who propose migrating just 100,000 blacks in and taking over."<br /><br />I wish them luck, but sadly I've seen what happens in MS when 'blacks take over' a town(IE: Get enough voice to win elections.)<br /><br />1)The whites move out of the city to the surrounding county. Pay less in taxes but continue to travel into town for necessities, <br />2)The city loses tax revenues so raises taxes to compensate, and MORE people (white and blacks that can afford to) move out, and the cycle continues until you have a city with no tax base trying to support a crumbling infrastructure that no one is willing to pay for and everyone agrees it's their political enemies fault.<br />3)The new politicos who had no experience before winning turn out to be even more corrupt and incompetent than the guys they replaced. (Look to Jackson, the state capital for an example. It'd be funny if it weren't so tragic.)<br />3)The good ole boy's make sure to gerrymander the districts (state and federal elections) so that Republican's (ie the white party) maintain control at all levels except the cities which they declare 'lost causes' and 'hell holes of crime'.<br /><br />This process happens over and over again in cities all over the south. Berialnoreply@blogger.com