Does anyone here think there will be any traction to this Italy gate?

^ oh brother! First off, Medicaid being paid by the Federal gov't means it is paid for by all WORKING Americans. Nothing is free. That is why it has been fought against. Second, law enforcement does not dictate who breaks the laws and who doesn't. You break the law you pay the consequence, regardless of race, religion, etc. You don't want to go to prison and risk being raped? Don't commit a crime. They made that choice, not me or Joe police officer. Thirdly, it is not a race issue, it is a cultural issue. Those brought up in low income subsidized housing are more likely to commit crimes. Doesn't matter what color your skin is. Just happens that in bigger cities the majority are black. My town the majority are white and we see the same behaviors from them. It is a culture of doing what they want and not having consequences. This has been going on since the every kid gets a trophy crap. There has been no consequences or no reward for hard work. Or better yet, no penalty for not trying. Sounds to me a lot like socialism? Now we know why the younger generation hates capitalism, it rewards hard work
 
Please quote what POTUS said that violated this policy, and remember is cannot be subjective. No summary please, quote.

Trumps incitements to violence did not begin with the attack on the Capital. They go way back.

In response to protests after the death of George Floyd in police custody, Trump blamed a lack of local leadership on the unrest, called protesters "THUGS" and even appeared to suggest shooting at looters.

"These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won't let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!" Trump tweeted shortly before 1 a.m. Friday.

In Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on the day of the Iowa caucuses, for instance, he told audience members he would pay their legal fees if they engaged in violence against protesters.

"If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? Seriously, OK? Just knock the hell ... I promise you I will pay for the legal fees. I promise, I promise," the future president said on Feb. 1, 2016.

At a Las Vegas rally later that month, he said security guards were too gentle with a protester. "He's walking out with big high-fives, smiling, laughing," Trump said. "I'd like to punch him in the face, I'll tell you."

A similar situation unfolded at a rally that month in Warren, Michigan.

"Get him out," he said of a protester. "Try not to hurt him but if you do, I'll defend you in court. Don't worry about it."

On March 9, 2016, as a protester was being escorted out of a rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, he was sucker-punched by another attendee. The day after the Fayetteville incident, the Trump campaign released a statement that didn't mention Trump's earlier comments at other rallies where he appeared to suggest hitting protesters.

Then Twitter slapped a warning label on both the original tweet and the White House account's replication for violating its rule about "glorifying violence".
 
The U.S. may have once been among the richest societies in history but it still lags behind other developed nations in many important indicators of human development – key factors like how children are educated, treatment of prisoners, how Americans take care of the sick and disabled and more. In some instances, the U.S.’s performance is downright abysmal, far below foreign countries that are snidely looked-down-upon as “third world.” The countries Trump referred to as "shit holes". Here are six of the most egregious examples that show how far the U.S. still has to go to be truly great:

1. Criminal Justice
We all know the U.S. criminal justice system is flawed, but few are likely aware of just how bad it is compared to the rest of the world. The International Center for Prison Studies estimates that America imprisons 716 people per 100,000 citizens (of any age). That’s significantly worse than Russia (484 prisoners per 100,000 citizens), China (121) and Iran (284). The only country that incarcerates a higher percentage of its population than we do is North Korea. The U.S. is also the only developed country that executes prisoners – and our death penalty has a serious race problem: 42 percent of those on death row are black, compared to less than 15 percent of the overall population.

Over two and a half million American children have a parent behind bars. A whopping 60 percent of those incarcerated in U.S. prisons are non-violent offenders, many of them in prison for drug charges (overwhelmingly African-Americans). Even while our crime rate has fallen, our incarcerated population has climbed. As of 2011, an estimated 217,000 American prisoners were raped each year – that’s 600 new victims every day, a truly horrifying number. In 2010, the Department of Justice released a report about abuse in juvenile detention centers. The report found that 12.1 percent of all youth held in juvenile detention reported sexual violence; youth held for between seven and 12 months had a victimization rate of 14.2 percent.

2. Gun Violence
The U.S. leads the developed world in firearm-related murders, and the difference isn’t a slight gap – more like a chasm. According to United Nations data, the U.S. has 20 times more murders than the developed world average. Our murder rate also dwarfs many developing nations, like Iraq, which has a murder rate less than half ours. More than half of the most deadly mass shootings documented in the past 50 years around the world occurred in the United States, and 73 percent of the killers in the U.S. obtained their weapons legally. Another study finds that the U.S. has one of the highest proportion of suicides committed with a gun. Gun violence varies across the U.S., but some cities like New Orleans and Detroit rival the most violent Latin American countries, where gun violence is highest in the world.

3. Healthcare
A study last year found that in many American counties, especially in the deep South, life expectancy is lower than in Algeria, Nicaragua or Bangladesh. The U.S. is the only developed country that does not guarantee health care to its citizens; even after the Affordable Care Act, millions of poor Americans will remain uninsured because governors, mainly Republicans, have refused to expand Medicaid, which provides health insurance for low-income Americans. Although the federal government will pay for the expansion, many governors cited cost, even though the expansion would actually save money. America is unique among developed countries in that tens of thousands of poor Americans die because they lack health insurance, even while we spend more than twice as much of our GDP on healthcare than the average for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a collection of rich world countries. The U.S. has an infant mortality rate that dwarfs comparable nations, as well as the highest teenage-pregnancy rate in the developed world, largely because of the politically-motivated unavailability of contraception in many areas.

4. Education
The U.S. is among only three nations in the world that does not guarantee paid maternal leave (the other two are Papua New Guinea and Swaziland). This means many poor American mothers must choose between raising their children and keeping their jobs. The U.S. education system is plagued with structural racial biases, like the fact that schools are funded at the local, rather than national level. That means that schools attended by poor black people get far less funding than the schools attended by wealthier students. The Department of Education has confirmed that schools with high concentrations of poor students have lower levels of funding. It’s no wonder America has one of the highest achievement gaps between high income and low income students, as measured by the OECD. Schools today are actually more racially segregated than they were in the 1970s. Our higher education system is unique among developed nations in that is funded almost entirely privately, by debt. Students in the average OECD country can expect about 70 percent of their college tuition to be publicly funded; in the United States, only about 40 percent of the cost of education is publicly-funded. That’s one reason the U.S. has the highest tuition costs of any OECD country.

5. Inequality
By almost every measure, the U.S. tops out OECD countries in terms of income inequality, largely because America has the stingiest welfare state of any developed country. This inequality has deep and profound effects on American society. For instance, although the U.S. justifies its rampant inequality on the premise of upward mobility, many parts of the United States have abysmal levels of social mobility, where children born in the poorest quintile have a less than 3 percent chance of reaching the top quintile. Inequality harms our democracy, because the wealthy exert an outsized political influence. Sheldon Adelson, for instance, spent more to influence the 2012 election than the residents of 12 states combined. Inequality also tears at the social fabric, with a large body of research showing that inequality correlates with low levels of social trust. In their book The Spirit Level, Richard Pickett and Kate Wilkinson show that a wide variety of social indicators, including health and well-being are intimately tied to inequality.

6. Infrastructure
The United States infrastructure is slowly crumbling apart and is in desperate need for repair. One study estimates that our infrastructure system needs a $3.6 trillion investment over the next six years. In New York City, the development of Second Avenue subway line was first delayed by the outbreak of World War II; it’s still not finished. In South Dakota, Alaska and Pennsylvania, water is still transported via century-old wooden pipes. Some 45 percent of Americans lack access to public transit. Large portions of U.S. wastewater capacity are more than half a century old and in Detroit, some of the sewer lines date back to the mid-19th century. One in nine U.S. bridges (or 66,405 bridges) are considered “structurally deficient,” according to the National Bridge Inventory. All of this means that the U.S. has fallen rapidly in international rankings of infrastructure.

America is a great country, and it does many things well. But it has vast blind spots. The fact that nearly 6 million Americans, or 2.5 percent of the voting-age population, cannot vote because they have a felony on record means that politicians can lock up more and more citizens without fear of losing their seat. Our ideas of meritocracy and upward mobility blind us to the realities of class and inequality. Our healthcare system provides good care to some, but it comes at a cost – millions of people without health insurance. If Americans don’t critically examine these flaws, how can the U.S. ever hope to progress as a society?
C’mon now.. cut and paste conversation? No thanks. Not mention there is a lot of BS in this article. Remember people vote with there feet and they’re all trying to make it here!
 
The U.S. may have once been among the richest societies in history but it still lags behind other developed nations in many important indicators of human development – key factors like how children are educated, treatment of prisoners, how Americans take care of the sick and disabled and more. In some instances, the U.S.’s performance is downright abysmal, far below foreign countries that are snidely looked-down-upon as “third world.” The countries Trump referred to as "shit holes". Here are six of the most egregious examples that show how far the U.S. still has to go to be truly great:

1. Criminal Justice
We all know the U.S. criminal justice system is flawed, but few are likely aware of just how bad it is compared to the rest of the world. The International Center for Prison Studies estimates that America imprisons 716 people per 100,000 citizens (of any age). That’s significantly worse than Russia (484 prisoners per 100,000 citizens), China (121) and Iran (284). The only country that incarcerates a higher percentage of its population than we do is North Korea. The U.S. is also the only developed country that executes prisoners – and our death penalty has a serious race problem: 42 percent of those on death row are black, compared to less than 15 percent of the overall population.

Over two and a half million American children have a parent behind bars. A whopping 60 percent of those incarcerated in U.S. prisons are non-violent offenders, many of them in prison for drug charges (overwhelmingly African-Americans). Even while our crime rate has fallen, our incarcerated population has climbed. As of 2011, an estimated 217,000 American prisoners were raped each year – that’s 600 new victims every day, a truly horrifying number. In 2010, the Department of Justice released a report about abuse in juvenile detention centers. The report found that 12.1 percent of all youth held in juvenile detention reported sexual violence; youth held for between seven and 12 months had a victimization rate of 14.2 percent.

2. Gun Violence
The U.S. leads the developed world in firearm-related murders, and the difference isn’t a slight gap – more like a chasm. According to United Nations data, the U.S. has 20 times more murders than the developed world average. Our murder rate also dwarfs many developing nations, like Iraq, which has a murder rate less than half ours. More than half of the most deadly mass shootings documented in the past 50 years around the world occurred in the United States, and 73 percent of the killers in the U.S. obtained their weapons legally. Another study finds that the U.S. has one of the highest proportion of suicides committed with a gun. Gun violence varies across the U.S., but some cities like New Orleans and Detroit rival the most violent Latin American countries, where gun violence is highest in the world.

3. Healthcare
A study last year found that in many American counties, especially in the deep South, life expectancy is lower than in Algeria, Nicaragua or Bangladesh. The U.S. is the only developed country that does not guarantee health care to its citizens; even after the Affordable Care Act, millions of poor Americans will remain uninsured because governors, mainly Republicans, have refused to expand Medicaid, which provides health insurance for low-income Americans. Although the federal government will pay for the expansion, many governors cited cost, even though the expansion would actually save money. America is unique among developed countries in that tens of thousands of poor Americans die because they lack health insurance, even while we spend more than twice as much of our GDP on healthcare than the average for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a collection of rich world countries. The U.S. has an infant mortality rate that dwarfs comparable nations, as well as the highest teenage-pregnancy rate in the developed world, largely because of the politically-motivated unavailability of contraception in many areas.

4. Education
The U.S. is among only three nations in the world that does not guarantee paid maternal leave (the other two are Papua New Guinea and Swaziland). This means many poor American mothers must choose between raising their children and keeping their jobs. The U.S. education system is plagued with structural racial biases, like the fact that schools are funded at the local, rather than national level. That means that schools attended by poor black people get far less funding than the schools attended by wealthier students. The Department of Education has confirmed that schools with high concentrations of poor students have lower levels of funding. It’s no wonder America has one of the highest achievement gaps between high income and low income students, as measured by the OECD. Schools today are actually more racially segregated than they were in the 1970s. Our higher education system is unique among developed nations in that is funded almost entirely privately, by debt. Students in the average OECD country can expect about 70 percent of their college tuition to be publicly funded; in the United States, only about 40 percent of the cost of education is publicly-funded. That’s one reason the U.S. has the highest tuition costs of any OECD country.

5. Inequality
By almost every measure, the U.S. tops out OECD countries in terms of income inequality, largely because America has the stingiest welfare state of any developed country. This inequality has deep and profound effects on American society. For instance, although the U.S. justifies its rampant inequality on the premise of upward mobility, many parts of the United States have abysmal levels of social mobility, where children born in the poorest quintile have a less than 3 percent chance of reaching the top quintile. Inequality harms our democracy, because the wealthy exert an outsized political influence. Sheldon Adelson, for instance, spent more to influence the 2012 election than the residents of 12 states combined. Inequality also tears at the social fabric, with a large body of research showing that inequality correlates with low levels of social trust. In their book The Spirit Level, Richard Pickett and Kate Wilkinson show that a wide variety of social indicators, including health and well-being are intimately tied to inequality.

6. Infrastructure
The United States infrastructure is slowly crumbling apart and is in desperate need for repair. One study estimates that our infrastructure system needs a $3.6 trillion investment over the next six years. In New York City, the development of Second Avenue subway line was first delayed by the outbreak of World War II; it’s still not finished. In South Dakota, Alaska and Pennsylvania, water is still transported via century-old wooden pipes. Some 45 percent of Americans lack access to public transit. Large portions of U.S. wastewater capacity are more than half a century old and in Detroit, some of the sewer lines date back to the mid-19th century. One in nine U.S. bridges (or 66,405 bridges) are considered “structurally deficient,” according to the National Bridge Inventory. All of this means that the U.S. has fallen rapidly in international rankings of infrastructure.

America is a great country, and it does many things well. But it has vast blind spots. The fact that nearly 6 million Americans, or 2.5 percent of the voting-age population, cannot vote because they have a felony on record means that politicians can lock up more and more citizens without fear of losing their seat. Our ideas of meritocracy and upward mobility blind us to the realities of class and inequality. Our healthcare system provides good care to some, but it comes at a cost – millions of people without health insurance. If Americans don’t critically examine these flaws, how can the U.S. ever hope to progress as a society?


...and it's the greatest nation on earth.
 
...and it's the greatest nation on earth.

It was, at one time. No longer.
  • Switzerland. #1 in Best Countries Overall. ...
  • Canada. #2 in Best Countries Overall. ...
  • Japan. #3 in Best Countries Overall. ...
  • Germany. #4 in Best Countries Overall. ...
  • Australia. #5 in Best Countries Overall. ...
  • United Kingdom. #6 in Best Countries Overall. ...
  • United States. #7 in Best Countries Overall. ...
- U.S. News and World Report.

Perhaps Joe and Kamala will help make America great, again.
 
Trumps incitements to violence did not begin with the attack on the Capital. They go way back.

In response to protests after the death of George Floyd in police custody, Trump blamed a lack of local leadership on the unrest, called protesters "THUGS" and even appeared to suggest shooting at looters.

"These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won't let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!" Trump tweeted shortly before 1 a.m. Friday.

In Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on the day of the Iowa caucuses, for instance, he told audience members he would pay their legal fees if they engaged in violence against protesters.

"If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? Seriously, OK? Just knock the hell ... I promise you I will pay for the legal fees. I promise, I promise," the future president said on Feb. 1, 2016.

At a Las Vegas rally later that month, he said security guards were too gentle with a protester. "He's walking out with big high-fives, smiling, laughing," Trump said. "I'd like to punch him in the face, I'll tell you."

A similar situation unfolded at a rally that month in Warren, Michigan.

"Get him out," he said of a protester. "Try not to hurt him but if you do, I'll defend you in court. Don't worry about it."

On March 9, 2016, as a protester was being escorted out of a rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, he was sucker-punched by another attendee. The day after the Fayetteville incident, the Trump campaign released a statement that didn't mention Trump's earlier comments at other rallies where he appeared to suggest hitting protesters.

Then Twitter slapped a warning label on both the original tweet and the White House account's replication for violating its rule about "glorifying violence".
Not one of these statements resulted in his ban, which occurred only two days ago, these quotes are from years ago. And these things were never posted on Twitter or any other platform so there is no violation of policy.
This is a simple example of Marxist tech companies who hate POTUS and decided to ban him at the end of his presidency in an attempt to shame him. This man brokered a Middle East peace deal that no one could get done and there complaining about how he described rioters. As Nancy Pelosi said regarding riots “ people do what they do” Harris- “Riots will continue after election” “protestors should not let up” Ayanna Presley- “There needs to be unrest in the streets” Khamenei- calls for the elimination of Israel. None of them banned from social media.
 
Trumps incitements to violence did not begin with the attack on the Capital. They go way back.

In response to protests after the death of George Floyd in police custody, Trump blamed a lack of local leadership on the unrest, called protesters "THUGS" and even appeared to suggest shooting at looters.

"These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won't let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!" Trump tweeted shortly before 1 a.m. Friday.

In Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on the day of the Iowa caucuses, for instance, he told audience members he would pay their legal fees if they engaged in violence against protesters.

"If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? Seriously, OK? Just knock the hell ... I promise you I will pay for the legal fees. I promise, I promise," the future president said on Feb. 1, 2016.

At a Las Vegas rally later that month, he said security guards were too gentle with a protester. "He's walking out with big high-fives, smiling, laughing," Trump said. "I'd like to punch him in the face, I'll tell you."

A similar situation unfolded at a rally that month in Warren, Michigan.

"Get him out," he said of a protester. "Try not to hurt him but if you do, I'll defend you in court. Don't worry about it."

On March 9, 2016, as a protester was being escorted out of a rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, he was sucker-punched by another attendee. The day after the Fayetteville incident, the Trump campaign released a statement that didn't mention Trump's earlier comments at other rallies where he appeared to suggest hitting protesters.

Then Twitter slapped a warning label on both the original tweet and the White House account's replication for violating its rule about "glorifying violence".
Now do Democrats.
 
It was, at one time. No longer.
  • Switzerland. #1 in Best Countries Overall. ...
  • Canada. #2 in Best Countries Overall. ...
  • Japan. #3 in Best Countries Overall. ...
  • Germany. #4 in Best Countries Overall. ...
  • Australia. #5 in Best Countries Overall. ...
  • United Kingdom. #6 in Best Countries Overall. ...
  • United States. #7 in Best Countries Overall. ...
- U.S. News and World Report.

Perhaps Joe and Kamala will help make America great, again.
Lol who printed that? Treadu?
 
It was, at one time. No longer.
  • Switzerland. #1 in Best Countries Overall. ...
  • Canada. #2 in Best Countries Overall. ...
  • Japan. #3 in Best Countries Overall. ...
  • Germany. #4 in Best Countries Overall. ...
  • Australia. #5 in Best Countries Overall. ...
  • United Kingdom. #6 in Best Countries Overall. ...
  • United States. #7 in Best Countries Overall. ...
- U.S. News and World Report.

Perhaps Joe and Kamala will help make America great, again.
So here's what I suggest. We stop sending money all over the world helping make those nations better. We pair down our military overseas -- close our bases, bring our troops back home. Now we can take those billions and investing them here at home. And those other "top 6" countries can defend the world. Problems solved.
 
"Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering." - Yoda

Fear of communism lead the U.S. into the Vietnam war, where 58,200 young Americans died, along with over 1 million N.Vietnamese soldiers, 250 ,000 S. Vietnamese soldiers and over 2 million civilians on both sides. The war had ended by 1975 with American forces going home and Vietnamese forces winning the country. 20 years later, the U.S. resumed diplomatic and economic relations with Vietnam. 45 years later, there are now fewer communist countries in the world than in 1975. The fear of communism spreading, the "domino effect" was wrong. What should this history teach us?

"Together we must learn how to compose differences, not with arms, but with intellect and decent purpose."
Dwight D. Eisenhower - a very smart man.

You k now why, because of U.S. say thank you,
 
"Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering." - Yoda

Fear of communism lead the U.S. into the Vietnam war, where 58,200 young Americans died, along with over 1 million N.Vietnamese soldiers, 250 ,000 S. Vietnamese soldiers and over 2 million civilians on both sides. The war had ended by 1975 with American forces going home and Vietnamese forces winning the country. 20 years later, the U.S. resumed diplomatic and economic relations with Vietnam. 45 years later, there are now fewer communist countries in the world than in 1975. The fear of communism spreading, the "domino effect" was wrong. What should this history teach us?

"Together we must learn how to compose differences, not with arms, but with intellect and decent purpose."
Dwight D. Eisenhower - a very smart man.
I suggest you go look at the year 1989. I also suggest you look at the funding of regimes that comes from China.
 
I want to briefly thank everybody for the spirited debate that remained civil and the moderator for not shutting it down. This is the hallmark of the American way of life!

I think I’ll get back to boating now! Be well.
 
Maybe Trump was taking a tough approach to these 'thugs' like they should have had growing up. And when he said thugs he was referring to those that were destroying property, not the peaceful protestors. And those that raided the Capitol building weren't much better just to put it in perspective. The rioters destroyed many peoples and families lives. Many innocent people will be financially ruined for life. I'm sure there will be many suicides and an increase in alcohol and drug abuse by the innocent victims of these 'thugs'
 
Maybe Trump was taking a tough approach to these 'thugs' like they should have had growing up. And when he said thugs he was referring to those that were destroying property, not the peaceful protestors. And those that raided the Capitol building weren't much better just to put it in perspective. The rioters destroyed many peoples and families lives. Many innocent people will be financially ruined for life. I'm sure there will be many suicides and an increase in alcohol and drug abuse by the innocent victims of these 'thugs'
For anyone curious, contact me. I'll take you on a tour of Kenosha WI, my mother's home town. Just bring a pair of gloves and shovel to help clean up -- you can still smell the stench of burned out buildings and car lots.
 
It was, at one time. No longer.
  • Switzerland. #1 in Best Countries Overall. ...
  • Canada. #2 in Best Countries Overall. ...
  • Japan. #3 in Best Countries Overall. ...
  • Germany. #4 in Best Countries Overall. ...
  • Australia. #5 in Best Countries Overall. ...
  • United Kingdom. #6 in Best Countries Overall. ...
  • United States. #7 in Best Countries Overall. ...
- U.S. News and World Report.

Perhaps Joe and Kamala will help make America great, again.

And we provide the military defense for all 6 of those countries. Without us they would have been taken over long ago. Trump has asked them to step up and contribute a lousy 2% of their GDP with they agreed to as members of NATO and have not done so for decades.
 
So here's what I suggest. We stop sending money all over the world helping make those nations better. We pair down our military overseas -- close our bases, bring our troops back home. Now we can take those billions and investing them here at home. And those other "top 6" countries can defend the world. Problems solved.

Most of the world wonders why the U.S. spends $750 billion dollars on the military, too. Defending against what, exactly? Trump has already backed out of NATO commitments. I, for one would welcome the U.S. spending that outrageous amount of money on education, health care, infrastructure upgrades, homelessness, inequality and all the other things that would truly help make America Great! Trump did not get the job done.
 
And we provide the military defense for all 6 of those countries. Without us they would have been taken over long ago. Trump has asked them to step up and contribute a lousy 2% of their GDP with they agreed to as members of NATO and have not done so for decades.
Other countries are disillusioned with the U.S. preoccupation with creating enemies to go to war with: Iraq was supposed to have weapons of mass destruction. There were none but the U.S. led two wars there, anyway. Lebanon? Syria? Afghanistan? Is the world better off because of these incursions? U.S. foreign policy is designed to support an American military machine. It rarely defends and it's true enemies are home-grown.
 

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