Medicaid Cuts

Horrible Tragedy: Gutting Of So Many Federal Commitments And Agencies!

Ronald 7 Comments

Six months have passed since the second Trump Presidency began, and it is now perfectly clear that Donald Trump has waged total war on the federal government, both commitments of long duration, and of agencies and departments of long standing.

The Republican Party in Congress, and the Supreme Court six member majority, are complicit in these horrendous actions.

USAID (US Agency For International Development), which provided life saving aid to millions of poor people, including particularly children, around the world, has been destroyed.

PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Program For Aids Relief), the major accomplishment of former President George W. Bush, which saved at least 26 million lives in Africa from the AIDS epidemic, has been gutted.

The Department of Education, created under President Jimmy Carter after being part of a combined agency under President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a commitment to federal engagement in education standards and support, has been cut dramatically.

FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), created under President Jimmy Carter, had been on the chopping block until the recent Texas Flood Disaster, but still is in danger of being eliminated, as the federal government is moving toward leaving weather and natural disasters to the states to handle on their own.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service, created under Republican President Richard Nixon, are both crucial agencies facing massive cuts in personnel and ability to do their work to protect Americans.

Public funding of NPR and PBS, one tenth of one percent of the federal budget, is being cut completely.

Medicaid and SNAP (Food Stamps), both coming about under President Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960s, are suffering massive cuts, which will affect, in particular, rural states, but overall, the disabled, the elderly, and poor children, a total travesty!

Tens of thousands of federal employees in a multitude of agencies have lost their jobs, and with it, the federal goverment loses their generations of expertise on all kinds of issues of national security, health care, environmental protections, and so many other roles the federal government has engaged in since the Progressive Era, the New Deal, the Great Society, and commitments by Presidents of both parties in the past 50 years since the 1970s.

Trump Cabinet Officers Center Of Controversy And Incompetency!

Ronald 35 Comments

The Donald Trump Cabinet is rapidly imploding.

Attorney General Pam Bondi is under attack from the MAGA crowd and Deputy FBI Head Don Bongino for allegedly covering up the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, with the indication that Donald Trump and many other prominent figures were involved in a pedophilia scandal.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took it upon himself to pause arms to Ukraine in its war against Russia, without Trump being informed of such action.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is undermining Americans’ health care in so many ways, including the fact that we have a massive Measles outbreak in several Western states, the largest in three decades, and Kennedy’s incessant war on vaccines.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has been shown to have provided delayed support for the victims of the tragic Texas floods last week, and for still advocating the end of FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency).

Also, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency under Noem and Thomas Homan, and the intervention of Stephen Miller, is violating the Constitution in its mad rush to deport immigrants, which in most cases, have committed no crimes.

And Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins claims that people who are disabled, elderly, and children, who will be harmed by Medicaid cuts, can fill the jobs of migrant farm workers, to replace such deported individuals.

And Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick is backing Donald Trump’s crazy tariff wars against American trade partners, while he certainly knows from history, that high tariffs undermine the American economy, and helped to cause the Panic of 1893 and the Great Depression of the 1930s.

While America has experienced corrupt and disgraceful Cabinet officers under other Presidents in American history, NEVER have we had so many such incompetent and unqualified members of a President’s cabinet as under Donald Trump!

Texas Flood Disaster Sadly A Forecast Of Future With Trump War On National Weather Service And Federal Emergency Management Agency!

Ronald 19 Comments

The horribly tragic flood disaster in Texas, with the loss of at least 80 lives, including many young girls at a camp, but also many other victims, cries out for more spending and staff for the National Weather Service, and a continuation and bolstering of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The reality of global warming and climate change is not only from floods, but also from wildfires due to droughts, and tornadoes and hurricances, and the growing threat of inadequate resources to deal with these crises that will, certainly, continue to arise over time.

But instead, Donald Trump has declared war on science, weather, and a national commitment to protection of Americans from such emergencies, with his plan to eliminate FEMA, and leave it to underfinanced and understaffed state agencies to deal with it in an incompetent manner.

This is particularly so with many rural “red” states, who are already facing massive cuts in Medicaid, due to the passage of the “Big and Beautiful” funding bill, that was just signed in an obnoxious ceremony at the White House, with cheering and smiling Republicans witness to the horrendous tragic event.

The tragic events that have occurred are now likely to occur again and again all over America, as the government declares war on science, health, and public safety, while the extremely wealthy gain massive tax cuts that they do not deserve!

Lisa Murkowski And Don Bacon Disappoint Those Who Thought They Had Basic Principles!

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When one looks at the cave in of Congressional Republicans on the “Big And Beautiful” Bill that just passed Congress, wiping out a lot of “The Great Society” of Lyndon B. Johnson from six decades ago, what particularly disturbs is that only three Senators and two House members voted against the legislation.

Had one more US Senator and two more House members voted against, the legislation would have failed, and would have had to go back for further consideration and modification, hopefully making it less onerous.

It is amazing how members of both houses of Congress, that were opposed to adding to the deficit, and those who made clear their concern about the Medicaid Cuts, still went ahead and voted for the Senate bill, which was more extreme than the House bill.

So called “principled” Republicans demonstrated that they were NOT “Profiles in Courage”, and two come to mind.

Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski and Nebraska Congressman Don Bacon both seemed to be people of principle, who would stand up for the needs of their constituents and the nation at large.

But both failed to do so, and now makes this author and blogger look at both as no longer believable, and really, no better than the multitude of Congressional Republicans surrounding them!

Are There Enough GOP Votes To Kill “Big And Beautiful Bill” Attack On Medicaid?

Ronald 19 Comments

It is still possible that a few Republican Senators and or Republican House members could kill the “Big and Beautiful Bill” of Donald Trump, and in the process, save Medicaid!

ALready, North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul have made it clear that they will not support the legislation, Tillis because of the Medicaid cuts that would affect so many North Carolinians, and Paul, because he does not want to add trillions to the National Debt, already 36 Trillion!

But what about Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski and Maine Senator Susan Collins, who have both expressed dismay at the Medicaid cuts, that would hurt so many of their constituents?

And also, similar thoughts have been expressed by Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, and also, to some extent, Kansas Senator Jerry Moran.

In the House of Representatives, with Nebraska Congressman Don Bacon deciding not to run again for his Omaha seat, and already seen as the most moderate, centrist Republican who might refuse to support such legislation, since his seat was won by Joe Biden in 2020 and Kamala Harris in 2024, there could be another vote.

California Congressman David Valadao has also spoken out against Medicaid cuts, and is one of two Republican Congressmen to have voted to impeach Donald Trump in the second impeachment effort following the January 6, 2021 US Capitol Insurrection.

Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie and Ohio Congressman Warren Davidson haver voted against the House bill already, and New York Congressman Nick LaLota, Maryland Congressman Andy Harris, and Texas Congressman Chip Roy all have different reservations.

Also, the members of the Republican House Freedom Caucus are not guaranteed in any sense to support the complicated legislation.

This horror of a bill will do such heavy damage to the American people at large, while the corporations and Billionaires will gain major tax cuts that will add many trillions to the national debt.

It is a repudiation of much of the mid 20th century “Great Society” of President Lyndon B. Johnson, a totally horrendous attack on common decency and compassion for those among us less fortunate!

Elizabeth MacDonough, Senate Parliamentarian, A Light In The Darkness!

Ronald 7 Comments

Elizabeth MacDonough has been the nonpartisan Senate Parliamentarian for the past 13 years since 2012.

She has a high level of respect and regard by most members of the Senate, and has been seen as the “guardian” of Senate rules, who does what is best for the Senate and its reputation. This is true even when some disgraceful Senators, like presently Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville, have called for her to be fired for refusing to back all of the demands of Donald Trump.

She has presided over periods of Democratic and of Republican party majorities, and been part of the institutional history of the upper chamber in a very distinguished manner.

MacDonough has enforced the so called “Byrd Rule”, named after the late Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, which allows elimination of “extraneous” proposals that interfere with reconciliation of provisions of legislation, with 60 votes needed to overrule the Senate Parliamentarian, a high barrier.

It seems likely that Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota will not listen to a few Senators who want her fired, as she is well respected, and Thune is reluctant to interfere with her nonpartisan approach to Senate rules.

Already, with North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, opposed to aspects of the House bill, it is possible that the Trump “Big And Beautiful” bill might fail to get past the Senate, if on final passage, other Senators, such as Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, and Josh Hawley of Missouri, vote to reject the legislation as it is constituted right now, particularly regarding Medicaid cuts.

Massive Suffering And Death Promoted By Evil Donald Trump, Who Has No Conscience!

Ronald 37 Comments

Anyone, except the most uncaring individuals, can fail to see how Donald Trump is promoting massive suffering and death, and has total evil and cruelty as his mantra, and no sense of morality, ethics, compassion, empathy, or conscience.

But the House Republicans have shown willingness to go along with this horrendous bill that would cut millions of Americans off SNAP (Food Stamps) and Medicaid, and also threaten major cuts in Medicare.

Republicans have not spoken up on the wiping out of USAID (US Agency for International Development), which has saved millions of people overseas who have varying diseases and illnesses. This includes the elimination of PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Program For Aids Relief), President George W. Bush’s major contribution in office, which has saved 26 million lives in Africa.

But Republicans have not been willing to speak up on the mass deportation of immigrants, most of whom are not criminals, as Stephen Miller, Thomas Homan, and Kristi Noem continue their heartless, cruel, inhumane quest to remove people at the rate of 3,000 per day, without any ethical or moral qualms.

The damage and harm being visited by an oppressive, Gestapo type Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which has its agents wearing masks, as if this is Nazi Germany revived, is horrifying!

The shock that Elon Musk, as he leaves the government, has condemned the “Big and Beautiful” bill gives hope that the Senate will reject the legislation, but at this point, there is no way to step in and stop the executive abuse of power by Donald Trump and his authoritarian Fascist supporters against millions of immigrants, most who have broken no laws other than entering without authorization into America, but with the desire for a better life!

Florida Governor Rick Scott And Budget Cuts For The Disabled: A Sacrilege!

Ronald 1 Comment

Florida Governor Rick Scott becomes more venal and unconscionable by the day!

Now he is promoting a major budget cut for the disabled, who suffer from Autism, Downs Syndrome, and other mental disabilities, including the individuals who live in group homes, because they are not as fortunate to have a loving family as my own younger son, Paul, has in his dad, and eventually, in his brother David!

What could be more obscene than this, and also in the plan to put all people on Medicaid into profit making HMOs, which means they will not get adequate medical care, which insures shorter and less pleasant lives for those who already struggle every day to attempt to enjoy life!

And, in the midst of these disgraceful actions, Scott has the nerve and the gall to participate in a Special Olympics race, and smile while saying how that organization is so important in helping the disabled in society!

Does this man have any sense of decency, a conscience, any element of morality in his body? Obviously not!