Friday, May 5, 2017

39. 5/5/17

A1

WEALTHY PEOPLE BENEFIT, THE POOR MUCH LESS SO

Trump-era headlines seem to be loaded with a kind of irony that seems like it should elicit a chuckle -- but instead, results in this (click at your own risk):

Summing up the article:

THE WINNERS

High-income earners
Upper-middle-class people without pre-existing health conditions
Young, middle-class people without pre-existing health conditions
People who wish to go without insurance
Large employers
Medical device companies, indoor tanning companies and a few other medical industries

THE LOSERS

The poor
Older Americans, in most states
People with pre-existing health conditions, particularly in some states
State governments
Hospitals
Planned Parenthood


A1

A NORTHBOUND PATH, MARKED BY MORE AND MORE BODIES


"Most died from dehydration, heatstroke or hypothermia. even as the number of people caught trying to illegally enter the United States from Mexico has dropped in recent months, the bodies remain a constant, grim backdrop to the national debate over immigration."

What kind of a "debate" can you have with a man who describes these human beings as "rapists" and "drug dealers"?


A1

HEALTH CARE BILL, PASSED BY HOUSE, FACES SENATE TEST

"The House measure faces profound uncertainty in the Senate, where a handful of Republican senators immediately rejected it, signaling that they would start work on a new version of the bill virtually from scratch."

It was that awful early Wednesday morning last November, when it became apparent that I was grossly mistaken in my prediction. I tend to shy away from predicting anything, these days!

But I do predict that this particular bill will fail in the Senate.

The next article points out the political risks involved:


A1

PROMISE KEPT, AT WHAT COST?

"[B]y leaning on members to vote for a bill that many fear will leave millions of people unable to afford health care, Mr. Ryan has exposed moderate Republicans to withering political attacks. This is especially true in the roughly two dozen districts represented by Republicans where Hillary Clinton prevailed over Mr. Trump in November, but it is also the case in places where the Affordable Care Act's popularity has been increasing."



A6

IN SOUTH KOREA RACE, ONE TOPIC ECLIPSES OTHERS: TRUMP

"Whether he intended it or not, Trump ended up intervening in the South Korean election."

Dangerous, dangerous times, peoples.


A6

IN REBUKE OF CHINA, NORTH KOREAN MEDIA SAYS NUCLEAR PROGRAM WILL GO ON

"'China should no longer try to test the limits of the D.P.R.K.'s patience,' the commentary said, adding ominously, 'China had better ponder over the grave consequences to be entailed by its reckless act of chopping down the pillar of the D.P.R.K.-China relations.'"

Said the 98-pound-weakling to The Hulk.


Four articles about Sunday's election:

A12

WORDS MEANT TO TEAR INTO HER OPPONENT SEEM TO HURT LE PEN MORE

"Even her own father ... declared that she 'wasn't up to it' during the two-and-half hour debate, though he still supports her.

Piling on half-truths and outright falsehoods "may end up costing her." She suggested that "Mr. Macron might have 'an offshore account,' later acknowledging she had no proof."

LE PEN SHIFTS A STRATEGY: FEMINIZING THE FAR RIGHT

Nice try, Marine Le Pen! (It appears that she shies away from using her surname too often.)

"Outside her own party, Ms. Le Pen has few female allies rallying to her in solidarity."

A13

FAR FROM FRANCE, AN OUTPOST IS NEVER FAR FROM FRENCH POLITICS

A local butcher -- "in a family line of St. Pierre butchers going back more than 150 years -- says he was not swayed by Ms. Le Pen's nationalist campaign, or by her rival's promises of economic deregulation.

'We have to choose between two sicknesses,' he said. 'At least in St. Pierre there's less chance of catching something.'"

IN FRENCH ELECTIONS, TACTICS OF AMERICAN FAR RIGHT DON'T EASILY TRANSLATE

"The analysis, which was based on a review of millions of Twitter messages related to the election since last summer, showed that more than one-third of posts linked to certain political hashtags originated from the United States, although few went viral in France."

Nice try, right-wink pinko fascists! The tweets were ignored because they were (mostly) in English!

Bon essai, imbéciles.


A14

SESSIONS CLOSED THE STERLING CASE. ODDS ARE, HIS PREDECESSOR WOULD HAVE, TOO.

"Even under President Barack Obama, the Justice Department rarely prosecuted police officers in deadly shootings, including those that inspired the greatest outrage."

That doesn't make it right.


A21

TRUMP WILL VISIT SAUDI ARABIA, ISRAEL AND ROME ON HIS FIRST TRIP OVERSEAS

"Saudi Arabia's foreign minister ... said he believed Mr. Trump's 'fresh approach' to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict 'could have a very high probability of succeeding.'"

مشيئة الله
בעזרת השם


A29


"I mean, what decade are we living in?"


A30


"Here is what the bill actually does:

Takes a machete to Medicaid
Slashes insurance subsidies
Eliminates the individual mandate
Guts pre-existing condition protections
Makes insurance less comprehensive
Defunds Planned Parenthood

... The bill now moves to the Senate, where several centrist Republicans oppose it ... Mr. Trump and far-right groups will put tremendous pressure on them to pass this dreadful bill or something similarly terrible. The health of millions of Americans is now in their hands."


A30


[If Len Pen should win] "a French withdrawal from the European Union would make a major and potentially fatal blow to the entire European project, and all Western democracies would be hurt by another retreat into narrow nationalism."


D4


"Do you worry that your fans might resent that you have so many nice watches?

Luckily, no. You know, I'm a capitalist, so my audience doesn't begrudge me making money."



C1


"Viewed one way, 'Pacific Overtures' is a chronicle, stuffed with real names and documentary evidence, of the arrival of American warships at Uraga in July 1853, and what came after. At the same time, it is one of the most startling artworks ever created for Broadway: a series of panels stripped as bare as possible so the whole may flower with feeling."

Oh My! This is why I miss NYC so so much. It's been 34 years since I've had to endure winter. I would love to see this!


C2


Brilliant programming.

IMO, you shouldn't program anything longer than 10 minutes with the Ninth -- and there are many great works that fit the bill.

My daughter's orchestra recently programmed Strauss's "Death and Transfiguration" (this is Szell/Cleveland -- 24 minutes long!) along with the Ninth.

Even with an intermission this is too much meat and potatoes. You need a salad, or some rice pilaf, at least.

Rachel, you must have been so tired after all that!


B7


"[W]hen Castro, now in his second season with the Yankees, returns to Wrigley Field this afternoon ... Castro will probably be showered with ... applause.

Castro has looked forward to this series for months."

Should be a great series. Two red-hot teams.

No comments:

Post a Comment

82. 6/17/17

Off to paradise.   See you in July! TIME MACHINE June 17, 1899 118 years ago Page 1 DREYFUS DUELS FOUGHT AT BREST "As...