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Drunkpenguin
Audioholic Chief
Does anyone still find her hot? I just dont see it.
"Let our rigorous testing and reviews be your guidelines to A/V equipment – not marketing slogans"
TLS Guy
Audioholic Jedi
I don't think there really is havoc. The founding fathers in their wisdom set it up so that any possible damage was very limited.
In any event the ability of politicians to really alter events is limited. Few understand that. Old Super Mac did in the fifties, and always pointed out that events controlled the square. "Events dear boy, events," he always said. In my view how right he was.
haraldo
Audioholic Warlord
Havoc was not the right word to use.... but stepping away from agreed agrements are at least creating waves and some sort of disorder according to European view. The Trump administration of course have a differing view.
I guess politicians, including Trump are under control of forces more powerful than himself....
TLS Guy
Audioholic Jedi
That is exactly my point!
panteragstk
Audioholic Warlord
There is a lot of truth to this. Long term damage will be minimal, but I wonder how his antics will affect our relationships with our allies long term?
What's annoying me the most about this presidency isn't really him (as much as he is a buffoon, he doesn't really seem to have personally done much) but the current administration including congress. They seem hell bent at undoing everything Obama's administration did. We can't have our government constantly undoing what was done by the previous administration. Build on it. Tweak it, but don't just make change for the sake of change.
It'd be nice to see a moderate administration of either party. I fell like the extremists on both sides are getting way too much airtime. We know there are plenty of level headed people elected for both sides and even from the other sides we somehow forget exist. Instead of focusing on hot button issues, maybe take a look at the issues we face as a nation and try to do something about them?
The government shouldn't be the most horrible reality show on TV...
haraldo
Audioholic Warlord
Yeah, seems like a bad horrow movie.... at least it makes for complete lack of long term direction
I know that it‘s impossible to become president without support from the right people, and you’d better not go against them once you become president
So who’s really in control?
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shadyJ
Speaker of the House
Staff member
I don't agree that the damage Trump is doing is somehow trifling. I think he is destroying the very credibility of the country. What do treaties mean with a country whose next president might not honor them? A presidency like Trumps hurts the stability of all governmental institutions. It's a blow in the trust anyone could ever have in these institutions.
Also this attitude of "relax, just sit back and enjoy the show" comes pretty easy for upper middle class older white men, who are likely the major demographic of users of this message board. That isn't exactly the group that Trump's bigotry is targeting. The view would be very different for non-whites, women, non-straight, lower income, non-citizens, etc. Try using your imagination to understand what the news cycle of the last 2 years has been like for people unlike yourselves.
Also this attitude of "relax, just sit back and enjoy the show" comes pretty easy for upper middle class older white men, who are likely the major demographic of users of this message board. That isn't exactly the group that Trump's bigotry is targeting. The view would be very different for non-whites, women, non-straight, lower income, non-citizens, etc. Try using your imagination to understand what the news cycle of the last 2 years has been like for people unlike yourselves.
haraldo
Audioholic Warlord
..........
Johnny2Bad
Audioholic Chief
You have an insurance account with a Health Insurer who happens to be owned by the Province you reside in. Even if you are out of Canada, your province of residence Public Insurer pays for care. You are advised to get supplemental private travel insurance, but if I get bonked on the head in Chicago, I present my Provincial Health Insurance card to the local hospital, they bill the Insurer just like they would bill any insurer.
What would be different for me if I were to be in Chicago would be filling out of forms. We don't do that in Canada, you just present your Health Insurance card. The process isn't different if you are out-of-province, but whom gets billed does.
As a resident of Saskatchewan we also have supplemental insurance for motor vehicle injuries (everyone is covered in North America as a passenger or operator) which provides things like income replacement and travel cost reimbursement, and then a third layer of insurance if you are a driver as your Driver's License also carries an Injury Insurance coverage component. Finally there is conventional plate insurance, No-Fault or Tort (you elect which you prefer),comprehensive all-peril is mandatory but as the Insurance Agency is non-profit, not expensive, relatively. No difference in cost due to age, sex, etc, just actual rate of accident and actual average cost of repair for the make and model you drive.
In other words, as Commie as you can get, and the epitomy of Evil to the private insurance industry.
Auto insurance became a thing in the late 1940's when the Ontario-based auto insurance companies refused to offer policies to rural residents of the Province. The government said, ok, you don't want us, we'll self-insure.
There is nothing particularly special about Health Insurance or any other coverage, it's an insurance company like any other. The only difference is who pays the premiums, but when coverage is required to be payed out, it's exactly the same as if you were with State Farm.
Cost savings are found because there is only one Schedule for coverage. An Aspirin from the hospital dispensary is on line 302 (or whatever) for every patient. With Private Health insurance, you need a staffer at the hospital somewhere to fill out the individual company's insurance reimbursement form, because every Schedule is different with every Insurer. A Canadian hospital will have few administration staff.
At St Paul's where I last visited, there are six Insurance Administration secretaries for 500 patients. My Doctor is at a clinic with 15 other Doctors, there are two reception / administration staff who handle all billing (and everything else, including patient scheduling) for all 16 practitioners.
FYI: I have been a victim of an auto accident while in the US. I have first-hand experience with how it works there. The forms, the forms ...
But like I say, I live in the Province that the Federal Health Act was modeled after, we have deluxe health care and better than other provinces. A buddy who now lives in BC told me on the phone about a year ago, when we were talking about the time he was injured on the job and was out of work for two years, " If I hadn't been in Saskatchewan, I'd be begging on some street corner right now" (he earns a six-figure salary) which is a bit of a stretch, but is a bit illustrative as well.
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Mikado463
Audioholic Spartan
agreed, even with all but no unemployment many of the Dem's still can't help themselves from being the losers they are.
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herbu
Audioholic Samurai
Agree. Us old white men already have ours. We worked, saved and retired. So the highest employment EVER for non-whites and women means more to them than to us. It also means more job opportunities for the lower income. If you're talking about illegal aliens, I care about their "view" every bit as much as I care about other criminal's views.
But I understand nobody has ever changed their political position because of what they read in this forum. So I'll not waste our time trying. I will continue to enjoy immensely the snowflake meltdown. And I can't wait to see them when Justice Kavanaugh swears in Trump for his second term. As long as each side seriously thinks the other half of the country is truly evil, there will be no cooperation.
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shadyJ
Speaker of the House
Staff member
What's interesting is that even though economic indicators all show a vibrant economy, Trump still has relatively abysmal approval and especially disapproval ratings. So let's pretend for a moment that he isn't likely to be impeached, that he will somehow survive the fallout from the FBI's investigation; if he is doing this poorly with a good economy, how do you think his popularity will be when it actually goes south? Do you really think this bull market can last two more years?
The only way he could ever be sworn into a second term would be the first way he was sworn in his first term: with the collaboration of a hostile foreign power.
Irvrobinson
Audioholic Spartan
Really, James, even assuming there was some Russian influence, do you really think it influenced the election at all? I don't. Not a bit. Trump lost the popular vote by nearly three million, and only won because of our obsolete electoral college. And that was against HRC, who wasn't exactly a stellar candidate. The real problem is, who will the Democratic Party put up as a candidate? A semi-socialist? Some high-tax, anti-business, the-poor-are-noble-and-the-rich-are-evil leftist? If that happens, even I'll vote for Trump. The Democrats had better grow some brainpower right now to be in a position to win. They aren't. Not even close.
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pewternhrata
Audioholic Chief
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shadyJ
Speaker of the House
Staff member
I absolutely think that Russian interference swayed the outcome in Trump's favor. Trump won the electoral vote by a very slender margin in a handful of swing states. There has been all kinds of good reporting on the tactics that Russia used to influence the election, and you can find this reports as easily as I can. Now how many minds did Russian influence actually change? How many votes were flipped due to Russian interference? I can't say, but I do think it mattered in the end. It wouldn't have taken much since these elections hinged on such a a slender margin. Even 538.com made a good case that something as slight as Comey's last minute announcement about Hillary's email server investigation could have swayed the election, so why couldn't an organized Russian intelligence operation have at least as much of an impact?
I wouldn't worry about Democrats nominating a serious socialist. Was Barack Obama all that bad for US business interests? Did you really think that HRC would have been bad for business? Were these Democrats socialists? Another question to ask is should business interests be the highest priority for government decision making?
Anyway, the Democrats are likely to win regardless of their brainpower, and this is chiefly thanks to Trumps belligerence and stupidity. Undoubtedly the democrats are going to make gains in the midterms, the the only question is how much. I don't see this bull market making it all the way out to November of 2020 either, and you know who is going to get the blame when the economy goes south.
Between a socialist and a nihilist like Trump, I will take a socialist any day of the week.
GO-NAD!
Audioholic Warlord
From the outside looking in, I get the impression that the political spectrum in the US is skewed so far to the right, that a centrist politician in Canada, Australia or Western Europe would be considered a raving extreme leftist in America. I don't think the Democrats will select an extreme leftist as their next presidential election candidate - the person needs to be electable, after all. But then, Trump wasn't considered electable before the last election either. So, who knows...?
One of the myths that I find baffling, but regardless, helped get Trump elected anyway, is that he's a "great businessman" and that's what the country needed - someone who could run a country like a business.
Two problems with this:
First of all, his most noteworthy business skill appears to be tax fraud....https://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-times-trump-tax-fraud-father-fred-inheritance-2018-10....followed closely by bankruptcy...https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/sep/21/carly-fiorina/trumps-four-bankruptcies/.... the ability to avoid paying his bills ...https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/06/09/donald-trump-unpaid-bills-republican-president-laswuits/85297274/....and post-secondary education snake oil....https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/trump-university-scam/
Secondly, a country is NOT a business. Trying to run a country as if it were a corporate structure is utterly unworkable. Being fiscally responsible is very important, but a country is not a profit-driven venture and can be run as such.
Viewing the low unemployment rate and the happy stock market, as proof of his success as president is such a narrow focus as to be of little value in judging his performance and the overall health of American society.
It should be pretty clear that I am not a fan of POTUS. If his malign influence was confined to the USA, I'd say "Good luck to you - you will need it". However, he is burning international bridges with his allies, while being chummy with despots. Some day, America is going to need a friend, but may have a hard time finding one that won't include a Faustian Pact.
I certainly don't hate the guy, as I don't hate anyone. Hate is an active emotion that requires effort and has negative consequences for the hater. I just hope that the American electorate comes to its senses before the next election.
everettT
Audioholic Spartan
How is the electoral college outdated? If its out dated what could be implemented that would protect smaller states from being legislated by larger states?
Irvrobinson
Audioholic Spartan
Screw smaller states. One state's voters should not count more than those in another state.
Irvrobinson
Audioholic Spartan
Not me. If the Democrats put up Elizabeth Warren I'm voting for Trump. Same with Bernie.
everettT
Audioholic Spartan
That's exactly what the electoral college does. Levels the playing field for all. Same reason for the number of Senators.
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