Just_Vote_Dem

Just_Vote_Dem's Journal

March 6, 2025

Media normalizes Trump speech and downplays GOP suppression of dissent

President Donald Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night was filled with falsehoods and bigotry and featured Republicans working to suppress dissenting voices—but in the mainstream media, these issues were largely glossed over, and the spectacle was presented as mostly normal, despite the decidedly abnormal state of the union.

...Republican Rep. Lance Gooden of Texas set the tone early when he ripped a sign reading “This is not normal” out of the hands of Democratic Rep. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico as Trump walked by. The hostility to dissent skyrocketed as House Speaker Mike Johnson ordered the removal of Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas, who protested during Trump’s speech, noting that the president does not have a mandate for his extremism. House Republican leaders are now pushing to unjustly censure Green over his protest.

...But in the headlines of the mainstream media, everything was more or less normal, and Trump was the belle of the ball.

The New York Times: “A Combative Trump Says ‘America Is Back’ and Taunts His Political Rivals”

The Washington Post: “Defiant Trump signals full speed ahead on divisive policies”

Politico: “Trump celebrates disruption and defies backlash”

Other major outlets echoed Republican annoyance at Democratic protests. NBC said Green’s statement “overshadowed” other protests, while CNN highlighted that members had “ignore[d] party guidance.”

More at https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/3/5/2308092/-Media-normalizes-Trump-speech-and-downplays-GOP-suppression-of-dissent

March 4, 2025

George Carlin called it more than 20 years ago

"...and now they’re coming for your Social Security money. They want your retirement money. They want it back so they can give it to their criminal friends on Wall Street, and you know something? They’ll get it. They’ll get it all from you sooner or later cause they own this fucking place! It's a big club, and you ain’t in it! You, and I, are not in the big club."

I hope he was wrong on them getting it all...

https://www.icomedytv.com/content/george-carlin-the-american-dream-transcript

March 3, 2025

Trump administration to slash funding for enforcement of fair housing laws

https://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/politics/trump-administration-to-slash-funding-for-enforcement-of-fair-housing-laws/ar-AA1A15gE

President Donald Trump's administration has begun terminating grants to organizations that enforce the Fair Housing Act by taking complaints, investigating and litigating housing discrimination cases for Americans across the country, according to documents and information obtained by The Associated Press on Friday.

The grants are disbursed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to private nonprofits, which act as the frontline enforcement of the federal anti-discrimination law passed in 1968. They educate communities on their rights, test whether a landlord is racially discriminating, investigate complaints, resolve disputes and can help with legal counsel.

Of an estimated 34,000 fair housing complaints lodged in the U.S. in 2023, these private nonprofits processed 75%, according to a report from the National Fair Housing Alliance. The rest were fielded by state and local governments, with HUD and the U.S. Department of Justice working on less than 6% combined.

Now, of the 162 active grants going to the private nonprofits to do that work, nearly half are slated for cancellation, said Nikitra Bailey, executive vice president at the National Fair Housing Alliance. Bailey added that some organizations rely entirely on the grants and may have to shutter, others will have to lay off staff and limit services.
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Disgraceful!!!!!!!!

February 27, 2025

More Actions Coming-Apparently The People's Union USA is spearheading the boycott and other actions

Very interesting!

https://thepeoplesunionusa.com/faq

6. What are the upcoming movements?

• February 28: 24-Hour Economic Blackout – No spending for one full day.

• March 7-14: Amazon Blackout – No Amazon purchases, no Whole Foods, no Prime orders.

• March 21-28: Nestlé Blackout – Boycotting Nestlé-owned brands due to water exploitation, child labor, and corporate greed.

• March 28: 24-Hour Economic Blackout #2 No spending for one full day.

• April 7-13: Walmart Blackout – Shutting down spending at one of the biggest price-gouging, worker-exploiting corporations.

• April 18: Economic Blackout #3 Another full 24-hour halt to the economy.

• April 21-27: General Mills Blackout

February 1, 2025

We have to take care of ourselves at this frightening time

I just messed up and basically ate everything in the fridge aaargh, I will do better

Sending good vibes to my brothers and sisters here!

January 15, 2025

I was approved for Medicare the DAY AFTER I APPLIED!

So much for government inefficiency! I'm happy beyond belief

EDIT: Thanks to everyone for your replies, they are appreciated

December 24, 2024

ACA Help needed please

So i signed up for an ACA plan I only need for 3 months, as Medicare is coming but I'm confused-
The plan says the most I pay out of pocket is 9K, but if I have a hospital stay, it's 40% coinsurance after deductible.
Wouldn't that be more than 9K if it's say, heart surgery? And if so, can I get a supplemental hospital insurance?
Any help will be appreciated, thanks.
And Happy Holidays!

December 11, 2024

Wow-some of our Dem Reps and Senators must not have read Timothy Snyder's 20 Lessons

On Fighting Tyranny-and here's a few:

1. Do not obey in advance. Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.

3. Beware the one-party state. The parties that remade states and suppressed rivals were not omnipotent from the start. They exploited a historic moment to make political life impossible for their opponents. So support the multi-party system and defend the rules of democratic elections.

10. Believe in truth. To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power because there is no basis upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle. The biggest wallet pays for the most blinding lights.

All 20 at https://scholars.org/contribution/twenty-lessons-fighting-tyranny-twentieth

December 10, 2024

Who remembers David Frye?

He was am impressionist who did some some great albums lampooning Nixon and other politicians-some are online. I can recite some of the bits by memory 50 years later