Just how Crazy is Donald Trump!

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As Growth Slows, The Economy Is Falling Short Of Trump's Target

President Trump is counting on a strong economy to help him win reelection next year. But new numbers due from the Commerce Department on Wednesday are expected to show the economy lost steam during the summer and early fall.


Forecasters expect the GDP report will show the economy grew at an annual pace of less than 2% during the third quarter — even slower than the lackluster second quarter. At this point, it would take an economic miracle to achieve the 3.2% growth rate for the full year predicted in the president's budget.


"Oh, we won't get a 3-plus% growth rate for the year," said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton. "That's not going to happen."


Third-quarter growth was hobbled in part by temporary factors, including the strike at General Motors which idled tens of thousands of workers during the last two weeks of September (the strike ended last week), and the continued grounding of Boeing's 737 MAX jets.

But the slowdown also reflects a steady decline in business investment. The GOP's 2017 tax cut was supposed to promote a surge in business spending, and the White House promised that would supercharge economic growth. But many businesses have grown skittish in the face of weak demand overseas and the president's trade war.


"Businesses don't know where to place their bets and don't know where to invest when they don't know where the next tariffs are going to come from," Swonk said. "That's been one of the biggest weights on the U.S. economy."


Trump and his allies have tried to pin blame for the slowdown on the Federal Reserve, which raised interest rates four times last year.

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Tick TOCK

H. RES. 660

Directing certain committees to continue their ongoing investigations as part of the existing House of Representatives inquiry into whether sufficient grounds exist for the House of Representatives to exercise its Constitutional power to impeach Donald John Trump, President of the United States of America, and for other purposes.

RESOLUTION

Directing certain committees to continue their ongoing investigations as part of the existing House of Representatives inquiry into whether sufficient grounds exist for the House of Representatives to exercise its Constitutional power to impeach Donald John Trump, President of the United States of America, and for other purposes.
Resolved, That the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committees on Financial Services, Foreign Affairs, the Judiciary, Oversight and Reform, and Ways and Means, are directed to continue their ongoing investigations as part of the existing House of Representatives inquiry into whether sufficient grounds exist for the House of Representatives to exercise its Constitutional power to impeach Donald John Trump, President of the United States of America.

SEC. 2. OPEN AND TRANSPARENT INVESTIGATIVE PROCEEDINGS BY THE PERMANENT SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE.


For the purpose of continuing the investigation described in the first section of this resolution, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (referred to in this resolution as the “Permanent Select Committee”) is authorized to conduct proceedings pursuant to this resolution as follows:


(1) The chair of the Permanent Select Committee shall designate an open hearing or hearings pursuant to this section.


(2) Notwithstanding clause 2(j)(2) of rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, upon recognition by the chair for such purpose under this paragraph during any hearing designated pursuant to paragraph (1), the chair and ranking minority member of the Permanent Select Committee shall be permitted to question witnesses for equal specified periods of longer than five minutes, as determined by the chair. The time available for each period of questioning under this paragraph shall be equal for the chair and the ranking minority member. The chair may confer recognition for multiple periods of such questioning, but each period of questioning shall not exceed 90 minutes in the aggregate. Only the chair and ranking minority member, or a Permanent Select Committee employee if yielded to by the chair or ranking minority member, may question witnesses during such periods of questioning. At the conclusion of questioning pursuant to this paragraph, the committee shall proceed with questioning under the five-minute rule pursuant to clause 2(j)(2)(A) of rule XI.


(3) To allow for full evaluation of minority witness requests, the ranking minority member may submit to the chair, in writing, any requests for witness testimony relevant to the investigation described in the first section of this resolution within 72 hours after notice is given for the first hearing designated pursuant to paragraph (1). Any such request shall be accompanied by a detailed written justification of the relevance of the testimony of each requested witness to the investigation described in the first section of this resolution.


(4) (A) The ranking minority member of the Permanent Select Committee is authorized, with the concurrence of the chair, to require, as deemed necessary to the investigation—


(i) by subpoena or otherwise—


(I) the attendance and testimony of any person (including at a taking of a deposition); and


(II) the production of books, records, correspondence, memoranda, papers, and documents; and


(ii) by interrogatory, the furnishing of information.


(B) In the case that the chair declines to concur in a proposed action of the ranking minority member pursuant to subparagraph (A), the ranking minority member shall have the right to refer to the committee for decision the question whether such authority shall be so exercised and the chair shall convene the committee promptly to render that decision, subject to the notice procedures for a committee meeting under clause 2(g)(3)(A) and (B) of rule XI.


(C) Subpoenas and interrogatories so authorized may be signed by the ranking minority member, and may be served by any person designated by the ranking minority member.


(5) The chair is authorized to make publicly available in electronic form the transcripts of depositions conducted by the Permanent Select Committee in furtherance of the investigation described in the first section of this resolution, with appropriate redactions for classified and other sensitive information.


(6) The Permanent Select Committee is directed to issue a report setting forth its findings and any recommendations and appending any information and materials the Permanent Select Committee may deem appropriate with respect to the investigation described in the first section of this resolution. The chair shall transmit such report and appendices, along with any supplemental, minority, additional, or dissenting views filed pursuant to clause 2(l) of rule XI, to the Committee on the Judiciary and make such report publicly available in electronic form, with appropriate redactions to protect classified and other sensitive information. The report required by this paragraph shall be prepared in consultation with the chairs of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Oversight and Reform.


SEC. 3. TRANSMISSION OF ADDITIONAL MATERIALS.


The chair of the Permanent Select Committee or the chair of any other committee having custody of records or other materials relating to the inquiry referenced in the first section of this resolution is authorized, in consultation with the ranking minority member, to transfer such records or materials to the Committee on the Judiciary.


SEC. 4. IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY PROCEDURES IN THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY.


(a) The House authorizes the Committee on the Judiciary to conduct proceedings relating to the impeachment inquiry referenced in the first section of this resolution pursuant to the procedures submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the chair of the Committee on Rules, including such procedures as to allow for the participation of the President and his counsel.


(b) The Committee on the Judiciary is authorized to promulgate additional procedures as it deems necessary for the fair and efficient conduct of committee hearings held pursuant to this resolution, provided that the additional procedures are not inconsistent with the procedures referenced in subsection (a), the Rules of the Committee, and the Rules of the House.


(c) (1) The ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary is authorized, with the concurrence of the chair of the Committee on the Judiciary, to require, as deemed necessary to the investigation—


(A) by subpoena or otherwise—


(i) the attendance and testimony of any person (including at a taking of a deposition); and


(ii) the production of books, records, correspondence, memoranda, papers, and documents; and


(B) by interrogatory, the furnishing of information.


(2) In the case that the chair declines to concur in a proposed action of the ranking minority member pursuant to paragraph (1), the ranking minority member shall have the right to refer to the committee for decision the question whether such authority shall be so exercised and the chair shall convene the committee promptly to render that decision, subject to the notice procedures for a committee meeting under clause 2(g)(3)(A) and (B) of rule XI.


(3) Subpoenas and interrogatories so authorized may be signed by the ranking minority member, and may be served by any person designated by the ranking minority member.


(d) The Committee on the Judiciary shall report to the House of Representatives such resolutions, articles of impeachment, or other recommendations as it deems proper.



Text - H.Res.660 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Directing certain committees to continue their ongoing investigations as part of the existing House of Representatives inquiry into whether sufficient grounds exist for the House of Representatives to exercise its Constitutional power to impeach Donald John Trump, President of the United States of America, and for other purposes. | Congress.gov | Library of Congress

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White House Intentionally Left Words Out Of The Trump-Ukraine Transcript

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400,000 uninsured children since Trump took office
400,000 more children are uninsured since Trump took office - CNNPolitics

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More WINNING! Just what we all WANT!
Trump administration set to undo Obama-era regulations on coal toxins
The Trump administration is poised to undo an Obama-era regulation intended to limit emissions of toxins from coal-fired power plants, a move that environmental groups say could lead to significant health problems, The New York Times reported Thursday.


The Times, citing conversations with two people familiar with the plans, said the Environmental Protection Agency could move as early as Thursday to "weaken" the regulation by "relaxing some of the requirements on power generators and also exempting a significant number of power plants from even those requirements." The newspaper said the agency was pursuing the changes in order to extend the life of older power plants run by coal that have been closing down as cleaner alternatives become more preferred.
Under President Donald Trump, the EPA has rolled back a number of Obama-era regulations that sought to reduce the environmental and health impacts of non-renewable energy, and Thursday's move would be the latest example of that pattern of deregulation.

[NomisNirrad]

400,000 uninsured children since Trump took office
400,000 more children are uninsured since Trump took office - CNNPolitics

CNN Bias and Credibility Rating - Media Bias/Fact Check

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CNN Bias and Credibility Rating - Media Bias/Fact Check

Nice Try 400,000 uninsured children since Trump took office and you think that it's good NEWS?
400,000 more children are uninsured since Trump took office - CNNPolitics
We also rate them Mostly Factual in reporting,

The number of uninsured children ballooned by more than 400,000 between 2016 and 2018, an unprecedented decline in health coverage for the youngest Americans, a new study has found.

Roughly 4.1 million children were uninsured in 2018, up from a low of 3.6 million in 2016, according to the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families, citing US Census Bureau data. Their uninsured rate jumped to 5.2% last year, up from 4.7% in 2016.
Another Census study shows a similar increase, with the uninsured rate for kids increasing to 5.5% last year, up from 5.0% two years earlier.
The trend is particularly troubling because it comes during a period of economic growth when more Americans are gaining employment, said Joan Alker, the center's executive director. She fears even more children will lose coverage if the economy falters.
"Much of the gains in children's coverage that came about as a result of the Affordable Care Act have now been reversed," Alker said.
The national uninsured rate for all Americans also rose last year for the first time in nearly a decade, according to the Census Bureau. It increased to 8.5% in 2018, up half a percentage point a year earlier. Some 27.5 million people were uninsured last year, a jump of 1.9 million.

Several factors have contributed to the bump in uninsured rates for children, the center says. They include: efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and cut Medicaid, delays in funding the Children's Health Insurance Plan, the effective elimination of the individual mandate penalty, cuts to Affordable Care Act enrollment outreach and advertising and an increase in state-based eligibility checks for Medicaid.
Also, the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration has discouraged parents from enrolling eligible children in public programs, leading to a rise in uninsured Latino children in particular.
The Affordable Care Act helped improve children's coverage rates by increasing the likelihood that children would be enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP when their parents obtained insurance, simplifying enrollment, funding outreach efforts and establishing the individual mandate, which required most Americans to be insured or pay a penalty. Congress set the penalty to $0 starting this year.

[SalesServiceGuy]

I think everyone can agree that President Trump has become a very polarizing figure in US politics. Many people really like him but most people really dislike him. If it was not for the US electoral college, which does not accurately represent the votes of the majority of voters, Donald Trump would not be President.

For many USA mass market media providers, the News Dept has become a major source of advertising revenue for the private (for profit) corporations they work for. 10 years ago, the News Dept was not considered to be the main source of revenue.

The drive for market share and increased advertising revenue amongst key market demographics has had a major impact on the political stories that news media follows and commentates on.

People tend to consume media in the format that is convenient and comfortable for them. People also tend to select news media which reinforces their own belief system as has been amply demonstrated on this thread.

I certainly believe that CNN has a left leaning bias in the news it reports. I definitely believe that Fox News functions in many ways as a propaganda tool pandering to Donald Trump especially in the early morning and evening time slots. Both CNN and Fox News could not exist without advertising revenue.

The rapid rise of social media not originating from mainstream news media with much higher political bias and much lower fact checking has further splintered the media market place.

Social media has proven to be very vulnerable to being influenced by foreign state governments like Russia and China. They are seeking to degrade America's position in the world by promoting harmful thoughts and beliefs among US citizens.

For more balanced, factual reporting, on US politics watch news programming that does not originate in the USA from democratic countries with state broadcasters like www.cbc.ca or BBC - Homepage that are not driven largely by advertising revenues.

[Coptech]

The ACA insurance was worse in normal care than not being insured. Normal self pay discounts left oweing less than what was patient resposibilty after insurance paid it's part. Granted in an extreme illness, the scales went the other direction but fewer "catastrophic claims" than normal child incidents.

The number of covered is no indicator of being better off. The healthcare system, Health Insurance system, Legal system is broken and needs repaired at it's core.

Insurance compamies discount a claim and pay 30% on average. The healthcare system triples the bills knowing this to get what they originally wanted. The insurance companies advertise the tripled bills saying "see what we are protecting you from"? Our litigious society is so ridden with bogus legal claims that malpractice insurance also inflates charges.

Insurance companies should not be entitled to any discounts that are not available to the general public. Then competition would keep insurance rates in line,

Nice Try 400,000 uninsured children since Trump took office and you think that it's good NEWS?
400,000 more children are uninsured since Trump took office - CNNPolitics
We also rate them Mostly Factual in reporting,

The number of uninsured children ballooned by more than 400,000 between 2016 and 2018, an unprecedented decline in health coverage for the youngest Americans, a new study has found.

Roughly 4.1 million children were uninsured in 2018, up from a low of 3.6 million in 2016, according to the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families, citing US Census Bureau data. Their uninsured rate jumped to 5.2% last year, up from 4.7% in 2016.
Another Census study shows a similar increase, with the uninsured rate for kids increasing to 5.5% last year, up from 5.0% two years earlier.
The trend is particularly troubling because it comes during a period of economic growth when more Americans are gaining employment, said Joan Alker, the center's executive director. She fears even more children will lose coverage if the economy falters.
"Much of the gains in children's coverage that came about as a result of the Affordable Care Act have now been reversed," Alker said.
The national uninsured rate for all Americans also rose last year for the first time in nearly a decade, according to the Census Bureau. It increased to 8.5% in 2018, up half a percentage point a year earlier. Some 27.5 million people were uninsured last year, a jump of 1.9 million.

Several factors have contributed to the bump in uninsured rates for children, the center says. They include: efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and cut Medicaid, delays in funding the Children's Health Insurance Plan, the effective elimination of the individual mandate penalty, cuts to Affordable Care Act enrollment outreach and advertising and an increase in state-based eligibility checks for Medicaid.
Also, the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration has discouraged parents from enrolling eligible children in public programs, leading to a rise in uninsured Latino children in particular.
The Affordable Care Act helped improve children's coverage rates by increasing the likelihood that children would be enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP when their parents obtained insurance, simplifying enrollment, funding outreach efforts and establishing the individual mandate, which required most Americans to be insured or pay a penalty. Congress set the penalty to $0 starting this year.