Greetings, Americans!
They done did it! The Republicans in the House had enough votes (barely) to pass trump’s Big, Butt-Ugly, Bitch of a Budget Bill. In this bill are proposed cuts in Medicaid; that’s been the target that we’re been focusing on. We have to: Medicaid is a lifeline for rural hospitals (some of which have already closed down), people with disabilities both physical and mental, elderly people, the list goes on.
But don’t worry, they’ll be coming after Medicare, Social Security, and veterans’ benefits, among other things. What is their phobia against such programs about?
For Medicaid, there are work requirements, that you have to work X number of hours a month to qualify. How much work can you get from an Alzheimer’s patient, or a person in a wheelchair, or a mentally-challenged person? That’s has been conservatives’ favorite whine, “People on welfare are lazy, we must bully them to get back to work!”
Work where? Many regions of the country are economically depressed, with factories moving to low-wage countries with repressive, union-bashing governments.
You have to wonder about trump’s disciples; they range from low-income to stone-poor, and yet they keep voting for this guy who’s ruining the economy, thus losing them jobs at good wages. Why? It’s the oldest story of American politics: white voters voting according to their hates and bigotries, for someone who doesn’t give jack-shit about them, but he’ll the (name your racial slur) in their place. It’s a long haul to get through to them, to deprogram them out of their racism and xenophobia.
(I use the word “deprogram” deliberately; it’s a word used to describe helping a person in a cult UN-learn whatever nonsense the cult leader taught them. trump’s movement has long been described as a cult, with the followers believing what the Dear Leader spews.)
“Own the libs” has been an ongoing theme among the MAGAs; they are perfectly happy to forego Social Security, education, health care, etc. so they can insult and humiliate minorities and activists who advocate these programs. They’re like school bullies, who want to humiliate the “weaker” kids rather than deal with them as fellow human beings. These are not serious people, you can’t engage in serious discussion with them. Plus, like the bully, they’re not averse to using physical force to beat down their victims.
(I use the word “deprogram” deliberately; it’s a word used to describe helping a person in a cult UN-learn whatever nonsense the cult leader taught them. trump’s movement has long been described as a cult, with the followers believing what the Dear Leader spews.)
(https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/09/kyle-rittenhouse-trump-own-the-libs-kill-the-libs.html)
Just as the bully tries to dominate the “weak, nerdy” kids, so conservatives work to attain and retain dominance over the less empowered elements in society, like minorities, workers, LGBTQ people—and immigrants, with or without documents, trying to attain some portion of the “American dream.”
I love it when I see, in my social media, people in neighborhoods standing up to ICE, as they nab innocent people, just going about their jobs and lives, and detain them for no good reason, other than to fulfill Stephen Miller’s quota of 3,000 people a day. There are cases of immigrants going to the federal courthouse to clarify their status and plead their case, as they have every right to—and ICE agents kidnap them right in the hallway. (I use “kidnap” on purpose too.)
Tom Homan, trump’s “border czar” (whatever that means), was interviewed by a Fox News “reporter;” Homan said that ICE agents did not need “probable cause” to arrest someone; they could just detain them due to “physical appearance.” This is otherwise known as “racial profiling,” which gives law-enforcement agencies carte blanche to go up to any person of color and arrest them, for any excuse they can think of, and the racism prevalent in US society plays a factor.
(https://www.alternet.org/trump-homan-ice/)
I’m not going to be polite about it; trump, and all his lackeys and disciples, display the WORST elements in American society—the racism, the religious quackery, and the willful ignorance—and trump et al. have permitted it and called it acceptable, organized it, and monetized it. Never mind it causes ruptures between people, never mind it prevents any meaningful change in our communities, never mind it leaves all workers, of all races, still down at the bottom; they are a voting block that the Republicans have relied on for decades, and trump is its current manifestation.
SO, let us manifest the POSITIVE elements of our country, like our LONG history of struggle for rights and dignity. By banding together, we WILL defeat trump, and set it back on a positive course.
Stay safe, stay strong, and stay together! Slava Ukraini! Am Yisrael chai! fuck trump! America will be free!
Bye!
My Novel, “Soldier Of The Cross.”
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