What in the name of sanity is this maniac talking about?

Annexing Greenland???

Does he mean like Hitler annexed the Sudetenland? Is he mentally ill?

America doesn't "annex" sovereign lands. 

Ruth Ben-Ghiat

‪@ruthbenghiat.bsky.social‬

Canada, the Panama Canal, now Greenland...Please send suggestions for favorite EDM artists/mixes, more dubstep than hard techno, need some new music to deal with this!

This was stunning news this morning:

 

"A report by the House Ethics Committee accused former Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida, of regularly paying for sex and using illegal drugs, and of having sexual relations with a 17-year-old girl in 2017." --NYTimes 

I don't believe for a second that Trump didn't know this. 

And it may be the reason he actually wanted Gaetz.

How easy it would be to control you AG, knowing this information.

But it was too much for Gaetz's enemies in the House, and now we know the truth about this low-life.

Never forget that Trump wanted this pedophile and illicit drug user to be America's Attorney General.

Never!

Speaker Johnson wanted to bury the report.

‪Brian Tyler Cohen‬ ‪@briantylercohen.bsky.social‬

·

1h

Congratulations to Mike Johnson for trying to pressure the House Ethics Committee into burying a report that found the then-nominee for attorney general had engaged in sexual activity with a minor. Party of Family Values, am I right?

Dear P.E. friends, I’ve been ill this past week with a terrible cough, sinus infection, low- grade fever, sore throat, and overall misery that comes with all of that.

I’m on all sorts of drugs to control whatever this is, and am slowly, very slowly, feeling better.  

Alan was sick with this three weeks ago, and his illness was bit different from what I’m dealing with 

Neither of us is up for celebrating Christmas, so we will be home and quiet over the next few days instead of traveling to New York to be with my son and his family. 

I wish you all safe travels and good health over the holiday and a Happy Christmas to all.  

"FACTS ARE STUBBORN THINGS" -- John Adams

 

And the fact is that Democrats are better for the economy than Republicans.

 "The Economy Is Finally Stable. 

Is That About to Change? President-elect Donald J. Trump’s proposals on tariffs, immigration, taxes and deregulation may have far-reaching and contradictory effects, adding uncertainty to forecasts."

Trump added trillions to the deficit the last time he was POTUS. What will he do this time? If he follows previous GOP patterns, he'll ruin President Biden's "envy of the world" economy.

Vivek Ramaswamy has announced plans to eliminate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

 

This agency is responsible for protecting Americans from predatory banking, payday lenders, and for-profit colleges --y'know, like Trump University!

Trump was sued by the people who signed up for his for-profit university and they won. Trump was ordered to pay those he scammed $25 million!

"In the wake of the financial crisis of 2007-2008, it became clear that the nation needed a financial regulator solely focused on looking out for consumers. 

The housing finance bubble and Great Recession were fueled by reckless practices in the mortgage industry, which trapped millions of homeowners in mortgages they could not afford, and Congress created the CFPB to ensure that never happened again. 

The CFPB officially opened its doors as an independent agency on July 21, 2011, with a simple message to American families and consumers: We’ve got your back. 

The CFPB was created under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act). The purpose of the CFPB is to promote fairness and transparency for mortgages, credit cards, and other consumer financial products and services. And to protect Americans from con artists like Donald Trump."

SOURCE

Can we guess why billionaires like Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk would want to get rid of this agency that protects Americans against greedy billionairs, con artists, and crooks?

Anyone?

Oh, and both of these billionaires have floated the idea of getting rid of the FDIC. Yes. Really.

Billionaires are being put in charge of removing safety nets and protections for the average American against unscrupulous billionaires, corporations, and financial speculators.

Bank failures won't hurt billionaires at all.

But the rest of us would be ruined.

This is what half of the American voting public wished upon themselves.

But if Trump and his elite billionaire pals have their way, we'll all suffer.

But not them. 

They'll get more billions by deregulating, speculating, and filling their already overflowing pockets!

REALITY

 

YOUR SUNDAY MOMENT OF ZEN

 

“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society,” 

--from Jiddu Krishnamurti

SATURDAY NIGHT MUSIC

 

WHICH IS IT?

 

Either Trump is senile and lost his mind; or

he's mocking our trading partner and good neighbor.

One of those two choices shows either an old man in mental decline or an infantile clown who less than half of the American voting population voted to be the POTUS.

JUST A REMINDER:

 

The US has the #1 most expensive healthcare system in the world, yet we rank roughly #42 in life expectancy.

Trump says he may not be able to lower grocery and gas prices...

 

but his transition team is working on making life easier and more profitable for billionaire Musk, who spent a quarter of a billion dollars to help grease Trump's way back into the presidency:

Welcome to Trump's billionaire swampy swamp!

Exclusive: Trump transition recommends scrapping car-crash reporting requirement opposed by Tesla 

Reuters Jarrett Renshaw December 13, 2024 

"The Trump transition team wants the incoming administration to drop a car-crash reporting requirement opposed by Elon Musk’s Tesla (TSLA) , according to a document seen by Reuters, a move that could cripple the government’s ability to investigate and regulate the safety of vehicles with automated-driving systems." 

 snip// 

"The recommendation to kill the crash-reporting rule came from a transition team tasked with producing a 100-day strategy for automotive policy. The group called the measure a mandate for "excessive" data collection, the document seen by Reuters shows."

 snip// 

"NHTSA said in a statement that such data is crucial to evaluating the safety of emerging automated-driving technologies. Two former NHTSA employees said the crash-reporting requirements were pivotal to agency investigations into Tesla’s driver-assistance features that led to 2023 recalls. Without the data, they said, NHTSA cannot easily detect crash patterns that highlight safety problems." 

Comment from article: 

 "When Republicans talk about the need for 'deregulation,' we know what they mean: making it easier for companies to avoid the costs involved in providing safer products, safer work spaces, and a clean environment. 

President Trump, of course, has taken this to a new level by surrounding himself with billionaires who will reap the financial benefits of policies designed to reduce the government's ability to protect us from greedy plutocrats."

And this:

HOW TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN:

 

Bring back horrible diseases.

Because when you're desperately sick, you seek advice from lawyers and even a crazy politician who was a heroine addict for 15 years and who cheated on his wife with 37+ women, and kept a descriptive diary of all his assignations!

That's who!

RFK Jr.’s lawyer has asked the FDA to revoke approval of the polio vaccine 

TRUMP RAN ON LOWERING THE PRICE OF GROCERIES AND GAS...

 

and now he's backpedaling.

Trump's already preparing the country for his failure to control grocery prices. 

What a surprise.

His gullibles believed he'd bring down the price of eggs. But he lied! LOL!

On Meet the Press Sunday, Trump claimed that he’d won the election on solely the issue of groceries. “Very simple word, groceries. Like almost—you know, who uses the word? I started using the word—the groceries. When you buy apples, when you buy bacon, when you buy eggs, they would double and triple the price over a short period of time, and I won an election based on that.” 

Trump tells Time he's not sure he can get the price of groceries down: "It's hard to bring things down once they're up. You know, it's very hard." 

 Trump Is Starting to Walk Back His Vow to Bring Down Grocery Prices 

The president-elect is no longer so sure that he can ease the cost of everyday expenses for Americans

Trump says his presidency won't be a failure if he can't lower grocery prices

Trump's Billionaire Cabinet

Is America ready for a Trump administration stacked with some of the wealthiest people in the world? 

"If confirmed as planned, Trump's will be an "administration of unprecedented, mind-boggling wealth" that would break the record set by his previous term in office by "billions of dollars," Axios said. Although politicians in this country have traditionally "been wealthier than most Americans," 

 Trump's billionaire Cabinet plan marks an "escalation of what's been a consistent feature in American politics," Axios said in a separate article. Although "wealthy Americans who have had successful careers in business have long served in government," said The Washington Post, Trump's "high concentration of ultra-wealthy picks" opens the door for "distinct conflict-of-interest risks" and undercuts the president-elect's populist campaign messaging." 

 [SKIP]

"By tapping billionaires to 'lead key economic departments,' Trump has raised questions on "whether his administration will follow through on promises to boost the working class," The New York Times said. Although it'd be "foolish" to say that billionaires should be excluded from public service wholesale, Trump's abundance of high net worth nominees stands in contrast to "all the post-election chatter about Democrats and 'elites,'" --Steve Benen. 

[SKIP]

"Ultimately, warned Bookbinder to The New Republic, there are 'two major problems' that come with an administration packed with billionaires. 'One is very specific conflicts of interest,' in which officials may be given responsibilities that overlap with their personal wealth. More generally, 'you want to have a government that looks out for the American people.' With billionaires at the helm, there's a 'real risk that that government is going to broadly govern for the benefit of the very wealthy rather than in the interest of regular people.' " 

***************************

On Tuesday, Musk posted on "X" that homelessness is a “lie” and a “propaganda word.” He suggested that most unhoused people are “violent drug addicts” who cannot be helped.

According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the causes of homelessness are many. Economic hardship and lack of affordable housing are the two leading causes of homelessness.

Musk fancies himself an expert on many things; but, in fact, he's uninformed on most of the issues facing the U.S. and even on how the U.S. government works. He's just another elite multi-billionaire who will inhabit Trump's highest priced swamp and who, because he's rich, thinks he knows how to solve our government's many, many problems.

OPEN SEASON FOR BILLIONAIRES TO DO WHATEVER THEY WANT IN AMERICA! --Trump

 

Are you a billionaire who wants to invest in America?

You're welcome to do whatever you want, including ruining the environment and breaking labor laws or regulations.

It's Trump's way. 

Sell America to the highest bidder and to hell with protecting and cherishing our land!

A billionaire's dream come true!

 

Top Trump adviser accuses January 6 committee of destroying evidence, without proof

Jason Miller, a top adviser to Donald Trump, went on CNN earlier today to defend the president-elect’s assertion that the bipartisan House committee tasked with investigating the January 6 insurrection destroyed evidence.

Trump used that claim to then argue that the lawmakers who took part in the investigation should go to jail. The assertion appears factually wobbly, since the committee’s report and its evidence remains easily accessible online.

TRUMP WANTS TO IMPRISON THOSE WHO INVESTIGATED HIS J6 INSURRECTION AGAINST THE U.S.

 

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON:

After his threat to go after the members of the January 6th committee, former representative Liz Cheney said in a statement: 

"There is no conceivably appropriate factual or constitutional basis for what Donald Trump is suggesting.“ 

“Here is the truth: 

Donald Trump attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election and seize power. He mobilized an angry mob and sent them to the United States Capitol, where they attacked police officers, invaded the building, and halted the official counting of electoral votes. 

Trump watched on television as police officers were brutally beaten and the Capitol was assaulted, refusing for hours to tell the mob to leave. This was the worst breach of our Constitution by any president in our nation’s history.” 

Cheney called for the release of the evidence and grand jury material special counsel Jack Smith assembled “so all Americans can see Donald Trump for who he genuinely is and fully understand his role in this terrible period in our nation’s history.”

ADAM KINZINGER: 

 Bring It On, Donald: The January 6 Committee Stands on Truth 

 "Donald Trump’s latest threat to “jail” members of the January 6 Committee is nothing more than the desperate howl of a man who knows history will regard him with shame. Let me be clear: we did nothing wrong. The January 6 Committee's work was driven by facts, the Constitution, and the pursuit of accountability—principles that seem foreign to Trump.

 If Donald wants to pursue this vindictive fantasy, I say bring it on. I’m not intimidated by a man whose actions on January 6th showed a cowardly disregard for democracy and the rule of law. A man too frightened to serve in the military, and a who requires a strong man like Putin to feel secure. While his supporters were attacking the Capitol, Trump sat in the White House, watching in glee as law enforcement and elected officials scrambled to protect our republic."

Kash Patel, Trump's pick to head the FBI, wants to prosecute former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson for cooperating with the House January 6th Committee.

Cassidy Hutchinson did not break any law. Patel is threatening a U.S. citizen for her testimony against Trump.

This is what authoritarian regimes do to their perceived enemies. And Trump sees everyone who doesn't kiss his prodigious lying arse as an enemy.

TRUMP AGAIN PROMISES TO IMPRISON THOSE WHO OPPOSED HIM

 

This is what authoritarian regimes do when they attain power:

Seek revenge. 

Trump Wants Jan. 6 Committee Members Imprisoned 

“Everybody on that committee … for what they did, yeah, honestly, they should go to jail,” Trump said 

"Former Representative Liz Cheney on Sunday called President-elect Donald J. Trump’s threat to imprison her and other members of a congressional committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol an “assault on the rule of law and the foundations of our republic.” 

 Responding to comments Mr. Trump made in an interview aired on Sunday on “Meet the Press” on NBC, Ms. Cheney said the incoming president “lied about the Jan. 6 select committee” and that there would be “no conceivably appropriate factual or constitutional basis” to prosecute its members."

Trump wants to pardon those who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, and beat the crap out of dozens and dozens of police officers, causing some to die.

Trump wants to pardon cop beaters and imprison those who investigated the J6 insurrection on our nation's Capitol.

This is what tyrants do when they're given power.

Dire warning...

 

Peter Arenella

December 8, 1980

 

YOUR SUNDAY MOMENT OF ZEN

 

SATURDAY NIGHT FUNNIES

 

I needed a laugh at the end of this week:

 

Got Great Health Insurance? You Can Still Go Broke From Medical Bills

Sick and struggling to pay, 100 million people in the U.S. live with medical debt 

Health insurance company CEOs earn millions of dollars in compensation, with the highest paid CEOs earning tens of millions. 

In 2023, the average CEO of a major publicly traded health insurance company earned $20.6 million, a 5.7% increase from 2022. 

Here are some examples of health insurance company CEO salaries: 

Joseph Zubretsky, Molina Healthcare: 

In 2022, Zubretsky earned $22,131,256, with stock incentives accounting for the majority of his compensation. 

Karen Lynch, CVS Health: 

In 2022, Lynch earned $21,317,055. 

Brian Thompson, UnitedHealth Group: 

During Mr. Thompson’s tenure as chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, the company’s profits rose, with earnings from operations topping $16 billion in 2023 from $12 billion in 2021. 

Mr. Thompson received a total compensation package last year of $10.2 million, a combination of $1 million in base pay and cash and stock grants.

But the biggest names in health care still made $3.5 billion combined last year, compared with $4 billion in 2022. 

The average chief executive brought home $11 million, while the median was $4.1 million. 

Those figures compared to an average of $13 million and median of $4.3 million in 2022.

It's not difficult to understand that the billionaire CEOs of health insurance companies make their billions by denying coverage to Americans, causing bankruptcies and even death to those who actually have insurance. 

We are the only advanced technological country on the planet that does this to our own people. 

The "greatest" country in the world has failed its own citizens so that a small number of billionaires can own more private jets and second, third and fourth homes.

 And it is a catastrophic scandal

This may illustrate why so many Americans are showing no sympathy for the UHC's CEO's killing.

 

It's a terrible, terrible indictment of what happens when so many who pay and pay and pay and are denied life-saving medication and coverage for treatments.

United Health Care is the worst in the industry for denying claims -- 32% ! 

 A doctor’s letter to United Heathcare for denying nausea meds for a child on chemo

Here are samples of Americans who reacted to the killing of UHC's CEO:

All jokes aside, my heart goes out to him and his family. I cannot imagine how much they must be going through, with him being on the run from law enforcement and all that.

13h agoReply

31.4K

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user1874407394748

that looks like a pre-existing condition to me

1d agoReply

82K

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TWiSt

thoughts and prayers to all the patients who were denied coverage.

21h agoReply

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🌛☆Little Luna☆🌜

my empathy is out of network

1d agoReply

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hey_its_me_B

With a silencer too that’s crazy.

1d agoReply

202.6K

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Agnes Koppandi

My mother has to fight with insurance EVERY MONTH to get her scans approved, she has stage 4 cancer.

21h agoReply

46.8K

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Minerva Trejo

My condolences to all the people who lost their love ones that were denied coverage .

19h agoReply

20.2K

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Theohiost8girl

my mom had a family too.... as she suffered from brain cancer.....

22h agoReply

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FREE BIRD

These comments are Brutal. and understood... ❤🙏

18h agoReply

8122

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jt

Nah that’s a HIT😭😭 the type you see in movies I stg… the bad guy shadowing in the dark and emerging from the darkness with a silencer…. This is a movie plot😂😂

1d agoReply

46.6K

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Floof_Factory

🙏 sending my medical bills and prayers 🙏

1d agoReply

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Fredd

My condolences to all the people who lost their love ones that were denied coverage , this is so devastating

10h agoReply

5553

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Sarah

I work for an insurance company and they laid off thousands bc company was short 7million that year. The ceo got a bonus of guess how much that year? Yup 7 million.

4h agoReply

2580

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beautifulgetaways

Prayers to all patients and families who were denied coverage 🙏🏼

16h ago

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