Robert Hubbell wrote (and I thank him for doing so): "I noted previously that there is an important election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2023. There are four candidates in the primary, and the top two finishers are likely to proceed to a run-off. Democrats must ensure that at least (one) of the two final candidates is a Democrat.
Feb 15, 2023·edited Feb 15, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
Steve Scalise would do well to reflect on the benefits paid to US congressmen, including such mundane things as vacations and sick days, and ask why they are so much better and more deserving than average Americans.
Much of his fortune was derived from defrauding the United States while CEO of Columbia Hospital Corp. From Wiki:
(Scott).... co-founded Columbia Hospital Corporation. Columbia later merged with another corporation to form Columbia/HCA, which eventually became the nation's largest private for-profit health care company.[6] Scott was pressured to resign as chief executive of Columbia/HCA in 1997. During his tenure as chief executive, the company defrauded Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal programs. The Department of Justice won 14 felony convictions against the company, which was fined $1.7 billion in what was at the time the largest healthcare fraud settlement in U.S. history....
Scott resigned prior to the court cases and somehow avoided indictment.
So, like the rest of the scummy gop, he is not the best choice to take advice regarding efficiency in Federal spending.
Agreed! We paid for his medical treatment and rehab after the shooting! Another welfare cheat at its nadir! Pence, Pompeo and Haley three trump toadies with no substance to offer this country!
Allow me to speculate: The narcissism of Trump, Pence, Scalise, Santos, MTG, et al, is beyond pathological. The closest they come to compassion is 'scratching each others' backs. There should be a requirement that candidates submit to an MMPI exam before being allowed to run, and the results should be made public.
This was particularly funny, Mr Hubble: « She supports Trump, except when she doesn’t, except when Trump attacks her for not supporting him, except when she wants to be president but doesn’t want to offend Trump’s supporters. Got that? I hope not! It is incomprehensible. »
All of these people deserve to be laughing stocks. Bon Voyage RH !
Pence prostituting himself for his political ambitions is a waste of what little integrity he might have ever had. He doesn’t have a peanut’s chance in a monkey cage of getting the Republican nomination.
A personal story: My late wife, Penny, was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease in 1998. She kept working as a classroom teacher until February, 2006, much to the consternation of her conservative supervisors, who openly wished she'd just give up and leave. In that year, the school district's Human Resources Director had had enough of the backbiting and sniping-and delivered a generous disability package, which included Social Security Disability payments. Mental and musculoskeletal issues did not prevent this indomitable woman from going on to earn her third Master's Degree, in Educational Technology. I had to, continue to fight with conservative Republicans, in the state bureaucracy, almost up to the day she died. Yes, their efforts were to take back her payments, by placing her in state care- which never came to pass, because she refused to sign off on it, while still of sound mind. Guess their argument was: Our son and I were goldbricks, living off her disability! This, while we were her joint caretakers, and both of us were holding down jobs.
In fairness, my parents-in-law and my middle brother, conservative Republicans all, had our on backs on this issue.
“[C]ount on Pence to produce high-minded public statements about how his only goal is to once again preserve and protect the Constitution. This time, don’t believe him.”
This time? I have never believed one word coming out of this hypocritical, self-righteous man’s mouth.
RE “The fact that Scalise has no empathy for people suffering from disabilities after his own life-threatening disability is consistent with the GOP’s Darwinian socialism approach to government.” I’ve come to the realization, admittedly late in life, that many successful people lack empathy. Some of the world’s wealthiest entrepreneurs (you know their names) could fairly be described as on the sociopathic spectrum, when judged by their comments and actions. To them and their sycophants, empathy is a bug, not a feature.
Robert, Good analysis. Thank you. Sadly, I cannot picture myself discussing these issues point by point with any MAGA follower not because I’d be unable to recall the points of such an argument, but because most of the MAGA followers whom I now avoid interacting with cannot maintain any level of concentration that makes them able to listen to an opposing point of view before interrupting with something which begins with, "But what about........" It is a lost cause except when talking among sane tribal members.
It's true. "But the emails, the laptop, the pizza parlor basement..."
I don't waste my time. I recommend we work on the folks who just aren't paying attention and get them to vote. Millions of Americans are just so disgusted with politics, they withdraw into their very challenging personal lives. Somehow, we need to break through to them and help them understand how much worse their lives would be if their relatives SSI benefits were stripped away. How much worse their lives would be if America defaults. How much better their lives would be if they had help with child care and health care - just like the OTHER developed nations provide.
We have the kitchen table issues all to ourselves. We just need to get louder about it.
IMO it often seems like politics is on another planet, while we're down here doing the best we can each day.
I'm the 70 year old single mother of a son, 40, with Down Syndrome, which is a "mental" or cognitive disability as well as a physical disability. I care for him all the time by myself. I have time off when he goes to a day program for 6 hours.
I haven't had a vacation alone since 2010. I cover expenses that his Social Security and food stamps can't stretch to cover. His father pays nothing toward this son's upkeep, there's no rules he must help support his adult son. [Because of course we wouldn't want our gov't to get overextended with more bureaucracy...]
I'm not complaining about any of this. It's my reality and I get on with living, because I love my son.
Here's my question; how/where/when do we tell our stories so that those who could be persuaded to vote, will hear us and then hopefully go out and vote?
Maybe contact your local Democratic party to make yourself available for committee hearings at the state or federal level? I don't know procedure....just a guess.
Maybe it’s just me but it seems that the people running against Trump really don’t offer most voters an alternative to a Trump presidency. Pence is pathetic and his refusal to testify will unfortunately brand him as weak and a coward not attributes we want in a President. Nikki Haley was at one time a decent conservative Republican who sold her soul to Trump. Here is what she said a few days after J6th. “ January 6th was a tough day. The actions of the president since Election Day were not his finest. . . . What happened on January 6th was not great. Does he deserve to be impeached? Absolutely not. . . . They beat him up before he got into office. They’re beating him up after he leaves office. I mean at some point, I mean, give the man a break. I mean, move”:
DeSantis might play well in Florida but his tactics and platform should offend most voters outside of Florida and he certainly is not charismatic by any stretch of the imagination. Against these three choices Biden looks great. The only challenge he would have is if a middle of the road Republican with some charisma steps up and announces they have had enough and they want to return the GOP back to its core values and philosophy. I’m not sure that person exists or if they do have the guts to step forward.
Unfortunately, there are too many citizens of this country who buy into the anti-intellectualism that runs like a ribbon of resentment and darkness through the soul of this country.
Add his legislature wanted to pass a rule that high school female athletes had to report the date of their monthly period cycle!! I believe I read that in a daily report from On the Docket! Someone in flaaaarida is channeling the Nazi Mengele!
Last week the Fl HS Athletic Association Board overwhelmingly voted to remove questions about athlete’s menstrual cycle from health forms required for participation.
I suppose DeSantis could dissolve the Board and appoint his own minions. Something tells me he doesn’t want to go there.🤔
however, as I understand it, they also included in that revision the requirement to answer "sex assigned at birth" onto the form. trading one privacy invasion for another, potentially more damaging one.
Repubs deserve all the flak they're getting for SS/Medicare. However, the Dems really should be at least a bit clear-eyed about the future of these programs, rather than scream bloody murder at any suggestion of reform. The financial projections as our population ages and retires are really concerning. Is it possible for Dems to say that some tweakings in revenue must be examined in the interest of the programs' long term viability? I should hope so. Frame it as PROTECTING Social Security and Medicare.
Wages? What about unearned income in the financial markets? I say YES to commenters who say the Dems should protect SS, but it's such a huge program that it must be subject to re-examination, both on revenue and outlays. I suspect that some Republicans want to examine some benefits categories (which generally are: retirement, disability, dependents, and survivors benefits) without tearing the whole thing down. Funny, about 2-3 hours after I commented I saw the headline in NYT today about shaky projections for the future of SS. Of course we must protect it, but it's not sacrosanct, or untouchable.
Some tweakings! How about starting with raising the cap on contributions so that everyone pays based on total earnings? For 2023 the cap is $163,200, meaning people making more than that pay into SSDI only on the first $163,200 of their earnings. People making less than that cap pay on all of their earnings.
I've been saying this for years, ever since I learned there was a cap on SS contributions. The only thing I can figure is that it's an increase in taxes and changing the age for eligibility is easier, although it shouldn't be. The lower wage earner pays all year, I'm amazed at how few people understand this.
FDR did not want means testing. If everybody is eligible, legislators would have a harder time messing with it. It was meant to be insurance, not welfare. People who don’t need it still get the very small benefit relative to their wealth.
Currently we receive the retirement benefit based on how long we worked and how much we were paid, plus adjustments for inflation. Maybe solvency would be a problem if the wealthy received benefits based on huge incomes. Maybe that is why there is an income cap at all. It could be acting something like a means test. But the cap has been raised over the years and can be again.
Maybe the cap should be on how much is received rather than how much is paid in. I know, it would be tricky and a lot of work to figure out but not impossible.
Actually, it’s my understanding that making everyone eligible for SS was the deal he made to get it passed, but that he always intended to means test it.
It passed in 1935 in the House by a vote of 372 to 33 and the Senate 77 to 6. It didn’t include some benefits that were later provided and it left out farm workers, government workers, and other categories. It was conservative compared to what was the norm in Europe at the time.
One reason to pass it was to decrease the labor supply at a time when unemployment was 25%.
Social Security and Medicare are in need of reform, a problem widely recognized on both sides of the aisle. But the solution is not to cut benefits. The solution is to raise taxes on the wealthiest individuals and most profitable companies.
None of those who are following orders from big money donors, like the NRA for example, are standing up to a bully. They are all part of a mafia system.
Grrrr Scalise. My family has a member who has suffered for much of her life. She wanted to work- was happy to work in a coffee shop. Fired. This became a theme. It was so sad to see someone who wanted to go to work, but because of physical issues was squeezed out time after time. It became mental issues too- much of it brought on by being treated so poorly. Now SSI Disability and believe me it’s no great shakes.
OK: I’m tempted to go back and fix my mistake. BUT, as opportunity for learning, I will leave “no great shakes”. It just came up on my radar that I should check the actual meaning. I think we used that saying on Cape Cod where I grew up. I think it means ‘shoddy work’ and not how I think of it. I remember we used ‘no great shakes’ to mean it’s not so hot.
In addition to donating, readers can take action. Jessica Craven of Chop Wood Carry Water leads a Wis. phone bank every Wednesday. Sign up at:
https://www.mobilize.us/grassrootsdemocratslahq/event/548360/
Several organizations will do post card and letter writing after the Feb. 21 primary. Here are two examples:
https://secure.everyaction.com/ahB8lqC6OkafTY-YJ5YjgQ2
https://www.activateamerica.vote/postcards
Robert Hubbell wrote (and I thank him for doing so): "I noted previously that there is an important election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2023. There are four candidates in the primary, and the top two finishers are likely to proceed to a run-off. Democrats must ensure that at least (one) of the two final candidates is a Democrat.
Background on why this election is important: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/25/us/politics/wisconsin-supreme-court-election.html
Jessica Craven's link to all Wisconsin opportunities. She updates this document frequently:
https://languid-fall-4d0.notion.site/ADOPT-WISCONSIN-ecdecfdd7d3648d5bcf703f30f9feadc
Pinning to the top for all to see.
Steve Scalise is well-known in Louisiana as "David Duke without the baggage." Need I say more?
Steve Scalise would do well to reflect on the benefits paid to US congressmen, including such mundane things as vacations and sick days, and ask why they are so much better and more deserving than average Americans.
Perhaps it's time to start publishing the net worth of every elected official
Open Secrets ! Let’s start with Rick Scott at 269+ million.
https://www.opensecrets.org/personal-finances/rick-scott/net-worth?cid=N00043290&year=2018
Much of his fortune was derived from defrauding the United States while CEO of Columbia Hospital Corp. From Wiki:
(Scott).... co-founded Columbia Hospital Corporation. Columbia later merged with another corporation to form Columbia/HCA, which eventually became the nation's largest private for-profit health care company.[6] Scott was pressured to resign as chief executive of Columbia/HCA in 1997. During his tenure as chief executive, the company defrauded Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal programs. The Department of Justice won 14 felony convictions against the company, which was fined $1.7 billion in what was at the time the largest healthcare fraud settlement in U.S. history....
Scott resigned prior to the court cases and somehow avoided indictment.
So, like the rest of the scummy gop, he is not the best choice to take advice regarding efficiency in Federal spending.
They should publish their worth BEFORE entering Congress as well as their worth now. They’re all on the dole….
More like on the take
Agreed! We paid for his medical treatment and rehab after the shooting! Another welfare cheat at its nadir! Pence, Pompeo and Haley three trump toadies with no substance to offer this country!
Allow me to speculate: The narcissism of Trump, Pence, Scalise, Santos, MTG, et al, is beyond pathological. The closest they come to compassion is 'scratching each others' backs. There should be a requirement that candidates submit to an MMPI exam before being allowed to run, and the results should be made public.
I'd say he has plenty of baggage
He does indeed, he just doesn't have "Nazi" on his forehead in fluorescent neon.
Thanks. Never knew that.
This was particularly funny, Mr Hubble: « She supports Trump, except when she doesn’t, except when Trump attacks her for not supporting him, except when she wants to be president but doesn’t want to offend Trump’s supporters. Got that? I hope not! It is incomprehensible. »
All of these people deserve to be laughing stocks. Bon Voyage RH !
Pence prostituting himself for his political ambitions is a waste of what little integrity he might have ever had. He doesn’t have a peanut’s chance in a monkey cage of getting the Republican nomination.
"Pence" and "integrity " should never be used in the same sentence. He has none.
His “savior” Jesus Christ would never have endorsed him….
His own state, Indiana, hates him.
A personal story: My late wife, Penny, was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease in 1998. She kept working as a classroom teacher until February, 2006, much to the consternation of her conservative supervisors, who openly wished she'd just give up and leave. In that year, the school district's Human Resources Director had had enough of the backbiting and sniping-and delivered a generous disability package, which included Social Security Disability payments. Mental and musculoskeletal issues did not prevent this indomitable woman from going on to earn her third Master's Degree, in Educational Technology. I had to, continue to fight with conservative Republicans, in the state bureaucracy, almost up to the day she died. Yes, their efforts were to take back her payments, by placing her in state care- which never came to pass, because she refused to sign off on it, while still of sound mind. Guess their argument was: Our son and I were goldbricks, living off her disability! This, while we were her joint caretakers, and both of us were holding down jobs.
In fairness, my parents-in-law and my middle brother, conservative Republicans all, had our on backs on this issue.
I'm sorry you suffered this 'insult to injury' as you did the rewarding and often grueling work of caregiving.
Thank you, Rita.
Gary, I'm so sorry you and your wife and son had to deal with this. It is unimaginable and disgusting!
Thank you, Jean!
An additional source of information on the worm hole Pence is trying to slither through, I suggest today's Joyce Vance Newsletter: https://open.substack.com/pub/joycevance/p/more-about-mike?r=f38fk&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
“[C]ount on Pence to produce high-minded public statements about how his only goal is to once again preserve and protect the Constitution. This time, don’t believe him.”
This time? I have never believed one word coming out of this hypocritical, self-righteous man’s mouth.
RE “The fact that Scalise has no empathy for people suffering from disabilities after his own life-threatening disability is consistent with the GOP’s Darwinian socialism approach to government.” I’ve come to the realization, admittedly late in life, that many successful people lack empathy. Some of the world’s wealthiest entrepreneurs (you know their names) could fairly be described as on the sociopathic spectrum, when judged by their comments and actions. To them and their sycophants, empathy is a bug, not a feature.
Robert, Good analysis. Thank you. Sadly, I cannot picture myself discussing these issues point by point with any MAGA follower not because I’d be unable to recall the points of such an argument, but because most of the MAGA followers whom I now avoid interacting with cannot maintain any level of concentration that makes them able to listen to an opposing point of view before interrupting with something which begins with, "But what about........" It is a lost cause except when talking among sane tribal members.
It's true. "But the emails, the laptop, the pizza parlor basement..."
I don't waste my time. I recommend we work on the folks who just aren't paying attention and get them to vote. Millions of Americans are just so disgusted with politics, they withdraw into their very challenging personal lives. Somehow, we need to break through to them and help them understand how much worse their lives would be if their relatives SSI benefits were stripped away. How much worse their lives would be if America defaults. How much better their lives would be if they had help with child care and health care - just like the OTHER developed nations provide.
We have the kitchen table issues all to ourselves. We just need to get louder about it.
I could not agree more. Write off the Maggots and focus on turning out the folks with working braincells.
IMO it often seems like politics is on another planet, while we're down here doing the best we can each day.
I'm the 70 year old single mother of a son, 40, with Down Syndrome, which is a "mental" or cognitive disability as well as a physical disability. I care for him all the time by myself. I have time off when he goes to a day program for 6 hours.
I haven't had a vacation alone since 2010. I cover expenses that his Social Security and food stamps can't stretch to cover. His father pays nothing toward this son's upkeep, there's no rules he must help support his adult son. [Because of course we wouldn't want our gov't to get overextended with more bureaucracy...]
I'm not complaining about any of this. It's my reality and I get on with living, because I love my son.
Here's my question; how/where/when do we tell our stories so that those who could be persuaded to vote, will hear us and then hopefully go out and vote?
Maybe contact your local Democratic party to make yourself available for committee hearings at the state or federal level? I don't know procedure....just a guess.
I feel your pain!
Maybe it’s just me but it seems that the people running against Trump really don’t offer most voters an alternative to a Trump presidency. Pence is pathetic and his refusal to testify will unfortunately brand him as weak and a coward not attributes we want in a President. Nikki Haley was at one time a decent conservative Republican who sold her soul to Trump. Here is what she said a few days after J6th. “ January 6th was a tough day. The actions of the president since Election Day were not his finest. . . . What happened on January 6th was not great. Does he deserve to be impeached? Absolutely not. . . . They beat him up before he got into office. They’re beating him up after he leaves office. I mean at some point, I mean, give the man a break. I mean, move”:
DeSantis might play well in Florida but his tactics and platform should offend most voters outside of Florida and he certainly is not charismatic by any stretch of the imagination. Against these three choices Biden looks great. The only challenge he would have is if a middle of the road Republican with some charisma steps up and announces they have had enough and they want to return the GOP back to its core values and philosophy. I’m not sure that person exists or if they do have the guts to step forward.
DeSantis’s latest is to consider getting rid of all AP courses.Hopefully the dumbing down of Florida will not appeal to the masses.
Unfortunately, there are too many citizens of this country who buy into the anti-intellectualism that runs like a ribbon of resentment and darkness through the soul of this country.
Resentment seems to be a long-burning fuel, easily ignited. Too bad the energy is put toward blaming rather than solving problems.
Add his legislature wanted to pass a rule that high school female athletes had to report the date of their monthly period cycle!! I believe I read that in a daily report from On the Docket! Someone in flaaaarida is channeling the Nazi Mengele!
Last week the Fl HS Athletic Association Board overwhelmingly voted to remove questions about athlete’s menstrual cycle from health forms required for participation.
I suppose DeSantis could dissolve the Board and appoint his own minions. Something tells me he doesn’t want to go there.🤔
however, as I understand it, they also included in that revision the requirement to answer "sex assigned at birth" onto the form. trading one privacy invasion for another, potentially more damaging one.
Next thing you know, we will be dunking girls in water to see if they stay afloat or drown.
Is there such an animal as a middle of the road Republican?
Reading about Pence, Corcoran and Haley, two words come immediately to mind: sniveling worms.
Repubs deserve all the flak they're getting for SS/Medicare. However, the Dems really should be at least a bit clear-eyed about the future of these programs, rather than scream bloody murder at any suggestion of reform. The financial projections as our population ages and retires are really concerning. Is it possible for Dems to say that some tweakings in revenue must be examined in the interest of the programs' long term viability? I should hope so. Frame it as PROTECTING Social Security and Medicare.
There is a fix: remove the cap on wages subject to SSI tax. Those with more pay more.
Wages? What about unearned income in the financial markets? I say YES to commenters who say the Dems should protect SS, but it's such a huge program that it must be subject to re-examination, both on revenue and outlays. I suspect that some Republicans want to examine some benefits categories (which generally are: retirement, disability, dependents, and survivors benefits) without tearing the whole thing down. Funny, about 2-3 hours after I commented I saw the headline in NYT today about shaky projections for the future of SS. Of course we must protect it, but it's not sacrosanct, or untouchable.
Some tweakings! How about starting with raising the cap on contributions so that everyone pays based on total earnings? For 2023 the cap is $163,200, meaning people making more than that pay into SSDI only on the first $163,200 of their earnings. People making less than that cap pay on all of their earnings.
I've been saying this for years, ever since I learned there was a cap on SS contributions. The only thing I can figure is that it's an increase in taxes and changing the age for eligibility is easier, although it shouldn't be. The lower wage earner pays all year, I'm amazed at how few people understand this.
The French got very angry recently with a proposal to raise their retirement age to 64 if I remember right.
Yes, didn't they have some slogan about not having to work until they died?
This is not widely known on purpose. How many people do you think actually access their SS document each year?
Yes, that plus means testing. High-income (maybe over $400K) couples don't need SS.
FDR did not want means testing. If everybody is eligible, legislators would have a harder time messing with it. It was meant to be insurance, not welfare. People who don’t need it still get the very small benefit relative to their wealth.
Currently we receive the retirement benefit based on how long we worked and how much we were paid, plus adjustments for inflation. Maybe solvency would be a problem if the wealthy received benefits based on huge incomes. Maybe that is why there is an income cap at all. It could be acting something like a means test. But the cap has been raised over the years and can be again.
Maybe the cap should be on how much is received rather than how much is paid in. I know, it would be tricky and a lot of work to figure out but not impossible.
I'm not persuaded. Every little bit helps to narrow the grotesque wealth gap in this country.
Grotesque is the word for it!
Actually, it’s my understanding that making everyone eligible for SS was the deal he made to get it passed, but that he always intended to means test it.
It’s social INSURANCE, not a 401k.
It passed in 1935 in the House by a vote of 372 to 33 and the Senate 77 to 6. It didn’t include some benefits that were later provided and it left out farm workers, government workers, and other categories. It was conservative compared to what was the norm in Europe at the time.
One reason to pass it was to decrease the labor supply at a time when unemployment was 25%.
Thank you. I learn something every day!♥️
PROTECTING versus “reforming” for sure. Reforms are changes, not necessarily good ones.
Social Security and Medicare are in need of reform, a problem widely recognized on both sides of the aisle. But the solution is not to cut benefits. The solution is to raise taxes on the wealthiest individuals and most profitable companies.
None of those who are following orders from big money donors, like the NRA for example, are standing up to a bully. They are all part of a mafia system.
Grrrr Scalise. My family has a member who has suffered for much of her life. She wanted to work- was happy to work in a coffee shop. Fired. This became a theme. It was so sad to see someone who wanted to go to work, but because of physical issues was squeezed out time after time. It became mental issues too- much of it brought on by being treated so poorly. Now SSI Disability and believe me it’s no great shakes.
OK: I’m tempted to go back and fix my mistake. BUT, as opportunity for learning, I will leave “no great shakes”. It just came up on my radar that I should check the actual meaning. I think we used that saying on Cape Cod where I grew up. I think it means ‘shoddy work’ and not how I think of it. I remember we used ‘no great shakes’ to mean it’s not so hot.
I remember it the same way - not so great.
Would Trump be qualified or disqualified from receiving benefits because of his bone spurs?