348 Comments

Half the country is on track to learn that "Obamacare" and the ACA are the same thing—just as they're about to lose it.

And I find it increasingly hard to sympathize.

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The calls for a general strike and massive coast to coast protests need to become a tidalwave groundswell of citizen opposition to this demonic attempt to destroy the United States of America. Orange Hitler is using the Orban/Putin "How to destroy democracy handbook.."

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Yes he is. Orban used his hand selected supporters in the parliament to change Hungary's constitution and laws. He made it so he will never lose an election. The Hungarian people are sad and hopeless. Hungary is at the bottom of most happy countries

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Budapest was always a destination I wanted to visit. But just like more than half the states in America, I’m afraid Hungary is no longer on my travel list. I do not dispute the beauty and history each has to offer and I will miss experiencing all that in person. I just do not want my hard earned money to go to regions- whether domestically or internationally- that support neo-fascism.

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Margaret, I see where you are coming from. I am so devastated that a state where I spent 8 years of my life has turned into an even more racist, misogynistic place than ever. Tennessee has embraced every stupid, hateful proposal to do harm to its residents, that is, if they are not rich, white, male, homo/transphobic, and pseudo-christian. The people of the state, I hear, are reeled in by people who keep telling them no one but they are listening to the pathetic pleas of the people while all kinds of government programs have been serving the people of TN and those they are voting for are the ones in the way of any progress. It is amazing just how often people want to believe lies, are even charmed by them. I know it is their nurtured racism, misogyny and the rest that keep their thinking from happening, but in the meantime, I will not visit there again or any other red states unless I am passing through and I will do my best to put no money into their businesses any time soon.

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These are the situations where assassins are born.

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Too close to Russia. All the Good Places aren't good to go to any more. I'll just stay here and get screwed in my own language.

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WTG Tim hope the government does not take that away !!💙🙋🏻‍♀️

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SORRY, i REPORTED THE WRONG POST.

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we will be sad and helpless also..

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I'll not be helpless. I'll find & use any power I do have to fight back. I allowed myself one day of sadness & self pity after the election. I'm not sad, I'm enraged at the level of ignorance & laziness of half the voters. But more than that, those voters endorse cruelty, corruption, thievery of OUR Treasury & any chance for the health/financial future of coming generations to collect the government benefits THEY paid for, they endorse the destruction of our dignity, our freedom,our global reputation, our health systems, and support the criminal power mongers & seedy greedy grifters.

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And no foreigners will want to travel here either

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Let's not forget the Nazi handbook.

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Or trump's favorite fable about the snake. I couldn't believe the first time he told it and I thought "My god, he's talking about himself."

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YES SHARON..I TOO HAVE HAD THE SAME THOUGHT...

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That's so scary!!!

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I empathize with the millions of adults & kids) who are not Trump voters/supporters, who are grateful for their health care & don't give a rats patoot about the color of the skin of the politician who set it up and made it a possibility for them to have health care. As for the Trumpers who discover this & are affected, that's only one little surprise they'll be getting. And F them.

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My god, they are so attached to their whiteness as identity they don’t know who they are without the idea of everyone capitulating to the delusion that they are superior humans. I hate them so much right now. No f*cking self reflection whatsoever. It’s difficult to co-exist with such derelicts. 🤮

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I’d agree if this stuff didn’t apply to the other half of people in ACA programs voted for somebody else and will pay the same price, no matter who they voted for.

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Absolutely ~ those that did NOT vote for Trump will suffer just the same as the buffoons that did ! ! ! !

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I find it impossible to sympathize.

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Agree with you 100%.

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ME TOO

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Agreed on all counts.

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I’ve heard people rage against “Obamacare,” without realizing that the insurance they hold is ACA insurance. I’m losing sympathy with our collective ignorance. As much as I’d love to see the fallout when people realize just who and what they’ve elected, it will harm the wrong people, and his staunchest supporters will never admit they are wrong. They’ll just continue to reinvent reality.

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But, they learned that his first term, or should have. I recall the mass meetings where people were told that, much to their surprise. Thank Republicans for thinking up their hoped for "pejorative" Obamacare.

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Well if we were talking about normal minds, yes they would have learned it in his first term. Unfortunately we're talking about people who do you not want to seek the truth, reality, or exert a scintilla of work to investigate whether what Trump and his Republi-Fascists is accurate or factual. They're happy to just go along with the Orange Fuhrer & absolutely believe everything he says...just like good brainwashed cult members do. Then there's the small percentage who do get it but are too greedy for power and money themselves they're willing to ignore it, believing they are immune.

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But if there is no vaccine for the next pandemic then the Black Death will look like nothing much as Democrats and Republicans suffer equally. Back yard fences and borders on a map will be equally useless,

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Claudia, I have read comments on YouTube of all places where one commentator said and I quote " we finally killed Obama care glad we still have the ACA though" every comment after that is what you would expect. My favorite wasn't nice, genius Obama care is the ACA. Some just don't get it,faux news strikes again

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Oz has actually argued for the expansion of Medicare. Easy to find these stories, e.g. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/dr-oz-wants-to-expand-private-medicare-plans-heres-how-he-could-do-it-172956265.html

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Privatized Medicare, which would be easier to loot.

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We already have it.

In what way is it easier to loot?

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Mary, Thank you for your presence and dedication throughout this shit show. I honor you.

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Thank you, KDoyle. I see dt on TV and am immediately nauseas, filled wiyh contempt, disgust followed by tears and fear. After reading any comment by Mary my backbone seems to straighten, I don't feel quite so alone and begin thinking again how I, individually, can fight this hypocritical, orange, double-talking imbecile. (Somebody HAS to be telling him what to do. He sure doesn't speak as if he is very 'smart', perhaps rich. That's all. I am frightened. Mary speaks to my insecurities, squelching their intensities, and I bet for others. You, in a brief comment, thank you, seemed to thank her on those lines also. Your apparent ease in so doing opened the door for me to comment on mine. Thank you. Stay strong - thinking of you.

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I, too, gain strength for the struggle ahead from Mary's clear thinking and writing. We all are on an ebb & flow riding the waves. (Another substack writer I find to supportive in the same way is John Pavlovitz.) One further thought Mary might clear up for us. It seems to me her uncle is not rich. Why would he need ro use donor funds and sell sneakers & Bibles to pay his attorneys? Or have other wealthy men funding his campaign? I wonder that six times bankrupt means he's leveraged to his teeth. Plus, he's a really bad businessman. Like, who bankrupts a casino? Was it Mary who said that? Seems to me, oligarchs across the globe have bought him and will now run our country. All for the love of money. People traded their children's future for the price of eggs?

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Mary is amazing ! I love John P. It's a fascist tsunami coming but I'm an idealist and believe good will overcome evil. Stay good.

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100000% this!

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Literally!!! She makes me feel sane watching this absolute sh*t show go down!!

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Thank you for focusing on this. It is at this stage the canary in the coal mine. People are acting like the healthcare system now is fine. As a long time registered nurse with a master's in public health I can tell you it is broken already. And now we're going to have someone who's going to dump gasoline on it and light a match. Cuz if you don't have your health, you don't have the strength and energy to fight back. Cruelty as policy

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that seems to be the purpose.

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Rump plans to do a lot more than just dismantle the ACA and safeguards for our healthcare systems. So be it. I am anticipating the “leopard eating my face“ portion of this American experiment to begin. It will come in a form of obliteration of government agencies that are meant to protect us. They will destroy any federally funded programs in order to enrich themselves and give tax cuts to the one percent .. big CEOs, the billionaires. ACA, social security/Medicare will be ravaged. They will dismantle BOE, FDA, EPA and all of the other safeguards that make our society safe for the citizens. They will Shepherd in inflation and destroy the economy. They will further contaminate the voting system to assure that Republicans have an advantage in any future elections. They will lay off federal workers to supposedly get more control of the government, they will try to outlaw unions, they will deport legal and illegal citizens – revoke birthright citizen, if able, and denaturalize others. And that’s just some of what they’ll do in the first hundred days and ongoing. It will be ugly, messy, loud and deliberate. The cruelty will be the point. It is going to be a travesty and a tragedy for this country, but it is also what America deserves. If we believe that there was no cheating or starlink interference… etc. ,Then we are to accept that Americans voted for this. The apathy and indifference to how we live our lives will only be cured by the 47th presidency being as horrible as I anticipate it being. I’m here for all of it. I hate that these fkrs will hurt those of us who did not want this atrocity. I can only stay hopeful that my family, loved ones and undeserving Americans won’t be too affected. Yes… We are all going to have to watch this debacle play out. And when All the complaints , whining, moaning and misery starts to affect those people who voted for this it will be well deserved. Let it be harsh but awakening. As they endure all the pain and suffering, they put the rest of the country to..I will offer thoughts and prayers.

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I agree with your statement in general. But the echo chamber of disinformation will be on full blast from now on, and escaping it will be near impossible. So most who end up suffering will be fed lies that it's someone else's fault, and not $upreme Leader Cheeto. And who knows if we will have fair elections ever again. The wife and I are working on our exit plan. There are other places on earth to live out your life! It's not a requirement to stay here.

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If you are looking for a place to live, check out East Central Alberta in Canada. I live in a small village of about 350 people called Lougheed and it has everything I need and of course, Canada's healthcare. Where else can you find a house with prices starting at $30,000? Lately people have been moving here from BC and Quebec because of lower taxes, and there are many other places here like Lougheed. The other night, a guest on Lawrence Odonnell said something I suspected. Over half of Americans' literacy is at grade six or lower. Over half of Americans don't have a passing acquaintance with critical thinking skills! No wonder the Orange Fascist once said "I love the uneducated."

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Historically repubs have always done their damnedest to keep the South uninformed, uneducated and poor. I was born in the South and I managed to relocate at a young age. I hear and see relatives occasionally and I am appalled by their lack of knowledge.

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I rest my case (to no one but myself). I had those thoughts while trying to figure out why this nimrod won. But dismissed those thoughts as 'too mean' just because our side disn't win. Hmm. What do you know?! Thanks.

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On your way! Love Canada anyway. I've heard, though, that it is much more difficult to move there now than it was a decade ago. There are seemingly a lot of new immigration regulations. It might not be as easy as I would like it to be.

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But probably easier than staying where you are. Moving to Canada is easier for people who have a trade. Also easier for university educated-a PhD would work. If you have a nest egg canada likes it when you nest here!

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That means I'm out (high school education and epilepsy). My wife could move though (three college degrees).

On the other hand, Premier Danielle Smith and her crazy political party trying to put into elementary school standards that Alberta has the "cleanest" petroleum products in the world.

Here in Nebraska we blocked Alberta's "clean petroleum" Keystone XL pipeline from ruining our Sandhills and water supplies.

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She's a climate warming denier, whilst forest fires rage across her province!She met with tucker carlson in January while on his so-called 'Liberate Canada' tour!

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I agree critical thinking is a declining skill, mostly bc of social media. Also it’s due to the Republican plan to keep people afraid. Fear short circuits the critical mind and activates the amygdala, where the fight or flight response originates, and the part of the brain that stores trauma. They literally can’t think!

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The Premier of Alberta, Daniel Smith is a far-right Conservative and a climate denier. She met with tucker Carlson when he went to the province in January to spew his 'Liberate Canada' malarkey. I wouldn't do anything that furthers the agenda of Pierre Poilievre who wants to cut benefits and has been seen with Diagolon,and endorsed by Alex Jones!

I guess you heard Wayne Gretzky went to visit the orange 🍊 felon at Mara Lago

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I won't say what I'd like to do with Wayne Gretzky's hockey stick.

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All running to.kiss the ring

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You and me both! He's now inducted to the hall of shame

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Well said, Maggie Anderson!

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It saddens me to no end. It is going to be painful for everyone.. whether or not we voted for this. And you are correct.. I imagine the “alternative facts” will be presented to keep the gullible amongst us blaming everything and everyone else as opposed to admitting that they were wrong and complicit in 47s agenda. I just don’t get why people thought this was a good idea.

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For one, people did not want a woman in office, the other, she was black.

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Instead of asking themselves wtf they feel so gf inadequate within themselves they projectile vomit their wounded sense of self all over the external world. It’s difficult to understand yourself when we live in a society that values profit over mental healthcare. Eventually the evidence of mass pathology of mental unwellness.

Hence the American cult with their demented sick psychotic wounded traumatized clown of a leader. Tragic to witness the fall,

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Unfortunately that was a large part of the equation., I think,

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More and more I hear that the consensus is that Fat Boy stole the election ~ face it ~ he had plenty of time to study it and there are enough people in his cult to perform whatever little "duties" that needed to be done, to accomplish it !!!

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The Orange Turnip was very clear even from before the start of this campaign that if he gets elected, we will never have to vote again--like he was doing the electorate a favor by relieving us of this burdensome task. He always says what he is going to do. It always sounds so absurd that he is not taken seriously. And he definitely should be. I fully expect that we will not have elections again in the near future. Someone asked him a couple of week ago if he would run for a third term. He grinned and said, "If I am asked..." Believe. Sovegna cos--be mindful.

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I also keep saying this. I feel like people are being a bit nieve with Trump and the GOP this time. Seems to me we may have had the last election where the vote count actually matters. But that's just me.

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I don’t throw out the baby with the bath water. We are not rats fleeing a drowning ship. This is our country. Many of us, including me, have early ancestors who came here to have a better life, including tRump’s not so distant ancestors and his mother. Gosh he is a pain in the butt.

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Dismantling these agencies would take congressional action. I feel at least 4 senators are smarter than that. I'm clinging to hope that some still have integrity

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I agree re Social Security and Medicare. Congress must pass and ok that by 2/3. I hope that there are enough to stop at least that. These two programs are paid into by the public and they poll near 90% of the population. I think they will have a hard time slashing those two —- I hope 🙏

I’m with you on the integrity…

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It’s a good time to remind our Senators, especially, that 1/3 if them are up for re-election in less than 2 years, what we expect from them. Most of them are not planning to retire. We must use every ounce of leverage we have.

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We can speak up...but are they really listening to Constituents? Seems to me they have their interns be yes people to the public, then they vote whatever hell way they want.

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I'd say start writing calling emailing protesting now and keep it up. Terrify them...let them know they are already on our plan to be voted out asap.

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I'm wishing there were something - anything - that Biden could do before he leaves office. He has immunity, afterall!

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He could have declared a Constitutional Crisis eons ago....crickets

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The least he could do is pardon his son Hunter. In Woodward's book War he admitted Merrick Garland was a mistake. But why didn't Biden replace him?

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I think Biden for whatever reason lost access to his instinct. Look at Iraq, Garland appt AFTER Jan 6, it goes on and on.

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He has integrity. He won't do anything against the Constitution. He hoped Congress would take responsibility for the border bill, but they allowed the despot (who is still a private citizen until January 20) to kill it. President Biden is being undercut by the fascists.

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There are too many voting seniors to end Medicare (although I can see it completely pushed to the private sector (Medicare Disadvantage for all!) and Soc Sec. Even Republican officials know they'd be tossed out on their ass. But the ACA...his hatred for Obama may really gut that.

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I think I've heard that he wants to privatize both Medicare and Social Security. I can't imagine a worse outcome! So scary. And I agree with you on the ACA - my daughter has her family on it. So many working class people relying on it. He couldn't care less. It was created by a black man. That's why he wants to get rid of it. He's an Ignorant callous asshole.

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I've heard the same.

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That’s what I heard. Scary.

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Who the hell doesn't he hate (except $mouths, 'yes' women, 'yes' anyone actually and autocrat leaders. We've heard it for so long from folks who 'see' through his facade - was their need for eggs, rent (possibly!), disdain for 'immigrants' such they'd toss Democracy out the window - for what? Did they listen, hear what we did?! I'm sorry. The election is over. I'm listening, just might start taking notes, at the folks on MSNBC. They seem to not only know how we're feeling but actually have many of those feelings. But - they talk regularly with experts who apparently give reasons and possible actions for those in opposition to the orange prez elect to take. In turn, the listener to their broadcast, podcast is included in those thoughts, ideas. It's been a little over two weeks since the big 'E'. Yike. The four year term hasn't even begun. Wouldn't hurt to start saving for a really big move for me. In the meantime, thank you for your thoughts, comments. They mean a lot.

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If they were listening at all, when they did it was to Faux and right wing radio which America has way to much of. Also the Sinclair broadcasting chain, which is extensive and right wing. They definitely don't subscribe digitally to the New York Times or the Washington Post.

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If the seniors who voted for the Orange Turnip Head had any sense at all, and I know a bunch who did, they would have known he was threatening those programs. Beats me how they wouldn’t know. An example of shooting oneself in the foot. Phooey.

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I hope Medicare and SS won’t go private :(

I agree that congress and voting public have to approve any gutting

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Hi I'm sorry. I hate to interrupt this conversation. But I believe that Hitler will do what Hitler wants to do. The voting public and Congress have nothing to do with it. Well, actually they did have everything to do with it - to get us here I mean. The Congress will go along with Hitler II. Whoever is behind this whether it be the Catholic Church, or the evangelicals, or the supreme Court, making the decisions and feeding them to this moron they will get what they want. The question becomes how do we really stop these a-holes from making America an s-hole country. It did not take Putin long to make a democratizing Russia into a dictatorial oligarchy.

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And they are not entitlement programs. We paid into them while we were still working. Now, as a self-employed senior, I still have to pay $500

Per year.

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Oh removing them will require Congress ..but plenty of damage can be done simply by changing agency policy that doesn't involve Congressional involvement. Besides, just how much were we informed over the years of how many billions were diverted from SS & Medicare to cover the costs of Republican wars? It's why the 2 programs are in jeopardy.

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It all start with President Reagan. He kept raising taxes on the middle class and kept police raising taxes through point where he said he can't do any more taxes. So what he did is he went into social security to count billions upon billions if not trillions of dollars and left IOUs. Republicans have been doing that since because Reagan set the precedent. Yes the Republicans want to privatize social security and Medicare. They've wanted that money going into stocks and bonds for decades. That way they can make money on it and those with social security and Medicare can be squeezed to death financially.

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Robert Reich has reported many times that if the millionaires & billionaires in this country were paying their fair share in taxes, Medicare & Social Security would not be in jeopardy. And yet, the orange turd wants to cut their taxes even further. That’s why they paid to get him in office again. (There’s no doubt big money got him reelected.)

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$3 trillion has been stolen from SS. We need to demand it be returned w interest and penalty fees. Harrass the H out of them w calls, emails, letters,protests, going on all social media forms. Don't demean Trump voters (except the rich who knew what they were doing) calling names turns people off. Puts up defenses, angers people that's not the way we get people to join us in the fight against Trump and his supporters.

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Praying 🙏🏻.

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All of this. I hate that it’s going to take seeing it all unfold to everyone’s detriment for people to wake the fuck up, but I guess we haven’t been brow beaten enough to start a revolution.

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Renewed my passport. If it gets to that point, I'm outta here. I'm not going to die in a Fascist country(and yes my time in life is quite limited)

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I will offer requests for sniper applications

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That about sums up my thinking pretty exactly. The only thing I might add is, unless he b comes totally disenchanted with him, Jump Dumbpants Vance will follow him. This would match Putin’s move to put in his VP for one term and made him the President-in-name-only. This was to comply with Russian law at the time. Once the VPs term was over, Putin stepped back in and never stepped down. I think we will see a version of this with Vance in the Oval Office and tRump taking over again. Of course, I don’t truly believe this will happen because the Orange One is too old, his mind is going, and his dad died of AZ. So, they will try to stick us with Vance for the unforseeable future. Meaning, too, if something doesn’t happen, we are headed for Civil War. And they will control the military. Man in the High Castle anyone?

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We can’t confirm it yet but I’d bet, your uncle, The Felon, rigged this election. He’s been projecting that for a decade and those of us with experience know that narcissists ALWAYS tell on themselves through their accusations.

Meanwhile the 4th estate continues to bend the knee instead of using their mighty pen to fight the outrageous result of their complicity. Shame.

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I’ve wondered the same thing…just as he’s projected that the Dems were cheating all along. Most likely he figured out a way to cheat. He was very smug and nonchalant about winning his campaign. Makes me wonder.

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Don't forget that he told "christians" they didn't need to vote because he already had enough votes. What I've been hearing about bullet ballots fits right in with that.

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Yes…There’s got to be a reason he kept up spouting off to “my Christians”…

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What is a bullet ballot??? Please explain yourself.

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Okay I looked it up. Excuse me for my ignorance I did not catch it right at first. Thanks.

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No problem. I would have been happy to explain it because I had just learned about it myself. No need to apologize for not knowing.

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Everything these fascists accuse Democrats of are actually descriptions of exactly what they're doing or what they're planning to do abiding by the old Nazi propaganda rules.

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Narcissitcs and psychopaths always accuse the other side of what they have done or are planning to do themselves. They put the other side on the defensive and accuse them of the crimes they themselves have or will commit. I was married to one and, believe me, I know how subtlety cruel they are. Always charming until they get what they want and then the mask is dropped. tRump is dropping it now and those who voted for him without doing their due diligence are starting to be really surprised. And we get to live with this mess. As I said before, I feel like I am living in a revised version of The Man in The High Castle. Scary shit.

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'Due diligence'? To do that critical thinking skills would help. and with over half the country barely functioning with 6th grade learning, or less. The Orange Maggot gave them someone to hate, immigrants. Those knuckledraggers voted for that asshole because they believed he would hurt the people they envy and hate. The poorly educated don't know he can't stand them either.

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I think we can say the playing field was unequal due to citizens United and the unlimited funds a few were able to add, and from the unprecedented quantities of propaganda/lies. Both are critical to their mission.

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Yes. The ineffectiveness of the 4th Estate upholding the duties of that institution… Shame.

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Don't forget the Catholic supreme Court that rules over us all. I used to be Catholic but now I despise the church and the Pope.

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Oh they'll find out- eventually. Sadly, I'll be long dead before they do.

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Doctor Oz 🤢🤢🤢🤢 Satan is bound and determined to destroy all of us and he just keeps filling up the clown car 😢😢😢😢

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Sadly, Oz was once a noted thoracic-cardio surgeon practicing in NYC. Then he went on Oprah and discovered he could make more money without a scalpel. He is also a Muslim -- that is not going to sit well with the Leonard Leo set.

All roads are starting to point to Vance as 48.

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Sadly, I found most surgeons do not do well outside of the operating theatre & their surgery duties. They are well noted for poor bedside manners, even rudeness, but with a surgeon generally what matters is their skill in the operating room taking care of that surgical need. No long-term relationships, thank gawd. Of all the surgeons I've worked with, I can only think of three I liked as a human being. Oz is one of the former- take him out if the surgical role & you get a hideous bad character with values that are only concerned with money & power. That's what we have seen. Not only that. A surgeon is the worst medical professional to put in that kind of role because they have no global vision of what medical needs for the poor are.

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I agree, and would add that such people don't care about the poor. Or the aged.

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Or, themselves.

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Well articulated! I share your opinion in this matter.

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Yup. The lack of interpersonal skills and higher rate of personality disorders among surgeons is documented in the literature - along with personal observations of course.

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Surgeons are good mechanics, nothing more. They are not bright.

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Oz, is a Smarmy ex-Surgeon. With a very synchronistic last name. Think of the famous movie ‘Dorothy & The Wizard of Oz.’ Not quite up to his legend. Just like the Election “winner.”

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I had a vascular surgeon once who’d done surgery on me. A friend had given me a playgirl magazine, as a joke. So as he came on rounds he ignored me but looked at the magazine intently! He must have really liked naked Burt Reynolds’s.

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Trump is a TV actor and he is filling his administration with actors. They don’t have the skills for the office they are assigned, but they can ACT and not in anyone’s favor.

Trump picks have nothing to do with actual qualifications at all it’s like he’s picking staff for his old apprentice show, that really sucked for entertainment!

This Administration shall be called Hollyweird for all the actors and strange acting they will do.

NO MORE ACTORS IN GOVERNMENT!

Proud to be a liberal woman, now more than ever! Proud to wear this totally unhinged radical liberal t-shirt in front of Republicans 👇

https://libtees-2.creator-spring.com/listing/radlib

Trump and co want to make the government NO longer functional!

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Yes! Heather. King Ronold R. was a big screen actor, and the economy tanked after his second term, just like it did after drumpf's first. Just how bad it will be for poor and working slobs after tariff-Donnie's unknown tenure in office is unfathomable.

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Unless there's a 3 way eradication of Trump, Vance & Johnson

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They most likely are having a theesome in one of the Florida bedrooms

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😲😂🤣🤣🤣

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I was initially worried that the plan was to 86 trump on 25th Amendment grounds and install Vance, ASAP. And that Vance would be worse. But now it is hard to see how JD or ANYONE could be worse.

On the other hand, these appointments do seem to possibly provide the basis for use of the 25th.

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Well, that has been the plan all along.

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Has anybody heard from Jiggly Dongle?

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And idiots even Democratic idiots will vote for him just to get shrump out of office. Mark my words.

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my biggest worry, as caretaker for a disabled relative, is that Oz will cut disability benefits and Medicare for those "losers" who dare to have a disability. We all know Donnybrook's position on disability in general. Not to mention cutting VA benefits for wounded "losers."

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It is morally disgusting, republicans have signed the death certificates of the aging, and the disability persons with an expiration date when they cut benefits, and they in turn will have the blood on all of those disgusting repulsive Republicans, who sided with Captain Bone Spurs!

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Mary, thank you for your columns, especially those from the last couple weeks. You are pinpointing the dangers in a very deliberately and methodically, and in ways that are straight forward and easy to understand. I can only wish that somehow, the wider populace could see or hear these on a daily basis. Nonetheless, keep it up. We need y ou.

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Take away govenment health insurance from GOP!

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Wishful thinking...

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Shame on the news media for neglecting to inform the public that most recipients of so-called “entitlements” - Medicaid, Medicare, social security, as well as Obamacare, are rural white folk. And shame on these folk for not putting in an ounce of effort to educate themselves.

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I dislike the term "entitlement" program frankly, going back to when I did advanced training in social policy in the ice age. As for Medicare - most recipients have paid into it over decades of their worklives.

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I agree and that’s why I said so-called “entitlements.” Deliberately misleading way to talk about it.

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Yes, you are absolutely correct and it is my opinion that it would be considered stealing theft our money

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Janet, a slight correction: we paid into Social Security when working. Medicare is something we pay monthly premiums for, just like with any other health insurance.

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I'm apparently suffering from complexPTSD. Of course, you're correct! Thank you noting.

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You are welcome, janet. PTSD is no fun - I've dealt with it for years.

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I meant this somewhat ironically though I am deeply concerned about our country and I'm sure I am not alone. Community is especially important at this moment, no?! I recall that being in my doctor's waiting room during the first Trump term and most people were seeking mental health care.

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I'm glad to know that people were seeking mental health care. I think a lot of us will need it even more this time around, especially if leaving the country isn't an option.

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A lot of us older folks who appreciate Medicare and Social Security live in cities.

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I hear you. Just saying, many rural people are recipients and vote against their own interests.

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Which is something I will never understand, even though I have the information as to why they do that. It's crazy.

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Yes, I agree with you and I hold ABC, NBC, CBS and several others accountable for not speaking the truth, and the lying still continues to this day!

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“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”

Vonnegut

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Of note: Dr. Fauci gave up his practice of medicine to serve as the chief medical researcher at the Institute of Health in the public good for 40 years. He was not in favor of Trump’s COVID response. In return, Trump reviled and threatened him so that after his retirement he needed round the clock protection from threats to his and his family’s lives.

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Typical mob mentality: threatening people when you don’t like to hear the truth.

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Because truth and honesty and the truth about science is not in his vocabulary

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My predictions have proven to be not worth a damn, but I still believe the MAGA movement will collapse from within. These obviously unqualified Cabinet nominees will hasten the process. I only hope America does not collapse with it.

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I've been wondering if that will happen too. Gaetz just withdrew his name from consideration for AG. A trend?????

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One could hope. But then again, it could get even worse.

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If Putin’s Pinocchio wants to spend all his political capital getting these lame-o’s confirmed, I say, hey, have at it. I have to believe that at least some of the 11 million misguided souls who voted for Biden and did not vote for Harris will have a severe bout of buyer’s remorse along the way. The next four years could be hell for America, but we’ll survive. We always do.

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I think historically we need to look at Nazi Germany to predict what will happen here in the US. Now it's not going to be exactly the same but they are definitely following the Nazi guide book and some of the Republican supporters are definitely Nazis in many forms. There is also the KKK - white supremacist and the anti-human rights churches in this country. Even abortion is an issue between misogyny and women's equal rights. There's definitely evil in this world and the Republican party dominates as the major evil.

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Actually I think Oz meant 2-3% of the US population would die to "get our mojo back." Everyone with kids knows schools are a petri dish of transmittable disease so the kids would meet, get sick and take the illness home to more vulnerable adult family members who would then die even if the child did not. The US population in April 2020 when Oz said this was over 330 million people so 2 to 3% of that is 6.6 to 9.9 million people dead. Because enough people actually listened to Dr. Faucci instead of "Dr." Oz, the US only lost ~1.1 million people through March 2023 to COVID-19 so we did not sacrifice 5.5 to 8.8 million people for mojo.

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And now the Moron-in- Chief is selling Guitars. How many of his plucking cult will buy one?🎸

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I’m sure they’re made in China

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Well, he does think he looks like Elvis...

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