The Donald Trump collection...DISORIENTED

 

Donald Trump disoriented

It is almost impossible to select one blog post subject these days when talking about Donald Trump. So, here is a selection that should delight even the most radical Republican...

The Trump gang is downplaying the Signal issue, but new polling suggests that the president is facing a growing revolt over it among GOP voters. Read more

Rachel Maddow says "GOP poll numbers 'dropping like a stone.'" 

"New polling from Gallup just out today shows that there's no issue in which the American people like what Donald Trump is doing,"

"On his handling of the economy, Trump is 18 points "under water," Maddow said, and 19 points under water on his relations with Russia.

"He's underwater on his handling of the federal budget, energy policy, on foreign affairs, on the Ukraine war, on the environment. On even his relations with the dreaded news media!"

Read more 

A member of Denmark's parliament has warned the United States: "We cannot be allies with US if Trump tries to take our territory away." Vance is in Greenland while Trump exclaims, "he wouldn't rule out using economic and/or military methods to take over the island. Read more

In his 1949 novel, 1984, George Orwell warned of the Surveillance, Manipulation, and Authoritarianism that t-RUMP's administration has forced on Americans. Orwell's dystopian society is no longer fiction, it has become the reality of today. What we are experiencing is Donald Trump's escalation to the dictatorship he has been string for years. Read more

This headline says it all: "Vaccine skeptic hired to head federal study of immunizations and autism." That's right, RFK Jr. hired a long-discredited researcher and vaccine skeptic to conduct a government study on whether vaccines cause autism. Read more

Are we really getting rid of Elon Musk? He says "he'll 'ditch Trump' and quit Washington D.C. after DOGE purge." DOGE employee said, "President Trump has been very clear, scalpel not hatchet and that's the way its been getting done." Bullshit! Here's what the House Committee on the Budget said just last week: "DOGE's Mass Firings Result in Gutted Services and Higher Costs." Read more

Steve Bannon attacks the courts to keep Trump out of prison. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered President Donald Trump to preserve all records from the "Signalgate" scandal. Bannon's concern is that when [not if] the Democrats come back into power, Trump's track record of dodging prison time for his criminal charges will run out. Read more.

New Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, says 'old relationship' with US 'is over.'

t-RUMP, the White House sham, cowers and plans his next stupidity. Read more

Here is Canada in retaliation: "Canada 'rage room' lets visitors smash Trump, Vance, Musk portraits to release tariff angst." But, "Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says there may be a limit to Ottawa's ability to escalate a tariff war." Read more

Signal chat won't go away. "U.S. District Judge James Boasberg orders Trump administration to preserve Signal chat on Yemen strikes."  The same judge, earlier this month, temporarily blocked Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport more than 200 alleged migrant gang members to El Salvador without due process. Read more

The New Republic reveals Trump's cluelessness over what he is doing. "The American public knew before Donald Trump that top administration officials had conducted airstrikes on Yemen via a Signal chat, and now it appears that the president has been left in the dark on other intelligence matters too. Read more

Is Trump losing interest in governing? Not that he has ever really governed but AlterNet has concerns...

"over President Donald Trump’s ability, willingness, or even interest in engaging with the most pressing issues facing the country, as he increasingly—and casually—admits to being unaware of critical matters. His repeated declarations of ignorance, often delivered without hesitation or concern, have deepened alarm among critics who warn of a dangerous void in informed leadership in the Oval Office."

Read more 

Here's a headline that is irresistible: "The American Dream is officially over," by Donald Earl Collins of Aljazeera. Collins adds, "All because the rich must always steal from the poor." Sound familiar? Bernie Sanders has been saying that for years. Here's an example...

According to a report from Moody’s Analytics in February, the richest 10 percent of Americans (households with an annual income of at least $250,000) [12.7 million households] drove half of all US consumer spending (about $10 trillion) between September 2023 and September 2024.

Read more 

 RFK Jr.'s vitamin A conspiracy sends kids to the hospital. Here's the scenario...

As the New York Times reports, overuse of Vitamin A — health secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s purported measles cure, alongside cod liver oil, which contains the same vitamin — has led to liver damage and yellowed skin in children infected with measles.

Read more 

And, so much for today...

BERNIE IS BACK!

Bernie Sanders in Colorado

Yes, Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont, who has been serving in the U.S. Senate since 2007, and ran for President in 2016 and 2020, is back on the campaign trail fighting Donald Trump's oligarchy. He is being accompanied by the Progressive New York Repreesentative, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. In my mind, Bernie had two questionable presidential losses. One, 2016 against Hillary Clinton, orchestrated by the DNC, and two, 2020, against an insurmountable presumptive candidate, Joe Biden.

Okay, Bernie is 83, will be 87 when he would run. But don't forget AOC, only 35, and certainly capable of taking over the presidency if something happened to Bernie. She'd make a great vice president for the Bern since they obviously have the chemistry. And we are seeing a new Bernie Sanders with his current focus on defeating Donald Trump's oligarchy. Not that he had forgotten his working class ideology, it is just obvious today that a strong force from the left is needed to conquer the would-be king.

My wife and I still receive emails from Bernie and just this past week he alerted us to his current trip through Nevada, Arizona and Colorado. The rallies drew 34,000 in Denver, another 11,000 at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. Arizona, heavily Republican, had crowds of 15,000 with thousands more watching online. And Nevada numbers aren't clear but the campaign quotes in the thousands. Bernie's and AOC's group said they expected a total of 51,000 for the trip. Arizona, Colorado alone had 60,000.

In his email, Bernie expressed frustration of the last Democratic votes between those who voted for Joe Biden in 2020 and Kamala Harris in 2024. Also noted was the loss in this election of working people, young people and Latinos. In other words, the Dems have completely lost contact with their base. Added to this is the fact that the Democratic Party has the lowest approval rating in decades. The Bern asks why and answers his own question. The establishment politicians just don't get it anymore.

The good news is that Americans across the country have had it with oligarchy. His three state rally speaks to this end indicating a need to reject the corporate wing of the party and head for the grassroots. People don't want authoritarianism and the huge tax breaks Donald Trump plans for the wealthy people of this country in favor of shifting the emphasis back to working class families. Voters are fired up nationwide, illustrated by the fact that thousands came out to Bernie/AOC meetings in Iowa, Nebraska, Michigan and Wisconsin.

American Oligarchy by Mother Jones

This is what Bernie had to say at the Denver rally...

“In the hundreds of rallies that I have done, we have never, ever had a rally as large as this,” Sanders said. “And Denver, your presence here today is not just significant for Colorado. You are sending a profound message all over the world. The whole world is watching, and they want to know if the people of America are going to stand up to Trumpism, oligarchy and authoritarianism.”

There's more...

“Abraham Lincoln talked about a government of the people, by the people, for the people,” Sanders said. “Well, Trump has a government of the billionaires, by the billionaires, for the billionaires. And what these guys are busy doing right now is going after Medicaid, going after Social Security, going after nutrition. The rich want to get richer and they don’t care who they step on.”

Bernie Sanders has been talking about oligarchy for years, reports NPR, but, now he talks about his favorite subject...

"...the Democratic Party has also turned its back on the American working class and suggested the party capitalize on this moment by championing policies that address things like income inequality, health care and climate change."

I have thought, and still believe, that the Bern should have won in 2016. There was talk that Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Florida representative and head of the DNC at the time, did some finagling that won the Democratic nomination for Hillary Clinton. Clinton, of course, who blew it in the last lap and we ended up with t-RUMP's first term. And it was then the seeds were sowed for the oligarchy Bernie Sanders is fighting today. Here is one of his recent statements...

"We will not allow you to move this country into an oligarchy," Sanders pledged, speaking directly to Trump. "We're not going to allow you and your friend Mr. Musk and the other billionaires to wreak havoc on the working families of this country. No, you're not going to destroy Social Security. You're not going to destroy Medicaid. You're not going to destroy the Veterans administration."

Although the Democratic Party has become unpopular, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

said, "voters still have power to push back against Trump administration policies..." and adds...

"Ironically, the most divisive forces in this country are actually starting to bring more of us together," she said. "And that's important, because the same billionaires who are taking a wrecking ball to our country derive their power from dividing working people apart."

Americans are sick of Trump in only the short time he has been in the White House. I don't know what it will be but I sense we are on the cusp of reestablishing our democracy. 

 

Seniors must revolt against the Trump/Musk attack on Social Security

There are 69 million Americans on Social Security. I am one of them. And I am satisfied with the benefits I receive. I also realize Social Security isn't paying for itself and something must be done. There have been proposals for years to expand Social Security benefits and revenues by expanding the tax base...

In the House of Representatives, Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) has led proposals for years to expand Social Security benefits and revenues by expanding the tax base. In the Senate, “The Social Security Expansion Act,” introduced by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Congresswomen Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and Val Hoyle (D-Ore.) would raise the taxable earnings cap to $250,000, and like Larson’s bill, include investment income.

The above " would raise more money than needed to solve the long run deficit." And there has also been talk of taxing the income of the wealthiest, which would not only solve the Social Security crisis, but also put the U.S. budget on solid ground. And why not? Larson says...

"164 million workers (about 94% of us) pay Social Security taxes all year long. The point is a lot of income escapes the Social Security system; and the escaping income is that from the wealthiest Americans."

This could all be moot if Donald Trump and Elon Musk get their way, with The New Republic reporting the "systemic destruction" of Social Security started last Tuesday night in t-RUMP's speech. 7,000 SS employees are already scheduled to be laid off, another 30,000 in the near future. With half of its staff gone, experts expect delays in every aspect of the Social Security program. There are many in the program that depend entirely on their benefits and it is likely there will be deaths if they lose them.

Contact Congress NOW!

Trump and Musk don't care. Hell, most Republicans don't care. And many others in the country are apathetics, which is one of the reasons we are in the situation we are. But this is what U.S. voters elected, and hopefully it will be the Trump-voting group that suffers the most from the actions of the radical right. Here's what Republican anti-Trump publication, The Bulwark, says...

"House Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-Mass.) said that "after years of hard work and a lifetime of contributions, our seniors shouldn't have to worry about Republicans meddling with their Social Security. This is an attack on our nation's seniors—plain and simple.""

Emphasis my own. 

The GOP and its wealthy donors have wanted to get rid of Social Security or, privatize it, for years. It comes up regularly in Congress but even Republicans realize you don't meddle with something as sacred as this senior benefit. But, under t-RUMP it is different...

"They’ve [Republicans] called it everything from communism to socialism to a Ponzi scheme, which Musk just called it this week (“the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time,” no less)."

But The New Republic counters...

"In fact, it has been the most successful anti-poverty program in the history of America, one now emulated by virtually every democracy in the world."

The masquerading president, Elon Musk, appears to have his sights on privatizing Social Security, according to a leaked email from acting Social Security Administration Commissioner Leland Dudek, posted on AlterNet. It goes without saying, this maniac should not have the power given him by Trump, and he most certainly should not have the capacity to make changes to Social Security. So, it all gets back to the morons who elected Donald Trump, knowing full well he carried the baggage of Elon Musk.

The Bobbsey twins who want to take your Social Security

Other salient points from The Bulwark and AlterNet: former SS admin. Martin O'Malley says there is a toxic work environment there, "they are driving people out there with a viciousness that I believe will collapse the agency, which could result in an 'interruption of benefits.';" "We have a 50-year low in staffing while the baby boomer generation is swelling their ranks," O'Malley said. In fact, O'malley thinks Trump and Musk want to break the agency.

Continuing these points...

"House Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-Mass.) said that "after years of hard work and a lifetime of contributions, our seniors "shouldn't have to worry about Republicans meddling with their Social Security."

"Congressman Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) declared that 'in no way, shape, or form, should we privatize any aspect of Social Security.'"

Here is an interview from The New Republic with Tracey Gronniger, a leading advocate for social insurance, who argues that Musk’s ransacking of Social Security is getting worse—and will prompt a major political backlash: "Transcript: Musk’s Attack on Social Security Exposed in Shocking Leak." It illustrates the disaster Elon Musk could cause if he is allowed to mess around with Social Security.

John Larson reports...

"that recently House Republicans advocated cutting Social Security benefits by (about 8%) by raising the full retirement age to 69 and President-elect Donald Trump’s only Social Security proposal would drain Social Security of revenue by $23 billion, according to a report by the thorough Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget."

But Larson also says there is, "Political Hope For Social Security Fixes"...

There is hope. In December 2024, Republicans and Democrats raised Social Security benefits for more than 2 million people by repealing the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO).

The hope is that the bipartisan support for the expansion of Social Security benefits may mean Congress is listening to the majority of Americans — Republicans and Democrats — who want more revenue for Social Security and do not want benefit cuts.

The other hope is that the Republicans in Congress will finally get some balls and keep Trump and Musk from any tampering with Social Security benefits. 

If DOGE is illegal then Elon Musk must be illegal

The “department of government efficiency” (Doge), headed up by billionaire Elon Musk, has grabbed the governmental infrastructure by the balls and refuses to let go. It is so bad that Musk, along with J.D. Vance, has said that he might defy orders and verdicts from judges. This borders on sedition in an environment where the players actually control the country, from the White House, to Congress, to the Supreme Court. against which they are directing their discontent. But then, we are talking about Republicans.

Ben Makuch reports in The Guardian, that Doge is facing "countless lawsuits alleging everything from privacy concerns to free speech violations." It was T-rump that created the department on the first day of his second term. He named his buddy, Elon Musk, who bought him the Oval Office, to head up Doge. From then on Musk has been known as White House maniac #2. The latter has messed with Treasury files, causing major concern over the fact that he is now scrutinizing Social Security.

Regardless of political party, most of us believe that government should be pared down, eliminating the waste. But Trump, and Musk, are using this concept to seek revenge on enemies and eliminating programs for the needy while enriching the wealthy. It's the Republican way. Here's the scenario...

"Laurence Tribe, one of the nation’s leading and preeminent constitutional scholars and a professor emeritus at Harvard Law School, has already argued that much of Trump’s blitzkrieg of executive orders on the day of his inauguration disregards the US constitution. He told the Guardian he saw Musk’s actions as furthering that culture."

There's more...

"On whether Doge and Musk can legally have this much power over an array of government departments, Tribe was emphatic: 'NO.'"

More from the constitutional expert...

"Tribe said the lack of guardrails being placed on Doge’s maverick initiatives, raises 'both' questions of illegality and ethical wrongdoing that can be challenged in court. As for Musk’s status as a federal contractor (such as his StarLink work with the Pentagon) and now a government employee, Tribe sees it as 'absolutely' a legal conflict of interest."

Senator Bernie Sanders added: “What Musk is doing is illegal and unconstitutional.” The Bern's opinion...

"...deleting an agency like USAid, which was itself a creation of Congress, requires congressional approval."

One must wonder how long the wave of executive orders will continue; more than 50 have been signed by Trump so far. Thirty minutes after the Oval Office lunatic was sworn in...

"...a Maryland-based public interest law firm to file a 30-page lawsuit alleging Musk’s Doge should be considered a “federal advisory committee”, which makes it subject to government transparency laws and public scrutiny, which includes note keeping and meeting records, as required by law."

However, SCOTUS has a solid conservative majority, with three Trump appointees, that will think twice before crossing their monarch. And Trump appointees are strewn throughout the lower court system, which makes this all a monumental unknown. What we do know, though, is that our country is being destroyed by a gang of barbarian politicians. 

Radical Information Can Destroy a Democracy...Here's how

 

Over thirty-five years in the junk mail industry, information was my crown jewel. Information about mailing lists, information about people (demographics); information about geography (demography). Without all this I could never have progressed as a data broker. It was plentiful and it was expensive but cost even more when collected and refined, then sold to a client for their mailings. I do not know the number of peoples' names I sold but it was in the multi-millions.

This was several years ago and the business has changed significantly since then. What hasn't changed is still the fact that nothing moves without information. In Salon recently, Chauncey Devega spoke with Stephanie Foggett, who is director of global communications at the Soufan Group, a global intelligence and security consulting firm. Foggett specializes in monitoring white supremacist, neo-Nazi and other right-wing extremist groups.

With the Covid pandemic in a slight decline, we now have monkeypox to deal with. And there is a constant reminder from Bernie Sanders and other Progressives that inequality is still raging in this country. Devega reminds us...

"Here in the U.S., Donald Trump's political cult and a Republican Party dominated by fascists are attempting to end multiracial democracy. This is a revolutionary struggle whose goal is to create a new American society, that in practical terms will be an apartheid Christian fascist plutocracy ruled without challenge or accountability by a small number of rich white men."

 The Pro-Putin Wing Of The GOP Echoes Kremlin Disinformation...

In Devega's exchange with Foggett, she...

"shares her views on how "malign actors" are using this moment of global disruption to expand their power by undermining liberalism and Western-style democracy, both internationally and in the United States."

Of special concern is the use of the Internet and conservative media by "the global far-right and their allies, along with the Republican Party and its agents." Including Fox News and conspiracy cults like QAnon. Foggett even predicts that military conflict between states is now a reality, in keeping with recent forecasts of another Civil War. But, it takes time she says, because more than ever today, we must know why we are doing what we are doing.

It is here where Foggett addresses "How the far right is winning the information war." With Republican disinformation of course, made popular during the Donald Trump administration...

"Every issue is being muddled with disinformation and half-truths and narratives that paralyze action by creating confusion and doubt. This makes it hard to chart a shared path forward."

In this "confusion," it is...

"very difficult to even have discussions about politics and current events when there is less of a shared understanding of reality, the truth and facts. Every issue is being muddled with disinformation and half-truths and narratives that paralyze action by just creating confusion and doubt."

And therein lies the problem. Republican disinformation creating a confusion because the GOP has no agenda other than to block anything the Democrats want to do. It sure isn't the Grand Old Party anymore.

UPDATE: Joe Manchin: LIAR...HYPOCRITE...DESERTER...CORRUPTER

 

LATEST: Manchin received 36 donations from corporations in the last two months after announcing he would not support Build Back Better, and raised close to $260,000 in that time period.

Joe Manchin, the Senator from West Virginia is all of those and more, looking more like Donald Trump every day. Taking them one by one, LIAR: He told Pres. Biden he would back the Build Back Better bill, then backed out. On Fox News. HYPOCRITE: Acting like a Democrat, voting like a Republican. DESERTER; from the Democratic Party, most of all his constituents at home. CORRUPTER: Shares this with daughter, Heather Bresch. 

On Sunday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki issued a statement re. Manchin's bail out on the bill designed to benefit Americans in a number of ways, one of the most important decreasing the cost of your medical prescriptions. Of course Manchin would oppose this because of the fiasco with his daughter's pharmaceutical company, Mylan, Inc. which donated at least $200,000 to her father's campaign during five election cycles. Here's the scenario...

"Manchin’s daughter, Heather Bresch, was the president and chief executive officer of Mylan Inc., a pharmaceutical company that specialized in generic drugs. The company raised the price of a two-pack of EpiPen from around $124 dollars in 2009 to $609 in 2016. Bresch left the company in 2020 after Mylan merged with Upjohn, Pfizer’s generic division, in November 2020, to form Viatris Inc. Bresch began working at the company in 1992, and became CEO in 2012."

I did a post back in June asking the question, "Is Joe Manchin a Senate plant

serving Chas. Koch's conservative group?" The answer, an unequivocal YES! The White House is bending over backwards to work with Manchin, a Democrat that should understand the value of Build Back Better to the American public, particularly West Virginia needy. Apparently he doesn't, prompting this from Jen Psaki...

"In the meantime, Senator Manchin will have to explain to those families paying $1,000 a month for insulin why they need to keep paying that, instead of $35 for that vital medicine. He will have to explain to the nearly two million women who would get the affordable day care they need to return to work why he opposes a plan to get them the help they need. Maybe Senator Manchin can explain to the millions of children who have been lifted out of poverty, in part due to the Child Tax Credit, why he wants to end a program that is helping achieve this milestone—we cannot."

The fact is, he doesn't care about his constituents, or he would be supporting BBB. West Virginians are desperately in need of what this bill offers. Let's take a look: $400B Pre-school for all 3 and 4-year olds; $200B Child tax credits; $200B 4 weeks of paid family and medical leave; $165 billion on healthcare spending;  $150 billion to expand affordable home care; $150 billion for affordable housing; $555 billion to fight climate change.

Yes, a lot of money, but is there anything you see in the above that is not justified by the needs in this country? And how is it paid for...

"Democrats say the spending package will be paid for by tax increases on high earners and corporations, but the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found on Thursday that this will only raise around $1.5 trillion over 10 years—just short of the $1.75 trillion in 10-year spending.

"The CBO findings are at odds with the White House’s pledge to fully pay for the Build Back Better bill, which is now expected to increase the federal budget deficit by $160 billion over the next 10 years."

 A pathetic Joe Manchin Says He Won’t Vote For Biden’s Build Back Better Bill...

Like White House Press Sec. Jen Psaki asks in her statement, how will Joe Manchin explain to his West Virginia constituents that he voted down these benefits: child welfare, medical leave and healthcare spending, affordable home care and housing, and a fight against climate change that could save even more lives. The answer, another resounding YES, Democrats are spending but on the right things that will help homelessness, those in poverty and a general shot to the economy.

Contrary to what Manchin says, some aspects of BBB could counter current inflation as reported by NBC...

"The White House and Democratic leaders have rebranded the legislation as an antidote to widespread price hikes, arguing that it would lower the cost of prescription drugs, childcare and overall expenses related to raising families."

 Republicans are harping on increased inflation and consumer prices did jump 6.2% last month. Biden and Chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, as well as Treasury Sec. Janet Yellen, are working on the problem. But thanks to the fact that Joe Manchin blew off the Build Back Better bill, Goldman Sachs has issued a gloomy prediction for the economy. Surprise. It always seems to be traced back to the blockhead senator from West Virginia.

And, because of the latter, Manchin has the country on edge, allowing Republicans to plunder our democracy. It is so fragile that this kind of chaos, added to the Covid-19 pandemic, could soon bring on a GOP autocracy, all thanks to Joe Manchin and cohort Krysten Sinema.

More Joe Manchin below...

WATCH Bernie Sanders put Manchin in his place.

WaPo's Jennifer Rubin's take on Joe Manchin.

Manchin bottom feeder ‘refused’ a call from W.H. before killing BBB

Coal miners want Joe Manchin to reverse opposition to Build Back Better

Do We Really Need Progressives?

Six House Democrats known as The "Squad" almost doomed Pres. Joe Biden's $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure bill. They are progressives and, although there is a lot of merit in what progressives stand for, their desires in this case do not justify going against the Democratic Party to condemn its agenda. If it hadn't been for thirteen Republicans voting for the bill, it might not have passed. Here's the current Squad...

• Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York
• Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri
• Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York
• Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota
• Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts
• Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan

The Squad demanded the Build Back Better Act, sister legislation to the

Infrastructure Bill, be passed simultaneously. It wasn't up for passage so the gang of defectors balked at giving Joe Biden the big win he needed, but got anyway, no thanks to the faithless six. I was a progressive, supported and voted for Bernie Sanders, and I am very disappointed at his opposition to this bill. There are three years left in Biden's administration, with the hope of some miracles in 2022.

But maybe the Squad, and Bernie Sanders, consider 2022 a lost cause, possibly even 2024, and they are going for broke with the hopes of getting as much done as possible. That makes little sense as well since Biden could have gotten nothing had it not been for the Republican crossovers and everyone, including progressives, lose. We mustn't totally discourage this faction, however, since their fight is for the forgotten group that Democrats used to stand for.

The 13 Republicans who supported Biden's Infrastructure Bill, of course, had to take flak from especially the Terrible Trifecta, consisting of Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz and Margorie Taylor Greene. These are the original three Republican airheads that have proven just how far off course the right has gone. And this kind of stupidity in the American Congress is why the left must solidify its support and move forward in order to save our country from anti-democracy.

So, do we really need progressives? Perhaps the word "progressive" has overpowered this group and others like them, resulting in action almost like another political party. What the Dems need is for this bloc to merge with moderates and conservative Democrats, but, at the same time, when they push their agenda, there is a need for solidarity. Those conservative Dem could take this advice as well.

UPDATE...AZ Sen. Kyrsten Sinema takes Pharma $ then nixes Biden Prescription Plan...UPDATE

 

UPDATE: Increased amount AZ Sen. Kyrsten Sinema took from pharmaceutical and medical device industries is more than $750,000 in donations.  READ MORE

She's against Biden's $3.5 trillion infrastructure Bill, for the filibuster and against $15.00 minimum wage, as well as recently opposing Pres. Biden's Prescription plan to negotiate Medicare drug prices. AZ Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has taken all these positions in defiance of issues that are basic to Joe Biden's agenda. Okay, maybe the $3.5 T is negotiable but not the rest. As an added fact, in the last couple of years Sinema received $358,452 in donation from the pharmaceutical industry.

Kyrsten Sinema loves filibuster...

That's a major amount and her fight for Pharma coincides with West Va. Sen. Joe Machin who is in the pockets of fossil fuels giant Chas. Koch. She has even talked directly to Biden...

"Sinema met with President Joe Biden on Sept. 15 to discuss the social spending package, in which party leaders hope to include the Medicare prescription drug pricing proposal. Sinema has made her resistance to the current House prescription drug negotiation proposal clear to the White House, according to one of the sources, but it’s unclear if she’s completely immovable."

Joe Manchin has called for a pause in the Infrastructure Bill, vigorously opposed by AOC and her people. On the other hand, some Democrats disagree...

"Some in the party have called the bills even more necessary as parts of the country are ravaged by wildfires or affected by flooding."

The left is known for its spending, mostly in needy projects, where Republicans resist to the extent of putting the country in jeopardy. Like right now as Moscow Mitch is refusing to increase the debt limit. This could mean the U.S. goes into default and financial markets experience turbulence. We are certainly not in normal times, especially considering the Covid-19 pandemic, thus, the need for extra revenue. 

Sinema votes against $15.00 minimum wage...

And Republicans also must face up to the fact that many of the problems America faces today were caused by one of their own, the former White House maniac, Donald Trump. The fact that the right seems to be doing absolutely nothing about Trump's current bizarre antics is further burden in getting our nation back in order. It's bad enough when you have to deal with an unreasonable opponent, but when you have to fight with fellow party members it becomes absurd.

Sinema does have company within the party, and this does raise questions re. the amount of the Infrastructure Bill. Sen. Bernie Sanders wants the full amount, and he believes even more is needed. I am still a loyal supporter of the Bern, but at the
same time wonder if there are parts of the legislation negotiable that would appease the standoff Democrats...

"Congressional Democrats warred with each other on Tuesday over the price tag and policy scope of their roughly $4 trillion economic agenda, raising the potential for a stunning, self-inflicted defeat as the House prepares to vote on one of the measures next week."

It is beyond me how anyone in Congress could oppose Medicare's negotiation for the price of drugs for their constituents. Canada regulates their drug prices and they are 50% to 80% lower than in the U.S. Okay, we've known for years donations buy the votes of Congress. In the beginning, Big Pharma thought they had a friend in the junior Senator Kyrsten Sinema. Now the senior Senator of Arizona, they were definitely right. 

The death spiral of the American empire

 

Remember Pete McCloskey, now 93, but a "renegade Republican congressman" when he went after Richard Nixon over the Vietnam War in 1971. Raw Story's Ray Hartmann says, "McCloskey knows an outlaw president when he sees one." He's talking about Donald Trump, of course, adding...

"McCloskey describes the current climate as "much worse" than the Vietnam era. And he sees Trump -- "a narcissistic psychopath incapable of the truth" --as on an entirely different level than his old nemesis from the 70s. Indeed, McCloskey likened Trump's impact on the Republican Party to that of Adolf Hitler. And he continues to worry about the safety of U.S. politicians."

What is most appalling here is that McCloskey worries about the "safety" of U.S. politicians. God! We're beginning to sound like those countries in perpetual civil war resulting in regular coups. Read more...

Chris Heges fears "The death spiral of the American Empire" will not be easily halted. From the entry of the new President, Joe Biden, to the removal of Donald Trump, and everything that has come between, without the reconciliation of the ideologies this country cherishes, we are doomed.

Heges sums up the results of the Trump administration...

"Once an oligarchy seizes power, deforming governing institutions to exclusively serve their narrow interests and turning the citizenry into serfs, there are only two options, as Aristotle pointed out — tyranny or revolution."

There's more...

"The staggering concentration of wealth and obscene avarice of the very rich now dwarfs the hedonism and excesses of the world's most heinous despots and wealthiest capitalists of the past."

That's Bernie Sanders talk and a dilemma that if not corrected in the near future, could itself lead to revolution. Read more...

Latest News Digest/Page 3

Capitol riots enablers Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri, already the target of congress for helping to incite the Capitol riot, have...

"frantically searched for a political sweet spot: They’ve tried to condemn the violence without retracting or apologizing for their active role in sustaining the big lie that incited it."

But the horror is actually seen in the video that accompanies this piece. Scroll down for the video and, folks, it is a MUST WATCH! Here's the article: Appalling new video of the rioters is a big problem for Trump’s GOP enablers

Trump is headed for debtors prison when he leaves office. In the same period of time he spent hallucinating in the Oval Office, loans in the hundreds of millions of dollars will come due, and there may be nowhere to go for more. The Hill says debt holders have...

"backed away from business arrangements with the Trump Organization, sapping future income from the debt-laden president. Three banks have announced they’re cutting ties with him — including Deutsche Bank, his biggest creditor — limiting his ability to refinance debt."

There's more...

"Trump owes creditors at least $315 million, mainly through mortgages for Trump Organization hotels, resorts and golf courses, according to his 2020 financial disclosure. A Forbes analysis of Trump’s finances, however, found that Trump likely owes at least $1 billion to creditors, some of which he has personally guaranteed."

The financial industry is calling him,  'Toxic Trump. Read more:  Debt cloud hangs over Trump post-presidency

 

Donald Trump met with his elite advisory duo, Ivanka and Jared, to discuss some 100 pardons he has planned including...

"white-collar criminals, high-profile rappers and others. It will likely include some pardons aimed at advocating for criminal justice reform, as well as controversial pardons for political allies."

Reportedly, there are those who have paid for pardons. Business as usual. Read more: Trump preparing another 100 pardons, commutations beforeleaving office: reports

Billy Graham was a religious icon that most anyone could admire, even atheists. His son, Franklin Graham, on the other hand, has a twisted mind that has led his followers down the trail of Donald Trump idolatry. Although Graham said after seemingly criticizing Capitol rioters, "I don't think it was the president's finest moment." Then, the article exclaims...

"But Graham said he doesn't expect the tumult at the Capitol to deter evangelical Christians from supporting Trump."

There's more...

"I don’t think he had any understanding in that moment of what was going to take place," he said. "None of us did."

Franklin Graham, like so many of his pathetic religious followers, have helped make Donald Trump the maniac he is today. And this is why so many Americans have left the church. Read more: Evangelicals and other faith leaders still support Trump after deadly US Capitol attack

Time for a quick compendium on Donald Trump's lies racked up in his four years in the White House. AlterNet leads with this...

"For the last four years, fact-checkers have had their hands full keeping up with President Donald Trump's unprecedented level of dishonesty. While The Washington Post reported that Trump had delivered more than 22,000 false or misleading claims..."

The article calls Trump's dalliance with untruths a "disgraced president's" tweeting claims that likely had something to do with the outcome of the 2020 election. We're thankful for that and there's much more. Read the article: Here are the most dangerous and notable lies Trump spewed during his presidency

Arizona Republican representative Andy Biggs is the scumbag of this state's lowlife GOP. Biggs, along with twin scumbag Paul Gosar actually wrote a letter to Donald Trump in 2019. "reinforcing their support for the president’s desire to spend billions of tax dollars on a border wall." Today, Biggs has been accused of being part of the recent Capitol riots. The rep. denies but...

"Ali Alexander, who led rallies nationwide to try to overturn the results of the presidential election, called Biggs a hero of the movement during the rally at the Arizona Capitol and led a chant in his name."

Another GOP jerk to dump in 2022. Read more: New videos emerge tying Arizona Republican Rep. Andy Biggs to 'Stop the Steal' movement

The time has finally arrived where it is likely that this country will find out whether Bernie Sanders' Progressive agenda is feasible. The Ps know it is and some moderates think there are possibilities. My gut tells me that President-elect Joe Biden, deep down, believes in Bernie as his Chairman Senate Budget Committee, and is convinced his issues can help this country. God knows it needs help after Donald Trump. Yet Republicans see a nightmare...

"that a champion of working-class people and the common good—one who has dedicated his political career to curbing poverty and injustice while denouncing corporate greed, endless war, and the cruelty of a for-profit health system that leaves millions upon millions uninsured or without affordable access to care—would assume the powerful position of chairing the Senate Budget Committee is about to become reality."

Go get 'em Bernie. Read more: GOP nightmare of Senate Budget Chair Bernie Sanders is about to come true

Republican fears just might come true. Donald Trump could well be the defining factor that the GOP is so misguided and corrupt that it no longer deserves the right to exist. At least as it is. It started with Karl Rove in the Geo. W. Bush administration where lying and deceit became staples for the Party. The progression of fabrication of the truth compounded by the GOP's corruption provided T-rump the perfect 'welcome wagon' he needed. But...

"The last four years under President Donald Trump's leadership have been tumultuous for politics but the end of Trump's reign has dealt a hefty blow to the Republican Party."

And now after the Capitol riots, incited by Donald Trump, we are going into a modicum of quietude under our new president, Joe Biden. With Kamala Harris at his side, the hopes for this country are once again optimistic. And if the Republicans implode, well, it couldn't happen to a better gang. Read more: Some in the GOP worry the party will not survive after 4 years of Trump

 

Who is to blame for Democrats' poor performance in Tuesday's election?

 

Here's a quote from an AlterNet article by Meaghan Ellis...

"The strong voter turnout for Trump, which stands at more than 68 million voters as of Thursday, October 5, proves that bigotry, white supremacy, and racial division are still alive and well in the United States."

Even with all three of the above Donald Trump abhorrent idiosyncrasies prevalent both in the 2020 campaign and in the last four years of the White House maniac's administration, the Democrats could not convince Trump supporters to get rid of this cancer that is destroying our country. Don't know if it was the ineptitude of the Democratic Party or the fact that this 68 million is mentally retarded and/or misinformed. Probably a combination.

Owen Jones from the Guardian says this...

"How could the electoral circumstances for the US Democrats have been more favourable? A quarter of a million Americans have died in a pandemic bungled by the incumbent president, and at least 6 million have consequently been driven into poverty."

Remember Brandy Lee, the Yale psychiatrist, who has been telling us for most of Trump's time in office that he is completely unfit for the presidency, and definitely mentally unstable? She now adds that, "Trump’s mental illness infected 48% of the electorate," the percentage that voted for him. Yet, somehow, the Dems were unable to turn all these horrendous flaws into the kind of message that says, 'You must get rid of this loser.' Which should have brought a landslide, but did not.

As a Progressive I am worried, very concerned, over the run-down state that liberals are in. Look at what happened in the House and Senate. We had a chance at Bernie Sanders, and I again wonder what would be our state of affairs today if the Bern had won in 2016, again in 2020???

Minneapolis police officer mercilessly suffocates black man

Presidential candidate, Joe Biden, says ‘George Floyd’s life mattered.’

George Floyd

Tomorrow you will see the post, "Is racism still a dirty word, or...just accepted today?," and since the killing of George Floyd, the 46-year-old black man who died in the custody of the Minneapolis Police Department earlier this week has raised condemnation around the country, I decided to do this piece now due to the urgency. Joe Biden's statement that it was a “horrific killing” is perhaps the most important. Biden looks like Trump's contender in November.

Aside from the fact that this could help Biden's support of the black community, it is in keeping with a Democratic platform that has for years backed people of color. And that's the way it should be since the left must maintain its position as the party of the people. We've lost our way recently, but Bernie Sanders gave us a wake-up call and it continues to reverberate within the Democratic candidates, even Joe Biden.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on George Floyd killing...

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said, "four Minneapolis police officers involved in the death of George Floyd have been terminated." I just watched the video in this article, above, (scroll down below Floyd's picture) and it is beyond a doubt the worst case of police brutality I have ever seen. Frey describes it "Blatantly wrong and malicious." It is terrifying to watch this cop hold Floyd down with a knee on his neck, preventing him from breathing for five minutes, until he was no longer responsive.

We know this is not typical of the average cop, and brings up the continuing question of how do you deal with this kind of situation without castigating all police officers. But equally disturbing, I thought, was the cop just standing, facing the crowd, looking like a complete idiot, yet not doing a thing to stop the other cop while obviously hearing Floyd's desperate pleas for help. Frey calls for the prosecution of killing cop; watch this video!

Here's the scenario from a local Minneapolis television station...

"Multiple sources confirm for KARE 11 that the officer with his knee on Floyd is Derek Chauvin. Early Wednesday afternoon the City of Minneapolis released the names of all four officers fired in the wake of Floyd's death."

 They are: 

• Officer Derek Chauvin
• Officer J Alexander Kueng
• Officer Thomas Lane
• Officer Tou Thao

Protesting turns volatile over Geo. Floyd killing...

The Floyd. family from Houston "is calling for action after viewing a video that appears to show George Floyd begging for help." And the video I watched proves that he was begging for help until he could no longer breathe and was unresponsive. It seemed obvious to me that Officer Chauvin repeatedly pressed down on Floyd's neck in the five minutes he was on top of him. All of this while the black man was handcuffed and not resisting.

More from Channel 11...

In the video of the fatal encounter, bystanders can be heard asking the officer to remove his knee and telling him that Floyd can't breathe. One person says that Floyd's nose is bleeding.

"I can’t thank them enough," [Shareeduh] Tate (a cousin) said. "We always see these kinds of things that take place and we wonder what would we do if we were placed in that position, and I can only be grateful that there were people there who were advocating for him, even more so grateful for the person who was there with the camera to capture it."

There's more...

The Floyd family's attorney, Ben Crump, told TMX.news he believes the officer shown in the video with his knee on Floyd's neck should be charged with murder, and that the other officers should be charged as accomplices to a murder.

"They were supposed to protect and serve citizens like George," Crump said. "We in black America, we are done dying at the hands of the people who are supposed to protect and serve us."

Termination of the officers isn't enough, the general consensus is for criminal prosecution. Amen!

What's New Today in COVID-19 & U,S. News

IN CORONAVIRUS & U.S. NEWS

HEADLINE: "Trump loyalist secretly slams president behind his back over ‘botched’ handling of pandemic"   READ MORE...

Bill Gates

HEADLINE: "Trump administration orders halt to ‘first of its kind’ COVID-19 testing at home project backed by Bill Gates"   READ MORE...

HEADLINE: "49 of 50 governors have better coronavirus poll numbers than Trump"   READ MORE...

HEADLINE: "US weekly jobless claims hit 2.4 million, bringing the 9-week total to nearly 39 million"   READ MORE...

HEADLINE: "Trump announces executive order ‘suspending’ regulations impeding US economy"   READ MORE...

HEADLINE: "Trump is conducting an ‘intentional obliteration of oversight’ — and most Republicans don’t care"   READ MORE...

HEADLINE: "The corruption is on full display: Trump executive order directs all agencies to gut business regulations amid COVID-19"   READ MORE...

HEADLINE: "Leaked documents show how Trump White House ‘muzzled’ the CDC’s early COVID-19 warnings" READ MORE...

HEADLINE: "Older white voters are running from Trump at a breakneck pace"  READ MORE...

HEADLINE: "Progressives thought they'd overtaken the Democratic Party. Now they're in despair.   READ MORE...