Just highlighting some of your bulls-eye take-downshere. I read your 'round everything to10 trillion' post earlier today, so let's just 'round up' these 3 highlights to 10 trillion ....
"If they hesitate when Trump says, “jump” it’ll only be to ask how low."
"Hegseth is the Betsy DeVos of Defense secretaries"
"Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un appears to be ensuring he’s operating from a position of performative strength if/when he engages in talks with Supreme Leader Don John Trump."
Sorry for my long comment, but it speaks to the point Jonathan made about the cost of deporting undocumented immigrants {"as much as $852,000 to deport just 80 people") ....
I'm familiar with The Trail of Tears - the 1830s forced removal of Indigenous Peoples from east of the Mississippi to west of the same, most all the way to Oklahoma. I know about the savagery with which we treated these first Americans and the thousands killed. What I did not know is this:
"By the end of this decade-long process, the federal government had spent $75 million to eject [approximately 80,000] Native Americans from the eastern United States. That is the equivalent of over $1 trillion today, or $12.5 million for each Native American removed. In 1836, 40 percent of every dollar the U.S. federal government spent went toward enforcing the Indian Removal Act. In 2019, by contrast, only 17 percent of the federal budget went to national security and defense."
What will we taxpayers pay to remove a million, 3 million, 5 million migrants from our soil? If the cost to remove one migrant amounts to a small fraction of $12.5 million - say conservatively $25,000 (manpower, transportation, detention [recall that we paid $700/day to shelter/feed/harass each migrant Trump detained during his first term], etc.), removing a million will cost minimum $25 billion.
Thanks to this review of "Unworthy Republic" - a book published almost 5 years ago - I also see other parallels with Trump's "mass deportation" project. The $75 million cost to remove tribes yielded about $80 million in revenue as land speculators, etc. took possession of the land/infrastructure/possessions that could not be carried and sold it all. Question: If undocumented migrants in the US are forcibly deported, what will become of their real/personal property - homes, vehicles, personal possessions? "Cui bono?" - who benefits?
How many laws has Donny broken just in his first week? Would it be to Dems' advantage to introduce articles of impeachment every single time he does? I know they wouldn't go anywhere, so maybe they would just be a distraction. But he deserves NO REST from the constant reminder that he's not popular OR good at thing-doing.
Myself, I think gratuitous hits on the Democratic Party are a dumb mistake. Bernie Sanders his own sainted self has said that Biden was the most progressive President of his lifetime. Those who ‘push Democrats to do better’ or think they do, are the ones who vote third party, convince others that ‘both parties are the same’ and harm Democrats efforts time and again. Of course Ralph Nader is their spokesman. (Spokes-white-man).
I would love to see a real list of what people and organizations have done this week, because Nader is right that media couldn’t care less. And we really, really need to see opposition we can join and be inspired by.
Franklin Graham is a Pharisee! If Christ came back today he would lock him out of his church & deport him! St. Hypocrisy rules with these evangelical white nationalists! Kudos Bishop Budde! 👏👏👏☮️
Can’t stop chuckling about Hagseth's experience as an anchor. If that is not on his resume it should be. Great article. Democratic leadership could learn something from this if they could read but they won’t.
This is fine work. Hardly an extra word yet gmail clipped message by about half a dozen lines (I retrieved them). When I signed up I didn't know I'd get this much reporting from you on a Sunday. Don't burn yourself out.
As for the Democratic party... I kind of agree with Grassley... Cant believe I just said that. Sorry I had to hold the bile down. Anyway, that is "IF" the Democrats can say no to their donors and start delivering to their voters. But so far I see the Dems focusing on where people are getting their news from and the fact that they were out spent this election.
IMO people who have been life long dems like myself are going 3rd party because we see ZERO difference between them & the GOP. The only difference we see is the GOP unapologetically flaunts their agenda in your face while the Dems are still in Capitalistic closet.
Should the dems take up actually pass S. 1655 Medicare for All with the stipulation that all corporate subsidies be treated the same as personal investment with the return rate being maintained at 4%. The rate going to pay for Medicare for All and any surplus is to go into the Social Security fund to keep it solvent. All past present & future subsidies are to be repaid to the taxpayers at the same rate as student loans @ 8.08%.
I myself don't think this is unreasonable since we the voters (AKA taxpayers) have been the only corporate investors not getting a return for more than 40 years.
Take the corporate agriculture subsidies for 2023 which was $117 billion (we know mom & pop or family farms aren't getting the bulk of that funding) at the rate of current student loans they would need to repay all of that funding along with $9.4 billion interest. The other option is for them to include the taxpayers as investors with a return of 4% of all subsidies that taxpayers have spent over the years. And don't get me started on how corporate farmers use tax abatements to skirt repaying federal and local loans!! What I'm trying to convey is that every penny of subsidies added each year is compounded to the total then the 4% return is calculated. Kinda like how banks like to aggressively compound the interest on loans and mortgages. Because if corporations are people too then they should be subject to the same standards as individual borrowers & debtors.
Now apply that same rate of return in either option above to all industries, not individual corporations, & not only will Medicare & Social Security be solvent but we can also pay for free lunches so kids don't starve! Not one dime of the return should go to anything other than social safety net programs to help rebuild the middle class and ensure the working poor can afford housing.
Another example that truly ruffles my feathers... during covid big pharma got $80 billion of taxpayer funding to develop the vaccines they are currently selling for a profit while the taxpayers are not getting a dime of that profit even though we supplied funding. Also there should be a record of how they spent every damn penny of those funds just as TANIF & EBT recipients have to fill out dozens of forms & reapply for help every 3 months to show where their money goes. Because the taxpayers deserve to know what percent of that funding was actually spent on R&D and if any of it was used for management bonus or stock buybacks.
2. All taxpayer funded stock buybacks to be returned to their actual purchaser & owner the Taxpayers. Which is what would happen if taxpayers privately invested in these corporations.
Any time a corporation uses taxpayer funding for bailout funding for stock buybacks that stock belongs to us not them & 100% of the return belongs to us as well. BECAUSE WE PAID FOR IT!
Again according to Citizens United corporations are people too so it only makes sense that corporate welfare be treated and handled the same as welfare for the poor.
Jonathan, I have forwarded this to 6 people already and posted on bsky. Check bsky responses (I sent them thru bsky to you) People LOVED this! Your well researched reporting and the lift it gave them!
Schlock and Aw Dammit is right. They're finding out the move fast and break things may hit brick walls. It's the Know Nothings all over again. I'm sure some bad crap will make it through but the rest, purely performative. Fight, fight, fight...yawn.
Thanks for the good news that some things are holding. The courts and the Unsupremes are going to be really busy. No more vacations for you thomas and alito!
I read somewhere that Biden stopped an average of 308 migrants a day, whereas trump's 1st day with his military backup stopped 306. Correct me if I'm wrong please. Maybe we should send them some board games and playing cards. Chicken Foot is my favorite domino game...
Just highlighting some of your bulls-eye take-downshere. I read your 'round everything to10 trillion' post earlier today, so let's just 'round up' these 3 highlights to 10 trillion ....
"If they hesitate when Trump says, “jump” it’ll only be to ask how low."
"Hegseth is the Betsy DeVos of Defense secretaries"
"Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un appears to be ensuring he’s operating from a position of performative strength if/when he engages in talks with Supreme Leader Don John Trump."
Sorry for my long comment, but it speaks to the point Jonathan made about the cost of deporting undocumented immigrants {"as much as $852,000 to deport just 80 people") ....
I'm familiar with The Trail of Tears - the 1830s forced removal of Indigenous Peoples from east of the Mississippi to west of the same, most all the way to Oklahoma. I know about the savagery with which we treated these first Americans and the thousands killed. What I did not know is this:
"By the end of this decade-long process, the federal government had spent $75 million to eject [approximately 80,000] Native Americans from the eastern United States. That is the equivalent of over $1 trillion today, or $12.5 million for each Native American removed. In 1836, 40 percent of every dollar the U.S. federal government spent went toward enforcing the Indian Removal Act. In 2019, by contrast, only 17 percent of the federal budget went to national security and defense."
What will we taxpayers pay to remove a million, 3 million, 5 million migrants from our soil? If the cost to remove one migrant amounts to a small fraction of $12.5 million - say conservatively $25,000 (manpower, transportation, detention [recall that we paid $700/day to shelter/feed/harass each migrant Trump detained during his first term], etc.), removing a million will cost minimum $25 billion.
Thanks to this review of "Unworthy Republic" - a book published almost 5 years ago - I also see other parallels with Trump's "mass deportation" project. The $75 million cost to remove tribes yielded about $80 million in revenue as land speculators, etc. took possession of the land/infrastructure/possessions that could not be carried and sold it all. Question: If undocumented migrants in the US are forcibly deported, what will become of their real/personal property - homes, vehicles, personal possessions? "Cui bono?" - who benefits?
To read the article, you can access it here as a PDF I created from its original source Foreign Affairs: https://app.box.com/s/3j3x5f1gw80vbpdcw0fyo4ovbs4srrgj The original article on the FA website: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/review-essay/2020-06-09/land-not-your-land
How many laws has Donny broken just in his first week? Would it be to Dems' advantage to introduce articles of impeachment every single time he does? I know they wouldn't go anywhere, so maybe they would just be a distraction. But he deserves NO REST from the constant reminder that he's not popular OR good at thing-doing.
Myself, I think gratuitous hits on the Democratic Party are a dumb mistake. Bernie Sanders his own sainted self has said that Biden was the most progressive President of his lifetime. Those who ‘push Democrats to do better’ or think they do, are the ones who vote third party, convince others that ‘both parties are the same’ and harm Democrats efforts time and again. Of course Ralph Nader is their spokesman. (Spokes-white-man).
I would love to see a real list of what people and organizations have done this week, because Nader is right that media couldn’t care less. And we really, really need to see opposition we can join and be inspired by.
This piece was VERY well written. Thank you!!!
Why is he on the road he won the election so why do we still have to listen to him spout his hate
Franklin Graham is a Pharisee! If Christ came back today he would lock him out of his church & deport him! St. Hypocrisy rules with these evangelical white nationalists! Kudos Bishop Budde! 👏👏👏☮️
Physics. Thank-fucking'god.
Can’t stop chuckling about Hagseth's experience as an anchor. If that is not on his resume it should be. Great article. Democratic leadership could learn something from this if they could read but they won’t.
Thanks, Gordy. Hey, ya never know…!
Great reporting, Jon! Your words are a lifeline and so appreciated!
Thank you, Jerry. Same goes for you!
This is fine work. Hardly an extra word yet gmail clipped message by about half a dozen lines (I retrieved them). When I signed up I didn't know I'd get this much reporting from you on a Sunday. Don't burn yourself out.
I am the Roy Baty of Substack.
As for the Democratic party... I kind of agree with Grassley... Cant believe I just said that. Sorry I had to hold the bile down. Anyway, that is "IF" the Democrats can say no to their donors and start delivering to their voters. But so far I see the Dems focusing on where people are getting their news from and the fact that they were out spent this election.
IMO people who have been life long dems like myself are going 3rd party because we see ZERO difference between them & the GOP. The only difference we see is the GOP unapologetically flaunts their agenda in your face while the Dems are still in Capitalistic closet.
Should the dems take up actually pass S. 1655 Medicare for All with the stipulation that all corporate subsidies be treated the same as personal investment with the return rate being maintained at 4%. The rate going to pay for Medicare for All and any surplus is to go into the Social Security fund to keep it solvent. All past present & future subsidies are to be repaid to the taxpayers at the same rate as student loans @ 8.08%.
I myself don't think this is unreasonable since we the voters (AKA taxpayers) have been the only corporate investors not getting a return for more than 40 years.
Take the corporate agriculture subsidies for 2023 which was $117 billion (we know mom & pop or family farms aren't getting the bulk of that funding) at the rate of current student loans they would need to repay all of that funding along with $9.4 billion interest. The other option is for them to include the taxpayers as investors with a return of 4% of all subsidies that taxpayers have spent over the years. And don't get me started on how corporate farmers use tax abatements to skirt repaying federal and local loans!! What I'm trying to convey is that every penny of subsidies added each year is compounded to the total then the 4% return is calculated. Kinda like how banks like to aggressively compound the interest on loans and mortgages. Because if corporations are people too then they should be subject to the same standards as individual borrowers & debtors.
Now apply that same rate of return in either option above to all industries, not individual corporations, & not only will Medicare & Social Security be solvent but we can also pay for free lunches so kids don't starve! Not one dime of the return should go to anything other than social safety net programs to help rebuild the middle class and ensure the working poor can afford housing.
Another example that truly ruffles my feathers... during covid big pharma got $80 billion of taxpayer funding to develop the vaccines they are currently selling for a profit while the taxpayers are not getting a dime of that profit even though we supplied funding. Also there should be a record of how they spent every damn penny of those funds just as TANIF & EBT recipients have to fill out dozens of forms & reapply for help every 3 months to show where their money goes. Because the taxpayers deserve to know what percent of that funding was actually spent on R&D and if any of it was used for management bonus or stock buybacks.
2. All taxpayer funded stock buybacks to be returned to their actual purchaser & owner the Taxpayers. Which is what would happen if taxpayers privately invested in these corporations.
Any time a corporation uses taxpayer funding for bailout funding for stock buybacks that stock belongs to us not them & 100% of the return belongs to us as well. BECAUSE WE PAID FOR IT!
Again according to Citizens United corporations are people too so it only makes sense that corporate welfare be treated and handled the same as welfare for the poor.
I know its a pipe dream but it would be nice.
Pipe dreams are where real dreams come from, no?
Jonathan, I have forwarded this to 6 people already and posted on bsky. Check bsky responses (I sent them thru bsky to you) People LOVED this! Your well researched reporting and the lift it gave them!
Thanks, Diana!
Schlock and Aw Dammit is right. They're finding out the move fast and break things may hit brick walls. It's the Know Nothings all over again. I'm sure some bad crap will make it through but the rest, purely performative. Fight, fight, fight...yawn.
Thanks for the good news that some things are holding. The courts and the Unsupremes are going to be really busy. No more vacations for you thomas and alito!
I read somewhere that Biden stopped an average of 308 migrants a day, whereas trump's 1st day with his military backup stopped 306. Correct me if I'm wrong please. Maybe we should send them some board games and playing cards. Chicken Foot is my favorite domino game...
I tried to find that article on deportation comparisons... so far no luck!
I agree that child circumcision should be outlawed. It’s barbaric. If adults want to do that to themselves, I’m OK with it.
TFN keeping hope alive out in these streets. ❤️