US judge blocks Trump from cutting Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood in 22 states | Reuters
Trump Appears to Fight Sleep During Cabinet Meeting - The New York Times
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These “Trump” accounts are great for someone who can afford to save $5,000 a year for their child. But for anyone who cannot make that investment they’re basically garbage and the Dell’s donation doesn’t change that.
The Dells have (likely) gotten a huge tax break in exchange for dropping $250 in the accounts of children who aren’t eligible for the $1,000 federal government contribution to the account, In the absence of the ability for families to make additional contributions, that amount might double before it can be withdrawn at age 18. Is having $500 in savings at age 18 really going to encourage life long financial literacy or would we be better served by investing billions of dollars into education, universal healthcare, and ensuring kids aren’t going hungry?
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In 2016, Pete Hegseth publicly stated that U.S. troops should not follow unlawful or illegal orders, emphasizing that the military has a duty to uphold its ethos and standards rather than blindly obey commands.
He explained that if a soldier carries out something “completely unlawful and ruthless, then there is a consequence for that.” Hegseth stressed that the military’s ethos requires refusing unlawful orders from the Commander-in-Chief, underscoring accountability for war crimes and illegal actions.
Here’s a clip of Hegseth making those remarks in 2016:
Hegseth in 2016: US troops ‘won’t follow unlawful orders’
Key Points from Hegseth’s 2016 Statement
- Refusal of unlawful orders: He said the military “won’t follow unlawful orders from their Commander-in-Chief.”
- Consequences for war crimes: Hegseth noted that carrying out illegal or ruthless actions would bring consequences, reinforcing the principle that “just following orders” is not a defense.
- Military ethos: He tied this stance to the broader military ethos and standards, which prioritize legality and morality over obedience
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We could start by instating universal, free, healthy school breakfasts and lunches like Sweden or Finland.
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Hegseth said, while also suggesting he didn’t know whether the boat had any survivors after its first strike, a fact that, he said, was shrouded by the “fog of war.”
I think he meant the “haze of booze.”
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Being from Austin I’m familiar with the Dells, remember when he first opened a little mail order place called PCs Limited next to the trucking company I worked for. And I can guarantee you he is not a generous or kindly person. Anything “ philanthropic “ has been designed from a business viewpoint and there are tax breaks and incentives in there somewhere to make sure he is getting a big return on any “ gifts “. In essence I have no trust in anything he’s involved with and many in Austin would agree with me
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I absolutely cannot comprehend the limp dick response from blue states over this issue. Since when are deceptive advertising practices acceptable? Clearly this illegitimate court is nothing but a front for fascism. So, fuck them. I say blue states need to grow a fucking pair and shut these fucking places down. Create a pretext, I dunno, deceptive practices seems like a good one, and send in armies of cops and officials to shut these places down like they would any boiler room operation. Then tell SCOTUS and this criminal cabal to fuck all the way off. What are they going to do? Feels like the left is still pathetically clinging to norms that do no one any good at all. How do we win a fight be constantly caving? When did the cowardice and weakness of Neville Chamberlain become our fucking guiding light?
As the House would, under this scenario, become more representative of the United States, I propose that the role of the Senate be drastically reduced, so that it becomes kind of a ceremonial deal like the House of Lords.Rather than being able to block everything by minority vote, it could be reduced to blocking nothing. (No, I don’t have any useful details on how this might be done yet.)
Reforming districting – and allowing for or mandating multi-member districts – for the House seems like a good requirememnt, too.
Very sad about the sloth. The Albuquerque zoo recently lost a hippo, age 52.
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Re: Crisis Pregnancy Centers
So, the argument is that CPCs are just exercising “freedom of speech”, and even though they are money-making businesses, they should not be bound by any of the “truth in advertising” regulations.
This, of course, makes all “truth in advertising” regulation questionable, and in a position to be overturned by the unfortunately “Supreme” Court. Which is something that Today’s Trumplican Party would definitely approve. Bring on the fraudsters! The grifters! The con men! The swindlers! It’s their First Amendment Right to cheat and fleece you!
Maybe creating desperation and hopelessness by ripping decent jobs out of thousands of towns, shipping them off to countries that allow companies to profit from forced slave labor and leaving nothing but a wasteland across the midwest so a handful of corporate executives and investors can make even more money has something to do with making suicide by drugs a viable option….fuck the right. Fuck MAGA. Fuck Republicans. Fuck corporate Dems too while we’re at it.
Oh… dear. That sounds like a challenge.
James Madison, the author of the first draft of the constitution wanted both houses of the legislature to be elected based on population but small states would not agree to ratify it without changing the upper house to have the same representation for every state. This is often referred to by historians of the time as “the great compromise”.
Which brings up the the issue with making changes is what changes would require amending the constitution and what changes can be made by congress.
The purpose of the senate is to keep states, especially small states, strong and influential. Madison who wanted states to be weak was very concerned that the great compromise would be unworkable because while the constitution crated a federal Government with much power, the states also remained strong. Madison was concerned over what conflicts would result with both strong state governments and a strong federal governments. But the question remains, without the U.S. Senate, who would care about the Dakotas and what power would small states have?
In my view the real problem is through the filibuster, the Dakotas have outsized power beyond what was envisioned in the “great compromise”.
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If religious fanatics can stand outside Planned Parenthood for decades, we can do exactly that and expose these parasites in the same way. Problem is, too many liberals aren’t pissed off enough. They just aren’t.
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Who cares, honestly? Who cares what a tiny group of people in the middle of nowehere think. We need to stop worrying about the dumbest and the weak links and start doing what makes the most sense for the most people. Kowtowing to religious lunatics over abortion for instance doesn’t actually help the fanatic, while it actively hurts women. The fact that some lunatic imagines the abortion that a woman they’ll never meet got harms them in some way is just fucking stupid and we need to say that. When I was growing up we had a phrase. I’m sure people remember it. It was “mind your own fucking business.” We need to go back to that.
They often set up shop nearby real abortion clinics, and peddle anti-abortion misinformation.
*disinformation