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Post by Kapitan on Mar 15, 2020 12:30:35 GMT
Tonight Biden and Sanders will debate in an empty TV studio instead of a roaring crowd.
Every debate should be this way, not just in times of pandemic.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 15, 2020 12:59:23 GMT
Tonight Biden and Sanders will debate in an empty TV studio instead of a roaring crowd.
Every debate should be this way, not just in times of pandemic.
Yes, it should be interesting. This is Bernie's last chance, really, to stop Biden's momentum. It'll also be interesting to see how Biden performs. He's going to do a lot more talking than the typical debate, and with that comes the potential for more uncomfortable stuttering, stammering, and falsehoods.
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 15, 2020 13:08:11 GMT
I wonder if the toned down atmosphere will help him with that, keep things more relaxed and intimate.
Now, Bernie, I'm certain will still rant and rave. That's just Bernie!
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 16, 2020 3:15:36 GMT
So, who will Joe Biden choose as his VP candidate - Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, or Elizabeth Warren?
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 16, 2020 12:39:09 GMT
The rumor for a long time has been Stacy Abrams. That's still my bet.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 19, 2020 20:14:06 GMT
It's not really big news but Tulsi Gabbard has officially ended her campaign for President. She was one of the few candidates I really liked.
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 19, 2020 20:24:18 GMT
It's not really big news but Tulsi Gabbard has officially ended her campaign for President. She was one of the few candidates I really liked. So did I. I was disappointed her campaign didn't do better, though I guess it's hard to be surprised that a contrarian within the party didn't succeed against so many "stars" of the party ... especially when even most of the stars struggled. But to me, a common sense relative progressive (she did back Bernie in '16, after all) who was the strongest antiwar candidate and is a minority female veteran (for those to whom those things matter a lot) should have been a great choice.
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Post by B.E. on Mar 19, 2020 21:55:07 GMT
It didn't bode well that while her competitors were preparing for the New Hampshire debate she was guesting on Ron Paul's Liberty Report.
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 19, 2020 21:56:16 GMT
It didn't bode well that while her competitors were preparing for the New Hampshire debate she was guesting on Ron Paul's Liberty Report. Oh, she was TOTALLY out of it since, well, the beginning almost. By the time the actual voting came around, she was excluded from any debates and such.
If nothing else, I'll be forever grateful that she took out Sen. Harris. Kudos, Tulsi, for that!
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 19, 2020 22:00:25 GMT
I don't want to post this in the coronavirus thread, because it is explicitly political. And please note, I don't want to minimize the actual problems we're facing with that, either.
But lately there have been a ton of videos purporting to show how either the president or FoxNews have flip-flopped wildly from belittling the concept of the virus itself to suddenly recognizing its seriousness. Frankly, I think there is some truth to that narrative, especially as it relates to the president. He DID (in my opinion) pretty consistently minimize the threat, act as if it were nothing at all, it would solve itself ... until the past few days, when he began publicly speaking about it in what I'd call a responsible manner.
BUT...
A lot of the videos about FoxNews that I've seen are pretty weak. Not that the narrative might not be true to some degree. But a lot of the "before" videos are showing those reporters and talking heads saying things like "the Democrats are using this for political purposes" and then the "after" videos show them saying it's a serious health risk.
Well, those two things aren't actually contradictory at all. Democrats ARE (and have been) trying to make political hay with this. (I'll leave to you all to decide the rightness or wrongness of that.) And it is serious. So that isn't a flip-flop. It's two different things.
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 23, 2020 12:30:27 GMT
As one Republican senator (Sen. Paul) tests positive and two others (both Utahans, Sen. Romney and Sen. Lee) have to self-quarantine because of contact with him, the Democrats step up to flex their sudden political muscle and block the stimulus bill. One has to note the timing of their disagreement.
The Washington Post summarizes the bill this way:
The final clause is what Democrats reportedly oppose so strenuously, worried that Sec. Mnuchin will simply dole it out as favors according to his and the president's preferences.
As a layperson it's really hard to know the reality. The spirit of what the Democrats say is something I'd agree with: make sure we aren't too heavily bailing out massive corporations that could get through and whose biggest risk is lower profits; and in the process ignoring the small businesses and individuals who desperately need help just to make it.
But the spirit isn't necessarily the reality, either, and I've long since learned not to believe rhetoric at face value.
Hopefully they can pass a good bill sooner than later. Now isn't the time to sneak in pet political projects and ideological hobbies. (Although times of crisis are often exactly when those things are inserted into law.)
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Post by B.E. on Mar 23, 2020 12:54:21 GMT
Whenever I read something about this plan it always includes the qualifier “most” adults. So, I wonder who is being left out. Especially now that children are included (first I’m hearing of this development).
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 23, 2020 13:02:45 GMT
Whenever I read something about this plan it always includes the qualifier “most” adults. So, I wonder who is being left out. My understanding has been that there may be some means testing, with various income cutoffs having been discussed (but nothing finalized that I know of), ranging from like $150k to $1m a year.
Other than that, I don't know of who might be left out.
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 24, 2020 12:57:26 GMT
This concerns me: the NYT reports that the president is considering firing Dr. Fauci, apparently because of some combination of the president not appreciating being contradicted by the doctor when he says untrue things, and the overall high profile and public praise the doctor is getting (as opposed to the president).
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 26, 2020 12:36:06 GMT
Whenever I read something about this plan it always includes the qualifier “most” adults. So, I wonder who is being left out. My understanding has been that there may be some means testing, with various income cutoffs having been discussed (but nothing finalized that I know of), ranging from like $150k to $1m a year.
Other than that, I don't know of who might be left out.
We now know the answer to this, with a bill having been finalized. According to a Washington Post story on the new bill, individuals earning $75k or less and couples making $150k or less will receive $1200 per adult and $500 per child. The amounts decrease as incomes rise, and individuals making $90k or more annually will not receive a check at all.
Speaker Pelosi has also reportedly offered a change in the House version of the bill offering $1500 per adult and per child, but with a $7500 cap per family. The story includes no information on means testing for that version.
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