6 minutes ago, marceline said:

In another timeline, he might've been Steve Jobs or Bill Gates.

 

Or, given where this country was headed at the time of his death, he might have been on "Survivor."  Or "The Bachelor," if the rumors about him and his wife were true.

Edited February 1, 20187 yr by Khan

1 hour ago, Khan said:

IIRC, JFK Jr. was diagnosed with ADD and dyslexia as a child; and in fact, he even had to repeat a year in prep school.  But, OTOH, friends who knew him from Brown say he could tackle and argue both sides of many complex political issues.  So, I think he had the mental aptitude for the presidency -- definitely more than Trump or his children do -- but you're right, I don't believe he had the desire.

Now I have to admit I didn't know any of that. And shame on me for that. I'm not questioning his ability to be smarter than Trump and we have had good presidents who were not necessarily scholars. Teddy Roosevelt was a genius but his 5th cousin to be president FDR was a ho-hum student at Harvard. Both extremely effective and smart. I just remember the stories about John Jr's scholastic record, his difficulties passing the bar exam(that shouldn't be a barrier) and now feel a bit ashamed at my own assumptions. And yes I don't think he had the interest and I do think his mom would have pushed against it had he even thought about it. Same with Caroline.

1 hour ago, marceline said:

 

No. Nononono. That's not what I meant to say ATALL. My intended point was that political dynasties are nothing new. They are woven into the fabric of this country and some of the people from some of those families did real good so we shouldn't reject anyone simply because of their last name or bloodline. 

I'll agree that we shouldn't reject them because of their bloodline, but it certainly does make me skeptical.  I know people people who come from an established political family have a network of donors and other connections that will give them a leg up.  I'm just not comfortable with that.  What are the chances that two people from the same family are truly the best America has to offer?

 

That said, I can't argue that we would have been better off with a second Clinton or even a third Bush than with what we have know.  Lord knows, I'd be grateful for either one of them about now.

30 minutes ago, Juliajms said:

I'll agree that we shouldn't reject them because of their bloodline, but it certainly does make me skeptical.  I know people people who come from an established political family have a network of donors and other connections that will give them a leg up.  I'm just not comfortable with that.  What are the chances that two people from the same family are truly the best America has to offer?

 

That said, I can't argue that we would have been better off with a second Clinton or even a third Bush than with what we have know.  Lord knows, I'd be grateful for either one of them about now.

I know people claim to be tired of the political dynasties and we can’t blame them but Chris Kennedy who’s running for Governor in Illinois said something. At candidate meet and greet he was featured at. That was that we need to start electing people again who believe in the idea that government can do good and help people and going into public service is an admirable goal. That’s what the GOP has done single Reagan heck since Nixon ‘s impeachment is to demonize gvmt and make people believe gvmt is a waste.and can’t do good.  Maybe it doesn’t need to be as far reaching as FDR but public entities still do a lot of good things to help people. And I do believe the Kennedy family believed and still believes in the goodness of public service.

The Mueller investigation has turned toward Hope Hicks, by the way.

Kimberlin Brown's fundraising for her congressional campaign was pretty lackluster for the last filing quarter. She only took in $138k. From a quick glance over the contributions made I saw that only one soap actor (or actor period) donated and that was Robert S. Woods.

 

Antonio Sabato Jr. did worse raising only $40k and he has $14k in unpaid bills. Scott Baio donated $1000 dollars to his campaign.

New: Mark Corallo, former Trump legal team spox, is planning on telling Mueller about a previously undisclosed conference call which led him to believe that Hope Hicks was going to obstruct justice @maggieNYT @mattapuzzo @MarkMazzettiNYT @Jo_Becker report. https://t.co/X19dTOBq70 pic.twitter.com/1hBwW5HftE

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) February 1, 2018

Oh, dear.  Hope Hicks sounds like she's watched too many episodes of "Scandal."

2 hours ago, DramatistDreamer said:

The Mueller investigation has turned toward Hope Hicks, by the way.

Yeah and I can't feel that bad for anyone who collaborates.  Still, if the relative peons do time, but the big dogs don't, I'm going to be kinda pissed. With any luck she'll turn and get a reduced sentence if it comes to that.

 

2 hours ago, DRW50 said:

 

This is what happens when the generals are in charge. I had thought Mattis at least would be a sobering influence. So much for that.

JUST IN: White House to ask for 72 percent cut to renewable energy programs: report https://t.co/rqg2SSsF2m pic.twitter.com/qTCl7cwoMV

— The Hill (@thehill) January 31, 2018

1 hour ago, DramatistDreamer said:

 

grrrrrrrr 

 

A new low.  Everyday.

 

Britain Was a Pioneer in Outsourcing Services. Now, the Model Is ‘Broken.’

 

I can easily see this situation happening in the U.S. for several reasons.

 

1. Britain, which uses a high rate of outsourcing, is second to the U.S., which uses the highest rate of outsourcing in the world.

 

2. The Republicans, like the Tories in England, are prone to austerity measures, which end up starving the public sector, which often helps to fund services for vulnerable people (even within the private sector).  Think of nursing homes that use a mix of personal and state funding.

 

3. Both Britain and the U.S. rely heavily on foreign labor, particularly in their personal care industries like nursing homes (or Care Homes, as they are referred to in the U.K.).  "Brexit" is currently exacerbating an already bad situation as staffs are depleted with workers leaving Great Britain for other E.U. destinations and these contractors are forced to rely on temporary labor, which are often undertrained.  As the U.S. immigration policy begins to restrict even legal immigration, I can easily imagine the nursing homes falling into this same circumstance.

 

This article struck me because of the parallels between Great Britain and the U.S.  It's shocking how easily many of their worst crises can often translate to tenuous situations in the U.S. without missing a beat!

13 hours ago, JaneAusten said:

  Maybe it doesn’t need to be as far reaching as FDR but public entities still do a lot of good things to help people. And I do believe the Kennedy family believed and still believes in the goodness of public service.

Sure. I think he did give a good, inspiring speech. I also think he was the right person for it because the contrast between the Kennedy vision for our country and the Trump vision is so striking. 

 

I understand why some people thought it should be a woman or a non white too. Still, the Kennedy name strikes a cord with a lot of people and I think having Joe K give the speech was a call to our better natures.  In fact, his speech made me cry because it was so idealistic and so far from where we are at the moment.

4 hours ago, JaneAusten said:

This is what happens when the generals are in charge. I had thought Mattis at least would be a sobering influence. So much for that.

But is it really their fault or is it that Trump can't be reined in? I don't know the answer. I just wonder.