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    Many municipalities were captured by party organisations in the 19th century and have never escaped their clutches. That is very much the case in Queens (where the example comes from).

    It also reflects the stranglehold of the two party system and our weird penchant for having state-run elections for a massive number of offices that are filled differently in the rest of the world (judges, coroners, school boards, dog catchers, etc.)

    Tubbs, it is impossible to say, because we don't have a recognised definition of "basic health insurance". That's why FF's task is so unenviable. Here's a chart of rates for the different plans currently being offered to New York City municipal employees. Rates for employees of private companies will generally be higher (and employer contributions lower) and the self-employed are almost always worst off.

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      45 has announced he's visiting Ireland in November,the day after the Irish presidential inauguration. Someone should tell him that when an Irish person says "drop by anytime " They actually mean "We never want to see you again "

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        Tubbs, it is impossible to say, because we don't have a recognised definition of "basic health insurance". That's why FF's task is so unenviable. Here's a chart of rates for the different plans currently being offered to New York City municipal employees. Rates for employees of private companies will generally be higher (and employer contributions lower) and the self-employed are almost always worst off.
        Thanks, that chart is an eye opener.

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          A poll the other day had Nelson beating Scott by 1 point in Florida. The noise you hear is me biting the pollster's arm.

          I'm worried about that one. Scott is clearly formidable.

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            Hmm, how can we get trump in and out of the country without him twigging that we think he's a Russian spy, and we'd happily set him on fire.

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              It’s going to be a lightning visit to his golf course at Doonbeg behind a massive Secret Service security perimeter, isn’t it?

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                Originally posted by ursus arctos View Post
                Many municipalities were captured by party organisations in the 19th century and have never escaped their clutches. That is very much the case in Queens (where the example comes from).

                It also reflects the stranglehold of the two party system and our weird penchant for having state-run elections for a massive number of offices that are filled differently in the rest of the world (judges, coroners, school boards, dog catchers, etc.)
                Why does that mean the state gets to make decisions about what happens inside your parties, though?

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                  Because the party is the state and vice versa

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                    Originally posted by ursus arctos View Post
                    It’s going to be a lightning visit to his golf course at Doonbeg behind a massive Secret Service security perimeter, isn’t it?
                    Pretty much - Irish Times say he'll spend one night in Dublin, so indifference seems the optimal response.

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                      Originally posted by ursus arctos View Post
                      Because the party is the state and vice versa
                      But both parties are interfered with by the state.

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                        Structurally, yes, but from a practical standpoint in a place like Queens, it is more that a party machine is using state resources to maintain its control over the party. It is also worth noting that the Queens situation is unusual and doesn’t even apply in all of the other boroughs, let alone the rest of the state.

                        I’m not defending the indefensible. I’m just trying to explain how the system has evolved.

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                          When you mentioned Queens there, I recalled this guy and wondered if he was there.

                          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Manes

                          He was.

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                            Originally posted by ursus arctos View Post
                            Structurally, yes, but from a practical standpoint in a place like Queens, it is more that a party machine is using state resources to maintain its control over the party. It is also worth noting that the Queens situation is unusual and doesn’t even apply in all of the other boroughs, let alone the rest of the state.

                            I’m not defending the indefensible. I’m just trying to explain how the system has evolved.
                            No, I get that you're not defending owt, just explaining.

                            But, like, everywhere, you have the state (I mean "the state" in its wider political sense rather than just "the state government" in a more specific US sense) having a role in deciding how candidates are selected by the parties, no? Like, people register their affiliation with the state. The state has a role in who votes and where in primaries. Etc.

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                              Yes, that’s very true and illustrative of the fact that parties here are seen as quasi-state institutions that function only within the state-created and controlled framework of electoral politics, rather than as true voluntary associations of their members with important roles to play outside of electoral politics. Recall that we do not have the concept of party “members” here, but rather that of a party’s “registered voters”.

                              I can’t really tell you why it evolved that way, but it is certainly an interesting question and by no means the only possible outcome. My guess is that the founders’ strong aversion to “factions” played some role, as did a desire to outsource the costs of electiions onto the state. It’s intriguing to muse upon how things may have changed if it was different, and if it plays some role in our perpetual low turnouts,

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                                Seems that Sessions will be one of the scapegoats if the GOP loses seats in November.

                                Trump's contempt for the integrity of the DOJ ought to be impeachable.

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                                  We've been yearning for a real CEO president since forever in this country. Trump is a particularly ugly representative but he's still symptomatic of the ethical swamp of American business/corporate culture. They're not learning right versus wrong in business school, they're learning what they can get away with. So of course he's going to undermine the DOJ, it's not like CEOs are used to being policed from within.
                                  Always worth noting that even the one time Trump was policed by virtue of being CEO of a listed company, he drove it into bankruptcy while enriching himself at shareholder expense and famously later described his role as not "representing anybody but myself".

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                                    https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/1036998562645782530?s=19

                                    https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/s...645782530?s=19

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                                      Oh don't you just hope he testifies! His ego might finally do him in.

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                                        We can't have nice things like that, Amor

                                        John Dowd was convinced that President Trump would commit perjury if he talked to special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. So, on Jan. 27, the president’s then-personal attorney staged a practice session to try to make his point.

                                        In the White House residence, Dowd peppered Trump with questions about the Russia investigation, provoking stumbles, contradictions and lies until the president eventually lost his cool.

                                        “This thing’s a goddamn hoax,” Trump erupted at the start of a 30-minute rant that finished with him saying, “I don’t really want to testify.”

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                                          The fact that Trump has sacked all his least incompetent advisers gives me a little hope that nobody is going to stop him doing something that stupid.

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                                            Emmet Flood is a quality white-collar criminal defense lawyer, and Sekulow knows just how disastrous 45's previous attempts at testimony have been to his position in civil cases.

                                            More importantly, I think Ivanka is very much aware of just how dangerous it could be (including to her and Jared's personal interests).

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                                              Dowd told Trump: “Don’t testify. It’s either that or an orange jumpsuit.”

                                              But Trump, concerned about the optics of a president refusing to testify and convinced that he could handle Mueller’s questions, had by then decided otherwise.

                                              “I’ll be a real good witness,” Trump told Dowd, according to Woodward.

                                              “You are not a good witness,” Dowd replied. “Mr. President, I’m afraid I just can’t help you.”

                                              The next morning, Dowd resigned.


                                              Just keep believin'

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                                                That Roger Stone guy....every time I read something about him, or frankly even see a picture of him...I wish he'd fall into the wood chipper right behind Trump. He seems like a particularly odious man, and yet I actually know very little about him.

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                                                  He has a tattoo of Richard Nixon on his back - what else do you need to know?

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                                                    https://twitter.com/JamieFord/status...54225086181376

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