Summations Only

This is ridiculous on a number of fronts:
1) No one knows thousands of people personally.2) The total number of canadians that went out of Canada to all destinations for health care last year was 52,000.
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This is 1.1 percent.
Out of those 52,000 you don't know any personally do you?3) It is interesting that the whole plot of "Breaking Bad" doesn't make any sense here. My sister-in-law is in hospital right now (for weeks) for cancer treatment and there is zero, nada, zip worry about bills.There is no way I would want to deal with the US system. Ours might not be the best in the world but it is head and shoulders above the US system. (Unless, of course, you are rich in which case you don't care where you are just fly to Europe for care).

I had to check the calendar and make sure it isn't April 1^st, but the Washington Post is reporting that President Trump is willing to compromise on immigration:

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President Trump on Tuesday said he is open to an immigration reform bill that could provide a pathway to legal status but not citizenship for potentially millions of people who are in the United States illegally but have not committed serious crimes.

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At a private White House luncheon with television news anchors, Trump signaled an openness to a dramatic compromise that would represent a softening from the crackdown on all undocumented immigrants that he promised during his campaign and that his more hard-line supporters have long advocated.

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Article: Trump says he is open to immigration compromise that provides a pathway to legal statusThe New York Times is reporting the same thing: Trump Signals Drastic Shift on ImmigrantsFox News reported this in a more tempered fashion: Trump voices support for immigration bill ahead of speech to Congress:

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He reportedly is open to considering a pathway to legal status for some illegal immigrants. But it’s unclear how far Trump might press the issue in his address Tuesday night, as he also pushes for increased border security and other priorities...The time is right for an immigration bill as long as both sides are willing to compromise, Trump said at a lunch with news anchors.

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Chris Wallace called him a "kinder, gentler Donald Trump." Hard to believe.It's hard to know how seriously to take this, we'll have to see what develops.--Percy

Maybe he read the writing on the wall?AbE:But why not a path to citizenship?If Trump spent the next four years turning illegal immigrants into US Citizens because of Donald Trump is there any way he could be defeated?Why not turn those three million fraudulent votes from illegal immigrants into three million legal votes for the man who led them to FREEDOM, FREEDOM Shout it from the rooftops, PRAISE god and TRUMP that FREEDOM RINGS.Edited by jar, : see AbE:

What if in addition to the wing nut stuff Trump does, he manages to pull of some version of comprehensive immigration reform, while putting in place a half-way decent health care replacement (meaning something other than y'all poor folks hurry up and die)? Goodbye democrats forever?

As Newt Gingrich said back when he actually was a power to be reckoned with, the Party that puts a Universal Health Care system in place will hold the power for at least two generations.

Indeed, if he can bully republicans and democrats into a bipartisan immigration reform (there are old bills he can revive) AND get universal healthcare, then he will likely be reelected by a landslide.But what souls will need to be sold to get there from other progroms.

If he is smart then the cost will be from programs where the damage can be hidden for decades. The obvious place he will look is the environment. He can rape the lands and as long as he avoids the tourist spots not create too great a backlash. He can rape the streams and until it shows up in a major cities water supply there will be no backlash and when that does happen he can blame the City Manager. And raping the environment will easily generate the cash needed to do both.

Looks like his attempt to take money out of State Dept for "soft tools" (humanitarian programs to bolster US image) is a big failure with top GOP being against it

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Trump pitches 37 percent cut to State Department budget

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday said he would oppose drastic cuts to the State Department.

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Probably not, he said when asked if Congress could pass a 37 percent reduction at the department, according to Fox News.

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Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) earlier Tuesday noted the importance of the State Department's foreign aid to America’s domestic safety.

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Outside the US so most (Trump base) Americans likely to think it's no big deal (the "why should we give aid to X when veterans are on the street" crowd)Enjoy'

Even in the midst of Michael Flynn's leaving the administration under a cloud Jeff Sessions did not see fit to reveal during his confirmation hearings that he had his own meetings with Russian intelligence officials during the election campaign.What the hell happened here? It's almost like Putin was vetting his own choices for the Trump administration positions.Putin: My little Donaldova, this Betsy DeVos, she is brain dead this one. We would choose her to destroy your education system. You make this happen, da?Trump: Yes, of course, Vladimir Vladimirovich.

It was today reported in the Washington Post that young "dreamer" Daniela Vargas was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for overstaying her DACA registration after letting her prior one expire. DACA stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, aka the Dreamer program. Vargas arrived in this country when she was 7.When Trump says only criminals are being deported, he is lying.--Percy

It gets worse as I pointed out in Message 732:Last Wednesday she was one of the speakers at a rally opposing the current deportation frenzy.

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Today my father and brother await deportation, she said, while I continue to fight this battle as a dreamer to help contribute to this country which I feel that is very much my country.

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sourceThe story continues:

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After leaving the news conference with her friend, two law enforcement cars pulled her over. ICE agents reportedly opened the car door, telling Vargas, you know who we are and you know why we’re here, her friend, Jordan Sanders, told Univision. Then, they handcuffed her and took her into custody.

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Her father and brother were already arrested and they to had not committed any criminal acts.The mother is Arizona when was arrested and deported when she reported in to immigration for her annual check as she had been told to do also had not committed any criminal offense.The person who was taken into custody in the court house after her hearing for an order of protection against her boyfriend after ICE got an anonymous tip where an illegal alien might be found was also hardly a threat to the US.It seems the Trump immigration policy is "If you're Brown you're going down".

It seems we may have heard that advice regarding another Republican President or two.Trump claimed he never did business with Russia yet without financial disclosure there is no way to tell how indebted President Trump might be due to Russian financing.As a first baby step Trump should at least do what he pledged to do and release his tax returns.Can we afford a President who may owe money to Russian Bank or worse, other Russian financing?When the US and European banks refused to lend Trump any more money based on all of his business failures and bankruptcies, where did he go to find funding?

A comic strip in our newspaper called "Soup to Nuts" addressed this today. The brothers were watching TV, where someone said "immigration is the greatest threat to all Americans." The first-grader said, "Isn't the Statue of Liberty an immigrant?"No telling who was on the TV..../s

Well, Lady Liberty is okay because she immigrated "the right way." *rolls eyes*