I'm Just Saying ...

One of the so-called "reforms" to Medicaid in the Big Beautiful Bill is the addition of a work requirement. There’s no real need to argue whether this is necessary or even effective, because it’s not a policy; it’s a dog whistle. I doubt anyone reading this needs a refresher, but for the record: a dog whistle—in political or social contexts—is a phrase that sounds harmless or reasonable to the general public but sends a loaded, often divisive, message to a targeted audience. Just like a literal dog whistle, it goes unheard by most, but loud and clear to the ones it's meant for. Examples? “States’ rights” was long used to oppose civil rights while pretending it was about federalism. “Globalists” often serves as an antisemitic euphemism, dressed up to sound like economic policy. The Medicaid work requirement operates the same way. The surface-level message sounds logical: “If you want benefits, you should work.” But the subtext—the part heard by those tune...

Okay America—Let’s talk about Obamacare. The Affordable Care Act has been the law of the land since 2010. For 15 years, it has helped Americans—yes, including you—pay for medication, get covered despite pre-existing conditions, and gain access to the kind of care that saves lives. So let’s be honest: You didn’t hate the policy. You hated the president behind it. Republicans lied to you—said it would ruin the country, kill jobs, and create death panels. None of that happened. The controversy, the heated debate, the summer of hate, and all the associated backlash had an impact. They stirred up enough fear and outrage to take back the House in 2010 in a red wave. And once in power, they had one obsession: repeal and replace . The problem? “Repeal and replace” was a catchphrase, not a plan. Repeal sounded easy. Replace never showed up. Then, in 2017, with Trump in office, they finally held a vote to gut the ACA. And in one of his last acts of defiance, John McCain gave it a d...

 As the U.S. Senate debates Donald Trump’s so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill,” Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina has stepped forward to voice serious concerns. Tillis delivered a sharp, substantive critique—one of the most forceful GOP floor rebukes in recent memory. He focused on real consequences for North Carolina, highlighted broken promises, and warned of fallout—all while avoiding a direct clash with Trump. While I applaud his focus and concern for his constituents, a few things need to be pointed out. Quoting Senator Tillis directly, he said: "The last time I saw a promise broken around healthcare, with respect to my friends on the other side of the aisle, is when somebody said, 'If you like your healthcare, you could keep it. If you like your doctor, you could keep it.' We found out that wasn’t true." First of all, that’s misleading. If you lost a plan you “liked” under the Affordable Care Act, it’s likely because: The plan didn’t meet minimum coverage standa...

  On January 20, 2025, Donald Trump issued nine executive orders, all of which were either unnecessary, unwarranted, or unconstitutional. The sixth order announced— Executive Order 14160: Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship —besides being a misnomer, is the subject of this post. First off starting  (as my grandmother used to say), a constitutional amendment cannot be repealed or rewritten by executive order. Only a new constitutional amendment—requiring two-thirds of both houses of Congress and ratification by three-fourths of the states—can change an existing amendment. That has happened only once: the 18th Amendment (Prohibition) was repealed by the 21st Amendment. The primary problem with trying to end birthright citizenship is that  98 out of every 100 Americans  can trace their lineage to someone who was not an American citizen, not born on American soil. That necessarily means that, without the concept of birthright citizenship, the onl...

First of all, that’s just not something you say out loud. That’s the kind of thing traditionally whispered in smoke-filled rooms, behind thick curtains, or under the cone of silence. It gets kicked around in backchannels and plotted out in three-letter agencies—not announced at press briefings or screamed into the void on some unhinged social media platform. It’s the kind of conversation that ends with everyone swearing it never happened. You don’t say— publicly , into a microphone—that you think it might be a good idea if a foreign leader were taken out. You don’t casually float the suggestion that maybe a world leader should be dead. And you especially don’t brag about how another head of state came to you, asked for the green light to kill someone, and you said no—but now, on second thought, maybe that wasn’t the right call. And you have the unmitigated gall to say it like it’s no big deal—like you just ordered DoorDash and now regret not double-dashing for a pint of Cherry Gar...

Okay… So the United States has just, in an act of war, dropped an arsenal of weapons on specified targets in Iraq. Americans are on edge. To reassure us of the awesome power of the U.S. presidency, they show us pictures of the national security team assembled in the Situation Room — a matter of all seriousness — and Donald Trump is wearing that stupid hat. WTF? Nobody else present is wearing a hat. There are generals and admirals, soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines of various ranks and designations present — none of them wearing hats (primarily because it's indoors). There are other dignitaries assembled, but only one hat. So if you are the leader of the free world, and you decide to let the media take pictures of the sausage being made, and you think you need to be wearing a hat (even though no one else is), shouldn't that hat be something spectacular — like a crown (since you want to be king)? But no. You appear in that same stupid golf cap that could have been pr...

 It has come to public attention that ICE agents are now wearing masks to conceal their identities during enforcement operations. According to ICE and DHS officials, this practice protects agents from retaliation. They cite threats of doxxing, harassment, and even physical targeting of agents and their families following immigration raids. ICE Director Todd Lyons defends the policy, claiming it shields agents from harassment and violence. But there’s a serious problem with this logic. ICE enforces civil immigration law—not criminal law—in public spaces, often without affording immigrants even a baseline concern for safety, privacy, or dignity. People are detained in front of children, coworkers, and neighbors. Families are torn apart with no warning. If safety is truly paramount, why does it only apply to those wearing badges, not to those being handcuffed and deported? And if the threat is real, use real words. Don’t hide behind internet slang like “doxxing” when lives, liberties ...

 So let me get this straight. You couldn’t bring yourself to support Joe Biden because you were outraged that he allowed Netanyahu to carry out what you call a genocide against Palestinians, never mind that they initiated the aggression. So instead of voting for Biden, you sat out, cast a protest vote, or shifted your energy elsewhere… and the result? A twice-impeached, adjudicated rapist and 34-count convicted felon who incited an insurrection because he couldn’t accept that he lost the 2020 election — is now back in power. And now here we are: On his very first day back in office, Trump pardoned 1,500 people who attacked the U.S. Capitol. Netanyahu didn’t just continue bombing Gaza — he bombed Iran. The region is teetering on the edge of all-out war, and Donald Trump is cheering from the sidelines. Let’s not forget: Trump torched the Iran nuclear deal, even though Iran was in full compliance. He replaced diplomacy with “maximum pressure” — a strategy that empowered hardliners, re...

With the current unrest in Los Angeles, most news reports have recently begun by implying in some way that Trump received a mandate to enact mass deportations. First and foremost, that is patently untrue, starting with the fact that Trump did not receive a mandate; he did not win by a simple majority, but rather a plurality. To define a plurality as a mandate is a distortion of the language, a betrayal of democratic clarity, and a dishonest political strategy to falsely claim broad public endorsement. Beyond that, Trump’s stated reason for mass deportation was supposed to be to “restore law and order,” and that he would only deport the most violent and dangerous criminals. According to The Daily Beast , Stephen Miller explicitly ordered “ICE to conduct raids targeting undocumented day laborers at Home Depot parking lots” and stressed arresting all undocumented individuals, not just criminals, setting quotas of about 3,000 arrests per day and threatening to fire officials who didn’t...

President Trump recently deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles. Although it is within his power as President to Federalize the National Guard, such action has not been taken in more than 60 years. The last president to invoke such power in domestic civil unrest was Lyndon Johnson, who did so not to intimidate but in his words.   “… to assure the rights of American citizens … to walk … peaceably and safely without injury or loss of life from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.”   Donald Trump's intent is just the opposite; He wants to suppress the civil rights of all those involved and those who may sympathize with them. Let us be clear: the so-called "dangerous criminals" swept up in these recent raids were looking for work in a Home Depot parking lot. Real criminals do not line up for day labor. Real criminals don’t show up hoping to earn a pittance doing backbreaking work in the shadows of society.   These moments are bookends in Presidential history; They...

A few years ago on Valentine’s Day, I sang in a Barbershop Quartet for a friend’s kindergarten class. When we finished, one of the children — without being prompted — exclaimed, “That was expensive.” We took it as a sincere and generous compliment. After all, this little girl had reached deep into the recesses of her vocabulary and offered us the highest praise she could muster, based on three years of socialization and maybe six months of formal education. That was acceptable — even touching — coming from a four-year-old. Unfortunately, the President of the United States seems to have only a slightly larger vocabulary than that kindergartener. At best, he speaks at a fourth-grade level. When confronted by a journalist or anyone he considers an adversary, his responses are rarely more nuanced than, “That was a nasty question,” or “You’re not being very nice.” How far away are we from "nanny nanny boo boo?" We've gone from "Ask not what your country can do for you...

Stop saying DEI First of all, most of those that have a problem with DEI, have no idea what it stands for. It is diversity equity and inclusion. If someone were to outright say they have a problem with diversity, equity, or inclusion, they'd, first of all sound stupid, and secondly, unless the person question, is a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant male of a certain age, they'd realize, that they most likely fit at least into the inclusion column, and maybe they'd shut the fuck up. Summarization of MAGA’s assault on DEI: ‘Don’t Expect Intelligence’ Stop saying Dems Sure, “Dems” It's shorthand for Democrats, but it makes the party sound childish and cartoonish at worst, and more to the point, like a reference to a sports team. The Chicago Cubs famously went 108 years between world series wins, and in that time had seventy-seven losing seasons, and yet George Will, Dick Durbin, Harry Caray, Bill Murray, John Cusack, Vince Vaughn, and Jeremy Piven remained loyal fans, year afte...

Trump says he’s not sure if he has to uphold the Constitution … because he has “brilliant lawyers.” Let’s be clear, Donald — you twice took an oath of office, pledging to: “faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and… to the best of [your] Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” So what are you now saying? That you don’t remember the oath of office — and in particular, those 9 words out of the 35 total in the oath? (But Joe Biden was too old...) That you don’t think they apply to you? That your brilliant lawyers are smarter than any of the Founding Fathers, so they should be able to come up with a technicality that will release you from anything you promised (twice)? That the Constitution — the document that has guided this country for the last 236 years — somehow doesn’t apply to you? That your personal feelings or political agenda should determine who deserves constitutiona...

From Insider Trading to Conspiracy Theories: Trump’s Cabinet Reveals a Dangerous Trend — Loyalty First, Leadership Last Of all the qualified Republican politicians and public servants — and let's be honest, even a few outside the party — you have to wonder: Why does Donald Trump continually scrape the bottom of the barrel when assembling a Cabinet? Most of these people aren’t just underqualified to lead the organizations they're supposed to oversee — but in the words of Robin Harris: Who called that muthafucker a piccolo player? Here’s the lineup: Marco Rubio – Secretary of State Criticized for hawkish foreign policy toward Latin America, China, and Iran. Received a 0/100 rating from the Human Rights Campaign for his voting record on LGBTQ+ rights. Pete Hegseth – Secretary of Defense Shared classified military information over unsecured messaging apps. Accused of sexual misconduct and alcohol abuse. Proposed renaming the Department of Defense to...

An Unforgivable Surrender So essentially, Democrats, Americans, suddenly discovered that the 82-year-old President didn’t defy reality, didn’t appear superhuman, and didn’t outperform a man half his age. We elected a 77-year-old man four years ago, and somehow, we are surprised that he has aged four years. At the first — and as it turns out, only — debate, the President performed poorly, especially in the opinion of the assembled commentators from the very same news network that hosted the debate. (Those who weren’t chosen to moderate — sour grapes? Monday morning quarterbacking?) Meanwhile, few seemed troubled by the fact that the other candidate neglected to answer most of the questions posed to him — and that every response he gave was an outright lie. Beyond that, the Republican candidate: Won under questionable circumstances in 2016, Refused to accept the results of the 2020 election, And would not agree to accept the results of the upcoming election unless he wins. ...

 There’s an article by Greg Palast in which he asserts that millions of votes were rejected or not counted — meaning Kamala Harris actually won the 2024 election. David Pakman points out, rightly, that Palast doesn’t provide any proof for his assertions. While I agree the proof is absent (at least at this time), it only follows: The Republicans have cheated in every election since 2000. The last duly elected Republican president was George Herbert Walker Bush. Although I strenuously disagreed with most of his policies, I had the utmost respect for Bush the Father — he paid his political dues and, for the most part, was a man of his word. (Parenthetically, I’ll add: he was also a former director of the CIA. Meaning, as Kevin Pollak pointed out, "he was, at some point, the best liar available." ) In 2000, Bush (the Decider) ran against Al Gore. In a surprising and unprecedented action, a narrow (minded) conservative majority on the Supreme Court ordered the vote countin...