[AMV] Amerikaanse politiek #570: Two weeks 'til midterms

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kylegriffin1 twitterde op donderdag 25-10-2018 om 16:50:10 Mother Jones has apparently obtained text messages that show Roger Stone was working to get a presidential pardon for WikiLeaks' Julian Assange earlier this year. https://t.co/h6OBqnsPF2 reageer retweet

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Op donderdag 25 oktober 2018 16:59 schreef Kijkertje het volgende:

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kylegriffin1 twitterde op donderdag 25-10-2018 om 16:50:10 Mother Jones has apparently obtained text messages that show Roger Stone was working to get a presidential pardon for WikiLeaks' Julian Assange earlier this year. https://t.co/h6OBqnsPF2 reageer retweet

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He’s talking so much. He’s lying so much.

U.S. President Donald Trump made 170 false claims in the second week of October, obliterating his previous record of 133, which he set in August.

The 170 false claims took him past 3,000 false claims for his term, up to 3,086.

The frequency of his dishonesty has continually increased over time. He took 343 days to utter his first 1,000 false claims, 197 to utter his second 1,000, and just 92 days to utter his third 1,000.

Trump makes more false claims the more he talks, and he has never talked more as president than he did in that record-setting October week. As the November midterm elections came into view, Trump uttered 78,542 words, according to the website Factba.se, beating his previous record — the week prior — by 22,000 words.

In addition to four campaign rallies, Trump did interviews with 60 Minutes, Fox News, the Washington Examiner, Time, New York magazine and with local media wherever he travelled; a speech to police chiefs; multiple events at the White House; multiple brief interactions with the White House press corps; and a highly dishonest op-ed in USA Today.



As always, some of Trump’s false claims were minor exaggerations. But many of them were whoppers — complete fabrications that appeared to be intended to scare people into voting Republican. On separate occasions, Trump lied that Democrats plan to abolish America’s borders, dismantle law enforcement, and kick seniors off of their Medicare health insurance.

He also gave some of his supporters a personal experience with his self-aggrandizing lying.

Speaking at his campaign rally in Richmond, Kentucky, Trump declared that “25,000” or “35,000” people were outside the venue watching the speech on a screen. That was news to the couple hundred people, tops, who were actually out there watching, with a Washington Post reporter watching them.

Trump’s 3,086 false claims for the first 633 days of his term give him an average of 4.9 per day.

If Trump is a serial liar, why call this a list of “false claims,” not lies? You can read our detailed explanation here. The short answer is that we can’t be sure that each and every one was intentional. In some cases, he may have been confused or ignorant. What we know, objectively, is that he was not telling the truth.

Read the Star's complete, interactive list of Trump's false claims

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BREAKING: GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley said he's referring Michael Avenatti and Kavanaugh accuser Julie Swetnick to DOJ for criminal investigation.

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It is ironic that Senator Grassley now is interested in investigations. He didn’t care when it came to putting a man on the SCOTUS for life. We welcome the investigation as now we can finally get to the bottom of Judge Kavanaugh’s lies and conduct. Let the truth be known.

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Op donderdag 25 oktober 2018 19:05 schreef Ulx het volgende:
En dan moet hij nog in B E A S T M O D E gaan.

Ik heb gehoord dat Trump de eerste man op de maan was.

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Op donderdag 25 oktober 2018 19:16 schreef kladderadatsch het volgende:

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LOL! Bedenk me trouwens dat de enige keer dat ik hem de waarheid heb horen spreken was toen hij Ted Cruz een leugenaar noemde, go figure...

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—About 90,000 Democrats have voted so far (including by absentee ballot) and by the time the rurals come in, there will be about 84,000 Republicans. Dem turnout is at 15 percent; GOP turnout is at 16 percent. If that 1 percent difference was to grow, that’s very problematic for the Dems, whose 5 percent statewide registration edge can’t sustain them if it does. (About 40,000 non-major party voters have cast ballots, and they could well decide races. People keep asking me whether they lean Dem or R. Polling has shown the former, but it’s just impossible to tell right now.)

For comparison’s sake — and this cycle seems sui generis so I am not sure how relevant this is: In 2014, 10.9 percent of Republicans had turned out by now and only 8 percent of Democrats, presaging the red wave; in 2010, it was 11.7 percent GOP and 10.3 percent Dem. So we are not that far from 2010, percentage-wise, and just slightly better for Dems (insert Lyon County caveats….)

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Op donderdag 25 oktober 2018 19:13 schreef Ulx het volgende:

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Met als reactie van Avenatti:

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Al die getuigen die onder ede gehoord hadden kunnen worden (maar genegeerd werden) door de FBI in het Ford gebeuren kunnen nu wel onder ede hun verhaaltje doen.

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MichaelAvenatti twitterde op donderdag 25-10-2018 om 19:40:14 Maybe if Grassley was actually a lawyer that knew something about the law, he would realize what he has done. He just opened up Pandora’s box as it relates to Justice Kavanaugh’s conduct. It is Christmas in October! reageer retweet

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Op donderdag 25 oktober 2018 19:05 schreef Ulx het volgende:

Ik heb gehoord dat Trump de eerste man op de maan was.

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Op donderdag 25 oktober 2018 19:42 schreef ExtraWaskracht het volgende:

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Nog een reactie:

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MichaelAvenatti twitterde op donderdag 25-10-2018 om 19:40:14 Maybe if Grassley was actually a lawyer that knew something about the law, he would realize what he has done. He just opened up Pandora’s box as it relates to Justice Kavanaugh’s conduct. It is Christmas in October! reageer retweet

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Op donderdag 25 oktober 2018 20:03 schreef Ulx het volgende:

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Ik denk dat een kruisverhoor van Bartje wel nodig zal zijn in zo'n zaak. Dat kan echt episch worden. Niet dat laffe gedoe van de Senaat, en we zagen hoe hij toen reageerde, maar echt het vuur aan de schenen gelegd krijgen....

En nee, een rechter heeft geen immuniteit.

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Op donderdag 25 oktober 2018 20:08 schreef ExtraWaskracht het volgende:

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Maarehm, de kans is natuurlijk wel levensgroot dat de republikeinen hiermee de base wat wil opvuren om toch maar vooral te gaan stemmen, vanwege het grote onrecht wat de democraten Kavanaugh aangedaan zouden hebben.

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Op donderdag 25 oktober 2018 20:19 schreef Ulx het volgende:

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Voorlopig niet. Eerst moet het OM een beslissing nemen. Dit is eerder een poging Avenatti te intimideren. Alvast dirt op te graven. Noem maar op.
Dit gaat echt geen strafzaak wordsn voor de midterms.

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Garrett_Archer twitterde op donderdag 25-10-2018 om 20:25:40 Today's ballots were slightly more Democratic and female than the sum of the whole. There was a +10 R advantage. A full point higher than the previous day's report. reageer retweet

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RalstonReports twitterde op donderdag 25-10-2018 om 19:54:36 Most of early voting data in from Day 5, and the bottom line is Dems lost ground in NV on Wednesday. Still have statewide lead, but it's not big. Details on the most-read blog in the universe: https://t.co/q4LOMuJRv1 https://t.co/L8VoL4i9i3 reageer retweet

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Op donderdag 25 oktober 2018 20:29 schreef ExtraWaskracht het volgende:

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Geen idee wat er gaat gebeuren, maar Grassley en zijn staffers acht ik niet dom. Er zal vast wat achter zitten, althans, ervanuitgaande dat het niet slechts gaat om een vermeende leugen.

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Op donderdag 25 oktober 2018 20:34 schreef Ulx het volgende:

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Ik kan geen enkele mogelijkheid zien waar er geen getuigen en geen Kavanaugh worden opgeroepen.
Dus trekt Chuck zijn keutel in of het wordt vuurwerk. En het kan best dat Avenatti en zijn client verliezen, maar is Kavanaugh daarmee een winnaar?

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Brandon Judd of the National Border Patrol Council is right when he says on @foxandfriends that the Democrat inspired laws make it tough for us to stop people at the Border. MUST BE CHANDED, but I am bringing out the military for this National Emergency. They will be stopped!

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Op donderdag 25 oktober 2018 20:35 schreef ExtraWaskracht het volgende:

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Who knows, maar misschien de republikeinen wel in de midterms.

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Op donderdag 25 oktober 2018 20:40 schreef Ulx het volgende:

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Braafjes hoor. Maar het kan ook vrouwen over de streep trekken om toch maar Dem te stemmen. Die kans acht ik eigenlijk groter dan het "energize the base" verhaal.

"Beschuldig een machtige man en je gaat de gevangenis in, dames! Weet je plek!"

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Op donderdag 25 oktober 2018 20:54 schreef Ulx het volgende:
Maybe, maar is de machtige Senator die nu de aanval kiest. En Avenatti gaat haar alleen verdedigen. Als je daar al tegen bent houdt het hele begrip "rechtsstaat" wel een beetje op voor je.

Bovendien spint Fox het toch wel.

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Op donderdag 25 oktober 2018 20:56 schreef ExtraWaskracht het volgende:

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Ik zeg toch niet dat ik er tegen ben? Ik vind het alleen wat verdacht vanuit Grassley die het niet zoveel lijkt uit te maken of iemand de waarheid weergeeft aan de Senaat.

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Mueller’s investigators examined a series of meetings between an Israeli social media strategist, the general blamed for Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, and Trump adviser Michael Flynn.

Gen. Ahmed Al-Assiri, the Saudi intelligence chief taking the fall for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, hobnobbed in New York with Michael Flynn and other members of the transition team shortly before Trump’s inauguration. The topic of their discussion: regime change in Iran.

Mohammed bin Salman, the powerful Saudi crown prince, dispatched Assiri from Riyadh for the meetings, which took place over the course of two days in early January 2017, according to communications reviewed by The Daily Beast. The January meetings have come under scrutiny by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office as part of his probe into foreign governments’ attempts to gain influence in the Trump campaign and in the White House, an individual familiar with the investigation told The Daily Beast. A spokesperson for Mueller declined to comment.

The New York meetings were attended and brokered by George Nader, a Lebanese-American with close ties to leaders in the United Arab Emirates who is currently cooperating with Mueller’s team. Also present at the meetings was Israeli social media strategist Joel Zamel, who has been questioned by Mueller for his role in pitching top campaign officials on an influence operation to help Trump win the election—overtures that could have broken federal election laws.

Steve Bannon was involved as well in conversations on Iran regime change during those two days in January, according to the communications.

The communications show that participants in the meetings discussed a multi-pronged strategy for eroding, and eventually ending, the current Iranian regime—including economic, information, and military tactics for weakening the Tehran government. Earlier this year the New York Times reported Nader was promoting a plan to carry out economic sabotage against Iran and pitched the plan in the Spring of 2017 to Saudi, UAE, and American officials. It’s unclear if that plan ever moved forward or if it was part of the larger project for regime change discussed in these January 2017 meetings.

Either way, former CIA acting director John McLaughlin told The Daily Beast, the get-togethers as described were very unusual.

SPOILER

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kylegriffin1 twitterde op vrijdag 26-10-2018 om 01:30:22 ! Newt Gingrich said that if Democrats re-take control of the House and subpoena Trump's tax returns, it would likely force a fight in the Supreme Court. "And," Gingrich said, "we'll see whether or not the Kavanaugh fight was worth it." (via WaPo) https://t.co/SSCGR2GZuE reageer retweet

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.@ChuckGrassley - let’s start the investigation tonight. I will make my client available for a sworn interview and you can make Judge Kavanaugh available for a sworn interview. We also have 9 other witnesses we want interviewed and specific documents we want requested. Let’s go.

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Op vrijdag 26 oktober 2018 01:40 schreef Kijkertje het volgende:

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kylegriffin1 twitterde op vrijdag 26-10-2018 om 01:30:22 ! Newt Gingrich said that if Democrats re-take control of the House and subpoena Trump's tax returns, it would likely force a fight in the Supreme Court. "And," Gingrich said, "we'll see whether or not the Kavanaugh fight was worth it." (via WaPo) https://t.co/SSCGR2GZuE reageer retweet

Filmpje in tweet

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“What we’re finding without talking about specifics of what’s going on is that the whole reason that this investigation was opened up was certainly not one built on a solid foundation,” Meadows told reporters. He added that some Justice Department and FBI staffers should be referred to the DOJ’s Office of Professional Responsibility "to determine whether proper protocol was followed, and I’m certainly willing to encourage that.”

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Raskin, meanwhile, reminded reporters of Papadopoulos’ conviction — he pleaded guilty last month to lying to the FBI about his communications with a foreign professor and was sentenced to 14 days in federal prison — suggesting his testimony should be taken with a grain of salt.

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President Trump proposed on Thursday that Medicare pay for certain prescription drugs based on the prices paid in other advanced industrial countries — a huge change that could save money for the government and for millions of Medicare beneficiaries.

As part of a demonstration project covering half the country, Medicare would establish an “international pricing index” and use it as a benchmark in deciding how much to pay for drugs covered by Part B of Medicare.

“This is a revolutionary change,” Mr. Trump said in a speech on Thursday at the Department of Health and Human Services. “Nobody’s had the courage to do it, or they just didn’t want to do it.”

Mr. Trump’s announcement was part of a flurry of initiatives emerging from the White House ahead of next month’s midterm elections, in which Democrats hope to take control of the House and possibly the Senate. Democrats have focused their campaigns on health care, hammering Republicans on the high cost of prescription drugs and asserting that Republicans would undo protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions — one of the most popular provisions of the Affordable Care Act.

On Thursday, the Trump administration offered an answer — but the drug proposal would take effect in late 2019 or early 2020 at the earliest.

Trump administration officials said they had the authority to use the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation created by the Affordable Care Act to carry out the proposal. That agency has wide discretion to conduct demonstration projects. The Trump administration will accept public comments before starting the project. But the proposal will most likely face fierce political resistance from drug makers, some health care providers and some Republicans in Congress, and it could also be subject to legal challenges.

“The administration is imposing foreign price controls from countries with socialized health care systems that deny their citizens access and discourage innovation,” said Stephen J. Ubl, the president and chief executive of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the main trade group for the industry. He said the proposal would “threaten patient access to innovative lifesaving medicines.”

Democrats had their own reasons for skepticism.

“It’s hard to take the Trump administration and Republicans seriously about reducing health care costs for seniors two weeks before the election when they have repeatedly advocated for and implemented policies that strip away protections for people with pre-existing conditions and lead to increased health care costs for millions of Americans,” said Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader.

SPOILER

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SecAzar twitterde op donderdag 25-10-2018 om 12:06:35 In fact, Medicare was found to be paying the highest price for 19 out of the 27 drugs studied compared to these other countries. There was only a single case in which the US was paying lower than the international average. reageer retweet

Medicare beneficiaries are generally responsible for 20 percent of the cost of drugs covered by Part B of the program. So if Medicare reduces its payment, the cost to beneficiaries will be “similarly proportionately reduced,” the administration said.

However, most beneficiaries now have supplemental insurance, such as a Medigap policy or retiree health benefits, to help pay their share of the bill for drugs covered under Part B of Medicare.

The new method of payment proposed by the Trump administration would be phased in from 2020 to 2025. “Overall savings for American taxpayers and patients are projected to total $17.2 billion over five years,” Mr. Azar said.

Among the drugs included in the study were Aranesp, for patients with anemia caused by chemotherapy or chronic kidney disease; several cancer medicines, such as Avastin, Herceptin and Keytruda; Lucentis, for eye conditions that can cause vision loss; and Rituxan, for rheumatoid arthritis and certain types of cancer. The list prices for Keytruda and many other new cancer medicines are substantially more than $100,000 a year.

As an example, Mr. Trump said: “One common cancer drug is nearly seven times as expensive for Medicare as it is for other countries. This is a highly used and very effective drug.” The president was apparently referring to Treanda, a cancer treatment sold by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries.

The report was notable for several reasons.

It uses foreign drug prices as a reference or benchmark to judge prices in the United States. In many foreign countries, officials negotiate prices with drug manufacturers. While Democrats have long pushed for such negotiations, Republicans in this country have blocked them, fearing Medicare could eventually dictate prices or restrict access to drugs deemed to be too expensive.

Mr. Trump campaigned for president on the promise of allowing the government to negotiate drug prices, but then backed away from that position when he unveiled his first drug-price proposals last spring. The new proposal moves back toward that plan, not by having the federal government negotiate drug prices directly, but by piggybacking on price negotiations in other countries.

Foreign countries “use their national health systems to negotiate lower prices in exchange for market access,” the Trump administration said in its report.

Democrats were still pushing a more direct route. “On the eve of the midterm elections, the president is proposing a small step on drug price relief when a giant leap is urgently needed,” said Representative Peter Welch, Democrat of Vermont. “Instead of nibbling around the edges, he should demand in his State of the Union speech that Congress send to his desk within 30 days a broad price negotiation bill that applies to all drugs in the Medicare program.”

Medicare has historically paid 106 percent of the “average sales price” for drugs that patients receive by infusion or injection in doctors’ offices. Medicare drug spending has been growing rapidly — at an average rate of about 9.5 percent a year since 2009, according to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, an independent agency that advises Congress.

The Trump administration said the current payment formula could provide financial incentives for some doctors and hospitals to use “the highest-priced clinically beneficial product.”

The new report acknowledged many “limitations” in the data used for its international price comparisons. The formulation of drugs, their dosage and their strength may differ from country to country, it said.

Prices cited in the study “may not accurately reflect the actual amount paid in the U.S. or abroad,” because they generally do not show the effects of rebates offered by drug manufacturers, the report said.

Obama administration officials were also troubled by the rapid growth of spending for drugs covered by Part B of Medicare. In March 2016, they proposed a nationwide experiment to reduce payments for many of these drugs. But they scrapped the plan nine months later after it was criticized by pharmaceutical companies, doctors, patients and members of Congress from both parties, who said it could jeopardize access to important medicines.

Mr. Azar said the Trump administration proposal was “more radical” than Mr. Obama’s.

About two-thirds of Part B drug spending is for biotechnology drugs known as biologics.

Countries included in the Trump administration’s drug price comparisons, besides the United States, were Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.