"Currants Bw..."

[Letters]

Things like legalising gay marriage is scenery though, Obamas campaign was sponsored by a lot of Wall Street institutions and his treasury secretaries Tim Geitner and Jacob Liew were both Wall Street insiders. And this has been the way of things for a while from Hank Paulsen who was a CEO at Goldman Sachs under Bush and Larry Summers (who served under Clinton).who was in the pocket of the financial sector who lectured at universities about the great self correcting power of the market place and was a proponent of the Glass-Stiegel bill which reversed every progressive regulation put in place by the US government after the 1929 crash and paved the way for giant corporate mergers.

I have no doubt Obama instinctively was far more for regulation and redistribution policies than he otherwise enacted, which was partly due to congressional blocking and partly because of who he was beholden to for winning office.

You say it's scenery, these things do make a difference to people's lives. I think overall Obama has done things which he thinks will make things better. Had he not been frustrated by Congress he'd probably have achieved more.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

You say it's scenery, these things do make a difference to people's lives. I think overall Obama has done things which he thinks will make things better. Had he not been frustrated by Congress he'd probably have achieved more.

I don't know if you have Netflix, but if you do watch a documentary series called the Roosevelts and see what Teddy and FDR achieved in office and then come back and tell me Gay Marriage is substantial legislation compared to that.

Don't get me wrong in many ways I like Obama, the only area in which I don't agree with him and even Trump had a point about was not being strong enough on foreign policy....I think broadly speaking Assad and Putin have given him the runaround.

I think he's a great orator and writer. On the surface Obamas biggest achievement is healthcare, for all its shortcomings the ACA has stopped insurance companies denying people treatment based on pre existing conditions. Yes they are trying to strike back by putting up premiums and yes more needs to be done to drive down pharmaceutical costs but it's a definite step in the right direction.
But the lack of boldness in his presidency (the ACA was actually a modified Republican plan, and implemented in the state of Massachusetts by Mitt Romney when he was governor) was I repeat as much due to corporate donors as it was a republican congress (republicans only controlled both houses from 2014).

[Letters]

I don't know if you have Netflix, but if you do watch a documentary series called the Roosevelts and see what Teddy and FDR achieved in office and then come back and tell me Gay Marriage is substantial legislation compared to that.

I do kinda have Netflix via our lodger so I might check that out. Thanks.
And it was just an example, as was Obamacare.
There may well be bigger things in terms of world economy than no US president can control but I think in general he's done some things which will improve people's day to day lives.
This all started when someone said it doesn't matter who gets in. I don't accept that at all.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Oh i don't subscribe to that view, i think this election especially more than any other proves that it does matter.

There is a legitimate point to be made that the power of the presidency is limited (as it should be) but think of America from it's foundation as a secular democracy where the divine right to rule didn't exist and the very concept of the country for what it represents is to this day very important.

America hasn't always been a force for Good in the world, it has like we have often made things worse from it's attentions.....but it should at least seek to be so. As you will see from the Roosevelts documentary both Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt believed America had to stand up against the oppressor and now one of the candidates for the presidency seems to swoon like a school girl at compliments from figures like Vladimir Putin and seems to want to renege on it's commitment to international cooperation based on half truths that countries aren't paying their way.

TR and FDR were truly great men, both stood up to the vested business interests in their own country to make America a better place, and if Trump wanted to Make America Great again he'd look to follow their examples, not just exploit the hopes and dreams of the credulous in order just to feed off the attention.

[Letters]

Phil Collins tickets go on sale tomorrow (Friday) at 9am.

No need to thank me.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Phil Collins tickets go on sale tomorrow (Friday) at 9am.

No need to thank me.

You're right there isn't

[Letters]

I think we can all agree that Phil Collins fans deserve to be ripped off so I might get some tickets to put on SeatWave

[Kano]

I do kinda have Netflix via our lodger so I might check that out. Thanks.
And it was just an example, as was Obamacare.
There may well be bigger things in terms of world economy than no US president can control but I think in general he's done some things which will improve people's day to day lives.
This all started when someone said it doesn't matter who gets in. I don't accept that at all.

Whoever gets in will affect people's life, that's a given because legislation will be passed even if they hid in the Oval Office for four years. Will all those affected by those changes be those who need it? Definitely not. So the really important issues that could change so much forever remain resolved and they pass the buck, each government blaming the last for their inability to change anything. Obamacare is a failure because the idea was supposed to be free healthcare for the needy but instead it has become 'affordable', which leaves large swathes of people unable to access the help they need. As usual, when a new government comes to power, they realise how strongly their hands are tied and how much power has to be conceded in order to placate all the other parties involved. That's why manifestos end up looking like a book of hollow lies every time. Adam Curtis' new documentary succinctly summarises the limitations of those in government across the world now, unable to effect change and restricted to merely maintaining stability in the system. The only leader in the Western World I can think of that is remembered well by the people is Kennedy - and that's because he was killed before he had a chance to fuck things up like everyone else. There have been advancements of law in terms of equality across gender, race and sexuality that are welcomed but the fact is those had to changed in the modern age. Everything else is out of their range and round in circles it will continue.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Actually far more people are covered by health insurance now and people won't be denied coverage due to pre existing conditions, no it's not perfect but no one has offered anything better other than the single payer option and that just won't happen in America.

Progression works on a steady trajectory, technology and science improves lives as much as government legislation. If people don't think on a global scale things are better than they were say fifty years ago in terms of life chances, equality and quality of life than they would be wrong.

[Xhaka Can’t]

Lisa needs braces.


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