Jacobson

The modern definition of Democratic includes a requirement that the state favor no religion. If anything, Israel is the only state that anyone exempts from that requirement. Therefor the West (America, Canada, western Europe) have been busy cleansing Christianity from their governments and culture, to be good "Democracies".

International law doesn't award land to the victors, even if the victor claims to have acted in defense. In fact, your argument that the land belongs to Israel because it was won war specifically undermines Israel's legal claim to the land. Implicitly, you agree with the recent UN resolution, except the logical conclusion, that was passed against Israel

Nope, you have no good reasons. The costs of goods delivered and police/fire protection can be passed on to the consumers. But, it's immoral and incompetent to tax non-drivers for roads.

Obamacare subsidies and regulation has resulted in dramatic increases in cost of medical care. Subsidizing anyone who can't afford highly-regulated medical care causes prices to rise, and will rise until the system collapses. Costs go up to absorb subsidies, leaving the coverage and quality of services at the same point to the consumer as it was before the subsidies, all other things being equal. If people could be convinced, they would't need convincing. If roads cost the government $10, then drivers, and only drivers, should pay that $10. Those who drive for a living will pass on that cost to those who benefit from their driving.

The insurance-across-state-lines is an example, whether it's accurate or not doesn't make a difference as long as the point it illustrates is true, high regulation strangles competition, resulting in higher prices. While there's no outright ban on selling across state lines, there is definitely a regulatory chill on selling across state lines, as you concede when you confess "Insurance companies have not taken advantage of [selling across state lines]." Even if companies sold insurance across state lines without impediment, I wouldn't expect it to make much of a difference when they're not allowed to significantly differentiate their products under current federal law.

Current system: healthy pay $500/month. Sick pay $500/month. Free Market: healthy pay $0. Sick pay $5/month. Your want: Healthy pay $500/month. Sick pay $500/month. But, for the poor, the non-poor subsidies them. Because of subsidies, we now have: Healthy pay $600. Sick pay $600/month. Subsidies raise prices. Doing the math... $600 for two parents, and say half price for kids, a family of four would pay $21,600/year for insurance. For that, the vast majority of the public is poor. If we're going to give subsidies to those who can't afford insurance, we're looking at $1000+/month because everyone not rich can't afford that so more subsidies will be needed... and eventually the whole thing will collapse. Your plan is unworkable and would eventually collapse into socialized medicine. There are only three options: 1) Current system: high taxes for government-provided care, hardship medical costs, and many people go without medical care. 2) Socialized medicine: government controls medical care and costs. 3) Free Market, everyone gets care and it's cheap. People who pay school taxes went to school themselves. There's no good reason why anyone should pay for roads if they don't drive.

Israel could put most of this conflict to bed by annexing the disputed land. As long as they keep the land in limbo, they keep the wound open.

You are wrong about the Free Market. But, you are right that there's no Free Market debate, which is why we're all screwed. Let me give you an example: For treating arthritis for a month: Humira retails for$2500. Or, there's methotrexate, a generic, it costs about $2 to manufacture and package, but currently retails for about $60. You have insurance, for which you pay $500/month (for example). So, if you need arthritis medicine, you'll get Humira and insurance will pay for it. But, in a free market, you'd choose methotrexate and pay about $5 for it (that's over 100% mark up). You're defending a system that charges the healthy and poor $500 each. I'm defending a system which charges the healthy nothing, and the sick pay only $5. DUH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Granted, Humira is marginally more effective than methotrexate, but it's a luxury, a luxury that would probably cost only $250/month in a free market.) Why don't we go with the Free Market? Because the American people don't believe in freedom. Sally Jayne wants Humira and she wants others to pay for it. If she gets sick from Humira, she wants her lawyers to collect millions of dollars from the Humira company. The GOP won't allow competition to push drug prices toward actual costs. The Democrats won't allow insurance companies to compete across state lines or with differing products. Everyone is just a bunch of idiots walling around in their own excrement and complaining about the stench, but refusing to do anything that would actually make things better. Actually, just the common people are idiots. The Democrat and Republican leaders are getting rich off of the idiocy of the common people.

Forcing insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions is the true heartlessness. It allows one group of Americans to loot another group of Americans. I'll wait until I get a cancer diagnoses before I buy insurance. Obamacare addresses this by fining people who don't get insurance. Also, Obamacare only forces insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions around December, the open enrollment period. So, if I don't get insurance, I'll pay a fine. And, when I get my cancer diagnosis, I'll have to deal with it without insurance until around December. Both the Democrats and the Republicans are the problem, not the solution...

The non-binding resolution sounds like status quo, to me. Essentially, "We still say Israel is breaking international law by building settlements om the occupied territory, but we're not going to do anything about it." It doesn't give the Western Wall to anyone. It doesn't do anything. And, it doesn't say anything that hasn't already been said. The Western Wall, on land captured in the Six Day war, was already considered by the UN to be occupied-by-Israel territory.

Sorry, I haven't seen evidence that Republicans have a decent plan to replace Obamacare. I want a free market, not GOP subsidies. Health Savings Accounts are subsidies from taxpayers. Forcing insurance companies to cover Pre-existing conditions are subsidies paid for by other people with insurance.

How is it a game changer?

Do you have kids, and grand kids? If you don't, your sister might think you're not qualified to say anything negative about the kids. In any case, just leave it be.

No, no... The issue isn't Dylann Roof getting all this coverage... it's others not getting any national coverage. Back in 2002, the DC sniper killed more people, did it in the aftermath of 9/11, and strung it out over time thus putting the region under extreme stress. This got a lot of coverage and the authorities racially profiled the shooter as a white man (statistically unlikely, serial killers are disproportionately black and the DC area is predominately black). After the perp was finally caught and turned out to be a black man (with a teenage boy in tow), the media quickly moved on, almost like it never happened. The media didn't concern itself with faulty racial profiling of authorities or the many times the shooter was stopped by police but let go. The media didn't pay much attention to the post-arrest portion of the story. Finding out the perp was black caused the media to go away. Get real and don't even pretend there's not a racial double standard in media coverage.

A hate-crime that isn't a hoax (how rare)... A real crime, and not just a thought-crime... I don't know what demons are in this boy's head... But, the best he can hope for is a death sentence (a firing squad would be justice). Life-in-prison will be hellish for him. In 2016, Chicago alone had several thousand shootings. No doubt, hundreds of them were hate-motivated. Probably a few of the perps shot more people than Dylann Roof shot. But, few, if any, of theses shootings will be counted as hate-crimes and the perps are ignored by the media... All because of skin color.

Israel gets more aid from the US than any other country. Egypt and Jordan are the next too biggest recipients of US aid (millions of dollars every day). Maybe they think it's rent on the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, respectively. Probably every country in Africa and the middle-east gets aid from the US.... if not the government, then groups in opposition to the government, and maybe both sides at the same time. Even rich countries like Saudi Arabia get some aid from the US. If the US wasn't giving money to ISIS/anti-Assad forces, the US would be giving money to Assad. So, yes, we're funding the PA. It's what the US does, throw money around at everyone. When it comes to money Uncle Sam taxes from American citizens, you should assume everyone is getting money until you learn otherwise.

Idle hands are the devil’s playground... A general strategy against any vice is to be doing something else.