September 23, 2017

Trump approval improving.

The Real Clear Politics average:



Why do you think the polls are improving? Check all the apply:
 
pollcode.com free polls

228 comments:

1 – 200 of 228   Newer›   Newest»
Big Mike said...

You're using radio buttons on your poll so I can only check one.

rehajm said...

Relative to Congress he's a statesman.

Big Mike said...

Never mind. You fixed it.

Breezy said...

Perhaps John Kelly should be on the list.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Polls got credibility problemz. Just because you like what a poll is telling you, doesn't mean it's real inside the minds of most people.

Ann Althouse said...

I had to redo the polls twice... So annoying!

MadisonMan said...

Doesn't matter why the numbers are rising -- Hillary will never be President.

(I chose tiresome Trump Haters FWIW)

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

The budget deal. People like bipartisanship.

Meade said...

The wall and Obamacare will get Trump reelected so fast your head will spin. And Trump haters will pay for it.

Curious George said...

"Ann Althouse said...
Lots of Cubs fans at the Brewers game last night. A Brewers home game and there are big cheers when a Cub hits a home run. Annoying!"

Ann Althouse said...
I had to redo the polls twice... So annoying!

Stop it.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

The wall and repealing Obamacare are good things.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

General Kelly is doing a great job running the country, and pony-tailed Flotus in a baseball cap is doing a great job on hurricane relief.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

Also, where is "Dealing with Democrats" in your poll? That will be worth a lot more approval points, when the deals come through.

AllenS said...

The wall and repealing Obamacare are two things that I don't think will happen.

Paco Wové said...

You left out "statistical noise". (The daily, almost hourly, "OMG the president slipped one-half point in popularity!!!" vaporing is just as bad as financial "news" that breathlessly updates stock averages every 30 seconds.)

tcrosse said...

I wonder if Trump's approval is the reciprocal of Hillary's ? Her book and the tour to peddle it may have made some people think that Trump wasn't so bad, after all.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Speaking of HIllary

Fernandinande said...

The first of these is great because Melania.

Trump as Thor, Captain America and Trump Man.

jacksonjay said...

Ends DACA?
Outreach to Chuck and Nancy to spite GOP?
Melania is more visible?

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Trump deranged haters are like newly created vegans. They think they have discovered something amazing. Something that has become the central core, obsession in their lives, and they just can't STFU about it.

Tiresome!. Going on and on and on and on about what is great about being a Vegan (or what is so horrible about Trump). Judging and sniffing at everyone else. No one is allowed to have a dissenting opinion or enjoy their hamburger at lunch. They destroy social conversation and social occasions by preaching the eeeeevils of eating animals. Gory stories, and when that technique doesn't work because everyone normal is ignoring them trying to have a nice dinner...... they start throwing the Thanksgiving Turkey on the wall to keep anyone who hasn't succumbed to their Vegan Religion from enjoying the dinner.

Tiresome, boring, rude, little people..... and they will not get invited back for the Prime Rib roast dinner at Christmas either.

Martha said...

Hillary's magnificent book tour happened.
Reminded people of the alternative.

tim maguire said...

I checked all but the last. I'd like to see some polling on Obamacare. Supporters think everybody loves it. Opponents think everybody hates it. Somebody's wrong.

harrogate said...

Maybe people like it when he calls citizens "sonsabitches"?

Laslo Spatula said...

He met with Pelosi and didn't grab her by the pussy.

Shattered narratives left and right.

I am Laslo.

Laslo Spatula said...

By meeting with Pelosi he grabbed Republicans by the pussy.

If Paul Ryan didn't want his pussy grabbed then he shouldn't dress that way.

I am Laslo.

Mattman26 said...

Imagery's kinda phallic, dontcha think? It sure will be if current trends persist.

Whirred Whacks said...

Ann: are you friends with Kevin Nicholson?

Nice story on him via Powerline.

rhhardin said...

Improve and approve aren't the same prove.

Pride in probity.

Brookzene said...

Dunno, after this weekend he's gonna lose whatever tiny gains he made. WTF is wrong with him - picking fights with the NFL and disinviting Steph Curry to the White House? Steph Curry??? I know he's an Obama man but he's about as American as Lou Gehrig or Bart Starr.

rhhardin said...

What is Trump doing for the San Juan weather radar, is the question

https://www.wunderground.com/radar/radblast.asp?ID=JUA

Michael McNeil said...

Sebastian Gorka: When they came for dinner and they came to the Oval, he wasn’t firing a shot over the bow of the GOP establishment. He was firing a torpedo into the hull of the GOP establishment. He’s sending a message, You want to fail me again? You don’t understand who won on November 8th? Guess what, there are other people I can work with and hopefully, hopefully those people who are mired in their own establishment dreck, like Paul Ryan, will wake up and understand who won the election last November.

(/unQuote)

Recent events in Congress lead me to conclude that a) the reviving of the ACA replacement bill occurred because (some) Republicans in Congress read that “torpedo into the hull” message of Trump's load and clear — but b) the response of McCain and Ryan indicates that they're unwilling to end (or even bend) the GOPe vs. Trump & his base intra-Republican civil war.

Once again the establishment dispairs of its electorate and desires to elect or select a whole new populace. Or at least stamp its feet. Deplorable!

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Brookzene lives in a different world than we do. I have no idea who Steph Curry is and after Googling him, still don't care. Lou Gehrig and Bart Starr, I have heard of. I think I've heard their names on Antique Roadshow. I think they are athletes of some kind but couldn't tell you what they did. Baseball?

Picking a fight with the NFL? Who cares? Criticizing the NFL for not getting control of its employees and stopping them from disrespecting the National Anthem and bringing politics into the area of sports entertainment....I'm pretty sure that most of the fans of those sports already agree with Trump based on the declining attendance and vanishing television audience.

It is a shut up and sing type of moment. The Dixie Chicks destroyed themselves because they just couldn't STFU and sing. Insisted on inserting themselves into politics when most people are just sick of the whole thing.

Trump will not be damaged by whatever it is the Brookzene is all verklempt about.

Michael K said...

"picking fights with the NFL "

You have to be kidding. The NFL, ESPN and Hollywood are all taking a serious jab in the shorts as they antagonize 50% of the country, and in the NFL's case, 85% of the fans of football.

Who is "Steph Curry ?" Forget it. I don't want to know.

320Busdriver said...

The U2 concert was amazing, until they inserted the anti trump video meme on their kickass hi def screen. Joshua Tree marred by politics. Bono's panties in a wad.

Ralph L said...

I'd go with DACA repeal because Americans care some much about the Constitution.
Quit laughing.

David said...

There is also random variability which could explain a lot of it. He still has a ways to go.

Michael K said...

Blogger harrogate said...
Maybe people like it when he calls citizens "sonsabitches"?


I missed that one but am sure you do not know the story about Admiral Earnest J King who said, "When the going gets tough, they send for the sons of bitches." It was said he shaved with a blowtorch.

Brookzene said...

Brookzene lives in a different world than we do. I have no idea who Steph Curry

If you don't know who Steph Curry is you don't watch NBA. Fair enough that you don't, but I live in a world where people DO watch the NBA. His team won the championship. Wonder if they are going to the WH without the star, or will they decide the team is more important.

I could be wrong but imo you are going to be hearing a LOT about Steph Curry in the coming days.

harrogate said...

I've heard that story about King. It's a different context altogether.


I don't understand why someone with as much money and power as Trump is so thin-skinned. He cannot let go any insult, perceived or real. Y'all might wanna pretend you do not know who Steph Curry is, but for whatever reason, Trump isn't capable of pretending thus.

Brookzene said...

The Great Divider. He should be keeping our focus on Puerto Rico and No. Ko - even the coming ACA vote, but he's tweeting about sports celebrities.

Unfit for the Presidency.

traditionalguy said...

Thanks to Trump speeches and Twittering, the Media Propaganda networks have lost ALL credibility. And they cannot churn it back up by retelling old Fake News stories with anger. They need to go back to telling maybe 30% of the truth again like they did before Shadow Govrnment Globalism became their Master. But a BIG LIE strategy is all that their harsh Master will allow them to tell.

Ralph L said...

It sounds more like Curry disinvited himself.

A school motto used to be "A Davidson Man Needs No Introduction."

Brookzene said...

It sounds more like Curry disinvited himself.

If only Trump let him. Now it will redound on the President.

M Jordan said...

Stephen Curry looks like, acts like, and is a prick. Cockiest superstar since Pete Rose.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Y'all might wanna pretend you do not know who Steph Curry is, but for whatever reason, Trump isn't capable of pretending thus.

No pretending here. I don't know who he is. The first time I had heard of "March Madness" was in St Louis about 18 years ago when I was at an Edward Jones meeting and one of the presenters was going on about march madness. I assumed it was some sort of local event of some kind and wondered why this guy was going on about whatever it was and why he was so excited and why he was wasting our time with it. It was explained to me. So now I know and I still don't get it. /shrug.... Anyway...... Now that I have read the article about what Brookzene is talking about, I'm on Trump's side.

As I understand it: The team won something and traditionally is invited to the White House (for some obscure reason). A few of the team members have decided to be dicks and said that (paraphrasing) Trump is icky, mean and they couldn't stand to be in the same room as him. Essentially throwing a toddler level fit. Trump said, fine....be that way.....you aren't invited after all. Why would you want to invite someone to a ceremony to receive an honor when you know that he is going to be an ass anyway?

So?

traditionalguy said...

Poor Steph has to get along with his teammates and other NBA players most of whom are black men. But like Blake Griffin, Steph is one of those half red headed White men passing for black. He has to walk a tight rope.

Bob Ellison said...

"Russia collusion story fading". Anti-Trumpers want us to believe that there's a real story there, because they have knowledge we don't, and just trust us! Washington people, especially weak RINOs, keep saying things like well, I've seen evidence that there's a lot of smoke, so we must look for the fire.

Pro-Trumpers want us to believe that there's no hard evidence available for us to review. That is indeed the case.

I don't think most Americans are paying much attention to the Russia-collusion story, though. It's an echo-chamber conversation among political junkies.

Bob Ellison said...

RE: Steph Curry-- he's a great basketball player whose skill rises higher than his G__-given talent. That should be enough. Who cares if he doesn't go to the White House?

Back in, um, I think the 90s, Charles Barkley made a famous commercial for some shoe company or whatever where the main line was, "I'm not a role model. I'm not paid to be a role model. I'm paid to wreak havoc on the basketball court." Barkley['s writers] were correct.

I like to watch Curry play. I don't give a crap about what he thinks about Trump. Shut up and play!

jacksonjay said...

Captured Man took one outta Trump's playbook, the old counter-punch. I think Captured Man was not literal about repeal of Obamacare, but he was serious.

Is Nutty Rand Paul establishment?

Have Lisa and Susie ever campaigned on repeal?

Ryan has promised to deliver Graham-Cassidy. Ryan delivered the first repeal attempt. Remember the first try that Trump celebrated in the Rose Garden before they told him the Senate also had to pass it. That was the repeal he later called "mean-spirited". Is the Freedom Caucus establishment? They all voted against Chuck and Nancy and The Donald on the debt ceiling deal. The establishment RINOs, including Ryan and Mitch, voted for clean debt-ceiling, full speed ahead!

Ray - SoCal said...

Trump is smart for picking a fight with the NBA, player association and commissioner were stupid to take the bait.

It's about respecting the flag. Trump will make sure it is.

How many have won a name calling fight with Trump?

jacksonjay said...

Curry and Brady stand-up the Predident! WTF!

Ray - SoCal said...

Meant nfl

Big Mike said...

One of my former colleagues used to say that when you see a pile of steaming horseshit you should grab a shovel because there's bound to be a pony in there somewhere. The Russia collusion story is a counter example.

Robert Cook said...

"Relative to Congress he's a statesman."

Trump is a statesman compared to no one.

narciso said...

In but has in the island of broken toys caucus.

Cillouns got obamacare out of committee, veruca salt did campaign for repeal, but she wee disbelieving of the the ipad, death panels so she wasnt serious.

Brookzene said...

Who cares if he doesn't go to the White House?

Exactly. The only one who cared was ...Trump. And now everyone is going to care. "I have to fire you before you quit!" That ego is definitely going to undo him, that's a given. What's it going to do to us is the question.

rcocean said...

Stephen Curry - invitation withdrawn. This is one reason people love Trump.

He fights.

IMO, Trump should tweet that visiting the White House is a honor, and anyone who doesn't want to come, should stay home. Trump doesn't win anything by hosting a NBA BB team. The vast majority of Americans don't care about the NBA and don't watch.

rcocean said...

Curry can't give a good reason for not visiting, except he's a Millionaire Leftist.

Robert Cook said...

"I checked all but the last. I'd like to see some polling on Obamacare. Supporters think everybody loves it. Opponents think everybody hates it. Somebody's wrong."

People who need it and have it, like it.

Many people who don't need it and don't have it and don't like it don't think anyone likes it.

I don't have it and I don't really like it--given that it is a massive giveaway to the private insurers, and I would prefer we had single payer coverage for all--but, in the absence of anything else, I like that it is available for those who need it and have it, as compared with simply returning to the prior status quo.

rcocean said...

Liberal Mobys and "Life Long Republicans" pretend that Trump has made a big error. OMG, he shouldn't tweet about Curry, its beneath the Dignity of the President.

LOL. As opposed to having two crooks in the White House, one of whom was looking more Oval Office Lewinskys.

Or being a stupid panderbear like Bush II. He was called Bush-Hitler, even though he was a globalist, who pushed Amnesty, and cut deals with Ted Kennedy.

Big Mike said...

Brookzene and other members of the left-wing lunatic fringe (also known as the mainstream Democrat base) would like us to compare Trump to some abstract notion of s perfect president (perfect by their lights, mind you). The rest of us read excerpts from Shattered and What Happened and will cut him lots to f slack because the alternative was Hillary Clinton.

rcocean said...

Meanwhile, you some other Black millionaires in the NFL, writing letters to Goddell, demanding the NFL do something about "racial equality".

And I agree. The NFL is 70% black, but they only represent, 15% of the USA. We need a NFL that looks like America.

Bay Area Guy said...

Hmm. I love Curry (big Warrior fan) and I've come to love Trump. Conflict! Sad!

I would suggest a parley like when Obama had a beer with Henry Louis Gates and the white Cop who thought he was a burglar. I would offer my services as the mediator. Beer & BBQ at my place.


Brookzene said...

Brookzene and other members of the left-wing lunatic fringe (also known as the mainstream Democrat base) would like us to compare Trump to some abstract notion of s perfect president (perfect by their lights, mind you).

Nope. We never had a perfect president. I just want one with a little dignity, who doesn't lie daily (last night's Trump lie: Thousands of people outside who can't get in!). Someone who is clearly not unfit for office, that's all I want.

Laslo Spatula said...

Hack Comic Mic Nite...

Trump, man... what a fucking mess we got into, right..?

Yeah, yeah: the dude is weird. Weird hair, weird tweets, you know the deal. But I've been giving this some thought, and here's the thing: AMERICA is weird. We're a strange, weird, fucked up people, and that's the way we like it. We pretend we don't, we pretend we like things to be calm and orderly, but that is not how Americans are wired: we get BORED with the normal -- if things are too steady we get ourselves itchy to fuck things up...

America is road rage and cat videos. We made Kim Kardashian a star, just to show we could. We've got Thug Life and we got the Amish. And all this shit bounces off each other and we get off on the fireworks and film it with our iPhones...

And now we got Trump. And the problem isn't that he's weird, but that he's not weird enough. We were expecting crazy loose shit, we were expecting motherfucking EPIC weird, and it turns out he is just regular old American Weird...

C'mon, admit it: you WANTED to see concentration camps in North Dakota and nukes flying: you were itchy for it. But instead we got, well, weird hair and weird tweets. And I think this is driving some of us crazy. WE WANT THE FIREWORKS! It's like that old song: "Is that all there is?" Is it really only going to be weird hair and weird tweets? Really...?

Now, I know: there's time. North Korea's heating up, and maybe we're getting that itch to finally see some nukes: to show we were RIGHT about him -- we are THAT fucked up. But here's what I think is going to go down: more weird hair and more weird tweets. That's it. And the only thing left will be to masturbate to Melania with sweet, sweet hate...

These are just jokes, people: I mean no offense to our lovely First Lady: I LIKE having a First Lady I can finally jerk off to...

You've been a great audience, thank you for laughing...

I am Laslo.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

The only one who cared [about Curry] was ...Trump. And now everyone is going to care.

Possibly so. However, not in the way that Brookzene envisions. I now care about someone (Curry)that I never heard of before in a negative way....he is an entitled selfish dickhead....and admire Trump even more for refusing to kowtow to someone who is throwing a temper tantrum and trying to spoil an event that was supposed to be for the entire team.

I didn't care before....now I do :-D

Tim said...

4"I checked all but the last. I'd like to see some polling on Obamacare. Supporters think everybody loves it. Opponents think everybody hates it. Somebody's wrong."

People who need it and have it, like it.

Many people who don't need it and don't have it and don't like it don't think anyone likes it.

I don't have Obamacare (medicaid) but I do have "private" insurance that has tripled in price and raised the deductible to $7k. So I need about $17k in medical bills before ANY insurance coverage kicks in. Yeah, Obamacare sucks. Pre-obamacare was $230/month with $1500 deductible and I had paid for yearly exam/tests. Now nothing until $7k out of pocket.


harrogate said...

Dust Bunny Queen,

How about ignoring the fact that Curry isn't coming? Why let Curry declining the invite lead you into "fine, be that way" (your words) mode?


I mean christ on a crumb heap, What grade is everyone in, here?

rcocean said...

"C'mon, admit it: you WANTED to see concentration camps in North Dakota and nukes flying: you were itchy for it."

That's right Hack Comic. I wanted Trump to drain the swamp and then burn the fucker down. I wanted McConnell, Ryan, and McCain, to disappear one night and show up floating in the Potomac the next day. I wanted Trump to invite Pelosi and Shumer to dinner and bash their heads in Al Capone style. I wanted him to bomb the New York times, and grease our tank tracks with guts of the CNN reporters.

But I looks like I'll have to settle for not inviting steve curry.

buwaya said...

Private insurance has gotten more expensive across the board, and especially in employer plans, the most common by far, and affecting the most people not already covered by government plans.
It demonstrably spiked cost of employment from 2010.
Nobody mentions that, I wonder why.

rcocean said...

"How about ignoring the fact that Curry isn't coming? Why let Curry declining the invite lead you into "fine, be that way" (your words) mode?"

No one cares what the pompous "Wise old grey beards" think. They can go clutch your pearls somewhere else. Old Lady George Will is still talking about "that man in the white House" who eats Big Macs.

Darrell said...

Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, "Get that son of a b***h off the field right now!"?' Trump asked.

Fucking A.

harrogate said...

rcocean:

Fine, be that way.

Tim said...

Private insurance has gotten more expensive across the board, and especially in employer plans, the most common by far,

I'm a small business that covers only me. No way could I cover my three employees.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

What grade is everyone in, here?

Some people have claimed 3rd grade...so there is that.

buwaya said...

I have always disliked basketball, but my impression of its US instance is that it is a disproportionately Democrat-party fanbase. Unlike football, which was much more Republican.

There are regional special cases no doubt.

FullMoon said...

Tim said... [hush]​[hide comment]

Private insurance has gotten more expensive across the board, and especially in employer plans, the most common by far,

I'm a small business that covers only me. No way could I cover my three employees
.

Hardest hit are working low income young people, forced to buy or pay penalty..
I think most here may not like it, but can afford it.

harrogate said...

Dust Bunny Queen,

Ok, that's not bad.

Howard said...

A twitwar with the baby-face assassin is a nice distraction from all the winning on health care and the wall.

tcrosse said...

The ShowBiz-Industrial Complex hates Trump because he's miscast to play President on TV.

Tim said...

Hardest hit are working low income young people,forced to buy or pay penalty..
I think most here may not like it, but can afford it.

Yeah, I can afford it. The extra $8-12k I spend on insurance doesn't go to new appliances, landscaping, remodel, travel or bonuses for employees. Well done, government. Probably $30-40k NOT spent since Obamacare inception on something that would improve the bottom line for others. Trickle down FTW.

buwaya said...

We are covered by a gold-plated employer plan.
The personal effect in our case is irrelevant.

The real problem is the macroeconomic effect, that of suppressing employment by artificially (not through market mechanism of cost of labor) raising the cost of employment.
This suppresses employment, suppresses wages, and no doubt contributed to the slow "jobless recovery".

The BLS data series on cost of employment is striking.

jr565 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
jr565 said...

I think the reason trump is rising is that his enemies are such doucehbags. All the criticism is so shrill, you realize that half of the controversies are only even controversies because shrill people turned them into one. And trump is more often than not, actually holding the mainstream position. If the left didn't have people like Chelsea handler or Reporters at CNN spouting off every day on twitter with such venomous garbage people might view trump with more of a skewed eye. But as soon as they hear the opposition, it simply makes them move to trump.

Plus, the Russian scandal is proving to be a big nothing. But the idea thst obama wiretapped trump is actually proving to have legs. And THAT might actually be the scandal not the Russians working with trump to hack an election, but the federal govt spying on a campaign and trying to make it seem like they have a connection to Russia to get Hillary into office.

Bay Area Guy said...

I've been a Warrior fan for over 42 years. Love em to death.

However, it is absolutely ludicrous for these overpaid babies to get all fussy over a traditional White House visit.

I would expect professional sports teams to be well-behaved at a a White House visit with Obama; I expect the same for Trump.

I hope reasonable people in the political center take note of how the left operates. And I hope that this snub helps Trump politically in the long run.

rhhardin said...

Trump is on the wrong side of anthem kneeling, not to say that the kneelers aren't on the wrong side of something else.

FullMoon said...

Brookzene said...

The Great Divider. He should be keeping our focus on Puerto Rico and No. Ko - even the coming ACA vote, but he's tweeting about sports celebrities.

Unfit for the Presidency.


See, thi is just stupid. Democrats plan is to divide the country. It is working. In silicon valley, hispanic principle at high school assemblt telling kids Fuck Trump. High school kids writing letters to editor of weekly newspaper about "white old men" time is up. Hillary and Obama responsible for the hate and devisiveness, not Trump.
Lib friend who used to take some teasing all getting excited on me because Trump looked up to Roy Cohn, She wasn't even born yet in those days. Brings up the Trump apartment discrimination thing in the80's(?) with no historical reference at all. Just as gays shopping for a baker who will not bake a cake, blacks shopping for discrimination in housing which was a common problem back then, Brainwashed into hysteria.

Anonymous said...

There are always athletes on these championship teams that turn down invitations to visit the WH. Tim Thomas of the Bruins wouldn't go. Several Patriots players did not go. Trump should ignore it all, but that's not who he is. The interesting thing is calling for firing NFL players. Sounds ridiculous but then you think about Google firing Damore for not toeing the party line ( whoops, violating company policy and standards) and you wonder whether the NFL guys aren't doing the same thing.

@Tim You have my condolences. My wife now must put in $20,000 to get whatever medical benefit she might earn. The good thing is she has pregnancy coverage (even though she is missing a uterus). Premiums have doubled in three years as have deductibles. Is Obamacare a good deal or what?

JackWayne said...

Don’t use REDOUND when you mean REBOUND. But if you meant redound then I agree with you. Disinviting Curry will redound to the President.

Michael K said...

"Someone who is clearly not unfit for office, that's all I want. "

But you voted for Hillary.

buwaya said...

High deductibles offer the possibility of a market opening for Dr. Mike style cash-only medical services, stripped of overhead expenses.

Unfortunately medical plans limit "coverage" even of expenses within deductible limits to authorized providers (in order to properly track deductibles allegedly). In other words even out of pocket you pay inflated prices. This is pure legalized robbery, a corporatist giveaway to insurance companies.

Michael K said...

"I don't understand why someone with as much money and power as Trump is so thin-skinned. He cannot let go any insult, perceived or real."

All Politicians are thin skinned. You have no doubt ignored the evidence of Obama's obsession with race and his use of the IRS to punish enemies.

I am currently reading Caro's biography of Johnson. "Thin Skinned" doesn't cover it. He was a sociopath.

I'm also reading again Buchanan's book about Nixon. Buchanan tried to get Nixon off the resentment he felt for all the abuse he took.

Nixon was always calling up Buchanan in the middle of the night and giving him orders to attack some enemy. He would call back in the morning and tell him to forget it.

A Whitehouse staffer told Buchanan that the Watergate thing began with "some sonofabitch who walked out of the Oval Office and did what he was told before Nixon could call him back and cancel.

The Caro bio is in the car on Audio and the Buchanan book on Kindle at home.

Original Mike said...

"Doesn't matter why the numbers are rising -- Hillary will never be President."

I don't know. Hillary refuses to swear-off contesting the legitimacy of the election.

I knew Curry is a basketball player but I sure could not have told you who he played for.

Brookzene said...

See, thi is just stupid. Democrats plan is to divide the country. It is working. In silicon valley, hispanic principle at high school assemblt telling kids Fuck Trump. High school kids writing letters to editor of weekly newspaper about "white old men" time is up.

See, this is just dumb. Leaders, and most definitely the president, are supposed to be bringing us together. Trump is the most divisive, petty, and confrontational president we have ever had. Except when it comes to Putin or neo-Nazis.

Brookzene said...

All Politicians are thin skinned. You have no doubt ignored the evidence of Obama's obsession with race and his use of the IRS to punish enemies.

Alex Jones reader. Breitbart.

Fernandinande said...

Dust Bunny - "Criticizing the NFL for not getting control of its employees and stopping them from disrespecting the National Anthem and bringing politics into the area of sports entertainment....

Trump’s "divisive comments" show "an unfortunate lack of respect for the NFL."

"The NFL and our players are at our best when we help create a sense of unity in our country and our culture"

It's important that people who play a game with a ball are respected and at their best.

Michael K said...

In other words even out of pocket you pay inflated prices. This is pure legalized robbery, a corporatist giveaway to insurance companies.

Not if the doctor has canceled all memberships in insurance and Medicare.

You can't do it and be in a contract.

I've previously told the story of the woman geriatric specialist I met several years ago who had dropped Medicare because she was being harassed by Medicare for seeing her homebound elderly patients too frequently. She is in central Iowa and many stay home but need supervision. Medicare pays more for a nurse to visit than a doctor and there is a limit as to how often they may be seen.

She now practices for Visa and Mastercard and is making a living and much happier.

I wrote to Grassley after meeting her.

rehajm said...

Hardest hit are working low income young people,forced to buy or pay penalty..

It's the more than half the people in the exchanges who don't get a subsidy. They're trying to get ahead by working and being self sufficient, make less than a middle class income but too much money for a subsidy. They have to choose between rent or going to the doctor.

wholelottasplainin said...

harrogate said...
Maybe people like it when he calls citizens "sonsabitches"?
***************

Nothing new.

JFK did the same thing when referring to steel industry executives.

http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/36888.html

Michael K said...

"Alex Jones reader. Breitbart."

Blind leftist who doesn't know why Hillary lost.

I don't even know who Alex Jones it except some boogie man for leftists.

You need to get out more.

whitney said...

Instapundit just said it was because of Hillary's book tour. It's reminding everyone of the bullet we dodged. I'm voting for that

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Because he's not just being a cunt and actually working with the Democrats and their more popular ideas. Yes, let's totally miss that one. Nine other sensationalized options but not the most obvious one.

Republicans hate doing their homework.

AllenS said...

Brookzene said...
I know he's an Obama man but he's about as American as Lou Gehrig or Bart Starr

Let me tell you a little story about Bart Starr. In 1968 is was in a military hospital in Japan. I was in the staph ward segregated from the rest of the others when I looked up and there was Bart Starr, who was visiting military hospitals. The possibilities of Steph Curry doing something like that is zero.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

I don't even know who Alex Jones it except some boogie man for leftists.

He comes up with all the stupid ideas and conspiratorial rationales for people who are stupid enough to agree with you.

Your "ideology" originates, and ends, in greed. The hangers-on, though, need a more holistic perspective.

Jones is happy to invent it for them.

buwaya said...

The division strategy is institutional and long predated Trump. Its been studiously ignored, or rather, by Democratic officeholders, disingenuously denied. Its been an "emperors new clothes" thing for decades, where the great and good assert the opposite of truth.

All Trump did is to openly state the obvious. The hate that was designed-in by all official institutions is now bare. The public is now permitted by the growing social consensus to see their enemies as they really are. American public institutions are unnerved by the clearing of the smoke and fog.

The only way to reconcile is for numerous public institutions to offer sincere apologies, to make amends, and to undertake, for their own sakes, some severe penance.

Original Mike said...

"I don't even know who Alex Jones it except some boogie man for leftists.
You need to get out more."


I learned of the IRS actions from reading the WSJ. I learned of Alex Jones from reading the Althouse comments.

Darrell said...

Trump is the most divisive, petty, and confrontational president we have ever had.

Right after Obama, of course. Ask the reporters hacked and surveilled after a single less-than-glowing article on Obama. Struck off the access list, too, if I recall.

AllenS said...

Correction --

In 1968 I was

buwaya said...

Dr. K, The problem is that if you have a high deductible plan, and go off-plan provider for the deductible portion, you don't get "credit" for the deductible.

Fernandinande said...

buwaya said...
High deductibles offer the possibility of a market opening for Dr. Mike style cash-only medical services, stripped of overhead expenses.


Dr. Mike read an Econ 101 syllabus?

If you really want to save money, remove all the licensing and prescribing requirements the AMA fought for.

Unfortunately medical plans limit "coverage" even of expenses within deductible limits to authorized providers (in order to properly track deductibles allegedly).

That doesn't prevent anyone from paying cash to authorized providers.

Michael K said...

Some people don;t know that the AMA has zero influence on medical education and almost zero on licensing.

Michael K said...

" if you have a high deductible plan, and go off-plan provider for the deductible portion, you don't get "credit" for the deductible."

I know but if your deductible is $12,000 how much does that matter ? That is why McCain is wrong and Rand Paul is wrong to stop ending the mandates.

Brookzene said...

The possibilities of Steph Curry doing something like that is zero.

"Disabled veteran surprised with new home, visit from Stephen Curry"

http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/disabled-veteran-surprised-home-visit-stephen-curry/story?id=48863986

Jul7 16, 2017

Michael K said...

"Your "ideology" originates, and ends, in greed."

Yours begins and ends in envy.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Bogeymen? Talk about high-deductible plans. Those are just another fucking pipe dream peddled by Republicans who actually think that patients will become their own doctors and health administrators and somehow figure out all the medical economics on how they can save themselves a treatment buck here and there as individuals, extricated from the rest of the insurance pool.

Republicans simply have a brain defect that prevents them from understanding how entire societies work. They think the only interaction people have with each other is through ideas - which is why they want to censor the ones the don't like - and that all other interaction - social, economic, etc., involves disembodied, atomized individuals who always have access to the best options and must somehow deserve everything that happens to them. They believe in a psychological and cultural collective but somehow reject the structure of that frames our behaviors and outcomes economically and medically.

buwaya said...

No it doesn't prevent paying cash.
However it precludes ever getting any benefit from insurance coverage even if you spend over your "deductible".
Makes the whole point of having insurance questionable.

Brookzene said...

Honoring Bart Starr doesn't mean you have to disrespect other athletes who have done well by veterans and others.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Yours begins and ends in envy.

Show me where, Nursemaid Boy.

I don't envy anything about you. Least of all that sense of entitlement that warps your thinking.

I thank the Creator every day that my parents cared enough about me and their own lives and time to not outsource their raising of me to a Mammy.

Every day you show how this difference held you back. Including in how it shapes your perspective on politics.

Rusty said...


"Republicans simply have a brain defect that prevents them from understanding how entire societies work. "

In your case irony is a mixer.

buwaya said...

Ritmo,

"they think the only interaction people have with each other is through ideas" ....

This is, to put it kindly, quite mad. On more levels than are easily explained, but lets leave it there.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Yeah I know buwaya. You always tell me I'm not being charitable enough to the supposed complexity and sophistication of the Republican project, and then proceed to over-complicate everything you say about what anyone's actually up to - to the point where you're not even addressing the reality of what anyone's priorities actually consist of. Everything you say about politics and society is hypothetical. Everything.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

The world waits with bated breath for whatever it is that Republican Rusty intends to teach it about how it actually functions.

Brookzene said...

Don’t use REDOUND when you mean REBOUND.

I warmly greet anyone who is interested in such distinctions even when they support Trump. And even when they are incorrect in their usage of words.

donald said...

I'm a huge sports fan. Fuck the NFL and assholes like Richard Sherman. Roger Goodell Is a fucking tool who is watching everything the NFL has built disintegrate. He won't care, he makes a lot of money and much like his dad can pretend that he has principles of some sort.
It is my understanding that Sherman is a smart guy, Stanford grad and all, however, it seems to
Me that these colleges are not teaching any critical thinking at all. These asswipes are basing this shit over the deaths of criminals who got what they deserved and scumbags who are burning and looting the neighborhoods that they purport to be supporting by people who look just like them. Address the overwhelming black on black violence Sherman and the rest of you punks. That's the problem. Guess he's afraid of getting a couple of caps popped in his head.

I'm not interested in anybody's politics when I'm working or walk on a field (I've had coaches bring that shit up on football and baseball fields and I have ejected several on the spot) or When I'm Watching.

buwaya said...

US medical schools are extremely expensive.
This tracks the absurd costs of US higher ed generally, but it seems that med is another level of excessive.

What prevents a non-US entrepreneurial institution from competing with US med schools for US med students? There used to be several of these in the Caribbean, and I recall some decades ago a number of US servicemen were doing dental and veterinary school in the Philippines covered by the GI plan, IIRC.

Michael K said...

Buwaya, Ritmo is eaten up with envy and will never "leave it there."

That's why when he shows up the thread is pretty much useless. Too bad.

Michael K said...

"There used to be several of these in the Caribbean,"

My wife's internist is a graduate of St Georges in Grenada, where Reagan sent the Marines to rescue the students

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

That's why when he shows up the thread is pretty much useless.

You made a claim (an accusation, actually), you repeat it above, Nursemaid Boy, and then neglect to back it up at all.

About whom or what am I envious? What is it that I envy?

Go ahead, and back up your claim.

Like I said, Republicans are full of shit and think that beliefs and attitudes are more important than reality. Case-in-point, Nursemaid Boy Michael K and his nonsense about envy.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

"leave it there."

It's interesting how Alex Jone's partner in crime Michael K bundles this in with "envy."

I don't like lies and falsehoods and value the truth. Sometimes debate/argument gets you there, sometimes facts fill in the gaps.

"Leaving it there" is just a plea to end inquiry. A wish to keep the ignorance going. Nope, that won't happen. People want to know why a political party in the majority is pushing, against the wishes of 83% of them, to strip health coverage away from tens of millions of Americans.

It's a question, it deserves an answer. Unless you envy other people's knowledge or curiosity, there's no reason to oppose the finding of an answer to this question.

Michael K said...

See what I mean buwaya?

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Michael K lacks empathy so apparently he mislabels it as "envy" and flubs the whole diagram of whom it's directed to.

I guess that makes sense. You can't understand emotions that you don't have.

buwaya said...

Ritmo,

The conservative "project" isnt. Conservatism is a non-ideology. The closest thing to a theory its got is empiricism.
It (properly speaking), acknowledges human limitations and the risk of too-easy solutions, and moreso, the likelihood that there are no solutions, or none with acceptable tradeoffs.
This is the value of, for instance, Unamuno's "Tragic Sense of Life".

You lack a grasp of complication indeed, which is why I urge self-education. On theories of conservatism, such as they are, you could do a lot worse than Russell Kirk, "The Conservative Mind". Kurk tried to find a conservative ideology, his attempt, and hence hisd survey, is an education.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

See what I mean buwaya?

I don't think anyone does. You dodge more direct challenges than a wet noodle. But you sure like to lob them at people.

Because to do so takes no evidence or responsibility on your part.

buwaya said...

I leave it there then Dr. K.

I have, and always will, lead the horse to water.
After that there is nothing else to be done.

Howard said...

I'm sure his veteran support will be criticized as not enough and maybe it is. You would think he could raise more than $168K over several years.
Curry Raises Money for Vets
Note the Koch Industries sponsorship.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

The conservative "project" isnt. Conservatism is a non-ideology.

Americans who call themselves "conservative" are not. There is no such thing here. They are reactionaries.

America did not originate in the ethno-nation state that the right's leaders like Bannon imagine. It had no institutions from time immemorial to preserve. Or "conserve." Whatever. Just ideals and a document. This is why the right in America is so crazy. There was no organic "community" around which to rally around. And conservatives hate ideas.

So America is incapable of conservatism. Ask any conservative in any other country what they find conservative about America's right wing. Nothing, will be the answer. American reactionaries are crazy nut jobs who love instability, adore violence and don't identify with any such thing as an American community or institution in which to ground their unmoored selves.

Which institutions are American reactionary ("conservatives") looking to maintain? Greed? I suppose that's an institution. In a really post-modern way of looking at it.

The aristocracy?

Go ahead. Name that institution. The reason you fear instability so much is because your side loves generating it. You can't understand that the Constitution and Bill of Rights were part of the most liberal, progressive, enlightenment-based project in history. There was nothing traditional about the founding. Nothing at all.

This is why American conservatives are crazy. And incoherent.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

They are national/cultural orphans.

Howard said...

Blogger Michael K said... "There used to be several of these in the Caribbean,"
My wife's internist is a graduate of St Georges in Grenada, where Reagan sent the Marines to rescue the students
to get people to forget about the Marine Barracks bombing in Beirut. FIFY

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

National/cultural orphans claiming a birthright.

Bruce Hayden said...

"The wall and repealing Obamacare are two things that I don't think will happen."

Not so sure there with the latter. The problem I see is that a lot of the Republican base has been saying to their politicians in DC that they now have both houses of Congress and the Presidency, why haven't they delivered on these items, and esp Obamacare repeal? The reality is that their margin in the Senate is currently razor thin, thanks to the loss of 2 seats (one possibly through voter fraud) in the last election. But the Dems have an awful lot of vulnerable seats up for election in 2018. And, yes, there is a good chance that Dr. K's senior turncoat Senator may have retired by then too). The risk/worry has been that a lot of the Trump/Republican base would stay home, and allow a number of those vulnerable Dems be reelected. But I think now that Trump can credibly claim that the reason that they haven't been able to repeal Obamacare was just that, that the Republican margin was too close, and the Dems refused to work with him or them, voting in lockstep, so they should be given another chance. If the Republicansvpick up most of the Trump state Dem seats, the RINOs and trouble makers (like Rand Paul) won't be able to stop repeal, not the obstructionist Dems.

Earnest Prole said...

Why are Trump’s polls improving? That’s simple: His ardent supporters have been cucked by Chuck and Nancy, which of course makes them love Trump even more.

MaxedOutMama said...

I checked a few things off on the poll, but really Trump's approval ratings do not matter. They are sharply better now then they were when we voted and Trump got over 300 electoral votes.

A look at the exit polls (which tracked actual voting very well) shows that we didn't approve of him when we voted him into office:
http://www.cnn.com/election/results/exit-polls

Only 37% thought Trump was qualified to be president. Only 35% thought he had the temperament to be president. 57% said they would feel "concerned" or "scared" if Trump were elected. Only 40% of the population said they would feel positive if Trump were elected. The only reason people voted for Trump was economics, really - 48% of the voters thought Trump would be better for the economy versus 46% who thought Clinton would. And 61% of the respondents rated the US economy as poor, and of those 61%, 62% voted for Trump.

If asked now, I couldn't honestly say that I approve of Trump. But I strongly support him as president, and if the election were held today, I would vote for him over any Democratic candidate I can now imagine.

The US economy is improving, and people's concerns over having an untested candidate in office handling foreign policy and as CiC will be substantially less. Oh, yeah, Hillary's "Biggest Loser" book tour isn't helping, but really the election was about economics and a few other concerns (unchecked immigration combined with terrorism), and on those headings, Trump is delivering. Further, Trump's clumsy attempts to chart a centrist course on social issues is going to be a big winner with most.

We don't have to like him. We only have to think he is our best available option.

Hillary threw the 2016 election by totally failing to address the economic concerns, but Trump (if he survives, he doesn't look too great to me), seems likely to WIN the 2020 election on performance. All Trump has to do is look like he is helping the economy/jobs somewhat, and maintain the stance of opposing the social extremes to which the Democratic party has wedded itself. We voted him in with such minimum expectations and so much anxiety that any halfway decent performance wins him the next election - and Trump seems on track to deliver that.

Michael K said...

Howard, I think the Marine Barracks bombing was done by Hezbollah. You may have other information and I invite you to share it.

I think Reagan made a mistake to allow the guards to have unloaded rifles and to place so many Marines in such a concentrated location. I am sure he did not make those decisions himself and relied on the decisions of those who were tragically wrong.

TML said...

Hey! It's his Improval Rating!

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Howard, I think the Marine Barracks bombing was done by Hezbollah.

Because of envy, right?

Original Mike said...

"... and maintain the stance of opposing the social extremes to which the Democratic party has wedded itself."

Many people were voting against crazy.

Michael said...

"So America is incapable of conservatism. Ask any conservative in any other country what they find conservative about America's right wing. Nothing, will be the answer. American reactionaries are crazy nut jobs who love instability, adore violence and don't identify with any such thing as an American community or institution in which to ground their unmoored selves. "

There are any number of European journals you could review which would refute that second sentence. Substitute Antifas for American reactionaries and you would have an accurate third sentence.

You might have a look at Jesse Norman's biography of Edmund Burke. It would provide insight into conservatism which would be helpful.

Michael K said...

Michael, we try to ignore him.

Michael said...

Alas, when confronted with rank stupidity....

Bilwick said...

I think Glenn Reynolds, commenting on this poll, may have been on to something saying that the release of Hillary Clinton's book may have caused many who were, at best, only luke-warm about Trump realizing what a big bullet they dodged when he prevented Queen Cacklepants from taking the throne.

Pinandpuller said...

More like son of a guy he saw twice and didn't pay child support, but it's wordy.

Jim at said...

What is President Hillary Clinton's approval rating?

Jim at said...

"Dunno, after this weekend he's gonna lose whatever tiny gains he made."

Once again, you don't get it.

Normal people - ie, those NOT on the left - have had their fill of professional athletes making millions of dollars ... while bitching about oppression.

Brookzene said...

Normal people - ie, those NOT on the left

No YOU don't get it. By "normal people" you mean the 1/3 who are still supporting Trump.

Ray - SoCal said...

Grenada was about signaling the end of the Brezhnev Doctrine.

Michael K said...

Brookzene demonstrates every day why she doesn't get it.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

There are any number of European journals you could review which would refute that second sentence.

Go ahead and name them. Funny how selectively you hate academic things like journals when it suits you to.

You might have a look at Jesse Norman's biography of Edmund Burke.

Burke wanted peace with America for England's sake and, in France's case, a speedy transition away from revolutionary authority and on to a stable, peaceable government. This is no surprise. He also wanted social cohesion and for labor to be fairly compensated. Are you saying he was as opposed to institutions as American reactionaries are?

MeatPopscicle1234 said...

Blogger The Toothless Revolutionary said...

...

Your "ideology" originates, and ends, in greed. The hangers-on, though, need a more holistic perspective.

Jones is happy to invent it for them.

------------------------------------

Spoken like a true believer in the free-shit army... Cuz you and the rest of you lazy, freeloading parasites will justify stealing food out of my children's mouths any way you can... Fuck you... I was born dirt poor and worked my ass off to get where I am... I *EARNED* my money and you don't have any right to even one cent... take you're holier-than-thou condescension and shove it...

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Michael, we try to ignore him.

Nice use of the royal "we." You yourself have no choice in the matter, and that's because your weak arguments and weaker ideas suck stinky dick. You imagine that the only reason anyone would disagree with you is because they must somehow envy you. Of course, no one envies you. You just tell yourself this in order to believe that you must be more important than you really are. Look at me! People must envy me!

No Michael K. They don't think much about you at all. They think you're rather as unimportant as the next piece of dog doo along the way as they proceed upon the sidewalk.

What is it about you that you imagine people envy?

It's hilarious to ask this, as you don't even know. Like I said, it's a convenient lie you tell yourself because you have no other way to justify your existence, let alone how important you think you're supposed to feel.

Big Mike said...

I wish to express my thanks to Brookzene for implicitly admitting that he is a member of the left-wing lunatic fringe.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

"Jones is happy to invent it for them."

------------------------------------

Spoken like a true believer in the free-shit army... Cuz you and the rest of you lazy, freeloading parasites will justify stealing food out of my children's mouths any way you can... Fuck you... I was born dirt poor and worked my ass off to get where I am... I *EARNED* my money and you don't have any right to even one cent... take you're holier-than-thou condescension and shove it...


Hahaha. THIS is how Joshua Barker chooses to defend Alex Jones and the "role" he plays in the right-wing ecosystem thought chamber. Hilarious!

Right-wingers are always parasites. Hell, they can't even come up with a new thought! They think all the important ideas have already been made, and all social arrangements are as they should have been since time immemorial.

I don't care how much you make. I bet it's not in the top 1%. Go and beat your chest about rising above your primordial roots. In all likelihood it happened back in the day when FDR's welfare state made upward mobility a possibility that Reagan and his spawn later trashed. You will be taxed at a rate that you can't stand, and if you're making a multiple six-figure income, it will rise dramatically. Progressive taxation ain't never going away. And it won't be displaced into the regressive sales tax. Face it, your retrogrades have fucked up America. Lower living standards and infrastructure quality than most developed nations. It's going to get fixed, too. And you'll be paying your fair share. If you figure that's "out the nose," then tough titties, my twat! Be more fucking resourceful then and appreciative of what you have for a goddamn change. Your way hasn't worked. We're going to tax you until you fucking say "Daddy!" and learn to appreciate something for once in your obviously miserable life!

Bilwick said...

Shouldn't The Toothless Revolutionary--for the sake of truth in advertising--change his pseudonym to the Toothless Counter-Revolutionary? I mean, he's quite the lockstep State-shtupper and wants to turn back the clock away from the move to a Society of Contract started here in 1776 to the "good old days" of the Society of Status, when we do whatever people like him tell us we have to do. Or maybe he should go for "the Toothless Tory." If you look at the arguments of the Old Tories, they're pretty much the same as today's leftists Neo-Tories, substituting the Divine Right of Statists for the Divine Right of Kings.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

I mean, he's quite the lockstep State-shtupper

How is that the case? The state is run by Don Tinyhands Trump, Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan. What are they doing that I support?

and wants to turn back the clock away from the move to a Society of Contract started here in 1776...

You seem to confuse constitutional principles with whatever contract Grover Norquist forces Republicans to sign. Did you know that Grover Norquist wasn't alive in 1776? And neither were his corny ideas and priorities.

...to the "good old days" of the Society of Status, when we do whatever people like him tell us we have to do.

You can do whatever you want already. But I'm not going to support your political stranglehold over the will of what 80+% of the people want. Talk about telling others what to do! "Others" DON'T want this shitty Graham-Cassidy abomination. Not only the people but every medical organization. It's a shit bill. We don't want it. Most Americans don't. Who are you to tell them what they have to do and go along with?

Or maybe he should go for "the Toothless Tory." If you look at the arguments of the Old Tories, they're pretty much the same as today's leftists Neo-Tories, substituting the Divine Right of Statists for the Divine Right of Kings.

Someday you will update your vocabulary and substitute "statist" for whatever other inaccurate nonsense political epithet seems most cool and trendy to you at the moment. But good job getting the 1990s lingo down. BTW, Newt Gingrich called: He wants his so-called Republican Revolution and Contract with America back. You guys are about as up-to-date and relevant as a Brady Bunch lunchbox.

Howard said...

Michael: via CNN:May 30, 2003 - A US federal judge rules that the terrorist group Hezbollah carried out the attack at the direction of the Iranian government. The ruling allows families of the victims to sue Iran.

James Mattis on Iran

Michael K said...

Yes, Howard. Nice of you to admit it. I know how hard that is for you.

MeatPopscicle1234 said...

Blogger The Toothless Revolutionary said...

Hahaha. THIS is how Joshua Barker chooses to defend Alex Jones and the "role" he plays in the right-wing ecosystem thought chamber. Hilarious!

Right-wingers are always parasites. Hell, they can't even come up with a new thought! They think all the important ideas have already been made, and all social arrangements are as they should have been since time immemorial.

I don't care how much you make. I bet it's not in the top 1%. Go and beat your chest about rising above your primordial roots. In all likelihood it happened back in the day when FDR's welfare state made upward mobility a possibility that Reagan and his spawn later trashed. You will be taxed at a rate that you can't stand, and if you're making a multiple six-figure income, it will rise dramatically. Progressive taxation ain't never going away. And it won't be displaced into the regressive sales tax. Face it, your retrogrades have fucked up America. Lower living standards and infrastructure quality than most developed nations. It's going to get fixed, too. And you'll be paying your fair share. If you figure that's "out the nose," then tough titties, my twat! Be more fucking resourceful then and appreciative of what you have for a goddamn change. Your way hasn't worked. We're going to tax you until you fucking say "Daddy!" and learn to appreciate something for once in your obviously miserable life!


------------
I couldn't give two shits about Alex Jones... as far as I'm concerned, he's a bit wild-eyed and hyperbolic, but not nearly as much of a nut-job as some of the special snow-flakes you find on CNN or MSNBC...

And do you even listen to yourself?!?!? FDR's welfare state made upward mobility possible?!?!? What kind of special fucking basket case do you need to be to even say something like that with a straight face???

Welfare breeds dependence and DOWNWARD mobility... paying people to sit on their ass only results in MORE people on the dole... The more you "reward" a behavior, the more you're gonna get of it.. Your side has spent the last 100 years telling people that they DESERVE a free-ride and someone else should foot the bill... we have spent TRILLIONS over DECADES on social safety programs, and yet poverty statistics have barely twitched...

The only thing that brings true upward mobility is to instill principles of hard work, self-reliance, education and a rejection of oppressive, progressive taxation... take the government boot off the necks of businesses, and the lower / middle class, and the economy will EXPLODE like you've never seen...

but this would require our leaders in Washington to actually care about reigning-in the deficit... which they will never do because like a drug-addict, they are addicted to spending..

so again, you and yours are nothing but thieves and bloodsucking parasites... like a swarm of locusts... you descend on anything not nailed down and devour until nothing is left... entitled, narcissistic, self-important little Eichmanns who dream of rounding up your political enemies and putting them into ovens... and in the meantime, your endless consumption has the primary effect of taking away resources from those who truly do need it...

and yet still you consume, devouring households and screaming "MOAR" after each one lays in ruins... because it will never be enough... you believe that the fruits of other people's labor somehow belongs to you, and so you're appetite forever grows, expanding beyond the capacity of the producers to feed your bottomless appetite... left to you, the parasites would eventually overwhelm and kill the host...

but luckily, there are still enough good hard-working Americans who believe in freedom to fight back against you Antifa wanna-be clowns... so bring it MF... we'll see which side is still standing when the dust clears...

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

I couldn't give two shits about Alex Jones... as far as I'm concerned, he's a bit wild-eyed and hyperbolic

Then don't respond to the comment. He's who the comment was about.

And do you even listen to yourself?!?!? FDR's welfare state made upward mobility possible?!?!?

That, along with the GI bill. Go check your history. When was the American middle class created? Go on.

Welfare breeds dependence and DOWNWARD mobility...

Not as much as institutional poverty and bankruptcy do. And the system's had limits for decades now.

The only thing that brings true upward mobility is to instill principles of hard work, self-reliance, education and a rejection of oppressive, progressive taxation... take the government boot off the necks of businesses, and the lower / middle class, and the economy will EXPLODE like you've never seen...

What a crock. Capitalism works for developing economies. Developed countries need stability, though. And good luck thinking that you're going to tell them what to value as if that will somehow change anything. A permanent underclass is made that way by design. You can measure upward mobility from country to country and ours is the worst. The policies you advocate make it worse, not better. But if it makes you feel like a more righteous person to support them, I suppose that's the only argument you need, right?

but this would require our leaders in Washington to actually care about reigning-in the deficit... which they will never do because like a drug-addict, they are addicted to spending..

On paying off their donors with tax cuts, which have been proven over and over again to do nothing useful for the American economy or budget. Again, you're arguing on belief, not fact.

so again, you and yours are nothing but thieves and bloodsucking parasites... like a swarm of locusts... you descend on anything not nailed down and devour until nothing is left... entitled, narcissistic, self-important little Eichmanns who dream of rounding up your political enemies and putting them into ovens... and in the meantime, your endless consumption has the primary effect of taking away resources from those who truly do need it...

and yet still you consume, devouring households and screaming "MOAR" after each one lays in ruins... because it will never be enough... you believe that the fruits of other people's labor somehow belongs to you, and so you're appetite forever grows, expanding beyond the capacity of the producers to feed your bottomless appetite... left to you, the parasites would eventually overwhelm and kill the host...

but luckily, there are still enough good hard-working Americans who believe in freedom to fight back against you Antifa wanna-be clowns... so bring it MF... we'll see which side is still standing when the dust clears...


This long gem was so spittle-flecked and blood-soaked that there's not even a point in addressing it point-by-point, since it's obvious you don't have a point. Just a lot of feelings. In any event, enjoy your Nazi fantasies! Pretty pathetic that that's the comparison you need to reach for to feel justified in your greed and lack of appreciation for whatever it is you do have in life. But by all means, make greed the cause that you couldn't make out of resisting genocide. Like you, Hitler loved talk of "parasites," BTW. I'm sure that will comfort you greatly. Now off to imagine yourself burning away. Yes, I know you think no one appreciates you. And you're right. But it's because of your fucktard attitude, and not because you're not living below the poverty line or whatever.

Michael K said...

Ann posts a rule about avoiding personal attacks and then goes cycling while Ritmo abuses every commenter.

Parasite, indeed.,

Inga...Allie Oop said...

Michael K is innocent of all charges. He would never dream of abusing anyone!


Hahahahaha.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Michael K is innocent of all charges. He would never dream of abusing anyone!

Exactly. He goes on calling me a McDonald's employee, envious, stupid, unintelligent, and now, "parasite" as above. And then the guy he's defending against me called me "Hitler!" Actually, the object of his concern trolling said, "you and yours are nothing but thieves and bloodsucking parasites... like a swarm of locusts... you descend on anything not nailed down and devour until nothing is left... entitled, narcissistic, self-important little Eichmanns who dream of rounding up your political enemies and putting them into ovens..."

But since Michael K's obsessed with me he seemed to only take notice of what I said in responsive defense!

Michael K is truly a very illogical cracker.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

He's a Mammy's boy. His poor Mammy, she certainly earned her keep.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Like the plantation owners' kids who were raised at the house-slave's knee and didn't even know their own mothers.

Narayanan said...

https://www.amazon.com/NEOCONSERVATISM-C-Bradley-Thompson/dp/1594518319

@toothless ... Your take on this?

And this
https://www.amazon.com/Conservatism-Obituary-Ayn-Rand/dp/1258002299
You are correct that American conservatives are post Marx. So I give you the term reactionary.

Narayanan said...

Beirut barracks haunting Mattis
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/12/james-mattis-iran-secretary-of-defense-214500

Gospace said...

The Toothless Revolutionary said...

That, along with the GI bill. Go check your history. When was the American middle class created? Go on.


Near as I can tell reading various family histories and census forms and tax and land records, my family has been middle class pretty much since their indentured servanthood ended- for those who came over as indentured servants. For those that bought their own way over, or came as representatives of the Crown, they were middle class on arrival.

Even the ones that came after the revolution, except for my Irish great-grandparents, were middle class on arrival. My Irish descended grandmother married into middle class.

If you can reliably trace your ancestors back to the 1600's and before, they were middle class or better. Because the poor left no records of their existence. No land owned, no marriages recorded, no taxes paid... It's still that way today. We know the names of all (or most) who died on 9/11, a few thousand. Estimates are over 50,000 died in the Indian Ocean tsunami. Entire villages gone. And for the most part, there's no record of their names or existence. They've been erased from history.

The WWII GI Bill didn't create the middle class, but it allowed a whole lot of people to jump start their way into the upper end of middle class. Instead of working for his father at his business following the end of his service, my father got his degree in accounting, and went to work for a much larger business. Maybe he would have grown my grandfathers coal and lumber business into Home Depot or Lowes, maybe he would have bankrupted it. But he still would have been post war middle class.

Michael K said...

I was at a meeting not long afterward where the docs on the hospital ship talked about the barracks bombing.

They were waiting for casualties to be air evaced but there were none they were all dead.

The guards at the parking garage saw the truck and driver coming but their had not been issued ammunition.

I have the photo of the two heroic Marine guards in Afghanistan that stopped the truck bomb at the cost of their lives.

The story is here.

The photo is here.

They didn't flinch. I'm sure if the guys in Beirut had been issued ammo, they would have done as well.

It kind of makes a contrast with some twerps I see post.

Michael K said...

They had not been....

rcocean said...

That Beirut bombing made me extremely angry.

What the fuck were we doing there to begin with?

Reagan admitted later it was one of his biggest mistakes.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

The idea that there were entire sections of the population that included "middle class" families in the 1600s is laughable and economically ignorant. What professional classes did that include and what were their incomes relative to the peasants and nobles? Find me a single economist who supports this idea. A few families out of hundreds of thousands reliant on an income equidistant between poverty and aristocracy does not constitute an entire class.

Scott said...

I wonder how Trump's popularity will be impacted when North Korea drops a nuke in downtown Los Angeles?

Michael K said...

Probably go up as long as it's Los Angeles.

Michael K said...

The absence of any knowledge of history is pretty obvious on the left.

That seems to be why they are going nuts about statues, including Columbus.

I am rereading "Admiral of the Ocean Sea" as a sort of tribute to his memory. His accomplishments are, I think best understood by sailors who have been across oceans.

Gospace said...

The Toothless Revolutionary said...
The idea that there were entire sections of the population that included "middle class" families in the 1600s is laughable and economically ignorant. What professional classes did that include and what were their incomes relative to the peasants and nobles?


Perhaps you might want to educate the rest of us on peasants in the British American colonies in the 1600's. I've never seen any record of them. Colonists, from the gitgo, had upward mobility on their arrival. There were no "Big Businesses" There were a bunch of small ones. Someone who staked out a claim to a water drop could build a mill- there were millwrights among the early colonists. Could you work metal? Blacksmiths could make a pretty good living selling their skills. Or if you were also artful, you could become a silver and coppersmith like Paul Revere. Farmers for the most part OWNED their own land in the Colonies, they didn't rent from a hereditary landowner. If you own your own land, and produce more then your family can eat, you can build on that. The big plantation owners didn't come over as big plantation owners. They established themselves and got bigger. Merchants. There's always a need for the middleman, buying low and selling high. Much more efficient than finding individual customers for the flour your mill produces. A middle class developed in the British American Colonies almost immediately. Literacy rates were far higher here then in Britain and much higher then the rest of Europe and world. A large part of the world had no written language to be literate in at the time, including any of the tribes the early colonists encountered. And upward mobility because of scarcity of labor was a given for those that worked at it. I have one ancestor who came here as a transported convict who several years later after working off his sentence married one of the governors daughters, having established himself as a merchant.

The United States was a middle class nation from the very beginning. People immigrated here because life was better then where they were, and thee courageous enough to risk the trip. They didn't come here for welfare benefits and handouts and free college for their children, they came here to better their lot in life.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

So the farmers were not poor and the merchants and "middlemen" comprised enough of the society to constitute a "class?" Even though the American middle class today comprises 25% to 66% of the population?

Sounds like your numbers are off. Innumeracy is fashionable among the GOP, I realize. But other than that, you commit to an admirable attempt at inventing historical interpretation to suit whatever aim you're set on. No big businesses and little manufacturing but apparently the land they bought cheap could be sold at a substantial profit. Ok. What was Henry Ford thinking offering a $5/day wage? The middle class was already big and built! No one was poor enough to need or benefit from that! Crazy!

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

There were silversmiths and coppersmiths since the bronze age, dunderbunny. They were not "middle class."

Industrialization allowed for the economic growth that brought enough wealth, apart from nobility and aristocracy, into a society to lengthen the scale of income and create a large enough gap between rich and poor to even make the idea of a "middle class" a reality. Merchants were always above farmers. In Sumeria merchants were above farmers, and just below princes. Or governors. That didn't mean that there was a large enough economy for them to create and employ an entire class of people such as existed after FDR made it a reality.

cubanbob said...

Trump is playing the Left like a drum. The lefty fools think he be-clowns himself while in actual fact it is exactly what his base thinks. He understands he doesn't have to be above 50% in the national polls, he knows he only needs to be above 50% in the states he won. I suspect he is.

TTR the only thing FDR did was prolong the depression by eight years.

Birkel said...

Reading the comments is fast when there are so many to skip because they are worthless.

Tocqueville had a lot to say about America. Leftist Collectivists are as aware of him as some of the female commenters above are of Steph Curry. Which one you think is important defines the commenter.

Birkel said...

Oh, cubanbob, you just know price controls always work!

FDR and Nixon share those horrific policies in common. Both are bottom 10 all time presidents, even if FDR was important in the sense of fucking up a lot.

Michael K said...

Please don't try to educate Ritmo. Haven't you seen the signs at the Zoo ?

"Don't feed the ducks as they become dependent on food and forget how to find food themselves."

Economists who don't even they are economists.

The lefties think all history began with FDR.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

The lefties think all history began with FDR.

Modern American/global political and social history sure did, you dumb fuck. But that's because we had just finished industrializing, won an unprecedented global conflict against your racist, fascist allies and figured out how to stop economic depressions from happening. Three things that changed us indelibly for the better and that you resent with all your entitled Mammy-tittay-suckling being.

Now go call for your Nursemaid and complain to her about how you just got your sorry ass schooled yet again.

Stop responding to anything I say without a bothering to marshal a fact to keep at your disposal. You think in analogies and anecdotes because you are so clumsily handicapped at figuring out the meaning of a single fact. So you discard them entirely. You have all the intellectual firepower of a seer handling a ouija board.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

The American founding fathers murdered people in their sleep on Christmas eve over less than this shit. I think we need more of their spirit.

"More murder," cries the resident psychopath!

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Taxing productive people so parasites like the dickless revolutionary can have free shit sounds pretty commie to me.

It's good when the resident psychopath speaks for all her political tribe's murderous tendencies. But this latest fecal smear of hers is even more crappier than most. I wonder what "free shit" she thinks I get. Especially given I can guarantee that her own income is barely breaks five figures. My guess is she's living off of a marital or alimony stipend. Or even likelier, lives with an elderly mother of hers in an apartment with old glass figurines and ceramic ballerinas.

Birkel said...

Psychopath
Murderous
Wet nurse
Fecal

In the face of this withering argumentation, who could possibly give a shit what it thinks? DoeS it even care what it writes?

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

I write what I see in front of me, cunt.

If you were capable of being anything better, you'd be interesting enough to describe without profanity.

MPH said...

That was premature.

Birkel said...

I fart in your general direction. LOL

Michael K said...

The lefties think all history began with FDR.

Modern American/global political and social history sure did, you dumb fuck.


I rest my case.

It's halftime at the UCLA Stanford scrap or I would not waste my time with parasites.

Gospace said...

From lumenlearning: The middle classes of colonial America consisted mostly of yeoman farmers and skilled craftsmen.

From a review of Hofstadter's Amerrica at 1750 : "To explain American distinctiveness, he showed how migration brought to these shores “a skewed sample of the European populations,” plus an enormous number of Africans; he argued that, though wealth and poverty existed in America, middle-class values dominated in Colonial society; and he described how the religious revivals of the Great Awakening made the colonists aware of “their common religious culture and common concerns,” which were increasingly distinguishable from those of Europe.

From Cliff's notes study guide: In the northern cities, wealth was increasingly concentrated in the hands of the merchants; below them was the middle class of skilled craftsmen and shopkeepers.

Birkel said...

Gospace will never get pearls in return from the swine.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Michael KKK believes modern American political history began with UCLA football games. And that his use of the word "parasites" is somehow more sophisticated than Hitler's use of the word.

«Oldest ‹Older   1 – 200 of 228   Newer› Newest»