Thursday, October 6, 2016
Brits
We're heading for a little 10 day get-a-way in the UK next week. I'll check and see if this is true.
Update: Having spent 10 days in the U.K. it's a bit of both!! But I think more the former than the latter. But then again...I'm an American.
Update: Having spent 10 days in the U.K. it's a bit of both!! But I think more the former than the latter. But then again...I'm an American.
The Obama Legacy
Charles Krauthamer, as usual, is spot on in his analysis of the disasterous Obama legacy. Short and to the point. Check this out:
Barack Obama’s stillborn legacy: At home and abroad, the President's agenda is in tatters
Only amid the most bizarre, most tawdry, most addictive election campaign in memory could the real story of 2016 be so effectively obliterated, namely, that with just four months left in the Obama presidency, its two central pillars are collapsing before our eyes: domestically, its radical reform of American health care, aka Obamacare; and abroad, its radical reorientation of American foreign policy — disengagement marked by diplomacy and multilateralism.
Obamacare
On Monday, Bill Clinton called it “the craziest thing in the world.” And he was only talking about one crazy aspect of it — the impact on the consumer. Clinton pointed out that small business and hardworking employees (“out there busting it, sometimes 60 hours a week”) are “getting whacked . . . their premiums doubled and their coverage cut in half.”
This, as the program’s entire economic foundation is crumbling. More than half its nonprofit “co-ops” have gone bankrupt. Major health insurers like Aetna and UnitedHealthcare, having lost millions of dollars, are withdrawing from the exchanges. In one-third of the U.S., exchanges will have only one insurance provider.
Premiums and deductibles are exploding. Even The New York Times blares “Ailing Obama Health Care Act May Have to Change to Survive.”
Young people, refusing to pay disproportionately to subsidize older and sicker patients, are not signing up. As the risk pool becomes increasingly unbalanced, the death spiral accelerates. And the only way to save the system is with massive infusions of tax money.
What to do? The Democrats will eventually push to junk Obamacare for a full-fledged, government-run, single-payer system. Republicans will seek to junk it for a more market-based pre-Obamacare-like alternative. Either way, the singular domestic achievement of this presidency dies.
The Obama Doctrine
The President’s vision was to move away from a world where stability and “the success of liberty” (JFK, inaugural address) were anchored by American power and move toward a world ruled by universal norms, mutual obligation, international law and multilateral institutions. No more cowboy adventures, no more unilateralism, no more Guantanamo. We would ascend to the higher moral plane of diplomacy. Clean hands, clear conscience, “smart power.”
This blessed vision has just died a terrible death in Aleppo. Its unraveling was predicted and predictable, though it took fully two terms to unfold. This policy of pristine — and preening — disengagement from the grubby imperatives of realpolitik yielded Crimea, the South China Sea, the rise of the Islamic State, the return of Iran. And now the horror and the shame of Aleppo.
After endless concessions to Russian demands meant to protect and preserve the genocidal regime of Bashar Assad, last month we finally capitulated to a deal in which we essentially joined Russia in that objective. But such is Vladimir Putin’s contempt for our President that he wouldn’t stop there.
He blatantly violated his own cease-fire with an air campaign of such spectacular savagery — targeting hospitals, water pumping stations and a humanitarian aid convoy — that even Barack Obama and John Kerry could no longer deny that Putin is seeking not compromise but conquest. And is prepared to kill everyone in rebel-held Aleppo to achieve it. Obama, left with no options — and astonishingly, having prepared none — looks on.
At the outset of the war, we could have bombed Assad’s airfields and destroyed his aircraft, eliminating the regime’s major strategic advantage — control of the air.
Five years later, we can’t. Russia is there. Putin has just installed S-300 antiaircraft missiles near Tartus. Yet, none of the rebels have any air assets. This is a warning and deterrent to the only power that could do something — the United States.
Obama did nothing before. He will surely do nothing now. For Americans, the shame is palpable. Russia’s annexation of Crimea may be an abstraction, but that stunned injured little boy in Aleppo is not.
“What is Aleppo?” famously asked Gary Johnson. Answer: The burial ground of the Obama fantasy of benign disengagement.
What’s left of the Obama legacy? Even Democrats are running away from Obamacare. And who will defend his foreign policy of lofty speech and cynical abdication?
In 2014, Obama said, “Make no mistake: (My) policies are on the ballot.” Democrats were crushed in that midterm election.
This time around, Obama says, “My legacy’s on the ballot.” If the 2016 campaign hadn’t turned into a referendum on character — a battle fully personalized and ad hominem — the collapse of the Obama legacy would indeed be right now on the ballot. And his party would be 20 points behind.
Barack Obama’s stillborn legacy: At home and abroad, the President's agenda is in tatters
Only amid the most bizarre, most tawdry, most addictive election campaign in memory could the real story of 2016 be so effectively obliterated, namely, that with just four months left in the Obama presidency, its two central pillars are collapsing before our eyes: domestically, its radical reform of American health care, aka Obamacare; and abroad, its radical reorientation of American foreign policy — disengagement marked by diplomacy and multilateralism.
Obamacare
On Monday, Bill Clinton called it “the craziest thing in the world.” And he was only talking about one crazy aspect of it — the impact on the consumer. Clinton pointed out that small business and hardworking employees (“out there busting it, sometimes 60 hours a week”) are “getting whacked . . . their premiums doubled and their coverage cut in half.”
This, as the program’s entire economic foundation is crumbling. More than half its nonprofit “co-ops” have gone bankrupt. Major health insurers like Aetna and UnitedHealthcare, having lost millions of dollars, are withdrawing from the exchanges. In one-third of the U.S., exchanges will have only one insurance provider.
Premiums and deductibles are exploding. Even The New York Times blares “Ailing Obama Health Care Act May Have to Change to Survive.”
Young people, refusing to pay disproportionately to subsidize older and sicker patients, are not signing up. As the risk pool becomes increasingly unbalanced, the death spiral accelerates. And the only way to save the system is with massive infusions of tax money.
What to do? The Democrats will eventually push to junk Obamacare for a full-fledged, government-run, single-payer system. Republicans will seek to junk it for a more market-based pre-Obamacare-like alternative. Either way, the singular domestic achievement of this presidency dies.
The Obama Doctrine
The President’s vision was to move away from a world where stability and “the success of liberty” (JFK, inaugural address) were anchored by American power and move toward a world ruled by universal norms, mutual obligation, international law and multilateral institutions. No more cowboy adventures, no more unilateralism, no more Guantanamo. We would ascend to the higher moral plane of diplomacy. Clean hands, clear conscience, “smart power.”
This blessed vision has just died a terrible death in Aleppo. Its unraveling was predicted and predictable, though it took fully two terms to unfold. This policy of pristine — and preening — disengagement from the grubby imperatives of realpolitik yielded Crimea, the South China Sea, the rise of the Islamic State, the return of Iran. And now the horror and the shame of Aleppo.
After endless concessions to Russian demands meant to protect and preserve the genocidal regime of Bashar Assad, last month we finally capitulated to a deal in which we essentially joined Russia in that objective. But such is Vladimir Putin’s contempt for our President that he wouldn’t stop there.
He blatantly violated his own cease-fire with an air campaign of such spectacular savagery — targeting hospitals, water pumping stations and a humanitarian aid convoy — that even Barack Obama and John Kerry could no longer deny that Putin is seeking not compromise but conquest. And is prepared to kill everyone in rebel-held Aleppo to achieve it. Obama, left with no options — and astonishingly, having prepared none — looks on.
At the outset of the war, we could have bombed Assad’s airfields and destroyed his aircraft, eliminating the regime’s major strategic advantage — control of the air.
Five years later, we can’t. Russia is there. Putin has just installed S-300 antiaircraft missiles near Tartus. Yet, none of the rebels have any air assets. This is a warning and deterrent to the only power that could do something — the United States.
Obama did nothing before. He will surely do nothing now. For Americans, the shame is palpable. Russia’s annexation of Crimea may be an abstraction, but that stunned injured little boy in Aleppo is not.
“What is Aleppo?” famously asked Gary Johnson. Answer: The burial ground of the Obama fantasy of benign disengagement.
What’s left of the Obama legacy? Even Democrats are running away from Obamacare. And who will defend his foreign policy of lofty speech and cynical abdication?
In 2014, Obama said, “Make no mistake: (My) policies are on the ballot.” Democrats were crushed in that midterm election.
This time around, Obama says, “My legacy’s on the ballot.” If the 2016 campaign hadn’t turned into a referendum on character — a battle fully personalized and ad hominem — the collapse of the Obama legacy would indeed be right now on the ballot. And his party would be 20 points behind.
Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Monday, October 3, 2016
Blatant Bias
It is getting worse and worse. Every day brings a new low in the media. I guess I shouldn't lump them all together, but they all do it. I've been trying really hard to look at various reports to see if it's just on one or two outlets. But no...it's everywhere.
A really good example was the NBC Evening News tonight. They had three stories about the Presidential contenders. I'll summarize for you.
A really good example was the NBC Evening News tonight. They had three stories about the Presidential contenders. I'll summarize for you.
- A huge bombshell was dropped today when someone stole Trump's tax return from 1995 and the NYT published it. Seems he lost almost $1 Billion on that return. That allowed him, under the rules, to spread the loss over several years so he didn't owe any taxes. So the story was that he didn't pay taxes, period. Now I'm not a real estate tycoon, but even I know that these high rollers are constantly hedging money, moving it around, speculating, experiencing wins and losses, etc. It's not surprising that he lost a ton of money in one year. And it's not surprising, as a good businessman, that he uses the tax laws to his advantage. But none of that was present in the story. It was really all about him not paying taxes.
- In a townhall with Vets today he was discussing benefits. He was asked about PTSD and made a comment that some coming back aren't as strong as others. I didn't hear the whole thing, but those there said it was a made up story. NBC clearly made it sound like he was disparaging vets with PTSD. In no sense was this truthful.
- The third story was about Clinton. I was expecting some mention of the fact that her two lawyers were given immunity and that as part of the deal the FBI agreed to destroy their computers. I was maybe even expecting something about the disaster that is Syria and her part in that. Or maybe Bill out in Michigan today saying that Obamacare is a disaster. But no. It was a love fest. It was all about her response to the Trump tax "bombshell". It was really just showing her in her campaign mode with her supporters. And the camera angle let it slip a bit that the crowd just wasn't that big.
So that is one little snapshot of the treatment that the media has regarding our Presidential campaigns this year. The pretense of impartiality is gone. They are blatant...blatant in their support of the lying criminal.
Stand by for tomorrow. Assange and Wikileaks says something is coming. I'm sure it will be damning (again). I'm equally sure that the media will spin it as no big deal, nothing to see her folks, move along...
Sunday, October 2, 2016
Saturday, October 1, 2016
Oktoberfest
I've always wanted to go to Germany for Oktoberfest. Alas, not sure I'll ever get there. But it looks like a real hoot!
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