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really, does anyone think that Dems would trade one-time ACA subsidies for funding for a border wall?
There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "My ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."- Isaac Asimov
not sure that I follow that "BLM is killing Third Way"-- as you say, BLM is a race-relations movement and the Third Way has always primarily been about economics. moreover, BLM started in 2013, which was well into recovery phase of the Great Recession...and long after the Third Way disappeared as an independent political force, which pretty much died with Al Gore and the immediately following internal Democratic turmoil of the Iraq War.
-has already- gone that way, again, as an independent force. however, its imprint will long remain given party makeup, funding sources, and beliefs-- even with the prominence of Sanders. i'm sure you saw the squabble between Tom Perez and Sanders as part of the so-called "unity" tour.
contrast the US Democratic Party with Labour in the UK, for instance-- the latter having done a more complete job in taking over the levers of power from the Blairite Third Wayers and remaking the party into the Old Labour image.
I don't think you can describe a post-War political movement without describing its relation to race (or its absence in talking about it). Third Way Democrats are also Democrats that aren't making race relations a front-and-center issue in US affairs, which is my point. Bill Clinton "First Black President" also passed welfare reform. That kind of Democrat is also a dying breed.
My point is that Democrats becoming more race conscious doesn't have anything to do with the recession, it's the result of BLM. The movement itself drives helps define opinions in the base. I'd say the same happens with the Sanders-types.
And, yeah, I'd agree with you on the state of Third-Way, both in the US and the UK. They no longer control all the levers of power in the US and are pretty heavily routed in the UK.
"The great questions of the day will not be settled by means of speeches and majority decisions but by iron and blood"-Otto Von Bismarck
Here's what we know about The Trumpet's huuuugggeee tax reform plans.
Take the current 7 tax brackets and reduce them to only three brackets: 10%, 25%, and 35%.
Double the standard deduction so that a married couple won’t pay any taxes on the first $24,000 of income they earn.
Tax relief for child and dependent care expenses.
Repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT).
Return the top tax rate on capital gains and dividends to 20% by repealing the 3.8% Obamacare tax.
Repeal the death tax. The estate tax applies only to estates valued at more than $5.49 million for singles or $10.98 million for married couples.
Repeal a 3.8% net investment income tax that applies to individuals with incomes above $200,000 a year.
Eliminate most of the tax breaks that mainly benefit high-income individuals. Home ownership, charitable giving, and retirement savings will be protected – but other tax benefits will be eliminated.
Scrap the federal-income tax deduction that individuals can claim for the state and local taxes.
What’s not in this “plan:”
Details. Tax experts who would normally jump to analyze the plan were foiled by the scant specifics. “Sorry, friends. We cannot model this. Definitely not enough detail,” said Kyle Pomerleau, director of federal projects for the Tax Foundation. Len Burman, a fellow at the Urban Institute, was more pointed: “First draft of Reagan tax reform: three-volume 500+ page treatise. First draft of Trump: bullet points.”
Fiscal implications. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget released a rough analysis saying the plan could cost $3 trillion to $7 trillion over the next decade. The non-partisan research group determined that Trump’s corporate tax cut would cost $2.2 trillion, while his other cuts for other businesses would amount to $1.5 trillion. Doubling the standard deduction, which would help lower- and middle-class taxpayers, would cost roughly $1.5 trillion, the CRFB said, while repealing the estate tax, which would benefit wealthy families, would cost $200 billion.
GOPer support.Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn was cautious in his remarks. “I like low tax rates, but I don’t know how we pay for it,” he said.
The Archdiocese of Kansas City says it is severing its years-long relationship with Girl Scouts in nearly two dozen Kansas counties because the organization promotes materials "reflective of many of the troubling trends in our secular culture."
Girl Scouts of the USA identifies as a secular organization with ties to faith, and the national organization and the Catholic Church have had a relationship that dates back a century.
"A few within the Church, instead of aligning with the Church Hierarchy's positive position on Girl Scouts, have chosen to propagate misinformation that the Catholic Church has acknowledged to be false," the Girl Scouts national organization said in a statement following the archdiocese's announcement. "Girl Scouts is always willing to work with any and every person or organization in order to fulfill our mission of building girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place."
Naumann said he is troubled by materials that highlight the roles of women such as birth control activist Margaret Sanger and feminist writers and activists Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem. A local representative of the Girl Scouts told NPR that these women and many others have been celebrated because of their leadership qualities.
[[The Archdiocese of Kansas City]] ... national level is still affiliated with the Girl Scouts, as it says in the article.
Ah of course. It can't be one sect of a religion even though the official representatives of that sect are the ones taking the actions and citing their religion, it must be all the people in that state. Lovin yer logic.
In the realm of spirit, seek clarity; in the material world, seek utility.
House Passes Measure to Repeal and Replace the Affordable Care Act
WASHINGTON — The House on Thursday narrowly approved a bill to repeal and replace major parts of the Affordable Care Act, as Republicans recovered from their earlier failures and moved a step closer to delivering their promise to reshape American health care without mandated insurance coverage.
The vote, 217-213, on President Trump’s 105th day in office, keeps alive the Republican dream to unwind the signature legislative achievement of former President Barack Obama. The House measure faces profound uncertainty in the Senate, where the legislation’s steep spending cuts will almost certainly be moderated. Any legislation that can get through the Senate will again have to clear the House and its conservative majority.
"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?" ~ Epicurus
Did Trump just praise Australia for having great health care which was still going to be somewhat better than his fantastic health care? Talk about the horse before the cart and possibly the wrong cart.
Did Trump just praise Australia for having great health care which was still going to be somewhat better than his fantastic health care? Talk about the horse before the cart and possibly the wrong cart.
Irrelevant, this needs to go out and get passed quickly. There are lots of folks in trump country that have voted on this and therefore fully deserve this.
"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?" ~ Epicurus
Irrelevant, this needs to go out and get passed quickly. There are lots of folks in trump country that have voted on this and therefore fully deserve this.
Lot's of other folks didn't. Lot's of Trump voters voted for Trump who happen to have newly acquired health insurance in some of the sickest states. They voted Trump and then hoped he would leave it alone in interviews of them. Funny as how the Republicans accused Obama of creating death panels yet modifying pre-existing conditions, allowing large surcharges, and limiting Medicaid in 2020 could do just that. I suspect this will not go fast in the Senate with Rand and Cruz probably demanding total destruction in order to show their cajones for their base.
So no, if Australia is so great and it impresses Trump so much then maybe that is what he should shoot for. Therefore completely relevant.
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