Middle income people and for jobs. It will also benefit lots of other things. I mean, were looking to if you look at the whole thing, everybodys going to benefit. But i think the greatest benefit is going to be for jobs and for the middle class, middle income. All right, cnns Boris Sanchez joining us from the white house. The president sounding really confident going into this week as he heads off to camp david. But, you know, hes not quite doing a victory lap just yet. Thats right, fred. Hes still kind of selling this bill as you just heard him do before he departs for camp david. Right now the white house is cautiously optimistic that barring any kind of procedural snafu this will be their first major legislative victory, the passing of the first major Tax Reform Bill in more than 30 years. Theyre confident, in part, because weve seen some republican senators that were previously in the no Column Switching over to yes, including florida senator marco rubio who drew a red line on thursday
thad cochran had an outpatient procedure on monday. His office says he will be on hand for this vote when it takes place either late tuesday or wednesday as its looking like right now. And then of course senator john mccain, whos being treated for brain cancer here in washington, d. C. At walter reed medical center. His office has said he will be there for a vote. But sources are telling cnn that his health is very frail. We should note that President Trump called walter reed yesterday and spoke with cindy mccain, the senators wife, to offer best wishes and to check in. Before heading to camp david, the president was asked about john mccains health by reporters, but he did not give any indication as to how the senator was doing, fred. All right, Boris Sanchez, thanks so much from the white house. Of course there are some sticking points and there have been along the way for this tax bill. Senator marco rubio threatening to vote against it at the last minute. But then the late edition now of a 2,000 Child Tax Credit change
is from a yes to a no. They wanted this included, something that wasnt in the house version. Senate won out and the final version eliminates that mandate. I want to bring in our political panel. Julian seleteser, cnn political analyst and historian at princeton. And our other guest, reporter for the Washington Post. Good to see you both. Julian, you first the president expected to potentially do a real victory lap. This would be his first, you know, legislative accomplishment, but given that this bill is so unpopular, the president is unpopular, congress is unpopular, its not necessarily reform, say some, but, instead, a new plan. How big of a victory might this be for the president . The good news for him is accomplishing something on the legislative front is significant and he will be able to point to
this as other republicans will be. As a change in domestic policy and a tax cut that a lot of the Business Community will be excited about. The bad news is this is the second most unpopular piece of legislation in about 30 years. So the republicans will really have to sell why this is necessary. And theyll be after effects that republicans will have to contend with, including taxes going up for many people in northeastern and the states and in california where there are many republicans who will face an angry electorate. So karoon, if they have to sell, you know, that this is something the americans really need, really sell it, when is there time to do that, will that even happen . That is their what they have to do in the next several months. Look, this is a win for the gop to have said look, we can actually get our act together and pass a comprehensive, after a whole year in which they
managed to not meet the mark they set for themselves. Its good for the gop members in the congress that are running again, a lot of this stuff does not kick in until the next tax cycle which people will not start to feel until theyre doing their taxes at the end of 2018. When it starts to matter is when people start to do their actual budgeting of whether they made out better or worse and we know some of these provisions for lower and middle class folks are expiring earlier than others. This will all start to kind of be a moment of reckoning before we get to the 2020 cycle. So there may be there may be individuals who are able to sell this as promises still of what you will be able to see that will be better. The bottom line, the actual tax bracket is, but the bottom line for people where they live when youre kind of balancing out both, okay, what is your raw tax bracket, but what is also the added burden that you dont necessarily have that Health Care Mandate anymore with these
subsidies, thats going to take longer for people to feel where they live and their actual budgeting at home. Can you get through one election cycle or more . Probably it starts to become difficult after the next november. Julian, a legislative win, does it potentially change the game at all for this president . I dont think it changes the game because President Trump will still be President Trump and my guess is the twitter feed will be filled with controversy in the coming weeks and the more controversial issues that he is involved in will not stop and so all of that will undercut the bill and the problems weve discussed. Will also be problems that the gop needs to deal with, rather than a piece of legislation they can just boast about. None of that goes away. That said, having a victory undercuts some of his opponents who say that he cant achieve anything. And that the Republican Party is in total disrepair. So thats thats good for the
administration. But i think all those other problems remain. Its not a Turning Point that transforms President Trump. All right. Lets talk about a little shakeup taking place in the white house among staff. Im talking about the departure of onmarosa from the white hous this week and all the publicity it received. She now very publicly kind of questioning the diversity of the white house. White House Press SecretarySarah Sanders was asked about diversity following this departure and even, you know, the question is about that too and heres what sanders had to say. Was omarosa leaving, how many senior staffers here at the white house are africanamerican . We have a really diverse team across the board at the white house. We always want to continue to grow the diversity here. Were going to continue to do that. And continue to work hard. I dont have a number directly in front of me specifically not africanamerican but i can say, again, we have a very diverse team at the white house. Certainly very diverse team in
the press office. And something that we strive for every day is to add and grow to be more diverse and more representative of the country at large. So karoun, she didnt really answer the question, because she was asked specifically about the number of, you know, africanamericans who are considered senior staffers and she talked broadly about diversity. So will there be greater pressure, particularly after this departure, for the white house to be able to specifically address that question . Sure, theres going to be greater pressure. The question is how do they respond to that pressure . Theres always pressure on the white house to have a staff that seems more representative of the demographics of the country than necessarily there is. This particular white house has a lot of white men in it, especially when youre looking at the cabinet and the inner circle. Yes, the president s daughter is there too. But you dont see a ton of racial diversity. Theres a few minorities in the
cabinet level position. But not people that are front and center in the biggest jobs and the ones that are kind of on camera every day. I guess i wonder if this white house hasnt felt like it had to acquiesce to the question of, you know, is the staff at all representative of the demographics of the nation with this departure. Does this now press the white house to say we have to be more transparent about the representation or lack thereof . It may increase the pressure but again, theres all kinds of pressure to this white house that they choose to respond to. Does this mean theyre going to turn around in the next month and find, you know, promote africanamerican people to be taking over, you know, jobs that are within the president s inner circle . Thats not the way theyve operated thus far. I cant predict what they may do to respond to the pressure. Certainly this is now in public as criticism. The president does not always respond to public criticism so its an open question. Julian. Yes, this is a president whos taken on affirmative
action. Who has often mocked the idea of diversity. So i doubt whether that pressure will really get to him or get to his inner circle and at the same time i could almost imagine him using this as one of those cases where hes under attack from the politically correct quote unquote crowd. And acts in defiant fashion. So its often hard to prediction how hell respond to these issues. Theres that today Washington Post story thats talking about whether people in a meeting at the cdc were told even among the words no longer to use in written documents diversity, but we dont have any official word from the white house whether theres a directive and whether that meeting really took place, even though the Washington Post standing by its reporting and the sources that were at that meeting. All right, thanks to both of you, julian, karoun, appreciate it, happy hanukkah, happy holidays. Still ahead, President Trumps lawyers are set to meet with special counsel robert
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the russia investigation could be headed for a few pivotal moments next week. Sources say a key meeting is set to take place between President Trumps private lawyers and the special counsel where the president s team is hoping to learn the investigation is northe nearing its end. This comes as music publicist Rob Goldstone who set up meeting is set to testify in congress at any moment now, any day now. Lets bring in cnns Nic Robertson who is in moscow for us. Nic, what role is this Publicist Playing in the investigation . When is he likely to testify to . Well, we got an idea of it when he talked to a journalist from a british newspaper about a month or so ago and he said he wants to clear up his involvement in all of this. He says he is just an innocent
party. That he was asked by one of the mus music, you know, a singer based in russia who he represents to set him up with a meeting with donald trump jr. And this is what he went ahead and did. But obviously for the investigators, theyre going to want to know about what he meant by some of the things he said and the email when he set this up that he would be bringing a russian government prosecutor with him, natalya valiskaya. She has come out on television and raised her own questions and doubts about goldsteen and the v veracity of what he might see. So an effort to undermine whatever he tells the investigators. But key will be to find out what he said in that email, that he would be able to hook up trump jr. With people who could give him information, russian government information, that
could be detrimental to hillary clinton. Theyre going to want to know and understand more about it. And the other avenue that they may want to explore with Rob Goldstein as well, goldstein has said that he was in moscow in 2013 with donald trump when he was here for a Miss Universe pageant at that time so there will be perhaps elements of now President Trump, donald trump at the time, Visit To Moscow then that they may want to talk about because theres been that document, the dossier that was produceded by fusion by fusion gps, contributed by former mi6 analyst christopher steele, that perhaps pertain to activities and events during that visit in 2013 so goldstein may be able to provide clarity on those issues. Thats what investigators are likely to want to probe and find out more, but specifically what
he meant when he said russian officials havent had information that could damage hillary clinton. All right, Nic Robertson in moscow, thanks. All right, still ahead, the cdc reportedly given a list of words prohibited from use in any official documents by the Trump Administration. Among them, fetus, transgender and diversity. What might this say about the legacy of the Trump Administration . Sciencebased when preparing next years budget. The Washington Post reports the Trump Administration gave the cdc, the centers for disease control, a list of seven prohibited words and phrases including vulnerable, entitlement, diversity, transgender, fetus, evidencebased and sciencebased. The health and Human Services spokesperson disputes that Washington Post report, saying, quote, the assertion that hhs has banned words is a complete mischaracterization of discussions regarding the budget formulation process. Hhs also strongly encourages the use of outcome and evidence data in Program Evaluations and budget decisions. A longtime cdc analyst told the post the reaction in the room was mostly are you serious . Joining us now via skype from washington is lena sun, National Health reporter for the Washington Post. Lena, i should say, hi, good to
see you. This is pretty extraordinary reading this. A lot of your information, you and another reporter, your information is based on people who were in the room who anonymous, theyre not revealing themselves because they were not speaking in an official capacity, right, so based on these sources, did anyone in the room at the time of this meeting or announcement ask what is the basis of these bans and why . So you have to understand the federal budget process. Were in that now. Federal agencies are working on coming up with the documents to say heres what we do with the money that the federal government gives us. And they describe those programs. And thats where we are now. And this is the context for which those words were told to these Budget Analysts that they werent supposed to use them. Because some drafts had included these words and they were being kicked back and they were flagged as, you know, needing
correction. In the case of three of those words, was in writing that they were kicked back. And when the senior person thats a career Civil Servant had this meeting with the budget analyst, she said and there are other words and then she listed the words and then they were not supposed to use them. Was there any challenge in the room as to why . No, you have to understand, these people are budget their job is to write up the budget and if you put in these words well, if you put them in at your level, theyre going to get taken out later on. So save yourself some time and dont put them in because theyre just going to get kicked back and delay the process. E guess theres a feeling too if they publicly dissent, i mean, in the room, then their jobs are in jeopardy . Well, the job is to write the budget. The cdc is part of hhs. Hhs is part of the federal government. This is what theyve been told they do. They would this is what they got to do to keep their jobs. Right, right, and so in
your in your Washington Post reporting, you say that people your sources allege that, you know, this list of the seven words and phrases that was delivered by or at least this meeting was, you know, led by allison kelly, a Senior Leader in the agencys office, financial offices . She is the Deputy Director of the office of appropriations which is part of the office of financial resources, which is a lot of, you know, technical terms to mean thats the part of the agency that comes up with the budget that gets the information from other parts of theate j aiat theate, the agency, sending up the chain. Its not her job to say, oh, were not going to be able do we know where the Directive Cam from . We dont, we dont know where it came from, but if you understand the budget process, the Office Of Management And Budget is the ultimate arbiter of what goes in the bubldget. The Budget Document reflects what the president s priorities are. And i would imagine they would be uniform across the government. So you notice one of the words that was forbidden or people were told not to use is the word entitlement. Cdc is not an agency that has any of the entitlement programs. That suggests to me that this is something broader within hhs. All right, its fascinating read. Lena sun, thank you so much, happy hanukkah, happy holidays. All right, still ahead, one of President Trumps judicial nominees gets grilled during his confirmation hearing. Well bring you that very awkward moment next. I used to have more hair. I used to have more color. And. I used to have cancer. I beat it. I did. Not alone. I used to have no idea what the American Cancer Society did. Research . Yeah. But also free rides to chemo and free lodging near hospitals. I used to maybe give a little. Then i got so much back. I used to have cancer. Please give at cancer. Org. Nick is a logistical mastermind. When it comes to moving packages on a global scale, nobody does it better. Hes also an avid cookie connoisseur. Dig in, big guy. But when it comes to mortgages,
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admits he hasnt tried a case, has no basic grasp open basic legal motions filed routinely in Federal Court and really no familiarity with the legal standards hell be tasked with applying. Have you ever tried a jury trial . I have not. Civil . No. Criminal . No. Bench . No. State or Federal Court . I have not. Do you know what a motion in limine is . I would probably not be able to give you a good definition. Do you know what the Youunge Abstention Doctrine is . Ive heard of it. How about the Pullman Abstention Doctrine . Youll see that a lot in Federal Court. Okay. This exchange right on the heels of news earlier this week that the white house is also withdrawing the nomination of brett tally who was unanimously rated not qualified by the American Bar Association, as well as the nomination of jeff mater who was up for a seton the
federal trial court in texas but the team found comments where he disparaged transgender children, fred. Laura jarrett, thank you. Lets bring in our legal guys. Avery freeman, a civil rights attorney and richard friedman, a criminal defense attorney. Good to see you both. Happy hanukkah, happy holiday. You too. You first, avery, this gentleman nominated for a lifetime appointment. The questions that mr. Kennedy was asking about his knowledge or experience of, you know, different various types of trial, you know, Attorney Work or even awareness of motions. Is that typical that an attorney or would have had all of that experience before being considered for this kind of bench . Yeah i mean, the amazing thing about this is not that he didnt know anything, the idea that you appear before a Judiciary Committee and ive done it and believe me, you prepare, because youve got like ten people
firing questions at the same time. What it seems like is i dont think Matthew Peterson is a lunchhe lunckhead, fredricka, i think He Wasnt Prepared. Give credit to senator kennedy from louisiana. A trump supporter who supported his other judicial nominations but he said, you know what, we are a check and balance against the Executive Branch and, you know what, within five minutes, there was nothing left of Matthew Peterson. He may be good for an administrative post somewhere but in a Federal Courthouse, huhuh, wrong guy. It was a humiliating moment. You dont have to be from the field of law to just kind of feel for peterson at that moment. So richard, you know, the American Bar Association rated peterson as qualified, but, you know, he clearly failed to answer basic questions. So qualified based on what then . Why would, you know, the ada say that . Hes not qualified, fred, and
i dont believe the aba said that. Yes, they did. This is so disturbing, fred, on so many levels. You know, United StatesDistrict Court judge, these are some of the best and brightest of the judges in the history of the United States jurisprudence system. They really are. Theyre appointments for life. They dont answer politically. They dont have to run for office. You walk into a Federal Court, these are very serious cases, fred. Thats where i make a living. People are facing 20, 30 years in prison. The civil lawsuits are usually 100,000 and above. Its very, very serious. And to think the creed dullty of this individual to think he had the ability to be a Federal Court judge. Its like sarah palin, couldnt count to ten, thought she could be the Vice President of the United States. Except he didnt nominate himself. Somebody said, hey, i got this Great Potential opportunity, you want to be able to step up and
say yes. But then hes also being underserved perhaps by others who said we do think youre qualified, it Doesnt Matter that you havent, you know, argued in civil, you know, or bench or criminal cases. Don mcgann, the white house counsel, is who. Thats the answer. No, he never fred, he never did a trial he never did a Small Claims Court trial. Even we heard senator kennedy say no depositions, i mean, independently not one deposition did he handle on his own, fred. Come on, he didnt know a motion in limine. A first year law student, a parallel, its on every bar exam. How do you not know that . Its an abomination. You havent used that word in a while, i like that. Avery, the white house though is contending and they even put out a statement saying peterson is qualified. The president s opponents are the ones who keep trying to distract. Senator john kennedy, you know, the republican there, you know, was the lawmaker who was grilling peterson. He was a guest on cnn just last night. You cant just walk into a Federal Courthouse for the very first time and say here i am, i think i want to be a judge. It just doesnt work that way. So avery, i guess every one is relieved that no, it doesnt work that way it shouldnt be so easy. You actually have to be up for the task. Well, thats right. Beyond the fact that clearly the nominee hadnt been prepared, this isnt lunckheadedness, this is stupidity. I think its unbridled arrogance coming out of the white house counsel. Don mcgann was one of the well, the most instrumental person in setting this nominee up. You walked into the Judiciary Committee and a republican senator ate the guy alive. If anything, the blame let me tell you something, in the history of Federal Court, in the history of our federal legal system, it is not exclusively
republican. Democrats have done the same thing. When you put in a candidate like that, by and large, youre going to see exactly what happened yesterday. And you know what, it proves that the system works. The legislative branch checks the Executive Braj and yesterday arrogance lost and competence won. You cant help but be humiliated for peterson too. Either He Wasnt Prep order somehow no one knew these are the kinds of questions you would be asked or needed to be prepared for in order to, you know, sit on the bench to have such an incredibly important job for life. Right. Fred, these were not esoteric questions they were asking him. A motion in limine is a motion made before trial to preclude evidence. Its a basic motion. Its one and one is two. If youre a lawyer, you know this, fred. He didnt know that thats why he wasnt going to get confirmed. Its not preparation maybe he thought he would not and people around him thought it was going to happen. All right. Well, richard clearly, he was not he missed law school the day they taught law. This guy ah, this guy this is a disgrace, this just shows utter incompetence to appoint someone like this to the federal bench. Its a disgrace. Even the republicans are losing their minds over this. Im no attorney but just watching it, it was more than cringe worthy. It was painful. Exactly right. Richard herman, avery friedman, good to see you both. Congratulations on your nomination, 49th naacp image awards, you deserve it, fred, congratulations. Absolutely. Thank you so much, i feel really honored. Thanks to you, avery and richard, appreciate it. Always helping us all shine. Have a great holiday, see you next time. You too, yep. Take care. All right, well be right back. Family and fri ends . A Big Night Out . Or maybe your everyday shopping. Whatever it is, aarp Member Advantages can help save you time and money along the way. So when you get there, you can enjoy it all the more. For less. Surround yourself with Savings At Aarp advantages dot com. [vo] quickbooks introduces he teaches lessons to stanley. And thats kind of it right now. But rodney knew just what to do. He got quickbooks. It organizes all his accounts, so he knows where he stands in an instant. Ahhh. Thats a profit. Which gave him the idea to spend a little cash on some brilliant marketing ha, clever. Wow, look at all these new students way to grow, rodney know where you stand instantly. Visit quickbooks. Com. On a hotel just Go To Priceline. They add thousands of new deals every day at up to 60 off. Thats how kaley and i got to share this trip together at this amazing hotel. Yeah ash and i share everything dresses, makeup, water bottles. We do . Mmhmm. We share secrets, shoes, toothbrushes. What . Yeah i forgot mine so ive been using yours. Seriously . Whats the big deal . I mean, we even dated the same guy. Who . uh, Go To Priceline and get the hotel deals you wont find anywhere else. At tmobile, when you holiday together, great things come in twos. Right now when you buy any of this seasons hot new Samsung Galaxy phones, you get a second one free to gift. Thats one samsung for you. One to give. Tmobile. Holiday twogether. This holiday, the real gift isnt whats inside the box. Its whats inside the person who opens it. Give ancestrydna, the only dna test that can trace your origins to over 150 ethnic regions. And open up a world of possibilities. Save 20 for the holidays at ancestrydna. Com. Reporter welcome back to beattyville, kentucky. President trump won 81 of the vote in this county. When we came here right after the inauguration, there was a lot of hope. People were betting that President Trump could turn things around for them here, bring back jobs and prosperity. The day of the election, everybody was excited. Fresh meat in the white house. Reporter so weve come back a year later to find out if the president has lived up to their hopes. Are you getting that change you voted for yet . I am seeing attempt at change. Im still hopeful. I dont think any of the problems that we have is gonna be quick fixes. Reporter Herald And Lee Andra live in beattyville, kentucky, with their three daughters. Leandras a artist. Harold is a mason. He drives two hours each way to and from work because the best paying job he could find around here only paid 11 an hour. Its steady work but hes making
less than he was a year ago. They invited us to this family meal, nearly a year after we first met them following the election. We were the ones that kind of fell in the crack. Reporter can donald trump help you . Well see. If he brings some jobs in here. He dont have insurance. I dont have insurance. Reporter now shes still hopeful but still without Health Insurance. Did you try to sign up for obamacare this year . Yes, i checked and it was like 600. Reporter obamacares too expensive for you. Yes. Reporter but you guys make too much money to qualify for medicaid. Uhhuh, stuck in the middle. Reporter and you got pretty sick recently. Yes. Reporter did you avoid going to the doctor, checking it out for a while because you didnt have Health Insurance . Absolutely. Ive lost like 60 pounds in the last six months. Reporter if nothing changes on health care, by 2020, does he get your vote again . There would be a really, really good possibility because i see Congress Standing in the way more than him. Ive worked six shifts this week so im pretty tired. Its paycheck to paycheck every time. Reporter their 22yearold daughter sara makes them immensely proud. Your hope for them . That they can find happiness without having to just break their i have a degree in Public Health and Human Services. You tried to get jobs in the town with your degree. Yes. What happened . Everything was like 8 or 9 an hour. But you have thousands in student loan debt. Yes. So the system isnt working for you. No. Sara didnt work, she says, no time because she was working three jobs. She has been hoping for change largely for her parents. Here you are watching your mom go through this. It breaks my heart. I could cry talking about it. My mom is the best person. She would give anything to anybody. And she cant get the help she needs. Its not her fault. And you cant help. I cant do anything to help her. You dont make enough to pay for that. Nope. Beattyville is a community struggling. According to the data, more than half the people live below the poverty line and the majority of the county are on medicaid. Beattyville has been home for you since you were born. Home sweet home. If you want to get back to nature here is where you want to come. He is trying to tap into that Building Cabins for to yourists his auto shop is struggling. Youve lost old, weve had a lot of coal mining. Is that part of why you voted
for President Trump . Yes. That was a lot. This Coal Facility people kept telling us reopened after the election. Its nowhere near big enough to turn this economy around. How has the president done one year in . He has done, or tried to do more of his promises than any other president. Hes tried. But has he succeeded . No. Hes not been able. Its been one stumbling stone. Who do you blame for getting into his way . A lot of politicians. The way i see it, he is a normal person like myself. Not a politician. He dont talk like a politician. Hes a billionaire from new york city. Hes a billionaire from new york city. Hes not a politician. He is. Hes the president. Hes the president , but hes a politician. You no good and well he dont act like one. What will it take for President Trump to win your vote again in 2020 . All hes got to do is run
again, honey. Thats it . Thats it. But thats not it for this man. After voting for president obama twice, he cast his ballot for President Trump. Hes not the man i thought he was. Hes not. He just hes overbearing. And hes not getting nothing done. He says hes accomplished nor than any president. He has not. He talks a good talk, but can he walk the walk. He said hed put everybody back to work. Jobs with a living wage. Thats what he said would lift beattyville up, not government assistance. For now, he relies on its fathers va benefits to get by as he takes care of his mother. Im not if i went to find work id have to leave here. If you look at the population that could be working but not what would you say it is . At least 30 . 35 . Thats scary. It is. Its that way all over these towns. Something else ripping at the
foundation of so many communities, including this one, the drug epidemic. The drug epidemic in our county leads back to jobs, because if there were jobs people wouldnt feel forted ced do things such as drugs. This 18yearold knows all too well. Last summer a bunch of drug related murders. It bothered me real bad so i wrote a song about it. Theres plenty of people just sitting at the house right now praying for a job. Its killing them. They want to work and provide for the families but dont have the means a long time, a man named bobby joe spent kentuckys crackdown on the Opioid Crisis has landed more people behind bars. It was announced a big employer will reopen. Its the private prison right
down here. So yes, it means more jobs here, but its because of the heart breaking impact that drugs are having here and across the country. Does President Trump get credit for the Prison Reopening . Yeah. No. No. Tprospects, what are they . Theyre grim. Theyre grim because right now, were clinging to the past. The only way were going to fix Eastern Kentucky is get entrepreneurship. Create jobs by people creating businesses. Some are. Some are. Its time that our community is seen in a more positive light. I think thats what my generation and the current leaders of Beattyville Have decided to do. We want to have a community that our children dont have to graduate and leave. They want them to see that you can live here and be happy and
successful. Did you think about leaving . I have, but i love this town. This is more than just where i debris up. This is my family. We have to learn to support each other. We cant weight for somebody to pull us out of a hole. 81 of the people here voted for President Trump. What has he brought to beattyville . He brought hope. Without hope, you have nothing. People have been optimistic because they wanted trump to win. They actually put in an effort. Once they seen he won, they took the initiative and done something. Were poverty stricken but happiness is rich here. If youre happy, youre rich. Cannot live without it