Law professor Bruce Mann’s 2002 book on the early history of American debt, Republic of Debtors, explained how early Americans redefined bankruptcy to excuse defaulting on commercial debt as a result of the volatility of market forces, while retaining the old idea that defaulting on personal debt was a moral failing.
Yes, Bidenomics is working and Biden is keeping his promises and little people will get some economic breathing room. And Yes, Republicans are baring their teeth and biting everyone who crosses them. But what I wanna know is: are they (R's) really becoming progressively toothless? Can we start to breath a bit? What about the threat of the Freedom Caucus to shut the government down? Can Democrats prevail and keep the country moving steadily in the right direction until the 2024 election?
Their goal is obvious: hurt the economy to hurt Biden. They will stop at nothing, even it causes economic pain for millions of citizens. A minority faction is holding the government hostage, again and again.
In addition, by holding Government funding bills hostage, they will force across the board cuts to all federal departments due to a poison pill provision in the debt ceiling agreement. Since they failed in their attempt to block that agreement, they are now doing their utmost to make McCarthy and the rest of the R House caucus renege on the funding levels they previously agreed to. In so doing they are making McCarthy weaker. He’s their marionette now. If he crosses them, they’ll try to end his speakership.
I think that we can safely categorize what is still known as the Republican Party as a Fascist oligarchy catering to its KKK (aka MAGA) constituency. The wealthy manipulate their evangelical racist citizens with mass media (Fox, OAN, Alex Jones and Newsmax) with disinformation. The masses want to maintain what white privilege they currently have. It's the 1920's KKK risen.
Once concrete example off the top of my head: legacy admissions at Ivy League colleges might be recognized as what it is--an affirmative action program for the most wealthy, who are overwhelmingly white.
More generally, if we are very lucky, they lose the plausible deniability that makes it possible for them to disregard the effects of systemic racism, sexism, homophobia, and any other form of discrimination which they have not themselves personally experienced.
It shouldn't be too difficult to think of more after a glance around at economic and social conditions in the US.
What they "lose" is a sense of superiority. My dad was born in Texas in 1900 and I in 1940. When I was a teenager my dad told me that he couldn't work under a Black man. It was a clear case of implicit bias. Black men never had any positions of authority that were visible to us back then, ergo, they didn't have the capacity to be in positions of authority. The same held true for what were then known as Latin Americans. Almost all were involved in manual labor. An excellent book that gave me insight into how implicit bias builds up is Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'s book, "Stony the Road," about Reconstruction and the rise of Jim Crow.
"The hypocrisy is stunning, and the disregard for working and middle-class families is outrageous.” You nailed it, Joe. Battling a SCORRUPTUS that's off the rails with new ideas like SAVE is impressive.
JL, "by any means necessary......" how do these men and women sleep at night....maybe they don't...... They seek power only for the here and now....only to fuel their own egos....not to improve Democracy throughout the world, not to improve the health, welfare, and education of our children.....or our adult population....not to deal with crippling debt unless it involves them personally.....not to care for women!!!!..(biology note: a woman can not become pregnant without a man).... a lack of care for our earth not even the very air we breathe.
We will not live forever...what are we leaving for our fellow humans who are being born daily throughout the world. "to whom much is given...much is required!"
What truly bothers me is that they (R) took an oath of office to work for the good of the people and all they care about is their own power and pocket, no regard for the country and it’s people
I would add that the oil companies have the same goal: raise prices, hurt the economy to hurt the Biden administration that’s trying to transition off oil.
I want to see a Senator create a bill to repeal the 1917 debt limit statute for this fiscal year and repeal all statutes enacted pursuant to it; the Senate, at least, appears to be willing to act in a bipartisan way for the good of the country (to a limited extent, anyway), unlike the House. This constant battle is embarrassing and just creates an additional way to cause the Congress to be more disfunctional - and there's certainly enough without it - just look at "coach" looneytuberville's actions.
I do believe (because I *have* to believe) that we the people will "keep the country moving steadily in the right direction," not only until the 2024 election but beyond it. At the same time -- well, maybe the Rs are losing their teeth but there's an appalling number of guns out there, many of them in unreliable (to put it mildly) hands. So I'm not going to let my guard down just yet.
Oh, the Rs want guns in the hands of goons to do their dirty work for them. They are without a moral compass and only money and power matter to them. All the talk about protecting children is just talk. All the pro life pro family is just talk. They have no policies to help ordinary people, so they spend their time stirring the pot.
Indeed they do. Thank you for posting these examples. I am also talking about the unwillingness to do something about guns despite the mass killings in schools. Kids can't know anything about our not so glorious history or about people who are not heterosexual, but it's fine to let them be targets of some unstable person with a gun.
I’ve always said that until one of their family members gets shot or killed. They don’t react to the issue of gun violence, or ieliminating guns, but one supposedly did get shot. I don’t remember in the article if the person was killed or not, but that republican shifted gears, but it takes more than one unfortunately and not that I want anybody killed, but …
It seems to me that while the Constitution protects the right to bear arms, because a militia was necessary, a "militia" in this context is very different from self-styled gangs that use the word today. The Constitution specifies:
"To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress; "
From my impression of those who regard the 2nd Amendment as a grant of impunity, is that it implies the assumption of a right to use violence to enforce one's personal will; as opposed to lawfully prescribed, limited, and theoretically accountable use of force by the Armed Services and police, or an attacked individual. That notion of moderation and accountability is eroded by a too often tragic shoot first and assess later mentality in police work and war, not to mention the madness of "Stand your Ground" (so long as you're white) laws. A lot of the rhetoric of firearm obsessed groups appears to me to celebrate a presumed use of deadly force as a tool for everyday life.
Three major tools of asymmetric societal power occur to me (I'm sure there are more) in the form of money, political position, and violence, and each can persuade or force people to do what you desire. Right wingers seem driven to dominate all three, and the more a society becomes corrupt, the more those three become essentially interchangeable. I can't rule out intentional, as-necessary, violence is legitimate cases of self-defense, but see the excesses of violence as our species oldest, most destructive, and most threatening enemy.
One of their extended family, Steve Scalise, was shot along with four others on a baseball field. It didn't change his mind or any of the other cave dwellers.
And STILL has anyone been in any way "penalized" for what was done to those families & is STILL being done because in the orange administration, they never made any attempt to keep track of the children or their families - I suppose, because they were "immigrants". Seems to me thats something that should be hung around every one of these many individuals necks (starting at the top and continuing all the way to the bottom). It IS a crime! Why was it not treated like one?
What matters more is why so many people -- especially white men -- want guns in their hands. (I'd start with racism, misogyny, and serious insecurity.) Attributing it all to "the Rs" doesn't tell us much.
I am talking about the Rs at the top, not the militia wannabes. White elites have a long history of keeping people who might make common ground against them separate by playing on the insecurities of those whites lower on the scale. And I stand by my comment that this is deliberate policy by Rs in government. They want the money and the power, but they don't want to do the dirty work on the ground. They want public officials to be afraid to take a stand and the rest of us as well. They know that white men in particular feel a loss because it's no longer enough to be a white male amid all the gains (and now some losses) made by women, POC, and those who sexual identity is not heterosexual. I reported here on harassment here in Salem of a left leaning business. There was a pic of the male doing it and while he doesn't have a gun and gear in the pics, he does look like a man who might have some resentments.
That is exactly why I am writing postcards to voters with Activate America. The weirder the Republicans become the stronger and louder we have to become. Greed is not good governance. We have to fight back if for no other reason than for self preservation.
(Just a note from a few days ago) Hi Jeri, I saw an article in yesterday's Guardian speculating that Prighozin is in Africa. They couldn't confirm and the photo was at a distance. And of course he is up to no good.
I'll bet some day there will be a market for second hand guns and a mad rush to ditch them. Perhaps a buy-back program could be instituted. Mark my words.
Buy-back programs are already happening. Another strategy in my state (MA) and perhaps elsewhere is to control what police departments do with their used weapons when they're replaced by new ones. In MA, which has relatively strict gun-control laws, they were winding up on the second-hand market in neighboring states. Here's what an organization in my region, the Falmouth Gun Safety Coalition, is doing. https://falmouthgunsafetycoalition.org/
Sarah I consider the Freedom Caucus an outgrow of New Gingrich’s negative role in the House in the late 1990s and early 2000s. I find it a naysaying Neanderthal group that has Speaker McCarthy by his balls.
The only positive thing I can say about the Freedom Caucus is that it expelled Marjorie Taylor Greene as a Judas.
The Freedom Caucus is a danger to the nation. They wish to wreck the government to further their cause - the demolition of the secular administrative state. Stupid. Sick.
😂 My recent deep-dive into Paleolithic Man doesn’t answer that hypothesis. Because Repugs cling to adverse, non-realities, I have to believe such behavior will result in eventual extinction . . . And Neanderthals also went extinct by ~40,000 years ago. However, they did interbreed with H. Sapiens; perhaps we are seeing throwback behaviors as opposed to aberrant, branching evolution yielding trumpanzees. 🤣
Possibly Denisovans or Floresiensians. Just as extinct, but having left an even more miniscule amount of DNA (virtually undetectable, but thought to be there, the Ds at least having reproduced with the Ns; no real information about the Fs' DNA) in modern humans than Neanderthals.
Yup. Prove government doesn't work and get voters to vote them in to deliver a form of politics with enough malice and entertainment to keep proving themselves superior. Works in our little redbelt where showing your middle finger is a sign of fellowship, cheered and jeered all together. "We showed them mf's!"
Democrats and six sane Republicans need to pass a move to require a vote on a CR that extends the present budget priorities to January 7, 2025, and tell the Confederate traitors to worry about the rope they're all going to see in 2025. Maybe even bribe the six "sane" ones by promising not to run an opponent in 2024 (but only the one time; it's up to them to be vote-worthy on their own past that).
'The Lines Between Red and Blue America Are Blurring, Not Hardening'
Okay, I understand wanting to read that headline again. Could it be true?
'Nearly 20 years ago, Barack Obama insisted that we are one people. In the Pledge of Allegiance — which I found myself reciting for the first time in my life every morning before class in Kansas — we say we are one nation. But lately it can seem the red and blue are not only two different worlds but also doomed to an ever-warming cultural war.'
'These days, I travel several times a year between the Bay Area — where I’m raising a family of my own — and Kansas, sometimes spending a month or more on my parents’ farm, surrounded by wheat, soybeans, alfalfa and corn. And I’m here to tell you our divisions are not so much hardening as blurring — rural and urban America are not as divided as many people think.'
'The possibility of this country, the promise, is based on a union mutually beneficial even as it contains multitudes of difference. What we might think of as blue-state values (environmentalism, support for L.G.B.T.Q. communities, internationalism, racial and cultural diversity) are also valued by people living in red states. And some of these values (conservation, land stewardship, growing your own food) were originally also red-state values that blue areas of the country tend to forget they didn’t invent.' (NYTimes, Opinion)
Read on, friends. 'They' lie to break us apart in their lust for power and wealth, making it almost impossible for us to know the truth. Teacher and poet, Jesse Nathan, has another story to tell us. I am happy to gift 'The Lines Between Red and Blue America Are Blurring, Not Hardening' on this fine day. See the link below.
It IS nice to hear that some shared values bridge the rural/urban gap. Maybe there are enough "independents" that can find common ground regardless of political babble. Good.
There is a great middle of America that doesn't think about politics the way most of us on this forum do. They actually don't think about politics very much at all. They don't have the time. Or the energy.
Two jobs, two or more kids demanding 110% of their attention, get them ready for school, get them on the bus, go to work...oh, the bus just dropped them home, get 'em ready for their important after school activities (soccer, T-Ball, karate, etc.)...work in some dinner there somewhere. Wait, one of them is sick, off to the doc or ER.
FSM forbid that the parent actually have a dentist appointment, checkup or follow up on a health problem. FSM forbid they have an interest of their own...a hobby? HA! OMG, "didn't you buy food this week?" Nobody mowed the lawn, neighbors are making wise cracks. The toilet downstairs is broken. The plumber wants $130 just to show up!
Wait, the car needs service. Wait, a parent (our generation) is sick and needs help. Welcome to being the meat in a generational sandwich. Watch a little TV, pass out, start again.
Partisan politics? "Freedom Caucus? Who?" The Earth's ecosystem is collapsing? The brain can only handle and process so much information and responsibility in a 24 hour period. But one of those chores in the endless list of family responsibilities is paying the bills.
And if Mom or Dad read an article or open the mail to learn that President Biden is implementing a program to help with student debt...then that could be some politics to pay attention to. Wow. A president who is brilliant and compassionate. What's not to like?
I just returned from my 50th high school reunion in Omaha. Nebraska has been a deep red state my entire life even though there have been a few Democrat Senators, Governors and Congressmen.
Most of the 275 attendees avoided talking about politics, but the few times I did most of the women were Democrats and most of the men were moderate Republicans. Not a very official poll, but I agree that the lines are blurred.
The Congressional district that include metro Omaha went to Biden in 2020 and to the Republican Bacon for Congress. I've exchanged a few emails with Don Bacon, and although he toes the Republican line, he says he does not support Trump. He also is one of the few Republicans that voted for the infrastructure bill and took a lot of heat as a result.
Note: Ginni Thomas graduated from the same high school as I did, class of 1975. Not surprising that she in the Young Republicans club in high school.
Gary, thank you for the report about your 50th high school reunion in Omaha. 'The lines between us are blurring' is a good line, which speaks to -- we have our differences... heck, we New Yorkers have our differences, too! There are extremists, there are dividers, and there are haters, but we are less apart than the liars would have us. The truth has been hiding in plain sight because we have been listening to too much of 'their' noise and not talking enough to each other. Thanks again, Gary.
An article in the Fall 2023 issue of the ACLU Magazine features Nicki Nichols Gamble, a life-long abortion rights advocate in her 80's. CEO of Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts for 25 years, she has lived through episodes of violence, including the murder of one of her staff members. A facilitated dialogue after the murder between pro-choice and anti-abortion leaders was a turning point in her career as she realized the power of listening and responding respectfully to the passions and fears on both sides.
"Put another way, we may feel more polarized than we actually are."
At the ground level where we live this might be true, but, in Congress definitely it is not true. In Congress, Republicans are following whatever Putin tells them to do through Trump.
Good morning, Mike S. I am very happy you read and appreciated Jesse Nathan's view of our country. I don't agree that the far-right in Congress and elsewhere are Putin's puppets. They may seem like Trump's puppets, and he may be Putin's tool - maybe or/and/but -- they are loose cannons, ugly, reckless and dangerous maggots out for themselves. Trump has a big/ugly/cult, and they want a cut of that.
Mike, your observation about “the ground level” is significant. Like Fern, I try to believe that us ordinary citizens (blue, red or purple) care about many of the same things. HOWEVER, what is happening in Congress and state houses does NOT reflect the “ground level.” For many, if not all, republicans it is strictly a power grab. Damn everything else! The cost is to the citizenry of this country even if they are unwilling to see it or believe it. I know it is a generalization to say “all” republicans but I do so purposely because those that might have a moral compass don’t have a backbone to speak up. We then become the victims of their actions because we are not making these decisions and rules.
What grabs headlines is division, not cooperation. "Mother takes good care of her children" should be the most common headline there is, because it is by far the most common state of affairs. In order to survive and thrive, people must cooperate with each other at least 90% of the time. This figure goes up the more complex our system gets. I am not surprised that our values seem to be blending - we're just now noticing something that has been quietly happening all along.
1) "I’m here to tell you that our divisions are not so much hardening as blurring — rural and urban America are not as divided as many people think." The primary divide was never "rural vs. urban" to begin with: https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/16/politics/demographic-changes-voters-fault-lines/index.html It's nice that he noticed this, but it doesn't indicate that anything is changing, only that the narrative was false from the beginning
2) The entire article consists of nothing but feel-good stories. No actual data to back up his claims. Nice anecdotes, but "anecdote" is not the singular form of data.
It seems clear to me that the real divide is between the literal and ideological descendants of the Confederacy vs. the USA. The former have never, at any time, accepted the premise that all people are created equal. They have never, at any time, accepted the idea of a religiously neutral democratic republic. They have always been White "Christian" Nationalists. And their nation is not the USA, it's the CSA.
There never has been a time when we were truly one nation.
"That debt absorbs money people at the lower end of the economic scale would otherwise invest in homes, consumer goods, and so on, and the Biden administration has made it a priority to relieve some of that debt."
The Biden administration has lived up to its campaign mantra of the bottom-up, middle out manifesto through this debt relief program. Over the last 2 years, I have observed that Biden has build a government for the ordinary through building back better, Inflation Reduction Act, increase in manufacturing base that often provides jobs to the low-income and middle-income earners, and now he has extended debt relief to the common people. Those at the bottom of the pyramid often face systemic risks that the previous administrations had neglected and not prioritized in their government policies. Usually, debt relief was a preserve for the rich, a policy that continued breeding billionaires while making the working class struggle to have a living wage.
However, Republicans as they are, understand that if Biden Administration continued to offer debt relief to the ordinary, their political base is under attack. Remember, politicians often rely on those at the bottom of the pyramid to make a political living out of it. The ordinary are many and forms a political base. Republicans ensure that they oppose Biden Administration to show their supporters that the program isn't worthy. They make sure that those at the bottom of the pyramid are in constant problems so as to emerge as their saviors. This tactic has been widely used by African politicians with the likes of longest serving opposition leader Raila Odinga launching protests to destroy businesses and prevent the government from collecting taxes to create economic problems. After the damage, they will come and masquerade as true saviors just like how Republicans are doing currently.
But, the hypocrisy is that, they accept their own debt relief to get money for campaign in 2024. Opposition politics of progress is scarce nowadays.
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I think Mr. Ngetich's modest invitation to subscribe does not constitute trolling. He generally makes good points, and his occasional insertion of correlation between American and African politics is interesting and instructive. His participation in itself demonstrates how American politics have global effects, and for that reason alone, it's worth paying a bit of attention.
Jeri, I question the use of the word 'troll' for Edwin Kiptoo Ngetich's gentle encouragement of LFAA's subscribers to become members of his STARTUP newsletter. I would say that he adds thoughtful comments with reference to our Letters and exchanges as often soliciting attention to his work as well.
'A troll is Internet slang for a person who intentionally tries to instigate conflict, hostility, or arguments in an online social community.' (CGFGlobal)
Jeri, my initial reply to you provided the definition of a 'troll', so that it would be understood why such a label did not fit Edwin Kiptoo Ngetich's behavior on the forum, and that is a fact.
I feel like Jeri means that Edwin is “trawling/trolling” LFAA for followers in the cast “a net and capture way,” not that he’s an actual troll (per your definition). Not sure where Jeri lives but trolling/trawling for followers is a common expression in Australia and comes across a decidedly seedy and kinda rude unless the other account owner is okay with it (which I feel HCR might be since Edwin is rather earnest in the way he goes about it rather than toxic).
You have a clear understanding, Edwin. Many politicians, but all the MAGA crowd are hypocrits. They care only about themselves, their power and care nothing for their constituents.
Hi Edwin. I appreciate all you have to say. You come off as very intelligent, knowledgeable and informative. I would, however, encourage you to download a program like 'Grammarly' on to your computer to use so the reader isn't distracted from the English grammar errors along with whatever it is you have to say. Hopefully, you will receive this suggestion in the spirit of goodwill!
Gayle, some subscribers like to play with words, make them up, are careless in their writing, go to town with expletives, etc., so I have been distracted from time to time. Have you directed your interest in the use of language to anyone other than Edwin? I raise the question because Edwin's writing has not distracted me; there have been moments when I was aware of the effort he seemed to make in expressing a thought.
No, I haven't directed my interest in the use of language to anyone other than Edwin because I haven't felt the need. He is so forthright and eloquent in his comments, it feels like English might be a second language for him. I use Grammarly myself and it's improved my writing a great deal. I'm just wanting to help. I'm happy that he's "Happy to give it a try"!
Gayle, thank you for your reply. I think that you use 'Grammarly' yourself will be meaningful to those you recommend it to. I took note of that in case someone I am in touch with voices an interest in that type of assistance. Cheers!
Fern, if I may intrude my two cents, without being "that guy". English is a devilishly difficult language, between its grammar, all its colloquialisms, and its vocabulary, and I sympathize with anyone, native speaker or not, who has trouble with it. For someone whose native language is English, their ability to clearly express a thought through intentionally playing with the language (a favorite sport in my family) is different from the ability of someone whose native language is not English to express their thoughts clearly in English without making vocabulary or grammatical errors unintentionally. Gayle's suggestion of the availability of a program to lessen unintentional errors was clearly kindly meant, was politely stated, and not inapposite, based on the way Edwin uses the English language in his posts here - he obviously is using, and as clearly wants to use, the English language correctly (if there is such a thing, which can be debated), although errors sometimes creep in. He can use the program or not, whatever.
And as an aside, I'd be curious to know how many people commenting on HCR's Letters have a language other than English as their first language and how many consider themselves multilingual. I wish I were; I have a hard enough time with *%##* English!
Looking at the Congressional calendar, the House is only in session for 12 days between now and the end of the fiscal year on September 30. The Senate is in session for 17 days between now and then. The House has not yet voted on the bills that have been passed in the Appropriations committee along a party lien vote. The Senate has already passed their bipartisan versions of the 11 remainign appropriation bills (see below) but will need to participate in negotiations bridge the differences between the bills.
"Under the Antideficiency Act (initially passed in 1884 and amended in 1950), federal agencies cannot spend or obligate any money without an appropriation (or other approval) from Congress. When Congress fails to enact the 12 annual appropriation bills, federal agencies must cease all non-essential functions until Congress acts. This is known as a government shutdown. During shutdowns, many federal employees are told not to report for work. Government employees who provide what are deemed essential services, such as air traffic control and law enforcement, continue to work, but don’t get paid until Congress takes action to end the shutdown. All this applies only to the roughly 25% of federal spending subject to annual appropriation by Congress. Benefits such as Social Security continue to flow because they are authorized by Congress in laws that do not need annual approval (although the services offered by Social Security benefit offices may be limited during a shutdown). In addition, the Treasury can continue to pay interest on U.S. Treasury debt on time.
There have been four shutdowns where operations were affected for more than one business day. In 1995-1996, President Clinton and the Republican Congress were unable to agree on spending levels, so the government shut down twice, for a total of 26 days. In 2013, a standoff over funding for the Affordable Care Act resulted in a 16-day shutdown. And in December 2018 and January 2019, a dispute over border wall funding led to a shutdown that lasted 35 days; it was a partial shutdown because Congress had previously passed five of the 12 appropriation bills. "
The link below is an article that summarizes where the appropriations bills stand and the difference sbetween the House bills which have not yet had a floor vote and the Senate Bills which have passed on a bipartisan vote, several unamimously. The Senate bills respected the parameters in the debt ceiling agreement. The House Bills reflect what the Freedom Caucus positions were before McCarthy cut the deal to raise the debt ceiling.
Here are just a few examples of what the House bills will cut. They will negatively impact every person in America and in some cases are stunning in their cruelty.
"Cut the fruit and vegetable benefit in the Agriculture Department’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), which provides food assistance and other services to pregnant and postpartum adults, infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, by between 56 and 70 percent (depending on the recipient’s age), for about 5 million participants. Even with the benefit cut, it is also now apparent that the House Agriculture bill’s funding for WIC is well below the level needed to serve all eligible families who wish to participate.[9]
Cut the Education Department’s “Title I” Education for Disadvantaged Students program by 77 percent ($14.7 billion). This program makes grants to school districts serving communities experiencing high levels of poverty to help them provide additional services and supports to students from low-income or disadvantaged backgrounds. This funding is a core federal support for K-12 education.
Cut overall funding for the Environmental Protection Agency by 39 percent ($4.0 billion). Within this total, the account that covers personnel and other operating costs is cut by 26 percent and the grants that help cover the costs of infrastructure projects in states and communities, such as drinking water and wastewater treatment facilities, are cut by 55 percent.
Cut funding for agencies that protect workers’ rights, including a 33 percent cut to the National Labor Relations Board (which protects the rights of workers to form unions and engage in union activity), a 29 percent cut to the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division (which enforces laws relating to minimum wages, overtime, child labor, and family and medical leave, among others), a 15 percent cut to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and a 16 percent cut to the Mine Safety and Health Administration.
Cut funding for agency Offices of Civil Rights, which enforce civil rights requirements related to their agency’s mission and programs, including a 39 percent cut at the Department of Agriculture, a 25 percent cut at the Department of Education, and a 20 percent cut at the Department of Health and Human Services.
Cut funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by 8 percent ($1.6 billion).
Eliminate funding for “Title X” grants to support family planning clinics serving people with low incomes; this program received $286 million in 2023.
Cut the Housing and Urban Affairs Department’s Home Investment Partnership Program by two-thirds, from $1.5 billion to $500 million. This program provides funding to state and local governments for development of affordable housing for low-income families.
Cut the annual appropriation for the IRS by $1.1 billion (9 percent), on top of other provisions virtually eliminating the multi-year funding provided in the Inflation Reduction Act for long-term rebuilding of IRS capacity to serve taxpayers and enforce tax laws.
Cut the Social Security Administration’s customer service budget by $250 million, on top of more than a decade of cuts that have forced the agency to serve millions more beneficiaries at its lowest staffing level in over 25 years, causing significant backlogs and long waits for service.
Cut Head Start by $750 million (6 percent) and freeze funding for child care assistance, thus providing no adjustment for rising costs or large unmet needs for child care.
Eliminate the Education Department’s English Language Acquisition program (funded at $890 million in 2023), which makes grants to help schools meet the needs of students learning English.
Freeze the maximum amount of Pell Grants, which help students of modest means afford college, while college costs continue to rise. The House bills also eliminate funding for Work Study and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, two other college student aid programs, which received $1.23 billion and $910 million, respectively, in 2023.
It seems that the Freedom Caucus' idea of freedom is the freedom for the US to fail. I remember Trump's government shutdown in 2018 - 2019 was one of the few things that turned some of his supporters against him, and gave the Democrats a simple message to deliver like a drum beat for almost 6 weeks (Thank-you Speaker Pelosi!). This shutdown will cost the Freedom caucus - if the Democrats can project a simple, truthful message about it.
Honest to goodness, the people who they would be hurting with this "budget" ARE THEIR OWN CONSTITUENTS! What are they thinking?
And what are those contituents thinking, to vote for people who would do this to them and their families?
And where are the Democrats in those constituencies with the mailings and TV and radio ads publicizing exactly what the thugs' budget would do in their communities?
Republicans still have the upper hand in voter suppression and gerrymandering, which results in more Republicans holding public office granted to them by a minority of the voting public. Without fair representation, our voices will never be heard. Something to keep you pushing.
Yes, I believe we will prevail. Gerrymandering will make it a close contest. But the GQP is doing so much wrong as they flail about with their obstruction and desperate efforts ... and this President is doing so much right!
This administration has a long list of really smart policies and decisions. But the "SAVE" plan could be critically important on many levels. This is so exciting for young families and anyone who has had their life held back because of student debt. It could add momentum to an already healthy economy as debt payments continue to be re-routed back into housing, medical care and food.
President Biden and his advisors will be viewed by many younger people as brilliant heroes.
The SAVE plan can save the budgets of hard working families and young people who can't get out of their parents basement. This is a BIG DEAL. It is unassailable. This is delivering on campaign promises. This is the best form of politics. Doing the right thing to help those who deserve it. Spread the word. It's a great way to get out the vote for a Blue Victory.
I love to see the word ETHICS in print. In day to day conversations, the Republicons confuse it with esthetics...on purpose. They want all the good things for themselves and only take their pocketbooks seriously. That's why it's important to boycott their products and vote with your dollars to support Bidenomics
It depends partly on whether less extreme House Republicans will decide to work with Democrats to pass reasonable budget bills. The extremists depend on the rest of their party being paralyzed with fear. They may succeed. Or the Republicans in swing districts might decide being re-elected matters more than being obedient MAGA puppets.
There is an interesting idea called Feathers of Hope by Jerry Weiss on Substack for dealing with the Freedom Caucus. In short, he proposes forming a bi-partisan coalition to remove McCarthy and replace him with a moderate Republican (in recognition that the GOP is at least right now the majority party in the House). Jerry's arguments make sense and removing McCarthy would draw such fangs as the Freedom Caucus has.
I'd like to note that the current issue is Feathers of Hope,
https://jerryweiss.substack.com/p/we-need-to-be-talking-about-this, includes a link to a WP article dated August 18, 2023, (free for non-subscribers) on this idea, naming a dozen "moderate republicans" who could create a "governing caucus" within the republicans to participate in such a coalition.
"The list of enablers is long, but allow me to call out a dozen House Republicans who have the reputation, skill and political headroom to form the nucleus of a GOP 'governing caucus': Don Bacon (Neb.), Stephanie I. Bice (Okla.), Tom Cole (Okla.), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Mike Gallagher (Wis.), Mike Garcia (Calif.), Garret Graves (La.), Dusty Johnson (S.D.), David Joyce (Ohio), Michael Lawler (N.Y.), Michael McCaul (Tex.) and Michael R. Turner (Ohio). These members present themselves as reasonable, serious legislators, and, in most respects, they are. But it’s time — past time — for them to stand up to the wing nuts of their own party. If they lead, others will follow." https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/08/14/stop-government-shutdown-threats/.
Anyone here from any of these states, who has the misfortune of being (mis)represented by any of these individuals? Could you start writing letters, etc., to them to get them off their duffs and leading on this single matter, then acting within the republican gang to get rid of the heinous budget cuts proposed by the lunatic caucus?
No, no, no! A million times NO. They are not toothless, and we'd best not let down our guard for a moment on that notion Jerry. Sure, breathe deeply, meditate if you wish. Just don't let your guard down on these monsters. Democrats are well known to sometimes skip voting if it appears we have a lock on an election. Those are the days of the past, and we must do all in our power to squash them like unwanted bugs in our homes. Considering raising the voting age to twenty-five IS NOT being toothless in my estimation..
Raising or lowering the voting age requires a constitutional amendment. I think the Equal Rights Amendment has a better chance of being passed first. When I looked the issue up and saw that the 26th amendment had to pass to lower the voting age to 18 in 1971 (During the Vietnam War, I recall hearing a mantra similar to, "If they're old enough to fight and die, they're old enough to vote.), I saw lots of search result with the headlines suggesting that the voting age be lowered to 16, which likely has even a lower chance of passing.
But are they toothless? I don't think so, which is why I asked the question.
Liberals are too idealistic and expect systems to work. In the past they have believed that once a major legislative win was achieved, "the system" will keep working and preserve those gains. Most of the arguments on this substack follow that line of thinking, and it's a recipe for losing. What really happened is that reactionaries and some conservatives were awakened after liberal wins in the 1950s and 1960s and started their asymmetric political war, first with grass roots culture issues and now with national suppression issues, because they know liberals could win with the same tactics.
So back to toothless. Maybe they're not toothless, but they stand less of a chance to succeed in pushing the country back to pre-New-Deal days if we stay committed, united, and aware of the details. I have hope. I have hope we'll blow the fuckers out to space with super majorities in the Senate, a comfortable majority in the House, and flip a few more Red states Blue. Then I'll have the pleasure of worrying that the ultra-left will piss everyone off so much that the pendulum will start to swing hard right again.
Can Democrats prevail and keep the country moving steadily in the right direction until the 2024 election?
No, not steady, but whatever the Rs do in the House, we are not vulnerable in the Senate.
They are really up against the wall here and will shut down the government, impeach a nice and caring president, and upset the economy YET the voting citizens, on average, will see through the shenanigans. And the voters, on average, will not want a crazed president in office again.
BUT we have to get those young voters registered and fight the ridiculous suggestion from the republicans to raise the voting age to 25.
Yes! to the Teamsters. Yes! to defendants who lied under oath and are now coming clean. And Yes! to finding new ways to alleviate student debt.
But I can help wondering if GOP intransigence about minimizing or erasing student debt is also at least partly a plan to scare people away from higher ed. The less thoughtful and well-educated the citizens are, the more easily they can be manipulated. MA has now made college tuition-free for students over 25, a large slice of the community college population. While I applaud that move, I still wish that there would be some help for the majority of college teachers, those teaching contingently, aka "adjuncts" although they are central to higher ed's missions, not adjacent to it. But that's a topic for another day...
Every GOP "intransigence" has a specific strategic purpose. Forgiving student debt has a precedent going back to the late 60s--many of us had a percent of our debt forgiven for each year we taught in an inner city school. It was a real win for me because that's where I was going to teach anyway! I think partnering student-debt forgiveness with a program that will benefit the community is a win for everyone.
I agree, but a well educated populace is a key asset for any nation; the society as well as for individuals, particularly in a more educated and more competitive world. We are seeing first hand what happens when people are poorly informed and untrained to separate fact from fancy. State colleges used to be far more affordable. They should at least be better subsidized (as was the case pre-Reagan) if not free to all. What has wave after wave of "GOP" tax cuts done for YOU? What have they done, directly and indirectly, TO you?
Conversely, " . . . a well educated populace" is not "a key asset for any nation" run by a fascist regime. A well-educated populace is a mortal danger to fascism. I recently did research for an article about the Third Reich's speedy, meticulous, and tragically effective implementation of their own very special curricula throughout Germany . . .
You’re absolutely right, Joanne. And I think, as a resident of Germany, the Republicans, especially the MAGAts, should be called out at every opportunity for what they are: fascists.
Just fyi, the University of Texas system, including my old alma mater, Texas A&M, right now, today, offer free tuition for those who meet admission requirements and whose family income is less than $60,000 per year.
So, while progressives like to bash Texas, Texas is progressive where educating their children at the college level is relevant. I do think that Texas economic success is directly tied to this program.
I paid $128 per year in tuition at Texas A&M.
Now, there is a down side, so to speak: Unlike at Ivy League "colleges" where if you are admitted you graduate no matter how much beer you drink, no matter how lazy you are, no matter if you even go to class,
at Texas A&M, if you fart around, you flunk out and are sent home forthwith.
Period. So, Texas DOES expect performance for free.
Texas is not totally crazy, as one would think of the cretins who currently reside in governmental Austin. Houston was great when I lived there 20 years ago; that’s why Abbot and crew are trying to take control of large city governments away from local control and rule them from Austin. A move that had stirred a hornet’s nest.
I remember the government student loans of the mid-late '60s. I believe it was the NDSL (National Defense Student Loan. As you mention, teaching in inner city--or maybe all public--schools could get a 10% reduction in the loan for each year of teaching to a maximum of 50% loan forgiveness after 5 years of teaching. I recall the interest rate as being 3%. There should be such a program now. Student college tuition debts could be partially eliminated through service to the country and community.
I believe it was after the Reagan era started when states stopped subsidizing most of state institution tuition costs. The state schools raised their tuition costs substantially then, and banks got into the student loan business and with much higher interest rates. Also, university teaching faculty got substantial raises then as well.
Seems to me that the banks who have made much money from the student loans should be providing some subsidies for student debt now, at least subsidies toward the tuition portion of such loans.
Yes, seems that way to me as well. Then, the sharks grew in size; made their political contributions to the required politicians; and voila--they became "too big to fail" and exploited tax payers even more.
I had an NDSL, but I always thought it was National Direct Student Loan; I had to be off my folks income tax as a dependent before I could apply. Once I could, I finished the loans that I needed to complete schooling at a 2% interest rate, which I paid back at a monthly amount ranging from $30 to $75, depending on what income I was making. I bumped that up when I got hired at the Sheriff's Office (4 years after graduating where I worked in grocery and food service).
Yes, at some point the NDSL terminology changed the D from Defense to Direct. It was originally the National Defense Student Loan which resulted from the 1958 National Defense Education Act (NDEA).
I had that 3% interest rate in the 70’s for undergrad. Also able to obtain grad degree with tuition-free courses as state employee. DeSantis has not abolished the tuition waiver….yet.
I just saw an interesting datapoint about the increased number of women with college and grad degrees that are pro Biden and far outweigh the male pro Trump vote. I think what's his name from Meet The Press illustrated this. So if i remembered this accurately there is optimism that educated women and even men may not be so manipulated. Let's hope.
I rarely watch him, but, I did a quick scan of a few of the Sunday shows to get a pulse.
Total conjecture but i think Suburban women, mostly with blond hair (hee-hee) may still support him. There were many casually interviewed at the Iowa State Fair that have pivoted away from him. But its a racist play because well, why else? These women (and men) are not into facts or any of Bidens accomplishments. Just media propoganda sound bites.
A college education is an investment, not just in the people who receive it but the nation as a whole. The U.S. system is byzantine and morally wrong. Yet the GOP works to keep America stupid and protect predatory lenders.
Our son is friends with several students who have dual citizenship in European countries. Their college education will be free. Meanwhile, every week we receive mail from lenders trying to entice us into college debt.
At least here in Germany, the downside to free college is far fewer students can go to college. Yes, not everyone needs to and there is a strong system of vocational and white-collar apprenticeships for those kids who don’t get out on the college track after FOURTH grade. It’s worked out well for one of my sons, not so well for the other. And unless the US comes to terms with something other than college qualifying yiu for most white-collar jobs, there isn’t a lot that can be changed.
The return to society, the return to the IRS as a multiple in dollars for each dollar that would be given in a free higher education, makes this a premier investment. Macroeconomics teaches that the quality of the labor force is the most impactful variables that go into GDP.
In Britain there is no more free college. The right wing government took the American way. Most EU countries provide free education. The cultural difference is becoming palpable - in every aspect of society
And so how does forgiving debt solve any of the problems inherent in the high cost of secondary education? It’s a rinse repeat exercise that’s inherently unfair to so many. Why not repay those who worked hard and paid their debt, or the families that paid as they go, or the students that went to junior college first? And how does this hold people responsible for decisions we make? Is that what we teach-- over reach and look for a bailout? It’s a singular issue that isn’t tied to business loans, or COVID loans to business.
Fair points. The entire system needs to be reformed and made affordable. This would require what most other wealthy countries do: provide sufficient tax support to lower prices and impose government regulation on cost.
Just bring back the system I went to school on here in California: three degrees from state instutions, modest tuition paid, no post-graduation debt. I'm fairly certain the state of California benefited from my becoming educated.
I feel fortunate to have gotten my primary education in California. Even though my life had been sidetracked by a kind of illness that prevented me from continuing my education to the level of a degree, I still have been able to maintain a kind of critical thinking that could only be produced through being taught the truth of our history as a nation and also the world.
YES! And the government has a long history of financially supporting universities both as an investment for educated people (democracy requires this) and for the local economies where universities exist. Trumpanzees don’t value education. For some reason, they think the millions lost on corporate tax breaks will rub off--the “trickle down theory,” which has been proven to be a hoax. But, then, Trumpanzee Repugs don’t learn from history or reality; they prefer spoon-fed, weaponized propaganda churned out by the RNC, a fascist crime syndicate led by a corporate billionaires’ gang.
“Their hypocrisy is stunning ...” Yes, yes it is. Every member of Congress who received a loan from the Small Business Administration and who subsequently had those loans forgiven during COVID, needs to be listed every Sunday in every major newspaper in this country so we can remind Republicans just how hypocritical they are. Their loans were forgiven but student loans can’t be?
I’m looking at you, Marjorie Taylor Green, with a couple hundred thousand dollar loan forgiven for your workout club. That alone would pay off all remaining college loans for my daughters, and for my 64 year old brother who is still paying for his Master’s degree. You know, good solid working people who work hard and pay their bills, unlike you.
Thank heavens for Bidenomics! The numbers from the economic boom, produced by the Inflation Reduction Act, is rockin’ good! So good, you Republicans keep taking credit for it. Even though every last damn one of you voted against it. Hypocrites, indeed!
Anything that might work to make people think and/or expose hypocrisy. Why does someone support a bill or not? Why does someone want a topic on the table? Perhaps money sources can show a connection, or not...
Sheila, I would expand your proposed list "every Sunday" to include from whence each politician derives her/his income and political "donations." We must FOLLOW THE MONEY!
Good heavens! How much does your brother still owe to the engineers of higher education loan policies? Perhaps he will be eligible for one of the programs that President Biden has put into place.
THIS!!!! "As Democratic strategist and pollster Celinda Lake and documentary filmmaker Mac Heller pointed out in the Washington Post in July, in the eight years between the 2016 and 2024 elections, 32 million Americans have become eligible to vote. In the same eight years, as many as 20 million older voters have died. " Since it became obvious that COVID19 was killing a disproportionate number of Republican voters, I have been qualitatively leaning on this exact concept for my sanity...older conservative voters have been dying off while new voters who care about climate, education, rights not being stripped away, etc. are joining the voter rolls. I can't wait for 2024!!!!
Keep in mind that older voters are not all conservative. We try to keep our hand in, and if vaccines can assist in our survival, we'll take them, thank you very much. Personally I'd like to be alive when the country is won back from the Trumpists.
This older voter (77) is not a conservative. MAGA means keeping everything the way it was. But the world is NOT standing still. Climate change demands new ideas and new ways of living.
This older voter certainly isn’t conservative. Maybe more conservative than I was when I was younger, when I was what could be called a “wild-eyed radical”. Member of SDS, active in demonstrating against Vietnam, tear-gassed, beaten, arrested.
Today, a retiree from corporate America. Spent the last part of my career working for the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, Oxfam. Contributor to liberal causes. Still on the left and proudly so.
TC: 1. What age bracket are you categorizing as "senile old white boomers"? The oldest of us are 77--how many of us are senile? 2. How many of us are Republicans? 3. How many of us are white? 4. Are there any statistics supporting your claim that "there are two R's among the senile old white Boomers . . ."?
Here’s the thing. I don’t know how you identify racially. But I do know that you will be old one day. Aging happens to everyone. As to whether or not you become ‘senile’, that’s up to your genetics.
An NPR story from July ‘23 said a study of excess deaths in Florida and Ohio found that “excess death rate among Republican voters was 43% higher than the excess death rate among Democratic voters” after vaccines were available. Total deaths in the 2 states was over 538k. My assumption is that prior to vaccine, deaths were proportional to the number of people in each party, but that split is not given.
Lauren, I have been giving that very thing a lot of thought. Covid caused over 1 million deaths. Many were members of the R Party. That reduces their base plus there are a number of thosexwho have switched parties. The statistics about Gen Z’ers registering to vote is true. I have seen that plenty of times and it is very exciting. Change is a’ comin’!
Ramaswamey is rising in the polls. He supports“ Civic Duty” voting, those under 25 must take an exam or serve 6 months in military. This needs to be messaged as I’m encountering people thinking he’s a viable candidate !
Great letter, Dr. R! Good news for everyday Americans from President Biden and his administration. I hop you have a good night’s rest. The week continues to be full of important news.
Perfect! And now with apologies to Rogers and Hammerstein, alternate lyrics are coursing through my Baby-Boomer addled brain . . . "Awoken Barbie and H Biden's laptop . . . transexual candy and a gay Disney porn shop. Hilary's emails and Benghazi's mess . . . Just ain't no bottom to R's evilness. When the dam breaks, when the bridge falls when infrastructure's gone, the Rs will just blame us and keep on keepin on . . ." Who's got the next verse?
"Truckin' like the don Dom man ... busted on 5th Avenue ... sometimes it occurs to me ..... what a Long Strange Trip it's been". Roger, Hammerstein & Garcia.
Bryan, on another note--I am thinking about our fav troll who in the last day or two retorted to someone that he "didn't pay" to be on this forum. Really?? Hmmm.
He's been repeatedly reported by numerous people, and yet he stays. Do you think that perhaps he has infiltrated the Substack admin group and works for them? (I know, tinfoil hat territory. ) My only other theory is that he IS being watched by the FBI or such. We have other trolls but they generally don't attack people.
The Troll is a "user" under Substack's TOU among other contractual obligations that impact all participants regardless of Subscription status. No, I do not think any troll has infiltrated Substack's content moderation department. No comment on surveillance matters.
"Other trolls" have not committed civil wrongs, commonly called torts, specifically defamation against one (1) of our digital Community members. Liability, if any, does not depend on one's Subscription status to any Platform.
As I have posted repeatedly, "Platform Law" is rapidly developing ... faster than I imagined 6 months ago. "We are ALL in this Together."
J L --Yes! Perfect! "Precious top secrets to Russians he'll blab . . . from his bright golden toilet seats covered with flab . . . (Eeeeuuuuwww! Sorry, Heather . . .)
Oh no . . . stop me before I start dog-paddling in Lyric Land . . . "Keep whining, keep lying, knowing that's what your peeps want to hear . . . Cuz after all, that's what Fox is for."
First things first before I forget. This from Tom Hartman concerning the MaL documents case: https://youtu.be/0O_ZDtnY-uY
I’m thrilled about this administration’s hard work to get around republican and Supreme court’s hard nosed objections to student debt relief. I can’t wait to repost Heather’s FB post about this.
Please post, (btw Hartman has zero experience in the intelligence field) I'd like to see some back up proof of this broad serious assertion. I did see that when the 2 top slots were open at 2 intelligence agencies the Trump White House asked for a list of employees at the highest career civil service pay grades (which by definition would not be in the field secret spies) so as to generate a list of potential new directors of the 2 agencies missing leadership. Trump is a POS and capable of insurrection-sedition as we all know, but if we go Benghazi without good evidence, we are no better than GOP.
As Hartmann said, he’s written about this other times. If I get a chance, I’ll try to dig into what he has said in the past about this subject. I’d like to think he would have cited his sources as a responsible party. In reading the transcript of this call he did indicate that Seth Molton was looking into this subject. Truthfully, I hope Hartmann is wrong on so many levels because the idea of our vital intelligence assets being caught and executed is sickening.
I had read that aides would filter out and keep from Trump sensitive things he had no need for seeing or doing. I find it tough to imagine a request 'hey give me name & location of every spy, even part time, just because I want to see it' gets done so easily.
Point made but who at that point would have had the cajones to withhold such or stymie such a request? Things had pretty much gone to Hell in a hand basket by then. What few brakes that started out on that caboose had pretty much checked out.
Now if this were a movie, let's call it, "The List," whoever gave him the list would have made a point of deleting certain names while making sure some of T's very special people were on it! So many juicy parts! Who would play Ivana? Who would play the stone-faced son-in-law? Melania could play herself as the entertainment at double-agent spy meetings on Jeff Epstein's island . . .
Good evening, or good morning fellow LFAA readers.
About a month ago, it was noted by a frequent commenter here that this forum is attracting a lot of trolls as of late. While one of the benefits of the forum has been to enhance the letter and exchange information and opinions, like the old definition of porn "I know it when I see it."
There are those who would not consider themselves trolls, but I think you will recognize them when you see them.
I would encourage you all to NOT engage with them. If you are really annoyed, please report them to the forum administrator. You can do this by clicking on the three small dots to the right of the reply button.
In the past years, "trolls" were soundly called out and disappeared--eventually. Either by their own choice or being removed by the forum administrator, I can't say. I don't know why the particularly pesky and repetitive ones are allowed to remain here. Again, please don't feed the trolls.
Substack Inc is a Delaware Corp that revised it's Terms-of-Use (TOU) in 2023.
Anyone can Google "Substack Terms of Use.2023" to review the Rules of the Road on LFAA & other Substack Platforms.
I can now confirm that the Platform's choice of law clause in the TOU is California law which answers many, questions not the least if which is Platform disruptions, repeating posts, intentional misinformation & trolling by 3rd persons. There are possibly 3 or 4 Trolls tonite.
Much more to consider on other days. "We are All in this Together"as Professor Vance signs off. 🙏
" ... when the nerve is hit ...". Think you are correct Miselle but, I will have to check-in with ER Dr. Jeremy Faust, Substack Author of. "Inside Medicine". Not too many trolls have showed up at Emergency Rooms so far but, tfg will not be Booked in Fulton County until Thursday.
Miselle usually doesn't go in for grunting and snarling, but she does rant a lot, as if she was the local Thought Control Commisar, devoted to making this place a pristine echo chamber. And now she has imagined a new category of "troll porn": Miselle knows a naked troll when she sees one.
...and now that Miselle has identified herself as an expert on troll porn, others will expect her to weigh in on the trollish dimensions of that perennial question, Does size matter?
A couple quick thoughts: Initially, the SAVE Act seems quite beneficial. Even without diving into its minutiae, it is most efficacious to see that the Biden Administration is so focused on getting back on the horse of good government even after being knocked off by the highest Court in the land, and it can still come up with a reasonable, workable, revised program to promote the general welfare.
The Bruce Mann reference is one I was not previously aware of. I am a litigator, and as such, tend to steer far clear of bankruptcy issues and bankruptcy court, so I was in the dark a bit on the interesting class based history of bankruptcy that Heather raised. Also interesting is that Bruce Mann is married to the senior Senator from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren
It's class war. Always has been. And the 1% will take us all down with its insanity. Time for Biden to declare a climate emergency, laying out a radical program for combatting climate change internationally. Younger folks are tired of useless small steps. Cornell West is speaking truth to power and younger folks are listening. If the species is to survive, there is no place left for timid action.
I will suggest that Biden should announce a crash program to develop commercially viable nuclear fusion, following up on the recent breakthrough at Livermore.
With abundant electricity from fusion, we can power electric cars and grow food in the cities (using aquaponic skyscrapers with grow lights), cutting transportation costs and relieving the aquifer in the Great Plains.
Put away the techno optimist glasses! - the reality is that fusion (as a practical
energy source), is highly unlikely to happen .. why? The incredible complexity of a fusion reactor (which would need to be multiplied hundreds of time to replace existing electricity sources). The difficulty in converting plasma (at several million degrees to several hundred degrees (to run a turbine). and so on.. Read this account of what actually is going on in the Livermore labs.
John, there is the world of a difference between a fusion reactor and a plane - go learn some physics - and perhaps read Vaclav Smil "How the World Really Works"
And by the way, the Manhattan Project started from a theory -- they didn't know if it would work but they bet on it and it paid off. That's what I meant by a crash program. Wanna bet that the folks at Livermore would have a basketfull of suggestions on how to proceed toward commercially viable fusion?
Hugh Spencer, I am reminded of that famous article in the oh-so-respectable New York Times proclaiming that heavier-than-air flying machines were impossible.
Experimental fusion reactors are barely at the point that they are capable - extremely briefly - of putting out more energy than the amount it takes to run them. At this point, the physics of simply containing a small amount of plasma at temperatures exceeding those of the sun is barely within our grasp and requires a vast input of conventional, fossil-fuel generated power. The likelihood of commercial-scale fusion energy coming online in time to save us from anthropogenic climate change is somewhere between zero and nil.
Perhaps your timeline has been compressed by "Chicken Little" scare stories?
"Nonetheless, after 50 years of stunningly incorrect predictions, climate campaigners, journalists and politicians still hawk an immediate apocalypse to great acclaim."
The Republican Party is based on hypocrisy. I feel they are showing this more and more. I don't understand how the GOP can have an open discussion of stomping down the lower/middle class while giving the 1% every financial advantage available.
I think many of us, including Republican MAGA idolizers, are not quite as aware as we should be that communications intended for one's ideological colleagues are destined eventually, through the Internet for instance, to be read by others, including ideological opponents. We should realize that ideological disputes that display personal animosity and emotion are going to come more and more into public awareness. One can hope that increased transparency will make some groups pull their punches and not engage in the worst and most anti-democratic behavior. But there is of course no guarantee.
Remember not to feed the trolls! On another note, I'm glad for the UPS drivers and workers that in addition to a pay raise they will also be getting their vehicles updated so that they won't be delivering packages inside rolling tin cans lacking temperature control.
"If politics is rocky these days, everyday life is less so thanks to the vote of 86% of the members of the Teamsters union today to approve their new 5-year contract with UPS, heading off what would have been a bruising strike."
The last time I suggested that, I got accused of being "scared". Not scared, and not unwilling to listen to an opposing point of view that is based in reality, not in the GIGO that is the current "conservative" milieu.
Humans are odd about relieving suffering, or, say about forgiving loans. "If I paid back/am paying back my loans, then there can be no relief for anyone, just as there was no relief for me." Of course, this narrow and jealous thinking fails to acknowledge how fraught the lending practices for student loans are. And despite the strong job market, the income that many borrowers hoped would be accessible to them after graduation did not materialize, leaving g them stuck in debt that often increased despite the payments they made. Compassion and kindness and empathy have been in short supply.
Jealous or fair? Fair says treat people the same and don’t favor people for all the variability of reasons they do, won’t or can’t make payments. Promoting the general welfare means coming up with a better less costly system going forward.
Even enlightened self-interest fails this bunch. Assuming they were able to get jobs for which their education prepared them, people who are drowning in debt cannot do their jobs, for which they've paid so dearly, well. If those people happen to be the teachers for your kids, or the medical professionals in your hospital, or other providers of essential services, where will that leave your kids or you?
And to fail to see the difference between $25,000 in debt from schooling that ended 30 years ago at 3% max interest, and $200,000 in debt from schooling today at 8 - 10% is just. plain. stupid.
Elizabeth Warren was a Republican who believed the "GOP" line that most people who declared bankruptcy were scammers; but studied it (as she is wont to do) and drew an opposite conclusion. She drifted away from the "GOP" and became a smart, well-informed and rhetorically incisive thorn in their side, and a champion of "the little people".
Yes, Bidenomics is working and Biden is keeping his promises and little people will get some economic breathing room. And Yes, Republicans are baring their teeth and biting everyone who crosses them. But what I wanna know is: are they (R's) really becoming progressively toothless? Can we start to breath a bit? What about the threat of the Freedom Caucus to shut the government down? Can Democrats prevail and keep the country moving steadily in the right direction until the 2024 election?
Their goal is obvious: hurt the economy to hurt Biden. They will stop at nothing, even it causes economic pain for millions of citizens. A minority faction is holding the government hostage, again and again.
In addition, by holding Government funding bills hostage, they will force across the board cuts to all federal departments due to a poison pill provision in the debt ceiling agreement. Since they failed in their attempt to block that agreement, they are now doing their utmost to make McCarthy and the rest of the R House caucus renege on the funding levels they previously agreed to. In so doing they are making McCarthy weaker. He’s their marionette now. If he crosses them, they’ll try to end his speakership.
More evidence of the complete philosophical bankruptcy—there’s that word again—of the Republican Party.
I think that we can safely categorize what is still known as the Republican Party as a Fascist oligarchy catering to its KKK (aka MAGA) constituency. The wealthy manipulate their evangelical racist citizens with mass media (Fox, OAN, Alex Jones and Newsmax) with disinformation. The masses want to maintain what white privilege they currently have. It's the 1920's KKK risen.
I agree , and would like to hear more about how their white privileged is threatened. What specifically do they lose?
Once concrete example off the top of my head: legacy admissions at Ivy League colleges might be recognized as what it is--an affirmative action program for the most wealthy, who are overwhelmingly white.
More generally, if we are very lucky, they lose the plausible deniability that makes it possible for them to disregard the effects of systemic racism, sexism, homophobia, and any other form of discrimination which they have not themselves personally experienced.
It shouldn't be too difficult to think of more after a glance around at economic and social conditions in the US.
What they "lose" is a sense of superiority. My dad was born in Texas in 1900 and I in 1940. When I was a teenager my dad told me that he couldn't work under a Black man. It was a clear case of implicit bias. Black men never had any positions of authority that were visible to us back then, ergo, they didn't have the capacity to be in positions of authority. The same held true for what were then known as Latin Americans. Almost all were involved in manual labor. An excellent book that gave me insight into how implicit bias builds up is Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'s book, "Stony the Road," about Reconstruction and the rise of Jim Crow.
So true! Superiority that presumes implicit privilege….Thank you for this insight!
"The hypocrisy is stunning, and the disregard for working and middle-class families is outrageous.” You nailed it, Joe. Battling a SCORRUPTUS that's off the rails with new ideas like SAVE is impressive.
Absolute power, by any means necessary.
JL, "by any means necessary......" how do these men and women sleep at night....maybe they don't...... They seek power only for the here and now....only to fuel their own egos....not to improve Democracy throughout the world, not to improve the health, welfare, and education of our children.....or our adult population....not to deal with crippling debt unless it involves them personally.....not to care for women!!!!..(biology note: a woman can not become pregnant without a man).... a lack of care for our earth not even the very air we breathe.
We will not live forever...what are we leaving for our fellow humans who are being born daily throughout the world. "to whom much is given...much is required!"
What truly bothers me is that they (R) took an oath of office to work for the good of the people and all they care about is their own power and pocket, no regard for the country and it’s people
"Took an oath"? What has that got to do with anything?
The price we pay for a government that is controlled by a minority.
I would add that the oil companies have the same goal: raise prices, hurt the economy to hurt the Biden administration that’s trying to transition off oil.
I want to see a Senator create a bill to repeal the 1917 debt limit statute for this fiscal year and repeal all statutes enacted pursuant to it; the Senate, at least, appears to be willing to act in a bipartisan way for the good of the country (to a limited extent, anyway), unlike the House. This constant battle is embarrassing and just creates an additional way to cause the Congress to be more disfunctional - and there's certainly enough without it - just look at "coach" looneytuberville's actions.
I do believe (because I *have* to believe) that we the people will "keep the country moving steadily in the right direction," not only until the 2024 election but beyond it. At the same time -- well, maybe the Rs are losing their teeth but there's an appalling number of guns out there, many of them in unreliable (to put it mildly) hands. So I'm not going to let my guard down just yet.
Oh, the Rs want guns in the hands of goons to do their dirty work for them. They are without a moral compass and only money and power matter to them. All the talk about protecting children is just talk. All the pro life pro family is just talk. They have no policies to help ordinary people, so they spend their time stirring the pot.
"All the talk about protecting children is just talk. All the pro life pro family is just talk."
Actions speak louder than words. Here are a few:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/18/texas-troopers-inhumane-migrants-greg-abbott-border-initiative
https://www.newsweek.com/migrant-children-border-trump-administration-1445090
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/09/trump-administration-family-separation-policy-immigration/670604/
But those are MIGRANT children, not ‘Mericans. It’s only unborn children or CIS white Christian children that matter, dontcha know?
Evidently, even those don't matter when guns are involved. Plenty of white, 'Merican children are being gunned down in schools and elsewhere too. 😡😡
I’ve been told that it’s the Democrats fault because they won’t harden the schools.
Indeed they do. Thank you for posting these examples. I am also talking about the unwillingness to do something about guns despite the mass killings in schools. Kids can't know anything about our not so glorious history or about people who are not heterosexual, but it's fine to let them be targets of some unstable person with a gun.
I’ve always said that until one of their family members gets shot or killed. They don’t react to the issue of gun violence, or ieliminating guns, but one supposedly did get shot. I don’t remember in the article if the person was killed or not, but that republican shifted gears, but it takes more than one unfortunately and not that I want anybody killed, but …
It seems to me that while the Constitution protects the right to bear arms, because a militia was necessary, a "militia" in this context is very different from self-styled gangs that use the word today. The Constitution specifies:
"To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress; "
From my impression of those who regard the 2nd Amendment as a grant of impunity, is that it implies the assumption of a right to use violence to enforce one's personal will; as opposed to lawfully prescribed, limited, and theoretically accountable use of force by the Armed Services and police, or an attacked individual. That notion of moderation and accountability is eroded by a too often tragic shoot first and assess later mentality in police work and war, not to mention the madness of "Stand your Ground" (so long as you're white) laws. A lot of the rhetoric of firearm obsessed groups appears to me to celebrate a presumed use of deadly force as a tool for everyday life.
Three major tools of asymmetric societal power occur to me (I'm sure there are more) in the form of money, political position, and violence, and each can persuade or force people to do what you desire. Right wingers seem driven to dominate all three, and the more a society becomes corrupt, the more those three become essentially interchangeable. I can't rule out intentional, as-necessary, violence is legitimate cases of self-defense, but see the excesses of violence as our species oldest, most destructive, and most threatening enemy.
They’re originalists until they’re not.
One of their extended family, Steve Scalise, was shot along with four others on a baseball field. It didn't change his mind or any of the other cave dwellers.
He must be one of those "losers" the orange stain is always talking about.
Those are blistering stories, JL!
And STILL has anyone been in any way "penalized" for what was done to those families & is STILL being done because in the orange administration, they never made any attempt to keep track of the children or their families - I suppose, because they were "immigrants". Seems to me thats something that should be hung around every one of these many individuals necks (starting at the top and continuing all the way to the bottom). It IS a crime! Why was it not treated like one?
And they are getting paid for their gun support (and threatened with being primaried if they don’t do what the masters want). They have debts.
And not all those debts are financial, either, since many of them got those PPP loans which have been forgiven (but I digress).
What matters more is why so many people -- especially white men -- want guns in their hands. (I'd start with racism, misogyny, and serious insecurity.) Attributing it all to "the Rs" doesn't tell us much.
I am talking about the Rs at the top, not the militia wannabes. White elites have a long history of keeping people who might make common ground against them separate by playing on the insecurities of those whites lower on the scale. And I stand by my comment that this is deliberate policy by Rs in government. They want the money and the power, but they don't want to do the dirty work on the ground. They want public officials to be afraid to take a stand and the rest of us as well. They know that white men in particular feel a loss because it's no longer enough to be a white male amid all the gains (and now some losses) made by women, POC, and those who sexual identity is not heterosexual. I reported here on harassment here in Salem of a left leaning business. There was a pic of the male doing it and while he doesn't have a gun and gear in the pics, he does look like a man who might have some resentments.
The dark side of Group·think
/ˈɡro͞opˌTHiNGk/
noun
1.
the practice of thinking or making decisions as a group in a way that discourages creativity or individual responsibility
That is exactly why I am writing postcards to voters with Activate America. The weirder the Republicans become the stronger and louder we have to become. Greed is not good governance. We have to fight back if for no other reason than for self preservation.
Susanna: We will never be able to "let our guard down" again. And we shouldn't have let it down in the first place.
So this: "Democracy is NOT a spectator sport!"
Never, FDR and HST knew this
(Just a note from a few days ago) Hi Jeri, I saw an article in yesterday's Guardian speculating that Prighozin is in Africa. They couldn't confirm and the photo was at a distance. And of course he is up to no good.
Just doing his insurrection thing, and staying out of Russia for the time being. Still toxic to the max. Thank you
He MAY have been killed in a plane crash today. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/08/23/world/prigozhin-russia-ukraine-war-news.
Is this the latest of Putin's alternatives to windows in tall buildings?
Updated at 5:15: apparently he WAS killed in that crash. https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2023/aug/23/russia-ukraine-war-live-updates-drones-downed-moscow.
Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. How did that quip go about some people making a place better when they arrive, and some when they leave?
Amazing! Thank you. "By the sword..."et al.
!
A lot of us never did because we couldn't afford to. Many straight white middle-class-and-up people have some catching up to do.
I'll bet some day there will be a market for second hand guns and a mad rush to ditch them. Perhaps a buy-back program could be instituted. Mark my words.
Buy-back programs are already happening. Another strategy in my state (MA) and perhaps elsewhere is to control what police departments do with their used weapons when they're replaced by new ones. In MA, which has relatively strict gun-control laws, they were winding up on the second-hand market in neighboring states. Here's what an organization in my region, the Falmouth Gun Safety Coalition, is doing. https://falmouthgunsafetycoalition.org/
I'm worried about the Freedom Caucus as welland their threat to shut down our government. . I'm eager for Dr. R. to address that issue.
Sarah I consider the Freedom Caucus an outgrow of New Gingrich’s negative role in the House in the late 1990s and early 2000s. I find it a naysaying Neanderthal group that has Speaker McCarthy by his balls.
The only positive thing I can say about the Freedom Caucus is that it expelled Marjorie Taylor Greene as a Judas.
The Freedom Caucus is a danger to the nation. They wish to wreck the government to further their cause - the demolition of the secular administrative state. Stupid. Sick.
Neanderthals were more advanced than today’s Trumpanzees. Really.
Dawna Yea verily and forsooth! Might extinct ‘moderate’ Republicans be modern-day Neanderthals?
😂 My recent deep-dive into Paleolithic Man doesn’t answer that hypothesis. Because Repugs cling to adverse, non-realities, I have to believe such behavior will result in eventual extinction . . . And Neanderthals also went extinct by ~40,000 years ago. However, they did interbreed with H. Sapiens; perhaps we are seeing throwback behaviors as opposed to aberrant, branching evolution yielding trumpanzees. 🤣
Dawn Trumpanzees!
Possibly Denisovans or Floresiensians. Just as extinct, but having left an even more miniscule amount of DNA (virtually undetectable, but thought to be there, the Ds at least having reproduced with the Ns; no real information about the Fs' DNA) in modern humans than Neanderthals.
Yup. Prove government doesn't work and get voters to vote them in to deliver a form of politics with enough malice and entertainment to keep proving themselves superior. Works in our little redbelt where showing your middle finger is a sign of fellowship, cheered and jeered all together. "We showed them mf's!"
Democrats and six sane Republicans need to pass a move to require a vote on a CR that extends the present budget priorities to January 7, 2025, and tell the Confederate traitors to worry about the rope they're all going to see in 2025. Maybe even bribe the six "sane" ones by promising not to run an opponent in 2024 (but only the one time; it's up to them to be vote-worthy on their own past that).
I like the idea of labeling them Confederate traitors since that really brings home that that's what they are.
We'd have better luck finding six geese a-laying . . .
I laughed out loud. :-)
Now that's a fine idea!
What's really going on in our country?
'The Lines Between Red and Blue America Are Blurring, Not Hardening'
Okay, I understand wanting to read that headline again. Could it be true?
'Nearly 20 years ago, Barack Obama insisted that we are one people. In the Pledge of Allegiance — which I found myself reciting for the first time in my life every morning before class in Kansas — we say we are one nation. But lately it can seem the red and blue are not only two different worlds but also doomed to an ever-warming cultural war.'
'These days, I travel several times a year between the Bay Area — where I’m raising a family of my own — and Kansas, sometimes spending a month or more on my parents’ farm, surrounded by wheat, soybeans, alfalfa and corn. And I’m here to tell you our divisions are not so much hardening as blurring — rural and urban America are not as divided as many people think.'
'The possibility of this country, the promise, is based on a union mutually beneficial even as it contains multitudes of difference. What we might think of as blue-state values (environmentalism, support for L.G.B.T.Q. communities, internationalism, racial and cultural diversity) are also valued by people living in red states. And some of these values (conservation, land stewardship, growing your own food) were originally also red-state values that blue areas of the country tend to forget they didn’t invent.' (NYTimes, Opinion)
Read on, friends. 'They' lie to break us apart in their lust for power and wealth, making it almost impossible for us to know the truth. Teacher and poet, Jesse Nathan, has another story to tell us. I am happy to gift 'The Lines Between Red and Blue America Are Blurring, Not Hardening' on this fine day. See the link below.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/22/opinion/red-blue-america-politics.html?unlocked_article_code=8AzOcTsy_V7Wfs53VHDNF-RoZ7CdanAANIFkJyTfnN4OWBWoQTCXmwwP2lwc6kfdjw55F_WkMTAVtxQHpNH6p-gP-xlkCr9Xx9918n_rl1yHWDWeQQl5xM4OG_0RCkmz8I9RdBc2wA8ECCZUUakV4HPkTG2DCjDCvlf7p018QNSoPlC8BbLbkobyxng-EWLxXwj-NYtSy3UoDQqwRCcmWoHNrLbsGXBM_E0L-JsBwjpCz0FEy3Sv5zyaDx5YFWFDqjptgL6DhArsleCrEMbUwoRKeRESAcMMs5GIqozdIiq7ijQYDG8EH15sUlrdVhb7EPNgPVQlDW69hGQyYkj0s7hTqQ&smid=url-share
It IS nice to hear that some shared values bridge the rural/urban gap. Maybe there are enough "independents" that can find common ground regardless of political babble. Good.
There is a great middle of America that doesn't think about politics the way most of us on this forum do. They actually don't think about politics very much at all. They don't have the time. Or the energy.
Two jobs, two or more kids demanding 110% of their attention, get them ready for school, get them on the bus, go to work...oh, the bus just dropped them home, get 'em ready for their important after school activities (soccer, T-Ball, karate, etc.)...work in some dinner there somewhere. Wait, one of them is sick, off to the doc or ER.
FSM forbid that the parent actually have a dentist appointment, checkup or follow up on a health problem. FSM forbid they have an interest of their own...a hobby? HA! OMG, "didn't you buy food this week?" Nobody mowed the lawn, neighbors are making wise cracks. The toilet downstairs is broken. The plumber wants $130 just to show up!
Wait, the car needs service. Wait, a parent (our generation) is sick and needs help. Welcome to being the meat in a generational sandwich. Watch a little TV, pass out, start again.
Partisan politics? "Freedom Caucus? Who?" The Earth's ecosystem is collapsing? The brain can only handle and process so much information and responsibility in a 24 hour period. But one of those chores in the endless list of family responsibilities is paying the bills.
And if Mom or Dad read an article or open the mail to learn that President Biden is implementing a program to help with student debt...then that could be some politics to pay attention to. Wow. A president who is brilliant and compassionate. What's not to like?
My intergenerational friend used to call herself "the baloney in the middle" lol!
I just returned from my 50th high school reunion in Omaha. Nebraska has been a deep red state my entire life even though there have been a few Democrat Senators, Governors and Congressmen.
Most of the 275 attendees avoided talking about politics, but the few times I did most of the women were Democrats and most of the men were moderate Republicans. Not a very official poll, but I agree that the lines are blurred.
The Congressional district that include metro Omaha went to Biden in 2020 and to the Republican Bacon for Congress. I've exchanged a few emails with Don Bacon, and although he toes the Republican line, he says he does not support Trump. He also is one of the few Republicans that voted for the infrastructure bill and took a lot of heat as a result.
Note: Ginni Thomas graduated from the same high school as I did, class of 1975. Not surprising that she in the Young Republicans club in high school.
Gary, thank you for the report about your 50th high school reunion in Omaha. 'The lines between us are blurring' is a good line, which speaks to -- we have our differences... heck, we New Yorkers have our differences, too! There are extremists, there are dividers, and there are haters, but we are less apart than the liars would have us. The truth has been hiding in plain sight because we have been listening to too much of 'their' noise and not talking enough to each other. Thanks again, Gary.
An article in the Fall 2023 issue of the ACLU Magazine features Nicki Nichols Gamble, a life-long abortion rights advocate in her 80's. CEO of Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts for 25 years, she has lived through episodes of violence, including the murder of one of her staff members. A facilitated dialogue after the murder between pro-choice and anti-abortion leaders was a turning point in her career as she realized the power of listening and responding respectfully to the passions and fears on both sides.
I didn’t know that Young Republicans allowed women as members.
Great reference to a great article Fern!
"Put another way, we may feel more polarized than we actually are."
At the ground level where we live this might be true, but, in Congress definitely it is not true. In Congress, Republicans are following whatever Putin tells them to do through Trump.
Period.
Good morning, Mike S. I am very happy you read and appreciated Jesse Nathan's view of our country. I don't agree that the far-right in Congress and elsewhere are Putin's puppets. They may seem like Trump's puppets, and he may be Putin's tool - maybe or/and/but -- they are loose cannons, ugly, reckless and dangerous maggots out for themselves. Trump has a big/ugly/cult, and they want a cut of that.
Mike, your observation about “the ground level” is significant. Like Fern, I try to believe that us ordinary citizens (blue, red or purple) care about many of the same things. HOWEVER, what is happening in Congress and state houses does NOT reflect the “ground level.” For many, if not all, republicans it is strictly a power grab. Damn everything else! The cost is to the citizenry of this country even if they are unwilling to see it or believe it. I know it is a generalization to say “all” republicans but I do so purposely because those that might have a moral compass don’t have a backbone to speak up. We then become the victims of their actions because we are not making these decisions and rules.
The End.
Call it what it is, chump waiting to hand us over, Putin demands it
What grabs headlines is division, not cooperation. "Mother takes good care of her children" should be the most common headline there is, because it is by far the most common state of affairs. In order to survive and thrive, people must cooperate with each other at least 90% of the time. This figure goes up the more complex our system gets. I am not surprised that our values seem to be blending - we're just now noticing something that has been quietly happening all along.
Love you, Steve Abbott, and I'm not being maternal!
Nicely rosy article. Only two problems.
1) "I’m here to tell you that our divisions are not so much hardening as blurring — rural and urban America are not as divided as many people think." The primary divide was never "rural vs. urban" to begin with: https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/16/politics/demographic-changes-voters-fault-lines/index.html It's nice that he noticed this, but it doesn't indicate that anything is changing, only that the narrative was false from the beginning
2) The entire article consists of nothing but feel-good stories. No actual data to back up his claims. Nice anecdotes, but "anecdote" is not the singular form of data.
It seems clear to me that the real divide is between the literal and ideological descendants of the Confederacy vs. the USA. The former have never, at any time, accepted the premise that all people are created equal. They have never, at any time, accepted the idea of a religiously neutral democratic republic. They have always been White "Christian" Nationalists. And their nation is not the USA, it's the CSA.
There never has been a time when we were truly one nation.
"That debt absorbs money people at the lower end of the economic scale would otherwise invest in homes, consumer goods, and so on, and the Biden administration has made it a priority to relieve some of that debt."
The Biden administration has lived up to its campaign mantra of the bottom-up, middle out manifesto through this debt relief program. Over the last 2 years, I have observed that Biden has build a government for the ordinary through building back better, Inflation Reduction Act, increase in manufacturing base that often provides jobs to the low-income and middle-income earners, and now he has extended debt relief to the common people. Those at the bottom of the pyramid often face systemic risks that the previous administrations had neglected and not prioritized in their government policies. Usually, debt relief was a preserve for the rich, a policy that continued breeding billionaires while making the working class struggle to have a living wage.
However, Republicans as they are, understand that if Biden Administration continued to offer debt relief to the ordinary, their political base is under attack. Remember, politicians often rely on those at the bottom of the pyramid to make a political living out of it. The ordinary are many and forms a political base. Republicans ensure that they oppose Biden Administration to show their supporters that the program isn't worthy. They make sure that those at the bottom of the pyramid are in constant problems so as to emerge as their saviors. This tactic has been widely used by African politicians with the likes of longest serving opposition leader Raila Odinga launching protests to destroy businesses and prevent the government from collecting taxes to create economic problems. After the damage, they will come and masquerade as true saviors just like how Republicans are doing currently.
But, the hypocrisy is that, they accept their own debt relief to get money for campaign in 2024. Opposition politics of progress is scarce nowadays.
I welcome you to subscribe to my newsletter. It is free being my subscriber. I only rely on donations.
Good points but still using this forum to troll for subscribers. The name of your newsletter is at the top for all to see, as it is for others.
I think Mr. Ngetich's modest invitation to subscribe does not constitute trolling. He generally makes good points, and his occasional insertion of correlation between American and African politics is interesting and instructive. His participation in itself demonstrates how American politics have global effects, and for that reason alone, it's worth paying a bit of attention.
Thank you so much for understanding.
Jeri, I question the use of the word 'troll' for Edwin Kiptoo Ngetich's gentle encouragement of LFAA's subscribers to become members of his STARTUP newsletter. I would say that he adds thoughtful comments with reference to our Letters and exchanges as often soliciting attention to his work as well.
'A troll is Internet slang for a person who intentionally tries to instigate conflict, hostility, or arguments in an online social community.' (CGFGlobal)
That is the common understanding of a 'troll'.
He has done better than he did at first, if memory serves.
Jeri, my initial reply to you provided the definition of a 'troll', so that it would be understood why such a label did not fit Edwin Kiptoo Ngetich's behavior on the forum, and that is a fact.
I feel like Jeri means that Edwin is “trawling/trolling” LFAA for followers in the cast “a net and capture way,” not that he’s an actual troll (per your definition). Not sure where Jeri lives but trolling/trawling for followers is a common expression in Australia and comes across a decidedly seedy and kinda rude unless the other account owner is okay with it (which I feel HCR might be since Edwin is rather earnest in the way he goes about it rather than toxic).
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/troll
You have a clear understanding, Edwin. Many politicians, but all the MAGA crowd are hypocrits. They care only about themselves, their power and care nothing for their constituents.
Hi Edwin. I appreciate all you have to say. You come off as very intelligent, knowledgeable and informative. I would, however, encourage you to download a program like 'Grammarly' on to your computer to use so the reader isn't distracted from the English grammar errors along with whatever it is you have to say. Hopefully, you will receive this suggestion in the spirit of goodwill!
Gayle, some subscribers like to play with words, make them up, are careless in their writing, go to town with expletives, etc., so I have been distracted from time to time. Have you directed your interest in the use of language to anyone other than Edwin? I raise the question because Edwin's writing has not distracted me; there have been moments when I was aware of the effort he seemed to make in expressing a thought.
Hi Fern,
No, I haven't directed my interest in the use of language to anyone other than Edwin because I haven't felt the need. He is so forthright and eloquent in his comments, it feels like English might be a second language for him. I use Grammarly myself and it's improved my writing a great deal. I'm just wanting to help. I'm happy that he's "Happy to give it a try"!
Gayle, thank you for your reply. I think that you use 'Grammarly' yourself will be meaningful to those you recommend it to. I took note of that in case someone I am in touch with voices an interest in that type of assistance. Cheers!
Fern, if I may intrude my two cents, without being "that guy". English is a devilishly difficult language, between its grammar, all its colloquialisms, and its vocabulary, and I sympathize with anyone, native speaker or not, who has trouble with it. For someone whose native language is English, their ability to clearly express a thought through intentionally playing with the language (a favorite sport in my family) is different from the ability of someone whose native language is not English to express their thoughts clearly in English without making vocabulary or grammatical errors unintentionally. Gayle's suggestion of the availability of a program to lessen unintentional errors was clearly kindly meant, was politely stated, and not inapposite, based on the way Edwin uses the English language in his posts here - he obviously is using, and as clearly wants to use, the English language correctly (if there is such a thing, which can be debated), although errors sometimes creep in. He can use the program or not, whatever.
And as an aside, I'd be curious to know how many people commenting on HCR's Letters have a language other than English as their first language and how many consider themselves multilingual. I wish I were; I have a hard enough time with *%##* English!
Sure. Happy for that suggestion. I will look forward to it.
Looking at the Congressional calendar, the House is only in session for 12 days between now and the end of the fiscal year on September 30. The Senate is in session for 17 days between now and then. The House has not yet voted on the bills that have been passed in the Appropriations committee along a party lien vote. The Senate has already passed their bipartisan versions of the 11 remainign appropriation bills (see below) but will need to participate in negotiations bridge the differences between the bills.
"Under the Antideficiency Act (initially passed in 1884 and amended in 1950), federal agencies cannot spend or obligate any money without an appropriation (or other approval) from Congress. When Congress fails to enact the 12 annual appropriation bills, federal agencies must cease all non-essential functions until Congress acts. This is known as a government shutdown. During shutdowns, many federal employees are told not to report for work. Government employees who provide what are deemed essential services, such as air traffic control and law enforcement, continue to work, but don’t get paid until Congress takes action to end the shutdown. All this applies only to the roughly 25% of federal spending subject to annual appropriation by Congress. Benefits such as Social Security continue to flow because they are authorized by Congress in laws that do not need annual approval (although the services offered by Social Security benefit offices may be limited during a shutdown). In addition, the Treasury can continue to pay interest on U.S. Treasury debt on time.
There have been four shutdowns where operations were affected for more than one business day. In 1995-1996, President Clinton and the Republican Congress were unable to agree on spending levels, so the government shut down twice, for a total of 26 days. In 2013, a standoff over funding for the Affordable Care Act resulted in a 16-day shutdown. And in December 2018 and January 2019, a dispute over border wall funding led to a shutdown that lasted 35 days; it was a partial shutdown because Congress had previously passed five of the 12 appropriation bills. "
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/whats-the-difference-between-a-government-shutdown-and-a-failure-to-raise-the-debt-ceiling/
The link below is an article that summarizes where the appropriations bills stand and the difference sbetween the House bills which have not yet had a floor vote and the Senate Bills which have passed on a bipartisan vote, several unamimously. The Senate bills respected the parameters in the debt ceiling agreement. The House Bills reflect what the Freedom Caucus positions were before McCarthy cut the deal to raise the debt ceiling.
Here are just a few examples of what the House bills will cut. They will negatively impact every person in America and in some cases are stunning in their cruelty.
"Cut the fruit and vegetable benefit in the Agriculture Department’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), which provides food assistance and other services to pregnant and postpartum adults, infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, by between 56 and 70 percent (depending on the recipient’s age), for about 5 million participants. Even with the benefit cut, it is also now apparent that the House Agriculture bill’s funding for WIC is well below the level needed to serve all eligible families who wish to participate.[9]
Cut the Education Department’s “Title I” Education for Disadvantaged Students program by 77 percent ($14.7 billion). This program makes grants to school districts serving communities experiencing high levels of poverty to help them provide additional services and supports to students from low-income or disadvantaged backgrounds. This funding is a core federal support for K-12 education.
Cut overall funding for the Environmental Protection Agency by 39 percent ($4.0 billion). Within this total, the account that covers personnel and other operating costs is cut by 26 percent and the grants that help cover the costs of infrastructure projects in states and communities, such as drinking water and wastewater treatment facilities, are cut by 55 percent.
Cut funding for agencies that protect workers’ rights, including a 33 percent cut to the National Labor Relations Board (which protects the rights of workers to form unions and engage in union activity), a 29 percent cut to the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division (which enforces laws relating to minimum wages, overtime, child labor, and family and medical leave, among others), a 15 percent cut to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and a 16 percent cut to the Mine Safety and Health Administration.
Cut funding for agency Offices of Civil Rights, which enforce civil rights requirements related to their agency’s mission and programs, including a 39 percent cut at the Department of Agriculture, a 25 percent cut at the Department of Education, and a 20 percent cut at the Department of Health and Human Services.
Cut funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by 8 percent ($1.6 billion).
Eliminate funding for “Title X” grants to support family planning clinics serving people with low incomes; this program received $286 million in 2023.
Cut the Housing and Urban Affairs Department’s Home Investment Partnership Program by two-thirds, from $1.5 billion to $500 million. This program provides funding to state and local governments for development of affordable housing for low-income families.
Cut the annual appropriation for the IRS by $1.1 billion (9 percent), on top of other provisions virtually eliminating the multi-year funding provided in the Inflation Reduction Act for long-term rebuilding of IRS capacity to serve taxpayers and enforce tax laws.
Cut the Social Security Administration’s customer service budget by $250 million, on top of more than a decade of cuts that have forced the agency to serve millions more beneficiaries at its lowest staffing level in over 25 years, causing significant backlogs and long waits for service.
Cut Head Start by $750 million (6 percent) and freeze funding for child care assistance, thus providing no adjustment for rising costs or large unmet needs for child care.
Eliminate the Education Department’s English Language Acquisition program (funded at $890 million in 2023), which makes grants to help schools meet the needs of students learning English.
Freeze the maximum amount of Pell Grants, which help students of modest means afford college, while college costs continue to rise. The House bills also eliminate funding for Work Study and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, two other college student aid programs, which received $1.23 billion and $910 million, respectively, in 2023.
https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-budget/partisan-house-appropriations-bills-underfund-non-defense-priorities-and
It seems that the Freedom Caucus' idea of freedom is the freedom for the US to fail. I remember Trump's government shutdown in 2018 - 2019 was one of the few things that turned some of his supporters against him, and gave the Democrats a simple message to deliver like a drum beat for almost 6 weeks (Thank-you Speaker Pelosi!). This shutdown will cost the Freedom caucus - if the Democrats can project a simple, truthful message about it.
Sure do know how to make a mockery of "pro-life." Hypocrisy in plain sight brought to you by the Freedumb caucus.
Thanks, Georgia. What cruelty.
Honest to goodness, the people who they would be hurting with this "budget" ARE THEIR OWN CONSTITUENTS! What are they thinking?
And what are those contituents thinking, to vote for people who would do this to them and their families?
And where are the Democrats in those constituencies with the mailings and TV and radio ads publicizing exactly what the thugs' budget would do in their communities?
They are pure evil, Fern.
Thank you, Georgia. My god.
Republicans still have the upper hand in voter suppression and gerrymandering, which results in more Republicans holding public office granted to them by a minority of the voting public. Without fair representation, our voices will never be heard. Something to keep you pushing.
Yes, I believe we will prevail. Gerrymandering will make it a close contest. But the GQP is doing so much wrong as they flail about with their obstruction and desperate efforts ... and this President is doing so much right!
This administration has a long list of really smart policies and decisions. But the "SAVE" plan could be critically important on many levels. This is so exciting for young families and anyone who has had their life held back because of student debt. It could add momentum to an already healthy economy as debt payments continue to be re-routed back into housing, medical care and food.
President Biden and his advisors will be viewed by many younger people as brilliant heroes.
The SAVE plan can save the budgets of hard working families and young people who can't get out of their parents basement. This is a BIG DEAL. It is unassailable. This is delivering on campaign promises. This is the best form of politics. Doing the right thing to help those who deserve it. Spread the word. It's a great way to get out the vote for a Blue Victory.
I love to see the word ETHICS in print. In day to day conversations, the Republicons confuse it with esthetics...on purpose. They want all the good things for themselves and only take their pocketbooks seriously. That's why it's important to boycott their products and vote with your dollars to support Bidenomics
It depends partly on whether less extreme House Republicans will decide to work with Democrats to pass reasonable budget bills. The extremists depend on the rest of their party being paralyzed with fear. They may succeed. Or the Republicans in swing districts might decide being re-elected matters more than being obedient MAGA puppets.
The "GOP" is taking flack, but still armed and dangerous.
The wounded beast.
Repubs will destroy the country, what more proof do we need.
There is an interesting idea called Feathers of Hope by Jerry Weiss on Substack for dealing with the Freedom Caucus. In short, he proposes forming a bi-partisan coalition to remove McCarthy and replace him with a moderate Republican (in recognition that the GOP is at least right now the majority party in the House). Jerry's arguments make sense and removing McCarthy would draw such fangs as the Freedom Caucus has.
I'd like to note that the current issue is Feathers of Hope,
https://jerryweiss.substack.com/p/we-need-to-be-talking-about-this, includes a link to a WP article dated August 18, 2023, (free for non-subscribers) on this idea, naming a dozen "moderate republicans" who could create a "governing caucus" within the republicans to participate in such a coalition.
"The list of enablers is long, but allow me to call out a dozen House Republicans who have the reputation, skill and political headroom to form the nucleus of a GOP 'governing caucus': Don Bacon (Neb.), Stephanie I. Bice (Okla.), Tom Cole (Okla.), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Mike Gallagher (Wis.), Mike Garcia (Calif.), Garret Graves (La.), Dusty Johnson (S.D.), David Joyce (Ohio), Michael Lawler (N.Y.), Michael McCaul (Tex.) and Michael R. Turner (Ohio). These members present themselves as reasonable, serious legislators, and, in most respects, they are. But it’s time — past time — for them to stand up to the wing nuts of their own party. If they lead, others will follow." https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/08/14/stop-government-shutdown-threats/.
Anyone here from any of these states, who has the misfortune of being (mis)represented by any of these individuals? Could you start writing letters, etc., to them to get them off their duffs and leading on this single matter, then acting within the republican gang to get rid of the heinous budget cuts proposed by the lunatic caucus?
Mine doesn't appear on the list and isn't likely to as she's very much a follower of the path of least resistance but she'll get calls anyway.
No, no, no! A million times NO. They are not toothless, and we'd best not let down our guard for a moment on that notion Jerry. Sure, breathe deeply, meditate if you wish. Just don't let your guard down on these monsters. Democrats are well known to sometimes skip voting if it appears we have a lock on an election. Those are the days of the past, and we must do all in our power to squash them like unwanted bugs in our homes. Considering raising the voting age to twenty-five IS NOT being toothless in my estimation..
Raising or lowering the voting age requires a constitutional amendment. I think the Equal Rights Amendment has a better chance of being passed first. When I looked the issue up and saw that the 26th amendment had to pass to lower the voting age to 18 in 1971 (During the Vietnam War, I recall hearing a mantra similar to, "If they're old enough to fight and die, they're old enough to vote.), I saw lots of search result with the headlines suggesting that the voting age be lowered to 16, which likely has even a lower chance of passing.
But are they toothless? I don't think so, which is why I asked the question.
Liberals are too idealistic and expect systems to work. In the past they have believed that once a major legislative win was achieved, "the system" will keep working and preserve those gains. Most of the arguments on this substack follow that line of thinking, and it's a recipe for losing. What really happened is that reactionaries and some conservatives were awakened after liberal wins in the 1950s and 1960s and started their asymmetric political war, first with grass roots culture issues and now with national suppression issues, because they know liberals could win with the same tactics.
So back to toothless. Maybe they're not toothless, but they stand less of a chance to succeed in pushing the country back to pre-New-Deal days if we stay committed, united, and aware of the details. I have hope. I have hope we'll blow the fuckers out to space with super majorities in the Senate, a comfortable majority in the House, and flip a few more Red states Blue. Then I'll have the pleasure of worrying that the ultra-left will piss everyone off so much that the pendulum will start to swing hard right again.
Can Democrats prevail and keep the country moving steadily in the right direction until the 2024 election?
No, not steady, but whatever the Rs do in the House, we are not vulnerable in the Senate.
They are really up against the wall here and will shut down the government, impeach a nice and caring president, and upset the economy YET the voting citizens, on average, will see through the shenanigans. And the voters, on average, will not want a crazed president in office again.
BUT we have to get those young voters registered and fight the ridiculous suggestion from the republicans to raise the voting age to 25.
Peace,
JB
Yes! to the Teamsters. Yes! to defendants who lied under oath and are now coming clean. And Yes! to finding new ways to alleviate student debt.
But I can help wondering if GOP intransigence about minimizing or erasing student debt is also at least partly a plan to scare people away from higher ed. The less thoughtful and well-educated the citizens are, the more easily they can be manipulated. MA has now made college tuition-free for students over 25, a large slice of the community college population. While I applaud that move, I still wish that there would be some help for the majority of college teachers, those teaching contingently, aka "adjuncts" although they are central to higher ed's missions, not adjacent to it. But that's a topic for another day...
Every GOP "intransigence" has a specific strategic purpose. Forgiving student debt has a precedent going back to the late 60s--many of us had a percent of our debt forgiven for each year we taught in an inner city school. It was a real win for me because that's where I was going to teach anyway! I think partnering student-debt forgiveness with a program that will benefit the community is a win for everyone.
I agree, but a well educated populace is a key asset for any nation; the society as well as for individuals, particularly in a more educated and more competitive world. We are seeing first hand what happens when people are poorly informed and untrained to separate fact from fancy. State colleges used to be far more affordable. They should at least be better subsidized (as was the case pre-Reagan) if not free to all. What has wave after wave of "GOP" tax cuts done for YOU? What have they done, directly and indirectly, TO you?
And what of those with harder rows to hoe?
Conversely, " . . . a well educated populace" is not "a key asset for any nation" run by a fascist regime. A well-educated populace is a mortal danger to fascism. I recently did research for an article about the Third Reich's speedy, meticulous, and tragically effective implementation of their own very special curricula throughout Germany . . .
You’re absolutely right, Joanne. And I think, as a resident of Germany, the Republicans, especially the MAGAts, should be called out at every opportunity for what they are: fascists.
JL,
Just fyi, the University of Texas system, including my old alma mater, Texas A&M, right now, today, offer free tuition for those who meet admission requirements and whose family income is less than $60,000 per year.
So, while progressives like to bash Texas, Texas is progressive where educating their children at the college level is relevant. I do think that Texas economic success is directly tied to this program.
I paid $128 per year in tuition at Texas A&M.
Now, there is a down side, so to speak: Unlike at Ivy League "colleges" where if you are admitted you graduate no matter how much beer you drink, no matter how lazy you are, no matter if you even go to class,
at Texas A&M, if you fart around, you flunk out and are sent home forthwith.
Period. So, Texas DOES expect performance for free.
Texas is not totally crazy, as one would think of the cretins who currently reside in governmental Austin. Houston was great when I lived there 20 years ago; that’s why Abbot and crew are trying to take control of large city governments away from local control and rule them from Austin. A move that had stirred a hornet’s nest.
I remember the government student loans of the mid-late '60s. I believe it was the NDSL (National Defense Student Loan. As you mention, teaching in inner city--or maybe all public--schools could get a 10% reduction in the loan for each year of teaching to a maximum of 50% loan forgiveness after 5 years of teaching. I recall the interest rate as being 3%. There should be such a program now. Student college tuition debts could be partially eliminated through service to the country and community.
I believe it was after the Reagan era started when states stopped subsidizing most of state institution tuition costs. The state schools raised their tuition costs substantially then, and banks got into the student loan business and with much higher interest rates. Also, university teaching faculty got substantial raises then as well.
Seems to me that the banks who have made much money from the student loans should be providing some subsidies for student debt now, at least subsidies toward the tuition portion of such loans.
Yes--the banks and ridiculous interest rates are at the heart of the matter.
Seems that loan sharks took over the student loan programs.
Yes, seems that way to me as well. Then, the sharks grew in size; made their political contributions to the required politicians; and voila--they became "too big to fail" and exploited tax payers even more.
I had an NDSL, but I always thought it was National Direct Student Loan; I had to be off my folks income tax as a dependent before I could apply. Once I could, I finished the loans that I needed to complete schooling at a 2% interest rate, which I paid back at a monthly amount ranging from $30 to $75, depending on what income I was making. I bumped that up when I got hired at the Sheriff's Office (4 years after graduating where I worked in grocery and food service).
Yes, at some point the NDSL terminology changed the D from Defense to Direct. It was originally the National Defense Student Loan which resulted from the 1958 National Defense Education Act (NDEA).
I had that 3% interest rate in the 70’s for undergrad. Also able to obtain grad degree with tuition-free courses as state employee. DeSantis has not abolished the tuition waiver….yet.
Fascinating, frightening to realize how everything the pugs do is a strategy to undermine the health of our democracy.
Democracy is inimical to Plutocracy. It was never "government" that Reagan and the pugs detested; it the of, by and for the people kind.
Well said! Thank you.
I read it’s a 70-30 split among all women. I don’t recall the split among actual voters though.
I just saw an interesting datapoint about the increased number of women with college and grad degrees that are pro Biden and far outweigh the male pro Trump vote. I think what's his name from Meet The Press illustrated this. So if i remembered this accurately there is optimism that educated women and even men may not be so manipulated. Let's hope.
I rarely watch him, but, I did a quick scan of a few of the Sunday shows to get a pulse.
How do these numbers compare/contrast with the number of women who support T?
Total conjecture but i think Suburban women, mostly with blond hair (hee-hee) may still support him. There were many casually interviewed at the Iowa State Fair that have pivoted away from him. But its a racist play because well, why else? These women (and men) are not into facts or any of Bidens accomplishments. Just media propoganda sound bites.
A college education is an investment, not just in the people who receive it but the nation as a whole. The U.S. system is byzantine and morally wrong. Yet the GOP works to keep America stupid and protect predatory lenders.
Our son is friends with several students who have dual citizenship in European countries. Their college education will be free. Meanwhile, every week we receive mail from lenders trying to entice us into college debt.
Thank you for reminding everyone that in Europe there is free college to be pursued. May we arrive at that soon.
At least here in Germany, the downside to free college is far fewer students can go to college. Yes, not everyone needs to and there is a strong system of vocational and white-collar apprenticeships for those kids who don’t get out on the college track after FOURTH grade. It’s worked out well for one of my sons, not so well for the other. And unless the US comes to terms with something other than college qualifying yiu for most white-collar jobs, there isn’t a lot that can be changed.
The return to society, the return to the IRS as a multiple in dollars for each dollar that would be given in a free higher education, makes this a premier investment. Macroeconomics teaches that the quality of the labor force is the most impactful variables that go into GDP.
In Britain there is no more free college. The right wing government took the American way. Most EU countries provide free education. The cultural difference is becoming palpable - in every aspect of society
Same thing happened in Australia. It takes them years and years to repay.
This is very revealing. Thanks for telling us.
And so how does forgiving debt solve any of the problems inherent in the high cost of secondary education? It’s a rinse repeat exercise that’s inherently unfair to so many. Why not repay those who worked hard and paid their debt, or the families that paid as they go, or the students that went to junior college first? And how does this hold people responsible for decisions we make? Is that what we teach-- over reach and look for a bailout? It’s a singular issue that isn’t tied to business loans, or COVID loans to business.
Fair points. The entire system needs to be reformed and made affordable. This would require what most other wealthy countries do: provide sufficient tax support to lower prices and impose government regulation on cost.
Just bring back the system I went to school on here in California: three degrees from state instutions, modest tuition paid, no post-graduation debt. I'm fairly certain the state of California benefited from my becoming educated.
I feel fortunate to have gotten my primary education in California. Even though my life had been sidetracked by a kind of illness that prevented me from continuing my education to the level of a degree, I still have been able to maintain a kind of critical thinking that could only be produced through being taught the truth of our history as a nation and also the world.
I'd have to question that last supposition.
How does the education system work in Russia?
I hope that wasn't intended as a McCarthyist sneer.
You can't pay back, only pay forward. You can't change the past: you can only learn from your mistakes.
And hopefully correct some of them
YES! And the government has a long history of financially supporting universities both as an investment for educated people (democracy requires this) and for the local economies where universities exist. Trumpanzees don’t value education. For some reason, they think the millions lost on corporate tax breaks will rub off--the “trickle down theory,” which has been proven to be a hoax. But, then, Trumpanzee Repugs don’t learn from history or reality; they prefer spoon-fed, weaponized propaganda churned out by the RNC, a fascist crime syndicate led by a corporate billionaires’ gang.
“Their hypocrisy is stunning ...” Yes, yes it is. Every member of Congress who received a loan from the Small Business Administration and who subsequently had those loans forgiven during COVID, needs to be listed every Sunday in every major newspaper in this country so we can remind Republicans just how hypocritical they are. Their loans were forgiven but student loans can’t be?
I’m looking at you, Marjorie Taylor Green, with a couple hundred thousand dollar loan forgiven for your workout club. That alone would pay off all remaining college loans for my daughters, and for my 64 year old brother who is still paying for his Master’s degree. You know, good solid working people who work hard and pay their bills, unlike you.
Thank heavens for Bidenomics! The numbers from the economic boom, produced by the Inflation Reduction Act, is rockin’ good! So good, you Republicans keep taking credit for it. Even though every last damn one of you voted against it. Hypocrites, indeed!
The list idea is a good one!!!
YES Christine! Especially when the lists are expanded to include sources of all political contributions/donations!
Anything that might work to make people think and/or expose hypocrisy. Why does someone support a bill or not? Why does someone want a topic on the table? Perhaps money sources can show a connection, or not...
More often than not money sources will explajn A LOT, I suspect...
Sheila, I would expand your proposed list "every Sunday" to include from whence each politician derives her/his income and political "donations." We must FOLLOW THE MONEY!
Good heavens! How much does your brother still owe to the engineers of higher education loan policies? Perhaps he will be eligible for one of the programs that President Biden has put into place.
He got a late start, lol. Finished his Master’s at 58. ( And yes, it got him the best job he’s ever had. Was worth every nickel)
THIS!!!! "As Democratic strategist and pollster Celinda Lake and documentary filmmaker Mac Heller pointed out in the Washington Post in July, in the eight years between the 2016 and 2024 elections, 32 million Americans have become eligible to vote. In the same eight years, as many as 20 million older voters have died. " Since it became obvious that COVID19 was killing a disproportionate number of Republican voters, I have been qualitatively leaning on this exact concept for my sanity...older conservative voters have been dying off while new voters who care about climate, education, rights not being stripped away, etc. are joining the voter rolls. I can't wait for 2024!!!!
Keep in mind that older voters are not all conservative. We try to keep our hand in, and if vaccines can assist in our survival, we'll take them, thank you very much. Personally I'd like to be alive when the country is won back from the Trumpists.
This older voter (77) is not a conservative. MAGA means keeping everything the way it was. But the world is NOT standing still. Climate change demands new ideas and new ways of living.
Build it back better,
Are you saying "President" tfg wasn't right? It's not a hoax? s/
This older voter certainly isn’t conservative. Maybe more conservative than I was when I was younger, when I was what could be called a “wild-eyed radical”. Member of SDS, active in demonstrating against Vietnam, tear-gassed, beaten, arrested.
Today, a retiree from corporate America. Spent the last part of my career working for the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, Oxfam. Contributor to liberal causes. Still on the left and proudly so.
The older I get, the more what I see radicalises me.
Yeah, we're here, but I'm also aware there are two R's among the senile old white boomers for every one of me.
I am an old white boomer, but thankfully not senile just yet. And thankfully, i am a lifelong Democrat.
Lifelong Democrats don't get senile. It' a rule!
TC: 1. What age bracket are you categorizing as "senile old white boomers"? The oldest of us are 77--how many of us are senile? 2. How many of us are Republicans? 3. How many of us are white? 4. Are there any statistics supporting your claim that "there are two R's among the senile old white Boomers . . ."?
It's the Republicans who are obviously "senile." :-)
Yes they are, and Donald TUMP is the most ''senile'' of them all.
But why are you calling them "Boomers"?
Because they're that age.
OK, OK.
Yep, my bros
So, every white ‘old’ boomer is senile to you?
Here’s the thing. I don’t know how you identify racially. But I do know that you will be old one day. Aging happens to everyone. As to whether or not you become ‘senile’, that’s up to your genetics.
Turn your brain on. I'm talking about people I've known all my life, who I grew up with.
I wish I could afford to be alive to see that.
Old and not bat-Schitt crazy. It is possible.
Any statistics comparing/contrasting how many "older" Rs and Ds died of covid?
An NPR story from July ‘23 said a study of excess deaths in Florida and Ohio found that “excess death rate among Republican voters was 43% higher than the excess death rate among Democratic voters” after vaccines were available. Total deaths in the 2 states was over 538k. My assumption is that prior to vaccine, deaths were proportional to the number of people in each party, but that split is not given.
Thanks, D J--as Arte Johnson used to say, "Very eeeenteresting"!
This is the second time this week the Arte Johnson quote has shown up. Must be something in the air...
Yikes! Did I bring him up both times???
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/18/briefing/red-covid-partisan-deaths-vaccines.html?
Thx!
Lauren, I have been giving that very thing a lot of thought. Covid caused over 1 million deaths. Many were members of the R Party. That reduces their base plus there are a number of thosexwho have switched parties. The statistics about Gen Z’ers registering to vote is true. I have seen that plenty of times and it is very exciting. Change is a’ comin’!
https://youtu.be/wEBlaMOmKV4?si=S6gBKXdc4eVaCJwt
Great choice!!
Not long to wait, but plenty of time for much to happen.
Not voting till 25. No way. And it will not happen. It took an amendment to set it to 18. And unfortunately new amendments cannot be passed. YET.
Ramaswamey is rising in the polls. He supports“ Civic Duty” voting, those under 25 must take an exam or serve 6 months in military. This needs to be messaged as I’m encountering people thinking he’s a viable candidate !
https://www.vivek2024.com/civic-duty-voting/
YES!!!
Great letter, Dr. R! Good news for everyday Americans from President Biden and his administration. I hop you have a good night’s rest. The week continues to be full of important news.
But...but...woke Barbie Bud Light transsexual M&Ms gay Disney and Hunter Biden's laptop and besides Her Emails.
Perfect! And now with apologies to Rogers and Hammerstein, alternate lyrics are coursing through my Baby-Boomer addled brain . . . "Awoken Barbie and H Biden's laptop . . . transexual candy and a gay Disney porn shop. Hilary's emails and Benghazi's mess . . . Just ain't no bottom to R's evilness. When the dam breaks, when the bridge falls when infrastructure's gone, the Rs will just blame us and keep on keepin on . . ." Who's got the next verse?
"Truckin' like the don Dom man ... busted on 5th Avenue ... sometimes it occurs to me ..... what a Long Strange Trip it's been". Roger, Hammerstein & Garcia.
Bryan, on another note--I am thinking about our fav troll who in the last day or two retorted to someone that he "didn't pay" to be on this forum. Really?? Hmmm.
He's been repeatedly reported by numerous people, and yet he stays. Do you think that perhaps he has infiltrated the Substack admin group and works for them? (I know, tinfoil hat territory. ) My only other theory is that he IS being watched by the FBI or such. We have other trolls but they generally don't attack people.
Important considerations Miselle.
The Troll is a "user" under Substack's TOU among other contractual obligations that impact all participants regardless of Subscription status. No, I do not think any troll has infiltrated Substack's content moderation department. No comment on surveillance matters.
"Other trolls" have not committed civil wrongs, commonly called torts, specifically defamation against one (1) of our digital Community members. Liability, if any, does not depend on one's Subscription status to any Platform.
As I have posted repeatedly, "Platform Law" is rapidly developing ... faster than I imagined 6 months ago. "We are ALL in this Together."
Bryan Sean McKown is a creepy cyber-stalker.
"If it makes you Happy;
it can't be that Bad'."
"If it makes you Happy,
then why are you so Sad?"
"Lost in your conspiracies..."
https://youtube.com/watch?v=vWbFFUlCnlc&feature=share9
Substack is watching us...
"There is no true escape, I'm watching all the time..."
https://youtube.com/watch?v=3dbRdzATXBE&si=22W8rCUQ82VjW1Di
Ah yes, that unforgettable trio, "RH&G"!
Especially G.
Joanne, you’re a regular Randy Rainbow! Great lyrics!
Classified documents for petro-state kings?
J L --Yes! Perfect! "Precious top secrets to Russians he'll blab . . . from his bright golden toilet seats covered with flab . . . (Eeeeuuuuwww! Sorry, Heather . . .)
IJBOL!!
Think you left off (insert proper pronoun) Potato Head
It's so hard to keep track of their latest faux outrage....
That's what Fox is for.
Oh no . . . stop me before I start dog-paddling in Lyric Land . . . "Keep whining, keep lying, knowing that's what your peeps want to hear . . . Cuz after all, that's what Fox is for."
Sounds like an emerging MAGA hit.
Fautrage!
The political equivalent of "cold fusion". How much did they spend again?
And handing out the keys to the US Treasury to their uber-wealthy cronies, in exchange for special favors and the capital to work their will.
The more spent the better. Bush II uniquely cut taxes for the rich while declaring two wars. Dick Cheney said that deficits don't matter.
They are just something you can scream about when handed off to Democrats.
And I thought that was the worst I’d have to suffer through.
Dontcha love it when the Administration is getting stuff done for the People ⁉️
Thanks for the rundown Professor ⭐
Nothing rundown about our Professor. :)
☺️ I see what you did there
First things first before I forget. This from Tom Hartman concerning the MaL documents case: https://youtu.be/0O_ZDtnY-uY
I’m thrilled about this administration’s hard work to get around republican and Supreme court’s hard nosed objections to student debt relief. I can’t wait to repost Heather’s FB post about this.
I wasn't aware of Trump demanding and receiving a spy list late in his presidency. It's chilling.
Do we know this really happened? Seems like a deadly and deliberate breach of national security. Wonder who would have given the list to him . . .
In the video, Hartmann said Trump asked for a list and it was provided by John Ratliffe, Director of National Intelligence.
Thanks, Michael Bales--I missed that part . . .
Please post, (btw Hartman has zero experience in the intelligence field) I'd like to see some back up proof of this broad serious assertion. I did see that when the 2 top slots were open at 2 intelligence agencies the Trump White House asked for a list of employees at the highest career civil service pay grades (which by definition would not be in the field secret spies) so as to generate a list of potential new directors of the 2 agencies missing leadership. Trump is a POS and capable of insurrection-sedition as we all know, but if we go Benghazi without good evidence, we are no better than GOP.
As Hartmann said, he’s written about this other times. If I get a chance, I’ll try to dig into what he has said in the past about this subject. I’d like to think he would have cited his sources as a responsible party. In reading the transcript of this call he did indicate that Seth Molton was looking into this subject. Truthfully, I hope Hartmann is wrong on so many levels because the idea of our vital intelligence assets being caught and executed is sickening.
I had read that aides would filter out and keep from Trump sensitive things he had no need for seeing or doing. I find it tough to imagine a request 'hey give me name & location of every spy, even part time, just because I want to see it' gets done so easily.
Point made but who at that point would have had the cajones to withhold such or stymie such a request? Things had pretty much gone to Hell in a hand basket by then. What few brakes that started out on that caboose had pretty much checked out.
Now if this were a movie, let's call it, "The List," whoever gave him the list would have made a point of deleting certain names while making sure some of T's very special people were on it! So many juicy parts! Who would play Ivana? Who would play the stone-faced son-in-law? Melania could play herself as the entertainment at double-agent spy meetings on Jeff Epstein's island . . .
I always hoped that someone had disconnected the blow-up-the-world button on Trump’s desk.
Thom Hartmann is worth following and listening to in the radio.
It's incompatible with "Torrent-Up" economics.
Good evening, or good morning fellow LFAA readers.
About a month ago, it was noted by a frequent commenter here that this forum is attracting a lot of trolls as of late. While one of the benefits of the forum has been to enhance the letter and exchange information and opinions, like the old definition of porn "I know it when I see it."
There are those who would not consider themselves trolls, but I think you will recognize them when you see them.
I would encourage you all to NOT engage with them. If you are really annoyed, please report them to the forum administrator. You can do this by clicking on the three small dots to the right of the reply button.
In the past years, "trolls" were soundly called out and disappeared--eventually. Either by their own choice or being removed by the forum administrator, I can't say. I don't know why the particularly pesky and repetitive ones are allowed to remain here. Again, please don't feed the trolls.
Good evening Miselle, well said.
Substack Inc is a Delaware Corp that revised it's Terms-of-Use (TOU) in 2023.
Anyone can Google "Substack Terms of Use.2023" to review the Rules of the Road on LFAA & other Substack Platforms.
I can now confirm that the Platform's choice of law clause in the TOU is California law which answers many, questions not the least if which is Platform disruptions, repeating posts, intentional misinformation & trolling by 3rd persons. There are possibly 3 or 4 Trolls tonite.
Much more to consider on other days. "We are All in this Together"as Professor Vance signs off. 🙏
Funny, I didn't mention any trolls by name, but when the nerve is hit, they self-identify!
" ... when the nerve is hit ...". Think you are correct Miselle but, I will have to check-in with ER Dr. Jeremy Faust, Substack Author of. "Inside Medicine". Not too many trolls have showed up at Emergency Rooms so far but, tfg will not be Booked in Fulton County until Thursday.
*ahem*
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/august-22-2023/comment/38917114
(And you didn't get your facts straight.)
Miselle usually doesn't go in for grunting and snarling, but she does rant a lot, as if she was the local Thought Control Commisar, devoted to making this place a pristine echo chamber. And now she has imagined a new category of "troll porn": Miselle knows a naked troll when she sees one.
...and now that Miselle has identified herself as an expert on troll porn, others will expect her to weigh in on the trollish dimensions of that perennial question, Does size matter?
Evening to All!
A couple quick thoughts: Initially, the SAVE Act seems quite beneficial. Even without diving into its minutiae, it is most efficacious to see that the Biden Administration is so focused on getting back on the horse of good government even after being knocked off by the highest Court in the land, and it can still come up with a reasonable, workable, revised program to promote the general welfare.
The Bruce Mann reference is one I was not previously aware of. I am a litigator, and as such, tend to steer far clear of bankruptcy issues and bankruptcy court, so I was in the dark a bit on the interesting class based history of bankruptcy that Heather raised. Also interesting is that Bruce Mann is married to the senior Senator from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren
OH!
It's class war. Always has been. And the 1% will take us all down with its insanity. Time for Biden to declare a climate emergency, laying out a radical program for combatting climate change internationally. Younger folks are tired of useless small steps. Cornell West is speaking truth to power and younger folks are listening. If the species is to survive, there is no place left for timid action.
I will suggest that Biden should announce a crash program to develop commercially viable nuclear fusion, following up on the recent breakthrough at Livermore.
With abundant electricity from fusion, we can power electric cars and grow food in the cities (using aquaponic skyscrapers with grow lights), cutting transportation costs and relieving the aquifer in the Great Plains.
Hi John
Put away the techno optimist glasses! - the reality is that fusion (as a practical
energy source), is highly unlikely to happen .. why? The incredible complexity of a fusion reactor (which would need to be multiplied hundreds of time to replace existing electricity sources). The difficulty in converting plasma (at several million degrees to several hundred degrees (to run a turbine). and so on.. Read this account of what actually is going on in the Livermore labs.
https://energyskeptic.com/2023/fusion-at-lawrence-livermore-national-laboratory
Sorry, reality is sooooo boring!
John, there is the world of a difference between a fusion reactor and a plane - go learn some physics - and perhaps read Vaclav Smil "How the World Really Works"
"Go learn some physics" is an unworthy sneer.
And by the way, the Manhattan Project started from a theory -- they didn't know if it would work but they bet on it and it paid off. That's what I meant by a crash program. Wanna bet that the folks at Livermore would have a basketfull of suggestions on how to proceed toward commercially viable fusion?
https://youtube.com/watch?v=HTkicdO_64w&feature=share9
Actually, given your obvious lack on knowledge on the subject, "go learn some physics" seems a perfectly reasonable recommendation.
...said the egghead particle physicist, NOT!
Hugh Spencer, I am reminded of that famous article in the oh-so-respectable New York Times proclaiming that heavier-than-air flying machines were impossible.
Experimental fusion reactors are barely at the point that they are capable - extremely briefly - of putting out more energy than the amount it takes to run them. At this point, the physics of simply containing a small amount of plasma at temperatures exceeding those of the sun is barely within our grasp and requires a vast input of conventional, fossil-fuel generated power. The likelihood of commercial-scale fusion energy coming online in time to save us from anthropogenic climate change is somewhere between zero and nil.
Perhaps your timeline has been compressed by "Chicken Little" scare stories?
"Nonetheless, after 50 years of stunningly incorrect predictions, climate campaigners, journalists and politicians still hawk an immediate apocalypse to great acclaim."
https://nypost.com/2021/11/30/the-comic-cries-of-climate-apocalypse-50-years-of-spurious-scaremongering/
Or perhaps you have no idea what you're talking about and were only interested in changing the subject.
Amen.
Thank you Heather.
The Republican Party is based on hypocrisy. I feel they are showing this more and more. I don't understand how the GOP can have an open discussion of stomping down the lower/middle class while giving the 1% every financial advantage available.
Don't they know we are watching them?
Be safe. Be well.
I think many of us, including Republican MAGA idolizers, are not quite as aware as we should be that communications intended for one's ideological colleagues are destined eventually, through the Internet for instance, to be read by others, including ideological opponents. We should realize that ideological disputes that display personal animosity and emotion are going to come more and more into public awareness. One can hope that increased transparency will make some groups pull their punches and not engage in the worst and most anti-democratic behavior. But there is of course no guarantee.
No guarantee whatsoever
And you too! Be safe. Be well.
Remember not to feed the trolls! On another note, I'm glad for the UPS drivers and workers that in addition to a pay raise they will also be getting their vehicles updated so that they won't be delivering packages inside rolling tin cans lacking temperature control.
"If politics is rocky these days, everyday life is less so thanks to the vote of 86% of the members of the Teamsters union today to approve their new 5-year contract with UPS, heading off what would have been a bruising strike."
The last time I suggested that, I got accused of being "scared". Not scared, and not unwilling to listen to an opposing point of view that is based in reality, not in the GIGO that is the current "conservative" milieu.
Humans are odd about relieving suffering, or, say about forgiving loans. "If I paid back/am paying back my loans, then there can be no relief for anyone, just as there was no relief for me." Of course, this narrow and jealous thinking fails to acknowledge how fraught the lending practices for student loans are. And despite the strong job market, the income that many borrowers hoped would be accessible to them after graduation did not materialize, leaving g them stuck in debt that often increased despite the payments they made. Compassion and kindness and empathy have been in short supply.
Jealous or fair? Fair says treat people the same and don’t favor people for all the variability of reasons they do, won’t or can’t make payments. Promoting the general welfare means coming up with a better less costly system going forward.
Even enlightened self-interest fails this bunch. Assuming they were able to get jobs for which their education prepared them, people who are drowning in debt cannot do their jobs, for which they've paid so dearly, well. If those people happen to be the teachers for your kids, or the medical professionals in your hospital, or other providers of essential services, where will that leave your kids or you?
And to fail to see the difference between $25,000 in debt from schooling that ended 30 years ago at 3% max interest, and $200,000 in debt from schooling today at 8 - 10% is just. plain. stupid.
Elizabeth Warren was a Republican who believed the "GOP" line that most people who declared bankruptcy were scammers; but studied it (as she is wont to do) and drew an opposite conclusion. She drifted away from the "GOP" and became a smart, well-informed and rhetorically incisive thorn in their side, and a champion of "the little people".
...and she stabbed Bernie in the back, twice, during the 2020 primary campaign.