United States vs. ?

[morekaos]

I heard on the radio yesterday ACA premiums in CA are going up 30% next two years and will double in other states. Trump and the Republicans promised repeal and replace. All they've done is make a bad law worse.

The premium increases did not start under Trump.  They are a continuation of what has already been happening for years.  So I don't see how you can say he made a bad law worse.

Since the Republicans have such a narrow hold on the Senate they weren't able to get a couple of independent RINO's on board.  After the midterm, the projection is that (R)'s will have 4-6 more Senate seats.  If they can hold onto the House, the healthcare law is toast.  If they lose the house, then Obamacare remains the law of the land, but will continue to be chipped away at.  There's not much Trump can do about the makeup of Congress other than campaign for those that will help him get things done.

With all this great news we will hold both chambers. With dems running on this platform how could we lose?

Democrats Release Tax Hike Plan

This week, Congressional Democrats released a detailed tax hike plan that they promised to implement if given majority control of the House and Senate after the 2018 midterm elections. So much for the crocodile tears about the deficit--Democrats want to raise taxes not to reduce the debt, but rather to spend that tax hike money on boondoggle projects.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanellis/2018/03/09/democrats-release-tax-hike-plan/#246426d27b9e

 

[Irvinecommuter]

I heard on the radio yesterday ACA premiums in CA are going up 30% next two years and will double in other states. Trump and the Republicans promised repeal and replace. All they've done is make a bad law worse.

The premium increases did not start under Trump.  They are a continuation of what has already been happening for years.  So I don't see how you can say he made a bad law worse.

Since the Republicans have such a narrow hold on the Senate they weren't able to get a couple of independent RINO's on board.  After the midterm, the projection is that (R)'s will have 4-6 more Senate seats.  If they can hold onto the House, the healthcare law is toast.  If they lose the house, then Obamacare remains the law of the land, but will continue to be chipped away at.  There's not much Trump can do about the makeup of Congress other than campaign for those that will help him get things done.

Trump to end key ACA subsidies, a move that will threaten the law?s marketplaces
President Trump is throwing a bomb into the insurance marketplaces created under the Affordable Care Act, choosing to end critical payments to health insurers that help millions of lower- ?income Americans afford coverage. The decision coincides with an executive order on Thursday to allow alternative health plans that skirt the law's requirements.

The White House confirmed late Thursday that it would halt federal payments for cost-sharing reductions, although a statement did not specify when. Another statement a short time later by top officials at the Health and Human Services Department said the cutoff would be immediate. The subsidies total about $7 billion this year.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...6288544af98_story.html?utm_term=.d8c23bda2e08

I'm fine with this, and it fits with the chipping away that I was talking about.  Private corporations should not be receiving subsidies.

Obamacare failed because it didn't focus on the root causes of higher health costs, but only focused on the narrow goal of providing health insurance to all people regardless of cost.

It actually did...they did a lot of things to address cost side. 
https://ldi.upenn.edu/brief/effects-aca-health-care-cost-containment

Also...getting people coverage and allowing them access to healthcare earlier is in itself a cost saving.

The other question would be...what is the alternative?  What is the GOP plan for healthcare?

 

[morekaos]

People just don't get Trump.  They still use the old scales to measure his style.  You cannot.  Where Obama played "chess" and sipped wine  (but couldn't negotiate his way out of a paper bag)  Trump plays poker and slugs whiskey.  While Old school is playing a more gentile and civilized game of tennis where the "ball is now in Trumps court" , Trump is playing smashmouth football, moving the ball down the field while chuggin beer. It's not too late to get on the Trump train if you can look at this administration from a different angle.

I love that Trumpsters keep saying that "we just don't get it"  No...we all get it.  It's Teddy Roosevelt...except US doesn't carry a big stick anymore. 

How many times has Trump proposed something and then realized...oh it's a lot more complicated than we expected and then it fizzled out.  How is that Israeli-Palestinian issue working out?  How about healthcare? 

No, you don?t get it, and very likely, never will.  Our stick is still much bigger than anyone else?s, Just need someone willing to use it.  Seems more like things are a lot less complicated than people expect Judging from all the things busting lose lately. 

 

[Loco_local]

sorry I wrote this too soon. They changed their mind again

Sarah Sanders is already walking back promises of a meeting between Trump and North Korea

"regime must first undertake unspecified ?concrete and verifiable actions.?

"We?re not going to have this meeting take place until we see concrete actions that match the words and the rhetoric of North Korea," Sanders said Friday in a briefing with reporters.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...oncrete-and-verified-steps-before-kim-meeting

President Donald Trump?s agreement to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has resulted in much confusion about what would happen next. On Friday that confusion extended to the White House.

The White House press secretary appeared to suggest there would be conditions attached to Mr. Trump?s agreement to meet Mr. Kim, though she didn?t make it clear what those would entail.

?The president will not have the meeting without seeing concrete steps and concrete actions take place by North Korea,? said Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the press secretary, adding that Mr. Trump accepted the invitation to talk ?based on the promises that they have made.?



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Later Friday, officials clarified that the White House wasn?t suggesting any change in position from Thursday?s announcement.

?The invitation has been extended and accepted, and that stands. We expect the North Koreans to adhere to the assurances they?ve made, and if any of that changes, yes, we?ll have to rethink whether this would happen,? a White House official said
https://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house-reflects-confusion-over-trump-kim-talks-1520636342

 

[eyephone]

The President should not meet with North Korea. North Korea played the previous presidents from Clinton, Bush 2, and Obama.

If North Korea wants to make a deal and stop its program thaen NK should stop the program. Also they should release US prisoners.

We have more to loose if he does a stunt. For example doesnt show up, changes his mind.

I?m guessing they want something in return.

* my analysis is spot on..

 

[Liar Loan]

sorry I wrote this too soon. They changed their mind again

Sarah Sanders is already walking back promises of a meeting between Trump and North Korea

"regime must first undertake unspecified ?concrete and verifiable actions.?

"We?re not going to have this meeting take place until we see concrete actions that match the words and the rhetoric of North Korea," Sanders said Friday in a briefing with reporters.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...oncrete-and-verified-steps-before-kim-meeting

President Donald Trump?s agreement to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has resulted in much confusion about what would happen next. On Friday that confusion extended to the White House.

The White House press secretary appeared to suggest there would be conditions attached to Mr. Trump?s agreement to meet Mr. Kim, though she didn?t make it clear what those would entail.

?The president will not have the meeting without seeing concrete steps and concrete actions take place by North Korea,? said Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the press secretary, adding that Mr. Trump accepted the invitation to talk ?based on the promises that they have made.?



?? ADVERTISEMENT ??



Later Friday, officials clarified that the White House wasn?t suggesting any change in position from Thursday?s announcement.

?The invitation has been extended and accepted, and that stands. We expect the North Koreans to adhere to the assurances they?ve made, and if any of that changes, yes, we?ll have to rethink whether this would happen,? a White House official said
https://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house-reflects-confusion-over-trump-kim-talks-1520636342

It sounds like Sarah Sanders didn't parse her words very carefully during the earlier press conference.  Of course, the media will try to make a bigger deal out of her mistake than necessary, when the real news is the meeting itself and NK expressing willingness to denuclearize.  Let's support the President in this important endeavor and see what happens.

 

[Irvinecommuter]

It sounds like Sarah Sanders didn't parse her words very carefully during the earlier press conference.  Of course, the media will try to make a bigger deal out of her mistake than necessary, when the real news is the meeting itself and NK expressing willingness to denuclearize.  Let's support the President in this important endeavor and see what happens.

She literally just said that the meeting is not happening until NK accept precondition...which is exactly what what all the prior administration have said.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/09/politics/north-korea-trump-obama-bush-clinton/index.html

 

[Liar Loan]

sorry I wrote this too soon. They changed their mind again

Sarah Sanders is already walking back promises of a meeting between Trump and North Korea

"regime must first undertake unspecified ?concrete and verifiable actions.?

"We?re not going to have this meeting take place until we see concrete actions that match the words and the rhetoric of North Korea," Sanders said Friday in a briefing with reporters.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...oncrete-and-verified-steps-before-kim-meeting

President Donald Trump?s agreement to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has resulted in much confusion about what would happen next. On Friday that confusion extended to the White House.

The White House press secretary appeared to suggest there would be conditions attached to Mr. Trump?s agreement to meet Mr. Kim, though she didn?t make it clear what those would entail.

?The president will not have the meeting without seeing concrete steps and concrete actions take place by North Korea,? said Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the press secretary, adding that Mr. Trump accepted the invitation to talk ?based on the promises that they have made.?



?? ADVERTISEMENT ??



Later Friday, officials clarified that the White House wasn?t suggesting any change in position from Thursday?s announcement.

?The invitation has been extended and accepted, and that stands. We expect the North Koreans to adhere to the assurances they?ve made, and if any of that changes, yes, we?ll have to rethink whether this would happen,? a White House official said
https://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house-reflects-confusion-over-trump-kim-talks-1520636342

It sounds like Sarah Sanders didn't parse her words very carefully during the earlier press conference.  Of course, the media will try to make a bigger deal out of her mistake than necessary, when the real news is the meeting itself and NK expressing willingness to denuclearize.  Let's support the President in this important endeavor and see what happens.

She literally just said that the meeting is not happening until NK accept precondition...which is exactly what what all the prior administration have said.

Please post the quote where she literally said that.

 

[Irvinecommuter]

sorry I wrote this too soon. They changed their mind again

Sarah Sanders is already walking back promises of a meeting between Trump and North Korea

"regime must first undertake unspecified ?concrete and verifiable actions.?

"We?re not going to have this meeting take place until we see concrete actions that match the words and the rhetoric of North Korea," Sanders said Friday in a briefing with reporters.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...oncrete-and-verified-steps-before-kim-meeting

President Donald Trump?s agreement to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has resulted in much confusion about what would happen next. On Friday that confusion extended to the White House.

The White House press secretary appeared to suggest there would be conditions attached to Mr. Trump?s agreement to meet Mr. Kim, though she didn?t make it clear what those would entail.

?The president will not have the meeting without seeing concrete steps and concrete actions take place by North Korea,? said Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the press secretary, adding that Mr. Trump accepted the invitation to talk ?based on the promises that they have made.?



?? ADVERTISEMENT ??



Later Friday, officials clarified that the White House wasn?t suggesting any change in position from Thursday?s announcement.

?The invitation has been extended and accepted, and that stands. We expect the North Koreans to adhere to the assurances they?ve made, and if any of that changes, yes, we?ll have to rethink whether this would happen,? a White House official said
https://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house-reflects-confusion-over-trump-kim-talks-1520636342

It sounds like Sarah Sanders didn't parse her words very carefully during the earlier press conference.  Of course, the media will try to make a bigger deal out of her mistake than necessary, when the real news is the meeting itself and NK expressing willingness to denuclearize.  Let's support the President in this important endeavor and see what happens.

She literally just said that the meeting is not happening until NK accept precondition...which is exactly what what all the prior administration have said.

Please post the quote where she literally said that.

?The president will not have the meeting without seeing concrete steps and concrete actions take place by North Korea"

 

[Liar Loan]

sorry I wrote this too soon. They changed their mind again

Sarah Sanders is already walking back promises of a meeting between Trump and North Korea

"regime must first undertake unspecified ?concrete and verifiable actions.?

"We?re not going to have this meeting take place until we see concrete actions that match the words and the rhetoric of North Korea," Sanders said Friday in a briefing with reporters.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...oncrete-and-verified-steps-before-kim-meeting

President Donald Trump?s agreement to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has resulted in much confusion about what would happen next. On Friday that confusion extended to the White House.

The White House press secretary appeared to suggest there would be conditions attached to Mr. Trump?s agreement to meet Mr. Kim, though she didn?t make it clear what those would entail.

?The president will not have the meeting without seeing concrete steps and concrete actions take place by North Korea,? said Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the press secretary, adding that Mr. Trump accepted the invitation to talk ?based on the promises that they have made.?



?? ADVERTISEMENT ??



Later Friday, officials clarified that the White House wasn?t suggesting any change in position from Thursday?s announcement.

?The invitation has been extended and accepted, and that stands. We expect the North Koreans to adhere to the assurances they?ve made, and if any of that changes, yes, we?ll have to rethink whether this would happen,? a White House official said
https://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house-reflects-confusion-over-trump-kim-talks-1520636342

It sounds like Sarah Sanders didn't parse her words very carefully during the earlier press conference.  Of course, the media will try to make a bigger deal out of her mistake than necessary, when the real news is the meeting itself and NK expressing willingness to denuclearize.  Let's support the President in this important endeavor and see what happens.

She literally just said that the meeting is not happening until NK accept precondition...which is exactly what what all the prior administration have said.

Please post the quote where she literally said that.

?The president will not have the meeting without seeing concrete steps and concrete actions take place by North Korea"

I think that was a reference to NK's prior commitment to stop development and testing of weapons leading up to the talks.  The media understood her to mean additional preconditions, which is probably something other administrations would have done, but she was simply referencing the existing conditions that NK had proposed.

 

[Irvinecommuter]

I think that was a reference to NK's prior commitment to stop development and testing of weapons leading up to the talks.  The media understood her to mean additional preconditions, which is probably something other administrations would have done, but she was simply referencing the existing conditions that NK had proposed.

No...the point of the whole things was that NK made promises to do things (which they do always) and then Trump said okay let's meet.  Sanders just said...no meeting until those things are done.

Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump will not meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un unless North Korea takes "concrete and verifiable actions" toward denuclearization, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Friday.

"They have made some major promises. They have made promises to denuclearize. They have made promises to stop nuclear and missile testing," Sanders said. "We're not going to have this meeting take place until we see concrete actions that match the words and the rhetoric of North Korea."

Sanders' words on Friday also marked the White House's first comments preconditioning the meeting. In a statement the previous evening, Sanders said Trump "will accept the invitation to meet with Kim Jong Un at a place and time to be determined" and that the US looks "forward to the denuclearization of North Korea."

But Sanders on Friday repeatedly claimed that North Korea had "promised" to denuclearize and said Pyongyang would need to take "concrete and verifiable actions" toward that aim for Trump and Kim to meet.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/09/politics/north-korea-meeting-trump-conditions/index.html

 

[morekaos]

So, how much ya wanna bet they meet by May? ...just like he said?

 

[Irvinecommuter]

So, how much ya wanna bet they meet by May? ...just like he said?

Not sure why this is hard to understand...meeting is easy.  NK wants to meet...they want to Kim to stand side-by-side with Trump without the SK or the Japanese being there. 

BTW:  United States don't even have an ambassador to SK right now...and its state department is severely short-staffed. 

The difficulty of that assignment is why Trump's predecessors balked a breakthrough encounter the President has now agreed to.

Because a meeting with the US President is so valuable to the North Koreans, it's always been the American position that it should be reserved for the moment a deal is on the table -- and deliver a significant return.

The White House is convinced that the pain inflicted by its "maximum pressure" sanctions campaign has so weakened North Korea that it is desperate to negotiate.

But Trump's inexperience and willingness to risk one of his best cards -- the prestige of a presidential visit -- is one reason some analysts caution he may be walking into a trap.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/09/politics/north-korea-trump-obama-bush-clinton/index.html

Trump overpromises and never delivers:
http://foreignpolicy.com/2018/02/21/trumps-middle-east-strategy-is-totally-boring/
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/mark...llion-arms-deal-to-saudi-arabia-is-fake-news/

 

[eyephone]

The President should not meet with North Korea. North Korea played the previous presidents from Clinton, Bush 2, and Obama.

If North Korea wants to make a deal and stop its program thaen NK should stop the program. Also they should release US prisoners.

We have more to loose if he does a stunt. For example doesnt show up, changes his mind.

I?m guessing they want something in return.

* my analysis is spot on..

I guess it?s really hard to give me credit...

 

[morekaos]

Over-analysis, over complications from everyone who wants to parse every syllable uttered by every mouthpiece and glean some meaning to justify their analysis salary.  Suffice it to say (in simple terms), Trump invited, Trump accepts, they meet.  Stop trying to interpret all the "nuance".  We shall see what comes of it,if anything, but at this point moving the ball down the field is a good thing, lets see if we can score.

 

[Liar Loan]

No...the point of the whole things was that NK made promises to do things (which they do always) and then Trump said okay let's meet.  Sanders just said...no meeting until those things are done.

So there was no changing of her mind?

 

[fortune11]

Why all the hyper excitedness ... nothing has actually happened yet

Maybe Kim is buying time till he gets his weapons fine tuned and then can extract more concessions

Maybe Kim says withdraw all US forces from Korea and Trump, who cant think one step ahead of the next word he is about to say, accepts it .  and then has to walk it back

I did say I am glad Trump is shaking it up, but doesn't mean a successful answer is guaranteed

Lets wait till after they meet.  No point wasting our breath here

Now  about those Stormy Daniels emails ...

 

[Kings]

Now  about those Stormy Daniels emails ...

 

[eyephone]

Why all the hyper excitedness ... nothing has actually happened yet

Maybe Kim is buying time till he gets his weapons fine tuned and then can extract more concessions

Maybe Kim says withdraw all US forces from Korea and Trump, who cant think one step ahead of the next word he is about to say, accepts it .  and then has to walk it back

I did say I am glad Trump is shaking it up, but doesn't mean a successful answer is guaranteed

Lets wait till after they meet.  No point wasting our breath here

Now  about those Stormy Daniels emails ...

Michael Cohen used Trump company email in Stormy Daniels arrangements

President Donald Trump's personal attorney used his Trump Organization email while arranging to transfer money into an account at a Manhattan bank before he wired $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels to buy her silence.

The lawyer, Michael Cohen, also regularly used the same email account during 2016 negotiations with the actress ? whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford ? before she signed a nondisclosure agreement, a source familiar with the discussions told NBC News.

And Clifford's attorney at the time addressed correspondence to Cohen in his capacity at the Trump Organization and as "Special Counsel to Donald J. Trump," the source said.

But an email uncovered in the last 24 hours and provided to NBC News by Clifford's current attorney, Michael Avenatti, shows First Republic Bank and Cohen communicated about the money using his Trump company email address, not his personal gmail account.

"I think this document seriously calls into question the prior representation of Mr. Cohen and the White House relating to the source of the monies paid to Ms. Clifford in an effort to silence her," said Avenatti, who is representing Clifford in a lawsuit against Trump.

Source:https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nb...org-email-stormy-daniels-arrangements-n855021

 

[fortune11]

Why all the hyper excitedness ... nothing has actually happened yet

Maybe Kim is buying time till he gets his weapons fine tuned and then can extract more concessions

Maybe Kim says withdraw all US forces from Korea and Trump, who cant think one step ahead of the next word he is about to say, accepts it .  and then has to walk it back

I did say I am glad Trump is shaking it up, but doesn't mean a successful answer is guaranteed

Lets wait till after they meet.  No point wasting our breath here

Now  about those Stormy Daniels emails ...

Michael Cohen used Trump company email in Stormy Daniels arrangements

President Donald Trump's personal attorney used his Trump Organization email while arranging to transfer money into an account at a Manhattan bank before he wired $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels to buy her silence.

The lawyer, Michael Cohen, also regularly used the same email account during 2016 negotiations with the actress ? whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford ? before she signed a nondisclosure agreement, a source familiar with the discussions told NBC News.

And Clifford's attorney at the time addressed correspondence to Cohen in his capacity at the Trump Organization and as "Special Counsel to Donald J. Trump," the source said.

But an email uncovered in the last 24 hours and provided to NBC News by Clifford's current attorney, Michael Avenatti, shows First Republic Bank and Cohen communicated about the money using his Trump company email address, not his personal gmail account.

"I think this document seriously calls into question the prior representation of Mr. Cohen and the White House relating to the source of the monies paid to Ms. Clifford in an effort to silence her," said Avenatti, who is representing Clifford in a lawsuit against Trump.

Source:https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nb...org-email-stormy-daniels-arrangements-n855021

Yeah, $1mm NDA breakage fee is too small an amount to keep her silent.  She has much more to gain now that she is in the limelight .  Interesting thing also if Trump actually didnt know about this 130k payment before it was made and was sabotaged by his lawyer's sheer stupidity. 

Whatever she has on Trump must be juicy.  I cant wait for his evangelical base to start justifying all of Trump's acts that are about to come out  -- what's a little side affair with a porn star while your wife is pregnant, its all good for the Jesus warrior.