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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#277101: Apr 9th 2019 at 10:24:49 PM

[up]Trump really is a Captain Planet villain.

Disgusted, but not surprised
Kaiseror Since: Jul, 2016
#277102: Apr 9th 2019 at 10:26:33 PM

It seems like he's actively trying to get employees killed.

Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#277104: Apr 9th 2019 at 10:40:56 PM

Highlights from Kirstin Gillibrand's townhall tonight:

She knows Chinese

Asked to describe herself in Chinese, the Democratic presidential candidate did so, saying, "Hi. How are you?" as well as her Chinese name. A translator in Erin Burnett's ear said her accent was pretty impressive.

Gillibrand said she learned Chinese in college and traveled throughout the country.

"We struggled just to get through because it was really hard. You're in a very different country with very few rights. Very few rights for women, very few rights for people in general. We bought bikes and biked all around Beijing, and we explored every weekend. We went all across China and then I spent a second semester in Taiwan,".

On her about-face on immigration

"When I was a member of Congress from upstate New York, I was really focused on the priorities of my district. When I became senator of the entire state, I recognized that some of my views really did need to change. They were not thoughtful enough and didn't care enough about people outside of the original upstate New York district that I represented. So, I learned."

"And I think for people who aspire to be president, I think it's really important that you're able to admit when you're wrong and that you're able to grow and learn and listen and be better, and be stronger. That is something that Donald Trump is unwilling to do. He is unwilling to listen, he is unwilling to admit when he's wrong. He's actually incapable of it. And I think it’s one of the reasons why he is such a cowardly president."

"I did not do that as a House member, I was ashamed. And so now as a senator for 10 years, I know I'm in the right place."

Healthcare

"I'm for Medicare for All, and I believe the best way to get there is let people buy in, and that's how we get to single payer over a very short transition, period,"

She then added that "part of the corruption and greed in Washington" is traced directly to the "insurance industry as the middleman for health care."

"Because they don't necessarily care about which surgeries you need or which medicine you need or how many days in the hospitals you need. Ultimately they're for-profit companies, and they ever to care about their bottom line and their shareholders. I think that's the misalignment in health care today."

And what for the private insurance companies?

"You have to see if they want to compete or not. I don't think they will... If the insurance industry wants to continue to participate to offer some kind of coverage for some kind of things, they'll have to compete for those customers. But if you let Americans choose basic medicare which is affordable, I don't see that most Americans wouldn't choose it."

Anti-Vaxxers

"I haven't thought about whether I would make it mandatory. I would need to think about that. But I do believe that parents need more information about why vaccines are so essential. Parents need to know that their child could die of preventable diseases, that they could spread a preventable disease and other children could die. I think parents have been afraid. I think they've been made afraid by rumors and myths and, you know, fake news. So I think that we need to do a much better job of educating parents about the essential nature of vaccines. It does save lives, and I will work as hard as I can to make sure that every parent knows that vaccines are absolutely necessary."

Gun Control

Gillibrand argued on Tuesday that the fact she once held an A-rating with the National Rifle Association makes her better equipped to talk to gun owners about the need for gun control.

Gillibrand, a mother of two, also said the way to reach conservatives on this issue is to make it about family and children.

"I think I can walk into any voter in a red state or a purple state or a blue state, gun owners, NRA members, and say, you do care about a four-year-old dying on a park bench in Brooklyn, don't you?" Gillibrand said. "And the humanity of each person in this country should kick in."

She added: "And you are going to ask them to imagine that happening to their own child, their own loved one, and their own family. And I think you can change hearts that way."

Gillibrand said earlier this year that she was "embarrassed" by her past positions on guns.

Faith

"I go to two Bible studies a week and a prayer breakfast. And so my faith is really important to me. I think anyone should be able to have faith, whether they're ultraconservative or liberal. And if you're coming from a Christian perspective, I would say the gospel doesn't leave anybody out. Because are you feeding the poor? Are you helping the sick? Are you visiting the incarcerated? Do you believe in helping the least among us? Do you believe in the golden rule? Do you treat others the way you want to be treated? I would argue the Democrats are often better on those issues than Republicans. So there's no reason you can't be a person of any faith in any political party."

Favorite Movie

"Wonder Woman 'cause she's kick-ass and she's strong and bold and brave and never gives up."

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#277105: Apr 9th 2019 at 10:44:52 PM

She's rather too soft on anti-vaxxers IMHO and the NRA thing is also iffy (I fault Sanders on similar grounds). But for the most part, I can see myself voting for her in the primaries if she gets that far.

But the immigration thing could admittedly be a deal-breaker for many people even if she did admit she was wrong.

Still not quite as bad as some of the other candidates' issues like Biden's grabbiness.

Edited by M84 on Apr 10th 2019 at 1:46:01 AM

Disgusted, but not surprised
Draghinazzo (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
#277106: Apr 9th 2019 at 10:48:18 PM

Yeah, it's nice that she's saying vaccines are important but IMO she was a little too...diplomatic? A sterner condemnation of them would have been nice.

Edited by Draghinazzo on Apr 9th 2019 at 1:50:47 PM

Hylarn (Don’t ask)
#277107: Apr 9th 2019 at 11:03:43 PM

Yeah, it's nice that she's saying vaccines are important but IMO she was a little too...diplomatic? A sterner condemnation of them would have been nice.

She's that way on a lot of things, and it's my biggest issue with her. She keeps saying that things need to be talked out, but in many cases I just don't think that's viable. The Republicans aren't going to compromise. Nor the NRA, the anti-vaxxers... Things are too polarized these days. If she's actually serious about this I don't think she'd make for a very effective president

Edited by Hylarn on Apr 9th 2019 at 11:09:27 AM

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#277108: Apr 9th 2019 at 11:11:42 PM

Hence why I doubt she will get far in the primaries.

Disgusted, but not surprised
BearyScary Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: You spin me right round, baby
#277109: Apr 9th 2019 at 11:20:58 PM

I like the idea of her turning fake news around on anti-vaxxer news peddlers, though.

Do not obey in advance.
AceofSpades Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#277110: Apr 9th 2019 at 11:46:18 PM

Well, it's not an unreasonable thing to say that coming at anti-vaxxers as hard as you guys want would immediately put them on guard and do the recently mentioned thing of doubling down on their ignorance. Sometimes a gentler hand does get the results you need.

(Main point being, don't just zero in on one option because if you do that you blind yourself to other possible solutions that might work better.)

She's not wrong about needing to really inform people about what vaccines are for, though. I mean, yeah, for a lot of people facts don't matter, but at some point the facts really do matter and its' more about how to deliver those facts.

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#277111: Apr 10th 2019 at 12:00:58 AM

Dems accused of seeking revenge for 2013 vote on hurricane relief. I am just going to be quiet on this point.

Nielsen’s allies trying to rehab her image for life after Trump

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#277112: Apr 10th 2019 at 12:10:40 AM

Schumer claims the sticking point is the GOP refusing to send more aid to Puerto Rico after Trump said no more aid.

The aide said Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) opposes appropriating more disaster relief for Puerto Rico because President Trump railed against sending more federal aid to the territory during a lunch meeting with Republicans two weeks ago.

A senior Democratic aide said Shelby initially agreed to provide more disaster funding for Puerto Rico in exchange for more money for GOP-represented states in the Midwest and Southeast, but then did a U-turn after Trump accused Puerto Rico of using up too many federal resources.

Schumer on Monday blamed Trump for turning Republicans against the disaster relief package by making Puerto Rico aid a political football.

“President Trump went to a Tuesday lunch, banged his fist on the table — figuratively, I suppose — and said, ‘I don’t think any aid should go to Puerto Rico,’ ” Schumer said on the Senate floor Monday.

“Did our Republican friends, especially those from states with disasters and who needed the aid, say, ‘No, no, we’re not going to do that, we’re not going to let you divide us?’ No, they went along with it, hurting their states,” he said.

Disgusted, but not surprised
Grafite Since: Apr, 2016 Relationship Status: Less than three
#277113: Apr 10th 2019 at 1:03:41 AM

When looking at the candidates, I prefer to focus on their current plans rather than past actions, which is why I feel tropers are being too harsh on Harris. The results of her progressive platform would help her to redeem her past actions.

Life is unfair...
3of4 Just a harmless giant from a foreign land. from Five Seconds in the Future. Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: GAR for Archer
Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
#277114: Apr 10th 2019 at 1:05:40 AM

But past actions can be a good indicator if their current plans are honest or just empty words

"You can reply to this Message!"
Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#277115: Apr 10th 2019 at 1:31:39 AM

Past actions are pretty much the ONLY way to judge a candidate. Okay, if someone was anti-gay in 2008 and was voting for gay rights in 2012, then I would say "yeah, it's in the past, clearly this person changed her mind". But forgive me if hanging a pride flag in your office isn't enough to convince me of a deep change of heart there.

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#277116: Apr 10th 2019 at 1:33:13 AM

That metric is much less reliable than it sounds.

I am only a little surprised by the disaster aid debacle. At some point even the patience of a politician is going to run out at being mistreated (both themselves and their voters) by Trump and the Senate unmentionables.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
tclittle Professional Forum Ninja from Somewhere Down in Texas Since: Apr, 2010
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#277118: Apr 10th 2019 at 3:36:43 AM

The so-called Free File Alliance argues that their companies already offer free tax filing to lower-income Americans (<$66,000 per year). Except very few Americans actually use it since it's deliberately underpromoted. It also has data privacy concerns.

The bill is bipartisan, so it also includes things such as restricting the IRS' use of private debt collectors to people above a certain level of income. So no more shaking down poorer people for money.

Edited by M84 on Apr 10th 2019 at 6:38:14 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
Ramidel Since: Jan, 2001
#277119: Apr 10th 2019 at 4:01:00 AM

The moment the Democrats get a trifecta, it's time for a 51st state.

ShinyCottonCandy Everyone's friend Malamar from Lumiose City (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Everyone's friend Malamar
#277120: Apr 10th 2019 at 4:04:45 AM

[up][up] What I’d like to see, is when the democrats have power, is politicians who straight out say that some industries are bad, period. Tax filing and health insurance couldn’t profit nearly as much, if at all, without lowering quality of life compared to if they didn’t exist.

My musician page
wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#277121: Apr 10th 2019 at 4:06:44 AM

I made $20,000 last year and Turbo Tax charged me $74 to file my state taxes.

My state taxes were $70.

Fuck Turbo Tax.

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#277122: Apr 10th 2019 at 4:06:46 AM

Sanders wants to rebuild national alliances, friendly relationships, and economic interdependence with traditional allies. He's also said that the improvement of American economics internally is his primary goal but to undo most of what Trump did pissing everyone off.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
AzurePaladin She/Her Pronouns from Forest of Magic Since: Apr, 2018 Relationship Status: Mu
She/Her Pronouns
#277123: Apr 10th 2019 at 4:06:57 AM

[up]x4 for that, we only need a bifecta, and I say we can go higher than 51. DC and Puerto Rico are both pretty close if I recall.

Edited by AzurePaladin on Apr 10th 2019 at 7:07:10 AM

The awful things he says and does are burned into our cultural consciousness like a CRT display left on the same picture too long. -Fighteer
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#277124: Apr 10th 2019 at 4:08:02 AM

There needs to be at least 2 states as Washington D.C. also needs representation.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#277125: Apr 10th 2019 at 4:12:41 AM

[up][up][up][up]Given your income, you would have qualified for free filing.

But of course they don't exactly advertise this. Gotta squeeze that $74 from you, after all.

Disgusted, but not surprised

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