Congress: Get Your Act Together

"Checks and balances are at the absolute core of our governmental workings.

The framers designed a system that was directly opposed to one person or one group of people having all the power, and we see that through the myriad ways Congress can check the president. So what are those checks? How have they waned over the last few decades? And finally, why would Congress opt to use (or not use) them?

Joining us today is Eric Schickler, professor of Political Science at UC Berkeley and author of Investigating the President: Congressional Checks on Presidential Power."

Click on the link below for a podcast delving into what the US Congress MUST do to save our democracy:

How can Congress check the president?

Trump, MAGA, DOGE, And Your Privacy

"Alarm appears to be rising about how the 'Department of Government Efficiency' (DOGE) is consolidating data about Americans. Hannah Natanson, Joseph Menn, Lisa Rein, and Rachel Siegel wrote in the Washington Post today that DOGE is 'racing to build a single centralized database with vast troves of personal information about millions of U.S. citizens and residents.' In the past, that information has been carefully siloed, and there are strict laws about accessing it. But under billionaire Elon Musk, who appears to direct DOGE although the White House has said he does not, operatives who may not have appropriate security clearances are removing protections and linking data."

Click here for the rest of the article by Heather Cox Richardson.

May Day: A Reminder That "We, The People" Must Hold Our US Government To Account

"May Day has two meanings, both of which are directly applicable to today. It commemorates the solidarity of the labor movement (139 years ago today, workers gathered in the streets of Chicago to demand an eight-hour day).

“'Mayday!' is also a distress signal used by pilots to indicate imminent danger or a life-threatening emergency (derived from the French phrase 'm’aider,' meaning 'help me').

"That about sums it up: Our solidarity is necessary to overcome the imminent dangers we now face, all from Donald J. Trump.

"I doubt we can wait until the midterm elections to contain him. Unless we stop the damage he’s doing to both our democracy and our economy before then, much of it will be irreversible. It’s not even clear what sort of election we’ll be able to have 18 months from now." (link)

The USA Is At The Tipping Point

"The Trump regime is on the cusp of a showdown with the Supreme Court. Depending on what the Court does and how the regime responds, it could openly become a dictatorship in two ways."

Click here to continue.

Civil Servants: The Under-Appreciated Heros Of Government

"Michael Lewis, acclaimed author of The Big Short, Moneyball, and The Fifth Risk joins Lovett to discuss his most recent book, Who is Government? Lewis and his coauthors profile the civil servants whose thankless and unglamorous work prevents mines from collapsing, castaways from drowning, and rare diseases from killing people. He and Jon talk about why it’s so important to break down the 'bureaucrat' stereotype right now, why Lewis is convinced Elon Musk has no idea how to run DOGE, and what leads the people he writes about to stand up to Trump or succumb to their personal ambition."

Click on the link below for an enlightening podcast regarding the truth about the role of government in society:

Bravery in Politics 

Trump, MAGA, and J Edgar Hoover

"J. Edgar Hoover is one of the most polarizing figures in U.S. history. And the seeds he planted as the decades long founding director of the FBI continue to shape much of today’s conservative political landscape. Kash Patel, who now leads the FBI, has openly vowed to find ways to punish Trump’s political enemies. While that’s appalling, it’s not the first time an FBI director has used abused institutional power. There’s a lot of historical precedent that we can compare and contrast with the current moment. Beverly Gage is a historian at Yale University and the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century.” She joins WITHpod to discuss Hoover’s influence, the politicization of the FBI, the abuse of its power, the FBI in Trump 2.0 and more."

Click on the link below for a podcast relating J Edgar Hoover to today's US politics from the Far Right:

Weaponization of the FBI from Hoover to Trump

It's Simple, Stupid

https://overcast.fm/+AAMzRnlXMU0

 

An Objective Look At Government Spending And Productivity

"Government spending, which has steadily grown in the post-war era across major economies, equates to around a third of GDP globally. This will continue as demand for public services is substantial and societies face complex challenges such as ageing populations, climate change and economic uncertainty. Every improvement in how effectively and efficiently the public sector operates directly impacts social and economic welfare. So how can the public sector ensure productivity reforms?

"This Economist Impact research, sponsored by SAS, examines the benefits that public sector productivity reforms can bring, as well as the obstacles it faces. It is based on a survey of more than 1,550 public sector employees in 26 countries across the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, supported by in-depth interviews with experts from diverse contexts and perspectives. The report presents survey findings and qualitative insights, with recommendations to help stakeholders pursue ambitious but realistic productivity reforms in the public sector, including in healthcare."

Click on the link below for the details:

Reimagining the power of public sector productivity

History Is At Least Rhyming

"In the episode we’re about to share, Sean Illing and his guest, historian Edward Watts, discuss how America today feels like ancient Rome…right before its empire collapsed."

Click on the link below for a podcast that examines the psychological and historical aspects of the present and potential future of the USA.

The Gray Area: Is America collapsing like ancient Rome? 

Understand The US Department Of Education

"One of President-elect Trump’s campaign pledges was to eliminate the Department of Education. He claimed that the department pushes 'woke' ideology on America’s schoolchildren and that its employees 'hate our children. He promised to 'return' education to the states.

"In fact, the Department of Education does not set curriculum; states and local governments do. The Department of Education collects statistics about schools to monitor student performance and promote practices based in evidence. It provides about 10% of funding for K–12 schools through federal grants of about $19.1 billion to high-poverty schools and of $15.5 billion to help cover the cost of educating students with disabilities.

"It also oversees the $1.6 trillion federal student loan program, including setting the rules under which colleges and universities can participate. But what really upsets the radical right is that the Department of Education is in charge of prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race and sex in schools that get federal funding, a policy Congress set in 1975 with an act now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This was before Congress created the department."

Click on this link to understand the history and function of this much-maligned US government department.

Abusing The Disabled: A Government Program Not Doing Its Job

"John Oliver discusses why disability benefits can be hard to get and easy to lose, how getting them can turn people’s lives upside down, - - - "

Click on the link below for the details. As a side comment, my professional role as a physical therapist included being an ergonomic specialist and evaluating jobs for their risks of work-related injuries. This was followed by testifying in legal proceedings regarding my findings. The frequent unjustified rejection of the claims by workers was disheartening.

Disability Benefit Denial

Mathematics Debunks Democracy

"Democracy might be mathematically impossible – here’s why."

Click here for a fascinating trip through the history of attempts to devise the perfect model for achieving a true and fair democracy.

The USA Has Always Struggled With Trusting "We, The People"

"Spirits among Kamala Harris supporters, Democrats, and anyone opposing Trumpism are at an all-time high right now. That's both fortuitous and crucial to the upcoming election. By the very nature of Trumpism, this election will be the most flagrantly contested in history with far more Trump loyalists in place ready to throw wrenches in the works wherever they can. Nothing short of an overwhelming victory for the Harris/Waltz ticket is necessary to stave off a constitutional crisis."

Click on the link below for a "wake up" call regarding how close the USA is to losing its representative democracy, and how even the Founding Fathers didn't want to share power with "the other." The first election only had 6% of the population voting: "Only white male landowners need to apply."

The threat of minority rule through election denialism

All Experts Out Of The US Federal Government If Republicans Win

"In a scathing dissent from the bench on Friday, Justice Elena Kagan excoriated her conservative colleagues for inserting themselves into the realm of current and future regulation and warned of an impending massive shock to the administrative system.

'A longstanding precedent at the crux of administrative governance thus falls victim to a bald assertion of judicial authority,' Kagan said of the court’s ruling. 'The majority disdains restraint, and grasps for power.'

"In a 6-3 ruling, the justices on Friday ended the 40-year practice that informed federal judges’ decision-making when federal agencies and their actions were challenged. The high court's 1984 ruling in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council had limited judicial decision-making in favor of agency expertise.

"A range of experts jumped on Kagan’s premonition, joining her in warning that Friday's decision will have far-reaching effects. From the halls of Congress to federal courtrooms, they say the decision opens the window for an increase in litigation against federal rules, as well as a potential chill on new ones.

“The federal government and environmental groups are going to be up to our ears in litigation just trying to preserve the status quo,” Sam Sankar, the senior vice president of programs at Earthjustice, said in a press briefing following the ruling."

As bad as the recent "Presidential Immunity" decision of the US Supreme Court was, this may have more harm. 

Click on the link below for more:

Ignorance and power trump expertise 

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Click here to help save consumer protections.

Food Insecurity

"In a world full of unrest, fears are mounting about access to our most vital resources — food and water. "The Grab" is a documentary that chronicles the way certain governments are attempting to control these global resources. The journalist and director behind the film, Nate Halverson and Gabriela Cowperthwaite, join the show to discuss whether the fight over our most precious commodities could lead to geopolitical conflict."

Click on the link below for a video focused on the dangers of large food producer corporations being bought by nefarious foreign governments.

How World Leaders are Scrambling to Secure Food in the Shadows

Government CREATES The Free Market

"Between the 1930s and 1970s, America’s middle and lower-middle class offset the power of big corporations and the wealthy through labor unions, small businesses, small investors, and local political parties.

"Since then, though, all such centers of countervailing power have withered."

Click on this link for a debunking of the myth that the government gets in the way of the free market.

How About A Secular Country For All?

"First, in the absence of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, about three-quarters of Americans, including 80% of Democrats and 64% of Republicans, would choose a democratic Israel that’s no longer Jewish, over a Jewish Israel without full citizenship and equality for non-Jews living under its authority." (https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-do-americans-feel-about-zionism-antisemitism-and-israel/)

Why aren't more people who find what is going on in the Middle East abhorrent addressing the need for a political solution? There is much more heat than light on the subject. The survey in the above link presented a surprising finding to me: the majority of both major US political parties want a democratic SECULAR Israel!  The proposed maps for a Two-State Solution look too segregated and unequal to me to realistically expect the Palestinians to accept. Why not a ONE-State solution that is secular, representative, and democratic? The Palestinians probably would balk at the name "Israel" and the Israelis would probably balk at the name "Palestine", so how about a new name?

Chocolate: You Will Not Like How You Get It

Click on the link below for a shocking expose' of the chocolate industry by John Oliver:

Chocolate: Last Week Tonight

The US Supreme Court: It's Worse Than You Thought

"The U.S. Supreme Court — that over sixty years ago ruled against state-led prayer in public schools — has swung back the other way with a vengeance. The ultra-conservative majority on the current court has reversed 60 years of progress and put the rights of non-believers in jeopardy.

"In this episode, Jim Underdown speaks to Nick Little, former Director of CFI’s Legal department, and Eddie Tabash, Chair of the CFI Board of Directors. The two lawyers talk about the state of the court, recent decisions, and the problematic future for secular Americans."

Click on the link below for a podcast exposing, not just its destruction of the separation of religion and government, but essentially the foundation of the entire US Constitution:

Supreme Injustice

Republican America Is Worse Than Democrat America

Republicans like to lie about the difference between rural Republican areas of the US as compared to the more urban Democratic areas. 

Click on the link below that presents the FACTS that are readily available. Note how they are comparing per capita statistics and not the gross numbers that distort the truth because of the generally less populated areas:

The Truth About Red And Blue USA