Another asked: “Will Bidenomics continue under Vice President Harris?” The president responded: “It doesn’t matter what the hell you call it, the economy is going to continue. With…all the legislation we passed, it’s working. In case you haven’t noticed, it’s working.”
That one provoked an audible LOL for me. Give 'em Hell Joe.
I love Biden's retort, and I hate the reporter's stupid and presumptuous question: "Does it bother you that that Vice President Harris might soon, for political reasons, start to distance herself from your economic plan?"
I am glad that Kamala isn’t being backed into a corner by our msm.I don’t blame her.Look what they have been doing to Biden for years.They have badgered him with Gotcha questions all the while ignoring Trump’s continued mental decline.I am so angry with the press, I could spit nails.
Kamala, unlike other candidates has had a front row seat to all of this as VP. She is uniquely qualified to carry the torch. Her selection of Walz shows her ability to think laterally about the entire USA. Again, I suggest the 3 1/2 years as VP has earned that gravitas of thought and strength.
I first met the concept of "lateral thinking" in a book by de Bono, early 1970s. He contrasts it to what he describes as "vertical thinking". Lateral thinking is an essential skill for all of our leaders to use in decision making and especially for the President of the United States.
Lateral Thinking
Using reasoned thought in a non-standard, or non-linear logical, way to find a solution to a problem. A heuristic for solving problems; you try to look at the problem from many angles instead of tackling it head-on.
Victoria Wilson -- You have 100% support from me for your comments! And I think we're learning that VP will NEVER be backed into a corner! She dances very well with the phenomenal world and anything that comes her way.
Judith, you are right, and I think that comes from knowing herself and what she will tolerate. She has also had excellent training working with difficult people and journalists lately have become difficult people, not wanting to get at the truth most of the time, but to be seen, heard, and to have scored a point against Biden, Harris, or one of their officials. Those journalists did not behave so badly under Trump's administration, but now, the Dems are in charge and there is a weird desire to bring them down if at all possible so they can say it was they who did it. We need to get the word out that we expect better and actually depend it.
Remember under Trump they eventually just shut the MSM out, with Trump calling the free press "the enemy of the people", and when asked once why he continued to attack the msm, he retorted, "so you won't be believed"...
The scoreboard for for the horse-race seems tuned to tracking "gotchas" since Reagan made such media hay with puerile, fallacious pap. We are being conditioned from birth to respond to commercial sloganeering. Compared to the adult, philosophical debates between Lincoln and Douglas, TV "debates" more resemble a game show. No wonder sleazy (un)"reality" star Trump is seen fit for leadership by so many.
Oh BTW. Does the Biden quote above suggest a man who has lost his marbles? I see the necessity of of changing tack in our current circumstances, ;nd welcome a younger, female candidate; but in the larger scene, if anyone has been losing marbles, it has been us.
Biden never lost his ms... his was always unduly underappreciated, and whatever we want to think of his removal from the campaign (pretty much what it was, he just accepted the writing on the political wall) he's playing a great public and campaign service. the latest pharma deal on price reductions is a great headline to lead into the Dem Convention with. On the tax business, folk might want to remember the USA is one of the least taxed populations in the OECD, despite having a military budget that outsizes the next 5 or 6 combined.
I hate the MSM more than the Trumpers seem to. That the press has alienated both sides, does not bode well for their role in our democracy. I am hoping as they continue to make themselves irrelevant in this media market, people will increasingly turn to more independent publications. I have gotten rid of the NYT and WaPo, but still have The Guardian which I donate to, and the AP which I do not pay for. I also have a lot of more niche sources of information and many are on substacks, but not all. Foreign Affairs journals and things like that are part of what I read. ******
What I do know is that drugs in the US are in a crisis state. I could not get my asthma inhaler renewed in 5 days of trying while I had covid, and then I returned to Europe where it is easier. I am insured in both places for now. The reason I could not get the US prescription filled is because first the insurance is no longer covering the medication, so then the pharmacy had to contact my doctor. Then, the second prescription was also not covered, and when a third one was found that would be covered, it was no longer available at the pharmacy and while I had covid I had to do a lot of calling and waiting, and calling around to see who might have the inhaler in stock, so I tried a Walgreens, they had it and then the first pharmacy had to switch the prescription over to them. That took a day. Then Walgreens told me that my birth date on my insurance did not agree with the prescription birth date, although it has not been in the past, and I would have to straighten it out or pay $ 500+ for an inhaler. I was not going to do this. So, then I contacted the insurance and they had to switch me to another business who was in charge of just prescriptions and that is who would have had the birth date wrong, but that was going to take hours, and I had Covid and had been on the phone too long and was coughing and needed to rest. So, I returned to Europe sans medication, and to medication here. So, that is that.*****
I see Project 2025 as a blueprint for Trump's continued governance. I have been reading and discussing it in a Democrats Abroad book club. In addition that Rick Dearborn seems to have written his own job description as Chief of Staff in Chapter 1, where he outlines the White House Office, where the COS is the gatekeeper to the president. The Auto signature is mentioned as one way in which things will be signed. I can imagine that Trump is not expected to sign all of the documents to destroy the US and turn it into a third or fourth world nation with the elite running things while the rest of us are tortured by their policies. The education section alone is about having only the States funding public education and the federal dollars going to parents directly instead of to schools, so this would give home schooling Christian Nationalist families enough money to not have to do anything but breed and home school. We already know there is a role for women who are older spelled out by Vance as being child care. How fun. Defies the research, but hey, it is a nice old fashioned model but not one that fits all families. They would destroy early childhood and special education. Even home schooling families with children with learning challenges are used to relying on their local public school for diagnosis and help. So, set us back to the early 1900s educationally. Still, I do not see Public schools surviving this and Charter Schools can pick who they went, so Brown vs. Board of Education will be totally undone. We will see even further segregation and differentiated funding. There is no discussion of colleges of education in that section because the big promotion is home schooling. Keep women busy enough and they won't be able to organize or fight sexist laws and policies.******
It is investors over children every time. This is such a sick formula even Hitler and Mussolini did not destroy their public schools, they just destroyed their countries, so it might not have made any difference. Still, after such a regime comes to an end, to rebuild it is better if public schools are in tact.
What Andra Watkins points out time and again, is that a government designed for people who believe the End of Days is near, does not need to teach their children science, reading, math or history, and other than the Bible they don't need to know anything because their future is not on this Earth. So, with one department alone they destroy the futures of our children, and while I include that of the wealthy (who could leave the US) but more so the poor.*****
There is a lot more in store for us that is horrid, but so far, I have only read 10 chapters and the Forward and we are skipping around. So, it almost doesn't matter what Harris stands for, and I don't think it will be exactly like Biden, because we already see big money Tech Bros like Reid Hoffmann tying donations to firing Lina Khan. As far as I know he has held a fundraiser for her, so one of the best people in the administration might be gone. That will probably make a difference. Still, the basic values are the same, and Walz brings values to the ticket too, and those become part of what they stand for as well. So, I am very optimistic what they will bring, but it won't be just like Biden. ****
My God, the broken medical system we have in the country is outrageous. After reading a piece on CNN by a British journalist then headquartered in NYC, writing how impossible our medical system is broken, I located him to confirm his suspicion and he asked me why we permit this and my response was that we’ve been beaten down for so long we no longer can fight. Let’s hope I’m not right.
For those of us on Medicare, the system works. Those on Obamacare have access far superior to what existed before 2010. Register more Democrats, and a blue tsunami can fix the system.
I am on a pseudo medical plan called Medicare advantage which is fine and cheap for those who don’t need acute services. Devised under the W. Bush administration, it’s owned by private companies cleverly using “ Medicare” in the name which is a deception. I will soon make the switch although I realize it will be costlier but at least I will have real Medicare under government control.
As a state retiree in NC, our state treasurer, who administers the Employee Health Plan, including for retirees, began 'offering' the option of Medicare Advantage about 8-10 years back. We could use the then state plan, administered by Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC, for our 'medigap' plan, but which would have been less coverage for more $$$. At that time, Humana and United Health were the carriers. About three years in, Mr. Folwell advised us it would be Humana alone. At the time, if I switched back to traditional Medicare, it would have cost me an additional $400 or so a month to get a medigap policy. Much as I am unhappy with the Medicare Advantage set up, knowing it mostly enriches big insureres, I would be financially pinched to switch. We've been put in a horrible position.
Luckily, I don't have many chronic conditions that require medication. It seems to me the Medicare system in general, while begun with the best of intentions, is really a 'make insurance companies richer' scheme.
Make the switch to a supplemental policy - before you have a serious health problem and inadvertantly use a doctor or facility that is out of network. Medicare Advantage plans are a scam (as you suggest).
We use Harvard Pilgrim and pay $150 month for complete coverage - no bills for anything - ever.
Bill, be prepared for a big hike in the cost for your premium for your Medicare supplement (Medigap). Journalists in 1965 pointed out that, to appease the health insurance industry, the Medicare bill only guarantees the best Medigap rate that doesn’t penalize you for preexisting conditions (defined as guaranteed issue) if you sign up for Medigap at the beginning and never drop it for more than 3 months. In Project 2025, a little line on page 489 calls for Medicare Advantage is the default. My small data set of three people who looked at going back to regular Medicare after 1 year on Medicare Advantage found Medigap premiums increased to 3-5 times those they previously paid (mine had increased by 4%) due to “your health conditions “.
Maybe your Medicare works. At 90, I am despairing of mine. Finally have an appointment with a geriatrician with whom I hope to be able to communicate. If it weren’t for continuing Pilates classes can only imagine where I’d be—where the Republican congressman thought I should be, that is dead. Meanwhile back to writing RTV cards. Friends in my Indivisible chapter keep me supplied and I can always email TonyTheDemocrat if I run out. Most recently did 40 RTV’s (with phone number for registration) for Leon County FL!
Here’s to the blue tsunami and “from the bottom up to the middle out.” Maybe we get free medical school for qualified candidates, the return of public hospitals, and real public health to get us through the new epidemics that climate change will bring.
@ Virginia. Under Medicare you can go to any doctor you want. Meanwhile the public health service and the military send students to medical school if they will give 2 years for every year of school to public service.
Respectfully, I disagree the Medicare system works.
I am on Medicare. I pay for it, a Blue Cross supplemental plan and a drug prescription insurance.
This week I was quoted 885$. for a Trelegy inhaler and a 550$ price for Symbicort. No way am I paying this. I guess now breathing is a privilege only for the rich.
Medicare Part D was added under Bush 43 and is seriously deficient. Allowing the government to negotiate drug prices is a big step forward, but is happening at a glacial pace. In addition there are many plans offered, with different premiums and different formularies. Figuring out which one is best for you and the meds you are using is a nuisance, though Medicare's on-line calculater works pretty well once you figure out how to use it. But if your doctor switches drugs or adds them during the year and the new ones aren't on your plan's formulary you are out of luck. If Trilogy and Symbicort are so expensive, you need to research plans to find one that covers them at a more reasonable price. It's all stupid and it won't change until the Dems are in the majority.
Daniel, as Kamala Harris just detailed, President Biden already took action lower to the cost of prescription drugs by allowing Medicare to bargain for substantially lower costs including cancer meds, insulin injections & the still under patent blood thinner, XARELTO.
I know all about it. My wife takes Xarelto. We opted out of Part D. Both of us worked for the federal government and kept our federal bc/bs, which has paid for stuff that is not covered under Part D.
Also for the financially comfortable in the right locations, service can be excellent. Even so, there has been a deleterious push from corporate to increasingly ration care in the name of maximizing profit, at patient peril. That and anti-anti-trust.
I agree with this diagnosis to some extent. I would say this has never been a whole well system, so it is not actually broken, but more like functioning less than optimally.*****
Here is a discussion of Project 2025 by History Professor Thomas Zimmer, which does not only look at our health system but the overall reasons why this project exists. He spoke to Democrats Abroad, who are moderating and asking questions of our membership. https://youtu.be/IqpWMH5nkPw?si=BfelerLsH9FaydkM
Wow. As I approach retirement age, I realize I need to learn a lot more about Medicare, Medicare Advantage, etc. If anyone can share links to websites where I can find good information on my options that's not written by the insurance companies themselves, I'd appreciate it.
Well, I have paid into medicare my entire life and now, living in a country where health care is cheaper it should be glad to pay for my medical expenses. It does not. All those of us who are expats who worked long enough in the US to get medicare do not get it. Also, foreigners who have green cards and work long enough in the US to get medicare do not get it if they do not stay in the US. I do not think there are too many places where medical care is more expensive than in the US, so the country would benefit if more retirees moved to cheaper countries and then they would be paying less for medical care and medicines. It would be fair and save the system money, instead those who leave have paid in but get no pay out.
Please read above. Once you sign up for Medicare Ad, you don’t go back because it’s written in the regulations that medigap charges astronomical fees. A republican administration negotiated this for the industry not the people. DO NOT SIGN UP FOR Madicard ADVANTAGE.
Also, you have to sign up for at least Part A within 3 months of turning 65 or you pay a penalty lifelong. That is just crazy. You will pay a penalty for Part B if you don't still work after 65 and are covered with job insurance. It is also crazy. I say that because we should not be paying penalties for joining later if that is what we want to do.
No offense, but I want to understand the pros and cons of all options. I remember my mother-in-law had some sort of supplemental policy through AARP that was relatively inexpensive, but I don't know what it covered (or didn't cover).
Because insurance, pharma, trade associations, hospital associations, etc., etc. have WAY more $$$—orders of magnitude more—to spend buying off lawmakers.
Once known as the "most trusted man in American", the late Walter Cronkite must be rolling over in his grave at the lack of journalistic integrity that is so prevalent in today's MSM.
Linda,I would expect more of this under a Project 2025 admin.Of course, DeSantis and GOP are trying to distance themselves from the whole mess at our flagship university. Kudos to the journalism students who broke the story at U of F! 🐊
P25 is the plan for the next conservative admin. Yes, it is being promoted as tRump's, but the document continually references the next "conservative" administration. It needs to be hung on EVERY republican candidate are every level.
Rickey, I agree with what you are saying. All Republicans who back Trump and MAGA hold the most responsibility, but those fence sitters who do not support everything do too, unless they speak out against them. I have been reading Project 2026 with a group of Democrats Abroad as a bookclub. I am reading my 11th chapter plus I have read the Forward. I would say it is important to know that a lot of what is in there is already happening, particularly in Red States, but in Blue States too. Red State AGs will go file a lawsuit against Blue State regulations in keeping with the values of Project 2025. An interesting discussion of this Plan for the next Trump-Vance administration is discussed by History Professor Thomas Zimmer when talking to Democrats Abroad this past week. It is lengthy but well put, with responses to questions from the membership. https://youtu.be/IqpWMH5nkPw?si=MYJlfJ3dfAB8gT6z
All one needed to do is read about his past in real estate to get a glimpse of him as a whole or as a hole as I wrote in my book, Donald’s Vanity Tantrums “ and yes I’m being a shameless self promoter. Haven’t made a dime off it yet but it’s pretty damn good. I frequently post stories here from the book.
Peter, I also recommend this Democrats Abroad Video where Prof. Thomas Zimmer is speaking about Project 2025 at length. He has a take that is somewhat different from the ones I am seeing by Americans.
Even here...My sister, who is diabetic, has been unable to get her diabetes drug in the dosage amount that her doctor has prescribed for her for well over 4 months. WTH???
As much as the US (Republicans) allow the pharmaceutical companies to suck out of all of us in profits there should never be a shortage of any pharmaceuticals.
My daughter who works in a pharmacy has to tell people everyday that they are out of several different drugs, some of which are unavailable for months.
Short supplies? I guess the pharmecutical companies don't make enough money to maintianin supplies. Or maybe they are priced too low and they need to increase the price to curtail the demand.
That is one of the drugs she has mentioned. There are several and they come and go. I think the manufacturer(s) should be fined for everyday one of their drugs is unavailable depending on the drug.
Is it Metformin? It’s what I take. I’m being proactive and I’ve cut out all sugar which we don’t need in our diets anyway but the food industry puts in almost everything to enhance the taste. Also I am cognizant of carbohydrates keeping them low. And I have resumed running or any kinetic activity. My numbers are just about almost normal.
My sister isn't old enough for Medicare. She's on Mainecare, as she is a widow and has already had a hip replacement--her medication is Trulicity, and she's having a tough time getting her prescribed dosage.
I am going through the same madness right now tryng to get a freaking Symbicort inhaler. I pay for 3 medical insurance plans. GET RID OF THE FLIPPIN' INSURANCE COMPANIES!
Thank you, Linda, for enlightening us on the details of Project 25. I am also sorry about your medication woes. Whenever I read about Project 25, i can't understand how this election could be close. On Monday I am going to have a MRI on my knee. To get this done, I had to have another X-ray because the last one was a year and a month and I needed something more recent. Then the insurance company had to OK the procedure. It has a hefty co-pay which the scheduler asked me to say that was OK. I was lucky to see my primary care doctor because if I didn't go that am, he was busy until the August 22nd. When I mentioned that he was a hard man to see, he said that nobody is doing a good job recruiting doctors to our city and that retiring doctors are not always replaced. Everyone wants to be a specialist....even the new vet who replaced our long time vets who retired. He wants to do exotics when most of us have cats and dogs. Then there is the corporate takeover of both human and animal clinics and everything else they can get their hands on. Bottom line, not service.
Michele, my formerly doctor owned medical group sold out to United Health Care about 6-7 years ago. My former PCP (I was one of her first patients when she "hung out her shingle"; she retired during Covid) bemoaned that where they had gotten to was her being "encouraged" to see 3 patients in a 30 minute period to do minor procedures (burn off warts, etc.) over seeing one elderly patient for 30 minutes going over potential drug interdictions and impacts of taking vs. not taking an experimental drug. In one of my last visits with her, she said they had made a huge mistake.
I am fortunate that I got her replacement as my PCP; that practice has now closed 2 satellite clinics, and cannot take new patients. I have friends who have been with that group as long as I have who are out on their butts because there aren't enough doctors.
Ally, your personal history rang one of my personal life experiences. That data point "encouraged" to "see 3 patients in 30 minutes" was a clinical alarm bell circa 1979 when a Seattle medical resident was documented treating 1 patient every 10 minutes.
That does not work when a resident has 2 young patients, 2 paraplegic patients both from motorcycle accidents. 45 years later & my anger is still inside me somewhere but, thank you for your precise health care history. 🙏🏻
I am glad you still have a PCP. I think I read about this happening in Eugene. I had a relative who worked for United Health Care and called it United Death Care.
"Scott mistakenly thought no one would remember how he “took responsibility” for his company defrauding Medicare recipients and military families out of millions."
$1.7Million in fines. This question is always the way to avoid that he was at the helm when the fraud occurred, but to avoid being charged accepted the $1.7M penalty.
This is exactly what is broken in our system. Unaccountability for the crooks through manipulation. See DJT as case in point - so far.
"But in comparing himself to Trump, Scott — who is seeking reelection to the Senate this November — is also trying to rewrite history. Scott himself acknowledged years ago that his company had 'made mistakes.' " - $1.7Million fraud fine mistakes.
Please publish this comment in the US or have a friend do it for you. It is very important for people who don’t understand what a disaster our current medical system is for much of the population. Every time I hear about “reducing the cost of drugs” I think “why not teach good nutrition and how to grow which vegetables and fruits in a changing climate.”
Thank you for your effort to have this critical information in print.
Sorry for your suffering. I see sentient life and it's protection as an unalienable right.
I don't hate the MSM so much as I hate the "Chicago School" and the philosophy of it's leading light and Reagan advisor Milton Friedman, whose key thesis which was:
"The only corporate social responsibility a company has is to maximize its profits."
Isn't that a formula for dysfunctional citizenship? Isn't it a Biblical description (Timothy) of "evil"? Or a functional description of sociopathy? "Greed is good" was a line from a movie villain, but plutocrats picked it up an made it an ironic motto, popularized until the subprime crash made saying that quiet part out loud something of an embarrassment. The philosophy didn't change. What makes "greed" greed is gain by harm to others.
I agree that the Chicago School is a nightmare. Milton Friedman used to live down the block from us, and my parents did not have kind things to say about him. I would hear about the alum would go advice third world dictators on how to destroy their countries. Seems like they were pretty effective, leading to a lot of my demonstrating US out of Central America in the 1980s.
Like you I still trust the Guardian and like you I have little to no faith in the NYT and WP. They appear to be closet magas. Your entire post was most thoughtful. Thanks also for the resource about Project 2025.
Steve, after reading the APs less than positive headlines on Harris' economic plans, and absolutely neutral headlines on Trump, it was a breath of fresh air to see the Guardian's headline, "Harris vows to build 'opportunity economy' and attacks Trump on tax"
Linda, speaking of "independent publications", per Colorado Newsline's reporters Sharon Sullivan on 8/12 & Quentin Young's on 8/15, the jury convictions of now felon TINA PETERS on 7 criminal counts was definitely a "doozie".
The "California man" given covert access to the "most sensitive data' on Mesa County Colorado election machinery was ex-pro surfer CONAN HAYES. Peters also used DOUGLAS FRANKS a conspiracy nut literally on Mike Lindell's payroll. Peters also used a close friend in her "web of deceit" to give Conan Hayes access to Grand Junction election machines. Can't make this stuff up.
The Peters evidentiary record will be used in other criminal actions. Peters' criminal convictions & the sordid evidence admitted against her can will be used by other courts simply by taking statutory "judicial notice".
My respectful & professional kudos to Colorado's Secretary of State, JENA GRISWOLD & her team's superior work on behalf of Colorado citizens.
The Guardian was the sole survivor for me…until they posted an awful article when that hack republican issued the report about Biden’s supposed mental decline. I told them exactly why I was cancelling, not expecting a response. Yes, the response was crickets.
As for healthcare/drugs, absolutely yes. My wife was prescribed a drug and medicare won’t cover it. $400 something per month. Lovely, the “best healthcare system in the world."
I contacted them a couple of times and said I did not like their Biden coverage and wanted to see Project 2025 coverage. I give them annual donations, and I would stop it if they had continued. However, I felt their headline today about Kamala's economic plan was positively worded, which is in contrast the titles of AP articles about the same topic this morning. That prompted me to complain that if they slant their articles Toward Trump by reporting on his craziness in a neutral facts only way, and report on Harris as if her actions are filled with danger and negativity they come across as racist, sexist and classist. I should have added homophobic too, but only thought about it later.***** As for healthcare, Walgreens is still sending me emails that I can come pick up a prescription which I told them I was not going to get unless my insurance was applied. However, now the price is $270+ instead of $570+, so perhaps my insurance was applied, but then I have to go to a different pharmacy, which I get it for what I am supposed to copay which is $10. These prices are so ridiculous, I just delete these messages and will continue to do so until they stop. I assume it has a shelf life.
The country had a relatively stable eight years under Barack Obama, not perfect but there was economic growth. However the aftermath of the Bush wars opened the doors of hell and the laws of unintended consequences dominated.
And it came to pass that as a new election neared in 2016, a creature walked to the stage to suspend reality and make enough voters believe that he would lead the nation to wealth and weapons for all.
Cajoled by this socially mangled, misanthrope who has perfected the fine art of the lie, bigotry and unfair tax relief for the wealthy, they naively followed this most foul leader off the cliff.
Wait. What am I doing here? Am I trying to present a logical reason why someone would not vote for Trump? That’s totally insane. That’s almost as insane as voting for Trump! Plus, having to go through all that socio-economic, psychological, and historical crapola is about as interesting as a Xarelto commercial. So, I’m going to reveal the cause of the disease that I am dubbing, “Trump Voterism” or simply, “TV”: a vicious parasite, mutated by toxins now allowed into our air, water and food by Trump’s relentless attempt to kill all of us by loosening our environmental regulations.
Not only does that explain the phenomenon, it also sets the stage for an entirely new series of blockbuster movies, all based around these parasitic mutants. Think The Purge meets Invasion of the Body Snatchers meets Citizen Kane meets Tremors.
There, can we move on to examining why people do other stupid things, like falling off a cliff while taking a selfie?
We win this time but almost lost the whole shabang. Ruling from the center is a no brainer or should be. Don’t listen to the leftists or an ugly far right response will end democracy as we’ve known it. My opinion of course.
That was an excellent post from Michael Moore, especially since he listed all of his sources for some of the surprising findings. Personally, I think the terms "liberal" and "conservative" are no longer very meaningful, but that's another issue.
Cut it out. Not true. We almost went down with the ship if not for Biden dropping out and Kamala as an emerging dynamic leader. Let me repeat: WE ALMOST WENT DOWN WITH THE SHIP but the waters remain choppy. The left is not the center and if you believe that and continue to leave your blinders on, I suggest you begin looking for cheap dilapidated houses in small Italian towns that are being given away because you won’t like living under American authoritarianism for long. And please don’t ask me to spell it out for you I get chastised whenever I do.
Your correct for this moment in time, but be careful. The Devil is in the details.
The center is what the center has always been. Being at the center is being somewhat openminded and otherwise skeptical. Going too far to the left involves being openminded and not at all skeptical, aka being naive. Going too far to the right involves being skeptical and not at all openminded, aka being cynical. And going too far to the left, or too far to the right, might be of interest to some, but not to me because the effect is the same.
Well, and so too does Trump, from his brainwashed MAGA fans (marks...Trump is such an inveterate grifter that I'm sure he thinks of his cult members as "marks")
What is wrong is their company is controlled by individuals of very high net worth who want the Beast in again. And so they've let it be known that their minions (previously known as reporters) are to act like Fox "News" employees. Demand detailed answers from Kamala, let the Beast drivel. Fact check Kamala, let the Beast's lies sit unchecked. Very sad but also very clearly true.
Now that I’ve discovered this: Fox News senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked [that question of] Biden during a press conference on Thursday, I need to rewrite my question: “Fox News Propagandists strike again.” No one should ever trust anything they hear from Fox.
I haven't been successful unearthing what news outlet that reporter represented, but I think we can assume it was far-right or, at least, conservative. If so, then my question, "What is wrong with "journalists" today?" becomes rhetorical. ⁿ
R_and_O, as to your question about journalists, it seems to me and others that journalists are not actually interested in the answer to their question, just that the question could be provocative and that the answer might be a gotcha. Biden doesn't respond well to such questions and neither do Harris or Walz. And, they don't usually get too deensive, they just change somethinga bout the questin as Biden did (I don't care what you call it). That was the right response to a set of rude questions that "journalist" would haver have asked Trump and Kump, and didn't while Trump was in office. Harris's assistants with the "debate" will have to watch a lot of bites from Trump speeches and "debate" performances to note where Trump goes off the deep end and consider ways to respond effectively. Trump will not stay with any question asked and will go for the insults every time. Harris must stay above the insanity or she will look like she is picking on Baby Donnie, and he has the baby routine mapped out and will use it. That is one thing that so far the dementia has not yet taken out. Walz will have to do the same with Vance. Vance thinks he is just brilliant and will try to throw that "brilliance" around. Walz just needs to stay on task and talk directly to the American people no matter what the question, and keeping it in terms lay folks will understand. I am looking forward to the Democratic Convention in ways I definitely was not looking forward to the Republican convention, speech after speech of condemnation, hatred, personal and group anger, resentment (, and when done by rich men is outrageous and like the behavior of a petulent toddler. Vance has now joined the Toddler-Adult club that Trump has been a member of for at least 6 years when the baby talk became more and more pronounced.
It has really been pissing me off that reporters want to rag on Harris 'for her lack of policies', while letting the Orange Menace stumble and bumble through his Ten Greatest Hits (of other people), reciting his catechism of hate and anger and grievance. This goes way beyond 'whataboutism'.
Maybe she should tell them real journalists compare a candidate to the alternative, not the Almighty. I know that didn't work for Biden, but people will believe something if you repeat it often enough, even if it's true.
Repetition aids learning, even at the bio-ware level of the brain. I can be commercialized crap or it can be truthful, but it works either way. Our powers of observation, logic, and scruples are supposed to sort through the quality of what we are told, but the big money is behind repetition.
You can write letter to the news organizations expressing your anger at the coverage. I have started writing quick notes to the editors to protest their coverage.
In my reading group, a lovely neighbor spoke about a book she had read about taking preventive steps with Alzheimer's. While she was not discussing President Biden, it seems that most of the behaviors that caused President Biden so much grief are not really associated with Alzheimer's. Getting names wrong or trying to find a missing *word does occur more frequently with age, but it sounded like these are not markers of significant cognitive damage, Now, please keep in mind that I may have misinterpreted what my neighbor said.
P.S., thank you, Lynell (VA), for catching the omission of a word . . . ¡word!
"...or trying to find a missing does occur..." you wrote, Ned. Is there a missing word you meant to write?
Otherwise, great post. Though, I've noticed there are many people regardless of their age who have trouble speaking fluently and I never thought they were on the road to cognitive decline. Just that they were lousy speakers. That includes many so-called broadcasters!
Ha! I have dementia. Seriously, thank you for pointing this out. Indeedie, indeedie, I missed a word, something I do whole lot more often as sixty-seven years young. Thank you, "muchly".
EDIT: what is most frustrating is that I proof-read these answers and blithely make the same mistake all over again. UGGG.
It could be worse. Try editing your self-published book then after it’s printed, noticing all the typos and poor grammar uses and sentence structures. Yep, that was me. But online publishing allows one to make easy changes.
I drove my friend crazy fixing them then I found a new one from an added story. Screw it. All or most Mark Twain first editions have typos so I’m in good company.
I have done that all my life. I discovered in Grad school what I thought were personal idiosyncrasies was dyslexia, and yet I muddle through. I'm just crap at proofreading, even when I put reasonable effort into it. It ain't pretty, but communication has occurred if the reader gets the point.
I never thought it would happen to me, but now that I'm in my 60s, I find myself forgetting the names of people I used to know or certain words. It's really irritating. I want to be able to communicate!
Shoot how would you feel if you almost didn’t recognize someone you k ew before. But in my defense, if you don’t see someone for 5 or 10 years, well we all change.
Or just out of their element. Would Lincoln's eloquent addresses have worked on "now for something completely different" TV? "Coming up; War breaks out in Europe, but first a cat in a tree".
I have a dear friend who has this problem. She's had 5 major concussions, 3 before the age of 20. I have noticed that when she is telling me about something she has read, this is not an issue. When it is in casual conversation, it pops out. On our last trip to Portland (I take her to the VA up there; they have a Women's Clinic, which is crucial) she told me about a book dealing with the construction of a major bridge in New York (I think it was the Narrows bridge) and it was fascinating. In other conversation, more extemporaneous, she referred to "camo" (as in camouflage) as "cameo".
"I have a dear friend who has this problem." It was not my intention to convey that being a "lousy speaker" was a problem; only that those persons exist IMO just as eloquent speakers exist. Much can be said here beyond my own cognitive skills, but I'll just leave it at that.
I did not take your comment that way. You were exercising courtesy in suggesting* (there I go again!) a correction; for that I am thankful.
My sense with Ally was one supportiveness that one is not alone. I have done things like looking right at something and it not registering. I go on to look for that thing and find it ten minutes later right where I had thought it was.
It simply happens more often as I age. I like to joke that "There goes G-D, dealing on my head again!" Nice to see such graciousness in a public forum.
Actually, my comment about "lousy speakers" was sparked during all the bruhaha around Joe Biden's unfortunate debate performance. There were Fox News commentator types putting their digs in about him, but I noticed while doing so they also had trouble putting one word in front of the other! Which only goes to show...nobody's perfect!
At 90, I can verify your opinion. I listened to all of the “debate,” then the press conference after the NATO conference. The president was being harassed by the press as he had been by Trump, but on his own he was fine. As I, who remembered names well until I hit 90 (or 90 hit me) know, Altzheimers is not forgetting certain details.
Thank you, Virginia, for relating your experience from your status as a respected Elder; or, at least before the 1960s, a person esteemed as an Elder of wisdom. 🙏
When my young daughter was studying US history I mentioned the day that Kennedy was shot. Her eyes got big and she said "You were alive then?". Yup, I had to shovel T. rex poo off the front walk.
So true. It still is frustrating when I have trouble pulling up a word that I have used frequently in the recent past. On the up side, per the 250 key words, I have finally started to practice K.I.S.S. 😉
I recall that Biden was accused of being "gaff" prone ever since he was active VP, which is a no-no if your yardstick is smooth TV presence. I'd have been rough around the edges on TV at any age. Reagan was full of bull, but he knew how to work the medium. What exactly do we want (and can reasonably expect) a president to accomplish?
Joe is, understandably, pissed off about being forced off the ticket; but he’s been putting that anger to good use, channeling it toward a Washington press corps that could benefit from its own shake-up, and a nakedly fascist GOP.
Students reporting for high school newspapers would very likely do a better job at putting questions to politicians than many of the professional journalists plying their trade in the corporate media. I am sure they would ask direct and well-informed questions on key issues, with no spin.
I love the “in case you haven’t noticed” part. Meaning, you MSM deliberately don’t report it and that’s dishonest journalism and disgraceful blinding the public.
I recall some of my high school classmates on the school newspaper asking more honest and useful questions. These are not journalists. These are self important twits looking to gain status and reputation
This is a New York Post article. Notice the word “reportedly” in the opening sentence. This is a MAGA talking point to paint Harris as a corporate shill.
Weird indeed - when will MSM learn? The press are still buying into the idea that Dems must adhere to norms, but refuse (with some heroic exceptions) to hold tRumpf to same standard. More weird ...dissonant even...is how tRumpf praises Putin on one (tiny) hand, but on the other (tiny) hand calls Harris a communist as if it is an insult...make up your mind don-old.
MSM *has* learned -- it is owned by wealthy Republicans who want the useful idiot back.
Look how it treated Hillary Clinton -- "but her emails". It's doing the same to President Biden -- "his age", all while ignoring tffg's overt corruption and the fact that tffg is old (not to mention completely incompetent).
I've canceled all of my subscriptions to once-respected news sources.
More like ten thousand times, when it comes to stiffing companies and individuals... And who knows how many million times, when it comes to conning the world.
Cons himself every times he opens that mouth.
As for that Hannibal-Lecter-infested brain... who needs cannibals when they've got Big Pharma?
As argued by Dr Bandy Lee, there may very well be a social pathology coursing through the political and cultural arteries of our country. Written to my book group:
"Please pardon me for overlooking the non-fiction book I completed this round, 'The Psychology of Trump Contagion: An Existential Threat to American Democracy and All Humankind'. Dr Bandy X. Lee is a psychiatrist, specializing in violence and in de-escalating it. She also has a Masters in Divinity. Seven years ago, Dr Lee led a group of psychiatrists in observing the behavior of the former President. Their findings appeared in 'The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump'. Dr Lee has paid dearly for that leadership.
Dr Lee and some other notables in the field are arranging a summit in D.C. in September as a mental health intervention. . . . [the first link features] . . . the epilogue of this more recent work . . . [the second link is a] . . . blurb about the 2017 book. The essay is thoughtful; it displays compassion, a strong sense of ethics, and lays out her belief that removal of the threat brings the larger society into mental balance. Since this e-mail may offend those who support the former President, I simply make the material available with no expectation nor encouragement of readership or discussion.
Thanks Ned McDoodle for the link to Dr Bandy Lee’s book.
Trump poses a great danger to the future of humanity and the planet.
The book addresses the dilemma about whether health professionals should make public statements about their concerns. Do they have a duty to warn and speak out? The authors of the essays conclude that indeed they do have this duty when the consequences of not doing so might be so catastrophic.
A bill has been introduced to Congress to mandate a procedure for medically and psychiatrically evaluating a president who is suspected of being unfit to perform their duties.
In truth, I have not read the original book. I did not buy into what Dr Lee was doing back then. She was right to do it, however; brave to do it. G-D I hope that bill passes.
But the nattering nabobs of narcissism -- i.e., Representatives, Marjorie Flailing Spleen, Lauren Baublehead, and Haz-Matt Gaetz -- will do everything they can to kill it . . . lest they get found out themselves.
Lauren, While your critique of the distortions MSM serve up daily are spot on, I believe after the Democratic Convention that both Harris and Walz could be poised to take full advantage of the bully pulpit, demanding one on one in-depth interviews, not only to speak about policy but also to address the stakes of journalists not asking the tough questions, of candidates not having to square their campaign rhetoric with facts, of their not being stopped when they’re not answering the question, and of their not being called out when their answers contradict the facts. I submit this proposal because I see no other way between now and the election to give voters a shot at serious discussion among candidates from both parties.
Also, I don't hear much about how he uses his fingers and hands. "The hand gesture commonly used to connote “OK” was co-opted in 2017 by members of the far-right and white supremacists who recast the symbol to mean “white power” — indicated by the W and P formed by the hand. The use of the hand gesture has since become a common occurrence at far-right rallies and among some Trump supporters who make it to taunt opponents.
"The Three Percenters, a right-wing anti-government militia group, also utilizes a similar symbol — outstretched middle, ring and pinkie fingers to represent the Roman numeral for three — that can at a glance be mistaken for the “OK” gesture, though Three Percenters is not explicitly white supremacist."
The above quote is from WaPo written back in January 2021. I could not find a way to gift link it, but here it is anyway. Quite an interesting read!
You might think the MSM would hold Trump/Maga "communist" demagoguery to account and explain precisely what that is. But no no no no. Somehow that scat is just fine rhetoric. As Heather and others have aptly called out here, there seems to be a royal double standard, with Dems supposedly be called out to back up their policies, but leave Maga to repeat ad naseum its usual name-calling. And curiously, both Harris and Walz have been headlining policy for weeks now, while the press continues to ask over and over, what do they stand for?
I’m in London right now and had dinner last night with friends from here and Australia who are horrified by what they see happening in our country. And, earlier this summer, we had houseguests from Lithuania and Estonia (the women from Estonia is only there because she had to flee her home country - Belarus - fearing imprisonment like her friends who had opposed the war in Ukraine). They both argued about which of their countries would fall first to Russia if Trump is elected. I know it’s a small sample, but people around the world who live in democracies seem to see clearly the dangers of a Trump presidency. I believe that it’s because their news organizations are more accurately covering the political situation than our own. Our MSM seems only interested in generating clicks so do whatever that takes, regardless of how unbiased it may be. Like my friends from around the world, I fear for our democracy.
I read that the average so called journalist today is about 27 years old, and that is showing up it appears as some kind of ignorance about their real jobs that now are being polluted by the profit motive and apparently not just their boss's profit, but the click/personality/ego type of 'wins', perhaps with their eye on being what we now call 'influencers'. Apparently they do not know the difference. And, with no sense of history.
I'm not as concerned about the age of the journalist as I am about the politics of the owner of the publication and the editor that hands out or okays the assignments.
The publisher for the NYTimes is awful. A few of the journalists are allowed to write whatever they want on a subject, but the young idealistic journalists are often handcuffed by the editor.
Gary, I'm going with not as much age as background. I think it was either TC in LA or Lucian K. Truscott IV on their substack did a deeper dive on where today's journalists come from and what their background is. Another consideration is who owns what newspapers/broadcast systems.
“… [a]system…where everybody gets health care.” Yeah, that’s terrible. He also warned that there might be taco trucks on every corner. Again, terrible idea. Pass the guacamole, please.
We're traveling in Europe right now. Health care for everyone. Little or no crime. No gun violence. And I thought the US was the most advanced nation. 🤔
My observation as well. The US right wing has fooled a huge segment of our population into thinking they would rather be miserable standing alone than content under a just government.
So many of us have never traveled, and we’ve been told all our lives that we’re the best, and everything about our country is the best. Those of us who have traveled or lived in other countries know that there are other ways to run things, and many of those ways are better. Universal healthcare. Free or affordable universities. Long and paid parental leave. Subsidized childcare. Much safer policies on food safety. All these things are possible, but not for us. It’s just that we are so geographically isolated that it’s difficult and expensive to travel, so most Americans haven’t seen this, and are completely unaware that these things exist for citizens of other countries.
We don’t know that our next door neighbor, Canada, has the highest ranked health care system in the world. No, all we are told is that Canadian health care is broken and you have to wait a long time to see a doctor. As if we don’t!
The hubris of the notion that we Americans must pay exorbitant prices for medication in order to fund pharmaceutical research is obscene. As if all pharmaceutical research only takes place in the US, and only because it’s so profitable here. And we just accept this as true, even though it isn’t. Witness AstraZeneca and Covid vaccines, or Bayer, Merck, Novartis, etc.
My daughter is married to a Canadian and has PR. I gather that the Canadian system has the right idea, is cheaper, effective, and far more equitable, but like so many "pubic good" things around the world, needs more material support.
After having visited several Europeans countries it's hard to conclude that the US is a first world country.
Thank you DonOLD and what remains of the Republicans party.
Keep in mind DonOD will still have control of SCOTUS after the election even if the Democrats control the other two branches of the government.
Joe was reticent about getting rid of the filibuster rules. I'm not so sure Kamala will be as reticent especially if she has a majority of +2 or more in the Senate.
As bad as McConnell was as Majority and Minority Leader, it's likely to be as bad or worse when he steps down at the end of the year.
OMG. If only. He should be beatable but he's so rich and not afraid to use whatever it takes of his own $$$$. Last time he spent over $60 million of his own money (ok it was our money that he stole from Medicare/Medicaid.
Here’s the funny thing about Trump’s denial of knowing anything about Project 2025…Suppose polling showed that voters approved of the project rather than disdained it. Trump would claim he wrote the 950 pages himself and it was the greatest treatise ever written, maybe better than the bible itself, and that nobody has ever seen anything better.
Suggestions are welcome. And democracy is about improving on the dysfunctions, so we're all involved who wish to make it better. Have you read the Democratic platform for 2024? It is absolutely chock-full of quite specific directions and conditions that need to be changed. Do you have anything to add? We need all the help we can get, and I wish we could start discussing things better here. Education -our own as well - is a primary place to pay attention as far as our future citizens go and what they need in all their diversity.
As a longtime teacher Tim Walz realized that when kids are hungry and malnourished they do not learn as well. So along with the Minnesota legislature and a very healthy budget surplus they made free nutritious meals a day available to all children.
Anorexia and other eating disorders can easily be identified in a school cafeteria setting. But, rarely can it be treated in a school setting.
We need to provide resources to identify and treat eating disorders in the schools before a child is physically and/or mentally damaged for life.
I absolutely agree Robin. Education is the only long term solution. Critical thinking, logic and scientific method must be taught in all schools.
If people have the tools to think coherently.... they can still be wrong, cruel, evil, selfish, but the outlook is brighter.... mainly because we can rule out "gullible".
A place where science is refered to as a belief system should not exist in the modern world.
Agreed....hopefully, a democratic sweep in November will assure legislation that strengthens our democracy. Hopefully, this fight for democracy will not be forgotten by future generations.
For some unknown reason, Trump dent me campaign literature. He starts with, you don’t have much time so I will get right to the point, then fills 2 pages with small print.
His message:
#1: SEND MONEY
A distant #2:
BIDEN, FAR-LEFT, MARXISTS (promoted by the FAKE NEWS MEDIA) are
* flooding the country with illegal immigrants and fentanyl
* crushing families with crime, high costs, lower wages and high taxes
* making US oil dependent on Saudis, Venezuela and giving oil reserves to Communist China
* indoctrinating our children to hate America
Harris has to be ready to blow this bs out of the water:
1. The Democrats negotiated the strongest bipartisan border security bill and Trump killed it so he could run for president on the issue, and he is doing that now.
2. Crime was much higher under Trump and is down by 26% under Biden/Harris; Trump handed off death and economic collapse when he left the presidency in an insurrection; he left a tax cut for billionaires (screwing average Americans) and plans to renew those billionaire tax cuts if elected; wages are up under Biden and we have led the world in lowering the impact of global inflation and over the last 12 months is low enough to cut interest rates, all without a recession.
3. Under Biden/Harris, for the first time in the last 100 years, the United States is energy independent and we have done so while addressing the crisis of climate change. Our country was never energy independent under Trump who denies the truth about climate change and its devastating impact on American families and communities.
4. Hate has been Donald Trump’s consistent message in his plan to divide Americans for his own personal gain. Harris/Walz promise to unite America and Americans, and to do it with joy on our faces and in our hearts.
The pillars of Trump/Vance platform - Hate, Anger, Resentment, Revenge and Misinformation. (HARRM). Everything than CFDT says, can be categorized into one or more of these file pillars.
The cliche response to any suggestion that drug company profits have become extortionate, and yet...
Thing were not so crazy during most of the 20th Century, (including CEO pay) and yet innovation flourished, producing many forms of electronic communication, computers, space travel, relativity, cracking DNA, semiconductors, including the computer "chip", and many, many others. Could it be that, while it is clear that innovation, and particular highly technical innovation is aided by sufficient funding, that maybe just pouring more money into a corporation does not necessarily produce more. Maybe excess profits just let companies absorb other companies, shedding jobs and and unleashing high prices. Perhaps the lessening of competition might actually diminish the rate of innovation, as companies that dominate market share get too comfortable with manipulating markets and milking cash cows. Don't forget that through most of the 20th Century there was such a thing as anti-trust.
As long as Pfizer spend just 15% of their budget on research & development, but 50 (!!)% on PR & legal, they are not allowed to whine in any way. They could consider doing less advertising and more lab work, or cut down on trying to push competitors off the rails with court cases.
R&D is what makes them competitive so it probably won’t go away as claimed if the prices are reduced by Medicare. I would like to know what % of the money spent on sales and marketing is going in to politicians pockets…..
Despite the press reminding us every once in a while that antibiotic resistant bacteria are a very serious medical problem and a looming, potentially catastrophic threat, much of needed regulation of their overuse is said by the press to be "impossible" because of "the farm lobby". Big Pharma has pretty much abandoned looking for solutions because the real (quick and extreme) profit is in drugs that people take every day, not just occasionally when sick (the prudent incentive is to REDUCE the use of antibiotisc as much as is practical). Like climate abuse, society remains pretty passive, as the scale of the threat grows, and large vested interest do all they can to keep it that way. Profit uber alles may yet (literally) be the death of us yet.
So it is. Big pharma doesn't invest in antibiotics. Because how long will someone take antibiotics, in their whole life? Maybe a few weeks, summa summarum. Where's the revenue in that? Then rather find the next "somewhat better" statin or blood pressure drug that people have to take for 30 or 40 years, now THAT is profit.
Amazing and ouch and thank you 100 Panthers! I recall when I first saw advertising on TV for drugs because I was horrified.
Re: sales and marketing and money behind media exposure:
Years ago I saw an anti-smoking ad in which a cool-looking dude was smoking a cigarette and the line (with a printed caption as I recall it) said, 'Smoking can cause erectile dysfunction' and the visual accompanying that line was the cigarette in the dude's mouth drooped. YES was my response at the time, a short and effective graphic! I couldn't believe my eyes how humorous and memorable the ad campaign could have been but I never saw it appear again.
I love that! I didn't see it either but it was obviously effective if you only saw it once and remembered the ad.
I was talking to a clerk in a convenience store this morning. She told me that she quit smoking 15 years ago because the dentist told her that smoking could eventually cost her her teeth.
Who doesn't know of someone that smokes that hasn't lost one or more teeth?
Back in the mid-1990's I met someone who had discovered a new drug. He told me that to get through the double-blind FDA testing and then to manufacture it and bring it to market could cost over $100 million and take 10 years.
I had a similar conversation with an Professor who had led a team that created surgical robots. Under NDA he shared their business plan which included a timeline to market and the estimate costs and ROI. And he was right-on, on both the timeline and costs.
When you see the video from an internal surgery it is likely this was his invention. I chose not to invest.
My point is many of the advances in pharmaceuticals and surgical tools are coming from universities or from start-ups. Once they reach a certain point in the process they have to determine if they can raise $100 million or more in venture capital or sell their invention to a large corporation with deep pockets.
This has happened over and over in virtually every industry. You may have seen the movie about the gentleman that invented the intermittent windshield wiper. It didn't end well for him but there are few vehicles without intermittent wipers sold today.
I have read several articles about RCA stealing, or attempting to steal independent inventors patents, including analog TV (the sort most of us grew up with) (invented by Philo T Farnsworth who won) and Edwin Armstrong FM radio and TV (Amstong lost and committed suicide but his widow eventually won). Armstrong also invented a several important techincal systems such as superheterodyne radio frequency amplification, built into virtually all receiving equipment of the era.
I absolutely despise those drug commercials, "ask your doctor" for meds no one can afford or require endless prior authorization by docs who would rather be taking care of patients. The drug reps were a nuisance, too. "Can I count on you for X number of new prescriptions for this thing we have priced out of reach" No wonder a bunch of us have retired.
Cameron, at my cardiologist’s suggestion, I now purchase my Xarelto from Drug Mart in Canada. I save approximately $200 for 84 days. The service is fast and excellent. I also now get my Synthroid from them and will add Olmesartan for my next refill!
50% on PR and legal - DM, does that include lobbying efforts and political donations?
We rarely talk about lobbyists here, but one lobbyist for Pfizer or Eli Lily can easily win over a Republican Senator or Congresscritter. We can each write a dozen letters to Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio but at the end of the day, we have no change to sway their opinion if a lobbyist has their ear.
Trump will continue to throw anything he can find at the wall. None of it has to be based upon reality. In fact, as you document and cite, he is telling his base (and the news networks who cover his "news conferences" are amplifying his disinformation and propaganda beyond rabid Fox "News" viewers) that 4 + 3 equals 219. Later, the occasional fact-check might say "this was an embellishment." -instead of calling it yet another outright lie from a convicted felon and pathological liar seeking the Presidency to accomplish three personal goals. One is to stay out of prison. The second is to seek retribution for what he views as "persecution" for his numerous crimes. The third is to enrich himself with gifts that so-called "Justice" Clarence Thomas could only dream about.
Trump's concern about how inflation has impacted average families in the United States is laughable. He can throw out meaningless numbers as a "hail mary" to solidify his base who blindly believe anything that either he or Fox "News" tells them (in spite of the damages awarded to Dominion Voting Systems https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/apr/18/fox-dominion-settle-us-defamation-lawsuit). He is working to capture the anger and frustration of those who have seen their tenuous personal economic standing eroded due to CEO greed, the lack of competition after years of unchallenged mergers and acquisitions, and the result of multiple generations of GOP trickle down economic policy that shifted wealth from the middle class to the top. The people impacted do not understand that Biden/Harris policies have pursued some of the deeper economic issues, and the media has trivialized them and, since they cannot be reduced to a 20 second sound bite -have not reported upon the positive impact an agency, such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has to help people versus unbridled corporate power.
I have lived in Europe (Romania) for over 7 years now. Frankly, I encourage every single Republican-voter who thinks the government's very existence is "socialism" to live here for a couple years--just to observe the STARK difference in healthcare costs. I had health insurance for 5 years here--it cost me $70 a month for "high" coverage. I was forced to stop it this past year (complicated), so now I pay out of pocket. And guess what? I can. (I'm 55 BTW, so no, not just some young buck who can live healthy doing nothing). Including getting tests like MRIs (typical cost? $175). No, no major surgery--that would be hard. But normal, preventive healthcare? Absolutely. I am on three statins now and they cost me, grand total, about $45 a month. Yes, you read that correctly. That 3.4X average? For many things it's 5X.
Only once you've lived here and experienced this a while can you see how colossally, criminally negligent, dysfunctional and people-hating the US healthcare system is and how insanely out-of-whack drug costs are. Americans, including The Right, hate our government for one reason: it has hated us. It's just the Right are too stupid to see it's THEIR policies (with ample help from the Virtue Left since the 90s) that got us here.
Robert McT, it seems a needless overstatement as well as misaligned to talk about "people-hating US healthcare system" when what we'te looking at in the healthcare system is the same we see in the MSM and so much else troubling about the basic structure of so many institutions in the US: the dominance of the for-profit motive, privatization of things which have no business generating profits I would place healthcare (and prisons) squarely at the center of this misplaced reliance.
". . . . House speaker Mike Johnson . . . killed a bipartisan border security bill BECAUSE TRUMP WANTED TO KEEP THE ISSUE OG IMMIGRATION OPEN so he could campaign on it."
Soooo, let me get this straight. There is an invasion, this week it is twenty million, from jails in Venezuela and other nasty governments, crossing the Southern border.
Soooo, let me get this straight. The Senate passes a bi-partisan immigration bill, which, like any bill addressing an urgent and wide-ranging issue, is not quite perfect but a great start.
So let me get this straight. Imperfect bills are almost always a good start in building a long-term policy through subsequent improvements.
Soooo, let me get this straight. With this invasion of thirty million -- anticipating the former President's number for next week -- raging and endangering the American dream, poisoning the American blood, etc., the former President says, "Hey, let's not do anything about this invasion of forty million people that do not look like us [ gotta think September, here] for five months and let this destruction of Black jobs continue unabated."
NOW, I know who the former President's role models are:
1, Benito Mussolini;
2. Joseph Goebbels; and, most importantly,
3. Falstaff (King Henry IV, part-1, ACT II SCENE IV).
P.S., if such an invasion is really taking place (sic), ¿how does the deliberate delaying of needed legislation and policy responses NOT seem traitorous?
I inserted 'former' two more times. I had assumed people would know I was saying former President Trump. I am suspicious about how dire the border situation is.
While the former President and his vassals in Congress yell and scream about the border, the country gets a message: "Hey! Come on in! The border is open but may not be much longer."
And that the former president douses a fine start toward a policy solution in the middle of this sales pitch is traitorous in spirit, if not in legality. Thankfully, President Biden has responded.
May he stay former forever. I do know, but he never deserved the title in the first place. I’m forever disgusted that he and W will always be considered presidential and given accolades that neither deserve.
Ned, it's all pretty similar to tRump's management of the insurrection on January 6th; "there's a crisis so let's do our best to do nothing so I can carry on carrying on."
huh... Looks to me like we got the newsletter text repeated twice ? I read it on my phone first then re-read it on my pc in case it was some weird glitch on my phone... but it's there twice with a separating comment of "August 15, 2024 (Thursday)."
But anyway, Dr. Heather quotes Jill Lawrence:
"Yesterday, Jill Lawrence of The Bulwark noted that Trump and his allies don’t even need to enact all of Project 2025: simply gutting the nonpartisan civil service and filling almost 2 million government jobs with those who are loyal to Trump “above even laws, courts, security, liberty, the ‘general welfare,’ and the rest of the Constitution” would be enough to destroy the country as we know it."
And I believe she's correct, the ensuing chaos from replacing qualified experienced civil service staff with new blindly loyalist staff would throw monkey wrenches into the operation of our government.
We the People must continue our efforts to get out the vote so that Harris/Walz wins by an uncontestable landslide of votes, in order to enable our democracy, imperfect as it may be, to continue to exist.
Much contemporary corporate skulduggery, including these drug pricing shenanigans, was conceived and set in motion by a then private document now known by the anodyne name, The Powell Memo., written by the later Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell. At the risk of being overly simplistic and dramatic, it essentially laid out a strategy for big business to control America.
“ "Attack on the American Free Enterprise System," an anti-Communist and anti-New Deal blueprint for conservative business interests to retake America.[17][18] ”
“His 1971 Powell Memorandum became the blueprint for the rise of the American conservative movement and the formation of a network of influential right-wing think tanks and lobbying organizations, such as The Heritage Foundation and the American Legislative Exchange Council.”
So many gems in this newsletter! This one made me laugh: "...candidate Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) said: 'We actually have the plans, we have the policies, to accomplish this stuff—'" Stuff? What stuff?
Biden and Harris speeches 8/15/24 in Upper Marlboro, MD:
Oh no, a country where everyone has healthcare - it's astonishing to me how to a significant portion of republican voters (and not even all of them MAGA folk, I believe) the mere notion of universal healthcare is so frightening. As if people going bankrupt because they couldn't afford insurance, or because their insurance didn't cover their particular problem, was an inherent part of the American Dream. I guess paying taxes so *everyone* gets healthcare, instead of paying so only *you* get to be on the phone for three hours with the insurance going over every single charge and then paying a hefty co-pay anyway IS awful awful communism. Sigh. I've often toyed with the idea of just wandering around MAGA rallies with a sign that says "I come from a communist country - ask me about single payer healthcare". (I come from Spain, btw.)
SCOTUS is accountable to NOBODY. The buck stops with them. If SCOTUS decides that some frivolous election fraud case is somehow "constitutional," no man can stop them.
It would then be Trump standing before the inauguration officiate, (Chief Justice John Roberts,) instead of the EC winner, Kamala Harris.
Yes, I agree with you. (Sorry if my response seemed confrontational. I've been meaning to work on writing responses that clarify agreement vs disagreement!)
Wonder what a demo/independent preparation for dealing with the greedy horde of MAGAs needs to shape up to be, beyond for instance Mark Elias and all his lawyers, and including police departments everywhere, perhaps state police (?) perhaps national guard, for protection of not just the vote; also poll workers, voters in person, other local officials etc.
Another asked: “Will Bidenomics continue under Vice President Harris?” The president responded: “It doesn’t matter what the hell you call it, the economy is going to continue. With…all the legislation we passed, it’s working. In case you haven’t noticed, it’s working.”
That one provoked an audible LOL for me. Give 'em Hell Joe.
I love Biden's retort, and I hate the reporter's stupid and presumptuous question: "Does it bother you that that Vice President Harris might soon, for political reasons, start to distance herself from your economic plan?"
What the hell is wrong with "journalists" today?!
I am glad that Kamala isn’t being backed into a corner by our msm.I don’t blame her.Look what they have been doing to Biden for years.They have badgered him with Gotcha questions all the while ignoring Trump’s continued mental decline.I am so angry with the press, I could spit nails.
Kamala, unlike other candidates has had a front row seat to all of this as VP. She is uniquely qualified to carry the torch. Her selection of Walz shows her ability to think laterally about the entire USA. Again, I suggest the 3 1/2 years as VP has earned that gravitas of thought and strength.
uniquely qualified! Well said.
So it would appear.
I first met the concept of "lateral thinking" in a book by de Bono, early 1970s. He contrasts it to what he describes as "vertical thinking". Lateral thinking is an essential skill for all of our leaders to use in decision making and especially for the President of the United States.
Lateral Thinking
Using reasoned thought in a non-standard, or non-linear logical, way to find a solution to a problem. A heuristic for solving problems; you try to look at the problem from many angles instead of tackling it head-on.
Victoria Wilson -- You have 100% support from me for your comments! And I think we're learning that VP will NEVER be backed into a corner! She dances very well with the phenomenal world and anything that comes her way.
Judith, you are right, and I think that comes from knowing herself and what she will tolerate. She has also had excellent training working with difficult people and journalists lately have become difficult people, not wanting to get at the truth most of the time, but to be seen, heard, and to have scored a point against Biden, Harris, or one of their officials. Those journalists did not behave so badly under Trump's administration, but now, the Dems are in charge and there is a weird desire to bring them down if at all possible so they can say it was they who did it. We need to get the word out that we expect better and actually depend it.
Remember under Trump they eventually just shut the MSM out, with Trump calling the free press "the enemy of the people", and when asked once why he continued to attack the msm, he retorted, "so you won't be believed"...
Attorney Generals are typically stand ready to back their opponents into a corner.
The scoreboard for for the horse-race seems tuned to tracking "gotchas" since Reagan made such media hay with puerile, fallacious pap. We are being conditioned from birth to respond to commercial sloganeering. Compared to the adult, philosophical debates between Lincoln and Douglas, TV "debates" more resemble a game show. No wonder sleazy (un)"reality" star Trump is seen fit for leadership by so many.
Oh BTW. Does the Biden quote above suggest a man who has lost his marbles? I see the necessity of of changing tack in our current circumstances, ;nd welcome a younger, female candidate; but in the larger scene, if anyone has been losing marbles, it has been us.
Biden never lost his ms... his was always unduly underappreciated, and whatever we want to think of his removal from the campaign (pretty much what it was, he just accepted the writing on the political wall) he's playing a great public and campaign service. the latest pharma deal on price reductions is a great headline to lead into the Dem Convention with. On the tax business, folk might want to remember the USA is one of the least taxed populations in the OECD, despite having a military budget that outsizes the next 5 or 6 combined.
Fraid so!
Victoria, haven't heard that in years, and according to my late mother the phrase was, "I'm so angry I could chew nails and spit tacks" ❤️
Love that analogy!
I agree, and I'm a former reporter (for 25 years) who covered Washington, including the White House and Congress.
They are coming out of their Zionist Closets !!
I hate the MSM more than the Trumpers seem to. That the press has alienated both sides, does not bode well for their role in our democracy. I am hoping as they continue to make themselves irrelevant in this media market, people will increasingly turn to more independent publications. I have gotten rid of the NYT and WaPo, but still have The Guardian which I donate to, and the AP which I do not pay for. I also have a lot of more niche sources of information and many are on substacks, but not all. Foreign Affairs journals and things like that are part of what I read. ******
What I do know is that drugs in the US are in a crisis state. I could not get my asthma inhaler renewed in 5 days of trying while I had covid, and then I returned to Europe where it is easier. I am insured in both places for now. The reason I could not get the US prescription filled is because first the insurance is no longer covering the medication, so then the pharmacy had to contact my doctor. Then, the second prescription was also not covered, and when a third one was found that would be covered, it was no longer available at the pharmacy and while I had covid I had to do a lot of calling and waiting, and calling around to see who might have the inhaler in stock, so I tried a Walgreens, they had it and then the first pharmacy had to switch the prescription over to them. That took a day. Then Walgreens told me that my birth date on my insurance did not agree with the prescription birth date, although it has not been in the past, and I would have to straighten it out or pay $ 500+ for an inhaler. I was not going to do this. So, then I contacted the insurance and they had to switch me to another business who was in charge of just prescriptions and that is who would have had the birth date wrong, but that was going to take hours, and I had Covid and had been on the phone too long and was coughing and needed to rest. So, I returned to Europe sans medication, and to medication here. So, that is that.*****
I see Project 2025 as a blueprint for Trump's continued governance. I have been reading and discussing it in a Democrats Abroad book club. In addition that Rick Dearborn seems to have written his own job description as Chief of Staff in Chapter 1, where he outlines the White House Office, where the COS is the gatekeeper to the president. The Auto signature is mentioned as one way in which things will be signed. I can imagine that Trump is not expected to sign all of the documents to destroy the US and turn it into a third or fourth world nation with the elite running things while the rest of us are tortured by their policies. The education section alone is about having only the States funding public education and the federal dollars going to parents directly instead of to schools, so this would give home schooling Christian Nationalist families enough money to not have to do anything but breed and home school. We already know there is a role for women who are older spelled out by Vance as being child care. How fun. Defies the research, but hey, it is a nice old fashioned model but not one that fits all families. They would destroy early childhood and special education. Even home schooling families with children with learning challenges are used to relying on their local public school for diagnosis and help. So, set us back to the early 1900s educationally. Still, I do not see Public schools surviving this and Charter Schools can pick who they went, so Brown vs. Board of Education will be totally undone. We will see even further segregation and differentiated funding. There is no discussion of colleges of education in that section because the big promotion is home schooling. Keep women busy enough and they won't be able to organize or fight sexist laws and policies.******
Furthermore, colleges and universities will not be accredited or differently accredited, and student loans will be privatized and debt will not be forgiven. Andra Watkins makes a great case for why this is in her substack. https://project2025istheocracy.substack.com/p/project-2025-the-republican-party
It is investors over children every time. This is such a sick formula even Hitler and Mussolini did not destroy their public schools, they just destroyed their countries, so it might not have made any difference. Still, after such a regime comes to an end, to rebuild it is better if public schools are in tact.
What Andra Watkins points out time and again, is that a government designed for people who believe the End of Days is near, does not need to teach their children science, reading, math or history, and other than the Bible they don't need to know anything because their future is not on this Earth. So, with one department alone they destroy the futures of our children, and while I include that of the wealthy (who could leave the US) but more so the poor.*****
There is a lot more in store for us that is horrid, but so far, I have only read 10 chapters and the Forward and we are skipping around. So, it almost doesn't matter what Harris stands for, and I don't think it will be exactly like Biden, because we already see big money Tech Bros like Reid Hoffmann tying donations to firing Lina Khan. As far as I know he has held a fundraiser for her, so one of the best people in the administration might be gone. That will probably make a difference. Still, the basic values are the same, and Walz brings values to the ticket too, and those become part of what they stand for as well. So, I am very optimistic what they will bring, but it won't be just like Biden. ****
I would like to offer you a discussion of Project 2025 by History Professor Thomas Zimmer to Democrats Abroad who is at Georgetown. https://youtu.be/IqpWMH5nkPw?si=BfelerLsH9FaydkM
My God, the broken medical system we have in the country is outrageous. After reading a piece on CNN by a British journalist then headquartered in NYC, writing how impossible our medical system is broken, I located him to confirm his suspicion and he asked me why we permit this and my response was that we’ve been beaten down for so long we no longer can fight. Let’s hope I’m not right.
For those of us on Medicare, the system works. Those on Obamacare have access far superior to what existed before 2010. Register more Democrats, and a blue tsunami can fix the system.
https://www.fieldteam6.org/
I am on a pseudo medical plan called Medicare advantage which is fine and cheap for those who don’t need acute services. Devised under the W. Bush administration, it’s owned by private companies cleverly using “ Medicare” in the name which is a deception. I will soon make the switch although I realize it will be costlier but at least I will have real Medicare under government control.
"Medicare advantage" is not Medicare and the advantage goes to the insurance company.
As a state retiree in NC, our state treasurer, who administers the Employee Health Plan, including for retirees, began 'offering' the option of Medicare Advantage about 8-10 years back. We could use the then state plan, administered by Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC, for our 'medigap' plan, but which would have been less coverage for more $$$. At that time, Humana and United Health were the carriers. About three years in, Mr. Folwell advised us it would be Humana alone. At the time, if I switched back to traditional Medicare, it would have cost me an additional $400 or so a month to get a medigap policy. Much as I am unhappy with the Medicare Advantage set up, knowing it mostly enriches big insureres, I would be financially pinched to switch. We've been put in a horrible position.
Luckily, I don't have many chronic conditions that require medication. It seems to me the Medicare system in general, while begun with the best of intentions, is really a 'make insurance companies richer' scheme.
Make the switch to a supplemental policy - before you have a serious health problem and inadvertantly use a doctor or facility that is out of network. Medicare Advantage plans are a scam (as you suggest).
We use Harvard Pilgrim and pay $150 month for complete coverage - no bills for anything - ever.
Bill, be prepared for a big hike in the cost for your premium for your Medicare supplement (Medigap). Journalists in 1965 pointed out that, to appease the health insurance industry, the Medicare bill only guarantees the best Medigap rate that doesn’t penalize you for preexisting conditions (defined as guaranteed issue) if you sign up for Medigap at the beginning and never drop it for more than 3 months. In Project 2025, a little line on page 489 calls for Medicare Advantage is the default. My small data set of three people who looked at going back to regular Medicare after 1 year on Medicare Advantage found Medigap premiums increased to 3-5 times those they previously paid (mine had increased by 4%) due to “your health conditions “.
and make sure that by voting Blue you KEEP that government supported Medicare.
I have MA and have NEVER had one problem. It’s dental part is much better than I ever had when I worked.
I thought you couldn't switch from Medicare Advantage to traditional Medicare. I hope I’m wrong about that for your sake.
Good luck with making a switch from that scam. I am told only 4 states in the country allow a switch.
I'm going to probably make that switch.
Maybe your Medicare works. At 90, I am despairing of mine. Finally have an appointment with a geriatrician with whom I hope to be able to communicate. If it weren’t for continuing Pilates classes can only imagine where I’d be—where the Republican congressman thought I should be, that is dead. Meanwhile back to writing RTV cards. Friends in my Indivisible chapter keep me supplied and I can always email TonyTheDemocrat if I run out. Most recently did 40 RTV’s (with phone number for registration) for Leon County FL!
Here’s to the blue tsunami and “from the bottom up to the middle out.” Maybe we get free medical school for qualified candidates, the return of public hospitals, and real public health to get us through the new epidemics that climate change will bring.
Virginia, I aspire to be like you when I’m 90 ! I plan to continue my yoga 🧘🏻♀️and work to GOTV with you in Fl.😎
@ Virginia. Under Medicare you can go to any doctor you want. Meanwhile the public health service and the military send students to medical school if they will give 2 years for every year of school to public service.
Respectfully, I disagree the Medicare system works.
I am on Medicare. I pay for it, a Blue Cross supplemental plan and a drug prescription insurance.
This week I was quoted 885$. for a Trelegy inhaler and a 550$ price for Symbicort. No way am I paying this. I guess now breathing is a privilege only for the rich.
Check out Good Rx. A prescription that would have cost me over $900 was $53.
I have federal bc/bs and get budesonide-formoterol 160-4.5 MCG/ACT inhaler,
Commonly known as: SYMBICORT, through Amazon for about $10,
Medicare Part D was added under Bush 43 and is seriously deficient. Allowing the government to negotiate drug prices is a big step forward, but is happening at a glacial pace. In addition there are many plans offered, with different premiums and different formularies. Figuring out which one is best for you and the meds you are using is a nuisance, though Medicare's on-line calculater works pretty well once you figure out how to use it. But if your doctor switches drugs or adds them during the year and the new ones aren't on your plan's formulary you are out of luck. If Trilogy and Symbicort are so expensive, you need to research plans to find one that covers them at a more reasonable price. It's all stupid and it won't change until the Dems are in the majority.
Daniel, as Kamala Harris just detailed, President Biden already took action lower to the cost of prescription drugs by allowing Medicare to bargain for substantially lower costs including cancer meds, insulin injections & the still under patent blood thinner, XARELTO.
I know all about it. My wife takes Xarelto. We opted out of Part D. Both of us worked for the federal government and kept our federal bc/bs, which has paid for stuff that is not covered under Part D.
Also for the financially comfortable in the right locations, service can be excellent. Even so, there has been a deleterious push from corporate to increasingly ration care in the name of maximizing profit, at patient peril. That and anti-anti-trust.
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-welcomes-passage-competitive-health-insurance-reform-act-2020
I agree with this diagnosis to some extent. I would say this has never been a whole well system, so it is not actually broken, but more like functioning less than optimally.*****
Here is a discussion of Project 2025 by History Professor Thomas Zimmer, which does not only look at our health system but the overall reasons why this project exists. He spoke to Democrats Abroad, who are moderating and asking questions of our membership. https://youtu.be/IqpWMH5nkPw?si=BfelerLsH9FaydkM
a book you can pick up The Great American Delusion is a great list of things that Americans should be pissed about
Wow. As I approach retirement age, I realize I need to learn a lot more about Medicare, Medicare Advantage, etc. If anyone can share links to websites where I can find good information on my options that's not written by the insurance companies themselves, I'd appreciate it.
Ellen, I found this article helpful when I was researching plans.
https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/explainer/2024/jan/medicare-advantage-policy-primer
Also, Medicare will send you this handbook before you turn 65. It’s very comprehensive.
https://www.medicare.gov/Pubs/pdf/10050-medicare-and-you.pdf
Well, I have paid into medicare my entire life and now, living in a country where health care is cheaper it should be glad to pay for my medical expenses. It does not. All those of us who are expats who worked long enough in the US to get medicare do not get it. Also, foreigners who have green cards and work long enough in the US to get medicare do not get it if they do not stay in the US. I do not think there are too many places where medical care is more expensive than in the US, so the country would benefit if more retirees moved to cheaper countries and then they would be paying less for medical care and medicines. It would be fair and save the system money, instead those who leave have paid in but get no pay out.
Please read above. Once you sign up for Medicare Ad, you don’t go back because it’s written in the regulations that medigap charges astronomical fees. A republican administration negotiated this for the industry not the people. DO NOT SIGN UP FOR Madicard ADVANTAGE.
Also, you have to sign up for at least Part A within 3 months of turning 65 or you pay a penalty lifelong. That is just crazy. You will pay a penalty for Part B if you don't still work after 65 and are covered with job insurance. It is also crazy. I say that because we should not be paying penalties for joining later if that is what we want to do.
No offense, but I want to understand the pros and cons of all options. I remember my mother-in-law had some sort of supplemental policy through AARP that was relatively inexpensive, but I don't know what it covered (or didn't cover).
History has proven that resistance, especially collaborative resistance ISN'T futile. Nor an idea whose time has come.
Because insurance, pharma, trade associations, hospital associations, etc., etc. have WAY more $$$—orders of magnitude more—to spend buying off lawmakers.
Once known as the "most trusted man in American", the late Walter Cronkite must be rolling over in his grave at the lack of journalistic integrity that is so prevalent in today's MSM.
Linda,I would expect more of this under a Project 2025 admin.Of course, DeSantis and GOP are trying to distance themselves from the whole mess at our flagship university. Kudos to the journalism students who broke the story at U of F! 🐊
https://www.alligator.org/article/2024/08/sasse-s-spending-spree-former-uf-president-channeled-millions-to-gop-allies-secretive-contracts
I am pi**ed that MSM hasn’t covered Sasse’ perfidy. The cronyism is astounding.
Gail, did you see this other example of how P 2025 is happening in Fl now.
🛑 Don’t Make America Florida🛑
https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/education/2024/08/15/new-college-of-florida-throws-away-hundreds-of-library-books-diversity-lgbtq/74814756007/
Good grief. What a waste. Florida needs to get it's act together starting in November.
P25 is the plan for the next conservative admin. Yes, it is being promoted as tRump's, but the document continually references the next "conservative" administration. It needs to be hung on EVERY republican candidate are every level.
Rickey, I agree with what you are saying. All Republicans who back Trump and MAGA hold the most responsibility, but those fence sitters who do not support everything do too, unless they speak out against them. I have been reading Project 2026 with a group of Democrats Abroad as a bookclub. I am reading my 11th chapter plus I have read the Forward. I would say it is important to know that a lot of what is in there is already happening, particularly in Red States, but in Blue States too. Red State AGs will go file a lawsuit against Blue State regulations in keeping with the values of Project 2025. An interesting discussion of this Plan for the next Trump-Vance administration is discussed by History Professor Thomas Zimmer when talking to Democrats Abroad this past week. It is lengthy but well put, with responses to questions from the membership. https://youtu.be/IqpWMH5nkPw?si=MYJlfJ3dfAB8gT6z
Exactly! This is the plan for any Republican who gets elected.
Thanks, Linda Weide, for this very thoroughgoing report.
I just put in a word on behalf of a Special Report by Reuters on how Trump's intimidation tactics have reshaped the Republican Party.
Everyone, but everyone should read this. A taste of what the rule of, by, for Organized Crime will mean for Americans, for human beings, for...
All one needed to do is read about his past in real estate to get a glimpse of him as a whole or as a hole as I wrote in my book, Donald’s Vanity Tantrums “ and yes I’m being a shameless self promoter. Haven’t made a dime off it yet but it’s pretty damn good. I frequently post stories here from the book.
Peter, I also recommend this Democrats Abroad Video where Prof. Thomas Zimmer is speaking about Project 2025 at length. He has a take that is somewhat different from the ones I am seeing by Americans.
https://youtu.be/IqpWMH5nkPw?si=MYJlfJ3dfAB8gT6z
Thank you, Linda.
Incidentally, I'm writing from north Germany where I'm visiting old friends.
Even here...My sister, who is diabetic, has been unable to get her diabetes drug in the dosage amount that her doctor has prescribed for her for well over 4 months. WTH???
As much as the US (Republicans) allow the pharmaceutical companies to suck out of all of us in profits there should never be a shortage of any pharmaceuticals.
My daughter who works in a pharmacy has to tell people everyday that they are out of several different drugs, some of which are unavailable for months.
Short supplies? I guess the pharmecutical companies don't make enough money to maintianin supplies. Or maybe they are priced too low and they need to increase the price to curtail the demand.
My eldest has ADHD. He has been unable to reliably get his medications for about 18 months - and he starts graduate school next week. Great.
That is one of the drugs she has mentioned. There are several and they come and go. I think the manufacturer(s) should be fined for everyday one of their drugs is unavailable depending on the drug.
I have noticed this problem myself about medication. My doctor had me using an online pharmacy for medication from Canada at one point.
Is it Metformin? It’s what I take. I’m being proactive and I’ve cut out all sugar which we don’t need in our diets anyway but the food industry puts in almost everything to enhance the taste. Also I am cognizant of carbohydrates keeping them low. And I have resumed running or any kinetic activity. My numbers are just about almost normal.
T L, this is common for Medicare Advantage coverage. A friend had an insulin pump prescribed by her doctor denied by her Medicare Advantage insurance.
My sister isn't old enough for Medicare. She's on Mainecare, as she is a widow and has already had a hip replacement--her medication is Trulicity, and she's having a tough time getting her prescribed dosage.
That is because the system is so poorly set up to help people that even making legislative changes does not immediately transfer into good for people.
I am going through the same madness right now tryng to get a freaking Symbicort inhaler. I pay for 3 medical insurance plans. GET RID OF THE FLIPPIN' INSURANCE COMPANIES!
Thank you, Linda, for enlightening us on the details of Project 25. I am also sorry about your medication woes. Whenever I read about Project 25, i can't understand how this election could be close. On Monday I am going to have a MRI on my knee. To get this done, I had to have another X-ray because the last one was a year and a month and I needed something more recent. Then the insurance company had to OK the procedure. It has a hefty co-pay which the scheduler asked me to say that was OK. I was lucky to see my primary care doctor because if I didn't go that am, he was busy until the August 22nd. When I mentioned that he was a hard man to see, he said that nobody is doing a good job recruiting doctors to our city and that retiring doctors are not always replaced. Everyone wants to be a specialist....even the new vet who replaced our long time vets who retired. He wants to do exotics when most of us have cats and dogs. Then there is the corporate takeover of both human and animal clinics and everything else they can get their hands on. Bottom line, not service.
Michele, my formerly doctor owned medical group sold out to United Health Care about 6-7 years ago. My former PCP (I was one of her first patients when she "hung out her shingle"; she retired during Covid) bemoaned that where they had gotten to was her being "encouraged" to see 3 patients in a 30 minute period to do minor procedures (burn off warts, etc.) over seeing one elderly patient for 30 minutes going over potential drug interdictions and impacts of taking vs. not taking an experimental drug. In one of my last visits with her, she said they had made a huge mistake.
I am fortunate that I got her replacement as my PCP; that practice has now closed 2 satellite clinics, and cannot take new patients. I have friends who have been with that group as long as I have who are out on their butts because there aren't enough doctors.
Ally, your personal history rang one of my personal life experiences. That data point "encouraged" to "see 3 patients in 30 minutes" was a clinical alarm bell circa 1979 when a Seattle medical resident was documented treating 1 patient every 10 minutes.
That does not work when a resident has 2 young patients, 2 paraplegic patients both from motorcycle accidents. 45 years later & my anger is still inside me somewhere but, thank you for your precise health care history. 🙏🏻
I am glad you still have a PCP. I think I read about this happening in Eugene. I had a relative who worked for United Health Care and called it United Death Care.
Every middleman and broker with their hand out through denial and bureaucracy of papermill.
Rick Scott should have gone to jail not to the Senate. The constant scandals amongst the money launderers.
Bill, was he ever charged for the crime? How did he get away with it?
"Scott mistakenly thought no one would remember how he “took responsibility” for his company defrauding Medicare recipients and military families out of millions."
$1.7Million in fines. This question is always the way to avoid that he was at the helm when the fraud occurred, but to avoid being charged accepted the $1.7M penalty.
This is exactly what is broken in our system. Unaccountability for the crooks through manipulation. See DJT as case in point - so far.
"But in comparing himself to Trump, Scott — who is seeking reelection to the Senate this November — is also trying to rewrite history. Scott himself acknowledged years ago that his company had 'made mistakes.' " - $1.7Million fraud fine mistakes.
https://www.floridadems.org/2024/05/10/13533/
Please publish this comment in the US or have a friend do it for you. It is very important for people who don’t understand what a disaster our current medical system is for much of the population. Every time I hear about “reducing the cost of drugs” I think “why not teach good nutrition and how to grow which vegetables and fruits in a changing climate.”
Thank you for your effort to have this critical information in print.
Sorry for your suffering. I see sentient life and it's protection as an unalienable right.
I don't hate the MSM so much as I hate the "Chicago School" and the philosophy of it's leading light and Reagan advisor Milton Friedman, whose key thesis which was:
"The only corporate social responsibility a company has is to maximize its profits."
Isn't that a formula for dysfunctional citizenship? Isn't it a Biblical description (Timothy) of "evil"? Or a functional description of sociopathy? "Greed is good" was a line from a movie villain, but plutocrats picked it up an made it an ironic motto, popularized until the subprime crash made saying that quiet part out loud something of an embarrassment. The philosophy didn't change. What makes "greed" greed is gain by harm to others.
I agree that the Chicago School is a nightmare. Milton Friedman used to live down the block from us, and my parents did not have kind things to say about him. I would hear about the alum would go advice third world dictators on how to destroy their countries. Seems like they were pretty effective, leading to a lot of my demonstrating US out of Central America in the 1980s.
Like you I still trust the Guardian and like you I have little to no faith in the NYT and WP. They appear to be closet magas. Your entire post was most thoughtful. Thanks also for the resource about Project 2025.
Steve, after reading the APs less than positive headlines on Harris' economic plans, and absolutely neutral headlines on Trump, it was a breath of fresh air to see the Guardian's headline, "Harris vows to build 'opportunity economy' and attacks Trump on tax"
Linda,
Your journey through medical hell sounds very familiar. I still want to be positive, but I am positively depressed!
Linda, thank you for your reasoned discourse, especially the links!
Linda, speaking of "independent publications", per Colorado Newsline's reporters Sharon Sullivan on 8/12 & Quentin Young's on 8/15, the jury convictions of now felon TINA PETERS on 7 criminal counts was definitely a "doozie".
The "California man" given covert access to the "most sensitive data' on Mesa County Colorado election machinery was ex-pro surfer CONAN HAYES. Peters also used DOUGLAS FRANKS a conspiracy nut literally on Mike Lindell's payroll. Peters also used a close friend in her "web of deceit" to give Conan Hayes access to Grand Junction election machines. Can't make this stuff up.
The Peters evidentiary record will be used in other criminal actions. Peters' criminal convictions & the sordid evidence admitted against her can will be used by other courts simply by taking statutory "judicial notice".
My respectful & professional kudos to Colorado's Secretary of State, JENA GRISWOLD & her team's superior work on behalf of Colorado citizens.
The Guardian was the sole survivor for me…until they posted an awful article when that hack republican issued the report about Biden’s supposed mental decline. I told them exactly why I was cancelling, not expecting a response. Yes, the response was crickets.
As for healthcare/drugs, absolutely yes. My wife was prescribed a drug and medicare won’t cover it. $400 something per month. Lovely, the “best healthcare system in the world."
I contacted them a couple of times and said I did not like their Biden coverage and wanted to see Project 2025 coverage. I give them annual donations, and I would stop it if they had continued. However, I felt their headline today about Kamala's economic plan was positively worded, which is in contrast the titles of AP articles about the same topic this morning. That prompted me to complain that if they slant their articles Toward Trump by reporting on his craziness in a neutral facts only way, and report on Harris as if her actions are filled with danger and negativity they come across as racist, sexist and classist. I should have added homophobic too, but only thought about it later.***** As for healthcare, Walgreens is still sending me emails that I can come pick up a prescription which I told them I was not going to get unless my insurance was applied. However, now the price is $270+ instead of $570+, so perhaps my insurance was applied, but then I have to go to a different pharmacy, which I get it for what I am supposed to copay which is $10. These prices are so ridiculous, I just delete these messages and will continue to do so until they stop. I assume it has a shelf life.
Falling into the Wrong Arms
(From "Donald's Vanity Tantrums")
The country had a relatively stable eight years under Barack Obama, not perfect but there was economic growth. However the aftermath of the Bush wars opened the doors of hell and the laws of unintended consequences dominated.
And it came to pass that as a new election neared in 2016, a creature walked to the stage to suspend reality and make enough voters believe that he would lead the nation to wealth and weapons for all.
Cajoled by this socially mangled, misanthrope who has perfected the fine art of the lie, bigotry and unfair tax relief for the wealthy, they naively followed this most foul leader off the cliff.
Wait. What am I doing here? Am I trying to present a logical reason why someone would not vote for Trump? That’s totally insane. That’s almost as insane as voting for Trump! Plus, having to go through all that socio-economic, psychological, and historical crapola is about as interesting as a Xarelto commercial. So, I’m going to reveal the cause of the disease that I am dubbing, “Trump Voterism” or simply, “TV”: a vicious parasite, mutated by toxins now allowed into our air, water and food by Trump’s relentless attempt to kill all of us by loosening our environmental regulations.
Not only does that explain the phenomenon, it also sets the stage for an entirely new series of blockbuster movies, all based around these parasitic mutants. Think The Purge meets Invasion of the Body Snatchers meets Citizen Kane meets Tremors.
There, can we move on to examining why people do other stupid things, like falling off a cliff while taking a selfie?
That's why we have the "Darwin Award".
Pretty good imagery. Clever comment.
It’s from my book, Donald’s Vanity Tantrums “. With about 60 more stories and found everywhere.
We win this time but almost lost the whole shabang. Ruling from the center is a no brainer or should be. Don’t listen to the leftists or an ugly far right response will end democracy as we’ve known it. My opinion of course.
The "Left" is the new center, Bill.
Americans - the vast majority - want so called "liberal" policies.
https://www.michaelmoore.com/p/in-america-liberal-is-the-new-mainstream
That was an excellent post from Michael Moore, especially since he listed all of his sources for some of the surprising findings. Personally, I think the terms "liberal" and "conservative" are no longer very meaningful, but that's another issue.
Cut it out. Not true. We almost went down with the ship if not for Biden dropping out and Kamala as an emerging dynamic leader. Let me repeat: WE ALMOST WENT DOWN WITH THE SHIP but the waters remain choppy. The left is not the center and if you believe that and continue to leave your blinders on, I suggest you begin looking for cheap dilapidated houses in small Italian towns that are being given away because you won’t like living under American authoritarianism for long. And please don’t ask me to spell it out for you I get chastised whenever I do.
Your correct for this moment in time, but be careful. The Devil is in the details.
The center is what the center has always been. Being at the center is being somewhat openminded and otherwise skeptical. Going too far to the left involves being openminded and not at all skeptical, aka being naive. Going too far to the right involves being skeptical and not at all openminded, aka being cynical. And going too far to the left, or too far to the right, might be of interest to some, but not to me because the effect is the same.
Let’s form an army.
If the enemy is the idea that some people matter, and others do not, then sign me up.
The "center" has been pulled so far right that the Republican policies of the 1950's would be anathema to today's R's.
They don't seem to be actual "journalists". They have all become Jerry Springers.
Ya but didn’t ole Jerry make a lot of money?
Well, and so too does Trump, from his brainwashed MAGA fans (marks...Trump is such an inveterate grifter that I'm sure he thinks of his cult members as "marks")
R_and_O, I wish the reporters who asked those questions had been identified, along with whom they work for.
What is wrong is their company is controlled by individuals of very high net worth who want the Beast in again. And so they've let it be known that their minions (previously known as reporters) are to act like Fox "News" employees. Demand detailed answers from Kamala, let the Beast drivel. Fact check Kamala, let the Beast's lies sit unchecked. Very sad but also very clearly true.
They're not journalists any more. They are largely flaws fir their corporate bosses. 😢😡
“Flaws”?
It's a stupid question based on a false assumption!
Now that I’ve discovered this: Fox News senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked [that question of] Biden during a press conference on Thursday, I need to rewrite my question: “Fox News Propagandists strike again.” No one should ever trust anything they hear from Fox.
I haven't been successful unearthing what news outlet that reporter represented, but I think we can assume it was far-right or, at least, conservative. If so, then my question, "What is wrong with "journalists" today?" becomes rhetorical. ⁿ
That was a dumb question to ask President Biden. He came back swinging at the press. He was blunt and to the point with his answers.
Most Journalists today have lost their way. Luckily we have people like Heather Cox Richardson.
Focusing on gossip when the adult matter at hand is the fate of our society.
R_and_O, as to your question about journalists, it seems to me and others that journalists are not actually interested in the answer to their question, just that the question could be provocative and that the answer might be a gotcha. Biden doesn't respond well to such questions and neither do Harris or Walz. And, they don't usually get too deensive, they just change somethinga bout the questin as Biden did (I don't care what you call it). That was the right response to a set of rude questions that "journalist" would haver have asked Trump and Kump, and didn't while Trump was in office. Harris's assistants with the "debate" will have to watch a lot of bites from Trump speeches and "debate" performances to note where Trump goes off the deep end and consider ways to respond effectively. Trump will not stay with any question asked and will go for the insults every time. Harris must stay above the insanity or she will look like she is picking on Baby Donnie, and he has the baby routine mapped out and will use it. That is one thing that so far the dementia has not yet taken out. Walz will have to do the same with Vance. Vance thinks he is just brilliant and will try to throw that "brilliance" around. Walz just needs to stay on task and talk directly to the American people no matter what the question, and keeping it in terms lay folks will understand. I am looking forward to the Democratic Convention in ways I definitely was not looking forward to the Republican convention, speech after speech of condemnation, hatred, personal and group anger, resentment (, and when done by rich men is outrageous and like the behavior of a petulent toddler. Vance has now joined the Toddler-Adult club that Trump has been a member of for at least 6 years when the baby talk became more and more pronounced.
I got sad at the sight of Biden last night - a body that is giving way but a mind that is continuing to process at top speed.
It has really been pissing me off that reporters want to rag on Harris 'for her lack of policies', while letting the Orange Menace stumble and bumble through his Ten Greatest Hits (of other people), reciting his catechism of hate and anger and grievance. This goes way beyond 'whataboutism'.
Maybe she should tell them real journalists compare a candidate to the alternative, not the Almighty. I know that didn't work for Biden, but people will believe something if you repeat it often enough, even if it's true.
Repetition aids learning, even at the bio-ware level of the brain. I can be commercialized crap or it can be truthful, but it works either way. Our powers of observation, logic, and scruples are supposed to sort through the quality of what we are told, but the big money is behind repetition.
You can write letter to the news organizations expressing your anger at the coverage. I have started writing quick notes to the editors to protest their coverage.
I have a little. Few replies.
The task of the media is to shine a light on the abuses of power. -Ralph Nader
In my reading group, a lovely neighbor spoke about a book she had read about taking preventive steps with Alzheimer's. While she was not discussing President Biden, it seems that most of the behaviors that caused President Biden so much grief are not really associated with Alzheimer's. Getting names wrong or trying to find a missing *word does occur more frequently with age, but it sounded like these are not markers of significant cognitive damage, Now, please keep in mind that I may have misinterpreted what my neighbor said.
P.S., thank you, Lynell (VA), for catching the omission of a word . . . ¡word!
"...or trying to find a missing does occur..." you wrote, Ned. Is there a missing word you meant to write?
Otherwise, great post. Though, I've noticed there are many people regardless of their age who have trouble speaking fluently and I never thought they were on the road to cognitive decline. Just that they were lousy speakers. That includes many so-called broadcasters!
Ha! I have dementia. Seriously, thank you for pointing this out. Indeedie, indeedie, I missed a word, something I do whole lot more often as sixty-seven years young. Thank you, "muchly".
EDIT: what is most frustrating is that I proof-read these answers and blithely make the same mistake all over again. UGGG.
It could be worse. Try editing your self-published book then after it’s printed, noticing all the typos and poor grammar uses and sentence structures. Yep, that was me. But online publishing allows one to make easy changes.
I have a friend who has published several novels. She finds an error on page one of the first printing about half the time.
I drove my friend crazy fixing them then I found a new one from an added story. Screw it. All or most Mark Twain first editions have typos so I’m in good company.
I have done that all my life. I discovered in Grad school what I thought were personal idiosyncrasies was dyslexia, and yet I muddle through. I'm just crap at proofreading, even when I put reasonable effort into it. It ain't pretty, but communication has occurred if the reader gets the point.
Well, that speaks loads for your character there, J.L. As the old saying goes: perseverance is the virtue of the triumphant.
I never thought it would happen to me, but now that I'm in my 60s, I find myself forgetting the names of people I used to know or certain words. It's really irritating. I want to be able to communicate!
Shoot how would you feel if you almost didn’t recognize someone you k ew before. But in my defense, if you don’t see someone for 5 or 10 years, well we all change.
It happens.
I do that more than I had, but so far I think it's normal aging. Still firing on four cylinders as far as I can tell, at not as high an RPM.
But do not discount the wisdom attained, likely more than off-setting in your case.
Or just out of their element. Would Lincoln's eloquent addresses have worked on "now for something completely different" TV? "Coming up; War breaks out in Europe, but first a cat in a tree".
A question I often wonder about. President Jefferson would not have been elected, nor would President Madison.
I have a dear friend who has this problem. She's had 5 major concussions, 3 before the age of 20. I have noticed that when she is telling me about something she has read, this is not an issue. When it is in casual conversation, it pops out. On our last trip to Portland (I take her to the VA up there; they have a Women's Clinic, which is crucial) she told me about a book dealing with the construction of a major bridge in New York (I think it was the Narrows bridge) and it was fascinating. In other conversation, more extemporaneous, she referred to "camo" (as in camouflage) as "cameo".
"I have a dear friend who has this problem." It was not my intention to convey that being a "lousy speaker" was a problem; only that those persons exist IMO just as eloquent speakers exist. Much can be said here beyond my own cognitive skills, but I'll just leave it at that.
I did not take your comment that way. You were exercising courtesy in suggesting* (there I go again!) a correction; for that I am thankful.
My sense with Ally was one supportiveness that one is not alone. I have done things like looking right at something and it not registering. I go on to look for that thing and find it ten minutes later right where I had thought it was.
It simply happens more often as I age. I like to joke that "There goes G-D, dealing on my head again!" Nice to see such graciousness in a public forum.
Right there with you, Ned!
Actually, my comment about "lousy speakers" was sparked during all the bruhaha around Joe Biden's unfortunate debate performance. There were Fox News commentator types putting their digs in about him, but I noticed while doing so they also had trouble putting one word in front of the other! Which only goes to show...nobody's perfect!
At 90, I can verify your opinion. I listened to all of the “debate,” then the press conference after the NATO conference. The president was being harassed by the press as he had been by Trump, but on his own he was fine. As I, who remembered names well until I hit 90 (or 90 hit me) know, Altzheimers is not forgetting certain details.
Thank you, Virginia, for relating your experience from your status as a respected Elder; or, at least before the 1960s, a person esteemed as an Elder of wisdom. 🙏
When my young daughter was studying US history I mentioned the day that Kennedy was shot. Her eyes got big and she said "You were alive then?". Yup, I had to shovel T. rex poo off the front walk.
🤣🤣🤣
Thank you for putting a great big grin on my face.
I know and have known people with Alzheimer's. They forget entire interactions that have just occurred.
When this wicked, vicious disease is advanced the devastation is infectious.
Ned, I look on it as looking for the word in a large dictionary—much harder than finding it in the 250 Essential Words dictionary.
So true. It still is frustrating when I have trouble pulling up a word that I have used frequently in the recent past. On the up side, per the 250 key words, I have finally started to practice K.I.S.S. 😉
I recall that Biden was accused of being "gaff" prone ever since he was active VP, which is a no-no if your yardstick is smooth TV presence. I'd have been rough around the edges on TV at any age. Reagan was full of bull, but he knew how to work the medium. What exactly do we want (and can reasonably expect) a president to accomplish?
Like Obamacare, let's keep remembering the leader who made this policy possible. I like Bidenomics.
Joe is, understandably, pissed off about being forced off the ticket; but he’s been putting that anger to good use, channeling it toward a Washington press corps that could benefit from its own shake-up, and a nakedly fascist GOP.
My thoughts exactly.
Students reporting for high school newspapers would very likely do a better job at putting questions to politicians than many of the professional journalists plying their trade in the corporate media. I am sure they would ask direct and well-informed questions on key issues, with no spin.
Some High schoolers certainly would. Ms. Thunberg asked pithy questions.
Me, too, JL!
Biden-Harris pick ten drugs and potentially save the government 6 billion dollars. Trump puts some cereal on a table and calls people names
Bravo!
I love President Biden and he has waited too long to fire back at the trumpers. He should have done that on day one.
Nobody respects a punching bag.
Stand up to the bully.
I love the “in case you haven’t noticed” part. Meaning, you MSM deliberately don’t report it and that’s dishonest journalism and disgraceful blinding the public.
Definitely the response of a fullwit.
I love Scranton Joe and just wish sometimes we had the 2012 version still. The GOP wouldn't know what hit em.
I recall some of my high school classmates on the school newspaper asking more honest and useful questions. These are not journalists. These are self important twits looking to gain status and reputation
I'm counting on her to withstand the pressures. To cave would be weak. A betrayal.
Leaving a comment so that I'll be able to return to your comment when I have more time... So far, so good.
This is a New York Post article. Notice the word “reportedly” in the opening sentence. This is a MAGA talking point to paint Harris as a corporate shill.
I grabbed 1st article that wasn’t paywalled. Go look for yourself. I deleted my comment because I am not in the mood today. Sorry.
Weird indeed - when will MSM learn? The press are still buying into the idea that Dems must adhere to norms, but refuse (with some heroic exceptions) to hold tRumpf to same standard. More weird ...dissonant even...is how tRumpf praises Putin on one (tiny) hand, but on the other (tiny) hand calls Harris a communist as if it is an insult...make up your mind don-old.
MSM *has* learned -- it is owned by wealthy Republicans who want the useful idiot back.
Look how it treated Hillary Clinton -- "but her emails". It's doing the same to President Biden -- "his age", all while ignoring tffg's overt corruption and the fact that tffg is old (not to mention completely incompetent).
I've canceled all of my subscriptions to once-respected news sources.
Not to mention: djt is a convicted felon awaiting sentencing.
I did that years ago.
He just deflects everything he's done onto his opponents. Everything he accuses others of, he's already done, ten times over!
More like ten thousand times, when it comes to stiffing companies and individuals... And who knows how many million times, when it comes to conning the world.
Cons himself every times he opens that mouth.
As for that Hannibal-Lecter-infested brain... who needs cannibals when they've got Big Pharma?
I am wondering how many of those 9,000 people who need those 10 drugs whose drop in price will not take effect until 2026 will be alive then?
As argued by Dr Bandy Lee, there may very well be a social pathology coursing through the political and cultural arteries of our country. Written to my book group:
https://bandyxlee.substack.com/p/the-psychology-of-trump-contagion-642
"Please pardon me for overlooking the non-fiction book I completed this round, 'The Psychology of Trump Contagion: An Existential Threat to American Democracy and All Humankind'. Dr Bandy X. Lee is a psychiatrist, specializing in violence and in de-escalating it. She also has a Masters in Divinity. Seven years ago, Dr Lee led a group of psychiatrists in observing the behavior of the former President. Their findings appeared in 'The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump'. Dr Lee has paid dearly for that leadership.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6145972/
Dr Lee and some other notables in the field are arranging a summit in D.C. in September as a mental health intervention. . . . [the first link features] . . . the epilogue of this more recent work . . . [the second link is a] . . . blurb about the 2017 book. The essay is thoughtful; it displays compassion, a strong sense of ethics, and lays out her belief that removal of the threat brings the larger society into mental balance. Since this e-mail may offend those who support the former President, I simply make the material available with no expectation nor encouragement of readership or discussion.
Thanks Ned McDoodle for the link to Dr Bandy Lee’s book.
Trump poses a great danger to the future of humanity and the planet.
The book addresses the dilemma about whether health professionals should make public statements about their concerns. Do they have a duty to warn and speak out? The authors of the essays conclude that indeed they do have this duty when the consequences of not doing so might be so catastrophic.
A bill has been introduced to Congress to mandate a procedure for medically and psychiatrically evaluating a president who is suspected of being unfit to perform their duties.
In truth, I have not read the original book. I did not buy into what Dr Lee was doing back then. She was right to do it, however; brave to do it. G-D I hope that bill passes.
But the nattering nabobs of narcissism -- i.e., Representatives, Marjorie Flailing Spleen, Lauren Baublehead, and Haz-Matt Gaetz -- will do everything they can to kill it . . . lest they get found out themselves.
Lauren, While your critique of the distortions MSM serve up daily are spot on, I believe after the Democratic Convention that both Harris and Walz could be poised to take full advantage of the bully pulpit, demanding one on one in-depth interviews, not only to speak about policy but also to address the stakes of journalists not asking the tough questions, of candidates not having to square their campaign rhetoric with facts, of their not being stopped when they’re not answering the question, and of their not being called out when their answers contradict the facts. I submit this proposal because I see no other way between now and the election to give voters a shot at serious discussion among candidates from both parties.
I would love to see that!
Do we really think those billionaires who own the media will do the right things? just asking.
Let's hope...it would be great to see such turnabout!
They are putting their mouths where the money is…
Very astute analysis, Lauren! Seriously, that never occurred to me until reading your post.
Morning, Lynell!
I, too, had never considered the details that Lauren has laid out. Outstianding!
Morning, Ally!
Also, I don't hear much about how he uses his fingers and hands. "The hand gesture commonly used to connote “OK” was co-opted in 2017 by members of the far-right and white supremacists who recast the symbol to mean “white power” — indicated by the W and P formed by the hand. The use of the hand gesture has since become a common occurrence at far-right rallies and among some Trump supporters who make it to taunt opponents.
"The Three Percenters, a right-wing anti-government militia group, also utilizes a similar symbol — outstretched middle, ring and pinkie fingers to represent the Roman numeral for three — that can at a glance be mistaken for the “OK” gesture, though Three Percenters is not explicitly white supremacist."
The above quote is from WaPo written back in January 2021. I could not find a way to gift link it, but here it is anyway. Quite an interesting read!
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/interactive/2021/far-right-symbols-capitol-riot/
that kind of sensationlist talk is how they make money! For years, the protocal has been 'if it bleeds, it leads.'
You might think the MSM would hold Trump/Maga "communist" demagoguery to account and explain precisely what that is. But no no no no. Somehow that scat is just fine rhetoric. As Heather and others have aptly called out here, there seems to be a royal double standard, with Dems supposedly be called out to back up their policies, but leave Maga to repeat ad naseum its usual name-calling. And curiously, both Harris and Walz have been headlining policy for weeks now, while the press continues to ask over and over, what do they stand for?
I’m in London right now and had dinner last night with friends from here and Australia who are horrified by what they see happening in our country. And, earlier this summer, we had houseguests from Lithuania and Estonia (the women from Estonia is only there because she had to flee her home country - Belarus - fearing imprisonment like her friends who had opposed the war in Ukraine). They both argued about which of their countries would fall first to Russia if Trump is elected. I know it’s a small sample, but people around the world who live in democracies seem to see clearly the dangers of a Trump presidency. I believe that it’s because their news organizations are more accurately covering the political situation than our own. Our MSM seems only interested in generating clicks so do whatever that takes, regardless of how unbiased it may be. Like my friends from around the world, I fear for our democracy.
I read that the average so called journalist today is about 27 years old, and that is showing up it appears as some kind of ignorance about their real jobs that now are being polluted by the profit motive and apparently not just their boss's profit, but the click/personality/ego type of 'wins', perhaps with their eye on being what we now call 'influencers'. Apparently they do not know the difference. And, with no sense of history.
They bought out and shelved us old journalists with institutional memory and great journalism skills. It's sad what's happened.
I'm not as concerned about the age of the journalist as I am about the politics of the owner of the publication and the editor that hands out or okays the assignments.
The publisher for the NYTimes is awful. A few of the journalists are allowed to write whatever they want on a subject, but the young idealistic journalists are often handcuffed by the editor.
Gary, I'm going with not as much age as background. I think it was either TC in LA or Lucian K. Truscott IV on their substack did a deeper dive on where today's journalists come from and what their background is. Another consideration is who owns what newspapers/broadcast systems.
Also, Robin, zero humanities.
Susan, you are better positioned than the rest of us if Trump wins. Its shocking!
You are 200% right
“… [a]system…where everybody gets health care.” Yeah, that’s terrible. He also warned that there might be taco trucks on every corner. Again, terrible idea. Pass the guacamole, please.
We're traveling in Europe right now. Health care for everyone. Little or no crime. No gun violence. And I thought the US was the most advanced nation. 🤔
My observation as well. The US right wing has fooled a huge segment of our population into thinking they would rather be miserable standing alone than content under a just government.
So many of us have never traveled, and we’ve been told all our lives that we’re the best, and everything about our country is the best. Those of us who have traveled or lived in other countries know that there are other ways to run things, and many of those ways are better. Universal healthcare. Free or affordable universities. Long and paid parental leave. Subsidized childcare. Much safer policies on food safety. All these things are possible, but not for us. It’s just that we are so geographically isolated that it’s difficult and expensive to travel, so most Americans haven’t seen this, and are completely unaware that these things exist for citizens of other countries.
We don’t know that our next door neighbor, Canada, has the highest ranked health care system in the world. No, all we are told is that Canadian health care is broken and you have to wait a long time to see a doctor. As if we don’t!
The hubris of the notion that we Americans must pay exorbitant prices for medication in order to fund pharmaceutical research is obscene. As if all pharmaceutical research only takes place in the US, and only because it’s so profitable here. And we just accept this as true, even though it isn’t. Witness AstraZeneca and Covid vaccines, or Bayer, Merck, Novartis, etc.
Thank you. If I hear one more person denigrate the Canadian health care system I will scream.
I’ll be right next to you, screaming into the void.
My daughter is married to a Canadian and has PR. I gather that the Canadian system has the right idea, is cheaper, effective, and far more equitable, but like so many "pubic good" things around the world, needs more material support.
After having visited several Europeans countries it's hard to conclude that the US is a first world country.
Thank you DonOLD and what remains of the Republicans party.
Keep in mind DonOD will still have control of SCOTUS after the election even if the Democrats control the other two branches of the government.
Joe was reticent about getting rid of the filibuster rules. I'm not so sure Kamala will be as reticent especially if she has a majority of +2 or more in the Senate.
As bad as McConnell was as Majority and Minority Leader, it's likely to be as bad or worse when he steps down at the end of the year.
Scott needs to be defeated in Florida.
OMG. If only. He should be beatable but he's so rich and not afraid to use whatever it takes of his own $$$$. Last time he spent over $60 million of his own money (ok it was our money that he stole from Medicare/Medicaid.
There had long been a Jekyll/Hyde component to our nation. The good is very,very good. The bad is horrid. Our job is to help the better angels win.
And, they are better drivers! They do not hog the passing lanes.
That's the first thing I noticed when driving from Copenhagen to Oslo.
That’s the Rep…. Fading fast
Yeah, what a horrible, dystopian future that would be!
I’ll have chips with that dystopian future, and some pico de gallo, too.
Margaritas all around!
Cheers!
😂🤣😂
LOL, Margaret...yum!
Great....now I'm hungry for a taco and maybe a spoonful of (traditional) refried beans.
😂
Here’s the funny thing about Trump’s denial of knowing anything about Project 2025…Suppose polling showed that voters approved of the project rather than disdained it. Trump would claim he wrote the 950 pages himself and it was the greatest treatise ever written, maybe better than the bible itself, and that nobody has ever seen anything better.
You got that right!
"......beat the hell out of 'em." Amen!
If you win, if you beat them.....
They will still be there.
You have to change your system.
The Roy Cohn's, The McCarthy's, The Roger Stone's, The Steve Bannon's, The Stephen Miller's.... they will still be there.
They will find their next Nixon, or Reagan, the next Trump, and they will do better next time.
Sort out the dysfunctionality of your system or you will lose it all.
Suggestions are welcome. And democracy is about improving on the dysfunctions, so we're all involved who wish to make it better. Have you read the Democratic platform for 2024? It is absolutely chock-full of quite specific directions and conditions that need to be changed. Do you have anything to add? We need all the help we can get, and I wish we could start discussing things better here. Education -our own as well - is a primary place to pay attention as far as our future citizens go and what they need in all their diversity.
As a longtime teacher Tim Walz realized that when kids are hungry and malnourished they do not learn as well. So along with the Minnesota legislature and a very healthy budget surplus they made free nutritious meals a day available to all children.
Anorexia and other eating disorders can easily be identified in a school cafeteria setting. But, rarely can it be treated in a school setting.
We need to provide resources to identify and treat eating disorders in the schools before a child is physically and/or mentally damaged for life.
I absolutely agree Robin. Education is the only long term solution. Critical thinking, logic and scientific method must be taught in all schools.
If people have the tools to think coherently.... they can still be wrong, cruel, evil, selfish, but the outlook is brighter.... mainly because we can rule out "gullible".
A place where science is refered to as a belief system should not exist in the modern world.
Agreed....hopefully, a democratic sweep in November will assure legislation that strengthens our democracy. Hopefully, this fight for democracy will not be forgotten by future generations.
Christopher, much like passing legislation to close the holes that 45 pointed out, we now also need to close the holes pointed out by Project 2025.
Yes Mary, an ongoing job, I think it will be alright. But critical thinking must be taught in the schools too, the future depends on it.
For some unknown reason, Trump dent me campaign literature. He starts with, you don’t have much time so I will get right to the point, then fills 2 pages with small print.
His message:
#1: SEND MONEY
A distant #2:
BIDEN, FAR-LEFT, MARXISTS (promoted by the FAKE NEWS MEDIA) are
* flooding the country with illegal immigrants and fentanyl
* crushing families with crime, high costs, lower wages and high taxes
* making US oil dependent on Saudis, Venezuela and giving oil reserves to Communist China
* indoctrinating our children to hate America
Harris has to be ready to blow this bs out of the water:
1. The Democrats negotiated the strongest bipartisan border security bill and Trump killed it so he could run for president on the issue, and he is doing that now.
2. Crime was much higher under Trump and is down by 26% under Biden/Harris; Trump handed off death and economic collapse when he left the presidency in an insurrection; he left a tax cut for billionaires (screwing average Americans) and plans to renew those billionaire tax cuts if elected; wages are up under Biden and we have led the world in lowering the impact of global inflation and over the last 12 months is low enough to cut interest rates, all without a recession.
3. Under Biden/Harris, for the first time in the last 100 years, the United States is energy independent and we have done so while addressing the crisis of climate change. Our country was never energy independent under Trump who denies the truth about climate change and its devastating impact on American families and communities.
4. Hate has been Donald Trump’s consistent message in his plan to divide Americans for his own personal gain. Harris/Walz promise to unite America and Americans, and to do it with joy on our faces and in our hearts.
Yes, beat the hell out of them with the truth.
The pillars of Trump/Vance platform - Hate, Anger, Resentment, Revenge and Misinformation. (HARRM). Everything than CFDT says, can be categorized into one or more of these file pillars.
That is an excellent acronym.
👍
I really like that, Gary. Thank you.
Wasn't that the same plan as the Ghostbusters had?
"Get 'em!"
yes, get 'em. But get 'em properly please
I'd love to see that movie!
The cliche response to any suggestion that drug company profits have become extortionate, and yet...
Thing were not so crazy during most of the 20th Century, (including CEO pay) and yet innovation flourished, producing many forms of electronic communication, computers, space travel, relativity, cracking DNA, semiconductors, including the computer "chip", and many, many others. Could it be that, while it is clear that innovation, and particular highly technical innovation is aided by sufficient funding, that maybe just pouring more money into a corporation does not necessarily produce more. Maybe excess profits just let companies absorb other companies, shedding jobs and and unleashing high prices. Perhaps the lessening of competition might actually diminish the rate of innovation, as companies that dominate market share get too comfortable with manipulating markets and milking cash cows. Don't forget that through most of the 20th Century there was such a thing as anti-trust.
As long as Pfizer spend just 15% of their budget on research & development, but 50 (!!)% on PR & legal, they are not allowed to whine in any way. They could consider doing less advertising and more lab work, or cut down on trying to push competitors off the rails with court cases.
"AbbVie spent $11 billion on sales and marketing in 2020, compared to $8 billion on R&D.
Pfizer spent $12 billion on sales and marketing, compared to $9 billion on R&D.
Novartis spent $14 billion on sales and marketing, compared to $9 billion on R&D.
GlaxoSmithKline spent $15 billion on sales and marketing, compared to $7 billion on R&D.
Sanofi spent $11 billion on sales and marketing, compared to $6 billion on R&D.
Bayer spent $18 billion on sales and marketing, compared to $8 billion on R&D.
Johnson & Johnson spent $22 billion on sales and marketing, compared to $12 billion on R&D." https://www.csrxp.org/icymi-new-study-finds-big-pharma-spent-more-on-sales-and-marketing-than-rd-during-pandemic/#:~:text=Pfizer%20spent%20%2412%20billion%20on,to%20%249%20billion%20on%20R%26D.
R&D is what makes them competitive so it probably won’t go away as claimed if the prices are reduced by Medicare. I would like to know what % of the money spent on sales and marketing is going in to politicians pockets…..
Despite the press reminding us every once in a while that antibiotic resistant bacteria are a very serious medical problem and a looming, potentially catastrophic threat, much of needed regulation of their overuse is said by the press to be "impossible" because of "the farm lobby". Big Pharma has pretty much abandoned looking for solutions because the real (quick and extreme) profit is in drugs that people take every day, not just occasionally when sick (the prudent incentive is to REDUCE the use of antibiotisc as much as is practical). Like climate abuse, society remains pretty passive, as the scale of the threat grows, and large vested interest do all they can to keep it that way. Profit uber alles may yet (literally) be the death of us yet.
So it is. Big pharma doesn't invest in antibiotics. Because how long will someone take antibiotics, in their whole life? Maybe a few weeks, summa summarum. Where's the revenue in that? Then rather find the next "somewhat better" statin or blood pressure drug that people have to take for 30 or 40 years, now THAT is profit.
Amazing and ouch and thank you 100 Panthers! I recall when I first saw advertising on TV for drugs because I was horrified.
Re: sales and marketing and money behind media exposure:
Years ago I saw an anti-smoking ad in which a cool-looking dude was smoking a cigarette and the line (with a printed caption as I recall it) said, 'Smoking can cause erectile dysfunction' and the visual accompanying that line was the cigarette in the dude's mouth drooped. YES was my response at the time, a short and effective graphic! I couldn't believe my eyes how humorous and memorable the ad campaign could have been but I never saw it appear again.
I love that! I didn't see it either but it was obviously effective if you only saw it once and remembered the ad.
I was talking to a clerk in a convenience store this morning. She told me that she quit smoking 15 years ago because the dentist told her that smoking could eventually cost her her teeth.
Who doesn't know of someone that smokes that hasn't lost one or more teeth?
I saw that ad a couple times. Fabulous!!
Back in the mid-1990's I met someone who had discovered a new drug. He told me that to get through the double-blind FDA testing and then to manufacture it and bring it to market could cost over $100 million and take 10 years.
I had a similar conversation with an Professor who had led a team that created surgical robots. Under NDA he shared their business plan which included a timeline to market and the estimate costs and ROI. And he was right-on, on both the timeline and costs.
When you see the video from an internal surgery it is likely this was his invention. I chose not to invest.
My point is many of the advances in pharmaceuticals and surgical tools are coming from universities or from start-ups. Once they reach a certain point in the process they have to determine if they can raise $100 million or more in venture capital or sell their invention to a large corporation with deep pockets.
This has happened over and over in virtually every industry. You may have seen the movie about the gentleman that invented the intermittent windshield wiper. It didn't end well for him but there are few vehicles without intermittent wipers sold today.
I have read several articles about RCA stealing, or attempting to steal independent inventors patents, including analog TV (the sort most of us grew up with) (invented by Philo T Farnsworth who won) and Edwin Armstrong FM radio and TV (Amstong lost and committed suicide but his widow eventually won). Armstrong also invented a several important techincal systems such as superheterodyne radio frequency amplification, built into virtually all receiving equipment of the era.
So much that is taken for granted and for which there is little impetus to change is rigged against what Leona Helmsley called "the little people".
I absolutely despise those drug commercials, "ask your doctor" for meds no one can afford or require endless prior authorization by docs who would rather be taking care of patients. The drug reps were a nuisance, too. "Can I count on you for X number of new prescriptions for this thing we have priced out of reach" No wonder a bunch of us have retired.
It reminds me of TV commercials I saw as a kid; "Ask mom to buy...."
Cameron, at my cardiologist’s suggestion, I now purchase my Xarelto from Drug Mart in Canada. I save approximately $200 for 84 days. The service is fast and excellent. I also now get my Synthroid from them and will add Olmesartan for my next refill!
Advertising increases demand, but so does affordable pricing!
Wow!
50% on PR and legal - DM, does that include lobbying efforts and political donations?
We rarely talk about lobbyists here, but one lobbyist for Pfizer or Eli Lily can easily win over a Republican Senator or Congresscritter. We can each write a dozen letters to Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio but at the end of the day, we have no change to sway their opinion if a lobbyist has their ear.
I remember when someone prank-called Scott Walker, pretending to be one of the Koch Bros. Scott was like a dog panting for a bone.
Or puts money in their pockets!
While budget constraints lead to ineffective enforcement of anti-trust laws.
As well as de facto bribery.
Think Boeing
Interesting point. But could you please edit that sentence "Perhaps the lessening of completion ......". Is that a typo?
If you substitute "the lessening of competition" It makes more sense.
Yup, thanks.
Maybe???
Thank you Professor Richardson.
Trump will continue to throw anything he can find at the wall. None of it has to be based upon reality. In fact, as you document and cite, he is telling his base (and the news networks who cover his "news conferences" are amplifying his disinformation and propaganda beyond rabid Fox "News" viewers) that 4 + 3 equals 219. Later, the occasional fact-check might say "this was an embellishment." -instead of calling it yet another outright lie from a convicted felon and pathological liar seeking the Presidency to accomplish three personal goals. One is to stay out of prison. The second is to seek retribution for what he views as "persecution" for his numerous crimes. The third is to enrich himself with gifts that so-called "Justice" Clarence Thomas could only dream about.
Trump's concern about how inflation has impacted average families in the United States is laughable. He can throw out meaningless numbers as a "hail mary" to solidify his base who blindly believe anything that either he or Fox "News" tells them (in spite of the damages awarded to Dominion Voting Systems https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/apr/18/fox-dominion-settle-us-defamation-lawsuit). He is working to capture the anger and frustration of those who have seen their tenuous personal economic standing eroded due to CEO greed, the lack of competition after years of unchallenged mergers and acquisitions, and the result of multiple generations of GOP trickle down economic policy that shifted wealth from the middle class to the top. The people impacted do not understand that Biden/Harris policies have pursued some of the deeper economic issues, and the media has trivialized them and, since they cannot be reduced to a 20 second sound bite -have not reported upon the positive impact an agency, such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has to help people versus unbridled corporate power.
Exactly. Great nutshell.
How I hate the corporate media.
I have lived in Europe (Romania) for over 7 years now. Frankly, I encourage every single Republican-voter who thinks the government's very existence is "socialism" to live here for a couple years--just to observe the STARK difference in healthcare costs. I had health insurance for 5 years here--it cost me $70 a month for "high" coverage. I was forced to stop it this past year (complicated), so now I pay out of pocket. And guess what? I can. (I'm 55 BTW, so no, not just some young buck who can live healthy doing nothing). Including getting tests like MRIs (typical cost? $175). No, no major surgery--that would be hard. But normal, preventive healthcare? Absolutely. I am on three statins now and they cost me, grand total, about $45 a month. Yes, you read that correctly. That 3.4X average? For many things it's 5X.
Only once you've lived here and experienced this a while can you see how colossally, criminally negligent, dysfunctional and people-hating the US healthcare system is and how insanely out-of-whack drug costs are. Americans, including The Right, hate our government for one reason: it has hated us. It's just the Right are too stupid to see it's THEIR policies (with ample help from the Virtue Left since the 90s) that got us here.
Robert McT, it seems a needless overstatement as well as misaligned to talk about "people-hating US healthcare system" when what we'te looking at in the healthcare system is the same we see in the MSM and so much else troubling about the basic structure of so many institutions in the US: the dominance of the for-profit motive, privatization of things which have no business generating profits I would place healthcare (and prisons) squarely at the center of this misplaced reliance.
And schools!
". . . . House speaker Mike Johnson . . . killed a bipartisan border security bill BECAUSE TRUMP WANTED TO KEEP THE ISSUE OG IMMIGRATION OPEN so he could campaign on it."
Soooo, let me get this straight. There is an invasion, this week it is twenty million, from jails in Venezuela and other nasty governments, crossing the Southern border.
Soooo, let me get this straight. The Senate passes a bi-partisan immigration bill, which, like any bill addressing an urgent and wide-ranging issue, is not quite perfect but a great start.
So let me get this straight. Imperfect bills are almost always a good start in building a long-term policy through subsequent improvements.
Soooo, let me get this straight. With this invasion of thirty million -- anticipating the former President's number for next week -- raging and endangering the American dream, poisoning the American blood, etc., the former President says, "Hey, let's not do anything about this invasion of forty million people that do not look like us [ gotta think September, here] for five months and let this destruction of Black jobs continue unabated."
NOW, I know who the former President's role models are:
1, Benito Mussolini;
2. Joseph Goebbels; and, most importantly,
3. Falstaff (King Henry IV, part-1, ACT II SCENE IV).
https://youtu.be/yfXn088JAI4
P.S., if such an invasion is really taking place (sic), ¿how does the deliberate delaying of needed legislation and policy responses NOT seem traitorous?
Not our current president, Ned
I inserted 'former' two more times. I had assumed people would know I was saying former President Trump. I am suspicious about how dire the border situation is.
While the former President and his vassals in Congress yell and scream about the border, the country gets a message: "Hey! Come on in! The border is open but may not be much longer."
And that the former president douses a fine start toward a policy solution in the middle of this sales pitch is traitorous in spirit, if not in legality. Thankfully, President Biden has responded.
May he stay former forever. I do know, but he never deserved the title in the first place. I’m forever disgusted that he and W will always be considered presidential and given accolades that neither deserve.
Clearly, Ned, you are not living in MAGA-land.
Ned, it's all pretty similar to tRump's management of the insurrection on January 6th; "there's a crisis so let's do our best to do nothing so I can carry on carrying on."
Especially if it keeps him in the spot-light.
The spotlight is his oxygen
Astute there, J.D.! Many thanks.
He would wither and die without it. But not before pulling more crazy Schitt.
That's a lot of people in Venezuelan jails and asylums. No wonder they want to leave.
huh... Looks to me like we got the newsletter text repeated twice ? I read it on my phone first then re-read it on my pc in case it was some weird glitch on my phone... but it's there twice with a separating comment of "August 15, 2024 (Thursday)."
But anyway, Dr. Heather quotes Jill Lawrence:
"Yesterday, Jill Lawrence of The Bulwark noted that Trump and his allies don’t even need to enact all of Project 2025: simply gutting the nonpartisan civil service and filling almost 2 million government jobs with those who are loyal to Trump “above even laws, courts, security, liberty, the ‘general welfare,’ and the rest of the Constitution” would be enough to destroy the country as we know it."
And I believe she's correct, the ensuing chaos from replacing qualified experienced civil service staff with new blindly loyalist staff would throw monkey wrenches into the operation of our government.
We the People must continue our efforts to get out the vote so that Harris/Walz wins by an uncontestable landslide of votes, in order to enable our democracy, imperfect as it may be, to continue to exist.
Much contemporary corporate skulduggery, including these drug pricing shenanigans, was conceived and set in motion by a then private document now known by the anodyne name, The Powell Memo., written by the later Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell. At the risk of being overly simplistic and dramatic, it essentially laid out a strategy for big business to control America.
“ "Attack on the American Free Enterprise System," an anti-Communist and anti-New Deal blueprint for conservative business interests to retake America.[17][18] ”
“His 1971 Powell Memorandum became the blueprint for the rise of the American conservative movement and the formation of a network of influential right-wing think tanks and lobbying organizations, such as The Heritage Foundation and the American Legislative Exchange Council.”
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/assets/usa-courts-secrecy-lobbyist/powell-memo.pdf
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_F._Powell_Jr.#Powell_Memorandum,_1971
Thanks - I forgot about this. This is essential reading.
So many gems in this newsletter! This one made me laugh: "...candidate Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) said: 'We actually have the plans, we have the policies, to accomplish this stuff—'" Stuff? What stuff?
Biden and Harris speeches 8/15/24 in Upper Marlboro, MD:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGeJOsDpJNE
I cheered when Biden told us what "our Project 2025" was!
Vance knows about “stuff.” What a guy. Ha
Oh no, a country where everyone has healthcare - it's astonishing to me how to a significant portion of republican voters (and not even all of them MAGA folk, I believe) the mere notion of universal healthcare is so frightening. As if people going bankrupt because they couldn't afford insurance, or because their insurance didn't cover their particular problem, was an inherent part of the American Dream. I guess paying taxes so *everyone* gets healthcare, instead of paying so only *you* get to be on the phone for three hours with the insurance going over every single charge and then paying a hefty co-pay anyway IS awful awful communism. Sigh. I've often toyed with the idea of just wandering around MAGA rallies with a sign that says "I come from a communist country - ask me about single payer healthcare". (I come from Spain, btw.)
I don’t know where I’m going if he wins I’m outta here.
He's not going to win if you work hard for Harris-Walz.
So far I’ve hosted 4 postcard writing sessions. Total of 27 people.
Me too
I certainly hope so. I also hope that the Supreme Court doesn’t simply rule 6:3 that the victory should go to Rump…
SCOTUS is accountable to NOBODY. The buck stops with them. If SCOTUS decides that some frivolous election fraud case is somehow "constitutional," no man can stop them.
It would then be Trump standing before the inauguration officiate, (Chief Justice John Roberts,) instead of the EC winner, Kamala Harris.
That's what I mean.
Yes, I agree with you. (Sorry if my response seemed confrontational. I've been meaning to work on writing responses that clarify agreement vs disagreement!)
Confrontational? Not at all! It's just how things are! (sadly)
Wonder what a demo/independent preparation for dealing with the greedy horde of MAGAs needs to shape up to be, beyond for instance Mark Elias and all his lawyers, and including police departments everywhere, perhaps state police (?) perhaps national guard, for protection of not just the vote; also poll workers, voters in person, other local officials etc.
I heard Canada is building a wall.
You can still get through in the BWCA, but wear warm clothes.
Rumour has it Australia's nice. 😊