Medicaid

The Survival Of America As We Know It Depends On A Massive “Blue Wave” This November!

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Donald Trump has thrown down the gauntlet, in informing Congressional Republicans that they should abandon any legislation on immigration until after the “Red Wave” he predicts is coming in the midterm elections of 2018 this November.

God forbid any such “Red Wave”, which would defy history, as the record shows the party in the White House always loses seats in the first midterm election after a President has been inaugurated, with the one major exception being FDR and the Democrats in 1934, but Donald Trump is no FDR!

If people stay home and do not vote, or if people continue to believe the lies of Donald Trump and the Republicans, then we as a nation, not those of us who care, but everyone else, will get what they deserve–a return to the 19th century Gilded Age before federal government played a role in the lives of the American people.

It will mean the end of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, labor laws, environmental legislation, consumer protections. civil rights for minorities, women, gays and lesbians, and the disabled, and the loss of the Bill of Rights.

We will live in a nation controlled by the super wealthy in every sense, and we will be influenced by autocrats in Russia and other totalitarian dictatorships, and we will be threatened by the loss of our traditional foreign allies, and we will face dire poverty after a Great Depression that would make the 1930s depression look like a minor event.

Some reading this might think I am using hyperbole, but seriously, even if one thinks they have heard this before, the reality is as follows: There is no more crucial election for the long term future of our nation than this midterm election.

The Democrats are far from perfect but even many conservative commentators, such as Jennifer Rubin, George Will, David Frum, Bret Stephens, Steve Schmidt, among others, have repudiated the Republican Party and Donald Trump, and warn us of the need to kick the Republicans out of control of both houses of Congress, and many state governorships and legislatures.

Donald Trump is the most dangerous person in American history, and the process to start taking away his destructive influence is NOT to say it is hopeless, and why bother voting?

It is, rather, that if we do not fight for our future, then there is no future!

Donald Trump And Jeff Sessions Declare War On Children: A Horrible Crime And Sin

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The Trump Administration has declared war on children, which is a horrible crime and sin.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen have made it clear that any people escaping persecution, violence, and poverty, and arriving at the borders of the United States, will be subjected to detention, with their children of any age, even infants, being separated from their parents.

America has always had a reputation of being a place of refuge and opportunity to immigrants seeking a better life, but now Donald Trump and his administration is creating a new America, without any compassion, empathy, or decency, denying the history of our nation.

Nativism is running rampant, and the government is promoting the growth of hatred and possible violence against anyone who is an immigrant, undocumented or legal in status.

This has happened before, but never at the rate and intensity of what Donald Trump is promoting.

The worse, most despicable elements of human nature are in full display, and history will not treat Donald Trump and his Presidency kindly.

At the same time, the Trump Administration is proposing a cut in the SCHIP (State Children’s Health Insurance Program), passed under the Presidency of Bill Clinton, and specifically promoted by First Lady Hillary Clinton. This has been designed to provide health care for poor children not already covered by Medicaid, which has been cut in many states in recent years.

Speaker Paul Ryan Dismissal Of Catholic Chaplain For Statement About Protecting Those Less Fortunate Is An Outrage!

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Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has been a disgraceful Speaker, far worse than his predecessor John Boehner.

That is saying a lot, as Boehner was far from virtuous.

But Ryan who defines himself as a “devout” Catholic is nothing better than a phony, as his Catholicism and Christian beliefs are extreme right wing “prosperity” based.

The right wing Christianity condemns the poor and disadvantaged, and emphasizes acquisition of wealth over everything. the precise repudiation of the message of Jesus Christ.

So the decision of Ryan to dismiss the Catholic chaplain Patrick Conroy for his statement hoping that the recently enacted tax bill, which clearly benefited the rich over the rest of the population, that there should be no winners or losers in the legislation, and that benefits should be balanced and shared by all Americans, is to be condemned,

What is wrong with that statement? It is a Social Justice view of Catholicism and Christianity, totally appropriate, and the true message that Jesus preached.

Ryan’s abrupt decision, after he announced his retirement at the end of this year, was denounced by Democrats, but also many Republicans in the House of Representatives as totally outrageous and should not be happening.

It just adds to this blogger’s long held denunciation of Ryan, going back to when he was selected as Mitt Romney’s Vice Presidential running mate in 2012, which led to bitter attacks by many trolls on this author and his views on this blog, as well as on social media.

Now, more than ever, Paul Ryan has proved how disgraceful and biased a person he is, with his Ayn Rand, Social Darwinist view of his faith and of the rights of the American people.

Ryan would love to destroy Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps, and other social safety net programs, and for that, he will be condemned in history.

Speaker Of The House Paul Ryan: A Failed And Disgraceful Figure In American Political History, And Total Sham!

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Back in 2012, when Paul Ryan was chosen by Mitt Romney to be his Vice Presidential running mate, this author made clear his total distaste of the Wisconsin Congressman, who had made his career on balancing budgets, and cutting social programs from the New Deal on through the Great Society. He has now proved once again that he is a failed and disgraceful figure in American political history, and is a total sham!

It was made clear that Ryan was a disgraceful choice to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency, had Mitt Romney won the Presidential Election of 2012.

As a result of my harsh criticism, I was bitterly attacked by the right wing, in a very vicious manner.

But I was correct in my assessment then, and since, and now, Paul Ryan is quitting Congress, and leaving the Speakership of the House of Representatives, at a time when he was facing a major challenge from Democrat Randy Bryce, an iron worker, who was totally disgusted by the hypocrisy and self serving of Ryan over his 20 year Congressional career.

Ryan set out from a young age, based on his Ayn Rand philosophy, to destroy the Social Safety Net of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps, and other programs to help the millions of poor, disabled, sick, children, and elderly in our society. And yet, when his father died when Paul Ryan was not yet an adult, he received Social Security benefits, but now wishes to destroy FDR’s signature program!

At the same time, his goal was to cut taxes dramatically for the wealthy, and he succeeded under Donald Trump, blowing a massive hole in the budget, and now creating a $1 trillion increase in the national debt by so doing.

Ryan has done more to harm the future of the nation economically than just about anyone, and he has been unwilling to take a strong stand, or any stand, against Donald Trump’s abuse of power.

It almost seems as if he gets sexual thrills from hurting people, and yet, he claims to be a “good Catholic”, which most decent Catholics would totally disagree with.

The best response to Ryan leaving is “good riddance”!

The Plot To Privatize The Department Of Veterans Affairs, And The Firing Of Secretary David Shulkin, Just A Beginning To Privatize Much Of Federal Government

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It is clear that Donald Trump, and his right wing friends, billionaires Charles and David Koch, and other right wing extremists, are out to destroy the Federal government involvement in just about every government agency other than the original cabinet agencies created in 1789–State, Treasury, (War)Defense, and Justice.

So the firing of Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin is clearly a move to make Veterans Affairs privatized, which is a horrible idea, as taking care of our veterans should not be based on the profit motive. There is also a plan to privatize Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Education, the Post Office, and other government agencies.

Those who care about a responsive national government being protected must understand that “war” has been declared by the extremists on the right, who do not give a damn about the lives of 325 million Americans, only downgrading federal government as it has operated since the beginning of the 20th century and President Theodore Roosevelt.

Regulation and intervention has advanced America, but the big corporations and the elite wealthy want to reverse, and destroy, all progress for average Americans to make our nation more humane and responsive.

This is the time for liberals, progressives, and Democrats to work to deny the success of this plot, so every caring American must work to get rid of the Republican majority in Congress, so that the fight against the evil of the Trump Presidency can move forward.

The Republican Party And The Promotion Of Death In So Many Forms

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The Republican Party of 2018 and Donald Trump is clearly the Party of Death!

Of course, many reading this will protest that the Republican Party is the Party of Life, since they insist every fetus must be born, and that the pregnant woman has no say over her future, even if it is rape, incest, or drug addiction or alcoholism involved in the pregnancy.

But the point is that is the ONLY time the Republican Party is for life, and it has made perfectly clear that it is not concerned about any human being in America once such person is born!

The Republican Party believes in the death penalty, and would like to see it used on a large scale.

The Republican Party supports the National Rifle Association, which has no concern about the massacres that have taken place in schools, outdoor concerts, churches, nightclubs, work places, shopping malls and other public places. The vast majority of Americans want to ban all assault weapons, have background checks, prevent mentally ill people and terrorists from gaining access to weapons, and raise the age of ability to buy any firearm to 21, but the Republican Party has consistently done the bidding of the NRA, and shows no willingness to take action on guns, because they claim it is the “wrong time”, as they have consistently said after each of multiple massacres. So they are Pro Death and believe the right to firearms is more important than preservation of life.

The Republican Party believes no one is entitled to health care, and has no issue with millions of Americans having no or limited health care, as they believe health care is NOT a right. So they destroy ObamaCare without any alternative for those who have lost health care.

The Republican Party believes there is no need for protection of workers conditions, as through the Occupational Safety And Health Administration, and want to destroy what is left of the labor movement, and bring us back to the Gilded Age.

The Republican Party is working to loosen safety and pollution standards on automobile manufacturers, making for possible increased deaths caused by lack of regulation and health standards, and also wants to privatize airports and get the government out of railroad and truck transportation regulation, insuring more accidents and dangerous undermining of safety for passengers on all kinds of transportation.

The Republican Party believes that industry should have total control over the environment, and is out to destroy all environmental regulations of the Environmental Protection Agency, and promotion of healthful conditions in areas where there is coal mining, oil drilling, and natural gas exploration, including lack of concern about earthquakes caused by natural gas exploitation in Oklahoma, as an example.

The Republican Party is not concerned about consumer safety, and wishes to decimate the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The Republican Party is not concerned about the health and safety of the disabled and the elderly in our society, and wish to cut back massively on Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security Disability programs.

The Republican Party is not concerned about keeping the public up to date on weather conditions as it moves to cut back on the budget for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which will cause more deaths from hurricanes, tornadoes, Tsunamis, and other weather conditions, as without knowledge, it leads to demise of people who could be saved.

The Republican Party wishes to impoverish the masses, so that the wealthy gain massive tax cuts, in effect helping to undermine the health, safety, and lives of tens of millions of Americans.

The Republican Party is out to undermine science and health research, setting back the leadership position of America in previous generations, and instead promoting fake science and refusing to accept the reality of climate change and global warming, which will cause long term the deaths of millions of Americans who are endangered by the reality of changes in the environment worldwide.

And Donald Trump and most Republicans are ready to got to war against either North Korea or Iran, with no concern as to the mass loss of life of American soldiers, and of the people of Asia and the Middle East. It is all part of their macho to show they are men, and willing to sacrifice our youth for their wars to dominate in the name of evil, greedy capitalism. Having former generals in key positions–John Kelly, James Mattis, H. R. McMaster–and with a crazed President, who is clearly as mentally ill as the gunman in Parkland, Florida, clearly demonstrates their worship of death.

So a clear conclusion is that the Republican Party and Donald Trump are Pro Death, and have no regard for human life, other than fetuses, and worship the profit motive and wealth over anything else.

Speaker Of The House Paul Ryan A Total Disaster, Caving In To Donald Trump, And Undermining Congressional Authority Against Presidents

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Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has become a total disaster, caving in to Donald Trump, and undermining Congressional authority against Presidential abuses.

Ryan has helped to undermine the investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller into Russian collusion, abuse of power, obstruction of justice, money laundering, violation of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, and sexual harassment and abuse by President Trump.

There are rumors that he plans to retire from Congress this year, and not too soon, as he has failed to play the role of a Speaker who puts the good of the nation ahead of politics.

He also is despicable in his craving for cutting the Social Safety Net of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, as well as cutting back on essential regulations of labor conditions, the environment, health care, and education.

He is presiding over a House of Representatives which is way out of the norm of American politics, caving in to religious extremists and the Freedom Caucus, which is anarchistic in its hatred of the federal government.

This author and blogger condemned Ryan back in 2012 when he was Mitt Romney’s Vice Presidential running mate, and his position on Ryan has not changed.

By comparison, John Boehner, with all his shortcomings, was nowhere as horrible as Ryan has been.

Randy Bryce is running as the Democrat trying to unseat Ryan from his Wisconsin Congressional seat, if he chooses to run, and whether Ryan runs or not, hopefully, Randy Bryce can be part of the expected Democratic “Blue” wave coming in November 2018. Bryce is an Army veteran, a cancer survivor, and iron worker running to give American workers in the First Congressional District of Wisconsin an opportunity to have one of their own background representing them in Washington, DC.

Trump Tax Cuts Already Undermining Budget, And Threatening Social Safety Net Of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid

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The Trump tax cuts are already, just as they are going into effect, causing a massive shortage of government funds, and threatening the stability of the Social Safety Net of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, and as well as educational, environmental, consumer, and labor laws.

This is precisely what the Republican Party of Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and the Trump White House wants, to destroy the entire social and economic reforms and regulatory laws of the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Great Society of the Lyndon B. Johnson, and the reforms of Barack Obama, along with lesser reforms of Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

The Republican Party is now an extremist right wing party controlled by the Freedom Caucus and evangelical Christians, who will not be satisfied until they take America back to the 1920s and the Gilded Age.

And this past week, the beginning of the end of what is now 88 months of economic expansion and job growth is evident, as today, the stock market collapsed with a 670 point drop, and a 1,000 point drop over this entire week. This is the biggest drop in two years, about 2.5 percent in the past week. It is also the biggest drop since the financial crisis of late 2008, which led to the Great Recession.

This was predictable, as no market or economic growth can continue to expand forever and already, the seven years and four months of expansion, since the last months of 2010, is an all time record.

We will go through very rough times from now on, and yet the wealthy top one or two percent will continue to gain massive tax cuts, while the rest of America suffers.

We are on the road to potential social uprising, as the American people realize that a President who lost the popular vote, and has engaged in illegal acts, works to undermine the investigation of Russian collusion, money laundering, abuse of power, violating the emoluments clause, and obstruction of justice, at the expense of the American people, but makes sure his class of wealthy people continues to benefit.

The Trump public opinion rating in the mid 30s is likely to collapse into the 20s at this rate, but will the Republican Party try to rectify itself in Congress, or will they continue to collaborate in treason and corruption, and destroy their historical legacy long term?

We shall see in the months leading up to a likely massacre in the midterm elections this November.

Women, President Trump, And The Republican Party

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President Trump and the Republican Party have stirred women of all ages and backgrounds to “Fire and Fury”, the title of the Michael Wolff book on the first year of the Trump Presidency.

By declaring war on abortion, and by his sexual behavior revealed in the Access Hollywood tape of 2006, and the Stormy Daniels revelations on Trump having an affair with her right after his wife Melania gave birth to Barron 11 years ago, Trump has gained the scorn of intelligent, educated women.

By working to undermine labor rights; ignoring sexual harassment and assault as an issue; and his war against immigration and civil rights, Trump and much of his party have undermined the future of the party of Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and Reagan.

Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, and other leaders in the Republican Party have totally turned off women, who see the GOP as the “good old boys” network, and it is women who will lead the charge in the upcoming midterm Congressional elections.

Women who have any brains in their heads are fearful of Trump’s mental instability; of his control over nuclear weapons; and of the damage he and his party are planning against the Social Safety Net of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid; as well as the actions taken against the environment, consumers, health care, and education.

The second Women’s March in Washington DC and across the nation is galvanizing women to work to put the Democratic party in control in both houses of Congress and in the state legislatures, and more women are running for public office across the nation than at any time in American history.

The wrath and scorn of women will, hopefully, have a dramatic effect on American politics. 57 percent of women are supportive of Democrats, to 31 percent for Republicans, in a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll. And a Wall Street Journal Poll showed a majority of 20 percent of women favored Democrats, and 32 points among college educated women.

A Year Of Donald Trump: A Horror And A Nightmare!

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I published on Sunday a summary article on the first year of Donald Trump at History News Network–historynewsnetwork.org. I have published regularly on Donald Trump on History News Network, and some of those articles have been picked up also by Time Magazine and Newsweek Magazine, and all of those articles are on the right side of my blog.

A day before the anniversary of the inauguration, I will summarize here the points that I made in that article:

Donald Trump has been a nightmare, and his unpredictability, and the refusal of the Republican Party to come to grips with it, has created a constitutional crisis greater than the Watergate Scandal under Richard Nixon 45 years ago.

Donald Trump has demonstrated clear authoritarian leanings that endanger all Americans and their basic freedoms and national security.

Donald Trump has undermined the judicial branch of government. with his attacks on an independent judiciary, and his appointments of unqualified people to lifetime positions on the federal district courts and federal circuit courts.

Donald Trump has assaulted the Bill of Rights, and is a threat to the civil rights and civil liberties of African Americans, Latino Americans, Native Americans, women, gay and transgender Americans, and members of the news media who dare to investigate and question his white supremacist, nativist, racist, and misogynistic utterances and policies.

He has connected himself to dictators and authoritarians in nations like Russia, China, Turkey, Egypt, and the Philippines, and in the tradition of such past regimes as Nazi Germany , Fascist Italy, and the Soviet Union.

Donald Trump has pursued policies that threaten and undermine the domestic reforms of Presidents from both political parties from the time of Theodore Roosevelt onward, endangering the Social Safety Network of Social Security. Medicare, and Medicaid, and government regulation of industry and big business, and oversight of key problems involving the environment, consumer safety, labor protections, health care, and science and education.

Donald Trump has given us the most corrupt and incompetent cabinet and advisers , making the shortcomings of Ulysses S. Grant, Warren G. Harding, and Richard Nixon pale in comparison. There is no sense of ethics, commitment, scruples, or compassion on the part of Trump and his team, but only with the advancement of the top one percent, over the needs of millions of ordinary people.

Trump’s family has become in one year more controversial, and lacking in ethics and morals, than any Presidential family in history, with the aim seeming to be a family dynasty with no limit on their lust for money and power.

Donald Trump has undermined foreign policy and international relations, alienating our allies, and consorting with dictators all over the world. He has declared war on the diplomatic community, the national security apparatus, and the intelligence agencies that are out to protect American national security. He has been reckless in his dealings with North Korea, Iran, Pakistan, Cuba, Venezuela, Mexico, and with the Middle East cauldron. He has alienated our allies, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, Japan, and South Korea with his weird, unpredictable behavior.

Donald Trump’s narcissism, ignorance of history and science, obnoxious behavior and incessant lying make him a terrible model for the future generation of Americans, who used to be able to look up the President of the United States as someone they could respect.

These reasons are justification for action to remove Donald Trump from the Presidency, whether by impeachment, use of the 25th Amendment, or forced resignation after indictments of family members and top advisers by Robert Mueller’s investigation.