Ruth's Report

Thursday, May 15, 2025

Corruption is built into The Chump Criminal Syndicate.

Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Donald Chump's Middle East Whore" went up earlier tonight.

Convicted Felon Donald Chump's "Middle East whore" continues (credit to C.I. for that phrase). And it continues to lead to outcry and outright mockery. Liam Archacki (THE DAILY BEAST) notes:

A CNN analyst called President Donald Trump’s masculinity into question by saying that he “looks like the beta” for accepting a $400 million jet from Qatar as a gift.

Trump sparked outcry—from critics and supporters alike—when news broke Saturday that he would accept the plane to use as Air Force One. He defended the decision on the basis that his current Boeing 747 is “much smaller” than newer models.

CNN senior political analyst Nia-Malika Henderson argued on the Wednesday edition of Inside Politics that accepting the lavish gift might be damaging to the strongman image Trump has sought to project.

“It also sort of makes Donald Trump look like the beta,” she said. “We‘re going across the world because we‘re too poor to get a plane from somebody else.”

Henderson observed the contradiction of Trump’s emphasis on America’s power while “taking handouts” from an “authoritarian nation” like Qatar.

“The optics of it is really, I think, contradicting what Trump’s idea of America is and himself as the great salesman in bringing America back to greatness,” she said. “If our greatness is relying on another country‘s largesse, it seems to be a contradiction.”

C.I. quoted me in today's snapshot (thank you) and I am noting it here again:

On the plane, Ruth noted last night:

He is greedy. This is bribe and no one needs to pretend otherwise. No one should. But there is also the issue of being the president of the United States and disrespecting this country by wanting a cast-off from a foreign government.

America, we are not his choice.

America, we are not good enough for him.

Chump's Middle East visit this week has been all about corruption and about embracing people the US government has labeled as tyrants and/or terrorists. His actions and remarks will result in blowback to our country for many, many years to come.

Tom Boggioni (RAW STORY) notes:

Hours before the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments regarding the right to birthright citizenship, which Donald Trump's administration is attempting to undermine, the president jumped on Truth Social to complain.

As NBC News reported, "The longstanding interpretation of the provision as understood by generations of Americans, including legal scholars on the left and right, is that anyone born on U.S. soil is an American citizen with a few minor exceptions, including people who are the children of diplomats. As part of Trump's hard-line immigration policy, he wants to limit birthright citizenship to people who have at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen or is a permanent U.S. resident."

According to the president, the fact that the U.S. has granted citizenship to anyone born in the U.S. makes the country "stupid" and, oddly, plays into the hands of cartels.

The country is, his word, stupid. The United States is stupid.

Stupid.

These are the words from someone who loves the country?

No, they are not. He does not like America and only a fool cannot see that reality. I pointed that out last night because his attitude towards our country is one of hate and disdain and it is so obvious to see.

Brian Karem nails it at SALON:

It’s a yard sale, folks, and Trump is selling while the world is buying. A former Trump official clarified it for me further. “If you think Trump is holding a yard sale, I would remind everyone that the United States is the yard that is for sale and everything, including security secrets, defensive initiatives, private data, and secrets most people don’t know about are for sale.” If that doesn’t bother you, my source said, “And no one in this administration is going to call him out. The new Trump regime is becoming increasingly insulated while his activities grow more outrageous. Everything he does is pay to play.”

Most of the world has grown weary of the man, if elections in Canada, the growing resentment of him in Europe, or even the new criticism of him among MAGA circles mean anything. Then again, his latest trip to the Middle East shows that the obscenely rich and powerful potentates who oppress and repress their fellow countrymen while they gain more power and wealth due to their oil reserves are more than willing to hand over hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars, to Donald Trump (Not the USA) in a bid to curry favor with him so they can get what they want at his yard sale. They may be sick of him, but they sure know how to manipulate him.

The latest hue and cry from the masses about Donald Trump comes from the announcement that the country of Qatar has gifted him a $400 million Boeing 747. Ostensibly, it is to be used as Air Force One, but it will be Trump’s to use once he leaves – if he ever leaves – office.

So, to recap, the richest and most powerful are willing to bribe the man who wants to be one of the richest and most powerful because Trump nominally represents the world’s largest consumer nation.

Go figure.

In other news of Mr. Chump, he took time today to announce that military planes are ugly too which military planes no doubt replied, "Yeah, well you've got a fat ass!" I have been saying that all day since I saw the report and my granddaughter Tracey begged me to put it up here. My apologies if the a-word offended anyone.

I think we are offended by Mr. Chump and his endless corruption. Amrith Ramkumar (WALL STREET JOURNAL) reports:

Three top Democratic senators are asking the Trump administration to detail its interactions with crypto exchange Binance and billionaire founder Changpeng Zhao as he seeks a presidential pardon, the latest inquiry into potential conflicts of interest in the industry.

The details

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.), Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.) pushed administration officials to explain how they have discussed a potential pardon with Zhao, widely known as CZ, according to their letter, a copy of which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

The Journal reported in March that Zhao had been seeking a pardon while representatives of President Trump’s family held talks to invest in the U.S. arm of Binance. Zhao served four months in prison last year after pleading guilty to violating anti-money-laundering requirements. He said on a podcast for crypto enthusiasts that he had lawyers formally apply for a pardon.

Trump’s Binance connections drew scrutiny when his family’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial, was part of a $2 billion investment into Binance made by a United Arab Emirates state-backed investor. The arrangement helped make World Liberty’s dollar-pegged cryptocurrency among the largest in the world.

“The convergence of Mr. Zhao’s pardon application and Binance’s financial entanglements with the president’s family presents urgent concerns regarding the integrity of our justice system,” the senators wrote in their letter to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and White House counsel David Warrington.

Corruption is built into The Chump Criminal Syndicate.

This is C.I.'s "The Snapshot" for today:

Thursday, May 15, 2025. So much to cover today, Chump continues his Middle East whore, at home in efforts to gut Medicaid continue, Tulsi Gabbard sends the wrong message to those in intelligence (one that puts us all at risk), Bruce Springsteen speaks the truth that Chump fears, racists from South Africa posing as victims begin arriving in the US, and much more.

Everything had to be put on hold yesterday to address a topic that was about deceptions, lies, racism and sexism. So let's start this snapshot noting an award.

That's Katie Couric interviewing Ben, Brett and Jordan Meiselas and Marni Rose McFall (NEWSWEEK) reports on the brothers and the award they just won:

The MeidasTouch Podcast, a show critical of President Donald Trump, has won Podcast of the Year at the Webby Awards.

Ben Meiselas, co-founder of The MeidasTouch Podcast, said in an email shared with Newsweek: "We're honored to receive the top award for all podcasts at the Webbys—especially as an independent media network. It's a testament to the incredible community that rallied behind us and helped share the show with the world."

The left-leaning MeidasTouch Podcast has been dominating the podcast charts since the beginning of Trump's second term in office, after overtaking popular podcasts including former No1 Joe Rogan. It has held firm as the country's most downloaded podcast, indicating a shift in what the American people want to hear.

The 29th Webby Awards were held in New York last night, hosted by actress Ilana Glazer.

"The truth is golden," said Ben Meiselas, after journalist Molly Jong-Fast presented him with the award, adding in a press release it was "the honor of a lifetime."

Founded in 2020 by three brothers Ben, Brett and Jordy Meiselas, who describe the podcast as "a pro-democracy news network," the organization began by creating viral videos and political ads opposing Trump and supporting Democratic candidates.

So congratulations to them, they've more than earned it.

Now let's dive in the cesspool that is Chump Land. We know who's ruining the country but can someone figure out who's running it?

9/11 was an awful day. A tragedy. And it could happen again. That was the whole point of the 9/11 commission and it was the point of various reforms.

So when Chump refuses to take part in intelligence briefings because he wants to watch porn on his cellphone or when he appoints people to security posts who are not qualified to those posts, he puts us all at risk. Pete Hegseth is not qualified to be Secretary of Defense and his Singal chats have demonstrated he does not grasp that classified information must be kept secret. Tulsi Gabbard was put into the post of Director of Intelligence. Not only is she unqualified but it's also true that this post was created after 9/11 because it was felt that it was sorely needed to prevent another 9/11.

And we got Tulsi. Steve Bennen (MADDOW BLOG) explains:

As NBC News reported last week, a declassified memo drafted by the National Intelligence Council — the top entity for analyzing classified intelligence and providing secret assessments to policymakers — explained that Nicolás Maduro’s Venezuelan regime is not orchestrating Tren de Aragua’s operations in the United States. (The document came to light by way of a Freedom of Information Act request by the Freedom of the Press Foundation, a nonprofit organization.)

A week later, as The Washington Post reported, Trump’s highly controversial and wildly unqualified national intelligence director decided to fire the leaders of the National Intelligence Council — the office that dared to tell the White House what it didn’t want to hear.

The official line from Gabbard is that she’s combatting the “politicization” of the intelligence community, a conspiratorial line embraced by partisans who disapprove of the extent to which intelligence agencies have presented evidence the president doesn’t like.

Indeed, as the Post noted, Gabbard has actually “removed or sidelined officials perceived to not support Trump’s political agenda.”

Or put another way, if anyone is “politicizing” U.S. intelligence, it’s Gabbard and her Team Trump colleagues. What’s more, the DNI’s latest purge sends a dangerous signal to intelligence officials throughout the government: Produce reports that make the president happy, regardless of the facts, or you might be next.

Ryan Grenoble (HUFFINGTON POST) adds:

National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard fired two senior officials at the National Intelligence Council after it released a report concluding the Venezuelan government is unlikely to be directing the activities of Tren de Aragua, in sharp contrast to President Donald Trump’s countless claims to the contrary.

Trump has repeatedly asserted, while offering no evidence, that Venezuela is somehow guiding the actions of the street gang. Trump also invoked Tren de Aragua to justify invoking the Alien Enemies Act shortly after taking office, leaning on the 1798 law to deport people without due process.

Michael Collins, the acting chair of the National Intelligence Council, and deputy Maria Langan-Riekhof were fired Tuesday, a source told CNN. It’s unclear what role, if any, Collins and Langan-Riekhof played in producing the analysis.

The firings come a week after an intelligence assessment produced by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence found Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government probably isn’t involved in Tren de Aragua’s operations in the U.S.

Do you grasp what that unqualified stooge did?

She did not like the intelligence and the assessment so she fired them. No, that is not how it's supposed to go. She has now made clear to the people she pretends to supervise that if they want to keep their jobs then they better tell her what she wants to hear. That's no way for intel to be run. She was never qualified.

If and when there's another attack, it needs to be noted that Chump let our intel chain rot and did so knowingly and willingly.

And Trashy Garbage -- as Trina's dubbed Tulsi -- was never qualified to head anything, let alone to be over the nation's national security. Her latest move proves it. Intel is not an area where you want yes-people who just tell you what you want to hear. I cant imagine any area of work that would benefit from just yes-people but intel is supposed to be following everything, analyzing it all, offering possible outcomes, etc. You need various opinions being expressed and someone at the top capable of taking it all in and making the call regarding what's being offered, what's the most pertinent and how do we need to proceed.

Tulsi has failed at her job.

She better pray that there's not another 9/11 because if there is? Her head and Chump's head are going to be the first the American people are going to be calling for.

She is not up to the job. She never was. The United States is in danger while incompetents like her remain over intel.

We should all be alarmed.

Bruce Springsteen is in on tour. He made a public call to let freedom ring this week.

Bruce spoke the truth, Chump just speaks lies. Lucian K. Truscott IV (SALON) explains:

It seems to have been going on much longer, but it has been only one month since Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day,” when he did his big reset on the world’s economy by raising tariffs on goods exported to this country to 10 percent, with higher “reciprocal” tariffs of up to 50 percent on 57 countries. The tariffs were supposed to take effect on April 9, but Trump chose that day to suspend for 90 days all the reciprocal tariffs except those on China, which he raised to 145 percent, because, he said on Truth Social, China had been “ripping off the U.S.A.”

Fifty-seven countries and the rest of the world had waited, and Trump caved, a grand total of seven days after stock markets around the world crashed and the dread “R” word, recession, began being uttered by cable news hosts and hitting newspaper headlines.

It took only 30 more days for Trump to cave on his China tariffs. On Monday morning, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the U.S. and China would be suspending the reciprocal tariffs of 125 percent the two nations had imposed on one another. The original 10 percent U.S. tariff would remain, with China maintaining its 10 percent tariff that had been imposed in answer to Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff. The U.S. is maintaining some kind of 20 percent “fentanyl” tariff on China, but that one is likely not long for this world,

What happened in the intervening month? China just waited. Reports of empty shipping berths at ports all along the West Coast began appearing. Talk of “empty shelves” started to hit the airwaves. Trump, pressed on what kind of Christmas American kids were going to have with all shipping from China at a standstill, began babbling about girls having to settle for “two” dolls rather than “thirty,” and “five” pencils instead of “250.” Where the hell he came up with dolls and pencils and those specific numbers was never explained.

Over in China, in Xi Jinping’s office, no explanation was necessary. Trump was panicking. So Xi and his trade representatives sat by the phone. Last week, it rang. Who knows what Trump’s trade representative said, but it had to be some version of “can we talk, please?”

Yes, Chump created the mess -- and wrecked the economy -- and, yes, he did not have 'victory.' He caved this week in a desperate attempt to save face but his face is broke.

And, as Steve Benen (MADDOW BLOG) notes, he's not just lying about trade deals, "

As recently as Thursday, JD Vance appeared on Fox News, and while he expressed concern about the intensifying conflict between India and Pakistan, the vice president added that the violent escalation between the two countries was “fundamentally none of our business.”

It was a difficult position to take seriously — when two nuclear-armed countries are launching attacks on one another, potentially destabilizing the region, the conflict is absolutely the business of global leaders — and Vance’s rhetoric soon looked even worse when Trump declared two days later that his administration had negotiated “a full and immediate ceasefire.”

But that proved problematic in part because, a day later, there was evidence the ceasefire was not holding, and also because India’s foreign minister downplayed the United States’ role in the negotiations.

Nevertheless, while in Saudi Arabia, Trump was eager to boast about how effective his strategy was with India and Pakistan. “I said, ‘Come on, we’re going to do a lot of trade with you guys. Let’s stop it. Let’s stop it. If you stop it, we’ll do a trade. If you don’t stop it, we’re not going to do any trade,’” the Republican claimed. “And all of a sudden, they said, ‘I think we’re going to stop.’”

According to India, Trump didn’t know what he was talking about. NBC News reported:

“The issue of trade didn’t come up in any of these discussions,” Jaiswal said, referring to the conversations with Trump administration officials.

It serves as a timely reminder: Trump sometimes takes credit for accomplishments that don’t exist, and he sometimes takes credit for accomplishments for which he’s not actually responsible.

Chump's lies, like his greed, not going away. It's who he is. And the American people are really seeing his corruption streak with the plane bribe from Qatar. Lawrence O'Donnell addressed this last night on MSNBC.

On the plane, Ruth noted last night:

America, we are not his choice.

America, we are not good enough for him.

President Donald Trump sent a message to the world in Saudi Arabia: make business deals and the US won’t meddle in your affairs.

Trump, on the first overseas visit of his second term, praised the country’s leadership for its modernization push and said Iran, Lebanon and Syria all had the opportunity for a brighter future. The Middle East would be “defined by commerce, not chaos,” he said.

Fulfilling the wishes of many of his MAGA base, Trump rejected notions of nation-building and pressure on human rights that other US presidents once championed. Of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Trump said, “I like him a lot — I like him too much.”

While Chump frolics in the Middle East and delivers one lap dance after another, his plan to gut Medicaid continues in the Congress. The attack on Medicaid is an attack on America and attack on millions of Americans' healthcare. The attack on Medicaid and CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program) is about denying healthcare and putting approximately 80 million Americans at risk.

Chump's soaking up every foreign dollar a terrorist or tyrant can slip in his g-string right now but he wants to rip the healthcare from those in need, from children, from the challenged and disabled, etc, etc. Nikki McCann Ramirez and Andrew Perez (ROLLING STONE) report:

The chief priority of congressional Republicans is to make permanent an extension of Trump's first-term tax cuts. The version of the tax bill currently being considered by Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee preserves much of the 2017 legislation while folding in some of Trump's 2024 campaign promises, including no taxes on tips, no taxes on overtime, and even less taxes for the wealthy.

However, just like the 2017 cuts, this new tax bill would add trillions to the deficit - and it would once again disproportionately benefit the rich. The poorest Americans, meanwhile, could see a tax increase. In order to pay for the legislation, Republican lawmakers won't look toward the people who are hoarding the vast majority of the wealth in this nation, but will instead take a hacksaw to social services and safety-net programs that help the nation's poorest families survive, as well as raise taxes on universities, charities, and nonprofits.

According to the bipartisan Joint Committee on Taxation, the GOP's proposed tax provisions would increase the national debt by $5.3 trillion. It's a phenomenal cost that Republicans intend to offset, to some degree, by forcing 10 million Americans off Medicaid, pushing millions off food stamps, and increasing health care costs for many.

There will likely be several weeks of debate and negotiations to finalize what will surely be Trump's signature second-term legislation.

Here are 10 of the worst policy changes in the president's "big, beautiful" super bill.

Keeping taxes low on the rich

For one brief moment, it seemed that the president was entertaining the possibility of raising taxes on the highest incomes in the nation. It took less than a week for him to discard the idea.

The planned extension of Trump's 2017 cuts would make permanent the income boons the president gave to Americans during his first term, which heavily favored the highest income brackets in the country - giving the rich big tax cuts while doing little to nothing for the nation's lowest earners. This time around, the tax bill is expected to raise the average tax rate, by roughly one percent, on Americans earning less than $15,000 next year, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation. Millionaires would see a three percent tax cut.

Meanwhile, the legislation would also boost the wealthiest Americans' families when they die, raising the estate tax exemption up to $15 million.

At MARKETWATCH, Chris Matthews weighs in on the GOP attack on Medicaid:

The Congressional Budget Office — legislators’ official scorekeeper on the effects of legislation — estimates the bill would cut federal spending on healthcare by more than $700 billion over a decade, or what Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon called Monday “the largest Medicaid cut in history.”

[. . .]

The financial pain could also extend to institutions that rely on Medicaid dollars, including hospitals that treat large numbers of low-income patients and insurance companies that run Medicaid health plans in dozens of states.

Hospitals that serve poor and rural areas in high-enrollment states receive extra funding to help cover the gap between what Medicaid pays and what care actually costs. These dollars often come through supplemental payments and provider tax arrangements that allow states to draw more federal matching funds.

The bill would sharply restrict both mechanisms by barring states from paying Medicaid providers more than Medicare rates unless they can justify the difference. It also tightens rules on provider taxes, or fees paid by hospitals to fund the state’s share of Medicaid, which would mean less federal money supporting healthcare providers.

Hospital companies that could be impacted by these changes include HCA Healthcare Inc. Tenet Healthcare Corp. and Universal Health Services Inc.

Senator Patty Murray's office issued the following:

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) joined Planned Parenthood Action Fund President Alexis McGill Johnson and Planned Parenthood advocates in holding a press conference on the Republicans’ partisan reconciliation bill that includes provisions to “defund” Planned Parenthood and make the largest-ever cut to Medicaid in history.

Republicans’ reconciliation bill, which only requires a simple majority to pass in each chamber of Congress, would result in at least 13.7 million people losing health insurance by 2034, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO)—this figure is a result of Republican cuts to Medicaid combined with Republicans’ refusal to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits and the Trump administration’s sabotage of the ACA marketplace. CBO estimates that the provision in House Republicans’ legislation defunding Planned Parenthood would increase the deficit by $300 million.

“Republicans are gearing [up] to kick more than 8.6 million people off their health insurance, and while they are moving heaven and earth to extend tax cuts for the richest people on the planet, they are not so much as lifting a finger to save the health plan tax credits for working families—something that will push yet another 4 million people off their insurance… Because the brutal reality is that Republicans are not just taking away people’s health coverage, they also want to shut the doors on one of the biggest health care providers in the country. They want to defund Planned Parenthood,” said Senator Murray.“About three in four people say they oppose defunding Planned Parenthood health centers. But Republicans do not care—they need to appease their far-right, anti-choice fringe. Now this is going to hurt their own constituents, seeing as one in three women have been to a Planned Parenthood health center for care. But Republicans don’t care—after all, billionaire tax cuts won’t pay for themselves! Although the irony is, in this case, defunding Planned Parenthood would actually cost our country more money in the long term. CBO estimated yesterday that one provision in House Republicans’ bill would actually increase the deficit by $300 million dollars! And, defunding Planned Parenthood will cut off millions of patients from basic health care like cancer screenings, pap tests, birth control. But Republicans just don’t care—whatever Donald Trump wants, comes first for them. Well, I want everyone to know, Democrats do care. And we are not going to let Republicans blow past all the warning signs. Saving people’s access to basic health care—saving Planned Parenthood—is just too important.”

One in three women have been to a Planned Parenthood health center for care and for many people, Planned Parenthood health centers are their only source of health care. Planned Parenthood is more popular than any elected official or party, and nearly three-quarters of voters, including more than half of Trump voters, oppose Congress taking away funds from Planned Parenthood health centers for providing birth control, wellness exams, and cancer screenings.

“Make no mistake: The House’s reconciliation bill is targeting Planned Parenthood. By moving full steam ahead to push a dangerously unpopular agenda, House Republicans have shown they aren’t concerned about their constituents or cutting costs. This effort to ‘defund’ Planned Parenthood will threaten Americans’ health and futures, and leave a gap in care no other provider can fill. We cannot allow these lawmakers to play politics with health care. Planned Parenthood Action Fund is showing up every day with reproductive freedom champions like Sen. Patty Murray until we defeat this outrageous attack,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, President, Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

“In the State of Washington, Planned Parenthood serves about 100,000 patients annually. So that just tells you, where are those 100,000 people going to go if you don’t have Medicaid as a reimbursement mechanism? About half of those patients rely on Medicaid,” Senator Cantwell said. “Small communities like Pullman, Washington, and other parts of Eastern Washington — where there are no other choices to deliver this kind of care — you’re asking people then to either do without care that might tell us something about a very pressing health care condition, or make you have to give up job time, or drive miles and miles and miles and miles, just to get the care you deserve.”

“Plain and simple: Republicans are putting health care further out of reach for Americans, all because they need to give tax handouts to their rich friends. Planned Parenthood is a health care provider – they do cancer screenings, regular checkups, and so much more, but Republicans refuse to accept that and would rather try to score political points, so they are going to take that essential health care away from American families. It’s wrong and we are going to fight it,” said Senator Baldwin.

Senator Murray is a longtime leader in the fight to protect and expand access to reproductive health care and abortion rights and is widely credited with holding the line against any budget deal that would cut funding for Planned Parenthood in 2011 and leading the fight to uphold President Obama’s policy requiring insurers to cover birth control as part of the Affordable Care Act. Murray has led Congressional efforts to fight back after the Supreme Court’s disastrous decision overturning Roe v. Wade, introducing more than a dozen pieces of legislation to protect reproductive rights from further attacks, protect providers, and help ensure women get the care they need; Murray has led efforts to push for passage of these bills on the floor multiple times. Last year, on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Murray led her colleagues in hosting a “State of Abortion Rights” briefing with women who have suffered firsthand from Republican abortion bans, and last June, she chaired a HELP Committee hearing titled “The Assault on Women’s Freedoms: How Abortion Bans Have Created a Health Care Nightmare Across America.” Murray helped lead efforts to force Republicans on the record on votes to protect access to contraception and access to IVF (twice), and led her colleagues in raising the alarm about the threat a second Trump administration poses to reproductive rights and abortion access in every state, as outlined in Project 2025.

Senator Murray’s remarks, as delivered, are below and HERE:

“Well, thank you all so much for joining us. We are here to raise the alarm as Republicans are now moving heaven and earth to gut health care in this country.

“You know the saying ‘women and children first?’ Well for Republicans, billionaires go first—and women and children go overboard.

“That’s essentially the principle they are writing into their reconciliation bill right now.

“Despite all the warnings from families across the country—despite warnings from themselves, Republicans are gearing [up] to kick more than 8.6 million people off their health insurance.

“And while they are moving heaven and earth to extend tax cuts for the richest people on the planet, they are not so much as lifting a finger to save the health plan tax credits for working families, something that will push yet another 4 million people off their insurance.

“But it gets worse—much worse—and that’s what I want to remind everyone here today now.

“Because the brutal reality is that Republicans are not just taking away people’s health coverage, they also want to shut the doors on one of the biggest health care providers in our country.

“They want to defund Planned Parenthood.

“That is wildly unpopular—about three in four people say they oppose defunding Planned Parenthood health centers. But Republicans do not care—they need to appease their far-right, anti-choice fringe.

“Now this is going to hurt their own constituents, seeing as one in three women have been to a Planned Parenthood health center for care. But Republicans don’t care—after all, billionaire tax cuts won’t pay for themselves!

“Although the irony is, in this case, defunding Planned Parenthood would actually cost our country more money in the long term. CBO estimated yesterday that one provision in House Republicans’ bill would actually increase the deficit by $300 million dollars!

“And, defunding Planned Parenthood will cut off millions of patients from basic health care like cancer screenings, pap tests, birth control. But Republicans just don’t care—whatever Donald Trump wants, comes first.

“Well I want everyone to know, Democrats do care. And we are not going to let Republicans blow past all the warning signs. Saving people’s access to basic health care—saving Planned Parenthood—is just too important.

“We don’t have to guess at the stakes here—we already know from experience. We have seen exactly what has happened when Republican states have defunded Planned Parenthood: health care outcomes—worse, fewer patients receive care.

“The fact of the matter is, if Republicans get their way—if they succeed in shutting the doors of Planned Parenthood clinics across the country—millions of women will have nowhere else to turn.

“After all, two-thirds of Planned Parenthood health centers are in rural and medically underserved areas—places where there’s already a shortage of clinics and health care professionals. And for a lot of these patients, Planned Parenthood is literally the only provider in reach and in budget. They literally can’t afford to lose this care.

“So, we are not going to stand by as Republicans try to cut off this lifeline, just so they can cut a massive check to billionaires like Trump and Elon Musk.

“We are here today to put a bright and burning spotlight on the full extent of the destruction Republicans are planning. And to lift up the voices Republicans are most afraid of—the patients who they are trying to cut off from health care.”

###

One of the worst crimes of the 20th century -- there were many, the Holocaust being top of the list -- took place in South Africa and was supported by the US and UK governments among others. A White population ruled via apartheid which denied Black people rights. The objection to this racist and illegal system built slowly but it did build. As early as 1964, singer Dusty Springfield was refusing to let the South African government make her perform to segregated audiences. Dusty was a huge international star and the spotlight she shined can't be denied. Many people first learned of the heroic Nelson Mandela as a result of this spotlight. Others had spoken out before and others would do so later on building the opposition outside of South Africa to apartheid. It was a case of human rights and Desmond Tutu and so many others were able to educate the world on that. Finally apartheid fell.

White racist Donald Chump was a supporter of apartheid. Now he wants to bring White South Africans to the US. He's denying refugee claims of all people with color but he relates to the self-presenting 'victims' of South Africa. He lies with them and he lies for them. They have a lot of money so of course he gets in bed with them.

It is a horror show to watch as US president bring these people into the US. Morgan Music (LATIN TIMES) notes:

South Africa's president pushed back against U.S. President Donald Trump's claims that white South Africans are facing a "genocide," following their admittance as refugees.

"Those people who are being enticed to go to the United States do not fit the definition of a refugee," President Cyril Ramaphosa said during the Africa CEO Forum's annual summit Monday. He emphasized that those in question are not victims of persecution, but rather "a fringe grouping" who oppose South Africa's post-apartheid reform.

"They are leaving ostensibly because they don't want to embrace the changes that are taking place in our country," Ramaphosa said, adding that those individuals "would actually like to see South Africa go back to apartheid."

Trump defended his administration's resettlement plan during remarks at the White House on Monday, stating that white farmers in South Africa are being "brutally killed" and their land "confiscated." He called it "a genocide," and criticized reporters for ignoring what he portrayed as a racially motivated crisis.

There is no genocide. It's a lie. ATLANTA BLACK STAR NEWS reminds:

Trump, influenced by another South African immigrant, Elon Musk, has joined many on the right who have have accused that country’s government of enacting anti-white legislation and policies that have fueled violence against white landowners in the nation that for decades was ruled by a white minority that subjugated the country’s majority Black population until 1991.

The numbers suggest much has gone unchanged since the end of apartheid. Whites still own three-quarters of private land and have about 20 times the wealth of the Black majority, according to international academic journal the Review of Political Economy.

Less than 10 percent of white South Africans are out of work, compared with more than a third of their Black counterparts.

In order to close those disparities, South Africa last month passed a new law regulating property expropriation. Trump accused the ruling party, without evidence, of illegally confiscating land from white farmers, according to Agence France-Presse. That in turn gave new life to claims about white farmers being murdered, though experts maintain all racial groups have been targeted of the approximately 50 farmers killed annually in South Africa, AFP reports.

[. . .]

White South African journalist Simon Ateba went even further, saying the refugees’ real fear is not violence, “but equality,” noting that 70 percent of the country’s resources are controlled by whites, who make up just 7 percent of South Africa’s population. Adding, “That’s not persecution that’s privilege on a guilt trip.”

Persecution complex? That's MAGA and that's Chump. And they're stamping their feet. Brett Samuels (THE HILL) notes, "The White House has directed federal agencies to stop work with the upcoming Group of 20 (G20) conference slated to be held later this year in South Africa amid outcry from President Trump over the treatment of white South African farmers." AFP reports that the White House has attacked the Episcopal Church:

On Monday, the church had said it would wind up its refugee resettlement grant agreements -- amounting to more than $50 million annually -- with the US federal government rather than comply with Trump's orders.

In a statement, the church's presiding bishop was scathing in his criticism of the administration's decision to grant the white South Africans refugee status.

"It has been painful to watch one group of refugees, selected in a highly unusual manner, receive preferential treatment over many others who have been waiting in refugee camps or dangerous conditions for years," said Sean W. Rowe.

Under eligibility guidelines published by the US embassy, applicants for US resettlement must either be of Afrikaner ethnicity or belong to a racial minority in South Africa.

The Episcopal Church said that it could not comply with Trump's order "in light of our church's steadfast commitment to racial justice and reconciliation."

The Episcopal Church made the only ethical choice available. Chump can't understand that because for him money is always supreme, it is his god.

Okay, winding down with e-mails. Stacey Abrams is popping up in the e-mails because she's 'not going to run a third time.' Or she's being told not to. Not a Stacey fan. Stacey will run if she wants to. No one's going to talk her out of running if she wants to. She's a strong person. Why am I not a fan? Stacey's personable and likeable. But she's lousy when it comes to hiring campaign staff. She is a natural candidate. She communicates with ease.

She does not understand campaign strategy, however, and she hires useless people who won't say, "Stacey, I hear what you're saying but that's not going to help you and let me explain why." Instead, they defer to her and, again, she is no good with campaign strategy. If she does run again -- and that's her decision -- she needs to look for a campaign manager who will challenge her, not someone who's going to go along with whatever she wants. If you're candidate's Bill Clinton, sure, go along with what they want. They know campaign strategy. Bill's also someone who is a natural candidate when it comes to communicating and interacting with people. Few are Bill Clinton. Most need help with one or the other. If they need help with both, they really shouldn't be running for office to start with.

On e-mails, I'm not backing AOC for the Democratic Party's presidential nominee in 2028. I'm not backing anyone at this time. It could be AOC. And if it is, I will vote for her. In case it is, we need to be having real, grown up conversations and having them right now. FOX "NEWS" and the others will not just attack her as a Socialist (which she is), they will twist that into Communist. Now is the time for the left to have the needed conversations so we're on the same page or a similar page and can address the attacks that will surely come.

I'll vote for whomever the nominee is. Some I'll vote more gladly for: JB, AOC, Andy, Elizabeth, Cory, Jasmine . . .

Others?

Gavin Newsom, to the courtesy phone, Bea Arthur's calling from the great beyond and she wants her hairstyle back.

He finally changes his hair -- as I've advocated for him to do for years and to his face -- and that's what he comes up with?

The move to attack trans people and immigrants mean I won't campaign for him in the primary and won't vote for him in the primary; however, if he gets the nomination I would vote for him in the general. I don't see how he would get the nomination. The right has made him the poster boy of all that is wrong in the country. The homeless rate has soared. He's done nothing to address that in the state and now he's penalizing the homeless. The right will make a big deal about homelessness and theft. Probably try to get Roseanne Barr to do some commercials (she hates Gavin) where she mocks and makes fun of him and, sad thing is, what are seen as his failures are so well known that they won't need to do a lot of introductory work to set up Roseanne's jokes.

If you're supporting AOC and you're a Socialist, the best thing you can do is make sure those around you know you're a Socialist. Put a face on the term. If you're supporting AOC and are not a Socialist, you should be thinking in terms of "Why we need a Socialist in the White House at this time in history." Come up with the answers to that question and prepare to deploy them if she runs because she will be attacked in the primaries. The GOP will make Socialism her crime. Her supporters need to hit just as strongly on why it actually makes her the best candidate.

The following sites updated:

Wednesday, May 14, 2025

America, we're just not good enough for Greedy Chump

Convicted Felon Donald Chump has been out of the country. That is not a complaint. In fact, the longer he is out of the country, the better we all do. And the further away he is, the less we have to listen to his inane remarks. Robin Givhan (WASHINGTON POST) points out the hypocrisy of the Convicted Felon:

Planes, dolls and pencils: How many does a person really need? America’s children will have to make do with fewer pencils when they’re doing their schoolwork. And when play time comes around, they’ll have to be satisfied with fewer dolls. This is the observation of their president, who has been cranking tariffs up and down like a thermostat as he runs hot and cold on allies, antagonists and his own standing with the public.

President Donald Trump offered this assessment in response to questions about the possibility of rising prices and empty store shelves and just how much financial uncertainty and pain Americans should expect. His answer targeted a kind of modest excess that might be considered part of the American Dream: The freedom of parents to buy their kids an abundance of toys and not have to worry about where their next #2 pencil is coming from.

“I don’t think that a beautiful baby girl needs — that’s 11 years old — needs to have 30 dolls. I think they can have three dolls or four dolls because what we were doing with China was just unbelievable,” Trump said during an interview with NBC. He’d upped his allotment from the previous count of two since he’d first used dolls as a measure of economic stability, in April. Within four days, he had become practically profligate with doll distribution. “I’m just saying they don’t need to have 30 dolls. They can have three. ”

“They don’t need to have 250 pencils,” he added. “They can have five.”

While that would be a fine argument against overconsumption, of which Americans are plenty guilty, it comes from a president who treats garish excess as a matter of both national and personal pride. (See: his redecorating of the Oval Office into a gilded lair.)

And now the president wants a new shiny version of Air Force One. He wants it now. Specifically, he wants the 747 that Qatar has offered to give him. The plane is worth approximately $400 million, was originally purchased for the country’s royal family and is a study in beige and caramel tones. Trump wants this plane so badly that he has been batting away concerns that accepting it violates the U.S. Constitution and using it poses a security risk. He has been doing so with the vigor and focus of a toddler swatting at boundaries.

He would be a “stupid person” if he turned it down, he said, even if it seems in direct violation of the emoluments clause in the Constitution, or at least the spirit of it, which prohibits the president from taking gifts from foreign entities who might demand favors in return. It is a “great gesture” from Qatar, which is the country that he once accused of funding terrorism. The president wants what he wants when he wants it. And what he vehemently desires is to fly in a plane that when parked alongside other planes is the best plane on the tarmac.

America, we are not his choice.

America, we are not good enough for him.

Tommy Christopher (MEDIAITE) reports:

President Donald Trump was confronted aboard Air Force One by New York Times White House reporter Jonathan Swan over a $2 billion foreign deal that’s being paid for with Trump crypto.

Trump is currently on a four-day swing through the Persian Gulf region with stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, which has been dogged by the controversy over his eager acceptance of a $400 million “flying palace” from Qatar to serve as Air Force One.

In other news of Mr. Chump, CorEy Townsend (HUFFINGTON POST) reports:

It turns out, kids still ask the darndest questions — and that tradition held strong during a recent high school field trip to the nation’s Capitol.

For many schools, a pilgrimage to Washington, D.C., is a time-honored rite of passage. Such was the case for an unnamed institution whose students, in a clip posted Monday on X, formerly Twitter, participated in a Q&A session hosted by Georgia GOP Rep. Brian Jack.

Then came that question — the one that’s quietly echoed in the minds of many Americans for years:

“Why is [Trump] so orange?” one high schooler asked.

Jack, momentarily caught off guard by the question posed, stammered before mustering up a response.

“Uh, that’s, you know what, it’s, it’s, it’s your perspective,” he responded. “It isn’t certainly mine. I just think he has a great tan.”

Was this a masterclass in democracy? Probably not. But an unfiltered moment of truth-telling from America’s youth? Absolutely.

The make up wearing con artist. Who does he think he is fooling?

This is C.I.'s "The Snapshot" for today:

Wednesday, May 13, 2025. The fake assery never ends and today we have to put everything on pause to address David Hogg's pursuit of celebrity, how Socialists are using him to sew division within the Democratic Party (and why they're doing that), the benefits of having White skin, the left's knee jerk racism and so much more.

Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Fake Ass Waleed Shahid" went up last night.

We were talking yesterday and I told Isaiah some ideas I had for today's snapshot and he did that comic to help. What I'd planned though is largely gone. Events change. But we'll be touching on that comic throughout the snapshot. It's Waleed Shadid. He's a Socialist. He plays like he's a Democrat but he's not.

Let's start with AOC because two weeks ago, I was supposed to return to that topic but we've been busy.

AOC can't win in 2028 if she's the presidential candidate.

Not right now she can't.

People don't like liars and they don't like tricksters. Waleed does not help AOC by hiding in a political closet.

AOC is a Socialist. She used to be DSA. She probably still is but many of those members don't claim her anymore. That's especially true of the SA wing of DSA.

We can't have honest conversations because some of us can't be grown ups.

Rashida Tlaib did one good thing in 2025 that I'll praise her for, she identified herself as a Socialist.

That's what she is. If you're going to treat that like something unspeakable, AOC doesn't stand a chance in hell in 2028.

As a feminist, I'm fully aware of how campaigns about I-had-an-abortion spoke to people, gave faces to the issue. When a gay person or a trans person comes out, it puts a face on the issue. Who are the faces of Socialism in this country? If you're a Socialist, why don't you get honest about it and actually do something to build your movement and to make it easier for AOC if she runs for president in 2028?

You can grow the hell up and stop hiding in closets and stop acting as though Socialists is something to be ashamed of. But until you stop hiding behind 'progressive' or 'leftists' or whatever term you want to use, you're hurting AOC.

If she runs, FOX "NEWS" will go to town on her. And people who do not read this site will suddenly be shocked to learn that AOC is a Socialist. They will wonder why this was hidden, they will think that hiding it means it's something shameful.

When we first started noting here that Rashida was a Socialist -- basic reading and comprehension skills should have informed you of that before I ever touched on the topic --angry e-mails flooded in daily. She's not a Socialist! She's not!!! Can you imagine that on a larger scale with someone running for president?

If you want AOC as president, you should grow the hell up and stop pretending she's not a Socialist or you're not a Socialist.

Why do they lie?

All of the Justice "Democrats" selected by Cenk and Kyle were Socialists. They weren't Democrats. That's Greg, that's all of them. And that is their spokesperson Waleed Shahid.

Ask Waleed why he's hiding?

Ask him why a grown man poses as a Democrat.

I can tell you why. If he owns up to being a Socialist, it's that much harder for him to trick Democrats.

And that's what he wants to do.

Last night, I got really mad. I don't write about stuff if I don't know what I'm talking about. If it's something new to me, I've reached out to everyone I know who could help me with the topic.

So I don't get why you weigh in on things when you don't know s**t.

Yeah, we're talking about David Hogg.

Socialists back David Hogg. Largely White Socialists. Most Socialists are White. Like Waleed.

And I've said all along that they are part of The Politics of Destruction. Just like MAGA. I've said it's so easy for them to flip.

And you saw that last night.

You saw 'progressives' (Socialists) online go full MAGA.

I believe in DEI.

Racists don't.

And racists on the left were all about anti-DEI last night.

David Hogg's election is no more. It was done wrong, he and another man were lumped in together and this is a violation of the rules. It hurt women. And one woman brought a complaint. She did so before Hogglet announced his sketch of the future. It has had to work through the system.

Candidly Tiff

‪@tify330.bsky.social‬

Kalyn Free put in her challenge in late February and won today. This whole response shows his immaturity and why he had no business being elected as Vice Chair. He is free to quit at any time.

May 12, 2025 at 7:38 PM

71 reposts

6 quotes

181 likes

David is not the victim -- not unless you ignore the facts, don't bother to learn them, and just believe every lie that comes out of Little David's mouth.

It's all a plot against him, whiny brat insists. I don't have the time -- or the desire -- to recount Jared Gans' article for THE HILL. David was one of five people elected to be vice chair of the DNC. Hogg's race did not follow the rules which is why Kalyn Free stepped forward and asked for the issue to be looked at. It has been. She was cheated. The party has to make good on this.

Free is a member of the Choctaw Nation. She's a former district attorney. She graduated from college and law school. The American Bar Association awarded her a Spirit of Excellence Award.

Unlike Little David, she's never sold armbands that had to be pulled from the market because they looked like armbands worn by Nazis. No, she's not made all the mistakes Little David has.

But instead of people agreeing that the rules that were in place should have been followed, it becomes anti-DEI because that's what Socialists do.

It is their knee jerk reaction to go racist. And it ticks a lot of us off.

He stomps his feet and accuses people of conspiring against him. Poor little tyke, at this rate, he's not going to have any conspiracy left to embrace when he goes full on MAGA.

The race has to be redone.

Rules were in place to maintain fairness and women suffered because the rules were tossed aside.

He stomps his feet and demands the office because he's White!, he's White!, he's White! And, oh yeah, he has a penis.

Run, Little David, run! Surely, there's a game of Funny-Face Horse about to start somewhere in the country.

Hogg and Kenyatta will both face a do-over. Malcolm Kenyatta's not happy, NEWSWEEK reports, but he's also not embracing Hogg's wild conspiracy theories:

"The credentials committee believed, as they stated, that they are remedying a procedural flaw. But doing so the way they did, is a slap in my face. I'm frustrated, but I'll be ok."

Kenyatta continued, "However any story about this, that neatly places this into a narrative about David Hogg is wrong. I worked my ass off to get this role and have done the job every day since I've held it. This story is complex and I'm frustrated— but it's not about @davidhogg111. Even though he clearly wants it to be."

Yes, David was one of five but as I've noted David was 'the missing blond girl.' All the media attention went to David who's never done anything or accomplished anything. He is, however, White.

Jay Jay🐝💛

‪@jayjay827.bsky.social‬

You: Can we give him a second because he just got elected? No. Malcolm Kenyatta was also just elected as DNC Vice Chair. Here's how Malcolm has spent his first 100 days in office. Do you see any appearances on Bill Maher in this list? Why do you have such low standards for white men?

May 13, 2025 at 11:54 AM

The David Hogg brigade previously pimped such notables as John Fetterman.

Lisa Bee (she/her)

‪@leebee4life.bsky.social‬

Fetterman isn’t who the Blue No Matter Who folks supported. They wanted Conor Lamb or Malcolm Kenyatta. We ended up with Fetterman because of Bernie supporters.

May 10, 2025 at 6:26 AM

Wait. You mean Bernie Bros could be wrong?

The people who elevated Tulsi Gabbard as an important and anti-war voice! They could be wrong!!!!

They're wrong all the damn time.

Speaking of wrong, NEWSWEEK wrongly types the below:

Democratic strategist Waleed Shahid posted to X on Monday: "The DNC has spent much more time discussing their 25-year-old vice chair than on any sort of audit or autopsy of the $1 billion Harris campaign."

Waleed Shahid is a Socialist. He is not a Democrat. He's worked primary as a Bernie Bro but he is not a Democrat, he is a Socialist. That's why he was the spokesperson for Cenk and Kyle's Justice "Democrats" -- all Socialists. They're liars and NEWSWEEK should not enable them. They're Socialists, not Democrats. If you're reporting, NEWSWEEK, then report. Waleed's a Socialist.

He attacked Kamala as a Socialist.

He was part of Uncommitted -- the DSA 'movement' to keep Kamala out of the White House.

And now he's backing David Hogg.

That should be a warning to everyone.

But some people refuse to see reality.

The press needs to stop letting Waleed attack the Democratic Party and pretend he's one of us. He is not.

As the SEP -- a Socialist political party in the US -- repeatedly notes, DSA is nothing but fake assery. They regularly lie to trick people. (Here's Tom Hall at WSWS explaining how the DSA, THE NATION magazine and others are working together to lie to you and prop up a union leader.)

Waleed's now attacking the Democratic Party and defending an unqualified White man -- White men like Waleed demonstrated their racism throughout 2024.

I'm tired of the stupidity and of the willful stupidity.

David Hogg didn't present a plan nor did he say anything smart. But one fool after another says, "I like what he said."

What he said was primary Democrats. In the past, he has done that because of age. Now it was supposed to be because they are centrists.

First off, to a Socialist, every Democrat is going to be a centrists. Grasp that.

Second, the woman he worked to defeat last time was not a centrist. But no one wants to talk about her either.

No one wants to do the work required.

As someone who actually has spent the last 20 years addressing the issue of people in Congress who should retire, I can do what David can't. I can offer concrete examples of how we can try to address it. Let's start billing families for special elections -- families and the estates. You knew you were too old to complete the term, you died in office, your estate -- not taxpayers -- should cover the cost of the special election to replace you. Start doing that and watch people start stepping down.

That's just one proposal we've made at THIRD as we've covered this issue over and over since the days of Robert Byrd in the US Senate.

Again, that's just one proposal we've made. David's made zero.

David has no plans. He only has slogans.

I did not attack Hogglet when he spoke of his intent to primary 'safe' Democrats. I said we need details and I waited to see what he was going to offer that would argue against the history of these attempts -- they don't work. Ned Lamont won the primary but Joe Lieberman then ran as an independent and retained his Senate seat, for example. The other historical examples would be incumbent Dems bloodied in primaries who then lose the general election and that has happened over and over.

But I wanted details and we never got them from Hogg. This is from Ava and my "Media: Baby Hogg is no leader:"

And he's a grifter who won't even get honest about what he's planning for 2026.

Other liars and grifters like noted racist Keith Edwards have had him on their YOUTUBE shows and have not only ignored financials but have also refused to ask him to explain who would face a primary. He has made generic statements (and specifically stated he wouldn't primary Nancy Pelosi).

He refuses to present his plan.

So how about we look at the type of Dem he hates?

WIKIPEDIA notes:

On November 17, 2024, Hogg lambasted outgoing Congresswoman Mary Peltola (D-AK) on X, describing her as "awful on gun control" and bidding her "good riddance" following her electoral defeat.^[56]^[57]

So that's the kind of Democrat he would primary? From WIKIPEDIA:

Mary Sattler Peltola^[1]^[b] (born August 31, 1973) is an American politician and former tribal judge who served as the U.S. representative from Alaska's at-large congressional district from 2022 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as a judge on the Orutsararmiut Native Council's tribal court, executive director of the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, Bethel city councilor, and member of the Alaska House of Representatives.

Scroll down that page. She was for reproductive rights, she was for LGBTQ+ rights, she called out transphobia, etc, etc.

David didn't like her position on gun rights -- a position in keeping with many in Alaska.

He celebrated her loss. Nick Begich III replaced her. The Republican is anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ+, he's anti . . .

But David's thrilled that Mary's out of Congress?

His judgment is questionable, to put it nicely, questionable.

Here's reality one more time. To defeat Donald Chump and save the country, Democrats have to get control of at least one house of Congress. We're not going to do that focusing on challenging incumbents in 'safe' districts. There are no safe districts right now. There's nothing safe about the world we're living in with a madman in the White House.

White people are the least effected by this. Socialists don't give damn. Some of them, quite honestly, seem to enjoy the chaos that Chump's creating. Easy to do, I guess, if you're not being erased or deported or targeted.

We need control of the House of Representatives and David's slogans passed off as 'plans' have no successful historical roots. This has never worked and it most likely won't this time.

We shouldn't even be considering it with all that's at stake right now.

FAFO doesn't seem to have registered with a lot of you.

We can't afford, the day after the mid-term elections -- to say, "Hmm. Maybe we did need that centrist Democrat from that district because now we've got to go two more years until elections and right now we have no check at all on Chump."

Stupidity is also thinking that David Hogg can reach young men.

It's racism, by the way, to think that's what's needed. White men. And it's racism to think that only a White man could reach other White men.

But David can't speak to the manosphere. We're talking about a pipsqueak that makes Timothee Chalamet look butch. Men laugh at David.

And David's confession to Bill Maher last week that he can't find a woman who'll have sex with him didn't make him look any better.

To men especially, David Hogg is Shelter In Place. During a school shooting, while many students tried to help others and some risked their lives doing so, 18 y.o. David hid in a closet and texted and made videos.

That's not leadership.

That's not manly action.

That's a coward.

And that's how men David's age see him.

So relinquish your fantasy that David Hogg will deliver you to the promised land of the Manosphere.

But you can't because the racism is ingrained.

When Jill Biden was First Lady and wanted both the winning team and the losing team to come to the White House, that struck many as racist.

And those of you who want to ignore the rules that weren't followed and want to gift David a position of vice president are also coming off racist.

As you reject the Native American woman, maybe ask yourself if your knee jerk reaction isn't due to the fact that David Hogg seems 'like you'?

Your racism is noted.

Like the media, the Socialists never embraced Malcolm. He hasn't been hiding. He's been going around the country speaking about real issues -- not his sex life. Most of you don't even know his name.

But the media spotlight -- naturally -- went to the White guy. And you went right along with the spotlight. You didn't question the racism in that -- again, we've been noting David is the 'missing blond girl' for weeks now (referencing the '00s when every missing White girl was national news but a little girl of color goes missing and she doesn't get the same media coverage).

You bought into the racism and now you work to amplify it.

We've had to spend time yet again talking about David Hogg. That's your proof right there that he was not good fit for a DNC job. It's not about celebrity, it's about getting out the vote and discussing the issues that matter. David can't do that.

He's an attention whore who only wants to talk about himself.

We have real issues and he can't address them because he's not mature enough and he doesn't know anything. This was his chance to learn and instead of sitting on his uninformed ass and learning, he tried to act like he was DNC chair and tried to act as though we had drafter this pipsqueak into leadership.

Martha McHardy (NEWSWEEK) reports:

Donald Trump's approval rating on immigration has reached a new low, according to polling.

Immigration was the cornerstone of Trump's 2024 campaign and an issue Trump previously polled highly on. But recent polls have shown Trump's approval rating on immigration underwater.

A decline in approval now—especially as immigration remains a central focus—signals potential vulnerability in his messaging and may reflect shifting public attitudes or dissatisfaction with how he and his allies are handling the issue.

That's what I was hoping to start today's snapshot with. Yesterday, I saw that and it seemed like the natural opening and we were going to address tariffs and Chump's attempt to rewrite history and the issue of firings and travel.

But instead we're stuck talking about 'victim' David Hogg.

Idiots online make up whatever s**t they want and spread it. How is that different than MAGA?

Over and over, I see the lie that Nancy Pelosi came for David! That's why this happened! She wanted him out!!!

If she wanted him out, her daughter would have voted differently. But you can't be bothered to learn who voted this week and how they voted.

You'd rather go off into MAGA insanity and racism and launch attacks on Nancy or whomever.

James Clyburn. He's another that they're lying about. David Hogg, they insist, does things not like that awful James Clyburn!!!!

Really? That's an argument you want to make?

Or how about the idiots likening him to AOC? Elevating him up to AOC's level?

She's a member of the US Congress who has been elected multiple times. She is someone speaking out on important issues.

Do not insult her to glorify your pampered White boy.

Again, racism has been on display every time the Hogglets rush forward to defend their false god.

David Hogg is a distraction but, more importantly, he's a division.

He's dividing and divisive.

And that's why Waleed and others are pimping him.

Even those idiots realize it's now over for David Hogg. But they think they can use Hogg still to outrage people and maybe then force the DNC to do something the want. Just like DSA bragged that they got their pick -- Tim Walz -- on the presidential ticket!!!!

David is a scab that Waleed and others plan to pick at forever. They want to use it to try to take control in some way, in any way they think they can get it.

I'm tired of it.

And I'm tired of MSNBC, NEWSWEEK, et al presenting Socialists as Democrats. We are not the same thing. And we -- Democrats -- are in the millions in this country so why is it that we're usually the last invited to speak or be quoted? They'll bend over backwards to bring in a Socialist and play them as a Democrat but they don't seem to want actual Democrats on air or in print.

New content at THIRD: