Trump's Version Of Draining The Swamp

Bernie Sanders/The Guardian (UK)
The Republican budget is a gift to billionaires:
it's Robin Hood in reverse This budget cuts Medicaid by more than $1 trillion over 10 years – which would throw some 15 million Americans off of the health insurance they currently have... a $473 billion cut to Medicare, despite Trump’s campaign promises not to cut these programs.

A recent Pew Foundation poll finds that 85% of Republicans and 94% of Democrats want to either maintain or increase funding for Medicare. And 60% of Americans oppose slashing Medicaid, according to a recent Quinnipiac poll...

The Republican budget would give the richest family in America, the Walton family of Walmart, a tax cut of up to $52bn by repealing the estate tax... But, if you are a lower-income senior citizen you and over 700,000 other families may not be able to keep your home warm in the winter because of a cut of about $4bn to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program...

This budget says that if you are the second-wealthiest family in America, the Koch brothers, you will see a tax break of up to $33bn. But if you are a working-class student trying to figure out how you could possibly afford college, your dream of a college education could evaporate along with 8 million other students because of more than $100bn in cuts to Pell Grants and other student financial assistance programs...

This budget gives members of the Trump family a tax cut of up to $4bn, but if you are a low-income pregnant woman you and over 1.2 million new moms, babies, and toddlers may not be able to get the nutrition you need thanks to a $6.5bn cut to the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program...

When Donald said he wanted to drain the swamp I bet most didn't think it was us.

Kinda thought it would be them rich folk up on the hill.








More headlines for your reading pleasure...

The New York Post
Trump adds welfare reform to his already full plate

TPM
Trump: I Think Dems ‘Will Be Blamed’ For My Decision To Sabotage O’Care

Mediaite
Trump on Stalled Legislative Agenda: ‘I Am Not Going to Blame Myself’

Fevers Are Good For Your Health

Flu and cold season will soon be here along with accompanying fever. This is when most people start popping temperature reducing over the counter drugs. Unless one's temperature exceeds 104 degrees for a length of time it is exactly the wrong thing to do. While it makes someone more comfortable it slows down recovery. This is also true when someone is taking antibiotics which of themselves cause temperature rise. It's part of how they fight infection.

'The Daily Beast'
The Case for Letting Fevers Run Their Course

"Fever isn’t an illness. It’s the body’s attempt to fight illness. So when we treat fever with antipyretics, like acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen, we only handcuff an important part of our immune response. Although it might seem counterintuitive, several studies have now shown that antipyretics increase the severity of infections."
Sweat It Out
I figured this out for myself. Several times I went to bed fully clothed under the electric blanket turned up high. Daytime I put on a heavy coat indoors. Most times after a day or two I felt much better, Before I tried massive doses of vitamin C and cold medications to little avail. For me what always worked best is just sweating it out.

A Word Of Caution
Like I mentioned it's not a good idea for an adult to let their temperature rise over 104 degrees for more then a few hours. If it should rise to that level for too long taking medication will help bring it down to safer levels. Somewhere between 100-102 degrees is normal for a fever.






I call this blog "Lehigh Valley Clancularius Introspectives" for a reason. It's because you'll never know what I come up with next. Please follow me via email (right sidebar) or through an RSS feed. Even if it's only one or two items you find of interest to you.
Thanks, LVCI

Gov. Kasich Should Have Been Elected President

Although Kasich flamed out in the Republican primaries--as far as I'm concerned--he would have made a much better president then the one we have now.

Sunday, October 15, 2017
Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) joined Meet the Press
I'm certain many on today's right would label him a RINO after seeing this. There's two things to keep in mind however.

(1) In the last presidential election Donald Trump received 46.1% of the popular votes, Hillary 48.2%. Meaning--whoever ended up elected shouldn't ignore half of this country's views. This would be true if either ended up in office. By ignoring half the country it's little wonder why so little is getting done. Call Kasich a RINO if you will but it's the president's job to represent everyone even those who didn't vote for them. Being the reasonable kind of person Kasich is he recognizes this fact.

(2) Kasich may not be quite as liberal as you think. How do we know this? Because Kasich (unlike Trump) has a political record we can examine. One which doesn't look exactly liberal as Democrats would see it. Wikipedia--Political Positions And Record
*** Abortion--Kasich is a "firm abortion opponent" and describes himself as pro-life. He says abortions should only be performed in cases of rape, incest, and when the mother's life is in danger.

*** Climate change, energy, and environment--In a speech in April 2012, Kasich acknowledged that climate change is real and is a problem. In the same speech, however, Kasich said that the Environmental Protection Agency should not regulate carbon emissions and that instead states and private companies should be in charge of regulating coal-fired power plant emissions.

*** Kasich formerly supported fracking in Ohio state parks and forests, signing legislation in mid-2011 authorizing him to appoint a five-member commission to oversee the leasing of mineral rights on state land to the highest bidder... Kasich is a supporter of the Keystone XL oil pipeline project

*** Executive clemency--He has the lowest clemency rate of any Ohio governor since at least the 1980s, when records began to be kept.

*** State budgets and taxation--During Kasich's tenure, the state has eliminated a budget shortfall that his administration has estimated at $8 billion,.. Ohio also increased its "rainy day fund" from effectively zero to more than $2 billion... Kasich "closed the budget shortfall in part by cutting aid to local governments, forcing some of them to raise their own taxes or cut services... Kasich signed a state budget in 2011 which eliminated the state's estate tax effective January 1, 2013.

*** Labor Issues--On March 31, 2011, in his first year as governor, Kasich signed into law Senate Bill 5, a controversial labor law which restricted collective bargaining rights of public employees, such as police officers, firefighters, and teachers. The legislation, championed by Kasich, prohibited all public employees from striking and restricted their ability to negotiate health care and pension benefits

*** Education--During Kasich's tenure as governor, he pushed to expand charter schools, increase the number of school vouchers that use public money to pay for tuition at private schools, implement a "merit pay" scheme for teachers, and evaluate teachers by student standardized test scores in math and reading

*** Foreign and defense policy--Kasich opposed the landmark 2015 international nuclear agreement with Iran, and in September 2015 was one of fourteen Republican governors who sent a letter to President Obama stating "that we intend to ensure that the various state-level sanctions [against Iran] that are now in effect remain in effect," despite the agreement

*** Immigration and refugees--In 2010, while running for governor, Kasich expressed support for amending the U.S. Constitution to abolish the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of jus soli (birthright) citizenship for people born in the United States.
YE GADS--HOW MUCH MORE REPUBLICAN DO YOU WANT THIS GUY TO BE !
Yet he was (and still is being) resoundingly rejected by today's right for service in Washington

Of course I don't agree with many of his policies and others I haven't listed because many of my views stand in opposite. Even so if the election would have came down to either Hillary or John I wouldn't have hesitated for a second to cast my vote for him.

The reason?
I believe he's totally honest and forthright. Well spoken. Respectful to opposing views. Greatly informed and has a good head on his shoulders. Something Hillary doesn't have and most certainly Donald Trump least of all never will.

Donald's Healthcare Plan (He Doesn't Have One)

10/13/2017

After all these executive signings it's no longer Obamacare. Stop calling it that.
Donald trashed the Democrats healthcare plan. Now he expects them to fix it for him. Course if they could he'd take all the credit. This is like someone taking their car to the garage for repairs because it wasn't quite running right. The mechanic rips out some parts resulting in the car barely working at all The mechanic then turns around and tells that customer they should junk it since he doesn't have a clue how to repair it. Even has the nerve to hand them a bill for it.

Another analogy--Donald's like a kid told to stop taking apart the toys you give him. When the kid doesn't listen he blames everybody else when he can't make them work. Then the kid keeps complaining and complaining they weren't any good in the first place. Get me new ones.

Some Members of Congress Have Alzheimer’s?

The New York Post
Pharmacist hints some members of Congress have Alzheimer’s A pharmacist who fills all the scrips for members of Congress says he’s given Alzheimer’s drugs to lawmakers — who may be running the country while losing their marbles.
This could explain why some of them forgot why they were elected.

Sonic Noise Cuba Says It Didn't Do It

AP
Cubans Doubt U.S. Sonic Attacks Claims A bizarre string of attacks on diplomats in Havana has sent Cuban-American relations to their lowest point in decades, with the Trump administration virtually closing its embassy here and expelling Cuban officials from Washington. But few people on this communist-run island believe a word of the U.S. allegations.
New York Daily News-- HEAR IT: The 'sonic weapon' Americans heard during Cuba attacks

False flag?
Who knows One thing is for sure--the U.S. isn't going to make nice any time soon nor in the foreseeable future. Donald always was against Obama's warming up our relationship with Cuba.

Boy Scouts Piss Off Girl Scouts

New York Post
Girl Scouts tear into Boy Scouts: Their house is on fire Discord between the two organizations has been brewing since August, when Girl Scouts president Kathy Hopinkah Hannan sent a scathing letter to the Boy Scouts formally requesting that they stop their “covert campaign to recruit girls,” calling it “reckless” and “unsettling.”
Worried it's gonna cut into your cookie sales?

Interesting how we're talking about females having equality with males but when given the means are aghast. Look how about this--you both merge into one organization called "The Scouts". Yeah I didn't think so.

So now the ball's in the Girl Scouts court. Either they leave boys in or continue as they are. Let kids decide for themselves.

Your Kid Is A Bully Go To Jail

AP
Parents Of Kid Bullies Face Jail Time This city just north of Buffalo [New York] is getting attention for a new law that lets authorities send parents of bullies to jail for up to 15 days and fine them up to $250.
While I do see the logic I also can see downsides if this is applied excessively without commonsense. I'm thinking in terms of what hardships it could be on a single working parent. So too some brat teenager who figures out how he/she can hold parents hostage if they don't like their punishment.

This can really mess a family up especially if only one of the kids are a brat. Imagine some parent not showing up to work for 15 days Another trying to find someone to watch their others kids while they're locked up. We may have a perfectly good parent stuck with a brat who ends up getting punished more then the kid.

What kind of message does this send a kid? Do whatever you want. You won't be held accountable. Seems to me if someone wanted to make a new law the kid should be locked up for 15 days not the parent. Fined yes. Locked up no. Only lock the parent up if they fail to pay the fine. To me this makes more sense.