Sorry this is so late. With TomCat down, I told him I would put out an Open Thread but I wasn't anticipating computer issues. It kept freezing so I had to put it to bed for several hours.
Short Takes
msn.com — A first-term congressman who spent three decades as a physician — and is now part of a group of Republican doctors who have a major role in replacing Obamacare — is facing backlash after saying that poor people “just don’t want health care and aren’t going to take care of themselves.”
Rep. Roger Marshall, (R-Kan.), a member of the GOP Doctors Caucus, said comments he made to Stat News were not meant to suggest that poor people take health care for granted. The comments were published in a story last week about his burgeoning role in the fight to replace the Affordable Care Act. …
He added that “morally, spiritually, socially,” the poor, including the homeless, “just don’t want health care.”
Well isn't he just precious. I suppose this Republican idiot thinks everyone is made of money. Take a WalFart employee who is being paid the minimum wage. Many have used SNAP because their paycheques do not cover the cost of food for the family. It is people like this, the working poor, that want healthcare but cannot afford it. The arrogance of this doctor is astounding, but then I guess it should not be . . . he's a Republican.
Maclean's — Moscow has been waging an increasingly daring clandestine war against western democracies. Under the direction of President Vladmir Putin, Russia is targeting most of the major members of the western alliance. In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned of Russian attempts at cyber attacks. In France, Moscow has funded right-wing populist Marine Le Pen and is alleged to be spreading false propaganda about her opponents. There are now reports from British parliamentarians that Russia may have meddled with the Brexit campaign. And, of course, Putin’s interference in the U.S. Presidential election has lit a tire fire in Washington that may bring down the Trump administration, and at the very least has left America’s political institutions reeling, and its alliances weakened.
So is Canada next? Or have the Russians already started their campaign of disinformation and lies. As the sub headline of the article says "The smear job on Chrystia Freeland is only the start." The Ottawa Citizen outlines just one such attempt.
Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s ambitious foreign affairs minister, is secretly itching to draw Canada into a showdown with Russia because of the seething hatreds she inherited from her Ukrainian grandfather, a Nazi collaborator and war profiteer she never told us about. She’s been lying about her family’s sordid past all along, and she’s been lying to Canadians about what’s really going on in Ukraine. She’s dangerous.
The main problem with all this is that it’s rubbish, from top to bottom. It’s also the hottest political news story in Canada right now.
All countries must keep their wits about them. And coming back to the recent US experience with Russia, it is interesting to note that Attorney General Jeff Sessions has recused himself from the Russian influence investigation but has not called for a special independent prosecutor, but he has called for a special prosecutor to investigate the accusations made by Drumpf that Obama authorised the wiretapping of Trump Tower. While wiretapping American citizens is illegal, the Russia affair is far more dangerous from a national security perspective. Misplaced Republican priorities?
The Hill — Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh said his office on Monday would formally join a suit filed by four other states, Reuters reported.
"The administration persists in an effort to implement a policy that is inhumane and unconstitutional, but also makes us less safe, not more safe," Frosh said in a statement.
The states are pushing for a temporary restraining order similar to the one that halted President Trump's first order.
Maryland joins New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D), Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum (D), Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey (D) and Washington state in challenging the new ban.
In addition to these five states, Hawaii is also launching a suit against the travel ban, but its suit is based on economic criteria and not constitutional criteria. May the force be with them! Update — Seattle U.S. District Court Judge James Robart on Friday declined to apply his first order to the new ban. Lawyers need to file more extensive court papers.
My Universe
10 Responses to “Squatch’s Open Thread 10 March 2017”
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MSN: Those politicians who speak about the poor, should visit families who are poor, and walk in their steps for a week, I guarantee he'd see otherwise. I signed a petition, I can't remember where though, (crs), saying that ALL of us should receive medical coverage like those on Capitol Hill. I believe it's a great notion, why not?
Maclean's: Indeed, very, very scary. Hopefully, investigations will show how 'Mother Russia' is meddling into other countries affairs, and their want for world dominance.
The Hill: Kudos to these states! I hope that more states join against this deplorable ban. Here's a note from SXSW they issued, which kicks off today…
http://www.billboard.com/articles/events/sxsw/7670029/sxsw-statement-trump-executive-order-travel-ban
My Universe: Ahhhhhh….Spring has sprung! Loved this one!
Do hope TC gets feeling better. The flu is nastier this year than in years past, imho. Quite a few students were out, due to flu. Hope all is good with you too.
Computer flu, that is almost as bad as bird flu, Lynn. Good thing you put it to bed; make sure it isn't transmitted to any other devices and take care of yourself too. It's not contagious for people, but taking care of yourself is always good.
msn: Worse, Marshal – an obstetrician – said: “morally, spiritually, socially,” the poor, including the homeless, “just don’t want health care.” He bases that on the fact that in his view they do nothing to prevent disease like exercising or eating healthy and only get into the ER when they are literally dragged into there because of accident or life-threatening emergencies, not by their own volition. His conclusion as a Republican of course is that the poor don't want to be healthy for every possible reason that they themselves can be blamed for, except that they simply lack the funds for healthcare or prevention. And as a good pseudo-Christian he throws in a bible quote in to support his disgusting look on American society.
Drumpf has taken his cue from his business-men cronies like the Kochs by also putting pressure on these Republicans in Congress who may not support the new repeal-replace of Obamacare, so we can expect the Twitler to soon start condemning the poor for buying iPhones because they are “morally, spiritually, socially” lacking.
Maclean's: All countries in the West are open to two mayor forces right now: rising Populism on the one hand and Russian influence on the other, and the first accommodates the second to a very high degree. It is sad that so many countries are blindly following in the footsteps of America and its ultimate populist Drumpf, and leave those that look to him as an example so much space to use his tactics, such as smear campaigns, to get people to vote for them. Let's hope it doesn't work in too many other countries, but they sure could do with the American people demanding an independent investigation into Drumpf's Russia Gate, including into the role people in his administration have played a role and ARE PLAYING A ROLE IN IT RIGHT NOW. It may be too late for countries like The Netherlands (election coming Wednesday), or even France or Germany, but all signs that populist can't get away with dallying with Russian dictators, may help.
TH: Kudos to those five states for doing what needs to be done. I had hoped more states would have joined in, but then there aren't that many blue states left, are there 🙁
My Universe: Love Simon's cat videos, they always cheer me up.
The ones that are “morally, spiritually, socially” lacking are the Republicans and Drumpf's cronies. I think this so called doctor needs to revisit his hippocratic oath, even if only the overall message of "do no harm"!
Thanks Squatch, Good job,.
MSN – I think the "good" doctor is confusing want with afford.
Amen Jerry! As I said above, he needs to revisit his hippocratic oath, even if only the overall message of "do no harm"!
Your computer must have been doing the puzzle. As I was drafting Erinyes, I saw you were working on it, but I couldn't stay up that late.
msn.com – Did they get far enough to where he "backed this up" with Jesus? "The poor you will always have with you"? I darn near barfed.
Maclean's – It's no news that Republican priorities are misplaced. It's also no news to me or to anyone else who is paying attention that Russia, including Russian communism (which is nothing like Marxist communism), are RIGHT WING forms of government. The right keeps propagandizing that they are from the left, even as they tighten their fascist grip. Grrrrr. I wish Chrystia the best.
The Hill – Good to know. Wish them luck. As for blue states – Not all blue states are blue enough to have a blue attorney general. I speak from experience here.
Universe – The white minette is just not that kind of a girl, kitty! (The tabby, on the other hand, may be too much that kind of a girl.)
The doctor is a pseudo Christian no doubt, so "The poor you will always have with you" as we know it, does not exist in their Bible. I hear you on the "barf" aspect. I probably should have put up a barf bag alert. My bad!
MSN: It never deases to maze me how these GOPigs "know" what is in the heart of the poor!
Macleans: It is sad to hear that Canada is being manipulated, too. Sessions and the prosecutor: This wiertapping story is nothing but a red herring, and it is no surprise that Sessions is making it sound legit with an investigaton.
The Hill: May the Force beat Rumpy into a pulp!
Thanks all!
Keep resting TC until the bug has gone!