Trump

[canta_brian]

Does Trump not know one person who can do a job semi-professionally?

On a more serious note. It seems that Obama care as passed has high costs and deductibles. Does anyone know how much better (if at all) the original Obamacare proposal was before the republican held house got its teeth into it?

[morepork]

Does Trump not know one person who can do a job semi-professionally?

On a more serious note. It seems that Obama care as passed has high costs and deductibles. Does anyone know how much better (if at all) the original Obamacare proposal was before the republican held house got its teeth into it?

The main omission from the original plan was a federally subsidised national health insurance option (i.e. public health). Having a public option competing with industry insurance entities was seen as a socialist bridge too far, because competition is basically communism, obviously.

[canta_brian]

Does Trump not know one person who can do a job semi-professionally?

On a more serious note. It seems that Obama care as passed has high costs and deductibles. Does anyone know how much better (if at all) the original Obamacare proposal was before the republican held house got its teeth into it?

The main omission from the original plan was a federally subsidised national health insurance option (i.e. public health). Having a public option competing with industry insurance entities was seen as a socialist bridge too far, because competition is basically communism, obviously.

And that public provision was expected to keep the private provider's pricing in check I assume. So without it the private insurers are simply jacking the prices and rubbing their hands with glee.

[kk67]

For profit health. What a great idea.

Without question this is the most toxic of all US exports. It's truly frightening.
Geriatric care as well........our generations are going to suffer some terrible indignities. Wealth doesn't even seem to be an issue. There were BUPA geriatric hospitals that got 'stung' recently.

[kk67]

Does Trump not know one person who can do a job semi-professionally?

On a more serious note. It seems that Obama care as passed has high costs and deductibles. Does anyone know how much better (if at all) the original Obamacare proposal was before the republican held house got its teeth into it?

The main omission from the original plan was a federally subsidised national health insurance option (i.e. public health). Having a public option competing with industry insurance entities was seen as a socialist bridge too far, because competition is basically communism, obviously.

The insurance lobby, the pharmaceutical lobby and the medical lobby. Tough crowd. ...of wankers.

[caldeyrfc]

I'm trying to work out if I'll miss Spicer's confused ramblings and utterances.

As alternatives go, the Mooch delivers.

What a poisoned atmosphere the WH must be to work in.

The only comparable thing I can think of was a Rugby Rebels staff meeting when hwntw was a mod

[Eugene Wrayburn]

He called CNN yesterday morning to suggest that the Trump administration was mired in “paranoia and backstabbing”.

[WaspInWales]

And another one bites the dust.

Reince Priebus - you're fired!

[WaspInWales]

I'm trying to work out if I'll miss Spicer's confused ramblings and utterances.

As alternatives go, the Mooch delivers.

What a poisoned atmosphere the WH must be to work in.

This is pure class, by which I mean violent face palming not actual class by the subject who appears incapable of managing a level even broadly close.

Surely a chief spokesman should be able to manage a veneer of professionalism whilst dealing with the media?

It's the stuff of legend.

Spicer didn't come close to delivering that kind of entertainment.

[Spy]

They can't keep this sort of pace up for 4 years, surely to fuck. Something's got to give.

[Digby]

Why when he's in difficulty and can't even get his so called skinny repeal of Obamacare passed Trump wants to remove possibly his main link in the Whitehouse to the GOP I don't know, it'd seem to have all the political instincts of roadkill. Then again I never thought he's be a candidate let alone win so maybe he does know what he's doing even if it really doesn't look like it.

If he does strike out from the Republican party he's going to find the first six months were the easy part of his term

[Sandydragon]

They can't keep this sort of pace up for 4 years, surely to fuck. Something's got to give.

Spitting image could run for an eternity based on the last 6 months alone. All those political satires now look a bit tame compared to reality.

[Digby]

It is pretty much unbelievable other than it's actually happening. There are banana republics who could sit in mock judgement of Trump

[Digby]

Sounds like we'll get what's becoming the now traditional non recess of the Senate. I've got in mind it was the Dems who kicked this off during the now seemingly sane years of George W Bush, but certainly it was done to Obama as he went to court over it and lose. Essentially the Senate will continue to meet whilst on holiday (recess) and by doing so will block any recess appointments that Trump might wish to make, even a new AG.

Hard to see how the two parties can be coerced into behaving like politicians/grown ups, even when Obama held meetings with the Republicans there was no shift in this position, and Trump doesn't it seems hold meetings with anyone other than for people to tell him what a great job he's doing.

[Digby]

And perhaps more seriously the EU are unhappy with the House Bill to place extra sanctions on Russia, other than causing problems for a gasline from Russia to Germany they seem to think some elements of the bill will favour US over EU business. And then there's an argument in the Senate over whether to keep the North Korea sanctions in the current bill, if that's not resolved quickly then even apart from EU issues there's no way the bill gets to the desk of the fat orange one before DC shuts down for its recess.

[Which Tyler]

[Digby]

I don't know the whole of what Trump said to those police officers, or when he said it. But in that clip he doesn't advocate acts of brutality, at most he advises not to use caution, and he stupidly overlooks how we treat the worst of us informs the protections for all of us, we might also allow some could (willfully) infer a stronger message and he should be more judicious in his use of words, but to suggest even the orange twerp urges brutality is like many of Trump's comments going too far.

[morepork]

Trump has a long history of denigrating anyone who isn't white as a murderer or a rapist. Baltimore has serious problems with its police culture and what he said was the height of irresponsibility.

kk....what the fuck is the medical lobby? Some conspiracy against homeopathy practitioners?

[WaspInWales]

Trump has a long history of denigrating anyone who isn't white as a murderer or a rapist. Baltimore has serious problems with its police culture and what he said was the height of irresponsibility.

kk....what the fuck is the medical lobby? Some conspiracy against homeopathy practitioners?

Aye, poor choice or words from a poor choice of president.

[WaspInWales]

China/NK rhetoric amped up a few notches tonight:



The desperate ramblings of someone with little time left in office, or a sign of things to come?

[WaspInWales]

What if, and hear me out now...president Tiny Hands orders pre-emptive strikes against NK?

China and Russia would be pissed no doubt, but would they retaliate?

The pro-Trump brigade in the US would be whooping "U-S-A!, U-S-A!" with great aplomb and maybe many other Americans would be satisfied that Trump has dealt with something that previous presidents have lacked the balls to do.

Problem solved, or WW3?

2020 in the bag and #AIGA (America Is Great Again).

[Digby]

Trump still has a big problem in agreeing with himself. He can want to end immigration, or he can accept deals wherein the USA will lose in the balance of payments (and still reap benefits of an enlarged and more efficient economy) but the chances of both would be none. Indeed if anything the USA, and other Western Countries, need to start accepting a still worse BoP when we look to Africa and the Middle East, we'll take their raw materials and that's not quite it but it's not far off

[Eugene Wrayburn]

What if, and hear me out now...president Tiny Hands orders pre-emptive strikes against NK?

China and Russia would be pissed no doubt, but would they retaliate?

The pro-Trump brigade in the US would be whooping "U-S-A!, U-S-A!" with great aplomb and maybe many other Americans would be satisfied that Trump has dealt with something that previous presidents have lacked the balls to do.

Problem solved, or WW3?

2020 in the bag and #AIGA (America Is Great Again).

They probably wouldn't retaliate militarily - at least not at mainland USA. There's every chance they'd do so economically.

[Digby]

There's also the incoming problem of the budget, which as things stand is miles off being balanced and could well be voted down, it wouldn't be the first time in recent years that much of the federal government has shut down with no budget approval, but with a President as likely to take it personally and sulk rather than attempt to fix any problems who know's what'll happen.

So far Trump seems to have made no moves in securing votes for raising the debt ceiling, for his massive proposed extraspend on the military, for his tax cuts, no one seems to know if the ACA will feature again, and then there's the wall and the infrastructure programmes which it was claimed would be funded by Mexico and by significant private investment but must surely feature in this budget if they're to have meaningful impact.

It's perhaps not going to help in this process that Trump has ousted a CoS with much experience in DC and brought in a military chap, especially when nobody else in the WH or cabinet seems to be making any attempt to grind out the detail, make deals and make concessions to get the budget passed. It doesn't even seem like the idea of sorting the budget has even occurred to anyone yet, which is like so much of this unbelievable

[Digby]

What if, and hear me out now...president Tiny Hands orders pre-emptive strikes against NK?

China and Russia would be pissed no doubt, but would they retaliate?

The pro-Trump brigade in the US would be whooping "U-S-A!, U-S-A!" with great aplomb and maybe many other Americans would be satisfied that Trump has dealt with something that previous presidents have lacked the balls to do.

Problem solved, or WW3?

2020 in the bag and #AIGA (America Is Great Again).

They probably wouldn't retaliate militarily - at least not at mainland USA. There's every chance they'd do so economically.

They could just stop buying treasury bills and/or ask for their money back