The General Election

[HuskerShark]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngoodman/2016/06/09/new-gop-bill-promises-real-health-care-reform/#675a73e56e37

[teachercd]

#Amazing

[Red Five]

Trump is a champion for the American blue collar worker. Unless he doesn't feel like paying you. Then he makes you go to court over it because he has the resources to fight it and the small business doesn't.

At least 60 lawsuits, along with hundreds of liens, judgments, and other government filings reviewed by the USA TODAY NETWORK, document people who have accused Trump and his businesses of failing to pay them for their work. Among them: a dishwasher in Florida. A glass company in New Jersey. A carpet company. A plumber. Painters. Forty-eight waiters. Dozens of bartenders and other hourly workers at his resorts and clubs, coast to coast. Real estate brokers who sold his properties. And, ironically, several law firms that once represented him in these suits and others.

 

In addition to the lawsuits, the review found more than 200 mechanic’s liens — filed by contractors and employees against Trump, his companies or his properties claiming they were owed money for their work — since the 1980s. The liens range from a $75,000 claim by a Plainview, N.Y., air conditioning and heating company to a $1 million claim from the president of a New York City real estate banking firm. On just one project, Trump’s Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, records released by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission in 1990 show that at least 253 subcontractors weren’t paid in full or on time, including workers who installed walls, chandeliers and plumbing.

 

In the interview, Trump repeatedly said the cases were “a long time ago.” However, even as he campaigns for the presidency, new cases are continuing. Just last month, Trump Miami Resort Management LLC settled with 48 servers at his Miami golf resort over failing to pay overtime for a special event. The settlements averaged about $800 for each worker and as high as $3,000 for one, according to court records. Some workers put in 20-hour days over the 10-day Passover event at Trump National Doral Miami, the lawsuit contends. Trump’s team initially argued a contractor hired the workers, and he wasn’t responsible, and counter-sued the contractor demanding payment.

 

“Trump could have settled it right off the bat, but they wanted to fight it out, that’s their M.O.” said Rod Hannah, of Plantation, Fla., the lawyer who represented the workers, who he said are forbidden from talking about the case in public. “They’re known for their aggressiveness, and if you have the money, why not?”

 

Trump's Doral golf resort also has been embroiled in recent non-payment claims by two different paint firms, with one case settled and the other pending. Last month, his company’s refusal to pay one Florida painter more than $30,000 for work at Doral led the judge in the case to order foreclosure of the resort if the contractor isn’t paid.

 

Juan Carlos Enriquez, owner of The Paint Spot, in South Florida, has been waiting more than two years to get paid for his work at the Doral. The Paint Spot first filed a lien against Trump’s course, then filed a lawsuit asking a Florida judge to intervene.

 

In courtroom testimony, the manager of the general contractor for the Doral renovation admitted that a decision was made not to pay The Paint Spot because Trump “already paid enough.” As the construction manager spoke, “Trump’s trial attorneys visibly winced, began breathing heavily, and attempted to make eye contact” with the witness, the judge noted in his ruling.

 

That, and other evidence, convinced the judge The Paint Spot’s claim was credible. He ordered last month that the Doral resort be foreclosed on, sold, and the proceeds used to pay Enriquez the money he was owed. Trump’s attorneys have since filed a motion to delay the sale, and the contest continues.

 

Enriquez still hasn’t been paid.

 

 

more here -> http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/06/09/donald-trump-unpaid-bills-republican-president-laswuits/85297274/

[BigRedBuster]

It's easy to make money when you don't have to pay your bills.

[HuskerShark]

Yeah... Definitely taking a wait and see approach on this one as well, but it's not a good story...

[NM11046]

It's easy to make money when you don't have to pay your bills.

Not "don't have to" but choose not to.

[knapplc]

 

It's easy to make money when you don't have to pay your bills.

Not "don't have to" but choose not to.

 

Like Shark said, it doesn't look good right now, but it's best to wait and see on stories like this. It's an election-year hit piece that we wouldn't be reading if Trump wasn't running for president. So a moment to reflect is in order.

 

But, if these stories are true, it would reflect the decisions of a businessman - something Trump has only and always ever claimed to be. The decision is, is it cheaper to pay the bill or litigate it? If he can pay his lawyers a bit, and settle the full bill for much less, it makes financial sense for Donald Trump to do business this way. As a businessman, the bottom line is the bottom line.

 

The only problem comes when you decide to run for public office and you claim to be a friend to small businesses - the kind you used to lap up like a carp eating guppies.

[BigRedBuster]

Gary Johnson Is Here To Tell You You're A Libertarian

[BigRedBuster]

 

 

It's easy to make money when you don't have to pay your bills.

Not "don't have to" but choose not to.

 

Like Shark said, it doesn't look good right now, but it's best to wait and see on stories like this. It's an election-year hit piece that we wouldn't be reading if Trump wasn't running for president. So a moment to reflect is in order.

 

But, if these stories are true, it would reflect the decisions of a businessman - something Trump has only and always ever claimed to be. The decision is, is it cheaper to pay the bill or litigate it? If he can pay his lawyers a bit, and settle the full bill for much less, it makes financial sense for Donald Trump to do business this way. As a businessman, the bottom line is the bottom line.

 

The only problem comes when you decide to run for public office and you claim to be a friend to small businesses - the kind you used to lap up like a carp eating guppies.

 

I will gladly take a wait and see approach to these specific stories.

 

However, when i have spoken personally to a few NYC contractors who, many months ago, told me very similar type stories....well.....

 

Then, all his comments about loving debt and how after borrowing it he can just make a deal and pay less, this story falls right in line with that.

 

As for these stories, it should be pretty easy to check on them. The law suits should be public record. If they are false then it should be easy to prove.

[HuskerNation1]

 

 

 

 

Is it surprising to anyone that Donald Trump not only had multiple affairs with married women -- while married himself -- he saw fit to brag about it in his autobiography?

 

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/01/27/christians-cringe-at-donald-trump-s-sexy-past.html

 

Don't care, myself, but Republicans and evangelical Christians might want to start scuttling off that moral high ground.

 

I have no idea why Trump won or tied the Evangelical vote in many of the primaries as I would prefer someone with a better personal compass. With that said, I do expect many of those Evangelicals who did not support him in the primaries to get on board as we are down to two deeply flawed candidates, and Trump at least offers a chance to reverse the negative direction this country has been on for years. Hillary will simply offer more of the same. Thus, I do now expect many of those Evangelicals that did not support Trump in the primary to get on board the Trump train.

 

 

Seriously. I need a Republican to walk me through the negatives that define the negative direction we're heading down, so we can figure out how they happened, how to stop them and/or whether they are actually bad.

 

And I need a good Christian to help me figure out why so many followers of Christ are opposed to feeding the hungry, helping the sick and loving thy neighbor, and instead support candidates who embrace guns, wage war and invite the money lenders INTO the temple.

 

 

You are starting to sound like Trump by making extreme outlandish statements as a starting point for debating points. With that said, I will take the bait.

 

Regarding the negative direction we are facing, here are my 4 biggest concerns facing our nation.

 

1. ISIS-As I pointed out in another thread, according to Obama's own CIA director, ISIS has grown 4400% under his watch. While he's taken out Bin Laden and other terror targets, we face a greater threat against terrorism today then when he took office.

 

2. Economic growth/Jobs-Obama certainly inherited a tough economic climate when he took office, so it's great that we've seen some improvement, but to me there is so much more possibility with our economy, and under his watch, more people have actually stopped working and dropped out of the labor force (meaning they are more dependent on social services), and the labor participation rate is the lowest since the Carter days. I would note that of all the past 5 Presidents, I think Reagan, Bush 43, and Obama inherited the worst situations, while Bush 41 and Clinton inherited the best. To me Bush 43 had the most difficult climate his first year dealing with a recession that Clinton left him, the Enron scandal and collapsing financial markets, and then 9/11. Anyone who would expect to see positive economic metrics (jobs, GDP growth) in his first 3 years in office simply is not being realistic.

 

http://dailysignal.com/2012/09/07/two-huge-flaws-in-the-legend-of-the-clinton-economy/

 

3. National Debt-Members of both parties are to blame for our national debt, but CBO predictions show that the rise in national debt in the coming years is going to explode even more than it has the past 10 years. Obamacare has made this rise in national debt worse.

 

4. Racial Tensions-Under Obama's watch, Racial Tensions have gotten worse, whether its the Ferguson Riots or the Baltimore riots or other acts. Polling supports that racial tensions have gotten worse. I liked what Obama said in 2008 that we are one America, and he would bring us together, but instead he's done the opposite, taking a divided nation and making it more divided.

 

As for your comments about Christians, that's just ridiculous. I know we attend church every week and participate in programs to feed the hungry both in the US and around the world. We are constantly doing reachout activities to our local communities. And that is common across many Christian denominations. The difference is that Christian Conservatives do not feel its the Government's role to provide for all. Does this mean that the government should provide no social services...no, but when asked about increasing the size of government to pay for more citizens to be dependent on government, most Christians and Conservatives in general are going to oppose that.

 

I could pose the same question to you. Hillary and Obama claim to be Christian. If that is the case, why are they proponents of abortion. I heard Hillary say in a speech a few weeks ago "I'm Pro-abortion."

 

As for #2.....

 

Our financial situation was so dire when the took over that it was going to take time to pull us out. Yes, at one time, the labor participation rate was extremely low. However, recently there have been jobs reports where the jobs created high but the unemployment stayed the same. This is because many of those people who had given up looking actually came back into the work force again. It was a phenomena that the economists were perplexed by for a short time because they hadn't seen it that much before.

 

Many of the things that happen in an economy can't be viewed as.....ah...ha.......that President caused that. It doesn't happen in a vacuum like that.

 

Right now our unemployment rate is at the lowest it's been in quite a while and that's after a portion of unemployed came back into the work force.

 

Honestly......our industry is buzzing along at a rate that we haven't seen since 2006. When we discuss sales volumes we are absolutely pleasantly shocked at how we have done in the last 12-18 months. It actually started getting better about 4-5 years ago. But, this year it has just exploded.

 

Now, I know living in middle Nebraska, our unemployment rate really never went up that much and we are pretty much the lowest in the nation. But, our biggest problem right now is we can't find people.

 

So.....I have a hard time ranting about how horrible our economy is.

 

 

As for #4....

 

What do you attribute the racial tensions to? If I remember correctly, the riots you listed were direct results of police officers doing some pretty horrible things.

 

 

Regarding the first item you bolded, you are suggesting that we should not attribute good and bed economies to Presidents, so when Hillary makes the silly claim that the economy is better under Democrats, she is misleading again? Would you agree with that? As for the labor participation rate, it continues to remain at historic lows. The unemployment rate as its typically reported is typically useless. A more fair measure would be the underemployment rate that includes those who are not fully employed as well as those who have left the work force. The underemployment rate when Bush was in office in his 2nd term was around 7.5% prior to the world financial collapse. It shot up to near 17% late in 2009 toward 2010, which I would not attribute to Obama, but it still remains near 14%, nearly double the pre-financial collapse underemployment rate.

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=historical+underemployment+rate&rlz=1C1AFAB_enUS504US535&biw=1164&bih=759&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj7_9qm5p3NAhULGlIKHb4oB-cQ_AUIBygC#imgrc=LPgC6Akw4Y_HrM%3A

 

As for Nebraska, it's a red state and is buzzing like Texas and other red states with jobs. I lived in Nebraska for a few years and loved it due to the business-friendly climate. It's not representative of the nation however.

 

Regarding racial tensions, that's a complete joke to blame the cops for all racial tensions. With the Ferguson riots, there was ample evidence that Darren Wilson was acting in self-defense, yet the left extremists were looking for a reason to create riots, and the media (including Fox) fueled what might happen, and as the city of Ferguson was on fire, those leftists figured fueling the fire were suddenly realizing what had happened. I'm not saying every cop is innocent, and there are some dumb cops out there, but the President could have issued more harsh words to his fellow African Americans that its not ok to burn a city down in protest. When Black Lives Matter protesters were chanting they wanted dead cops, Obama sat silently and refused to condemn them. I think this article highlights those racial tensions and I frankly feel that is a big reason why Donald Trump was so successful in the primaries.

 

http://nypost.com/2016/01/17/how-obama-has-turned-back-the-clock-on-race-relations/

[knapplc]

Polls may show that people believe race relations aren't good, but those are opinions, not hard facts. There are people who are of the opinion the earth is flat - doesn't make them right.

 

If it's a "joke" to blame cops for racial tensions, it's also a joke to blame Obama for not fixing all racial problems in America. Obama can't make racists unracist, and it's unrealistic to expect this of him.

 

Race relations in America are the responsibility of every single person, not the president. Pinning racial problems on a president who hasn't done anything to worsen them is passing the buck, and ignoring what's in the heart of the people around us, or ourselves.

 

I grew up in a solidly racist town and the people I talk to when I go back are solidly racist still. I don't share their views, which is why I don't live there anymore or hang out with those people more than I can help. But when I do, what's in their heart comes out. They resent the fact that a Black man has been elected to the presidency. That's not Obama's fault, and Obama can't fix that. That feeling is entirely on the people who feel it.

[NM11046]

I'm curious on those who are in a "wait & see" stage regarding the legal trouble Trump has/is facing with lack of payment to vendors and employees. What exactly are you waiting to see? The USA Today story was very diligently investigated, all the news outlets (including Fox) are now running with it. The 3500 lawsuits are public knowledge - and I believe they are separate from the 1500 related to Trump University.

[knapplc]

I'm curious on those who are in a "wait & see" stage regarding the legal trouble Trump has/is facing with lack of payment to vendors and employees. What exactly are you waiting to see? The USA Today story was very diligently investigated, all the news outlets (including Fox) are now running with it. The 3500 lawsuits are public knowledge - and I believe they are separate from the 1500 related to Trump University.

I have an inherent distrust of such articles, especially during campaign season.

 

Call it the Duke Rape Case hangover. I was sure those guys were guilty, because the details in the well-researched article were overwhelming. Then the truth came out and I felt like an idiot. I'm trying not to make that mistake again.

 

If it turns out the story is true, my patience on the due diligence and waiting for Trump's response won't have harmed anyone.

[zoogs]

 

 

If it's a "joke" to blame cops for racial tensions, it's also a joke to blame Obama for not fixing all racial problems in America. Obama can't make racists unracist, and it's unrealistic to expect this of him.

Race relations in America are the responsibility of every single person, not the president. Pinning racial problems on a president who hasn't done anything to worsen them is passing the buck, and ignoring what's in the heart of the people around us, or ourselves.

 

^ Well said.

 

It's part of the anti-PC backlash around which Trump has framed much of his argument: "I'm not racist for being racist, you're racist for complaining about my racism! Can't we go back to the good old days, where I could say terrible things, and everyone would be OK with it?"

 

...and it makes sense that there's popular appeal to this.

[BigRedBuster]

 

 

 

 

 

Is it surprising to anyone that Donald Trump not only had multiple affairs with married women -- while married himself -- he saw fit to brag about it in his autobiography?

 

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/01/27/christians-cringe-at-donald-trump-s-sexy-past.html

 

Don't care, myself, but Republicans and evangelical Christians might want to start scuttling off that moral high ground.

 

I have no idea why Trump won or tied the Evangelical vote in many of the primaries as I would prefer someone with a better personal compass. With that said, I do expect many of those Evangelicals who did not support him in the primaries to get on board as we are down to two deeply flawed candidates, and Trump at least offers a chance to reverse the negative direction this country has been on for years. Hillary will simply offer more of the same. Thus, I do now expect many of those Evangelicals that did not support Trump in the primary to get on board the Trump train.

 

 

Seriously. I need a Republican to walk me through the negatives that define the negative direction we're heading down, so we can figure out how they happened, how to stop them and/or whether they are actually bad.

 

And I need a good Christian to help me figure out why so many followers of Christ are opposed to feeding the hungry, helping the sick and loving thy neighbor, and instead support candidates who embrace guns, wage war and invite the money lenders INTO the temple.

 

 

You are starting to sound like Trump by making extreme outlandish statements as a starting point for debating points. With that said, I will take the bait.

 

Regarding the negative direction we are facing, here are my 4 biggest concerns facing our nation.

 

1. ISIS-As I pointed out in another thread, according to Obama's own CIA director, ISIS has grown 4400% under his watch. While he's taken out Bin Laden and other terror targets, we face a greater threat against terrorism today then when he took office.

 

2. Economic growth/Jobs-Obama certainly inherited a tough economic climate when he took office, so it's great that we've seen some improvement, but to me there is so much more possibility with our economy, and under his watch, more people have actually stopped working and dropped out of the labor force (meaning they are more dependent on social services), and the labor participation rate is the lowest since the Carter days. I would note that of all the past 5 Presidents, I think Reagan, Bush 43, and Obama inherited the worst situations, while Bush 41 and Clinton inherited the best. To me Bush 43 had the most difficult climate his first year dealing with a recession that Clinton left him, the Enron scandal and collapsing financial markets, and then 9/11. Anyone who would expect to see positive economic metrics (jobs, GDP growth) in his first 3 years in office simply is not being realistic.

 

http://dailysignal.com/2012/09/07/two-huge-flaws-in-the-legend-of-the-clinton-economy/

 

3. National Debt-Members of both parties are to blame for our national debt, but CBO predictions show that the rise in national debt in the coming years is going to explode even more than it has the past 10 years. Obamacare has made this rise in national debt worse.

 

4. Racial Tensions-Under Obama's watch, Racial Tensions have gotten worse, whether its the Ferguson Riots or the Baltimore riots or other acts. Polling supports that racial tensions have gotten worse. I liked what Obama said in 2008 that we are one America, and he would bring us together, but instead he's done the opposite, taking a divided nation and making it more divided.

 

As for your comments about Christians, that's just ridiculous. I know we attend church every week and participate in programs to feed the hungry both in the US and around the world. We are constantly doing reachout activities to our local communities. And that is common across many Christian denominations. The difference is that Christian Conservatives do not feel its the Government's role to provide for all. Does this mean that the government should provide no social services...no, but when asked about increasing the size of government to pay for more citizens to be dependent on government, most Christians and Conservatives in general are going to oppose that.

 

I could pose the same question to you. Hillary and Obama claim to be Christian. If that is the case, why are they proponents of abortion. I heard Hillary say in a speech a few weeks ago "I'm Pro-abortion."

 

As for #2.....

 

Our financial situation was so dire when the took over that it was going to take time to pull us out. Yes, at one time, the labor participation rate was extremely low. However, recently there have been jobs reports where the jobs created high but the unemployment stayed the same. This is because many of those people who had given up looking actually came back into the work force again. It was a phenomena that the economists were perplexed by for a short time because they hadn't seen it that much before.

 

Many of the things that happen in an economy can't be viewed as.....ah...ha.......that President caused that. It doesn't happen in a vacuum like that.

 

Right now our unemployment rate is at the lowest it's been in quite a while and that's after a portion of unemployed came back into the work force.

 

Honestly......our industry is buzzing along at a rate that we haven't seen since 2006. When we discuss sales volumes we are absolutely pleasantly shocked at how we have done in the last 12-18 months. It actually started getting better about 4-5 years ago. But, this year it has just exploded.

 

Now, I know living in middle Nebraska, our unemployment rate really never went up that much and we are pretty much the lowest in the nation. But, our biggest problem right now is we can't find people.

 

So.....I have a hard time ranting about how horrible our economy is.

 

 

As for #4....

 

What do you attribute the racial tensions to? If I remember correctly, the riots you listed were direct results of police officers doing some pretty horrible things.

 

 

Regarding the first item you bolded, you are suggesting that we should not attribute good and bed economies to Presidents, so when Hillary makes the silly claim that the economy is better under Democrats, she is misleading again? Would you agree with that? As for the labor participation rate, it continues to remain at historic lows. The unemployment rate as its typically reported is typically useless. A more fair measure would be the underemployment rate that includes those who are not fully employed as well as those who have left the work force. The underemployment rate when Bush was in office in his 2nd term was around 7.5% prior to the world financial collapse. It shot up to near 17% late in 2009 toward 2010, which I would not attribute to Obama, but it still remains near 14%, nearly double the pre-financial collapse underemployment rate.

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=historical+underemployment+rate&rlz=1C1AFAB_enUS504US535&biw=1164&bih=759&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj7_9qm5p3NAhULGlIKHb4oB-cQ_AUIBygC#imgrc=LPgC6Akw4Y_HrM%3A

 

As for Nebraska, it's a red state and is buzzing like Texas and other red states with jobs. I lived in Nebraska for a few years and loved it due to the business-friendly climate. It's not representative of the nation however.

 

Regarding racial tensions, that's a complete joke to blame the cops for all racial tensions. With the Ferguson riots, there was ample evidence that Darren Wilson was acting in self-defense, yet the left extremists were looking for a reason to create riots, and the media (including Fox) fueled what might happen, and as the city of Ferguson was on fire, those leftists figured fueling the fire were suddenly realizing what had happened. I'm not saying every cop is innocent, and there are some dumb cops out there, but the President could have issued more harsh words to his fellow African Americans that its not ok to burn a city down in protest. When Black Lives Matter protesters were chanting they wanted dead cops, Obama sat silently and refused to condemn them. I think this article highlights those racial tensions and I frankly feel that is a big reason why Donald Trump was so successful in the primaries.

 

http://nypost.com/2016/01/17/how-obama-has-turned-back-the-clock-on-race-relations/

 

I'm saying that you can't take a statistic during one President's term and claim..."ahaaaa....they caused that to happen."

 

For instance, the good economy during the Clinton years was largely aided by what was done and what happened in the prior 8-12 years. Yes, he did a good job of keeping it going. But, its idiotic for the Dems or Clintons to rant about how great the economy was under his Presidency without giving some major props to what came before him. He would have never been able to have the good budgets he had if the economy wasn't clicking along pretty dang well when eh came into office.

 

So, to your point about Hillary making the claim the economy is better under Democrats....well....I would say at best she isn't telling the entire story.

 

I might agree with her as far as the last 16 years though. But, you also have to look at what Bush had to deal with such as 9/11...etc. That was a major blow to our economy under his watch and if you don't believe the people who claim he planned and knew about 9/11, it's something that he had no control over. Also, the moves that started the building of the impending housing crisis started long before he was in office. Did he help prevent it? No. but, you can't lay that all at his feet either.