The Trump implosion thread!

Quote: Face

I only heard a snippet on NPR heading home, but I most certainly did hear that some .org, which they described as "The CIA of the NSA" has absolutely been "turning on" smart TV's and the like to listen in on convos in the home. You think it's off, they turn it on.

Normally I'd roll my eyes at the Facebook-esque news, but FB it was not.

Reckon I'm 'bout to go full crazy-man-in-the-woods.

Imagine if there was a device so compelling that everyone wanted one and most people had one. Imagine if it was always connected to the internet and everyone who had one kept it on, connected and on their person every waking moment religiously. Now imagine if it had a microphone, a camera and it was GPS enabled. If such a device existed why would any spy waste any effort hacking a TV?

Let's not forget: When Donald tweets, he tweets from an old unsecured Android phone.

Articles have been written about how easy it would be to hack that phone and turn it into a microphone without him knowing.

Hopefully it has been hacked, and we will have some good ammo for 2020.

Quote: ams288

Hopefully it has been hacked, and we will have some good ammo for 2020.

That's the kind of ammo 'we' need? How about this 'ammo'...... He will have had 4 years of appointing judges, cabinet members, instituting executive orders, guiding Congress on legislation, etc.... I would expect the results to either provide enough ammo for his re-election or his ouster. The 'grab her pussy, making fun of disabled reporter, banning an entire religion, calling a beauty pageant winner fat, disrespecting a gold star family' ammo was shown not to matter to enough of the American Public. The ammo you are looking for DOES NOT MATTER. If we are in a recession, he will likely be gone. If we are in an unpopular war, he will likely be gone. If we are generally at peace and prosperous, you can show videos of DJT receiving oral sex with Putin in the Kremlin and it WILL NOT MATTER.

Quote: SOOPOO

That's the kind of ammo 'we' need? How about this 'ammo'...... He will have had 4 years of appointing judges, cabinet members, instituting executive orders, guiding Congress on legislation, etc.... I would expect the results to either provide enough ammo for his re-election or his ouster. The 'grab her pussy, making fun of disabled reporter, banning an entire religion, calling a beauty pageant winner fat, disrespecting a gold star family' ammo was shown not to matter to enough of the American Public. The ammo you are looking for DOES NOT MATTER. If we are in a recession, he will likely be gone. If we are in an unpopular war, he will likely be gone. If we are generally at peace and prosperous, you can show videos of DJT receiving oral sex with Putin in the Kremlin and it WILL NOT MATTER.

I noticed you make no mention of this Republican health care bill, which will disproportionately harm the lower income Trump supporters in order to give millionaires a huge tax break...

Older Americans, rural Americans... they're the reason we are stuck with Donald for four years. It will be interesting to see how happy they are with Donald when they have to spend $8,000+ extra a year for the same health coverage they had under Obama.

According the offshore betting odds, there is a 31% chance Trump won't complete his first term. Sounds about right to me. I'd put it a little higher.

Quote: Wizard

According the offshore betting odds, there is a 31% chance Trump won't complete his first term. Sounds about right to me. I'd put it a little higher.

I really hope a gambler who puts much money on that bet won't take it upon himself to make sure Trump doesn't complete his term.

Quote: ams288

I noticed you make no mention of this Republican health care bill, which will disproportionately harm the lower income Trump supporters in order to give millionaires a huge tax break...

Older Americans, rural Americans... they're the reason we are stuck with Donald for four years. It will be interesting to see how happy they are with Donald when they have to spend $8,000+ extra a year for the same health coverage they had under Obama.

You have hit a nerve! Yes.... repealing Obamacare will result in many more Americans having to pay for their own health care costs. By giving for free what someone else has to pay for...... Obamacare was a 'success' to those who just got something without paying for it. Whenever you take away something from someone who was getting it for free they will be unhappy.

So my 'millionaire tax break' will now mean I only pay for 20 families worth of health care instead of the 22 I now pay for. I am such a bad person for thinking that is reasonable!

My stance on Obamacare has never wavered...... If we want to give all these people free or discounted health coverage just admit it will be very expensive, and show me either additional revenue (higher taxes) or decreased spending somewhere to pay for it. Just saying "obamacare is good" so we will keep it has never mae full sense to me.

Quote: SOOPOO

You have hit a nerve! Yes.... repealing Obamacare will result in many more Americans having to pay for their own health care costs.

According the AARP, under the Republican plan, a 64 year old making $15,000 a year will have their healthcare premiums rise by $8,400 (not even counting co-pays).

Simple question: Do you think that is reasonable?

And let's be realistic, most 64 year olds who make $15,000 per year weren't Hillary voters. It will be very interesting to see how they react to getting what they voted for.

Quote: ams288

According the AARP, under the Republican plan, a 64 year old making $15,000 a year will have their healthcare premiums rise by $8,400 (not even counting co-pays).

Ironically, Trump's plan helps out Clinton voters (thirtysomethings on the East Coast) and royally screws Trump voters (the elderly in the Midwest).

Quote: Washington Post

In almost every single county in Iowa, Michigan and Ohio, a 60-year-old with $30,000 in income would pay more for coverage. In some counties that would amount to more than $1,000. As Kaiser puts it, “Generally, people who are older, lower-income, or live in high-premium areas (like Alaska and Arizona) receive larger tax credits under the ACA than they would under the American Health Care Act replacement. Conversely, some people who are younger, higher-income, or live in low-premium areas (like Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Washington) may receive larger assistance under the replacement plan.”

President Trump stands by it. He has no regrets, no shame. He's proud of it! Here's his quote from Tuesday:

Quote: President Trump

"So we're going to do something that's great, and I'm proud to support the replacement plan, released by the House of Representatives and encouraged by members of both parties. I think really that we're going to have something that's going to be much more understood and much more popular than people can even imagine. It follows the guidelines I laid out in my congressional address -- a plan that will lower costs, expand choices, increase competition, and ensure healthcare access for all Americans."

He's a fraud and a con artist.

Quote: reno

Ironically, Trump's plan helps out Clinton voters (thirtysomethings on the East Coast) and royally screws Trump voters (the elderly in the Midwest).

What do you call unintended consequences when you can see them before they happen?

There are several issues here.

1) The insurance market is too institutional (geared towards businesses) rather than individual. This is terrible for a country where people change jobs often, either by exigency or choice. This could be fixed easily, but neither party has addressed this problem, nor seem interested in doing so.

2) Insurance offers too much coverage. Some things would be better left to individuals, such as paying directly for doctor appointments and some drugs. People would shop around for better deals. And in any case, the notions behind insurance do better with rare, catastrophic events than with regular, routine ones.

3) There's a lack of competition across states. Imagine that in any other market and you'll realize how stupid this is.

and there's more, but those are the three salient points no one's doing a damned thing about.

Quote:

He's a fraud and a con artist.

Worse. He thinks he knows what he's doing.