Iran's weekend test firing of yet another long-range ballistic missile is amplifying congressional calls for the Trump administration to formally declare Iran in violation of the landmark nuclear agreement, a move that would lay the groundwork for the United States to abandon the agreement.
Iran claims to have successfully test fired a new long-range ballistic missile in response to threats by the Trump administration to leave the nuclear accord.
President Donald Trump criticized Iran during his first speech before the United Nations last week, singling out the Islamic Republic as one of the leading global threats. The speech prompted tough talk by senior Iranian leaders and military officials, who vowed to boost the country's capabilities.
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DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Thursday, September 28, 2017
Flashback: NFL Denied Cowboys' Request to Honor Cops Slain In Dallas
The NFL was fine with Colin Kaepernick wearing socks which portrayed police as pigs
Protesting thugs being shot by police is A-OK, but honoring police shot by thugs is forbidden, at least according to the NFL.
As Fox News reported on August 12, 2016:
The NFL denied the Dallas Cowboys’ request to wear a decal on their helmets during the season that would have paid tribute to the five police officers killed last month in an ambush.
The team had been wearing a decal with the words “Arm in Arm” since the first day of training camp this summer. Dallas police Chief David Brown and Mayor Mike Rawlings paid the team a visit on that day, according to Fox 4 News.
The NFL’s strict rules on uniforms forced the league to deny the Cowboys’ request to wear the decal for the upcoming season.
[…]The Dallas Fallen Officer Foundation told TMZ they were “extremely upset” over the NFL’s decision.
“The NFL had an opportunity to be leaders and advocates for change in law enforcement,” Sgt. Demetrick Pennie, president of the foundation, told the website. “”These are our friends and our loved ones … it hurts to not have the NFL fully support us.”
More/Video
Protesting thugs being shot by police is A-OK, but honoring police shot by thugs is forbidden, at least according to the NFL.
As Fox News reported on August 12, 2016:
The NFL denied the Dallas Cowboys’ request to wear a decal on their helmets during the season that would have paid tribute to the five police officers killed last month in an ambush.
The team had been wearing a decal with the words “Arm in Arm” since the first day of training camp this summer. Dallas police Chief David Brown and Mayor Mike Rawlings paid the team a visit on that day, according to Fox 4 News.
The NFL’s strict rules on uniforms forced the league to deny the Cowboys’ request to wear the decal for the upcoming season.
[…]The Dallas Fallen Officer Foundation told TMZ they were “extremely upset” over the NFL’s decision.
“The NFL had an opportunity to be leaders and advocates for change in law enforcement,” Sgt. Demetrick Pennie, president of the foundation, told the website. “”These are our friends and our loved ones … it hurts to not have the NFL fully support us.”
More/Video
MSNBC Leaves Out Tennessee Shooter’s Nationality
MSNBC has refused to tell its viewers that the gunman in the Tennessee church shooting is a Sudanese immigrant, instead identifying him as being from Tennessee.
In the seven mentions of the shooter’s identity on the network from Sunday afternoon when the shooting occurred until Monday morning, MSNBC never mentioned his status as an immigrant. They did share his name, age, photo, and his residence in Murfreesboro, TN.
25-year-old Emanuel Kidega Samson is originally from Khartoum, Sudan and legally immigrated to the United States in the 1990s. Samson attended high school in Tennessee.
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In the seven mentions of the shooter’s identity on the network from Sunday afternoon when the shooting occurred until Monday morning, MSNBC never mentioned his status as an immigrant. They did share his name, age, photo, and his residence in Murfreesboro, TN.
25-year-old Emanuel Kidega Samson is originally from Khartoum, Sudan and legally immigrated to the United States in the 1990s. Samson attended high school in Tennessee.
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Bannon: Elites Help Destroy This Country
Steve Bannon held nothing back when he appeared on Fox News’ “Hannity” Monday, blasting the “elites” who for allowing “economic hate crimes” to be committed against working Americans in the heartland.
Bannon said, “The elites, represented by Mitch McConnell, right, they think I’m a bad guy. They think I’m a dangerous guy.”
More/Video
Bannon said, “The elites, represented by Mitch McConnell, right, they think I’m a bad guy. They think I’m a dangerous guy.”
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11 pigs test positive for swine flu at second Maryland fair
Health officials have detected swine flu in 11 pigs in a second Maryland county fair, just a week after seven people contracted the flu from infected pigs at the Charles County fair. The Maryland Department of Agriculture said Sunday that the 11 sick pigs at the Great Frederick Fair are now in quarantine, WTOP reported.
“The symptoms were high fevers, coughing, reluctance to move and mouth-breathing,” Dr. Mike Radebaugh, of the state’s agriculture department, told WTOP.
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“The symptoms were high fevers, coughing, reluctance to move and mouth-breathing,” Dr. Mike Radebaugh, of the state’s agriculture department, told WTOP.
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Before Football Players Kneeled on the Playing Field, They Fell on the Battlefield
Men on battlefields fell defending the flag. Millionaires on playing fields refuse to rise to honor the flag.
This rubs many Americans raw. It also represents an end-around of sorts on the tradition of football.
The first intercollegiate football game took place between Princeton and Rutgers four years after the last internecine battle of the Civil War. This did not occur by coincidence. Boys who missed the cutoff for the battlefield mimicked what they saw there on the playing field.
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This rubs many Americans raw. It also represents an end-around of sorts on the tradition of football.
The first intercollegiate football game took place between Princeton and Rutgers four years after the last internecine battle of the Civil War. This did not occur by coincidence. Boys who missed the cutoff for the battlefield mimicked what they saw there on the playing field.
More
FBI Arrests NCAA Coaches, Adidas Executive In Crackdown On College Basketball Corruption
In a broad crackdown on college basketball corruption, U.S. prosecutors unveiled charges Tuesday against 10 coaches, managers, financial advisers and representatives of a sportswear company, accusing them of bribery, fraud and corruption in recruitment in college basketball. Additionally, a key part of the case includes allegations that an executive at a global apparel company bribed students to attend universities where the company sponsored athletic programs.
The Department of Justice announced Tuesday that college basketball coaches at University of Arizona, Auburn, University of Southern California, and Oklahoma State University had been arrested, as well as managers, financial advisors, and representatives of a major international sportswear company. The defendants include coaches at top U.S. college basketball programs, one agent, one financial adviser and a former referee. The coaches are Lamont Evans, an assistant at Oklahoma State University, Emanuel Richardson, an assistant for the Arizona Wildcats, and Chuck Person, associate head coach at Auburn University.
Jim Gatto, director of global sports marketing for basketball at Adidas, was also named as a defendant. According to the complaint, Gatto allegedly conspired with coaches to pay high school athletes to play at universities sponsored by Adidas (or as it is referred to in the complaints, "Company 1").
The Department of Justice announced Tuesday that college basketball coaches at University of Arizona, Auburn, University of Southern California, and Oklahoma State University had been arrested, as well as managers, financial advisors, and representatives of a major international sportswear company. The defendants include coaches at top U.S. college basketball programs, one agent, one financial adviser and a former referee. The coaches are Lamont Evans, an assistant at Oklahoma State University, Emanuel Richardson, an assistant for the Arizona Wildcats, and Chuck Person, associate head coach at Auburn University.
Jim Gatto, director of global sports marketing for basketball at Adidas, was also named as a defendant. According to the complaint, Gatto allegedly conspired with coaches to pay high school athletes to play at universities sponsored by Adidas (or as it is referred to in the complaints, "Company 1").
According to Business Insider, Gatto and four other defendants have charged with "making and concealing bribe payments" to high school student athletes and/or their families. In one instance, Gatto and the other defendants reportedly funneled $100,000 to the family of a high school basketball player to convince the player to sign with a "public research university" in Kentucky.
In another case, Gatto and other defendants allegedly agreed to make payments up to $150,000 from Adidas to convince the player to join another team sponsored by the apparel company, a private university in Florida, according to filings. The university is not named, but based on information provided is likely University of Miami, which entered into a 12-year partnership with Adidas in 2015.
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In another case, Gatto and other defendants allegedly agreed to make payments up to $150,000 from Adidas to convince the player to join another team sponsored by the apparel company, a private university in Florida, according to filings. The university is not named, but based on information provided is likely University of Miami, which entered into a 12-year partnership with Adidas in 2015.
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Sex diseases in US surge to record high
Washington (AFP) - Sexually transmitted diseases surged to a record high in the United States last year, with more than two million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis nationwide, officials said Tuesday.
This was "the highest number ever," said the annual Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance Report released today by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Most of the new cases -- 1.6 million in 2016 -- involved chlamydia, a bacterial infection that affects both men and women.
Gonorrhea also increased among men and women last year, but the steepest rise was among men (22 percent), said the report.
Nationwide, gonorrhea cases reached 470,000, with a large share of new gonorrhea cases among men who have sex with men.
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This was "the highest number ever," said the annual Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance Report released today by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Most of the new cases -- 1.6 million in 2016 -- involved chlamydia, a bacterial infection that affects both men and women.
Gonorrhea also increased among men and women last year, but the steepest rise was among men (22 percent), said the report.
Nationwide, gonorrhea cases reached 470,000, with a large share of new gonorrhea cases among men who have sex with men.
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Nutball College Feminists Lose Amazingly Stupid Title IX Lawsuit
A federal district judge in Virginia has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a group of feminist students who were sad and angry because officials at a taxpayer-funded university refused to stifle speech by other students that offended the feminist group.
The kerfuffle which gave rise to the failed lawsuit occurred on the campus of the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg back in the fall of 2014. It involved the now-defunct social media app Yik Yak. The app provided a forum for students on individual campuses to post messages anonymously.
Five student plaintiffs who belonged to the student club Feminists United on Campus said they asked Mary Washington administrators to ban Yik Yak on campus. Some students were using the app to make “hundreds” of “threatening” and “sexually hostile” remarks about posted flyers which sought to raise awareness about sexual assault,” reports Campus Reform.
When the administrators said they could not limit speech just because it was offensive, the feminist students sued in return, alleging that the public school failed to protect them “from a sexually hostile school environment.”
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The kerfuffle which gave rise to the failed lawsuit occurred on the campus of the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg back in the fall of 2014. It involved the now-defunct social media app Yik Yak. The app provided a forum for students on individual campuses to post messages anonymously.
Five student plaintiffs who belonged to the student club Feminists United on Campus said they asked Mary Washington administrators to ban Yik Yak on campus. Some students were using the app to make “hundreds” of “threatening” and “sexually hostile” remarks about posted flyers which sought to raise awareness about sexual assault,” reports Campus Reform.
When the administrators said they could not limit speech just because it was offensive, the feminist students sued in return, alleging that the public school failed to protect them “from a sexually hostile school environment.”
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Awan Funneling ‘Massive’ Data Off Congressional Server, Dems Claim It’s Child’s HOMEWORK
Democratic congressional aides made unauthorized access to a House server 5,400 times and funneled “massive” amounts of data off of it. But there’s nothing to see here, Democrats told The Washington Post: They were just storing and then re-downloading homework assignments for Imran Awan’s elementary-school aged kids and family pictures.
A congressional source with direct knowledge of the incident contradicted the Post’s account, saying that now-indicted IT aide Imran Awan and his associates “were moving terabytes off-site so they could quote ‘work on the files'” and that they desperately tried to hide what was on the server when caught, providing police with what law enforcement immediately recognized as falsified evidence and an indication of criminal intent.
The Post described the amount of data improperly flowing out of the congressional network as “massive.” One congressional source told Circa it was “terabits.”
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A congressional source with direct knowledge of the incident contradicted the Post’s account, saying that now-indicted IT aide Imran Awan and his associates “were moving terabytes off-site so they could quote ‘work on the files'” and that they desperately tried to hide what was on the server when caught, providing police with what law enforcement immediately recognized as falsified evidence and an indication of criminal intent.
The Post described the amount of data improperly flowing out of the congressional network as “massive.” One congressional source told Circa it was “terabits.”
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All that kneeling ignores the real cause of soaring black homicides
The FBI released its official crime tally for 2016 on Monday, and the data flies in the face of the rhetoric that professional athletes rehearsed in revived Black Lives Matter protests over the weekend.
Nearly 900 additional blacks were killed in 2016 compared with 2015, bringing the black homicide-victim total to 7,881. Those 7,881 “black bodies,” in the parlance of Ta-Nehisi Coates, are 1,305 more than the number of white victims (which in this case includes most Hispanics) for the same period, though blacks are only 13 percent of the nation’s population.
The increase in black homicide deaths last year comes on top of a previous 900-victim increase between 2014 and 2015.
Who is killing these black victims? Not whites, and not the police, but other blacks.
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Nearly 900 additional blacks were killed in 2016 compared with 2015, bringing the black homicide-victim total to 7,881. Those 7,881 “black bodies,” in the parlance of Ta-Nehisi Coates, are 1,305 more than the number of white victims (which in this case includes most Hispanics) for the same period, though blacks are only 13 percent of the nation’s population.
The increase in black homicide deaths last year comes on top of a previous 900-victim increase between 2014 and 2015.
Who is killing these black victims? Not whites, and not the police, but other blacks.
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NFL anthem superstar pulled wounded U.S. soldiers from Taliban fire
Americans rally around 'patriot' and 'hero' who defied team on 'Star-Spangled Banner'
Former U.S. Army Ranger officer Alejandro Villanueva – the Pittsburgh Steelers player who is being hailed as a hero after he defied his whole team Sunday and stood for the national anthem – actually earned his true hero status three years before he played professional football.
Villanueva – an NFL player who’s painfully aware that “freedom isn’t free” – earned a Bronze Star with valor after he reportedly pulled three wounded U.S. soldiers out of the line of Taliban fire in 2011.
During a 2014 interview with ESPN, Villanueva recalled a Aug. 25, 2011, event in Afghanistan when he was a lieutenant, 23-year-old Army football player and rifle platoon leader of the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team.
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Former U.S. Army Ranger officer Alejandro Villanueva – the Pittsburgh Steelers player who is being hailed as a hero after he defied his whole team Sunday and stood for the national anthem – actually earned his true hero status three years before he played professional football.
Villanueva – an NFL player who’s painfully aware that “freedom isn’t free” – earned a Bronze Star with valor after he reportedly pulled three wounded U.S. soldiers out of the line of Taliban fire in 2011.
During a 2014 interview with ESPN, Villanueva recalled a Aug. 25, 2011, event in Afghanistan when he was a lieutenant, 23-year-old Army football player and rifle platoon leader of the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team.
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Jim Kunstler On "The Devastating Effect Of 'Multiculturalism'"
Personally, I find it a little peculiar that we have to play the national anthem before any sporting event. All it really shows is how insecure we are as a nation that we have to display our love of country in this obsessive manner.
Same with congressmen and their stupid flag lapel pins, or the flag in front of Denny’s chain restaurants. Are eaters of the “lumberjack slam” so disoriented when they leave the place that they need to be reminded what country they’re in? “Oh, look hon, were in the USA after all….”
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U.S. Government Reveals Which 21 States Russia Targeted During 2016 Election
Minnesota was one of 21 states whose election systems were targeted by Russian-affiliated hackers before last year's elections, the federal government revealed Friday.
"Entities acting at the behest of the Russian government" made the hacking attempt in the period leading up to the 2016 election, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said in a statement. The revelation came from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
State computers recognized the IP addresses that scanned the system and blocked them, so the breach attempt was foiled.
Last year, the federal government told the Associated Press that hackers thought to be Russian agents had targeted more than 20 states before the 2016 elections. Friday's calls from Homeland Security to election officials in 21 states were the first official confirmations of the affected states.
"This afternoon I received a phone call from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security informing me of its determination that Minnesota was among 21 states targeted," wrote Simon, who has overseen a number of security updates to Minnesota's election system. "DHS confirmed to my office that there was no breach and no attempt to breach Minnesota's election system."
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"Entities acting at the behest of the Russian government" made the hacking attempt in the period leading up to the 2016 election, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said in a statement. The revelation came from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
State computers recognized the IP addresses that scanned the system and blocked them, so the breach attempt was foiled.
Last year, the federal government told the Associated Press that hackers thought to be Russian agents had targeted more than 20 states before the 2016 elections. Friday's calls from Homeland Security to election officials in 21 states were the first official confirmations of the affected states.
"This afternoon I received a phone call from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security informing me of its determination that Minnesota was among 21 states targeted," wrote Simon, who has overseen a number of security updates to Minnesota's election system. "DHS confirmed to my office that there was no breach and no attempt to breach Minnesota's election system."
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The Rise of Fentanyl, the Drug Driving Up Deadly Overdoses Across the City
NEW YORK CITY — Fentanyl, a synthetic painkiller originally used to help dying cancer patients, has provided deadly fuel to the city's opioid epidemic over the past few years.
The drug, which is 50 times more powerful than heroin, was linked to nearly half of all fatal overdoses across the city last year, as sellers mix it in to batches to increase potency and drive up profits, experts said.
"Dealers have figured out that they can make much more money by adding in fentanyl because it's much cheaper," Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon told DNAinfo New York. "Fentanyl is accessible and it's profitable."
Part of the reason for the spike in deaths is that it takes a much smaller amount of fentanyl to cause an overdose than heroin, experts said.
Last year, 1,374 people died from overdoses across the New York City — a 46 percent increase from 2015 — and fentanyl was found in 44 percent of those cases, according to the Department of Health.
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The drug, which is 50 times more powerful than heroin, was linked to nearly half of all fatal overdoses across the city last year, as sellers mix it in to batches to increase potency and drive up profits, experts said.
"Dealers have figured out that they can make much more money by adding in fentanyl because it's much cheaper," Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon told DNAinfo New York. "Fentanyl is accessible and it's profitable."
Part of the reason for the spike in deaths is that it takes a much smaller amount of fentanyl to cause an overdose than heroin, experts said.
Last year, 1,374 people died from overdoses across the New York City — a 46 percent increase from 2015 — and fentanyl was found in 44 percent of those cases, according to the Department of Health.
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California Lady Moves to Red State, Suddenly Sends Unexpected Message to Lib Friends Back Home
Flyover country. Bible belt. Middle America. Coastal elites in liberal cities have all sorts of terms for “red states,” but they all seem to convey one message: Conservative areas of the country are somehow backward and should be avoided.
That’s the impression one California writer had about America’s heartland. Leah Singer never imagined that she would end up in Trump Country… but when she moved to Indiana not long ago, her entire perception changed.
In an editorial piece published last weekend in the Indianapolis Star, the author sent a clear message to liberal friends back in California and throughout the country: You might be wrong about “red states.”
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That’s the impression one California writer had about America’s heartland. Leah Singer never imagined that she would end up in Trump Country… but when she moved to Indiana not long ago, her entire perception changed.
In an editorial piece published last weekend in the Indianapolis Star, the author sent a clear message to liberal friends back in California and throughout the country: You might be wrong about “red states.”
More
Violent Crime in U.S. Rises for Second Consecutive Year
Violent crime, including homicides, rose for the second consecutive year in 2016, driven by increases in a few urban centers including Baltimore, Chicago and Las Vegas, according to F.B.I. data released Monday.
Violent crimes increased nationally last year by 4.1 percent and homicides rose by 8.6 percent, one year after violence increased by 3.9 percent and homicides jumped by 10.8 percent. A total of 17,250 people were murdered in 2016, the F.B.I. said.
While crime over all and violent crime remain well below their levels of the 1980s and 1990s, last year was the first time violent crime increased in consecutive years since 2005 and 2006, according to the F.B.I. data, which is collected from local police departments around the nation and released annually.
Police officials and criminologists continue to express puzzlement about the upsurge. There is disagreement not only about the reasons for the increases, but also about how law enforcement should respond and whether the figures represent a blip or the start of a long-term trend. The figures come against a backdrop of steady crime reductions nationally during the last 25 years.
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Violent crimes increased nationally last year by 4.1 percent and homicides rose by 8.6 percent, one year after violence increased by 3.9 percent and homicides jumped by 10.8 percent. A total of 17,250 people were murdered in 2016, the F.B.I. said.
While crime over all and violent crime remain well below their levels of the 1980s and 1990s, last year was the first time violent crime increased in consecutive years since 2005 and 2006, according to the F.B.I. data, which is collected from local police departments around the nation and released annually.
Police officials and criminologists continue to express puzzlement about the upsurge. There is disagreement not only about the reasons for the increases, but also about how law enforcement should respond and whether the figures represent a blip or the start of a long-term trend. The figures come against a backdrop of steady crime reductions nationally during the last 25 years.
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'Fatberg' found in Baltimore sewer system after overflow
A massive "fatberg" made up of congealed fat, wet wipes and other waste has been named as the culprit in a sewer overflow in Baltimore.
The overflow discharged about 1.2 million gallons of sewage into the Jones Fall stream last week.
The Baltimore Sun reported Monday that the fatberg was discovered in a sewer main near Baltimore Penn Station.
Public works officials said the walls of a century-old 24-inch wide pipe were caked with oils, grease and congealed fats. Up to 85 percent of the pipe was clogged, blocking the flow of sewage.
The fatberg has been mostly scraped off and sent to a landfill.
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The overflow discharged about 1.2 million gallons of sewage into the Jones Fall stream last week.
The Baltimore Sun reported Monday that the fatberg was discovered in a sewer main near Baltimore Penn Station.
Public works officials said the walls of a century-old 24-inch wide pipe were caked with oils, grease and congealed fats. Up to 85 percent of the pipe was clogged, blocking the flow of sewage.
The fatberg has been mostly scraped off and sent to a landfill.
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A Viewer Writes: Let's kneel for real issues
Some statistical facts:
In 2015, 995 people were shot and killed by police officers. Of that, 732 were white, 381 were black. In 2016, 963 people subdued by deadly force: 466 white, 258 black, 160 Hispanic. So far this year, 730 deaths-by-cop: 326 white, 165 black, 112 Hispanic.
Let those numbers sink in for a second.... and i'm not even trying to make a white/black comparison - it is what it is. yes, i know the ratios are higher for blacks. That's not my point. Read on...
Now, digest these stats: In those same years, 490, 762, and 320 murders( 2017 is on track for last years stats), respectively occurred in Chicago. That's right, way more than double the number of blacks killed by cops in each of those years - IN ONE CITY.
Where's the outcry from the MSM, the NFL, the NAACP. Nothing but silence. yes, we see it on the news, but no one is screaming out to change it. This is the real epidemic that no one want to talk about. (seems easier to blame white folk and Don Trump, right?)
So, instead of continuing to blame others, why not take a knee for the killings of black youth in our inner cities!?!? Many of the NFL players came from inner cities, but all you hear about is that Trump is racist for encouraging patriotism and white people are not allowing blacks a chance to get ahead.
Stop tearing down statues. Stop blaming others for your woes. Stop bitching about the President. Just stop. Stop and take a good look at yourselves. Why are other minority races progressing while the African-American race seems to continually regress?
For one, you continue to blame others for your problems. Everyone knows that the first step of 12 is admitting you have a problem- the other 11 steps don't start until you do that. Admit to the problems and try to fix them from the inside out, instead of blaming others.
So, when the protesting NFL athletes start to help to change their inner city youth, and make a show of force on the field by leading by example, then...just maybe, i'll come back to the NFL. Until then, there are lots of other things to do on Sundays that don't insult my patriotism and my love of my flag and country.
MAKE 'THE LAND OF THE FREE AND THE HOME OF THE BRAVE' GREAT AGAIN!!!
Don't Send Taxpayer Money to Insurance Companies
It was a "whoa!" moment for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) Monday night when Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) said something about health care on which they both agree:
"The biggest winner under Obamacare is insurance companies, not patients, and I intend to change that," Graham told a CNN-sponsored town hall on health care.
"Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa! I like that!" Sanders said, jumping to his feet.
Graham and Sanders agree that taxpayer dollars should not be enriching insurance companies, but that's where the agreement ends.
Sanders advocates a single-payer, Medicare-for-all system of health insurance, while Graham argued for his Republican plan to send Obamacare funds to the states in the form of block grants. Graham said that would improve accountability and encourage innovation.
Graham's plan is unlikely to pass, given the three Republicans who have said they will vote against it. Likewise, Sanders' plan will go nowhere in a Republican-led Congress.
The town hall debate shed no new light on the two sides' firmly held positions, but at least it allowed the Democrats and Republicans to argue their points civilly and publicly.
Here's one exchange between Graham and Sanders:
"The biggest winner under Obamacare is insurance companies, not patients, and I intend to change that," Graham told a CNN-sponsored town hall on health care.
"Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa! I like that!" Sanders said, jumping to his feet.
Graham and Sanders agree that taxpayer dollars should not be enriching insurance companies, but that's where the agreement ends.
Sanders advocates a single-payer, Medicare-for-all system of health insurance, while Graham argued for his Republican plan to send Obamacare funds to the states in the form of block grants. Graham said that would improve accountability and encourage innovation.
Graham's plan is unlikely to pass, given the three Republicans who have said they will vote against it. Likewise, Sanders' plan will go nowhere in a Republican-led Congress.
The town hall debate shed no new light on the two sides' firmly held positions, but at least it allowed the Democrats and Republicans to argue their points civilly and publicly.
Here's one exchange between Graham and Sanders:
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