Current or modern politics in the United States

[SanteeFats]

I hope this if/when it happens will finally put the whole mess to rest.

Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign said on Saturday that she will testify on Oct. 22 before the House select committee investigating her role in connection with the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya — an assertion that was almost immediately challenged by a spokesman for the committee.
Clinton campaign spokesman Nick Merrill announced the date and said her testimony would be public.
But James Ware, a spokesman for the committee, said the timing is not set because of ongoing negotiations with Clinton’s lawyer over ground rules.
The wrangling is of a piece with months of back and forth between the Republican- led committee and Clinton, whose allies accuse the panel of conducting a fishing expedition for damaging material that might be used against her as she runs for president in 2016.

[SanteeFats]

So nice to see the togetherness among the R's.

Senior Senate Republicans lined up Sunday to rebuke Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz for harshly criticizing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, an extraordinary display of intraparty division played out live on the Senate floor.
As the Senate met for a rare Sunday session, Sens. Orrin Hatch of Utah, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and John Cornyn of Texas each rose to counter a stunning floor speech Cruz gave on Friday accusing McConnell, R-Ky., of lying.
None of them mentioned Cruz by name, but the target of their remarks could not have been clearer. The drama came as the Senate defeated a procedural vote to repeal President Barack Obama’s health care law and took a step toward reviving the federal Export-Import Bank, both amendments on a must-pass highway bill.

[hound dog]

Originally Posted by SanteeFats

Look I know there are many people who need the help but we are getting really close to more people on some form of entitlement than are in the work force. If/when that happens how long can we sustain it? I sure don't know.
Until all the pols (HA) work together to stop businesses moving to cheaper countries and re organizing in another country all that will continue to happen is what occurs now.

Let's look at those on welfare who have jobs, the majority of those who receive assistance.

In the 1950's through the 1960's, executive pay was around 10 times that of the average employee, and we didn't have near the same percentage of people on welfare as we do now. Today CEO compensation is around 300 times the average workers wage, if not higher. Did the work executives do get that much harder that they warrant such a comparatively astronomical increase in wages? The average American's productivity has doubled, their wages have not. Have executive work loads become 30 times more difficult? As a kid, I remember my Father working at home in the evenings, his slide rule in hand, crunching numbers the old fashioned way, before the invention of scientific calculators. That doesn't happen today like it did in the 1960's. No, I don't think an executive's work load has increased proportionately.

The money is there in most companies to pay people enough to live on, but instead of it going to rank and file workers, it's going to a few at the top. It's an extenuation of Reagan's trickle down/voodoo economics, and it doesn't work for those who aren't direct recipients, but told to wait for the trickle. If we want to get working people off assistance programs, the fastest and easiest way would be a standardized formula that bases executive pay directly off the average worker's pay. The 1% don't want to give up the money, but something more equitable needs to be arrived at or things are only going to get worse, not better.

[DTravel]

Originally Posted by SanteeFats

Here is a link to the Cal. state where you can plug in your zip and see where you can use the cards.

https://www.ebt.ca.gov/caebtclient/usebenefit.jsp

That page also has this disclaimer:
"The California Restaurant Meals Program is only available in certain counties for cardholders registered in that program." with a link for more info. That link goes to a page that says this:

The California Restaurant Meals Program allows eligible homeless, disabled, and/or elderly (ages 60 and above) CalFresh benefit recipients to use their CalFresh benefits to purchase hot, prepared food from participating restaurants.

The following California counties participate in the Restaurant Meals Program:

Alameda County
Los Angeles County
Sacramento County
San Diego County
San Francisco County
San Luis Obispo County
Santa Clara County

So this isn't actually a part of the regular SNAP program, just a limited availability possibility for the worst off.

[sandhunter]

When I first started out as a young Electrical Engineer, the companies that I worked for considered 10-12% the normal profit on most jobs, now 25 years later that number is 26-28%, so the way that companies view their profit has really changed and I am not begrudging them the money that they make , I am just showing you the changes that I`ve seen in my career..

[hound dog]

I was looking at another thread, Attitudes To (And From) Military Outside The U.S.A., and a thought struck me. VA benefits are an entitlement as well. I'm not advocating cutting back on VA benefits, in fact I think more could and should be done. But the fact is when most of the older generations started paying into Social Security they were made promises about their return once they reached a certain age. Then for some, myself included, that age was pushed back a few years. Congress also raided the piggy bank, and has never bothered to pay that money back, and there's always someone on the hill saying we need to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits.

Just as I think we are obligated for the cost of our VA benefits, I think we're also obligated to pay the cost of other entitlements as well. If cuts have to be made I feel it should be done from new purchases, like military spending, and not writing off the obligations that were made to past generations of working Americans. If we really wanted to save money, stricter oversight of our military spending is where we could save the most.

A few examples:

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/...hant-afghan-hq

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-tu...ry?id=26083173

http://bangordailynews.com/2015/07/2...t-no-one-used/

http://www.publicintegrity.org/2013/...or-afghanistan

[9876543210]

SanteeFats,

Originally Posted by SanteeFats

Look I know there are many people who need the help but we are getting really close to more people on some form of entitlement than are in the work force. If/when that happens how long can we sustain it? I sure don't know.
Until all the pols (HA) work together to stop businesses moving to cheaper countries and re organizing in another country all that will continue to happen is what occurs now.

You know, I find it quite amusing that you find it so easy to blame poor people for being poor. And your lack of an answer to my earlier question certainly indicates that, as far as your concerned, just let them get sick and die.

But you never bitch about the banks, insurance companies and others who recently almost bankrupted the whole US, forced the US to bail them out for their gambling, and will do the same to all of us again very soon as none of their habits have been curtailed. Those f#ck ups cost all of us one hell of a lot more than all the social programs put together.

And you wonder why nobody respects conservatives and are called the clown car? Come up with some answers that aren't straight from the Third Reich and maybe you'll get some credibility.

Until then .................................

[SanteeFats]

Well you know I guess I should just not post any thing more here because While I have posted about the entitlementers I can not do anything about it myself and the same applies to biggie business. Ah well it would be nice if the butt brains in DC did something but gee look at what they have done so far. Maybe I can become an anarchist!!

[hound dog]

Israeli spy Johnathan Pollard will be paroled after serving 30 years in federal prison. Pollard has no remorse for his actions and has refused to give full disclosure of all the classified material that he supplied Israel. Israel then gave that material to Russia to procure exit visa's for Russian Jews who were settled in the west bank.

Israel has granted him full citizenship and Netanyahu has said he'd like to bring him to Israel. I'm unsure how a paroled criminal could be allowed to leave the country until his parole is served.

Speculation is that his parole is an attempt at appeasing Israel and Netanyahu for the Iran Nuclear Treaty. I would have rather he remained in prison, and it galls me that he will be going to Israel where he will be treated as a hero.

[scoundrel]

Originally Posted by hound dog

Israeli spy Johnathan Pollard will be paroled after serving 30 years in federal prison. Pollard has no remorse for his actions and has refused to give full disclosure of all the classified material that he supplied Israel. Israel then gave that material to Russia to procure exit visa's for Russian Jews who were settled in the west bank.

Israel has granted him full citizenship and Netanyahu has said he'd like to bring him to Israel. I'm unsure how a paroled criminal could be allowed to leave the country until his parole is served.

Speculation is that his parole is an attempt at appeasing Israel and Netanyahu for the Iran Nuclear Treaty. I would have rather he remained in prison, and it galls me that he will be going to Israel where he will be treated as a hero.

In view of the things he did and the harm he caused, I myself would see to it that he experiences bad luck with his health if there is ever an imminent likelihood that he will leave prison.