Politics

[Brent in Az]

We all knew the Hamas peace agreement wouldn't last long.
Too many itchy trigger fingers

 

[Frostbite]

naa I think if they didnt get a check for showing up that would diminish their interest, I ignore them like bad breath. however I support their right to protest as long as no harm done and dont block my right of way.

Ignore them?

That may be a mistake. We live in a country where everybody gets a vote..........appears to me that those many millions may be voting against your interests so it might be wiser to listen and know your enemy and try to fix the problem.

I watched them and listened to their interviews on tv.

They were mostly normal people, not paid shills and fools.

They were not violent, a fact that embarrassed Trump supporters who had predicted violence.

They articulated their concerns clearly and intelligently and were concerned about Trump's obvious attempts to abuse presidential power (thus the No Kings thing).

Sure, there were some kooks there like all demonstrations but they were a small percentage.

What struck me was the size of those huge crowds.........those people VOTE.

Trump's highly unusual actions in firing many thousands of political enemies without cause, arresting and jailing even children without due process, pardoning obvious criminals because they're Republicans..........and worse, his current tactic of pretending that all the people who disagree with him are terrorists who hate America........

These things are extreme and are obviously causing a huge backlash against Republicans.

When we hunt we have learned that the most important thing is to be aware of the direction of the wind.

Ponder these winds.

 

[Brent in Az]

Not difficult to see what direction the wind blows in the Democrat party

 

[Doug Hamilton]

Millions turned out for anti-Trump 'No Kings' protests across US

The demonstrations against the US president - which Republicans had called "hate-America rallies" - were boisterous but peaceful.

www.bbc.com

Gee, BBC printed it so it must be true. Riiiiight.

 

[Frostbite]

@Frostbite
I realize you are from the state that elects things such as Timmy Walz and that Bozo Ellison. You've fallen far from the glory days of HHH, so I will keep it to your grade level.
1. A Balanced Tax system- first of all, it would need to be determined on what is going to be taxed: Income and or expenditures. The tax code is thousands of pages and every one of them was written with intent to cause someone else to pay the tax. Both parties support this convoluted tax system because their donors want various parts of it. The only Balanced tax is a flat tax on income and if a welfare system is wanted having the tax start at a negative number (which was Milton Friedman's idea) would solve both the tax and the welfare problem. No Democrat supports that.
Improve healthcare- healthcare is fine with the exception that the govt has promoted/ subsidized/allowed unhealthy habits. What you are saying is that you want CHEAPER healthcare. the biggest jump in healthcare costs resulted from ObamaCare. Other costs result from the consolidation of services. You no longer see private practice doctors. Why? Because ambulance chasing attorneys and their ridiculous judgments have required doctors to have malpractice insurance. So now doctors are employees of large hospital corporations that have layers of bureaucracy causing increased costs.
Social Security- As set-up the system was an income tax that funded an account that paid a retirement benefit. Eligibility was at age 65 and the average life expectancy at the time was 72. So the idea was you paid in from about age 20 - 65, 45 years and you got a benefit for 7 years. Funds accrued because a lot more was initially being paid than being drawn. Other govt agencies "borrowed" these funds with the promise to repay with interest. However, the debt became part of the national debt. With inflation and longer lives, the original plan is going bankrupt. the Democrats propose to "save" it by printing more money to offset the debt. If you know anything about economics, you know this leads directly to inflation- which is the same as a tax.
Tariffs- Have three functions- They produce income for the government because you are right, it is effectively a sales tax. Secondly, they increase the price of foreign goods relative to domestic goods- so the tariff "protects" local industry. Third- the tariff is used to offset a tariff placed on US goods by foreign countries. This is the main reason for Pres Trump's tariffs. He is trying to get other countries to remove or lower their tariff/quotas against US goods to open their markets. In so doing crops from Minnesota would have a larger market and the higher price from increased demand.

Anything else that you've heard on the Prairie Home Companion that you think is counter to what the Republicans are trying to do?

Prairie Home Companion? That show ended many years ago.

You seem a little behind on your information.

You say "healthcare is fine."

It couldn't be more clear that that is untrue.

You say that I want "cheaper healthcare."

No, I just want all our citizens to have access to healthcare.

A large number don't get good healthcare and some basically get none except maybe emergency room care (and that cost falls on you and me).

You're right about tariffs, sales taxes and flat taxes--these are just taxes that hit the poor far harder than the wealthy.

Bottom line is that with our current leaders we'll never have a fair tax system. I wish I didn't have to say that. Things are getting worse.

In an earlier post I said our leaders are nuts.........that's a simple way to say they are greedy, incompetent and concerned only with power and getting reelected (except Trump who knows he can't get reelected and seems to be ready to seize power by force).

Don't think I'm a malcontent who just wants free stuff. I have health care and I'm almost 20 years retired and debt free and in a beautiful paid for home. I've been lucky plus working hard.

I'll close with an interesting and LITTLE RECOGNIZED health care note.........I'm on Medicare and Tri-Care. Thus I rarely pay much of anything in medical costs or prescriptions.

But........Medicare and Tri-Care only give the clinic about 20 to 25% of what is billed.

Being fairly astute and not entirely stupid, I have noticed that my doctors don't go out of their way to provide me with any but the most basic treatments and care. They rush me through.

Why? They lose money (maybe 80%) every time I show up.

It seems that no matter what we do--the normal, ordinary guy is always going to end up on the short end of the stick.

So yes, our leaders are nuts and I don't see things ever getting any better.

And I cannot support either Democrats OR Republicans.

 

[deewayne2003]

Millions turned out for anti-Trump 'No Kings' protests across US

The demonstrations against the US president - which Republicans had called "hate-America rallies" - were boisterous but peaceful.

www.bbc.com

Notice how they only use frontal shots in close?

No aerial to be seen and notice the ever present boomer leftist females….

Now this is how you document a crowd, London United the kingdom protest/rally

The BBC also claimed the London rally was tens of thousands of people when it was probably over a million.

 

[Frostbite]

Gee, BBC printed it so it must be true. Riiiiight.

Well, it is true.

Hundreds of sources said the same thing.

Fact.

 

[Frostbite]

Not difficult to see what direction the wind blows in the Democrat party
View attachment 721088

Naw.........this notion that one political party is better is not valid.

Both are crooked and neither gives a damn about us.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

Head in the sand much? While it might not come very close to 7 million the organizers state, yes it was in millions.

No Kings protests against Trump draw huge crowds across the country — The Washington Post

Gatherings had a street carnival atmosphere as demonstrators packed Times Square in New York and lined Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington on Saturday

apple.news

I live in a very liberal area, and there was.nothing. So are you going to believe the slanted press, or are you going to believe your own lying eyes?

 

[Frostbite]

I live in a very liberal area, and there was.nothing. So are you going to believe the slanted press, or are you going to believe your own lying eyes?

My eyes were not lying.

Here's one from your area.

I believe facts.

 

[spike.t]

We all knew the Hamas peace agreement wouldn't last long.
Too many itchy trigger fingers

 

[Brent in Az]

Naw.........this notion that one political party is better is not valid.

Both are crooked and neither gives a damn about us.

You claim not to support either party, yet your statements and ideology are totally left leaning.

Tell us you're a leftist, without actually telling us you're a leftist.

You're not fooling anyone.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

Well, it is true.

Hundreds of sources said the same thing.

Fact.

And all of those "sources" were rooted in the same Democrat party source. Anything can be made to look any way you want if you have the media spewing one side. I know that there was nothing in my liberal area, and friends in Portland tell me that if you are away from the ICE facility there has been nothing. despite what they the press has been saying. I think I'll just believe what I see as opposed to what a lying press wants me to believe.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

My eyes were not lying.

Here's one from your area.

I believe facts.

View attachment 721096

So, what you got there? A thousand? Now take pictures of the crowd from different angles and distances. All of a sudden it looks like millions.

 

[Frostbite]

You claim not to support either party, yet your statements and ideology are totally left leaning.

Tell us you're a leftist, without actually telling us you're a leftist.

You're not fooling anyone.

Why would I try to fool anyone? No need to do that.

If I supported Democrats I'd damned well say so.

They are as flawed as Trump and they lie almost as much.

Speaking of lying.........

You shouldn't call other members here liars.

You wouldn't call me a liar if I were staring directly into your eyes.

Better to try to politely refute what they say.

With links to back up what you say.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

I'll close with an interesting and LITTLE RECOGNIZED health care note.........I'm on Medicare and Tri-Care. Thus I rarely pay much of anything in medical costs or prescriptions.

But........Medicare and Tri-Care only give the clinic about 20 to 25% of what is billed.

Being fairly astute and not entirely stupid, I have noticed that my doctors don't go out of their way to provide me with any but the most basic treatments and care. They rush me through.

Why? They lose money (maybe 80%) every time I show up.

I don't think you're stupid, but I do think you're coming at the healthcare issue from the wrong direction.

The send a bill in with stratospheric fees only to be paid a much smaller percentage goes on all the time. It's not just Medicare or Tri-Care, that's how it is for anyone who has medical insurance. Trust me, my medical bills this year if going off rack rates, are well into the 6 figure range. But my insurance knocked that down to the low 5 figure range and me paying out somewhere around $3K or so.

These are NEGOTIATED rates between insurance company and health care providers. The providers are not losing money! The only way you can say they're losing money would be akin to me listing one of my M70 rifles for $50000 I bought for $1000, then selling it for $1500 and claiming I lost $48,500.

I am somewhat in spirit with you regarding health care for everyone, at least and only for citizens of the country. But the reason so many don't is because they don't have insurance. They don't have insurance because of the cost. But the health insurance is merely a reflection of the high cost of health care. The ACA was intended to ensure most people had the health insurance. But this was just treating a symptom and not the disease as it didn't address the high cost of health care to begin with. Thus, it was a failure IMO.

The solution to the HC issue is not to force people to pay more and more into a system with a ridiculous inflation rate.

 

[Wheels]

244 years ago today, Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown. October 19, 1781 was the original No Kings Day in America. There have been no Kings since.

 

[Brent in Az]

Why would I try to fool anyone? No need to do that.

If I supported Democrats I'd damned well say so.

They are as flawed as Trump and they lie almost as much.

Speaking of lying.........

You shouldn't call other members here liars.

You wouldn't call me a liar if I were staring directly into your eyes.

Better to try to politely refute what they say.

With links to back up what you say.

If I was staring directly into your eyes, I would be laughing

 

[Frostbite]

And all of those "sources" were rooted in the same Democrat party source. Anything can be made to look any way you want if you have the media spewing one side. I know that there was nothing in my liberal area, and friends in Portland tell me that if you are away from the ICE facility there has been nothing. despite what they the press has been saying. I think I'll just believe what I see as opposed to what a lying press wants me to believe.

There is no one Democratic party source.

If you want to see the thousands, just Google "no kings crowds washington state" and click on "images."

It's easy enough to do if you want the truth.

Here's Portland from a FOX News source.

 

[Spearhead]