https://seekingalpha.com/news/3475290-u-s-drugmakers-institute-new-round-increases?dr=1#email_link

I hope whoever the nominee is, he/she directly and strongly addresses this critical issue that means life or death to some Americans. Even a 10% increase is almost 5 times the inflation rate, and many times more than any wages are increased, if at all.

Reminder: Trump had promised to his galley that he'd fix this problem. No surprise there. He didn't. Again, no surprise. His supporters have conveniently forgotten about this, focusing instead of the "brown invasion," as they have referred to it.

Serious question. Did anyone ask her that after the debate?

I always said I'd wait until the debates to decide on someone. So I have. I've finally settled on supporting who I think is the best candidate - Mayor Pete. I know he's not likely to win the nomination. But there's no one else I feel I can support at this time. IMO, he's the best. I've consistently liked him from the beginning, and my admiration has only grown over time.

If he doesn't make it, he'll be dropping out. Then I'll have to decide again who to support. But for the time being, I'm going with the one I like for so many reasons.

(My second choice is Klobuchar, another dark horse.)

This is unusual for me. I usu. settle on someone who turns out to be the frontrunner. But this time there is no Pied Piper, no automatic (for me) candidate with everything...experience, charisma, intelligence, articulate, good sense of humor, fast on his feet. Pete has all these things except the great sense of humor. He's pleasant and sometimes humorous, but not the sense of humor of Obama or Bill Clinton. It could be because this big campaign is so new to him. Anyway, for me it's Pete. Phew. I finally decided!

The latest betting odds. Good news for Harris & Warren. Bad news for Biden and Sanders (although Biden is still in 1st or 2nd place). Buttigieg is holding his own, steady as a rock. Beto is off the radar totally.

The bad news is that Trump is still favored to win the GE, but I'd expect this to change once the Democratic nominee is chosen, and the Democratic focus is on Trump.


https://www.newsweek.com/kamala-harris-president-odds-democratic-nomination-1446520


https://www.predictit.org/markets/detail/3633/Who-will-win-the-2020-Democratic-presidential-nomination



https://www.oddsshark.com/other/2020-usa-presidential-odds-futures




https://www.sportsbettingdime.com/politics/democratic-party-presidential-nominee-odds/

That was excellent. That was a younger Biden saying the older politicians should pass the torch to the younger ones. Swalwell said Biden was right then, and that it's time now, like it was then, to pass the torch to the younger generation.

How is it that Kamala Harris is good at debating, smart...AND beautiful, too? Not fair!

https://fivethirtyeight.com/live-blog/first-2020-democratic-debate-night-1/

As I listened to more descriptions of the state of the children of immigrants being kept by this administration, how they are being treated, I got more and more horrified and disgusted. Who would treat children, any children, this way? No showers for weeks. No toothbrushes or toothpaste. No change of dirty clothes covered in dirt and in some cases urine and feces. We don't treat people this way in this country, especially children. And yet, one political party not only does treat people this way, the others who don't do it stand in silence, supporting it.

Some don't criticize it, but try to place blame on the Democratic Party for not giving them more "humanitarian" money. That argument is Twilight Zone unbelievable, considering they have a generous budget. And when it's important enough, they will do a GoFundMe, like they did for The Wall. How ludicrous in the face of reports that we have paid over $100 Million to the Trump organization for 2 1/2 years of golfing and other trips to Trump properties. Over $100 Million, most of which went into Trump's pocket. $100 Million would buy a lot of water, a lot of toothbrushes.

This one thing alone, even if there were nothing else, goes to prove that the Republican Party has changed dramatically and at a deep level from decades ago. It shows that this Republican Party is not one that can be "united" with the rest of the citizens, cannot be "worked with" like a normal political party. I don't believe that if they lose the 2020 election, they will collectively have an epiphany and become the kind of people who wouldn't allow this sort of treatment of children to occur. They will not wake up from the foggy nightmare and become Americans who are better than that. When someone has reached this level of inhumane treatment of children, something horrendous at a deep level has occurred. They have crossed a line.

This is different from arguments over policy positions years ago. Anyone who thinks this is the normal Republican Party who has just made a few bad decisions because of Trump, and that they will wake up and revert to normality, is either not living in reality or is unaware of what's been going on.

Sorry for the vanity post, but I am so horrified over the reports of the state of the immigrant children, and so horrified that Americans are not only doing it, but went to Court to argue that it's not necessary to provide toothbrushes and shower water to children, that I just wanted to make the statement. There is no doubt in my mind that if Trump were re-elected, things like this would continue, and worse. There is no doubt in my mind that if in the future they were lead to do worse things by another authoritarian figure, they would. Once you cross certain lines, there's no going back, no turning back the clock.

Instead of talking around the subject of him giving a eulogy and (some say) "praising" a segregationist, here it is, in all its glory. The Biden eulogy at Stom Thurmond's funeral:



cont'd at link:
https://americanrhetoric.com/speeches/joebidenstromthurmondeulogy.htm

Trump hasn't changed, which is obvious in his stance toward "help" from Russia. He acts like a real estate guy...if someone calls to give me an advantage, of course I'm gonna take it! He doesn't see things through the eyes of someone who should be concerned about the country, security, democracy. And no, he wouldn't call the FBI...he's no snitch! Why would I call the FBI?

McConnell is the one person, of everyone, who is stopping reforms to protect the election against Russia. He's been a rock for Trump.

Dem debates: Warren's placement is bad for her, since most of the front runner are on night two, so more people will watch that one. Two nights, two hours each. Candidates will try to shine for themselves, rather than go against each other.

First night: Booker, Castro, DeBlasio, Delaney, Gabbard, Inslee, Klobuchar, O'Rourke, Ryan, Warren.

Second night: Bennet, Biden, Buttegieg, Gillibrand, Harris, Hickenlooper, Sanders, Swalwell, Williamson, Yang.