Indeed, but it’s far more complex than simply taxing the rich. The orange jackass dropped corporate taxes to 21% from 35% in 2017 and will undoubtedly try to keep that going - so the poor schmucks who will be funding the government will be us little guys, carrying the burden for corporations and the wealthy.
There will be an uprising and it will be from the right, MAGAts are on social security and have parents on social security.
Lutnik said that the only ones who would be outraged are the frauds, and that his grandmother wouldn't object, of course not he is a millionaire and she probably lives very well indeed.
Actually his comment was about his mother-in-law ( not grandmother- she’s likely been dead awhile 😆)
According to the Daily Beast his mother-in-law lives with him on the Upper Eastside. She’s not likely very dependent on her monthly SS check. His comment is disgusting and further demonstrates how wealthy Trump acolytes are completely out of touch with 99% of us.
His mother in law, not grandmother, who is 94. And he is a billionaire so Mom is likely well taken care of, or at least not dependent on Social Security like many older Americans are. That remark was so tone deaf, it was obvious he has no clue how most of us live.
Thanks for the correction. I only caught the gist of it and didn't pause and hit back button on my remote.
Tone deaf is what they all are, all of them, they have no idea how anyone below their station lives. Remember Mitt Romney didn't know what a donut was, Dr Oz, stood in front of veggies in a supermarket and called them crudites, or was it the butcher case and called it a charcuterie. I don't think Trump can even drive a golf cart.
You would think that the Magats would not be too happy when they don’t receive their social security cheques. But it’s impossible to imagine what people, like the Magats, think when they overwhelmingly voted for Trump and his ilk , in the first place!!!!!!
The thing with people is that they are reluctant to admit, even to themselves, that they made a bad choice.
How uncommon is it for a person, male or female, to admit that they are in an abusive relationship, much less do the work, be able to look inside themselves and ask why did I do this in the first place.
MAGAts have fallen in love with Trump. Because Trump is a mirror.
Thus it isn't Trump's fault, it is the libs fault, the libs made him do it.
You've seen it on TV, a show where some thug kills a person, and says "you made me do it"
We warned them. Years ago—loudly, clearly, and repeatedly—we told everyone to steer clear of Donald Trump. We said he was dangerous, dishonest, and entirely unfit for public office. But we were dismissed. Laughed off. Branded as liars, “the swamp,” or accused of working for George Soros, as if that somehow disqualified every factual concern we raised.
They didn’t listen. They refused to.
Now, after years of chaos, corruption, and cruelty, they’re beginning to feel the consequences. The damage is undeniable: trillions of dollars lost, international credibility in shambles, and a nation more divided than at any time in living memory. And for what? A cult of personality built on lies, fear, and propaganda.
People were warned—by experts, journalists, public servants, and ordinary citizens alike. We told them OANN, Newsmax, and Fox News weren’t delivering news; they were peddling propaganda. We showed them the proof. We brought receipts. But they didn’t care. They shouted us down with chants of “USA number one!” and “Go Trump!”—empty slogans backed by zero substance.
They were told. They were shown. But they didn’t want truth—they wanted affirmation. And now, they're watching the consequences of those choices unfold in real time.
If you voted for Trump, or worse—if you stayed silent and didn’t vote at all—you helped enable this. You handed power to those who abused it. You ignored every warning and attacked those who tried to protect you from what’s happening now.
The sad truth is this: had people simply listened—had they done a fraction of the research, shown an ounce of critical thinking, or exercised the slightest caution—this national disaster could’ve been avoided. But they didn’t. And here we are.
If you want to fix this now, there’s only one path forward: support the people and institutions willing to hold this criminal enterprise accountable. And right now, like it or not, that means supporting Democrats—because they are the only political force positioned to stop this before it's too late.
We didn’t want to be right. But we were. And now everyone is paying the price.
In this wonderful country, you can believe anything you want, eg that vaccines are causing illnesses instead of curing them. And no one can tell you otherwise, because dear citizen, we have built an Intellectual Tower of Babble where every man is entitled to his (or her) own opinion. And we have created a political class that knows just how to take advantage of fools like that.
To those currently serving in the Republican-controlled Congress:
Let’s get something straight: You are no longer Republicans. You're not conservatives. You're not patriots. You're not representing the people. This party has become a vehicle for lies, betrayal, and raw authoritarianism. I'm a registered Republican, and even I can see it — and so can millions of others.
What used to be the party of responsibility and law-and-order is now just a pack of cowards defending a criminal sociopath, impeached not once, but twice, and now facing even more serious investigations and indictments. If you had a shred of integrity, you'd impeach this president too — because his behavior, his recklessness, and his disregard for the Constitution are disqualifying.
Instead, you’re attacking Social Security, threatening Medicare, and doing everything you can to protect billionaires like Elon Musk, who profit while your constituents struggle to pay for groceries and prescriptions.
You refuse to show your face in town halls because you know you’ve sold out the people you swore to represent. You hide behind Fox News — a propaganda machine that’s fed your voters nonsense while you vote against their interests.
We see you. And guess what? You’re going to get replaced. The only question is how soon. And if I were you, I’d be very, very nervous to go back home. Not because of violence — because of accountability. Because people are getting mad, and they’re organizing. And once they’ve had enough of being lied to, used, and ignored, your time in office will be up.
So here’s the bottom line:
Impeach this criminal president. Fire the incompetents. Protect what’s left of our democracy. Or step aside and fucking resign. Because history is watching — and so are we.
Sincerely, The American Public — Left, Right, and Fed the Hell Up
There’s a glimmer of hope in pieces like this — headlines suggesting that voters are starting to turn, that perhaps we’ve reached some kind of tipping point. But for those of us who’ve been in the trenches of this culture war for a decade or more, that “hope” has to be tempered by realism.
Let’s be clear: the core Trump base is not moving. The same people who still watch Fox, OAN, Newsmax, and lap up whatever nonsense gets posted to X (formerly Twitter) are entrenched — not just ideologically, but psychologically. What we’re seeing isn’t just political support; it’s identity fusion, bordering on religious devotion.
And when you point out their contradictions, failures, or hypocrisies? You don’t get dialogue. You get rage, projection, deflection — because you're threatening not just their politics but their entire self-concept.
This is textbook cognitive dissonance, as you rightly said. When reality conflicts with belief, the mind doesn’t adjust the belief — it goes to war with reality. And authoritarian movements know how to exploit that: feed the loyalists an endless stream of enemies to blame. Jews. Migrants. LGBTQ people. Democrats. Academia. “Globalists.” The cycle is self-reinforcing.
The “Signalgate” scandal, illegal student detentions, and comically aggressive foreign policy moves (Greenland? Really?) are the kinds of actions that should shake voters awake. And yet, for the devoted, each new abuse of power is rationalized as either fake, justified, or evidence of strength.
Meanwhile, Trump and his orbit use Orwellian inversion to keep the illusion going: criminality becomes “law and order,” chaos becomes “greatness,” censorship becomes “free speech,” and cruelty becomes “tough love.” It’s not persuasion. It’s conditioning.
And Musk? He’s not breaking the spell either. He’s now an avatar of “free market genius” while openly manipulating platforms, peddling disinfo, and positioning himself as a savior of civilization — all while helping amplify authoritarian narratives.
So yes — some independents and moderate Republicans may be drifting away. But the hardcore MAGA base isn’t breaking — it’s radicalizing further.
🔍 Where does that leave us?
We must stop thinking that facts alone will deprogram anyone. Deprogramming is not an intellectual process. It’s psychological, social, and emotional.
Communities have to build alternative sources of identity, purpose, and belonging — otherwise, people will default to the tribalism they already know.
We also need to fight harder in the information war — not just countering lies, but actively disrupting the supply chains of disinformation (looking at you, Fox, X, and Facebook).
And we must not mistake fatigue for progress. Authoritarian movements don’t go away on their own — they get pushed back by resistance, accountability, and truth-telling, over and over again.
The fever hasn’t broken. It’s metastasizing in some circles, even as it burns out in others.
We’re in a multi-front struggle — psychological, political, social, informational. If we’re seeing a little daylight, great. But don’t look away from the darkness still holding millions in its grip.
🧠 HOW TO FACT-CHECK FOX NEWS (AND ANY OTHER MEDIA):
A Straightforward Guide for Busy, Exhausted People
🎯 Why This Matters
Fox News, Newsmax, and far-right media bank on the fact that most people won’t check. After a long day of work, people sit down for dinner, flip on the TV, and get fed a cocktail of fear, outrage, and misinformation. Over time, it sinks in. You begin to believe it.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. You don’t need to be a journalist. You just need a few simple tools and 5–10 minutes to check reality.
✅ STEP 1: Ask the AI
Use ChatGPT or another trusted AI tool (like Perplexity.ai or Google's Gemini). Ask it directly:
“Is it true that the government spent $600,000 to stop trans boys from getting pregnant?”
“Is NPR really biased against conservatives?”
“What’s the truth about DEI programs?”
AI has access to broad, balanced sources and can give you summaries with context. It doesn’t have a political agenda — it just gives you the most likely truth based on available information.
✅ STEP 2: Use Real Fact-Checking Websites
Here are nonpartisan, professional fact-checkers that exist just to debunk lies:
Fox has been caught editing or misrepresenting images — including protests and crime scenes.
🔟 BONUS: 10 Ways to Spot Misinformation
No named sources — just “a source close to the matter.”
No links or documents to back up the claim.
Emotional bait — fear, rage, disgust (instead of logic).
Only one side of the story is presented.
Experts are mocked, not quoted.
Loaded language: “woke mob,” “illegals,” “war on whites.”
Everything is breaking news, even if it’s not.
They never admit mistakes (a red flag in journalism).
Outrage cycles repeat every 2–3 days with a new villain.
They demand you believe — instead of encouraging you to think.
📚 BOOKS TO WAKE YOU UP (AND BACK IT UP)
If you’re ready to go deeper:
Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News, and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth – Brian Stelter
Network of Lies – Brian Stelter (sequel focused on Dominion lawsuit)
The Cult of Trump – Steven Hassan
The Big Cheat – David Cay Johnston
It’s Even Worse Than You Think – David Cay Johnston
Republic of Lies – Anna Merlan
How Fascism Works – Jason Stanley
Manufacturing Consent – Noam Chomsky & Edward S. Herman
On Tyranny – Timothy Snyder
Trust Me, I’m Lying – Ryan Holiday (former media manipulator)
✍️ Final Thought: You’ve Got to Do a Little Work
Yes — it's hard. Yes — it's easier to sit down, turn on the TV, and let someone tell you what to think.
But democracy only works when you think for yourself.
So don’t let Jesse Watters, Trump, or Fox do your thinking for you. They count on you being tired. They count on you giving up. But you're smarter than that.
📌 Ask the question. Check the source. Do the research. You don’t need a degree — just curiosity and 5 minutes.
MM Harris - I hope that they are also paying attention to the possibility of privatizing the USPS. Now that DeJoy is finally gone I believe that he left because of alternative motives coming from the administration. Keep on protesting!
I think dejoy left because HE's been in on, and abetting, the ultimate plan to privatize the USPS all along... He is probably still involved with the mail/parcel delivery business he was in BEFORE taking this posn and may simply getting ready to participate in their end goal, but from the "outside" private side.
MM - He will most definitely profit from whatever comes next. If they privatize the post office they might reinstate him in a CEO type of position or something else. I also believe he was put in place to dismantle it from the inside for a future republican president.
What "alternative motives" do you have in mind? Sincerely curious. To look at the past, I think DeJoy's first mission was to booby trap mail voting in 2016. Remember the massive dismantling of the speed-sorters? Obviously that was neither efficiency-enhancing nor fiscally prudent. That was back when mail voting was supposed to favor the Dems.
Mmerose - You are thinking the same way as I am. Especially with the latest EO about voting. If the ballots can’t get there on election eve (regardless of state laws or leaving voting up to the states) and the private mail system helps with that then it’s a win/win for them. Funny how the only places that had their ballots mailed to the wrong states and/or polling stations was mostly blue states in this past election. The previous election was purposely helterskelter but the last election was more deliberate. Plus, if T thinks he can make money off of it then he will privatize it. A lot of his supporters and some administration/cabinet members have interests in the USPS competitors.
We warned them. Years ago—loudly, clearly, and repeatedly—we told everyone to steer clear of Donald Trump. We said he was dangerous, dishonest, and entirely unfit for public office. But we were dismissed. Laughed off. Branded as liars, “the swamp,” or accused of working for George Soros, as if that somehow disqualified every factual concern we raised.
They didn’t listen. They refused to.
Now, after years of chaos, corruption, and cruelty, they’re beginning to feel the consequences. The damage is undeniable: trillions of dollars lost, international credibility in shambles, and a nation more divided than at any time in living memory. And for what? A cult of personality built on lies, fear, and propaganda.
People were warned—by experts, journalists, public servants, and ordinary citizens alike. We told them OANN, Newsmax, and Fox News weren’t delivering news; they were peddling propaganda. We showed them the proof. We brought receipts. But they didn’t care. They shouted us down with chants of “USA number one!” and “Go Trump!”—empty slogans backed by zero substance.
They were told. They were shown. But they didn’t want truth—they wanted affirmation. And now, they're watching the consequences of those choices unfold in real time.
If you voted for Trump, or worse—if you stayed silent and didn’t vote at all—you helped enable this. You handed power to those who abused it. You ignored every warning and attacked those who tried to protect you from what’s happening now.
The sad truth is this: had people simply listened—had they done a fraction of the research, shown an ounce of critical thinking, or exercised the slightest caution—this national disaster could’ve been avoided. But they didn’t. And here we are.
If you want to fix this now, there’s only one path forward: support the people and institutions willing to hold this criminal enterprise accountable. And right now, like it or not, that means supporting Democrats—because they are the only political force positioned to stop this before it's too late.
We didn’t want to be right. But we were. And now everyone is paying the price.
It would be extremely stupid of them to touch SS benefits of current recipients, hence unlikely to happen. Their original plan was to phase it out, but Musk is reckless.
I don't think that Trump's handlers are that stupid. I don't think he does much of anything on his on, he has his "advisors". and they aren't that stupid.
But Musk is. Musk is oblivious, he can't believe that people don't like him, he whined
He has already screwed around with the Social Security system or rather his acne faced adolscents have, who knows what damage they have wrought. I'll find out tomorrow as that is when my SS check is deposited.
My wife says that they have cut off payments to everyone over 120 years old.
After watching Shameless, I can well imagine that there are a lot of folk, who are dead, and whose SSA checks are still being deposited, and some relative is living off of them.
I don't think that any human is over 120 years of age, however if there was an input glitch, who knows who is affected.
And the Social Security software was written on COBOL, that is a foreign language for kids raised on C+++
I've done research trying to read through Elizabethan era parish records. besides the handwriting problem, and this kids were raised on printing not cursive, which is alien to them, Elizabeth English is hard to read.
Even the works of Shakespeare aren't exactly transcribed from the original manuscripts, which as I said would strain us in the 21st century to read.
I've poured through the records of the London Company of Virginia, and have spent half a day on a page.
The same problem in software.
I was employed for a county, whose software for the Health Department was written in MUMPS, they had one hell of a time finding someone who could read and write MUMPS and that was in 1993
Bulletin: Trump ordered all States to turn over their VOTER ROLLS to Musk today. He will analyze potential voter by potential voter against the data he has already scarfed up on every last one of us, and by the time the Midterms come around, only the "right" votes will count. Since only 1% of votes here and there even make a difference, voila! What's so stupid?
Killing Social Security will be the final nail in Trump's coffin as millions of grannies, who have nothing left to lose, hit the streets of Washington, DC. I'll be there. Will you?
April 5 is to be a National Day of Action..... PERFECT opportunity to join protests all over the country and make the crowd sizes even bigger than they are already becoming. Indivisible.org and Move On are participating as well as others like this: . https://thirdact.org/act/handsoff/ .... . should be easy to find one near you..
Why isn't Musk being charged with multiple crimes? How did we allow this one person to amass so much illegal and controlling authority?
It is all very simple. And no one is clarifying the issue. It is theft. Stealing all the money from the government. Theft! It has nothing to doing with "waste, fraud and abuse." That is an old Republican trope. Musk and tRump are the frauds and illegitimate. Remember "welfare Queens?"
Co president and felon Trump are stealing our treasury funds which is what Doge is all about. It is not fraud of the government but fraud from musk and felon Trump!
Philip, true that Scump are the true abusers and criminals here, rapists of the state and citizens thereof. Citizens must rise up and what's left of the court system must block the rapists before drump's prophecy comes true that "you won't have a country anymore" for a different reason.
Philip - All while getting rich off of government contracts and the taxpayers money going into T businesses. Plus classified information being used in improper ways. Telling people to buy stocks in musk’s company. However, the current republicans will not allow any kind of investigation. They spent all last term trying to find dirt on the Biden administration but they refuse to do anything about this administration. The evidence is right in front of them.
What we can do is elect a Democratic president that cares about it and a super majority in Congress and we could shore up Social Security for the next hundred years.
Good luck with that. I'm afraid there won't be anymore elections. Agent orange has already tread on the constitution, what's one more skid mark? Even if we do have an election, as long as ketamine klansman and his barely pubescent minions are around, I would NOT trust the results AT ALL.
MAGABillionare Muskalini and your paid clown Donnie Trumphuk touch my social security, my wife’s and that of my sister … and that of the millions of us who paid into it as our retirement and we will come after you tooth and tong. This will be your deathknell. You think we’re mad as hell and taking to the streets now? You fuck with Social Security or Medicare or Medicaid and you’re going to see a massive uprising that will drive you into oblivion.
I don't know how many times I have written to the senators of TN to save SS, Medicare, and Medicaid. I have written my representative numerous times as well. All 3 of them say that they will protect SS, Medicare, and Medicaid, but all 3 voted for the continuing resolution which has massive cuts for all 3 programs. Those 3 are not high on my priority list. I don't think they would save the system if their mothers, fathers, or kids who need the program needed it! So I'm not hopeful.
Why don't you call them out by name, Robert? Senator Marsha Blackburn from Brentwood, TN., the Opioid Queen, who took a million dollars from Perdu Pharma and the Sackler Family and rewrote the document that controlled the spread of narcotics, taking the teeth out of the DEA's ability to manage such drugs, and made it more than possible for Perdu to spread their Oxycontin all over the nation, which caused so many overdose deaths -- THAT'S TENNESSEE'S SENIOR SENATOR! When the first school shooting happened in Nashville in March of 2023 at the Coventry School, where three adults and three nine-year-olds were killed, instead of Marsha going after the state legislature to finally DO SOMETHING about the terrible lax gun laws in Tennessee, she publicly stated, "Chip [her husband] and my hearts are broken." You see, Marsha took just as much money from the NRA and has an A+ rating with them. Marsha hasn't got a heart -- she ought to be burned at the stake or hung in the gallows until dead. In fact, I think in her other, past lives as a witch, she probably was!
We’ve got to get rid of Musk and Trump!!!!! I pray that people are going to vote Democrat in their states so we can do this!!!! Trump LOVES being president!!! He will never give it up!! He loves the attention and the privileges he gets. He cares nothing for Americans. We’ve been putting up with this for months. I don’t know how long I can take it. The news is so disturbing!!!!!
I write everyday that We the People are going to have to take matters into our own hands and assassinate Trump, and add Musk to that. There is NO REASON ON GOD'S GREEN EARTH WHY TRUMP AND MUSK SHOULD BE DOING ANY OF WHAT THEY ARE DOING! OR WHY CONGRESS SHOULD BE LETTING THEM GET AWAY WITH IT!
Thank you for that phone number. I will be calling, writing letters, and emailing. If the weather ever gets better here, I will stand by the road with a sign!!!
And by deporting millions of workers, that paid into Social Security, along with their employers, is fattening the pot for the rest of us. This is "Wage Theft" on a massive scale against green card holders and migrant workers with 1B visas. if they never earn their 40 quarters, they will never be eligible to receive the benefits. This has been going on for years and that is why so many Social Security account have been dormant for those workers for over 100 years since they died in their home country without ever getting their money back in benefits. Deportation of the working class is this administrations way of prolonging Social Security without raising the contributions on the rich.
Robert, you’ve nailed it. Soc Security can last forever if the cap on the SSA tax is raised from the current $176,100 or even eliminated. When we were both working, our combined income allowed us to pay the max Soc Security tax. We were happy to pay our fair share as we realized that many people did not have that income to pay into the system and would likely be living in nothing but Soc Security. Saving money for retire is very difficult as raising a family takes money and with incomes not having increased for the low and middle income families in decades (when adjusted for inflation) folks can’t save 20-25% of their annual income for retirement.
Again, everyone needs to pay their fair share of tax to support our seniors. If we allow seniors to continue to be poor, our society will have not only failed but our economy will tank. And, why should us seniors who use Soc Security, have to pay even more tax for receiving the benefits when we are due to receive them? Soc Security benefits need to be tax free.
And, the people who work in the SSA are some of the finest but overworked people you’ll ever find in any company, much less in our govt. Musk is not clueless, but he wants to strip the govt down to nothing so the billionaires (many being our oligarchy) can receive massive tax benefits. Hell, Musk already gets more govt assistance in every company he owns. The greedy will be the downfall of our country if we allow them to continue with their pillaging.
Yes, in this case we do have to ask the quarterback to throw the ball. Our Senators won’t take the risk of fighting back unless they know how strongly their constituents feel about this.
They haven't had to represent their Constituents in forever. Closed primaries, gerrymandering and voter suppression have handed them "safe seats". They habitually and malignantly disregard the will of their voters as they facilitate and usher in Fascism
I have to wonder if these brilliant people (snark) have thought this through. If SS were abolished, it would usher in an economic crash probably comparable to the Great Depression, as millions of people, and their families, suddenly had their financial rug pulled out from underneath them. Many services and businesses would go bankrupt. People would be missing mortgage or rent payments. I can't believe our elected congresspersons could possibly be that stupid.
They absolutely do know, Valerie, but they have chosen to ignore the will of the people, their constituents in favor of the orange, bilious piece of shit!
Trump and Musk are all giddy over all the fraud they've found in the SS system. Prove it to me and the rest of the country. I want to see the list of names of the people who are over 100 years of age and still receiving SS, even though the records show them to be dead. I want to see the proof. Because there isn't any, just more Trump lies.
i thought it funny that Dudek "acknowledges that phone service sucks" at Social Security. When would he have ever had occasion to call for help? I have, to medicare, social security, and the IRS. I was astounded every time by the caring professionalism of the respondents. My wait times were negligible. What made me even more admiring was when I found out recently that they have been chronically understaffed for decades, because republicans won't allow adequate funding for things that help people or bring in tax dollars.
As I've noted before, the republican party is a terrorist organization that promotes violence to resolve poliltical differences. The republican party is a terrorist organization that abjures, rejects the rule of law. The republican party is a terrorist organization that uses bribery, extortion, intimidation, lies, mis and disinformation to achieve political ends. the republican party is a terrorist organization that promotes violence against women, children, minorities, and any "other" of the moment to scapegoat. the republican party is a terrorist organization that uses surveillance technology to root out and punish opposition to their terrorist agenda. an important adjunct to this terrorist organization is the rogue6 on the supreme court, who have set their seal of approval on this cabal of coup d'etat organizers and implementers.
it will be difficult to restore what we've lost. i hope i see it in my lifetime, but i'm not hopeful for that as I'm convinced that the 2026 elections will be for show only.
I should say that if one has an online MySSA account, things usually go well, but if one lives outside of the USA, it can be very difficult to solve unanticipated problems. Wait times to the USA number might be 60 to 90 minutes, and it is hit or miss with service from the Consulates, although Italy seems to be much better than Poland, Germany, or Austria. Austria does not even deal with SSA. One has to work with Poland or Germany in that case.
I have a special problem with this. I and my wife are retired senior citizens and my daughter, who we live with and support, is severely handicapped. We utterly depend on Social Security, into which we have paid our entire working lives, for our very survival.
It seems to me as if Mumptrusk is systematically gutting everything our government does in any area of public administration that actually serves the needs of our people. Their motto seems to be, "If it helps, kill it."
Tax the rich
Indeed, but it’s far more complex than simply taxing the rich. The orange jackass dropped corporate taxes to 21% from 35% in 2017 and will undoubtedly try to keep that going - so the poor schmucks who will be funding the government will be us little guys, carrying the burden for corporations and the wealthy.
As usual.
There will be an uprising and it will be from the right, MAGAts are on social security and have parents on social security.
Lutnik said that the only ones who would be outraged are the frauds, and that his grandmother wouldn't object, of course not he is a millionaire and she probably lives very well indeed.
Lutnik most likely ignores his grandmother; she could be starving for all he knows.
Actually his comment was about his mother-in-law ( not grandmother- she’s likely been dead awhile 😆)
According to the Daily Beast his mother-in-law lives with him on the Upper Eastside. She’s not likely very dependent on her monthly SS check. His comment is disgusting and further demonstrates how wealthy Trump acolytes are completely out of touch with 99% of us.
We should all move into with him.
His mother in law, not grandmother, who is 94. And he is a billionaire so Mom is likely well taken care of, or at least not dependent on Social Security like many older Americans are. That remark was so tone deaf, it was obvious he has no clue how most of us live.
He definitely doesn't lie as well or as smoothly as those on the team he's just joined.... but the arrogance in his disconnect is right up there..
Thanks for the correction. I only caught the gist of it and didn't pause and hit back button on my remote.
Tone deaf is what they all are, all of them, they have no idea how anyone below their station lives. Remember Mitt Romney didn't know what a donut was, Dr Oz, stood in front of veggies in a supermarket and called them crudites, or was it the butcher case and called it a charcuterie. I don't think Trump can even drive a golf cart.
Hmm..Donald probably thinks it’s beneath him to drive a golf cart 😆
And since he’s not into exercising (mind OR body)….
To the tune of That's what friends are for.(Golden Girls theme song) That's what body guards are for.
You would think that the Magats would not be too happy when they don’t receive their social security cheques. But it’s impossible to imagine what people, like the Magats, think when they overwhelmingly voted for Trump and his ilk , in the first place!!!!!!
The thing with people is that they are reluctant to admit, even to themselves, that they made a bad choice.
How uncommon is it for a person, male or female, to admit that they are in an abusive relationship, much less do the work, be able to look inside themselves and ask why did I do this in the first place.
MAGAts have fallen in love with Trump. Because Trump is a mirror.
Thus it isn't Trump's fault, it is the libs fault, the libs made him do it.
You've seen it on TV, a show where some thug kills a person, and says "you made me do it"
We Warned You
We warned them. Years ago—loudly, clearly, and repeatedly—we told everyone to steer clear of Donald Trump. We said he was dangerous, dishonest, and entirely unfit for public office. But we were dismissed. Laughed off. Branded as liars, “the swamp,” or accused of working for George Soros, as if that somehow disqualified every factual concern we raised.
They didn’t listen. They refused to.
Now, after years of chaos, corruption, and cruelty, they’re beginning to feel the consequences. The damage is undeniable: trillions of dollars lost, international credibility in shambles, and a nation more divided than at any time in living memory. And for what? A cult of personality built on lies, fear, and propaganda.
People were warned—by experts, journalists, public servants, and ordinary citizens alike. We told them OANN, Newsmax, and Fox News weren’t delivering news; they were peddling propaganda. We showed them the proof. We brought receipts. But they didn’t care. They shouted us down with chants of “USA number one!” and “Go Trump!”—empty slogans backed by zero substance.
They were told. They were shown. But they didn’t want truth—they wanted affirmation. And now, they're watching the consequences of those choices unfold in real time.
If you voted for Trump, or worse—if you stayed silent and didn’t vote at all—you helped enable this. You handed power to those who abused it. You ignored every warning and attacked those who tried to protect you from what’s happening now.
The sad truth is this: had people simply listened—had they done a fraction of the research, shown an ounce of critical thinking, or exercised the slightest caution—this national disaster could’ve been avoided. But they didn’t. And here we are.
If you want to fix this now, there’s only one path forward: support the people and institutions willing to hold this criminal enterprise accountable. And right now, like it or not, that means supporting Democrats—because they are the only political force positioned to stop this before it's too late.
We didn’t want to be right. But we were. And now everyone is paying the price.
In this wonderful country, you can believe anything you want, eg that vaccines are causing illnesses instead of curing them. And no one can tell you otherwise, because dear citizen, we have built an Intellectual Tower of Babble where every man is entitled to his (or her) own opinion. And we have created a political class that knows just how to take advantage of fools like that.
To: Republican Senators and Members of Congress
Re: You’ve Betrayed the People. And We Know It.
To those currently serving in the Republican-controlled Congress:
Let’s get something straight: You are no longer Republicans. You're not conservatives. You're not patriots. You're not representing the people. This party has become a vehicle for lies, betrayal, and raw authoritarianism. I'm a registered Republican, and even I can see it — and so can millions of others.
What used to be the party of responsibility and law-and-order is now just a pack of cowards defending a criminal sociopath, impeached not once, but twice, and now facing even more serious investigations and indictments. If you had a shred of integrity, you'd impeach this president too — because his behavior, his recklessness, and his disregard for the Constitution are disqualifying.
Instead, you’re attacking Social Security, threatening Medicare, and doing everything you can to protect billionaires like Elon Musk, who profit while your constituents struggle to pay for groceries and prescriptions.
You refuse to show your face in town halls because you know you’ve sold out the people you swore to represent. You hide behind Fox News — a propaganda machine that’s fed your voters nonsense while you vote against their interests.
We see you. And guess what? You’re going to get replaced. The only question is how soon. And if I were you, I’d be very, very nervous to go back home. Not because of violence — because of accountability. Because people are getting mad, and they’re organizing. And once they’ve had enough of being lied to, used, and ignored, your time in office will be up.
So here’s the bottom line:
Impeach this criminal president. Fire the incompetents. Protect what’s left of our democracy. Or step aside and fucking resign. Because history is watching — and so are we.
Sincerely, The American Public — Left, Right, and Fed the Hell Up
There’s a glimmer of hope in pieces like this — headlines suggesting that voters are starting to turn, that perhaps we’ve reached some kind of tipping point. But for those of us who’ve been in the trenches of this culture war for a decade or more, that “hope” has to be tempered by realism.
Let’s be clear: the core Trump base is not moving. The same people who still watch Fox, OAN, Newsmax, and lap up whatever nonsense gets posted to X (formerly Twitter) are entrenched — not just ideologically, but psychologically. What we’re seeing isn’t just political support; it’s identity fusion, bordering on religious devotion.
And when you point out their contradictions, failures, or hypocrisies? You don’t get dialogue. You get rage, projection, deflection — because you're threatening not just their politics but their entire self-concept.
This is textbook cognitive dissonance, as you rightly said. When reality conflicts with belief, the mind doesn’t adjust the belief — it goes to war with reality. And authoritarian movements know how to exploit that: feed the loyalists an endless stream of enemies to blame. Jews. Migrants. LGBTQ people. Democrats. Academia. “Globalists.” The cycle is self-reinforcing.
The “Signalgate” scandal, illegal student detentions, and comically aggressive foreign policy moves (Greenland? Really?) are the kinds of actions that should shake voters awake. And yet, for the devoted, each new abuse of power is rationalized as either fake, justified, or evidence of strength.
Meanwhile, Trump and his orbit use Orwellian inversion to keep the illusion going: criminality becomes “law and order,” chaos becomes “greatness,” censorship becomes “free speech,” and cruelty becomes “tough love.” It’s not persuasion. It’s conditioning.
And Musk? He’s not breaking the spell either. He’s now an avatar of “free market genius” while openly manipulating platforms, peddling disinfo, and positioning himself as a savior of civilization — all while helping amplify authoritarian narratives.
So yes — some independents and moderate Republicans may be drifting away. But the hardcore MAGA base isn’t breaking — it’s radicalizing further.
🔍 Where does that leave us?
We must stop thinking that facts alone will deprogram anyone. Deprogramming is not an intellectual process. It’s psychological, social, and emotional.
Communities have to build alternative sources of identity, purpose, and belonging — otherwise, people will default to the tribalism they already know.
We also need to fight harder in the information war — not just countering lies, but actively disrupting the supply chains of disinformation (looking at you, Fox, X, and Facebook).
And we must not mistake fatigue for progress. Authoritarian movements don’t go away on their own — they get pushed back by resistance, accountability, and truth-telling, over and over again.
The fever hasn’t broken. It’s metastasizing in some circles, even as it burns out in others.
We’re in a multi-front struggle — psychological, political, social, informational. If we’re seeing a little daylight, great. But don’t look away from the darkness still holding millions in its grip.
This isn’t over.
They are Trump humping MAGAts because Trump is their avatar, he is a reflection of their inner self, and their license to be all they are in public.
They were tired of having to repress their bigotry, bias, anger, hatred, fears and Trump gave them permission to be out and proud.
🧠 HOW TO FACT-CHECK FOX NEWS (AND ANY OTHER MEDIA):
A Straightforward Guide for Busy, Exhausted People
🎯 Why This Matters
Fox News, Newsmax, and far-right media bank on the fact that most people won’t check. After a long day of work, people sit down for dinner, flip on the TV, and get fed a cocktail of fear, outrage, and misinformation. Over time, it sinks in. You begin to believe it.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. You don’t need to be a journalist. You just need a few simple tools and 5–10 minutes to check reality.
✅ STEP 1: Ask the AI
Use ChatGPT or another trusted AI tool (like Perplexity.ai or Google's Gemini). Ask it directly:
“Is it true that the government spent $600,000 to stop trans boys from getting pregnant?”
“Is NPR really biased against conservatives?”
“What’s the truth about DEI programs?”
AI has access to broad, balanced sources and can give you summaries with context. It doesn’t have a political agenda — it just gives you the most likely truth based on available information.
✅ STEP 2: Use Real Fact-Checking Websites
Here are nonpartisan, professional fact-checkers that exist just to debunk lies:
WebsiteWhat It Doeshttps://www.factcheck.orgRun by UPenn’s Annenberg Center. Neutral. No spin.https://www.snopes.comDebunks viral claims & political rumors.https://www.politifact.comRates claims from “True” to “Pants on Fire.”reuters.com/fact-checkFrom a top global newswire. Data-focused.apnews.com/APFactCheckFrom Associated Press — deep analysis.https://www.mediabiasfactcheck.comSee bias ratings of every outlet.
✅ STEP 3: Check Multiple Sources — Not Just One
Ask:
“Are other outlets reporting the same story?”
If only Fox is saying it — or only Newsmax or OANN — you should be skeptical. Try reading:
Reliable Mainstream Journalism (Across the Spectrum):
🟦 Center-Left: https://npr.org, https://bbc.com, https://theguardian.com
🟩 Center: https://apnews.com, https://reuters.com, PBS NewsHour
🟥 Center-Right: https://wsj.com, https://thehill.com, https://economist.com
Pro tip: If ALL SIDES are reporting a story similarly — it's probably true.
✅ STEP 4: Look for Numbers and Sources
If someone on Fox throws out a stat like:
“$150,000 for climate change in Peru? What is that, bribes for mistresses?”
Ask:
Where did that number come from?
What government agency paid it?
Is there an official document or budget line?
If no source is cited, or it's a vague “someone said,” then it’s not journalism — it’s gossip.
✅ STEP 5: Reverse Image Search
If they show a shocking video or image, you can Google reverse image search it:
Go to https://images.google.com
Click the camera icon 🔍
Upload or paste the image
See where it originally came from
Fox has been caught editing or misrepresenting images — including protests and crime scenes.
🔟 BONUS: 10 Ways to Spot Misinformation
No named sources — just “a source close to the matter.”
No links or documents to back up the claim.
Emotional bait — fear, rage, disgust (instead of logic).
Only one side of the story is presented.
Experts are mocked, not quoted.
Loaded language: “woke mob,” “illegals,” “war on whites.”
Everything is breaking news, even if it’s not.
They never admit mistakes (a red flag in journalism).
Outrage cycles repeat every 2–3 days with a new villain.
They demand you believe — instead of encouraging you to think.
📚 BOOKS TO WAKE YOU UP (AND BACK IT UP)
If you’re ready to go deeper:
Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News, and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth – Brian Stelter
Network of Lies – Brian Stelter (sequel focused on Dominion lawsuit)
The Cult of Trump – Steven Hassan
The Big Cheat – David Cay Johnston
It’s Even Worse Than You Think – David Cay Johnston
Republic of Lies – Anna Merlan
How Fascism Works – Jason Stanley
Manufacturing Consent – Noam Chomsky & Edward S. Herman
On Tyranny – Timothy Snyder
Trust Me, I’m Lying – Ryan Holiday (former media manipulator)
✍️ Final Thought: You’ve Got to Do a Little Work
Yes — it's hard. Yes — it's easier to sit down, turn on the TV, and let someone tell you what to think.
But democracy only works when you think for yourself.
So don’t let Jesse Watters, Trump, or Fox do your thinking for you. They count on you being tired. They count on you giving up. But you're smarter than that.
📌 Ask the question. Check the source. Do the research. You don’t need a degree — just curiosity and 5 minutes.
I don't have a problem fact checking Fox etc.
The people who need to read this guide,don't even read Robert Reich.
MANY already have "buyer's remorse" and are showing up AND outright complaining at town hall meetings .. and they ARE protesting.
MM Harris - I hope that they are also paying attention to the possibility of privatizing the USPS. Now that DeJoy is finally gone I believe that he left because of alternative motives coming from the administration. Keep on protesting!
I think dejoy left because HE's been in on, and abetting, the ultimate plan to privatize the USPS all along... He is probably still involved with the mail/parcel delivery business he was in BEFORE taking this posn and may simply getting ready to participate in their end goal, but from the "outside" private side.
MM - He will most definitely profit from whatever comes next. If they privatize the post office they might reinstate him in a CEO type of position or something else. I also believe he was put in place to dismantle it from the inside for a future republican president.
Totally agree.
What "alternative motives" do you have in mind? Sincerely curious. To look at the past, I think DeJoy's first mission was to booby trap mail voting in 2016. Remember the massive dismantling of the speed-sorters? Obviously that was neither efficiency-enhancing nor fiscally prudent. That was back when mail voting was supposed to favor the Dems.
Mmerose - You are thinking the same way as I am. Especially with the latest EO about voting. If the ballots can’t get there on election eve (regardless of state laws or leaving voting up to the states) and the private mail system helps with that then it’s a win/win for them. Funny how the only places that had their ballots mailed to the wrong states and/or polling stations was mostly blue states in this past election. The previous election was purposely helterskelter but the last election was more deliberate. Plus, if T thinks he can make money off of it then he will privatize it. A lot of his supporters and some administration/cabinet members have interests in the USPS competitors.
We Warned You
We warned them. Years ago—loudly, clearly, and repeatedly—we told everyone to steer clear of Donald Trump. We said he was dangerous, dishonest, and entirely unfit for public office. But we were dismissed. Laughed off. Branded as liars, “the swamp,” or accused of working for George Soros, as if that somehow disqualified every factual concern we raised.
They didn’t listen. They refused to.
Now, after years of chaos, corruption, and cruelty, they’re beginning to feel the consequences. The damage is undeniable: trillions of dollars lost, international credibility in shambles, and a nation more divided than at any time in living memory. And for what? A cult of personality built on lies, fear, and propaganda.
People were warned—by experts, journalists, public servants, and ordinary citizens alike. We told them OANN, Newsmax, and Fox News weren’t delivering news; they were peddling propaganda. We showed them the proof. We brought receipts. But they didn’t care. They shouted us down with chants of “USA number one!” and “Go Trump!”—empty slogans backed by zero substance.
They were told. They were shown. But they didn’t want truth—they wanted affirmation. And now, they're watching the consequences of those choices unfold in real time.
If you voted for Trump, or worse—if you stayed silent and didn’t vote at all—you helped enable this. You handed power to those who abused it. You ignored every warning and attacked those who tried to protect you from what’s happening now.
The sad truth is this: had people simply listened—had they done a fraction of the research, shown an ounce of critical thinking, or exercised the slightest caution—this national disaster could’ve been avoided. But they didn’t. And here we are.
If you want to fix this now, there’s only one path forward: support the people and institutions willing to hold this criminal enterprise accountable. And right now, like it or not, that means supporting Democrats—because they are the only political force positioned to stop this before it's too late.
We didn’t want to be right. But we were. And now everyone is paying the price.
It would be extremely stupid of them to touch SS benefits of current recipients, hence unlikely to happen. Their original plan was to phase it out, but Musk is reckless.
I don't think that Trump's handlers are that stupid. I don't think he does much of anything on his on, he has his "advisors". and they aren't that stupid.
But Musk is. Musk is oblivious, he can't believe that people don't like him, he whined
"why are people being mean to me, I didn't do anything" https://newrepublic.com/post/192856/elon-musk-everyone-mean-to-him
He has already screwed around with the Social Security system or rather his acne faced adolscents have, who knows what damage they have wrought. I'll find out tomorrow as that is when my SS check is deposited.
My wife says that they have cut off payments to everyone over 120 years old.
After watching Shameless, I can well imagine that there are a lot of folk, who are dead, and whose SSA checks are still being deposited, and some relative is living off of them.
I don't think that any human is over 120 years of age, however if there was an input glitch, who knows who is affected.
And the Social Security software was written on COBOL, that is a foreign language for kids raised on C+++
I've done research trying to read through Elizabethan era parish records. besides the handwriting problem, and this kids were raised on printing not cursive, which is alien to them, Elizabeth English is hard to read.
Even the works of Shakespeare aren't exactly transcribed from the original manuscripts, which as I said would strain us in the 21st century to read.
I've poured through the records of the London Company of Virginia, and have spent half a day on a page.
The same problem in software.
I was employed for a county, whose software for the Health Department was written in MUMPS, they had one hell of a time finding someone who could read and write MUMPS and that was in 1993
Bulletin: Trump ordered all States to turn over their VOTER ROLLS to Musk today. He will analyze potential voter by potential voter against the data he has already scarfed up on every last one of us, and by the time the Midterms come around, only the "right" votes will count. Since only 1% of votes here and there even make a difference, voila! What's so stupid?
Our ballots are supposed to be secret.
That comment of his was my pick for ‘The Stupid Comment of the Day’.
Excellent point
Killing Social Security will be the final nail in Trump's coffin as millions of grannies, who have nothing left to lose, hit the streets of Washington, DC. I'll be there. Will you?
You bet!
Me too!
Here in Ventura at Courthouse!
and grandpa's and the disabled too ~~ (which is me~)
April 5 is to be a National Day of Action..... PERFECT opportunity to join protests all over the country and make the crowd sizes even bigger than they are already becoming. Indivisible.org and Move On are participating as well as others like this: . https://thirdact.org/act/handsoff/ .... . should be easy to find one near you..
Oh I will be there!!
Why isn't Musk being charged with multiple crimes? How did we allow this one person to amass so much illegal and controlling authority?
It is all very simple. And no one is clarifying the issue. It is theft. Stealing all the money from the government. Theft! It has nothing to doing with "waste, fraud and abuse." That is an old Republican trope. Musk and tRump are the frauds and illegitimate. Remember "welfare Queens?"
Co president and felon Trump are stealing our treasury funds which is what Doge is all about. It is not fraud of the government but fraud from musk and felon Trump!
Philip, true that Scump are the true abusers and criminals here, rapists of the state and citizens thereof. Citizens must rise up and what's left of the court system must block the rapists before drump's prophecy comes true that "you won't have a country anymore" for a different reason.
There's no one who will enforce the law. Trump has captured the Legislative and Judicial systems.
There IS a lawsuit that questions his authority (in every way) but I don't know which one or the status.
Philip - All while getting rich off of government contracts and the taxpayers money going into T businesses. Plus classified information being used in improper ways. Telling people to buy stocks in musk’s company. However, the current republicans will not allow any kind of investigation. They spent all last term trying to find dirt on the Biden administration but they refuse to do anything about this administration. The evidence is right in front of them.
What we can do is elect a Democratic president that cares about it and a super majority in Congress and we could shore up Social Security for the next hundred years.
Yeah, we tried to do that in 2024. Too many deplorables voted for the felon instead of the prosecutor.
Good luck with that. I'm afraid there won't be anymore elections. Agent orange has already tread on the constitution, what's one more skid mark? Even if we do have an election, as long as ketamine klansman and his barely pubescent minions are around, I would NOT trust the results AT ALL.
I doubt we will see any legitimate elections from now on.
I’m sure they are planning the demise of social security. Let’s hope they inadvertently leak intel on that.
MAGABillionare Muskalini and your paid clown Donnie Trumphuk touch my social security, my wife’s and that of my sister … and that of the millions of us who paid into it as our retirement and we will come after you tooth and tong. This will be your deathknell. You think we’re mad as hell and taking to the streets now? You fuck with Social Security or Medicare or Medicaid and you’re going to see a massive uprising that will drive you into oblivion.
There'll be a real white haired contingent lined up behind you, Richard ! We may be old...but there's still fire in the furnace !
You tell 'em, Richard! I've got your back! Yes!!!
And I will join you.
Richard - Might be what they want - an uprising - so they can declare martial law. But I am all for it if it comes to that.
Wellll …. I say mofos …. Bring it on! “We didn’t start the fire ….” Right Billy Joel?
But they start it, we finish it!
I don't know how many times I have written to the senators of TN to save SS, Medicare, and Medicaid. I have written my representative numerous times as well. All 3 of them say that they will protect SS, Medicare, and Medicaid, but all 3 voted for the continuing resolution which has massive cuts for all 3 programs. Those 3 are not high on my priority list. I don't think they would save the system if their mothers, fathers, or kids who need the program needed it! So I'm not hopeful.
I hope you are calling them out on their hypocrisy and betrayal.
Spot On, Paula !🤗
Thank you, Lynn!
They would put their parents on an ice floe and push them out sea....if it's weren't for climate change.
Yes. Terrible people.
Taxation without Representation. Similar here in Idaho.
Why don't you call them out by name, Robert? Senator Marsha Blackburn from Brentwood, TN., the Opioid Queen, who took a million dollars from Perdu Pharma and the Sackler Family and rewrote the document that controlled the spread of narcotics, taking the teeth out of the DEA's ability to manage such drugs, and made it more than possible for Perdu to spread their Oxycontin all over the nation, which caused so many overdose deaths -- THAT'S TENNESSEE'S SENIOR SENATOR! When the first school shooting happened in Nashville in March of 2023 at the Coventry School, where three adults and three nine-year-olds were killed, instead of Marsha going after the state legislature to finally DO SOMETHING about the terrible lax gun laws in Tennessee, she publicly stated, "Chip [her husband] and my hearts are broken." You see, Marsha took just as much money from the NRA and has an A+ rating with them. Marsha hasn't got a heart -- she ought to be burned at the stake or hung in the gallows until dead. In fact, I think in her other, past lives as a witch, she probably was!
We’ve got to get rid of Musk and Trump!!!!! I pray that people are going to vote Democrat in their states so we can do this!!!! Trump LOVES being president!!! He will never give it up!! He loves the attention and the privileges he gets. He cares nothing for Americans. We’ve been putting up with this for months. I don’t know how long I can take it. The news is so disturbing!!!!!
IMHO. one of the reasons agent orange wanted to win the presidency is so he can stay out of jail
I write everyday that We the People are going to have to take matters into our own hands and assassinate Trump, and add Musk to that. There is NO REASON ON GOD'S GREEN EARTH WHY TRUMP AND MUSK SHOULD BE DOING ANY OF WHAT THEY ARE DOING! OR WHY CONGRESS SHOULD BE LETTING THEM GET AWAY WITH IT!
Sheila - I hope that he gets plenty of (negative) attention from Greenland when the Vance’s visit.
Thank you for that phone number. I will be calling, writing letters, and emailing. If the weather ever gets better here, I will stand by the road with a sign!!!
Make a snowman to hold your sign.
And by deporting millions of workers, that paid into Social Security, along with their employers, is fattening the pot for the rest of us. This is "Wage Theft" on a massive scale against green card holders and migrant workers with 1B visas. if they never earn their 40 quarters, they will never be eligible to receive the benefits. This has been going on for years and that is why so many Social Security account have been dormant for those workers for over 100 years since they died in their home country without ever getting their money back in benefits. Deportation of the working class is this administrations way of prolonging Social Security without raising the contributions on the rich.
Excellent point!
Robert, you’ve nailed it. Soc Security can last forever if the cap on the SSA tax is raised from the current $176,100 or even eliminated. When we were both working, our combined income allowed us to pay the max Soc Security tax. We were happy to pay our fair share as we realized that many people did not have that income to pay into the system and would likely be living in nothing but Soc Security. Saving money for retire is very difficult as raising a family takes money and with incomes not having increased for the low and middle income families in decades (when adjusted for inflation) folks can’t save 20-25% of their annual income for retirement.
Again, everyone needs to pay their fair share of tax to support our seniors. If we allow seniors to continue to be poor, our society will have not only failed but our economy will tank. And, why should us seniors who use Soc Security, have to pay even more tax for receiving the benefits when we are due to receive them? Soc Security benefits need to be tax free.
And, the people who work in the SSA are some of the finest but overworked people you’ll ever find in any company, much less in our govt. Musk is not clueless, but he wants to strip the govt down to nothing so the billionaires (many being our oligarchy) can receive massive tax benefits. Hell, Musk already gets more govt assistance in every company he owns. The greedy will be the downfall of our country if we allow them to continue with their pillaging.
Do you really think our Senators don’t know this? Do we have to call and ask a quarterback to throw the ball?
Yes, in this case we do have to ask the quarterback to throw the ball. Our Senators won’t take the risk of fighting back unless they know how strongly their constituents feel about this.
They haven't had to represent their Constituents in forever. Closed primaries, gerrymandering and voter suppression have handed them "safe seats". They habitually and malignantly disregard the will of their voters as they facilitate and usher in Fascism
I have to wonder if these brilliant people (snark) have thought this through. If SS were abolished, it would usher in an economic crash probably comparable to the Great Depression, as millions of people, and their families, suddenly had their financial rug pulled out from underneath them. Many services and businesses would go bankrupt. People would be missing mortgage or rent payments. I can't believe our elected congresspersons could possibly be that stupid.
Sorry, but I do believe they are that stupid.
And they don’t care because it won’t affect them.
They absolutely do know, Valerie, but they have chosen to ignore the will of the people, their constituents in favor of the orange, bilious piece of shit!
Here’s my Broken Record Comment on why they pay homage to the bloated yam and ignore their constituents: death threats
Gaily - Yes, which apparently became the norm when T first assaulted us in 2016. They are now getting them from their own people.
Trump and Musk are all giddy over all the fraud they've found in the SS system. Prove it to me and the rest of the country. I want to see the list of names of the people who are over 100 years of age and still receiving SS, even though the records show them to be dead. I want to see the proof. Because there isn't any, just more Trump lies.
i thought it funny that Dudek "acknowledges that phone service sucks" at Social Security. When would he have ever had occasion to call for help? I have, to medicare, social security, and the IRS. I was astounded every time by the caring professionalism of the respondents. My wait times were negligible. What made me even more admiring was when I found out recently that they have been chronically understaffed for decades, because republicans won't allow adequate funding for things that help people or bring in tax dollars.
As I've noted before, the republican party is a terrorist organization that promotes violence to resolve poliltical differences. The republican party is a terrorist organization that abjures, rejects the rule of law. The republican party is a terrorist organization that uses bribery, extortion, intimidation, lies, mis and disinformation to achieve political ends. the republican party is a terrorist organization that promotes violence against women, children, minorities, and any "other" of the moment to scapegoat. the republican party is a terrorist organization that uses surveillance technology to root out and punish opposition to their terrorist agenda. an important adjunct to this terrorist organization is the rogue6 on the supreme court, who have set their seal of approval on this cabal of coup d'etat organizers and implementers.
it will be difficult to restore what we've lost. i hope i see it in my lifetime, but i'm not hopeful for that as I'm convinced that the 2026 elections will be for show only.
I should say that if one has an online MySSA account, things usually go well, but if one lives outside of the USA, it can be very difficult to solve unanticipated problems. Wait times to the USA number might be 60 to 90 minutes, and it is hit or miss with service from the Consulates, although Italy seems to be much better than Poland, Germany, or Austria. Austria does not even deal with SSA. One has to work with Poland or Germany in that case.
Handy list for Ex-Pats or just generally speaking: https://www.ssa.gov/foreign/foreign.htm
It is Poland for Austria.
I agree with you totally.
I have a special problem with this. I and my wife are retired senior citizens and my daughter, who we live with and support, is severely handicapped. We utterly depend on Social Security, into which we have paid our entire working lives, for our very survival.
It seems to me as if Mumptrusk is systematically gutting everything our government does in any area of public administration that actually serves the needs of our people. Their motto seems to be, "If it helps, kill it."
Sadly, I agree with you.