AMERICAN DISCOURSE: As Perino reassured Red America...

MONDAY, JULY 7, 2025

...Blue America heard something quite different: As of last Wednesday afternoon, the House of Representatives still hadn't passed the GOP megabill.

The House would pass the bill the next day. On the Fourth of July, as originally planned, President Trump would sign the bill into law.

For now, it was 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 2. On a major Fox News Channel program, a panel of five like-minded performers were mocking Democratic claims about the contents of the bill.

The program was The Five. For better or worse—quite often, for worse—The Five is the most-watched program in the American "cable news" firmament.

For whatever reason, there was no liberal, progressive or nominal Democrat on the five-member panel this day. Lawrence Jones, the all-knowing co-host of Fox & Friends, sat in the (nominal) liberal chair. 

That meant that all five panelists would be giving voice to various Fox News Channel talking points. This was last Wednesday's lineup:

The Five: Wednesday, July 2, 2025
Emily Compagno: co-host, Outnumbered
Lawrence Jones: co-host, Fox & Friends
Johnny Joey Jones: Fox News contributor
Dana Perino: regular co-host, The Five
Greg Gutfeld: regular co-host, The Five

For better or worse, those were the players on the Mudville Five that day.

The program's first segment was devoted to UPenn's official statement that it had erred in allowing Lia Thomas, a transgender woman, to take part in female college swimming competition. The segment ran above this (accurate) chyron:

UPENN TO BAN TRANS ATHLETES FROM WOMEN'S SPORTS

That was the opening segment. In the program's second segment, all five panelists mocked Democratic complaints about the contents of the megabill. 

When it came time to describe the bill's contents, here's part of what was said:

GUTFELD (7/2/25): [The Democrats] are the human version of hysterical tweets...They say, "Oh my God, you're cutting Medicaid! You're throwing, you're throwing the poor and needy"—

No, no, no! These are young, able-bodied people, and illegals. You know, this isn't a free buffet for people who could afford to pay for it. So enough with that.

[...]

PERINO: So on the health car front, Joey—every time a Democrat goes on TV, they add two to three million more to how many people are going to lose their health care. It's 7.8 million people that would be required to do these work requirements, and it's illegal immigrants. 

"No. no, no," Gutfeld said, rejecting the claim that truly needy people could end up losing their Medicaid coverage under terms of the GOP bill. 

As she introduced the segment, Perino had ridiculed the way major Dems were all posting "the same Bat-signal talking points on X, blaming [the Senate bill] for allegedly taking health care away from Americans."

According to Gutfeld and Perino, it seemed that the only Medicaid recipients who could lose their coverage were young, able-bodied people who were refusing to work. People like that would lose their coverage, and so would illegal immigrants.

As the segment continued, Perino continued her throw to Joey Johnny Jones. He began by describing the widespread fraud committed by recipients of Social Security Disability Insurance in his native Dalton, Georgia.

(The widespread fraud within that program had long been committed by "the people I love and that raised me," Jones now sadly said.)

So said Jones, painting a picture of widespread fraud within that federal program. As he continued, he then seemed to discuss President Trump's pledge concerning Medicaid coverage—except he seemed to think that the panel was discussing coverage under Medicare, a different federal program:

JONES: ...The sentence was, "I'm not going to cut Medicare—Medicaid. Medicare! 
The sentence should have been, "I'm not going to cut Medicare to people who prove, who can prove that they deserve it."

According to Jones, that's what President Trump should have said. More specifically, Jones seemed to think that that was the actual policy found in the megabill.

(To assess what Jones said, you'll have to watch the videotape yourself. To our ear, he seemed to think the panel was talking about Medicare coverage. Such cluelessness is not uncommon within the pseudo-discussions which form the bulk of this influential program.)

At any rate, so it went as Red America's viewers were reassured about the "Bat-signal talking-points" the Democrats had all been posting—about the stupid claims the Dems had been making about this part of the GOP bill. 

No one was going to lose Medicaid coverage except able-bodied adults who refused to work, along with illegal immigrants. Or at least, so it seemed as Gutfeld, Perino and Jones discussed this part of the GOP bill.

For the record, the messaging about illegal immigrants had been common in Red America for months by this time. Almost surely, that explains calls to C-Span's Washington Journal like the one we transcribed as part of our June 30 report.

The previous caller had voiced concern about people losing their Medicaid coverage. This next caller instantly said that there was nothing to worry about. 

The GOP bill was going to dump "illegals" from the program. this caller said. he bill was going to dump "illegals" and no one else:

MODERATOR (6/29/25): Kelly, in Clemmons, North Carolina, on the line for Republicans. Good morning, Kelly!

KELLY IN NORTH CAROLINA: Hi, Tammy! Well, I want to tell that man right there that his prayers have already been answered. Because they're not cutting Social Security, they're not cutting Medicare, and they're not cutting Medicaid. 

They are reforming Medicaid, and the way the cuts would be are not real "cuts." They are no more illegals being able to use them. That's where the cuts are coming from, OK? All you people who are American citizens, you will still be getting everything you were getting...

I just want you all to know there's nothing to worry about. You are listening to propaganda, and it's all propaganda from the left. Stop listening to it, you're hurting yourselves. They are trying to make you in fear. Have faith, not fear, and God bless you all.

MODERATOR: That was Kelly in North Carolina...

"All you people who are American citizens, you will still be getting everything you were getting," this C-Span caller said. In line with standard C-Span practice, the moderator made no attempt to question or critique the caller's presentation.

As of today, the megabill has been passed by the Senate and the House, and it's been signed into law. We will now see, or will perhaps fail to see, what its effects will be.

The field of play is this:

We American citizens now live in two separate nations. As we inhabit our separate domains, we hear vastly different accounts of major policy issues.

Last Wednesday afternoon, the five players on our nation's most-watched "cable news" show were mocking the bogus talking points which were comically being churned by the ridiculous Democrats. But as this messaging went out to Red America, people living in Blue America were hearing a vastly different set of claims about the likely effects of the bill.

People in the two Americas were hearing vastly different sets of claims about this high-profile bill. We think of Lincoln' portrait of an earlier pair of Americas as the Civil War approached:

Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged. 

At that time, the two Americas were drawing vastly different conclusions even from the words of the Bible! Today, a different pair of Americas are emitting vastly different claims about this major bill.

Dana Perino is saying one thing. Major voices in Blue America are making claims which are vastly different.

As we launch a week in which we'll explore the shape of the broken American discourse, we leave you today with a question which may seem peculiar:

Vastly different claims are being made. How do you know who's right?

Tomorrow: What Compagno said


115 comments:

  1. I still believe all of Trump’s lies.

    ReplyDelete
  2. All of this talk about illegal immigrants, is blocking out talk of the economy, which the corporate-owned media lied about being important to Trump voters.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Now is the time to gloat about Trump giving his Texas voters exactly what they voted for.
    Thank you Mr. President.

    Squeal louder, Texans.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, Texas is getting exactly the government they voted for. Orange man didn't even miss a golf outing this weekend. Yahoo!!!

      Delete
  4. 9:40AM is a false-flag comment.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's from Christopher Rufo?
      If so, the corporate media needs to run with this.

      Delete
    2. I don’t know. It could be David or Cecelia.

      Delete
    3. 9:40 is mocking the right wing trolls here.

      Delete
    4. Anonymouse 11:22am, that’s a mighty convoluted way to see if I’m still around and experiencing your brilliance.

      Delete
    5. It is a shame people around here don't care about Cecilia as a person, only about his manhood.

      Delete
    6. Anonymouse 4:09pm, I got your manhood right here, baby.

      Delete
    7. I care about Cecelia. She’s a beautiful, intelligent woman. I’m always glad to read her comments. Some day, I hope to meet her.

      Delete
    8. Why don’t both you anonymices dream about each other and leave my manhood out of it?

      Delete
    9. I thought your manhood was front and center.

      Delete
    10. That depends on the view. .

      Delete
  5. Somerby might attempt to find out who is right about key issues, such as who will be cut from medicaid. He could evaluate which sources can be trusted and which cannot. He could discuss the issue of how we evaluate sources. He could even evaluate the background of Gutfeld and his cast members, talking about their specific expertise and where they get their script and talking points. He does none of that. He thinks it is enough to say that the left and right consume different news. Duh!

    Somerby is useless when it comes to discussing this bill, already signed last week, or any info about how to evaluate it. So why did he write today's essay? It seems to me he is trying to divert attention away from the disaster in TX and whether the failure to warn people about rising flooding water arises from Trump's gutting of the staff of the NWS (National Weather Service) and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), the two agencies most involved in forecasting extreme weather events.

    Based on Somerby's essay, you would never know that the severe flooding in TX had occurred, that the death toll is now over 80, that 27 girls are still missing, that emergency services on the ground blame a lack of warning for the high number of deaths and failure to evacuate. Others are discussing whether Trump's large staff cuts are to blame for this situation.

    Not Somerby. Somerby is helping Trump divert attention from his own culpability. Somerby is ignoring the tragedy in order to talk about a situation from last Wednesday on a show that is not intended to provide meaningful financial analysis of the impact of budget cuts, but is entertainment.

    This is how moronic the level of discourse has become on Somerby's own blog, which means he is not the most qualified person to be discussing the quality of coverage on the right at all, much less on the left, which he never mentions and yet still blames. Was the left talking about the budget bill last Wednesday. You bet! But you'd never know what they were saying if you relied on Somerby. We know all about Gutfeld and nothing about blue cable, except that it is somehow bad. And you would never know that Trump worsened the impact of the latest natural disaster with his cuts via DOGE. With more cuts to come in the latest budget bill.

    If this disaster had happened before the votes in Congress, would the bill still have passed? Somerby doesn't know and doesn't care. He doesn't want to talk about the actual impact of the bill -- just about the way it is being talked about by Gutfeld. Because discourse is so much more important than action, and who cares if Texans are warned about 100-year storms or not?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Somerby is a waste of your time.

      Delete
    2. Somerby will repeat the Right-wing talking points as soon as they are made available.
      He might even question the sanity of them, one of the many, many times he repeats them.

      Delete
    3. On of the right wing talking points about the flooding in TX is that there was warning given but people stupidly ignored it. AKA blame the victims. That excuse for deaths is used in FL a lot after hurricanes. In Katrina, the people who died had no cars or were nursing home residents or were elderly. Did those girls at camp have cars?

      Another talking point I've heard is that this was a 100-year storm, so who could have known the flooding would be so severe. Well, meteorologists could have known, if they had been there to do their jobs.

      Some congressmen have said words to the effect of "we're all too sad to talk about the need for accurate weather forecasting" or "how can you talk politics in the midst of a tragedy, while kids are still missing, you brutes!"

      It is pretty obvious that we needed those additional weather forecasters on the job, because look what happened when they weren't there.

      Delete
    4. anon 9:53, my sympathies that you have no choice but to peruse the site every day, and to suffer through its constant moronic content. But, you answer to a higher calling. If only somehow there was a way to replace Mr. S. as host of this site and replace him with you, what an enormous relief it would be to the country as well as the world. Your martyrdom to the cause of exposing this weaselly Trump supporter does not go unappreciated.

      Delete
    5. 9:53 is on the nose, triggering the sadly misguided Somerby acolytes.

      Back in the day, this blog started over how corporate media was misinforming on Whitewater and proposed cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, misinformation spread by Republicans and then amplified by corporate media as a function of their neoliberalism.

      Now the best Somerby can muster is some weak sauce about "both sides".

      Delete
    6. @12:25 - your sarcasm is tired to the point of desiccation. DOA actually.

      Delete
    7. anon 4:47, you're so cynical. Not sarcasm, but pure admiration toward 9:53. she, with modest unselfishness, day in and day out calls out the trepidations of TDH. Some might say that she bases her criticism on willful (or insane) distortions and of what he says. She has to bear that cross also. You just can't imagine that someone would find her inspiring, given that it must be agony for her to perform this duty. You are clearly a Trump-bot, or perhaps a Soros-bot; probably both.

      Delete
    8. You can't just be whoever you want on the internet. If you could, there'd be a Republican voter who isn't a bigot there.

      Delete
    9. AC/MA and DG both claim to be Dems, like Somerby, but they don’t express Dem views and they mostly attack Dems here, such as 9:53. Anyone can say they are anything but it is always behavior that matters.

      Delete
    10. This blog is unworthy of 9:53.

      Delete
  6. "Tomorrow: What Compagno said"

    Who gives a shit?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 9:53AM gives a shit. I don’t know why.

      Delete
    2. @9:53 seems more concerned about Somerby than about Compagno (Somerby's choice of topic).

      Delete
    3. Anonymouse 11:24am, because Mr. Soros pays them.

      Delete
    4. I didn't think you were that stupid Cecelia. But it figures.

      Delete
    5. I just bought a Cadillac with my Soros money.

      Delete
  7. How many illegal immigrants died in the TX flooding?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. None. They were too busy doing the jobs white people aren't qualified for.

      Delete
    2. The real Replacement Theory concerns a fear of incompetent Whites, specifically White men, being replace by competent women and people of color.

      Delete
    3. Hiring women and immigrants, instead of lazy, stupid, unqualified white men is a sure-fire way to get a big tax break from Trump and the Republican Party.

      Delete
  8. We the people don't vote on things like the budget bill. That was up to our elected representatives. They didn't care much what was in the bill either. All that mattered was what Trump wanted, not how bad the bill would be for their constituents. In the end, they all went along with Trump's desires. So why should it matter what Gutfeld or anyone on his show said on Wed night? It didn't even matter to most Republican members of congress what was in the bill. Some admitted to not reading it.

    So why is it so important to Somerby that he discuss what was said on Fox News on Wed? Why Wed? Next year, we will know the impact of the bill and it will be the topic of midterm electioneering. Republicans will lose their seats and Trump will lose his majority and we can get the nation back on track by undoing as much of Trump's damage as possible.

    A lot can happen before those midterms. At the rate Trump is deteriorating, there may be new issues to discuss, such as his removal by less demented peers, or major world problems involving Russia and NATO, or a growing measles pandemic. Will Somerby still be unable to identify what is important to discuss then? Most likely.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. To me the bill stands out with extravagant spending on ICE that did not exist 23 years ago, and another mind boggling increase in defense spending. Shit is nuts for a country spending over a trillion a year on debt financing. And another Republican massive tax cut for the very rich guaranteeing economic collapse. Fucking vandals know they fucked us, that's why they are spending hundreds of billions to create/reinforce a police state to lock up dissenters, I mean immigrants.

      Delete
    2. Shit is nuts?

      Delete
  9. Trump will be winning the Nobel Peace prize. Trump delivered something rare: peace through strength.This is what a peacemaker and the leader of the free world does, steps in when both sides can’t agree and he gives them an offer they can’t refuse. The prize will be laid at his feet and Democrats will be mandated to bow and praise him for it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tiniest hands of any Nobel Peace prize winner ever!
      And until a pre-born wins it, it'll never be close.

      Delete
    2. I wonder if orange man will wear a baseball cap at the award ceremony. It has gotten to the point where he cannot be seen in public with that bird's nest on his head anymore.

      Delete
    3. Truly deservituding of the nobel man what with ending Gaza and Ukraine on day one. What stench I mean strength.

      Delete
    4. 10:20 is mocking the desperate fever dreams of Republicans.

      It is pretty funny, until you consider all the harm Republicans do to America.

      Delete
  10. In a different weather-related event, 53 out of 66 migrants packed into a semi-trailer in 100+ degree heat died while being smuggled into the US. Among them were children and a pregnant woman. There was no air-conditioning or water in the truck, headed for San Antonio TX. The smugglers have been prosecuted and sentenced to life in prison. But why is this kind of extreme effort to enter the US happening? Do right wingers ever think about that? Who are the actual victims in this situation?

    As the temperature rises in summer, the other main victims are heat deaths among those who also lack air conditioning. In NYC there are about 500 per year. Black people have a death rate twice that of white residents. The elderly are more likely to die because of heat interacting with chronic conditions, such as heart problems. This is where Medicaid and Medicare come in. If someone's income is reduced they are less able to stay cool.

    Are 82 deaths in TX more important than 500 deaths in NYC? All unnecessary and preventable deaths matter. Oddly, some Republicans reacting to the TX flooding are saying that they cannot consider the impact of inadequate warnings until every person has been recovered. What about long term warnings, such as that continuing to allow our planet to warm is going to affect more people, especially those who are poor, lack health care, and live without conveniences like air conditioning?

    Perhaps Republicans have cut weather services because what difference does it make if the forecast every day is for 100+ temperatures in large portions of the country? The poor are the ones being affected most, and who cares about them? Maybe they just don't care about anyone except themselves?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. One doesn't need as big staff of meteorologists to know that there are heat spells during the summer. The tragic deaths of the illegal immigrants in a semi-trailer illustrates how much tragedy is being averted by closing the border. Thank you, Mr. President.

      Delete
    2. Don’t sneak into the USA.

      Delete
    3. David is suggesting that all weather should be classified into categories such as hot, cold and medium. David, don't you think it was important to be able to tell the difference between normal flooding and a 100-year storm? You do need a staff of appropriately trained meteorologists to do that, and to forecast what areas will be affected by such a storm, then to send out warnings and coordinate with emergency management people on the ground. Go see the movie Twisters for an example. All tragic deaths can and should be averted, but farmers care about this stuff too, and insurance agents who are trying to figure out their risk exposure and how much to charge for policies (although most exclude flooding). Airlines use weather data to route planes.

      This incident should demonstrate to Republicans that not everyting can be cut without consequences. If you don't care if children die at summer camp, go ahead and keep cutting. You clearly don't care if illegals die in semi-trailers because the border is closed and they can't get across in normal ways (such as walking through a check point after filing for asylum).

      Have you never asked yourself why people are so desperate that they would risk death and pay $16-20K to cross the border? Harris did. That's why she met with leaders of the donor countries to figure out ways to make life more tolerable there. Why do people become illegals? Do you even know?

      Delete
    4. No, I don’t know. But whatever the reason may be, they should not sneak into the USA.

      Delete
    5. 11:30 - The size of the NWS staff was not a contributing factor to the tragic flood deaths. The AP reported that The National Weather Service had 5 people in the flood area instead of the usual 2, because they knew something big was coming. https://x.com/EndWokeness/status/1941955047715127720

      Delete
    6. The NWS is WFA — waste fraud abuse. Defund it.

      Delete
    7. One "independent" guy said that. Others are saying differently. Emergency services people on the ground are saying they didn't get sufficient warning. Coordination was lacking. Given that something big did happen, shouldn't there have been more than 5? It appears so. Just because 5 is more than 2 doesn't mean it was enough. Total staff at NWS and NOAA has been drastically cut and is cut more in the new budget bill. Does that still seem like a good idea? Or are you throwing Texans under the bus?

      What does a URL that has EndWokeness in it have to do with staffing at NWS? The 2 people are the number of staff when the weather is clear, not during a normal storm. If you bring people in on overtime or hold people over at the end of a shift, does that provide enough people to deal with such a storm? What if there are not enough people working in that office to locate any more staff to bring in, enough to adequately deal with it? They aren't there because they were fired.

      Is this what you consider to be an expert? Some guy called "EndWokeness"? Not biased much!

      Delete
    8. Aaannnd there goes Dickhead in Cal, heading for the tall grass.

      Delete
    9. Climate change is woke. End wokeness and we end climate change.

      Delete
    10. The NWS is WFA — waste fraud abuse. Fucking nasty ass fake Christian response to a preventable tragedy.

      Delete
    11. The deaths in Texas are blood on Trump and the Republicans hands.

      This country derives its power from immigrants.

      White people can not handle that they are not superior to "others", something that is increasingly clear.

      Delete
    12. Dickhead in Cal and I both understand the human tragedy in Texas we've witnessed this past weekend is all due to DEI culture down there. I will bet my house the people in charge were all true red trump supporters.

      Delete
    13. David is a troll, his only purpose here is to trigger others, using misinformation.

      Best to just label him a troll and otherwise move on and ignore him.

      Delete
    14. David was OK until Zionism poisoned his soul.

      Delete
    15. Democrats can’t recognize Trump changing so many people’s lives. Give me any example of any Biden doing ANYTHING for anyone not named Biden.

      Delete
    16. Umm, his infrastructure week didn't last four years like the Felon and actually accomplished stuff - national network of bridges and roads, airports, public transport and national broadband internet (especially in rural red areas), as well as waterways and energy systems. And notably a huge influx of new green businesses in rural red states (The Felon is shutting them down.) Prescription drug relief and capped prescription drug costs under medicare. Actually managed to get hundreds of millions Covid jabs in folks arms. College loans reduced, eliminated, cept when red judges fuck shit up. Highest level of insured population in nation's history. Expanded overtime garuntees and a general mensch for labor. Over the counter birth control. Accomplished a bit on gun violence. Followed thru with the Trump/Pompeo Sept. 2020 negotiated surrender to the Taliban, where shit would have gone sideways if he had not followed their terms of surrender. Child poverty was cut in half. Can't have that with the Felon in the richest nation in the world, poor kids must suffer. Historically low unemployment rates after the Felon's pandemic response caused them to skyrocket. A 15% minimum corporate tax on large corporations. Rejoined the Paris agreement as he is not a two year old. Supported NATO and Ukraine and treated Putin like the genocidal monster he is. Boosted IRS funding so billionaire tax cheats like the felon pay their fair share. Hell I'm so old I remember the CHIPS & Science act before these fucking monsters worked to destroy Universities and research, you know, the stuff that makes America great. Biden could have done a lot more good for the country but Republicans won the midterms. And those Democracy hating jaggoffs and Nazi weirdos place The Felon before Party, and Party before Country.

      Delete
    17. Edited to add, try the fucking Google moran.

      Delete
    18. As mid east peace envoy the Orange shitgibbon's SIL pocketed $1B from Qatar to bail out his failed 666 Manhattan investment, another $2B from. KSA, and $600 million from UAE. But as we all know, Biden's son never working for the White House repaying dad $7,200 on a truck loan was "the crime of the century" per Nest Gingrich and Fox. Damn you people weird.

      Delete
    19. Hey 11:55, the El Paso community warning communicator took Elon's early retirement deal. Fucking ghouls.

      Delete
    20. 11:21 Seeking asylum is the opposite of sneaking you big dummy. Republicans squashed a bipartisan bill to handle the asylum influx because the fucking orange man didn't want a win for Biden. Repukes are good for exacerbating problems, then working their asses off to never solve.

      Delete
    21. Hey David, when the fuck did Americans start saying "thank you Mr. President?" Creepy and very weird.

      Delete
    22. Child poverty was cut in half?

      Delete
    23. The children were cut in half.

      Delete
    24. In the new film Heads of State, the US president and the British prime minister are shown sneaking across the border between Belarus and Poland, making them illegals. Then they sneak over to Switzerland, all without passports or ID. You'll perhaps say that they had good reasons for doing that, but have you asked any other illegals what their reasons are? Zero tolerance should apply to everyone, not be cheered when Idris Alba does it but not when someone else in desperate circumstances is driven to cross into the USA to protect his life and family.

      Delete
    25. Sneak into Poland, Belarus, or Switzerland, if you want. Don’t sneak into the USA.

      Delete
    26. I think you missed the point.

      Delete
    27. Yes child poverty was cut in half, and it doesn't take much money from billionaires to pay for it. But when they could, the fascists Republicans in thrall to their donor class, and Manchinema, wanting to bath in consultant grifting spoils, gutted the money. Billionaires need more yachts, poor children can die already.

      Delete
    28. Climate change is real.
      Unlike the Republican voter who isn't a bigot.

      Delete
  11. Julio Caesar Chavez Jr. was detained by ICE because he allowed his tourist visa to expire. He is a famous boxer from Mexico.

    There seems to be an attitude that no one should care if illegals die due to harsh treatment. Would that apply To Chavez? Is the skill shown by Chavez more worthy of an Einstein visa than Melania's dubious talents?

    What happens to our souls when we start judging the worth of people as a measure of their right to live instead of according that right to all? When you deny people health care because of immigration status, you are sentencing some to die if they cannot receive health care or don't have air conditioning, or can't get on a plane to cross a border. Is that a legitimate thing to do, simply because some in our nation are xenophobic or frightened by the horror stories about immigrants eating pets, or think "Americans" should only speak English? Do we have the right to impose death sentences on others due to our personal likes or dislikes about other cultures?

    It is boiling down to questions like that, which Somerby will never discuss because he might have to examine his own prejudices.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Melania was beautiful.

      Delete
    2. But is she any kind of genius? The ability to pose nude is granted to all humans at birth.

      Delete
    3. Most people aren’t worth looking at nude. She was.

      Delete
    4. "Worth"? Is that Melania's worth as a human being?

      Delete
    5. That's what's wrong with our immigration system. Some fat rich guy wants to buy an Eastern European woman so they give her a visa for being beautiful and say fuck you to real people applying to come here without lying on their visa and residence applications. That is corruption.

      Delete
    6. No American woman would have anything to do with Trump because she would have too many other options that are less demeaning to her.

      Delete
    7. There is more to it than Trump being demeaning, he is also a disgusting mess, a walking tub of lard with a micro-penis, no self respecting woman wants any part of that, Trump is thoroughly repulsive.

      Delete
    8. Some women like micro-penes.

      Delete
    9. My husband has a cute little wienie. I love it and I love him.

      Delete
    10. Melania is a skank whore, that is what attracted the Felon to her, her skank stench.

      Delete
  12. One of the news reports I read this morning said that Trump has abolished FEMA because he wants to dole out aid personally, choosing who to help and who to deny help to. He wants to lap up the gratitude and feel powerful using the people's tax money. This is disgusting.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Jeffrey Epstein didn’t keep a client list.

    David has nothing to worry about.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If there was a client list, it is gone now.

      Delete
    2. We already know a portion of the client list:

      Trump
      Alan Dershowitz
      Prince Andrew
      Steven Pinker
      Bill Gates
      Joe Pagano
      etc

      All powerful/wealthy White dudes engaging in sexually assaulting young women/girls.

      Notably these dudes are ugly as fuck.

      Delete
    3. Wrong. Pinker was not a client of Epstein.

      Delete
    4. Pinker was a piker when it came to raping little girls.

      Delete
    5. Pinker is innocent.

      Delete
    6. Here is what AI says about Pinker and Epstein:

      "Information from Epstein's flight logs shows that Steven Pinker traveled on one of Epstein's private planes, which was nicknamed the "Lolita Express". This occurred in 2002 when Pinker was invited by his literary agent to join a group of TED speakers Epstein flew to California. Pinker stated he had no relationship with Epstein and didn't know he would be present on the trip.
      Additionally, Steven Pinker provided linguistic analysis in 2007 to help Jeffrey Epstein's legal defense team in a case involving the use of the internet to solicit minors. Pinker claimed he did this as a favor for a friend and colleague, Alan Dershowitz, without knowing how the information would be used, and has since stated he regrets doing so.
      Pinker has publicly stated that he did not have a close relationship with Epstein, did not receive funding from him, and tried to keep his distance, describing him as a "kibitzer and a dilettante". However, the revelation of these connections, including appearing in a photo with Epstein in 2014, has drawn criticism and scrutiny of Pinker's judgment. Pinker has attributed some of the negative publicity to individuals who disagree with him on other issues. "

      That's not nothing.

      Delete
    7. Pinker isn't being accused of having a "close" relationship with Epstein, just with the girls. Who does favors for a sleazy guy like Epstein's defense without having a relationship with him?

      Delete
    8. Your evidence is garbage. Pinker is innocent.

      Delete
    9. He has very poor taste in associates.

      Delete
    10. Guilt by association.

      Delete
  14. I'm glad Somerby repeated all those Republican reasons why it is OK that they cut Medicaid and nothing about the damage done by cutting NWS staff right before a 100-year storm caused massive flooding and 82+ deaths (with people still missing).

    ReplyDelete
  15. You all will recall that Donald J Chickenshit knew nothing about Project 2025, ain't that right, Dickhead in Cal???

    **********************
    PROJECT 2025 Page 674-676 (abridged)
    NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION
    Break Up NOAA. The single biggest Department of Commerce agency outside of decennial census years is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which houses the National Weather Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, and other components. NOAA garners $6.5 billion of the department’s $12 billion annual operational budget and accounts for more than half of the department’s personnel in non-decadal Census years (2021 figures).
    NOAA consists of six main offices:
    • The National Weather Service (NWS);
    • The National Ocean Service (NOS);
    • The Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR);
    • The National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service (NESDIS);
    • The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS); and
    • The Office of Marine and Aviation Operations and NOAA Corps.
    Together, these form a colossal operation that has become one of the main drivers of the climate change alarm industry and, as such, is harmful to future U.S. prosperity. This industry’s mission emphasis on prediction and management seems designed around the fatal conceit of planning for the unplannable. That is not to say NOAA is useless, but its current organization corrupts its useful functions. It should be broken up and downsized.
    NOAA today boasts that it is a provider of environmental information services, a provider of environmental stewardship services, and a leader in applied scientific research. Each of these functions could be provided commercially, likely at lower cost and higher quality.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The property insurance folks use the hell out of NOAA data. They do wonderful work that helps all of us

      Delete
    2. Insurance is an evil industry — it hires actuaries.

      Delete
    3. The insurance actuary hair is on fire due to climate change. Even magats are feeling this when they renew their insurance, or go naked as they can't afford anymore. You can holler fake climate change all you want, you still be paying for it with your lives and treasure, dummies.

      Delete
    4. They call me "Climate Change", because I don't give a fuck about your feelings.

      Delete
  16. Reminder from Digby, dear leader and his cronies will not count midterm votes against them being complete fucking Nazis who hate American Democracy.

    "he challenged election results and filed law suits in every swing state declaring that the elections had been stolen. State courts across the board found his suits to be baseless and he lost all but one.

    He leaned on state and local Republican officials to cheat in order to give him the win, famously telling the Georgia Secretary of State, on tape, that he just wanted him to “find” enough votes to put him over the top. He and his accomplices plotted to have fake electors file false paperwork declaring him the winner in the electoral college. And he pressured his often pliant Attorney General Bill Barr to have the Department of Justice declare that the election was fraudulent which Barr refused to do, resigning shortly thereafter. Trump then pressed Barr’s successor, Jeffrey Rosen, to do the same and he refused as well.

    And finally, we know that he attempted to bully his Vice President Mike Pence into going along with their “fake elector” plot to overturn the election which he also refused. We all know where that led on January 6th." Jaggoffs and weirdos.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Trump spent all weekend playing golf, when any other president would have been on a plane to Texas.

    Also, his sister Mary Trump says his cognitive decline is so bad he can no longer tie his own shoes.

    AI says:

    "Dementia affects the ability to perform routine tasks: Dementia, especially Alzheimer's disease, can impact a person's ability to complete everyday activities that were once automatic, including fine motor skills like tying shoelaces.
    It's more than just forgetfulness: It's important to distinguish this symptom from simple forgetfulness caused by distraction. In dementia, the individual may be focused on the task but still struggle with the steps and sequence needed to tie their shoes.
    Apraxia can play a role: Dementia, particularly Alzheimer's, can lead to a condition called apraxia, which is a neurological disorder affecting the ability to carry out purposeful movements. Limb-kinetic apraxia, a subtype, specifically involves difficulty with fine, precise movements of the extremities, which can impact tasks like buttoning a shirt or tying shoes.
    Early vs. advanced stages: Difficulty with familiar tasks, including dressing, can appear in the mild stage of Alzheimer's, while more significant challenges with motor skills may become more pronounced in later stages. "

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can’t tie my shoes.

      Delete
    2. Mary is his niece, not his sister.

      Delete
    3. Let Trump play golf, and leave the getting on a plane to Texas to the President of the United States of America, instead.

      Delete