DCUM Weblog

I had considered not writing a blog post today since it is a holiday, or possibly writing about how today would be a good day to remember that the 4th of July celebrates this country's forefathers ridding themselves of a tyrant's rule and creating a political system in which there is no King. Those seem to be lessons lost by many Americans, particularly among those who like to call themselves "patriots". However, the New York Times published an article about Democratic candidate for Mayor of New York City Zohran Mamdani's application to Columbia University in 2009. Because everyone else seems to be writing about that, I thought I should as well. If I wait until Monday, there will probably be a half-dozen other things about which I will want to write. So, here is a holiday special about the New York Times, which has shown itself quite clearly to be an enabler of fascism.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, as the Republicans have named the reconciliation legislation that they are about to approve, will lay waste to a considerable part of the American healthcare system. It will do this by cutting more than a trillion dollars of healthcare spending. Most Americans are not prepared for this because most Americans have no idea that it is about to happen. As I pointed out in a post two days ago, polling by Priorities USA posted on X by Sam Stein shows that "Nearly half (48%) of Americans haven’t heard anything about the ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’" and "Only 8% of all Americans name Medicaid cuts as a detail of the bill they have heard about."

Americans can be forgiven for their ignorance on this topic. Just about everyone shares blame for failing to inform them. Republican officials have outright lied about what they are doing, insisting that they are only eliminating "waste, fraud, and abuse" and not actually taking healthcare away from their constituents. The media has all but ignored the cuts, with cable news channels often focused on the Sean Combs/Diddy trial rather than the legislation being debated at the same time. Even Democrats have devoted their time to criticizing Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for Mayor of New York City. Just yesterday, while Capitol Hill was fixated on debate over the One Big Beautiful Bill, Democratic Representative Tom Suozzi took to the pages of the Wall Street Journal, not to criticize the bill — in fact, he didn't even mention it — but to criticize Mamdani.

There is an ingrained belief that Republicans are good for the economy. In reality, Republican economic efforts are essentially limited to cutting taxes. Even if they manage to cut spending in some sectors, Republicans habitually increase military spending. As a result, revenue goes down, expenditures go up, and the national debt grows. The minute a Democrat is elected President, Republicans begin howling 24/7 about the debt and demanding cuts in social programs. But once a Republican again takes office, despite performative demands for debt reduction from some Republicans who capitulate at their first opportunity, deficits again increase. The simple fact is that Republicans don't care about the national debt. Complaining about the debt is a political tactic for some, but with the possible exception of Representative Thomas Massie, there is no real concern. Case in point: The version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act just approved by the Senate increases the national debt by nearly $4 trillion. This is what passes among Republicans for a responsible economic plan.

For more than 24 hours, the U.S. Senate has been debating the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. This so-called "reconciliation" legislation has the potential to radically change American society. Cuts to healthcare, including Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), will result in 16 million people losing healthcare. It will expand the Immigration and Customs Enforcement service so that it will have more employees than the Federal Bureau of Investigation and house more prisoners than the prison systems of all 50 U.S. states combined. The act will create dependencies on fossil fuels and potentially destroy the renewable energy industry, resulting in electricity costs as much as 30% higher. With all of this going on, what are leading Democrats discussing? Zohran Mamdani, the presumed Democratic nominee for Mayor of New York City.

In the "The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte", Karl Marx wrote that history repeats itself, "the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce." As such, we might have expected the second administration of cult leader, convicted felon, and failed President Donald Trump to have its share of farce and, indeed, we have not been disappointed. But, sadly, we are getting a second helping of tragedy as well. There has been so much happening over the past few days that I don't want to limit myself to one topic today. Therefore, I am going to touch on a number of things, some of which I may return to in greater depth later in the week.

Let's start with farce. Republicans have begun referring to Trump as "Daddy". This started during Trump's recent trip to Europe for a NATO summit meeting. As he was departing the U.S., Trump — discussing Israel and Iran — dropped an F-bomb on live television. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte was later asked about Trump's choice of words and responded by saying, "Sometimes Daddy needs to use strong language." This created a bit of commotion but did not seem to bother Trump, who, when asked about it, replied, "He did it very affectionately though, ‘Daddy, you're my daddy’". The White House, in fact, embraced the nomenclature and published a video set to the song, "Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home)" by Usher. As is to be expected from MAGA cult members, they immediately began referring to Trump as "Daddy." One of the first was actor Mel Gibson, referring to a recent trip by Trump to California, Gibson said, "Daddy Arrived And He’s Taking His Belt Off." U.S. Representative Byron Donalds, appearing on Fox News, discussed his expectations for Trump and then added, "Daddy’s back and that’s what you’re gonna see." Similarly, Representative Lauren Boebert posted on X saying that "Daddy’s home!!" along with a picture of a Time magazine cover from January. Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk also posted a photo of Trump on X with the caption "Dad is home." Fox News contributor Raymond Arroyo, reacting to what he thought was Queen Máxima of the Netherlands mocking Trump, warned, "She could get a personalized bunker buster from Daddy Trump if she’s not really careful." Another Fox News personality, host Jesse Watters, also used the sobriquet, saying that "Soon, Africa will be calling him daddy, too." If nothing else, this reinforces my belief that the entire Republican Party is in need of intervention from a therapist, though given the apparent “Daddy kink" on display, maybe a sex therapist is needed. I will stop all criticism of the practice, however, if someone can come up with a video of J. D. Vance calling Trump "Daddy."

Earlier this week I wrote about the failures of the Democratic establishment and specifically mentioned the New York City Democratic mayoral primary in which almost the entire Democratic establishment had lined up in favor of former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and against New York State Assembly member Zohran Mamdani. As it turned out, the Democratic establishment was more out-of-touch than even I had believed. Mamdani easily dispatched Cuomo in the first round of the ranked choice voting system used in New York City and will likely be the overwhelming victor once votes are distributed through other rounds. Mamdani's victory created considerable consternation among many Democrats, as well as Republicans and independents. It also unleashed a wave of Islamophobia that spread across political divisions.

One area in which the administration of cult leader, convicted felon, and failed President Donald Trump has been particularly destructive has been science. Cuts and disruptions at the Department of Health and Human Services and its associated agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have severely harmed the ability of the U.S. government to conduct medical research. Last month, the minority staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) issued a report documenting the impact of Trump's actions on public health. Senator Bernie Sanders, the ranking member of the Committee, said upon releasing the report that, "Since January, Trump has launched an unprecedented, illegal, and outrageous attack on science and scientists. Trump is not only denying scientific truth but actively seeking to undermine it". Sanders went on to say, "Let’s be clear. Trump’s war on science is not making America healthy again. It is making Americans and people throughout the world sicker".

Roughly five years ago, the international economy began a period of turmoil as a result of the COVID pandemic. This led to supply chains being disrupted and increased prices for a number of goods, if you could find them at all. Then the government's reaction to that economic upheaval resulted in increased inflation. Whether the government intervention caused or simply amplified existing inflation is something often seen through a political lens, but the outcome was the same regardless: higher prices. Things were just getting under control when cult leader, convicted felon, and failed President Donald Trump was elected. His on-again, off-again, tariff policies and other trade-related activities have caused tremendous market upheaval. Once again, prices are rising. On top of that, the "One Big Beautiful Bill" being considered in Congress is likely to increase other costs for most families. I am going to do something a little different today and discuss the impact of the Trump presidency on our financial bottom line. Simply put, Trump and the Republicans are doing significant financial damage to my family and, in all probability, yours as well.

Cult leader, convicted felon, and failed President Donald Trump presents a grave threat to the democracy of the United States. However, Trump does not exist in a vacuum. He is only able to implement his autocratic rule due to the complicity of many others. In that regard, there is plenty of blame to go around and among those responsible is the Democratic Party establishment. Former Vice President Kamala Harris ran for President on the message that Trump constituted an unprecedented danger to our system of government. So important did Harris consider countering the threat of Trump that she campaigned side-by-side with former Republican Member of Congress Liz Cheney. Harris and Cheney together attempted to convince voters that our country could not risk a second Trump term. Yet, when Trump prevailed, the Democratic establishment reacted as if Harris's and Cheney's warnings were nothing but hollow campaign slogans. For the establishment, it was business as usual. The result has been a nearly complete dereliction of responsibility bordering on collaboration.

Last Wednesday, I wrote about Israel's attempt to drag the United States into its war with Iran. Then, on Saturday, cult leader, convicted felon, and failed President Donald Trump launched bombing and missile attacks on sites involved in Iran's nuclear program, effectively putting the U.S. at war with Iran. Following the attack, Trump administration officials were quick to argue that the U.S. attacks on Iran were limited to stopping its nuclear weapons program and not aimed at broader goals such as regime change. However, at nearly the same time, Israeli officials began to argue in favor of regime change. Appearing to contradict his own officials, Trump then posted on his Truth Social social media platform that "It’s not politically correct to use the term, ‘Regime Change,’ but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!" On the face of it, Trump appearing to side with Israelis against his own officials, especially on the topic of regime change which Trump has explicitly campaigned against, might seem strange. However, it follows a very consistent pattern of Trump putting Israel first.