THIS is critical info I hadn’t yet heard- it needs to be screamed out everywhere:
“And in a particularly slick move, the cuts to Medicaid and food stamps/SNAP will not kick in until January 2027, two months after the midterm 2026 elections so people won’t notice the damage before they vote Next year.”
Reduced Medicare appropriation. I cited to Ed Weir elsewhere. He says automatic cuts to Medicare due to Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act (PAYGO), leading to approximately $500 billion in cuts over a decade. These potential cuts are a source of concern for healthcare advocates, who fear they could negatively impact access to care for millions of Americans.
The unfortunate fact is that our social structure will be in shambles. Besides the attack on Medicaid the insurance industry is gutting our health care to benefit a few and causing people to go into bankruptcy because of denial of service. That is if they can afford insurance in the first place.
The system is so screwed up that it will take decades to fully unravel the damage that has been done. We need to start the process of having universal health care now.
We do not have Decades, we have Months. There are no more single issues we can get distracted or outraged by. The BBB is the Behemoth Betrayal Bill. 50 percent of the population has 2.5 percent of the wealth. Most of the 70+ million Seniors are in this group, along with 25 million naturalized and 11 million undocumented immigrants. That leaves about 74 million citizens who will become the new slave labor in the strawberry fields and the walmarts and the landscape companies fluffing up the rose gardens.
As someone else mentioned, the cuts to Medicaid/Medicare may not hit until AFTER the midterm elections. Ds have to hammer that fact until those pigs start squealing.
I just got up (PDT time here), so those 4 holdouts crawled into the s*hole with the other Rs. Cowards, every single R. Hey, Putin - you can invade now. The Rs won't do a thing to stop you.
Speaking of same, I am watching a huge hit on a Russian munitions factory. Yesterday 1 general and one admiral assasinated.
Trump/Hegseth withheld arms that were appropriated by Congress just at the time Russia has its summer offensive. Russia has 16 x the number of attacks than one year ago. Withdrawing aid is music to Putin's ears.
The only Republican on the job, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) is calling on the White House and the Department of Defense (DOD) to hold an emergency briefing on the Pentagon’s recent pause in shipments of some air defense missiles and munitions to Ukraine.
“I respectfully request an emergency briefing from the White House and the Department of Defense on the Pentagon’s recent review of our nation’s weapons and munitions stockpiles, as well as the decision to withhold urgent, lifesaving military assistance to Ukraine,” Fitzpatrick, a vocal ally of Ukraine in Congress, said in a Wednesday letter to the White House.
The Pennsylvania Republican wrote that “while the United States needs to continue to strengthen our Defense Industrial Base here at home, we can and must simultaneously provide urgently needed assistance to our allies who are defending their freedom from brutal invading dictators. To not do both is unacceptable.”
"We need to start the process of having universal health care now."
Yet the opposite is happening. "Lawmakers" sacrificing their constituents to make a demented man happy! I will never forgive Lisa Murkowski--her legacy will be the opposite of John McCaine's....
Thanks for the great explanation and detail .. we must keep hammering the orange turd and his followers .. organize and protest, and fight. AND . start supporting dems where their message resonates with the people yet are seemingly not in full alignment with traditional dem philosophy .. dems stop bickering .. get behind AOC, Mamdani, Bernie .. we must turn this ship .. we can argue the nuances later!
I was able to better understand that we face a cult . Therefore rationale thinking is not to be expected. Now the cult members are too ashamed to admit they have screwed up. There is a way for us to rescue some. https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/mired-republican-cult?r=3m1bs
I know you're being facetious, but health insurance has numerous hoops and hurdles, and we all default to Medicare, if we live long enough to qualify.
From my perspective, living in a red state where Medicaid was not extended, the whole thing is another Confederate stab to hurt blue states. States like NY, CA will pick up the tab for their residents.
Facetious? Not at all. Medicare? How's this? My wife and I were notified by her retirement benefits admin that as of 1/1/25 they were converting all Medicare supplement plans to a "Medicare advantage" plan. Our choices:
1. Accept the ultimatum;
2. Find another, non-group, supplement at a much higher cost; or
3. Take our chances.
Reluctantly we swallowed poison pill #1, and I know it's only a matter of time until Anthem BC/BS starts refusing coverage. At 78 and receiving treatments for stage4 cancer, I'm far more likely to follow the Joni Ernst formulation - "We're all going to die" - than Mitch McConnell's - "They'll get over it."
William I assume your wife is retire, CalPers perhaps. Not many employers have Medicare supplement plans. I had Regence Blue shield, through Calpers as my Medicare Supplement plan (CalPers was my insurance plan until I turned 65 and then Medicare automatically took over (and my health benefits actually decreased). The CalPers Regence orAnthem Blue Cross plan was great, but when Medicare took over, CalPers Medicare supplement kicked in.
It was contributory, and finally they increase the premium by 30% and since I also have Tricare, I quit CalPers program and my whole contribution to my premium now goes into my retirement benefit.
Given that, I don't see how your wifes former employer, via the benefits manager, disenroll you from Medicare.
I would have done nothing, signed nothing. Let them take action. I don't think that they could.
Your benefits manager cannot disenroll you from Original Medicare and enroll you in a Medicare Advantage plan without your consent.
Here's why:
Medicare Enrollment is Individual: Decisions about Medicare enrollment and plan changes are generally made by the individual beneficiary, not by their employer or benefits manager.
Employer Restrictions: Employers, especially those with 20 or more employees, are prohibited from forcing employees to enroll in Medicare or incentivizing them to drop their employer plan in favor of Medicare.
You got snookered, I think that you have a case for a civil suit.
The oligarchs and their arm candy believe they will escape what they have wrought. There, soon enough, will not be enough arms and legs to carry around their immense planetary burden. They will not party or punish or parley their way out of this. The planet does not care who is at fault. It will kill ALL with the same fury as 66 million years of evolution created this ALL. That so many are shocked by this is what amazes and depresses me. Since WW2 we were set in motion for this Grand Finale. The Nazis lost but won. Decadence and prurient cringe rule the day. Excess has become excessive. Muck satellites fall from the sky daily - nearly 500 in half a year. AI, Bitcoin and other crypto, social media and other computing consumes Enormous gigawatts of energy whose waste is poured into the orange peel-thin atmosphere, immediately transferred to all world water bodies, more than 70 percent of Earth's surface. T.S. Eliot wrote this in 1925, as the onerous Treaty of Versailles was plowing through northern Europe, in his poem The Hollow Men. 'This is the way the world ends, the world ends, the world ends, this is the way the world ends, not with a bang, but a whimper.'
Homo sapiens has been whimpering for 100 years, and the tears have all dried up. Now blood laced with 80 thousand toxins falls from our eyes. We simply cannot see and do not want to see what we have done. You cannot stop what you cannot know is coming for you. In 2000, dubya was selected by the Extreme Sport of Injustice and its henchman, soon to be crowned Chief Injustice. A Nam vet friend of mine exclaimed at morning coffee, 'we are so fucked.' Yes we are.
In the past, I had always put my hope on experiencing rock-bottom before people instigated change. And though I don't want to agree with you, you are convincing that this time it just might be too late....
It's not like we weren't warned. Science fiction stories back at least to the 1940s ("If this Goes On--") discussed how so-called "Christian" preachers could take over American and others ("The Space Merchants") how there could be total corporate control of America. In fact the original "Rollerball" movie (1975) laid the latter scenario out in detail. And once something like this really gets going it is almost impossible to stop short of a revolution, and revolutions are very hard to start. Basically a large number of people have to be pushed to the point where they lose all trust and faith in the government (think Russia 1917). And after that the results are usually pretty terrible. The U.S. was damn lucky to get the right people after its revolution, but we can't count on that again.
And the other issue is that these abuses of the citizens interconnect. Once Medicare/Medicaid begins to slide you may also see the privatization of the Postal Service, and then shipping medicine to people who can't come in for it will get more and more expensive. So will everything else, especially if the people who used to do the scut work are hiding or have been deported. Public schools will fall apart and probably more kids will drop out to do these kinds of jobs, increasing the downward cycle. And if anyone complains too much, there are still plenty of minorities to blame. If there is one thing you can count on with Trump it is that he will betray those who trust him. Right now he's using Jews as an excuse to attack others; when it suits his purposes he'll turn on them too.
This in not just a local (USA) take over; it’s loosely aligned oligarchical factions that serve a temporary mutual need. Trump isn’t acting on his own and never has. He owes his soul to a lot bigger fish with bottomless pits for $$. This is what organized crime looks like today. Allegiances come and go, but the goal is the same—thievery and the ending of educated middle class.
IMO, he’s being given way too much credit. With the right suggestions and incentives you can lead a huge ego without much sense, anywhere. I don’t believe he can keep two ideas in his head cooperatively. And, he desperate for both money and the semblance of control.
Minority Leader Jefferies has spent ALL night reading into the record the letters from constituents explaining their need for Medicaid. He's talked about grandma, the kids, and workers that will suffer and perhaps die if the assistance and medical care is abruptly stopped by this bill. He is giving them the voice they deserve on the floor. AND HE IS CALLING OUT THE REPUBLICANS!
In the process, Minority Leader Jefferies is shaming and blaming the Representatives and some Senators that have said one thing, signed letters, and swore as did TRump, they would not touch Medicaid, Medicare, or Social Security. He keeps inviting them to join the Democrats in a no vote.
The visuals of the House members behind him are powerful as well. Rep. Raskin did a preamble for the Big Beautiful Betrayal that was a "sick burn". This will be on the C-Span archive later, so you can see it later. Simply put, Hakeem is kicking their ass.
I don't have to call my Congressional members---they are DEMOCRATS. Please call if yours are Republicans. ONE party gives a shit about you or your grandma. Time to pass the word about that. Thanks Thom and Company. See you in the streets on the 4th and 17th.
And yet Minority Leader Jeffries is hostile to Zohran Mamdani, because his major donor is AIPAC and Mamdani is a Muslim.
A scurrilous charge against Mamdani is that he will bring Sharia Law to NYC, whichis ridiculous, but a bigger threat is the Mosaic law of 7th Mountain Domininionists, New Apostolic Reformation, even ACB's People of Prayer and Opus Dei.
Mamdani has espoused support for a global intifida but as a mayor he has no ability to affect or influence any policy.
Anwyay intifada means shake off or uprising, and I am all for an uprising against fascism, even in the form of a managed democracy
Sheldon Wolin was a political theorist with a long-celebrated body of work but his last book Democracy Incorporated: Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism (2008) may be his most important. Written during the Bush administration, it describes an authoritarian form of government that doesn’t replace democracy entirely, it uses the mechanisms and symbols of a democratic form of government while separating the dêmos, the people, from the krátos, the power https://www.mind-war.com/p/late-stage-inverted-totalitarianism
Here are some quotes from Wolin’s book on the concept of a managed democracy, a democracy in name only:
“Managed democracy is a political form in which governments are legitimated by elections that they have learned to control.”
“The genius of managed democracy lies in its ability to maintain the institutions and rituals of democracy while eliminating their democratic content.”
“It does not abolish elections, freedom of speech, or the rule of law; it manages them, rendering them compatible with elite governance and capitalist priorities.”
“Managed democracy is built on the illusion of consent, where the public is offered participation without power, and choice without consequence.”
“In managed democracy, corporate interests work through electoral and regulatory systems to ensure outcomes favorable to the status quo, often under the guise of public interest.”
Hakeem is part of the old guard, or at least owes them.The old guard, perceives progressives as a threat.
I watched the video, and watched Hakeem dance around the issue,
Per open secrets he received $866,425 from AIPAC. I assume that is the comment which you called b.s.
When you serve a master, you do your masters bidding.
Hakeem mentioned the DCC in the video. The DCC's charter is to win seats in the House for Democrats.
The house flipped in 2020 because Adam Schiff, and Sean Maloney (then head of tghe DCC) flew off junkaterring inParis instead of staying home and guiding the ship.
Result, Sean lost his seat in NY, along with three other democrats and that flipped the house and you are looking at the consequence the BBB passed just now., and Trump has his gestapo state and a taxpayer funded army of Sturmabeitlung thugs.
Here is the thing with yellow dog democrats, politicians take them for granted, knowing that their vote is secured, and as a consequence democratic politicians don't feel they have to fulfill their promises, and vote for the little guy, but will inevitably vote for the donor class.
The co equivalent of yellow dogs are MAGAts. I will support only progressives, honest to goodness progressives that will fight and fight dirty for the people and the cause.
I have no truck with centrists, and amelioraters, it is because of them, because of bipartisandhip, because of weak knees we are on the downhill slope of managed democracy (aka fascism).
Principles before personalities.
Personalities before principles is the mantra of addicts.
We, the people have to put the fire of fear into our politicians, otherwise they will cave or fail to stand up, to those that use and abuse us.
I confess,I am not an institutionalist. I am registered as a Democrat,but my heart and mind is that of a democratic socialist,and I could care less about the party, only about results.
I am very concerned,nay upset, about the passage of Trumps bill,now he is off to a rally in Iowa for a victory rally.
I am upset that so many people will get hurt and die, yes die, because of this bill, but it doesn't affect me personally, In fact it benefits me, because it has a provision that there is a $6,000 deduction per person after 65, and that means that my wife or my social security is reduced by $6,000, $12,000 in total.
I will be a beneficiary, but I would rather not be and see millions of people live. I can afford to pay more taxes, but millions of people can't afford to go without food or medical care.
On the other hand, I am an asshole, and am delighted that the bill is going to hurt most Trump humping voters in rural America, Schadenfrude.
Alas the pain won't be felt until after the mid terms, unless rural hospitals and their staff start making moves now in anticipation of the future.
In the real world, there are only two choices. I've known more about the Republican Party -- was a lawyer for a member of the RNC -- worked closely for/with inumerable elected Republican officials -- and it's not the candidate that's as important than the party platform and the administration of the government. Once up;opn a time there may have een "moderate" or even "liberal" Republicans, but not any more.
Clinton may tripped over his dick and should never assigned anything to his co-president, but his administration was far superior to anythng since.
Both Obama and Biden appointed too many Republicans....
I won't vote for any Republicans.
That said, we should have used the Jerry Weiss scenario.
An insightful and clearly stated article on the impact of BBB and the potential impact on perpetuating the ME society that most of GenZ and too many people from older eras appear to accept as normal.
The one thing in BBB that grabbed my attention was the $180BN to turn DHS (created by Republcan GW Bush) into the ICE Gestapo with a nationwide network of concentration camps for all who oppose Trump and his MAGA/NAZI workd view. Alligator Alcatraz in the sweltering jungles of Florida is just the latest. Immigration law crackdowns are a thinly veiled way of promoting ethnic cleansing in ethnically diverse America. The MAGA attacks on NYC candidate Mamdani are an echo of the emerging Third Reich, where Republican Pols are promoting denaturalization and deporting somebody for daring to be both a popular liberal candidate for mayor and a Muslim.
This post should be read on the floor of the House! And add to this misery the terror of swarms of new ICE stormtroopers. For the rich, more money; for the poor, more police and prisons.
This represents a victory of the undemocratic sections of the Constitution over the democratic ones. They say, "The past is prelude." My fear: The present is prelude to the end of the Republic in all but name.
Did you see where, Trump, in a closed door meeting with moderate house GOP republicans was not aware that Medicaid was going to be cut in the "bill". Evidently he had previously said the Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security were programs not be "touched". It had to be pointed out to him the Medicaid was indeed, going to be "touched".
And, did you also see the article in the NYT yesterday, or the day before where DOJ released the most notorias MS13 killer along with other convicted and inprisoned MS13 convicts. Why? because it was requested by Bukele. Why? Because it appears these individuals were possibly connected and had information connecting Bukele to corruption in El Salvador and DOJ lawyers were closing in on it. The DOJ lawyers who had been working on these cases considered the MS13 project gutted.
You recall MS13 was possibly the main theme of Trumps campaign appearances. So much for that.
Now getting back to the "Bill". We are well aware, are we not that once the effects of this bill take effect and grandma suffers, the republicans will mount a huge campaign to blame it on the democrats. Whether they succeed with that, will depend on the how democrats respond, but more importantly, the state and yes, intelligence, of the electorate. The absence of any real civics education for deades is worrisome in that regard.
And finally, did you listen to some old interviews with Bill Moyers on NPR. Of note, regarding press people for a president, he said it would have been INCONCEIVABLE that he, or any press spokespeople during his era would stand up and lie for the President. And yes, it is INCONCEIVABLE to see what is spewn out by Karoline Leavitt on a daily basis.
Excellent analysis - thank you! I hadn’t thought (stupidly enough) of the fact that it takes effect after the mid-terms. So “wily.” Your painting the picture of the grandmother being wheeled out of the nursing home really makes the point. Some journalist or organization needs to distribute one of those “how will the BBB affect you?” type checklists with questions like, “Do you have a relative in a nursing home?,” “Do you or a family member receive services paid for in whole or in part by Medicaid?,” etc. Assuming the bill passes, as it looks likely to do, can we expect any relief from lawsuits whether brought by the states, individuals, or class action?
The video is great. Thank you. Not to mention related damage. Desperate people - does the law-and-order party really not think there will be an increase in crime? Etc.
Apparently, in anticipation, insurance companies already are out of control. Older folk are proabably entitled to a free lawyer through legal services.
One major reason 77,300,000 [60% White] American saboteurs voted for this Joker is that he promised that he'd hurt Blacks especially, Browns of course, and Women exclusively.
Well, he's making good on his promise. But [Surprise!!!] he included White Christian males and their friends and families, too.
That's so not fair, so Rs will hide it, and FOX et al won't mention it.
These 77.3 M really need "professional" help. And a new media diet. They're bonkers.
The first order of business, assuming we ever have elections again, is to rapidly expand SCOTUS to 13 justices so that Alito, Thomas, and the other fascists are neutered. Second, restore the pre-Reagan tax tables so that we can restore the programs that are viciously being crushed now and start paying down the debt. Third, prosecute the fascists that are terrorizing our country today (Miller, Noem, Homan, et Al.). Unfortunately, Dump will have slipped completely into dementia so will be declared non compos mentís and will escape retribution!
THIS is critical info I hadn’t yet heard- it needs to be screamed out everywhere:
“And in a particularly slick move, the cuts to Medicaid and food stamps/SNAP will not kick in until January 2027, two months after the midterm 2026 elections so people won’t notice the damage before they vote Next year.”
Medicare cuts begin August 1, 2025 if it passes.
Which cuts Daniel.I know that the Medicaid cuts, and those that effect Medicare are set to begin after the mid terms,
Reduced Medicare appropriation. I cited to Ed Weir elsewhere. He says automatic cuts to Medicare due to Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act (PAYGO), leading to approximately $500 billion in cuts over a decade. These potential cuts are a source of concern for healthcare advocates, who fear they could negatively impact access to care for millions of Americans.
https://www.kff.org/tracking-the-medicare-provisions-in-the-2025-budget-bill/
Ouch!!!!
The Democrats will try to warn people that the cuts will happen in 2027
Just like they warned as to what is happening right now
And the Republicans will call it fake news
Just like they did in 2020
And the cult and the billionaires will vote in the GOP again
The unfortunate fact is that our social structure will be in shambles. Besides the attack on Medicaid the insurance industry is gutting our health care to benefit a few and causing people to go into bankruptcy because of denial of service. That is if they can afford insurance in the first place.
The system is so screwed up that it will take decades to fully unravel the damage that has been done. We need to start the process of having universal health care now.
We do not have Decades, we have Months. There are no more single issues we can get distracted or outraged by. The BBB is the Behemoth Betrayal Bill. 50 percent of the population has 2.5 percent of the wealth. Most of the 70+ million Seniors are in this group, along with 25 million naturalized and 11 million undocumented immigrants. That leaves about 74 million citizens who will become the new slave labor in the strawberry fields and the walmarts and the landscape companies fluffing up the rose gardens.
As someone else mentioned, the cuts to Medicaid/Medicare may not hit until AFTER the midterm elections. Ds have to hammer that fact until those pigs start squealing.
I just got up (PDT time here), so those 4 holdouts crawled into the s*hole with the other Rs. Cowards, every single R. Hey, Putin - you can invade now. The Rs won't do a thing to stop you.
Speaking of same, I am watching a huge hit on a Russian munitions factory. Yesterday 1 general and one admiral assasinated.
Trump/Hegseth withheld arms that were appropriated by Congress just at the time Russia has its summer offensive. Russia has 16 x the number of attacks than one year ago. Withdrawing aid is music to Putin's ears.
The only Republican on the job, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) is calling on the White House and the Department of Defense (DOD) to hold an emergency briefing on the Pentagon’s recent pause in shipments of some air defense missiles and munitions to Ukraine.
“I respectfully request an emergency briefing from the White House and the Department of Defense on the Pentagon’s recent review of our nation’s weapons and munitions stockpiles, as well as the decision to withhold urgent, lifesaving military assistance to Ukraine,” Fitzpatrick, a vocal ally of Ukraine in Congress, said in a Wednesday letter to the White House.
The Pennsylvania Republican wrote that “while the United States needs to continue to strengthen our Defense Industrial Base here at home, we can and must simultaneously provide urgently needed assistance to our allies who are defending their freedom from brutal invading dictators. To not do both is unacceptable.”
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5382219-brian-fitzpatrick-ukraine-weapons/
Trump spoke with Putin on Thursday, in a call the Kremlin said lasted nearly an hour.
The call came after the White House confirmed earlier this week the U.S. is halting some weapons shipments to Ukraine.
"We need to start the process of having universal health care now."
Yet the opposite is happening. "Lawmakers" sacrificing their constituents to make a demented man happy! I will never forgive Lisa Murkowski--her legacy will be the opposite of John McCaine's....
Thanks for the great explanation and detail .. we must keep hammering the orange turd and his followers .. organize and protest, and fight. AND . start supporting dems where their message resonates with the people yet are seemingly not in full alignment with traditional dem philosophy .. dems stop bickering .. get behind AOC, Mamdani, Bernie .. we must turn this ship .. we can argue the nuances later!
I was able to better understand that we face a cult . Therefore rationale thinking is not to be expected. Now the cult members are too ashamed to admit they have screwed up. There is a way for us to rescue some. https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/mired-republican-cult?r=3m1bs
Actually Trump promised to fix health care. After all these years still doen't have a plan.
What the cult needs is an epiphany.
They're in the process of "fixing" healthcare, by making sure that only the people who can pay for it get it.
I know you're being facetious, but health insurance has numerous hoops and hurdles, and we all default to Medicare, if we live long enough to qualify.
From my perspective, living in a red state where Medicaid was not extended, the whole thing is another Confederate stab to hurt blue states. States like NY, CA will pick up the tab for their residents.
Facetious? Not at all. Medicare? How's this? My wife and I were notified by her retirement benefits admin that as of 1/1/25 they were converting all Medicare supplement plans to a "Medicare advantage" plan. Our choices:
1. Accept the ultimatum;
2. Find another, non-group, supplement at a much higher cost; or
3. Take our chances.
Reluctantly we swallowed poison pill #1, and I know it's only a matter of time until Anthem BC/BS starts refusing coverage. At 78 and receiving treatments for stage4 cancer, I'm far more likely to follow the Joni Ernst formulation - "We're all going to die" - than Mitch McConnell's - "They'll get over it."
You should speak to a lawyer. You may/may not be money on the hoof.
We have Parts A&B + Federal BC/BS. So we pay more in premiums but penny wise, pound foolish. BC/BS has never denied a claim.
William I assume your wife is retire, CalPers perhaps. Not many employers have Medicare supplement plans. I had Regence Blue shield, through Calpers as my Medicare Supplement plan (CalPers was my insurance plan until I turned 65 and then Medicare automatically took over (and my health benefits actually decreased). The CalPers Regence orAnthem Blue Cross plan was great, but when Medicare took over, CalPers Medicare supplement kicked in.
It was contributory, and finally they increase the premium by 30% and since I also have Tricare, I quit CalPers program and my whole contribution to my premium now goes into my retirement benefit.
Given that, I don't see how your wifes former employer, via the benefits manager, disenroll you from Medicare.
I would have done nothing, signed nothing. Let them take action. I don't think that they could.
Your benefits manager cannot disenroll you from Original Medicare and enroll you in a Medicare Advantage plan without your consent.
Here's why:
Medicare Enrollment is Individual: Decisions about Medicare enrollment and plan changes are generally made by the individual beneficiary, not by their employer or benefits manager.
Employer Restrictions: Employers, especially those with 20 or more employees, are prohibited from forcing employees to enroll in Medicare or incentivizing them to drop their employer plan in favor of Medicare.
You got snookered, I think that you have a case for a civil suit.
The oligarchs and their arm candy believe they will escape what they have wrought. There, soon enough, will not be enough arms and legs to carry around their immense planetary burden. They will not party or punish or parley their way out of this. The planet does not care who is at fault. It will kill ALL with the same fury as 66 million years of evolution created this ALL. That so many are shocked by this is what amazes and depresses me. Since WW2 we were set in motion for this Grand Finale. The Nazis lost but won. Decadence and prurient cringe rule the day. Excess has become excessive. Muck satellites fall from the sky daily - nearly 500 in half a year. AI, Bitcoin and other crypto, social media and other computing consumes Enormous gigawatts of energy whose waste is poured into the orange peel-thin atmosphere, immediately transferred to all world water bodies, more than 70 percent of Earth's surface. T.S. Eliot wrote this in 1925, as the onerous Treaty of Versailles was plowing through northern Europe, in his poem The Hollow Men. 'This is the way the world ends, the world ends, the world ends, this is the way the world ends, not with a bang, but a whimper.'
Homo sapiens has been whimpering for 100 years, and the tears have all dried up. Now blood laced with 80 thousand toxins falls from our eyes. We simply cannot see and do not want to see what we have done. You cannot stop what you cannot know is coming for you. In 2000, dubya was selected by the Extreme Sport of Injustice and its henchman, soon to be crowned Chief Injustice. A Nam vet friend of mine exclaimed at morning coffee, 'we are so fucked.' Yes we are.
In the past, I had always put my hope on experiencing rock-bottom before people instigated change. And though I don't want to agree with you, you are convincing that this time it just might be too late....
It's not like we weren't warned. Science fiction stories back at least to the 1940s ("If this Goes On--") discussed how so-called "Christian" preachers could take over American and others ("The Space Merchants") how there could be total corporate control of America. In fact the original "Rollerball" movie (1975) laid the latter scenario out in detail. And once something like this really gets going it is almost impossible to stop short of a revolution, and revolutions are very hard to start. Basically a large number of people have to be pushed to the point where they lose all trust and faith in the government (think Russia 1917). And after that the results are usually pretty terrible. The U.S. was damn lucky to get the right people after its revolution, but we can't count on that again.
And the other issue is that these abuses of the citizens interconnect. Once Medicare/Medicaid begins to slide you may also see the privatization of the Postal Service, and then shipping medicine to people who can't come in for it will get more and more expensive. So will everything else, especially if the people who used to do the scut work are hiding or have been deported. Public schools will fall apart and probably more kids will drop out to do these kinds of jobs, increasing the downward cycle. And if anyone complains too much, there are still plenty of minorities to blame. If there is one thing you can count on with Trump it is that he will betray those who trust him. Right now he's using Jews as an excuse to attack others; when it suits his purposes he'll turn on them too.
This in not just a local (USA) take over; it’s loosely aligned oligarchical factions that serve a temporary mutual need. Trump isn’t acting on his own and never has. He owes his soul to a lot bigger fish with bottomless pits for $$. This is what organized crime looks like today. Allegiances come and go, but the goal is the same—thievery and the ending of educated middle class.
Trump is extorting on his own.
IMO, he’s being given way too much credit. With the right suggestions and incentives you can lead a huge ego without much sense, anywhere. I don’t believe he can keep two ideas in his head cooperatively. And, he desperate for both money and the semblance of control.
The cash register tape is proof.
Minority Leader Jefferies has spent ALL night reading into the record the letters from constituents explaining their need for Medicaid. He's talked about grandma, the kids, and workers that will suffer and perhaps die if the assistance and medical care is abruptly stopped by this bill. He is giving them the voice they deserve on the floor. AND HE IS CALLING OUT THE REPUBLICANS!
In the process, Minority Leader Jefferies is shaming and blaming the Representatives and some Senators that have said one thing, signed letters, and swore as did TRump, they would not touch Medicaid, Medicare, or Social Security. He keeps inviting them to join the Democrats in a no vote.
The visuals of the House members behind him are powerful as well. Rep. Raskin did a preamble for the Big Beautiful Betrayal that was a "sick burn". This will be on the C-Span archive later, so you can see it later. Simply put, Hakeem is kicking their ass.
I don't have to call my Congressional members---they are DEMOCRATS. Please call if yours are Republicans. ONE party gives a shit about you or your grandma. Time to pass the word about that. Thanks Thom and Company. See you in the streets on the 4th and 17th.
He's still talking.
And yet Minority Leader Jeffries is hostile to Zohran Mamdani, because his major donor is AIPAC and Mamdani is a Muslim.
A scurrilous charge against Mamdani is that he will bring Sharia Law to NYC, whichis ridiculous, but a bigger threat is the Mosaic law of 7th Mountain Domininionists, New Apostolic Reformation, even ACB's People of Prayer and Opus Dei.
Mamdani has espoused support for a global intifida but as a mayor he has no ability to affect or influence any policy.
Anwyay intifada means shake off or uprising, and I am all for an uprising against fascism, even in the form of a managed democracy
Sheldon Wolin was a political theorist with a long-celebrated body of work but his last book Democracy Incorporated: Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism (2008) may be his most important. Written during the Bush administration, it describes an authoritarian form of government that doesn’t replace democracy entirely, it uses the mechanisms and symbols of a democratic form of government while separating the dêmos, the people, from the krátos, the power https://www.mind-war.com/p/late-stage-inverted-totalitarianism
Here are some quotes from Wolin’s book on the concept of a managed democracy, a democracy in name only:
“Managed democracy is a political form in which governments are legitimated by elections that they have learned to control.”
“The genius of managed democracy lies in its ability to maintain the institutions and rituals of democracy while eliminating their democratic content.”
“It does not abolish elections, freedom of speech, or the rule of law; it manages them, rendering them compatible with elite governance and capitalist priorities.”
“Managed democracy is built on the illusion of consent, where the public is offered participation without power, and choice without consequence.”
“In managed democracy, corporate interests work through electoral and regulatory systems to ensure outcomes favorable to the status quo, often under the guise of public interest.”
Another word for it is fascism.
I watched a Jeffries interview and that's BS. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tRp8c4Qztw
My comment is based on two verifiable facts
1. Hakeem Jeffries is opposed to Mamdani
2. https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/hakeem-jeffries/summary?cid=N00033640
Actions speak louder than words.
Hakeem is part of the old guard, or at least owes them.The old guard, perceives progressives as a threat.
I watched the video, and watched Hakeem dance around the issue,
Per open secrets he received $866,425 from AIPAC. I assume that is the comment which you called b.s.
When you serve a master, you do your masters bidding.
Hakeem mentioned the DCC in the video. The DCC's charter is to win seats in the House for Democrats.
The house flipped in 2020 because Adam Schiff, and Sean Maloney (then head of tghe DCC) flew off junkaterring inParis instead of staying home and guiding the ship.
Result, Sean lost his seat in NY, along with three other democrats and that flipped the house and you are looking at the consequence the BBB passed just now., and Trump has his gestapo state and a taxpayer funded army of Sturmabeitlung thugs.
We won in 2024. We wuz robbed. Like me, both he and Schumer are yellow dog Democrats. I'd vote for any Democrat and so would they.
Just because he didn't support him doesn't make him the enemy. IT WAS A FUCKING PRIMARY.
I am guilty of not supporting someone in the primaries who may look good to you but WILL DRAG DOWN my Florida ticket.
Here is the thing with yellow dog democrats, politicians take them for granted, knowing that their vote is secured, and as a consequence democratic politicians don't feel they have to fulfill their promises, and vote for the little guy, but will inevitably vote for the donor class.
The co equivalent of yellow dogs are MAGAts. I will support only progressives, honest to goodness progressives that will fight and fight dirty for the people and the cause.
I have no truck with centrists, and amelioraters, it is because of them, because of bipartisandhip, because of weak knees we are on the downhill slope of managed democracy (aka fascism).
Principles before personalities.
Personalities before principles is the mantra of addicts.
We, the people have to put the fire of fear into our politicians, otherwise they will cave or fail to stand up, to those that use and abuse us.
I confess,I am not an institutionalist. I am registered as a Democrat,but my heart and mind is that of a democratic socialist,and I could care less about the party, only about results.
I am very concerned,nay upset, about the passage of Trumps bill,now he is off to a rally in Iowa for a victory rally.
I am upset that so many people will get hurt and die, yes die, because of this bill, but it doesn't affect me personally, In fact it benefits me, because it has a provision that there is a $6,000 deduction per person after 65, and that means that my wife or my social security is reduced by $6,000, $12,000 in total.
I will be a beneficiary, but I would rather not be and see millions of people live. I can afford to pay more taxes, but millions of people can't afford to go without food or medical care.
On the other hand, I am an asshole, and am delighted that the bill is going to hurt most Trump humping voters in rural America, Schadenfrude.
Alas the pain won't be felt until after the mid terms, unless rural hospitals and their staff start making moves now in anticipation of the future.
In the real world, there are only two choices. I've known more about the Republican Party -- was a lawyer for a member of the RNC -- worked closely for/with inumerable elected Republican officials -- and it's not the candidate that's as important than the party platform and the administration of the government. Once up;opn a time there may have een "moderate" or even "liberal" Republicans, but not any more.
Clinton may tripped over his dick and should never assigned anything to his co-president, but his administration was far superior to anythng since.
Both Obama and Biden appointed too many Republicans....
I won't vote for any Republicans.
That said, we should have used the Jerry Weiss scenario.
An insightful and clearly stated article on the impact of BBB and the potential impact on perpetuating the ME society that most of GenZ and too many people from older eras appear to accept as normal.
The one thing in BBB that grabbed my attention was the $180BN to turn DHS (created by Republcan GW Bush) into the ICE Gestapo with a nationwide network of concentration camps for all who oppose Trump and his MAGA/NAZI workd view. Alligator Alcatraz in the sweltering jungles of Florida is just the latest. Immigration law crackdowns are a thinly veiled way of promoting ethnic cleansing in ethnically diverse America. The MAGA attacks on NYC candidate Mamdani are an echo of the emerging Third Reich, where Republican Pols are promoting denaturalization and deporting somebody for daring to be both a popular liberal candidate for mayor and a Muslim.
Alligator Alacatraz flooded in the rain last night, and I assume sits in the path of hurricanes.
Not good for anybod in a cage there.
Not to mention skeeters and bugs, then what about the critters that learn there is a steady food supply sitting on the tarmac.
Raining now, rain predicted this weekend.
This post should be read on the floor of the House! And add to this misery the terror of swarms of new ICE stormtroopers. For the rich, more money; for the poor, more police and prisons.
This represents a victory of the undemocratic sections of the Constitution over the democratic ones. They say, "The past is prelude." My fear: The present is prelude to the end of the Republic in all but name.
I am heartsick.
I'm furious.
Did you see where, Trump, in a closed door meeting with moderate house GOP republicans was not aware that Medicaid was going to be cut in the "bill". Evidently he had previously said the Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security were programs not be "touched". It had to be pointed out to him the Medicaid was indeed, going to be "touched".
And, did you also see the article in the NYT yesterday, or the day before where DOJ released the most notorias MS13 killer along with other convicted and inprisoned MS13 convicts. Why? because it was requested by Bukele. Why? Because it appears these individuals were possibly connected and had information connecting Bukele to corruption in El Salvador and DOJ lawyers were closing in on it. The DOJ lawyers who had been working on these cases considered the MS13 project gutted.
You recall MS13 was possibly the main theme of Trumps campaign appearances. So much for that.
Now getting back to the "Bill". We are well aware, are we not that once the effects of this bill take effect and grandma suffers, the republicans will mount a huge campaign to blame it on the democrats. Whether they succeed with that, will depend on the how democrats respond, but more importantly, the state and yes, intelligence, of the electorate. The absence of any real civics education for deades is worrisome in that regard.
And finally, did you listen to some old interviews with Bill Moyers on NPR. Of note, regarding press people for a president, he said it would have been INCONCEIVABLE that he, or any press spokespeople during his era would stand up and lie for the President. And yes, it is INCONCEIVABLE to see what is spewn out by Karoline Leavitt on a daily basis.
Excellent analysis - thank you! I hadn’t thought (stupidly enough) of the fact that it takes effect after the mid-terms. So “wily.” Your painting the picture of the grandmother being wheeled out of the nursing home really makes the point. Some journalist or organization needs to distribute one of those “how will the BBB affect you?” type checklists with questions like, “Do you have a relative in a nursing home?,” “Do you or a family member receive services paid for in whole or in part by Medicaid?,” etc. Assuming the bill passes, as it looks likely to do, can we expect any relief from lawsuits whether brought by the states, individuals, or class action?
Ed has one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSt68eWmH1Y&t=506s
He's willing to answer your questions. Free.
The video is great. Thank you. Not to mention related damage. Desperate people - does the law-and-order party really not think there will be an increase in crime? Etc.
To be in the top 1% nationally, need a pre-tax income of around $787,712.00. Only people who benefit....
I've posted this elsewhere, but Kaiser has analysis. https://www.kff.org/
Apparently, in anticipation, insurance companies already are out of control. Older folk are proabably entitled to a free lawyer through legal services.
One major reason 77,300,000 [60% White] American saboteurs voted for this Joker is that he promised that he'd hurt Blacks especially, Browns of course, and Women exclusively.
Well, he's making good on his promise. But [Surprise!!!] he included White Christian males and their friends and families, too.
That's so not fair, so Rs will hide it, and FOX et al won't mention it.
These 77.3 M really need "professional" help. And a new media diet. They're bonkers.
Psy ops. We wuz robbed.
https://www.rsn.org/001/what-would-democrats-be-doing-now-if-they-got-up-off-their-asses.html
This is why I fired him. He. like you, cannot tell friend from foe.
He has his own agenda -- sale of merch.
YOU fired Professor Reich?
I doubt it. But what I do not doubt is that you have an Ownership Problem with this [Thom Hartmann's] comment section.
And, with all due respect, some of your conspiracy-infused comments are like a broken record.
Out.
I boiught his books. I was on his substack, was vocal on virtually every one of his venues. I was at DOL.
But when he started to attack loyal and trusted Dems like me, I quit...and so did a lot of others.
I also fired Hubbell and Simon. I spent a lot of time and my own money supporting them. We are donors. I also was involved in fundraising.
I was a member of the Executive Dem committee, here. I was a Dem data manager. I quit.
You guys have been slandering other Dems.
I hear those assholes laughing all the way to the bank. What goes around comes back around
The first order of business, assuming we ever have elections again, is to rapidly expand SCOTUS to 13 justices so that Alito, Thomas, and the other fascists are neutered. Second, restore the pre-Reagan tax tables so that we can restore the programs that are viciously being crushed now and start paying down the debt. Third, prosecute the fascists that are terrorizing our country today (Miller, Noem, Homan, et Al.). Unfortunately, Dump will have slipped completely into dementia so will be declared non compos mentís and will escape retribution!