He is not going to leave this time. Hence the nuclear shelter he’s building for himself. That’s not a ballroom it’s a nuclear shelter with high tech equipment and remember he has the nuclear football and the codes. I have no doubt he’d use it to keep Americans away from the People’s House no matter what. He doesn’t like the least of these let alone this country!
Yes and they have been preparing Vance for that role. With his mental health and physical health declining rapidly and the stress from Trumpstein I’m not sure if he’ll make it to the midterms but we can’t take that for granted. I think Slimy Mikey Johnson is the real threat. He looks like a nAzI extremist who would gladly bring part two of the HF PJ 25 in place and now they’re trying to complete it before the midterms. Everyone needs to follow the money and follow what djt and his fellow assets are doing behind the curtain!!
Stephen Miller and Thiel have been running this country in this retribution tour 2-0!! That’s no secret but it’s very important that we acknowledge that they need djt in office to make all of this come to fruition. We cannot afford to wait and see. The evidence is overwhelming against all of them!
Do you have a suggestion on what can we actually do besides waiting? Another No King parade? No one up there give a slightest dumb about our parades! Especially not Stephen Miller!
What's your source on that? The No Kings Days actually DID get media coverage, even on FOX, and they are helping those who are slower to come around see that there are actually many people mad and calling out the Lies and Crimes, and that those people aren't masked kids dressed in black balaclavas, but ordinary folk of all ages, shapes and colors.
Shifting the tide is key. Protests help do that. They also help create organizations that will probably be needed as the right starts panicking.
I think everyone feels that way but with all of the medical best of the best for him who knows. I agree with you though about his physical and mental health he’s more than likely not going to see the midterms but he might and that’s why we cannot take any of this for granted!
I told my mom this yesterday. Well I actually said “why doesn’t he just diiiiieeeeee already!” Then I answered my own question - he’s got the best medical treatments and doctors in the world. While he says Merry Christmas - go f*** yourselves on the ACA subsidies and screw Medicaid too. Psychopath.
I had to go on Obamacare “you can keep your doctors” when I had a fine individual Oxford Heathcare plan that I was willing to pay myself, and I was able to get the “gold” ACA plan and there were plenty of doctors or hospitals I had previously had that were not part of the Network. It’s the best we can do here and there were good parts of it like covering screenings and preventable care that were excellent. What they are doing is unforgivable, cruel, and frankly, Un-American (in the old world we lived in).
I didn’t need to do that. Common sense and remembering how he was when President Biden beat him and he was shamed by the world he’s definitely not going to leave this time. He’ll stop at nothing to stay exactly where he is and within his nuclear shelter he will watch with sadistic pleasure as he has the nuclear football and the codes and don’t think for one second he won’t use them because he absolutely will. Anyone with a brain cell and objective reasoning know that is no ballroom.
The nuclear shell or escape dungeon for president and other officials necessary to keep the government running in a disaster was under the East Room Trump destroyed to make the Ballroom. There is no escape place right now as far as I know.
No what needs to happen is Americans need to demand transparency and a Congressional Committee Hearing to investigate and see and disclose everything about it. That’s what needs to happen to hold these nimrods accountable.
I just hope there is a way to cut the power to the bunker and lock the door from the outside. If 🍊 and crew go in, lets just keep them in there smelling dirty diapers with nothing but emergency lights. The Bastille Bunker.
The door to the bunker was actually locked after the 9/11 terrorist attack, and the V.P. and other officials couldn't get in. No one available had the key.
We have to be able to get rid of them all at once if they are in the same place. I have said many times sudden death is too good for them and they need to suffer like we have, but we can't waste a perfectly good opportunity to be done with them forever... together as a group. Or if you prefer, let Elon pack as many as he can into a Space X rocket to still achieve lift-off, and shoot them all into space with no way back. 🚀 "In space, no one can hear you scream" like the tagline from the movie Aliens. That's suffering. Whatever you choose Fox is okay with me. One way or another, off the planet...together.
I believe he was a full partner, maybe senior partner. There was $ to be made and girls to be raped and pain to inflict on other human beings. He could never pass that up
That is a LOT of space for a 'nuke shelter.' Why would it be by the White House anyway? Nothing there would be useful, contaminated by radiation. It would just be a sign, "The president is underfoot." They'd be in Aruba or Switzerland.
The one there before it was demolished for the ballroom was super structured, strong enough to be safe against a nuclear bomb attack and special filters for radiation and other lethal gases.
I respectfully disagree with you--on the basis of how easily Trump's backhoe boys despatched the East Wing. That would have been a dry oak leaf for a nuke! And pray tell who will it be, going 'round to check filters after the initial blast?! Come on!! You are joking and some people reading this may be misled. To say the least.
No. That is a ballroom. Trump cares more about competing with other dictators and their palaces. Gold, Gold. Gold. He announced a "secret" CIA mission to Venezuela on X.
I’m sorry, I am a democrat. I vote democrat but I totally blame the Democratic Party for the situation. This country is in right now! Donald Trump should be sitting in prison for inciting an insurrection and he should’ve been in prison for the last three years. Instead, he was allowed to run for president again! Even though our constitution says an insurrectionist cannot hold a political position, the Democrats let it happen anyway. And right now I blame the Democrats again for the ACA subsidiaries being canceled, I blame the Democrats who voted to open the government back up and believed the lies. The Republicans told them that they would discuss it before the end of the year when they had no intentions of discussing it. The Democrats need to grow some balls.😡😡😡😡
Again who do you think after winter recess happened in DC called every single Senator back to DC to rush ACB through to SCOTUS?!! McConnell is the one who did that to ensure that the SCOTUS6 was at the gqp’s beck and call.
I'm a Democrat also and I vote Democrat. I think Biden should have replaced Garland if he wasn't going to put a former Pres. in prison.
Kamala should not have been the ordained candidate- there should have been primaries.
SCOTUS is full of rancid liars, and it starts with Roberts. In fact if you want to blame Democrats, Gore should have demanded a recount in Florida and we probably wouldn't have had to put up with Bush for 8 years.
I would have also preferred that we not open the government. Republicans lie and cannot be trusted. They couldn't run a one car funeral and have no idea how to govern. They only know how to blame someone else.
I would have preferred that corporations feel the heat of people not buying anything from them at the busiest time of the year. Especially, Amazon. I would prefer that people cancel their cable and companies like Xfinity suffer.
You have to understand, that deep down, Democrats have a soul, the Republicans in power do not. These Republicans hate other people in ways I do not understand.
Just think, the Republicans have the House, the Senate and the White House and they still can't pass legislation, except for tax cuts for the wealthiest.
I think it isn't that Republicans 'can't ' pass legislation. I think it is that they WON'T. They don't CARE about whether poor people can't get health care. Or that women need healthcare and child care. Or that NATO continues to help protect Europe from Russia. Or that China is planning more economic drama. Or that Saudi Princes sometimes kill their own. **They are all in on the Project 2025 plan, they are pledged to help it come about, they are bribed, and they were appealed-on through their misogyny, their racism and their fear of immigrants or women somehow 'taking over'. In fact, all of that is bogus; it reads like the Daily Planner of Vought, Bannon, Miller and some Oligarchs. They have been planning and doing things for years, not months. I remember Newt Gingrich talking about similar ideas. They just don't CARE. Melania got it right, remember that jacket she wore to visit 'detained' immigrant children? Geo. Carlin was exactly right. Except there are now more Oligarchs poised to try to win Richest White Guy In The World.
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 Excellent. Absolutely well stated. I tried to remind a couple of people that while we are feeling angry towards the Democrats, we have to remember that if the Republicans (maga) had a conscience, if they had morals, we wouldn't be in the mess we're in. So yes be angry at them but remember that if the Republicans actually had morals, if they had a soul,we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place, right!?
You can thank McConnell and Garland for that. McConnell f**ked up hence why he’s “retiring” because he knows it’s his fault so he’s going to run away from this hoping to take no responsibility for what he did.
I couldn’t agree with you more! Democrats are to blame that Trump was not charged for inciting the insurrection, for stealing the classified documents from the White House. He should have never been allowed to be nominated! Period!
He is guilty of insurrection! According to the Constitution, he has no rights to be near any governmental position. How did Democrats allowed his nomination to happen at first place? They had majority back then, didn’t they?
What did you think Liz Cheney was doing? Democrats don't get to declare Republicans guilty; nor, vice-versa, it has to be VOTED upon. By Congress. How many Republicans would/did vote guilty? We have to talk about the people who are this year's in-charge Democrats and Republicans and stop pretending it is always a zero-sum game between Democrats and Republicans. As long as it is that, we have gridlock; the filibuster; the threats of an unhinged president, all kinds of crazy stuff. Before that, we had a winner but she was somehow defeated by the 'Electoral College.' But maybe it all doesn't matter now. We only have the present to work on the future. We either work our system or we sit back and blame each other.
How preposterous. Biden DID 'step' down. He didn't "do" anything "to" us. He was elected president and he stayed the course.. We didn't show up at the polls in big enough numbers. Many people thought a black woman wasn't "experienced" and should have not run, despite she had *more experience than anyone who *ever ran for the office of President. How come no one is blaming the Republicans right now for gerrymandering every state they can? Republicans are in charge! Why are they blah blah blah. Because no one gives up power easily.
The appointment of Garland & not removing him when MG proved ineffective was the biggest mistake of Biden’s presidency. Since AGMG cared more about the optics of going after an ex-president than DT’s illegal actions the world wouldn't be in this mess.
You could learn to grow some more brain power. Why blame the democrats? Merrick Garland who was a REPUBLICAN Chief of the DOJ failed miserably to prosecute Trump for the Jan. 6 siege of the Capitol when he should have and for the other 34 Felonies he committed. Add that the REPUBLICAN majority in the Supreme court who said yes he could run again even tho a Jan . 6th insurrectionist. And there is no excuse for blaming Democrats ACA benefits being canceled, when they were only ones supporting not cancelling. I think you may be juggling the wrong balls.
I too am very angry at the Democrats. But remember..in that anger.. remember why you're angry at the Democrats. BECAUSE the R party has been hijacked by maga..and the true evil I trump and maga. Don't lose sight of that when the ones who deserve our full wrath are in fact trump and the MAGAts.
The fact that repubs are turning is very important. This gives hope of impeachment. If that happens we need a forensic hand recount of the 2024 election that they stole in order to get in the rightful president.
I have always been confident in believing that the 2016 election was stolen. We know she won the popular vote.. what does that say about the people who go to the statehouse and vote how they want instead of voting for their constituency.
If we go after the cabinet, he will just replace with just as bad or worse. If we impeach both Trump and Vance we also need to demand a forensic hand recount of the 2024 election that they stole so we can get in Kamala - the rightful president.
I'm thinking, 'But What About Congress??!' Why should THEY get to sit this one out? We are paying them! We need to pressure our Representatives and Senators in no uncertain terms. Take the wheel, get this buggy back on track (to mix a few metaphors), confront the Supremes, DO YOUR DUTY. We'll back you but you MUST act decisively and within the LAW.
Impeach the lot. Heck, hold new elections, whatever. But this must NOT be allowed to pick up speed on the way downhill. Harrumph. There. I said it. It's what our set-up is supposed to do.
You are 100% thinking like an intelligent and responsible adult ... and good person.
I live in Texas where the two clowns I have in senate and the governor would murder their own children for Trump. My congressman here in Austin is very cool but they are gerrymandering him out after over 30 years being wonderful!
We need to throw the whole republican lot out on their asses right now! It's a coup and our representatives have their eyes wide shut.
IMPEACH AND THROW THEM OUT!
Right now we won't even get fair elections. The republicans need to wake up to the fact that we have a coup by a dictator and his cronies so there won't be a congress or senate if this keeps up and they will have no power of any kind left if they don't stand up to the Nazi's now running things.
THIS 100%. No dictator or Fascist regime has ever left except by brute force. Meaning, violence. I don’t want it - dear God, who would, but study up on Fascist regimes. I’m sure we all know this. I also think Mother Nature might take him out sooner than later, but how do we get Miller, Vought, etc out? The best we can hope for is when the Dictator dies, MAGA fractures deeply. But does anyone see them ever voting for anything other than insane, MAGA ideas?
Also, I’m old…I know what a mood ring was. We all had them. What’s a mood board? Like a vision board?
I’m old enough to remember and wear mood rings too. Must be a board of personal and professional goals. I follow a lot of people that I love, and want to be at the top too, but Aaron is smart. 8 minute videos twice a day (or more if urgent) plus paragraphs of the top stories. So many videos from so many people I can’t get to, but I do watch and listen to Aaron’s for his added commentary.
I knew from the first glint of gold way back and his “Cafe Rose Garden” he was never leaving. Lame ducks don’t decorate and plan on changes and demolitions to “our house) without getting approvals. And thanks to him, if we never knew where it was before (like me) we don’t even need Google Maps to find the bunker. He will need Hegseth 😱for the codes. Like Taya below you said, the “architects” Putin, Vance, Miller, witkoff, Vought, Elon, Thiel, are running the show. Very scary times we are in.
That is the truth..Buying groceries will be hard enough and having to choose paying rent/mortgage with paying utilities..This is going to make many feel like they are in a 3rd world country...UNFORGIVABLE WHAT THIS CRIMINAL CLOWN SHOW IS DOING TO PEOPLE
And UNFORGIVABLE what this Congress is doing about the criminal clown show: N O T H I N G. Occasional speechifying, endless fund-raising, wretched self-promotion, stunning constituents with cascades of pointless "newsletters" and "reports from your congressperson"... but NO ONE IS giving Republicans hell, NO ONE is organizing an effective prod to "leadership" to hold Congress's noses to the grindstone about any of it. Meanwhile people are going to have NO healthcare in addition to impossible basic costs of living. I am amazed that Congress expresses NO outrage, NO ideas, mounts no lawsuits and not a PEEP about the Impeachment that needs to be done to get the President out of office. He is nothing but a thief. He can't even do a renovation of the White House, and he is supposedly a "builder." I'm so mad at all of them that I could spit.
Both Haley Stevens and Shri Thalidar from my State of Michigan, have tried to introduce Letters of Impeachment in the House. Johnson refuses to let their bills come before the House, or even make it out of Committee. I thoroughly empathize with you, but wish you would not paint wit
h such a broad stroke using such a massive paint brush, when you say everyone!
By the way, I just received my award letter from MDHHS. My snap benefits for January have been reduced to a total of just $24 for the entire month. Another result of the Big Beautiful Ugly Bill!
What do they expect you to eat on $24/mo? Air? Every congressperson should have to live on SNAP and Medicaid for 6 mos as part of their job. Maybe that would humble them
I would exclude your Reps if I had known. There are probably others. But I still maintain the majority of Congress is ducking. Many --yes, not all -- have refused to call out Trump's absurd demands and his enablers' cruelties to ordinary people. It is clear they are afraid. Where is our leadership? People didn't want to deal with this. But the welfare of the nation has been at risk since 2016. If the Insurrection didn't tip our representatives and senators off, I don't know what else to say. I am appalled that your benefits were reduced. I am outraged that the DHS 'director' Noem, is cavalier with her spending but somehow there isn't enough SNAP money for people who have been taxpayers for years. I am angry and I am blaming our Congress for resisting seeing what has been happening. America is being fleeced by people who think they don't need its protection for their families and themselves.
This is scary to think about. Maine doesn't have many clinics. We are a medical desert already-- thanks to selfish insurance companies' endless stalling-by-lawsuit against hospitals, hoping to bankrupt each othe. Yet they are happy, inexplicably, to pay for lawyers but not for healthcare.
That is because of the Right's brainwashing of the people to vote against their own self interest! We must also prioritize reintroducing fair and balanced Reporting, plus using Anti-trust laws to breakup the right-wing media landscape. I shouldn't even use the word landscape in terms of Today's media ownership. I should refer to it as a container garden at best! Especially in light of Ellerson's pending purchase of Warner Bros, and CNN.
As horrible as this is, and it will get worse, we are paving the way for universal healthcare. It would be great if dems would start working on it now so they could put it in place January 2029.
My Rep.Debbie Dingell with Rep.Jayapal from Washington State have it already written, and ready to introduce. She mentioned it in her Newsletter during the shutdown.
A family member recently needed a needle biopsy to check for breast cancer. The procedure cost $9000. Even with her insurance, she was required to pay $3300 up front. How many people will have that kind of money? How many people will be forced to forgo essential procedures because they are too expensive?
I turned 41 and my PCP said I'd need one at some point. my maternal side’s aunt had breast cancer. I was very close to a cervical cancer diagnosis myself. I'll need a mammogram. I've not been out much because I can't get Covid boosters or flu shots, and ICE 😒 in Chicago since summer and still here until Noem fucks off 🙏 (and I hope she takes some with her if not all after they've been told they shouldn't be doing what they're doing)
Just gotta hope I'll be ok and keep checking myself 🤷♀️
The Republicans reversed Biden era protections to keep medical bills off our credit reports. Frankly, credit reports are a scam anyway. They benefit the rich and charge poor people higher interests because that makes sense for broke people.
Not that they “wonʼt” THEY CANʼT! Everything is too high & wages donʼt cover health ins plans!! Not many people understand economics in the first place!
Millionaires & Billionairs get the money we need. They are the greedy ones who refuse to give benefits to their employees & then they donʼt pay enough to have employees buy their own Insurance plans on the market!
Millionaires & billionaires make all there riches & profit off of their workers & everyone else!
No we donʼt want anyone to give billions to billionaires, we want Universal Health Care like every other Developed Country in the world!
Republicans want us to be poor & stupid!
Obama Care was the only good Insurance That any party has come up with! But Red States who are the poorest would not buy into it!
Republicans never came up with a plan.
Insurance Corporations need regulation!
Big Pharm needs to be regulated because these selfish people should not be gouging insurance companies & Consumers!
This is all messed up mostly by Republicans!
Wake up everyone, DTJ & Republicans only care about profit & not what the whole country needs to survive! Get mad & vote for people who donʼt take donations from greedy corporations! Do your homework since you havenʼt & now here we are! Ugh
Hospitals can't turn people away. If you remember, before the ACA people would go to the hospital when they had colds to avoid having to pay for a doctor visit. We're not only talking about people not paying for serious things but a massive wave of more hospital visits for things that should never be addressed in a hospital to begin with.
This is a very valid concern across the whole spectrum of healthcare providers. All will suffer. This is by design to serve the .5% who "have theirs". So sorry for the 99.5% who made their extortionate wealth possible.
First of all, fuck the Republicans. If the house Republicans are defecting, than pass a bill to extend the ACA subsidies. 2nd of all, why don’t house and Senate members give up their healthcare. Fucking P9S.
And of course Trump is in the Epstein files. He is all over those damn things. He was selling personalized condoms at his house. Are these people ok or all inbreds ??
Well, for sure, NOT "ok"... that leaves "willfully stupid!" Now then: Sal, promise me you will resist profanity and shaming people for something they didn't choose to be born with. We all have enough to deal with, with these supposedly upstanding politicians we hauled off and voted into office!
I have profanity because of one man, Donald Trump. I never demean people, I have empathy, but I do not sit there and take crap from people when I don’t give them crap. As far as Republicans, I didn’t vote them into office.
I think the cruelty of removing the Obamacare subsidies will motivate some people to commit suicide, rather than spend down their money for treatment, especially if they have a fatal diagnosis.
So it's not just political suicide by the cruel GOP we are talking about. I think there will also be suicides of despair and suicides based on saving money for the person's family to inherit.
Au contraire. Seems to me, his history is, he goes 'quiet' before he really starts pulling out all the stops... Remember, he managed to bankrupt himself not once, but, what, 6? times-- one of which was his own casino. Most recently, he went 'quiet' and then announced he was building a ballroom (no one dances anymore, Trump, hate to tell ya), and suddenly the East Wing of the White House is missing. Do we see a pattern here? He goes big, he goes quiet, and then he goes destructive.
This is so self-destructive for Republicans that it's jaw-dropping. The one thing they forget while they're catering to their lobbyists and cultivating their personal stock gardens . . . the one thing they forget is that EVERYONE has a vote. And it WILL come back to haunt them. They will crash the economy and crash the elections.
I agree. He has even abandoned all his sanctimonious religious stuff lately. He is curiously unconcerned about people's ability to pay for needed medical treatment and what that will mean to them and their families. He veers off into some fantasy spin about whose fault it is. All the while he has everything he needs to become everyone's hero, short-circuit Trump and his Project 2025 pals, and join with Democrats to take the whole S*** Show away from Trump. But, alas, the sound of crickets prevails.
Of freakin' course Trump knew of Epstein's crimes. Looks like he was a full and enthusiastic participant from all available information and implications.
Mine went up too, but I don't go to regular doctors so the government has paid big loads of money for me to have "disaster" insurance that I probably will never use even once, but I'm ok with that because others need it.
That's why we need Medicare for everyone rather than paying all this to insurance companies. If the republicans want to cut out insurance companies, there's a pretty easy thing already set up to do just that. Increase taxes for the mega wealthy and it would be paid off in an instant.
That's so beyond horrendous. I am so sorry. Sincerely. I don't know what they expect folks to do. It feels like they actually hate us...from the top down. They are hurting their own as well...they just don't care.
You are right. This is about the oligarchs. I thought I heard Trump mention "three trillion dollars" he says (drooling over) is the money "democrats want to give to the insurance industry." I immediately began to wonder, 'so, WHO will get that money if the Republicans hold fast to their position?' It is rather a meaningful amount. I bet we can name a few oligarchs who already think THEY will get a big chunk of that $3 trillion. How about we play ball? Offer the 'garchs $1.5 billion. The rest goes to all the people currently on Obamacare to set up REALISTIC 'health care cash' accounts. That might make them whole, no? I mean, we are talking about, what 10 million about to lose all their health care?Nine zeroes? Help me if I'm nuts in figuring this; I have dyscalculia.). Or, maybe, fund a new improved ACA?
Wait. Not 10million losing their healthcare, it's more like 50 million Americans or more? I remember thinking, that's roughly one Million people per state.
Our monthly premium went up 24%. Not ACA, retiree insurance via Aetna. Up about $300, past few years they increase about $100 per month. High deductible plan. It’s ridiculous. It’s pretty much just catastrophic insurance not affordable healthcare. Obviously universal health insurance would be the way to go. Maximum spread of risk and maximum bargaining power.
We are in a time when insurance companies are the truly evil. I feel almost the exact same thing when I look at insurance companies and trump/maga.. they are the truly evil.
We should ALL do this, hector and avalanche our Reps and Sens about healthcare for our fellow Americans. Show that we will not tolerate this level of incompetence and malfeasance and we WILL vote every last one out if they just murmur and wait for a recess. We could do a massive postcard cascade, something tangible. Plus gum up the switchboards (I'm showing my age here) with phone calls... make news, march and demand attention to our fellow Americans who are being grievously hurt in real time by this malfeasance of Republican selfishness. And let's call it "Anne's Method." or similar.
People should really understand just what they're doing..theirealth care plan won't pay for visits to ers or can't even buy healcare without theObama without the Obama plans subsidies.
Obama isn't perfectt they should reform it not throw it out. Insured beware
Also, I am pretty sure that unless they change HSA rules you cannot pay premiums with those funds unless they are COBRA premiums. So yes it could go to deductible costs but not if you can’t pay the premiums. I so agree with you- fix Obamacare- improve it don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.
Fortunately I had a feeling early on last year this was going to happen and will be ok, heartbreaking for so many others who are not. They are just cold hearted people who have no solutions and are willing to let people suffer.
They actually LIKE when people suffer. The country is being run by a psychopath and a large group of people with an array of disorders that make it so that they enjoy the pain of others.
A number of them just do not have any empathy. This is something we are, it is thought, taught, or a quality perhaps that does or does not get developed. In an event, this is why Trump could stand looking at the camera and drone on oblivious, while someone behind him fainted and was being revived by others in the room.
Sociopaths and narcissists are capable of having empathy where the environment can make a difference but Trump is a psychopath where literally the empathy center of his brain is non-existent or damaged and he is incapable of compassion, empathy or guilt. Psychopaths' empathy centers in their brains do not light up in functional MRIs. They can be shown things that would make any normal have a reaction, and they simply don't. It's a form of brain damage.
Sociopaths are capable of empathy where environment and training has an effect but Trump is a psychopath where he has a form of brain damage that makes empathy impossible. He threw rocks at babies when he was just a toddler. He shows absolutely ZERO empathy or compassion or guilt about any atrocity - he is clearly a psychopath. It doesn't sound as bad, but it's much worse.
I remember trump from the 80s and 90s and I'm confident that not only did trump KNOW ABOUT Epstein, I'm sure he was a card carrying member of the pedo club.
I recall from my NYC days he has a long, long history of odious at minimum and grossly illegal at medium and freaking sicko I-don't-know-what-to-call-it-even "behavior" that should have landed him in jail and strict supervision for life. He LEERED at people. He blurted out his bizarre ideas. The Ick Factor has been oozing from him forever. Of COURSE he'd be sniffing around Epstein from the get-go. But the Orange Menace does not have friendships.
I appreciate you continuing to bring us news when you don’t feel well.
A thousand dollars would not cover the Tylenol given at the hospital. I just had open heart surgery and the bills came in at more than half a million dollars. Plus tests and doctor visits outside the hospital. A thousand dollars is insulting.
Yes, I just got a letter from Covered California, the ACA I get my health insurance thru, saying my monthly premium will go from $42 month to $1229 a month. I don't even make $1200 in 1 paycheck. I guess no Healthcare for me next year.
Which is why we must take action. Make noise. Throw a fit. get a hospital bed and stage a sick-in. Gum up the email system, the phones, hog the TV 'news' both real and faux. We cannot abandon each other to just being depressed and sitting back. We will feel better if we take action, yell bloody murder, cause an uncomfortable scene in the hallways, threaten to vote for zero men, whatever drastic scenarios we can devise. We can do it. We've had enough, We are mad as Hell, and we are NOT going to take it anymore!!! (Yes, That Movie...)
Call your Reps and Sens, governor too, state and federal. Make noise about it. You are paying them to represent YOU. We all are. We MUST not just take this sitting down. We need to embarrass them, inconvenience them, march like we did for NO KINGS, avalanche of post cards and call cascades and get on the news all the time.
No one believed Republicans would vote to extend the ACA subsidies. I doubt Democrats who voted with Republicans to open the government on the Republican promise there would be a vote before the end of the year. Lucille and the football. We all knew.
Johnson, Trump's puppet, is the one standing in the way.
If the subsidy expansion could get to the floor, there are likely just enough republicans willing to vote for it and I doubt that if it passed the House that too many GOPers in the Senate would be willing to vote "no" if they are up for reelection.
So, how does one get around Johnson?
It would have to be a few who are already on Trump's shit list, like Greene and a couple of others who are retiring, perhaps because they voted against him on something, threatening to switch to Independent and caucus with the Dems to give Jefferies the majority if Johnson does not let it to the floor for a vote, and then this vote would happen.
Johnson and Trump would not want to lose the House majority.
This threat would work.
MTG is enjoying the attention and limelight right now, she should spearhead this effort.
Any GOPer who joined up with Dems would have nothing to lose since their votes would be needed to get to a majority, so even if they are not ideologically Dems, they would lose nothing. They would be essentially the "Manchin and Sinema" of the House and have power over what passes, but anything is better than the GOP in charge, that is for sure, and they are not exactly thrilled with Trump, so that helps.
This needs to happen ASAP and it would work.
Aaron Parnas needs to call on MTG and some who are retiring and already being attacked by Trump to do this - now.
Enough people in congress are listening to what Mr Parnas says and it would not be missed.
I think it only needs to be brought to their attention as an option for leverage (threatening to switch sides) and they might do it.
They are already being threatened by some in the MAGA base so they have nothing to lose.
It certainly can't hurt to try it. What have we got to lose? We are already losing healthcare as it is.
I vote yes. I'm in. I'm ready to complain hard to Collins. ( this is saying a lot, she is glacial in her movements and nearly asleep in her decision speed.). But she can be embarrassed and flattered because... she wants yet another term to take Maine down!!!
A few House republicans are willing to sign onto a discharge petition to try to get the extension of the subsidies to the floor, but I do not know if there will be enough votes. One is Fitzpatrick from PA who already got himself on Trump's shit list, (He voted against Trump's BBB and has criticized Trump,) However, it might be more effective and faster to threaten to flip to Independent in order to force it to the floor, not sure.
Over 18,000 for a baby without insurance and my wife’s chemo was 178,000 per dose and sadly did not work. We all know that billing prices are only so they can wind up with actual cost from insurance but so wrong
I am so sorry. I lost my mom to a bone tumor. Such things are terrible without the pressure of astronomical medical bills. I work on the revenue and systems side of healthcare, so I see those account balances every single day. It's awful.
It wouldn't have been half as horrid if having insurance meant just... paying the premium every month, and that meant no medical expenses of any kind, ever. But no... We have in and out of network... We have copays... We have brand name vs. generic.... We have urgent care vs. emergency room... We have insurance companies that purposely come up with shorter timely filing periods and greater filing requirements. It just never stops.
If Trump really wanted to do something, he would have disbanded the insurance lobby in DC and promoted laws that favored the patients - not the insurance CEOs. Of course.... healthcare CEOs are not much better. I recently looked up - our CEO's compensation is 391 times more than average pay at our hospital system. Are they seriously telling me that our CEO works 391 times harder than anyone else? Our medical staff, our sanitation, our maintenance, our IT, our rev cycle who have to wage war with the insurance companies? Seriously? That kind of crap should be illegal.
Republicans in Congress have to go. They have never cared about anyone, there are maybe two that do care. Let’s show them how much we care in 2026. Maybe their lifetime insurance plan needs to go.
Now let’s figure out how much Trump and his clan are raking in. His heath plan sucks.
You bet it does. We the taxpayers are paying for their life time insurance and it needs to go, I’m sorry but I don’t think republicans have done enough work this year for the American public to warrant their pay. They’re taking away insurance from the most vulnerable- these aren’t just people sitting at home doing nothing, like some think, they are hard working Americans with jobs sometimes two, the jobs don’t pay enough for insurance it barely pays enough for Food and a roof over their heads and now with utilities going up. The $1000 is just a slap in the face it won’t pay for anything. They should vote for the continuation of Obama Care, trump didn’ like it his first term. It’s time Congress or the Republicans grew some and voted for Americans to continue with the health care they have. I don’t think it’s about the cost of what the government pays I think it’s how much more this regime can embezzle.
U may as well go uninsured unless U are already dealing with a severe illness! If or when u need critical care that will be paid by States /welfare! MEDS pricing is the issue for most so if U are NOT paying an inflated $ amount for insurance, U will have $ for MEDICINES or welfare/medicare!
If I were a journalist I swear I would not be able to quit when he started in on me for asking a question. He’s such a POS that thinks that insulting people makes him look big and bad. No it makes him look like the IDIOT HE IS
The reason Trump lashed out is because it’s known as Obamacare and not Trumpcare. And why does he keep making up these percentage numbers and then expect sane people to believe him?
And furthermore, no one remembers that “Obamacare” was originally a plan set forth by a Republican. I forget who but I think it was a Massachusetts Senator.
I recently subscribed to your substack after viewing your posts on Threads. I value your insghts and reporting. I am also old and notice your lovely comments about your wife - stay the course, as much as you can. You are fighting the good fight and caring deeply about your world and your personal world. Thank you
900 billion for WAR. Nothing for Americans. Bunch of assholes. Why not spend a little money to fix the “waste, fraud, and abuse?” Really, how difficult would that be? Lame excuse MAGA Mike.
Just a reminder that a dictator does not leave willingly or with vote
He is not going to leave this time. Hence the nuclear shelter he’s building for himself. That’s not a ballroom it’s a nuclear shelter with high tech equipment and remember he has the nuclear football and the codes. I have no doubt he’d use it to keep Americans away from the People’s House no matter what. He doesn’t like the least of these let alone this country!
It's not him it's vance and the architects behind him. Watch them call martial law bc of civil unrest if he doesn't step down
It’s not Vance, he’s just there, it’s Miller and the rest of the string pullers behind the curtain, Trump is just their useful idiot.
Oh ya vance and the other nazis. Miller and especially vought
Yes, and its also Peter Thiel and Russell Vought head of OBM and member of the Heritage Foundation and co-author of project25
Yes and they have been preparing Vance for that role. With his mental health and physical health declining rapidly and the stress from Trumpstein I’m not sure if he’ll make it to the midterms but we can’t take that for granted. I think Slimy Mikey Johnson is the real threat. He looks like a nAzI extremist who would gladly bring part two of the HF PJ 25 in place and now they’re trying to complete it before the midterms. Everyone needs to follow the money and follow what djt and his fellow assets are doing behind the curtain!!
It's all of them
Jeff that’s spot on! Yes that is exactly what is going on
Vances backer is Peter Theil
Stephen Miller and Thiel have been running this country in this retribution tour 2-0!! That’s no secret but it’s very important that we acknowledge that they need djt in office to make all of this come to fruition. We cannot afford to wait and see. The evidence is overwhelming against all of them!
Do you have a suggestion on what can we actually do besides waiting? Another No King parade? No one up there give a slightest dumb about our parades! Especially not Stephen Miller!
What's your source on that? The No Kings Days actually DID get media coverage, even on FOX, and they are helping those who are slower to come around see that there are actually many people mad and calling out the Lies and Crimes, and that those people aren't masked kids dressed in black balaclavas, but ordinary folk of all ages, shapes and colors.
Shifting the tide is key. Protests help do that. They also help create organizations that will probably be needed as the right starts panicking.
No it’s him too he just throws them under the bus to protect his best interests!
It's Miller, I'm afraid.
I don't think his health will last.
I think everyone feels that way but with all of the medical best of the best for him who knows. I agree with you though about his physical and mental health he’s more than likely not going to see the midterms but he might and that’s why we cannot take any of this for granted!
I told my mom this yesterday. Well I actually said “why doesn’t he just diiiiieeeeee already!” Then I answered my own question - he’s got the best medical treatments and doctors in the world. While he says Merry Christmas - go f*** yourselves on the ACA subsidies and screw Medicaid too. Psychopath.
They will prop his corpse up like “Weekend at Donnie’s” if they have to. Sometimes even having the best doctors and healthcare can’t save someone. 🙏
They will use AI to make videos about him doing things like conferences or meetings.
Fingers crossed.
It's all about trump getting revenge on Obama, doing away with his fabulous affordable health care system.
I had to go on Obamacare “you can keep your doctors” when I had a fine individual Oxford Heathcare plan that I was willing to pay myself, and I was able to get the “gold” ACA plan and there were plenty of doctors or hospitals I had previously had that were not part of the Network. It’s the best we can do here and there were good parts of it like covering screenings and preventable care that were excellent. What they are doing is unforgivable, cruel, and frankly, Un-American (in the old world we lived in).
Yup. Go on TikTok and search Ballroom Bunker
I didn’t need to do that. Common sense and remembering how he was when President Biden beat him and he was shamed by the world he’s definitely not going to leave this time. He’ll stop at nothing to stay exactly where he is and within his nuclear shelter he will watch with sadistic pleasure as he has the nuclear football and the codes and don’t think for one second he won’t use them because he absolutely will. Anyone with a brain cell and objective reasoning know that is no ballroom.
The nuclear shell or escape dungeon for president and other officials necessary to keep the government running in a disaster was under the East Room Trump destroyed to make the Ballroom. There is no escape place right now as far as I know.
Exactly!
please don't believe everything you read on TikTok
Nope. Of course not. But it’s worth investigating if you’re interested.
No what needs to happen is Americans need to demand transparency and a Congressional Committee Hearing to investigate and see and disclose everything about it. That’s what needs to happen to hold these nimrods accountable.
So far the ones who testified for transparency like Noem and Bove lied through their teeth with nothing so far to show for it that wasn't new.
I just hope there is a way to cut the power to the bunker and lock the door from the outside. If 🍊 and crew go in, lets just keep them in there smelling dirty diapers with nothing but emergency lights. The Bastille Bunker.
The door to the bunker was actually locked after the 9/11 terrorist attack, and the V.P. and other officials couldn't get in. No one available had the key.
Hitler’s bunker. Pistols and cyanide for every last one of them with him.
No, death is too good. They won't feel it. No nerve endings alive.
We have to be able to get rid of them all at once if they are in the same place. I have said many times sudden death is too good for them and they need to suffer like we have, but we can't waste a perfectly good opportunity to be done with them forever... together as a group. Or if you prefer, let Elon pack as many as he can into a Space X rocket to still achieve lift-off, and shoot them all into space with no way back. 🚀 "In space, no one can hear you scream" like the tagline from the movie Aliens. That's suffering. Whatever you choose Fox is okay with me. One way or another, off the planet...together.
As an individual I can not buy insurance. This won't work. We have no clout.
It's nice to see someone else knew what the ballroom was really about.....it's for him and his others that may be facing jail time
Of course Trump knew what Epstein was doing. He approved.
I believe he was a full partner, maybe senior partner. There was $ to be made and girls to be raped and pain to inflict on other human beings. He could never pass that up
Well he’s dying so
How long does he have?
I’m afraid this is our worst nightmare. It’s not far fetched considering the big picture.
Well hopefully something is done before that.
That ball room nuclear shelter isn't going to be fixed before he dies. The "wall" will be done first.
That is a LOT of space for a 'nuke shelter.' Why would it be by the White House anyway? Nothing there would be useful, contaminated by radiation. It would just be a sign, "The president is underfoot." They'd be in Aruba or Switzerland.
The one there before it was demolished for the ballroom was super structured, strong enough to be safe against a nuclear bomb attack and special filters for radiation and other lethal gases.
I respectfully disagree with you--on the basis of how easily Trump's backhoe boys despatched the East Wing. That would have been a dry oak leaf for a nuke! And pray tell who will it be, going 'round to check filters after the initial blast?! Come on!! You are joking and some people reading this may be misled. To say the least.
If you are able to read it, the source was the book by Carol Loennig titled "Zero Failure", a history of and by the US Secret Service.
Thanks for that, I'll see if our library has a copy. I like Loennig's reporting. Maybe I'm just ignorant of nuke safe room design these days.
No. That is a ballroom. Trump cares more about competing with other dictators and their palaces. Gold, Gold. Gold. He announced a "secret" CIA mission to Venezuela on X.
I highly suspect that you may be right.
The construction of the “ballroom” has been stopped by court order.
I’m sorry, I am a democrat. I vote democrat but I totally blame the Democratic Party for the situation. This country is in right now! Donald Trump should be sitting in prison for inciting an insurrection and he should’ve been in prison for the last three years. Instead, he was allowed to run for president again! Even though our constitution says an insurrectionist cannot hold a political position, the Democrats let it happen anyway. And right now I blame the Democrats again for the ACA subsidiaries being canceled, I blame the Democrats who voted to open the government back up and believed the lies. The Republicans told them that they would discuss it before the end of the year when they had no intentions of discussing it. The Democrats need to grow some balls.😡😡😡😡
I think SCOTUS bears a lot of blame for allowing him to run and especially giving him immunity . In other countries insurrection is punished by death
Again who do you think after winter recess happened in DC called every single Senator back to DC to rush ACB through to SCOTUS?!! McConnell is the one who did that to ensure that the SCOTUS6 was at the gqp’s beck and call.
The damage started by McConnell by blocking the candidature of Merrick Garland until the next election
He is a dirty rat
In this country insurrection is awarded😡😡😡👺👺👺👿
And the many guilty pardoned
💯
I don’t blame them for all of it, but they certainly do deserve a share of the blame!
Agreed 👍
I'm a Democrat also and I vote Democrat. I think Biden should have replaced Garland if he wasn't going to put a former Pres. in prison.
Kamala should not have been the ordained candidate- there should have been primaries.
SCOTUS is full of rancid liars, and it starts with Roberts. In fact if you want to blame Democrats, Gore should have demanded a recount in Florida and we probably wouldn't have had to put up with Bush for 8 years.
I would have also preferred that we not open the government. Republicans lie and cannot be trusted. They couldn't run a one car funeral and have no idea how to govern. They only know how to blame someone else.
I would have preferred that corporations feel the heat of people not buying anything from them at the busiest time of the year. Especially, Amazon. I would prefer that people cancel their cable and companies like Xfinity suffer.
You have to understand, that deep down, Democrats have a soul, the Republicans in power do not. These Republicans hate other people in ways I do not understand.
Just think, the Republicans have the House, the Senate and the White House and they still can't pass legislation, except for tax cuts for the wealthiest.
I think it isn't that Republicans 'can't ' pass legislation. I think it is that they WON'T. They don't CARE about whether poor people can't get health care. Or that women need healthcare and child care. Or that NATO continues to help protect Europe from Russia. Or that China is planning more economic drama. Or that Saudi Princes sometimes kill their own. **They are all in on the Project 2025 plan, they are pledged to help it come about, they are bribed, and they were appealed-on through their misogyny, their racism and their fear of immigrants or women somehow 'taking over'. In fact, all of that is bogus; it reads like the Daily Planner of Vought, Bannon, Miller and some Oligarchs. They have been planning and doing things for years, not months. I remember Newt Gingrich talking about similar ideas. They just don't CARE. Melania got it right, remember that jacket she wore to visit 'detained' immigrant children? Geo. Carlin was exactly right. Except there are now more Oligarchs poised to try to win Richest White Guy In The World.
"It's a big Club and we're not in it"
—George Carlin
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 Excellent. Absolutely well stated. I tried to remind a couple of people that while we are feeling angry towards the Democrats, we have to remember that if the Republicans (maga) had a conscience, if they had morals, we wouldn't be in the mess we're in. So yes be angry at them but remember that if the Republicans actually had morals, if they had a soul,we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place, right!?
You can thank McConnell and Garland for that. McConnell f**ked up hence why he’s “retiring” because he knows it’s his fault so he’s going to run away from this hoping to take no responsibility for what he did.
MConnell's retiring because he is Old. No one gets out of here alive. Not even Senators.
😡🤬😡🤬😡🤬
I couldn’t agree with you more! Democrats are to blame that Trump was not charged for inciting the insurrection, for stealing the classified documents from the White House. He should have never been allowed to be nominated! Period!
"allowed" to be nominated. -- that is funny. I don't think being nominated is the problem. I think ELECTING that mess is the problem.
He is guilty of insurrection! According to the Constitution, he has no rights to be near any governmental position. How did Democrats allowed his nomination to happen at first place? They had majority back then, didn’t they?
What did you think Liz Cheney was doing? Democrats don't get to declare Republicans guilty; nor, vice-versa, it has to be VOTED upon. By Congress. How many Republicans would/did vote guilty? We have to talk about the people who are this year's in-charge Democrats and Republicans and stop pretending it is always a zero-sum game between Democrats and Republicans. As long as it is that, we have gridlock; the filibuster; the threats of an unhinged president, all kinds of crazy stuff. Before that, we had a winner but she was somehow defeated by the 'Electoral College.' But maybe it all doesn't matter now. We only have the present to work on the future. We either work our system or we sit back and blame each other.
I agree. Biden did this to us. I still love him but I’m ticked that his ego wouldn’t let up and he didn’t step down.
How preposterous. Biden DID 'step' down. He didn't "do" anything "to" us. He was elected president and he stayed the course.. We didn't show up at the polls in big enough numbers. Many people thought a black woman wasn't "experienced" and should have not run, despite she had *more experience than anyone who *ever ran for the office of President. How come no one is blaming the Republicans right now for gerrymandering every state they can? Republicans are in charge! Why are they blah blah blah. Because no one gives up power easily.
The appointment of Garland & not removing him when MG proved ineffective was the biggest mistake of Biden’s presidency. Since AGMG cared more about the optics of going after an ex-president than DT’s illegal actions the world wouldn't be in this mess.
You could learn to grow some more brain power. Why blame the democrats? Merrick Garland who was a REPUBLICAN Chief of the DOJ failed miserably to prosecute Trump for the Jan. 6 siege of the Capitol when he should have and for the other 34 Felonies he committed. Add that the REPUBLICAN majority in the Supreme court who said yes he could run again even tho a Jan . 6th insurrectionist. And there is no excuse for blaming Democrats ACA benefits being canceled, when they were only ones supporting not cancelling. I think you may be juggling the wrong balls.
I too am very angry at the Democrats. But remember..in that anger.. remember why you're angry at the Democrats. BECAUSE the R party has been hijacked by maga..and the true evil I trump and maga. Don't lose sight of that when the ones who deserve our full wrath are in fact trump and the MAGAts.
Amen.
He tried that last time! Let’s GET him and imprison him this time! TREASON TREASON AND ImPRISONMENT! NOw! Republicans are turning on him in flocks!
Execution would be too good for him ...he needs to be in a prison cell with the rest of his cronies
There must be vacancies in El Salvador
He won’t last ONE DAY
The fact that repubs are turning is very important. This gives hope of impeachment. If that happens we need a forensic hand recount of the 2024 election that they stole in order to get in the rightful president.
I have always been confident in believing that the 2016 election was stolen. We know she won the popular vote.. what does that say about the people who go to the statehouse and vote how they want instead of voting for their constituency.
Slimy Mikey Johnson will never let that happen
This is why we desperately need impeachment and removal.
Even if we impeach Trump, which is highly unlikely, we would still be stuck with all the idiot cabinet members and Vance, and Miller and Vought.
It would be better to go after his Cabinet members who are in danger already.
Noem, Hegseth, even RFK Jr.
If we go after the cabinet, he will just replace with just as bad or worse. If we impeach both Trump and Vance we also need to demand a forensic hand recount of the 2024 election that they stole so we can get in Kamala - the rightful president.
I'm thinking, 'But What About Congress??!' Why should THEY get to sit this one out? We are paying them! We need to pressure our Representatives and Senators in no uncertain terms. Take the wheel, get this buggy back on track (to mix a few metaphors), confront the Supremes, DO YOUR DUTY. We'll back you but you MUST act decisively and within the LAW.
Impeach the lot. Heck, hold new elections, whatever. But this must NOT be allowed to pick up speed on the way downhill. Harrumph. There. I said it. It's what our set-up is supposed to do.
Or am I losing touch? ACK ACK ACK!!!!
You are 100% thinking like an intelligent and responsible adult ... and good person.
I live in Texas where the two clowns I have in senate and the governor would murder their own children for Trump. My congressman here in Austin is very cool but they are gerrymandering him out after over 30 years being wonderful!
We need to throw the whole republican lot out on their asses right now! It's a coup and our representatives have their eyes wide shut.
IMPEACH AND THROW THEM OUT!
Right now we won't even get fair elections. The republicans need to wake up to the fact that we have a coup by a dictator and his cronies so there won't be a congress or senate if this keeps up and they will have no power of any kind left if they don't stand up to the Nazi's now running things.
Kamala???
Kamala Harris probably actually won the 2024 election according to groups that have analyzed the data.
Ankle weights and the ocean floor sounds about right to me
THIS 100%. No dictator or Fascist regime has ever left except by brute force. Meaning, violence. I don’t want it - dear God, who would, but study up on Fascist regimes. I’m sure we all know this. I also think Mother Nature might take him out sooner than later, but how do we get Miller, Vought, etc out? The best we can hope for is when the Dictator dies, MAGA fractures deeply. But does anyone see them ever voting for anything other than insane, MAGA ideas?
Also, I’m old…I know what a mood ring was. We all had them. What’s a mood board? Like a vision board?
I’m old enough to remember and wear mood rings too. Must be a board of personal and professional goals. I follow a lot of people that I love, and want to be at the top too, but Aaron is smart. 8 minute videos twice a day (or more if urgent) plus paragraphs of the top stories. So many videos from so many people I can’t get to, but I do watch and listen to Aaron’s for his added commentary.
Someone could interfere with his healthcare cutting edge dementia medication! Really? Drumpf?
My kind of person. 😉
There are ways!
We just haven't tried them yet!
I agree…..
I knew from the first glint of gold way back and his “Cafe Rose Garden” he was never leaving. Lame ducks don’t decorate and plan on changes and demolitions to “our house) without getting approvals. And thanks to him, if we never knew where it was before (like me) we don’t even need Google Maps to find the bunker. He will need Hegseth 😱for the codes. Like Taya below you said, the “architects” Putin, Vance, Miller, witkoff, Vought, Elon, Thiel, are running the show. Very scary times we are in.
💯
Again thx for another laugh!!!!
LOL DON!! Thx for the laughter that lightened me up!😄
Oh hell. Will be suicide for them all come midterms.
Hospitals will go under because people won't pay their bills
It's not so much "won't pay their bills" it more like "can't pay their bills".
That is the truth..Buying groceries will be hard enough and having to choose paying rent/mortgage with paying utilities..This is going to make many feel like they are in a 3rd world country...UNFORGIVABLE WHAT THIS CRIMINAL CLOWN SHOW IS DOING TO PEOPLE
There's going to be a huge spike in medical related bankruptcies.
Absolutely. That is AMERICA FIRST AND MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN
And UNFORGIVABLE what this Congress is doing about the criminal clown show: N O T H I N G. Occasional speechifying, endless fund-raising, wretched self-promotion, stunning constituents with cascades of pointless "newsletters" and "reports from your congressperson"... but NO ONE IS giving Republicans hell, NO ONE is organizing an effective prod to "leadership" to hold Congress's noses to the grindstone about any of it. Meanwhile people are going to have NO healthcare in addition to impossible basic costs of living. I am amazed that Congress expresses NO outrage, NO ideas, mounts no lawsuits and not a PEEP about the Impeachment that needs to be done to get the President out of office. He is nothing but a thief. He can't even do a renovation of the White House, and he is supposedly a "builder." I'm so mad at all of them that I could spit.
Both Haley Stevens and Shri Thalidar from my State of Michigan, have tried to introduce Letters of Impeachment in the House. Johnson refuses to let their bills come before the House, or even make it out of Committee. I thoroughly empathize with you, but wish you would not paint wit
h such a broad stroke using such a massive paint brush, when you say everyone!
By the way, I just received my award letter from MDHHS. My snap benefits for January have been reduced to a total of just $24 for the entire month. Another result of the Big Beautiful Ugly Bill!
What do they expect you to eat on $24/mo? Air? Every congressperson should have to live on SNAP and Medicaid for 6 mos as part of their job. Maybe that would humble them
I would exclude your Reps if I had known. There are probably others. But I still maintain the majority of Congress is ducking. Many --yes, not all -- have refused to call out Trump's absurd demands and his enablers' cruelties to ordinary people. It is clear they are afraid. Where is our leadership? People didn't want to deal with this. But the welfare of the nation has been at risk since 2016. If the Insurrection didn't tip our representatives and senators off, I don't know what else to say. I am appalled that your benefits were reduced. I am outraged that the DHS 'director' Noem, is cavalier with her spending but somehow there isn't enough SNAP money for people who have been taxpayers for years. I am angry and I am blaming our Congress for resisting seeing what has been happening. America is being fleeced by people who think they don't need its protection for their families and themselves.
Already several clinics in Maine are closing.
This is scary to think about. Maine doesn't have many clinics. We are a medical desert already-- thanks to selfish insurance companies' endless stalling-by-lawsuit against hospitals, hoping to bankrupt each othe. Yet they are happy, inexplicably, to pay for lawyers but not for healthcare.
Small rural hospitals will be a thing of the past, and that’s happening currently, as well.
Jobs list, people dying, and the rebound are like oh well
The correct word is CANNOT PAY THEIR BILLS.
Already 643,000 bankruptcies occur every year due to medical costs. Among the modern nations we are the most backward
That is because of the Right's brainwashing of the people to vote against their own self interest! We must also prioritize reintroducing fair and balanced Reporting, plus using Anti-trust laws to breakup the right-wing media landscape. I shouldn't even use the word landscape in terms of Today's media ownership. I should refer to it as a container garden at best! Especially in light of Ellerson's pending purchase of Warner Bros, and CNN.
Indeed. People have been brainwashed by the Right wing, that Universal Healthcare is the UGLY WORD…..SOCIALISM
Yet the farmers will take trumps $12 b bailout… isn’t that socialism??
Haha___tell them that
Cottect
As horrible as this is, and it will get worse, we are paving the way for universal healthcare. It would be great if dems would start working on it now so they could put it in place January 2029.
The idea of Universal Healthcare is spreading, i think and hope
Let’s all work to get there
My Rep.Debbie Dingell with Rep.Jayapal from Washington State have it already written, and ready to introduce. She mentioned it in her Newsletter during the shutdown.
Trump actually sounded like he was paving the way for universal health care . . . until the end of his spiel.
Hospitals will make you pay in advance.
A family member recently needed a needle biopsy to check for breast cancer. The procedure cost $9000. Even with her insurance, she was required to pay $3300 up front. How many people will have that kind of money? How many people will be forced to forgo essential procedures because they are too expensive?
I turned 41 and my PCP said I'd need one at some point. my maternal side’s aunt had breast cancer. I was very close to a cervical cancer diagnosis myself. I'll need a mammogram. I've not been out much because I can't get Covid boosters or flu shots, and ICE 😒 in Chicago since summer and still here until Noem fucks off 🙏 (and I hope she takes some with her if not all after they've been told they shouldn't be doing what they're doing)
Just gotta hope I'll be ok and keep checking myself 🤷♀️
I feel for you and wish you luck
Mammograms are important after age 40
And these are the lizards who patronize Trump with their lobbyist access. And give GOP candidates money to win their races.
Then you go home and die
Heck, it costs over $10k just to get buried once you've up and died!
That’s why we need a fair and affordable Healthcare system
More
The Republicans reversed Biden era protections to keep medical bills off our credit reports. Frankly, credit reports are a scam anyway. They benefit the rich and charge poor people higher interests because that makes sense for broke people.
Not that they “wonʼt” THEY CANʼT! Everything is too high & wages donʼt cover health ins plans!! Not many people understand economics in the first place!
Millionaires & Billionairs get the money we need. They are the greedy ones who refuse to give benefits to their employees & then they donʼt pay enough to have employees buy their own Insurance plans on the market!
Millionaires & billionaires make all there riches & profit off of their workers & everyone else!
No we donʼt want anyone to give billions to billionaires, we want Universal Health Care like every other Developed Country in the world!
Republicans want us to be poor & stupid!
Obama Care was the only good Insurance That any party has come up with! But Red States who are the poorest would not buy into it!
Republicans never came up with a plan.
Insurance Corporations need regulation!
Big Pharm needs to be regulated because these selfish people should not be gouging insurance companies & Consumers!
This is all messed up mostly by Republicans!
Wake up everyone, DTJ & Republicans only care about profit & not what the whole country needs to survive! Get mad & vote for people who donʼt take donations from greedy corporations! Do your homework since you havenʼt & now here we are! Ugh
So what is their plan for the US people dying without healthcare, food or jobs? Are the billionaires taking all the land and materials for themselves?
Hospitals can't turn people away. If you remember, before the ACA people would go to the hospital when they had colds to avoid having to pay for a doctor visit. We're not only talking about people not paying for serious things but a massive wave of more hospital visits for things that should never be addressed in a hospital to begin with.
“Can't” pay.
This is a very valid concern across the whole spectrum of healthcare providers. All will suffer. This is by design to serve the .5% who "have theirs". So sorry for the 99.5% who made their extortionate wealth possible.
First of all, fuck the Republicans. If the house Republicans are defecting, than pass a bill to extend the ACA subsidies. 2nd of all, why don’t house and Senate members give up their healthcare. Fucking P9S.
And of course Trump is in the Epstein files. He is all over those damn things. He was selling personalized condoms at his house. Are these people ok or all inbreds ??
Agree with all you say!!!
Well, for sure, NOT "ok"... that leaves "willfully stupid!" Now then: Sal, promise me you will resist profanity and shaming people for something they didn't choose to be born with. We all have enough to deal with, with these supposedly upstanding politicians we hauled off and voted into office!
I have profanity because of one man, Donald Trump. I never demean people, I have empathy, but I do not sit there and take crap from people when I don’t give them crap. As far as Republicans, I didn’t vote them into office.
I think the cruelty of removing the Obamacare subsidies will motivate some people to commit suicide, rather than spend down their money for treatment, especially if they have a fatal diagnosis.
So it's not just political suicide by the cruel GOP we are talking about. I think there will also be suicides of despair and suicides based on saving money for the person's family to inherit.
Hideously Cruel AND GOP Business as Usual.
Oh, that so sadly is going to be part of it and the psychopaths will probably actually enjoy that.
Life insurance won’t pay out for suicide.
If they’re terminal, nothing is stopping them from finding another CEO on their way out. 💅
Trump all of a sudden is calm and not calling anyone stupid when it’s about Epstein. Then totally lashing out when it’s about healthcare. He’s cooked.
Au contraire. Seems to me, his history is, he goes 'quiet' before he really starts pulling out all the stops... Remember, he managed to bankrupt himself not once, but, what, 6? times-- one of which was his own casino. Most recently, he went 'quiet' and then announced he was building a ballroom (no one dances anymore, Trump, hate to tell ya), and suddenly the East Wing of the White House is missing. Do we see a pattern here? He goes big, he goes quiet, and then he goes destructive.
And I do fault the reporter who set him up by referring to it as "Obamacare" rather than the "ACA."
From your fingers typing to God's ears!
This is so self-destructive for Republicans that it's jaw-dropping. The one thing they forget while they're catering to their lobbyists and cultivating their personal stock gardens . . . the one thing they forget is that EVERYONE has a vote. And it WILL come back to haunt them. They will crash the economy and crash the elections.
🤷♀️
Mike Johnson is scum. The evil that spews out if his mouth is unconscionable.
Just another member of a fantastic, civic-minded bunch.
🙄
One that has his son monitor his porn intake
Great sarcasm
I agree. He has even abandoned all his sanctimonious religious stuff lately. He is curiously unconcerned about people's ability to pay for needed medical treatment and what that will mean to them and their families. He veers off into some fantasy spin about whose fault it is. All the while he has everything he needs to become everyone's hero, short-circuit Trump and his Project 2025 pals, and join with Democrats to take the whole S*** Show away from Trump. But, alas, the sound of crickets prevails.
Of freakin' course Trump knew of Epstein's crimes. Looks like he was a full and enthusiastic participant from all available information and implications.
My health insurance went up 160 a month. Idk how im going to afford that
Mine went up too, but I don't go to regular doctors so the government has paid big loads of money for me to have "disaster" insurance that I probably will never use even once, but I'm ok with that because others need it.
That's why we need Medicare for everyone rather than paying all this to insurance companies. If the republicans want to cut out insurance companies, there's a pretty easy thing already set up to do just that. Increase taxes for the mega wealthy and it would be paid off in an instant.
👏🏼👏🏼 you're absolutely right! 🎯
Amen.
That's so beyond horrendous. I am so sorry. Sincerely. I don't know what they expect folks to do. It feels like they actually hate us...from the top down. They are hurting their own as well...they just don't care.
You are right. This is about the oligarchs. I thought I heard Trump mention "three trillion dollars" he says (drooling over) is the money "democrats want to give to the insurance industry." I immediately began to wonder, 'so, WHO will get that money if the Republicans hold fast to their position?' It is rather a meaningful amount. I bet we can name a few oligarchs who already think THEY will get a big chunk of that $3 trillion. How about we play ball? Offer the 'garchs $1.5 billion. The rest goes to all the people currently on Obamacare to set up REALISTIC 'health care cash' accounts. That might make them whole, no? I mean, we are talking about, what 10 million about to lose all their health care?Nine zeroes? Help me if I'm nuts in figuring this; I have dyscalculia.). Or, maybe, fund a new improved ACA?
Wait. Not 10million losing their healthcare, it's more like 50 million Americans or more? I remember thinking, that's roughly one Million people per state.
I’m so sorry. Mine too. Up $400.
🙄😲🥺
Our monthly premium went up 24%. Not ACA, retiree insurance via Aetna. Up about $300, past few years they increase about $100 per month. High deductible plan. It’s ridiculous. It’s pretty much just catastrophic insurance not affordable healthcare. Obviously universal health insurance would be the way to go. Maximum spread of risk and maximum bargaining power.
We are in a time when insurance companies are the truly evil. I feel almost the exact same thing when I look at insurance companies and trump/maga.. they are the truly evil.
Call your Representatives, daily, weekly, never stop. I'm sorry this is happening to you and many millions more. It's inhumane. Truly.
We should ALL do this, hector and avalanche our Reps and Sens about healthcare for our fellow Americans. Show that we will not tolerate this level of incompetence and malfeasance and we WILL vote every last one out if they just murmur and wait for a recess. We could do a massive postcard cascade, something tangible. Plus gum up the switchboards (I'm showing my age here) with phone calls... make news, march and demand attention to our fellow Americans who are being grievously hurt in real time by this malfeasance of Republican selfishness. And let's call it "Anne's Method." or similar.
I agree. I thank The Goddess for Medicare. The whole country should have it. Congress could make that happen and begin to redeem itself.
I am so sorry --that must be so stressful. Why can't Congress declare a fix?
It's insane
People should really understand just what they're doing..theirealth care plan won't pay for visits to ers or can't even buy healcare without theObama without the Obama plans subsidies.
Obama isn't perfectt they should reform it not throw it out. Insured beware
Also, I am pretty sure that unless they change HSA rules you cannot pay premiums with those funds unless they are COBRA premiums. So yes it could go to deductible costs but not if you can’t pay the premiums. I so agree with you- fix Obamacare- improve it don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.
The ACA ended up like it did due to GOP stonewalling.
yes.
They don’t want government healthcare of any kind. It’s that simple and obvious to most.
Trump violently raped a 13 year old. The family sued but then was threatened into hiding. He more than just knew about the crimes.
He has many things to keep hidden. He is a monster.
Fortunately I had a feeling early on last year this was going to happen and will be ok, heartbreaking for so many others who are not. They are just cold hearted people who have no solutions and are willing to let people suffer.
They actually LIKE when people suffer. The country is being run by a psychopath and a large group of people with an array of disorders that make it so that they enjoy the pain of others.
Suffering people is their only true joy
horrifically - that's the truth
A number of them just do not have any empathy. This is something we are, it is thought, taught, or a quality perhaps that does or does not get developed. In an event, this is why Trump could stand looking at the camera and drone on oblivious, while someone behind him fainted and was being revived by others in the room.
Sociopaths and narcissists are capable of having empathy where the environment can make a difference but Trump is a psychopath where literally the empathy center of his brain is non-existent or damaged and he is incapable of compassion, empathy or guilt. Psychopaths' empathy centers in their brains do not light up in functional MRIs. They can be shown things that would make any normal have a reaction, and they simply don't. It's a form of brain damage.
There is a word for it: "sociopath". meaning having no empathy. None. zero. Never developed it, was never taught it.
Sociopaths are capable of empathy where environment and training has an effect but Trump is a psychopath where he has a form of brain damage that makes empathy impossible. He threw rocks at babies when he was just a toddler. He shows absolutely ZERO empathy or compassion or guilt about any atrocity - he is clearly a psychopath. It doesn't sound as bad, but it's much worse.
I remember trump from the 80s and 90s and I'm confident that not only did trump KNOW ABOUT Epstein, I'm sure he was a card carrying member of the pedo club.
I recall from my NYC days he has a long, long history of odious at minimum and grossly illegal at medium and freaking sicko I-don't-know-what-to-call-it-even "behavior" that should have landed him in jail and strict supervision for life. He LEERED at people. He blurted out his bizarre ideas. The Ick Factor has been oozing from him forever. Of COURSE he'd be sniffing around Epstein from the get-go. But the Orange Menace does not have friendships.
I appreciate you continuing to bring us news when you don’t feel well.
A thousand dollars would not cover the Tylenol given at the hospital. I just had open heart surgery and the bills came in at more than half a million dollars. Plus tests and doctor visits outside the hospital. A thousand dollars is insulting.
Yes, I just got a letter from Covered California, the ACA I get my health insurance thru, saying my monthly premium will go from $42 month to $1229 a month. I don't even make $1200 in 1 paycheck. I guess no Healthcare for me next year.
I'm so sorry Seadino!
That is absolutely horrible!!!!!
I am so sorry this is happening to you.
Heartbreaking 💔
This is IF the ACA credits aren't renewed, isn't it? They are planning on it.
No, their not. No plan, no help, no nothing!
That’s no insurance then. Horrible and so wrong.
Which is why we must take action. Make noise. Throw a fit. get a hospital bed and stage a sick-in. Gum up the email system, the phones, hog the TV 'news' both real and faux. We cannot abandon each other to just being depressed and sitting back. We will feel better if we take action, yell bloody murder, cause an uncomfortable scene in the hallways, threaten to vote for zero men, whatever drastic scenarios we can devise. We can do it. We've had enough, We are mad as Hell, and we are NOT going to take it anymore!!! (Yes, That Movie...)
Call your Reps and Sens, governor too, state and federal. Make noise about it. You are paying them to represent YOU. We all are. We MUST not just take this sitting down. We need to embarrass them, inconvenience them, march like we did for NO KINGS, avalanche of post cards and call cascades and get on the news all the time.
🤬😭💜
Health COSTS are way too high, not mentioning the pisspoor health insurance coverage and costs.
Thank gawd I'm on Medicare...
No one believed Republicans would vote to extend the ACA subsidies. I doubt Democrats who voted with Republicans to open the government on the Republican promise there would be a vote before the end of the year. Lucille and the football. We all knew.
Johnson, Trump's puppet, is the one standing in the way.
If the subsidy expansion could get to the floor, there are likely just enough republicans willing to vote for it and I doubt that if it passed the House that too many GOPers in the Senate would be willing to vote "no" if they are up for reelection.
So, how does one get around Johnson?
It would have to be a few who are already on Trump's shit list, like Greene and a couple of others who are retiring, perhaps because they voted against him on something, threatening to switch to Independent and caucus with the Dems to give Jefferies the majority if Johnson does not let it to the floor for a vote, and then this vote would happen.
Johnson and Trump would not want to lose the House majority.
This threat would work.
MTG is enjoying the attention and limelight right now, she should spearhead this effort.
Any GOPer who joined up with Dems would have nothing to lose since their votes would be needed to get to a majority, so even if they are not ideologically Dems, they would lose nothing. They would be essentially the "Manchin and Sinema" of the House and have power over what passes, but anything is better than the GOP in charge, that is for sure, and they are not exactly thrilled with Trump, so that helps.
This needs to happen ASAP and it would work.
Aaron Parnas needs to call on MTG and some who are retiring and already being attacked by Trump to do this - now.
Enough people in congress are listening to what Mr Parnas says and it would not be missed.
I think it only needs to be brought to their attention as an option for leverage (threatening to switch sides) and they might do it.
They are already being threatened by some in the MAGA base so they have nothing to lose.
It certainly can't hurt to try it. What have we got to lose? We are already losing healthcare as it is.
I vote yes. I'm in. I'm ready to complain hard to Collins. ( this is saying a lot, she is glacial in her movements and nearly asleep in her decision speed.). But she can be embarrassed and flattered because... she wants yet another term to take Maine down!!!
Oh, I thought Republicans already shot it down on Thursday 🤷♀️
A few House republicans are willing to sign onto a discharge petition to try to get the extension of the subsidies to the floor, but I do not know if there will be enough votes. One is Fitzpatrick from PA who already got himself on Trump's shit list, (He voted against Trump's BBB and has criticized Trump,) However, it might be more effective and faster to threaten to flip to Independent in order to force it to the floor, not sure.
$2,000 is NOTHING in healthcare world. It's not going to make a damn bit of difference. These privileged idiots have no idea what anything costs.
Over 18,000 for a baby without insurance and my wife’s chemo was 178,000 per dose and sadly did not work. We all know that billing prices are only so they can wind up with actual cost from insurance but so wrong
I am so sorry. I lost my mom to a bone tumor. Such things are terrible without the pressure of astronomical medical bills. I work on the revenue and systems side of healthcare, so I see those account balances every single day. It's awful.
It wouldn't have been half as horrid if having insurance meant just... paying the premium every month, and that meant no medical expenses of any kind, ever. But no... We have in and out of network... We have copays... We have brand name vs. generic.... We have urgent care vs. emergency room... We have insurance companies that purposely come up with shorter timely filing periods and greater filing requirements. It just never stops.
If Trump really wanted to do something, he would have disbanded the insurance lobby in DC and promoted laws that favored the patients - not the insurance CEOs. Of course.... healthcare CEOs are not much better. I recently looked up - our CEO's compensation is 391 times more than average pay at our hospital system. Are they seriously telling me that our CEO works 391 times harder than anyone else? Our medical staff, our sanitation, our maintenance, our IT, our rev cycle who have to wage war with the insurance companies? Seriously? That kind of crap should be illegal.
They have a “concept” 🤬🤬🤬
A notebook full of them!
A concept for the last 20 years
A concept of a thought of a premise of an idea...
in 2 weeks.....
After the third Thursday in two months.
🤣🤣🤣
NOPE
Republicans in Congress have to go. They have never cared about anyone, there are maybe two that do care. Let’s show them how much we care in 2026. Maybe their lifetime insurance plan needs to go.
Now let’s figure out how much Trump and his clan are raking in. His heath plan sucks.
Thank you Aaron.
Their lifetime insurance needs to go 💯 along with them!
You bet it does. We the taxpayers are paying for their life time insurance and it needs to go, I’m sorry but I don’t think republicans have done enough work this year for the American public to warrant their pay. They’re taking away insurance from the most vulnerable- these aren’t just people sitting at home doing nothing, like some think, they are hard working Americans with jobs sometimes two, the jobs don’t pay enough for insurance it barely pays enough for Food and a roof over their heads and now with utilities going up. The $1000 is just a slap in the face it won’t pay for anything. They should vote for the continuation of Obama Care, trump didn’ like it his first term. It’s time Congress or the Republicans grew some and voted for Americans to continue with the health care they have. I don’t think it’s about the cost of what the government pays I think it’s how much more this regime can embezzle.
U may as well go uninsured unless U are already dealing with a severe illness! If or when u need critical care that will be paid by States /welfare! MEDS pricing is the issue for most so if U are NOT paying an inflated $ amount for insurance, U will have $ for MEDICINES or welfare/medicare!
If I were a journalist I swear I would not be able to quit when he started in on me for asking a question. He’s such a POS that thinks that insulting people makes him look big and bad. No it makes him look like the IDIOT HE IS
Like they planned to save Obamacare in the first place.
The reason Trump lashed out is because it’s known as Obamacare and not Trumpcare. And why does he keep making up these percentage numbers and then expect sane people to believe him?
And furthermore, no one remembers that “Obamacare” was originally a plan set forth by a Republican. I forget who but I think it was a Massachusetts Senator.
Mitt Romney: former Massachusetts governor, Utah senator
It was policy in MA before it was adapted at the federal level.
Romney
Thanks. I knew someone would know 😉
Yes it was
That's right, he hears "obama" as part of the word and blows a gasket.
I said the same thing above. Apparently it was noticed.
Brutal.
Thanks Aaron! Looking forward to your mood board……hope you are getting some rest! Have a nice weekend everyone!
I recently subscribed to your substack after viewing your posts on Threads. I value your insghts and reporting. I am also old and notice your lovely comments about your wife - stay the course, as much as you can. You are fighting the good fight and caring deeply about your world and your personal world. Thank you
900 billion for WAR. Nothing for Americans. Bunch of assholes. Why not spend a little money to fix the “waste, fraud, and abuse?” Really, how difficult would that be? Lame excuse MAGA Mike.
They ARE the waste, fraud, and abuse!
The GOP is the one who is making the people of America die by suicide.