Those who believe that Trump is the answer are gambling with their future and their children’s future. What will it take to prove to them that they are in a hopeless spiral that will lead to their ruin!
Trump is a psychopathilogical grifter. The reason he is a psychopath is he is incapable of empathy with other human beings. Trump supporter are correct in understanding that the American establishment of the two-sides-of-the-same-coin Democrat-Republican party has abandoned them, the working class. Where they are badly deluded is in thinking Trump cares about them. He doesn't. Trump is using the working classes' anger and frustration to aggrandize himself.
Recall his tax cuts for the wealthy. That HURT the very people who support him by worsening the federal deficit. Americans need to wake up, grow up and begin to think and stop acting on their reflexes.
I disagree Daniel that this is bullshit, Tom has a good point. Not only are they being fed the two-sides are both bad it's being shoveled down their throats by a combination of Fox and the MAGAts in Congress supporting trump, all they really understand is they are hurting and "someone is at fault". What they fail to grasp is how much harm has come to them from their adulation of ham actors including Reagan.
One reason poorer people may vote for Trump is that they remember the two pandemic stimulus checks they received, with his signature in bold black marker on them. They received one during the Biden administration as well, but without his signature. Never underestimate the power of marketing.
"Americans" you mean? There are now two parties: American and Traitors! PRESIDENT BIDEN ended Dubbya Bush's asinine "War on Terror." This means The January 6th Insurrectionists are guilty of HIGH TREASON, often punishable by DEATH.
Daniel, and what is clear it does not matter how much Democrats have tried to assist working-class Americans. Those folks so often turn toward the guys who have nothing to offer them but hardship. Research has proven that Democrats do better for our economy than Republicans by a huge margin, but people just won't/can't believe it. Why? I think it is the big media that is too much owned and operated by Republicans who are certain the truth will hurt them. It did begin with Reagan, or at least this iteration of it did. Since LBJ, Republicans have dragged us into wars that are nearly impossible to get out of, but took a lot of lives and a lot of health and cost a whole lot of money. We need a force within Congress and states that support poor and working-class Americans and deal directly with their issues, improving their lives.
How do you explain democrats voting for a republican Speaker who then goes to New York to support TFG during his trial? This may be the one time MTG is correct. Then to top it off the democrat/republican Speaker invites the war criminal to address The House/Senate. This shows our even handed policy in the Middle East.
Because they think the passage of aid for Ukraine and israel is all important, and they think alternatives to Mike Johnson would be just as bad or even worse.Not hard.
Question for you Doug, Why are you fixated on Israel, but ignore the real threat to western civilization, and genocide perpetuated by Putin.
You care so little about Ukraine but care so much about HAMAS, just like Putin.
Incidentally, October 7th was Putins birthday, and Iran, via HAMAS just offered him the greatest birthday present he could wish for, a distraction from Ukraine and a divergence of aid to Israel.
Ukraine and Israel are important to US security. The Putin faction in congress was holding Ukraine arms hostage. Dems made a deal with Mike Johnson, to get him to support aid to Ukraine. Dems live up to their word.
But I am sure that you know all of this, as you have an ulterior motive, don't your Doug?
I don't know if you want to be informed, or if you don't. If you do want to have your question answered, and if you don't know the answer, let me know, please.
The Democrats made a responsible decision to support Johnson. The Republican party is in disarray and at least Johnson is willing to work with the Democrats.
Why should we care if he went to NY to kiss the ring? A majority of Republicans are doing that every day to stay relevant to Trump's base.
The best part of Johnson's trip to NY was when he tried to address the protestors at Columbia. He got flustered by the response he received and said, "enjoy your free speech." Then he left with his tail between his legs.
Daniel, the Democratic Party took a hard swerve to the right in the mid-1980's when the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) took control. Bill Clinton was Chair of the DLC just before he became President.
Take a close look at the changes that took place under his leadership - the repeal of Glass-Steagall and it's replacement with Gramm-Leach-Bliley, which led to the consolidation of the banks and investment firms, which in turn precipitated the banking crises.
Also the Commodity Futures Modernization Act which put commodities futures outside any regulatory framework, or even any reporting requirements. This allowed the creation of CDO's (Collateralized Debt Obligations) and CDS's (Credit Default Swaps) which contributed directly to the collapse of the housing markets.
And when progressives finally came up with a truly progressive candidate, the Party did everything in their power to sideline him and anoint Hillary to be the candidate because "It's Her Turn." Yeah, how'd that work out?
Biden, as much as I respect him as a person, is still part of that same neoliberal machine that has kept the Party from really moving forward and distinguishing itself from the Republicans.
Biden got the message. This why he proposed, endorsed and is implementing the Build Back Better program. It is a long-term program; its benefits will reveal themselves slowly. In the meantime people are hurting from high prices in almost everything, but there isn't much Biden can do about that in the short term.
I have followed presidential elections starting with Truman v Dewey as a child. The pundits and the strategist spend a lot of time and energy figuring out why voters vote the way they do. There are times when a single issue is the deciding factor like the Veitnam War or a deep recession. But over all most presidents are selected on personality. Too many voters are overwhelmed by political sales pitches by both sides or just tuned out and make their decisions on who they like more. If voters voted on policies we would not be where we are today.
I disagree. It's all a matter of perception. The infrastructure projects are not putting money into everyone's pockets. We absolutely need to address the infrastructure of the country. But the average citizen doesn't recognize the need or benefit to this endeavor because it does nothing to address the cost of living.
Biden needs to address the corporate greed situation. The supply chain problems are gone, yet big business isn't passing on the savings. Instead, they are maintaining artificially high prices and raking in record profits.
The FTC banned ex-oil executive Scott Sheffield from sitting on the board of Exxon after a merger. The FTC cited communications between Sheffield and other industry leaders, as well as public comments made by the oil boss, to assert that he had attempted to collude with the Opec cartel and other domestic producers to curtail production and prop up prices. https://www.ft.com/content/78bfb9e4-86bd-46d6-91e9-f4d43c2da2a6
It's not inflation, it is corporate greed that must be stopped but the right is promoting false information blaming Biden for high prices.
Fay, you are right, but those folks have chosen to keep from actually thinking about what is going on and looking beyond Fox et al. I suspect a lot of them know what Trump is or suspect, but can't bear to change to a different perspective. It is hard to change especially if you learn you have been bamboozled, cheated, lied to, and used by the guy you thought really cared about you and definitely doesn't beyond getting your vote. That's a pain most people don't want to deal with, so they will make every excuse to keep on the Trump wagon even though it is rolling inexeribly toward destruction.
Oh, Karl, you used a similar question already! Amazing! Try declarative sentences for a change, though. They can be interesting where questions just demonstrate lack of respect or ignorance when they are just reworded. I am not sure which relates to your situation. You do not care one whit about a WH press conference or probably anything else either. Where do you stand or are you just one of those botts who has a ton of information to toss out in questions that mean nothing? Hmmmm! I just asked a question. Wow, you inspired me! I had better be more careful!
Most people here recognize that the Democrat party has in ther past hurt the working class in different ways. And the Republican party far more.
The problem with what you have said is it leaves the impression there is no difference between the two parties, tweedle dee tweedle dum, and that is false and not helpful. The Biden administration has done much to help the working class and will do more if we can re-elect Joe.
Tom, I don't think equating Democrats with what Trump has done and is doing to the working-class is fair. Democrats have tried to get programs going for improving working-class lives, but nearly every time, Republicans have jumped in with filibusters and ridiculous riders designed to undermine whatever bill it is. Admittedly Manchin and Sinema, both originally Democrats were bought out, if they were ever really Dems and kept a lot of good legislation from being passed, much of which was to help improve programs and people's lives. Trump is scum (OK, that's an insult to scum) and has to be stopped, but there is a whole lineup out there just waiting to take over for Trump, sure they are smarter and could do even more damage to this nation on behalf of themselves and their rich white friends. Ugh!
Tom: all you have said is true. Trump supporters are suffering from severe gambling addiction, which no amount of psychotherapy will resolve. One characteristic of such addiction is a sociopathic disregard for others. Adding insult to injury, the liar- in -chief has gained his power Through a form of the Stockholm syndrome, a condition he has imposed upon his followers with his lies and false promises. Though we must mourn the loss of this enormous demographic, we must work together to ensure that this monster does not get reelected to finish the damage he has begun.
One part of the solution is to help low income people. The other part of the solution is to stop calling them stupid and try to understand where they are coming from.
Nobody disagrees with your point. After some 6+ years however, of Trump’s nonsense calling him any kind of answer is simply stupid. If you or they want to explain why a life long criminal who lies about everything, has any kind of plan that makes sense, I’m listening. I would gladly like to hear where they are coming from.
As the 80th anniversary of D-Day approaches, it's good to recall this number: 400,000. That is the approximate number of American servicemen and women who perished in the four years of World War II.
400,000 is also the approximate number of Americans who had perished from Covid-19 in Trump's last eight months in office. Tens of millions more had been infected by January of 2021, and many thousands more would die due to a virus that trump completely mismanaged.
(That's when inflation started to spike too, which is what Biden inherited.)
Recently, a number of economists from across the spectrum are warning that if Trump takes office, inflation will be far worse than it is under Biden. (When Trump calls for tariffs on Chinese products, for example, he actually believes that it's the Chinese who pay the tariffs.)
“There has never been a presidential platform so self-evidently inflationary as the one put forward by President Trump ... a growing number of economists and policy analysts are warning that Trump’s second-term agenda of sweeping tariffs, mass deportation of undocumented migrants, and enormous tax cuts would accelerate, rather than alleviate, inflation."
Trump says anything he thinks can get him votes. If reelected, he may do what the Republicans want him to do: use the border and drug crises to declare a national emergency and then implement their fascist program.
They will have to live the experience of Trump's policies. But it will be too late for them and for the rest of us. Who will they blame then? Who cares? Trump and all his GOP supporters along with the corrupt SCOTUS will be the end of the Democratic dream. Voting blue is our only chance.
They already spiraled in ruin from the neocon economy and capital hoarders. What do they have left to lose? I am not a party to their politics, and I lost the birth lottery as well. The lower class has been sold gambling as an "honest" way to make money through the neocon agenda. Whether it is playing the market, scratch-offs, LOTTO, Vegas style games of chance, and now even SPORTS BETTING or taking a chance on a non status quo candidate, they have nothing to lose. The only people winning already have access to capital and have rigged the system so they can not lose.
Trump's economic plan is a recipe for Argentina-size inflation.
May 3, 2024 discussion re US economy, and what would happen should Trump be permitted to affect decisions at the Federal Reserve Bank. (The Wall Street Journal broke the story of Trump policy advisors' 10-page policy brief re presidential influence on the Fed.)
What would happen if a president is permitted to modify as Republican policy brief suggests:
"If people think that inflation under Biden was bad, they're in for a very very rude and unpleasant surprise, because all of Trump's policies... are inflationary"
~ Aaron Pacitti, Prof. of Economics at Siena College
Pacitti further goes into detail on Trump's plans, and also points out that most factors creating inflation under Biden's administration were caused by outside actions, not administration policy.
I believe many of them *know* they're in a hopeless spiral, and the most angry and resentful act from a "If I'm going down, you're all going with me" mentality. Trump is the match to burn it all down.
The Democratic Party is the gambling one. They do not have the guts to tell Biden that he must make way for a new generation of leaders. To me he appears like a Zombie, like one of those robots who are being managed and manipulated. He will not last through the next five years for sure. So we are getting Kamala Harris as our President. She has not been vetted, she is being shoved down our throats. Yes Trump is awful but a zombie is any better? If Trump wins and it looks to me like he will, I blame Biden and his supporters. I remember the election of RR. The Democrats hated him but the country was tired of the chaos and of being pushed around. RR won in a landslide. It’s not too late for a change.
And lest ye despair about the possibility of electing a “zombie” (rather than a demented, fascist demagogue), take a serious look at the honest, competent, and truly patriotic Cabinet Biden assembled, compared to the kind of people Trump has and will assemble. Honest people don’t want to be surrounded by corrupt and crooked subordinates; crooks will not want honest people in the same room.
I’m not talking about myself. I would never vote for Trump. I am talking about the serious possibility that Trump could be elected. If he is, what then? Who is to blame?
Look in the mirror : "Hartmut".Blaming the only party left for the corruption of years of Republican Dominance of our government shows a breathtaking 😳 ignorance
Hartmut. A not so clever Republican tactic to throw the Democrats in disarray. Yes Kamala is better than any misogynistic, racist, homophobic fascist that the Republicans can put up.
I would vote for a head of cabbage,instead of a Republican, I like my freedoms, not to fond of fascism.
And you are just one more right winger, smooth you think you are, that is logging on to liberal sites as we get closer to November.
I guess you like to throw insults at people. I would never vote for Trump. I will look at third party candidates before voting for Biden. If he loses, whom are you going to blame? The leadership of the Democratic Party is gutless or they would force Biden not to run again. There are plenty of great candidates whom I would vote for.
I don't like doing anything Harmut, and talking of throwing insults, you are not a piker. Take the beam out of thy own eye.
If you vote for any third party, or don't vote for anyone, you are voting for Trump, So enjoy as he clamps down on all the civil rights and constitutional games and freedoms, and I do hope that the Muslims who sat on their hands or voted third party as he follows through with his plans to deport them.
Kamala Harris ? She would join the company of un -vetted VPs who assumed the presidency in our life times, Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson and Gerald Ford. Not too shabby.
She is intelligent and has good people in the present cabinet. Good advisors . What experience did tRump have? At least she cares about Democracy and decency. President Biden chose her for a reason.
True but in this case voters know and expect that Harris would become president. So in effect they will be voting for Harris. I doubt that this helps Biden.
Why? Because she is a woman and also a person of color? Or because she is a prosecutor who knows the law, and is capable and fearless! She would deal with criminals much more forcefully!
Again this is not about me and it is none of your business whom I am going to vote for. Thank God democracy protects confidential votes from people like you.
You don't have to tell me who you are voting for. You already did,you are voting for Trump, if not directly then indirectly. And is about you and people like you.
If you are so worried about confidentiality what are you doing in a political discussion forum!? You have this radical idea that we can gin up the perfect candidate in less than 4 months, but can'tveven come up with someone. Faker!
YES! A zombie is better. Our zombie isn't responsible for killing hundreds of thousands of people. He didn't tell people to take a disinfectant or drink bleach to cure COVID. tRump had no plan to address the crisis. Instead, our zombie got the American Rescue Plan passed. Our zombie signed a 1 trilllion dollar infrastructure bill to repair the nations bridges, roads, bring high speed internet to rural communities. It was bipartisan.32 republiccans signed it. Our zombie passed the first major gun safety legislation in decades. At a time when it's impossible to get anything done in Washington, Biden did something consequential. The Zombie you refer to that won't last 5 years passed the Science and Chips Act, which brought back manufacturing of semiconductor chips here instead of China.. I can go on. For example The Inflation Reduction Act originally called The Build back Better Act will spend 2 trillion dollars on health care reform, universal pre kindergarten, paid family leave, and 550 billion dollars dedicated for climate change, a cap on prescription drug costs like Insulin now costing $35.
YES, I'll take BIDEN for President over JFK, Cornell west, Nikki Haley and any other wannabe hypocrite, dictator you can conjure up. Democracy is on the ballot and your small minded complaints aren't helping.
I agree with most of what you say and yes Biden is 100% better than Trump. You don’t have to convince me. What worries me is that Trump will win. Biden is way behind in the swing states. My vote makes no difference. There is no doubt that in my state Biden-Harris will win and if they win then Harris will be our next president for sure. I do know Harris and I have a hard time seeing her as being President. Sorry about that. I felt similarly about Hillary Clinton. I thought she was in the pocket of Wall Street, same as Bill Clinton and she was disdainful of the working class. I still voted for her because I could not stand Trump. But my comment was not about me but about the choice we are given.
The polls are owned and operated by the billionaires who love tRUMP's tax "breaks". With very few exceptions. Fox "News" is owned by a family of dynastic wealth. "People" that are buying The Supreme Court" which has been trashing the Constitution . They buy and intimidate representatives and Senators. They are still engaging in a coup. misinformation and disinformation is powerful. Ignorance is not bliss! Expose the billionaires! They are an enemy when they destroy our rule of law, and mess with justice! Traitors Off the Court!
One part of the solution is to help low income people. The other part of the solution is to stop calling them stupid and try to understand where they are coming from.
Good clips. I am a “Community Teacher” for some med school students because I have a complex disease and am a senior citizen. I do make sure they understand my particular diagnosis and healthcare needs.
But I also make sure they understand the challenges they will face.
1. Insurance will dictate how many minutes they can spend with their patients (and half that time will be spent reviewing the patient’s chart to try to remember who is sitting in their office).
2. Insurance will dictate which tests they can order (none of which was related to my condition).
3. Insurance will dictate which medications will be covered (and insurance may stop covering a patient’s medication with only one month’s notice).
4. Healthcare monopolies and hedge fund profit-stripping will result in the students being over scheduled and too exhausted to keep up with any research - except the “studies” provided by the drug manufacturers which <surprise!> validate their own products.
5. For these reasons, the only way I was able to get a diagnosis and treatment plan was to find physician-experts who no longer are willing to be bound by the strictures of insurance. In other words, they accept no insurance. Paying these rates has been tough, but I am not exaggerating when I say that if I had not gone this route, I would have died nearly ten years ago.
Of course I don’t say all this at my first meeting with my students. And of course I could say a lot more. But if all my students drop out in despair I won’t be able to teach the next cohort! ;-)
The fact that what you wrote is totally true makes it hard to face.
I too have dealt with a 39 year horror story with health. Now I go to Mexico where medical care is focused on ,wait, you won’t believe this, the PATIENT!!!
If our young medical students were totally about wanting to be health providers, they would stand strong and tall and exclude insurance companies from the control over their chosen careers. Sadly, as the President of Harvard Medical school wrote years ago , 9 out of 10 medical students care mostly about money.
Our failure as a country continues to be the focus on more…. Not more great purpose, but on more, more, money!
My Medical Center is owned by the nuns of St Joseph and they own others in Washington and Oregon, however they have contracted out services to Black Rock, and Black Rock puts a time limit on how much time your PCP can devote to you, that limit is 15 minutes. I show up on time and still wait 16 minutes to 30 minutes to get called to his office, I see a nurse who takes vitals and asks why I am there, then another 15 to 20 minutes for the doctor to show up, and he is out as fast as he can.
Lawyers bill on the time they spend with you, or thinking about your case. Medicare and health insurance pays by the incident, the more incidents the more money.
I suspect that doctors who spent too much time with a patient are dinged.
William - I “like” your comment because I can relate to it very well. What chaps my a** is when they have those signs up saying if you are 15 minutes late they will make you reschedule. It doesn’t matter how long you have to collectively wait for them to see you but you are turned away if you can’t get there on time even if it is out of your control. Now only if my “like” button would work….:(
Customers are cattle, who need their services, if it was the other way around, they would be beginning us and doing every thing but oral sex and maybe that too.
How many times have you been sucked in by a low cost deal, or a promotion and then when the time expires to have your payment jump double, and then jump through hoops to cancel.
One time the only way I could cancel a "deal" was to cancel my credit card and get a new one.
Stanford hospital has time limitations as well. However, PCP's in Senior Care are not timed. Cardiology specialists can spend up to 40 minutes with a patient. Before we vote for Medicare for All, we need to establish guidelines that do not short change the doctors and their patients. Hospitals and insurance companies are laughing all the way to the bank.
William, I have learned that many insurance-controlled physicians do not want to hear about multiple system symptoms (which obviously makes it nearly impossible for them to think holistically and identify complex immunological diseases). Two symptoms? Maybe two visits!
I don’t know much about BlackRock but I wonder if they aren’t a hedge fund equity-stripping investment group (among other investments)?
Marge. Many decades ago, a pharmaceutical learned of an Amazonian tribe cure for diabetes. It was a concoction of herbs. They took it back and tried to find the particular chemical, and couldn't and gave up. It wasn't a particular chemical it was all of the herbs working together.
It is the same problem with the medical profession. For instance they believe that smoking is the cause of lung cancer, I know many people who have had lung cancer and never smoked, they refuse to accept that evidence.
The Republicans, especially the felonious DJT are running one of the biggest scams in American history with their reverse Robin Hood scheme, fueled by the very people they are ripping off.
If they manage to finish the power grab this November the national screwing will be complete as they use the bodies of poor white folk to fill the coffers of the cronies. The poor MAGA and the chop licking billionaires are strange bedfellows indeed, but only one group will get satisfaction. And it won’t be the foot soldiers.
I don’t think most people were taking him seriously, but not recognizing RobinHood seemed like an interesting possible tell of foreignness. Or maybe some R too young to know that legend.
Maybe i should change my name to “I am not bot. Are you?” Kind of like Melania’s coat
Take your "bird" out of our faces and look up the Robin Hood story and what he represented to the poor. Hint ' "take from the rich and give to the poor." He was a most likely mythic folk hero.
I already liked Barbara's post. It is evident that UC is "other" in some way, shape or form. They have been around the forum for awhile. No change. No soul
Biden's poor ratings are the result of an aggressive false flag campaign initiated to discredit a good man and to elevate the lack of social successes by a fraud. Trump seems quite pleased to have his feet stuck in the mud of a swamp he so lovingly helped to create. Why do fools draw such attention?
Exactly Laurie. I know that you know, but anyone who reads this and has just a little curiosity, google who owns ABC, then NBC, then CBS, then CNN and when you get the results write down the names of the individual and institutional shareholders, and google the shareholders, you will get more names, right them down and google them, one thing you will notice is that the names Vanguard, Black Rock, State Street come up in all.
But you will names of Individuals who are chairman of the Board and CEO as well as a major stockholder, like Brian L Roberts, Bog Iger, Samuel and Donald Newhouse, then go to wikipedia and do a search on them, then there is the Ochs Sulzberger family, and the Murdochs.
Making a fool of oneself in public is what passes for entertainment these days, and judging from the fools sending money to djt as a reward for his disgraceful antics, foolishness begets even more fools.
More like #160,000, not that I'm counting either!! It would be absolutely great if his donors stopped giving him any money so that he could "fund" his own campaign!! What a complete and total narcissistic moron!!
Laurie - “Like” I wish that they would as well as the other ones that were keeping a tally of every lie he told and included fact checking. I think that they were up to 32,000 (estimate) by the time he left office. How quickly people forget what a serial liar he was then and how worse it has gotten.
Anon: Don't forget that his every rally consists of lies about the "deep state" and the corrupt courts etc. Etc. He should be in jail without his lying magaphone!! At least until all his cases are properly prosecuted! If they insist on having him on the ballot, as disabled as he is, as unfit as he is: the election should be delayed until he can clear his name!!! There is a gross Injustice being done by this Supreme Court! To say Nothing about the DOJ and the 11th circuit! There will be Hell to pay!!
Anon: the Georgia case is still on track. The MAGAs wanted to hit "below the belt" with a scandal,but Georgia law does not hold that a crime was committed. Fani Willis makes more money than her prosecutor , and there was zero evidence that was a thing. She has plenty of her own 💰 💰 money.! That RICO case will be prosecuted! They 'just' wanted to put Her on trial, when the scheming criminals are the ones on trial! As she pointed out! Distract and deflect is the MAGA way! Losers!
Laurie - “Like” Now that is an interesting thought - delay the election until he stops delaying his court cases! At least people would be fully aware of all of the evidence against him. SC has lost all credibility in my eyes even though they don’t seem to care to hide their partisan politics. Think about the peace we would have if he was without his megaphone and the complicity of the news.
People on both sides of the political divide are fond of single-issue arguments or, even just plain nitpicking, but objectively it cannot be denied that Trump's presidency was a chaotic disaster and while Biden's has been extremely positive for the country, including Trump's base.
UN--I didn't say that, but I will agree with you to an extent. The conditions we are currently living under didn't arise because of anything Joe did. We and he are victims of the world's conditions. Looking past what we are having to deal with here at home others around the world are having to live with conditions which are much worse. Count your blessings, if Trump was in the White House the world would have ended by now.
So are you implying that Biden is in some way equivalent to convicted - by a jury of his peers the defense team had a hand in selecting - career fraudster, little Kaiser von Schitzinpantz? Just curious.
The voters that think that Trump is their savior are completely misguided and uninformed. Biden is trying to work on the income inequality problem. How can he get something passed if the republicans won’t support it? Their goal is to prevent anything from getting done, and then blame it on the democrats. The country remains gridlocked.
Jack, 100% agree!! They refuse to work with Democrats on anything. If a bill that will help their constituents and other Americans is brought by a Democrat, their vote will always be no whether they read it or not. They honestly think we are idiots for not seeing that!
Peggy - “like” That and they claim credit for the bills passed that they refused to vote for. Funny how when a disaster strikes their community then they want help. All while denying climate change.
Yes Jack Schatz ; the illegitimate majority on the Supreme Court is their handmaiden. We could remove the traitors who are disqualified from their positions in government if their policies and rulings against our Constitution were reversed. They have stolen our country and the flawed broken justice system is on life support. We need more justice done.
Jack - “like” Plus 10 republicans in the senate just signed a letter basically saying that they are refusing to do their job if it has anything to do with democrats.
What would YOU do against a stacked court? The "system is rigged" now in favor of the obscenely wealthy enabled by their puppet .tRUMP, and his friends Putin and other oligarchs and dictators. The saddest thing here is that we are being taken down not by "good people who do nothing" ; but by the extremely rich who know what they are doing , and don't give a damn. Because they have stolen the power in government to do so. and they can.
Can you type? What's your plan? Have you read anything? You need to read and study. It is all written publically. Trump's plan is out as well. Make your decision on voting day.
For years I didn’t shop at Walmart because I didn’t like their purchasing and more importantly their labor practices. Then I lived where it was the only grocer I could reach on one bus rather than two. I found the store had produce comparable to other stores and better for ethnic foods. I used grocery delivery for many other things because as a disabled person who voluntarily decided to quit driving it was the best of my options. I still have many issues with them but the more I learn about all the other grocers in my area the more they look them same.
That's an astute observation, Sioux Fleming. In rural America, Walmart has gobbled up the smaller grocers, and the choice besides Walmart now is between Kroger-owned and those owned by Albertson's. What we notice when we go to Walmart's in rural Colorado is the large number of huge pick-ups, and we can't figure out how people are paying for them, much less the expensive gas they run on.
We also noticed huge, new pick-ups where we buy groceries, many parked in handicap spots. They cost about $60,000 and we wondered how they afford them. We drive a 24 year old Dodge van and a 24 year old Chevy S-10; both paid for. haha. One of my son's is an auto mechanic, so that helps. Our family helps each other so nobody is homeless. We are the no-interest bank and often get paid back in labor we need. We have all resisted moving for better paying jobs to stay near family. It would help if Biden could reduce or get some student loans cancelled. College is way too high.
FYI: The income driven repayment program just cut my student loan payment so far I was able to pay off my mortgage loan with savings I had earmarked for paying off my student loan, make the first investment in my life - a T-bill that yields much better interest than my savings account - while lowering my total monthly outlay about 10% lower than I would've, had I paid off the student loan alone - and still retain several thousand in the savings account my T-bill funds came from. I'm not going to make perfect the enemy of the good about it. I'm just wondering if people having such student loan debt are fully aware of >all< the options Biden >has< provided, that don't run afoul of this hack SCOTUS' ruling.
Reading about all the options, creating an account, then filling out an application. A few days later, I got email that didn't say I qualified, but told me what my new monthly payment will be and when it will start - which was the date of my next, previously set monthly payment date.
Biden has been as successful at reducing or eliminating student debt as the limited power of executive action allows. I have friends whose debt was canceled due to Biden!
Having been rear-ended four times, with permanent injuries, I panic when all I can see in my rear view mirror is the grille of a huge pick-up. I end up glancing in my rear view mirror more than the windshield ahead. I hate them.
In rural CO it's a statement right ? You need that huge pickup to haul fencing for your cattle or whatever (and some probably do need it, on occasion).
What gets me is all the humongous SUVs in the lots of Walmart and esp Target with a single person in them. Just seems mindless conspicuous consumption. I also wonder how they can afford ther gas guzzlers. In debt up to their eyeballs?
Going into debt to buy a fancy pickup truck that you can't afford to buy with cash on hand is dumb. This is the main reason so many find themselves in a financial blackhole for most of their lives, in my opinion. The farmers in my area drive old "beater" pickups to work around the farm. Don't need a fancy pickup to haul manure!
I can understand a pickup truck in a rural area. What I don’t understand is the huge percentage of pickup trucks, some jacked up, in San Diego. Most will never see a mile off of pavement. It’s a male ego compensation issue and a Republican calling card thing. Frankly, with the exception of maybe Idaho, Alaska and rural Colorado, I see more big pickups in urban Southern California than anywhere else in the U.S. or Canada.
Albertson's owns Safeway in the North West, I have no idea what it owns anywhere else, but the choices in the aisle are vanilla, hardly any choice it uses it's economic power, to get bargain base prices for products, thus driving other specialty producers bankrupt.
Monopolies do that, they drive out brick and mortar stores, producers and vendors, limit choice and when they are a monopoly they raise prices..
Just a side comment about US food supply in general… it’s corrupt as hell. I’m not referring to the financial side, I mean the actual food.
I don’t buy certain food sbecause it creates bad health and a helluva lot of needless suffering. It benefits the hugely corrupt corporate healthcare industry in general. The FDA has been bought by regulatory capture.
What gets me is how oblivious the majority of people are to this scam. I get made fun of for my eating habits sometimes, yet I’m 62 and can run circles around my cohort and have zero chronic health issues. Not only are folks oblivious to my “foods to avoid claims”, but they get hostile too.
Moldy buildings and their adverse effects on a lot of people is another huge racket.
I stay away from processed foods best I can. I do buy some frozen and canned food, but it is the Amy's brand it has no more than 5 ingredients and is free of chemicals.
I am also pre diabetic, and avoid simple carbs best as I can. Result eat to live, not live to eat. Lots of beans and brown (not white) rice.
Brent, if they get hostile it is because they are addicted to sugary, fatty, salty foods. These are real addictions and they are killing people--slowly.
Brent, I have an immune disorder that makes eating pesticide-coated food literally dangerous. And then there are the “other ingredients.” I’ve been forced to read up on them because of my health and I’m astounded by the chemicals that are allowed to be in our food and drugs. While a few may be ok for healthier folks, the effected if others are terrifying. I won’t go into my list, but I can only say that the FDA must be bought and paid for by big business.
I don’t know exactly what is off in these foods I just pay attention to how I react. Chemicals of course, the foods themselves, and I am skeptical of GMO insect resistance. Could be people resistant too!
Mold isn't a problem. Food is, as it affects the root cause of my probable MCAS, a GI bacterial overgrowth. As a result, my mast cells react to many, many environmental factors. sigh.
I am taking LDN which is helpful but not sufficient. Started the low FODMAP SIBO biphasic diet yesterday. The limited list of foods I'm allowed to eat for the next 4-6 weeks is very depressing. To be followed by an antibiotic that has not even been allowed in the US. (I'm tired of being a test subject, though glad I have a relatively open-minded healthcare team.)
Oh, and household cleaning products! I can no longer walk down a store aisle where Gain laundry products are displayed. Check out what those “fragrances” do to people!
One point to consider in assessing consumer food prices is where the profit goes- to the manufacturer or the retailer. In the food business, retailers’ net margins are slim; the mega processed food mfrs like Pepsi have unique selling points that allow for price rises not possible for smaller firms. . Most food retailers stock the same brands and have similar unbranded or private label lines. The main difference to consumers’ pocketbooks is the extent and frequency of discounted sales. Of course, the quality and selection of fresh foods and the overall shopping experience count for a lot. Outside of the warehouse stores whose profit comes largely from selling annual memberships, the lowest margin retailers are the niche players like Aldi, Lidl and Trader Joe’s.
Back to Pepsi, during and after the COVID pandemic the cost of nearly everything shot up; mfrs like PepsiCo undoubtedly had contracted for months or years of supplies of key ingredients, but may face big cost increases down the line. Raising their prices in anticipation of higher costs in future can inflate their bottom line today, but we can expect a reversion to the mean in future.
The other day I suggested Biden could request corporations that profited over x percent last quarter or last year to lower their prices voluntarily. Even if they don't, it would point out that some have all time high profits yet raise their prices anyway.
They don't care what Biden or the rest of us want. They only care what Wall Street wants. If they lowered prices voluntarily, the stock market would punish their stock by lowering the share price, angering the shareholders and generating lots of negative publicity in the business world.
Why does anyone buy anything from Pepsi and Coke, they are conglomerates and sell more than their poisonous drinks, especially their "Diet" drinks which are pure poison, made with aspartame. Aspartame is a by product of aluminum smelting and is a deadly toxin, however a chemist found that it was an artificial sweetener, and Donald Rumsfeld when he was CEO of Searle, used his political influence to have the FDA approve it's use.
It is highly addictive, and actually causes weight gain, not loss, as the body is fulled into thinking you ingested sugar, the pancreas goes to work releasing glucose, you become hypoglycemic, crave sugar, consume junk food, and gain weight, become obese with diabetes.
I am pre diabetic but it is genetic, I never had used aspartame, and control my weight and blood glucose with diet, exercise other than daily workout with a Qibit is not possible.
I know you aren't trolling DZK and if that response is to me. I did n't come to a conclusion, I posted facts about Aspartame, there is plenty of information on the net about the poison called aspartame, all one needs to do is construct a good question and google it like aspartame and obesity or aspartame and diabetes.
I don't mind doing research, but it does get tiresome.
Thanks for the info. We seem to agree about Aspartame. I saw some articles about it m'self and have begged off replacing sugar in all recipes with it. I'm open to stretching my sugar with it, but remain cautious about actually doing so.
That comment was actually to R Hodsdon, concerning the conclusion drawn in:
"Back to Pepsi, during and after the COVID pandemic the cost of nearly everything shot up; mfrs like PepsiCo undoubtedly had contracted for months or years of supplies of key ingredients, but may face big cost increases down the line. Raising their prices in anticipation of higher costs in future can inflate their bottom line today, but we can expect a reversion to the mean in future."
You see, I raised a hornet's nest on Nextdoor.com over price gouging at the groceries. I had to concede the point that the gouging isn't necessarily taking place at the local, grocery store level, but managed to take the point that it's happening further up the "food chain!" What RH is saying is consistent with that assertion, and I'd like to see better documentation on what kind of profits are being taken where, in said food chain.
There is no sugar in my house. I use Stevia and use one Zevia soda a day, it is made with Stevia. Stevia extracted from a plant of the geranium family.. it is not a man made chemical.
As a low- income consumer, I fully appreciate how very hard it is to make ends meet! I live on a very small, fixed income and while I make use of Farmer's Markets, Aldi's, Ollie's, Dollar stores, and thrift shops, I still struggle every month. The rising cost of electricity because we are heading into summer, the rising cost of water/sewage because they raised the price to pay for a new treatment plant, the rising cost for car maintenance, internet, household appliances - well, it's enough to give me ulcers!! I feel this continued widening gap in wealth is leading us to a huge explosion and it will not be pretty when it happens. People will tolerate only so much before things escalate and get out of control. In order to get a handle on this and pull in the reins, we need President Biden for another four years and we need Democrat majorities in both the House and the Senate so that we can fix what is broken. Vote Blue, America!!
I have a sincere question Peggy, and I am not being facetious.
I would like to know how low income consumers, who have trouble buying food and medicine, can afford and ISP (Internet Service Provider, computer, software, a cell phone and service.
Those two items alone cost at least $100 a month if not more, tack on cable TV and we are up to $200 a month, not to mention monthly payments on credit cards for hardware and software.
William, that's a great question! I use to have cable and internet but it became very expensive so now I stopped the cable and only use internet which cut my bill in half. The only phone I own is a cell phone and I got a discount through Consumer Cellular through AARP. I only have one credit card and just use it when very necessary. Don't worry, you aren't being flippant and I appreciate your interest. I look for every possible way to cut down on expenses. Sometimes it gets quite dicey waiting for the Social Security check or the retirement check but I do manage. Naturally, I don't live a lavish lifestyle but I enjoy my life with my dog and cat, my friends, and visits with my kids and grandkids. Thanks for asking!
Thanks Robert. What you write about current American society really helps one to understand what is happening and why so many are supporting the Sociopath In Chsrge.
Mohammad Faisal is a Muslim name. The first and only loyalty Muslims have is to the Ummah, the Ummah is the world wide community of Muslims. Thus anyone who doesn't support or opposes Islam is the enemy and in their minds Biden is the sociopath in charge. Because Biden is obstructing HAMAS and Islam's campaign to rid the Mideast of Jews.
Problem with religions, not just Christianity, but all religions (sectarian ideologies) is that of necessity they believe, have to believe, that theirs is the absolute truth, not provisional, not maybe, not equal to others beliefs, but the one true faith.
Those that hold no faith, no belief or an opposing faith are therefore the enemy, it is not, it can't be, your god, your belief, your faith is just as valid as mine.
Now the question is can they act on it. The answer is no, because they don't have the power. The Catholic church until the reformation had the power to act on it and burned heretics and non believers at the stake, or tortured them until they relented.
Islam didn't burn or torture the competition, they simply required them to submit or say the shahada (convert) then they were monitored for faithful observance. Submission to Islamic rule was limited to Peoples of the Book, meaning Bible, and that is Christians and Jews, they were allowed to worship their god, by their tradition, so long as they paid the poll tax (jizzyah) and accepted a second class status as a dhimmi, Peoples of the Book in Shia Islam includes Zoroastrians.
If you log on to Quora, and follow the Questions where believers question atheists and come up with the most ridiculous and childish questions (all are repetitive, someone has asked them before 100's of time, you can sense the panic and fear.
William, I am more cynical than you. The religious scriptures are just paper and ink--what you do with them depends on the kind of society you live in and--of paramount importance--how the ruling elites interpret the scriptures. The elites are the ones who deem who is and who is not a heretic, and they do it to their advantage. This, in short, is how religious teachings get perverted.
The social utility of religion, from the aspect of the person behind the sock puppet is that it is an unpaid and invisible policeman, once a person is infected, and is a believer, they no longer need monitoring and correction because they believe some invisible entity in the sky is watching over them and their thoughts and recording all they think and do, for the great accounting day which we all face.
It is absolutely fantastic and a superior control mechanism than even the Egyptians. In the Egyptian book of the dead, the PhaRAoh, had to recite to the gatekeeper of the underworld, that he never had male seed enter his body.
Christians and Muslims believe that their god is an all seeing god and knows that, thus they seek penance here and now in confession or being born again.
In my uncles church there were a couple of men, who were born again every Sunday.
Don't fall into the "two sides of the same coin" false equivalence trap. The Republicans support and have always - from the turn of the 20th Century - supported monied interests - banks & railroads at the outset. Democrats - although tarred by the Southern Democrats' involvement in secession and the Civil War (that their descendants, who used to be called the Southern Democrats, or "Dixicrats," still call the "War of Northern Aggression") - have more or less sided with the lower & middle classes since at least FDR. The Republicans became largely what we're seeing today as a result of the Dixicrats defecting to the Republican party under the influence of Newt Gingrich and Jesse Helms, in the wake of the Civil Rights Era, the Nixon impeachment, and the rise of Reagan under the banner of what at the time was called the "tax revolt." Do not confuse the Dixicrats with the Democrats in the South, who the Dixicrats abandoned because there were more and more black Democrats and their sympathizers still fighting for human rights, as they are today.
The Republicans and Democrats are in no way two sides of the same coin. It's just that the SCOTUS ruling on political contributions in Citizens United - in the midst of attempts to legislate campaign finance reform rules - has really muddled the picture. That means the Democrats need that kind of money just as badly as the Republicans, giving the Republicans a perfect dodge by saying Democrats are just as bad as they are - the false equivalence, the "two sides of the same coin" claim.
So you see, there's not really a "Sociopath in Charge" you speak of. It's plural. The Sociopaths in Charge, the big donors who control 99% of the country's wealth, and would use it to buy a compliant government, a docile, non-union labor force (by law), and a complete removal of their tax obligation by transferring it to the lower classes. They really like sales taxes to be paid by the customers who buy their products at the point of sale, that would decimate the wealth of the "consumer classes."
DZK here was my response to Peggy above. Westerners just don't understand Islam or the Islamic mind, and think only in terms of their own situation.
Mohammad Faisal is a Muslim name. The first and only loyalty Muslims have is to the Ummah, the Ummah is the world wide community of Muslims. Thus anyone who doesn't support or opposes Islam is the enemy and in their minds Biden is the sociopath in charge. Because Biden is obstructing HAMAS and Islam's campaign to rid the Mideast of Jews.
In a Muslim mind, there is nothing higher than Islam, nothing more important than Islam, and the Ummah. They fight and kill each other over doctrine and supremacy, but they unite when it comes to the Jew, the Christian the Kaffir (unbeliever)
I hear what you are saying. I'm not convinced "they're all that way," though. Perhaps I'm still naive at my advanced age, but it's a naivete I hold onto for dear life. I credit people - regardless of their religion - with being able to distinguish who is their enemy from who is not their enemy - at least below the broadest possible brush stroke. I also know that a lot of people emigrate to get away from the crap that's going on where they're from. I can live with and respect that. Of course, and as always, I speak for myself on the issue.
Salome. You have real human observation. An opinion that is simply looking at the big picture. Why are so many supporting the Sociopath in charge of their shrinking mental facilities? They CANNOT see the picture because they're inside the frame. I approve of your comment, and I disapprove of others comments about Muslims, Islam, etc, because those people describing Muslims and frankly, the entire Middle Eastern societies in just 2 sentences, is pathetically blind to a massive reality that exists on Planet Earth. I also learn from Robert Reich's knowledgeable and experienced lessons about what the heck is going on in America!
It seems like the clear majority of Americans do NOT "own their mistakes." So it follows that if they are in a difficult financial situation, it MUST be someone else's fault. And it's easier to blame someONE rather than a whole bunch of someones, the fingers get pointed at the guy sitting behind the Resolute desk rather than at the Congress that refuses to cooperate with his efforts to do what's best for America.
As Robert pointed out, the wages of the majority of Americans has been stagnating since about the 1980s. And since many/most of them are too lazy to do any kind of due diligence, they blame the President, Biden, for their financial woes. Worse, they jump to the conclusion that whoever replaces Biden MUST be the better choice for bringing about Change We Can Believe In.
"It seems like the clear majority of Americans do NOT "own their mistakes." Ah! blaming the victims! So original and innovative! Please list some ideas that you think would help US out of this.
Can you think of a better explanation for why 74 million Americans voted for Trump in 2020? And why Trump still has sooooo many supporters despite an entire mountain range of evidence showing just how much of a criminal he is? These people either didn't do their homework or **they don't care** what their New Messiah has done.
Hi Robert, I'm wondering how much of a link there is between current cost of living crisis and the activities of the GOP and lobbying from corporate interests. Is there a link? Cost of living crisis is a problem for us in "rip off Ireland" and has begun to create a split in society as more of people's pay goes on groceries and rent. Generally though, higher level of average income has protected us from the worst. Thanks for your excellent articles.
As we grow closer to the election, the number of right wing trolls will increase. It is a tactic and they are either paid or volunteers, but I suspect paid.
Donald J Trump despises the poor, he despises rural folk, and religious people. He believes that they are losers. He has no plan, I repeat, NO PLAN….to better the lives of the have-nots in the United States. He wants to return to the White House to escape legal judgment and to further enrich himself. And that is as far as his planning goes. Once there, he would cut deals with big business, even those who would destroy our environment; he would make legal financial decisions favorable to himself and the rest of the 1%, and he will eviscerate our laws and Constitution with the help of a recklessly right-wing Supreme Court. If the have-nots think that they have little today…just elect Trump and wait. We’ll see despair and poverty at levels “like you’ve never seen”.
Yes exactly correct - all the protections workers have with labor laws and unions will be destroyed under Trump - these poor folks are ruining their own futures by buying for a fascist Trump only interested in the rich.
Oh! You’re talking about the economics of our rigged system of Corporate Rule Pirate Capitalism!
Everything is now bad and getting worse, and more polarized, now that SCOTUS hijacked our Constitution, and with it, our government, politics, economy, and our power.
Citizens United and other related cases have radically shifted the power dynamics towards the rich and powerful. We are doomed!
Unless we overrule the Court with The We the People, that is. Help us restore our democracy and our economy! Sign on now. Really, take a minute to check it out:
By the way, movetoamend.org is now an official partner organization of moveon.org, so we expect Robert Reich to be the force that will help pass it. Then he will have saved us from corruption and destruction, and usher in a time of prosperity with a renewable energy economy that works for all, including our planet! All it takes is genuine democracy of and by We the People!!! What do you say, Professor Reich?
Excellent analysis. Trump with his cohorts are going to be tough to beat given the dynamics of this relationship.
His well healed oligarchs and strong men have been planning this takeover for quite some time and then when Trump arrived on the scene as a vectoring factor most everything came together and they seized their opportunity (2015-2020). Recognizing that they could actually seize 2 branches of the government and manipulate the largest number of the public using the tried and true 1938 German program, they aggressively went for it as there was no downside. They established themselves to be "too big to fail". No downside risk in failing to attempt anything they tried.
Unless we can find a way to instantly "enlighten" the MAGA crowd, such that they can realize who the real villains are...and that they, Maga, are being used, manipulated, conned by their not so well balanced hero's, with the end result being their continued inability to influence most any aspect of control over... or understanding of their future lives...
This is the price we pay for not paying attention to how best to properly educate the entire population and as a result, not being able to enforce the guard rails required to maintain a strong evolving Democracy... of the people and for the people.
We have the tools, knowledge and proven ability to evolve as a species... we just haven't the maturity to use them to their best advantage.
Even if we regulated campaign fund raising and spending more than we do now,I don’t think w can eliminate its impact. Money is the mother’s milk of politics.
Also, lower income voters face obstacles unless they are able to vote by mail, and we know that leads to accusations that elections are rigged, stolen, etcetcetc. Of course nothing will satisfy some people that an election was fair, if their guy didn’t win.
I don't know, even for well to do consumers things can get tight these days. Money that used to go for vacations now gets spent at the grocery store and while on paper the rise in the stock market has helped our bottom line more than inflation has hurt it that's 100% in retirement accounts that can't be accessed right now and thus don't help our cashflow any. My employer hasn't really kept up with inflation either, giving with raises lagging inflation by over 12% just over the last three years. Sure we still have our heads above water but my savings is gradually sinking and I've already decided to put retirement off three years longer than I planned to try and get to a more stable position as I don't want to be on a fixed income in this economy.
All of us, even Musk and Bezos, need the necessities of life. People at the bottom are subsidized. Food stamps. HUD restricts rents to 25% of income. People at the top, like Musk and Bezos, are subsidized.
Most of us are stuck in the middle.
As I laid out above, Biden is saying all the right things. The problem is a failure to communicate. The media ain't the message.
It’s easy for people who are relatively well off to get smug about things, and perhaps just cut back a bit on daily spending (fewer Frappuccino’s or nights out) until they experience a shock (job loss, health crisis, etc). Suddenly they realize that, yes, they too are as affected by inflation as the hourly workers and people on fixed incomes who have been working the checkout at their local supermarket. And maybe they look for a change in government. That’s rational, even if not warranted.
I'm just sayin' that the people you speak of, who are making a rational decision to look for a change in government are being gaslighted by their info sources into believing the government is responsible for their condition, by not being told the full story - that the politicians running against government and telling them the government is the problem have a real interest in seeing that government >is< ineffective at relieving their problems, as those politicians are being paid to do by their mega-wealthy patrons to make sure is actually the case. On the other hand, look at how Bobert tried to take credit for "securing $51.4 million for the South Bridge project, despite voting against the 2021 legislation that provided the funding." (She just wasn't slick enough to avoid getting caught in >that< lie.) Y'see, the Republicans and then MAGA have so controverted public info have no idea >who or what< to believe, as their daily troubles leave them little time or inclination to give it all much critical follow-up and assessment.
Thanks for giving context. I agree with your assessment, but would add that human nature makes us look for order in a chaotic world. When things go wrong, our brains try hard to come up with a reason for it, especially when taking some share of blame for decisions that didn’t work out as hoped would saddle us with guilt. It is comforting to think that a) it wasn’t our fault, and b) we can rectify the problem by putting a different person in charge of government.
The story of America has been the advantaged taking advantage of the disadvantaged. This taking advantage was relatively easy to do with the Native Americans whose ethic was not taking advantage but more of a circular sharing. Taking advantage of blacks was relatively easy because might is right- slavery’s free labor gave America a huge advantage. America took advantage over the less advantaged nations of the world for decades. America took advantage of the disadvantaged Chinese paying them slave labor as they made consumer products and built our railways. Over the decades China managed to become more advantaged and became more and more able to take advantage. America is threatened by this competition, this threat to their advantage over lessor others- the disadvantaged whose place in the world was to be taken fully advantage of. They were supposed to stay disadvantaged! As the blacks gained some advantage by demanding to not be so taken so advantage of the advantaged Americans felt outrage at the blacks questioning being held in disadvantage. How dare the blacks! And now how dare China be in a position where Americans can’t take advantage of their disadvantages! How dare they become so advantaged so we can’t take advantage of them! To be an American is to be able to take disadvantage of the world. Even the poorest of Americans stay in poverty looking to one day being able to take advantage rather than support social policies that would make them less disadvantaged to begin with. America’s story of extreme advantage- a monopoly of advantage giving it dominance over the world is coming to an end. Biden’s tariffs and sanctions is bringing China and Russia closer and closer together and has the world finding other currencies… other ways of doing business that offer them more advantage than the American way of taking disadvantage over the world and even over themselves. Will America grow up and see it can’t get away with bullying the world any more or will it continue its tantrum with sanctions tariffs-economic wars- information wars- and proxy wars that could tip into nuclear war. Are American’s so stupid to think that Putin is just kidding with his threats of going nuclear? How willing is the American Security/military industry willing to risk war and go to war. America is invested in war not negotiating a fair sharing in healthy competitions at home or abroad. A 2023 report: $1.1 trillion – or 62% – of the federal discretionary budget was spent on militarism and war last year “When we invest so heavily in militarism at home and abroad, we deprive our own communities and people of solutions to problems that pose immediate security threats” America is geared for war. When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
With Biden, America might trigger nuclear war from Russia. Jeffery Sachs and others have been warning Biden /NATO to stop pushing Putin...sure, Putin has bluffed but only a fool thinks he does not have a final straw...I can see him using a small nuclear bomb in Ukraine-and telling America there are bigger ones aimed at America if America overreacts. America is playing the game of Risk and Russian Roulette. At least Trump will talk with Putin. Trump might go after China too.... Hate/fear of China resonates with his base and far beyond his base with corporate Democrats like Nancy Pelosi...When she went to Tiawan and threatened China, she intensified everything and vastly increased China's anger and resolve.
True-but wars can be triggered...by unpredictable-irrational happenings-a series of unfortunate events- misinterpretation of events...Sachs wrote a paper on that very subject. We don't know about the near misses....but Sachs points enough of them out that we discovered after the fact...
Indeed. Even when the rungs on the ladder are out of reach, they still believe in ladder climbing over giving each other a leg up. When I wrote this piece my objective was to use the word advantage as often as I could and tell the America story in one paragraph. I was surprised that I actually got 3 likes. Thanks for reading it Az.
Every word is true Professor Reich, BUT, the lowest group of have nots, neither understand the economy or what is causing their below living standards. They can relate to ham actor the trumpster because he speaks their language (hatred and condemnation of 'others') Our job is to reach those who have not been so corrupted they still have the ability to think.
Those who believe that Trump is the answer are gambling with their future and their children’s future. What will it take to prove to them that they are in a hopeless spiral that will lead to their ruin!
Trump is a psychopathilogical grifter. The reason he is a psychopath is he is incapable of empathy with other human beings. Trump supporter are correct in understanding that the American establishment of the two-sides-of-the-same-coin Democrat-Republican party has abandoned them, the working class. Where they are badly deluded is in thinking Trump cares about them. He doesn't. Trump is using the working classes' anger and frustration to aggrandize himself.
Recall his tax cuts for the wealthy. That HURT the very people who support him by worsening the federal deficit. Americans need to wake up, grow up and begin to think and stop acting on their reflexes.
That's BS. Biden has done more for them than any president since LBJ. They are fooled by people like you. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/05/15/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-the-april-consumer-price-index/
That's why I think you're a Republican troll.
I disagree Daniel that this is bullshit, Tom has a good point. Not only are they being fed the two-sides are both bad it's being shoveled down their throats by a combination of Fox and the MAGAts in Congress supporting trump, all they really understand is they are hurting and "someone is at fault". What they fail to grasp is how much harm has come to them from their adulation of ham actors including Reagan.
That "two-sides-of-the-same-coin Democrat-Republican party has abandoned them" is pure unadulterated bullshit!!
And WE say "Democratic" Party.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/05/14/fact-sheet-the-biden-harris-administration-highlights-investments-in-rural-america-invites-public-nominations-for-rural-innovators-initiative/#:~:text=The%20Biden%2DHarris%20Administration%20is%20also%20announcing%20over%20%24671%20million,paying%20jobs%20in%20rural%20communities.
Thank you! The dead giveaway is when someone says “Democrat party.”
One reason poorer people may vote for Trump is that they remember the two pandemic stimulus checks they received, with his signature in bold black marker on them. They received one during the Biden administration as well, but without his signature. Never underestimate the power of marketing.
Maybe. I personally think that culture and hatred Trump MAGATs' economic and physical health, however. Pun intended.
"Americans" you mean? There are now two parties: American and Traitors! PRESIDENT BIDEN ended Dubbya Bush's asinine "War on Terror." This means The January 6th Insurrectionists are guilty of HIGH TREASON, often punishable by DEATH.
Daniel, and what is clear it does not matter how much Democrats have tried to assist working-class Americans. Those folks so often turn toward the guys who have nothing to offer them but hardship. Research has proven that Democrats do better for our economy than Republicans by a huge margin, but people just won't/can't believe it. Why? I think it is the big media that is too much owned and operated by Republicans who are certain the truth will hurt them. It did begin with Reagan, or at least this iteration of it did. Since LBJ, Republicans have dragged us into wars that are nearly impossible to get out of, but took a lot of lives and a lot of health and cost a whole lot of money. We need a force within Congress and states that support poor and working-class Americans and deal directly with their issues, improving their lives.
How do you explain democrats voting for a republican Speaker who then goes to New York to support TFG during his trial? This may be the one time MTG is correct. Then to top it off the democrat/republican Speaker invites the war criminal to address The House/Senate. This shows our even handed policy in the Middle East.
If you don't support Biden, you get (and deserve) Fascism. Forest is made of trees.
Because they think the passage of aid for Ukraine and israel is all important, and they think alternatives to Mike Johnson would be just as bad or even worse.Not hard.
Question for you Doug, Why are you fixated on Israel, but ignore the real threat to western civilization, and genocide perpetuated by Putin.
You care so little about Ukraine but care so much about HAMAS, just like Putin.
Incidentally, October 7th was Putins birthday, and Iran, via HAMAS just offered him the greatest birthday present he could wish for, a distraction from Ukraine and a divergence of aid to Israel.
I think they made a deal with Johnson if he'd finally vote for the Ukrainian aid package. They may now regret voting to keep Johnson.
Ukraine and Israel are important to US security. The Putin faction in congress was holding Ukraine arms hostage. Dems made a deal with Mike Johnson, to get him to support aid to Ukraine. Dems live up to their word.
But I am sure that you know all of this, as you have an ulterior motive, don't your Doug?
I don't know if you want to be informed, or if you don't. If you do want to have your question answered, and if you don't know the answer, let me know, please.
Why do you care so much about the middle east Doug.. Your concern should be here and what affects America and Western civilization.
Netanyahu and HAMAS or Muslims vs Jews as a 1400 year old story that had no end or no pleasant end.
Our problem is here and now, Whether we are going to live in a Democratic society or a fascist society.
A Democratic Republic America or a Gilead America.
Your choice.
The Democrats made a responsible decision to support Johnson. The Republican party is in disarray and at least Johnson is willing to work with the Democrats.
Why should we care if he went to NY to kiss the ring? A majority of Republicans are doing that every day to stay relevant to Trump's base.
The best part of Johnson's trip to NY was when he tried to address the protestors at Columbia. He got flustered by the response he received and said, "enjoy your free speech." Then he left with his tail between his legs.
Daniel, the Democratic Party took a hard swerve to the right in the mid-1980's when the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) took control. Bill Clinton was Chair of the DLC just before he became President.
Take a close look at the changes that took place under his leadership - the repeal of Glass-Steagall and it's replacement with Gramm-Leach-Bliley, which led to the consolidation of the banks and investment firms, which in turn precipitated the banking crises.
Also the Commodity Futures Modernization Act which put commodities futures outside any regulatory framework, or even any reporting requirements. This allowed the creation of CDO's (Collateralized Debt Obligations) and CDS's (Credit Default Swaps) which contributed directly to the collapse of the housing markets.
And when progressives finally came up with a truly progressive candidate, the Party did everything in their power to sideline him and anoint Hillary to be the candidate because "It's Her Turn." Yeah, how'd that work out?
Biden, as much as I respect him as a person, is still part of that same neoliberal machine that has kept the Party from really moving forward and distinguishing itself from the Republicans.
Biden got the message. This why he proposed, endorsed and is implementing the Build Back Better program. It is a long-term program; its benefits will reveal themselves slowly. In the meantime people are hurting from high prices in almost everything, but there isn't much Biden can do about that in the short term.
I have followed presidential elections starting with Truman v Dewey as a child. The pundits and the strategist spend a lot of time and energy figuring out why voters vote the way they do. There are times when a single issue is the deciding factor like the Veitnam War or a deep recession. But over all most presidents are selected on personality. Too many voters are overwhelmed by political sales pitches by both sides or just tuned out and make their decisions on who they like more. If voters voted on policies we would not be where we are today.
I disagree. It's all a matter of perception. The infrastructure projects are not putting money into everyone's pockets. We absolutely need to address the infrastructure of the country. But the average citizen doesn't recognize the need or benefit to this endeavor because it does nothing to address the cost of living.
Biden needs to address the corporate greed situation. The supply chain problems are gone, yet big business isn't passing on the savings. Instead, they are maintaining artificially high prices and raking in record profits.
The FTC banned ex-oil executive Scott Sheffield from sitting on the board of Exxon after a merger. The FTC cited communications between Sheffield and other industry leaders, as well as public comments made by the oil boss, to assert that he had attempted to collude with the Opec cartel and other domestic producers to curtail production and prop up prices. https://www.ft.com/content/78bfb9e4-86bd-46d6-91e9-f4d43c2da2a6
It's not inflation, it is corporate greed that must be stopped but the right is promoting false information blaming Biden for high prices.
Knock your shit off Karl, don't play that right wing Socratic method here.
If you have something to say, spit it out.
Karl from Vladivostok,
Fay, you are right, but those folks have chosen to keep from actually thinking about what is going on and looking beyond Fox et al. I suspect a lot of them know what Trump is or suspect, but can't bear to change to a different perspective. It is hard to change especially if you learn you have been bamboozled, cheated, lied to, and used by the guy you thought really cared about you and definitely doesn't beyond getting your vote. That's a pain most people don't want to deal with, so they will make every excuse to keep on the Trump wagon even though it is rolling inexeribly toward destruction.
You've certainly got that right Ruth. It's really hard for some people to admit to making a mistake - trump, himself is one of them.
It's the "two sides of the same coin" argument, ain't it? That's when I began wondering.
Rather more likely a foreign troll. A Republican would likely know about Robin hood.
Note also the short answers which read like they’re coming from a prepared list of points.
AI?
Karl is is a bot.
Oh, Karl, you used a similar question already! Amazing! Try declarative sentences for a change, though. They can be interesting where questions just demonstrate lack of respect or ignorance when they are just reworded. I am not sure which relates to your situation. You do not care one whit about a WH press conference or probably anything else either. Where do you stand or are you just one of those botts who has a ton of information to toss out in questions that mean nothing? Hmmmm! I just asked a question. Wow, you inspired me! I had better be more careful!
Most people here recognize that the Democrat party has in ther past hurt the working class in different ways. And the Republican party far more.
The problem with what you have said is it leaves the impression there is no difference between the two parties, tweedle dee tweedle dum, and that is false and not helpful. The Biden administration has done much to help the working class and will do more if we can re-elect Joe.
Tom, I don't think equating Democrats with what Trump has done and is doing to the working-class is fair. Democrats have tried to get programs going for improving working-class lives, but nearly every time, Republicans have jumped in with filibusters and ridiculous riders designed to undermine whatever bill it is. Admittedly Manchin and Sinema, both originally Democrats were bought out, if they were ever really Dems and kept a lot of good legislation from being passed, much of which was to help improve programs and people's lives. Trump is scum (OK, that's an insult to scum) and has to be stopped, but there is a whole lineup out there just waiting to take over for Trump, sure they are smarter and could do even more damage to this nation on behalf of themselves and their rich white friends. Ugh!
Tom: all you have said is true. Trump supporters are suffering from severe gambling addiction, which no amount of psychotherapy will resolve. One characteristic of such addiction is a sociopathic disregard for others. Adding insult to injury, the liar- in -chief has gained his power Through a form of the Stockholm syndrome, a condition he has imposed upon his followers with his lies and false promises. Though we must mourn the loss of this enormous demographic, we must work together to ensure that this monster does not get reelected to finish the damage he has begun.
Biden and the Dems need to figure this out. I nominate TAX THE RICH as an important slogan and campaign plank.
How 'bout including: "And justice for ALL!"
Those who think Trump is the answer are asking a really stupid question.
One part of the solution is to help low income people. The other part of the solution is to stop calling them stupid and try to understand where they are coming from.
Nobody disagrees with your point. After some 6+ years however, of Trump’s nonsense calling him any kind of answer is simply stupid. If you or they want to explain why a life long criminal who lies about everything, has any kind of plan that makes sense, I’m listening. I would gladly like to hear where they are coming from.
As the 80th anniversary of D-Day approaches, it's good to recall this number: 400,000. That is the approximate number of American servicemen and women who perished in the four years of World War II.
400,000 is also the approximate number of Americans who had perished from Covid-19 in Trump's last eight months in office. Tens of millions more had been infected by January of 2021, and many thousands more would die due to a virus that trump completely mismanaged.
(That's when inflation started to spike too, which is what Biden inherited.)
Recently, a number of economists from across the spectrum are warning that if Trump takes office, inflation will be far worse than it is under Biden. (When Trump calls for tariffs on Chinese products, for example, he actually believes that it's the Chinese who pay the tariffs.)
“There has never been a presidential platform so self-evidently inflationary as the one put forward by President Trump ... a growing number of economists and policy analysts are warning that Trump’s second-term agenda of sweeping tariffs, mass deportation of undocumented migrants, and enormous tax cuts would accelerate, rather than alleviate, inflation."
Trump says anything he thinks can get him votes. If reelected, he may do what the Republicans want him to do: use the border and drug crises to declare a national emergency and then implement their fascist program.
Thomas - “Like”!! Agree with Keith - Very well said.
Well said Thomas
They will have to live the experience of Trump's policies. But it will be too late for them and for the rest of us. Who will they blame then? Who cares? Trump and all his GOP supporters along with the corrupt SCOTUS will be the end of the Democratic dream. Voting blue is our only chance.
They already spiraled in ruin from the neocon economy and capital hoarders. What do they have left to lose? I am not a party to their politics, and I lost the birth lottery as well. The lower class has been sold gambling as an "honest" way to make money through the neocon agenda. Whether it is playing the market, scratch-offs, LOTTO, Vegas style games of chance, and now even SPORTS BETTING or taking a chance on a non status quo candidate, they have nothing to lose. The only people winning already have access to capital and have rigged the system so they can not lose.
For people with little hope, the downward spiral is already in play.
Trump's economic plan is a recipe for Argentina-size inflation.
May 3, 2024 discussion re US economy, and what would happen should Trump be permitted to affect decisions at the Federal Reserve Bank. (The Wall Street Journal broke the story of Trump policy advisors' 10-page policy brief re presidential influence on the Fed.)
https://www.wamc.org/podcast/the-roundtable/2024-05-03/5-3-24-rt-panel
Buried the lede:
What would happen if a president is permitted to modify as Republican policy brief suggests:
"If people think that inflation under Biden was bad, they're in for a very very rude and unpleasant surprise, because all of Trump's policies... are inflationary"
~ Aaron Pacitti, Prof. of Economics at Siena College
Pacitti further goes into detail on Trump's plans, and also points out that most factors creating inflation under Biden's administration were caused by outside actions, not administration policy.
Maryk - “Like”
I believe many of them *know* they're in a hopeless spiral, and the most angry and resentful act from a "If I'm going down, you're all going with me" mentality. Trump is the match to burn it all down.
The Democratic Party is the gambling one. They do not have the guts to tell Biden that he must make way for a new generation of leaders. To me he appears like a Zombie, like one of those robots who are being managed and manipulated. He will not last through the next five years for sure. So we are getting Kamala Harris as our President. She has not been vetted, she is being shoved down our throats. Yes Trump is awful but a zombie is any better? If Trump wins and it looks to me like he will, I blame Biden and his supporters. I remember the election of RR. The Democrats hated him but the country was tired of the chaos and of being pushed around. RR won in a landslide. It’s not too late for a change.
Yes, it is too late.
And lest ye despair about the possibility of electing a “zombie” (rather than a demented, fascist demagogue), take a serious look at the honest, competent, and truly patriotic Cabinet Biden assembled, compared to the kind of people Trump has and will assemble. Honest people don’t want to be surrounded by corrupt and crooked subordinates; crooks will not want honest people in the same room.
Marge, If more of our voters were as smart as you are Trump wouldn't be running for office.
I’m not talking about myself. I would never vote for Trump. I am talking about the serious possibility that Trump could be elected. If he is, what then? Who is to blame?
What is your alternative Harmut? Vote for Cornell West and elect Trump. Vote for RFKjr, Elect Trump, Vote for Jill Stein, elect Trump.
Ralph Nader took votes away from Gore in Florida and Dubya became President.
Jill Stein did the same in Swing states and Trump became President.
You are intelligent, thus are aware that any vote other than for Biden,or any non vote,is a vote for Trump.
Ergo, you are a Trumpian Troll, or maybe a Putinistia.
Are you always throwing insults rather than engaging in an intelligent debate? I don’t think you belong here.
You are not the decider on who belongs where. Stay in your own lane.
You raised the issue, If Biden is not a choice, then who is.
Math says that a third party has no chance of winning 270 electoral votes to become president. You are intelligent enough to know that.
And if liberals sit out the election, or vote third party then Trump becomes President. you are smart enough to know that.
Ergo, the conclusion is obvious you are either a Trumpian Troll or a Putinista.
That is nto an insult, that is a logical conclusion.
If I choose to insult you, you will know it.
Look in the mirror : "Hartmut".Blaming the only party left for the corruption of years of Republican Dominance of our government shows a breathtaking 😳 ignorance
Hartmut. A not so clever Republican tactic to throw the Democrats in disarray. Yes Kamala is better than any misogynistic, racist, homophobic fascist that the Republicans can put up.
I would vote for a head of cabbage,instead of a Republican, I like my freedoms, not to fond of fascism.
And you are just one more right winger, smooth you think you are, that is logging on to liberal sites as we get closer to November.
I guess you like to throw insults at people. I would never vote for Trump. I will look at third party candidates before voting for Biden. If he loses, whom are you going to blame? The leadership of the Democratic Party is gutless or they would force Biden not to run again. There are plenty of great candidates whom I would vote for.
I don't like doing anything Harmut, and talking of throwing insults, you are not a piker. Take the beam out of thy own eye.
If you vote for any third party, or don't vote for anyone, you are voting for Trump, So enjoy as he clamps down on all the civil rights and constitutional games and freedoms, and I do hope that the Muslims who sat on their hands or voted third party as he follows through with his plans to deport them.
Hartmut, clearly you are a fraud.
"Hartmut" Who would I blame? Traitors like you!
Kamala Harris ? She would join the company of un -vetted VPs who assumed the presidency in our life times, Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson and Gerald Ford. Not too shabby.
and Kamala Harris is far more qualified than Trump, a shitty actor and a fraudster.
She is intelligent and has good people in the present cabinet. Good advisors . What experience did tRump have? At least she cares about Democracy and decency. President Biden chose her for a reason.
for white supremacists everyone else is "unqualified.."
True but in this case voters know and expect that Harris would become president. So in effect they will be voting for Harris. I doubt that this helps Biden.
Why? Because she is a woman and also a person of color? Or because she is a prosecutor who knows the law, and is capable and fearless! She would deal with criminals much more forcefully!
Again who do you champion Hartmut? If not Trump then who?
don't waste time on trolls.
You are correct, but I am bored, have time on my hand, and this is entertaining.
Again this is not about me and it is none of your business whom I am going to vote for. Thank God democracy protects confidential votes from people like you.
You don't have to tell me who you are voting for. You already did,you are voting for Trump, if not directly then indirectly. And is about you and people like you.
thank the Constitution. God has nothing to do with your voting rights.
If you are so worried about confidentiality what are you doing in a political discussion forum!? You have this radical idea that we can gin up the perfect candidate in less than 4 months, but can'tveven come up with someone. Faker!
YES! A zombie is better. Our zombie isn't responsible for killing hundreds of thousands of people. He didn't tell people to take a disinfectant or drink bleach to cure COVID. tRump had no plan to address the crisis. Instead, our zombie got the American Rescue Plan passed. Our zombie signed a 1 trilllion dollar infrastructure bill to repair the nations bridges, roads, bring high speed internet to rural communities. It was bipartisan.32 republiccans signed it. Our zombie passed the first major gun safety legislation in decades. At a time when it's impossible to get anything done in Washington, Biden did something consequential. The Zombie you refer to that won't last 5 years passed the Science and Chips Act, which brought back manufacturing of semiconductor chips here instead of China.. I can go on. For example The Inflation Reduction Act originally called The Build back Better Act will spend 2 trillion dollars on health care reform, universal pre kindergarten, paid family leave, and 550 billion dollars dedicated for climate change, a cap on prescription drug costs like Insulin now costing $35.
YES, I'll take BIDEN for President over JFK, Cornell west, Nikki Haley and any other wannabe hypocrite, dictator you can conjure up. Democracy is on the ballot and your small minded complaints aren't helping.
I agree with most of what you say and yes Biden is 100% better than Trump. You don’t have to convince me. What worries me is that Trump will win. Biden is way behind in the swing states. My vote makes no difference. There is no doubt that in my state Biden-Harris will win and if they win then Harris will be our next president for sure. I do know Harris and I have a hard time seeing her as being President. Sorry about that. I felt similarly about Hillary Clinton. I thought she was in the pocket of Wall Street, same as Bill Clinton and she was disdainful of the working class. I still voted for her because I could not stand Trump. But my comment was not about me but about the choice we are given.
Yes, "a zombie" is better. Biden is not a dictator & works with his competent administration.
Why is he then behind in the polls against a very beatable opponent?
The polls are owned and operated by the billionaires who love tRUMP's tax "breaks". With very few exceptions. Fox "News" is owned by a family of dynastic wealth. "People" that are buying The Supreme Court" which has been trashing the Constitution . They buy and intimidate representatives and Senators. They are still engaging in a coup. misinformation and disinformation is powerful. Ignorance is not bliss! Expose the billionaires! They are an enemy when they destroy our rule of law, and mess with justice! Traitors Off the Court!
Ergo you champion Trump Hartmut. That is the only possible conclusion/
They are ignorant or don’t have a very good memory or both!
One part of the solution is to help low income people. The other part of the solution is to stop calling them stupid and try to understand where they are coming from.
The low income people don't vote Raymond, it is the business class of middle income that are the Trump humpers.
Good clips. I am a “Community Teacher” for some med school students because I have a complex disease and am a senior citizen. I do make sure they understand my particular diagnosis and healthcare needs.
But I also make sure they understand the challenges they will face.
1. Insurance will dictate how many minutes they can spend with their patients (and half that time will be spent reviewing the patient’s chart to try to remember who is sitting in their office).
2. Insurance will dictate which tests they can order (none of which was related to my condition).
3. Insurance will dictate which medications will be covered (and insurance may stop covering a patient’s medication with only one month’s notice).
4. Healthcare monopolies and hedge fund profit-stripping will result in the students being over scheduled and too exhausted to keep up with any research - except the “studies” provided by the drug manufacturers which <surprise!> validate their own products.
5. For these reasons, the only way I was able to get a diagnosis and treatment plan was to find physician-experts who no longer are willing to be bound by the strictures of insurance. In other words, they accept no insurance. Paying these rates has been tough, but I am not exaggerating when I say that if I had not gone this route, I would have died nearly ten years ago.
Of course I don’t say all this at my first meeting with my students. And of course I could say a lot more. But if all my students drop out in despair I won’t be able to teach the next cohort! ;-)
Dear Marge,
The fact that what you wrote is totally true makes it hard to face.
I too have dealt with a 39 year horror story with health. Now I go to Mexico where medical care is focused on ,wait, you won’t believe this, the PATIENT!!!
If our young medical students were totally about wanting to be health providers, they would stand strong and tall and exclude insurance companies from the control over their chosen careers. Sadly, as the President of Harvard Medical school wrote years ago , 9 out of 10 medical students care mostly about money.
Our failure as a country continues to be the focus on more…. Not more great purpose, but on more, more, money!
😫
My Medical Center is owned by the nuns of St Joseph and they own others in Washington and Oregon, however they have contracted out services to Black Rock, and Black Rock puts a time limit on how much time your PCP can devote to you, that limit is 15 minutes. I show up on time and still wait 16 minutes to 30 minutes to get called to his office, I see a nurse who takes vitals and asks why I am there, then another 15 to 20 minutes for the doctor to show up, and he is out as fast as he can.
Lawyers bill on the time they spend with you, or thinking about your case. Medicare and health insurance pays by the incident, the more incidents the more money.
I suspect that doctors who spent too much time with a patient are dinged.
William - I “like” your comment because I can relate to it very well. What chaps my a** is when they have those signs up saying if you are 15 minutes late they will make you reschedule. It doesn’t matter how long you have to collectively wait for them to see you but you are turned away if you can’t get there on time even if it is out of your control. Now only if my “like” button would work….:(
Customers are cattle, who need their services, if it was the other way around, they would be beginning us and doing every thing but oral sex and maybe that too.
How many times have you been sucked in by a low cost deal, or a promotion and then when the time expires to have your payment jump double, and then jump through hoops to cancel.
One time the only way I could cancel a "deal" was to cancel my credit card and get a new one.
William - “Like”
Stanford hospital has time limitations as well. However, PCP's in Senior Care are not timed. Cardiology specialists can spend up to 40 minutes with a patient. Before we vote for Medicare for All, we need to establish guidelines that do not short change the doctors and their patients. Hospitals and insurance companies are laughing all the way to the bank.
The only problems with Medicare are those created by AHIP lobbyists who wrote the laws and amendments inserted into the law that created Medicare.
For instance until George W Bush, one was eligible for Medicare at age 65, now it is age 67, also Social Security was not taxable,until George W Bush.
William, I have learned that many insurance-controlled physicians do not want to hear about multiple system symptoms (which obviously makes it nearly impossible for them to think holistically and identify complex immunological diseases). Two symptoms? Maybe two visits!
I don’t know much about BlackRock but I wonder if they aren’t a hedge fund equity-stripping investment group (among other investments)?
Marge. Many decades ago, a pharmaceutical learned of an Amazonian tribe cure for diabetes. It was a concoction of herbs. They took it back and tried to find the particular chemical, and couldn't and gave up. It wasn't a particular chemical it was all of the herbs working together.
It is the same problem with the medical profession. For instance they believe that smoking is the cause of lung cancer, I know many people who have had lung cancer and never smoked, they refuse to accept that evidence.
We live in a cause and effect world.
The Republicans, especially the felonious DJT are running one of the biggest scams in American history with their reverse Robin Hood scheme, fueled by the very people they are ripping off.
If they manage to finish the power grab this November the national screwing will be complete as they use the bodies of poor white folk to fill the coffers of the cronies. The poor MAGA and the chop licking billionaires are strange bedfellows indeed, but only one group will get satisfaction. And it won’t be the foot soldiers.
The reverse Robin Hood scheme!
Rob from the Poor.
Give to the Rich.
Old Civil War trench wisdom: "It's a rich man's war, but a poor man's fight."
DZK, true of the South, not of the North.
Your FeloniousDJT is perfect for a #...hope you don't mind my borrowing it.
Let’s never refer to him again without that label!
Annabel: well-said!!! ❤️
Maybe not to you. But that DOES make sense, seeing your other comments. Good day to you.
It made sense to me, Annabel. Maybe Undoc was confused because autocorrect turned what you meant as “coffers” into “covers.”
Thanks! Will correct.
UC: perhaps you are from a different culture? Like Chinese? North Korea? RUSSIA???
👍
Thanks Barbara, you just showed who UC is, and here we were taking him serious. Just another Putin bot, maybe Xi bot, Most certainly AI driven.
They have basically taken over Facebook, Tik Tok and social media.
You won't find them trolling Truth Social though.
I don’t think most people were taking him seriously, but not recognizing RobinHood seemed like an interesting possible tell of foreignness. Or maybe some R too young to know that legend.
Maybe i should change my name to “I am not bot. Are you?” Kind of like Melania’s coat
Take your "bird" out of our faces and look up the Robin Hood story and what he represented to the poor. Hint ' "take from the rich and give to the poor." He was a most likely mythic folk hero.
Laurie See Barbara's post above. UC is obviously an AI bot out of Russia or China.
I already liked Barbara's post. It is evident that UC is "other" in some way, shape or form. They have been around the forum for awhile. No change. No soul
Google it.
Undoc ; you never make sense.
A synonym for "undocumented" is "spurious". Certainly true in this case.
Funny how I assume these nuts are all guys- how sexist of me.
You know how boats are referred to as “she”? Maybe to even things out bots should be “he”
You never have, but bots do that.
Biden's poor ratings are the result of an aggressive false flag campaign initiated to discredit a good man and to elevate the lack of social successes by a fraud. Trump seems quite pleased to have his feet stuck in the mud of a swamp he so lovingly helped to create. Why do fools draw such attention?
They draw such attention because the media are owned by the beneficiaries of his fraud and theft.
Laurie--Great point.
Exactly Laurie. I know that you know, but anyone who reads this and has just a little curiosity, google who owns ABC, then NBC, then CBS, then CNN and when you get the results write down the names of the individual and institutional shareholders, and google the shareholders, you will get more names, right them down and google them, one thing you will notice is that the names Vanguard, Black Rock, State Street come up in all.
But you will names of Individuals who are chairman of the Board and CEO as well as a major stockholder, like Brian L Roberts, Bog Iger, Samuel and Donald Newhouse, then go to wikipedia and do a search on them, then there is the Ochs Sulzberger family, and the Murdochs.
Don't forget John Malone, the guy I think calls the shots on CNN.
Correct, shame on me.
HAHAHA!
Laurie - “Like”
Making a fool of oneself in public is what passes for entertainment these days, and judging from the fools sending money to djt as a reward for his disgraceful antics, foolishness begets even more fools.
R.--- Wouldn't it be easier just to say Trump is an ass?
You just did. Besides: the majority figured this out as you have! Look at the last 7 elections! Losers!
Sometimes shorter is better, but in this case it is not what I wanted to say.
R.--Then I guess we will just have to guess.
What is so rich to me, Donald, is he ran his campaign promising to "drain the swamp" when he is the one that created it!!
Peggy, he also said he was so rich he could fund his own campaign and not be beholden to anyone. I think it was Lie #16, not that I’m counting.
More like #160,000, not that I'm counting either!! It would be absolutely great if his donors stopped giving him any money so that he could "fund" his own campaign!! What a complete and total narcissistic moron!!
I was being funny, suggesting that the self-funding was one of his very first lies!
Marge - “Like”!
I wonder if the Washington Post is still keeping a tally? It was in the higher thousands!
Laurie - “Like” I wish that they would as well as the other ones that were keeping a tally of every lie he told and included fact checking. I think that they were up to 32,000 (estimate) by the time he left office. How quickly people forget what a serial liar he was then and how worse it has gotten.
Yes, I think the self-funding was one of his very first lies -- only #16 of the tens of thousands! ;-)
Marge - “Like”!
Anon: Don't forget that his every rally consists of lies about the "deep state" and the corrupt courts etc. Etc. He should be in jail without his lying magaphone!! At least until all his cases are properly prosecuted! If they insist on having him on the ballot, as disabled as he is, as unfit as he is: the election should be delayed until he can clear his name!!! There is a gross Injustice being done by this Supreme Court! To say Nothing about the DOJ and the 11th circuit! There will be Hell to pay!!
Anon: the Georgia case is still on track. The MAGAs wanted to hit "below the belt" with a scandal,but Georgia law does not hold that a crime was committed. Fani Willis makes more money than her prosecutor , and there was zero evidence that was a thing. She has plenty of her own 💰 💰 money.! That RICO case will be prosecuted! They 'just' wanted to put Her on trial, when the scheming criminals are the ones on trial! As she pointed out! Distract and deflect is the MAGA way! Losers!
Laurie - “Like” Now that is an interesting thought - delay the election until he stops delaying his court cases! At least people would be fully aware of all of the evidence against him. SC has lost all credibility in my eyes even though they don’t seem to care to hide their partisan politics. Think about the peace we would have if he was without his megaphone and the complicity of the news.
I was being funny, suggesting that the self-funding was one of his very first lies.
Marge - “Like” I got your joke when you typed it ;)
Marge ; It probably was!
the Washington Post is now run by a Wall Street Journal man--the shape of things to come.
Peggy--The swamp he was referring to has been there for some time now, but the orange guy sure loves to wallow in the stuff.
Trump and Bannon defined the swamp as the administrative state, but the swamp is actually corporations and plutocrats,
Trump didn't drain the swamp, he added pythons and gators,European catfish.and other voracious predators.
William - “like”
The swamp was brought to US Mostly by the billionaires.
William ---That he did.
Absolutely!
He certainly contributes to the swamp. Works for the Swampmasters!
I prefer to call it a cesspool than a swamp. Swamps are ecologically important, cesspools damage environments.
Good point, Paula. Trump has used the word "swamp" because of his ecological illiteracy, which also helps explain why he is a Republican.
Donald: they are covered because the rich media owners have wet dreams of more tax cuts and less government regulation!
Marge--I have the same dreams, but they don't end in such a satisfying manner.
Donald - “Like”
People on both sides of the political divide are fond of single-issue arguments or, even just plain nitpicking, but objectively it cannot be denied that Trump's presidency was a chaotic disaster and while Biden's has been extremely positive for the country, including Trump's base.
Both sides ism is not accurate here. The criminal activity and outright treason from the extreme "right" is destroying our country.
Ryan - “like”
That's right ; and, of course, Donald can do no wrong. He is perfect ; and the whole world is wrong.
UN--I didn't say that, but I will agree with you to an extent. The conditions we are currently living under didn't arise because of anything Joe did. We and he are victims of the world's conditions. Looking past what we are having to deal with here at home others around the world are having to live with conditions which are much worse. Count your blessings, if Trump was in the White House the world would have ended by now.
Donald I think that you meant UC not UN. How can you partially agree with a Russian or Chinese AI Bot?
So are you implying that Biden is in some way equivalent to convicted - by a jury of his peers the defense team had a hand in selecting - career fraudster, little Kaiser von Schitzinpantz? Just curious.
Actually. That is true!
Now you have it. You just won the jackpot. UC
Say that 100 times before bed.
The voters that think that Trump is their savior are completely misguided and uninformed. Biden is trying to work on the income inequality problem. How can he get something passed if the republicans won’t support it? Their goal is to prevent anything from getting done, and then blame it on the democrats. The country remains gridlocked.
Jack, 100% agree!! They refuse to work with Democrats on anything. If a bill that will help their constituents and other Americans is brought by a Democrat, their vote will always be no whether they read it or not. They honestly think we are idiots for not seeing that!
Peggy: sadly, there are a few million idiots who don’t see it. Because they get their news from their side only.
Peggy - “like” That and they claim credit for the bills passed that they refused to vote for. Funny how when a disaster strikes their community then they want help. All while denying climate change.
Yes Jack Schatz ; the illegitimate majority on the Supreme Court is their handmaiden. We could remove the traitors who are disqualified from their positions in government if their policies and rulings against our Constitution were reversed. They have stolen our country and the flawed broken justice system is on life support. We need more justice done.
Jack - “like” Plus 10 republicans in the senate just signed a letter basically saying that they are refusing to do their job if it has anything to do with democrats.
What would YOU do against a stacked court? The "system is rigged" now in favor of the obscenely wealthy enabled by their puppet .tRUMP, and his friends Putin and other oligarchs and dictators. The saddest thing here is that we are being taken down not by "good people who do nothing" ; but by the extremely rich who know what they are doing , and don't give a damn. Because they have stolen the power in government to do so. and they can.
Laurie - “Like”! Said it better than I could.
UC is a Russian or Chinese AI bot, ignore it.
Can you type? What's your plan? Have you read anything? You need to read and study. It is all written publically. Trump's plan is out as well. Make your decision on voting day.
For one, I understand he's in favor of education for undocumented people.
For years I didn’t shop at Walmart because I didn’t like their purchasing and more importantly their labor practices. Then I lived where it was the only grocer I could reach on one bus rather than two. I found the store had produce comparable to other stores and better for ethnic foods. I used grocery delivery for many other things because as a disabled person who voluntarily decided to quit driving it was the best of my options. I still have many issues with them but the more I learn about all the other grocers in my area the more they look them same.
That's an astute observation, Sioux Fleming. In rural America, Walmart has gobbled up the smaller grocers, and the choice besides Walmart now is between Kroger-owned and those owned by Albertson's. What we notice when we go to Walmart's in rural Colorado is the large number of huge pick-ups, and we can't figure out how people are paying for them, much less the expensive gas they run on.
We also noticed huge, new pick-ups where we buy groceries, many parked in handicap spots. They cost about $60,000 and we wondered how they afford them. We drive a 24 year old Dodge van and a 24 year old Chevy S-10; both paid for. haha. One of my son's is an auto mechanic, so that helps. Our family helps each other so nobody is homeless. We are the no-interest bank and often get paid back in labor we need. We have all resisted moving for better paying jobs to stay near family. It would help if Biden could reduce or get some student loans cancelled. College is way too high.
FYI: The income driven repayment program just cut my student loan payment so far I was able to pay off my mortgage loan with savings I had earmarked for paying off my student loan, make the first investment in my life - a T-bill that yields much better interest than my savings account - while lowering my total monthly outlay about 10% lower than I would've, had I paid off the student loan alone - and still retain several thousand in the savings account my T-bill funds came from. I'm not going to make perfect the enemy of the good about it. I'm just wondering if people having such student loan debt are fully aware of >all< the options Biden >has< provided, that don't run afoul of this hack SCOTUS' ruling.
I'm happy for you. My family is keeping up to date on the issue and understand help needs to come from Biden.
There is only so much Biden can do because Republicans have a majority in Congress.
For me, it was as simple as going to the Federal Student Aid site:
https://studentaid.gov/
Reading about all the options, creating an account, then filling out an application. A few days later, I got email that didn't say I qualified, but told me what my new monthly payment will be and when it will start - which was the date of my next, previously set monthly payment date.
Spread that info around!
Ok.
Biden has been as successful at reducing or eliminating student debt as the limited power of executive action allows. I have friends whose debt was canceled due to Biden!
I wager, Gloria, that the owners of the $60,000 pick ups and expensive new cars are all Trump humpers.
Don't get me started on large pickup owners bellyaching about gas prices!
Having been rear-ended four times, with permanent injuries, I panic when all I can see in my rear view mirror is the grille of a huge pick-up. I end up glancing in my rear view mirror more than the windshield ahead. I hate them.
In rural CO it's a statement right ? You need that huge pickup to haul fencing for your cattle or whatever (and some probably do need it, on occasion).
What gets me is all the humongous SUVs in the lots of Walmart and esp Target with a single person in them. Just seems mindless conspicuous consumption. I also wonder how they can afford ther gas guzzlers. In debt up to their eyeballs?
Going into debt to buy a fancy pickup truck that you can't afford to buy with cash on hand is dumb. This is the main reason so many find themselves in a financial blackhole for most of their lives, in my opinion. The farmers in my area drive old "beater" pickups to work around the farm. Don't need a fancy pickup to haul manure!
An honest pickup is dirty. A spotless, detailed pickup just a'cruisin' 'round in the city is pure macho fantasy.
My SUV is bigger than your SUV syndrome?
I can understand a pickup truck in a rural area. What I don’t understand is the huge percentage of pickup trucks, some jacked up, in San Diego. Most will never see a mile off of pavement. It’s a male ego compensation issue and a Republican calling card thing. Frankly, with the exception of maybe Idaho, Alaska and rural Colorado, I see more big pickups in urban Southern California than anywhere else in the U.S. or Canada.
Albertson's owns Safeway in the North West, I have no idea what it owns anywhere else, but the choices in the aisle are vanilla, hardly any choice it uses it's economic power, to get bargain base prices for products, thus driving other specialty producers bankrupt.
Monopolies do that, they drive out brick and mortar stores, producers and vendors, limit choice and when they are a monopoly they raise prices..
Just a side comment about US food supply in general… it’s corrupt as hell. I’m not referring to the financial side, I mean the actual food.
I don’t buy certain food sbecause it creates bad health and a helluva lot of needless suffering. It benefits the hugely corrupt corporate healthcare industry in general. The FDA has been bought by regulatory capture.
What gets me is how oblivious the majority of people are to this scam. I get made fun of for my eating habits sometimes, yet I’m 62 and can run circles around my cohort and have zero chronic health issues. Not only are folks oblivious to my “foods to avoid claims”, but they get hostile too.
Moldy buildings and their adverse effects on a lot of people is another huge racket.
I stay away from processed foods best I can. I do buy some frozen and canned food, but it is the Amy's brand it has no more than 5 ingredients and is free of chemicals.
I am also pre diabetic, and avoid simple carbs best as I can. Result eat to live, not live to eat. Lots of beans and brown (not white) rice.
Good for you, and congratulations, because you have overcome your in-born addiction to sweet and fatty food.
Brent, if they get hostile it is because they are addicted to sugary, fatty, salty foods. These are real addictions and they are killing people--slowly.
Brent, I have an immune disorder that makes eating pesticide-coated food literally dangerous. And then there are the “other ingredients.” I’ve been forced to read up on them because of my health and I’m astounded by the chemicals that are allowed to be in our food and drugs. While a few may be ok for healthier folks, the effected if others are terrifying. I won’t go into my list, but I can only say that the FDA must be bought and paid for by big business.
I don’t know exactly what is off in these foods I just pay attention to how I react. Chemicals of course, the foods themselves, and I am skeptical of GMO insect resistance. Could be people resistant too!
Hopefully you don’t have a mast cell activation syndrome like me. But it probably affects 10-17% of the population- though it’s rarely diagnosed.
…I assume you also have confirmed your moldy house syndrome status and any food intolerances.
Mold isn't a problem. Food is, as it affects the root cause of my probable MCAS, a GI bacterial overgrowth. As a result, my mast cells react to many, many environmental factors. sigh.
Have you heard of low dose naltrexone for managing your mast cell activation syndrome? I suggest researching that.
I am taking LDN which is helpful but not sufficient. Started the low FODMAP SIBO biphasic diet yesterday. The limited list of foods I'm allowed to eat for the next 4-6 weeks is very depressing. To be followed by an antibiotic that has not even been allowed in the US. (I'm tired of being a test subject, though glad I have a relatively open-minded healthcare team.)
You obviously know someone with MCAS.
Oh, and household cleaning products! I can no longer walk down a store aisle where Gain laundry products are displayed. Check out what those “fragrances” do to people!
My wife is allgergic to fragrances, so I know.
I’ve found that I don’t react to actual naturally occurring fragrances. Just the chemical ones. That was a pleasant surprise.
One point to consider in assessing consumer food prices is where the profit goes- to the manufacturer or the retailer. In the food business, retailers’ net margins are slim; the mega processed food mfrs like Pepsi have unique selling points that allow for price rises not possible for smaller firms. . Most food retailers stock the same brands and have similar unbranded or private label lines. The main difference to consumers’ pocketbooks is the extent and frequency of discounted sales. Of course, the quality and selection of fresh foods and the overall shopping experience count for a lot. Outside of the warehouse stores whose profit comes largely from selling annual memberships, the lowest margin retailers are the niche players like Aldi, Lidl and Trader Joe’s.
Back to Pepsi, during and after the COVID pandemic the cost of nearly everything shot up; mfrs like PepsiCo undoubtedly had contracted for months or years of supplies of key ingredients, but may face big cost increases down the line. Raising their prices in anticipation of higher costs in future can inflate their bottom line today, but we can expect a reversion to the mean in future.
The other day I suggested Biden could request corporations that profited over x percent last quarter or last year to lower their prices voluntarily. Even if they don't, it would point out that some have all time high profits yet raise their prices anyway.
They don't care what Biden or the rest of us want. They only care what Wall Street wants. If they lowered prices voluntarily, the stock market would punish their stock by lowering the share price, angering the shareholders and generating lots of negative publicity in the business world.
Why does anyone buy anything from Pepsi and Coke, they are conglomerates and sell more than their poisonous drinks, especially their "Diet" drinks which are pure poison, made with aspartame. Aspartame is a by product of aluminum smelting and is a deadly toxin, however a chemist found that it was an artificial sweetener, and Donald Rumsfeld when he was CEO of Searle, used his political influence to have the FDA approve it's use.
It is highly addictive, and actually causes weight gain, not loss, as the body is fulled into thinking you ingested sugar, the pancreas goes to work releasing glucose, you become hypoglycemic, crave sugar, consume junk food, and gain weight, become obese with diabetes.
I am pre diabetic but it is genetic, I never had used aspartame, and control my weight and blood glucose with diet, exercise other than daily workout with a Qibit is not possible.
I'd like to see documentation that supports your conclusion. No intent to troll here. I really would like to see such documentation.
I know you aren't trolling DZK and if that response is to me. I did n't come to a conclusion, I posted facts about Aspartame, there is plenty of information on the net about the poison called aspartame, all one needs to do is construct a good question and google it like aspartame and obesity or aspartame and diabetes.
I don't mind doing research, but it does get tiresome.
Thanks for the info. We seem to agree about Aspartame. I saw some articles about it m'self and have begged off replacing sugar in all recipes with it. I'm open to stretching my sugar with it, but remain cautious about actually doing so.
That comment was actually to R Hodsdon, concerning the conclusion drawn in:
"Back to Pepsi, during and after the COVID pandemic the cost of nearly everything shot up; mfrs like PepsiCo undoubtedly had contracted for months or years of supplies of key ingredients, but may face big cost increases down the line. Raising their prices in anticipation of higher costs in future can inflate their bottom line today, but we can expect a reversion to the mean in future."
You see, I raised a hornet's nest on Nextdoor.com over price gouging at the groceries. I had to concede the point that the gouging isn't necessarily taking place at the local, grocery store level, but managed to take the point that it's happening further up the "food chain!" What RH is saying is consistent with that assertion, and I'd like to see better documentation on what kind of profits are being taken where, in said food chain.
There is no sugar in my house. I use Stevia and use one Zevia soda a day, it is made with Stevia. Stevia extracted from a plant of the geranium family.. it is not a man made chemical.
WF: Thanks for the info! I'll keep that all in mind.
As a low- income consumer, I fully appreciate how very hard it is to make ends meet! I live on a very small, fixed income and while I make use of Farmer's Markets, Aldi's, Ollie's, Dollar stores, and thrift shops, I still struggle every month. The rising cost of electricity because we are heading into summer, the rising cost of water/sewage because they raised the price to pay for a new treatment plant, the rising cost for car maintenance, internet, household appliances - well, it's enough to give me ulcers!! I feel this continued widening gap in wealth is leading us to a huge explosion and it will not be pretty when it happens. People will tolerate only so much before things escalate and get out of control. In order to get a handle on this and pull in the reins, we need President Biden for another four years and we need Democrat majorities in both the House and the Senate so that we can fix what is broken. Vote Blue, America!!
You go girl . . . tell us more! I love it. You just helped me heal my ulcer. Please don't get one yourself.
Too late, Dr. Bloxom! I have ulcers already!! Have a great day!!
Oh no! You have a good one too. :-)
I have a sincere question Peggy, and I am not being facetious.
I would like to know how low income consumers, who have trouble buying food and medicine, can afford and ISP (Internet Service Provider, computer, software, a cell phone and service.
Those two items alone cost at least $100 a month if not more, tack on cable TV and we are up to $200 a month, not to mention monthly payments on credit cards for hardware and software.
William, that's a great question! I use to have cable and internet but it became very expensive so now I stopped the cable and only use internet which cut my bill in half. The only phone I own is a cell phone and I got a discount through Consumer Cellular through AARP. I only have one credit card and just use it when very necessary. Don't worry, you aren't being flippant and I appreciate your interest. I look for every possible way to cut down on expenses. Sometimes it gets quite dicey waiting for the Social Security check or the retirement check but I do manage. Naturally, I don't live a lavish lifestyle but I enjoy my life with my dog and cat, my friends, and visits with my kids and grandkids. Thanks for asking!
Geesus phuckin rice Crispies. Hat's off to you Peggy.
Thanks Robert. What you write about current American society really helps one to understand what is happening and why so many are supporting the Sociopath In Chsrge.
Who is the "Sociopath In Chsrge"? certainly it must be tRUMP. He just lost a little power, I hope he gets at least some jail time.
Alas, his campaign is flush with cash. We have work to do. The more we insult him the more his supporters rejoice.
Mohammad Faisal is a Muslim name. The first and only loyalty Muslims have is to the Ummah, the Ummah is the world wide community of Muslims. Thus anyone who doesn't support or opposes Islam is the enemy and in their minds Biden is the sociopath in charge. Because Biden is obstructing HAMAS and Islam's campaign to rid the Mideast of Jews.
and anyone who opposes Christianity is the enemy? Not everyone is a lobotomized fundamentalist of some sort.
Problem with religions, not just Christianity, but all religions (sectarian ideologies) is that of necessity they believe, have to believe, that theirs is the absolute truth, not provisional, not maybe, not equal to others beliefs, but the one true faith.
Those that hold no faith, no belief or an opposing faith are therefore the enemy, it is not, it can't be, your god, your belief, your faith is just as valid as mine.
Now the question is can they act on it. The answer is no, because they don't have the power. The Catholic church until the reformation had the power to act on it and burned heretics and non believers at the stake, or tortured them until they relented.
Islam didn't burn or torture the competition, they simply required them to submit or say the shahada (convert) then they were monitored for faithful observance. Submission to Islamic rule was limited to Peoples of the Book, meaning Bible, and that is Christians and Jews, they were allowed to worship their god, by their tradition, so long as they paid the poll tax (jizzyah) and accepted a second class status as a dhimmi, Peoples of the Book in Shia Islam includes Zoroastrians.
If you log on to Quora, and follow the Questions where believers question atheists and come up with the most ridiculous and childish questions (all are repetitive, someone has asked them before 100's of time, you can sense the panic and fear.
William, I am more cynical than you. The religious scriptures are just paper and ink--what you do with them depends on the kind of society you live in and--of paramount importance--how the ruling elites interpret the scriptures. The elites are the ones who deem who is and who is not a heretic, and they do it to their advantage. This, in short, is how religious teachings get perverted.
The social utility of religion, from the aspect of the person behind the sock puppet is that it is an unpaid and invisible policeman, once a person is infected, and is a believer, they no longer need monitoring and correction because they believe some invisible entity in the sky is watching over them and their thoughts and recording all they think and do, for the great accounting day which we all face.
It is absolutely fantastic and a superior control mechanism than even the Egyptians. In the Egyptian book of the dead, the PhaRAoh, had to recite to the gatekeeper of the underworld, that he never had male seed enter his body.
Christians and Muslims believe that their god is an all seeing god and knows that, thus they seek penance here and now in confession or being born again.
In my uncles church there were a couple of men, who were born again every Sunday.
Don't fall into the "two sides of the same coin" false equivalence trap. The Republicans support and have always - from the turn of the 20th Century - supported monied interests - banks & railroads at the outset. Democrats - although tarred by the Southern Democrats' involvement in secession and the Civil War (that their descendants, who used to be called the Southern Democrats, or "Dixicrats," still call the "War of Northern Aggression") - have more or less sided with the lower & middle classes since at least FDR. The Republicans became largely what we're seeing today as a result of the Dixicrats defecting to the Republican party under the influence of Newt Gingrich and Jesse Helms, in the wake of the Civil Rights Era, the Nixon impeachment, and the rise of Reagan under the banner of what at the time was called the "tax revolt." Do not confuse the Dixicrats with the Democrats in the South, who the Dixicrats abandoned because there were more and more black Democrats and their sympathizers still fighting for human rights, as they are today.
The Republicans and Democrats are in no way two sides of the same coin. It's just that the SCOTUS ruling on political contributions in Citizens United - in the midst of attempts to legislate campaign finance reform rules - has really muddled the picture. That means the Democrats need that kind of money just as badly as the Republicans, giving the Republicans a perfect dodge by saying Democrats are just as bad as they are - the false equivalence, the "two sides of the same coin" claim.
So you see, there's not really a "Sociopath in Charge" you speak of. It's plural. The Sociopaths in Charge, the big donors who control 99% of the country's wealth, and would use it to buy a compliant government, a docile, non-union labor force (by law), and a complete removal of their tax obligation by transferring it to the lower classes. They really like sales taxes to be paid by the customers who buy their products at the point of sale, that would decimate the wealth of the "consumer classes."
DZK here was my response to Peggy above. Westerners just don't understand Islam or the Islamic mind, and think only in terms of their own situation.
Mohammad Faisal is a Muslim name. The first and only loyalty Muslims have is to the Ummah, the Ummah is the world wide community of Muslims. Thus anyone who doesn't support or opposes Islam is the enemy and in their minds Biden is the sociopath in charge. Because Biden is obstructing HAMAS and Islam's campaign to rid the Mideast of Jews.
In a Muslim mind, there is nothing higher than Islam, nothing more important than Islam, and the Ummah. They fight and kill each other over doctrine and supremacy, but they unite when it comes to the Jew, the Christian the Kaffir (unbeliever)
and in the Christian mind there is nothing higher than the Church. This is why we have the 1st Amendment.
I hear what you are saying. I'm not convinced "they're all that way," though. Perhaps I'm still naive at my advanced age, but it's a naivete I hold onto for dear life. I credit people - regardless of their religion - with being able to distinguish who is their enemy from who is not their enemy - at least below the broadest possible brush stroke. I also know that a lot of people emigrate to get away from the crap that's going on where they're from. I can live with and respect that. Of course, and as always, I speak for myself on the issue.
The system won't let me like your comment, but I applaud it, well said, well written and accurate.
👍
Salome. You have real human observation. An opinion that is simply looking at the big picture. Why are so many supporting the Sociopath in charge of their shrinking mental facilities? They CANNOT see the picture because they're inside the frame. I approve of your comment, and I disapprove of others comments about Muslims, Islam, etc, because those people describing Muslims and frankly, the entire Middle Eastern societies in just 2 sentences, is pathetically blind to a massive reality that exists on Planet Earth. I also learn from Robert Reich's knowledgeable and experienced lessons about what the heck is going on in America!
Well said, Liz.
It's more like >sociopaths< in charge.
Behind every MAGA politician there are a lot of rich sociopaths who support the Heritage Foundation's "Project 2025:"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_2025
https://www.project2025.org/
It seems like the clear majority of Americans do NOT "own their mistakes." So it follows that if they are in a difficult financial situation, it MUST be someone else's fault. And it's easier to blame someONE rather than a whole bunch of someones, the fingers get pointed at the guy sitting behind the Resolute desk rather than at the Congress that refuses to cooperate with his efforts to do what's best for America.
As Robert pointed out, the wages of the majority of Americans has been stagnating since about the 1980s. And since many/most of them are too lazy to do any kind of due diligence, they blame the President, Biden, for their financial woes. Worse, they jump to the conclusion that whoever replaces Biden MUST be the better choice for bringing about Change We Can Believe In.
"It seems like the clear majority of Americans do NOT "own their mistakes." Ah! blaming the victims! So original and innovative! Please list some ideas that you think would help US out of this.
Can you think of a better explanation for why 74 million Americans voted for Trump in 2020? And why Trump still has sooooo many supporters despite an entire mountain range of evidence showing just how much of a criminal he is? These people either didn't do their homework or **they don't care** what their New Messiah has done.
There's only the 2nd Amendment. There are more of us than there are of them.
And who is us, Chen?
Go away, troll.
A trolling AI susan, it's statement makes absolutely no sense,
He gets paid in rubles and his name is Ivan! 🤣
Hi Robert, I'm wondering how much of a link there is between current cost of living crisis and the activities of the GOP and lobbying from corporate interests. Is there a link? Cost of living crisis is a problem for us in "rip off Ireland" and has begun to create a split in society as more of people's pay goes on groceries and rent. Generally though, higher level of average income has protected us from the worst. Thanks for your excellent articles.
If indeed you are an undocumented person, you should be very afraid of the Republican frontrunner. But I suspect you are not.
As we grow closer to the election, the number of right wing trolls will increase. It is a tactic and they are either paid or volunteers, but I suspect paid.
Donald J Trump despises the poor, he despises rural folk, and religious people. He believes that they are losers. He has no plan, I repeat, NO PLAN….to better the lives of the have-nots in the United States. He wants to return to the White House to escape legal judgment and to further enrich himself. And that is as far as his planning goes. Once there, he would cut deals with big business, even those who would destroy our environment; he would make legal financial decisions favorable to himself and the rest of the 1%, and he will eviscerate our laws and Constitution with the help of a recklessly right-wing Supreme Court. If the have-nots think that they have little today…just elect Trump and wait. We’ll see despair and poverty at levels “like you’ve never seen”.
Yes exactly correct - all the protections workers have with labor laws and unions will be destroyed under Trump - these poor folks are ruining their own futures by buying for a fascist Trump only interested in the rich.
Oh! You’re talking about the economics of our rigged system of Corporate Rule Pirate Capitalism!
Everything is now bad and getting worse, and more polarized, now that SCOTUS hijacked our Constitution, and with it, our government, politics, economy, and our power.
Citizens United and other related cases have radically shifted the power dynamics towards the rich and powerful. We are doomed!
Unless we overrule the Court with The We the People, that is. Help us restore our democracy and our economy! Sign on now. Really, take a minute to check it out:
movetoamend.org/motion
And then consider signing on to this movement of the People. Our Constitution won’t amend itself!!!
By the way, movetoamend.org is now an official partner organization of moveon.org, so we expect Robert Reich to be the force that will help pass it. Then he will have saved us from corruption and destruction, and usher in a time of prosperity with a renewable energy economy that works for all, including our planet! All it takes is genuine democracy of and by We the People!!! What do you say, Professor Reich?
This SCOTUS ruling contributes to big, dark, and corporate special interest money in our politics. It drowns out the voice We the People!
Didn't you write the book?
Excellent analysis. Trump with his cohorts are going to be tough to beat given the dynamics of this relationship.
His well healed oligarchs and strong men have been planning this takeover for quite some time and then when Trump arrived on the scene as a vectoring factor most everything came together and they seized their opportunity (2015-2020). Recognizing that they could actually seize 2 branches of the government and manipulate the largest number of the public using the tried and true 1938 German program, they aggressively went for it as there was no downside. They established themselves to be "too big to fail". No downside risk in failing to attempt anything they tried.
Unless we can find a way to instantly "enlighten" the MAGA crowd, such that they can realize who the real villains are...and that they, Maga, are being used, manipulated, conned by their not so well balanced hero's, with the end result being their continued inability to influence most any aspect of control over... or understanding of their future lives...
This is the price we pay for not paying attention to how best to properly educate the entire population and as a result, not being able to enforce the guard rails required to maintain a strong evolving Democracy... of the people and for the people.
We have the tools, knowledge and proven ability to evolve as a species... we just haven't the maturity to use them to their best advantage.
Didn't you write the book about it?
The cure is to get big money out of politics and then be sure every low income eligible voter votes!
Even if we regulated campaign fund raising and spending more than we do now,I don’t think w can eliminate its impact. Money is the mother’s milk of politics.
Also, lower income voters face obstacles unless they are able to vote by mail, and we know that leads to accusations that elections are rigged, stolen, etcetcetc. Of course nothing will satisfy some people that an election was fair, if their guy didn’t win.
I don't know, even for well to do consumers things can get tight these days. Money that used to go for vacations now gets spent at the grocery store and while on paper the rise in the stock market has helped our bottom line more than inflation has hurt it that's 100% in retirement accounts that can't be accessed right now and thus don't help our cashflow any. My employer hasn't really kept up with inflation either, giving with raises lagging inflation by over 12% just over the last three years. Sure we still have our heads above water but my savings is gradually sinking and I've already decided to put retirement off three years longer than I planned to try and get to a more stable position as I don't want to be on a fixed income in this economy.
All of us, even Musk and Bezos, need the necessities of life. People at the bottom are subsidized. Food stamps. HUD restricts rents to 25% of income. People at the top, like Musk and Bezos, are subsidized.
Most of us are stuck in the middle.
As I laid out above, Biden is saying all the right things. The problem is a failure to communicate. The media ain't the message.
It’s easy for people who are relatively well off to get smug about things, and perhaps just cut back a bit on daily spending (fewer Frappuccino’s or nights out) until they experience a shock (job loss, health crisis, etc). Suddenly they realize that, yes, they too are as affected by inflation as the hourly workers and people on fixed incomes who have been working the checkout at their local supermarket. And maybe they look for a change in government. That’s rational, even if not warranted.
As long as they're prevented from seeing the exact role of those possessed of greater wealth than many small nations!
Afraid you’ve lost me there.
I'm just sayin' that the people you speak of, who are making a rational decision to look for a change in government are being gaslighted by their info sources into believing the government is responsible for their condition, by not being told the full story - that the politicians running against government and telling them the government is the problem have a real interest in seeing that government >is< ineffective at relieving their problems, as those politicians are being paid to do by their mega-wealthy patrons to make sure is actually the case. On the other hand, look at how Bobert tried to take credit for "securing $51.4 million for the South Bridge project, despite voting against the 2021 legislation that provided the funding." (She just wasn't slick enough to avoid getting caught in >that< lie.) Y'see, the Republicans and then MAGA have so controverted public info have no idea >who or what< to believe, as their daily troubles leave them little time or inclination to give it all much critical follow-up and assessment.
Thanks for giving context. I agree with your assessment, but would add that human nature makes us look for order in a chaotic world. When things go wrong, our brains try hard to come up with a reason for it, especially when taking some share of blame for decisions that didn’t work out as hoped would saddle us with guilt. It is comforting to think that a) it wasn’t our fault, and b) we can rectify the problem by putting a different person in charge of government.
Yes even high end retailers are feeling it as middle class or higher start cutting back on discretionary items.
The story of America has been the advantaged taking advantage of the disadvantaged. This taking advantage was relatively easy to do with the Native Americans whose ethic was not taking advantage but more of a circular sharing. Taking advantage of blacks was relatively easy because might is right- slavery’s free labor gave America a huge advantage. America took advantage over the less advantaged nations of the world for decades. America took advantage of the disadvantaged Chinese paying them slave labor as they made consumer products and built our railways. Over the decades China managed to become more advantaged and became more and more able to take advantage. America is threatened by this competition, this threat to their advantage over lessor others- the disadvantaged whose place in the world was to be taken fully advantage of. They were supposed to stay disadvantaged! As the blacks gained some advantage by demanding to not be so taken so advantage of the advantaged Americans felt outrage at the blacks questioning being held in disadvantage. How dare the blacks! And now how dare China be in a position where Americans can’t take advantage of their disadvantages! How dare they become so advantaged so we can’t take advantage of them! To be an American is to be able to take disadvantage of the world. Even the poorest of Americans stay in poverty looking to one day being able to take advantage rather than support social policies that would make them less disadvantaged to begin with. America’s story of extreme advantage- a monopoly of advantage giving it dominance over the world is coming to an end. Biden’s tariffs and sanctions is bringing China and Russia closer and closer together and has the world finding other currencies… other ways of doing business that offer them more advantage than the American way of taking disadvantage over the world and even over themselves. Will America grow up and see it can’t get away with bullying the world any more or will it continue its tantrum with sanctions tariffs-economic wars- information wars- and proxy wars that could tip into nuclear war. Are American’s so stupid to think that Putin is just kidding with his threats of going nuclear? How willing is the American Security/military industry willing to risk war and go to war. America is invested in war not negotiating a fair sharing in healthy competitions at home or abroad. A 2023 report: $1.1 trillion – or 62% – of the federal discretionary budget was spent on militarism and war last year “When we invest so heavily in militarism at home and abroad, we deprive our own communities and people of solutions to problems that pose immediate security threats” America is geared for war. When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
Glen. Your exhaustive rant is TL:DR, and thank goodness. Lay off the Ritalin dude.
With Biden, America might trigger nuclear war from Russia. Jeffery Sachs and others have been warning Biden /NATO to stop pushing Putin...sure, Putin has bluffed but only a fool thinks he does not have a final straw...I can see him using a small nuclear bomb in Ukraine-and telling America there are bigger ones aimed at America if America overreacts. America is playing the game of Risk and Russian Roulette. At least Trump will talk with Putin. Trump might go after China too.... Hate/fear of China resonates with his base and far beyond his base with corporate Democrats like Nancy Pelosi...When she went to Tiawan and threatened China, she intensified everything and vastly increased China's anger and resolve.
True-but wars can be triggered...by unpredictable-irrational happenings-a series of unfortunate events- misinterpretation of events...Sachs wrote a paper on that very subject. We don't know about the near misses....but Sachs points enough of them out that we discovered after the fact...
Indeed. Even when the rungs on the ladder are out of reach, they still believe in ladder climbing over giving each other a leg up. When I wrote this piece my objective was to use the word advantage as often as I could and tell the America story in one paragraph. I was surprised that I actually got 3 likes. Thanks for reading it Az.
Every word is true Professor Reich, BUT, the lowest group of have nots, neither understand the economy or what is causing their below living standards. They can relate to ham actor the trumpster because he speaks their language (hatred and condemnation of 'others') Our job is to reach those who have not been so corrupted they still have the ability to think.