Let's add one more to the list: this completely alarming provision hidden inside the big horrible bill, which completely neuters the judicial branch:
“No court of the United States may use appropriated funds to enforce a contempt citation for failure to comply with an injunction or temporary restraining order if no security was given when the injunction or order was issued….” Translated: No federal court may enforce a contempt citation.
I posted this morning's comment about 5 minutes before the announcement that this bill has now passed the House and will move on to the Senate. We need to "MOVE ON" too, to resist it's passage into law.
Our voices matter. Another horrible provision no longer appears. Revocation of Tax-Exempt Status. That one would have let Bessent say non-profits are aiding terrorism & revoke their nonprofit status.
— "Dropping the provision granting unprecedented authority to the executive branch to revoke nonprofit status from organizations without due process represents a significant step forward in the current draft of the House bill," Shannon McCracken, president and CEO at The Nonprofit Alliance," told NonProfit PRO via email.
"However, many troubling provisions remain in the legislation, including various tax policy changes that will discourage charitable giving by both individuals and corporations. Collectively, these tax policy modifications will impose nearly $50 billion in new and increased taxes on the charitable and philanthropic sector to fund other tax cuts."
It is sad that in addition to the outrages mentioned in today's discussion, others have now been heaped on, as the comments here show. I no longer feel outrage as they pile on but determination to keep pushing against the destruction.
Steven...Excellent piece! Next item of interest (aka...tRump disgust List!!!)...latest on Cabinet "Insider trading!" Cripes!!! is the thievery ever going to end??? With no one to stop it! America et al is actually guilt of "Aiding and Abetting" a recognized Crime Family. Hopefully someone is watching to be sure we don't see any of the aforementioned Family members loading White House Furniture, etc. on to a new airplane with TAF markings! (TAF---tRump Air Force)
There’s been talk for some time that the Big Bad Budget bill would cut Medicare. Like Medicaid, the GOP said it wasn’t true.
All that is true is that the word ‘cut’ is not in the bill. There are many administrative ways to make cuts. There is not much waste, etc in Medicaid. People on Medicaid already fall into the ‘buckets’ of eligibility in the bill. The ‘cuts’ come from making it more difficult to prove eligibility.
The issue with Medicare is sneakier than that. Buried in the layers of laws is “Pay as You Go.” It ties Medicare funding to the deficit. In the past Congress has passed legislation to negate the cuts. There is no such mechanism in this bill.
The cuts would be automatically triggered by the deficit, reducing Medicare by $530 Billion according to the non-partisan (official) estimate by the Congress Budget Office (CBO).
Medicaid AND Medicare! it's the pay as you go plan. This is the Project 2025 playbook in full swing. The chaos we've endured thus far has produced large-scale trauma on every level in this country. Christian nationalist, P2025 architect, Russell Vought: "We want to put them in Trauma".
Disabled people who worked a sufficient number of quarters can receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefit payments. The process is long. Most have a waiting period of 5 months after being approved to receive benefit checks. Then you must survive for 2 years after the date benefit payments began, to be eligible for Medicare.
Medicare is hugely important for people with disabilities. Either because they have dual coverage (Medicaid & Medicare) or in some states allowable income for Medicaid is so low a person can be disqualified from Medicaid for too much income from SSDI.
This regime is constantly on the move with their illegal, unconstitutional acts. I do blame Trump, but do not think he's fast enough on his feet or mind to come up with and execute this horror. Stephen Miller is the culprit, Trump is the tool and the gop are the enablers.
An actual press conference revealing the depths of the regime's corruption, with a raft of Senators and Congresspeople. Worth watching. Maybe the press will follow up with some robust reporting.
I agree. So use the issues that bother Kentucky voters . Rand Paul is a maverick but has sided with democrats on some recent issues because I think he sees the writing on the wall for MAGA and Trump so is trying to create some breathing room before the primaries. I would try to find out how he voted on every key issue that is important in your state and emphasize any he went against the majority of voters. I live in Kiley's very red district but at the Sander's rally 30,000 people showed up and came from even the Bay area 100 miles away. He will be hard to beat but the numbers are starting to change. At the next rally about 10 days later at the Kiley office in Rocklin, only 8 Republicans showed up to support and about 100 to oppose him. That could be the beginning of the end but emphasizing the change will make him more uncertain of his future. That is the wedge to pry him loose from Trump's hypnosis. The goal is to increase his uncertainty because Trump has a long record of business failure and was very disliked in New York. We need to emphasis MAGA weakness (less than 33% of Republicans?) not democratic weaknesses but I'm sure you realize that and are doing your best. Let's all keep doing what it takes to win in our area.
Thank you for your reply but I respectfully disagree. I remember when they used to say #47 doubles down, he never retreats. His backing slowly off the tariffs (never completely of course) shows that the old saying it is only impossible until it happens like flying and man on the moon. But if everyone started talking about the GIANT BLUE WAVE and the number of vulnerable members in Congress instead of reminding and increasing the stress on the poor and people about to loose their healthcare. A P{olitiocan who doesn't get reelected becomes an unemployed, target of derision. The poor are stressed out already with hunger and homelessness anxiety they don't need constant reminding.
The Congressional members feel secure until Trump threatens them with primarying them. Maybe the Democrats and lovers of democracy need to put the stress on Congress that if Trump is still in office in 2026 THEY WILL BE PRIMARIED BY VERY ANGRY DEMOCRATIC, REPUBLICAN AND INDEPENDENT VOTERS in a BLUE WAVE so tall they will not be able to escape being drowned out of office. Keep the pressure on the voters who thought they were going to see prices fall, their low paying jobs come back, who expected tax breaks that would be for the Middle Class not the wealthiest 1% but are getting the opposite, not feeling safe when they go out in public that they will be accused of being undesirable even if they are citizens and shipped to a prison in Sudan, just to name a few issues. WE should be reminding the MAGA (Make America Gullible Again) duped repeatedly by the Master Leader of Lies. Stress TO HIS BASE THAT THEY ARE BEING DUPED, NOT TO THE DEMOCRATIC BASE THAT THEY ARE BEING ROBBED IN BROAD DAYLIGHT (which only makes the Democratic base see us as weak and unable to change the inevitable. WE CAN AND WILL if we use the right tactics. Hope we can remain friends even though we seem to disagree on the tactics. The Democrats tactics have not been working so WE MUST BECOME THE NEW GENERALS WITH A NEW WINNING STRATEGY.
I agree all this can help Dems win in 2026. Seems only a massive GOP loss in 2026 will convince some Republicans that they made a mistake staying in lockstep with their god-king, making impeachment and actual removal a possibility.
Why aren't you pressuring the House and Senate to Impeach for the 4th time (breaking his own record) and CONVICT for once (breaking his own record) and REMOVE (ending his record. Repeating and again condemning a few of his blatant high crimes isn't getting him removed, only a Successful Impeachment (peacefully), a Violent Protest (not wanted) or a military coup (also not wanted) can bring this nightmare to a quick end which is wanted and necessary to restore the full faith and credit in the goodness of the United States as a world leader in freedom., fairness and democracy. Don't waste your verbal slings and and arrows of outrageous righteousness on the wrong targets; the right targets are the eunuchs and traitors in Congress who would rather serve their bank accounts than the people they were elected to serve. Impeach a few for their roles in the Jan 5 insurrection and the rest will fall like the dominoes they are.
DJT was impeached 2x. Both times there was a Democratic majority in the House and Senate. Impeachment needs a simple majority. Conviction in the Senate requires a 2/3 majority. Currently the Dems do not hold the House or Senate.
The current crop of legislators in charge are busy trying to please the dear leader — not wanting to get rid of him. They vote the party line. That’s how we got the Cabinet we have. In addition, the Vice President would become President. Impeach him? Speaker Johnson becomes President. Next in line is the leader of the Senate.
I think the ‘right target’ is achievable goals that people care about & that encourages them to engage. Not trying to push a boulder uphill. That discourages participation and encourages hopelessness. Public pushback has achieved some wins. We need folks to be emboldened by that to achieve more & make sure they can vote in the mid-terms. To do all that we need them to have reliable information.
Unfortunately Impeachment DOES NOT REQUIRE A SIMPLE MAJORITY it requires 2/3s or 67 votes. The third attempt got 4 Republicans (it required 14) so he was not convicted. WE need to convince 10 more that their political future will be swept away in 2026 if Trump is not removed before then. Steven is right, at the moment this looks impossible but the tide is turning and we need to give it a meaningful push. I have already called Kevin Kiley who represents the very red district I live in and told them that I will be working to primary him in the next election of Trump is not removed before 2026. If I were younger (84) I would run against him. Have you called yours? and asked everyone who believes that someday they could be in a concentration camp in Sudan to call their Congressional Representative and Senators in every state.
Impeachment means the individual is charged. Only the House can impeach. That requires a simple majority.
Then it goes to the Senate. Only the Senate can convict. Conviction requires a 2/3 majority. Obviously he was not convicted either time. Although the 2nd time the Senate came closer with a majority but not 2/3s voting to convict.
In KY my Congressman is the only KY Congressman who is a Dem. KY’s Senators are McConnell and Rand Paul. McConnell does at least responses these days - usually on topic. RP does whatever he wants.
I would be hard pressed to find a many white people in this state who believe they are at risk of being sent to a concentration camp outside the country. They are more worried about tariffs / prices, cancellation of DOJ oversight of police, healthcare & whether FEMA is coming to help — and especially for women, whether they will be able to vote. Younger women are more determined not to change their names when they marry. Partly because the federal SAVE Act could pass the Senate. Partly because states can pass their own version for state & local elections.
Let's add one more to the list: this completely alarming provision hidden inside the big horrible bill, which completely neuters the judicial branch:
“No court of the United States may use appropriated funds to enforce a contempt citation for failure to comply with an injunction or temporary restraining order if no security was given when the injunction or order was issued….” Translated: No federal court may enforce a contempt citation.
See Robert Reich's column today:
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/the-hidden-provision-in-the-big-ugly?
I posted this morning's comment about 5 minutes before the announcement that this bill has now passed the House and will move on to the Senate. We need to "MOVE ON" too, to resist it's passage into law.
Yes! Super Important!
Our voices matter. Another horrible provision no longer appears. Revocation of Tax-Exempt Status. That one would have let Bessent say non-profits are aiding terrorism & revoke their nonprofit status.
— "Dropping the provision granting unprecedented authority to the executive branch to revoke nonprofit status from organizations without due process represents a significant step forward in the current draft of the House bill," Shannon McCracken, president and CEO at The Nonprofit Alliance," told NonProfit PRO via email.
"However, many troubling provisions remain in the legislation, including various tax policy changes that will discourage charitable giving by both individuals and corporations. Collectively, these tax policy modifications will impose nearly $50 billion in new and increased taxes on the charitable and philanthropic sector to fund other tax cuts."
It is sad that in addition to the outrages mentioned in today's discussion, others have now been heaped on, as the comments here show. I no longer feel outrage as they pile on but determination to keep pushing against the destruction.
That's the attitude.
Steven...Excellent piece! Next item of interest (aka...tRump disgust List!!!)...latest on Cabinet "Insider trading!" Cripes!!! is the thievery ever going to end??? With no one to stop it! America et al is actually guilt of "Aiding and Abetting" a recognized Crime Family. Hopefully someone is watching to be sure we don't see any of the aforementioned Family members loading White House Furniture, etc. on to a new airplane with TAF markings! (TAF---tRump Air Force)
There’s been talk for some time that the Big Bad Budget bill would cut Medicare. Like Medicaid, the GOP said it wasn’t true.
All that is true is that the word ‘cut’ is not in the bill. There are many administrative ways to make cuts. There is not much waste, etc in Medicaid. People on Medicaid already fall into the ‘buckets’ of eligibility in the bill. The ‘cuts’ come from making it more difficult to prove eligibility.
The issue with Medicare is sneakier than that. Buried in the layers of laws is “Pay as You Go.” It ties Medicare funding to the deficit. In the past Congress has passed legislation to negate the cuts. There is no such mechanism in this bill.
The cuts would be automatically triggered by the deficit, reducing Medicare by $530 Billion according to the non-partisan (official) estimate by the Congress Budget Office (CBO).
https://www.kff.org/quick-take/house-reconciliation-bill-could-trigger-500-billion-in-mandatory-medicare-cuts/
Medicaid AND Medicare! it's the pay as you go plan. This is the Project 2025 playbook in full swing. The chaos we've endured thus far has produced large-scale trauma on every level in this country. Christian nationalist, P2025 architect, Russell Vought: "We want to put them in Trauma".
Seniors on Medicare pay for that insurance, it comes out of every check. No one has the right to steal that money.
Disabled people who worked a sufficient number of quarters can receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefit payments. The process is long. Most have a waiting period of 5 months after being approved to receive benefit checks. Then you must survive for 2 years after the date benefit payments began, to be eligible for Medicare.
Medicare is hugely important for people with disabilities. Either because they have dual coverage (Medicaid & Medicare) or in some states allowable income for Medicaid is so low a person can be disqualified from Medicaid for too much income from SSDI.
This regime is constantly on the move with their illegal, unconstitutional acts. I do blame Trump, but do not think he's fast enough on his feet or mind to come up with and execute this horror. Stephen Miller is the culprit, Trump is the tool and the gop are the enablers.
An actual press conference revealing the depths of the regime's corruption, with a raft of Senators and Congresspeople. Worth watching. Maybe the press will follow up with some robust reporting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxHMyg1g4vo
I agree. So use the issues that bother Kentucky voters . Rand Paul is a maverick but has sided with democrats on some recent issues because I think he sees the writing on the wall for MAGA and Trump so is trying to create some breathing room before the primaries. I would try to find out how he voted on every key issue that is important in your state and emphasize any he went against the majority of voters. I live in Kiley's very red district but at the Sander's rally 30,000 people showed up and came from even the Bay area 100 miles away. He will be hard to beat but the numbers are starting to change. At the next rally about 10 days later at the Kiley office in Rocklin, only 8 Republicans showed up to support and about 100 to oppose him. That could be the beginning of the end but emphasizing the change will make him more uncertain of his future. That is the wedge to pry him loose from Trump's hypnosis. The goal is to increase his uncertainty because Trump has a long record of business failure and was very disliked in New York. We need to emphasis MAGA weakness (less than 33% of Republicans?) not democratic weaknesses but I'm sure you realize that and are doing your best. Let's all keep doing what it takes to win in our area.
Thank you for your reply but I respectfully disagree. I remember when they used to say #47 doubles down, he never retreats. His backing slowly off the tariffs (never completely of course) shows that the old saying it is only impossible until it happens like flying and man on the moon. But if everyone started talking about the GIANT BLUE WAVE and the number of vulnerable members in Congress instead of reminding and increasing the stress on the poor and people about to loose their healthcare. A P{olitiocan who doesn't get reelected becomes an unemployed, target of derision. The poor are stressed out already with hunger and homelessness anxiety they don't need constant reminding.
The Congressional members feel secure until Trump threatens them with primarying them. Maybe the Democrats and lovers of democracy need to put the stress on Congress that if Trump is still in office in 2026 THEY WILL BE PRIMARIED BY VERY ANGRY DEMOCRATIC, REPUBLICAN AND INDEPENDENT VOTERS in a BLUE WAVE so tall they will not be able to escape being drowned out of office. Keep the pressure on the voters who thought they were going to see prices fall, their low paying jobs come back, who expected tax breaks that would be for the Middle Class not the wealthiest 1% but are getting the opposite, not feeling safe when they go out in public that they will be accused of being undesirable even if they are citizens and shipped to a prison in Sudan, just to name a few issues. WE should be reminding the MAGA (Make America Gullible Again) duped repeatedly by the Master Leader of Lies. Stress TO HIS BASE THAT THEY ARE BEING DUPED, NOT TO THE DEMOCRATIC BASE THAT THEY ARE BEING ROBBED IN BROAD DAYLIGHT (which only makes the Democratic base see us as weak and unable to change the inevitable. WE CAN AND WILL if we use the right tactics. Hope we can remain friends even though we seem to disagree on the tactics. The Democrats tactics have not been working so WE MUST BECOME THE NEW GENERALS WITH A NEW WINNING STRATEGY.
I agree all this can help Dems win in 2026. Seems only a massive GOP loss in 2026 will convince some Republicans that they made a mistake staying in lockstep with their god-king, making impeachment and actual removal a possibility.
Why aren't you pressuring the House and Senate to Impeach for the 4th time (breaking his own record) and CONVICT for once (breaking his own record) and REMOVE (ending his record. Repeating and again condemning a few of his blatant high crimes isn't getting him removed, only a Successful Impeachment (peacefully), a Violent Protest (not wanted) or a military coup (also not wanted) can bring this nightmare to a quick end which is wanted and necessary to restore the full faith and credit in the goodness of the United States as a world leader in freedom., fairness and democracy. Don't waste your verbal slings and and arrows of outrageous righteousness on the wrong targets; the right targets are the eunuchs and traitors in Congress who would rather serve their bank accounts than the people they were elected to serve. Impeach a few for their roles in the Jan 5 insurrection and the rest will fall like the dominoes they are.
There is zero probability that a GOP-controlled Congress will impeach Donald Trump. I wish it were otherwise.
DJT was impeached 2x. Both times there was a Democratic majority in the House and Senate. Impeachment needs a simple majority. Conviction in the Senate requires a 2/3 majority. Currently the Dems do not hold the House or Senate.
The current crop of legislators in charge are busy trying to please the dear leader — not wanting to get rid of him. They vote the party line. That’s how we got the Cabinet we have. In addition, the Vice President would become President. Impeach him? Speaker Johnson becomes President. Next in line is the leader of the Senate.
I think the ‘right target’ is achievable goals that people care about & that encourages them to engage. Not trying to push a boulder uphill. That discourages participation and encourages hopelessness. Public pushback has achieved some wins. We need folks to be emboldened by that to achieve more & make sure they can vote in the mid-terms. To do all that we need them to have reliable information.
Unfortunately Impeachment DOES NOT REQUIRE A SIMPLE MAJORITY it requires 2/3s or 67 votes. The third attempt got 4 Republicans (it required 14) so he was not convicted. WE need to convince 10 more that their political future will be swept away in 2026 if Trump is not removed before then. Steven is right, at the moment this looks impossible but the tide is turning and we need to give it a meaningful push. I have already called Kevin Kiley who represents the very red district I live in and told them that I will be working to primary him in the next election of Trump is not removed before 2026. If I were younger (84) I would run against him. Have you called yours? and asked everyone who believes that someday they could be in a concentration camp in Sudan to call their Congressional Representative and Senators in every state.
Impeachment means the individual is charged. Only the House can impeach. That requires a simple majority.
Then it goes to the Senate. Only the Senate can convict. Conviction requires a 2/3 majority. Obviously he was not convicted either time. Although the 2nd time the Senate came closer with a majority but not 2/3s voting to convict.
https://www.usa.gov/impeachment#:~:text=The%20House%20of%20Representatives%20brings,Senate%20holds%20an%20impeachment%20trial.
In KY my Congressman is the only KY Congressman who is a Dem. KY’s Senators are McConnell and Rand Paul. McConnell does at least responses these days - usually on topic. RP does whatever he wants.
I would be hard pressed to find a many white people in this state who believe they are at risk of being sent to a concentration camp outside the country. They are more worried about tariffs / prices, cancellation of DOJ oversight of police, healthcare & whether FEMA is coming to help — and especially for women, whether they will be able to vote. Younger women are more determined not to change their names when they marry. Partly because the federal SAVE Act could pass the Senate. Partly because states can pass their own version for state & local elections.
https://time.com/7280834/save-act-voting-access-history/