Displaying 571 To 600 Of 1,008 Comments In his official capacity as the peoples attorney, Barr LIED about not only redactions of the report released to the public, but about the entire report, in order to protect the political standing of trump. However the press, including the so-called liberal press, is complicit in promoting the lie. Trump, Barr and other republicans constantly say, even under penalty of perjury, that Mueller did not find that the trump campaign conspired with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election. What the Mueller Report actually said was that Muller did not find CRIMINAL conspiracy on the part of the trump campaign, BECAUSE in Muller’s opinion the people who committed certain acts outlined in the report, such as trump, Jr. and others meeting with a Russian attorney with close ties to the Kremlin for the purpose of getting dirt on Hillary Clinton, did not KNOW that they were committing a crime, and since intent is an element in the determination of the crime of conspiracy, Mueller found no CRIMINAL conspiracy. Additionally, Mueller did not pursue the president’s part in that particular meeting. However, given trump’s personality of being a control freak, there is no REASONABLE doubt that he knew of and approved the meeting. We KNOW he dictated trump Jr.’s written response to the press related to the meeting. So whenever the topic of whether the Mueller Report found that the trump campaign conspired with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential is addressed by the press or anyone interested in telling the truth, a distinction should be made between conspiracy and CRIMINAL conspiracy., as the CRIMINAL part is subjective at best. » Posted By TOCB On March 6, 2020 @ 7:14 am I think American voters have missed several opportunities to elect exceptional people to the presidency. In modern times I think of Al Gore, John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, and now Elizabeth Warren. My personal favorite is Hillary Clinton. I have not seen any public figure with more grace, compassion and intelligence than Hillary Clinton. Some people say Hillary lost to trump because she was a bad candidate. She was not. Some people say she lost because she didn’t campaign in Wisconsin, as if people in Wisconsin did not have the ability to discern the difference between Hillary Clinton and trump. Here is something that blows that theory completely up. WASHINGTON – Joe Biden didn’t just stay alive Tuesday. Biden did not campaign is MOST of the states he won last night. This also supports a position I have held for a long time, that candidates don’t win or lose elections, voters do. A few things were borne out on Super Tuesday 2020. Democrats will not nominate anyone to lead the Democratic Party, who is not a Democrat. Most Democrats support many of the things Sanders promotes, even universal single payer healthcare. And make no mistake; even with Joe Biden as president, IF Democrats win control of Congress, universal single payer will become the law of the land. Democrats won’t allow anyone to buy the nomination of the party. Although Bloomberg was not a good candidate based on past performance, Steyer was a decent candidate and he did a lot of grassroots work. In fact, I think he would be a great public servant. However, no one can buy the Democratic nomination. Democrats are not ready for a female president. We can hem and haw all we like, but we have rejected at least two women who are FAR above any of their male opponents, SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY ARE FEMALES. There is no way of getting around that fact. I am a Warren supporter in 2020, but after Super Tuesday I don’t see a path to victory for her. It is time for everyone, including Warren and Sanders, to coalesce around Joe Biden and focus on beating trump and republicans. It will not be a good look in future primary debates to have Biden on stage with Warren and Sanders for the world to see how much better a candidate Warren is than either male, and how bad of a debater Biden is. Biden’s saving grace in the general election is that trump is also a terrible debater as well as a terrible person. » Posted By TOCB On March 4, 2020 @ 5:11 am It is good to hear from you T. I signed up with the New Yabberz group on Facebook, but since I am not a big fan of Facebook, I don’t go on it much at all. I miss the exchanges we use to have on Yabberz. I agree. An argument can be made that all candidates attempt to buy elections because they all solicit contributions, even if they are small contributions. I support a few candidates and the DNC by making monthly contributions. I get emails and text messages every day asking for more. I ignore them and continue to contribute in the way I can. I realize it takes money to finance campaigns. That is why we need some way to get campaign messages out to the public without the influence of money. I have always thought about using CSPAN and public radio and television as mechanisms of doing that. That way, every candidate could have equal access to getting their message to the public. I also think we should ban polls that predict how people will vote, because I think polls can influence people to vote like the results of the polls reflect, so rather than being a gauge of what people are thinking, the polls become a tool to influence how people vote. For Democrats AND the nation, I think the challenge is to get as much participation as possible in the voting process. I don’t believe the majority of white Americans want a racist, bigoted, misogynistic society. So the more people who participate in the democratic process, the more likely we are to elect Democrats AND women. As for trump, as well as many congressional republicans in 2020, I think A LOT of people would vote for a tree before voting for a republican. » Posted By TOCB On March 1, 2020 @ 7:24 am EXACTLY! I think the fist four contests have contributed to a distorted view of what Americans wants. IA and NH were too white. NV was diverse but it was a caucus rather than a primary. SC was too black. Not even the Democratic Party is 60% black, and I don’t believe for a second that the black vote in SC reflects the national sentiment of black people. One reason Biden got almost 50% of the vote is the press has told everyone from the beginning that Biden was the safe bet, and Jim Clyburn’s endorsement was more influential than any endorsement is likely to be in any other state. I think and HOPE Super Tuesday will reflect the voices of black women, who I think lean heavily toward Warren. I attended a Warren townhall in Houston last night and she seem considerably more politically attractive in person than in interviews and debates. Houston is one of the most diverse cities in the nation, and that was reflected in the crowd last night. I still think though, that Warren needs to explain her position on universal single payer better. In the past couple of weeks I have talked to several people who think that the catchphrase “Medicare-For-All” literally means Medicare for all. I certainly hope not, and I don’t think those who promote it intends for it to be. I pay more for Medicare premiums than I paid for my share of the group plan provided by my employer before I retired. In fact, for a few years employees did not have to pay anything for health insurance. It was 100% funded by our employer, just as it was btw when I was in the military. Additionally, Medicare doesn’t cover 100% of medical expenses. This is understandable because Medicare is woefully underfunded, as for almost ALL of our working lives, we and our employers pay huge premiums to the private health insurance industry. Then when we reach 65 years old, when we use medical care more frequently, we depend on the government to pay for EVERYONE. That model makes ZERO common or economic sense. Just think of what we could do if EVERYONE paid the money that we pay to the private health insurance industry into ONE POOL, i.e., a healthcare tax, and when ANYONE needs medical treatment they could access the SAME healthcare provider network we have now, only with ZERO co-pays and ZERO deductibles. Since there is no profit motive, and the goal is to provide healthcare and prevent AND cure diseases, we would develop a healthier population, and that would eventually drive the cost of healthcare down. To Bernie’s credit, this is what he has been saying, but his use of the catchphrase “Medicare-For-All is misleading. » Posted By TOCB On March 1, 2020 @ 6:55 am From my perspective public policy is generally common sense. Yes, some things are more complicated than others, but in the final analysis public policy should past the moral smell test and be effective and efficient related to the general welfare. It has puzzled me for a long time how Phd’s, government officials and even captains of industry have totally missed this. It does not make common sense to depend on any ONE nation to produce the majority of the products that the people in your nation use every day. That is the position that the entire western world has put China in for over thirty years, SIMIPLY because they could exploit cheap near slave-like labor to increase the bottom line, which inures to wealthy investors. Although this may appear to be a shrewd business practice, in the long term it is short-sighted and very risky. » Posted By TOCB On March 1, 2020 @ 6:18 am An occurrence of a disaster is no time to engage in politics for the sake of politics. However, politics greatly influences public policies, and public policies can influence disasters. I have advocated for over 25 years that the USA, or any nation, should not import over half of its consumer products from ANY one nation if they have the resources to manufacture those products domestically. My main concern for the USA has been a national security risk. However, now we are threatened with a health risk because over half of our consumer products come from China. So the mystery of community transmission could be that COVID-19 could have come to the USA or any nation from germs attached to products in the supply chain that originated from China. Another issue this risk exposes is the need for universal healthcare. What if the millions of people who don’t currently have health insurance are exposed to the virus? Yes, they may have access to ER until that system is overburdened, but if they survive the virus, they will get medical bills for the rest of their lives. And what if they have the mindset that they can’t afford to go to a doctor in the first place, so they don’t get treatment and just spread the virus to others they come in contact with. This is not politics or a conspiracy promoted by Democrats and the press, as trump and republicans are claiming. Rather, this is a REAL health risk in the USA. » Posted By TOCB On February 29, 2020 @ 8:37 am I just heard a black female activist in SC say that beating trump is not the only concern of black voters. Granted, beating trump and republicans is not the ONLY concern for black voters or any other ethnicity. However, that should be the PRIMARY concern of ANY person who has the best interest of a democratic USA at heart. The reason being is that unless trump and republicans are ousted, Americans won’t accomplish any of the things that have made America what it has been since its inception, as far as BECOMING a more perfect Union. » Posted By TOCB On February 29, 2020 @ 8:19 am I hope Cher pulls through. She is 73 years old and she has a very difficult upper-respiratory infection. Entertainers are only human and they can get sick just like other people. I hope all Cher needs is rest and the best medical attention. » Posted By TOCB On February 28, 2020 @ 5:26 am I am not sure at what point Michael Bloomberg became a Democrat, but he ran as a republican in 2002 when he ran for mayor of NYC. There is no question that Bloomberg and Steyer have spent money that support a lot of things that Democrats support. The problem I have with wealthy people or anyone going immediately to the job as head of the federal government is that they are not accustom to serving people, and the job of a president is just like any public office. Elected officials are public servants. It is possible that a wealthy person can have the heart of a public servant, but from my perspective they should demonstrate public service in a an office where they are not allowed to be an autocrat, before running for president. They have to work with people who disagree with them, as well as demonstrating a desire to promote the general welfare of ALL of the people of the USA. I would never vote for trump for several reasons, but the primary reason is that he has NEVER demonstrated a desire to help ANYONE but himself. I would not completely rule out a wealthy person going directly to the office of president though. A wealthy person who comes to mind that has demonstrated empathy for people and a desire and willingness to help people is Bill Gates. I have no idea what Gates’ political affiliation is, but if he ran for president I would take a very serious look at him. I think the political party he chose to run for the nomination with, would tell me a lot though. Any person who cares about ALL people would not run as a republican, given the current focus of that party. Additionally, I have a problem with anyone becoming president simply because they are able to buy more ad space that others. From my perspective, that gives the impression that our government is for sale. » Posted By TOCB On February 28, 2020 @ 5:16 am Yes, the Astros were CAUGHT stealing signals. My question was which MLB teams DON’T try to steal signals??? So the Astros are being punished because they did it better than others??? When you say the Astros “illegally used a camera system to steal signs”, does that mean there is a MLB rule that teams can steal signs, but they can’t use cameras to do it? Are you suggesting that the Dodgers don’t steal signs? » Posted By TOCB On February 25, 2020 @ 5:55 am Rest assured there are few, if any, people like me. However, if you believe most American voters will support a self-professed socialist, you have been drinking too much Bernie kool-aid. As for finally getting a candidate who is really for us, the Democratic Party has fought for working people for as long as I can remember, even when white southerners were Democrats. Do you need a context for “communist dictator”? I don’t know what you are drinking, but PLEASE don’t share it with others. » Posted By TOCB On February 25, 2020 @ 5:49 am After South Carolina, 3% of the delegates will have been allocated. Bernie Sanders is nowhere near winning the Democratic nomination. IF he does win, he will get absolutely ZERO done. Sanders has been in Congress for over 20 years and he has supported some of the things the Democratic Party has supported for over 40 years. Universal healthcare is not new. A living wage is not new. NOTHING Sanders has proposed is new. He has caucused with Democrats because he supports things that Democrats support. But Sanders has alienated almost all so-called establishment Democrats who have worked with him for over 20 years. MANY of the things Sanders and other presidential candidates run on, they CANNOT do them by executive orders. Laws have to be originated in Congress, even if a president champions them. Sanders supporters comprise fewer than 30% of Democrats or lean Democrat, and in a general election, the majority of Americans WILL NOT vote for a self-professed socialist, even though Sanders does not profess to be a communist type socialist. I don’t believe for a second that Sanders is corrupt like trump and republicans, nor would he be the kind of leader communist dictators have been, but good luck trying to convince most Americans of that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhpVAkBDg5o Trump will chew Sanders up and spit him out, and there are not enough Bernie Bros to stop trump. » Posted By TOCB On February 23, 2020 @ 8:37 am The view of republicans is everyone in the executive branch of the government, be they career employees or political appointees, serve at the pleasure of a republican president. They don’t care if what trump does is legal or not. In fact, as for as they are concerned, if trump does it, that makes it legal. » Posted By TOCB On February 22, 2020 @ 6:58 pm Republicans, be they republicans on the court, the Congress or the executive branch, could not care less about right and wrong. They have the majority where it counts, and that is all they care about. » Posted By TOCB On February 22, 2020 @ 6:54 pm If Sanders wins the Democratic nomination, for the first time since I started voting in 1972, I might sit this one out and let the Bernie Bros and the trump assholes fight this one out. Admittedly, I would be happier if Sanders won than if trump won, but I can’t hold my nose tight enough to actually vote for Sanders. IF the USA survives, and it wants to regain its sanity, give me a call. » Posted By TOCB On February 22, 2020 @ 6:44 pm WASHINGTON — Intelligence officials warned House lawmakers last week that Russia was interfering in the 2020 campaign to try to get President Trump re-elected, five people familiar with the matter said, a disclosure to Congress that angered Mr. Trump, who complained that Democrats would use it against him. WHY on Earth would Democrats use intelligence information that Russia is interfering in the 2020 election to help trump, against trump??? Of course I am being facetious. IF trump had ANY integrity, he would welcome scrutiny of Russia interference in an election to help ANYONE, but of course there is no reason to accuse trump or any of his minions of having even a modicum of integrity. IMHO, it is time for our military to go to the White House and drag trump’s arse out and hang him from the Empire State Building. Again, I am being a little facetious. HOWEVER, trump and anyone who supports him for ANY reason are destroying this country EVERYDAY. I just heard that his “advisors” are telling him to wait until after the election to pardon Stone. Note that they are not telling him not to pardon Stone in order to protect himself, but just to wait until after the election to do so. It is not just trump who is anti-American and indeed even anti-human. It is ALL of these assholes! » Posted By TOCB On February 21, 2020 @ 6:55 am Bloomberg has obviously done a lot to support some causes that are important to progressives, but I don’t think he is the one who should lead the government. The thing about a mega wealthy person leading the government is that they are not accustom to having to share power. Although I would not in any way compare Bloomberg to trump, Bloomberg’s autocratic mentality is not conducive to public service. I suppose it is possible that a wealthy person could have a heart for public service, but I suspect that attitude is not a common character trait for wealthy people. » Posted By TOCB On February 21, 2020 @ 6:40 am It is more important than ever before that we elect someone whose character and integrity are unimpeachable. The lair-in-chief has demonstrated that the office of the president allows a person to break the government if there are not a strong Congress and a strong court to hold the president accountable. Since most men are naturally aggressive, any male president is likely to take personal advantage of the new normal trump has forged. In reality, we are no longer operating under the rule of law, because the president has no respect or regard for the law and one chamber of Congress is acting as an accomplish in trump’s crimes. Of the people who are currently running for president, there only two who have unimpeachable characters. » Posted By TOCB On February 20, 2020 @ 1:15 pm I think Warren came across as the one who can bridge the interests of moderates and progressives. As for most of the policies Democrats and the American people support, it requires a Democratic Congress. We need a president who can lead in the role of a public servant and not an authoritarian who thinks they have the biggest brain in the world. That completely eliminates republicans, especially trump. So which Democrat has a proven history of promoting policies that serve the benefit of most Americans, even the idiots who won’t vote for her? » Posted By TOCB On February 20, 2020 @ 5:47 am Why would Barr resign, and why would trump stop committing crimes??? What are the consequences for either one of them doing what they do? They are REWARDED! There is a lot of talk about the Houston Astros stealing baseball signs to help them win the 2017 World Series, and players and fans have suggested the title should be taken away from them. HELLO??? The Astros is a BASEBALL team in a league where stealing signs is as common as scratching and spitting. There is no rule against either of these actions in major league baseball, and baseball teams have been stealing signs since 1901. What major league baseball team DOES NOT steal signs? The Astros should be punished for doing what everyone else does, BECAUSE they were better at it than others? What does the Astros sign stealing have to do with politics and government? In case Americans haven’t noticed, WE HAVE A PRESIDENT WHO STOLE THE PRESIDENCY!!! How many major league baseball players and fans are calling for the presidency to be taken away from trump because he stole it? » Posted By TOCB On February 19, 2020 @ 4:53 am A number of moderates strongly oppose her support for Medicare For All but she has moderated that view and if she only publicized it in debates, moderates would learn that she has pledged to rebuild the ACA as an immediate goal and only if the public proves they support it, would she try to move the country towards Medicare For All. So that issue isn’t an issue anymore. I believe presidential candidates should explain that they cannot do over half of the things they run on, alone. Congress has to be willing to support the president for the benefit of the people. ALL Democrats want universal healthcare. ALL republicans want to protect the private health insurance industry. If enough Democrats are elected to Congress, they will deliver what the majority of Americans want, whether it is healthcare, sensible gun control legislation, humane immigration policies, economic progress, education, foreign policy, climate change. You name it. When will Americans learn that republicans CANNOT govern, primarily because they don’t believe the government SHOULD WORK to improve the lives of ALL Americans??? Their government policy is big I’s and little you’s. » Posted By TOCB On February 13, 2020 @ 6:51 am Trump has ZERO respect or appreciation for the law, institutions or people. Trump surrounds himself with people who have no respect for the law, institutions or people. Personally, I have given up attempting to make sense of people who support trump. They like trump because they are like trump. » Posted By TOCB On February 13, 2020 @ 6:26 am Bloomberg’s attempt to explain redlining reflects a lack of understanding of how that practice affected black people. It is not a sin to lack understanding and it can be easily overcome if one is willing to learn. Bloomberg is not the only white person who did not or don’t understand redlining. The entire financial industry, ESPECIALLY conservatives blamed a law that banned redlining, The Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, for the financial crisis of 2008. Maybe is it an honest mistake, but what many people don’t seem to understand is that the 1977 act did not require or even suggest that financial institutions make loans to people who could not afford to pay for them. It simply banned the practice of denying loans to people based on their ethnicity. Redlining did not only deny loans to poor black people, it denied loans to ALL black people. » Posted By TOCB On February 13, 2020 @ 5:45 am Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. WHY do people allow politicians who are bought and paid for by the insurance industry and big pharma, CONVINCE them that everyone pitching in to cover healthcare for everyone is a bad thing? In a recent incident reported by NPR that’s since gone viral on social media, Drew Calver, a 44-year-old teacher and triathlete in Austin, Texas, had a heart attack. He was rushed to an out-of-network hospital and had stents implanted. DOCTORS SUPPORT UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE. » Posted By TOCB On February 13, 2020 @ 5:05 am We need to stop acting like we are surprised when trump and his merry band of criminals walk all over the rule of law. The ONLY way to stop them, short of a violent overthrow of the government or a civil war, is to beat them in the 2020 election. NOTHING will change until that happens. In the meantime, we have to accept that we have a sudo-dictatorship. » Posted By TOCB On February 12, 2020 @ 6:54 am I grew up in the Jim Crow south when ALMOST ALL white people were openly racist. This might come as a surprise to a lot of people, but it wasn’t that long ago that the U.S. government actually sanctioned racism. Mike Bloomberg has a race problem. The video released yesterday reveals him making one particularly egregious racist statement. He basically said that the m/o of criminals in every city across the country is that of a minority. That is a blanket racist statement. Even if Bloomberg inherited stop and frisk as he has put forth as an excuse, he expanded it. And he can’t say he inherited his attitude toward minorities. The reality is that Buttigieg and Klobuchar also have race problems, and quite frankly, so does Joe Biden. The only two candidates left in the race who don’t seem to have a race problem are Sanders and Warren. The problem is that although the black vote is VERY crucial in the Democratic primaries, it is not that critical in the general election. Republicans have been winning elections for decades with almost no black support. So the question for Democrats might be, do we select the least racist candidate, or do we select a candidate who may have a problem with dumbass people who don’t understand what socialism is, in the general election. I support Warren. She is clearly not a racist. She is intelligent, caring, compassionate, energetic, witty and honest. I am not saying she is perfect. I am not perfect either, but do we REALLY have to settle for a president who has a racist past, and God forbid a racist present? » Posted By TOCB On February 12, 2020 @ 6:48 am So-called moderate Democrats are attempting to convince American voters that 149 million Americans would lose their healthcare insurance if we went to a universal single payer health insurance program. First of all, universal means ALL. of, affecting, or done by all people or things in the world or in a particular group; applicable to all cases. A “universal” healthcare insurance program would cover ALL people, including the 50% who are currently covered by the employers by either self insurance or private for-profit insurance companies, the 36% who are currently covered by Medicare and Medicaid, and the 10% who are not covered at all. By the way, even the 50% who are covered by their employers and the 10% who are not covered at all will eventually be covered by Medicare, if the live long enough. A “single payer” health insurance program means ONE entity pays for all medical care. Usually that “single payer” is the federal government. And let’s be clear. Insurance companies are NOT healthcare providers. So if the government became the only payer for healthcare, that does not mean they would be a healthcare provider. Doctors, nurses and other professional healthcare workers are healthcare providers. Whatever the reasons are that some politicians give to persuade you that healthcare for everyone, regardless of ability to pay, is bad for our society, THEY ARE WRONG. Even Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire who is attempting to buy the presidency, is telling people in his ads that healthcare is a right. However, he also thinks that private insurance companies have the right to determine what kind of healthcare you get. Elizabeth Warren did NOT develop an interest in universal single payer health insurance because of anything Bernie Sanders said or did. Her primary motivation was a result of a study she conducted for Harvard University on bankruptcy, where she found that 62% of bankruptcies are caused by medical care bills. If you want change in our society and our government, the MOST EFFECTIVE thing you can do is to elect a female president, and Senator Warren is the most prepared PERSON to fill that position.
» Posted By TOCB On February 11, 2020 @ 9:00 am I am not a big Bernie fan. Not even a little Bernie fan as far as him being president. I think the Democratic Party welcomes all comers if they accept our values, which in large part is common decency and respect for ALL people. Republicans, on the other hand, are simply bigots. If Democratic Socialists want to join the Democratic Party and help us defeat bigots, I am down with that. The criminal-in-chief and company are not even trying to camouflage their cheating schemes. Trump is openly telling his nut-jobs to vote for the weakest candidates in the NH primary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLJGaFfxaXg Does anyone think for one second that trump didn’t direct Flynn, Don Jr. and others to work with Russia to steal the 2016 election, or that he isn’t working with Rudy on the Ukraine investigation of the Bidens? Trump is a control freak and he has to run everything. One thing his ignorant arse didn’t know is that Democrats are not excited about Biden. So he just wasted his money and got his arse impeached for something that wasn’t going to happen anyway. » Posted By TOCB On February 11, 2020 @ 6:45 am Agreed. I think caucuses are better used a conventions. » Posted By TOCB On February 8, 2020 @ 2:39 pm I believe Bernie is sincere in his positions, but since he has been in the Senate he has not built any coalitions to get things done. If enough liberal Democrats are elected along side him, he could get those thing done. But so could any progressive Democrat. In fact, even a moderate Democrat would be forced to do things the majority of Americans want done, which are many of the things Bernie promotes. The thing is that most Americans have been conditioned to think that socialism is bad, although we have employed many socialist programs since the birth of the nation. One day we will learn the that optimal balance between regulated capitalism and socialism is the best economic program. » Posted By TOCB On February 8, 2020 @ 2:33 pmComments Posted By TOCB
He had an unprecedented comeback, winning the majority of states – including some where he hadn’t campaigned – as late-deciding voters fueled the Democratic Party’s consolidation behind an alternative to Bernie Sanders.
George Bernard Shaw
A network is a list of hospitals, doctors and other medical providers who are covered by a person’s health plan. Out-of-network providers are either not covered at all, or are covered at a much lower rate, leaving the patient responsible for much or all of the resultant bill. Almost 18 percent of hospital admissions end up with some out-of-network claim, often because someone goes to an in-network hospital but ends up getting care from an out-of-network physician. Among those who can’t afford the ensuing costs, most say they didn’t realize they were receiving care outside their insurance network.
Calver went home after four days. Though he asked from his hospital bed and was assured that his insurance would be accepted, his portion of the bill came to almost $110,000. That’s “nearly twice his annual pay,” NPR notes.
“Under a pure Medicare-for-all plan, those issues would go away,” Levitt says.
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