Trump's Card

[Ginger Yellow]

Sounds like what Trump said he would do, yes.

[Tubby Isaacs]

It sounds like it caught the state by surprise, if so.

Has this happened anywhere else?

[Satchmo Distel]

Oklahoma put huge effort into its waiver proposal, headed by a GOP governor. The Trump administration is fucking the state not just the ACA, and the state knows this.

See the proposal here:

https://www.cms.gov/CCIIO/Programs-a..._Waivers-.html

[Tubby Isaacs]

Cheers. Your link leads on to this letter, from Tom Price to the state. He's not exactly dissuading them from going down this road.

https://www.cms.gov/CCIIO/Programs-a...letter_508.pdf

[San Bernardhinault]

At first glance, it looks like the waiver is designed to do exactly what the Republicans want - to get states out of chunks of the ACA and do something different instead. I would think that it's a genuine fuck-up on Price/HHS's part to not grant it. It means Oklahoma basically has to go along with core ACA stuff.

I'd think the "30% deductions in premiums" is probably the wishful thinking bullshit that the US right comes up with as their magic free-market savings number, and isn't real. Particularly as Mary Fallin - a fairly nutty Republican - is governor of Oklahoma. I can't imagine that the state was asking for more federal money to cut premiums; I imagine that if there were a 30% saving on premiums, it would either only be for a small part of the population, or would be a result of far worse coverage.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Adam Schiff is such a bitch.

"Tom Price committed the one unpardonable sin in Trump's world: Being rich,but not rich enough to own his own private jet. "

[Satchmo Distel]

At first glance, it looks like the waiver is designed to do exactly what the Republicans want - to get states out of chunks of the ACA and do something different instead. I would think that it's a genuine fuck-up on Price/HHS's part to not grant it. It means Oklahoma basically has to go along with core ACA stuff.

I'd think the "30% deductions in premiums" is probably the wishful thinking bullshit that the US right comes up with as their magic free-market savings number, and isn't real. Particularly as Mary Fallin - a fairly nutty Republican - is governor of Oklahoma. I can't imagine that the state was asking for more federal money to cut premiums; I imagine that if there were a 30% saving on premiums, it would either only be for a small part of the population, or would be a result of far worse coverage.

It does seem pie in the sky, which is maybe why it ran out of time. The state would offer reinsurance to high risk groups and Oklahoma has a lot of tobacco smokers. This would thus be the state subsidizing the insurance companies, offering a public option that Republicans are supposed to oppose and taking on the risk. But the cost of this would be met how?

It was also an Obama scheme initially and maybe Price misjudged how hard it would be to refit it to Trump's agenda.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Wasn't something similar done by Minnesota, which did get approved?

As Lardihno says, the state are likely talking up their own scheme, but they aren't happy, and unless there's more correspondence we haven't seen, they've been let down at the last minute, without any explanation.

It's depressing if there doesn't seem to be much local reaction to it.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Mick Mulvaney says nobody can say the current tax plan how much of tax are going to the rich because it isn't finished yet.

People who've worked it out are "liars".

What can you do with people like that?

[Tubby Isaacs]

.

Donald J. TrumpVerified account
@realDonaldTrump
I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man...
7:30 am - 1 Oct 2017

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 53m
...Save your energy Rex, we'll do what has to be done!

[Tubby Isaacs]

He didn't stop there.

[Satchmo Distel]

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 2h2 hours ago

Being nice to Rocket Man hasn't worked in 25 years, why would it work now? Clinton failed, Bush failed, and Obama failed. I won't fail.

Rocket Man only became head of state in 2011

[Tubby Isaacs]

I see David Frum, who I think is usually well-informed and doesn't jump in, retweeted some rubbish about the French authorities saying the attack today "could be" terrorism. A brief google finds them saying "likely terrorism". As I'd say, given that you look into the possibility that the assailant is a lunatic that doesn't even know what he's saying, or that witnesses misheard.

I've come across this before, the idea that the authorities in Europe are trying to avoid facing up to terrorism. Disappointing if somebody like Frum is like that. It feeds into the Prison Planet bollocks.

[ursus arctos]

Kim was 8 years old 25 years ago

[Satchmo Distel]

Trump also calls him Little Rocket Man, which may mean that he is conflating father (who ruled from 1994-2011) and son. Not a wise thing to do if Kim has Oedipal issues, among other forms of mania.

Equally and perhaps more worrying is that Tillerson now has no credibility in negotiations because Trump can just do this again and again. The role is untenable. Which is unfortunate when the role's most important purpose is to prevent nuclear war.

[ursus arctos]

How Presidential

[Tubby Isaacs]

That was a heck of golf course they were playing the President's Cup on. "Do I aim for the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty on this hole, caddy?"

Why is Trump relatively popular in Africa?

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

So this article appeared in Washington post yesterday which must have driven rex tillerson absolutely batshit insane.

Because today rex tillerson was denying saying he nearly resigned in july, but not denying that he called donald trump A moron

Tubby, I think you should watch This

[Tubby Isaacs]

It won't work here.

Does Trump black up like Arthur Lowe in O Lucky Man?

[Lang Spoon]

Oh god that’s such a great film. Blacking up and all.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

no, it's trevor noah doing an extended bit pointing out that Donald trump is basically America's first african president, by intersplicing shots of Trump saying things with jacob zuma, idi amin, robert mugabe, and gadaffi saying the same things.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Ha ha.

I liked this. Could there be more to come from Corker now that he's giving up?

CSPANVerified account
@cspan
.@SenBobCorker: "I think Sec. Tillerson, Sec. Mattis and Chief of Staff Kelly are those people that help separate our country from chaos."

[ursus arctos]

This is fine.jpg

US official: Tillerson has 'suicide pact' w Mattis, Mnuchin whereby all three vow to leave in the event that Trump makes moves against one of them

[San Bernardhinault]

Holy fuck.

[San Bernardhinault]

It's also an odd trio. Mattis seems to actually be genuinely concerned with good governance and proper process, and is therefore trying to insulate the Pentagon from Trump. Tillerson is a doddering fool who doesn't want his job, doesn't know what it is, and hasn't the faintest idea what he's doing. Mnuchin is a grasping oligarch who seems to be in government to look after his money and his friends' money.

You'd think the Mnuchin's suicide pact would be more aligned with Cohn and Wilbur Ross and Betsy DeVos.
That Mattis's would be aligned with McMaster and Kelly.
And that Tillerson probably wouldn't be able to organise one, but if he did it would be with Ben Carson and Rick Perry.