Author: A.T.

A Little Truth — And A Big China

David Kass at Americans for Tax Fairness:

The government shutdown crisis was manufactured by Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress. They wrote and passed their “Big Ugly” tax law (OBBBA) that delivered $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, mostly to the rich and corporations.[1] They gutted healthcare, food assistance, and essential services to pay for it. Now they are refusing to negotiate on a bill that Democrats are demanding re-invests in healthcare access and affordability.

This is not a budget fight. It is a political choice to put billionaires first and working Americans last. Republicans knew their tax law would blow a hole in the national debt. They knew it would trigger automatic cuts to Medicare under the PAYGO law. They knew it would raise healthcare costs for millions of families. And they went forward anyway.

The consequences are staggering. Families are facing half a trillion dollars in mandatory cuts to Medicare. ACA healthcare premiums will rise more than 75% on average on January 1st, with over 4 million people expected to lose coverage.[2][3] Federal workers are being furloughed, fired, or forced to work without pay. Families that rely on SNAP are facing food insecurity. Seniors, people with disabilities, and working parents are being sacrificed to protect tax breaks for billionaires and corporations.

Republicans are not seeking compromise. They are blocking any effort to restore healthcare funding. They are rejecting proposals that would roll back even the most damaging parts of their own tax law. And while they play political games in Washington, working families across America pay the price.

Tell Congress to reject any government funding bill that sacrifices working people to protect billionaire tax breaks.

Join the Patriotic Millionaires, if you are one.

Lots there to ponder, even if you’re not.

From their website:

America currently faces two interrelated problems: 1) authoritarianism and 2) the destabilizing level of inequality that led to its rise.

If we do not solve both problems, democratic capitalism in America will fall to authoritarian forces by 2028. The fall of democratic capitalism in America will open the door to global oligarchic dominance which, exacerbated by AI and climate change, will become permanent.

The solution to this problem is surprisingly simple: structure the economy so that it naturally produces the results needed for a rich, stable and free nation.

CHINA

An important article in Foreign Affairs: The Real China Model: Beijing’s Enduring Formula for Wealth and Power.  Concluding:

If the United States is to compete effectively, its policymakers must spend less time worrying about how to weaken their rival and more time figuring out how to make their country the best and most vigorous version of itself.

The current Administration is doing it almost all wrong.

 

Slotkin + Noonan v. Hegseth (and Jesus)

Watch Senator Slotkin grill the Secretary of Defense (two minutes).

Compare her bio with Hegseth’s — it is as deeply impressive as his is not.

Peggy Noonan roasts him in the Wall Street Journal:

. . . His unprecedented extravaganza this week, in which he summoned hundreds of generals and admirals from around the world to Virginia’s Quantico Marine Base to listen to him speak . . . was, as a former general said by phone, “just flat-out bizarre.” It was embarrassing to watch. He made everyone in the audience look smaller, which made their profession look smaller. How does that help America?

Mr. Hegseth instructed them as if from a great height. What he told them is that the woke progressive era in the U.S. military is over. He will have a reset to the “warrior ethos.”  “No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses. . . . We are done with that s—.”

OK. Understood. Understood, in fact, since he was appointed. Mr. Hegseth could have reiterated all this by secure video conference, or just sent a video.

Instead he dragged commanders from their stations to be his audience. So he could pose with a giant American flag behind him like George C. Scott in “Patton,” only Scott delivered a great speech. Mr. Hegseth gave a TED Talk, a weirdly self-reverential one. He paced the stage like a strutting, gelled bantam, like an amped-up actor with rehearsed gestures and expressions and voice shifts.

“You might say we’re ending the war on warriors. I heard someone wrote a book about that.” Mr. Hegseth is author of a book called “The War on Warriors.” I guess he wants us to buy it.

There was braggadocio: “To our enemies, FAFO. If necessary, our troops can translate that for you.” He used “lethal” and “lethality” a lot, like a young Hollywood scriptwriter dreaming up some mad right-wing Army officer because he watched “Platoon” too much as a child, as perhaps Mr. Hegseth did. The frantic drama: “This is a moment of urgency, mounting urgency.” “We became the Woke Department.” “It’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals.”

The retired general later sighed on the phone and said: “I would like you to note that his hero, Norman Schwarzkopf, was fat. And George Patton wasn’t exactly a gazelle.” Sound military leadership has little to do with physical fitness and everything to do with strategic judgment.

Mr. Hegseth also seemed preoccupied with reimposing the military’s height requirement. There goes young Napoleon.

What are we doing in this dangerous world having the head of the Defense Department prance around like this and embarrass the generals he used as his backdrop? Why do his highly placed defenders in the administration think this is good for the White House, or even for Mr. Hegseth?

. . . Mr. Hegseth has always had bad press, from the scandals that emerged after his nomination through fairly constant reports about chaos in his office. I thought and said early on he was a poor choice—a television host playing a culture warrior who lacked the weight and gravitas the Pentagon needed. This week the Daily Mail, not an immediate foe of all things Trump, had a story in which Mr. Hegseth was described as paranoid, “crawling out of his skin,” fearful and suspicious.

. . . You know why people say something’s wrong with this guy? Because it appears something is wrong with this guy.

Speaking of fat commanders, it’s not just Hegseth’s hero Norman Schwarzkopf who was fat; it’s Hegseth’s bone-spurred commander-in-chief.

BONUS

James Talarico: “Jesus spent most of his time healing the sick. Today, we have politicians in Congress with ‘Christ-follower’ in their Twitter bios — but they’re trying to kick the sick off their healthcare. And they’re willing to shut down the government to do it.”

Watch (70 seconds).

Join Indivisible.

Make plans to peacefully protest with friends October 18.

Fund the opposition party (or “my” dinner — it all goes into the same pot.)  An adequately funded DNC is just one of the things we need to prevail — but it is an absolutely necessary thing.

 

Handing The Mic To . . .

Glenn Sonnenberg, whose daily musings I rarely miss.  Yesterday’s:

Good morning,

This evening marks the beginning of the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur. It is a time of introspection, cataloguing of life’s successes and failures, and pursuing self-improvement.

Among the most important lessons of Yom Kippur is that not only should we acknowledge our own mistakes but we should forgive those who have wronged us.

Accepting an apology—accepting contrition—arguably is just as important as acknowledging one’s own faults. We hold it within ourselves to free those who have wronged us from the burden of what they have done. In an era that is marked by playing “gotcha” with those who have erred, a little bit of compassion and humility can go a long way to repairing our politics, our society, and our personal relationships.

We are living in a moment where people condemn professors, politicians, pundits and friends—often at the cost of their reputations or employment—solely because of a misplaced word or possessing a view with which someone might disagree. What is needed, instead, is a little understanding and a little compassion. A slip of the tongue should be perceived as that, and nothing more. It seems we are in an era where giving someone the benefit of the doubt is a sign of weakness. I’m not suggesting we blindly accept bad behaviors or allow ourselves to be wronged multiple times. Certainly, repeated transgressions point to a deeper problem.

We are all human and, by definition, flawed in many respects. Mistakes are made. Hopefully, we learn from them, as we all are works in process. We should struggle to accept that everyone else similarly is a work in process, with their own challenges. We have to stop being so quick to judge others (lest we be judged…!).

A word on the present condition of our politics and our civil discourse… We would all do well to acknowledge that those with whom we disagree are, with rare exception, people of good will (and this is not to suggest that there aren’t bad actors or profoundly bad behaviors). But most people are not, as some might suggest to us, our enemies. Most of our fellow citizens share our values. They simply disagree on priorities and implementation. They have a different perspective. They are not to be vanquished; rather, we should make every attempt to understand where they come from and why they hold the views that they do. We have much healing to do in the months and years ahead. I hope our society and our institutions are strong enough to allow that to happen.

To all I may have harmed, whether through an intentional act or inadvertently or through indifference, I apologize. I’ll try to do better. And to anyone who thinks they have wronged me, it’s all good. I either don’t remember or don’t care, so forget about it!

For all who observe this day, may it be a meaningful experience and may you have an easy fast.

Have a good day,

Glenn

Echo, ditto, bravo, peace.

Tikkun Olam.

 

The Great Former Senator From Minnesota And My T-Shirt

AL FRANKEN BOILS IS IT DOWN:

This week, Senate Democrats voted to shut the government down because of health care. Republicans want to keep all the Medicaid cuts and get rid of subsidies on the Affordable Care Act that have been in place since the pandemic, thereby increasing premiums by an average of 114%.

That is what this shutdown is about. Democrats want people to have health care and Republicans don’t give a damn. And polls show that the majority of voters get it — a Navigator poll showed that 48% of Americans would blame Trump and the Republicans for the shutdown, compared to 26% blaming Democrats.

As the cost of living continues to rise under Trump, his approval rating has gone below 40%. Americans want (need) to pay for health care. And yet Trump and the Republicans are making it even more inaccessible.

I’m proud of Democrats for taking a stance on this issue. At the end of the day, Republicans don’t care if people are hurt. Democrats do.

→ You know?  Not to say they won’t throw out the occasion roll of paper towels; but it’s really kinda true.

POSTCARD FROM LISBON

I made T-shirts for our trip because it’s so embarrassing — and deeply sad — to have to admit you’re from America these days . . . a country whose current leadership is aligned with bullies, murderers, and dictators; anti-science, anti-health, anti-climate, anti-free speech, anti-consumer, anti-labor, anti-professionalism, anti-reproductive rights, anti-due process.

So far, I’ve gotten a lot broad smiles and thumbs up.

That said, I want to stress that the “hate” meant here is hate like “I hate limoncello” (I really do, and now that we’re in Italy they thrust it upon us everywhere we go).

Or “I hate not getting enough sleep.”

Or “I hate tax loopholes for the rich.”

That’s the kind of hate on my T-shirt.

As in: “deeply dislike” . . . “reject.”

NOT hate like “I’d like to punch him in the face!” or “Jews will not replace us!” or tying someone to a fence in the brutal cold and beating him to death for being gay.

Or calling your opponents “scum.”

That kind of hate has no place on anyone’s T-shirt.

Also:

How can I be so short?  I must be standing in a pothole.

 

A Smart, Tough Way To Resist?

Must-watch JB Pritzker speech — surely Carl can’t be okay with what the regime is doing.

And governors may have a legal way to resist.

Obviously this should be done, if at all, with extreme care to avoid violence.  But . . .

Governors! Arrest ICE agents!

In part:

The critical fact is that ICE’s administrative warrants, Forms I-200 and I-205, are signed by ICE officers, not judges. They’re glorified paperwork. Federal courts have repeatedly ruled these don’t authorize home entries. ICE’s own training materials admit agents “must obtain voluntary consent” before entering homes with these papers.

So when ICE breaks down a door with only administrative paperwork, that’s burglary under California Penal Code 459. When they haul away citizens without probable cause, that’s kidnapping under Penal Code 207. When they point weapons at unarmed families, that’s assault under Penal Code 245.

Factually, Trump can’t pardon state crimes. The president’s pardon power only covers federal offenses. State prosecutions are completely beyond MAGA reach.

Every prosecution, even one that ultimately fails, forces change. ICE agents would need personal lawyers. Federal defense attorneys won’t automatically represent them on state charges. That’s thousands of dollars from their own pockets, or the law enforcement union, win or lose. During prosecution, agents become cautious. Operations slow. Every agent wonders if they’re next. Supervisors second-guess tactics. The entire machinery of deportation grinds slower.

Discovery proceedings, the part where ICE has to hand over internal emails and training documents, would expose their real policies. What are they telling agents behind closed doors? What corners are they instructing them to cut? Public scrutiny changes behavior even without convictions.

Media coverage shifts the narrative. Instead of “ICE enforces immigration law,” headlines read “ICE agents arrested for breaking and entering.” Public opinion matters, even to federal agencies.

If you’re a governor — and even if you’re not — read it in full?  It’s not long; and begins with a call to citizen action.

Venezuelans fleeing the land of opportunity.

As are gay and trans native-born citizens I know.

And soon others?

Join Indivisible.

Make plans to peacefully protest with friends October 18.

Fund the opposition party (or “my” dinner — it all goes into the same pot.)  An adequately funded DNC is just one of the things we need to prevail — but it is an absolutely necessary thing.

 

From Charlie Chaplin to Jimmy Kimmel, Charlie Kirk to Elon Musk

Al Franken on Charlie Chaplin in Rolling Stone: Trump Is Trying to Silence Political Satire

Under President Trump, the First Amendment has become a dead letter. Instead, he’s spent the first eight months of his second term on a campaign of shock and awe designed to silence dissent and bring the independent media to heel. And it’s no surprise that he’s coming for the comedians now.

Charlie Chaplin was willing to mock Hitler. Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel were willing to mock an American president with his own authoritarian designs. What will the rest of us be willing to do in order to stand up to fascism? It’s not a particularly funny question. But satirists have shown us what it means to have real courage in the face of tyranny. We owe it to them to follow their example.

This, of course, was written before Jimmy Kimmel was reinstated.  Don’t give up hope!  When enough of us shout loud enough — and vote! — we win.

Nekima Levy Armstrong in the Minnesota Star Tribune.  It’s all worth reading, but this last bit sums it up:

To remember Charlie Kirk honestly requires us to hold two truths at once. The first is that violence against political opponents corrodes democracy, no matter who they are. The second is that his life’s work was not noble.

To honor his family’s grief does not mean lying about who he was. It means telling the truth without cruelty, resisting both the impulse to demonize and the pressure to sanitize. It means refusing to let his death become a blank check for historical revisionism.

As a lawyer and advocate, I know how much words matter — how they shape juries and legislation, and how they affect lives. Kirk’s words wounded. They widened the chasm of distrust among races, genders, orientation and generations. His absence will not heal that wound. Pretending the wound never existed will only deepen it.

The lesson of this moment is not about one man’s death but about the kind of democracy we want to live in. Do we want a country where political violence is normalized, or where words can be challenged with better words, stronger organizing, deeper  truth?

Kirk himself rejected empathy. We must not. Our task now is to build a culture where truth-telling and accountability coexist with compassion. We must say that he should not have been killed, and that neither should he be canonized. Both can be true, and both must be spoken aloud.

Jim Stewartson on Elon Musk:  “The violence is coming to you”.

Two truths at once: Musk has done so much good.  And is a deeply malevolent force.

Scary.

Oh — and how about them Epstein files?

 

Give It Up For Seth Meyers

Hegseth puts us all at risk. Short and to the point: Why put all the American commanders in one room?

Nat B.: “Very glad Timothy Snyder wrote this piece.  Astoundingly stupid and risky to do what Hegseth is doing.  And does ANYONE think this gathering would be happening without Trump’s approval??”

Seth Meyers takes a closer look at our leader’s performance among the nations of the world.

And now that Sinclair is putting Jimmy Kimmel back on the air, maybe Seth will be safe, too.  A lot of Americans — including the tragically assassinated Charlie Kirk as well as the former Donald Trump (as you’ll see) — consider (or at least once considered) the First Amendment to be one of the key things that make America great.

AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT 683

From the macro to the micro, but it’s still telling.

A friend was headed from Miami to JFK on a flight scheduled to leave at 9:03am and land at Kennedy three minutes past noon.  We had a 7pm dinner reservation.

He texted me at 12:27 to say he was off the plane and I texted, “Welcome to New York.”

No, he explained, he was off the plane in Miami.  There had been mechanical difficulties.

He reboarded at 4:04pm.

I changed the reservation to 8:30pm.

He got off the plane — at JFK this time — at 8:17pm

I changed the reservation to 9:15pm while he was in the air, but, understandably, he was in no mood for dinner.  I ate some expired beans, baked a sweet potato, and did my taxes.

But what sort of compensation was American giving everybody, I asked.

Under Secretary Pete Buttigieg, rules were soon to be implemented guaranteeing long-delayed passengers (other than for weather) substantial compensation.  Airlines might have had to raise ticket prices slightly to cover this occasional extra expense, in effect passing the cost on to NON-delayed passengers; but it would have made the flying public a bit happier — and given airlines yet more incentive to prioritize the kind of maintenance measures that minimize delays.

The Trump regime scrapped all that.

“American gave us each a $10 meal voucher,” my friend reported.

Which is more than they were obligated to do, so I guess it was very generous.

Welcome to the regime that kills the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau . . . kills aid to the starving and oppressed around the world . . . that cancels cancer research and has set HUGE health care cuts to take effect right AFTER the 2026 midterms so no one notices before they vote . . .

You know I could go on.

But watch Seth Meyers.  So fun.

And if you happened to be on that flight with my friend, I hope you enjoyed your Cinnabon.

Have a great weekend.

 

Tidbits

BOROWITZ

Nobel Peace Prize Committee Asks Trump to Clarify Remarks About Hating His Enemies

NPR FANS

Today (Friday) is Ari Shapiro’s last “All Things Considered.”  I loved reading this interview.

TREASURY SECRETARY BESSENT

This profile is a good read.  Scott is too smart not to know that what he says in public is ridiculous.  It’s what he says in private that matters more.  Is he quietly an economic guardrail?  Would things be even worse if he resigned on principle?  What a nightmare.

CHURCH AND STATE

Rick T.:  “I haven’t heard anyone suggest this yet, but for the first time in history we have a pope who is eligible to be president. Pope Leo XIV!”

→ Who I guess would be addressed, “Your Holiness, Mr. President.”

PHONES

In response to my Noble Mobile post . . .

Bob F.: “One of my frugal, wealthy friends has this $15/month T-Mobile plan.  He has Comcast (xfinity) for home internet and says he can access xfinity wifi hotspots (and others) often enough while out and about that the 5GB T-Mobile plan is more than sufficient.  That will almost double your savings.”

Lots more to say, but I’m letting you off easy today.

 

The Coming Storm; Plus Some Good News

Yesterday, I called Stephen Miller’s must-watch Charlie Kirk eulogy “four fascist minutes of the highest order” . . .

. . . and, for permission to do so, linked to when it’s okay to call someone a fascist.

As in Miller’s case it surely is.

Today, I offer Jim Stewartson’s compelling elaboration: “Der Sturm bricht los”: Stephen Miller’s Nazi Eulogy.

Keeping with that theme . . .

You’ve surely seen clips of the 1939 Nazi rally in Madison Square Garden.

Hitler had a lot of admirers in America back then.

He has a lot of admirers today.

Among them, Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes, who famously dined with the President and claims nearly a million followers.

Wired offers us Nick Fuentes’ Plan to Conquer America.

It’s a disconcerting read.

For years, as you know, Trump kept a book of Hitler’s speeches by his bedside.

He once told his chief of staff that “Hitler did some good things.”

None of which is to say Trump is Hitler.  But it’s hard to deny he’s more comfortable with journalist-murdering autocrats and kleptocrats than with the leaders of democracies.

And has designs on Canada and Greenland.

(He wouldn’t want Mexico.)

The good news: a Majority of US Voters Support Third Trump Impeachment — even 20% of self-identified Republicans.  And that was in April.  By now it may be higher.

Plus, a certain number of Democrats and Independents who said they didn’t support impeachment likely felt he deserves it . . . but that it could be counter-productive: doomed to failure and distracting from things like the Epstein files and Border czar Tom Homan’s $50,000 cash bribe.

“Release the Epstein files” has been a common mantra for quite a while. “Release the Homan tapes” is just getting started. . . .

(We’ve long since forgotten about the tax returns Trump promised to release.)

He won’t be impeached any time soon.  But if we all lean in, we’ll take back the House, and conceivably the Senate, and have a shot at saving our democracy.

Have a great day.