Scott Lang @ScottLang@democracy.town

With the turnover in Minnesota’s state legislature from Republican-controlled to Democrat-controlled in the last election comes a plan to expand voter rights and put campaign finance into the hands of the people.

Acts like this are just one of the many reasons why elections do matter and who you choose to represent you does, too.

If you live in Minnesota, tell your state representative to support and co-sponsor this bill. If you don’t, help spread the word and look for bills like this to support in your own state. If there aren’t any, find some fellow organizers. #Minnesota #Democracy #VotingRights #ElectDemocrats

Minnesota’s Democracy for the People Act Unpacked/Democracy Docket-
https://www.democracydocket.com/analysis/minnesotas-democracy-for-the-people-act-unpacked/

HF 3 Status in the House for the 93rd Legislature (2023 - 2024)-
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=House&f=HF0003&ssn=0&y=2023

The Republicans use culture war propaganda as a distraction.

Without health insurance, most people would be bankrupt with a single hospitalization.

But that’s what Republicans want. One party is out to help most people. The other is dead set against them.

Opinion When Republicans rant about ‘socialism,’ remember the Affordable Care Act-
https://wapo.st/3l9cXuD

@TonyStark This is great. Democrats do things for the people, as we all know.

@TonyStark Of course that’s what Republicans want. Poor people will work for less money that way. Hope the Republican voters who apparently are relying on the ACA are paying attention.

@MariaHill @Meeche @TonyStark

There's also the plan I call the Mexico Insurance Plan in Texas.

You got it, it's the plan where Texans flock to Mexico for healthcare, where it's more affordable.

I kid you not, this happens in my own family. Especially for dental care and a variety of medicines such as antibiotics that you can get over the counter there. This is insane, in my opinion. Why should we have to do that?

And yet, they act like it's perfectly normal.

They've been sold a really bad bill of goods on healthcare by the Republicans.

@KentNelson

I don't have any personal friends who are Republicans, but over the years I've had colleagues who obviously do not share my political views and I end up networking with people from other parts of the country.

I'll never forget the people advising each other not to buy real insurance and instead to buy into some Christian scheme in Texas that was indeed a type of insurance (pool their money, pay for each other's care), just not one that had any oversight but its own or would have met government criteria for what coverage is.

No thanks, I'll go with the one where the feds or state tell them they have to cover my care, even if sometimes we have to fight them to actually get it covered. I'm guessing the Christian insurance isn't paying for full spectrum reproductive care.

@Meeche @TonyStark

@TonyStark Here's one. This isn't an ACA plan. There's an early paragraph that's a bit misleading. It says that 1 in 7 claims are denied and then gives the figure of ACA plan denials that aren't appealed.

We need more socialized health care, not less.

The United States government funds the development of drugs, then the drug companies turn around and make huge profits on them. If they decide your treatment is too expensive, they can deny it and try to make you pay out of pocket like they did with Christopher McNaughton. He was facing nearly a million dollars of denied claims for his ulcerative colitis and a lapse in his care could have left him with no treatment that would have worked. UnitedHealthcare kept denying his claims and decided to pay for a drug that was four times the cost of the original one his doctors wanted because it matched their arcane rules.

Medicare for All won't solve everything but it would be an improvement.

https://www.propublica.org/article/unitedhealth-healthcare-insurance-denial-ulcerative-colitis

Donald Trump presided over not 1, not 2, but THREE Chinese spy balloons, none of which he shot down and all of which he hid from the public.

The 3 #ChineseSpyBalloons exposes the emptiness of #Trump’s tough talk.

Thank you President #Biden for walking the walk.

As we start our Sunday, I’m thankful to President Biden.

He shot down the spy balloon when it didn’t pose a threat to any Americans on the ground.

While MAGA republicans were hysterical, sane Americans are relieved to have a grown up in the White House.

@TonyStark @MJ To me the other key factor here is that the 1% - which is the Rs only true constituency - can pay for platinum healthcare out of pocket. They have no interest in affordable healthcare for all except in keeping it from denting their outsized wallets.

@TheRealBozoTClown @TonyStark No question. They only want good things for the top top and nobody else. Yet the people they take things from who vote for them mistakenly think they’re one tax cut from being in the 1%. The Republican Party has a real investment in never letting those people get there.

Colorado Election Fraud Conspiracist Appears to Have Committed Voter Fraud, Court Docs Show

https://coloradotimesrecorder.com/2023/02/colorado-election-fraud-conspiracist-appears-to-have-committed-voter-fraud-court-docs-show/50777/

Sorry, but Koch & cronies are going in to fund whoever is willing to cut corporate taxes, cut entitlement programs, cut green energy programs, increase big oil and gas corporate profits, and cut useful regulations.

Koch Network Vow to Wage a 2024 Fight Against Trump:
https://time.com/6253038/koch-brothers-trump-gop-nomination/

@RitchieTorres

Republican’s first response to pretty much everything: “Shoot at it.”

The irony is that if it was shot down sooner, they’d have been on Faux News criticizing him for allowing the military to shoot it down over land. Biden handled it properly.

I posted about this about a month ago: https://democracy.town/@TonyStark/109654678542335350

Non-competes are anti-workers’ rights.

Estimates are that about 30 million U.S. workers, many of them in low-wage jobs, would have better career opportunities, higher wages, and better benefits and working conditions with this rule in effect The FTC is asking for public comments through March 20. Please submit a comment in favor of this rule. #CallToAction

https://www.regulations.gov/document/FTC-2023-0007-0001?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

#law

* * *

If you want a response to any of these comments, see my general FAQ page:

🔹 “There are never any consequences!”

🔹“The consequences haven’t been harsh enough and that’s why Republicans keep committing crimes.”

🔹 “At least while they are in jail, they can’t commit any crimes.”

🔹 “If all lawbreakers are not brought to justice, it means rule of law in America is dead.”

https://terikanefield.com/frequently-asserted-rage-inducing-simplifications/

1/

Let's just call this out for what it is. A certain segment of our population can't abide the notion that education might inspire a broader perspective. That might encourage more compassion and understanding and undermine fear and the resulting dehumanization and cruelty.

Understanding and empathy for others interferes with their power.

People like Ron DeSantis are anti-democratic, anti-society, and must be forcefully challenged and opposed.

Erasing Black History Is Not the Role of the College Board-
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/04/opinion/black-history-desantis-college-board.html?unlocked_article_code=al0NC7_D5ovciGz_XKgG0MrzO5soIWQduyWl_lXTIL__nOopah6YmtLM076RsJ7qIFIX3VgAOckh2KKHduX5kPdoWwZvpQdVcvvs8FuVjLI1pClSv7vhPHxRkFiDr45NLEDPk-Rj1U3j5z8uOwfEWVLhJTKZ46fkO-Yr5H0d-tgsUCmhvkwEX7AgJzkz_VQR3UTWfQMOmCBnorN25_C_ThEk7is4_j9BYoz72v4R8mUTwvfkElciZGGwtbfWNishGP8RvGAs1d3JhDggPPlU4ovvWxRNrZP3hBz2YX_SGmbsRzmlJ4QbsDmoFbyaV4-yJDPda_6NOoedJjeDfIzIfyiSbw1egrzR5DeOqgph6Q&smid=share-url

@TonyStark

We must fight the Republican agenda. They have been trying to undermine democracy for decades.
Exerpt from The Educational Legacy of Ronald Reagan by Gary K. Clabaugh:
“ Once elected, Mr. Reagan
• called for an end to free tuition for state college and university students
• demanded 20 percent cuts in higher education funding
• repeatedly slashed funds for state campuses
• engineering the firing of Clark Kerr, the highly respected presi-
dent of the University of California
• declaring that the state “should not subsidize intellectual curiosity”
“He called protesting students “brats,” “freaks,” and “cowardly fascists.” And when it came to “restoring order” on unruly campuses he observed,“If it takes a bloodbath, let’s get it over with. No more appeasement!”Days later four Kent State students were shot to death during a protest rally. In the aftermath Mr. Reagan declared his remark was only a “figure of speech.” He added that anyone who was upset by it was “neurotic.”

@TonyStark

We all laughed at Trump but nobody was still laughing later. DeSantis clearly believes he can also govern 49 other states if he can stoke up enough outrage. The billionaires know Dolt 45 is history but would love this horrible man to be their No. 47 enabler.