Breaking News. This Just In. From Lonnie Skum.

 

 

Please don't ask. I had no idea, even with modern medicine and science, that people were living to be almost 4 centuries old. 

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Where is the evidence?

There was no response to a request for more information from the Social Security Administration to explain what Musk is referring to or where the chart he shared comes from.

Until they provide some evidence that there are tens of millions of fraudulent claims going to dead people, let’s look at the large amount of evidence that there are not tens of millions of such claims.

Less than 1% in improper payments. Still too much

Which is not to say there is no fraud in Social Security. There is. And when an agency pays out more than $1 trillion in benefits each year to more than 70 million Americans, a rounding error is real money. Social Security acknowledges paying less than 1% of benefits improperly, most of it in overpayments. That’s according to a 2024 report by the Social Security inspector general. Trump fired IGs at multiple agencies when he took office, including the person who at that time was the acting inspector general of the Social Security Administration.

In January, just before Trump took office, the Treasury Department announced it had recovered $31 million in payments to deceased individuals over a five-month period, by using data from Social Security’s master file of hundreds of millions of deceased individuals, which is distinct from its payment information.

“These results are just the tip of the iceberg,” said then-Treasury official Assistant Secretary David Lebryk, who later resigned after his own run-in with DOGE officials over access to the Treasury Department payment system.

How many 100-year-olds are getting Social Security? Fewer than 100,000

So there’s more to do here, clearly. Over the course of the past 10 years there have been multiple reports looking at the millions of Social Security numbers associated with birthdays that occurred more than 100 years ago. But there’s no evidence of tens of millions of people over the age of 100 being paid benefits.

In fact, the Social Security Administration does keep up to date on who it is paying, and according to the most recent data, the number of beneficiaries 99 or older was less than 90,000 in this country of more than 330 million. But that’s in line with the 101,000 Americans who are 100 or older, according to Pew.

“There is not like a zombie apocalypse of people, you know, cadavers running around with social security checks coming out of their pockets,” the former Social Security Administration Commissioner Martin O’Malley told CNN. More frequently, he said, the agency has to restart payments after they are erroneously shut off.

 

Kinda reminds me of this:

... and this is somehow "a thing" now. Just, you know, because.

 

Donald apparently isn't aware, or more likely, just doesn't care that there's a global entity that names bodies of water like this, NOT one person.

Exhaustion

 The 2020 election was a small but important victory for democracy everywhere, not just in the United States.

That said, on January 6, 2021, then President Donald Trump decided, for some reason, that he had to hold a "Save The Nation" or "Save Democracy" or whatever bullshit term he used, rally, rather than actually govern in the White House. 

It was held in the Ellipse, an area adjacent to the White House.  Again, just because.

His followers gathered and were egged-on, ginned-up by Rudy Giuliani, Don Jr., Eric, Mo Brooks, John Eastman and others.  Yes, many others from the Klown Kar.

Among the things he told the mob/crowd/followers to do was, "March down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol", and "fight like hell, because if you don't fight like hell, you won't have a country any more."  Ironic.  

They followed his commands, his marching orders and what ensued was an almost 3 1/2 hour insurrection on the United States Capitol and Congress.  

He didn't want to leave office, even though he knew he'd lost a legitimate election fair and square. So, he sent his minions, lemmings off to do his dirty work for him while he sat on his lazy, fat ass watching the bloody mess unfold before on one of the TV screens in a dining room next to the Oval Office.

After that, multiple inquiries in Congress, through the Justice Department, and in New York and Georgia.  

Oh, and did I mention we were still in the midst of a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic?  Covid-19 it was called.  Coronavirus, due to the "crown" shape of it.

To his credit, one of the very few things he got right, he did expedite vaccine mandates, and those were pushed through at lightning speed, 11 months.  By that time, however, he was officially out of office and Joseph R. Biden & Kamala Harris were elected, duly, into the offices of President and Vice President.  THAT was historic!

After the vaccines rolled out, two were initially suggested, along with wearing face masks and "social distancing", 6 feet apart.  After that, there was a period of calm.  

A much need respite.

For me, I took a break from blogging here, because I was fucking exhausted from Trump, his minions, allies and others with their daily, non-stop drama.  Could NOT take it another day. 

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No idea, not a clue, what the next four years hold as somehow, in what I can only consider an electric shock to the American people, memory loss or lobotomy, I don't know which, but somehow, Trump and his new crew of suck-ups, loyalists, and whatever you want to call them.... they're back. 

Why? Don't know and please don't ask.  

I'll be back soon with other more interesting stuff very soon.

Meantime, chin up. 

Ron DeSantis & Woke Ideology

/woke/ - alert to injustice in society, especially racism.

"We need to stay angry, and stay woke."

From Wikipedia:

Woke (/WOHK/) is an English adjective meaning "alert to racial prejudice and discrimination" that originated in African-American Vernacular English (AAVE). Beginning in the 2010s, it came to encompass a broader awareness of social inequalities such as sexism, and has also been used as shorthand for American Left ideas involving identity politics and social justice, such as the notion of white privilege and slavery reparations for African Americans.

All of this is rather astonishing coming from a very privileged White male.  DeSantis is using African-American verbiage, language which because of the way in which he’s using it, seems like cultural appropriation at the same time.

And although little Ronnie won’t say the quiet part out loud, yes of course he’s afraid of the White population diminishing… which it’s not.  I believe Republicans call it, “Replacement Theory”.  If only it were that easy.  I can think of dozens, probably hundreds I’d love to see replaced with any person of color.

Why would you want discussions of slavery, LGBTQ people, transgender people, Critical Race Theory and other similar and vital topics banned in your schools?  Simple. In order to shield yourself, your children from the racist, xenophobic, misogynistic past of your country.  Because you’re a delicate White flower, or White Prince/Princess, or… you get the idea.  Oh and God forbid, the children feel any shame about being White.  I think it’s safe to say it’s the parents who feel, maybe, the shame and discomfort of our nation’s sordid past.  Probably.

For me, I don’t understand what Ronnie is really so afraid of.  Does he truly NOT want children in Florida to learn about the roots of slavery, how Africans came to exist in North America, chattel slavery, lynching, emancipation, and so on in regards to the history of our country the United States?  Of course there will be discomfort.  Of course there will be feelings of shame.  No one is going to point fingers or call anyone out for perceived or actual bad behaviors, but without acknowledgement at least, how can there be progress or even healing as a racist nation?  The short answer:  There can’t be.

Even the Monarchy of England had to address racism last year in regards to the "color of Prince Harry's and Princess Meghan's unborn child's skin".

Let’s take a look at just a few of the things Ronnie DeSanitary Napkin represents for the people of The Sunshine State… Florida:

 

Now to be fair, I'd expect DeSantis to deny any and all of this, however his rhetoric and policies speak otherwise. Those are incredibly anti-woke.

(Check out this article on CNN.com)

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/13/politics/desantis-florida-schools-anti-woke-education-agenda/index.html 

Should be an interesting school year though, given what little new curriculum can actually be safely taught and imparted and that parents are given free reign to call out and file suit against teachers now.

Somehow the school doesn't seem like such a safe space any more.

Should New SCOTUS Appointees Be Impeached For Committing Perjury During Confirmation Hearings?

That's the argument. Now we'll meet those contestants:

1)  Neil Gorsuch.  

Research and documentation is available on Justice Gorsuch and basically what it boils down to is that in his opinion, during his confirmation hearings in the Senate, he agreed that Roe v. Wade was settled law and precedent as far as the Supreme Court was concerned.

The Honorable Neil M. Gorsuch being sworn in for Confirmation Hearing testimony.

2) Brett Kavanaugh.  

Senator Diane Feinstein, during his Confirmation Hearings,  asked Kavanaugh what he meant by “settled law” and whether he believed Roe v. Wade to be correct law. Kavanaugh said he believed it was “settled as a precedent of the Supreme Court” and should be “entitled the respect under principles of stare decisis,” the notion that precedents should not be overturned without strong reason.

Kavanaugh did not answer Feinstein directly, instead pivoting to how he understood “how passionate and how deeply people feel about this issue.” He went on at length to talk about how Planned Parenthood v. Casey had reaffirmed Roe, making it “a precedent on precedent.” (Precedent ON precedent) That's important because he's saying it's settled, over and done with... twice.

The Honorable Brett Kavanaugh being sworn in for Confirmation Hearing testimony.

3) Amy Coney Barrett.  

During the second day of her confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court, Judge Amy Coney Barrett drew criticism for her use of the phrase "sexual preference" while facing questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee.

In response to a question from Senator Dianne Feinstein, about whether the Constitution affords gay people the right to marry, Barrett, who dodged the question, said she has "never discriminated on the basis of sexual preference and would not ever discriminate on the basis of sexual preference."

Several hours later, Senator Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, chastised Barrett for using the term, calling it "offensive and outdated."

"It's used by anti-LGBTQ activists to suggest that sexual orientation is a choice.  It is not. Sexual orientation is a key part of a person's identity," Hirono said. "That sexual orientation is both a normal expression of human sexuality and immutable was a key part of the majority's opinion in Obergefell."

The Honorable Amy Coney Barrett being sworn in for Confirmation Hearing testimony.

Pretty astonishing that in 2020, a 47 year old, White female in a position as a Circuit Court judge would use a term like "sexual preference" to refer to LGBTQ individuals, apparently naive or just stupid about such important things in the 21st century. (See separate blog post about Justice Barrett)

(Link: https://tomb2010.blogspot.com/2020/11/newly-confirmed-supreme-court-justice.html)

To be clear, NO, Justice Barrett's comments regarding LGBTQ individuals is not about abortion rights, however, IF SCOTUS is so flippant and trigger-ready to dismiss 50 years, one half century of legal, established precedent, imagine what else they'd be willing and eager to do.

So now, having all three committed perjury during their Confirmation Hearings, should they be impeached?  And can they be impeached?  

The short answers are "Yes", and "Maybe". 

The U.S. House of Representatives has the authority to impeach a federal judge by a simple majority vote under Article I of the Constitution. However, a justice cannot be removed from office without a trial in the Senate and only if two-thirds of senators vote to convict, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

So, like a regular impeachment trial, similar to those that the orange-obese-man-child-pretending-to-be-a-leader, the impeachment process would begin in the House and end in the Senate.

 

We can only hope this moves forward, since SCOTUS is taking us so far back in time. 

 

50 Years Of Legal Precedent Overturned

Reproductive health just got a whole lot harder and a whole lot scarier for women in the United States.

In a 6 to 3 ruling by SCOTUS on June 24, 2022, the conservative court drew a line in the sand, making abortions harder to obtain and in many states illegal.

And to be clear, NO, abortions and abortion rights are NOT part of the Constitution, but again, for 50 years they have been legal with a long history/precedence set by the Supreme Court.  

No more.

Remember:   Once those rights are taken away, they can never be completely restored.

In the United States in 2022, guns have more rights than women, school children and books.   

Think about that.

 

It's a very dark day in America.