Nice Comment

Comment by Doone on November 7, 2019 at 3:50pm

More Scump Crimes

We don’t even need to get into the other crimes involved, having a crooked lawyer taking over US foreign policy in a critical part of the world and sidelining professional diplomats. We just focus on the core thing. The President is given tremendous power to advance the national interest, see that the laws are enforced, preserve the national welfare. These aren’t powers that he owns personally. They are delegated for these ends. Your banker has great power to act on your behalf. They have no right to steal your money. A doctor has vast powers to cut your body, make decisions when you are unconscious. They no right to kill you or sell your organs or fondle you for their personal satisfaction. It’s all the same thing. Stop saying quid pro quo or getting lost in the details. The crimes are clear. Use language that accurately describes them.

Comment by Doone on November 7, 2019 at 3:49pm

The Crimes of Scump (from TPM)

Here are some basic thoughts about what happened in this story, what matters and how to describe it.

The President used extortion to cheat in the 2020 presidential election. He used military aid dollars meant to aid an ally against his Russian patrons in order to force Ukraine to intervene in the 2020 elections, in order to remain in office by corrupt means.

There are various crimes that get committed along the way. But that is the core of it. The President is delegated vast powers to act in the national interest and he has vast discretion to determine what he or she believes the national interest is. But when he uses those powers for his own personal or financial gain they are illegitimate on their face, abuses of power and merit impeachment. The fact that he was doing so to sabotage a national election makes it vastly worse. And the fact that he was getting a foreign power to sabotage a US election makes it worse still. Any talk of “quid pro quos” and this and that minutiae is a distortion of what happened. Quid pro quos are simply exchanges of one thing for another. Presidents will ask for help on one bill in exchange for another. They’ll condition one kind of aid to a country on assistance on another foreign policy goal. In itself it means nothing. The crimes are bribery and extortion, the abuses of power are using presidential power for personal gain and the central offense against the state is the attempt to sabotage a national election, the event on which the legitimacy of the entire system rests.

It’s pretty obvious on its face that the President did these things for his own personal interest rather than the national interest. But even this isn’t left to accusations or logic or surmise. His chief coconspirator has said repeatedly that all his actions were done exclusively in the interest of Donald Trump.

Comment by Doone on November 7, 2019 at 3:44pm

American Hospitals Are Way Too Expensive

KEVIN DRUM4 HOURS AGO

Andrew Sprung has a complaint about Elizabeth Warren, one that I’ve shared in the past:

For almost two years, I have complained at intervals that Elizabeth Warren is faking it on healthcare — that is, blaming U.S. healthcare dysfunction entirely on the rapine of health insurers and pharma, while giving healthcare providers a pass.

In presenting her plan to finance Bernie-brand Medicare for All, Warren leads with this rhetorical reflex but then, finally, departs from it. She has to, as the plan’s viability depends on cutting off providers’ most lucrative revenue sources.

Sprung is right, and no universal health care plan will succeed unless it addresses our real problem. Here’s an example:

In Britain, a heart bypass costs $24,000. In America the average price is $78,000, and that can skyrocket to $161,000 or more if you’re unlucky enough to get treated at an expensive hospital.

Why? Because heart surgeons in America are paid more. Hospital rooms cost more. Drugs cost more. And, yes, admin costs are higher. This can’t be cured overnight even with the best health care plan, but it can be slowed down and addressed over time. That should be a goal of any universal health care plan worth the name.

Comment by Mrs.B on November 7, 2019 at 2:08pm

They do have their fingers in everyone else's pie, don't they?

Comment by Stephen on November 7, 2019 at 11:45am

the remarkable consistency of principle and decency by Jeremy Corbyn throughout his political career.

Comment by Stephen on November 7, 2019 at 11:42am

Breathtaking. Channel 4 Researchers have put together the top 20 Jeremy Corbyn speeches over the last 30 years. They show a remarkable consistency of principle. Journalism at its very very best. pic.twitter.com/xV39zXIazb

— Tory Fibs (@ToryFibs) November 6, 2019

Comment by Stephen on November 7, 2019 at 11:37am

we've been warning people about American tactics in getting a foothold in UK drug pricing for the NHS for years.

Comment by Stephen on November 7, 2019 at 11:34am

In under one minute, this former UK trade chief explains why NHS costs will soar with a Johnson-Trump trade deal.

Let’s say it loud and clear: our NHS is not for sale. pic.twitter.com/3LvYtjp51H

— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) November 6, 2019

Comment by Stephen on November 7, 2019 at 10:04am

Comment by Doone on November 7, 2019 at 10:03am

Countries with monarchy in Europe. http://dlvr.it/RHlhXT

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