The Current Events, News, and Politics Thread
Uh, every single Democrat and many Republicans who spoke out against DOGE, for starters. Congressman Mo Khanna (D) was recently interviewed by Shawn Ryan and he repeatedly stated that taxes should be higher, even in the face of immense fraud and waste. It's how he gets paid and maintains his seat.
You actually got me there. I keep thinking that--for the most part--people are reality-based and not evil. My bad.
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 34,402
Total Cats: 7,523
From: Chicago. (The less-murder part.)
They're just easily manipulated by emotional arguments and fictitious enemies manufactured by people who *are* genuinely evil.
Of the 65 people who voted to release the reports on congressional sexual misconduct, 38 were Republicans and 27 were Democrats.
An otherwise intelligent and rational person believing that any substantive difference exists between those two parties can, at this point, be explained only by willful ignorance.
Cuba leads the western hemisphere in attempting net zero!
https://english.elpais.com/internati...out-power.html
https://english.elpais.com/internati...out-power.html
New York's average Medicaid spending per beneficiary is $12,528. For context, that's 36% higher than the national average for state spending-- and nearly 80% higher per resident than anywhere else in the country.
The stats are mind-blowing. 6.8 million New Yorkers are now on Medicaid. That's 34% of the state's population. One in three! New York spent $72.7 billion on personal care and 'home aide services' between 2018-2024. That comes to --get this-- roughly half of all NY Medicaid spending. Just for personal care/home aides.
At $124 billion, New York's Medicaid budget alone is larger than the GDP of most countries. It's bigger than the entire federal budget of some NATO allies. All for one state's medical welfare program.
...One of the bigger ones was where New York providers billed Medicaid for both adult day care and transportation services, a cozy arrangement he warned could invite "coordinated fraud" via "recruitment schemes, phantom rides, inflated mileage claims" and transportation to adult day care sessions "that never occurred."
"In New York," Dr. Oz reported, "the single most prominent job is a personal care service. Retail is not the top job in New York anymore." Think of that. The number one job category in New York State isn't retail, finance, or tech. It's Medicaid-funded home aides. Fraud has literally become the state's primary employment sector. New York doesn't have a healthcare system with a fraud problem. No. It has a fraud program with a healthcare label.
New York is now home to 623,000 "home aides," outnumbering retail workers almost three-to-one. The ranks of home aides swelled 10% last year alone. They produce no revenue. They are almost entirely funded by Medicaid.
The stats are mind-blowing. 6.8 million New Yorkers are now on Medicaid. That's 34% of the state's population. One in three! New York spent $72.7 billion on personal care and 'home aide services' between 2018-2024. That comes to --get this-- roughly half of all NY Medicaid spending. Just for personal care/home aides.
At $124 billion, New York's Medicaid budget alone is larger than the GDP of most countries. It's bigger than the entire federal budget of some NATO allies. All for one state's medical welfare program.
...One of the bigger ones was where New York providers billed Medicaid for both adult day care and transportation services, a cozy arrangement he warned could invite "coordinated fraud" via "recruitment schemes, phantom rides, inflated mileage claims" and transportation to adult day care sessions "that never occurred."
"In New York," Dr. Oz reported, "the single most prominent job is a personal care service. Retail is not the top job in New York anymore." Think of that. The number one job category in New York State isn't retail, finance, or tech. It's Medicaid-funded home aides. Fraud has literally become the state's primary employment sector. New York doesn't have a healthcare system with a fraud problem. No. It has a fraud program with a healthcare label.
New York is now home to 623,000 "home aides," outnumbering retail workers almost three-to-one. The ranks of home aides swelled 10% last year alone. They produce no revenue. They are almost entirely funded by Medicaid.
California loses a taxpayer every minute and 44 seconds. New York loses one every 2 minutes and 23 seconds. At the same time, welfare people are moving in. Over the past decade, New York shed $111 billion in adjusted gross income to other states. California lost $102 billion. Illinois lost $63 billion.
Where did it all go? Red states. Florida gained $196 billion. Texas gained $54 billion. Tennessee, the Carolinas, and Georgia are hoovering up the rest.
This isn't retirees chasing sunshine. These are high-net-worth individuals, the people who fund political campaigns, host fundraisers, and anchor donor networks. NYC, LA, and Chicago used to be the Democrat Party's fundraising capitals. Now they're withering on the vine. Meanwhile, Miami, Austin, Nashville, and Palm Beach are rapidly becoming the fundraising capitals for the Republican Party.
The Democrats' donor class is literally relocating to red states and, increasingly, writing checks to red candidates. Or at least, not writing checks to blue ones. Having made their moves, they have every incentive to preserve their position. Meaning, not let Democrats make America California.
Guess who's the top fundraiser in California's gubernatorial election right now? A Republican. In California.
https://open.substack.com/pub/coffee...medium=android
Where did it all go? Red states. Florida gained $196 billion. Texas gained $54 billion. Tennessee, the Carolinas, and Georgia are hoovering up the rest.
This isn't retirees chasing sunshine. These are high-net-worth individuals, the people who fund political campaigns, host fundraisers, and anchor donor networks. NYC, LA, and Chicago used to be the Democrat Party's fundraising capitals. Now they're withering on the vine. Meanwhile, Miami, Austin, Nashville, and Palm Beach are rapidly becoming the fundraising capitals for the Republican Party.
The Democrats' donor class is literally relocating to red states and, increasingly, writing checks to red candidates. Or at least, not writing checks to blue ones. Having made their moves, they have every incentive to preserve their position. Meaning, not let Democrats make America California.
Guess who's the top fundraiser in California's gubernatorial election right now? A Republican. In California.
https://open.substack.com/pub/coffee...medium=android
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 34,402
Total Cats: 7,523
From: Chicago. (The less-murder part.)
The fate of our Republic was written on the day that people who pay no taxes were given the power to vote, and realized that they could vote for politicians who promise to give them free money in exchange for their liberty.
Semi-related (because NYC):
Um, I thought we already had simple secure election laws. That states refuse to uphold them is something else. And that congress is willing to accept the results of those states just goes to show that they are inept.
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 80,552
Total Cats: 4,368
From: Chantilly, VA
The constitution says the states can run the elections however they like. so if they come to town with their electors and certify their votes, what's congress supposed to do? The only thing can do is pass things like paper ballots, allow audits, id laws, and hope everyone is playing fair.
The states can run their elections however they like. They cannot run federal elections however they like. So if a state chooses to ignore federal laws and regulations regarding voting standards for federal elections, then their results should be invalidated by congress.
That's what congress can do. No need for new laws when existing laws aren't working because they aren't being enforced. But we already know government employees don't eat their own. They only say they will.
That's what congress can do. No need for new laws when existing laws aren't working because they aren't being enforced. But we already know government employees don't eat their own. They only say they will.








