We're supposed to be responsible with our words, but THEY are not accountable for their actions.....
White Christian Nationalists were waiting for their martyr Charlie. A subset of them were waiting for The Rapture this week. The head of ICE was waiting for that shooting. Now they are waiting for the shutdown.
It's a sales plan, it's a snow job, it's Project 2025. Time to start screaming the left is killing us by calling us Nazis and fascists. Hope they remember the racist, misogynist, and xenophobe part too. Maybe the phone and internet spying will educate a few---agency people need to hear democracy in action.
What a bunch of butthurt snowflake cowards lead by a psychopath. Identify their agencies and unmask the people we are paying! Where the hell are the 1200 from Alligator Alcatraz?! Show us the Homan tape! Release the Epstein Files! We'll see you in the streets.
What REALLY hurts will be the inflation to medical care that will result from the Big Crappy Bill. Should affect everybody.
Google: The potential cost increases come from several key provisions and effects:
Expiration of enhanced subsidies: The most immediate impact is the planned expiration of enhanced premium tax credits at the end of 2025. Originally passed as part of pandemic relief and extended by the Inflation Reduction Act, these subsidies significantly lowered monthly premiums for individuals and families who buy insurance on the ACA marketplaces. If they are not renewed, out-of-pocket premium payments are projected to rise by an average of 75% for marketplace consumers.
Higher premiums: The expiration of enhanced subsidies is expected to drive up overall premium rates. Insurers have already proposed median premium increases of about 18% for 2026, the largest increase since 2018. This is partly driven by the expectation that healthier enrollees will leave the market once costs rise, leaving a sicker, more expensive risk pool.
End of "silver loading": The bill ends a practice called "silver loading," which has helped keep premiums down for some enrollees. Ending this practice would cause the value of premium tax credits to fall, leading to higher premiums for many middle-class families.
Increased out-of-pocket costs: New regulations included in the bill could allow insurers to increase maximum out-of-pocket spending limits for many private health plans, including those offered through employers. This change could result in families paying hundreds of dollars more per year before their health plan begins to cover all costs.
Higher costs for older adults: Older Americans who purchase marketplace coverage would be disproportionately affected by the subsidy expiration because their premiums are already higher due to age-based pricing. For example, a 60-year-old couple earning $85,000 could see their annual premiums increase by more than $15,000.
This doesn't reflect the costs due to P{AYGO, to take effect in 2026.
Maybe healthcare will be the uniting issue for the people. So many people who are used to having healthcare have lost, or will lose their benefits. The time is right.
I swear this is what we have to suffer in order to finally break the hold and cause the pendulum to swing WAY back. These young adults can't afford car or health insurance. Can't afford a house. Can't afford an education. Can't afford kids. And YET, these f-ers expect them to work, have a side hustle, and be "contractors" that get no benefits. All those "can'ts" apply even if you do all that.
True that, Robert, but as you can see some rural hospitals and even nursing homes are reacting already. We are thinking the carriers are going to kick it up a notch, so it is not all at once the following year. Greedy, gouge-y, bastards one and all.
Where I live the three nearest hospitals are high on the list for closure when Medicaid dies. When they go so will many of the doctors (or at least I assume so). Regardless, being an hour from a hospital at this point in my life is not one I relish.
Another sad fact is the hospitals that just start cutting, cut the maternity services FIRST. So they hurt the folks coming into the world as well as those not long for the world.
These losses may be another thing that pushes us toward national emergency measures for health care. Sad way to get there.
It all goes BOOM when the insurance industry sends out enrollment and price info for 2026. When the people and corporations start screaming about that, who will he kill or invade?
America is going to get single-payer or a public option, Daniel, but it may not be in our lifetime.
Curtis Nebraska, A rural farming community, its hospital that was kept open because of Medicaid, but when the OBBB was anounced the hospital announced it's closure, as it was already operating the red. and the OBBB, killed it, and they weren't going to wait.
A reporter visited the Curtis senior center and interviewed the people. None of them blamed Trump, they all blamed the hospital.
It is the same story in rural America,
Ido not think an honest analysis has been done of the election climate in America. I keep seeing references to dollar issues, but when the people who actually vote and decide the elction are heard, the issue is the culture war. Here is an example
In 2024, Trump beat Kamala Harris in Hazleton by 23 points.
Over the weekend the Philadelphia Inquirer reported from Hazleton. The piece is a profile in stove-touching. I cannot recommend it highly enough. The short version:
• Hispanic residents of Hazleton overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump.
• Hazleton is now a ghost town, with many Hispanic-owned businesses losing their customer base.
• Most of these Trump supporters still love him. Because they either:
o say the ICE raids aren’t real and are just an exaggeration of social media; or . . .
o believe the mass deportation scheme is real and good; or . . .
o think it’s real and bad—but is not Trump’s fault.
The Heartland is hit hard, especially farmers, by Medicaid cuts, cuts to SNAP, yet the farmers and rural America still support him, same with Civil Servants laid off by Musk and DOGE. They don’t blame Trump, they rationalize it as a mistake. Their issue is the culture war, the empowerment of women, gays and minorities. Trump knows it that is why he has unleashed a Jihad on DEI, especially in the Pentagon.
His war on woke and the DEI is front page news, every day, yet it is ignored and the corporate media, and sadly too many democrats keep talking about the economy as an issue.
The Democratic Party leadership is in a quandary, it won't release the 2024 autopsy report because apparently it discredits the analysts, strategist and god fathers of the party
Isn't that shooting of three immigrants in ICE custody a little too convenient, as the actual agents were inside the van, and how convenient that today these shooters write or engrave messages on them, then get killed or kill themselves.
Tyler Robinson isn't talking, he said he fears for his family if he does. His family is not under threat from the "left" or trans, so who could threaten his family?
ICE were inside the van, the only ones outside were the immigrants, it is all too convenient that shooters are no writing on their ammo, and too convenient that he killed himself. The whole thing stinks. Tyler Robins has said he won't talk for fear of what will happen to his family.
The JFK assassination. lots of questions, how a person, not trained as sniper can get off three shots, through foilage on a tree yet, and the fact that JFK was shot from the front, blowing out the back of his skull and Jackie climbing over the trunk of the vehile to get the piece of the skull.
A man with terminal cancer, who certainly had no reason to mourn and be outraged at the death of Kennedy, assassinating Oswald.
The "magic bullet" and then the fact that the coverup, the Warren Commission, took massive amount of money and political power.
We will never know who was behind it.
I know this, JFK had printed amounts of Treasury Notes (not silver certificates) in $2 and $5 amounts, with plans, to print larger denominations.
A note is a liability. A Treasury Note is a liability of the U.S,. Treasury and it bypass the Association of Primary Dealers in Government Securities, a cartel of 25 investment bankers, that have a monopoly on buying U.S. Government Securities, which they then sell to the Fed, Institutions, foreign sovereign funds and central banks.
Going out on the streets is not something I can do anymore, but I appreciate the idea; however, I don't think it's something that Democrats as a rule are willing to do. We've always relied on the courts for justice, but they're afraid to do anything that would offend Trump and the MAGA - so to me, things look kind of hopeless.
I'm more aware when I go out these days, but I'm in a small, red Midwestern city with relatively little violent crime. I also don't make unnecessary trips and avoid areas with large groups of people. I think those would be more attractive to a shooter.
It sucks to have to live like this. I'm a senior citizen and this ISN'T the America I was born into.
This morning Jen Rubin cited to the 3.5% rule that Thom has cited prteviously. Developed by Erica Chenoweth and colleagues at Harvard, it postulates that “no government has withstood a challenge of 3.5% of their population mobilized against it during a peak event.” However, this is a rule of thumb, not an inviolate law of politics. Chenoweth acknowledges that Brunei and Bahrain, where more than 3.5% turned out but the governments were not overthrown, are exceptions to the rule.
We need a big turnout Oct. 18, but by that time, a shutdown may occur.
Many Congressional Republicans privately admit Trump is nuts but are intimidated. Among them are members of the Problem Solvers Caucus in the House. https://problemsolverscaucus.house.gov/
Need positive reinforcement to come forward.
Some represent majority Dem districts or districts where independents have swung away from MAGA.
Today the threat of a shutdown demands action on expiring healthcare subsidies and other funding priorities. Democratic leaders state they are ready to work to avoid a shutdown and blame the current Republican leadership and Trump for the stalemate.
Also there's the Epstein discharge petition issue.
Thom - What Trump’s doing with today’s mass firing threat is nothing short of economic terrorism against the American people.
Today all the US markets are in shock. AI sayz reports of Trump attempting to crash the economy to benefit cryptocurrency are part of a broader, more complex political and financial narrative. Rather than a singular goal of "crashing the economy," the discussion centers on concerns that his administration's strong pro-crypto stance and personal financial involvement could weaken the U.S. dollar, create ethical conflicts, and introduce economic instability for personal gain.
Trump's favorable crypto policies and potential conflicts of interest
Pro-crypto policy shifts: Since taking office, Trump has actively embraced and promoted cryptocurrency, a reversal from his previous skepticism where he referred to Bitcoin as a "scam". His administration has undertaken several actions to support the industry, including:
-Signing an executive order in January 2025 to support the growth of digital assets.
Establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile in March 2025.
Signing the GENIUS Act into law in July 2025, which provides a federal framework for stablecoins.
-Personal and family financial interests: The Trump family has launched several crypto ventures, including meme coins ($TRUMP and $Melania) and a company called World Liberty Financial (WLF).
These ventures have significantly increased the family's reported wealth.
Critics, including government watchdog groups and legal experts, have raised concerns about unprecedented conflicts of interest, as Trump makes regulatory decisions that could affect his family's personal finances.
Allegations of dollar weakening: Some economists and critics, such as those cited by PBS, have warned that Trump's pro-crypto and protectionist tariff policies could weaken the U.S. dollar.
The argument is that as confidence in the dollar potentially wanes, and as cryptocurrencies gain legitimacy through favorable government policies, crypto could be seen as a more viable alternative.
This dynamic could theoretically allow Trump to profit from his crypto holdings as their value increases relative to the dollar.
Accusations of self-dealing: The president's personal financial gain from crypto-related policies has led to accusations of self-enrichment.
-The $TRUMP meme coin, for example, saw its price surge after investors bought it to gain access to a dinner with Trump. A forensic analysis showed that many investors lost money while Trump's company profited from trading fees.
-These activities have drawn accusations of "kleptocracy," suggesting the administration is using its power to profit from the crypto market.
Meanwhile, Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy for peace missions, still hasn’t divested from World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture he co-founded with Trump’s sons. The firm is active in Middle East deals, even as Witkoff negotiates peace talks there, raising glaring conflict-of-interest concerns.
Why It Matters: Witkoff’s dual role fuses diplomacy with his and Trump’s private crypto empire. Foreign policy is being reduced to another pay-to-play scheme, where peace talks double as business opportunities for Trump’s inner circle. And with no transparency, there’s no way to know which foreign interests are funneling money into their venture.
Yet there he stands in defiance of the Chenoweth rule. Committing murder on the high seas, or in a sovereign nations territorial limits, ignoring the Constitution and judicial rulings, fully supported by the Supreme Court.
He stands in front of the UN, blabs and blutters, with total impunity, and not a word of ridicule from any sovereign nation. He lacks self awareness, and people around him, and even foreign leaders fear him. Even Charles III debased himself.
You see, money talks and people and nations walk. He has his hands on the police power of the state (national and international), and the purse strings of the nation, national and international, and has brought to heel our institutions, educational, legal, municipal, police, federal, even state by this powers of the purse and the police (blue coated or military)
We know fully what he has done is illegal and unconstitutional, that he is milking America like a cow, this 34 times convicted felon,
Yet there he sits, unabashed, unashamed and fully powered.
What will it take to save what is left of our Democratic Republic?
I would like to think a free and fair election, but the fix is in on that for 2026, and efforts are in motion for him to be re elected in 2028, or not this time he will not leave. Hungary, Russia, Turkey they have elections as well.
I am afraid that help will have to come from external sources.
Alas Eadie, there are none. What I was alluding to is that the only reason fascism in Europe lost was because of the entry of the United States into the war, which then made it a World War. Until Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and dumb ass Hitler declared war on America, It really wasn't a world war.
The article is correct NATO has bent the knee,. I hate to say this, but Trump 45 was correct, Europe had been getting a free ride at our expense, they did not invest in their own defense, they let America pull their weight, exception was Sweden. now they are not equipped to deal with Russia.
As depleted as Russia is, it has,as it did in WWII, an unlimited supply of meat to throw into combat, and a cowed, submissive, compliant population which has a 2,000 year history and culture of submission to ruthless overlords
I would be at least a little bit satiated if we got a copy of the Epstein autopsy report, a mandatory document when there is a death in a prison facility as I understand it. I have never tried/defended a murder case without one. Where and why don't know where this one is? It's important, folks. Write your Congress persons about it...
Republicans are losing their bigotry-drenched minds over their fear of a tidal wave of rejection of their politics. Here's Trump throwing every silly fever dream of his at the wall like so much catsup to see what will turn the tide. Really, sex change operations for everybody is so believable.
The administration’s rubes were not elevated for skill, integrity, or experience. They were chosen because they would respond as told, sneer when ordered, and parrot whatever falsehood the moment required. Credentials meant nothing; loyalty was everything. In place of statesmen, we got lackeys. Instead of leaders, we got frauds. Sycophantic liars, hand-picked to serve a demented felon. Dallas was not a leftist. Leftists don’t shoot immigrants.
I disagree with one word. We did get leaders - leaders who wrote Project 2025, leaders who are propping up a demented, and likely ill, old "man" who will do anything they want to keep his ego and wealth growing.
You are correct Carl, and very conveniently the shooter is dead (killed himself?) and scribbled anti ice shit on his bullets. How convenient. I read that Tyler Robinson isn't talking because he fears for his parents? Strange but who knew the left was so powerful as to threaten his parents, more like MAGA and the FBI.
Add to the demand list: how many federal employees have already lost their jobs, are caught in the uncertain world between DODGE's smash and grab and the courts, are about to lose the buyout they accepted and go on unemployment. The federal work force must be a fraction of what it was when Trump took office -- there can't be many left to fire. A hollowed-out hostage taking.
Now, every Democrat in the U.S. House and Senate, and in every state legislature. All across the country, read your letter into the minutes of their hearings, meetings and sessions, so everyone who follows what’s going on in their state legislatures and in the U.S. Congress can have a true understanding of what our “Idiot-In-Chief” is lying about on an hourly basis.
To shut down the government is exactly what Trump wants, but that would be the dog catching the car.
WASHINGTON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's administration has raised the stakes in a showdown with U.S. Senate Democrats over a looming partial government shutdown, threatening to permanently remove workers from some federal agencies if funding runs out next Tuesday.
What more harm could he do, than he has already done. The FBI is being used to augment ICE and his immigration program, and pursue his enemies, he is using the JAG of DOD to hear immigration cases. He has completely destroyed DEA, DOD, DOJ, FCC, FEC, DHS, HHS, etc there is nothing left but sycophants and incompetents.
Another theory is that he wants the economy to crash to maximize his crypto. Displace currency. Why else reduced government revenue, tariffs, other financial self immulation?
If federal employees are furloughed, they keep their jobs but lose eligibility for unemployment benefits. If Trump fires them, they will likely apply for unemployment benefits since they would be fired without cause. Trump apparently aims at once to sabotage goverment services and force taxpayers to fund massive unemployment payments.
"Every Democrat in the Senate should spend the next month in the reddest parts of their states doing town halls where Republicans refuse to, leaving the administration to twist in the wind of the bad publicity as the government shuts down and they begin firing federal workers.
Or conducting mock hearings about the UAE chips-bribery and the Epstein files."
Here is yet another roadmap, Democratic party. Give ordinary people an actual incentive, and they will give you their vote. We are where we are today, I believe, because regular folks just weren't sold on the "new blue". It's an absolute embarrassment to ALL that Donald Trump retook office. Democratic party, return to your roots. We are all WAITING.
I should clarify that by "new blue" I was inferring "Republican Lite". I'm very encouraged by the younger Dems and, as always, the steadfast Progressives - just trying to encourage the old guard to get with the moment and realize that they can become relevant to the people by once again acting as guardians of a democracy born from a powerful middle class.
You could have titled this "Trump’s Shutdown Extortion: Lies, Bribes, and an Armed and Aggressive War on Democracy" because Trump and his psychopathic toadies, from Pam Bondi and Tom Homan, on down to the all the federal agents who are assaulting people just because they get away with it are normalizing violence. This demonstrates what social psycholgists like Daniel Milgram and Phillip Zimbardo showed in their experiments. It also shows what Daniel Goldhagen wrote about in "Hitler's Willing Executioners." I wrote about this in "The many frequencies of violence" in my Substack today: https://halbrown.substack.com/p/the-many-frequencies-of-violence
Trump has done too many horrible things to enumerate. However I suggest that one of the worst things he has done is enable so many people to unleash their most dangerous impulses by inflicting pain, or even death, on others.
Loved: “If his lips move, he’s lying. Or trying to solicit a bribe. Or slandering Democrats. Or, today, taking hostages.”
Angered:
“Most recently, he’s started lying about what congressional Democrats are demanding in exchange for giving the GOP the votes they need in the Senate to keep the government open past October 1.”
“And now, just this morning, they’ve announced that they’re taking hostages. Federal employees will be fired, rather than temporarily furloughed, if there is a government shutdown.
trump wants to shut down the government to cause chaos for the people.
If the American people want to cause chaos for the trump administration, on day one of the government shutdown, organize a call in sick - stay at home protest of all essential workers. This will shut down the schools, close major airports, and stop the delivery of mail. This protest will affect all people - rich and poor.
trump will be blamed for these shutdowns and his administration will crumble and fail.
It will be a time to really make America great again. Our constitution will be restored, and the direction of our government will be similar to FDR's New deal agenda.
Trump tried to destroy our great nation and burn It to the ground. Out of the ashes a new nation will emerge that improves the quality of life for all it's people.
Wangone, considering that the government is already Trumps tool, staffed by sycophants and incompetents, even the National Park Service has gone anti DEI, wouldn't shutting it down be a breather. It would also shut down ICE, and DOJ, which are Trumps primary tools for his Greater Reich.
This extortion note from the lump living in the White House tells us how many quarts of "FLOP SWEAT" he is emitting. And, more importantly, it details precisely how :
a. Cruel
b. Vicious
c. Disturbed
his 77,300,000 constituent-cultists are.
In its ability to get constituents to harm (or worse) themselves, the GOP under Donald is looking more and more like the "Good News" (see below) cult in Kenya, where followers are encouraged to starve themselves to death to meet Jesus.:
The Kenyan cult is led by *Paul Nthenge Mackenzie*, a self-proclaimed pastor and founder of the **Good News International Church.**
This group was behind the horrific events known as the **Shakahola Forest Massacre**, one of the deadliest cult-related tragedies in recent history.
Key Facts About the Cult:
- **Location**: Shakahola Forest, near Malindi, coastal Kenya.
- **Death Toll**: Over **450 bodies** have been exhumed, many from mass graves. Victims include children, and causes of death ranged from **starvation** to **strangulation, suffocation, and blunt trauma**.
- **Doctrine**: Mackenzie allegedly convinced followers to **starve themselves to death** to “meet Jesus.” Enforcers reportedly killed those who resisted.
- **Arrests**: Mackenzie and dozens of others were arrested in 2023. He faces **terrorism, murder, and manslaughter charges**.
- **Resurgence**: Despite the crackdown, a **breakaway group** continued operating nearby in Binzaro village. More bodies were found in 2025, suggesting the cult adapted and persisted.
This case has sparked national outrage and calls for tighter regulation of religious movements in Kenya. Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki called it “the worst breach of security in the history of our country”.
So, perversely, everything coming out of the White House is "Good News."
PS France's former PM Sarkozy just received a 5-year sentence for accepting millions from Gaddafi. So, given Bolsonaro's 27 years for the attempted coup in Brazil, there is hope.
"There is hope." Yeah for France and Brazil. POS's administration is doubling down on everything. Just heard a bit of news that should scare us even more. Drunk-in-chief, Pete Hegseth is "ordering" all (though I might have heard it wrong) generals, and I presume admirals, to DC for a meeting for unknown reasons. Is he going to demand their allegiance and make them swear: “Ich schwöre bei Gott diesen heiligen Eid, daß ich dem Führer des United States Reiches und Volkes, Donald Trump, dem Oberbefehlshaber der Wehrmacht, unbedingten Gehorsam leisten und als tapferer Soldat bereit sein will, jederzeit für diesen Eid mein Leben einzusetzen.”?
Cohen bought his TRump apt. in 2001. Started working for him in 2007. He missed the perverted 1990's TRump is now talking about. Says he didn't even KNOW, but he was the FIXER for the sexual escapades. That included the child, Jane Doe. TRump told him he had no encounters with that little girl and Cohen wanted to believe it. HE was looking for her, and that's probably why she took-off.
Cohen's absolutely in denial or maybe worse. Wants to distance himself from the underage stuff, but that's not reality.
Cohen's wife and kids stuck by him---he has EVERY reason to lie about anything that could change that.
He was the FIXER for the sexual escapades. That included the child, Jane Doe. TRump told him he had no encounters with that little girl and Cohen couldn't find her. Sure. He still is in denial or worse. Heard him more than once.
Cohen's wife and kids stuck by him---he has EVERY reason to lie about anything that could change that.
I read Cohen was not a Perp. However, he was trump's FIXER, and was involved in the Epstein files, because he probably negotiated payoffs with these under age girls.
Let us not forget all those poor cats and dogs in Springfield, eaten by the Haitians. Their rotting carcasses piled up in the streets and parks. Kittens wasting away, crying out most piteously for their mothers, devoured in freakish Voodoo rituals. Thank the Lord for our Protector and Savior, Donald J. Trump.
By the way, I hear a five-part series based on Trump's harrowing time as an undercover FBI agent as he delved into the perversities and utter filth of the Epsteinite pedophilia ring will soon be released on TruthSocial.
Just heard a bit of news that should scare us even more. Drunk-in-chief, Pete Hegseth is "ordering" all (though I might have heard it wrong) generals, and I presume admirals, to DC for a meeting for unknown reasons. Is he going to demand their allegiance and make them swear: “Ich schwöre bei Gott diesen heiligen Eid, daß ich dem Führer des United States Reiches und Volkes, Donald Trump, dem Oberbefehlshaber der Wehrmacht, unbedingten Gehorsam leisten und als tapferer Soldat bereit sein will, jederzeit für diesen Eid mein Leben einzusetzen.”?
We're supposed to be responsible with our words, but THEY are not accountable for their actions.....
White Christian Nationalists were waiting for their martyr Charlie. A subset of them were waiting for The Rapture this week. The head of ICE was waiting for that shooting. Now they are waiting for the shutdown.
It's a sales plan, it's a snow job, it's Project 2025. Time to start screaming the left is killing us by calling us Nazis and fascists. Hope they remember the racist, misogynist, and xenophobe part too. Maybe the phone and internet spying will educate a few---agency people need to hear democracy in action.
What a bunch of butthurt snowflake cowards lead by a psychopath. Identify their agencies and unmask the people we are paying! Where the hell are the 1200 from Alligator Alcatraz?! Show us the Homan tape! Release the Epstein Files! We'll see you in the streets.
What REALLY hurts will be the inflation to medical care that will result from the Big Crappy Bill. Should affect everybody.
Google: The potential cost increases come from several key provisions and effects:
Expiration of enhanced subsidies: The most immediate impact is the planned expiration of enhanced premium tax credits at the end of 2025. Originally passed as part of pandemic relief and extended by the Inflation Reduction Act, these subsidies significantly lowered monthly premiums for individuals and families who buy insurance on the ACA marketplaces. If they are not renewed, out-of-pocket premium payments are projected to rise by an average of 75% for marketplace consumers.
Higher premiums: The expiration of enhanced subsidies is expected to drive up overall premium rates. Insurers have already proposed median premium increases of about 18% for 2026, the largest increase since 2018. This is partly driven by the expectation that healthier enrollees will leave the market once costs rise, leaving a sicker, more expensive risk pool.
End of "silver loading": The bill ends a practice called "silver loading," which has helped keep premiums down for some enrollees. Ending this practice would cause the value of premium tax credits to fall, leading to higher premiums for many middle-class families.
Increased out-of-pocket costs: New regulations included in the bill could allow insurers to increase maximum out-of-pocket spending limits for many private health plans, including those offered through employers. This change could result in families paying hundreds of dollars more per year before their health plan begins to cover all costs.
Higher costs for older adults: Older Americans who purchase marketplace coverage would be disproportionately affected by the subsidy expiration because their premiums are already higher due to age-based pricing. For example, a 60-year-old couple earning $85,000 could see their annual premiums increase by more than $15,000.
This doesn't reflect the costs due to P{AYGO, to take effect in 2026.
Maybe healthcare will be the uniting issue for the people. So many people who are used to having healthcare have lost, or will lose their benefits. The time is right.
Yup, they have gone too far, Gloria.
I swear this is what we have to suffer in order to finally break the hold and cause the pendulum to swing WAY back. These young adults can't afford car or health insurance. Can't afford a house. Can't afford an education. Can't afford kids. And YET, these f-ers expect them to work, have a side hustle, and be "contractors" that get no benefits. All those "can'ts" apply even if you do all that.
The most important parts of the BBB is not going to go into effect until after the midterms.
Jan 1 Obamacare supplements eliminated.
Check out PAYGO.
Suprise!
I really don't like nasty surprises, Daniel. Regardless, we're in for parlous times.
True that, Robert, but as you can see some rural hospitals and even nursing homes are reacting already. We are thinking the carriers are going to kick it up a notch, so it is not all at once the following year. Greedy, gouge-y, bastards one and all.
Where I live the three nearest hospitals are high on the list for closure when Medicaid dies. When they go so will many of the doctors (or at least I assume so). Regardless, being an hour from a hospital at this point in my life is not one I relish.
Another sad fact is the hospitals that just start cutting, cut the maternity services FIRST. So they hurt the folks coming into the world as well as those not long for the world.
These losses may be another thing that pushes us toward national emergency measures for health care. Sad way to get there.
It all goes BOOM when the insurance industry sends out enrollment and price info for 2026. When the people and corporations start screaming about that, who will he kill or invade?
America is going to get single-payer or a public option, Daniel, but it may not be in our lifetime.
Many hospitals are already failing.
You'd think those on Obamacare would know they were on the shit list by now.
Lots of other issues like this. Yesterday Trump put a shiv in the bellies of soybean farmers to the benefit of right wing Argentina.
Who will organize the soybean farmers?
The farmers should organize themselves. It wouldn't be the first time in our history.
If you mean the Grange, Democratic Farm Labor Parties, those days have gone. Farm Aid seems to be the only entity, but they aren't organized.
Caught a bit of their event. Must feel awful to have some star get up there and say just give them money.
Farmers are smart and many educated these days, but a majority of them apparently do not know a psychopath when they see one.
Curtis Nebraska, A rural farming community, its hospital that was kept open because of Medicaid, but when the OBBB was anounced the hospital announced it's closure, as it was already operating the red. and the OBBB, killed it, and they weren't going to wait.
A reporter visited the Curtis senior center and interviewed the people. None of them blamed Trump, they all blamed the hospital.
It is the same story in rural America,
Ido not think an honest analysis has been done of the election climate in America. I keep seeing references to dollar issues, but when the people who actually vote and decide the elction are heard, the issue is the culture war. Here is an example
In 2024, Trump beat Kamala Harris in Hazleton by 23 points.
Over the weekend the Philadelphia Inquirer reported from Hazleton. The piece is a profile in stove-touching. I cannot recommend it highly enough. The short version:
• Hispanic residents of Hazleton overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump.
• Hazleton is now a ghost town, with many Hispanic-owned businesses losing their customer base.
• Most of these Trump supporters still love him. Because they either:
o say the ICE raids aren’t real and are just an exaggeration of social media; or . . .
o believe the mass deportation scheme is real and good; or . . .
o think it’s real and bad—but is not Trump’s fault.
The Heartland is hit hard, especially farmers, by Medicaid cuts, cuts to SNAP, yet the farmers and rural America still support him, same with Civil Servants laid off by Musk and DOGE. They don’t blame Trump, they rationalize it as a mistake. Their issue is the culture war, the empowerment of women, gays and minorities. Trump knows it that is why he has unleashed a Jihad on DEI, especially in the Pentagon.
His war on woke and the DEI is front page news, every day, yet it is ignored and the corporate media, and sadly too many democrats keep talking about the economy as an issue.
The Democratic Party leadership is in a quandary, it won't release the 2024 autopsy report because apparently it discredits the analysts, strategist and god fathers of the party
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/secret-battle-to-shape-dnc-democratic-autopsy-report
Bunch of warmed over Republicans.
Corpses are usually cold.
Isn't that shooting of three immigrants in ICE custody a little too convenient, as the actual agents were inside the van, and how convenient that today these shooters write or engrave messages on them, then get killed or kill themselves.
Tyler Robinson isn't talking, he said he fears for his family if he does. His family is not under threat from the "left" or trans, so who could threaten his family?
It's Dallas. Was Oswald a patsy?
It is Dallas/ WTF?
Why is that you c onstantly over reach?
The guy hit no ICE. The bullets were marked anti-Ice. Who talks like that?
Fake.
Hit 3 immigrants.
And Oswald was a CIA asset per the recent records of his handler, James Jesus Angleton. https://jfkfacts.substack.com/p/from-the-new-jfk-files-the-untold
ICE were inside the van, the only ones outside were the immigrants, it is all too convenient that shooters are no writing on their ammo, and too convenient that he killed himself. The whole thing stinks. Tyler Robins has said he won't talk for fear of what will happen to his family.
The JFK assassination. lots of questions, how a person, not trained as sniper can get off three shots, through foilage on a tree yet, and the fact that JFK was shot from the front, blowing out the back of his skull and Jackie climbing over the trunk of the vehile to get the piece of the skull.
A man with terminal cancer, who certainly had no reason to mourn and be outraged at the death of Kennedy, assassinating Oswald.
The "magic bullet" and then the fact that the coverup, the Warren Commission, took massive amount of money and political power.
We will never know who was behind it.
I know this, JFK had printed amounts of Treasury Notes (not silver certificates) in $2 and $5 amounts, with plans, to print larger denominations.
A note is a liability. A Treasury Note is a liability of the U.S,. Treasury and it bypass the Association of Primary Dealers in Government Securities, a cartel of 25 investment bankers, that have a monopoly on buying U.S. Government Securities, which they then sell to the Fed, Institutions, foreign sovereign funds and central banks.
Going out on the streets is not something I can do anymore, but I appreciate the idea; however, I don't think it's something that Democrats as a rule are willing to do. We've always relied on the courts for justice, but they're afraid to do anything that would offend Trump and the MAGA - so to me, things look kind of hopeless.
I'm more aware when I go out these days, but I'm in a small, red Midwestern city with relatively little violent crime. I also don't make unnecessary trips and avoid areas with large groups of people. I think those would be more attractive to a shooter.
It sucks to have to live like this. I'm a senior citizen and this ISN'T the America I was born into.
This morning Jen Rubin cited to the 3.5% rule that Thom has cited prteviously. Developed by Erica Chenoweth and colleagues at Harvard, it postulates that “no government has withstood a challenge of 3.5% of their population mobilized against it during a peak event.” However, this is a rule of thumb, not an inviolate law of politics. Chenoweth acknowledges that Brunei and Bahrain, where more than 3.5% turned out but the governments were not overthrown, are exceptions to the rule.
We need a big turnout Oct. 18, but by that time, a shutdown may occur.
Many Congressional Republicans privately admit Trump is nuts but are intimidated. Among them are members of the Problem Solvers Caucus in the House. https://problemsolverscaucus.house.gov/
Need positive reinforcement to come forward.
Some represent majority Dem districts or districts where independents have swung away from MAGA.
Today the threat of a shutdown demands action on expiring healthcare subsidies and other funding priorities. Democratic leaders state they are ready to work to avoid a shutdown and blame the current Republican leadership and Trump for the stalemate.
Also there's the Epstein discharge petition issue.
Thom - What Trump’s doing with today’s mass firing threat is nothing short of economic terrorism against the American people.
Today all the US markets are in shock. AI sayz reports of Trump attempting to crash the economy to benefit cryptocurrency are part of a broader, more complex political and financial narrative. Rather than a singular goal of "crashing the economy," the discussion centers on concerns that his administration's strong pro-crypto stance and personal financial involvement could weaken the U.S. dollar, create ethical conflicts, and introduce economic instability for personal gain.
Trump's favorable crypto policies and potential conflicts of interest
Pro-crypto policy shifts: Since taking office, Trump has actively embraced and promoted cryptocurrency, a reversal from his previous skepticism where he referred to Bitcoin as a "scam". His administration has undertaken several actions to support the industry, including:
-Signing an executive order in January 2025 to support the growth of digital assets.
Establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile in March 2025.
Signing the GENIUS Act into law in July 2025, which provides a federal framework for stablecoins.
-Personal and family financial interests: The Trump family has launched several crypto ventures, including meme coins ($TRUMP and $Melania) and a company called World Liberty Financial (WLF).
These ventures have significantly increased the family's reported wealth.
Critics, including government watchdog groups and legal experts, have raised concerns about unprecedented conflicts of interest, as Trump makes regulatory decisions that could affect his family's personal finances.
Allegations of dollar weakening: Some economists and critics, such as those cited by PBS, have warned that Trump's pro-crypto and protectionist tariff policies could weaken the U.S. dollar.
The argument is that as confidence in the dollar potentially wanes, and as cryptocurrencies gain legitimacy through favorable government policies, crypto could be seen as a more viable alternative.
This dynamic could theoretically allow Trump to profit from his crypto holdings as their value increases relative to the dollar.
Accusations of self-dealing: The president's personal financial gain from crypto-related policies has led to accusations of self-enrichment.
-The $TRUMP meme coin, for example, saw its price surge after investors bought it to gain access to a dinner with Trump. A forensic analysis showed that many investors lost money while Trump's company profited from trading fees.
-These activities have drawn accusations of "kleptocracy," suggesting the administration is using its power to profit from the crypto market.
Meanwhile, Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy for peace missions, still hasn’t divested from World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture he co-founded with Trump’s sons. The firm is active in Middle East deals, even as Witkoff negotiates peace talks there, raising glaring conflict-of-interest concerns.
Why It Matters: Witkoff’s dual role fuses diplomacy with his and Trump’s private crypto empire. Foreign policy is being reduced to another pay-to-play scheme, where peace talks double as business opportunities for Trump’s inner circle. And with no transparency, there’s no way to know which foreign interests are funneling money into their venture.
Source: Bloomberg, Trump Tyranny Tracker.
Yet there he stands in defiance of the Chenoweth rule. Committing murder on the high seas, or in a sovereign nations territorial limits, ignoring the Constitution and judicial rulings, fully supported by the Supreme Court.
He stands in front of the UN, blabs and blutters, with total impunity, and not a word of ridicule from any sovereign nation. He lacks self awareness, and people around him, and even foreign leaders fear him. Even Charles III debased himself.
You see, money talks and people and nations walk. He has his hands on the police power of the state (national and international), and the purse strings of the nation, national and international, and has brought to heel our institutions, educational, legal, municipal, police, federal, even state by this powers of the purse and the police (blue coated or military)
We know fully what he has done is illegal and unconstitutional, that he is milking America like a cow, this 34 times convicted felon,
Yet there he sits, unabashed, unashamed and fully powered.
What will it take to save what is left of our Democratic Republic?
I would like to think a free and fair election, but the fix is in on that for 2026, and efforts are in motion for him to be re elected in 2028, or not this time he will not leave. Hungary, Russia, Turkey they have elections as well.
I am afraid that help will have to come from external sources.
Which external sources. NATO according to a carnegie articlee has bent the knee. https://carnegieendowment.org/europe/strategic-europe/2025/09/why-the-us-security-stance-is-worse-than-a-dormant-nato?lang=en
Alas Eadie, there are none. What I was alluding to is that the only reason fascism in Europe lost was because of the entry of the United States into the war, which then made it a World War. Until Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and dumb ass Hitler declared war on America, It really wasn't a world war.
The article is correct NATO has bent the knee,. I hate to say this, but Trump 45 was correct, Europe had been getting a free ride at our expense, they did not invest in their own defense, they let America pull their weight, exception was Sweden. now they are not equipped to deal with Russia.
As depleted as Russia is, it has,as it did in WWII, an unlimited supply of meat to throw into combat, and a cowed, submissive, compliant population which has a 2,000 year history and culture of submission to ruthless overlords
https://open.substack.com/pub/thomhartmann/p/putin-and-trump-when-cowards-play-c2b?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
I would be at least a little bit satiated if we got a copy of the Epstein autopsy report, a mandatory document when there is a death in a prison facility as I understand it. I have never tried/defended a murder case without one. Where and why don't know where this one is? It's important, folks. Write your Congress persons about it...
Republicans are losing their bigotry-drenched minds over their fear of a tidal wave of rejection of their politics. Here's Trump throwing every silly fever dream of his at the wall like so much catsup to see what will turn the tide. Really, sex change operations for everybody is so believable.
The administration’s rubes were not elevated for skill, integrity, or experience. They were chosen because they would respond as told, sneer when ordered, and parrot whatever falsehood the moment required. Credentials meant nothing; loyalty was everything. In place of statesmen, we got lackeys. Instead of leaders, we got frauds. Sycophantic liars, hand-picked to serve a demented felon. Dallas was not a leftist. Leftists don’t shoot immigrants.
https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/rights-hate-unmatched?r=3m1bs
I disagree with one word. We did get leaders - leaders who wrote Project 2025, leaders who are propping up a demented, and likely ill, old "man" who will do anything they want to keep his ego and wealth growing.
You are correct Carl, and very conveniently the shooter is dead (killed himself?) and scribbled anti ice shit on his bullets. How convenient. I read that Tyler Robinson isn't talking because he fears for his parents? Strange but who knew the left was so powerful as to threaten his parents, more like MAGA and the FBI.
Add to the demand list: how many federal employees have already lost their jobs, are caught in the uncertain world between DODGE's smash and grab and the courts, are about to lose the buyout they accepted and go on unemployment. The federal work force must be a fraction of what it was when Trump took office -- there can't be many left to fire. A hollowed-out hostage taking.
Great letter, Thom!
Now, every Democrat in the U.S. House and Senate, and in every state legislature. All across the country, read your letter into the minutes of their hearings, meetings and sessions, so everyone who follows what’s going on in their state legislatures and in the U.S. Congress can have a true understanding of what our “Idiot-In-Chief” is lying about on an hourly basis.
So, Trump's answer to a threat to temporarily stop the government's functioning is to permanently stop the government's functioning.
To shut down the government is exactly what Trump wants, but that would be the dog catching the car.
WASHINGTON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's administration has raised the stakes in a showdown with U.S. Senate Democrats over a looming partial government shutdown, threatening to permanently remove workers from some federal agencies if funding runs out next Tuesday.
What more harm could he do, than he has already done. The FBI is being used to augment ICE and his immigration program, and pursue his enemies, he is using the JAG of DOD to hear immigration cases. He has completely destroyed DEA, DOD, DOJ, FCC, FEC, DHS, HHS, etc there is nothing left but sycophants and incompetents.
https://contrarian.substack.com/p/a-shutdown-might-make-trump-more/comment/159178517
Note my comment.
Another theory is that he wants the economy to crash to maximize his crypto. Displace currency. Why else reduced government revenue, tariffs, other financial self immulation?
Multiple agenda's.
If federal employees are furloughed, they keep their jobs but lose eligibility for unemployment benefits. If Trump fires them, they will likely apply for unemployment benefits since they would be fired without cause. Trump apparently aims at once to sabotage goverment services and force taxpayers to fund massive unemployment payments.
Does he aim to sabotage our country yet again?
"Every Democrat in the Senate should spend the next month in the reddest parts of their states doing town halls where Republicans refuse to, leaving the administration to twist in the wind of the bad publicity as the government shuts down and they begin firing federal workers.
Or conducting mock hearings about the UAE chips-bribery and the Epstein files."
Here is yet another roadmap, Democratic party. Give ordinary people an actual incentive, and they will give you their vote. We are where we are today, I believe, because regular folks just weren't sold on the "new blue". It's an absolute embarrassment to ALL that Donald Trump retook office. Democratic party, return to your roots. We are all WAITING.
Kinda think the young scrappy Dems are doing that with the help of the Progressive gray-hairs.
I should clarify that by "new blue" I was inferring "Republican Lite". I'm very encouraged by the younger Dems and, as always, the steadfast Progressives - just trying to encourage the old guard to get with the moment and realize that they can become relevant to the people by once again acting as guardians of a democracy born from a powerful middle class.
You could have titled this "Trump’s Shutdown Extortion: Lies, Bribes, and an Armed and Aggressive War on Democracy" because Trump and his psychopathic toadies, from Pam Bondi and Tom Homan, on down to the all the federal agents who are assaulting people just because they get away with it are normalizing violence. This demonstrates what social psycholgists like Daniel Milgram and Phillip Zimbardo showed in their experiments. It also shows what Daniel Goldhagen wrote about in "Hitler's Willing Executioners." I wrote about this in "The many frequencies of violence" in my Substack today: https://halbrown.substack.com/p/the-many-frequencies-of-violence
Trump has done too many horrible things to enumerate. However I suggest that one of the worst things he has done is enable so many people to unleash their most dangerous impulses by inflicting pain, or even death, on others.
Loved: “If his lips move, he’s lying. Or trying to solicit a bribe. Or slandering Democrats. Or, today, taking hostages.”
Angered:
“Most recently, he’s started lying about what congressional Democrats are demanding in exchange for giving the GOP the votes they need in the Senate to keep the government open past October 1.”
“And now, just this morning, they’ve announced that they’re taking hostages. Federal employees will be fired, rather than temporarily furloughed, if there is a government shutdown.
trump wants to shut down the government to cause chaos for the people.
If the American people want to cause chaos for the trump administration, on day one of the government shutdown, organize a call in sick - stay at home protest of all essential workers. This will shut down the schools, close major airports, and stop the delivery of mail. This protest will affect all people - rich and poor.
trump will be blamed for these shutdowns and his administration will crumble and fail.
It will be a time to really make America great again. Our constitution will be restored, and the direction of our government will be similar to FDR's New deal agenda.
Trump tried to destroy our great nation and burn It to the ground. Out of the ashes a new nation will emerge that improves the quality of life for all it's people.
That chaos may well not be to his advantage.
Wangone, considering that the government is already Trumps tool, staffed by sycophants and incompetents, even the National Park Service has gone anti DEI, wouldn't shutting it down be a breather. It would also shut down ICE, and DOJ, which are Trumps primary tools for his Greater Reich.
This extortion note from the lump living in the White House tells us how many quarts of "FLOP SWEAT" he is emitting. And, more importantly, it details precisely how :
a. Cruel
b. Vicious
c. Disturbed
his 77,300,000 constituent-cultists are.
In its ability to get constituents to harm (or worse) themselves, the GOP under Donald is looking more and more like the "Good News" (see below) cult in Kenya, where followers are encouraged to starve themselves to death to meet Jesus.:
The Kenyan cult is led by *Paul Nthenge Mackenzie*, a self-proclaimed pastor and founder of the **Good News International Church.**
This group was behind the horrific events known as the **Shakahola Forest Massacre**, one of the deadliest cult-related tragedies in recent history.
Key Facts About the Cult:
- **Location**: Shakahola Forest, near Malindi, coastal Kenya.
- **Death Toll**: Over **450 bodies** have been exhumed, many from mass graves. Victims include children, and causes of death ranged from **starvation** to **strangulation, suffocation, and blunt trauma**.
- **Doctrine**: Mackenzie allegedly convinced followers to **starve themselves to death** to “meet Jesus.” Enforcers reportedly killed those who resisted.
- **Arrests**: Mackenzie and dozens of others were arrested in 2023. He faces **terrorism, murder, and manslaughter charges**.
- **Resurgence**: Despite the crackdown, a **breakaway group** continued operating nearby in Binzaro village. More bodies were found in 2025, suggesting the cult adapted and persisted.
This case has sparked national outrage and calls for tighter regulation of religious movements in Kenya. Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki called it “the worst breach of security in the history of our country”.
So, perversely, everything coming out of the White House is "Good News."
PS France's former PM Sarkozy just received a 5-year sentence for accepting millions from Gaddafi. So, given Bolsonaro's 27 years for the attempted coup in Brazil, there is hope.
"There is hope." Yeah for France and Brazil. POS's administration is doubling down on everything. Just heard a bit of news that should scare us even more. Drunk-in-chief, Pete Hegseth is "ordering" all (though I might have heard it wrong) generals, and I presume admirals, to DC for a meeting for unknown reasons. Is he going to demand their allegiance and make them swear: “Ich schwöre bei Gott diesen heiligen Eid, daß ich dem Führer des United States Reiches und Volkes, Donald Trump, dem Oberbefehlshaber der Wehrmacht, unbedingten Gehorsam leisten und als tapferer Soldat bereit sein will, jederzeit für diesen Eid mein Leben einzusetzen.”?
Maybe the Epstein discharge petiton will trigger action.
Right now, it is our only hope.
I saw Michael Cohen on TV saying that the Epstein files was a nothing burger.
Then I read that his name is one of his customers, maybe a frrequent flyer.
Not a customer. He was Trump's lawyer during the Jane Doe incident. .
It was leaked that Michael Cohen is in the Epstein files and not as a lawyer either.
By whom? Sounds like bullshit.
There also is an episode when Trump tried to hit on Cohen's daughter.
Cohen bought his TRump apt. in 2001. Started working for him in 2007. He missed the perverted 1990's TRump is now talking about. Says he didn't even KNOW, but he was the FIXER for the sexual escapades. That included the child, Jane Doe. TRump told him he had no encounters with that little girl and Cohen wanted to believe it. HE was looking for her, and that's probably why she took-off.
Cohen's absolutely in denial or maybe worse. Wants to distance himself from the underage stuff, but that's not reality.
Cohen's wife and kids stuck by him---he has EVERY reason to lie about anything that could change that.
He was the FIXER for the sexual escapades. That included the child, Jane Doe. TRump told him he had no encounters with that little girl and Cohen couldn't find her. Sure. He still is in denial or worse. Heard him more than once.
Cohen's wife and kids stuck by him---he has EVERY reason to lie about anything that could change that.
Tara Palmeri sensed something wrong about Michael's story on that case.
Meidas guys shut her down, rather than investigate their cohort. Hmmmm.
I read Cohen was not a Perp. However, he was trump's FIXER, and was involved in the Epstein files, because he probably negotiated payoffs with these under age girls.
Maybe, maybe not, but Cohen was very anxious to shut down the whole Epstein file thing, saying on TV that it was nothing burger a distraction.
I believe he didn't want to admit to the world that he facilitated trafficking of young girls.
I read the military press and I haven't seen a mention of that.
Google it. It's all over Fox, CNN, WaPost, The Hill, NYPost, etc., etc., etc. Here's one.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/25/politics/hegseth-generals-surprise-meeting
Is anyone surprised ????? He's a Bully Of All Bullies....It's his way or the Highway. Plain and simple!
He is torching the Earth for his own GAIN. My only solace is .....HE WILL COME CRASHING DOWN, Hopefully sooner than later. KARMA
Let us not forget all those poor cats and dogs in Springfield, eaten by the Haitians. Their rotting carcasses piled up in the streets and parks. Kittens wasting away, crying out most piteously for their mothers, devoured in freakish Voodoo rituals. Thank the Lord for our Protector and Savior, Donald J. Trump.
By the way, I hear a five-part series based on Trump's harrowing time as an undercover FBI agent as he delved into the perversities and utter filth of the Epsteinite pedophilia ring will soon be released on TruthSocial.
Just heard a bit of news that should scare us even more. Drunk-in-chief, Pete Hegseth is "ordering" all (though I might have heard it wrong) generals, and I presume admirals, to DC for a meeting for unknown reasons. Is he going to demand their allegiance and make them swear: “Ich schwöre bei Gott diesen heiligen Eid, daß ich dem Führer des United States Reiches und Volkes, Donald Trump, dem Oberbefehlshaber der Wehrmacht, unbedingten Gehorsam leisten und als tapferer Soldat bereit sein will, jederzeit für diesen Eid mein Leben einzusetzen.”?
And most of them will Eva. Self serving careerists and Dominionists (Christian Reconstruction)