One thing history consistently reminds us is that today’s political battles rarely begin today. More often, they’re the latest chapter in debates that have unfolded across generations.
Understanding that history helps explain why these questions remain so consequential.
But there is always Trump Rx, which was launched in February 2026, to take care of you.
It doesn't sell drugs directly — it lets you buy specific prescription medications straight from pharmaceutical companies at discounted "Most-Favored-Nation" prices. It started with
43 drugs and expanded rapidly: Over 600 generics were added in May 2026 via partnerships with Amazon Pharmacy, GoodRx, and Cost Plus Drugs. Another 160 drugs were added in June, so it is up to 800 drugs. Pfizer, AstraZeneca (via "AstraZeneca Direct"), EMD Serono, and Amgen (via "AmgenNow") are participating. Pfizer got a tariff reprieve as part of its deal. (Hmmmm.)
Sounds unbelievable! Trump finally doing something to help the average American!!!
Uhhh, not quite. A New York Times analysis in March 2026 found the site generally does NOT beat drug prices in other wealthy countries, and doesn't meaningfully help people with insurance. Oh NOOOOOOO!!!! He lied to us!!!
Senate Democrats have criticized it as a marketing/coupon gimmick rather than real reform, saying that Medicare drug-price negotiations are more effective; California Governor Newsom called it a copy of the state's CalRx program.
According to CBS News, the program does not accept patients with insurance and only helps those who are paying cash out of pocket by directing them to the individual company's websites for company-provided discounts. The webpage for each TrumpRx drug notes that patients with insurance should check what their copay would be if using insurance, as it may be even lower than the TrumpRx price.
According to the Guardian, many of the drugs on the list already have lower-cost generics available. So the scam here is that people are being told they are getting a break when they are being conned into buying the higher-cost name-brand drug. You all knew there had to be something in it for big pharma besides Pfizer's tariff break.
In other words, there is no government money being used to provide a benefit to an uninsured person, although Trump sure made it sound like there was. And your taxpayer money was used to build the government website, which uses GoodRx technology, that directs people to where they are scammed.
And just in case you believed that Trump was getting most favored nation pricing on drugs, a New York Times expose showed that wasn't true either.
"Our analysis shows that with some drugs, Mr. Trump appears to have modestly narrowed the gap between European and U.S. prices. But the gap persists, and the reality does not match his hyperbole. That is particularly true for patent-protected drugs, which consistently were cheaper in Germany.
White House officials and pharmaceutical companies contested our findings. They argued that the gap disappears after adjusting for the economic conditions in every country. That means that TrumpRx prices can count as cheaper, even when the price is higher.(Now that is true Trumpian logic...)
The administration did not provide enough detail about how it ran those numbers for that claim to be checked. We examined raw numbers, comparing prices in U.S. dollars."
"The review by The Times and its German partners is an assessment of one of Mr. Trump’s signature domestic issues. With gas prices rising because of the unpopular war in Iran, the president is counting on his drug policy to resonate with voters who are concerned about affordability. Mr. Trump has repeatedly claimed that this policy alone should be enough to carry Republicans to victory in November’s midterm elections."
A February 2026 YouGov poll found people liked the idea (57% approval) until they were told it's called "TrumpRx" — then approval dropped to 41% overall, and tanked bigly among Democrats and independents while Republicans remained believers. At least some voters are getting wise.
A great read on this is “Big Pharma” by Jackie Law. It should be required reading for anyone in medicine or healthcare administration to show how the industry became so powerful and corrupt by taking shortcuts and using flawed scientific methods. Things began to change for the better only when the rich realized they would get the same healthcare in the UK. as anyone else, from fatally flawed drug testing to rush production.
Whenever Congress even hints at discounting drug prices, the pharmaceutical companies flood the media with ads ordering us to call our Senators and Congresscritters to stop them.
And I'm sure many people make the calls. They are all evil motherfuckers that only care about profit.
In the mid-1990's I was talking with someone who had invented a new drug. He said that it would cost around $100 million to get approval for the drug and to set up manufacturing to get it to market. Any wonder why we see so few new pharmaceuticals including vaccines.
Surely you jest! No doubt that is exactly his plan. BUT if the sum total of the cost of part D plans, at a minimum of $39 a month plus what they exclude paying for is more than your paying our of pocket, you definitely don't need a part D plan. Some of us have figured that out!
TRUE. And, many professional organizations, in my case the American Bar Association (ABA) have have leveraged their Group (ABA) purchasing power to buy "Medicare Supplement" coverage which something like an "excess" policy coverage over & ABOVE what Medicare has already paid for.
My ABA Medicare Supplemental policy is administered by Transamerica. The ABA Group policy even pays for my premium automatically.
Doctor's office staff loves the coverage because anything not covered by medicare is automatically sent Transamerica. Staff does not have to submit the bilI. No paper work! I get a quarterly summary of ALL the supplemental payments over the last 90 days.
Sorry, I got to run because I have to prepare an appointment with a top UCSD specialist this morning at 10:30 AM. My cost today for the specialist is zero.
TRUE. As a former CA Attorney, I discharged my Pro Bono legal duties by handling medical billing disputes for over 35 years.
My daughter is a pharmacy tech. Many customers have extremely large co-pays or their drugs aren't covered at all. Her current employer doesn't allow discount cards when a customer's insurance doesn't cover a particular drug. But she often is able to use one anyway to make a prescription affordable.
Her previous employer allowed discount cards and any option available to make the script affordable so she has told us that all pharmacies aren't created equal. When you're in need of a drug, the last thing you want to do is shop around, but be aware that you may be able to save money by shopping at a different pharmacy.
When the Medicaid cuts kick in at the end of 2026, millions of recipients will see the price of their prescriptions sky rocket.
And we all know that Trump and the Republicans don't give a damn for anyone that can't help them remain in power.
Good point and the process can be so unnecessarily complicated it turns customers away. I recently switched from express scripts to WellCare and the savings in general are significant.
And I’m sure the same snake oil is smeared all over the heavily advertised “trump accounts”. “We’ll give your kids money for their future (and have indentured servants for us!)”.
Yes. Anthropologist and social systems scientist Riane Eisler knows the fight between the forces of domination and those of partnership goes back centuries.
Steve Brant, so glad you mentioned Riane Eisler…who I first knew about when she was inducted into the California Hall of Fame at the age of 94 in March of this year. Raine Eisler’s acceptance speech was one for the ages.
Also, I especially appreciated the quote HCR pulled from Johnson’s speech honoring Truman, “…for a country can be known by the quality of the men it honors”…because men and women who today choose to become part of the “Care Economy” that Eisler represents are surely heroes to all in need.
"We are stabilizing the market so this bailout is no longer needed.”
This bit of babbling balderdash from Mehmet Oz doesn't make the slightest sense. It's just verbal word salad, like everything else dribbling out the mouths of this administration's spoke monsters. Its meaning is incoherent. It's purpose is to fool you into thinking the speaker actually said something.
On the plus side, announcing Medicare premium increases 90+ days before the most important mid-terms in our nation's history is an invitation to political disaster. Who does that? -- a cult hell-bent on suicide, despite gerrymandered House districts, mail-in voting nonsense, piles of dark cash, seizing voter records, and unconstitutional rumblings about ICE or the National Guard standing "guard" at election precincts, that's who.
Age-old principle in judo. When your dumbass opponent is preoccupied with falling on his face, get out of his way. If he hesitates, make sure you re-direct him back toward self-destruction.
He was the Pennsylvania Senate candidate who told voters that abortion was strictly a decision between "women, doctors and political leaders" (because everyone knows a Republican legislator's presence in the examination room is required at all times to make sure a woman doesn't get all uppity and start making decisions on her own).
There can be no serious dispute with the notion that the 21st century republican party is intent on unwinding the enormous progress this country has made in creating a humane, democratic, just society. It is not an exaggeration to recognize that the gop intends for this country, now and for its future, shall be an oligarchy in which a privileged, wealthy, almost exclusively white and almost exclusively christian few hold unfettered power over hundreds of millions of the rest of the people who shall labor and contribute to the luxury and comfort of that privileged group. Again, this is NOT exaggeration. It's not as if they haven't told us their intent.
Hello Marilyn... Bill Clinton had almost paid-off the National-Debt... It is now approaching $40-Trillion Dollars... So far DJT will have added about $10-Trillion to it by 2029.. Last Year, the Interest Payments on the National Debt was about $1.5 Trillion... Thank-You 21st Century GOP, NOT!!!... How Much More Of The Common-Good Will Be Sacrificed To The Mar-a-Lago Mob?...
They did not get us there on their own. Based on what I see on substack, and in life, most democrats have a limited knowledge of history [not directed at you]. If we keep all focus on Trump, a vast majority of democrats will continue to refuse to partake in the acquisition of knowledge; it is simply more comfortable for them to avoid responsibility.
Hello Apache...I think you left about $30 trillion out of one of those sentences...The U.S. national debt (the total amount of money the federal government owes) stands at approximately $39.74 trillion!
Elon Musk and DOGE saved us around $50 million by firing competent staff that made it possible to actually get things done.
According to the Cato Institute: "Elon Musk and DOGE reduced federal employment by nine percent in less than 10 months, but it did not reduce overall federal spending. Independent estimates place DOGE's cumulative savings between $1 billion and $7 billion, far below its initial targets."
And now cuts to Medicaid and SNAP are coming while USAID is dead and gone.
Every day, Trump, Kegsbreath and the Republican hate mongers waste over $1 billion in Iran wasting the lives of American soldiers and killing innocent women and children.
The War in Iran is truly the biggest fuck-up any President has ever made.
Clinton did not nearly pay off the national debt, but he was the only POTUS during my lifetime during which the federal government ran a budget surplus instead of a budget deficit.
"What are these arguments? They are the arguments that kings have made for enslaving the people in all ages of the world. You will find that all the arguments in favor of king-craft were of this class; they always bestrode the necks of the people, not that they wanted to do it, but because the people were better off for being ridden. That is their argument, and this argument of the Judge is the same old serpent that says you work and I eat, you toil and I will enjoy the fruits of it. Turn in whatever way you will – whether it come from the mouth of a King, an excuse for enslaving the people of his country, or from the mouth of men of one race as a reason for enslaving the men of another race, it is all the same old serpent, "
BUT we can cancel them out with a whirlwind of voting in November. Let's make it a staggering defeat that will allow the precarious judo opponents to fall resoundingly on their collective faces.
I never did get around to reading the full, official text of Project 2025 but it was all laid out there. The intent was written in the 900-plus-page conservative policy manifesto titled Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise...and now the Trumpian regime has implemented much of it, steamrolling the agenda over the Nation and D.C. with a neutered Congress and 6 rubberstamping 'Justices'...
I read about 20% of it. Each section began with a bashing of Biden's economic or social policies and then had an overview of what they needed to do to reverse all of the progress the Democrats have ever made. There are many disgusting and scary proposals buried in the 900 or so pages.
And worst of all Russell Vought, the OMB director has control of many of the evil and hateful proposals in Project 2025.
He was confirmed 53-47 by the Senate with every fucking Republican Senator voting for this evil theocrat. Project 2025 was funded by the Koch Foundation and supported by Leonard Leo.
GOP = the party of anti-values and a safe haven for pedophiles and billionaires.
They have told us exactly what they were going to do. But still, Heather wrote: “ But now, in 2026, the Republicans in charge of our government reject the vision of a government that works to support its people. They see government regulation, taxation, and a social safety net as an attack on individual liberty.”
I have to disagree. That thing about individual liberty is nothing more than the pretext, an excuse. The REAL reason is this: “I am rich, and take care of myself. Why do _I_ need to pay taxes so that those poor suckers get health care?? Socialism! Socialism! Let them take care of themselves! And if they can’t, let them die! They are poor, anyway.”
That is well said. You described the beating heart of the republican creature. What astounds me is that so many impoverished people forgo medical care they cannot afford and embellish the belief that democrats are causing their misery. I watch as marriages fail because the democrats did it. I watch as land is foreclosed because democrats did it. I watch as people succumb to age and illness which they bring on themselves as they have provided no remedy because they were too lazy and expected others to carry their burdens. That is the divide as I see it explained over and over and over. It is always the democrats with their hands reaching in republican pockets. Republicans are sensible conservatives whereas democrats are the leeches in the ditches. That is the backbone that must be broken. Otherwise nothing changes. Republicans must be held to account for emptying the pockets of their fellow republicans.
It's easy. There's one thing the Republicans are very good at: convincing the man who has 10 dollars that the man who has only 5 is the problem - while they themselves have 10.000... Thing is, the "10-dollar-man" is so adamant on preventing the "5-dollar-man" from getting _anything_, he will gladly offer up his own life - if only that poor bastard doesn't get anything. They fail to see that A) the man having 10.000 dollar is the real problem; B) if "10-dollar-man" and "5-dollar-man" would cooperate, they could _both_ lead a good life. But "10-dollar-man" is from the Confederacy and would rather die than see a Black "5-dollar-man" leading a happy life.
While the rest of the world provides universal healthcare to its citizens — including democracies and dictatorships and those we send our tax dollars to in order to help bolster their economies and war making machines — Americans continue to fall for GOP talking points that deprive them of healthcare. We have the most expensive system on the planet because Wall Street runs healthcare from top to bottom. Thanks to George W. Bush, Medicare is not allowed to negotiate drug prices like other countries, so we pay thr price. We are not a shining city on a hill caring for our patients. No, we condemn wearing masks and vaccinations and clean air and water. Will we ever learn?
Do not forget either that it was that Bush, better known as the shrub, who put in place the profitable requirements that all Medicare recipients sign up for part D or be monetarily penalized to drive us into the Disadvantage Plans,!
Yep Lauren Bouche, Wall Street runs the healthcare industry as well as all large scale industries. Regrettably, too many of us value Wall Street’s profit motive and are willing to buy into Wall Street’s world view with our investments.
LBJ, like FDR, was tapping into each's felt need to honor the complexity of fellow Americans' needs.
Republicans today have no such felt need -- only exasperation that so many people of color, immigrants, women not in the home, and varied other types interfere with the abstracted notions these Republicans want to push, impose on all of us.
Welcoming knowledge, consciousness of the wider complications we inhabit?
I return thus to Michael Pollan's new book, "A World Appears," as it's by far the best thing we have for any democratic public open to our wider diversity.
And, best, Pollan constantly does a great job pairing these, our best, most open inclinations, with those of criminal Donald's allies -- or in other dress the AI and techie types who look no further than to keeping all of our consciousness "reducible to information, to computable bits or pixels."
Or to their brethren, the testers, keeping consciousness ever tuned only to the range of questions by which our "betters" presume the world reduces only to one correct answer always.
We're in most challenging of imaginative times, as we hover past the 100 day mark before our mid-term elections.
Will add Pollan’s latest book: A World Appears to my reading list…as I have Raine Eisler’s seminal book: The Chalice and the Blade: Our History, Our Future written in 1987.
Phil reminds us continually that words matter…I’m glad to feel your passion, Phil…it inspires me to keep turning to books!
As education fails decisions become more simply the democrats fault, what with their outstretched hands and all. It’s a multiple choice world inhabited by people who strive to get a color match on the socks they will wear this week.
Wow I wonder what the current copay for Eylea, which has saved my vision from macular degeneration so far, will go up from the current $300??? And just think about people who have it in both eyes. I'm sure there are many reading all this who are on expensive lifesaving drugs and wondering what is about to happen!!! This is so depressing I can hardly bear to think about it.
Greedy Fascist Republicans Is Meshed With Their Corruption
Makes immoral corrupt sense. Cheeto invests in private prison companies to whom he then gives huge government contracts so the DHS can house ICE detainees in unsanitary inhumane conditions which is against the federal law. Cheeto makes big $$$ off his investment to illegally detain lawful immigrants. And fascist greedy Republicans cheer on this corruption.
On MSNOW which has been calling out Cheeto for years on his lies and now brazen corruption and Paxton along with Cheeto’s endorsement, displays the rot in OUR broken political system. O’Donnell interviewed James Talarico(bit.ly/4vV78je). As Talarico comments, in a democracy politicians are to serve WE the People not themselves. Corporate America has been stealing from the American People. Reagan’s debunked trickle down economics is another name for theft.
Microsoft paid an effective federal income tax rate of 2.4 percent while posting record income of over $100 billion for its fiscal year 2026.
Krugman economist and Nobel laureate has posted a second of a series on a wealth tax policy on his Substack channel…long but in depth with convincing arguments that Democratic progressives have been making for at least 5 election cycles(bit.ly/3S4k748). Of course the rise of the oligarchy fueled by wealth inequality will push aggressively against such a taxation policy but it’s clearly time for the American electorate to rebel for the sake of fighting against this huge yawning chasm of wealth gap in the country.
Accountability and affordability are both on the political agenda for the next 4 election cycles.
I checked out the Krugman link. Unfortunately it's pay or no read. I have reached the limit of how many subscriptions I can support. Maybe it's a good thing as this stuff is taking too much of my time as it is.
No matter what, what will happen will happen. In a few years, I won't even be here and I am not sorry. Who knows what the current area known as the United States will be in 50 or 100 years or even what the planet will be for that matter. So far due partly to geography this nation has been pretty invulnerable to actual attack - but not totally. Our politicians have been able to do as they wished with our military might, destruction and death wrought willy nilly, wars fought for no gain, and no one criticized us openly but plenty around the world noticed and remember, even though nothing was said and some countries have even helped us wage several wars. This development of drone technology will, I predict, make for a different world. And if we continue to insist on doing away with alliances we will find out eventually why alliances had been in the past a good thing. But if we continue wrecking the planet, first our fellow creatures will die off - no birds, no flowers, no forests, beautiful vistas marred with ugliness only humanity knows how to create-- next we will run out of water, and then it will be our turn.
I have spent and do spend considerable time reading what people write on this substack and we have some very erudite knowledgeable and wise people here. As well as some "clever" ones and probably some imposters. I sometimes wonder what I am looking for and I am not sure; maybe answers. I find a lot of cute insults about Trump and his followers - and I find that I agree - but so what? I find ideas about "what's wrong" but I don't find anything that it feels like it is building towards anything. Perhaps that is essentially the "way" of democracy and it somehow coalesces at some point, though if you look back at the Founders, that drive took a lot of very intentional and determined action by not just one or two but a sizeable group of people (men). Where is that organization now?
Many if not all of the Trump-Russia-Epstein files victims were physically threatened by their abusers. Several people involved with the abusers and/or Trump (Virginia Giuffre, Jean-Luc Brunel, Jeffrey Epstein, Dr. Harold Nelson Bernstein, Dusti Rhea Duke, etc. and email evidence and ranch staff raising the suspicion of grave sites on the Zorro Ranch in New Mexico) have all died prematurely. So the victims feel that the threats are real. On Monday Daniel Siad, “modeling” scout/assistant of Jean-Luc Brunel (international modeling mogul), was found dead in his Paris residence by his young female partner. He was currently under investigation by the Parisian authorities having been recognized in a photo in the Epstein files by a Swedish survivor, Ebba Carlson, but had not yet been questioned. Another Epstein files ex-“modeling” agency boss and suspect, Gerald Marie, has been accused of rape by six women (per LeMonde.fr) and is still alive.
Journalist and legal analyst Katie Phang filed a federal lawsuit against the Department of Justice and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to compel the unredacted release of Jeffrey Epstein-related files. The lawsuit challenges DOJ withholdings under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, citing violations of the Administrative Procedures Act. A Federal Judge ruled in Phang’s favor, issuing a preliminary injunction requiring the government to produce or justify the withheld files. See: Epstein Recruiter Found DEAD While UNDER INVESTIGATION!?! - YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doEx9cn3stE
(B) TRUMP CONTINUES TO ATTEMPT TO RIGG THE 2026 ELECTIONS
Marc Elias, American voting rights attorney and podcaster (DemocracyDocket), discusses the latest maneuver by Trump to alter voting in elections. In March 2026 Trump issued Executive Order 14399 “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in U.S. Elections”. It: (1) directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to work with the Social Security Administration to create a list of U.S. citizens whom they believe are eligible to vote; (2) Directs the U.S. Postal Service to only send out election ballots to people on the lists compiled by DHS and SSA. Asks States to send in their voter lists 60 days prior to the election or they will be sued by DOJ; (3) Directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate and prosecute election officials who send ballots to people whom the Trump Administration has determined according to their culled lists are ineligible to vote. (What could possibly go wrong?) Noncompliant States are subject to the loss of Federal Funding.
Lawsuits were filed in the Massachusetts 1st Circuit by State Attorney Generals and the Judge ruled to deny and block the implementation of the Executive Order. Trump has recently appealed the ruling to the SCOTUS which is currently out of session and on summer vacation. Another lawsuit was filed concurrently in the DC Court by Marc Elias and other parties who have now filed amicus briefs with the case before the SCOTUS.
Marc Elias calls this a full assault by Trump on U.S. elections and democracy.
(C) Politics are Polarized, But Not for the Reason You Think |
Heather has pointed out in her politics chats that the Overton window for political issues has been slid significantly to the right. What used to be the center is now considered to be left wing. She showed this by reading parts of the 1956 Republican Party Platform of President Dwight Eisenhower which are the same as what “left wing” progressives are now proposing. This has also been pointed out by former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich in a short cartoon video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_Q9ynm2Rfg
(D) WHAT IS THE OVERTON WINDOW
The Overton window is the range of ideas, policies, and public beliefs that a society finds acceptable at any given time. Named after American policy analyst Joseph Overton, the model explains that politicians usually only support ideas inside this window to avoid looking too extreme or losing public support. The window can move up or down the political spectrum over time as social values change. Activists, media groups, and politicians often push extreme ideas on purpose. Even if the extreme idea is rejected, it can drag the rest of the conversation with it, making a previously radical middle-ground idea look reasonable by comparison.“ In her politics chats Heather and others like Robert Reich have pointed out that far right extremism in this country has dragged the Overton window to the right so far that what was once middle of the road moderation is now viewed as left wing. Heather showed this by reading parts of the 1956 Republican National Platform of Republican President Dwight Eisenhower which contained positions which many current Democratic Party candidates are running on but the current Republicans denounce as left wing extremism.
Kim is my Senator. He is one of the very few politicians who is smart and wants to work for the people. His Medikids proposal is genius. It is an example of the kinds of programs that the opposition should be generating in quantity in a shadow cabinet to show what we can do for the people. Kim is clear about the benefits for the kids, as well as for the long-term fiscal benefits for the economy. Healthier kids make healthier adults who are more productive workers and less likely to develop chronic disease.
He is also decent. Every time I hear him speak, I remember the image of him picking up the trash in the rotunda after Jan 6. And he is the anti-Trump; when he talked about his kids' and his father's health issues and why he is motivated, he was clearly emotional. He shows empathy and respect for people.
He is the polar opposite of my Representative, Tom Kean Jr., who is finally back in DC. Kean never does live town halls--he answers canned questions on phone meetings (not even Zoom) that are read by a staffer with the answers pre-recorded. In the last election cycle, he got more funding from Elon Musk's PAC than any other candidate for the House.
He isn't mine. I would never vote for him. At a minimum he should require our country to have healthcare equivalent to the country he insists on funding. Not sure that should get you a medal, but okay.
It's a pity that the richest men in the world now follow a philosophy that says "ordinary people don't matter". They're known as The Nerd Reich by tech reporter Gil Duran. All need to follow his work!
PS Why is it always the men who are so f'ed up in the head? Oh that's right... they don't give birth. So, they really don't know what it's like to cherish life. (I'm a 71 year old male... calling out my fellow men.. to WTFU to the meaning of life! SMH
We need a dynamic new leadership in the mold of FDR, Truman, LBJ, and Obama to finally assure health care for all Americans or anyone who is inside our borders. I have heard innumerable reports from people who are traveling in European countries like Italy, that they received treatment in emergency rooms without any billing for that care. While I am at it, students who qualify academically at state universities should not have to pay tuition. All the trades should have state paid for training in conjunction with the unions.
Wow, I had no idea that Obama's efforts on behalf of our insurance needs began with FDR and Truman. Thanks goodness people kept pushing for insurance and healthcare rights despite the pushback and naysayers over the decades. I did not know that Medicare is only 60 years old. Thank you for the inspiring quotes from Truman and LBJ on the topic. That we still see the young lose their savings and dreams to caring for family, or to being the sandwich generation, is a condemnation of our governance and current healthcare system. We should start monetizing the work of caregiving, as we already monetize most other forms of work, and pay family caregivers for their work, just as we pay gardeners and nurses who caretake for us. The Social Security system could pay for the time if the insurance or states can't afford to.
I’m referring to monetizing the work of family (or friend) caregivers in this particular post. Meaning paying them the full value of their work, with benefits, not just giving them some perks here and there. Doctors teachers and lawyers could all do their work for free, just like family caregivers often do. But we don’t ask them to. And we shouldn’t ask family caregivers to work for free, either. If your state already pays for family carework, esp the work that goes beyond the typical 6wk-12wk leave period, kudos to them.
Excellent column again, HCR, but I have one criticism:
"But now, in 2026, the Republicans in charge of our government reject the vision of a government that works to support its people. They see government regulation, taxation, and a social safety net as an attack on individual liberty."
I don't think Republicans (or their wealthy donors) give the slightest toss about "individual liberty" for Americans (apart from their own precious, privileged lives of course). They only care that every single aspect of the economy is turned into a profit centre - they cannot stand, cannot tolerate, that some government program is running effectively and efficiently, and it isn't theirs - they want anything and everything that can turn a buck to be privatised, and delivered to the oligarchs.
Individual liberty has never been a goal of capitalism ... it's all about the concentration of wealth, and the control of every aspect of economic and social life to their own ends.
I don't know about you but I don't think we're imagining that anyone who continues to vote for the GOP is on the proverbial fool's errand. They have lost their economic sense of any justice. They've been lead by the ideas of hate and reprisal against nothing except against their greed. We are counting on the remaining 70 or so percent who care about justice and a more secure future. Starting with stopping Big Oil and meeting the future with renewable energy sources like the smart people who are scientists and futurists.
Polls are showing consistently that the Democratic Party (as much as I despise them) are looking like they're going to have a win over the GOP in November (at least I despise the GOP a bit more).
There are a lot of Americans (presumably millions) who think that a Democrat electoral win in November will be a huge victory for working people ... but I remain deeply unimpressed indeed. The current Dems are deeply conservative and only marginally better than the Tories.
I concede I am a committed democratic socialist - and I find the mainstream Dems just the same as the GOP dudes.
I guess it can only happen seat by seat, state by state - dragging the Dems (yelling and screaming) further to the left where most people want them to be. Good luck.
Thanks for writing what I was thinking! Indeed, they don’t give a rat’s ass about “individual freedom”, unless it’s theirs. They simply don’t want to pay taxes. They want to have everything, all the money, sit on their treasure hoard and (quote Smaug) “will not part with a single piece of it.” They cannot stand the idea that even a few dollars would flow to “undeserving poor people”, especially if they are Black - that irks them even more. No, _they_ want to have those government dollars, too; looking at you, Mr. Musk, the greatest welfare queen of all time…
" ... they don’t give a rat’s ass about “individual freedom”, unless it’s theirs. They simply don’t want to pay taxes."
I think it's actually far worse than simple tax avoidance; Corporate America believes that they are outside the scope of the laws of every state and the nation.
They aggressively assert that laws do not apply to them - they are supranational and totally free to make maximum profit without being fettered by nation states.
I was in the debate club my freshman year in high school (1963-1964). The national debate question was about Medicare. I chose to represent the affirmative position and did the research needed to present my case why Medicare should become law. Fast forward to the debate about ACA decades later, during which I noted all of the objections to Medicare were recycled almost word for word in the objections to the ACA. Side note - I just saw a brief clip in which Tom Hartman pointed out that the opposition to national health care going back to FDR was that Black people would also benefit, which has remained the not so sub texty reason it's been so difficult to achieve.
AND no doubt as well any immigrants and asylum seekers. Yet in families where only a child or children who born here are citizens and have citizens rights to programs for which they are eligible, people get out their jump to conclusions mats to simply say it's the whole family.
This relates to democracy and Republican attempts to curtail voting by “some people” because those folks will vote for “goodies “ such as health care. I have heard these arguments.
One thing history consistently reminds us is that today’s political battles rarely begin today. More often, they’re the latest chapter in debates that have unfolded across generations.
Understanding that history helps explain why these questions remain so consequential.
But there is always Trump Rx, which was launched in February 2026, to take care of you.
It doesn't sell drugs directly — it lets you buy specific prescription medications straight from pharmaceutical companies at discounted "Most-Favored-Nation" prices. It started with
43 drugs and expanded rapidly: Over 600 generics were added in May 2026 via partnerships with Amazon Pharmacy, GoodRx, and Cost Plus Drugs. Another 160 drugs were added in June, so it is up to 800 drugs. Pfizer, AstraZeneca (via "AstraZeneca Direct"), EMD Serono, and Amgen (via "AmgenNow") are participating. Pfizer got a tariff reprieve as part of its deal. (Hmmmm.)
Sounds unbelievable! Trump finally doing something to help the average American!!!
Uhhh, not quite. A New York Times analysis in March 2026 found the site generally does NOT beat drug prices in other wealthy countries, and doesn't meaningfully help people with insurance. Oh NOOOOOOO!!!! He lied to us!!!
Senate Democrats have criticized it as a marketing/coupon gimmick rather than real reform, saying that Medicare drug-price negotiations are more effective; California Governor Newsom called it a copy of the state's CalRx program.
According to CBS News, the program does not accept patients with insurance and only helps those who are paying cash out of pocket by directing them to the individual company's websites for company-provided discounts. The webpage for each TrumpRx drug notes that patients with insurance should check what their copay would be if using insurance, as it may be even lower than the TrumpRx price.
According to the Guardian, many of the drugs on the list already have lower-cost generics available. So the scam here is that people are being told they are getting a break when they are being conned into buying the higher-cost name-brand drug. You all knew there had to be something in it for big pharma besides Pfizer's tariff break.
In other words, there is no government money being used to provide a benefit to an uninsured person, although Trump sure made it sound like there was. And your taxpayer money was used to build the government website, which uses GoodRx technology, that directs people to where they are scammed.
And just in case you believed that Trump was getting most favored nation pricing on drugs, a New York Times expose showed that wasn't true either.
"Our analysis shows that with some drugs, Mr. Trump appears to have modestly narrowed the gap between European and U.S. prices. But the gap persists, and the reality does not match his hyperbole. That is particularly true for patent-protected drugs, which consistently were cheaper in Germany.
White House officials and pharmaceutical companies contested our findings. They argued that the gap disappears after adjusting for the economic conditions in every country. That means that TrumpRx prices can count as cheaper, even when the price is higher.(Now that is true Trumpian logic...)
The administration did not provide enough detail about how it ran those numbers for that claim to be checked. We examined raw numbers, comparing prices in U.S. dollars."
"The review by The Times and its German partners is an assessment of one of Mr. Trump’s signature domestic issues. With gas prices rising because of the unpopular war in Iran, the president is counting on his drug policy to resonate with voters who are concerned about affordability. Mr. Trump has repeatedly claimed that this policy alone should be enough to carry Republicans to victory in November’s midterm elections."
A February 2026 YouGov poll found people liked the idea (57% approval) until they were told it's called "TrumpRx" — then approval dropped to 41% overall, and tanked bigly among Democrats and independents while Republicans remained believers. At least some voters are getting wise.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trumprx-drugs-website-discount/#:~:text=doesn't%20accept%20insurance%20and%20is%20limited
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/10/trump-rx-prescription-drug-website#:~:text=do%20not%20contribute%20towards%20out-of-pocket%20insurance%20maximums
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/18/world/europe/trumprx-drug-prices-really-cheapest-world-comparison.html#:~:text=paying%20nearly%20twice%20as%20much
A great read on this is “Big Pharma” by Jackie Law. It should be required reading for anyone in medicine or healthcare administration to show how the industry became so powerful and corrupt by taking shortcuts and using flawed scientific methods. Things began to change for the better only when the rich realized they would get the same healthcare in the UK. as anyone else, from fatally flawed drug testing to rush production.
Whenever Congress even hints at discounting drug prices, the pharmaceutical companies flood the media with ads ordering us to call our Senators and Congresscritters to stop them.
And I'm sure many people make the calls. They are all evil motherfuckers that only care about profit.
In the mid-1990's I was talking with someone who had invented a new drug. He said that it would cost around $100 million to get approval for the drug and to set up manufacturing to get it to market. Any wonder why we see so few new pharmaceuticals including vaccines.
Surely you jest! No doubt that is exactly his plan. BUT if the sum total of the cost of part D plans, at a minimum of $39 a month plus what they exclude paying for is more than your paying our of pocket, you definitely don't need a part D plan. Some of us have figured that out!
I think you saw it before I added quite a bit more to the story...
I definitely was jesting.
TRUE. And, many professional organizations, in my case the American Bar Association (ABA) have have leveraged their Group (ABA) purchasing power to buy "Medicare Supplement" coverage which something like an "excess" policy coverage over & ABOVE what Medicare has already paid for.
My ABA Medicare Supplemental policy is administered by Transamerica. The ABA Group policy even pays for my premium automatically.
Doctor's office staff loves the coverage because anything not covered by medicare is automatically sent Transamerica. Staff does not have to submit the bilI. No paper work! I get a quarterly summary of ALL the supplemental payments over the last 90 days.
Sorry, I got to run because I have to prepare an appointment with a top UCSD specialist this morning at 10:30 AM. My cost today for the specialist is zero.
TRUE. As a former CA Attorney, I discharged my Pro Bono legal duties by handling medical billing disputes for over 35 years.
Not joking.
My daughter is a pharmacy tech. Many customers have extremely large co-pays or their drugs aren't covered at all. Her current employer doesn't allow discount cards when a customer's insurance doesn't cover a particular drug. But she often is able to use one anyway to make a prescription affordable.
Her previous employer allowed discount cards and any option available to make the script affordable so she has told us that all pharmacies aren't created equal. When you're in need of a drug, the last thing you want to do is shop around, but be aware that you may be able to save money by shopping at a different pharmacy.
When the Medicaid cuts kick in at the end of 2026, millions of recipients will see the price of their prescriptions sky rocket.
And we all know that Trump and the Republicans don't give a damn for anyone that can't help them remain in power.
Good point and the process can be so unnecessarily complicated it turns customers away. I recently switched from express scripts to WellCare and the savings in general are significant.
The ever present snake oil conundrum.
And I’m sure the same snake oil is smeared all over the heavily advertised “trump accounts”. “We’ll give your kids money for their future (and have indentured servants for us!)”.
Yes. Anthropologist and social systems scientist Riane Eisler knows the fight between the forces of domination and those of partnership goes back centuries.
Steve Brant, so glad you mentioned Riane Eisler…who I first knew about when she was inducted into the California Hall of Fame at the age of 94 in March of this year. Raine Eisler’s acceptance speech was one for the ages.
Also, I especially appreciated the quote HCR pulled from Johnson’s speech honoring Truman, “…for a country can be known by the quality of the men it honors”…because men and women who today choose to become part of the “Care Economy” that Eisler represents are surely heroes to all in need.
"We are stabilizing the market so this bailout is no longer needed.”
This bit of babbling balderdash from Mehmet Oz doesn't make the slightest sense. It's just verbal word salad, like everything else dribbling out the mouths of this administration's spoke monsters. Its meaning is incoherent. It's purpose is to fool you into thinking the speaker actually said something.
On the plus side, announcing Medicare premium increases 90+ days before the most important mid-terms in our nation's history is an invitation to political disaster. Who does that? -- a cult hell-bent on suicide, despite gerrymandered House districts, mail-in voting nonsense, piles of dark cash, seizing voter records, and unconstitutional rumblings about ICE or the National Guard standing "guard" at election precincts, that's who.
Age-old principle in judo. When your dumbass opponent is preoccupied with falling on his face, get out of his way. If he hesitates, make sure you re-direct him back toward self-destruction.
With Oz the only words salads that come to mind (besides balderdash) are quack and crudité.
He was the Pennsylvania Senate candidate who told voters that abortion was strictly a decision between "women, doctors and political leaders" (because everyone knows a Republican legislator's presence in the examination room is required at all times to make sure a woman doesn't get all uppity and start making decisions on her own).
And vote as if your life depends on it- because it does!
I am admittedly a bit worried about myself as it made some sense to me. But yes, never use your energy when your opponent is already in motion.
Truer words!
Oz and Bessent just babble a load of crap that's worthy of a Mel Brooks film - except it's not funny.
There can be no serious dispute with the notion that the 21st century republican party is intent on unwinding the enormous progress this country has made in creating a humane, democratic, just society. It is not an exaggeration to recognize that the gop intends for this country, now and for its future, shall be an oligarchy in which a privileged, wealthy, almost exclusively white and almost exclusively christian few hold unfettered power over hundreds of millions of the rest of the people who shall labor and contribute to the luxury and comfort of that privileged group. Again, this is NOT exaggeration. It's not as if they haven't told us their intent.
Hello Marilyn... Bill Clinton had almost paid-off the National-Debt... It is now approaching $40-Trillion Dollars... So far DJT will have added about $10-Trillion to it by 2029.. Last Year, the Interest Payments on the National Debt was about $1.5 Trillion... Thank-You 21st Century GOP, NOT!!!... How Much More Of The Common-Good Will Be Sacrificed To The Mar-a-Lago Mob?...
They did not get us there on their own. Based on what I see on substack, and in life, most democrats have a limited knowledge of history [not directed at you]. If we keep all focus on Trump, a vast majority of democrats will continue to refuse to partake in the acquisition of knowledge; it is simply more comfortable for them to avoid responsibility.
Hello Apache...I think you left about $30 trillion out of one of those sentences...The U.S. national debt (the total amount of money the federal government owes) stands at approximately $39.74 trillion!
Thanx Horhai...
Sure thing, Apache
I thought so you saved me the search time. We are about to economically implode.
Ring around the Rosie
A pocket full of Posies
Ashes ashes
All fall down
Elon Musk and DOGE saved us around $50 million by firing competent staff that made it possible to actually get things done.
According to the Cato Institute: "Elon Musk and DOGE reduced federal employment by nine percent in less than 10 months, but it did not reduce overall federal spending. Independent estimates place DOGE's cumulative savings between $1 billion and $7 billion, far below its initial targets."
And now cuts to Medicaid and SNAP are coming while USAID is dead and gone.
Every day, Trump, Kegsbreath and the Republican hate mongers waste over $1 billion in Iran wasting the lives of American soldiers and killing innocent women and children.
The War in Iran is truly the biggest fuck-up any President has ever made.
Clinton did not nearly pay off the national debt, but he was the only POTUS during my lifetime during which the federal government ran a budget surplus instead of a budget deficit.
"What are these arguments? They are the arguments that kings have made for enslaving the people in all ages of the world. You will find that all the arguments in favor of king-craft were of this class; they always bestrode the necks of the people, not that they wanted to do it, but because the people were better off for being ridden. That is their argument, and this argument of the Judge is the same old serpent that says you work and I eat, you toil and I will enjoy the fruits of it. Turn in whatever way you will – whether it come from the mouth of a King, an excuse for enslaving the people of his country, or from the mouth of men of one race as a reason for enslaving the men of another race, it is all the same old serpent, "
-- Lincoln
BUT we can cancel them out with a whirlwind of voting in November. Let's make it a staggering defeat that will allow the precarious judo opponents to fall resoundingly on their collective faces.
I never did get around to reading the full, official text of Project 2025 but it was all laid out there. The intent was written in the 900-plus-page conservative policy manifesto titled Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise...and now the Trumpian regime has implemented much of it, steamrolling the agenda over the Nation and D.C. with a neutered Congress and 6 rubberstamping 'Justices'...
I read about 20% of it. Each section began with a bashing of Biden's economic or social policies and then had an overview of what they needed to do to reverse all of the progress the Democrats have ever made. There are many disgusting and scary proposals buried in the 900 or so pages.
And worst of all Russell Vought, the OMB director has control of many of the evil and hateful proposals in Project 2025.
He was confirmed 53-47 by the Senate with every fucking Republican Senator voting for this evil theocrat. Project 2025 was funded by the Koch Foundation and supported by Leonard Leo.
GOP = the party of anti-values and a safe haven for pedophiles and billionaires.
They have told us exactly what they were going to do. But still, Heather wrote: “ But now, in 2026, the Republicans in charge of our government reject the vision of a government that works to support its people. They see government regulation, taxation, and a social safety net as an attack on individual liberty.”
I have to disagree. That thing about individual liberty is nothing more than the pretext, an excuse. The REAL reason is this: “I am rich, and take care of myself. Why do _I_ need to pay taxes so that those poor suckers get health care?? Socialism! Socialism! Let them take care of themselves! And if they can’t, let them die! They are poor, anyway.”
That is well said. You described the beating heart of the republican creature. What astounds me is that so many impoverished people forgo medical care they cannot afford and embellish the belief that democrats are causing their misery. I watch as marriages fail because the democrats did it. I watch as land is foreclosed because democrats did it. I watch as people succumb to age and illness which they bring on themselves as they have provided no remedy because they were too lazy and expected others to carry their burdens. That is the divide as I see it explained over and over and over. It is always the democrats with their hands reaching in republican pockets. Republicans are sensible conservatives whereas democrats are the leeches in the ditches. That is the backbone that must be broken. Otherwise nothing changes. Republicans must be held to account for emptying the pockets of their fellow republicans.
It's easy. There's one thing the Republicans are very good at: convincing the man who has 10 dollars that the man who has only 5 is the problem - while they themselves have 10.000... Thing is, the "10-dollar-man" is so adamant on preventing the "5-dollar-man" from getting _anything_, he will gladly offer up his own life - if only that poor bastard doesn't get anything. They fail to see that A) the man having 10.000 dollar is the real problem; B) if "10-dollar-man" and "5-dollar-man" would cooperate, they could _both_ lead a good life. But "10-dollar-man" is from the Confederacy and would rather die than see a Black "5-dollar-man" leading a happy life.
" It is hard to get a man to understand a thing when his salary depends upon him not understanding it." Upton Sinclair
I really feel you should put quotes around the word “Christian”. What their actions really prove is they are almost exclusively Anti-Christian.
What to do with the likes of Jamie Dimon then? I don't believe it's all one sided here...
While the rest of the world provides universal healthcare to its citizens — including democracies and dictatorships and those we send our tax dollars to in order to help bolster their economies and war making machines — Americans continue to fall for GOP talking points that deprive them of healthcare. We have the most expensive system on the planet because Wall Street runs healthcare from top to bottom. Thanks to George W. Bush, Medicare is not allowed to negotiate drug prices like other countries, so we pay thr price. We are not a shining city on a hill caring for our patients. No, we condemn wearing masks and vaccinations and clean air and water. Will we ever learn?
Do not forget either that it was that Bush, better known as the shrub, who put in place the profitable requirements that all Medicare recipients sign up for part D or be monetarily penalized to drive us into the Disadvantage Plans,!
"Medicare is not allowed to negotiate drug prices like other countries,"
Corruption hiding in plain sight. Government of the people, by the people, for the people? Why the hell not?
Yep Lauren Bouche, Wall Street runs the healthcare industry as well as all large scale industries. Regrettably, too many of us value Wall Street’s profit motive and are willing to buy into Wall Street’s world view with our investments.
That was multiple admins ago. At some point democrats need to take some responsibility as well.
LBJ, like FDR, was tapping into each's felt need to honor the complexity of fellow Americans' needs.
Republicans today have no such felt need -- only exasperation that so many people of color, immigrants, women not in the home, and varied other types interfere with the abstracted notions these Republicans want to push, impose on all of us.
Welcoming knowledge, consciousness of the wider complications we inhabit?
I return thus to Michael Pollan's new book, "A World Appears," as it's by far the best thing we have for any democratic public open to our wider diversity.
And, best, Pollan constantly does a great job pairing these, our best, most open inclinations, with those of criminal Donald's allies -- or in other dress the AI and techie types who look no further than to keeping all of our consciousness "reducible to information, to computable bits or pixels."
Or to their brethren, the testers, keeping consciousness ever tuned only to the range of questions by which our "betters" presume the world reduces only to one correct answer always.
We're in most challenging of imaginative times, as we hover past the 100 day mark before our mid-term elections.
Will add Pollan’s latest book: A World Appears to my reading list…as I have Raine Eisler’s seminal book: The Chalice and the Blade: Our History, Our Future written in 1987.
Phil reminds us continually that words matter…I’m glad to feel your passion, Phil…it inspires me to keep turning to books!
As education fails decisions become more simply the democrats fault, what with their outstretched hands and all. It’s a multiple choice world inhabited by people who strive to get a color match on the socks they will wear this week.
We are living under the bullies who take your lunch money.
Wow I wonder what the current copay for Eylea, which has saved my vision from macular degeneration so far, will go up from the current $300??? And just think about people who have it in both eyes. I'm sure there are many reading all this who are on expensive lifesaving drugs and wondering what is about to happen!!! This is so depressing I can hardly bear to think about it.
And worse, much worse, but bullies for sure.
Then take it back.
Greedy Fascist Republicans Is Meshed With Their Corruption
Makes immoral corrupt sense. Cheeto invests in private prison companies to whom he then gives huge government contracts so the DHS can house ICE detainees in unsanitary inhumane conditions which is against the federal law. Cheeto makes big $$$ off his investment to illegally detain lawful immigrants. And fascist greedy Republicans cheer on this corruption.
On MSNOW which has been calling out Cheeto for years on his lies and now brazen corruption and Paxton along with Cheeto’s endorsement, displays the rot in OUR broken political system. O’Donnell interviewed James Talarico(bit.ly/4vV78je). As Talarico comments, in a democracy politicians are to serve WE the People not themselves. Corporate America has been stealing from the American People. Reagan’s debunked trickle down economics is another name for theft.
Microsoft paid an effective federal income tax rate of 2.4 percent while posting record income of over $100 billion for its fiscal year 2026.
Krugman economist and Nobel laureate has posted a second of a series on a wealth tax policy on his Substack channel…long but in depth with convincing arguments that Democratic progressives have been making for at least 5 election cycles(bit.ly/3S4k748). Of course the rise of the oligarchy fueled by wealth inequality will push aggressively against such a taxation policy but it’s clearly time for the American electorate to rebel for the sake of fighting against this huge yawning chasm of wealth gap in the country.
Accountability and affordability are both on the political agenda for the next 4 election cycles.
I checked out the Krugman link. Unfortunately it's pay or no read. I have reached the limit of how many subscriptions I can support. Maybe it's a good thing as this stuff is taking too much of my time as it is.
No matter what, what will happen will happen. In a few years, I won't even be here and I am not sorry. Who knows what the current area known as the United States will be in 50 or 100 years or even what the planet will be for that matter. So far due partly to geography this nation has been pretty invulnerable to actual attack - but not totally. Our politicians have been able to do as they wished with our military might, destruction and death wrought willy nilly, wars fought for no gain, and no one criticized us openly but plenty around the world noticed and remember, even though nothing was said and some countries have even helped us wage several wars. This development of drone technology will, I predict, make for a different world. And if we continue to insist on doing away with alliances we will find out eventually why alliances had been in the past a good thing. But if we continue wrecking the planet, first our fellow creatures will die off - no birds, no flowers, no forests, beautiful vistas marred with ugliness only humanity knows how to create-- next we will run out of water, and then it will be our turn.
I have spent and do spend considerable time reading what people write on this substack and we have some very erudite knowledgeable and wise people here. As well as some "clever" ones and probably some imposters. I sometimes wonder what I am looking for and I am not sure; maybe answers. I find a lot of cute insults about Trump and his followers - and I find that I agree - but so what? I find ideas about "what's wrong" but I don't find anything that it feels like it is building towards anything. Perhaps that is essentially the "way" of democracy and it somehow coalesces at some point, though if you look back at the Founders, that drive took a lot of very intentional and determined action by not just one or two but a sizeable group of people (men). Where is that organization now?
(A) EPSTEIN FILES UPDATE
Many if not all of the Trump-Russia-Epstein files victims were physically threatened by their abusers. Several people involved with the abusers and/or Trump (Virginia Giuffre, Jean-Luc Brunel, Jeffrey Epstein, Dr. Harold Nelson Bernstein, Dusti Rhea Duke, etc. and email evidence and ranch staff raising the suspicion of grave sites on the Zorro Ranch in New Mexico) have all died prematurely. So the victims feel that the threats are real. On Monday Daniel Siad, “modeling” scout/assistant of Jean-Luc Brunel (international modeling mogul), was found dead in his Paris residence by his young female partner. He was currently under investigation by the Parisian authorities having been recognized in a photo in the Epstein files by a Swedish survivor, Ebba Carlson, but had not yet been questioned. Another Epstein files ex-“modeling” agency boss and suspect, Gerald Marie, has been accused of rape by six women (per LeMonde.fr) and is still alive.
Journalist and legal analyst Katie Phang filed a federal lawsuit against the Department of Justice and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to compel the unredacted release of Jeffrey Epstein-related files. The lawsuit challenges DOJ withholdings under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, citing violations of the Administrative Procedures Act. A Federal Judge ruled in Phang’s favor, issuing a preliminary injunction requiring the government to produce or justify the withheld files. See: Epstein Recruiter Found DEAD While UNDER INVESTIGATION!?! - YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doEx9cn3stE
(B) TRUMP CONTINUES TO ATTEMPT TO RIGG THE 2026 ELECTIONS
Marc Elias, American voting rights attorney and podcaster (DemocracyDocket), discusses the latest maneuver by Trump to alter voting in elections. In March 2026 Trump issued Executive Order 14399 “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in U.S. Elections”. It: (1) directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to work with the Social Security Administration to create a list of U.S. citizens whom they believe are eligible to vote; (2) Directs the U.S. Postal Service to only send out election ballots to people on the lists compiled by DHS and SSA. Asks States to send in their voter lists 60 days prior to the election or they will be sued by DOJ; (3) Directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate and prosecute election officials who send ballots to people whom the Trump Administration has determined according to their culled lists are ineligible to vote. (What could possibly go wrong?) Noncompliant States are subject to the loss of Federal Funding.
Lawsuits were filed in the Massachusetts 1st Circuit by State Attorney Generals and the Judge ruled to deny and block the implementation of the Executive Order. Trump has recently appealed the ruling to the SCOTUS which is currently out of session and on summer vacation. Another lawsuit was filed concurrently in the DC Court by Marc Elias and other parties who have now filed amicus briefs with the case before the SCOTUS.
Marc Elias calls this a full assault by Trump on U.S. elections and democracy.
“BREAKING: Trump's DOJ asks Supreme Court to Let Him Block Your Mail Ballot - YouTube”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBI7Lr0Dk3w
(C) Politics are Polarized, But Not for the Reason You Think |
Heather has pointed out in her politics chats that the Overton window for political issues has been slid significantly to the right. What used to be the center is now considered to be left wing. She showed this by reading parts of the 1956 Republican Party Platform of President Dwight Eisenhower which are the same as what “left wing” progressives are now proposing. This has also been pointed out by former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich in a short cartoon video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_Q9ynm2Rfg
(D) WHAT IS THE OVERTON WINDOW
The Overton window is the range of ideas, policies, and public beliefs that a society finds acceptable at any given time. Named after American policy analyst Joseph Overton, the model explains that politicians usually only support ideas inside this window to avoid looking too extreme or losing public support. The window can move up or down the political spectrum over time as social values change. Activists, media groups, and politicians often push extreme ideas on purpose. Even if the extreme idea is rejected, it can drag the rest of the conversation with it, making a previously radical middle-ground idea look reasonable by comparison.“ In her politics chats Heather and others like Robert Reich have pointed out that far right extremism in this country has dragged the Overton window to the right so far that what was once middle of the road moderation is now viewed as left wing. Heather showed this by reading parts of the 1956 Republican National Platform of Republican President Dwight Eisenhower which contained positions which many current Democratic Party candidates are running on but the current Republicans denounce as left wing extremism.
A
The Overton Window needs to be in our every conversation…we of a certain age are the best to know because we have lived it!
In 1967 when I graduated from high school, I could not apply to UNC-CH as a freshman named “Jane”. Now there are more Janes than Joes there.
We the people must be vigilant because the window must remain open for fresh air to sustain us.
Thank you for this Heather, and for today’s American Conversation With Senator Kim.
Kim is my Senator. He is one of the very few politicians who is smart and wants to work for the people. His Medikids proposal is genius. It is an example of the kinds of programs that the opposition should be generating in quantity in a shadow cabinet to show what we can do for the people. Kim is clear about the benefits for the kids, as well as for the long-term fiscal benefits for the economy. Healthier kids make healthier adults who are more productive workers and less likely to develop chronic disease.
He is also decent. Every time I hear him speak, I remember the image of him picking up the trash in the rotunda after Jan 6. And he is the anti-Trump; when he talked about his kids' and his father's health issues and why he is motivated, he was clearly emotional. He shows empathy and respect for people.
He is the polar opposite of my Representative, Tom Kean Jr., who is finally back in DC. Kean never does live town halls--he answers canned questions on phone meetings (not even Zoom) that are read by a staffer with the answers pre-recorded. In the last election cycle, he got more funding from Elon Musk's PAC than any other candidate for the House.
He isn't mine. I would never vote for him. At a minimum he should require our country to have healthcare equivalent to the country he insists on funding. Not sure that should get you a medal, but okay.
It's a pity that the richest men in the world now follow a philosophy that says "ordinary people don't matter". They're known as The Nerd Reich by tech reporter Gil Duran. All need to follow his work!
PS Why is it always the men who are so f'ed up in the head? Oh that's right... they don't give birth. So, they really don't know what it's like to cherish life. (I'm a 71 year old male... calling out my fellow men.. to WTFU to the meaning of life! SMH
https://www.thenerdreich.com/
Medicare Advantage. The advantage is to the insurance companies. It's a scam that outperforms Trump.
We need a dynamic new leadership in the mold of FDR, Truman, LBJ, and Obama to finally assure health care for all Americans or anyone who is inside our borders. I have heard innumerable reports from people who are traveling in European countries like Italy, that they received treatment in emergency rooms without any billing for that care. While I am at it, students who qualify academically at state universities should not have to pay tuition. All the trades should have state paid for training in conjunction with the unions.
ALL laudable goals.
Wow, I had no idea that Obama's efforts on behalf of our insurance needs began with FDR and Truman. Thanks goodness people kept pushing for insurance and healthcare rights despite the pushback and naysayers over the decades. I did not know that Medicare is only 60 years old. Thank you for the inspiring quotes from Truman and LBJ on the topic. That we still see the young lose their savings and dreams to caring for family, or to being the sandwich generation, is a condemnation of our governance and current healthcare system. We should start monetizing the work of caregiving, as we already monetize most other forms of work, and pay family caregivers for their work, just as we pay gardeners and nurses who caretake for us. The Social Security system could pay for the time if the insurance or states can't afford to.
In our state, Maryland and my county, we help caregivers of all kinds. Most blue states also at least provide more resources for care givers.
I’m referring to monetizing the work of family (or friend) caregivers in this particular post. Meaning paying them the full value of their work, with benefits, not just giving them some perks here and there. Doctors teachers and lawyers could all do their work for free, just like family caregivers often do. But we don’t ask them to. And we shouldn’t ask family caregivers to work for free, either. If your state already pays for family carework, esp the work that goes beyond the typical 6wk-12wk leave period, kudos to them.
Where is the money that Trump is cutting from Medicare Part D going? Follow the money with this map.
https://thedemlabs.org/2026/07/29/trump-medicare-part-d-cuts-money-map/
Excellent column again, HCR, but I have one criticism:
"But now, in 2026, the Republicans in charge of our government reject the vision of a government that works to support its people. They see government regulation, taxation, and a social safety net as an attack on individual liberty."
I don't think Republicans (or their wealthy donors) give the slightest toss about "individual liberty" for Americans (apart from their own precious, privileged lives of course). They only care that every single aspect of the economy is turned into a profit centre - they cannot stand, cannot tolerate, that some government program is running effectively and efficiently, and it isn't theirs - they want anything and everything that can turn a buck to be privatised, and delivered to the oligarchs.
Individual liberty has never been a goal of capitalism ... it's all about the concentration of wealth, and the control of every aspect of economic and social life to their own ends.
I don't know about you but I don't think we're imagining that anyone who continues to vote for the GOP is on the proverbial fool's errand. They have lost their economic sense of any justice. They've been lead by the ideas of hate and reprisal against nothing except against their greed. We are counting on the remaining 70 or so percent who care about justice and a more secure future. Starting with stopping Big Oil and meeting the future with renewable energy sources like the smart people who are scientists and futurists.
Polls are showing consistently that the Democratic Party (as much as I despise them) are looking like they're going to have a win over the GOP in November (at least I despise the GOP a bit more).
There are a lot of Americans (presumably millions) who think that a Democrat electoral win in November will be a huge victory for working people ... but I remain deeply unimpressed indeed. The current Dems are deeply conservative and only marginally better than the Tories.
I concede I am a committed democratic socialist - and I find the mainstream Dems just the same as the GOP dudes.
There are an awful lot of us independent voters here that are waiting for real change to be offered…
I guess it can only happen seat by seat, state by state - dragging the Dems (yelling and screaming) further to the left where most people want them to be. Good luck.
Now a Kushner wants a stake in the World Cup “profits”…where will it end?
Thanks for writing what I was thinking! Indeed, they don’t give a rat’s ass about “individual freedom”, unless it’s theirs. They simply don’t want to pay taxes. They want to have everything, all the money, sit on their treasure hoard and (quote Smaug) “will not part with a single piece of it.” They cannot stand the idea that even a few dollars would flow to “undeserving poor people”, especially if they are Black - that irks them even more. No, _they_ want to have those government dollars, too; looking at you, Mr. Musk, the greatest welfare queen of all time…
" ... they don’t give a rat’s ass about “individual freedom”, unless it’s theirs. They simply don’t want to pay taxes."
I think it's actually far worse than simple tax avoidance; Corporate America believes that they are outside the scope of the laws of every state and the nation.
They aggressively assert that laws do not apply to them - they are supranational and totally free to make maximum profit without being fettered by nation states.
They are simply too rich for the law to apply.
I was in the debate club my freshman year in high school (1963-1964). The national debate question was about Medicare. I chose to represent the affirmative position and did the research needed to present my case why Medicare should become law. Fast forward to the debate about ACA decades later, during which I noted all of the objections to Medicare were recycled almost word for word in the objections to the ACA. Side note - I just saw a brief clip in which Tom Hartman pointed out that the opposition to national health care going back to FDR was that Black people would also benefit, which has remained the not so sub texty reason it's been so difficult to achieve.
AND no doubt as well any immigrants and asylum seekers. Yet in families where only a child or children who born here are citizens and have citizens rights to programs for which they are eligible, people get out their jump to conclusions mats to simply say it's the whole family.
This relates to democracy and Republican attempts to curtail voting by “some people” because those folks will vote for “goodies “ such as health care. I have heard these arguments.
Precisely!