American Politics the 2016 edition

Sorry Jose for the late reply...agree with your comment yesterday about Comey internal struggle.  He seems like a very competent guy but like you I felt his face didn't always match his response, as others have noted it sometimes seemed more like he was making the case TO charge. 

Aside from the emails though, whoever wins this election is, to me, a new low for American politics.  Yes I realize no politician is a Saint and that we've had crooked politics before....not my point.  Point is that the entire cycle, from candidates to media to public, it all feels like a new low.  Perhaps deserved.  When I see the namecalling people throw at those with differing opinions from themselves, I can only conclude we are getting exactly the leadership we deserve. 

That's why an original should never be tempered with.

Well Jose, I just watched most of the 4 1/2 hours of Comey's testimony and regardless of how you feel about his ultimate decision, much of it was disturbing.  Not only her continual deception and people's yawning acceptance of it, but the security of information she was entrusted with. 

I will also disagree with the many who state this was all political theater.  Yes a couple of the folks asking questions were grandstanding at times, but most of the Dems and Repubs who asked Comey questions were prepared, civil, and asking questions that the public wants to know (and which the media doesn't provide).  The person being questioned parsed occasionally, but generally tried to be helpful and answer.  Overall the topic was unfortunate but for informative.  The spin from media partisans will now be painful to watch after seeing the actual meeting....hopefully I can avoid it. 

A great article here. The main thrust is something we've discussed, that Trump is the resurgence of a, white, working class that has been long abandoned, and in a very real way he's a conservative rejection of the policies put in place since Reagan. 

Edited by JJLehto - July 07 2016 at 22:38

Now he's pissed-off the Jews.  God help'im.

I am very glad that the State Dept will reopen the case against Hillary, she needs to be made accountable for her gross negligence of behavior and her total dismissal of responsibility as Sec of State, absolutely not worthy of being on the ballot for President of the US.

Catcher10 wrote: Read a report about Trump's recent campaign fund raising efforts reported by his son Eric, I think they raised something like $50million, the surprising statistic is the avg donation value was less than $100.00, speaks volumes for the demographics of who is contributing to Trump's campaign.

There is something to be said about spending millions of dollars to get a job that pays between $174k (senators and representatives) and $400k per year (president).  On one hand, when ballplayers get paid millions of dollars a year, it is a shame how "little" they get paid...but on the other hand for many of them it is more about the power than it is the pay.  That, and they make more in tax savings by changing the law than they do in salary.  And honestly, the last 4 years, most of them haven't really earned a dime of what they were paid.  Pretty much a useless lot, this bunch of politicians.

rushfan4 wrote: There is something to be said about spending millions of dollars to get a job that pays between $174k (senators and representatives) and $400k per year (president).  On one hand, when ballplayers get paid millions of dollars a year, it is a shame how "little" they get paid...but on the other hand for many of them it is more about the power than it is the pay.  That, and they make more in tax savings by changing the law than they do in salary.  And honestly, the last 4 years, most of them haven't really earned a dime of what they were paid.  Pretty much a useless lot, this bunch of politicians.

Catcher10 wrote: rushfan4 wrote: There is something to be said about spending millions of dollars to get a job that pays between $174k (senators and representatives) and $400k per year (president).  On one hand, when ballplayers get paid millions of dollars a year, it is a shame how "little" they get paid...but on the other hand for many of them it is more about the power than it is the pay.  That, and they make more in tax savings by changing the law than they do in salary.  And honestly, the last 4 years, most of them haven't really earned a dime of what they were paid.  Pretty much a useless lot, this bunch of politicians. What gets me is after 4-8yrs in office some of these senators and representatives come out as millionaires......How does that happen?