Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

People identifying as christian while ignoring christ and his teachings is a strange thing indeed.

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

“In the future, this lab will be a museum. do not touch it.”

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Live so that if you miss a day of work people aren’t hoping you’re dead.

Jesus watching the most hateful people claiming to be his followers

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

It’s a good piece. click on over. but then come back!!

Text STOP to opt out of updates on war plans.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

“The defense has a certain level of trust in defendant that the government does not.”

How any woman could possibly vote for this smug smarmy piece of misogynistic crap is beyond understanding.

You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Open Thread: It Only Looked Easy

Open Thread: It Only Looked Easy

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Professor Krugman, “Populism and the Politics of Health”:

…[W]hy are Republicans having so much trouble? Health reform is hard; but why were the Dems able to pass the ACA in the first place? I’m seeing a lot of talk about Paul Ryan’s inadequacy and Republican lack of preparation as compared with Pelosi and the Dems in 2009, all of which is true. But there’s a more fundamental issue: who is being served?

Obamacare helped a large number of people at the expense of a small, affluent minority: basically, taxes on 2% of the population to cover a lot of people and assure coverage to many more. Trumpcare would reverse that, hurting a lot of people (many of whom voted Trump) so as to cut taxes for a handful of wealthy people. That’s a difference that goes beyond political strategy…

And yet, and yet: Trump did in fact win over white working-class voters, who thought they were voting for a populist; Democrats, who did a lot for those voters, got no credit — rural whites, in particular, who were huge beneficiaries of the ACA, overwhelmingly supported the man who may destroy their healthcare.

The answer, presumably, is that what we call populism is really in large degree white identity politics, which can’t be addressed by promising universal benefits. Among other things, these “populist” voters now live in a media bubble, getting their news from sources that play to their identity-politics desires, which means that even if you offer them a better deal, they won’t hear about it or believe it if told. For sure many if not most of those who gained health coverage thanks to Obamacare have no idea that’s what happened.

That said, taking the benefits away would probably get their attention, and maybe even open their eyes to the extent to which they are suffering to provide tax cuts to the rich…

Reader Interactions

114Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    The sad truth is that had “Obamacare” been “single payer” the *easiest* thing for the GOP right now would be to dismantle it…

    This is probably an overreach, but the rest is accurate.

  2. 2.

    PST

    The more Cruz and others use the laughingstock argument to try to rally support the more they guarantee that the party truly will be a laughingstock when Trumpcare dies.

  5. 5.

    efgoldman

    After watching Kentucky – love “Kynect” hate “Obamacare”, elect a governor who ran on dismantling it – how can there be any doubt how unmoored from reality these people are?

  6. 6.

    Ohio Mom

    It’s not over til it’s over. We can take hope in these small signs but we can’t let up on the calls and letters, and whatever else we can manage.

  8. 8.

    Bess

    Trump has started the process of eliminating CAFE standards for car manufacturers. That means less efficient vehicles, more petroleum burned, and more global warming.

    How about a public boycott?

    Create a simple pledge people could sign online. Simply state that if any manufacturer exceeds fleet mileage efficiency over what was negotiated with President Obama then those signing will not purchase a new or used vehicle from that manufacturer until the manufacturer is back into compliance. Plus one year.

  9. 9.

    Aleta

    From the NYT report on the proposed budget cuts:

    Environmental Protection Agency and State Department each to be cut by around 31 percent.

    Drastic reductions in the 60-year-old State Department Food for Peace Program, which sends food to poor countries hit by war or natural disasters

    Elimination of the Department of Transportation’s Essential Air Service program, which subsidizes flights to rural airports

    .
    Cuts to public education
    Cuts to transportation programs like Amtrak

    Cuts to Department of Housing and Urban Development

    including the complete elimination of the $3 billion Community Development Block Grant program, which funds popular programs like Meals on Wheels, housing assistance and other community assistance efforts.

    Mr. Tillerson requested greater discretion in choosing where to make State Dept cuts — although the White House instructed him to leave untouched the $3 billion annual foreign aid payment to Israel, officials said.

  10. 10.

    p.a.

    @Baud: Rethug m.o., not always, but too often, successful: call a program welfare or entitlement and watch the usual media suspects agree and the usual suspect voters vote.

  11. 11.

    TenguPhule

    Sorta good news from Florida via the NYSluttytimes. Stand your ground will soon be made strong enough in Florida that anyone could kill Trump and his family/minions in self-defense and probably get away with it!

  12. 12.

    dmsilev

    Cruz: GOP will be “laughing stock” if ObamaCare repeal fails

    I think for a lot of us, the GOP “laughing stock” ship sailed a long time ago.

  13. 13.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @TenguPhule: He tried, the ones in Texas, Wisconsin and I think 17 other states wouldn’t let him do it.

    the cattle rancher Trump hosted as a “victim” of Obama care has six kids, one severely autistic, and a $3,000/month premium. She blames O-Care. I’d love someone to ask her what she think Trump-Ryan is going to do for her. I feel bad for her, but I’d love to see the books on her ranch and how much agri-welfare she gets.

  14. 14.

    rikyrah

    Steph Haberman‏Verified account @StephLauren

    Trump cutting funding to Meals on Wheels, which delivers food to homebound, needy elderly

  15. 15.

    efgoldman

    @Bess:

    Trump has started the process of eliminating CAFE standards for car manufacturers.

    It means that GM, Ford and Chrysler might sell a few more big pickups/SUV’s. But nobody’s going to retrofit their assembly lines to produce vehicles that pollute more, particularly the major Japanese brands (even though a lot of their manufacturing is done in North America now.)
    Also as was noted in a previous thread, California’s not going to lower their standards, and that influences cars sold in all the other states, because of volume – same as the shitheads that pick textbooks in Texas influence the contents of books sold nationwide.

  18. 18.

    schrodingers_cat

    @rikyrah: His immigration initiatives are fucking up rural healthcare too, because guess where most of the foreign born doctors, work?
    * 25% of all doctors practicing in the United States are foreign born,

  21. 21.

    efgoldman

    @Aleta:

    From the NYT report on the proposed budget cuts:
    Environmental Protection Agency and State Department each to be cut by around 31 percent.

    The house hasn’t actually passed a budget in umpty years. Why should they start now?
    I expect that once again we’ll end up with continuing resolutions.
    That budget gores a whole prairie fulll of oxen.

  22. 22.

    lollipopguild

    @Baud: So Cruz is going to run as the guy who is going to clean up trump’s mess or as the guy who will make the mess worse?

  24. 24.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    McCain goes on Senate floor and denounces Aqua Buddha to his face as a tool of Vladimir Putin (video)

  25. 25.

    Schlemazel

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:
    That seems a bit steep, did she say what type of insurance they had? If they were not getting a subsidy they were making too much money. What Trump care would allow them to do is not have insurance (they could have done that under ACA but that was not obvious to morons). Too little data to decide if this is a failure.

  27. 27.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    @rikyrah:

    Trump cutting funding to Meals on Wheels, which delivers food to homebound, needy elderly

    #Economic Anxiety

  28. 28.

    hovercraft

    @TenguPhule:
    Yes he did, with Obamacare, the Detroit “bailout”, rescuing the economy, capping Deep Water Horizon, and countless other instances, the majority of the beneficiaries of all these things, were white working class people. The noise machine twisted it all and made them believe otherwise, and most of them turned around and voted for Twitler. It’s funny how throughout his presidency the media constantly cautioned Obama and democrats not to tout their accomplishments, lest those not benefitting yet get the idea they were forgotten. But suddenly over the last two months it’s okay for Twitler and co. to claim credit for shit they had nothing to do with, and those not willing to give them credit are now bitter dead enders. What happened to the loyal opposition who needed to be listened to? These voters want shit that benefits them and no one else, they resent anyone else getting shit even when they are getting most of it, they are greedy selfish assholes who’ve internalized the belief that anything not going to them is being stolen from them. Media and the GOP, talk about living off the government teat, these people can’t hack it on their own, they need the government to tilt the field in their favor, and when they don’t, a level playing field is perceived as a disadvantage.

  29. 29.

    satby

    I had a horrible day. Got to Lexington ok, saw the kid, got my car. Before I could get in the highway for home after dropping my son off, the dogsitter called me, screaming hysterically in my ear that the aggressive one had for away from him and attacked her nemesis Hershey in my living room and that they were killing each other. Incoherent screaming, and I’m five hours away.
    He hung up on me, called the police, who called animal control, who showed up after the dogs had stopped. Officer Miller was very nice, he took Hershey to my vet so he could get stitches again. Rosa the aggressive has been sent to doggie jail, and I have been strongly advised that she should be out down because her next attack could be on a person. I know I sound delusional, but she’s a very sweet, obedient dog who just hates other dogs now. There’s never a problem when I’m home. But obviously I can’t leave even a day.

    I know I should have her euthanized, but it’s breaking my heart. I can’t keep having this happen though, my poor sweet Hershey (Rosa’s gone after the others too, but not as viciously as him). So the drive home sucked.
    My front room carpet is ruined too. Because, though I EXPRESSLY SAID SHUT ALL THE DOORS IN BETWEEN, they weren’t and so the brawl took place in the living room. Sorry to ramble, I’m just so upset.

  32. 32.

    Anne Laurie

    @Baud:

    Cruz wants Trump to fail so he can be the guy in 2020.

    Cruz is evil, but he’s not a moron. He’s (quite sensibly) afraid that if Trump fails too badly, the whole Repub brand will be toxic for a generation — if not destroyed outright.

  34. 34.

    jl

    In other bad news today (for the crazy loony party), looks like the Trumpster party in Netherlands did not do well. From what I read, an odd couple of the ruling center-right party and far left commie-socialist-green party came out on top. That will make for an interesting governing coalition.

    As for health care, I wonder if creeping Medicare/Medicaid for all will win out. I think big insurers did not think it through when they wanted to keep relatively loose regulations so they could keep on with the cherry picking game. I think a lot of instability in the exchange market is from that dynamic: big insurers taking a flyer on finding a market niche where they can make a fast buck, then if their plans don’t pan out quick, they drop out. I need to check numbers and see if slow creep upward of public insurance market share has continued through PPACA. I guess it must have in the Medicaid expansion states.

  35. 35.

    efgoldman

    @rikyrah:

    Trump cutting funding to Meals on Wheels, which delivers food to homebound, needy elderly

    @schrodingers_cat:

    His immigration initiatives are fucking up rural healthcare too, because guess where most of the foreign born doctors, work?

    Clearly, Canteloupe Caligula has the political instincts/knowledge of a box turtle, but clearly there’s not one fucking person who talks to him that’s any smarter.
    Pretty soon the vandals in congress are going to see their own, individual numbers for next year tanking. Then the fun will really start.

  37. 37.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    FBI + Congress need to investigate the persistent allegations that Paul Ryan murdered 5 Rent Boys in Wisconsin.

    Many, many people are saying this is true but the Ryan murders are being covered up by Trump and the White House.

    Note: Ryan has refused to deny his connection to the Green Bay murders.

  39. 39.

    jl

    ” Cruz: GOP will be “laughing stock” if ObamaCare repeal fails ”

    I think a lot of GOP Congresscruds would rather be laughed at for a while, rather than get their asses kicked out their cushy jobs in 2018 and 2020.

  43. 43.

    Barbara

    @satby: I’m sorry. I kept an aggressive dog for too long. I found a rescue sanctuary for him but I was prepared to put him down. I tried so hard to work with him. My au pair moved out because of him and I lived in fear that he would bite my kids’ friends. I just couldn’t take it after more than six years. But it was hard.

  44. 44.

    Anne Laurie

    @satby: Ugh, that’s horrible. I don’t blame you for being distraught about the whole situation!

    If there were any way to “retrain” Rosa, you’ve got the experience and the skill to have implemented the process already. As you know better than any of us, for some dogs, the mercy of quick oblivion is really the best gift we can offer them. I’ll be keeping you in my thoughts…

  46. 46.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Gin & Tonic: Hear, hear. It’s all chin music until they go for his tax returns and appoint an independent commission to investigate Russia’s role in 2016

    One of the things I hate about trump is he’s made me often agree with smug douchebag David Frum, but he’s persuaded me that the focus of a “special prosecutor” is too narrow, since they only look for indictable crimes.

  48. 48.

    Elmo

    @satby: Oh satby, I am sorry. I have been exactly where you are. 30 years in rescue and it sometimes happens that you end up with a dog who isn’t a viable candidate for rehoming but can’t stay where he is either. It’s nobody’s fault.

    How old is Rosa? How big?

    Something to think about, that had helped me in similar situations : if you end up having to make the hard choice, remember that you will not be taking 30 or even 10 years of life away. Dogs lives are short. You might be shortening it by a year, or three, or even five if it’s a young dog – but it’s already had a good life with you, and shortening it a little because it has a fatal flaw is not something to be ashamed of.

    I wish I could help. I have put down more than one dog whom I loved because of agggressiveness. It’s one of the things that can be too dangerous and unpredictable to tolerate.

    Dammit I am so sorry.

  50. 50.

    Another Scott

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: WH.gov:

    MS. COUEY: Our rates are three times what they were before Obamacare started. We have one provider in our county. We have very little options for what we can and cannot do. We’re a small-business owner; we’re actually not a brick-and-mortar, we are cattle ranchers. We can’t afford our equipment if we’re paying these rates year after year after year.

    Our food source is in jeopardy because of this healthcare law. It’s my basic —

    THE PRESIDENT: I know. Sorry. Don’t worry. Don’t worry. This is what’s happening. It’s gone up three times, and then you have to pay — if you don’t want to use it, you have to pay. That’s the all-time beauty. If you don’t want to use it, you have to pay. And, Tom, you have to pay big league, right? Some people say, well, if I use it, I use it, I’m paying too much. If I don’t use it, I have to pay a penalty. And do you have to pay penalties? Do you ever do that, or you have to —

    MS. COUEY: We haven’t as of yet, but we were uninsured in December. They dropped us for the fourth time, after we paid over $50,000 last year for healthcare expenses.

    THE PRESIDENT: And it’s gone up triple.

    MS. COUEY: Yes.

    THE PRESIDENT: And before Obamacare, you actually had good healthcare.

    MS. COUEY: We did. We had a fantastic plan.

    There’s a whole lot of verbiage there, but I can’t make heads or tails of it. It sounds like she’s paying for insurance for employees. And it sounds like they may have had a bare-bones plan that didn’t cover anything before, but was cheap for her to provide and thus “fantastic” for her as a business owner.

    Who is “they”? Why were they “dropped four times”?

    It sounds like lots of things are going on there.

    To be clear, there are genuine horror stories out there, and this may be one (but I’m skeptical), and there are things that need to be fixed about Obamacare and the way the insurance system works. But throwing 24M people off insurance and giving millionaires huge tax cuts isn’t going to fix anything that these people are complaining about when it comes to their insurance policies.

    FWIW.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  52. 52.

    cokane

    Don’t buy some of Giordano’s analysis here. If Obamacare had been single payer there would be “stakeholders” just the same as now, and there would still be those alarming headline figures of “20+ million would lose care”.

    Of course single payer wasn’t politically possible then, so I’m not saying it needed to happen. But it’s absurd to think it could be popularly dismantled — after all, doing so to Medicare and Social Security is unimaginable.

  54. 54.

    Truegster

    I’m not so sure that Single Payer would be less popular than Obamacare at this point in time in a parallel world. Also, Democrats bringing, um, Working Class Muricans some real change like Single Payer and it not being named after a black guy might also have helped in Manchin country. But her emails…

  57. 57.

    BlueDWarrior

    @dmsilev: by and large are dealing with a population trained to vote for Democrats to fix the things that Republicans break, but not let Democrats stop the Republicans from breaking it to begin with.

  58. 58.

    Waynski

    Wow. So, this is super incompetent. I grew up in Briarcliff Manor, NY (10510), home to one of Trump’s Golf Courses. Rachel was showing the envelope that contained the Trump tax return received by DKJ and I immediately noticed the postmark stamp that included a partial zip code (105 – Rachel bloked out the rest. Not sure why). It was the prefix to the zip code in Briarcliff Manor. It’s also the prefix to the zip code where his other club is farther north and would also be the prefix for Hillary Clinton’s home in Chappequa, NY. From any one of those places, you can drive a half an hour or less and be CT, where if mailed from there wouldn’t give you much to go on. I smell this as a contrived Hillary plot by Trump, or rank incompetence, Keeps getting better.

  62. 62.

    satby

    @debbie: I have tried, but honestly, she can’t go to the adoption days. Then after the last incident the rescue declared her unadoptable. I was trying just to wait out the inevitable demise of my older dogs, since they’re very old. Then Rosa could have a whole floor of the house just to herself, and the other younger dog could have the other. With the doors shut, and one going to boarding if I went anywhere. But that could be still a year or more.

  64. 64.

    efgoldman

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    the focus of a “special prosecutor” is too narrow, since they only look for indictable crimes.

    Hey lawyerpeople: The president can only be removed by impeachment/conviction. But is there any reason that he can’t be indicted by a grand jury?
    Tricksie Dicksie Nixie was named as an unindicted co-conspirator; I took that to mean that special prosecutor Jaworski could have asked for, and probably obtained an indictment.
    Judges have been impeached and removed after indictment/conviction, yes?

  68. 68.

    Ohio Mom

    @Aleta: If all those cuts are actually made, I can’t imagine the economic repurcussions.

    For example, no money for housing programs? Okay, lots of houses aren’t built or renovated. Whoever is selling the materials and equipment just loss a lot of business. The contractors lost a lot of jobs. The neighborhoods that were going to be stabilized by the improvement in the housing stock just took a hit to their housing values. The banks that were going to underwrite it all just lost out on a lot of interest income. It’s a reverse mulitiier effect.

    Economics, who knew it was so complicated?

  72. 72.

    Thru the Looking Glass...

    @Anne Laurie:

    if Trump fails too badly, the whole Repub brand will be toxic for a generation — if not destroyed outright.

    So there is a possible good outcome to this rolling disaster after all…

    If by some miracle of justice it’s irrefutably proven that Trump was indeed colluding w/ Russia, I for one will be extremely disappointed if any and all Republicans dragged down by association don’t do serious time…

  73. 73.

    debbie

    @satby:

    I think I remember you saying you were familiar with Stop the Suffering. I’ve seen a number of their FB posts. They don’t believe any dog is unadoptable. Would you consider reaching out to them?

  74. 74.

    Lyrebird

    @satby: Oh I am sorry you’re having to face this, and sorry dogsitter didn’t follow basic instructions. Wish I could remember – I mean you’ll be sad either way – but I wish I could remember, maybe it’s this one (People Mag link), but out in Washington State there’s a rescue/sanctuary for dogs that are not safe to be around.

    Not saying I know what’s right, just trying to chime in usefully. I so respect you for what you do for the doggies *AND* for being able to consider the bad news. I was not harmed by the dog that changed one of my usual walking routes where I used to live, but I felt lucky to have backed away at the right speed. The postal carrier and others got hurt, though, and the owners would not consider that their sweet pooch would EVER be a danger, bc he was so sweet with them.

  79. 79.

    satby

    @Barbara: thanks.
    @Anne Laurie: thanks.
    @Elmo: Elmo, thank you, of course you’re right and you’re so comforting to share that.

    I wouldn’t hesitate if she had ever been the slightest bit aggressive to a human, but she’s a perfect little lady to us. She kisses your hand thank you when you give her her dinner bowl before she starts to eat.
    Now I’m just tormenting myself, AL and Elmo are right, because to keep Rosa is to have to restrict her more and fear for the safety of the rest. That’s not a fair life for any of them.

  82. 82.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @satby:

    Oh, god, I’m so sorry. That’s horrible. I hope there’s a good solution for all concerned. Big hugs.

  84. 84.

    hovercraft

    I’m not sure what’s going on on CNN right now, but my mother is yelling and cursing at the TV upstairs, I’d go see but I haven’t the stomach.

  87. 87.

    Another Scott

    @Major Major Major Major: She seems to be a gung-ho GOP person. Her family’s story was used in a political short/viral ad last September. It’s a really unfair ad IMO, but does say that her personal family insurance policy cost over $50k (but in the WH transcript it says her medical expenses cost over $50k, so which is it?).

    I assume that’s why Donnie’s people had her on.

    It’s still unclear what’s going on with them and their insurance, IMO, but it does seem to be their family policy and not a business policy, so there’s that. I wouldn’t take their word of the reality of the overall situation, though…

    FWIW.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  90. 90.

    Elmo

    @satby: It’s not fair to you either, to live with that level of anxiety and restriction. There is nothing wrong – nothing – with being fair and kind to yourself and taking your own burden into account.

    Know that I’m shedding a tear for your Rosa, and for you.

  91. 91.

    satby

    @debbie: I just looked at them, I can call tomorrow because they’re in Ohio, but they don’t mention aggression at all.

    @Lyrebird: never heard of that guy, but interesting. I’m sort of unsure that would be a place for her, but I can see if I can get hold of him tomorrow too.

  93. 93.

    satby

    @Lyrebird: my philosophy is that any dog could potentially be frightened and bite under trying enough circumstances. I always shut the dogs into other rooms when people are over, unless it’s people that know and like my dogs.

  94. 94.

    Arclite

    8. The sad truth is that had “Obamacare” been “single payer” the *easiest* thing for the GOP right now would be to dismantle it…

    Not true. There’d be nothing to go back to with the vast majority of private health insurance companies out of business.

  95. 95.

    satby

    Baud, Debit, MaryG, schrodinger’s, eclare, Scott: thanks all. Just needed to vent a bit. Nerves still jangly.
    And anyone I may have missed. Appreciate the support greatly!

  96. 96.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    saying “if Obamacare had been single payer” is a bit like saying “if I had won that powerball last year”

    just sayin’

  98. 98.

    Lizzy L

    @satby: So sorry! What a tough situation. No advice or help to offer, just empathy.

    My 13 1/2 year old dog, Theo, is not responding to the medications the vet prescribed. He’s pretty much refusing to eat unless I hand feed him. Whatever it is — cancer, most likely — I think it’s time to say goodbye to my old boy.

    Damn, it hurts.

  99. 99.

    Aleta

    @satby: I’m sorry. For me, when something bad happens I almost always think: If only that hadn’t happened things would be OK. But if something different had happened, there’s also a chance that the eventual outcome down the road might have been even worse for the animal. So I try to remind myself, and sometimes it comforts me a little. I’m so sorry you’re going through this.

  100. 100.

    efgoldman

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I’ve been meaning to have a word with you about your hostility towards box turtles.

    They’re not the brightest bulbs in the quadruped chandelier.

  103. 103.

    Lyrebird

    @satby: Yeah, and thanks for a generous reading of my comment, which might sound like I totally missed your “danger to other dogs” point, there.

    This doesn’t help your current mess (lit. or fig.), but even as someone who is NOT like you or debit or JC, I so wish the public safety folks would not just report “## jillion dog bites OH NO”, and instead give us an idea how many of them are the totally normal “puppy went too far” or similar understandable situations versus “this could be the one to put a jogger in the hospital” situations. The latter happens, but so much more rarely.

    Image if we judged all cats by the number of scratches they give per year, not counting the circumstances at all.

    Further good thoughts and wishes for that best resolution.

  105. 105.

    debit

    @Lizzy L: I’m so so sorry. Having been through that decision making process recently, I offer my deepest sympathy. The kindest thing you can do is ease his pain, but it’s hard and it hurts.

  107. 107.

    rikyrah

    @schrodingers_cat:

    @rikyrah: His immigration initiatives are fucking up rural healthcare too, because guess where most of the foreign born doctors, work?
    * 25% of all doctors practicing in the United States are foreign born,

    I know that now…just found it out within the last month

  110. 110.

    debbie

    @satby:

    I know I’ve seen posts where they work to place dogs who weren’t working out in their current homes. It can’t hurt to see if they can be of any help or if they know of a place that might be able to help.

  111. 111.

    Another Scott

    @Lizzy L: I’m sorry Lizzy. It’s painful. Theo appreciates all you’ve done for him. Remember all the good times, and know that he’ll always be with you as long as you remember him. Condolences, and best wishes.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  113. 113.

    Jinchi

    The main reason Republicans are quickly choking on their proposed repeal of Obamacare is that it was so well constructed for this moment.

    I won’t spend too much time arguing counterfactuals, but Donald Trump is president. He and the Republican party won campaigning on a promise to repeal Obamacare. They may be failing at putting together a replacement, but they are in a strong position to kill ACA by a thousand cuts over the next few years and it will take a lot of work to stop them.

    If they had lost, Obamacare would not be at any risk at all. I’m not willing to concede the argument that ACA was the best of all possible worlds until we’ve gotten past the breaking point.

  114. 114.

    Rasputin's Evil Twin

    @satby: There’s “Sit Means Sit” a chain of trainers who can change pretty much any bad behavior in dogs. Google them for a local trainer. IT worked for us.

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