If fucking high schools can have 20,000 seat football stadiums, I'd like to think the United States could figure out to build a building with 5,000 seats for representatives.
Trump probably mad about that. This is the first time I'm hearing of it. Trump's supposed to be a counterpuncher. His son didn't get press as far as I can tell. Trump would be getting a lot of coverage if he tweeted during the hearing. Instead we get some lame lawyer response and the coverage focused only on Comey. The next time something big like this happens Trump's gonna be Trump.It looks like instead of letting Trump tweet during the comey stuff they left it up to his son lol
I'd be down with a new Congress building with a retractable roof and astroturf.
well, the GOP's already got one of those things
A looming decision on whether to abolish or shrink the Bears Ears National Monument in Utah should provide an early signal of how the Trump administration will deal with a long list of public lands issues.
For roughly a month and a half, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has had 27 national monuments under his microscope, reviewing the protected status of these vast expanses of land (and, in some cases, water) at the prompting of an April executive order by President Trump.
The idea, according to the order, is to assure each of these areas is appropriately designated under the 1906 Antiquities Act, a law that gives the president the authority to establish national monuments ... with a few caveats. Namely, they must include "historic landmarks" or "other objects of historic or scientific interest," and they must not exceed "the smallest area" necessary for their upkeep.
So, what is the benefit or harm of having a national monument in your neighborhood?
According to Headwaters Economics, a Montana-based think tank that crunched the data on jobs and the economy around 17 of the national monuments under review, the effect is anywhere from nothing to a modest net positive.
Chris Mehl, the group's policy director, says that from 2001 to 2015 overall jobs in the communities around Grand Staircase, in particular, increased by 24 percent and personal income overall grew by 32 percent.
NPR nicely put in a bunch of gorgeous pictures.Commissioners in rural Garfield County, Utah, have long seen it differently.
In 2015, they passed a resolution declaring a state of emergency, saying the monument had all but wiped out the natural resource-based economy in the area. They cited a remarkable 67 percent drop in enrollment at Escalante High School since the monument was designated, while other schools have suffered similar drops.
"We see markers that don't indicate a healthy economy," says Matthew Anderson of the Sutherland Institute, a Utah-based free market think tank. He argues that Headwaters' study doesn't tell the whole story.
Worst President is and will remain Buchanan, who saw disaster coming and sat on his hands because he kind of agreed with the disaster-bringers.
Trump's presidency could have led down such a dark road, but his crisis would have been external rather than internal (like if he had led the breakup of NATO and the EU by working with May, Wilders, and Le Pen).
He could easily break into my top 5 (Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Hoover, Harding, and Hayes) but it would be hard for Trump to get past Hoover unless he tanks the economy, and hard to get past Johnson and Buchanan unless he started a world war.
We've had some *bad* presidents before.
Of course i'm lenient on Nixon because he was actually good at his job even if he was a terrible person.
If fucking high schools can have 20,000 seat football stadiums, I'd like to think the United States could figure out to build a building with 5,000 seats for representatives.
They actually spend less time in DC now than they did before.Or, because if the internet they could not all go to Washington at once. More time spent in their district the better.
In the OT thread asking why Presidents dont have an exam, some people got onto me for blaming the American people for Trump rather than blaming the systems we have in place that allowed him to get voted in.
Am i looking at this the wrong way?
Not really. Sure we have some shitty systems but in the end its the people to blame. They probably have friends/family that are shitty people and voted trump and just dont want to admit they are bad people. Anyone who could look at trump and think he would be good for this country is a lost cause.
Yes but they can't currently vote or attend hearings remotely.They actually spend less time in DC now than they did before.
Your #1 best was gay tooBest.
1. Lincoln
2. Washington
3. LBJ
4. FDR
5. Obama
Worst:
1. Andrew Johnson
2. Jackson
3. W. Bush
4. Trump
5. Buchanan (our only gay president (((((((((( )
Best.
1. Lincoln
2. Washington
3. LBJ
4. FDR
5. Obama
Worst:
1. Andrew Johnson
2. Jackson
3. W. Bush
4. Trump
5. Buchanan (our only gay president (((((((((( )
Bush literally spread fake news so he could invade a country in a disastrous war that has destabilized the post-Cold War order and cost hundreds of thousands of lives directly and much more when the opportunity cost is factored in. Trump is pure evil but he has nothing like that under his belt yet.
why do you think people have trouble trusting mainstream sourcesI get that. That's why I still say he's a bad president. But:
1) Trump and his team made the issue of fake news much MUCH worse. Bush was more an issue of slanted news and propaganda. With Trump the issue has become LITERAL fake news.
do you think that a) the Arab Spring just happens in a vacuum b) we are obligated to go into Iraq to make it a secular democracy c) international law and norms are meaningless and should be ignored by the United States because it can?2) Like I said, there is a very good argument to be made that we were gonna be involved in Iraq anyway due to the Arab Spring. Obviously fuck Bush for making up bullshit reasons for going into Iraq and then making us waste resources looking for nonexistent WMDs and nonexistent connections to Al-Qaeda (instead of focusing on helping Iraq rebuild into a secular democracy).
How many of those people would be refugees if it wasn't for Bush's foreign policy?3) Trump's rejections of refugees, ramped up deportations, and encouragement of white supremacists have already led to people dying and we are only 5-6 months into his presidency.
---------------Danish institutions: A triangle
The employment protection constitutes the first corner of the triangle. For firms in Denmark, it is relatively easy to shed employees. Not only notice periods and severance payments are limited, also procedural inconveniences are limited. The employment protection legislation index of the OECD for regular contracts is only 1.5. The Netherlands and Germany, countries with employment protection legislation, have an index of 2.7 and 2.9 respectively. The underlying reason for the low employment protection can be found in the economic structure. Of old, there are many small firms for which it is burdensome and costly to have strict employment protection.
The social safety net forms the second corner of the triangle. The safety net consists of unemployment insurance and social assistance. Unemployment insurance is voluntary and half of Danish workers participate in one of these insurance funds. The unemployment-insurance funds are subsidised and on the margin fully when unemployment increases (unless at very low levels). At first sight, the unemployment benefit seems to be quite generous, namely 90% of the previous wage. However, there is a maximum of €2,000 per month. Normally, the Danish unemployment insurance is characterised as generous, but this is true for low-income groups only. The maximum duration during the recession is 4 years (from 2011 onwards 2 years) and people are only eligible by working at least 6 months within the last 36 months. After the unemployment insurance period, employees can apply for social assistance. Eligibility depends on age, marital status, and is also means-tested.
Activation policies accomplish the third corner of the triangle. The high unemployment benefit reduces search incentives. A high level of activation is therefore essential to combat moral hazard and maintain search incentives. Especially young unemployed workers receive an activation offer quickly; within three months after becoming unemployed. An important characteristic of the Danish activation policy is that the activation increases with the duration in unemployment. There is also interdependence with the social safety net. Before the unemployment benefit ends, the activation is intensified in terms of full-time activation. The activation itself can be offered in many forms - from short counselling and assessment programmes to job training and wage-subsidised jobs.
Because people aren't good at critical analysis? Including journalists? Instead many just turn to stuff that reinforces their biases. If I, a 18yo college freshman, could see that Iraq was trumped up bullshit, but so many could not, it strongly implies people are sort of systemically awful at this.why do you think people have trouble trusting mainstream sources
why do you think people have trouble trusting mainstream sources
do you think that a) the Arab Spring just happens in a vacuum b) we are obligated to go into Iraq to make it a secular democracy c) international law and norms are meaningless and should be ignored by the United States because it can?
How many of those people would be refugees if it wasn't for Bush's foreign policy?
Look I'm sure when Mattis and King Salman convince Trump invading Iran is a good idea he'll hit that "worse than Bush" status but until Trump has the sort of bodycount that Bush created Bush remains worse.
http://voxeu.org/article/flexicurity-danish-labour-market-model-great-recession
Good article on why Denmark's had very low unemployment. Employer flexibility + strong social safety net + strong incentives to go back to work = lots of happy businesses and workers. (This first part is really important w/ what Macron is attempting to fix)
---------------
Because people aren't good at critical analysis? Including journalists? Instead many just turn to stuff that reinforces their biases. If I, a 18yo college freshman, could see that Iraq was trumped up bullshit, but so many could not, it strongly implies people are sort of systemically awful at this.
This behavior very much exists on the left, just in a smaller proportion. (see: TYT) Supporting Xenophobia and keeping the "other down" while supporting strong social safety nets for yourself is unfortunately not an uncommon set of policy beliefs either, as we've seen a lot in both the US and UK.If you think it's due to how they handled the Bush admin, I disagree. What's happened is that conservatives have gotten to the point where they literally refuse to read or watch news that says facts they don't like (where as liberals are shown to consume a much more moderated mix of stuff).
Oh no, the horror of an employer being able to fire employees!Hopefully labor shuts the country down like when Hollande and sarko attempted the same thing.
Oh no, the horror of an employer being able to fire employees!
I do not disagree with your first two paragraphs.You should always be able to fire an employee if it's related to job performance.
Not because a female subordinate rebuffed your sexual advances, or because they refused to engage in predatory and immoral behavior ("we can't afford to pay you any OT this week but we'd really appreciate it if you would be team player and come in tomorrow and work an extra shift off the clock") or if because they don't like gay or black people.
At will employment is a travesty that completely undermines all civil and labor rights in the workplace.
You should always be able to fire an employee if it's related to job performance.
But not because a female subordinate rebuffed your sexual advances, or because they refused to engage in predatory and immoral business practices ("we can't afford to pay you any OT this week but we'd really appreciate it if you would be team player and come in tomorrow and work an extra shift off the clock") or if simply because you don't like that they're gay.
At will employment is a travesty that completely undermines all civil and labor rights in the workplace.
No firing, no cars, save the sea turtles. Jill/Jeb 2020
XTrump sucks, but he's basically a do-nothing.
Not enough Reagan in these lists, Reagan was the flowering of the worst of Nixon's evils and set the stage for many of the worst aspects of Bush's tenure. Fuck Reagan.
Have you read the article on the French labor market to which Kirblar alludes? In France, even firing an employee for incompetence can lead to prolonged court cases and massive settlements. Employers therefore tend to be cagey about hiring and firing people, creating an ossified labor market that prevents young people from obtaining gainful, secure employment. It needs reform.
To respond to your second point, Macron has declared no intention to abolish anti-discrimination laws or basic workplace protections. Your concerns seem a bit irrelevant, at least in the context of French labor relations. Now, if we discussed the US, I'd agree with you, but even with these reforms, France will still be much friendlier toward labor than the US.
Should you not be able to fire people because your company is not doing well?
I mean, the problem of young people being locked out of the labor market as that piece describes gels with what some friends from France tell me. It's a very different sort of problem. Comparing it to the US doesn't make a lot of senseYes I did read it. And it sounded exactly like the same language and talking points used by heritage and other U.S. conservative advocacy groups when they're railing against what few labor protections we have here in America.
I work in the public sector in a blue state (unless Dayton's successor blows it next year which in case I plan on moving ASAP) and enjoy many protections negotiated by my union that are virtually non-existent in the private sector. People still come and go all the time. I've seen plenty of co-workers fired for being lazy or incompetent pieces of shit.
Why can't Sessions do both? He deserves to get grilled on his budget priorities, too.Jeff Sessions will testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday; not sure if that's public or private though:
Why can't Sessions do both? He deserves to get grilled on his budget priorities, too.
Trump sucks, but he's basically a do-nothing.
Not enough Reagan in these lists, Reagan was the flowering of the worst of Nixon's evils and set the stage for many of the worst aspects of Bush's tenure. Fuck Reagan.
shhhThe vast majority of presidents have been awful-mediocre though.
”Steven Hayward thinks presidents should be graded on their loyalty to their oath of office. Why, it's just crazy enough to work!"
--Jonah Goldberg
Government scholar Steven Hayward is ready to debunk some of the biggest presidential myths Americans believe are facts.
In Politically Incorrect Guide to the Presidents, Part 2, he traces the legacy of each president from Wilson to Obama and along the way reveals truths most Americans never heard.
JFK was assassinated by a Communist. FDR had the right to run against Hoover. Wilson openly criticized the Constitution. Barack Obama wanted to include Hiroshima and Nagasaki on his world apology tour, but the Japanese government said no thanks. And the 2000 election did, in fact, reach the correct outcome. Uncover new revelations about each President and prepare yourself for an unvarnished look at the truth.
benjipwns said:As noted in the quote, he grades each President on how well they follow the Constitution, see if you notice a pattern.
Wilson: F
Harding: B+
Coolidge: A+
Hoover: C-
Now I appreciate the Harding love as much as any fan of indisputable facts, but it starts to go off the rails there. See Coolidge gets a higher grade because he mentions the Constitution more even though the author savages his lone Supreme Court pick, while Hoover gets a pass on his record (including his Court picks being called essentially enablers of fascism) because ten years later he came out against FDR? How is this system working?
Roosevelt: F
Truman: C+
Eisenhower: C+
Kennedy: C-
Now the system is totally falling apart. Truman is called out as a vicious tyrant who stacked the Supreme Court with Communists and Eisenhower destroying the nation by appointing Earl Warren allowing abortion to murder trillions of lives and criminals to have legal rights and JFK a horrible womanizer who allowed Communists to secretly run his government but hey, pretty alright because they opposed Soviet Communism and Truman is actually a hero because of this despite what the left wants you to believe? But Constitution...?
Johnson: F
Nixon: C+
Ford: C+
Carter: F
The Nixon chapter is entirely about how he was a secret lieberal with the EPA and garbage like that, also he could have won Vietnam but the left undermined him with the phony Watergate scandal, also he and Ford were Communist sympathizers by buying into detente but he appointed great justices while Ford appointed Stevens who eats babies, so same passing grade! Then for Carter, he acknowledges that Carter did not appoint a Supreme Court Justice but:
WHAT ARE WE EVEN DOING AT THIS POINT BOOKHe deserves an F grade for his respect and defense of the Constitution, nonetheless, for an unusual reason: his unprecedented and outrageous behavior as an ex-president. Carter does not seem to understand that the nation has only one president at a time.
From here on the book doesn't even try to do any kind of history and just attacks the socialist war on our Constitution which mandates the death penalty and outlaws abortion.
Reagan: A-
Bush: B
Clinton: F
Bush: B+
Obama: F-For his vigorous defense of the president's constitutional power to defend the nation against the threat of terrorism ... Bush deserves a top grade for presidential performance.
President Obama's performance on foreign policy was curious, ironic, and hypocritical ... Obama embraced nearly all of [Bush's policies]; and in some cases he aggressively expanded Bush policies.
...
But still underneath the surface, Obama gave off every indication ... that he wished to diminish American influence and reduce America's capacity as a world leader.
...
It is questionable whether deep down Obama's primary allegiance was to the United States
Overall, I score this book's Constitutional Grade based on this:
In an off-the-cuff comment, Obama derided [Scott] Brown by saying, "Anybody can buy a truck." This dismissal of the iconic conveyance of so many working Americans no doubt comes naturally to Prius-driving elites in Cambridge and Hyde Park, but it showed Obama's remoteness from the real lives of most working Americans.