More from the article...

... "Americans pay more for health care, get less in return, and remain far more exposed to illness, debt, and insecurity than their peers," the report concludes.

The report comes from The Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation focused on healthcare system performance, which periodically conducts such comparative analyses. The new report is based on 2024 data and compares the US to 19 countries, including many in Europe, as well as Australia, Canada, Chile, Israel, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

As has long been the case, the US spends far more on healthcare than any other of the 19 countries. In 2024, the US spent 18 percent of its gross domestic product on healthcare, nearly twice the average of all the countries, which was 9.3 percent. The second-highest spender after the US was Germany, with 12.3 percent. ...

@#3 ... I really wish media would stop with the focus groups. It's not a large enough sample size ...

I agree about the sample size. The focus groups seem to be more about voicing individual opinions than they are about being representative of actual voting.

That's why I usually fast forward past the focus group segments on the TiVo.

... most people who claim to be independents or swing voters aren't actually. ...

While I lean in agreement on that¹, I have not yet seen any evidence to support that assertion. What's yer got?

---
1 - I am registered as an unaffiliated voter here in CT. Unaffiliated is what CT calls independent voters. There is an Independent Party here, but that is mostly (as it seems to me) Republicans who do not like being called Republicans.

@#42

Any guess how might Pres trump's SCOTUS vote on this matter?

... A panel of federal judges on Tuesday rejected Alabama's effort to use a new voting map for the November midterm elections, ...

Related ...

@#40

Looks like echoes of what another trolling current alias has posted.

Do try harder to be relevant to the topic of discussion.

Is Pres Putin starting to look like Pres Trump?

That is, an animal backed into a corner for the wars they created and are not winning?

@#36 ... Gaslighter ...

Interesting.

What other current trolling aliases also use that appellation?

Fun stuff to watch.

More from the article ...

... During a one-day bench trial, U.S. District Judge Nol Wise frequently noted her concern over the structure and procedure of the case, which led to a rare proceeding where both parties asked Wise to decide the trial based on the transcript " the testimony and underlying exhibits only " of another case, the American Association of University Professors v. Rubio, without calling any other witnesses or the plaintiffs to testify.

"This feels messy and convoluted, in some ways," Wise, a Joe Biden appointee, said before a court recess. "And it's a critically important issue."

In the American Association of University Professors case, U.S. District Judge William Young, a Ronald Regan appointee, ruled in January the government acted unconstitutionally through its policy of arresting, detaining, and deporting noncitizen students and faculty who engaged in protected pro-Palestinian speech.

However, the attorneys for both parties in the case at hand Wednesday told the judge that Young's ruling isn't what she should look to decide the legal issues at play, and the transcript of the other case should only be used to provide details and context. ...

@#32 ... The biggest loophole in the US tax code is GRATs, aka Grantor Annuity Trusts. ...

Thank-you for that info.

Found this ...

@#33 ... Brings up voter ID in #19 ...

#19 was quite specifically about Republican racial profiling to disenfranchise voters, and how the Republicans were using voter ID for that end goal.

So, what's yer current trolling alias' point?

Is Israel engaging in genocide? Or the invasion of another Country? Or both?

Is Israeli's response to the October 7 attacks response to Israel's, I'll say, treatment of the Palestinians valid?

Israel currently seems to want to wipe out Palestine.

Is that a valid response?

At this point, my view is that Israel seems to be engaging in unjustified genocide of its enemy.

Also that PM Netanyahu seems to be determined to prolong the war so that he does not have to face the Justice system of Israel for his prior alleged crimes.

Yeah, Election Day results are going to be interesting, at a minimum.

As I posted previously in a thread here ...

...
Key Facts

- - - A poll by the Economist/YouGov found a majority of Republicans (52%) and a plurality of MAGA supporters (45%) oppose the fund set up to offer payouts to people who believe they've been wronged by the government

- - - Only 24% of Republicans support it and 24% aren't sure, while 32% of MAGA Republicans support the fund and 24% aren't sure.

- - - The numbers are similar for Democrats: 25% support the fund, 56% oppose it and 19% aren't sure (the poll of 1,520 U.S. adults was conducted May 22-26 and has a margin of error of 3.6).

- - - Overall, 49% of respondents oppose the fund, 24% support it, and 27% aren't sure.

- - - The poll comes after a revolt among Republicans in Washington against Trump's anti-weaponization fund derailed a vote last week on an immigration-enforcement bill that would have also funded Trump's ballroom project. ...

@#1 ... 1. Trump is viewed as out of touch, but not weak ... ...

Yeah.

I am hearing that more and more lately as I listen to political opinion shows.

Voters seem to like that Pres Trump is willing, even eager, to pick a fight. Regardless of the reason for that fight.

Just that he is willing to start a fight.

Is that real, or just a fabrication of the opinion shows I listen to?

I wish I knew.

More from the article ...

... NPR observed two online focus groups on Tuesday featuring 12 voters in North Carolina who voted for Joe Biden in 2020 and then Trump in 2024. These focus groups were conducted by messaging and market research firms Engagious and Sago as part of the Swing Voter Project.

Seven of the voters who participated identified as independents, four said they were Republicans, and one identified as a Democrat. That's a more Republican-leaning cohort than prior months' focus groups.

Here are three takeaways:

1. Trump is viewed as out of touch, but not weak ...

2. Democratic infighting is turning voters off ...

3. AI is a growing threat, and voters want the government to intervene ...

Lots of details provided for each of those three points in the article, which see.

@#4 ... Wot ho.... insanity all over...

Back a a couple decades or so ago, I would say that i was addicted to caffeine.

If I did not have my required morning cup o' joe each and every day, in the afternoon I would have headaches and an edgy feeling.

Now, the morning cup of coffee is more of a taste enjoyment. If I skip a day or two or three, it does not affect me.

I broke the caffeine habit. (and, if I may add, major kudos to my friends who put up with me and helped me through those days ...)

@#1 ... But I found this other link to the article I think you may be citing ... ...

Hint: when I run into a paywall, I try a couple of things.

My browser's security settings flag archive.ph as a security issue.

But I found this other link to the article I think you may be citing ...

@#4 ... "Western armies, with their artillery and armoured vehicles, are out of date whereas "it is Ukraine that today has perhaps the most combat-ready army in Europe", wrote Oleg Dunda, a member of parliament for Ukraine, in The Spectator. ...

imo, a good observation of the current state of warfare.

Fortunately for Ukraine (Iran also), it's leadership has been taking a different approach with using inexpensive drones. And Ukraine has been quite willing to share its acquired drones knowledge with NATO (unlike Iran).

The question then becomes, how much will Pres Putin's control of Pres trump weigh in upon NATO (and even the US's) acceptance of Ukraine's offer to share the drone technology?

... The optics for a president could not be worse ...

Reminds me of this tune ...

More from the article ...

... The legislation -- Senate Bill 73 -- is intended to strengthen safeguards against election interference.

It places new restrictions on law enforcement, prohibiting someone from allowing officers access to take possession of voting equipment, unless allowed by court order under specific circumstances.

It also empowers the state attorney general or secretary of state to object to a local election official's decision allowing officers to be stationed at a voting site. Those who violate the law could face criminal penalties.

"There's no rules anymore with the Trump administration," Newsom said moments before signing the bill. "He doesn't believe in free and fair elections."

Newsom's signature made it effective immediately. California's primary election is this coming Tuesday. ...

@#25 ... it's bad enough as it is, but there are definitely more Dems that will support Campaign Finance Reform than there are GOPhers. ...

Looks that way, especially because of Pres Trump and his fading support outside all but his cult base.

The Republicans look to be desperate to overcome the negative views that Pres Trump has brought of the Republican Party.

@#22 ... We already have voter ID. ...

Voter ID seemed to have been mentioned in #21 as yet another lame attempt of the troll to change the topic of discussion away from one it was losing.

Quelle surprise.

@#2 ... The Zionization of Taiwan continues. ...

Maybe, maybe not. I'll choose not to go there for the nonce.

My concern with this move by Nvidia centers more upon making Taiwan the ~AI Center~ of the world when China is focused upon removing Taiwan from the world stage.

Will this latest move by Nvidia only make China want to invade Taiwan even more?

@#5 ... The best assumption one could go into the midterms with is that the Democrats will screw it up yet again ...

While do not necessarily disagree 100%, I'd proffer that there are other factors in the mid-terms.

The number one factor is that the Republicans seem to be choosing the voters they allow to vote, and trying to restrict hose voters to those who tend towards Republicans.

At the risk of repeating myself ...

Republican politicians are establishing paradigm of politicians choosing voters, instead of the way it should be, i.e., voters choosing politician.