I would be willing to wager that regardless of who is elected, you will do none of the above.

People love to complain about what they see as injustices, but very few are willing to make any personal sacrifice to do anything about any of them. We are all co-opted by how good we have it in this country.

Trump’s latest gaffe reminds me when the short-fingered vulgarian said and I quote: "I personally witnessed hundreds of Muslims cheering when the Slurpee machine ran out of Mountain Dew at 7-11”.

LOL--heard about that one. I took that to mean he was at a 7-Eleven when the WTC came down. WHo knows, maybe he just can't stop thinking about Slurpees.

I love Slurpees!!! Now I know I'm voting for Trump, just for that! HAHA! I kid ... I kid!

So far Trump seems to be a master at saying all the things us idiots wanna hear ... well, in comparison to Hellary which I think most believe is simply the next Obama and which I think most people are simply sick of. So, we'll take anything else. Literally anything. Sad. But true. Unless of course people change their minds, which could happen, depending on how good Hellary's team is.

Vulgarian - I love that, too! I think Trump is getting away with that partially because it makes him look like a tough guy running over established, same ol-same ol politicians, and partially because of the path our society has been on for a long time, such as the way profanity and nudity are becoming more and more acceptable with each passing year. That's been happening for decades, of course, and various people have escalated it along the way ... I think Madonna kicked the trend up a notch. So, maybe Trump is the political Madonna of our times ... setting trends; pushing the envelope of what's acceptable. How long will it be before our politicians are openly and regularly dropping F bombs?

I really hope Trump drops the F-bomb on Hillery on live TV just to see all the libs on cable tv heads explode

More likely the tight-ass right-wing evangelicals will pee their panties if he does. I really don't think even Trump's that stupid-or is he?

"the tight-ass right-wing evangelicals will pee their panties" I think these voters are hoping Kruz can still win, And I think its even money on the dirty deed done dirt cheap by future El Prezidente Trump.

And Danno (beside remembering all the fun and debauchery at the SIU Rugby tournaments in that wonderful part of the world) I do have to agree with you a little bit on the personal sacrifices you mentioned. But here in Cali we have 38% Fed tax, 13% state tax, 10.5% sales tax on everything, I pay $8.4K/yr for the privilege of owning a 1900 sq ft 3 bed 2 bath home in property tax, not including social security, medicare and medical taxes - I'm over 50% in taxes now. We are looking at moving to Reno NV , Lake Havasu AZ or the Phoenix area to escape the CA tax burden when we retire in a few years.

Many who live there seem to want to stay until they retire because the wages are higher than elsewhere as well as the taxes. Illinois is sort of similar. I could have moved south for the lower taxes years ago, but I wouldn't have made nearly as much, built as much equity of have nearly as good a retirement coming. Everything's a trade-off, it's just a mnatter of what you want to trade for what. In nearby "low-tax" Missouri, many are putting Illinois license plates on their vehicles to avoid Missouri's personal property tax.

Major chimp-out going on right now in Costa Mesa CA near a trump rally by masses of people waving Mexican flags and trying to start a riot and disrupt things in mass.

Cops seem to be afraid to engage and are on horseback - fricken wild wild west is alive in the southland.

* Last updated by: cruderudy on 4/28/2016 @ 9:41 PM *

As much as I hate to say it Trump seems to be the best choice. I realize he's probably really just in it for the same rasons everyone else is. I like a lot of his stances for example we need to get a foot hold on illegal aliens.

I guess the other choices are a known quantity 100%. We know exactly what we're going to get, which is more Bush-Clinton-Bush-Obama. A lot of pandering while basically lining the pockets of their friends.

Trumps only a 99% chance he would do the same thing. I'll take the 1%.

The problem with Drumph is that he HAS no positions. He just says whatever comes out his ass. I haven't heard one concrete policy position on anything. I'm sorry, I'm no Hillary fan boi, but I'd take her over Drumph.

Mad

Donald Trump’s Frighteningly Erratic Foreign Policy Speech

Donald Trump’s first foreign policy speech was an incoherent mess. Let’s start there. What essentially happened is this: Donald Trump scheduled a foreign policy speech, and asked maybe 6-10 people to write different sections, based on their interests, got an aide to copy and paste it into one document, load it up to the teleprompter, and read it for the first time, live on television.

Speaking of our NATO allies, Trump said:

Our allies are not paying their fair share... Our allies must contribute toward their financial, political, and human costs, have to do it, of our tremendous security burden. But many of them are simply not doing so.... The countries we are defending must pay for the cost of this defense, and if not, the U.S. must be prepared to let these countries defend themselves. We have no choice.

Just seconds later, in someone else’s section of the speech, he said:

To our friends and allies, I say America is... going to be a great and reliable ally again. It’s going to be a friend again.

Well, which is it? Are we going to bail on our allies if they don’t pay up, or are we going to be a reliable ally?

Or, on America’s having a coherent plan:

America no longer has a clear understanding of our foreign policy goals. Since the end of the Cold War and the breakup of the Soviet Union, we’ve lacked a coherent foreign policy.

And seconds later?

We must as a nation be more unpredictable. We are totally predictable.

Clear, coherent... and unpredictable. Got it. How much should we intervene in the Middle East?

We left Christians subject to intense persecution and even genocide... We have done nothing to help the Christians, nothing, and we should always be ashamed for that, for that lack of action.

So, he is saying we’ve got to intervene in the sectarian war in Syria for humanitarian reasons, even if it isn’t absolutely necessary for our national security?

I will never send our finest into battle unless necessary, and I mean absolutely necessary.

Sigh. Moving on. Trump began his speech by saying:

Problems in the Middle East “all began with a dangerous idea that we could make western democracies out of countries that had no experience or interests in becoming a western democracy.”

But he closes his speech by saying we should push western civilization and values on them, anyway:

We should understand that strengthening and promoting Western civilization and its accomplishments will do more to inspire positive reforms around the world than military interventions.

For someone who has done two tours in Iraq, there’s not much more worrisome than a potential Commander-in-Chief who is so disinterested in policy that he failed to vet this jumbled mess of a speech, and didn’t even realize how contradictory it was, as he was delivering it. It shows a complete lack of interest in, well, working and thinking.

In his first foray into foreign policy and military policy, Trump delivered one clear message - he doesn’t care.

He doesn’t care enough to think up his own thoughts.

He doesn’t even care enough to make sure that the words being pumped onto his teleprompter and out of his mouth make any sense.

I’ve heard him take more interest and command in talking about the tacky Trump Doral resort than anything in today’s speech. That tells me, as a Commander-in-Chief, he really won’t care too much about what orders are delivered down to the men and women in uniform, in his name. It gives me no confidence that he would even care to hear about what the military is doing out in the field.

To quote the American President, “We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious people to solve them.”

Today, when it comes to foreign and military policy, Donald Trump showed us that he’s not serious, at all. He’s a joke, wrapped up in a farce, inside of a sham.

Jon Soltz
Co-Founder of VoteVets.org, Iraq War Veteran

He's leading. He prob sees no need to change. i.e. why commit if you don't have to.

And actually, I think he's just being himself: Simply reacting to the situation at hand. And that might certainly change from one day to the next.

People wanted a big change 8 years ago, and were willing to vote in a guy who said ridiculous crap, promised to drag us over the ledge into complete Socialism with universal healthcare, said the founders of companies didn't create that, thinks we have 57 states, etc etc etc ... and yet people voted him in. They didn't really care what he was saying, they just wanted a change. I'd expect the same this time.

People want change. Hellary is not change.

For better or for worse, Trump certainly seems like a change.

Kofla - Where is your detailed dissection and analysis of the crap Hellary says, and the questionable and criminal things she's done?

Please explain the positives you take from her line, "Does it even matter anymore?"

I don't recall you being fair and analyzing the pro's and cons of both candidates. If you don't, you just look like you're working for her campaign.

Kofla - Where is your detailed dissection and analysis of the crap Hellary says, and the questionable and criminal things she's done?

Please explain the positives you take from her line, "Does it even matter anymore?"

I don't recall you being fair and analyzing the pro's and cons of both candidates. If you don't, you just look like you're working for her campaign.

As I've stated in some of my previous comments on this thread, "I don't think things will change regardless of who wins the presidency. Democrats and Republicans are owned by Wall Street. Bush, Clinton, Obama, same old drama. They are all married to Wall Street interests."

I've also mention that of all the Republican candidates, "in my opinion, George Pataki was a better candidate than most of the current republican candidates. Unfortunately, his message didn't resonate with people during the campaign." I thought he could be a great president.

I also said that "I am not an Obama or Hillary fan. He continues and have extended lots of Bush policies". Obama is basically Bush 2.0. and I am certain if Clinton is elected she will continue, as she has expressed before, most of Obama's policies.

I've been listening to Trump brash, bullying and boasting behavior since the early 80's when I relocated to New York after I was offered a job at a motorcycle dealership in Brooklyn. He was still married to Ivana, and then he married Marla "the best sex I ever had" Maples when I lived there. I miss my favorite NY Mayor Ed Koch fierce battles with The Donald.

So contrary to popular belief, my dislike of the man has nothing to do with his current campaign of hate of building walls, deporting Mexicans and banning Muslims. Just because I am very critical of the short-fingered vulgarian does not mean I am a fan of Clinton or are a paid internet troll for her campaign.

What the hell do you have against universal healthcare??? Shouldn't it be, in the richest country on Earth, a right of it's citizens to have health care? Or did you like it the old way where people went bankrupt or died because they couldn't afford medicine? All this crap about "Socialism bad!" is just a smoke screen to hide the utter failure of unbridled capitalism in this country. There is middle ground.

Mad

If our elected officials , most of whom have never actively ran a business, would quit trying to run businesses by legislating, the situation would take care of itself.
Why should I be forced to pay thru my taxes, for someone elses' lifestyle that creates a necessity for healthcare ?

Kofla there are those that believe being a friend or caring about someone is doing everything for that someone. A true friend, a true ally, will take coach and guide that someone in need to better themselves so they aren't as reliant on the friend int he first place.

That's what America was always based on, working hard, getting things done, and helping people help themselves. Today this message has been all mixed up with the "it's ok if you don't get anything we'll take care of you" garbage.

Have some expectations people, not just for yourself, but also for others.

"Shouldn't it be, in the richest country on Earth, a right of it's citizens to have health care? " the concept is good and in fact many other countries - Germany, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore and Japan as far as I know have very good health care system for very low monthly premium. In US, this concept doesn't work because health insurance companies are profit organization and their main objective is to make money. On top of it, the medical cost in US is extremely high for some reasons. When I obtained some treatment in Korea, I was scared of the bill as I got IV, anti-biotic and some testings at lab. Because I didn't have Korea citizen's insurance, I had to pay every thing and in deed I paid $100! Yes, without any insurance. I submitted the receipt to BlueCross here and they declined any reimbursement as the doctor/hospital in Korea was "out of network" Health insurance companies in US try to deny everything so that they can make a lot of money.

What the hell do you have against universal healthcare???

Only that it requires Socialism to implement. And it requires me to participate, even though I don't want to.

Shouldn't it be, in the richest country on Earth, a right of it's citizens to have health care?

No.

Or did you like it the old way where people went bankrupt or died because they couldn't afford medicine?

I would not say I like people dying and going bankrupt. But I do prefer to let people be responsible for themselves, and to let nature run its course.

All this crap about "Socialism bad!" is just a smoke screen to hide the utter failure of unbridled capitalism in this country.

Socialism is bad. It's not a smoke screen. It's bad. It's in history books.

There is middle ground.

I suspect there isn't. But what kind of middle ground do you propose?

It sounds like you've given up on the rights of the individual, to make choices and be responsible for oneself. If you don't realize that you have, well that's what it takes to implement universal health care and Socialism. I'm no longer working just for me; now I'm working for the collective. You're requiring me to buy something, to pay for something.

* Last updated by: extrapolator on 5/2/2016 @ 12:19 PM *

Universal Healthcare LOL... Obama didn't want universal healthcare! He wanted just what we got because that's exactly what his supporters wanted.

One reason healthcare is so exorbitantly expensive is because those of us with insurance, and good credit, pay for those that couldn't give a shit about paying bills and rack up a $4k ER bill because they have a hanging nail.

Keep in mind most hospitals are "non-profit" but that doesn't really means anything.

Why should I be forced to pay thru my taxes, for someone elses' lifestyle that creates a necessity for healthcare ?

Do you really believe your lifestyle can keep you from needing healthcare for your entire life? People don't normally die healthy. I notice you like to race your motorcycle. What happens if you get injured? Are you going to depend on your fellow racers to do fundraisers to pay the medical bills? I'm positive no commercially-sold healthcare insurance would cover that sort of activity. Racers get hurt and killed all the time. Who pays those medical bills? Wouldn't racing qualify as a lifestyle possibly requiring healthcare?

The other thing you need to realize is that everyone, regardless of their ability to pay, either through personal wealth or insurance coverage, receives treatment and care for illness and injury? Who do you suppose pays for all that?

Socialism is bad. It's not a smoke screen. It's bad. It's in history books.

So every other civilized country on the face of the Earth that provides a healthcare system for it's citizens is Socialist? Hogwash. There's a plenty of that in the history books, too.

We can spend thousands of lives and billions of dollars impressing our lifestyle and type of government on nations whose people want nothing to do with it and will do even less to fight to keep it after we leave but that's not Imperialism, it's "nation building" But try to spend a couple measly billion taking care of our own citizens and the cries of "Socialism" ring out from every red-baiter's mouth. How can anyone not see the contradiction and hypocrisy?

How would you like it if our government told you how much money you could make?

Why should I be forced to pay thru my taxes, for someone elses' lifestyle that creates a necessity for healthcare ?

WTF? Healthcare may not depend on a person's lifestyle. Maybe I don't want to pay for any injuries you sustain when dragracing. This argument is ridiculous.

Mad