Seaward wrote:

So, what do we do then? Raise taxes more to actually be able to pay for all the 'free' stuff he'll be providing, or start building industrial furnaces to burn money, since we'd wind up losing it slower that way than funding everything Sanders wants?

 whembly wrote:

During the case arguments, the government even argued that it had the power under the Constitution to ban publication of books and movies if they were made or sold by corporations.

 dogma wrote:

 whembly wrote:

During the case arguments, the government even argued that it had the power under the Constitution to ban publication of books and movies if they were made or sold by corporations.

No, that is false. The State argued it had that power due to statue.

 d-usa wrote:
Glenn Beck thinks God killed of Scalia as a message that we should vote for Cruz. And Justice O'Connor states that Obama should nominate a replacement.

 jasper76 wrote:
I'm watching the Town Hall now. I think they made a mistake putting Carson on first, as I bet alot of people tuned out before watching Cruz and Rubio.

I do think this is a much better format for candidates to describe their positions and platforms, and when a citizen asks a tough question, the candidate can't just cry about media bias.

I may just skip ahead to the Rubio and Cruz portion, I am getting so sleepy.

 sebster wrote:

 whembly wrote:
sebster... here's why the Republicans are denying this.

Republicans can be bullied... just imagine the outcry if they did go through the committee hearing and refusing to floor the vote. Or, even the vote is a 'No'. It's essentially fueling the fire.

They want to take the oxygen out of this and exercise they're Constitutional ability to simply not go thru this dog & pony.

Heh, this'd be the first time in my short life I've seen someone argue that inventing an entirely new process and opposing anything the other side did was a way of depoliticizing an issue.

Now, will this tactic hurt the GOP? We will see...

I remember shutting down the government was the clarion call for the end of the GOP... do you?

Didn't happen.

Just because an extreme course of action only slightly blew up in your face, it doesn't mean it is sensible to try a new extreme course of action down the track.

...
He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law: but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments.
...

Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members,and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may provide.

Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.

Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.

Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.

 feeder wrote:
Presumably to "dog & pony show" contains debate? The Senators present their opinions and reasoning behind why they are voting yay or nay? Thus making it a legitimate part of the process and less of the playground BS Calvinball the system is becoming.

 Easy E wrote:
I for one encourage the GOP to be as obstructionist as they possibly can on a Supreme Court nominee.

Please, obstruct away!

 jasper76 wrote:
I don't get the big deal.

Obama nominates, Republican Senate says no if they want to. Rinse, repeat.

 jasper76 wrote:
Pope Frances seems to be playing the "No True Scotsman" game with Trump.

 dogma wrote:

 jasper76 wrote:
Pope Frances seems to be playing the "No True Scotsman" game with Trump.

Trump isn't Catholic, so to the Pontiff he would not be Christian.

 jasper76 wrote:
Pope Frances seems to be playing the "No True Scotsman" game with Trump.

Farbeit for me to defend Trump, but isn't a Christian a Christian because he says he is; and whether he's a "good Christian" or a "bad Christian" is another matter? That's what I always hear Christians saying, anyway. I think the Pope is out of line here. He should have just said that the policy he opposed was "Unchristian", or something like that.

Pope suggests Trump 'is not Christian'
(http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/18/politics/pope-francis-trump-christian-wall/index.html)

Spoiler:

(CNN)Thrusting himself into the combative 2016 presidential campaign, Pope Francis said Thursday that GOP front-runner Donald Trump "is not Christian" if he calls for the deportation of undocumented immigrants and pledges to build a wall between the United States and Mexico.

The Pope, who was traveling back to Rome from Mexico, where he urged the United States to address the "humanitarian crisis" on its southern border, did not tell American Catholics not to vote for Trump.

But Francis left little doubt where he stood on the polarizing issue of immigration reform.

"A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not the gospel," the Pope told journalists who asked his opinion on Trump's proposals to halt illegal immigration.

Trump immediately fired back, calling Francis' comments "disgraceful."

"No leader, especially a religious leader, should have the right to question another man's religion or faith," he said in statement. Trump added that the government in Mexico, where Francis spent the past five days, has "made many disparaging remarks about me to the Pope."

"If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS's ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the Pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been president," Trump said.

The tussle between Trump and Francis -- two outsized personalities who seldom shy from speaking their minds -- seems to have been building for some time. Before the Pope traveled to Mexico, Trump cast the pontiff as a political naif who "doesn't understand the dangers" at the U.S.-Mexican border.

The Pope, 'The Donald' and the wall between them

Trump social media director Dan Scavino suggested the pontiff's comments were hypocritical. "Amazing comments from the Pope- considering Vatican City is 100% surrounded by massive walls," he tweeted.

During the wide-ranging press conference aboard the papal plane, Francis also seemed to suggest that contraception may be used to prevent the transmission of the Zika virus and praised Saint John Paul II's "holy friendship" with a Polish woman.

But it was his comments on Trump that seem sure to dominate the political conversation, perhaps handing a gift to Trump's GOP opponents and opening Francis to criticism that his papacy is too partisan and his policies too liberal. Polls indicate that while Democrats adore the Pope, Republicans view him a little less favorably.

Asked whether American Catholics should vote for Trump, Francis demurred.

"As far as what you said about whether I would advise to vote or not to vote, I am not going to get involved in that. I say only that this man is not Christian if he has said things like that."

The Pope appeared somewhat unaware of Trump's exact stance on illegal immigration, though, saying that he would give him "the benefit of the doubt" until he had heard exactly what the billionaire businessman had said.

The Rev. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, said Tuesday that the Pope knows "Trump expresses himself in an expressive way," but "is not always up to date on the latest statements."

Trump has pledged to build an $8 billion wall along the United States' southern border and says he will force Mexico to pay the tab. Trump has also said that, if elected president, he would eject some 11 million undocumented immigrants from the country.

"You have people coming in, and I'm not just saying Mexicans -- I'm talking about people that are from all over that are killers and rapists, and they're coming into this country," Trump told CNN's Jake Tapper last June.
What it would take to build Trump's border wall

What it would take to build Trump's border wall 02:34

Before the Pope left for Mexico, Trump called Francis "a very political person" and suggested that the pontiff, who celebrated Mass Wednesday near the U.S.-Mexican border, was a pawn of the Mexican government.

The Pope made light of Trump's accusations.

"Thank God he said I was a politician because Aristotle defined the human person as 'animal politicus.' So at least I am a human person," he said. "As to whether I am a pawn, well, maybe, I don't know. I'll leave that up to your judgment and that of the people."

The White House weighs in

White House spokesman Josh Earnest, asked about Pope Francis' comments on Donald Trump, referred back to President Barack Obama's remarks last month at the National Prayer Breakfast.

He said Obama "talked about how his own personal Christian faith informed his view of the values and priorities that he has chosen to champion in the White House."

"A number of those values and priorities are not shared by Mr. Trump," Earnest said, before taking a jab at Trump's questioning of Obama's Christian faith.

"I will however extend to Mr. Trump the courtesy he has not extended to the President and not use this opportunity to call into question the kind of private personal conversations he is having with his God," Earnest said.

The Pope in Mexico

The Pope's comments on Trump came on his way home from an emotional trip to Mexico, where the first Latin American pontiff was greeted by boisterous crowds that often burst into songs or tears as he approached.

Celebrating Mass on Wednesday in Ciudad Juarez, a city just across the border from the United States, Francis delivered a stinging critique of leaders on both sides of the fence, calling the "forced migration" of thousands of Central Americans a "human tragedy" and "humanitarian crisis."

"Being faced with so many legal vacuums," the Pope said during his homily before a congregation of more than 200,000 people, "they get caught up in a web that ensnares and always destroys the poorest."

As he prepared to leave, Francis thanked Mexicans for opening their doors and their lives to him. "At times, I felt like weeping to see so much hope in a people who are suffering so much."

 d-usa wrote:
This is getting extra stupid.

 whembly wrote:

 jasper76 wrote:
Pope Frances seems to be playing the "No True Scotsman" game with Trump.

Farbeit for me to defend Trump, but isn't a Christian a Christian because he says he is; and whether he's a "good Christian" or a "bad Christian" is another matter? That's what I always hear Christians saying, anyway. I think the Pope is out of line here. He should have just said that the policy he opposed was "Unchristian", or something like that.

Pope suggests Trump 'is not Christian'
(http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/18/politics/pope-francis-trump-christian-wall/index.html)

Spoiler:

(CNN)Thrusting himself into the combative 2016 presidential campaign, Pope Francis said Thursday that GOP front-runner Donald Trump "is not Christian" if he calls for the deportation of undocumented immigrants and pledges to build a wall between the United States and Mexico.

The Pope, who was traveling back to Rome from Mexico, where he urged the United States to address the "humanitarian crisis" on its southern border, did not tell American Catholics not to vote for Trump.

But Francis left little doubt where he stood on the polarizing issue of immigration reform.

"A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not the gospel," the Pope told journalists who asked his opinion on Trump's proposals to halt illegal immigration.

Trump immediately fired back, calling Francis' comments "disgraceful."

"No leader, especially a religious leader, should have the right to question another man's religion or faith," he said in statement. Trump added that the government in Mexico, where Francis spent the past five days, has "made many disparaging remarks about me to the Pope."

"If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS's ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the Pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been president," Trump said.

The tussle between Trump and Francis -- two outsized personalities who seldom shy from speaking their minds -- seems to have been building for some time. Before the Pope traveled to Mexico, Trump cast the pontiff as a political naif who "doesn't understand the dangers" at the U.S.-Mexican border.

The Pope, 'The Donald' and the wall between them

Trump social media director Dan Scavino suggested the pontiff's comments were hypocritical. "Amazing comments from the Pope- considering Vatican City is 100% surrounded by massive walls," he tweeted.

During the wide-ranging press conference aboard the papal plane, Francis also seemed to suggest that contraception may be used to prevent the transmission of the Zika virus and praised Saint John Paul II's "holy friendship" with a Polish woman.

But it was his comments on Trump that seem sure to dominate the political conversation, perhaps handing a gift to Trump's GOP opponents and opening Francis to criticism that his papacy is too partisan and his policies too liberal. Polls indicate that while Democrats adore the Pope, Republicans view him a little less favorably.

Asked whether American Catholics should vote for Trump, Francis demurred.

"As far as what you said about whether I would advise to vote or not to vote, I am not going to get involved in that. I say only that this man is not Christian if he has said things like that."

The Pope appeared somewhat unaware of Trump's exact stance on illegal immigration, though, saying that he would give him "the benefit of the doubt" until he had heard exactly what the billionaire businessman had said.

The Rev. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, said Tuesday that the Pope knows "Trump expresses himself in an expressive way," but "is not always up to date on the latest statements."

Trump has pledged to build an $8 billion wall along the United States' southern border and says he will force Mexico to pay the tab. Trump has also said that, if elected president, he would eject some 11 million undocumented immigrants from the country.

"You have people coming in, and I'm not just saying Mexicans -- I'm talking about people that are from all over that are killers and rapists, and they're coming into this country," Trump told CNN's Jake Tapper last June.
What it would take to build Trump's border wall

What it would take to build Trump's border wall 02:34

Before the Pope left for Mexico, Trump called Francis "a very political person" and suggested that the pontiff, who celebrated Mass Wednesday near the U.S.-Mexican border, was a pawn of the Mexican government.

The Pope made light of Trump's accusations.

"Thank God he said I was a politician because Aristotle defined the human person as 'animal politicus.' So at least I am a human person," he said. "As to whether I am a pawn, well, maybe, I don't know. I'll leave that up to your judgment and that of the people."

The White House weighs in

White House spokesman Josh Earnest, asked about Pope Francis' comments on Donald Trump, referred back to President Barack Obama's remarks last month at the National Prayer Breakfast.

He said Obama "talked about how his own personal Christian faith informed his view of the values and priorities that he has chosen to champion in the White House."

"A number of those values and priorities are not shared by Mr. Trump," Earnest said, before taking a jab at Trump's questioning of Obama's Christian faith.

"I will however extend to Mr. Trump the courtesy he has not extended to the President and not use this opportunity to call into question the kind of private personal conversations he is having with his God," Earnest said.

The Pope in Mexico

The Pope's comments on Trump came on his way home from an emotional trip to Mexico, where the first Latin American pontiff was greeted by boisterous crowds that often burst into songs or tears as he approached.

Celebrating Mass on Wednesday in Ciudad Juarez, a city just across the border from the United States, Francis delivered a stinging critique of leaders on both sides of the fence, calling the "forced migration" of thousands of Central Americans a "human tragedy" and "humanitarian crisis."

"Being faced with so many legal vacuums," the Pope said during his homily before a congregation of more than 200,000 people, "they get caught up in a web that ensnares and always destroys the poorest."

As he prepared to leave, Francis thanked Mexicans for opening their doors and their lives to him. "At times, I felt like weeping to see so much hope in a people who are suffering so much."

This will strengthen Trump's allure...

Pope should shut his chaw unless he's willing to tear down the Vatican's walls and redistribute's it's wealth:

Spoiler:

 d-usa wrote:
So unless we tear down thousand year old historical structures, we can't criticize people who have unrealistic ideas about new structures?

This is getting extra stupid.

 Ouze wrote:

 d-usa wrote:
So unless we tear down thousand year old historical structures, we can't criticize people who have unrealistic ideas about new structures?

This is getting extra stupid.

This thread has become an utter cesspool of feigned obtuseness and actual, real stupidity.

 jasper76 wrote:
Pope Frances seems to be playing the "No True Scotsman" game with Trump.

Farbeit for me to defend Trump, but isn't a Christian a Christian because he says he is; and whether he's a "good Christian" or a "bad Christian" is another matter? That's what I always hear Christians saying, anyway. I think the Pope is out of line here. He should have just said that the policy he opposed was "Unchristian", or something like that.