Trump Sucker Punches His Voters

Trump Sucker Punches His Voters

D. S. Mitchell

It’s freaking Cold

It seems to have been a colder than usual winter. I’m not talking about climate change at the moment, more a comment on how a string of seventy days of freaking’ cold days, ran both my electric, and my gas bills to unimaginable heights. Natural gas prices are low, but my consumption went through the roof. I wore sweaters and sweats continuously and haven’t gone to bed in the buff, since last December. So, I’m out of bed, fireplace is going and the chill is slowly being driven off. I’m about to check out the morning political shows and plan on getting to Calamity News and Politics after I brew a cup of coffee.

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Jason Chaffetz, Get Real

Jason Chaffetz, Get Real

D. S. Mitchell

You’ve Seen Him

I know you’ve seen this guy. He was especially loud and intimidating during the Benghazi, hearings. It seemed his primary goal was to try to embarrass and de-legitimize Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. Jason Chaffetz said he would continue the Hillary Clinton Benghazi investigation “even if she wins the White House.” Really? How long did he plan on holding hearings, another 8 years? Sick and twisted ideology.

Seven

Calamity Politics is a progressive political blog. I want you to know that I believe most of the Representatives and the Senators are hard-working folks. There are a handful that are just plain objectionable. Those few that I find really irritating are Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Jim Jordan, and Jason Chaffetz. Not in any particular order. Amazing, they are all Republicans. And quite honestly, I think the American political landscape would improve greatly if this seven guy team would find jobs outside the government. I know I would not mind clearing all seven of them off of the U.S. political news scene.

Lacks Understanding

Jason Chaffetz, Republican Congressman from Utah was making the political morning shows on 3/7/2017 when he showed, not only his lack of understanding of ‘living poor,’ but any basic human compassion.

Trump Care Plan

At first perusal, the new Trump Care Plan will give huge tax cuts to the richest Americans, while delivering a brutal blow to health care for lower-income Americans.  The Republicans are rushing this terrible bill through Congress.  Besides helping the wealthy, it reduces access for low-income and rural Americans to health care. It weakens Medicare, and guts Medicaid.  Furthermore, this bill is a direct attack on women’s access to reproductive health. The bill would de-fund Planned Parenthood, where over 50% of low-income women in the United States receive health care.

Feeling The Hate

Chaffetz told the CNN viewing audience that, “Americans have choices, and they’ve got to make a choice.  So, rather than getting that new iPhone that they just love and want to go spend hundreds of dollars on that, maybe they should invest in their own health care.” Wow! Utah’s Congressman seems to have no understanding of the cost of health care insurance and the equipment people need to get by in a modern society. Studies show that cell phones are the primary means of internet access for many lower-income citizens.  In a 2015 Pew study, at least 13% of Americans rely on their phone to connect to wi-fi.  Furthermore, the cell phone is a necessity for finding a job, and maintaining one.

Significant Expenses

According to Obama administration reports, only 77% of people currently enrolled in the ACA will be able to find a plan for less than $100 per month this year.  Nearly 30% of cell phone users have had financial issues significant enough that their phone service was either suspended or cancelled. On Fox, Chaffetz, rephrased his CNN remarks. “Maybe I didn’t say it as smoothly as I could, but people need to make a conscious choice and I believe in self-reliance.  And they’re going to have to make those decisions.”

Healthy And Wealthy

I get so mad when I hear mostly wealthy, healthy able-bodied men say such bull shit.  Your life changes with chronic illness, disease or disability. Life changes when you are paralyzed and can’t get out of bed without help, your life changes when you lose your job, your life changes when your mother is diagnosed with dementia, your life changes when you have a special needs child, your life changes when you are diagnosed with cancer.  Sadly, not everyone is young, able-bodied or wealthy.

A Slap To The Head Might Help

Would somebody please slap these people upside their heads.  This country has had the largest transfer of wealth in human history since the 1980’s.  Four hundred families control 90% of this country’s wealth. And inexplicably the Congress and the White House are falling all over themselves to give the wealthy an even bigger share of the pie. It seems the lawmakers can’t wait to cut up the 10% of the remaining wealth among their big donors.

Conclusion

Some people should keep their mouths shut. Jason Chaffetz you have no compassion or understanding of the plight of the poor. Please retire, and let the people of Utah find a man with heart to fill your vacated position.

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DIE, DIE, DIE

Die, Die, Die

By D. S. Mitchell

My World

Calamity Politics is a political blog that presents the world as I see it. I am hard on the Republicans, but they deserve it. My political comments today center around the ACA and the Republican attempt to restore pre-Obama times.

A Healthy Citizen

Everybody in this crowd wants to go backward. What the fuck, is going on in their heads. A healthy citizenry is one of the best resources a country has at its core. Every civilized western country has health care for all. No questions, no arguments, it is a recognized right of citizenry.

The Grand Lie

Why is that concept so difficult for American politicians to embrace. This great, grand lie, that we make it on our own is some dime novelists idea of the American ideal. The fact is, we have a lot of sick people in this country that cannot pay the exorbitant cost of health care, or health insurance without government help.

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Trump’s Tuesday Speech

Trump’s Tuesday Speech

D. S. Mitchell

I gave myself a couple days to digest what the ‘teleprompter’ president said in his speech to the joint Congressional Session on Tuesday.

The most as a political observer that I can say in his favor is that, Trump did lower the volume, he dropped some of his inflammatory rhetoric, and whoopee, he mostly stuck to his prepared speech.   It is obvious, the bar has been set so low by this huckster, that him sticking to a topic, evokes cheers.  How quickly we abandon quality for showmanship.

Nothing has changed.  Trump and his buddies intend to break all the toys, and then have Daddy buy new ones.  I guess that’s what a school yard of billionaires does for fun.  Steve Bannon clarified his “deconstruction” of the government plan last week, to a wildly cheering C-PAC crowd.  Trump this week, has just refined the presentation, and legitimized it, by a speech before Congress.

Here’s what’s coming.  The White House crew, and the Republican ideologues in the House and Senate will break the backs of all the government departments, ravage health care, destroy Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

I don’t know about you, but it takes my breath away.  Simply put, these spoiled billionaires don’t care, or understand, that millions of people’s lives are affected by their every action, and the action of these government departments. I know a lot of folks that depend on the services of the government and it saddens me to imagine the potential results of their actions.

I believe, a great individual is a person that can easily imagine himself in the other person’s shoes.  That’s the foundation of empathy.

Come on, guys.  Put on the other guys shoes, if he’s got any, and wear them for a day, or a week, or a month. There was a remarkable book written by John Griffin, Black Like Me which was published in 1961 that recounted his trip across the deep south, after he had his skin tone darkened, so he could effectively pass as a black man. His vivid memory of the white man’s “hate stare,” was painful. I truly believe, if each of us lived another man’s life, if even for a short time, we would quickly find compassion and respect.

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