[thepossum]

It is curious though. I was constantly bombarded by views from the left that it didn't matter who was in the Whitehouse since there was no plurality and essentially just a big corporate state.

But when the Trump administration was in "power" strangely the left forgot those views. And when I pointed it out to them I was often accused of becoming very conservative

Its the same topsy turvy approach to language/politics/philosophy that sees libertarian anti-authoritarian types now described as authoritarian. Strangely its the same characters doing that too

All these liberal minded progressive people I thought were anti-authoritarian progressive radical anti-establishment liberal changed their spots over a few years and became facsists

They started redefining everything in fact to fit their new world order

It reminds me a bit of a Douglas Adams passage about "man" proving that God didn't exist then going on to prove that black is white and being killed at a zebra crossing - apologies for garbling the passage

[pilowsky]

For reasons that opaque to me, the DNC has decided to bombard me with requests for financial support.
They are also sending me daily request for me to donate and become a member of the DNC.
This last offer interested me strangely.
Could I really become a member of the DNC?
I filled out the form, and when I arrived at the spot that said 'donate $x', I typed in 0. $0.00 is the maximum amount of money that a foreign national can donate to any politician in the USA.
Once you donate the money you are apparently entitled to 0, so I thought that my offer was reasonably priced.
In Australia, when you join a party (as opposed to a 'committee), you can attend monthly meetings. You can influence policy. Decisions made at your local Branch are sent to the annual State convention (which you can attend as a delegate if elected by your branch). If supported there, they move on to the National Conference.
At one of these state-level meetings, I was able to introduce a no-smoking in the workplace motion.
Decades later, smoking is not permitted in Australian workplaces.
(I'll tell you the story about how I induced a question about nicotine metabolism at a medical school viva voce some other time - ashtrays were commonplace at the medical school I attended in the 1970s).

Why do I bring this up?
Today I was sent a letter from Joe and Kamala detailing the miracle of Universal health care in America (pro-tip - there isn't any).

Quote

Every American deserves the peace of mind that comes with affordable quality health care, especially in the midst of a pandemic that has taken the lives of over 480,000, infected millions of others, and left millions more unemployed.

That is exactly why the Biden-Harris Administration has opened HealthCare.gov for a special health insurance enrollment period running through May 15. As we continue to fight for critical, direct relief through the American Rescue Plan, this special enrollment period will ensure health insurance coverage is affordable and accessible for all.

Take a minute to learn about this special enrollment period today.
As Democrats, we know the importance of good health care. That's why President Biden initiated this special enrollment period, and why we're fighting to get the American Rescue Plan through Congress. The American Rescue Plan takes a multi-pronged approach to the health care crisis by:

• Increasing federal subsidies to ensure no one pays more than 8.5% of their income for comprehensive health coverage,
• And ramping up testing, tracing, and our national vaccination program to get shots into as many arms as quickly as possible.

Democrats are working day and night to get this legislation enacted and relief delivered to the American people. In the meantime, take a minute to make sure you and your loved ones have the health care you need: Head to HealthCare.gov to learn more today.

We'll get through this together,

The Democrats

I was so excited I immediately attempted to see how wonderful health care is in America - it isn't.
Here is what the Healthcare.gov site responded with

Quote

Income levels & savings

• Income levels & savings
• How to save on your monthly insurance bill with a premium tax credit
• Cost-sharing reductions

Here we tell you if your income is in the range to save. Then we'll show you how much you'll save.

If your income is $23,791 - $43,100:

• You may qualify for a Marketplace plan with lower monthly premiums plus extra savings, including lower deductibles and copayments. To get the extra savings, you must enroll in a plan in the Silver category.

When you look at it remember that in Australia, Rupert Murdoch (if he were still a citizen of Australia - he relinquished it so that he could buy Media companies in America), could walk into a public hospital with any medical problem and get treatment valued at >$250,000 for no payment whatsoever. Zip, nada, nothing.

That's what universal health care means in the Biden era. If you are poor, hungry or in need of urgent medical help, it can be yours for a $1000 co-payment.

Income calculator USA: https://www.pewresea...n-middle-class/
Health care calculator USA: https://www.healthca...-medicaid-chip/

[cherdano]

LOLLLL

Quote

‘My warning to corporate America is to stay out of politics,’ [McConnell] says. ‘I’m not talking about political contributions, he adds.

https://twitter.com/...459627964850179


P.S.: Shall we try to use this thread to discuss US politics? I'd rather not have to think about the guy mentioned in the title of the other thread as long as possible.

[johnu]

thepossum, on 2021-February-11, 22:35, said:

It is curious though. I was constantly bombarded by views from the left that it didn't matter who was in the Whitehouse since there was no plurality and essentially just a big corporate state.

??? People from the left of what country told you that??? Certainly not any American who knows something about American politics. POTUS is the most powerful person in the US (and maybe the entire world). Even if the opposition party controls Congress, POTUS controls the military, DOJ, State, other cabinet Secretaries, and can issue far reaching executive orders and slowroll or stop a lot of legislation from being executed.

[johnu]

cherdano, on 2021-April-06, 10:35, said:

P.S.: Shall we try to use this thread to discuss US politics? I'd rather not have to think about the guy mentioned in the title of the other thread as long as possible.

The Trump fundraising scam is the least surprising part about his presidency

The twice impeached Grifter in Chief perpetrated at least a $120+ million swindle on his own supporters.

Quote

"Facing a cash crunch and getting badly outspent by the Democrats, the campaign had begun last September to set up recurring donations by default for online donors, for every week until the election.

"Contributors had to wade through a fine-print disclaimer and manually uncheck a box to opt out.

"As the election neared, the Trump team made that disclaimer increasingly opaque, an investigation by The New York Times showed. It introduced a second prechecked box, known internally as a 'money bomb,' that doubled a person's contribution. Eventually its solicitations featured lines of text in bold and capital letters that overwhelmed the opt-out language."

[Winstonm]

johnu, on 2021-April-06, 13:50, said:

The Trump fundraising scam is the least surprising part about his presidency

The twice impeached Grifter in Chief perpetrated at least a $120+ million swindle on his own supporters.

This article also discloses that the campaign got what was in essence zero interest loans of over $70K with the same opt-out donation requirements during the campaign as that was the amount the campaign had to reimburse for those who asked for their donations back.

[johnu]

Winstonm, on 2021-April-06, 15:43, said:

This article also discloses that the campaign got what was in essence zero interest loans of over $70K with the same opt-out donation requirements during the campaign as that was the amount the campaign had to reimburse for those who asked for their donations back.

GOP House fundraisers accuse people who uncheck their recurring donation box of being Trump 'DEFECTORS' and prey to 'the Radical Left'

OMG

Quote

The National Republican Congressional Committee debuted a bright-yellow pre-checked recurring donation box on its donation page with a startling ultimatum.

The message from House Republicans' campaign arm, which on Wednesday caught the eye of many reporters, warns people that if they opt-out of recurring donations and "UNCHECK this box, we'll have to tell Trump you're a DEFECTOR & sided with the Dems."

Sadly, there are some weak minded, brainwashed Manchurian President supporters who will believe this sh*t and contribute more money than they can afford, pushing them into insolvency.

[kenberg]

It always puzzled me as to why anyone would actually believe anything Trump said. Partly the answer is that they didn't, they just didn't care. They took him seriously but not literally, whatever that was supposed to mean. But somewhere around the time that he started suggesting drinking bleach, you would think people would re-think this. And signing something he puts in front of you that involves money? That's beyond me. He scams suckers. He is proud of his ability to scam suckers. To quote from some Fred Astaire number, I think it was in Royal Wedding, "You're really naive to ever believe a full of baloney phony like me".


Added:
Having nothing better to do, I looked up the Astaire number.

https://www.youtube....h?v=8q2fTSo8aoY

It could serve as a fine metaphor for the DT years.

Yes, we are ready for a new age to dawn.

[Winstonm]

No one in the past administration could move like that.

[pilowsky]

Winstonm, on 2021-April-07, 16:03, said:

No one in the past administration could move like that.

Say it isn't so! Who can forget the YMCA?
"You can get yourself clean, you can have a good meal
You can do what ever you feel
Young man, are you listening to me?
I said, young man, what do you want to be?
I said, young man, you can make real your dreams
But you got to know this one thing

No man does it all by himself
I said, young man, put your pride on the shelf
And just go there, to the YMCA
I'm sure they can help you today"
http://bit.ly/MAGAmix

And, that's exactly what they did.
They put their pride on the shelf.
And their reason, and their sense of shame and everything else that makes a human a mensch.

[thepossum]

I am wondering how all those who (unrealistically) became excited about the new age see the recent discussions/agreements between USA and China on questionable approaches to addressing climate change