POLITICAL JUNKIES

ruthbru

The Constitution of the United States is clear about the process of selecting Supreme Court Judges: Article II Section 2 says the President "shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ... judges to the Supreme Court." This president AND this Senate were both elected by the people of the United States, and in refusing to vote or even hold a hearing on the President's nominee to the Supreme Court, the Senate is abdicating its constitutional responsibility. If this bothers you as much as it does me, I suggest you call: 202-224-3121. This will get you to the U.S. Capital. Ask to be connected to the office of one of your Senators (after you are done talking to him/her, ask to be connected to your other Senator's office). You can say what you want, but this is what I said to the staff member who answered the phone when I called; "I am asking that hearing be held and a vote be taken on Judge Garland. I don't even care if Senator_______ decides to vote yes or vote no. I am simply asking that Senator ______ DO HIS (HER) JOB!" (N.D. has one male & one female Senator.)

(Wait until tomorrow, as I don't suppose anyone is around on the weekend. Tell everyone you know to do the same!)

eggroll

I listened to a Trump rally directly the other day, and he had all kinds of good ideas. Like having the President call the president of Carrier and find a way to bring the company back to the U.S. Instead of letting all the jobs just go and taxing the snot out of a smaller work force, fight for the jobs and bring them back for the people.

Why not give it a try Mr. President?

I would actually like to watch a rally like that for all of the candidates. I think it is very different when you hear from them directly without interviewers trying to make their reputation with "gotcha" questions and debates where the questions are all strategic to make the party either look bad or good, depending on the ideology of the network.

I'm Gen X, I grew up ducking under my desk to prepare for a nuclear attack. I think smaller government is better, freedom is better, Washington, D.C. is not our parent, the churches and non-profits get the humanitarian jobs done for much less. We have bridges falling down but people want to use tax money to house the homeless... so now no one thinks they should give to the shelters or churches, because of course the government is supposed to take care of that. But every $100 the government takes from you, a tiny pittance is left for social causes, and so the misery and suffering goes on AND we don't have bridges. We have a whole country of people who can't even fend for themselves, much less their families, and they are being led to believe there is some kind of safety net. And it's just an illusion.

I interview homeless people as part of my job, and so I see the trends. They are trying to tell us we should just give the poor money because they know what to do with it. I'm sorry, but no ,the folks I talk to, that would only have prolonged their misery out there. They would have spent it on drugs and alcohol, on tattoos and fancy shoes. And still ended up homeless. They needed life and job skills, they needed recovery, they needed mentoring, someone to really care about them. Government really can't do that.

Lovely thread, a daring thread.

ChiSandy

Let's call lay opposition to even competently-taught Common Core what it is: fear that via the reading materials used in the English component, their kids will be taught stuff that conflicts with their religious and political beliefs--especially evolution, reproductive biology, and exposure to other cultures. This is hogwash. And parents who object to their kids' exposure to “information" in which they don't believe still have the option of sending their kids to privately-funded schools (parochial or secular) or home-schooling them.

And as to insisting that aid to the disadvantaged be privatized and left to non-profits and churches? Those entities are free to pick and choose whom to benefit on the basis of more than just need, and faith-based programs often either discriminate in favor of those of their faith or impose conditions such as church attendance or having to be evangelized while at the food bank, shelter or soup kitchen. Where is it written that only people of faith--or who are willing to be proselytized and judged--have a right to food, clothing, shelter and health care? And as a corollary, why should only people of faith--or those willing to contribute to nonprofits--bear most or all of the cost of helping the needy? The unchurched and the tightfisted should not be exempt from being our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers.

And as to the supposed infrastructure-vs-entitlements dichotomy, the vast majority of candidates opposed to government safety-nets also fail or even refuse to vote for infrastructure repair and improvement projects--instead, channeling government assistance in the form of tax breaks for and relaxing or abolishing regulations on the business sector (and refusing to penalize companies that offshore jobs or even re-incorporate in low-tax countries).

DivineMrsM

I think it is very different when you hear from (candidates) directly without interviewers trying to make their reputation with "gotcha" questions and debates where the questions are all strategic to make the party either look bad or good, depending on the ideology of the network.

Egg roll, so well stated.

7of9

My family is planning on voting for (probably) Trump. I may have crossed over for Bernie ( I think he is a passionate man who may have actually put environmental and health issues first - they go hand and hand after all as I am Ms. Cancer at 40! I could care less about free college, I think that is a lie and supply and demand will even it out eventually anyhow) but no way Hillary. Her and her husband make WAY to much as guest speakers and get money from Entertainment industry people who are clueless as to how real people live and work and Big business. She will owe them something. She is a step backward to the Bush/Clinton eras and I say no way to career politicians these days.

Besides, why not elect a business person who knows how to deal with smarmy politicians and greedy corporations...maybe we can beat them both at their own game. I feel the media is SO mad at Trump...can't help but like who they hate. They are not news people anymore but make too much money off of sensationalizing crap. I think Trump knows that and uses them for free publicity. Illegals? Bye! Lobbyist and super PACs - don't need ya! Sensational media? Put on your seatbelts - it's time someone took you for a ride.

exbrnxgrl

Upon further reflection, one reason I can think of for opposition to Common Core is the supposition that if there is one national standard for English Language Arts and Math (gasp!), then this might eventually lead to national governance of schools.

Sandy,

You're on the right track. Common Core calls for ELA to balance reading 50/50 between fiction and non-fiction and increase reading overall in all subject areas.

So, how do we lure US companies in to bringing their manufacturing back to the US? Would stockholders be happy with lower profits? Would you be happy with higher prices?

ElaineTherese

As an associate professor of political science, I have the following to offer:

1) There is far more continuity between presidents than change. (Ex.: Obama is still fighting the War on Terror, albeit through drone strikes; Guantanimo Bay is still open; Obama still uses signing statements though he criticized the George W. Bush Administration for using them).

2) The use of unilateral power, e.g. executive orders is limited. Regardless of how the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the use of prosecutorial discretion with respect to undocumented workers by the Obama Administration, that policy can simply be overridden by Congress or by the next president.

3) Even if (gulp) Donald Trump became president, there would be far more continuities with previous presidents than departures. Anyone looking for a revolution via Trump or Sanders will be sorely disappointed. Presidents have a limited amount of control over bureaucracies, thanks to civil service laws. Presidents have a limited amount of control over Congress, thanks to separation of powers.

4) All presidents since FDR have tended to organize their White House staffs in similar manners. They have increased their emphasis on the communications staff, to no avail. Regardless of who is president, no president has ever "convinced" the American public to change their minds about anything. Presidents are most successful when they highlight issues and policies that are already popular with the American public.

So, am I worried about who becomes president? Not especially. I loathe Trump but otherwise expect the same ol', same ol'.

DivineMrsM

7to9, I respect your views and appreciate your commentary. The part I don't get is how on one hand, a comment could be made that the Clintons make way too much money to be able to relate to the working class yet no comparison is made to Trump's net worth. How does a man who spent one million dollars on his third wedding in which the bride's gown alone cost $100,000 relate to the working man? I can tell you my own (and only) wedding 25+ years ago cost $500 including what we wore and our honeymoon. I remember in the last presidential election, many uncomplimentary media references were made about John McCain and his wife's much more wealthy, opulent life style compared to the Obamas. The media seemed intent on highlighting the discrepancies. This election, the media is thrilled Trump is running since it boosts their viewership. You just don't hear about all his wealth the way we did with McCain.

Visually, I see the media tide slowly turning against Trump. They've about had it with him. For months, the photos accompanying online articles about him were complimentary. Now the photos are often unflattering, either his mouth is gaping wide open, or it's an angry pose or his eyes are closed as his arms flail out.

As an aside, I feel there was a huge push by the media to get the first black President voted into office so all those in the industry could say they were there when this historical event occurred. To them, itwas about making history. I also feel the entertainment industry by and large supported Obama as their driving issue was wanting gay marriage to be legalized and that was only going to happen with a Democrat in power.

april485

I find all of the blustering and opposition to common core irritating. I am an Employment Specialist and my job is to help people who are unemployed/under-employed to determine their barriers to gainful employment and I send many of them to short-term vocational training, often at local community colleges. We of course test them first and even though most have high school diplomas and/or GED's, they fare poorly on the CASAS Employability Competency test, particularly in the math component. We require a minimum of 9th grade to move on to a training (truck driving school, certified nursing assistant are two popular choices to give you an example) and many of them struggle to get through the test.

Most math scores range in the 3rd to 5th grade level (we do not allow a calculator, only scratch paper and pencils) and decimals, fractions and percentages are where they fall down the most. It is truly a very disturbing aspect of my job to see young adults (most people over 45 pass this test even though they have been out of school the longest which is interesting, isn't it?) that cannot pass a basic math or reading test.

Does this not show us that we need to do something to ensure kids are graduating from high school with the tools they need to go on to either higher education or employment? Don't even get me started on the writing skills (or lack of them) because grammar, punctuation, syntax and spelling are basically non-existent!

I don't blame teachers. I blame curriculums that did not prepare kids for the rigors of college and life.

Edited to add that many parents are very culpable in this as well and they freak out if a teacher flunks their child even when it is warranted. That is not the way I was raised. If I failed (which I was too afraid to ever do)I would have been grounded until I passed.

rainnyc

I thought some might be interested in this brief article about how Common Core's implementation in New York was inextricably linked with punishing state tests, and how the governor was forced to back off:

http://www.wnyc.org/story/cuomo-common-core-task-f...

Meanwhile, it is interesting for me to see the distaste here for Hillary Clinton. As a lifelong, dyed-in-the-wool, red-diaper, Jewish Democrat, I had no reason to consider any of the republicans (or "republicans") in the race, but in any case I have long been an enormous admirer of hers. I do think that as a woman, she is subject to a harsher scrutiny in many ways than any of the men in the race (and this was true eight years ago).

Leaving aside all of that, though, come November I will be voting to preserve the Affordable Care Act, since my husband and I are self-employed, and I doubt I would be insurable if it were to be repealed.

DivineMrsM

Elaine, interesting insight on presidential reigns, and it seems to ring true.

Also interesting observations from your Employment Specialist job, April.

Btw, ChiSandy, I hadn't read the book on what's wrong with Kansas but you've piqued my interest so I'm getting it from the library.

I most definitely agree with you, Kay, that Clinton is scrutinized more harshly because she is female. ( Though her pr team seems to be doing a good job getting out many photos of her looking very presidential.) I read a book called "The Ditchdigger's Daughters" written by the daughter of a black man and wife raising their five daughters in the 50s and 60s. The author went on to have a highly esteemedmedical career and writes about the discrimination she encountered along the way. She thinks she was discriminated more because she was a woman than because she was black, and I found that quite interesting to read. It's a patriarchal society we live in still

exbrnxgrl

Thanks rainyc. Testing, as always, is controlled on a state level, so again, no president would have power over that. Mypoint is that Common Core is not a federal issue.

April485,

That is indeed sad and a travesty for those who were cheated of a decent education. I hope Common Core is given a chance. It is very rigorous and demands that students not only show fluency, whether math or ELA, but have a deeper understanding of these subjects. Again, however, this is a state not federal issue

rainnyc

Exbrnxgrl, that is interesting. I vote health care on the federal level, but as a public school parent, all of my state and local voting centers on education. Education had a great deal to do with why NYC's current progressive mayor was elected.

april485

The State that I live in is Connecticut and we score quite high in education in terms of nationwide test scores/educational excellence, behind only Maryland and California so if this is excellence, then I feel that somehow there is a disconnect on a much higher level about what kids need to come out of school knowing. http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/articles/how-states-compare

The "three R's" held me in very good stead. I went to school later in life (got my Bachelor's degree at age 44) because I married young. When I entered my freshman year of college, I was very nervous that I would fall behind all of these younger students who just finished high school and all was fresh in their minds. Nothing of the sort happened! I ran rings around most of them frankly. It made me very nervous to see that their writing skills were so poor and many of them did not read books and tried to get by with as little preparation and reading as possible.

Don't get me wrong. There were many bright kids in my classes but too many that were way behind and were happy just to eek out a C for their classes. It made me sad.

I know this is not a federal issue and States guide all of the common core curriculum and that is the way it should be. I hope it does bring us back to being the excellent Country that was the envy of the world. As it stands now, we rank lower than a lot of countries in educational excellence.

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/02/02/u-s-students-improving-slowly-in-math-and-science-but-still-lagging-internationally/

exbrnxgrl

So, what would be so wrong about all students in all states having the same set of (high) standards in math and English? State test scores, they are historical, don't always tell the full story since every state has had their own, and often very different tests. There is no national test.

I could go on about education forever, but with respect to this thread, Common Core is not an issue that the federal government legislates.

april485

exbrnxgrl, my point exactly! I know what you mean about going on forever about this issue but you are right. It has nothing to do with the election other than being thrown out as an "issue" by a couple of the candidates this election year. They should move on to something that they can do something about but alas, this is something they feel would grab voters who are not in the know. Thanks for all of your enlightening comments and links. I learned a lot.

Englishmummy

I love the discussion on common core - I know I read that someone (can't remember who as did not read all weekend and am most definitely not pointing fingers merely putting forward a point), said they felt free school was a lie. I just wanted to say as a product of 'free school' (nothing is ever free in the true sense especially when it comes to government and politics) I am very appreciative of the fact my degree was not something I had to fund for the next 15/20 years of my life.....but the thought of paying for 3 to go through college here (or them being burdened with that debt) is one of the reasons I feel I can not do my citizenship; as it stands right now, my children have the option to take advantage of 'free' schooling in Europe.

I also wanted to chuck an article out there about Trump and his taxes (that he won't reveal...hhhmmmm, not sure why?????) as I am thinking it has not been discussed yet (perhaps I missed it) and am curious what the thoughts are as that is an issue that affects us all. Bearing in mind, this gentlemen is only surmising what could be in those returns. It was an interview with David Cay Johnston who authored the book : Perfectly Legal: The Covert Campaign to Rig Our Tax System to Benefit the Super Rich and Cheat Everybody Else. It struck a cord with me as I know my multi-millionaire in-laws pay $0, yes $0, taxes per year, every year for the last 20 years... thanks to all the lovely loopholes for the rich - whilst our family of 5, on one income, pay our fair share....I even get to enjoy 'taxation without representation' although that is my own choice as I stated above. I am still completely befuddled by Trumps appeal, but perhaps back to back Bill Mahr sessions only bolsters that.......

https://www.rawstory.com/2016/03/the-mysteries-of-...

april485

One of the theories being thrown out as to why Trump will not release his tax returns is that he is no where near as rich as he claims and that he is worth closer to 2 Billion and not 20 Billion as she says he is and that the returns would prove that. Not sure that is why, just saying that is one theory. I suspect that on paper all rich people claim less income than they earn so they do not pay their fair share (as you mentioned above Englishmummy) so this would not be a surprise if he made less on paper to anyone in the know I guess.

exbrnxgrl

Englishmummy,

K-12 public education is free! College, even state or community colleges are where the money comes in. When I did my undergrad, City University of NY, Queens College, it was free to NYC residents, save for the $72.00 registration fee. Those days are long gone!

Englishmummy

Exbrnxgrl, I should have stated college not school. That was a blinding deal on your U/G - my sil went to Syracuse, took her 12 years to clear her debt.....crazy.....

April, those people could have a point - I doubt he could tell the truth if his life depended on it - he changes what he is saying in the middle of a debate; more flip flops than Teva. So many things he says are untrue, I have stopped fact checking, I just assume it is a fib.

"I'm proud of my net worth, I've done an amazing job … The total is $8,737,540,000 US. I'm not doing that to brag, because you know what, I don't have to brag." Donald J. Trump

He puts me in mind of the Roman politician, Crassus - he also amassed a fortune (may be the largest of all time) through real estate... Trump shows the same traits - ego, ostentatiousness and covetousness..... I see him speak sometimes and even wonder if he won't try to revive decimation for the 'professional agitators' at his rallies.....hopefully his love of gold (fixtures) won't be the end of him....

exbrnxgrl

Englishmummy,

Those days at CUNY ended in about 1976! My daughters had no such opportunities

marijen

The Media will take Trump's taxes and make a mess of them in their reporting. They probably don't even understand the tax laws. Trump is smart not to release them and give them more mud to throw. Mitt Romney refused to release his until he had to. Hillary's CF taxes have been audited and found to conveniently forgotten some contributions which they had to revise and resubmit. Also Hillary accepted a lot of money into the Clinton Foundation and that is being reviewed to match up with favors to those who contributed (her favor to Trump was going to his wedding. All for show), I'm sure. - anyone ever heard of Judicial Watch. I'm so sorry so many here would choose a lifetime liar in the white house with her impeached husband #NeverHillary.

Englishmummy

looks like Trump named his foreign policy advisors....

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-35867356

exbrnxgrl

marijen,

You may have fallen in to a den of Democrats and liberals

marijen

But Trump will beat Hillary, so it's all good

exbrnxgrl

Better check your crystal ball. 😜

april485

Sure do hope not Marijen! Lol..and I suspect that she did fall into a den of dems and liberals but that is what makes it interesting for sure. I think you are brave Marijen. We have really been tearing the Donald apart around here but again, that is what makes America...well, America!

Made it clickable for you Englishmummy. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-35867356

Englishmummy

Thanks April, I edited it too. I admire Marijen for standing almost alone.

Ha, ha! 'Blowhard' is a very apt description of Trump. He was talking this morning about if he 'were' president right now (after the Brussels attack) he would be looking to do more than just waterboard Salah Abdeslam....probably and definetely is how he summed it up.

marijen

April, Brene Brown says you can't be brave if you care what people think. Longtermsurvivor posted about Brene Brown today - you can find her at youtube.

Oprah says you get from this life what you have the courage to ask for - Brene Brown at youtube.

april485

Touche' Marijen but I still say you are a lone voice in a sea of dissenting opinions and that is never easy.