“Although the facts of the formal proposal haven’t been released, if the government merely refuses to pay the current price charged by pharma companies for a drug, then one of two things could happen: (a) the insured person pays the difference, or (b) the insurer removes the drug from the insured person’s approved drug list. “
Option (b)is the choice implemented by DoD’s Defense Health Agency (DHA) in dropping 4 of the 5 self-injectable drugs that are effective for managing diabetes without having to go straight to insulin injections. DHA did this with an off cycle formulary change affecting the entire Tricare population which includes all services’ active duty members’ families and all retirees. So if Trulicity does not work for you or induces chronic diarrhea, too bad, so sad. What would an extra $1200 per month for medication out of your pocket do to your fixed monthly income?
I appreciate your optimism re Barrasso's comment about the writ not coming before congress. I hope it's not a failure of imagination: that he meant they'd attempt to bypass congress. Sigh.
Let's change the mantra from the 1990s of "It's the economy, stupid," to "it's the corruption, stupid." Let's chant that at protest rallies, please.
From James Carville quoted in the Daily Beast.
“He’s taking a $400 million jet for lifetime use from a foreign government. He’s selling places at a White House dinner for people that buy his memecoin, which goes right into his pocket. And that’s what the tragedy is. That’s what the Democrats need to do, they need to jump on this corruption and never get off of it.”
I'd have less trouble with the flying palace if it were based exclusively at Newark Airport and filled with Vance ,Miller, cabinet members and Mike Johnson.
I am a paid subscriber to both the Hubbell report and to Democracy Docket. You have an event on May 14. Why does your registration link send me to a site that says I have to pay again in order to register? Am I missing something? Something doesn’t seem right here.
I am admitting up front that I have not read this piece, I copied and pasted these questions directly here. To provide answers as I have learned to see them.
When asking these questions we must remember this is a sociopath, psychopath with narcissistic personality disorder. See George Conway III.
Q-1 How does he get away with it?
By not giving a shit, surrounding himself with sycophants, See the entire Cabinet. And believing no one will try to stop him, he treats it like a game, to see what he can get away with. He used his first term as a "What Can You Get Away With As President School for Dummies" to learn how everyone would react to him. He has subjugated the entire Republican Congress who want to hold onto their cushy jobs and free health care, and could not give a shit about their constituents, the party or the Country. On the whole, has many state and local governments and much of the Supreme Court. Yet, a couple of those six are wildcards. He cut Musk loose to slash and burn using his delay delay when told to fix it by the courts. So we are in taters. And he has created a permission structure for his supporters to be accepted as their worst selves. He made hate, bigotry, stupidity and cruelty popular and okay. See Steven Miller. And as I came to finally understand, he was honest, he called things as they were and being seen, vis-à-vis Biden, the economy and the border. He also saw the Dems commit unforced error after error. Particularly gaslighting of the American People by the Biden crew around him. Harris, who I voted for made some rookie mistakes. He won the election with a 49.9% plurality, with the help of disaffected Dem & Indi voters who just didn't show up. Now he is doing what he said he would do.
Q-2 What can we do to stop him?
Firstly, let us remember the Capitol was attacked by the sitting president who incited an insurrection by a mob of seditionists and it was treated like a bank robbery. It was an act of war. See Merrick Garland, Congress about that. Fortunately there are more of us than them. A Coordinated well organized opposition, comprised of the American people in the streets loud and louder! Along with strategic surgical actions, on everything everywhere all at once by those with the skills, gear, resources, wherewithal and leadership. Those Loyal to Democracy the Country and The Constitution. If properly planed and deployed it can be done without a scratch to anything or anyone. Well, almost. Remember, these people are not Rhodes Scholars.
Q-3 Why doesn’t the DOJ investigate him?
The DOJ as you mean it in this question no longer exists, as long as Pam Bondi is the AG and the rest of his defense lawyers in leadership are in charge of the place, it is Trumps personal law firm. Along with Kash Patel directing the FBI, although I believe him to be weak and can be overcome very easily. To change the DOJ & FBI Also see Q-2
Q-4 Why can‘t Democrats do something to stop him?
There must be a solid opposition! They are not exactly presenting one. See Chuck Schumer.
The Dems lack proper leadership in the Senate, Schumer is feckless, weak and out of his depth. That he got voted into leadership after the disastrous fuckups of '22 & '24 is malpractice. They do not present a united front, Dem Senators are voting for his nominees, WTF is that about?
There are too many of them who do not see this as the fascist takeover of our country that it is. I'm not sure about the House, Hakeem Jeffries is a good man but he seems..I don't know. This is not something I can really speak to. However, The Warning with Steve Schmidt is a good place to go for these perspectives.
Q-5 What can we do about it?
Support Q-2 while hitting the streets hard and loud like we are doing and like Jared Kieling is suggesting below.
"Trump is now claiming that he will reduce prescription drug prices after undoing Biden’s efforts to achieve the same goal. Trump is a hypocrite who believes the American people cannot remember something that happened only four months ago." I think that, unfortunately, Trump may be right about this. I pay close attention daily, but I forget a lot of lived history . . . There's just so much of it!
Qatar will apparently not be so presumptuous as to duplicate the paint job and logo on the “real” Air Force One. Instead, the loaner will be painted in the colors of Qatar’s flag, with
While the illegal, unethical and immoral acts of Trump et al are plainly outrageous, we learned in the last election that vast numbers of American voters don’t see these attacks on our democracy, either individually or collectively, as matters that should affect their vote (or move them to vote at all).
With the possible exception of tariffs, the long and growing list of Trump’s anti-democratic, illegal acts are abstractions to tens of millions of voters. They may “tsk” or chuckle that it’s simply “Trump being Trump,” but so long as they don’t directly feel the impact of some Trump excess or irrational act, they will remain politically inert.
Sadly, it appears at this moment that the voters who see no relationship between their lives and the havoc Trump is wreaking with their implied support, will be brought home to them only when they feel a hand in their pocket or hear an ominous knock on their door.
Can anyone imagine how many electronic listening bugs there will be on the Qtari gift air palace to Trump. My bet is he won't even allow the CIA, FBI, or National Security folks anywhere near it and gayly fly around spewing our National secrets. Or doing some stupid activity that will compromise himself into blackmail land.
Congratulations on your new Granddaughter! What an absolute blessing! Let’s do everything we can to hand these beautiful innocent children the world they deserve.
"Which brings us to the question, “How does he get away with it?”
The short answer is that Trump has neutralized the guardrails of democracy that would prevent behavior violating US criminal laws and constitutional provisions."
The Republican party and entire right wing apparatus spent decades and billions neutralizing the guardrails of democracy. When Trump decided to enter politics he tailored himself to fit their style. While they were all in for a sociopath with no guardrails at all - who was willing to say and do anything to have their fealty and achieve their christofascist agenda. That is, who would spin their bad impulses into worse facts
Thank you again, Robert, for talking me off the ledge. It’s more valuable than you know. And congratulations on your new granddaughter! May she live in boring times.
“Although the facts of the formal proposal haven’t been released, if the government merely refuses to pay the current price charged by pharma companies for a drug, then one of two things could happen: (a) the insured person pays the difference, or (b) the insurer removes the drug from the insured person’s approved drug list. “
Option (b)is the choice implemented by DoD’s Defense Health Agency (DHA) in dropping 4 of the 5 self-injectable drugs that are effective for managing diabetes without having to go straight to insulin injections. DHA did this with an off cycle formulary change affecting the entire Tricare population which includes all services’ active duty members’ families and all retirees. So if Trulicity does not work for you or induces chronic diarrhea, too bad, so sad. What would an extra $1200 per month for medication out of your pocket do to your fixed monthly income?
Congratulations on the new baby!
I appreciate your optimism re Barrasso's comment about the writ not coming before congress. I hope it's not a failure of imagination: that he meant they'd attempt to bypass congress. Sigh.
Let's change the mantra from the 1990s of "It's the economy, stupid," to "it's the corruption, stupid." Let's chant that at protest rallies, please.
From James Carville quoted in the Daily Beast.
“He’s taking a $400 million jet for lifetime use from a foreign government. He’s selling places at a White House dinner for people that buy his memecoin, which goes right into his pocket. And that’s what the tragedy is. That’s what the Democrats need to do, they need to jump on this corruption and never get off of it.”
I'd have less trouble with the flying palace if it were based exclusively at Newark Airport and filled with Vance ,Miller, cabinet members and Mike Johnson.
I am a paid subscriber to both the Hubbell report and to Democracy Docket. You have an event on May 14. Why does your registration link send me to a site that says I have to pay again in order to register? Am I missing something? Something doesn’t seem right here.
I am admitting up front that I have not read this piece, I copied and pasted these questions directly here. To provide answers as I have learned to see them.
When asking these questions we must remember this is a sociopath, psychopath with narcissistic personality disorder. See George Conway III.
Q-1 How does he get away with it?
By not giving a shit, surrounding himself with sycophants, See the entire Cabinet. And believing no one will try to stop him, he treats it like a game, to see what he can get away with. He used his first term as a "What Can You Get Away With As President School for Dummies" to learn how everyone would react to him. He has subjugated the entire Republican Congress who want to hold onto their cushy jobs and free health care, and could not give a shit about their constituents, the party or the Country. On the whole, has many state and local governments and much of the Supreme Court. Yet, a couple of those six are wildcards. He cut Musk loose to slash and burn using his delay delay when told to fix it by the courts. So we are in taters. And he has created a permission structure for his supporters to be accepted as their worst selves. He made hate, bigotry, stupidity and cruelty popular and okay. See Steven Miller. And as I came to finally understand, he was honest, he called things as they were and being seen, vis-à-vis Biden, the economy and the border. He also saw the Dems commit unforced error after error. Particularly gaslighting of the American People by the Biden crew around him. Harris, who I voted for made some rookie mistakes. He won the election with a 49.9% plurality, with the help of disaffected Dem & Indi voters who just didn't show up. Now he is doing what he said he would do.
Q-2 What can we do to stop him?
Firstly, let us remember the Capitol was attacked by the sitting president who incited an insurrection by a mob of seditionists and it was treated like a bank robbery. It was an act of war. See Merrick Garland, Congress about that. Fortunately there are more of us than them. A Coordinated well organized opposition, comprised of the American people in the streets loud and louder! Along with strategic surgical actions, on everything everywhere all at once by those with the skills, gear, resources, wherewithal and leadership. Those Loyal to Democracy the Country and The Constitution. If properly planed and deployed it can be done without a scratch to anything or anyone. Well, almost. Remember, these people are not Rhodes Scholars.
Q-3 Why doesn’t the DOJ investigate him?
The DOJ as you mean it in this question no longer exists, as long as Pam Bondi is the AG and the rest of his defense lawyers in leadership are in charge of the place, it is Trumps personal law firm. Along with Kash Patel directing the FBI, although I believe him to be weak and can be overcome very easily. To change the DOJ & FBI Also see Q-2
Q-4 Why can‘t Democrats do something to stop him?
There must be a solid opposition! They are not exactly presenting one. See Chuck Schumer.
The Dems lack proper leadership in the Senate, Schumer is feckless, weak and out of his depth. That he got voted into leadership after the disastrous fuckups of '22 & '24 is malpractice. They do not present a united front, Dem Senators are voting for his nominees, WTF is that about?
There are too many of them who do not see this as the fascist takeover of our country that it is. I'm not sure about the House, Hakeem Jeffries is a good man but he seems..I don't know. This is not something I can really speak to. However, The Warning with Steve Schmidt is a good place to go for these perspectives.
Q-5 What can we do about it?
Support Q-2 while hitting the streets hard and loud like we are doing and like Jared Kieling is suggesting below.
"Trump is now claiming that he will reduce prescription drug prices after undoing Biden’s efforts to achieve the same goal. Trump is a hypocrite who believes the American people cannot remember something that happened only four months ago." I think that, unfortunately, Trump may be right about this. I pay close attention daily, but I forget a lot of lived history . . . There's just so much of it!
Qatar will apparently not be so presumptuous as to duplicate the paint job and logo on the “real” Air Force One. Instead, the loaner will be painted in the colors of Qatar’s flag, with
لقوة الجوية واحدة الخطوط الجوية القطري
painted across the fuselage.
Rob:
While the illegal, unethical and immoral acts of Trump et al are plainly outrageous, we learned in the last election that vast numbers of American voters don’t see these attacks on our democracy, either individually or collectively, as matters that should affect their vote (or move them to vote at all).
With the possible exception of tariffs, the long and growing list of Trump’s anti-democratic, illegal acts are abstractions to tens of millions of voters. They may “tsk” or chuckle that it’s simply “Trump being Trump,” but so long as they don’t directly feel the impact of some Trump excess or irrational act, they will remain politically inert.
Sadly, it appears at this moment that the voters who see no relationship between their lives and the havoc Trump is wreaking with their implied support, will be brought home to them only when they feel a hand in their pocket or hear an ominous knock on their door.
I just gave a donation to Democracy Docket but see no way to sign up for the May 14 zoom. Any ideas how?
Can anyone imagine how many electronic listening bugs there will be on the Qtari gift air palace to Trump. My bet is he won't even allow the CIA, FBI, or National Security folks anywhere near it and gayly fly around spewing our National secrets. Or doing some stupid activity that will compromise himself into blackmail land.
There’s definitely precedent:
https://www.airandspaceforces.com/PDF/MagazineArchive/Documents/2012/September%202012/0912embassy.pdf
Congratulations birth of your new granddaughter. May she bring your family much joy in the coming years.
$115,000 a MONTH? That's $1,380,000 a year Bondi got from Qatar. I guess she'll be getting lots of free rides in the new plane.
Congratulations on your new Granddaughter! What an absolute blessing! Let’s do everything we can to hand these beautiful innocent children the world they deserve.
"Which brings us to the question, “How does he get away with it?”
The short answer is that Trump has neutralized the guardrails of democracy that would prevent behavior violating US criminal laws and constitutional provisions."
The Republican party and entire right wing apparatus spent decades and billions neutralizing the guardrails of democracy. When Trump decided to enter politics he tailored himself to fit their style. While they were all in for a sociopath with no guardrails at all - who was willing to say and do anything to have their fealty and achieve their christofascist agenda. That is, who would spin their bad impulses into worse facts
Thank you again, Robert, for talking me off the ledge. It’s more valuable than you know. And congratulations on your new granddaughter! May she live in boring times.