Re: Ever wonder why the Nihilists were Russian
 

Nihilist? My immediate family member with a chronic illness, one requiring significant management (w/o which this person dies horribly) might disagree.

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

Possibly because the groups overlap and so your numbers, and your point on which they're based, are off?

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

Except you're underwater on the first house.

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

Re: Ever wonder why the Nihilists were Russian
 

If you can't get a Lebowski reference you can't speak for the working class.

Re: Ever wonder why the Nihilists were Russian
 

Fuck. I hang my head in shame.

And that was soooo obvious.

I must leave now in embarrassment.

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

It's OK, Sebby. To pay for that first house, I'm going to work a little overtime and I'm going to lease a Kia instead of the BMW.

- But you can't afford that first house!

Hey, with the overtime and the Kia, I can totally make the payments work.

- I'm not talking about your job and your car! This is about housing. You can't afford the first house.

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

Exactly.

Re: Ever wonder why the Nihilists were Russian
 

Because the Coen brothers are nothing if not the spokesmen of the proletariat.

Re: Ever wonder why the Nihilists were Russian
 

Exactly.

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

Not that any of you need my endorsement, but you must read TNC.

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

Of all of Trump's appointees so far, the one that worries me the least is Tillerson at State, because he seems the most likely to be practical and competent and not an ideologue.

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

Don't really have an opinion about the man, but "long time oil exec" doesn't really scream "qualified to be our top diplomat" to me.

ETA: And I'm not sure oil interests need an even more prominent say in our foreign policy.

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

What do you base this on? I don't have a feel for the man yet.

I certainly have a distaste for some of how Exxon Mobil has conducted its business, including its current dispute with the Mass. AG, but the CEO may or may not have much to do with that.

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

As an oil exec, he has presided over a big, complicated, international organization, under the scrutiny of shareholders. Trump is appointing many people who look like they will be completely out of their depth in running a large organization. I think Tillerson has to understand that he will need to rely on subordinates and trust their expertise.

Agree that oil interests don't need more of a say, but I was going to differ with Trump on that score in any event, and I expect that Tilllerson is taking the job to be the Secretary of State, not the Secretary of Oil.

I don't know anything about him personally, so maybe I'm completely wrong. But setting ideology aside, look how many of the people Trump has appointed are going to be in jobs completely unlike anything they've done before? Priebus, Flynn, Devos, etc. Pruitt and Perry at least have state experience, but even that is not always that helpful. You'd think it was all about white entitlement, but Carson is equally unqualified for HUD.

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

I'm not overly worried about managing the bureaucracy for the top spot and more worried about policy perspective: the view of international affairs from someone who has learned it through the oil industry can be problematic, especially when dealing with the Middle East and Russia. Oil is a big piece of why we work so hard to help the Saudis screw up stuff, even while they provide mammoth support for terrorism, especially in other MENA countries.

On the other hand, I suspect a big part of the job over the next four years will be trying to ease things after his boss stirs up a shit storm (see, e.g., Taiwan). Oil may well prepare him for that kind of crisis management.

But, you know, this is where a good vetting in hearings might educate us all on how he'll do.

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

2. Particularly given John Bolton, a neocon buffoon of the first order, will be the likely deputy secretary (probably as a smiling nod in Netanyahu's direction).

Re: Ever wonder why the Nihilists were Russian
 

I think the clip of those Russian nihilists is going to be very useful over the next four years. Which one do you think is your boy Trump? I think he's the tall one, Putin the one in charge, and the short guy is Assad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AEMiz6rcxc

"We fuck you up!"

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

Inapt.

1. 10mil who can pay something but are precluded due to pre-existing conditions can be brought into the current system with a mix of cost cutting and creative risk pooling.
2. Another 15mil who w/o pre-existing conditions who can pay something can be brought into the system with a mix of cost cutting and creative risk pooling.
3. 30mil more who cannot pay anything, some of whom have pre-existing conditions, cannot be brought into the current system with a mix of cost cutting and creative risk pooling. They blow up the equation every time -- even in a nimble system like the ACA.

Expand Medicaid for group 3, and create a separate system for them. Use a mixture of cross-state risk pooling, cost-cutting, and tax increases to allow groups 1 and 2 into the private system.

Everybody gets care, and the best parts of the ACA are preserved.

Re: Ever wonder why the Nihilists were Russian
 

That's a hard guess, but one thing is certain: "White Russian" takes on a whole new connotation.

Yes, that was too easy. But it had to be done.

ETA: Trump is "my boy" like happiness is Morrissey's favorite emotion.

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

He's been to more countries than 90% of people in DC, and worked out deals in extreme circumstances. He's also run a corporation bigger than the state dept, and worked in a sector where he has to think truly long term. I think it's a decent pick, and welcome it, as it avoids Bolton getting the slot, and neutralizes him if he gets the Deputy slot.

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

I believe I saw a statement from Rand Paul along the lines of "no admin position for Bolton, period." I hope he follows through.

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

The man's a fucking idiot. A dangerous, war mongering idiot.

Fuck the entire Irving Kristol* crowd. Pack of truly nihilist traitors, with absolute shit for brains.



_____
* Bill's dad, and the architect of Neoconservatism.

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

Yeah, gee, it might have been a good idea to vote against them, huh?

I got to catch up recently with a friend who was part of the Obama NSA, and he reports that the Trump transition team has a very serious hard-on for Iran.

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

Get different friends.

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

ZOMG. From a budget standpoint, the ACA -- meaning the legislation that was passed, including both the parts that you describe here AND other stuff that you haven't described here -- did not "blow up the equation" because other stuff you haven't described covered the costs of what you do. If you only talk about the new house I'm buying and ignore the other stuff I do to balance my own budget, of course I can't afford the new house.

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

Conservative news outlets have been reporting for a couple days that Bolton got shut out of everything. But seriously, I'd pick Bolton for Undersecretary over Roger Ailes.

I am generally pleased with the cabinet appointments so far in that while they in no way are close to whom I would pick, they exceeded my expectations and could have been far worse. Like Secretary Palin or Hannity.

I think Ben Carson is definitely a weak pick, and I do not care for Tillerson as SoS. I used to work for an Exxon competitor, and we always held Exxon up as very like our own company, but well run and with decent management. But Trump is clearly an idiot, despite his assertion that he is "like, a smart person" and doesn't need intelligence briefings. [Don't get me wrong. It is probably better that Trump not get the security briefings] But his unwillingness to call the annexation of Crimea an act of aggression, and his unthinkable statements regarding NATO, and the Russian influence among his confidants and advisers (as Manafort supposedly still has influence behind the scenes) are pretty concerning.

I don't think Tillerson is the guy to stand up to Putin.

OTOH, I find it hilarious how severely Dems, led by Obama, mocked Romney when he said that Russia was the biggest international threat, but now the Russians have rigged the election against the great Hillary of the Reset Button!! I am enjoying the reaction almost as much as I am to the Democrats rediscovering the Constitution and separation of powers and the importance of the filibuster in Presidential appointments.

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

And isn't Bolton going to be doing all the dirty work? That guy is fucking crazy.

TM

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

The Trump administration is almost certainly going to try to go to war with Iran, largely on the same pretext as Iraq - they're bad and that's all that matters. Heck, we know they've tried to get WMD!

Right now the GOP seems unlikely to really try to stop them, even though it will cost millions of lives, trillions of dollars and has zero chance of a good result (i.e., a remotely stable alternate government in the foreseeable future).

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

I mean, sure, he could have picked empty personalities with no experience, and aside from Carson seems to have avoided that. But that's such a low bar.

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

In analogous circumstances with the party affiliations reversed, lefties would get offended at the hypocrisy shown by the other side. Which is pathetic in its own way. Conservatives don't dwell on the hypocrisy, but take great pleasure when lefties are bothered by something. The schadenfreude is also pathetic. I think it's more pathetic, actually, but then I'm a lefty.

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

I think her post is a fucking joke. Republicans took it to unprecedented levels with filibusters and obstruction to keep Democrats from governing. Why the fuck they think Democrats shouldn't block absolutely everything they want (especially appointments--if it were up to me, they wouldn't get to appoint anyone until everyone Obama put up is approved) is beyond me.

TM

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

On what basis do you reach this conclusion? Because uber-hawk Rex Tillerson - the man everyone is concerned would value oil suppliers' interests over US interests - is going to run out and start a war which would screw up oil rights and supply lines in the middle east? Or that he won't be able to contain Bolton?

We're going to attempt to resume sanctions on Iran. Will that work? Will it backfire? Who knows. Will tensions increase? Hell yes. But we're not going to initiate a war with Iran. That's tin foil hat talk.

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

If the Dems don't repay GOP obstructionism with their own, they don't deserve to ever have any kind of power. I expect and welcome them doing so because, if that's how checks and balances are going to work in our nihilist political climate, then the necessary obstructionist checks should and need to be applied by both parties.

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

Ah, you do realize don't you that Obama signed the Russia sanctions bill? I know, reality sucks when in gets in the way of your biases.

As to the Constitution, you should really discover it too someday. We know your party's leader never will.

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

Wait and see, but Flynn is a nutjob who seems to want it, Mattis seems to have an interest in it and Bolton will certainly not oppose. ETA: And Trump wants to tear up the deal.

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

Mocking somebody's idea and then stealing it and taking credit when it turns out to be right. Not exactly a bias unless you point out where Obama acknowledged Romney was right on that issue.

The GOP did try to work with Obama, but at the first meeting when they tried to make a suggestion, they were told that elections had consequences. And remember the budget deal that was reportedly busted by Obama moving the goal posts after an agreement had been reached? After that, of course there will be obstructionism. I would be the last to argue that McConnell and Boehner didn't suck. Ryan sucks less, but keep in mind that many of those Red State representatives were doing exactly what they were elected to do my their constituents. What will your reaction be to hearing that we have to pass the replacement for Obamacare for you to find out what is in it? Or with the gamesmanship regarding the Wheeler and the FCC?

I thought at the time it was shortsighted to fail to approve qualified appointees like judges, but it was also shortsighted to make unjustified recess appointments and muck with the appointment filibuster rule, and while I would hope that the GOP would change it back, I understand why they wouldn't. The GOP are total hypocrites too. If they thought a foreign power influenced an election for a D win, they'd speak of nothing else.

At this point the system is pretty much screwed forever. Unfortunately the only thing that would possibly get both parties to work together would be a Pearl Harbor or 9/11 event.

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

I would like to discover the Constitution someday, too. In my visions, I imagine myself discovering it in a treasure chest, nestled in an enormous pile of gold coins and jewelry, buried in a beach at the spot marked on a faded scroll of a map with an elaborate X, and guarded by four rainbow unicorns wearing red baseball caps. Here's the Skull Snaps with "I'm Your Pimp" for the Daily Dose:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ri4paYFz-h4

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

Here's my prediction (I hope it proves wrong).

When Trump starts losing some domestic battles or embarrassing himself in one way or another, he'll get increasingly bellicose on foreign policy. His favorite targets are going to be Iran and China. They will respond to his escalation with escalation, expecting it to lead to rational discussions before anything crazy happens, but will instead get crazy. And Iran is an easier target for a bully than China.