Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Obama, man in search of a legacy

In a way you can't blame him, every president wants a legacy and not a Carter legacy.  In the twilight of his second term his motivation is obvious from his opening up relations with Cuba to his attempted but failed for now trans-Pacific trade agreement.  It's not that these things make the most sense necessarily but in terms of legacy he needs stuff.  Probably as his last term comes closer to winding down he'll come up with even more things from his grab bag of Ideas one of the latest being he's somehow trying to tie in climate change with national security.  Not sure how this works, should ISIS go green?  Can he do something on race and the police? doubt it.  Your ponderings......

21 comments:

  1. Maybe the next president will make the Obama years look great?

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    1. IMO Trump doesn't completely lack in intelligence but he has a Christie problem, his personality overshadows everything else. It'd be like if Dr. Phil ran.

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  2. Of course we can always discuss the Matt/Sweat/Mitchell sex triangle.

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    1. Maybe the escapee guys got on a Maylaysian airliner?

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  3. Haven't followed the Trans Pacific Trade deal, but since when is the GOP with Obama and the Dems against?

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    1. Not my area of expertise either but looks like he finally learned how to work with Republicans.

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  4. The deal can float your boat, or get your goat: depends-

    Pros
    The TPP boosts exports and economic growth, creating more jobs and prosperity for the 12 countries involved. It increases exports by $305 billion per year by 2025. U.S. exports would increase by $123.5 billion, focusing on machinery, especially electrical, autos, plastics and agriculture industries.

    The agreement adds $223 billion a year to incomes of workers in all the countries, with $77 billion of that going to U.S. workers. (Source: US Trade Representative, TPP Fact Sheet)

    Cons
    Most of the gains in income would go to workers making more than $88,000 a year. Free trade agreements contribute to income inequality in high-wage countries by promoting cheaper goods from low-wage countries.

    This would be particularly true for the TPP, because it protects patents and copyrights. Therefore, the higher-paid owners of the intellectual property would receive more of the income gains.

    The agreement regarding patents will reduce the availability of cheap generics, making many drugs more expensive. Competitive business pressures will reduce the incentives in Asia to protect the environment. Last but not least, the trade agreement could supersede financial regulations. (Source: Public Citizen, Eyes on Trade, September 12, 2013)

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    1. Maybe Francis can promulgate one of his trademark opinionated left-wing biased encyclicals on it.

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    2. If it offends Bill Donahue, I'm all for it. IMO, Francis came out of S. America, where the Church fought RW terrorism for decades, even got an
      Archbishop and nuns murdered; we would expect a strong social justice
      cleric. If you want tough guys, stick to the Italian Cardinals.

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    3. Ain't my cup of tea.

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  5. Meanwhile, in the area of 'well regulated' 2nd amendment rights, Go figure

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  6. Where are the Clinton Prison escapees?

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    1. They may be sheltering with an Adirondack Sasquatch.

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    2. We keep getting "sightings" (a marshmallow roast here a peanut butter jar over there) but imo if they ain't that far from Dannemora they should be caught by now. Betcha these sightings and signs are a network of decoys in the area.

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  7. Come 2020 a famous woman will grace the sawbuck. Pelosi, Hillary, Caitlyn?

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  8. Hard to come to grips with women wanting to become men, men wanting to become women, whites wanting to become black, blacks wanting to become white, congresswomen wanting to be Indian. Betcha there are pygmies that want to be
    as tall as LeBron, a few folk who wish they were canines and probably dolphins that would prefer to become killer whales. Me, I'm a fat dude trying to get skinny.

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    1. IMHO it all began with penis pumps. Men ain't happy with what God gave 'em.

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  9. I see that 3 supreme court judges and 16 GOP presidential candidates are against
    healthcare. Presumably they have something better?

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    1. Here's a case where the dissent was actually better than the consensus opinion. As I understand it the SCOTUS was solely deciding on the subsidy issue and Scalia merely said words mean things. Oh well twist it around, do a Weiner with it if it suits you.

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