Itinerant Air-Cooled

hippiewannabe wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 06, 2018 6:13 pm

I caught up with a friend who moved away years ago. We spoke on the phone a few times, and became Facebook friends. Back in April Barbara Bush died, around the same time some magician did. He posted how the entertainer was going to a euphemism for heaven, and Barbara Bush was going to hell. Perhaps I should have engaged him, to maybe rethink such a statement, but I immediately unfriended him.

ruckman101 wrote: ↑

Sun Jun 10, 2018 8:04 pm

Bridging those divides and opening conversation in efforts to do so is tenuous at best. I'm heartened in the knowledge most folks are actually caring, empathetic folks whose core interests more often than not reflect mine. The difference lies solely in the methodology to address those concerns and interests. I don't buy into the "us vs them" model. We are all human. We are all us. Them are us. I'm sick to the soul of hearing the drumbeat that insists I should fear them.


neal

2. We have been shown something of the seedy underbelly of this country ... how racism and fascism can still raise its ugly head from time to time and be greeted not with disgust but with approval. We are not as morally pure as a nation than we have pretended that we were.

Abscate wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 15, 2018 11:30 am

I did not add value to this thread as requested, my bad.

Trump has accurately called out that our contribution to NATO is probably excessive compared to the countries in question. Arguably, by percentage of GDP, we are paying more than our fair share, if equality is the goal.

Abscate wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 17, 2018 2:55 pm

If he can really parlay his tariffs into a new trade agreement better than before, I’ll give him credit for that. Work in progress.

Abscate wrote: ↑

Mon Dec 03, 2018 8:31 am

New NAFTA perhaps?

NAFTA was generally regarded as beneficial to the US economy overall, but unskilled labor of course took it in the shorts.

The new agreement looks like progress, at my first reading at least.

Automobiles must have 75 percent of their components manufactured in Mexico, the US, or Canada to qualify for zero tariffs (up from 62.5 percent under NAFTA).

40 to 45 percent of automobile parts have to be made by workers who earn at least $16 an hour by 2023.

Mexico has also agreed to pass laws giving workers the right to union representation, extending labor protections to migrant workers, and protecting women from discrimination. The countries can also sanction one another for labor violations.

US farmers get more access to the Canadian dairy market: The US got Canada to open up its dairy market to US farmers, which was a big issue for Trump.

Intellectual property and digital trade: The deal extends copyright terms to 70 years beyond the life of the author (up from 50). It also extends the period that a pharmaceutical drug can be protected from generic competition,
(yay for expensive proprietary drugs!)

new provisions to deal with the digital economy, including prohibiting duties on things like music and e-books, and protections for internet companies so they’re not liable for content their users produce.

No section 232 tariff protections: Section 232 is a trade loophole that Trump used to impose steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and the European Union. Canada and Mexico wanted protections from these tariffs as part of the NAFTA negotiations, and the fact that tariffs are still in place remains a sore subject, particularly for Canada. Canada and Mexico did get the US to make a side agreement that shields them from possible auto tariffs under 232.

Sunset clause: The agreement adds a 16-year “sunset” clause — meaning the terms of the agreement expire, or “sunset,” after a set period of time. The deal is also subject to a review every six years, at which point the US, Mexico, and Canada can decide to extend the USMCA.