Taking down a statue of a Confederate general is not erasing history. Statues are for our heroes, not the racists and terrorists of our past. We acknowledge their existence in our history, but we don't honor them. What the White supremacists of today are doing is specifically disappearing women and minorities from our history because they can't stand women and minorities. Once again, they accuse us of what they are guilty of.
Confederates were traitors, They could have been tried for treason, and should have been, but Lincoln and Grant were more interested in healing the nation, and now we are paying for that generosity.
"Silence is complicity, both on the part of our media and our politicians of both parties. Pretending this is normal politics is complicity. It’s time for every American who still believes in the Constitution, in equality, in pluralism, in democracy itself to speak out in favor of an inclusive America."
I'd add that ignorance is no defense. Neither is inconvenience. Whether good, bad, or ugly, we all know by now where we stand - and why.
Who is holding the SCOTUS 6 hostage? Who has threatened them and their families? They know how to interpret The Constitution and read the law, so there is no other explanation.
For even more insanity, go to WIKI and put in the name: Joshua N. Haldeman. Taking over Canada and Greenland did not come from nowhere or from Putin. It is from Musk's maternal grandfather. Canadians should talk about this part of their history.
Haldeman advocated for The Technate of America. According Cornell University: The new "Technate of America" was to include all of Canada, Greenland, Central America, the Caribbean, and parts of Columbia, Venezuela and the ...". That's right Venezuela!
Let hell have TRump, the racists, and these fascists. The rest of us are headed for a better day. See you in the streets.
Hostage Scotus: Check Rev. Robert Schenck's Dec 8, 2022 testimony before the House Judiciary Committee (house.gov) Operation Higher Court. Schenck discusses, from his position in the top echelon of conservative evangelism, the formal agreement between Opus Dei, Leonard Leo, and Christian national evangelism. That alliance prompted him to renounce his involvement with the Protestant Evangelical Movement. Then check out the relation ship among Opus Dei, the GOP, and the Federalist Society (Leo is the CEO). A lot of pieces fall into place. Within the past two years, either The Nation or Mother Jones featured Rev. Schenck telling his own story; I believe NPR may have done the same. iI is sobering but explanatory. And you really must know the background of Opus Dei; Leo is a member, but I don't know about the other Catholic justices. But all of them seem to march to the Opus Dei drummer.
Pretty speculative. Requires an affidavit and verification by the affiant. Recusal is not impeachment. 28 U.S. Code § 455 - Disqualification of justice, judge, or magistrate judge: (a)Any justice, judge, or magistrate judge of the United States shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.
In November 2023, Chief Justice John Roberts announced the Supreme Court's adoption of its first-ever formal Code of Conduct, which includes five canons of ethical principles like upholding integrity, avoiding impropriety, performing duties diligently, engaging in extrajudicial activities appropriately, and refraining from political activity. https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/Code-of-Conduct-for-Justices_November_13_2023.pdf
According to many sources, including a judicial conference investigation, Thomas has the worst problem. In April 2023, following ProPublica's reporting on Justice Thomas's undisclosed gifts from billionaire Harlan Crow, several groups, including the Campaign Legal Center, asked the Judicial Conference to refer Thomas to the U.S. Attorney General.
Nature of Allegations:
The core issue was Justice Thomas's failure to report significant gifts, such as luxury vacations and private jet travel, on his financial disclosure forms, violating the Ethics in Government Act.
The Conference did not refer Thomas for prosecution, but in a recusal hearing, he would be questioned. He would bear the burden of proof.
Alito probably has similar problems with Leo and others. E.G. Justice Samuel Alito Took Luxury Fishing Vacation With GOP Billionaire Who Later Had Cases Before the Court. In the years after the undisclosed trip to Alaska, Republican megadonor Paul Singer’s hedge fund has repeatedly had business before the Supreme Court. Alito has never recused himself. https://www.propublica.org/article/samuel-alito-luxury-fishing-trip-paul-singer-scotus-supreme-court
Alito also neglected to list all of the sources of income, and Leo paid and accompaanied him on at least a couple of times. E.G. A new report details Leo’s contributions to and payments from Consumers’ Research — a group arguing against regulatory authority in a case against the Federal Communications Commission.
“What has not come to light until now is the alarmingly close personal and financial ties between Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito in the major backer of one of the parties in the case,” Tony Carrk, executive director at Accountable.US, told reporters. “Consumers’ Research is reportedly bankrolled by right-wing legal activist Leonard Leo.”
"Accountable.US was one of three watchdog groups that signed a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts calling for Thomas and Alito’s recusal. Accountable.US, United for Democracy, and Take Back the Court said the American people’s faith in the justice system and the legitimacy of the Supreme Court depended on the justices abiding by their ethical obligations. In the letter, the groups said Thomas and Alito’s “extensive” connections to a plaintiff before the court through Leo warranted their recusal." https://www.courthousenews.com/thomas-alito-ties-to-conservative-activist-spark-recusal-calls-in-supreme-court-case/
A cursory search shows that there's no proof of a direct connection to any justice with Opus Dei.
Even if they belong, a movant would have to show how it is personally biased or prejudiced in the accompanying affidavit.
If say, Kavanaugh actually said he'd get even with Democrats, and the Democrats are a party, that might constitute bias.
If say, Amy Coney Barrett's husband, who is a lawyer, were connected to a law firm involved in a case beforte the court, that might constitute the appearance of impropriety.
If a nexus to cases showed a relationship to lawyers placed by Roberts' wife, to a party, that might consitute the appearance of impropriety.
Sen. Schmitt also COMPLETELY ignores the indigenous peoples who have been here for millennia- as Bishop Steven Charleston (Choctaw elder and Episcopal priest)says- “my people have been here for thirty thousand years”.
The rampant fear of otherness is an insidious evil we have to fight.
Ironically, in 2010, Schmitt, who has a son with autism, supported a bill in the Missouri General Assembly that required health insurers to pay up to $40,000 annually to beneficiaries for applied behavioral analysis, a type of autism therapy. In 2015, he worked to enact legislation allowing Missouri residents to establish tax-exempt savings accounts for relatives with disabilities. Governor Jay Nixon signed the bill in 2015. From Wiki.
In the trade, we call that "special needs trusts." It's especially imporatant re government policy re SSI, Supplemental Security Income, Medicare and Medicaid. Last Saturday during a discussion with Thom, a woman said she was considering moving to Nova Scotia to protect her disabled son and herself because she receives special injections that may no longer be covered under RFK Jr. anti-vax and anti drug policy. I advised her to speak to a lawyer who knows special needs trusts and Canadian law.
Under federal preemption laws, however Missouri handles special needs would be secondary to federal policy.
When the Nazis ran things, they exterminated kids with autism.
The fascist Law & Order MAGA Party - We write the laws; you follow our orders.
Unfortunately, most MAGAs are clueless that once democracy dies, their hopes and dreams die with it. Trump, or whoever will be America's Führer, will not shower the MAGAs with the wealth they think the color of their skin and evangelicalism entitle them. Trump is already starting to take over businesses, and is using the military to crush Blue state independence/discretion. But MAGAs just view it as the price of future happiness defined by material wealth. To them, the American Dream is truly just an American Myth divorced from that of our founding fathers.
Thom is correct, fascism is here. It is just not yet in authoritarian power.
Gallup just published a survey [https://news.gallup.com/poll/694199/u.s.-depression-rate-remains-historically-high.aspx] showing almost 48 million Americans report undergoing treatment for depression. Depression often leads to "learned helplessness" where people feel powerless to overcome their misery. "I don't care if you are a dictator or what - just make me happy again." says the depressed MAGA. Despots thrive on that to take power.
Yeah-BUT Minorities, LGBTQ, and pummeled women all voted for Trump. That is a cruel validation of my hypothesis. They all are more likely to suffer depression.
Not all minorities but a portion did. Like the Muslims, who had to stick it to Biden, and voted for Trump. Boy did they fuck up, and frankly they deserve it.
This anti immigration kick of Miller. Well it has an ulterior motive.
Remember he ot shit, and from the Saudi's and UAE for his Muslim ban, so instead of claiming he is going to round up and export Muslims specifically, he is hiding his agenda under a broad umbrella, and part of that umbrella is Trump's campaign against anti Semitism;
If you pay close attention to Trump, what he does, not what he says, you might notice that he really is a sock puppet for anyone that has his ear, his confidence and can wiggle his fingers.
So long as Trump is flattered, can exact vengeance and enrich himself, he doesn't really care about anything. He will go along with anything so long as there is something in it for him,
He is devoid of values, and full of fear and loathing, as well as insatiable needs for that which pleasures him.
Mr. Farrar. You are correct in your assessment of Trump. I am certain you are not claiming that his warped sense of self and greed are the source or cause of our slide into fascism.
It seems to me [and you might agree] we have been sliding into fascism for a long time [during much of my life] because of unrestrained capitalism.
To repeat the old bromide: Trump is a symptom. So was Nixon. So was Reagan. So was Clinton [our finest Republican president since Cleveland]. So were both Bushes. So was Biden.
I exclude FDR, Harry [The Buck Stops Here] Truman, Ike, JFK, LBJ, Jimmy [I Will Never Lie To You] Carter.
Obama, the undeserving Nobel Laureate, turned out to be a disappointing, feckless nonentity, difficult to categorize. Do you agree? Am I close?
Mr. Farrar. I agree with you. Those poor MAGAT farmers are people who do not understand their true position in the scheme of things. Marxists have a term for this: "False class consciousness." They are corrupting their own future. Unfortunately, the rest of us are dragged along with them. FDR saw this. That is why he pushed through programs which helped BOTH city dwellers and those in the rural areas.
In the future when the MAGATs poke their heads out of the cloud of misunderstanding and see what their true position is; it will be too late, for them and for us. Some of them will see the light as FDR did, and some of them will look for a new scapegoat. Human nature? Inevitable?
Willie Nelson is at it again with his Farm Aid Tour. I like Willie, I like his music, some of his songs are my favorite, like Lefty and Pancho, or Blue Eyes cryiing in the rain, but fuck the farmers and fuck farm aid.
Farmers are ignorant and insular of necessity their nearest neighbor is at least one mile away. They congregate at granges and churches. They only see black/borwn people and LGBT on TV, yet are rock solid racist. While they bitch about welfare queens, no one sucks at the government teat like farmers.
The sons they raise are hard working assholes., just like them.
Mr. Farrar. I worked on agricultural research projects at Iowa State University for three years in my past. We interviewed hundreds of them in our surveys. I found Ioway farmers to be highly educated [often with BA and MA degrees, a few PhDs], fair minded, open to debate, and slightly liberal. Interestingly, the Iowayans I found to be the most obnoxious reactionaries were the city dwelling Iowayans who held to idealized myths about what constituted an Ioway farmer.
I do not know how the thinking of other farming areas in the Midwest [eg. Oklahoma, Missouri, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, etc.] stacks up; as I never studied farmers in those states. Iowayan farmers are not in the same category as Appalachian hillbillies, like J.D. Vance.
This is explained in Thomas Frank, What's the Matter with Kansas?
What's the Matter with Kansas? argues that social and cultural issues, rather than economic ones, have been used by the Republican Party to attract working-class voters. The core of his thesis is as follows:
The "thirty-year backlash": Frank claims that conservatives capitalized on a popular backlash against the supposed "liberal establishment" that began in the 1960s. By portraying Democrats as elitist and out of touch, Republicans effectively mobilized voters through culture wars.
Culture over economics: The book posits that Republican leaders have convinced many working-class voters to prioritize cultural issues—such as abortion, gun rights, and religious values—over their own economic well-being. This created an alliance between blue-collar workers and the interests of corporate America.
Working against self-interest: Frank highlights the paradox of blue-collar workers and farmers voting for politicians whose policies, like tax cuts for the wealthy and deregulation, do not benefit them financially and may actually harm them.
Topography has a lot to do with why hillbillies are different.
It wasn't long ago that progressive Tom Harkin represented Iowa. Minnesota has the Farm Labor Party.
Thank you Mr. Solomon. I read Thomas Frank's book when it came out. I did not find any reason to disagree with him. The "culture wars" seem to have worked. If the AI bubble pops soon and the economy collapses because of the mishandling of those morons like Scott Bessent, Sec. of Treasury, and his band of moral midgets; the false class consciousness in Kansas might then, correct itself regardless of the timidity of the Dems.
Picket Republican headquarters in Chicago and in Springfield.
I assume that virtually the entire Korean population along Chicago Ave, "Koreatown" or "Seoul Drive," centered in Albany Park along Lawrence Avenue, . were Trump supporters -- until the recent revelations about Trump/Korea. Motivate them.
When Obama told Fox News it was not a news organization and could not be part of the press at the White House the entire news agencies fought back successfully. The President should have held to his truth because he was correct. Now the forces of darkness are throwing real news organizations out of the press the entire news will not fight back. For some reason the parasites have the advantage. The first thing needs to be is to get rid of non news organizations out of the entire nation and the whole world. These forces of evil have no place on my planet or air ways. Lies have no place in social media available to the public and our health. We know the difference.
The problem Clayton is Obama is a Democrat and Democrats don't fight, it isn't their DNA, they roll over and hope for a consensus., check the polls to see if they are supported.
Mr. Farrar Unfortunately, you are correct. The last time we had a Democrat who was a formidable political opponent was LBJ. He was restrained only by his experience in Dallas, when he watched JFK get his brains blown out right in front of him.
LBJ's legacy is fouled because of the Gulf of Tonkin incident, but one must keep in mind the political atmosphere at the time.
The Democrats were being accused of being commies, soft on communism, it all started when JFK abandoned the mercenaries at the Bay of Pigs.
In those days I was a fire breathing right winger, so I know.
LBJ had that cloud hanging over him too, so when the incident happened, and it was manufactured, but not by LBJ, probably some dark forces in the background and I point to Standard oil in one of it's many disguises.. He was pushed into a corner.
He got his revenge though with the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act, and the Great Society.
LBJ was a poor Texas boy, who clawed is way up through the classism of Tezas society, and he hated them., the oil barrons, , he grew up poor, sympathized with the blacks, many of whom were his playmates.
I can relate. My fathers family were pig farmers in south Arkansas near the Louisiana Border, after the civil war, the census shows their neighbors in 1870 and 1880 to be black. In the family we called my grandparents Mammy and Pappy, which are the names that planters kids used to refer to the house slaves that took care of them, Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben.
Their attitude towards blacks, was paternalistic, unlike my Southern Baptist preacher uncle, their oldest son, he was downright racist.
3 out of 5 White voters, 50% of Hispanic voters [Yep 1 outta 2], and nearly 20% of Black men craved this "GOP Specter" of race hate.
Why? . . . Immoral? Illeducated? Dumb AF?
"All" of the above, plus, mainly . . . Irrational.
Be careful what you vote for. You may get it.
PS This Schmitt-Joker's ancestors likely hail from an area [Hesse, Germany] that rented an army of war-whores to King George III to fight General Washington and abort the United States of America.
So, treason and Nazism dwell deep in Schmitt's genes.
Reagan backed up those words by extending amnesty to 2.9 million immigrant who were here without documentation, who had established themselves as working members of our country and had no criminal history. It is one of the few commendable things that Reagan did, yet it is almost never mentioned. We need our hard working immigrants and numbers show that they are more law-abiding on the whole than U.S citizens. Let's give green cards to those people who want to contribute and make a life here, and extend protection to those fleeing untenable situations in their home country.
Ms. Hines. I studied and taught criminology and demography for decades. The empirical evidence showed clearly that the two ethnic groups in America with the strongest family values are: Japanese and Mexican Americans. Latino immigrants have had a lower rate of crime than for all other ethnic groups except Japanese.
Thank you for affirming what I stated in my comment. I am not an expert having only a degree in history from the 60's. My niece in AZ has three children with Latino father, so I want the best life for them. I am just wondering why no one is suggesting that we extend a path to citizenship for immigrants who are contributing so much to this country, instead of the cruel targeting of Latinos based on appearance or other factors.
It is just not "white", white is being redefined. It is also Christian, cis and hetnormative. I am wondering what place is in it for the Vivek Ramaswamy's, the black NAZI"s like Mark Robinsons, the Ye's, the Byron Donalds, the Nimarata Hallwy's,. Bobby Jindals, Herschel Walkers, Candace Owens, even Clarence Thomas and gay and trans Quislings like Caitlyn (Bruce) Jenner (Don't get on my ass for not recognizing his preferred identity, he doesn't recognize it himself, NAZI Jews, like Stephen Miller, what is that all about,.
You don't hear much about anti gay stuff, maybe because of Besent, Peter Thiel and his boyfriend JD Vance;
A lot of Quislings, a lot of Step n Fetchi'ts, a lot of Stephens drinking the massahs brandy by the fire (Django Unchained) in every minority group imaginable.
When the "crowned heads" of Europe and Africa make haj to the White House to kiss the ring, when 34 of the nations leading tech bros, assemble at a dinner to flatter Trump like his sycophantic cabinet The ref has grabbed Trumps arm and declared him the winner.
He can do anything he wants without consequence, bomb Iran, engage in extrajudicial murder and at most a tsk, tsk.
He is indeed King of the World, except Asia, Russia and the Mid east
It has disturbed me for years that our when we are repeatedly told that the country is "polarized" and divided it is always parsed into "left" vs. right; or some variation as if we are standing in our corners at a prize fight waiting for it to begin. And then: "can't we all meet in the middle/center" can be not hate each other?
Is there a "middle ground" on morality, principle, or ethics?
We are separated -- and not proportionally either -- by conscience, & moral imperative. There is no "fair and balanced" to be had: show me how evil and cruelty, selfishness and greed can be brought to equivalency with a moral stance.
And while we are calling out racism, can we remind everyone that the most prominent and arrogant member of this administration, RFK, has stated that the COVID virus was designed to not cause illness in Ashkenazi Jews and the Chinese.
“It’s time for every American who still believes in the Constitution, in equality, in pluralism, in democracy itself to speak out in favor of an inclusive America.”
We do that. We’ve done that. “Speaking out” is not moving the needle. At all. We need more. WE ARE NOT REACTING STRONGLY ENOUGH.
If we are far luckier than we deserve, we will have an opportunity to vote next year. We had an entire year 2024 to get registered and end the trump civics lesson. We failed miserably.
Taking down a statue of a Confederate general is not erasing history. Statues are for our heroes, not the racists and terrorists of our past. We acknowledge their existence in our history, but we don't honor them. What the White supremacists of today are doing is specifically disappearing women and minorities from our history because they can't stand women and minorities. Once again, they accuse us of what they are guilty of.
Confederates were traitors, They could have been tried for treason, and should have been, but Lincoln and Grant were more interested in healing the nation, and now we are paying for that generosity.
Every good turn..
Well said!
"Silence is complicity, both on the part of our media and our politicians of both parties. Pretending this is normal politics is complicity. It’s time for every American who still believes in the Constitution, in equality, in pluralism, in democracy itself to speak out in favor of an inclusive America."
I'd add that ignorance is no defense. Neither is inconvenience. Whether good, bad, or ugly, we all know by now where we stand - and why.
Where the Nazis and racists want to take us
Who is holding the SCOTUS 6 hostage? Who has threatened them and their families? They know how to interpret The Constitution and read the law, so there is no other explanation.
For even more insanity, go to WIKI and put in the name: Joshua N. Haldeman. Taking over Canada and Greenland did not come from nowhere or from Putin. It is from Musk's maternal grandfather. Canadians should talk about this part of their history.
Haldeman advocated for The Technate of America. According Cornell University: The new "Technate of America" was to include all of Canada, Greenland, Central America, the Caribbean, and parts of Columbia, Venezuela and the ...". That's right Venezuela!
Let hell have TRump, the racists, and these fascists. The rest of us are headed for a better day. See you in the streets.
I Keep askin': when will a party ask Thomas and Alito to recuse?
Hostage Scotus: Check Rev. Robert Schenck's Dec 8, 2022 testimony before the House Judiciary Committee (house.gov) Operation Higher Court. Schenck discusses, from his position in the top echelon of conservative evangelism, the formal agreement between Opus Dei, Leonard Leo, and Christian national evangelism. That alliance prompted him to renounce his involvement with the Protestant Evangelical Movement. Then check out the relation ship among Opus Dei, the GOP, and the Federalist Society (Leo is the CEO). A lot of pieces fall into place. Within the past two years, either The Nation or Mother Jones featured Rev. Schenck telling his own story; I believe NPR may have done the same. iI is sobering but explanatory. And you really must know the background of Opus Dei; Leo is a member, but I don't know about the other Catholic justices. But all of them seem to march to the Opus Dei drummer.
Pretty speculative. Requires an affidavit and verification by the affiant. Recusal is not impeachment. 28 U.S. Code § 455 - Disqualification of justice, judge, or magistrate judge: (a)Any justice, judge, or magistrate judge of the United States shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.
In November 2023, Chief Justice John Roberts announced the Supreme Court's adoption of its first-ever formal Code of Conduct, which includes five canons of ethical principles like upholding integrity, avoiding impropriety, performing duties diligently, engaging in extrajudicial activities appropriately, and refraining from political activity. https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/Code-of-Conduct-for-Justices_November_13_2023.pdf
According to many sources, including a judicial conference investigation, Thomas has the worst problem. In April 2023, following ProPublica's reporting on Justice Thomas's undisclosed gifts from billionaire Harlan Crow, several groups, including the Campaign Legal Center, asked the Judicial Conference to refer Thomas to the U.S. Attorney General.
Nature of Allegations:
The core issue was Justice Thomas's failure to report significant gifts, such as luxury vacations and private jet travel, on his financial disclosure forms, violating the Ethics in Government Act.
The Conference did not refer Thomas for prosecution, but in a recusal hearing, he would be questioned. He would bear the burden of proof.
Alito probably has similar problems with Leo and others. E.G. Justice Samuel Alito Took Luxury Fishing Vacation With GOP Billionaire Who Later Had Cases Before the Court. In the years after the undisclosed trip to Alaska, Republican megadonor Paul Singer’s hedge fund has repeatedly had business before the Supreme Court. Alito has never recused himself. https://www.propublica.org/article/samuel-alito-luxury-fishing-trip-paul-singer-scotus-supreme-court
Alito also neglected to list all of the sources of income, and Leo paid and accompaanied him on at least a couple of times. E.G. A new report details Leo’s contributions to and payments from Consumers’ Research — a group arguing against regulatory authority in a case against the Federal Communications Commission.
“What has not come to light until now is the alarmingly close personal and financial ties between Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito in the major backer of one of the parties in the case,” Tony Carrk, executive director at Accountable.US, told reporters. “Consumers’ Research is reportedly bankrolled by right-wing legal activist Leonard Leo.”
"Accountable.US was one of three watchdog groups that signed a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts calling for Thomas and Alito’s recusal. Accountable.US, United for Democracy, and Take Back the Court said the American people’s faith in the justice system and the legitimacy of the Supreme Court depended on the justices abiding by their ethical obligations. In the letter, the groups said Thomas and Alito’s “extensive” connections to a plaintiff before the court through Leo warranted their recusal." https://www.courthousenews.com/thomas-alito-ties-to-conservative-activist-spark-recusal-calls-in-supreme-court-case/
A cursory search shows that there's no proof of a direct connection to any justice with Opus Dei.
Even if they belong, a movant would have to show how it is personally biased or prejudiced in the accompanying affidavit.
If say, Kavanaugh actually said he'd get even with Democrats, and the Democrats are a party, that might constitute bias.
If say, Amy Coney Barrett's husband, who is a lawyer, were connected to a law firm involved in a case beforte the court, that might constitute the appearance of impropriety.
If a nexus to cases showed a relationship to lawyers placed by Roberts' wife, to a party, that might consitute the appearance of impropriety.
Interesting response to a few reading suggestions! And a video.
Sen. Schmitt also COMPLETELY ignores the indigenous peoples who have been here for millennia- as Bishop Steven Charleston (Choctaw elder and Episcopal priest)says- “my people have been here for thirty thousand years”.
The rampant fear of otherness is an insidious evil we have to fight.
Every one ignores the idigenous people Edie. Except the predators (sexual and financial)
Edie, My best and oldest friend is a member of the White Earth. Thank you for your comment.
Ironically, in 2010, Schmitt, who has a son with autism, supported a bill in the Missouri General Assembly that required health insurers to pay up to $40,000 annually to beneficiaries for applied behavioral analysis, a type of autism therapy. In 2015, he worked to enact legislation allowing Missouri residents to establish tax-exempt savings accounts for relatives with disabilities. Governor Jay Nixon signed the bill in 2015. From Wiki.
In the trade, we call that "special needs trusts." It's especially imporatant re government policy re SSI, Supplemental Security Income, Medicare and Medicaid. Last Saturday during a discussion with Thom, a woman said she was considering moving to Nova Scotia to protect her disabled son and herself because she receives special injections that may no longer be covered under RFK Jr. anti-vax and anti drug policy. I advised her to speak to a lawyer who knows special needs trusts and Canadian law.
Under federal preemption laws, however Missouri handles special needs would be secondary to federal policy.
When the Nazis ran things, they exterminated kids with autism.
The fascist Law & Order MAGA Party - We write the laws; you follow our orders.
Unfortunately, most MAGAs are clueless that once democracy dies, their hopes and dreams die with it. Trump, or whoever will be America's Führer, will not shower the MAGAs with the wealth they think the color of their skin and evangelicalism entitle them. Trump is already starting to take over businesses, and is using the military to crush Blue state independence/discretion. But MAGAs just view it as the price of future happiness defined by material wealth. To them, the American Dream is truly just an American Myth divorced from that of our founding fathers.
Thom is correct, fascism is here. It is just not yet in authoritarian power.
MAGAts also see it Tom, as owning the libs, and that gives them a maximum orgasm.
Farmers who are suffering from Trump's policies, still love him because they think they own the libtards. If only they knew, they are self owned.
Gallup just published a survey [https://news.gallup.com/poll/694199/u.s.-depression-rate-remains-historically-high.aspx] showing almost 48 million Americans report undergoing treatment for depression. Depression often leads to "learned helplessness" where people feel powerless to overcome their misery. "I don't care if you are a dictator or what - just make me happy again." says the depressed MAGA. Despots thrive on that to take power.
Thanks Tom. You put your finger on the pulse with the last two sentences.
They don't care if he is a dictator they just want to be happy again.
Of course then the subject becomes: What makes them happy?
Well no more minorities, no LGBT, and submissive women, that's what makes them happy.
Yeah-BUT Minorities, LGBTQ, and pummeled women all voted for Trump. That is a cruel validation of my hypothesis. They all are more likely to suffer depression.
Not all minorities but a portion did. Like the Muslims, who had to stick it to Biden, and voted for Trump. Boy did they fuck up, and frankly they deserve it.
This anti immigration kick of Miller. Well it has an ulterior motive.
Remember he ot shit, and from the Saudi's and UAE for his Muslim ban, so instead of claiming he is going to round up and export Muslims specifically, he is hiding his agenda under a broad umbrella, and part of that umbrella is Trump's campaign against anti Semitism;
If you pay close attention to Trump, what he does, not what he says, you might notice that he really is a sock puppet for anyone that has his ear, his confidence and can wiggle his fingers.
So long as Trump is flattered, can exact vengeance and enrich himself, he doesn't really care about anything. He will go along with anything so long as there is something in it for him,
He is devoid of values, and full of fear and loathing, as well as insatiable needs for that which pleasures him.
.
Mr. Farrar. You are correct in your assessment of Trump. I am certain you are not claiming that his warped sense of self and greed are the source or cause of our slide into fascism.
It seems to me [and you might agree] we have been sliding into fascism for a long time [during much of my life] because of unrestrained capitalism.
To repeat the old bromide: Trump is a symptom. So was Nixon. So was Reagan. So was Clinton [our finest Republican president since Cleveland]. So were both Bushes. So was Biden.
I exclude FDR, Harry [The Buck Stops Here] Truman, Ike, JFK, LBJ, Jimmy [I Will Never Lie To You] Carter.
Obama, the undeserving Nobel Laureate, turned out to be a disappointing, feckless nonentity, difficult to categorize. Do you agree? Am I close?
Mr. Farrar. I agree with you. Those poor MAGAT farmers are people who do not understand their true position in the scheme of things. Marxists have a term for this: "False class consciousness." They are corrupting their own future. Unfortunately, the rest of us are dragged along with them. FDR saw this. That is why he pushed through programs which helped BOTH city dwellers and those in the rural areas.
In the future when the MAGATs poke their heads out of the cloud of misunderstanding and see what their true position is; it will be too late, for them and for us. Some of them will see the light as FDR did, and some of them will look for a new scapegoat. Human nature? Inevitable?
Willie Nelson is at it again with his Farm Aid Tour. I like Willie, I like his music, some of his songs are my favorite, like Lefty and Pancho, or Blue Eyes cryiing in the rain, but fuck the farmers and fuck farm aid.
Farmers are ignorant and insular of necessity their nearest neighbor is at least one mile away. They congregate at granges and churches. They only see black/borwn people and LGBT on TV, yet are rock solid racist. While they bitch about welfare queens, no one sucks at the government teat like farmers.
The sons they raise are hard working assholes., just like them.
Mr. Farrar. I worked on agricultural research projects at Iowa State University for three years in my past. We interviewed hundreds of them in our surveys. I found Ioway farmers to be highly educated [often with BA and MA degrees, a few PhDs], fair minded, open to debate, and slightly liberal. Interestingly, the Iowayans I found to be the most obnoxious reactionaries were the city dwelling Iowayans who held to idealized myths about what constituted an Ioway farmer.
I do not know how the thinking of other farming areas in the Midwest [eg. Oklahoma, Missouri, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, etc.] stacks up; as I never studied farmers in those states. Iowayan farmers are not in the same category as Appalachian hillbillies, like J.D. Vance.
This is explained in Thomas Frank, What's the Matter with Kansas?
What's the Matter with Kansas? argues that social and cultural issues, rather than economic ones, have been used by the Republican Party to attract working-class voters. The core of his thesis is as follows:
The "thirty-year backlash": Frank claims that conservatives capitalized on a popular backlash against the supposed "liberal establishment" that began in the 1960s. By portraying Democrats as elitist and out of touch, Republicans effectively mobilized voters through culture wars.
Culture over economics: The book posits that Republican leaders have convinced many working-class voters to prioritize cultural issues—such as abortion, gun rights, and religious values—over their own economic well-being. This created an alliance between blue-collar workers and the interests of corporate America.
Working against self-interest: Frank highlights the paradox of blue-collar workers and farmers voting for politicians whose policies, like tax cuts for the wealthy and deregulation, do not benefit them financially and may actually harm them.
Topography has a lot to do with why hillbillies are different.
It wasn't long ago that progressive Tom Harkin represented Iowa. Minnesota has the Farm Labor Party.
Thank you Mr. Solomon. I read Thomas Frank's book when it came out. I did not find any reason to disagree with him. The "culture wars" seem to have worked. If the AI bubble pops soon and the economy collapses because of the mishandling of those morons like Scott Bessent, Sec. of Treasury, and his band of moral midgets; the false class consciousness in Kansas might then, correct itself regardless of the timidity of the Dems.
We will continue to eliminate it in Chicago -
We will make Trump (and his cronies) "disappear" together with their crypto undeserved $millions...
Even Rockford made the Maddow show last night. They're putting barriers around the courthouse.
Keep Sweet Home Chicago sweet, Gordon. I'm hoping to see TRump in prison, as well as broke.
My Chicago friends have my prayers for success. I went to HS there.
If Chicago is the epicenter, picket, sit in the three Illinios Republican House members, in DC and at home. https://illinois.gop/elected-officials/
Picket Republican headquarters in Chicago and in Springfield.
I assume that virtually the entire Korean population along Chicago Ave, "Koreatown" or "Seoul Drive," centered in Albany Park along Lawrence Avenue, . were Trump supporters -- until the recent revelations about Trump/Korea. Motivate them.
Yes it is in power.
When Obama told Fox News it was not a news organization and could not be part of the press at the White House the entire news agencies fought back successfully. The President should have held to his truth because he was correct. Now the forces of darkness are throwing real news organizations out of the press the entire news will not fight back. For some reason the parasites have the advantage. The first thing needs to be is to get rid of non news organizations out of the entire nation and the whole world. These forces of evil have no place on my planet or air ways. Lies have no place in social media available to the public and our health. We know the difference.
The problem Clayton is Obama is a Democrat and Democrats don't fight, it isn't their DNA, they roll over and hope for a consensus., check the polls to see if they are supported.
Mr. Farrar Unfortunately, you are correct. The last time we had a Democrat who was a formidable political opponent was LBJ. He was restrained only by his experience in Dallas, when he watched JFK get his brains blown out right in front of him.
LBJ's legacy is fouled because of the Gulf of Tonkin incident, but one must keep in mind the political atmosphere at the time.
The Democrats were being accused of being commies, soft on communism, it all started when JFK abandoned the mercenaries at the Bay of Pigs.
In those days I was a fire breathing right winger, so I know.
LBJ had that cloud hanging over him too, so when the incident happened, and it was manufactured, but not by LBJ, probably some dark forces in the background and I point to Standard oil in one of it's many disguises.. He was pushed into a corner.
He got his revenge though with the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act, and the Great Society.
LBJ was a poor Texas boy, who clawed is way up through the classism of Tezas society, and he hated them., the oil barrons, , he grew up poor, sympathized with the blacks, many of whom were his playmates.
I can relate. My fathers family were pig farmers in south Arkansas near the Louisiana Border, after the civil war, the census shows their neighbors in 1870 and 1880 to be black. In the family we called my grandparents Mammy and Pappy, which are the names that planters kids used to refer to the house slaves that took care of them, Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben.
Their attitude towards blacks, was paternalistic, unlike my Southern Baptist preacher uncle, their oldest son, he was downright racist.
I'm reduced to quoting Bill the Cat: "ACK!"
3 out of 5 White voters, 50% of Hispanic voters [Yep 1 outta 2], and nearly 20% of Black men craved this "GOP Specter" of race hate.
Why? . . . Immoral? Illeducated? Dumb AF?
"All" of the above, plus, mainly . . . Irrational.
Be careful what you vote for. You may get it.
PS This Schmitt-Joker's ancestors likely hail from an area [Hesse, Germany] that rented an army of war-whores to King George III to fight General Washington and abort the United States of America.
So, treason and Nazism dwell deep in Schmitt's genes.
Reagan backed up those words by extending amnesty to 2.9 million immigrant who were here without documentation, who had established themselves as working members of our country and had no criminal history. It is one of the few commendable things that Reagan did, yet it is almost never mentioned. We need our hard working immigrants and numbers show that they are more law-abiding on the whole than U.S citizens. Let's give green cards to those people who want to contribute and make a life here, and extend protection to those fleeing untenable situations in their home country.
Ms. Hines. I studied and taught criminology and demography for decades. The empirical evidence showed clearly that the two ethnic groups in America with the strongest family values are: Japanese and Mexican Americans. Latino immigrants have had a lower rate of crime than for all other ethnic groups except Japanese.
Thank you for affirming what I stated in my comment. I am not an expert having only a degree in history from the 60's. My niece in AZ has three children with Latino father, so I want the best life for them. I am just wondering why no one is suggesting that we extend a path to citizenship for immigrants who are contributing so much to this country, instead of the cruel targeting of Latinos based on appearance or other factors.
A very powerful commentary as to where the Republican party is headed. Might as well call the the Fascist Party.
It is just not "white", white is being redefined. It is also Christian, cis and hetnormative. I am wondering what place is in it for the Vivek Ramaswamy's, the black NAZI"s like Mark Robinsons, the Ye's, the Byron Donalds, the Nimarata Hallwy's,. Bobby Jindals, Herschel Walkers, Candace Owens, even Clarence Thomas and gay and trans Quislings like Caitlyn (Bruce) Jenner (Don't get on my ass for not recognizing his preferred identity, he doesn't recognize it himself, NAZI Jews, like Stephen Miller, what is that all about,.
You don't hear much about anti gay stuff, maybe because of Besent, Peter Thiel and his boyfriend JD Vance;
A lot of Quislings, a lot of Step n Fetchi'ts, a lot of Stephens drinking the massahs brandy by the fire (Django Unchained) in every minority group imaginable.
When the "crowned heads" of Europe and Africa make haj to the White House to kiss the ring, when 34 of the nations leading tech bros, assemble at a dinner to flatter Trump like his sycophantic cabinet The ref has grabbed Trumps arm and declared him the winner.
He can do anything he wants without consequence, bomb Iran, engage in extrajudicial murder and at most a tsk, tsk.
He is indeed King of the World, except Asia, Russia and the Mid east
It has disturbed me for years that our when we are repeatedly told that the country is "polarized" and divided it is always parsed into "left" vs. right; or some variation as if we are standing in our corners at a prize fight waiting for it to begin. And then: "can't we all meet in the middle/center" can be not hate each other?
Is there a "middle ground" on morality, principle, or ethics?
We are separated -- and not proportionally either -- by conscience, & moral imperative. There is no "fair and balanced" to be had: show me how evil and cruelty, selfishness and greed can be brought to equivalency with a moral stance.
And while we are calling out racism, can we remind everyone that the most prominent and arrogant member of this administration, RFK, has stated that the COVID virus was designed to not cause illness in Ashkenazi Jews and the Chinese.
“It’s time for every American who still believes in the Constitution, in equality, in pluralism, in democracy itself to speak out in favor of an inclusive America.”
We do that. We’ve done that. “Speaking out” is not moving the needle. At all. We need more. WE ARE NOT REACTING STRONGLY ENOUGH.
If we are far luckier than we deserve, we will have an opportunity to vote next year. We had an entire year 2024 to get registered and end the trump civics lesson. We failed miserably.
Heartbreaking.