laripu

Trump continues in his long march toward ignorance: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/danvergano/trump-cuts-advisory-panels This is another sign that he's working for an enemy.

Not only inadequate. It would be a failing candidacy. It would re-elect Trump.

Obama doesn't decide, true. But it tells you a heck of a lot. Obama worked closely with Biden for eight years, and therefore has the best insight into Biden's abilities. If Obama does not endorse Biden, that tells you Biden is not necessarily the best candidate. If Obama endorses someone else, that tells you that Biden is 100% certainly the wrong person for the job.

The logic behind supporting Biden is that he had the best chance of beating Trump. We don't know this to be a fact. The primaries are the forum during which we establish which candidate we feel is the best: best to represent us, best to advance our interests, best to beat Trump. At present, Biden's name recognition and money give him the lead. That may change after the debates. Biden is known for gaffes. He's already had a Hyde Amendment problem. He's sure to have more. At the same time, we have a slew of other good younger candidates: Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, and Corey Booker. Let's see how it goes.

Let's see whether Barack Obama will endorse Biden over the other candidates, before it is a fait accompli. If Obama does not, that will tell you plenty.

It wouldn't be difficult to enforce. The law would ban the in-county production of such items (after a given date), and also the importation of such items (probably immediately). Any that are currently on the market could still be sold so no retailer would be caught with unsold stock. I was in Montreal a few weeks ago, shopped at a Walmart. They make you pay 10¢ for plastic bags, so most locals bring cloth shopping bags. They've been doing that in France and Germany for over 15 years. When I was a kid there were no plastic bags. Grocery bags were paper. This won't be a problem to implement.

Great post! But do you mean Howard Schultz? Executive Chairman of Starbucks, possibly running for president as an independent? Because the only information I could find on Howard Schwartz is that he's a writer writing mostly on Jewish themes.

You're likely right about this. I'd like fresh ideas too.

Ironically, if people had a living wage, and if education was free for good students, and training was free and available for others that wanted it, then wealth in this country would explode, and the rich who own businesses, even taxed at much higher rates, would gain immeasurably in the long run. It's exactly like investing. If you invest in the working people of the country, that investment will pay back in huge games in productivity. And on the contrary, not investing in our people will make us a nation of meth and opiate addicts.

You can't know this. I don't particularly want Biden to be the nominee. He's too old. For the same reasons I don't want Sanders or Warren. But of course I'll vote for any Democrat over any Republican at this juncture. Republicans have shown moral bankruptcy, for the most part. But you can't know that Biden will lose. Every current poll shows him beating Trump by double digits. Biden could win by presenting himself as a calm middle of the road alternative to an incompetent, corrupt, and wrong-headed failure. After Trump, people might really not want fresh and exciting, and instead go for competent and steady.

What Makes America Great? Me. And not just me, you too, probably. People who work create better conditions for others. Whether that work is cleaning an office building or driving a bus or searching for a cure for cancer or starring in a movie, it improves conditions for others. The people of America make America great through their service to others. All work is service to others. Even people who don't work can add value to the country and the world. Retirees take care of their spouses, watch their neighborhoods for crime, are involved in the political struggle for a better future, and communicate their wealth of experiences to following generations. I expect to be one of those in about 3 years... unemployed and overjoyed. It's the people of America, most of them anyhow, that make America great.

There are only four things wrong with Trump: he's wrongheaded, incompetent, corrupt and racist. I told my wife that, and she said there's only one thing wrong with him: he was born. She thinks his mother should have had an abortion. I think that if it wasn't him in that position, there'd be a different mediocre person to incite the mob. The 35% of his die-hard supporters, that dim quality of humanity that Hillary Clinton correctly called deplorables, that group is present in every nation. In every nation they seethe with race envy and glorification of violence. Everywhere they value resentment over fact. Everywhere they're used by mediocre people. They are the mob, incited by the mediocre, united by a hatred of achievement to which they are not able to aspire.

The right is going to take that as gospel truth.

Canada does some good things. However, they have their stupid-in-the-wild just like we do. Rob Ford, the deceased mayor of Toronto, or his brother, Doug Ford, premier of Ontario: both as dumb as nine chickens (each). Rob is smarter now that he's dead. Then there's this: https://montrealgazette.com/entertainment/celebrity/justin-bieber-challenges-tom-cruise-to-mma-fight/wcm/13701825-0d93-4ea9-a4a3-60649f3210b3 The dumb shíť will have permanent physical damage done to him.

I really dislike her singing and especially her song choices. As far as I'm concerned, her greatest contribution to the world is the maintenance and continuation of Montreal Jewish delis. She was a co-founder of Nickels (since 1990), and later became a co-owner of Schwartz's (opened in 1929, sold to Dion and her family in 2012). Both are high-quality delis; Schwartz's is also a tourist attraction. Montreal style smoked meat is a cured and smoked meat in some ways similar to corned beef or pastrami. Locals often drop the 'd', calling it smoke meat. Here's a smoked meat sandwich. (Can you see the little bits of Celine in there? )