bcz24 retweeted
So now the Trump administration is sending out one-time $500 checks to people who bought their health insurance through HealthCare.gov and paid the full price because they didn’t qualify for taxpayer subsidies.
In other words, people who’s income is roughly 400% above poverty and could already afford to pay full price for their health insurance are getting a $500 check from the president. And guess when those checks started showing up? October 1. Weeks before the midterm election.
The checks come with a letter from Trump lying about why you’re getting your $500. And here’s the really interesting part: this isn’t being distributed evenly across the country. Of the roughly $475 million being sent out, 71% of it, or $339 million, is going to people in just 13 states.
Those 13 states happen to be major midterm battlegrounds. They contain eight of the nine Senate races and 10 of the 12 governors’ races that nonpartisan analysts consider the most competitive.
Call it whatever you want. I’ll call it what it is: a bribe.
bcz24 retweeted
THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST DESCRIPTION OF A DEMOCRAT THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN.
Ron Howard has summed up what many of us believe. Including me....
“I'm a liberal, but that doesn't mean what a lot of you apparently think it does. Let's break it down, shall we? Because quite frankly, I'm getting a little tired of being told what I believe and what I stand for. Spoiler alert: not every liberal is the same, though the majority of liberals I know think along roughly these same lines:
1. I believe a country should take care of its weakest members. A country cannot call itself civilized when its children, disabled, sick, and elderly are neglected. PERIOD.
2. I believe healthcare is a right, not a privilege. Somehow that's interpreted as "I believe Obamacare is the end-all, be-all." This is not the case. I'm fully aware that the ACA has problems, that a national healthcare system would require everyone to chip in, and that it's impossible to create one that is devoid of flaws, but I have yet to hear an argument against it that makes "let people die because they can't afford healthcare" a better alternative. I believe healthcare should be far cheaper than it is, and that everyone should have access to it. And no, I'm not opposed to paying higher taxes in the name of making that happen.
3. I believe education should be affordable. It doesn't necessarily have to be free (though it works in other countries so I'm mystified as to why it can't work in the US), but at the end of the day, there is no excuse for students graduating college saddled with five- or six-figure debt.
4. I don't believe your money should be taken from you and given to people who don't want to work. I have literally never encountered anyone who believes this. Ever. I just have a massive moral problem with a society where a handful of people can possess the majority of the wealth while there are people literally starving to death, freezing to death, or dying because they can't afford to go to the doctor. Fair wages, lower housing costs, universal healthcare, affordable education, and the wealthy actually paying their share would go a long way toward alleviating this. Somehow believing that makes me a communist.
5. I don't throw around "I'm willing to pay higher taxes" lightly. If I'm suggesting something that involves paying more, well, it's because I'm fine with paying my share as long as it's actually going to something besides lining corporate pockets or bombing other countries while Americans die without healthcare.
6. I believe companies should be required to pay their employees a decent, livable wage. Somehow this is always interpreted as me wanting burger flippers to be able to afford a penthouse apartment and a Mercedes. What it actually means is that no one should have to work three full-time jobs just to keep their head above water. Restaurant servers should not have to rely on tips, multibillion-dollar companies should not have employees on food stamps, workers shouldn't have to work themselves into the ground just to barely make ends meet, and minimum wage should be enough for someone to work 40 hours and live.
7. I am not anti-Christian. I have no desire to stop Christians from being Christians, to close churches, to ban the Bible, to forbid prayer in school, etc. (BTW, prayer in school is NOT illegal; *compulsory* prayer in school is - and should be - illegal). All I ask is that Christians recognize *my* right to live according to *my* beliefs. When I get pissed off that a politician is trying to legislate Scripture into law, I'm not "offended by Christianity" -- I'm offended that you're trying to force me to live by your religion's rules. You know how you get really upset at the thought of Muslims imposing Sharia law on you? That's how I feel about Christians trying to impose biblical law on me. Be a Christian. Do your thing. Just don't force it on me or mine.
8. I don't believe LGBT people should have more rights than you. I just believe they should have the *same* rights as you.
9. I don't believe illegal immigrants should come to America and have the world at their feet, especially since THIS ISN'T WHAT THEY DO (spoiler: undocumented immigrants are ineligible for all those programs they're supposed to be abusing, and if they're "stealing" your job it's because your employer is hiring illegally). I believe there are far more humane ways to handle undocumented immigration than our current practices (i.e., detaining children, splitting up families, ending DACA, etc).
10. I don't believe the government should regulate everything, but since greed is such a driving force in our country, we NEED regulations to prevent cut corners, environmental destruction, tainted food/water, unsafe materials in consumable goods or medical equipment, etc. It's not that I want the government's hands in everything -- I just don't trust people trying to make money to ensure that their products/practices/etc. are actually SAFE. Is the government devoid of shadiness? Of course not. But with those regulations in place, consumers have recourse if they're harmed and companies are liable for medical bills, environmental cleanup, etc. Just kind of seems like common sense when the alternative to government regulation is letting companies bring their bottom line into the equation.
11. I believe our current administration is fascist. Not because I dislike them or because I can’t get over an election, but because I've spent too many years reading and learning about the Third Reich to miss the similarities. Not because any administration I dislike must be Nazis, but because things are actually mirroring authoritarian and fascist regimes of the past.
12. I believe the systemic racism and misogyny in our society is much worse than many people think, and desperately needs to be addressed. Which means those with privilege -- white, straight, male, economic, etc. -- need to start listening, even if you don't like what you're hearing, so we can start dismantling everything that's causing people to be marginalized.
13. I am not interested in coming after your blessed guns, nor is anyone serving in government. What I am interested in is the enforcement of present laws and enacting new, common sense gun regulations. Got another opinion? Put it on your page, not mine.
14. I believe in so-called political correctness. I prefer to think it’s social politeness. If I call you Chuck and you say you prefer to be called Charles I’ll call you Charles. It’s the polite thing to do. Not because everyone is a delicate snowflake, but because as Maya Angelou put it, when we know better, we do better. When someone tells you that a term or phrase is more accurate/less hurtful than the one you're using, you now know better. So why not do better? How does it hurt you to NOT hurt another person?
15. I believe in funding sustainable energy, including offering education to people currently working in coal or oil so they can change jobs. There are too many sustainable options available for us to continue with coal and oil. Sorry, billionaires. Maybe try investing in something else.
16. I believe that women should not be treated as a separate class of human. They should be paid the same as men who do the same work, should have the same rights as men and should be free from abuse. Why on earth shouldn’t they be?
I think that about covers it. Bottom line is that I'm a liberal because I think we should take care of each other. That doesn't mean you should work 80 hours a week so your lazy neighbor can get all your money. It just means I don't believe there is any scenario in which preventable suffering is an acceptable outcome as long as money is saved.”
Ron Howard
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
Ron Howard did not write the quote in this post. It was written by author Lori Gallagher Witt in a 2018 Facebook post.
snopes.com/fact-check/ron…
politifact.com/factchecks/202…
reuters.com/article/world/…
How does Cade Cunningham score TWO points in the 4th qtr of a playoff game? How does Detroit not make a FG for last SIX minutes of a playoff game. The NBA is disgusting #riggedNBA
bcz24 retweeted
You won't hear a better 55-second description of MAGA and Trump than this: in terms of the perspective of any minimally honest MAGA supporter:
No matter what happens out of this, the football gods HAVE to give @CrosbyMaxx a shot to play the @Ravens this year and make them eat that bullshit
bcz24 retweeted
Imagine still being a Trump supporter in March 2026. Think about what a desolate wasteland of spirit you'd have to have inside you to keep supporting that ghoul after all this.
You'd have to stand for absolutely nothing. You'd have to have no values besides "triggering the libs" and lower taxes for billionaires.
You can't lie to yourself and pretend he's anti-war anymore. You can't lie to yourself and pretend he's fighting the Deep State and sticking up for the little guy. You can't lie to yourself and pretend he's making the world a better, more peaceful place.
His actions and his words have made that impossible; he's been openly advancing longstanding neocon warmonger agendas after publicly admitting to being bought and owned by the world's richest Israeli, Miriam Adelson.
You can't lie to yourself about who he is anymore, so now all you can do is side with his depravity. You have to directly side with war, authoritarianism, corruption and abuse. You have to stand right out in the cold light of day saying loud and proud that you support Epstein's BFF and love George W Bush's foreign policy, and that you think it's great to stomp out freedom of speech in America to defend the information interests of Israel.
What a pathetic, undignified way to live. It's honestly about the most self-debasing thing I can possibly think of. It wouldn't be any more degrading if you were actually licking his boots while he urinated on you and mocked your meager net worth. It would just be a little bit more straightforward about the reality of the situation.
bcz24 retweeted
I grew up Republican. Still am in many ways. But MAGA pushed the party so far right that I get called a liberal now.
Let me explain the difference:
Traditional Republicans believe in:
• Fiscal responsibility (balanced budgets, not exploding deficits for tax cuts)
• Limited government (actual small government, not big government that punishes your enemies)
• Strong institutions (courts, elections, constitutional norms matter)
• Personal responsibility (your actions have consequences)
• Free markets (not tariffs and trade wars)
• Strong alliances (NATO, international partnerships)
• Rule of law (no one is above it, including the president)
MAGA Republicans believe in:
• Whatever Trump says today (even if it contradicts yesterday)
• Loyalty tests (agree 100% or you're a traitor/RINO)
• Conspiracy theories over facts (stolen election, deep state, QAnon adjacent stuff)
• Grievance politics (owning the libs > actual policy)
• Personality cult (Trump loyalty above party, above country, above truth)
• Performative outrage (culture war theater instead of governance)
• Ends justify means (storm the Capitol, ignore election results, whatever it takes)
I didn't move left. The party moved off a cliff.
I still believe in conservative principles. But when you say "maybe we should respect election results" or "fiscal responsibility matters" or "rule of law applies to everyone," you get called a liberal.
That's not conservatism. That's a cult.
bcz24 retweeted
Dear @JDVance: As a congressional democrat, I will answer your question.
The reason investigations are conducted before reflexively making a judgement is because no one knows all the facts in the immediate aftermath of a tragedy. You unfortunately have already concluded, without all the evidence, that the victim was a deranged leftist trying to run the officer over, and that the officer was defending himself.
New evidence, however, suggests the victim was a U.S. citizen, a mother of three, a Christian and had recently dropped her child off at school.
Additional video footage also suggests the second and third shots fired by the officer occurred when the officer was to the side of the vehicle as the car was driving away. Under the law each firing of the gun is analyzed separately.
Witness testimony also suggests one of the ICE agents told the driver to MOVE, MOVE, MOVE. The driver may have been trying to comply with potentially conflicting instructions from different agents. Slow motion video from various angles also shows the vehicle appears to have been turning when the officer fired the first shot, and certainly that was the case by the second and third shots.
Your reflexive never admit wrong approach is not only based on zero investigations, it also leads to increased risks to federal officers. The American people will get increasingly agitated and angry if they believe the Trump Administration will never hold anyone accountable ever.
If you want to bring down the temperature, if you want to reduce the risks of violence against federal officers, then you need the American people to believe that you and the Administration will make decisions based on facts and will comply with the rule of law.
It is also highly suspicious that the Administration is refusing to cooperate with local and state officials as they conduct their investigations. There is no reason to make the American people think there is some sort of coverup. Allow all the investigations to be conducted fairly and with transparency.
So I respectfully request that you and the Administration stop pre-judging this case, and stop making incendiary or smear the victim comments that appear to be contradicted by additional new evidence. I also request that the federal officials cooperate with all the state and local officials. That is the American way, and will help calm the situation down.
Every congressional democrat and every democrat who's running for president should be asked a simple question:
Do you think this officer was wrong in defending his life against a deranged leftist who tried to run him over?
These people are going to try to arrest our law enforcement for doing their jobs. The least the media could do is ask them about it.
teapawt.net/i/status/2008975472391…
bcz24 retweeted
I typically don't like to be alarmist but any student of history would tell you: all the lights are blinking scarlet red.
I mean:
- Massive military expansion: check (see below)
- Annexation threats: check
- Demonstrated willingness to use force unilaterally: check
- New imperial doctrine proclaimed: check
- Withdrawal from international organizations and international treaties: check
At this stage we're not even watching warning signs anymore. We're watching the thing itself, in motion.
The only way the world stops this train is to put differences aside and form a balancing coalition. Otherwise the dominos will keep falling one after the other.
Hope of self-restraint of a rogue great power isn't historically a very successful strategy. Self-restraint requires either institutions (now being exited) or norms (now being shredded). The only thing that can bring it back is fear of consequences.
bcz24 retweeted
I'm a former defense attorney and currently a civil liberties attorney with no political dog in this fight. I watched the video at least 10 times from different angles and at different speeds and waited to offer an opinion, which I still reserve the right to change if additional information changes the calculus.
It is very clear that the officers instigated the confrontation. The woman initially tried to wave them past her.
ICE officers have no authority to search a US citizen or arrest her (unless there's probable cause to believe she's harboring undocumented individuals, not a contention here). A woman surrounded by masked, armed men who have no law enforcement authority over her has every right to try to escape. Video shows her steering wheel is turned to the right, clearly an attempt to leave WITHOUT hitting anyone and steer clear of the officer standing towards the front of her car. That officer had time to step to the side, which is where he was when he shot her.
Even a real police officer would not have the right to shoot at her for trying to flee. This is well-established in the case law; deadly force may not be used simply to prevent someone from getting away. Given that the ICE officers had no law enforcement authority to begin with, AND the video footage shows she was trying to escape a perceived threat, not to kill anyone, the crime is all the more inexcusable.
I'm praying for the victim's family, especially her children. I'm also praying for all the conservatives who are so unprincipled and lost they're excusing this terrible crime, and gloating over a death that will leave three young children motherless, because of the victim's politics.
bcz24 retweeted
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bcz24 retweeted
BREAKING: Journalist and college professor Stacey Patton goes viral by penning a stunningly powerful statement about how she was on Charlie Kirk’s “digital hit list” and recounting the horror that he inflicted on her.
We cannot allow this tragic assassination to whitewash Kirk’s legacy…
“I am on Charlie Kirk’s hit list,” Patton wrote to her 215,000 followers on Facebook. “His so-called ‘Professor Watchlist,’ run under the umbrella of Turning Point USA, is nothing more than a digital hit list for academics who dare to speak truth to power. I landed there in 2024 after writing commentary that inflamed the MAGA faithful. And once my name went up, the harassment machine roared to life.”
“For weeks my inbox and voicemail were deluged. Mostly white men spat venom through the phone: ‘bitch,’ ‘c*nt,’ ‘n****r.’ They threatened all manner of violence,” she continued.
“They overwhelmed the university’s PR lines and the president’s office with calls demanding that I be fired,” Patton wrote. “The flood was so relentless that the head of campus security reached out to offer me an escort, because they feared one of these keyboard soldiers might step out of his basement and come do me harm.”
“And I am not unique,” she added.
“Kirk’s Watchlist has terrorized legions of professors across this country. Women, Black faculty, queer scholars, basically anyone who challenged white supremacy, gun culture, or Christian nationalism suddenly found themselves targets of coordinated abuse,” Patton wrote.
“Some received death threats. Some had their jobs threatened. Some left academia entirely. Kirk sent the loud message to us: speak the truth and we will unleash the mob!” she continued.
“That is the culture of violence Charlie Kirk built. He normalized violence. He curated it, monetized it, and sicced it on anyone who dared to puncture his movement’s lies,” she wrote.
“And now, in the wake of his shooting, there’s all this national outpouring of mourning, moments of silence, yellow prayer hands, and tributes painting him as a civil debater,” Patton continued. “But the truth is that Kirk and his foot soldiers spent years terrorizing educators, trying to silence us with harassment and fear!”
“And now the same violence he unleashed on others has come full circle.”
“But what i find especially jarring is the dissonance in public mourning for a smug white man whose life work was actively hostile to certain groups,” she continued. “Kirk spent years demonizing LGBTQ people, mocking gun survivors, spewing racism about Black folks, and pushing policies that literally shorten lives.”
“It is so revolting to watch a bipartisan wave of grief sweep over this hateful racist as if he was a neutral community servant,” she concluded.
This is pure unvarnished truth from Patton. Charlie Kirk did not deserve what happened to him, but nor did his victims deserve the hell that he unleashed on them. If Americans are going to build a more peaceful future for ourselves we must condemn political violence while also condemning the hateful, bigoted rhetoric that made Kirk a multimillionaire.
Please retweet and ❤️ if Patton’s message struck a chord with you!
