Is the tide turning on all this Trump madness? There are hopeful signs, but inequality abounds. What do you think?
News and views for thoughtful Floridians and other Americans
So, how’s the idea of equality working out in America right now?
Let’s see:
Donald Trump is building a glitzy new ballroom and adding chandeliers to White House bathrooms.
FBI Director Kash Patel is jetting around the country on government jets to attend wrestling matches.
And Elon Musk, the chainsawing former head of Trump’s efforts to gut the government, just got a $1 trillion pay package.
Meanwhile, public pantries are emptying and the food stamp program, which feeds 1-8 Americans—including nearly 3 million Floridians— still isn’t being funded.
Oh, and Thanksgiving may be disrupted by the government shutdown while the House of Representatives remains on a weeks-long vacation.
All while the cost of living edges upward, eating away at people’s purchasing power and savings, an unnecessary but predictable turn of events brought about by Trump’s illegal tariffs.
The Republican Party has an answer to all this: “Let them eat cake.”
But that’s not a great message, and people are pushing back.
We’ve seen that at No Kings rallies and in election results around the country earlier this week. Democrats did very well, capturing some governorships and generally sending an unmistakable protest that voters are fed up with inflation, inequality, and all the Trump madness.
Even the Republican-stacked Supreme Court this week cast a jaundiced eye on arguments that Trump has the monarchal powers he claims when it comes to imposing tariffs—a major driver of inflation and economic chaos.
And a U.S. District Court judge in Rhode Island has just ordered Trump to unlock the Treasury and feed people.
He wasn’t pulling his punches in his criticism of this administration’s heartlessness:
Judge John J. McConnell Jr. ordered the Trump administration to fully fund November’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits during the government shutdown, stating it was causing “irreparable harm” and “needless suffering”. He emphasized that “this should never happen in America” and that the government could have and should have avoided this problem. The ruling mandated full payment by today and criticized the administration for not acting quickly enough to ensure payments were made.
Are we seeing a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel?
I’m a relentless optimist, so I’m going to say: Yes.
But I’ve been wrong before.
What do you think? Share your views by clicking on the COMMENT link at the end of this newsletter. Thanks!
Ask the Bird
Our advice columnist, Miss Mingo, answers questions from readers in her weekly column tomorrow. Among other questions she is pondering: Will Gov. Ron DeSantis rename the town of Homosassa to Heterosassa? Check out her answer to this crucial question and others on Saturday.
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Well, no sooner than I posted this newsletter than this moved over the AP wire:
BOSTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration asked a federal appeals court Friday to block a judge’s order that it distribute November’s full monthly SNAP benefits amid a U.S. government shutdown, even as at least some states said they were moving quickly to get the money to people.
I am cautiously optimistic only because I really need a break and some good news. I am just hoping that the majority of Americans are not as blind and stupid as I perceive them to be in all this mess. When the dust settles, will we be distracted by hope with the real demons still in power under a different likeness? I've heard tell the ballroom is not actually a ballroom but a secret, enforced bunker for the elite. What is the actual plan here? We will have to meet EVERTHING with suspension from here on out. When all is said, I still have that sense of doom and I'm so tired.