#the Veteran Families Health Services Act

[coochiequeens]

No one is entitled to biological offspring and how can they include surrogacy in the Act without implying that couples are entitled to women to be surrogates?

A trio of Democratic senators are introducing a "Right to IVF Act" that would, among other things, force private health insurance plans to cover assisted reproduction treatments such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), egg freezing, and gestational surrogacy.

The measure provides no exception or accommodations for religious objections, all but ensuring massive legal battles over the mandate should it pass.

The "sweeping legislative package" (as the senators describe it) combines several existing pieces of legislation, including the Access to Family Building Act and the Family Building Federal Employees Health Benefit Fairness Act sponsored by Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D–Ill.), the Veteran Families Health Services Act from Sen. Patty Murray (D–Wash.), and the Access to Infertility Treatment and Care Act from Sen. Cory Booker (D–N.J.).

Booker's contribution here is probably the most controversial. It requires coverage for assisted reproduction from any health care plan that covers obstetric services.

A Reverse Contraception Mandate

Remember the Affordable Care Act's contraception mandate, which required private health insurance plans to cover birth control (allegedly) at no cost to plan participants? It spawned some big legal battles over the rights of religious employers and institutions not to offer staff health plans that included birth control coverage.

Booker's Access to Infertility Treatment and Care Act is a lot like the Obamacare contraception mandate, except instead of requiring health care plans to cover the costs of avoiding pregnancy it would require them to cover treatments to help people become pregnant.

The bill states that all group health plans or health insurance issuers offering group or individual health insurance must cover assisted reproduction and fertility preservation treatments if they cover any obstetric services. It defines assisted reproductive technology as "treatments or procedures that involve the handling of human egg, sperm, and embryo outside of the body with the intent of facilitating a pregnancy, including in vitro fertilization, egg, embryo, or sperm cryopreservation, egg or embryo donation, and gestational surrogacy."

Health insurance plans could only require participant cost-sharing (in the form of co-pays, deductibles, etc.) for such services to the same extent that they require cost-sharing for similar services.

What Could Go Wrong?

It seems like it should go without saying by now but there is no such thing as government-mandated healthcare savings. Authorities can order health care plans to cover IVF (or contraception or whatever) and cap point-of-service costs for plan participants, but health insurers will inevitably pass these costs on to consumers in other ways—leading to higher insurance premiums overall or other health care cost increases.

Yes, IVF and other fertility procedures are expensive. But a mandate like this could actually risk raising IVF costs.

When a lot of people are paying out of pocket for fertility treatments, medical professionals have an incentive to keep costs affordable in order to attract patients. If everyone's insurance covers IVF and patients needn't bother with comparing costs or weighing costs versus benefits, there's nothing to stop medical providers from raising prices greatly. We'll see the same cost inflation we've seen in other sectors of the U.S. healthcare marketplace—a situation that not only balloons health care spending generally (and gets passed on to consumers one way or another) but makes fertility treatments out of reach for people who don't have insurance that covers such treatments.

Raising costs isn't the only issue here, of course. There's the matter of more government intervention in private markets (something some of us are still wild-eyed enough to oppose!).

Offering employee health care plans that cover IVF could be a good selling point for recruiting potential employees or keeping existing employees happy. But there's no reason that every employer should have to do so, just because lawmakers want IVF to be more accessible.

It's unfair to employers—big or small, religious or non-religious—to say they all must take on the costs of offering health care plans that cover pricey fertility treatments. And Booker's bill contains no exceptions for small businesses or for entities with religious or ethical objections.

A lot of religious people are morally opposed to things like IVF and surrogacy. This measure would force religious employers to subsidize and tacitly condone these things if they wanted to offer employees health care plans with any obstetrics coverage at all.

As with any government intervention in free markets, there's the possibility that this fertility treatment mandate would distort incentives. IVF can certainly be an invaluable tool for folks experiencing infertility. But it's also very expensive and very taxing—emotionally and physically—for the women undergoing it, with far from universal success rates. The new mandate could encourage people who may not be good candidates for IVF to keep trying it, perhaps nudging them away from other options (like adoption) that might be better suited to their circumstances.

'Access' Vs. Whatever This Is

Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, many Americans have worried that the legal regime change would pave the way for outlawing things like contraception or IVF, too. Encoding into law (or legal precedent) the idea that fertilized eggs are people could have negative implications for these things, even if many conservative politicians pledge (and demonstrate) that IVF and birth control are safe. In response, some progressive politicians—perhaps genuinely concerned, perhaps sensing political opportunity (or why not both?)—have started talking a lot about the need to protect access to IVF across the country.

As much as I agree with this goal, I think IVF's legality is better off as a state-by-state matter. That said, the "protect IVF nationwide" impulse wouldn't be so bad if "protecting access" simply meant making sure that the procedure was legal.

But as we've seen again and again over the past couple decades, Democrats tend to define health care and medicine "access" differently.

The new Right to IVF Act would establish a national right to provide or receive assisted reproduction services. In their press release, the senators say this last bit would "pre-empt any state effort to limit such access and ensur[e] no hopeful parent—or their doctors—are punished for trying to start or grow a family." OK.

But that's not all it would do. The bill's text states that "an individual has a statutory right under this Act, including without prohibition or unreasonable limitation or interference (such as due to financial cost or detriment to the individual's health, including mental health), to—(A) access assisted reproductive technology; (B) continue or complete an ongoing assisted reproductive technology treatment or procedure pursuant to a written plan or agreement with a health care provider; and (C) retain all rights regarding the use or disposition of reproductive genetic materials, including gametes."

Note that bit about financial cost. It's kind of confusingly worded and it's unclear exactly what that would mean in practice. But it could give the government leeway to directly intervene if they think IVF is broadly unaffordable or to place more demands on individual health care facilities, providers, insurance plans, etc., to help cover the costs of IVF for people whom it would otherwise be financially out of reach.

This is the distilled essence of how Democrats go too far on issues like this. They're not content to say "People shouldn't be punished for utilizing/offering IVF" or that the practice shouldn't be illegal. They look at authoritarian or overreaching possibilities from the other side (like banning or criminalizing IVF) and respond with overreaching proposals of their own.

The proble with increasing access to IVF is what happens when the couple needs a surrogate to have biological offspring? Will they beg and pester the women in their lives? Will the affordable IVF compensate surrogates fairly?

[girlactionfigure]

He told his wife, "I love you," then left for work that morning. He never returned. It was September 11, 2001.

He was a husband. He was a veteran. He was an immigrant. And, he was a hero.

According to the Homeland Security web site, Rick Rescorla is credited with saving 2,700 lives that morning, when he defied official instructions to stay in the building and instead evacuated employees at his company on the 44th floor of the South Tower.

Another hero was Betty Ong, who was one of the flight attendants aboard American Airlines Flight 11, who gave vital information to the ground crew that eventually led to the closing of airspace by the FAA for the first time in United States history.

Flight 93 passengers Todd Beamer, Mark Bingham, Tom Burnett and Jeremy Glick fought their hijackers, preventing the plane from reaching its intended target, possibly the White House or the U.S. Capitol Building.

There were also 412 First Responders who died in the line of duty - 343 firefighters (including a chaplain and two paramedics) of the New York City Fire Department, 37 police officers of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department, 23 police officers of the New York City Police Department, and 8 emergency medical technicians and paramedics from private emergency medical services and 1 patrolman from the New York Fire Patrol.

There were also smaller acts of bravery, such as Michael Benfante and John Cerqueira carrying a woman in a wheelchair down 68 floors of the north tower of the World Trade Center to safety and Frank De Martini and Pablo Ortiz of the Port Authority who saved at least 50 lives in the North Tower.

They and many others were the heroes of 9/11.

In all, there were 2,977 people who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001. The victims were mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, sisters and brothers who belonged to many faiths, races, and cultures, from more than 90 countries.

Of the Americans - they were white, they were black, they were brown, they were red, they represented all the different colors that built this nation. They were LGBTQ, they were straight, they were men, they were women, they were liberal, they were conservative, they were young, they were old . . . they were ALL Americans.

No one questioned whether they stood for the national anthem or put their hand over their heart, no one demanded they show their citizenship papers, no one questioned their love for their country.

I remember 9/11. I remember the names of the victims being read. I remember the heroes who bled. I remember the families who cried. I also remember that for one day, the entire world cried with us, marched in candlelight vigils in support of "America," whether it was in England or Iran -- for one moment the world was one.

I post this each year not just to remember the victims, the heroes, all the people who were directly touched in some way that day, but I also want to post this for those who are still suffering today, the families who had no choice but to continue without their loved ones, the veterans of the wars who were not supported upon their return and represent a majority of the suicides in this nation (on this World Suicide Prevention Day), the first responders who sacrificed their lives and their health and are still suffering today and their brothers and sisters fighting fires this very moment, and, most importantly, all the people of the world still hoping for, still seeking, still dreaming of a world without HATE, a world without fear, a world without greed.

A world instead focused with Love, a world with Hope, a world with . . .

Peace ~

The Jon S. Randal Peace Page

[batboyblog]

The Biden-⁠Harris Administration Advances Equity and Opportunity for Black Americans

Growing Economic Opportunity for Black Families and Communities Through the President’s legislative victories, including the American Rescue Plan (ARP), the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)—as well as the President’s historic executive orders on racial equity—the Biden-Harris Administration is ensuring that federal investments through the President’s landmark Investing in America agenda are equitably flowing to communities to address longstanding economic inequities that impact people’s economic security, health, and safety. And this vision is already delivering results. The Biden-Harris Administration has:

Powered a historic economic recovery that created 2.6 million jobs for Black workers—and achieved both the lowest Black unemployment rate on record and the lowest gap between Black and White unemployment on record.

Helped Black working families build wealth. Black wealth is up by 60% relative to pre-pandemic—the largest increase on record.

Cut in half the number of Black children living in poverty in 2021 through ARP’s Child Tax Credit expansion. This expansion provided breathing room to the families of over 9 million Black children.

Began reversing decades of infrastructure disinvestment, including with $4 billion to reconnect communities that were previously cut off from economic opportunities by building needed transportation infrastructure in underserved communities, including Black communities.

Connected an estimated 5.5 million Black households to affordable high-speed internet through the Affordable Connectivity Program, closing the digital divide for millions of Black families.

Helping Black-Owned Businesses Grow and Thrive Since the President entered office, a record 16 million new business applications have been filed, and the share of Black households owning a business has more than doubled. Building on this momentum, the Biden-Harris Administration has:

Achieved the fastest creation rate of Black-owned businesses in more than 30 years—and more than doubled the share of Black business owners from 2019 to 2022.

Improved the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) flagship loan guarantee programs to expand the availability of capital to underserved communities. Since 2020, the number and dollar value of SBA-backed loans to Black-owned businesses have more than doubled.

Launched a whole-of-government effort to expand access to federal contracts for small businesses, awarding a record $69.9 billion to small disadvantaged businesses in 2022.

Through Treasury’s State Small Business Credit Initiative, invested $10 billion to expand access to capital and invest in early-stage businesses in all 50 states—including $2.5 billion in funding and incentive allocations dedicated to support the provision of capital to underserved businesses with $1 billion of these funds to be awarded to the jurisdictions that are most successful in reaching underserved businesses.

Helped more than 37,000 farmers and ranchers who were in financial distress, including Black farmers and ranchers, stay on their farms and keep farming, thanks to resources provided through IRA. The IRA allocated $3.1 billion for the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide relief for distressed borrowers with at-risk agricultural operations with outstanding direct or guaranteed Farm Service Agency loans. USDA has provided over $2 billion and counting in timely assistance.

Supported small and disadvantaged businesses through CHIPS Act funding by requiring funding applicants to develop a workforce plan to create equitable pathways for economically disadvantaged individuals in their region, as well as a plan to support procurement from small, minority-owned, veteran-owned, and women-owned businesses.

Created the $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund that will invest in clean energy projects in low-income and disadvantaged communities.

Increasing Access to Housing and Rooting Out Discrimination in the Housing Market for Black Communities To increase access to housing and root out discrimination in the housing market, including for Black families and communities, the Biden-Harris Administration has:

Set up the first-ever national infrastructure to stop evictions, scaling up the ARP-funded Emergency Rental Assistance program in over 400 communities across the country, helping 8 million renters and their families stay in their homes. Over 40% of all renters helped are Black—and this support prevented millions of evictions, with the largest effects seen in majority-Black neighborhoods.

Published a proposed “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” rule through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which will help overcome patterns of segregation and hold states, localities, and public housing agencies that receive federal funds accountable for ensuring that underserved communities have equitable access to affordable housing opportunities.

Created the Interagency Task Force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity, or PAVE, a first-of-its-kind interagency effort to root out bias in the home appraisal process, which is taking sweeping action to advance equity and remove racial and ethnic bias in home valuations, including cracking down on algorithmic bias and empowering consumers to take action against misvaluation.

Taken additional steps through HUD to support wealth-generation activities for prospective and current homeowners by expanding access to credit by incorporating a borrower’s positive rental payment history into the mortgage underwriting process. HUD estimates this policy change will enable an additional 5,000 borrowers per year to qualify for an FHA-insured loan.

Ensuring Equitable Educational Opportunity for Black Students To expand educational opportunity for the Black community in early childhood and beyond, the Biden-Harris Administration has:

Approved more than $136 billion in student loan debt cancellation for 3.7 million Americans through various actions and launched a new student loan repayment plan—the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan—to help many students and families cut in half their total lifetime payments per dollar borrowed.

Championed the largest increase to Pell Grants in the last decade—a combined increase of $900 to the maximum award over the past two years, affecting the over 60% of Black undergraduates who rely on Pell grants.

Fixed the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, so all qualified borrowers get the debt relief to which they are entitled. More than 790,000 public servants have received more than $56 billion in loan forgiveness since October 2021. Prior to these fixes, only 7,000 people had ever received forgiveness through PSLF.

Delivered a historic investment of over $7 billion to support HBCUs.

Reestablished the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Black Americans.

Through ARP, secured $130 billion—the largest investment in public education in history—to help students get back to school, recover academically in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and address student mental health.

Secured a 30% increase in child care assistance funding last year. Black families comprise 38% of families benefiting from federal child care assistance. Additionally, the President secured an additional $1 billion for Head Start, a program where more than 28% of children and pregnant women who benefit identify as Black.

Improving Health Outcomes for Black Families and Communities To improve health outcomes for the Black community, the Biden-Harris Administration has:

Increased Black enrollment in health care coverage through the Affordable Care Act by 49%—or by around 400,000—from 2020 to 2022, helping more Black families gain health insurance than ever before.

Through IRA, locked in lower monthly premiums for health insurance, capped the cost of insulin at $35 per covered insulin product for Medicare beneficiaries, and helped further close the gap in access to medication by improving prescription drug coverage and lowering drug costs in Medicare. 

Through ARP, expanded postpartum coverage from 60 days to 12 months in 43 states and Washington, D.C., covering 700,000 more women in the year after childbirth. Medicaid covers approximately 65% of births for Black mothers, and this investment is a critical step to address maternal health disparities.

Financed projects that will replace hundreds of thousands of lead pipes, helping protect against lead poisoning that disproportionately affects Black communities.

Provided 264 grants with $1 billion in Bipartisan Safer Communities Act funds to more than 40 states to increase the supply of school-based mental health professionals in communities with high rates of poverty.

Launched An Unprecedented Whole-Of-Government Equity Agenda to Ensure the Promise of America for All Communities, including Black Communities President Biden believes that advancing equity, civil rights, racial justice, and equal opportunity is the responsibility of the whole of our government, which will require sustained leadership and partnership with all communities. To make the promise of America real for every American, including for the Black Community, the President has:

Signed two Executive Orders directing the Federal Government to advance an ambitious whole-of-government equity agenda that matches the scale of the challenges we face as a country and the opportunities we have to build a more perfect union.

Nominated the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court and more Black women to federal circuit courts than every President combined.

Countered hateful attempts to rewrite history including: the signing of the Emmett Till Antilynching Act; establishing Juneteenth as a national holiday; and designating the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument in Mississippi and Illinois. The Department of the Interior has invested more than $295 million in infrastructure funding and historic preservation grants to protect and restore places significant to Black history.

Created the Justice40 Initiative, which is delivering 40% of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments in clean energy, affordable and sustainable housing, clean water, and other programs to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution as part of the most ambitious climate, conservation, and environmental justice agenda in history.

Protecting the Sacred Right to Vote for Black Families and Communities Since their first days in office, President Biden and Vice President Harris have prioritized strengthening our democracy and protecting the sacred right to vote in free, fair, and secure elections. To do so, the President has:

Signed an Executive Order to leverage the resources of the Federal Government to provide nonpartisan information about the election process and increase access to voter registration. Agencies across the Federal Government are taking action to respond to the President’s call for an all-of-government effort to enhance the ability of all eligible Americans to participate in our democracy.

Repeatedly and forcefully called on Congress to pass essential legislation, including the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act, including calling for an exception to the filibuster to pass voting rights legislation.

Increased funding for the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, which has more than doubled the number of voting rights enforcement attorneys. The Justice Department also created the Election Threats Task Force to assess allegations and reports of threats against election workers, and investigate and prosecute these matters where appropriate.

Signed into law the bipartisan Electoral Reform Count Act, which establishes clear guidelines for our system of certifying and counting electoral votes for President and Vice President, to preserve the will of the people and to protect against the type of attempts to overturn our elections that led to the January 6 insurrection.

Addressing the Crisis of Gun Violence in Black Communities Gun violence has become the leading cause of death for all youth and Black men in America, as well as the second leading cause of death for Black women. To address this national crisis, the President has:

Launched the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, and taken more executive action on gun violence than any President in history, including investments in violence reduction strategies that address the root causes of gun violence and address emerging threats like ghost guns. In 2022, the Administration’s investments in evidence-based, lifesaving programs combined with aggressive action to stop the flow of illegal guns and hold shooters accountable yielded a 12.4% reduction in homicides across the United States.

Signed into the law the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the most significant gun violence reduction legislation enacted in nearly 30 years, including investments in violence reduction strategies and historic policy changes to enhance background checks for individuals under age 21, narrow the dating partner loophole in the gun background check system, and provide law enforcement with tools to crack down on gun trafficking.

Secured the first-ever dedicated federal funding stream for community violence intervention programs, which have been shown to reduce violence by as much as 60%. These programs are effective because they leverage trusted messengers who work directly with individuals most likely to commit gun violence, intervene in conflicts, and connect people to social, health and wellness, and economic services to reduce the likelihood of violence as an answer to conflict.

Enhancing Public Trust and Strengthening Public Safety for Black Communities Our criminal justice system must protect the public and ensure fair and impartial justice for all. These are mutually reinforcing goals. To enhance equal justice and public safety for all communities, including the Black community, the President has:

Signed a historic Executive Order to put federal policing on the path to becoming the gold standard of effectiveness and accountability by requiring federal law enforcement agencies to ban chokeholds; restrict no-knock warrants; mandate the use of body-worn cameras; implement stronger use-of-force policies; provide de-escalation training; submit use-of-force data; submit officer misconduct records into a new national accountability database; and restrict the sale or transfer of military equipment to local law enforcement agencies, among other things. 

Taken steps to right the wrongs stemming from our Nation’s failed approach to marijuana by directing the Departments of Health and Human Services and Justice to expeditiously review how marijuana is scheduled under federal law and in October 2022 issued categorical pardons of prior federal and D.C. offenses of simple possession of marijuana and in December 2023 pardoned additional offenses of simple possession and use of marijuana under federal and D.C. law. While white, Black, and brown people use marijuana at similar rates, Black and brown people have been arrested, prosecuted, and convicted at disproportionately higher rates.

Announced over 100 concrete policy actions as part of a White House evidence-informed, multi-year Alternatives, Rehabilitation, and Reentry Strategic Plan to safely reduce unnecessary criminal justice system interactions so police officers can focus on fighting crime; supporting rehabilitation during incarceration; and facilitating successful reentry.

FACT SHEET

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Judd Legum at Popular Information:

In 2024, reliable access to high-speed internet is no longer a luxury; it is a basic necessity. From job applications to managing personal finances and completing school work, internet access is an essential part of daily life. Without an internet connection, individuals are effectively cut off from basic societal activities. 

But the reality is that many people — particularly those living around the poverty line — can not afford internet access. Without internet access, the difficult task of working your way from the American economy's bottom rung becomes virtually impossible.   On November 21, 2021, President Biden signed the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The new law included the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which provided up to $30 per month to individuals or families with income up to 200% of the federal poverty line to help pay for high-speed internet. (For a family of four, the poverty line is currently $31,200.) On Tribal lands, where internet access is generally more expensive, the ACP offers subsidies up to $75 per month.  The concept started during the Trump administration. The last budget enacted by Trump included $3.2 billion to help families afford internet access. The FCC made the money available as a subsidy to low-income individuals and families through a program known as the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program. The legislation signed by Biden extended and formalized the program.  It has been a smashing success.

Today, the ACP is "helping 23 million households – 1 in 6 households across America." The program has particularly benefited "rural communities, veterans, and older Americans where the lack of affordable, reliable high-speed internet contributes to significant economic, health and other disparities." According to an FCC survey, two-thirds of beneficiaries "reported they had inconsistent internet service or no internet service at all prior to ACP." These households report using their high-speed internet to "schedule or attend healthcare appointments (72%), apply for jobs or complete work (48%), do schoolwork (75% for ACP subscribers 18-24 years old)." Tomorrow, the program will abruptly end.  In October 2023, the White House sent a supplemental budget request to Congress, which included $6 billion to extend the program through the end of 2024. There is also a bipartisan bill, the Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act, which would extend the program with $7 billion in funding. The benefits of the program have shown to be far greater than the costs. An academic study published in February 2024 found that "for every dollar spent on the ACP, the nation’s GDP increases by $3.89." The program will lapse tomorrow because Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) refuses to bring either the bill (or the supplemental funding request) to a vote. The Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act has 225 co-sponsors which means that, if Johnson held a vote, it would pass. 

[...]

The Republican attack on affordable internet

Why will Johnson not even allow a vote to extend the ACP? He is not commenting. But there are hints in the federal budget produced by the Republican Study Committee (RSC). The RSC is the "conservative caucus" of the House GOP, and counts 179 of the 217 Republicans in the House as members. Johnson served as the chair of the RSC in 2019 and 2020. He is currently a member of the group's executive committee.  The RSC's latest budget says it "stands against" the ACP and labels it a "government handout[] that disincentivize[s] prosperity." The RSC claims the program is unnecessary because "80 percent" of beneficiaries had internet access before the program went into effect. For that statistic, the RSC cites a report from a right-wing think tank, the Economic Policy Innovation Center (EPIC), which opposes the ACP. EPIC, in turn, cites an FCC survey to support its contention that 80% of ACP beneficiaries already had internet access. The survey actually found that "over two-thirds of survey respondents (68%) reported they had inconsistent internet service or no internet service at all prior to ACP."

[...] The RSC also falsely claims that funding for the precursor to the ACP, the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (EBB), "was signed into law at the end of President Biden’s first year in office." This is false. Former President Trump signed the funding into law in December 2020. The RSC's position is not popular. A December 2023 poll found that 79% of voters support "continuing the ACP, including 62% of Republicans, 78% of Independents, and 96% of Democrats."

In 2024, access to the internet is a necessity and not just a luxury, and the Republicans are set to end the Affordable Connectivity Program if no action is taken. The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) provided subsidies to low-income people and families to obtain internet access.

[beauty-funny-trippy]

[Condensed from a June 11, 2024 Military.com article by Ronald Lackey (Retired Major, U.S. Air Force)] –

When running for president in January 2016, Trump held a "fundraiser" for veterans. However, he didn't give the money to veterans' charities until after investigative reporters revealed that veterans had not received the donations. [Turns out, Trump was illegally siphoning money from the charity, using it like a piggy bank for his own personal gain.] Trump was fined $2 million by a judge for fraud and deceptive practices tied to the event.

As president, Trump canceled a visit to an American Cemetery near Paris, telling staffers, "Why should I go to that cemetery? It's filled with losers." During that same trip, he also told senior staffers that the U.S. Marines who died there were "suckers" for getting killed. Trump didn't even want to be seen with veteran amputees because, he said "it doesn't look good for me."

More ominously, Trump said high-ranking military members who disagreed with his political beliefs should be executed.

This is the total disregard Trump has for the honorable men and women who sacrifice their bodies, family time, and even their lives for an American cause greater than themselves.

President Biden, however, has been concerned with veterans for decades. His late son, an Army officer, died of cancer that the president believes came from his exposure to chemicals in wartime burn pits. That loss has driven a very personal commitment to the welfare of military members. While serving as president, Biden has signed more than two dozen laws that benefit veterans, including the PACT Act, which expanded the benefits and services for veterans exposed to toxic chemicals.

Working with partners in Congress, Biden's administration also expanded veterans access to health care and child care; took steps to curtail veteran homelessness (and asked Congress to triple its housing vouchers to needy veterans); lowered health care costs for World War II veterans; and expanded support to military suicide prevention programs (and established the 988 Veterans Crisis Line).

Biden has demonstrated his commitment to veterans' welfare throughout his decades of public service. His reelection would genuinely benefit military members and veterans.

Trump has shown only contempt.

~Ronald Lackey, Retired Major, U.S. Air Force

[mariacallous]

Senate Republicans voted Thursday to block a bill put forward by Democrats that would guarantee access to in vitro fertilization nationwide.

The legislation failed to advance in a procedural vote by a tally of 48-47. It needed 60 votes to advance. Republicans criticized the Democrat-led legislation as unnecessary overreach and a political show vote.

“Why should we vote for a bill that fixes a non-existent problem? There’s not a problem. There’s no restrictions on IVF, nor should there be,” Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, told reporters.

The vote is part of a broader push by Senate Democrats to draw a contrast with Republicans over reproductive health care in the run up to the November elections. Democrats are highlighting the issue this month, which marks the two-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer slammed Republicans who voted against the bill, saying that they are being “pushed by the MAGA hard right.”

“These are the very same people who pushed to get rid of Roe in the Dobbs decision,” Schumer told CNN’s Erin Burnett on “OutFront” Thursday evening, referring to the blockbuster 2022 Supreme Court decision that overturned a constitutional right to abortion. “We know what they’re up to. They want to get rid of IVF, they’re afraid to say it.”

Biden attacked Senate Republicans after the vote.

“Once again, Senate Republicans refused to protect access to fertility treatments for women who are desperately trying to get pregnant,” Biden said in a written statement. “And just last week, Senate Republicans blocked nationwide protections for birth control. The disregard for a woman’s right to make these decisions for herself and her family is outrageous and unacceptable.”

Republicans have criticized the Democrat-led legislation as unnecessary overreach and a political show vote.

The legislation the Senate will take up – the Right to IVF Act – would enshrine into federal law a right for individuals to receive IVF treatment as well as for doctors to provide treatment, which would override any attempt at the state level to restrict access.

The bill seeks to make IVF treatment more affordable by mandating coverage for fertility treatments under employer-sponsored insurance and certain public insurance plans. It would also expand coverage of fertility treatments, including IVF, under US military service members and veterans’ health care.

The IVF legislative package was introduced by Democratic Sens. Patty Murray of Washington state, Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Cory Booker of New Jersey.

The vote comes after Alabama’s Supreme Court said, in a first-of-its-kind ruling earlier this year, that frozen embryos are children and those who destroy them can be held liable for wrongful death – a decision that reproductive rights advocates warned could have a chilling effect on infertility treatments.

While the state’s legislature took action aimed at protecting IVF in the wake of the ruling, Democrats argue that this is only one example of how access to reproductive health care is under threat across the nation.

Southern Baptist delegates, for instance, expressed alarm Wednesday over the way in vitro fertilization is routinely being practiced, approving a resolution lamenting that the creation of surplus frozen embryos often results in “destruction of embryonic human life.”

The IVF vote is the latest move by Democrats to bring up a bill expected to be blocked by Republicans. Last week, Senate Republicans voted to block a Democrat-led bill that would guarantee access to contraception.

Most Republicans dismissed the effort as a political messaging vote that was unnecessary and overly broad, though GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine crossed over to vote with Democrats in favor of advancing the bill.

Republicans have introduced their own bills on IVF and contraception. GOP Sens. Katie Britt of Alabama and Ted Cruz of Texas have introduced a bill called the IVF Protection Act and Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa has put forward a separate bill to promote access to contraception.

Cruz and Britt attempted to pass their IVF legislation on the Senate floor Wednesday through a unanimous consent request, but Democrats blocked the effort.

Murray, who objected to the request, criticized the GOP bill, arguing that states could “enact burdensome and unnecessary requirements and create the kind of legal uncertainty and risk that would force clinics to once again close their doors.”

Under the IVF bill from Britt and Cruz, states would not be eligible for Medicaid funding if they prohibit access to IVF, but the legislation “permits states to implement health and safety standards regarding the practice of IVF,” according to a press release.

[theobjectivemind]

Kamala Harris’s Economic Plans: A Path to Empowerment, Not Socialism

In recent discussions, Vice President Kamala Harris has introduced a series of economic proposals that aim to address pressing issues such as food prices, housing, taxes, and medical costs. While some critics may attempt to label these initiatives as “socialism,” it’s essential to understand that Harris’s plans are firmly rooted in the principles of fairness and economic empowerment within a capitalist system. Let’s break down how these proposals can benefit Americans and why they should not be confused with socialism.

Addressing the Real Needs of Americans

1. Lowering Prescription Drug Costs: Americans are paying significantly more for prescription drugs than people in other high-income countries. A 2022 analysis by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) revealed that U.S. prices for all drugs were nearly three times higher than prices in 33 other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Specifically, U.S. prices for brand-name drugs were 422% of the prices in these comparison countries. This means that for every dollar spent on brand-name drugs in other countries, Americans are paying $4.22.

While the U.S. has managed to keep the prices of generic drugs relatively low—demonstrating that affordable medication is possible—the exorbitant prices of brand-name drugs still place an unfair burden on American consumers. Harris's proposals aim to bring these prices in line with what is seen in other high-income countries, ensuring that all essential medications, not just generics, are affordable for everyone.

2. Expanding Housing Access: The vice president’s housing plan calls for the construction of 3 million new housing units over four years to address the severe housing shortage in the U.S. By promoting tax incentives for builders of “starter” homes and expanding funding for affordable rental housing, Harris is working to make homeownership and rental options more accessible to first-time buyers and low-income families. Additionally, she plans to limit bulk home purchases by investors and curb price-setting tools that drive up rental costs.

3. Reducing Medical Costs and Expanding Access: As a veteran, I’ve personally benefited from the healthcare services provided by the Veterans Affairs (VA). The VA system ensures that veterans like myself have access to the medical care we need, recognizing our service to the country. But here’s the thing—I don’t believe that healthcare should only be guaranteed to those who have worn the uniform. Every American deserves access to affordable, quality healthcare, regardless of their military status.

Veterans and current service members share a common bond—we have either worn or continue to wear the uniform to protect our nation and its citizens. But right now, millions of Americans are being treated unfairly by corporate greed and the exorbitant costs of healthcare. It’s time for us to stand up and go to war with big pharma and the corporations that prioritize profits over people’s well-being. Harris’s proposal to expand Medicare’s ability to negotiate drug prices is a critical step in this battle, aiming to reduce the financial burden on all Americans, not just a select few.

4. Tax Relief for Families: The vice president’s tax proposals include making permanent the $3,600 per child tax credit and introducing a new $6,000 tax credit for newborns. She also plans to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit, providing significant tax relief to frontline workers and lowering taxes on healthcare plans offered through the Affordable Care Act marketplace.

These initiatives reflect a commitment to making life more affordable and manageable for middle-class Americans, ensuring that everyone has a fair shot at success.

Why These Policies Are Not Socialism

It’s important to clarify that these policies do not constitute socialism. Socialism, in its true form, involves government ownership and control of major industries and resources. In contrast, Kamala Harris’s proposals work within the existing capitalist framework, using targeted regulations and incentives to make the economy fairer and more inclusive.

The U.S. already has a number of social programs that provide essential services without transforming the nation into a socialist state. For example:

Social Security: Provides financial support to retirees, disabled individuals, and survivors of deceased workers. It’s a program that ensures a safety net for millions of Americans.

Veterans Affairs (VA): Offers healthcare, education, and housing benefits to veterans who have served the country. This program is a recognition of their service and a commitment to their well-being. However, the need for affordable healthcare isn’t exclusive to veterans; it’s a right that should be extended to all citizens.

These programs demonstrate that integrating social initiatives within a capitalist system is not only possible but also beneficial to society as a whole.

Learning from Other Countries

The United States is not alone in using social programs to enhance the well-being of its citizens. Many other countries with similar capitalist economies have implemented successful social initiatives that benefit their populations without adopting socialism. For example:

Germany: Germany’s social market economy combines free-market capitalism with social policies that ensure universal healthcare and other welfare programs. This approach allows for a thriving economy while ensuring that citizens have access to essential services.

Australia: Australia’s Medicare system provides universal healthcare coverage to all citizens and permanent residents, funded by taxes. This system ensures that healthcare is accessible to everyone, regardless of income, without sacrificing quality or innovation.

These examples show that it’s possible to incorporate social programs into a capitalist economy to address the needs of the population effectively.

Conclusion: A Balanced Approach for a Stronger America

Kamala Harris’s economic proposals are not about shifting the U.S. toward socialism but about making the current system more equitable and responsive to the needs of everyday Americans. By addressing food prices, housing, medical costs, and taxes, these plans aim to empower the middle class and ensure that all citizens can participate fully in the economy.

As a veteran, I’ve experienced how vital access to quality healthcare can be. But this isn’t something that should be reserved just for those who served—it’s a right every American should have. Integrating fair social programs into our system isn’t radical; it’s a practical step forward. Other countries have successfully done this, and so can we. Let’s focus on how these proposals can truly benefit us—by supporting families, improving health, and making life better for everyone.

By supporting these initiatives, we’re not moving away from capitalism—we’re strengthening it by ensuring that it works for everyone, not just those at the top.

Sources:

[synonymouswithanonymous]

☺☺ you were right!

you were right! That's so exciting, he's completely integral to the plot!!! A catalyst for later drama, at least in part. I'm excited to see him play this character! A broken Vietnam vet. He's going to be great in this part!

So the article from last month that named him, was a bit off, but that's ok bc now we know more! 😊😊 and EM is Swintons characters daughter! He plays Swintons character's lover/father to her child! This confirms he's definitely got scenes with the leads!

"or her recounting the death of her child’s father, a Vietnam veteran with PTSD, in a house fire on the side of a highway."

----------

This will be a great character, the catalyst for so much drama within one family later, it makes you wonder what would be the lifelong impact of such a tragedy. A character sent off to proverbial slaughter, who most likely had to commit and witness acts he'd never wished to have even witnessed. And then returning to a country that doesn't understand PTSD or what soldiers went through, but are instead spat at in the streets and their mental health largely ignored/misunderstood. And then to have such a tragic end. That's so sad. This is a movie aiming to make me cry in a variety of ways. Lol I'm excited!

Sidenote: please skip if uninterested. I don't think his interview says he's given up on his career, so to speak, but maybe taking a more realistic view on his career prospects is healthy and warranted. Not everyone is going to be Brad Pitt, someone has to be Gary Oldman  (for differences in career paths, as an example).

Perhaps he's just not getting his hopes up bc in another interview he said his hopes were dashed, repeatedly by covid/strikes/not getting hired for gigs immediately after Vikings etc. AND the fact that Vikings isn't as popular a show as the fandom bubble created around all these actors in it made it seem like they were (I'm still calling them all, even Winnick an underdog bc she's "B list" or lower by "hollywood" standards. She's not up there in the hierarchy like say Reese Witherspoon. AHA realistically would be B list too.

That's not an insult but realistic. How many actors are in SAGAFTRA? Currently? And how many more newbies each year? Hollywood is always about the next big thing. But Hollywood is losing its grip on its dominance due to streaming and other factors.

Plus how many movies/shows are actually shot in Los Angeles nowadays? it's always a location elsewhere it seems.

His more humble approach is good, didn't he say he was aiming for a mads mikklesen (sp?) or NCW career? If so then he's well on track to having great character roles. He's going for longevity, not a quick buck. Maybe he has been picky, but it's working for him. He doesn't need to be in every lame remake hollywood comes up with that's destined to lose money. Tinseltown has lost its shine in the wake of technology from jets, to streaming services letting us see originals in original languages, instead of watered down remakes that pale next to the original. Or just original innovative stories, the foreign films/shows on netflix alone are great! I'm looking at you Nightwatch american remake that was just bad. 😳😳 He's even been able to write and star in his own idea for a tv show. There might be a second season. He can fly to locations, it's a modern world, he doesn't have to be isolated in "hollyweird made of vices" away from his home, family/gf and language/culture. And while Hollywood might take offense to him "complaining" about really long days, in the cold, and that Denmark has better labor laws....where's the lie? If there's something that isn't right, why should he be silent? Why should people be worked to the point that they can't even recover from being in hospital, no sick days or back up plan in case of illness on set. To the point that they've been broken down physically and mentally. Isn't that the reason labor laws exist, to protect people from suits who only care about schedules and money instead of the actors health? That goes for any job not just actors. Or their mental health, most people don't have to fly to a different country for jobs either, that's got to be rough no matter how much you love your job. But anyway, it doesn't seem to have affected his hiring status that much. 😊

But I think he's playing the long game quite smartly. He's going for a real career, not to be a teenage idol. Why be a small fish in an overlarge pond (hollywood) when he can be a bigger fish in a much smaller pond and build a career like Mads M? The same reason Ole Bornedal and Pedro Almodóvar stay in their respective countries (mostly). Bornedals's movie was remade, and changed, instead of just releasing It with subtitles. It could be that there they can create the art they want to without time/money/script restrictions? Bc in Hollywood they've even put time/plot limits on THE Ridley Scott! To the detriment of many of his films post gladiator ( kingdom of heaven should have just been the directors cut imo bc they cut important story parts). I say let him create art the way he wants to, he's on his timetable, not fans. It's his career that We are hoping to watch for the next 30-40 years. Or longer, Almodóvar is 74! Clint Eastwood is how old? We will just have to be patient for new projects. 😊😊 I know its fun to get all my Gary Oldman movies immediately bc he's been around for over 40 years ! I don't have to wait between Leon, Sid & Nancy or even The Scarlett Letter! To much newer works. Im working my way through from the beginning. 😳😳 imagine how his OG fans felt getting one or two projects every so often or a year. Having to wait to see the next film, if it was even released for very long in theaters (that's imo wild to think about). And then waiting months for it to come out on a dvd to see it if wasn't released for long. Or if you missed a show you would have to wait for it to repeat?!?! Things not being readily available would be so brutal, and here I was complaining that bridgerton season 3 was cut up in 2 parts!!! I couldn't binge it all in one day!! Patience is a virtue. And even Alan Rickman didn't get his "american debut breakthrough" until he was in his 40swith die hard. And he is a legend (just bc he passed away doesn't change the tense of his legendary status)! AHA has plenty of time, and is doing great. Imo.

Sorry for the side ramble, but I take issue with the idea that he can somehow do more than what he's done. He's right there are some things beyond our control. Or that his work ethic is somehow lacking, bc between owning a stake in a watch company( it being sold wouldn't change his stake/shares too much, maybe it made him more money?), doing multiple voice works, making movies, creating his own show and filming other shows/short films, and working for charities (plural) he's been a really really busy person. And side projects with photography. He's working fairly steadily and a lot. Choosing great projects from Shadows to RND. How much do they want him to work? Lol he doesn't exactly have a 9-5.

I'm still hoping that this movie will be the one that makes people see his skills, and set him up for the longevity he so desires. 😊😊😊 Best wishes to him and his lovely JM.

Edited to add, even though it's just his character that gets a mention, the reviews are positive. If he wasn't right or good in a stellar movie, it would have been mentioned. So he at the very least performed well enough to not get a bad review. So he's given another great performance!!!! But really with those two ladies as leads, with the story mostly focused on them, I'm impressed that his small role has been mentioned several times. Even if not by name right now, his part was noticed enough to make the articles, moreso than Nivola, in a P Almodóvar film that has Moore and Swinton in it. 😊😊 huzzah to anyone that's made it this far, still always surprised lol.

[massensterben]

dossier   —   Bertholdt Huber.

FULL  NAME.     Bertholdt Felix Huber  MEANING.     Bertholdt (from Old High German: Berhtwald ‘bright ruler’) Felix (from Latin: Felix ‘fortunate, happy’) Huber (from German: Huber ‘free farmer’)  NICKNAME.     Bertl (childhood nickname), Bert, ‘tall guy’ GENDER.     cis male ETHNICITY.     eldian HEIGHT.     192cm (850) / 197cm (854) AGE.     16 (850) / 20 (854) ZODIAC.     capricorn    (diligent, ambitious, responsible, pessimistic, devoted) SPOKEN  LANGUAGES.     eldian, marleyan, paradisian dialect

physical  characteristics !

HAIR  COLOR.     black EYE  COLOR.     grey-green SKIN  TONE.     tan BODY  TYPE.     athletic, lean, long limbs ACCENT.     faint marleyan accent when speaking eldian  VOICE.     low, often speaks softly DOMINANT  HAND.     left handed, but trained to use his right hand, became quasi-ambidextrous in the process (he can only write quickly with his right hand) POSTURE.     keeps his head low, straight back, prefers to not take up much space SCARS.   none / (God of Destruction verse: several long but faint scars across his torso and limbs) TATTOOS.   none MOST  NOTICEABLE  FEATURE(S).  his height and his nose

childhood !

PLACE  OF  BIRTH.     the internment zone in Liberio HOMETOWN.     Liberio, Marley MANNER  OF  BIRTH.     natural (at home) FIRST  WORDS.     “up” SIBLINGS.     none  PARENTS.     mother : Hannelore Katznick,  a young eldian woman who only had a brief romantic relationship with Bertholdt’s father. she attempted to make the relationship work for the sake of the child when she became pregnant, but ultimately decided to leave the family soon after the baby was born. she had no further contact with Bertholdt. she eventually got married to a younger man. father : Wolfram Huber, a war veteran who was famous among eldians in his day as an outstanding soldier. he was wounded and discharged with honors, and worked as a factory worker thereafter. the chemicals he worked with permanently damaged his lungs and he became bedridden by the time Bertholdt was three. he died in 854.  PARENT  INVOLVEMENT.  Bertholdt’s mother was only involved during the first three months of Bertholdt’s life and then never again. Bertholdt’s father was already up in years when his child was born but did his best to provide for him. their relationship was warm but quiet; they did not have many heart to hearts. Bertholdt very early had to take on a caretaker role for him. this rankled his father immensely and changed his more sensitive approach to one of growing dissatisfaction. he fully intended for his son to join the military and the warrior program seemed a promising venture, not to mention the benefits. Bertholdt’s relationship with his father afterwards became more strained and more based on expectations and ceaseless health concerns. they parted on good terms but Bertholdt felt emotionally neglected by the time he left for Paradis. Bertholdt remembers him fondly, even so, and believes himself to have an irrevocable duty to him. 

adult  life !

OCCUPATION.   warrior with the Warrior Unit of Marley, briefly employed as a soldier with the Paradisian Survey Corps CURRENT RESIDENCE.  survey corps barracks / warrior HQ living quarters  CLOSE  FRIENDS.   Reiner Braun, Marcel Galliard, Armin Arlert, Christa Lenz, Ymir  RELATIONSHIP  STATUS.  verse dependent!  FINANCIAL  STATUS.  fully dependent on his employers  DRIVER’S  LICENSE.     no; (acquires a license in 854) CRIMINAL  RECORD.   terrorism, kidnapping, mass murder, other crimes VICES.   jealousy, insecurity

sex  &  romance !

SEXUAL  ORIENTATION.  bisexual ROMANTIC  ORIENTATION.  biromantic  PREFERRED  EMOTIONAL  ROLE.  submissive, supporting  PREFERRED  SEXUAL  ROLE. dominant, servicing   LOVE  LANGUAGE.   quality time, acts of service  LIBIDO.   average, increases when affected by strong emotions RELATIONSHIP  TENDENCIES.   he prefers something subtle and casual over bold gestures and declarations of love, as long a he knows he can rely on his partner and find in them a constant to ground him, he will move mountains for them. 

miscellaneous !

THEME  SONG.     officially: apple seed & alternative drive; Achilles Come Down - Gang of Youths HOBBIES  TO  PASS  TIME.     reading, drawing, spending time with friends MENTAL  ILLNESSES.   post traumatic stress disorder (survivor’s guilt, depression, anxiety) PHYSICAL  ILLNESSES.     none LEFT  OR  RIGHT  BRAINED.     left PHOBIAS.  syringes, restraints  SELF  CONFIDENCE  LEVEL.  confident in his physical abilities, appears to lack confidence when it comes to mental capabilities VULNERABILITIES.    deeply devoted to his comrades, explosive temper when stressed, lacks communication skills

[xlntwtch2]

ap news 11/12/23 from this article...

Trump would ... strip tens of thousands of career employees of their civil service protections. That way, they could be fired as he seeks to “totally obliterate the deep state.”

... he would ...undertake the largest domestic deportation operation in American history. He would target people who are legally living in the United States but harbor “jihadist sympathies” and revoke the student visas of those who espouse anti-American and antisemitic views.

... U.S.-Mexico border, Trump says he will move thousands of troops currently stationed overseas and shift federal agents, including those at the Drug Enforcement Administration and FBI, to immigration enforcement. ...more border wall.

His aim: bar “dangerous lunatics, haters, bigots, and maniacs,” as well as those who ���empathize with radical Islamic terrorists and extremists.”

...he has said he would end birthright citizenship..

...he will institute ... system of tariffs of perhaps 10% on most foreign goods. .... proposed a four-year plan to phase out Chinese imports of essential goods, including electronics, steel and pharmaceuticals. he will force Chinese owners to sell any holdings “that jeopardize America’s national security.”...

...claims .. before he is inaugurated, he will have settled the war between Russia and Ukraine. That includes, he says, ending the “endless flow of American treasure to Ukraine” and asking European allies to reimburse the U.S. for the cost of rebuilding stockpiles.

...he will stand with Israel in its war with Hamas and support Israel’s efforts to “destroy” the militant group. He says he will continue to “fundamentally reevaluate” NATO’s purpose and mission.

..he will ask Congress to pass a bill establishing that “only two genders,” as determined at birth, are recognized by the United States.

...he will declare that hospitals and health care providers that offer transitional hormones or surgery no longer meet federal health and safety standards and will be blocked from receiving federal funds..

Under the mantra “DRILL, BABY, DRILL,” ... he would ramp up oil drilling on public lands and offer tax breaks to oil, gas, and coal producers.

...he will exit the Paris Climate Accords, end wind subsidies and eliminate regulations imposed and proposed by the Biden administration..

...pledged to terminate the Department of Education, ....he would cut funding for any school that has a vaccine or mask mandate ... promote prayer in public schools....“the nuclear family” including “the roles of mothers and fathers”...allow trained teachers to carry concealed weapons. ... federal funding so schools can hire veterans, retired police officers, and other trained gun owners as armed school guards.

...force the homeless off city streets... wants to bring back large mental institutions to reinstitutionalize those who are “severely mentally ill” or “dangerously deranged.”

...use federal government’s funding and prosecution authorities to strong-arm local governments.... use controversial policing measures such as stop-and-frisk ...police should be empowered to shoot suspected shoplifters in the act.

...called for the death penalty for drug smugglers and those who traffic women and children. ..also pledged a federal takeover of the nation’s capital, calling Washington a “dirty, crime-ridden death trap” unbefitting of the country.

[girlactionfigure]

THURSDAY HERO: Jeanne Brousse

Jeanne Brousse was a Frenchwoman and devout Catholic who put her own life at risk to save Jewish families during the Nazi occupation of France.

Born in 1921, Jeanne grew up in a working-class family in Annecy, a charming town in the French Alps. Her mother worked as a maid, and her father, a cheesemaker, was a veteran of World War I who had been gassed by the Germans and suffered lifelong health problems as a result. After helping care for her injured father as a young girl, Jeanne decided to become a nurse and help other suffering patients. She moved to Paris at age 18, to train at a nursing school run by the French Red Cross, however war was declared and she was unable to enroll. Instead she returned to her hometown and became a civil servant in Annecy. In 1941 Jeanne joined the brand-new Refugee Service, an agency of the local government formed to help new arrivals to the region.

In her new position, Jeanne did much more than the job called for. Seeing an immediate need for French Jews to find a safe haven from encroaching Nazi persecution, Jeanne used her contacts in the government and the clergy to find out when deportations of Jews were scheduled so she could warn them and help them flee to safety in Switzerland. Incredibly, Jeanne had never met a single Jew before she decided to devote her life to saving them. She later said, “I felt horrified by the atrocious fate likely to befall all these innocent victims whose only ‘mistake’ was to be born Jewish. I was determined to find solutions so that the greatest number of those who came to me could be saved.”’

Word got out among the Jews of Annecy that Jeanne was an ally. In November 1942, a Jewish woman named Suzanne Aron approached Jeanne with a desperate request. Her husband, Francis Aron, was a reserve officer in the French army who was injured in 1940 and received the Legion of Honor, the highest award given by the French government. When he and his wife were ordered in 1941 to affix a yellow star prominently to their clothing, identifying them as Jews, Francis was furious. He was a decorated war hero who’d given everything to his country, and now he was being persecuted and humiliated by the government he’d sworn to protect and serve? Defiant, Francis refused to wear the yellow star and burnt his identity papers identifying him as Jewish. This impulsive act however did not provide freedom but rather increased danger. Francis’ wife Suzanne had heard about the woman at the Refugee Service who was helping Jews, and she went to Jeanne’s office and begged for help getting false identity papers.

Despite the danger not only to her career but her life, Jeanne immediately created new identity papers for the Arons, giving them the non-Jewish name of “Caron.” If the Nazi occupiers, or the collaborationist French police, discovered that Jeanne was creating fake documents, she would have been sent to a concentration camp, but her moral compass, inspired by her Catholic faith, was stronger than her fear.

Other desperate Jewish families approached Jeanne, and she started providing “survival kits” for each family, consisting of fake identity papers, clothes, food and ration cards. She tapped into her extensive network of friends and colleagues to find safe homes and jobs for the Jewish refugees. Prominent French Rabbi Henri Schilli and his three daughters were among those saved by Jeanne.

As the war dragged on, Jeanne’s rescue activities intensified. As a government employee, she was not subject to curfews and had a coveted “nightpass” which enabled her to move around freely at night. She used this opportunity to distribute anti-Nazi leaflets, and warn young local men who were on the government’s list to be drafted to work in Germany, helping the Nazis. Because of Jeanne’s actions, many young men avoided the labor draft and instead became resistance fighters.

Annecy and the surrounding region were liberated by Allied forces in 1944. Soon after, Jeanne married Jean Brousse, who had also worked with the French resistance. Jeanne had three children, and spent the next three decades focused on her family, not spending much time thinking or talking about her astonishing wartime heroism.

In 1973, Jeanne was honored as Righteous Among the Nations by Israeli Holocaust Memorial Yad Vashem, partly because of the testimony of Rabbi Schilli. After that, Jeanne began speaking to schoolchildren and other groups about her experiences during the war. She said of herself, “I am not a hero, I am not a lecturer. I am, quite simply, an ordinary woman who lived through extraordinary times.”

Jeanne Brousse died in October 2017 at the age of 96.

For risking her life to save others, we honor Jeanne Brousse as this week’s Thursday Hero.

[nicklloydnow]

“An investigation by The New York Times found that many of the troops sent to bombard the Islamic State in 2016 and 2017 returned to the United States plagued by nightmares, panic attacks, depression and, in a few cases, hallucinations. Once-reliable Marines turned unpredictable and strange. Some are now homeless. A striking number eventually died by suicide, or tried to.

Interviews with more than 40 gun-crew veterans and their families in 16 states found that the military repeatedly struggled to determine what was wrong after the troops returned from Syria and Iraq.

All the gun crews filled out questionnaires to screen for post-traumatic stress disorder, and took tests to detect signs of traumatic brain injuries from enemy explosions. But the crews had been miles away from the front lines when they fired their long-range cannons, and most never saw direct fighting or suffered the kinds of combat injuries that the tests were designed to look for.

A few gun-crew members were eventually given diagnoses of P.T.S.D., but to the crews that didn’t make much sense. They hadn’t, in most cases, even seen the enemy.

The only thing remarkable about their deployments was the sheer number of artillery rounds they had fired.

(…)

But it meant that a small number of troops had to fire tens of thousands of high-explosive shells — far more rounds per crew member, experts say, than any American artillery battery had fired at least since the Vietnam War.

Military guidelines say that firing all those rounds is safe. What happened to the crews suggests that those guidelines were wrong.

The cannon blasts were strong enough to hurl a 100-pound round 15 miles, and each unleashed a shock wave that shot through the crew members’ bodies, vibrating bone, punching lungs and hearts, and whipping at cruise-missile speeds through the most delicate organ of all, the brain.

More than a year after Marines started experiencing problems, the Marine Corps leadership tried to piece together what was happening by ordering a study of one of the hardest-hit units, Fox Battery, 2nd Battalion, 10th Marines.

The research was limited to reviewing the troops’ medical records. No Marines were examined or interviewed. Even so, the report, published in 2019, made a startling finding: The gun crews were being hurt by their own weapons.

More than half the Marines in the battery had eventually received diagnoses of traumatic brain injuries, according to a briefing prepared for Marine Corps headquarters. The report warned that the experience in Syria showed that firing a high number of rounds, day after day, could incapacitate crews “faster than combat replacements can be trained to replace them.”

The military did not seem to be taking the threat seriously, the briefing cautioned: Safety training — both for gun crews and medical personnel — was so deficient, it said, that the risks of repeated blast exposure “are seemingly ignored.”

Despite the concerns raised in the report, no one appears to have warned the commanders responsible for the gun crews. And no one told the hundreds of troops who had fired the rounds.

Instead, in case after case, the military treated the crews’ combat injuries as routine psychiatric disorders, if they treated them at all. Troops were told they had attention deficit disorder or depression. Many were given potent psychotropic drugs that made it hard to function and failed to provide much relief.

Others who started acting strangely after the deployments were simply dismissed as problems, punished for misconduct and forced out of the military in punitive ways that cut them off from the veterans’ health care benefits that they now desperately need.

(…)

Firing weapons is as fundamental to military service as tackling is to football. And research has started to reveal that, as with hits in football, repeated blast exposure from firing heavy weapons like cannons, mortars, shoulder-fired rockets and even large-caliber machine guns may cause irreparable injury to the brain. It is a sprawling problem that the military is just starting to come to grips with.

The science is still in its infancy, but evidence suggests that while individual blasts rippling through brain tissue may not cause obvious, lasting injury, repeated exposure appears to create scarring that eventually could cause neural connections to fail, according to Gary Kamimori, a senior Army blast researcher who retired recently after a career studying the problem.

“Think of it like a rubber band,” he said. “Stretch a rubber band a hundred times and it bounces back, but there are micro tears forming. The hundred-and-first time, it breaks.”

Those blasts might never cause a person to see stars or experience other signs of concussion, but over time they may lead to sleeplessness, depression, anxiety and other symptoms that in many ways resemble P.T.S.D., according to Dr. Daniel Perl, a neuropathologist who runs a Defense Department tissue bank that preserves dead veterans’ brains for research.

“It’s common to mistake a blast injury in the brain for something else, because when you walk into a clinic, it looks like a lot of other things,” Dr. Perl said.

His lab has examined samples from hundreds of deceased veterans who were exposed to enemy explosions and blasts from firing weapons during their military careers. The researchers found a unique and consistent pattern of microscopic scarring.

Finding that pattern in living veterans is another matter. There is currently no brain scan or blood test that can detect the minute injuries, Dr. Perl said; the damage can be seen only under microscopes once a service member has died. So there is no definitive way to tell whether a living person is injured. Even if there were, there is no therapy to fix it.

The lab hasn’t examined any brains from artillery units sent to fight the Islamic State, but Dr. Perl said that he would not be surprised if many of them were affected. “You have a blast wave traveling at the speed of sound through the most complex and intricate organ in the body,” he said. “Wouldn’t you think there would be some damage?”

The military for generations set maximum safe blast-exposure levels for eardrums and lungs, but never for brains. Anything that didn’t leave troops dazed was generally considered safe. But that has recently changed.

Over the last decade, veterans suffering from brain injury-like symptoms after years of firing weapons pressured Congress to rethink the potential dangers, and lawmakers passed a number of bills from 2018 to 2022 ordering the Pentagon to start a sprawling “Warfighter Brain Health Initiative” to try to measure blast exposure and develop protocols to protect troops.

(…)

In response to questions from The Times, both the Army and Marine Corps acknowledged that some gun crew members were injured by blasts during the fight against the Islamic State. In part because of that experience, the branches say they now have programs to track and limit crews’ exposure.

But a Marine officer currently in charge of an artillery battery questioned whether that was accurate. He said recently that he has never seen or heard of the new safety guidelines, and that nothing was being done to document his troops’ blast exposure.

The officer, who asked that his name not be used because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said he was experiencing splitting headaches and small seizures, but was worried that his injuries would not be acknowledged because there was no documentation that he was ever exposed to anything dangerous.

In short, he said, there is little in military regulations now that might stop what happened to the artillery troops in Syria and Iraq from happening again.

(…)

Night and day they hurled rounds, using some of the military’s most sophisticated cannons, M777A2 howitzers. The 35-foot-long guns had modern, precisely designed titanium parts and a digital targeting system, but when it came to protecting the crew the design had changed little in a century. Gun crews still worked within arm’s reach of the barrel and fired the gun by pulling a simple cord.

The resulting blast was several times louder than a jet taking off, and unleashed a shock wave that hit the crews like a kick to the chest. Ears rang, bones shivered, vision blurred as eyeballs momentarily compressed, and a ripple shot through every neuron in the brain like a whipcrack.

“You feel it in your core, you feel it in your teeth,” said Carson Brown, a corporal from Idaho who pulled the firing cord for hundreds of shots. “It’s like it takes a year off your life.”

(…)

The demands of Task Force 9 led to rates of artillery fire not seen in generations.

During Operation Desert Storm in 1991, artillery crews fired an average of 70 rounds during the entire six-week campaign, said John Grenier, a historian at the Army’s Field Artillery School. During the initial months of the invasion of Iraq in 2003, crews fired an average of 260 rounds. In Syria, each gun in Alpha battery shot more than 1,100 rounds in two months — most of them using high-powered charges that produce the strongest shock waves. Some guns in Fox battery, which replaced Alpha, fired about 10,000 rounds each.

“It’s shocking, insane,” Mr. Grenier said.

Under the relentless tempo, Marines would wake up feeling hung over and stagger to the guns like zombies. Their sense of taste changed. Some threw up. Crews grew irritable and fights broke out.

The symptoms were telltale signs of concussion, but also what anyone might feel after a string of stressful 20-hour workdays in the desert, sleeping in foxholes and eating rations from plastic pouches. Medics came around daily to check on the crews but never intervened. And Marines trained to endure didn’t complain.

(…)

Traumatic brain injuries can have profound effects on parts of the body that are nowhere near the skull, because the damage can cause communication with other organs to malfunction. Dozens of the young veterans interviewed by The Times said they now had elevated, irregular heartbeats and persistent, painful problems with their digestion.

(…)

All four of the artillery batteries examined by The Times have had at least one suicide — a striking pattern, since death by suicide is rare even in high-risk populations. Some batteries have had several, and many service members said in interviews that they had tried to kill themselves.

(…)

The Defense Department has spent more than a billion dollars in the last decade to research traumatic brain injury, but it still knows very little about what might have happened to the artillery crews. Nearly all of the research has focused on big explosions from roadside bombs and other enemy attacks, not the blast waves from the routine firing of weapons.

Still, as that research progressed and studies tried to define the threshold at which an explosion caused brain damage, a growing amount of data suggested that the level was much lower than expected — so low, in fact, that it wasn’t much different from what troops experienced when they pulled the cord on an artillery cannon.

(…)

Under an electron microscope, a ravaged neural landscape came into focus. Sheaths of myelin, vital for insulating the biological wiring of the brain, hung in tatters. In key parts of the brain that control emotion and executive function, large numbers of mitochondria — the tiny powerhouses that provide energy for each cell — were dead.

“It was remarkable — the damage was very widespread,” Dr. Gu said. “And that was just from one explosion.”

Of course, the brains of mice and humans are very different. Dr. Scott Cota, a Navy captain and brain injury expert, said it was unclear whether the same damage would occur in human brains. Researchers can’t expose humans to damaging blasts, and then dissect them the way they can mice, he said. And techniques are not yet available to detect microscopic trauma in living brains.

“It’s very hard to study,” Dr. Cota said. “And unfortunately, we can only do it post-mortem at this point.”

The artillery gun crews present a rare and valuable chance to understand how blasts affect the brain, but no researchers are tracking them. It’s not clear if anyone in a position to learn from them is even aware that this unique group of combat veterans exists.

Most of the crew members have drifted out of the military to corners of the country where they continue to quietly grapple with headaches, depression and confusion that they don’t understand.”

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Alanna Vagianos at HuffPost:

Three Senate Democrats are renewing their push to protect access to in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments in new legislation released Monday morning. The Right to IVF Act is a package of bills that Sens. Tammy Duckworth (Ill.), Patty Murray (Wash.) and Cory Booker (N.J.) have already introduced this session. The legislation would establish a statutory right to access IVF and protect providers from criminalization, as well as expand IVF insurance coverage and make the care more affordable for families. It also includes IVF protections and extended access for veterans and service members. The Democrats rolled four of their bills into one to revive the conversation around IVF and hopefully have a better shot at passing the legislation. Most of the bills were blocked by Republicans or did not make it out of committee. The new bill includes the Access to Family Building Act, the Veteran Families Health Services Act, the Access to Infertility Treatment and Care Act, and the Family Building FEHB Fairness Act.

“Struggling with infertility is painful enough — every American deserves the right to access the treatment and tools they need to build the family of their dreams without the fear of being prosecuted for murder or manslaughter,” Duckworth, who had her two children through IVF, said in a statement. “I’m proud to unveil this sweeping legislative package with my colleagues that would actually protect the freedom to receive or provide IVF nationwide,” she added, “while making these treatments more affordable and accessible for the millions of American families — including military families and Veterans — who are experiencing infertility across the country.” Both Duckworth and Murray have long championed access to fertility treatments and other assisted reproductive technologies, introducing bills in the last few years to protect reproductive health care as access dwindles in the wake of the Supreme Court decision that repealed Roe v. Wade. Senate Republicans have blocked every IVF bill Democrats have brought to the floor, including Duckworth’s Access to Family Building Act in February.

Access to IVF took center stage earlier this year when the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that embryos should be defined as children — forcing several clinics to pause treatments and threatening care throughout the state. Although many Republicans have supported abortion bans that would also criminalize IVF, the party floundered for weeks after the widely unpopular Alabama ruling.

The Senate Dems have renewed their push to protect IVF with a bill package called Right To IVF Act that features four bills sponsored by Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Cory Booker (D-NJ).

[mariacallous]

Marking the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, activists gathered in Belgrade to urge the Serbian authorities to grant legal recognition to survivors of wartime rape.

A symbolic protest was staged by the Serbian feminist organisations Women in Black and the Autonomous Women’s Centre in central Belgrade on Wednesday to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict.

Women displayed banners with slogans declaring: “Rape is an act of genocide”, “We remember women raped in the war!” and “Rape is a form of hatred towards women”.

Serbia is the only country in the former Yugoslavia that doesn’t recognise survivors of wartime sexual violence as civilian war victims. The two NGOs are seeking a change to the Law on the Rights of Veterans, Disabled Veterans and their Family Members to address this omission. 

Sanja Pavlovic, an activist from the Autonomous Women’s Centre, told BIRN that they want to highlight the sexual violence that happens all over the world during wars and conflicts, but above all want to emphasise that even though 30 years have passed since the 1990s wars, victims of sexual violence are not officially recognised as civilian victims by the Serbian authorities.

They want the law amended to recognise victims of sexual violence, regardless of nationality, allowing them to receive welfare benefits and support from the state,

Women in states that recognise them as civilian victims receive some kind of monthly pension, Pavlovic noted.

“They use that money, above all, for medicine, to take care of their physical and mental health precisely because of the consequences left by this crime,” she said.

She argued that “it is also, on a symbolic level, important for the state of Serbia to recognise the war crime of rape as such”.

At this point, she said, the Serbian authorities don’t even know how many victims there are in the country. “This country often talks about Serbian victims, but we see that in the case of women, it’s not even about that,” she added.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, ICTY, in The Hague classified sexual violence as a war crime and a crime against humanity. Its first verdict convicting a defendant of wartime sexual violence came in 2001, in the trial of Bosnian Serb Army commander Dragoljub Kunarac and his subordinates Radomir Kovac and Zoran Vukovic.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, women who survived wartime rape were recognised for the first time in the world as civilian victims of war in the country’s Federation entity in 2006. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo have also established legal reparation mechanisms for survivors

Last year, in a world first, Bosnia’s Federation entity recognised children born as a result of wartime rape as civilian victims of war too. 

Croatia and Kosovo also recognise survivors of sexual violence in war as civilian victims of war who are entitled to various types of compensation and welfare services. More than 1,500 people have been granted this status in Kosovo, and more than 200 in Croatia, said the Autonomous Women’s Centre in a statement.

[gunlovingpacifist]

Now I have to block you because people on the right celebrate ignorance and Mooch of blue states. Them gunz ain't gonna feed your family......

I have posed this question a few times and never get a response

.... 🤔

Here is why I am a liberal...

Why are you a Republican?

The 40-hour work week, and thus, weekends!

Overtime pay and minimum wage.

Paid Vacations.

Women’s Voting Rights

The Civil Rights Act of 1964

The right of people of all colors to use schools and facilities.

Public schools.

Public libraries

Public transportation

Public universities

Public broadcasting

Public police and fire departments

Worker’s rights

Labor safety and fairness laws

*Nixon gave us the EPA

Child-labor laws.

The right to unionize

Health care benefits

National Parks, Monuments, and Forests, “America’s Best Idea”

Interstate Highway System (Eisenhower (R) and Al Gore Sr. (D)

Safe food and drugs (via the FDA)

Social Security

NASA

The Moon Landing and other space exploration

Satellites

The Office of Congressional Ethics.

The Internet

National Weather Service

Product Labeling/Truth in Advertising Laws

Rural Electrification/Tennessee Valley Authority

Bank Deposit Insurance

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Consumer Product Safety Commission

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Rights of the disabled (via Americans With Disabilities Act)

Family and Medical Leave Act

Clean air and water (Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, the Environmental Protection Agency).

Civilian Conservation Corps

Panama Canal

Hoover Dam

The Federal Reserve

Medicare/Medicaid

The United States Military

The FBI

The CIA

Peace between Israel and Egypt

Peace between Israel and Jordan

Veterans Medical Care

Federal Housing Administration

Extending Voting Rights to 18 year olds

Freedom of Speech

Freedom of Religion/Separation of Church and State

Right to Due Process

Freedom of The Press

Right to Organize and Protest

Pell Grants and other financial aid to students

Federal Aviation Administration/Airline safety regulations

The end of slavery in the USA (The Emancipation Proclamation, The 13th Amendment)

Unemployment benefits

Smithsonian Institute

Americorps

Mandatory Food Labeling

Peace Corps

United Nations

World Health Organization

The Lincoln Tunnel

Sulfur emissions cap and trade to eliminate acid rain

Earned Income Tax Credit

The banning of lead in consumer products

National Institute of Health

Garbage pickup/clean streets

Banning of CFCs.

LGBT rights

Expanded voting access via polling places

Erie Canal

Bailout — and thus continued existence — of the American Auto Industry

Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

Established the basis for Universal Human Rights by writing the Declaration of Independence

Miranda Rights

Banning of torture

The right to a proper defense in court

An independent judiciary

The right to vote

Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act

Fair, open, and honest elections

The founding of The United States of America

The defeat of the Nazis and victory in World War II

Paramedics

Woman’s Right to Choose

The Civil Rights Movement

National Science Foundation

Vehicle Safety Standards

NATO

The income tax and power to tax in general, which have been used to pay for much of this list.

911 Emergency system

Tsunami, hurricane, tornado, and earthquake warning systems

The Freedom of Information Act

Water Treatment Centers and sewage systems

The Meat Inspection Act

The Pure Food And Drug Act

The Bretton Woods system

International Monetary Fund

SEC, which regulates Wall Street (weaked by conservatives)

National Endowment for the Arts

Campaign finance laws (weaked by conservatives)

Federal Crop Insurance

United States Housing Authority

School Lunch Act

Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act

Vaccination Assistance Act

The creation of counterinsurgency forces such as the Navy Seals and Green Berets.

Voting Rights Act, which ended poll taxes, literacy tests, and other voter qualification tests (weaked by conservatives)

The Brady Bill (5-day wait on handgun purchases for background checks)

Lobbying Disclosure Act

"Motor-Voter" Act

Civil Rights Act of 1968

Job Corps

Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965

Teacher Corps

Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966

National Trails System Act of 1968

U.S. Postal Service

Modern Civilization

BIDEN WINS:

• Inflation Reduction Act

• CHIPS & Science Act

• PACT Act for veterans

• First major gun safety legislation in decades

• Took out the leader of al Qaeda

• Historic job growth (+12.8 million)

• Historically low unemployment

• Expanded the NATO alliance

• American Rescue Plan led to fastest jobs recovery in history

• Confirmation of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson

• Rallied our allies in support of Ukraine

•Once-in-a-generation infrastructure investments

• Student loan forgiveness

• Rural broadband investment

In not a republican. I lean right on one issue. The second amendment. Why's that hard for leftists to comprehend

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

May 1, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

MAY 2, 2023

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wrote to House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) today to warn him that the Treasury will be unable to pay the government’s bills by early June, possibly as early as June 1. She wrote: “I respectfully urge Congress to protect the full faith and credit of the United States by acting as soon as possible.”

President Biden promptly called McCarthy and House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), along with Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for a meeting on May 9 to discuss the crisis. The delay is caused by the fact that the House is not in session and McCarthy is in Israel with a House delegation. They will have only a week to confer before Biden is off to Japan for the 2023 summit of the International Group of Seven, or G7, a political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, along with the European Union, which is a "non-enumerated member."

Biden has said his position remains the same: he will not negotiate over paying the nation’s bills, although he is happy to negotiate over the national budget as part of the normal process.

Last week, the House passed a bill that would raise the debt ceiling for about a year and cap government spending at 2022 levels, which amounts to cuts of about $130 billion in non-defense spending.

Republicans are angry at a warning from the Department of Veterans Affairs— the VA— that the House bill will force a 22% cut to the department’s budget, costing 81,000 jobs in health services, reducing outpatient visits for veterans by 30 million, increasing food insecurity for about 1.3 million veterans, and adding 134,000 claims to disability backlogs. Republicans insist this is a lie, but they have declined to say where their cuts would come from.  

Meanwhile, Schumer wrote to his colleagues today to condemn what he called the Republicans’ “Default on America Act,” or “DOA,” which “offers two choices: either default on the debt or default on America, forcing steep cuts to law enforcement, veterans, families, teachers, and kids.” He said that the bill would “gut Medicaid for over 20 million Americans, rip away SNAP benefits for over a million recipients and eliminate Pell grants for tens of thousands of American students every year.”

Schumer has prepared for the Senate to take up two bills: a clean debt ceiling bill and McCarthy’s bill, which if it passes would become part of normal budget negotiations.  

In another story with major implications, tomorrow the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on Supreme Court ethics. Supreme Court justices are the only federal judges that are not explicitly bound by a code of conduct and, aside from the decisions that have made the justices seem to be advancing a political agenda, the court appears to be plagued with ethics scandals. Confidence in the court is draining away.

After Justice Samuel Alito’s early draft of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision of last June leaked, an angry chief justice vowed to find the leaker, only to have an antiabortion activist claim in December that he and his colleagues had courted the goodwill of justices with donations to the Supreme Court Historical Society. He claimed that he had received advance notice of the court’s decision in the Burwell v.Hobby Lobby case, important to antiabortion activists, from someone connected to Justice Alito.

Alito claimed the Dobbs leak had made the justices “targets for assassination” and the final report on the Dobbs leak called the leak “a grave assault on the judicial process,” but the report said investigators could not determine who had leaked. Court employees had been grilled, but it was not clear that the justices themselves had been questioned.

Then, last month, ProPublica reported that Justice Clarence Thomas did not disclose gifts and trips worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from Republican megadonor Harlan Crow, or that Crow had bought and improved a home in which Thomas’s mother still lives.

Then, Politico reported that Justice Neil Gorsuch did not disclose the purchaser of his jointly-owned log home in Colorado. After two years on the market, the house sold nine days after Gorsuch was confirmed to the court; Gorsuch reported making between a quarter- and a half-million dollars on the sale. The buyer was the head of Greenberg Traurig, a law firm that has been involved in at least 22 cases before the court since Gorsuch joined it.

In late April, Insider reported another appearance of conflict: a whistleblower filed an official complaint against Chief Justice Roberts himself in December, alleging that he had listed his wife’s income as “salary” when the $10.3 million she received from 2007 to 2014 came from commissions paid by corporations and law firms for her work as a legal recruiter.

On April 20 the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dick Durbin (D-IL) invited Chief Justice John Roberts or anyone he designated to testify about how Supreme Court justices address ethical issues. “The status quo is no longer tenable,” wrote Durbin. “The time has come for a new public conversation on ways to restore confidence in the Court’s ethical standards.

On April 25, Roberts declined Durbin’s invitation, writing that he was concerned about the separation of powers and about “preserving judicial independence.” He promised that the justices subscribe to a statement of ethics principles and practices, which he attached.

On April 27 the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee responded with a letter saying: “It is noteworthy that no Justice will speak to the American people after numerous revelations have called the Court’s ethical standards into question, even though sitting Justices have testified before Senate or House Committees on at least 92 occasions since 1960.” They asked when the justices had agreed to the statement of ethics.

Today, Roberts responded that they had agreed to the ethics statement on April 25, and said that justices policed their own ethics as they “consult a wide variety of guidance on ethics issues, including statutes, judicial opinions, advice [from legal experts], scholarly commentary, and historical practice, among other sources.”

Democrats on the Judiciary Committee responded that “[t]hese answers further highlight the need for meaningful Supreme Court ethics reform.” Pressure for that reform is growing.

On April 26, Senators Angus King (I-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced the Supreme Court Code of Conduct Act, a bill to reform Supreme Court ethics that gets around the separation of powers issue by requiring the court to write its own code of conduct and appoint an official to review potential conflicts and public complaints. It is a remarkably simple bill, designed, King and Murkowski say, to shore up the public’s confidence in the Supreme Court. Greg Sargent of the Washington Post suggested that at the very least, the measure should force lawmakers who oppose it to explain why.

The crisis in the Supreme Court is headed for another major test. The court today agreed to hear a case that could gut the government’s ability to regulate business. The court will reconsider the 1984 Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council decision, which affirmed that judges should defer to government agencies in their reasonable interpretation of a law if the wording of the law is vague. This court seems likely to reject this idea and to allow judges to rein in regulation according to their own interpretation of the law.

Only eight justices will decide the case, since Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was on the circuit court that first heard the case at the heart of the challenge to Chevron, has recused herself.

—

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON