UPDATE: Donald Trump Takes Office as the 47th US President

Some clips to get to know dude




El-Sayed on Islamophobia: "That's the only play they got. They're gonna point at me, they're gonna point at my name, like, 'Wow, he's different.' That's the best you got? You can't actually talk about what you want to do? My name is not raising your gas prices. My name is now taking us to war ... this is the best place in the world to be Abdul."







El-Sayed: "Mike, I'm gonna say it right now, I know you're gonna say no because you're a coward: Five debates, alright? If you're willing to stand with me and have a conversation, you and I both know that you will wither in front of your own crimes. But I'm gonna make sure Michiganders know about them. By the time we're done, you are not gonna have safe quarter from people holding you accountable to what you've done for them here in Michigan. We will send you back to Florida where you belong."
 
Some clips to get to know dude




El-Sayed on Islamophobia: "That's the only play they got. They're gonna point at me, they're gonna point at my name, like, 'Wow, he's different.' That's the best you got? You can't actually talk about what you want to do? My name is not raising your gas prices. My name is now taking us to war ... this is the best place in the world to be Abdul."







El-Sayed: "Mike, I'm gonna say it right now, I know you're gonna say no because you're a coward: Five debates, alright? If you're willing to stand with me and have a conversation, you and I both know that you will wither in front of your own crimes. But I'm gonna make sure Michiganders know about them. By the time we're done, you are not gonna have safe quarter from people holding you accountable to what you've done for them here in Michigan. We will send you back to Florida where you belong."


I will say I am impressed after I read what he did for the Dept. of Health in Wayne County (38% black folks) and his book Medicre for All...I would like to read it, but I saw this primer which is helpful that someone who says Medicare For All actually has a plan that can be feasible....

El-Sayed and Johnson: A citizen’s guide to Medicare for All​

Medicare for All: A Citizen's Guide​

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By Abdul El-Sayed, M.D. and Micah Johnson, M.D.

Sample excerpt:

When analyzing how health reform proposals do (or do not) address these problems, it is also helpful to keep in mind the “active ingredients” of Medicare for All described in Chapter 3. To review the six key elements of M4A:

  1. Universal coverage. M4A guarantees health coverage to every American.
  2. Comprehensive coverage. M4A guarantees that Americans’ health coverage is comprehensive in terms of the range of covered benefits, the availability of a wide range of clinicians and hospitals, and minimal or no financial barriers to receiving care.
  3. Pricing power. M4A can wield considerable negotiating leverage to rein in the cost of drugs, hospital stays, and physician services.
  4. Administrative efficiency. M4A eliminates the high overhead costs of private insurance companies and reduces the administrative burden on providers and patients.
  5. Progressive financing. M4A allows healthcare to be financed progressively, replacing the regressive financing of private insurance.
  6. Public accountability. M4A would be accountable to the American public, rather than shareholders.
Oxford University Press:
https://global.oup.com… or https://medicareforallbook.com


Comment:​

By Don McCanne, M.D.

Abdul El-Sayed and Micah Johnson have produced an excellent primer on Medicare for All. Since further changes in our health care system are inevitable, it is a book that will be useful to everyone. I’ll mention here how it will be useful particularly to the novice and also to the seasoned health care reform activist.

First of all, it is very basic and highly readable, not getting lost in technical health policy jargon, yet it is still very clear and comprehensive enough to cover the subject well.

For those who do not understand the basics of Medicare for All, and for those who have many questions and need to fill in the blanks, this book will do that. It first provides a diagnosis of health care problems in America and how we got here. It then discusses the fundamentals of Medicare for All policy and how such a program would be designed. It discusses the important point of how to pay for it, and then discusses the alternatives, explaining their deficiencies. The book closes with the politics of reform and how we must organize for it – a section that will be of more interest to the activist, though perhaps somewhat disappointing to some because it does not show us a way to get around the work that needs to be done.

For the seasoned reform activist, not much new in policy is revealed, but, importantly, it does bring policy considerations up to date. It is also very accurate, which is important because even some of us who are very well informed may still be carrying ancient misconceptions about health policy, or be buried in ideology that will keep suppressed important variations in health policy. On the positive side, the simple but informative straightforward rhetoric gives us a common language for communicating the concepts which will help avoid diversions into divisive ideology instead of policy. This is not to say that ideology is not important since the book does address “We the People.”

The timeliness of this book is especially apropos. President Joseph Biden has promised us that he will advance reform by building on the Affordable Care Act and maybe by adding a “public option.” Sadly, this reveals how uninformed our president is. Yes, he was involved in the Obama administration’s reform efforts, but his understanding of policy, based on his public statements, seems to be limited to the Obama model. For instance, he has stated that we cannot afford a single payer Medicare for All model when the opposite is true. His reform will increase costs while failing to repair most of the deficiencies such as those implied in the excerpt above, repairs that automatically improve spending in our health care system.

The president is very busy, and I doubt that we can get him to read the book, as readable as it is. If he did, he would recognize that he is headed down the wrong path. It would be especially helpful if his policy staff did read it, but they are all experts in policy and likely believe that they would not benefit from it, not realizing that the ACA approach is branded in their brains, displacing important policy considerations. That must be the case since they are not adequately addressing the profound waste due to our administrative inefficiency, which must be addressed if we are to have a health care financing system that is fully accountable to the public.

Buy it. Read it. Share it. And then act on it.

Stay informed! Visit www.pnhp.org/qotd to sign up for daily email updates.

Abdul El-Sayed, MD, DPhil​


Dr. Abdul El-Sayed is a physician, epidemiologist, educator, and former city and county health director. As Wayne County's Health Director, Abdul led efforts to erase $700 million in medical debt, build a state-of-the-art air quality monitoring system, and provide free glasses for children. Abdul hosts the award-winning “America Dissected” podcast, attracting listeners to go beyond the headlines to explore the intersection between health and society. His three books include “Healing Politics” and “Medicare for All: A Citizen’s Guide” with Dr. Micah Johnson. His over 100 peer-reviewed publications have earned nearly 4,000 citations. He has held academic appointments at the University of Michigan School of Public Policy, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Wayne State University, and American University. He is formerly a candidate for governor of Michigan and CNN commentator. He’s been a member of the NWU, AFT Locals 477 and 6244, SEIU Local 500, and the AAUP.
 
I'm hoping for the best from him.

Rashida talaib is my congresswoman and I was disappointed by the way she sacrificed the 24 presidency for faux palistine outrage.

Hopefully he does not make the same mistake
I mean she is Palestinian herself. While I can't say how she truly felt, I'd, personally, hope she cares about her own people if I lived in her district and was deciding to vote for her. How heartless would she have to be not to?

We have enough heartless sociopathic MFers in there already anyway.
 

Bone Spurs President Uses AI to Award Himself Ultimate Medal​



https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.zenfs.com%2Fen%2Fthedailybeast.com%2F5bdac9b51ac55b703e2656b615c751ff


Draft-dodging Donald Trump has cast himself as a battlefield leader in the mold of America's greatest generals—while appearing to bestow himself with the nation's highest military honor.

The 80-year-old president posted an AI-generated image on Truth Social Tuesday depicting him alongside generals George S. Patton and Douglas MacArthur, two of the most celebrated U.S. military commanders of World War II, against the backdrop of a raging battlefield.

Trump's fantasy image places him above Patton and MacArthur in the military hierarchy, showing him with four stars while the legendary generals wear two. In reality, MacArthur was a five-star general—one of only five Americans to attain that rank—while Patton was a four-star general.


Trump’s AI fantasy did not end with military glory; the image also appeared to give him a slimmer physique. / Donald Trump/Truth Social
Trump, who received four deferments for education and one for a disputed bone spur diagnosis, also imagined himself bedecked with dozens of service ribbons and a medal resembling the Medal of Honor.

The Medal of Honor is presented by the president to service members who display "conspicuous gallantry" and risk their lives above and beyond the call of duty in combat. Recipients are saluted by service members of every rank, including five-star generals, as well as the president, according to the National Medal of Honor Museum.


Trump has never served in the armed forces and therefore never held an official military rank. He attended the New York Military Academy, where he became cadet captain.

After receiving four deferments while in college, Trump received a fifth deferment in 1968, as the Vietnam War was raging. That followed a diagnosis of bone spurs in his heels—courtesy of a Queens podiatrist who rented an office in a building owned by his father, Fred Trump.

Trump has been thirsting after military glory despite having no military résumé.

White House insiders told The Wall Street Journal in April that amid the chaos of his war on Iran, which has so far claimed the lives of 18 troops, Trump considered giving himself the Medal of Honor.

The Journal reported that Trump pondered the idea during a White House reception, saying he deserved it because his plane flew into Iraq on an unlit runway during a first-term trip to visit troops stationed in the country, citing people who were at the event.

The president, who has reportedly called fallen soldiers "losers" and "suckers," had previously riffed about his Iraq trip during a rally in Georgia in February.

Trump reduced soldiers who have died in his war on Iran to statistics last month, stacking the death toll against those from past conflicts on Truth Social.  / Donald Trump/Truth Social


Trump reduced soldiers who have died in his war on Iran to statistics last month, stacking the death toll against those from past conflicts on Truth Social. / Donald Trump/Truth Social
"I flew to Iraq and was extremely brave. In fact, so brave I wanted to give myself the Congressional Medal of Honor," he said.

As his Iran war effort struggles, Trump has turned to AI to rewrite his own mythology—casting himself alongside George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and John F. Kennedy over the past two weeks.

 
So watcha sayin?

Dems say 2nd District is ‘in play’​

by Byron TateAugust 5, 2026 2:49 pm
unnamed-2.jpg


Chris Jones is vying for the 2nd Congressional District seat, which Dems say is in play.Credit: Chris Jones campaign
Two months ago, a poll showed Democratic candidate Chris Jones was 3% ahead of his Republican opponent, French Hill.

Now there’s more good news for Jones. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the campaign arm for the House of Representatives, announced Wednesday that the 2nd Congressional seat the two are vying for is “in play,” according to a news release from the political organization.

“French Hill has abandoned Arkansas’ working families,” said committee chair Suzan DelBene. “From Hill’s war of choice in Iran causing gas prices to skyrocket, to voting to kick nearly 150,000 Arkansans off their health insurance, voters are sick and tired of Hill’s betrayal. This November, they are going to elect a leader who is ready to hit the ground running and fight for them, not Republicans’ billionaire buddies.”



ADVERTISING


The committee’s national “Districts in Play” program identifies vulnerable districts that the party thinks it can flip from red to blue. The designation can mean more money from the party for a candidate and more from political action committees that want to focus campaign contributions in places where it matters the most.

“This designation reflects the momentum that’s been building across Central Arkansas,” Jones stated in the release. “We are here not because of insiders in Washington, but because neighbors are talking to neighbors, volunteers are knocking on doors, and people believe our district deserves better. Today’s announcement confirms what we’ve been seeing on the ground for months: This race is competitive because Arkansans are demanding new leadership.”

The poll, released in May, surveyed 660 Arkansans and showed that independents were leaning heavily toward Jones and that an eyebrow-raising quarter of Republicans did not think that Hill deserved to be reelected.


The party in opposition to the president typically picks up districts in the House and Senate in mid-term elections, and pollsters have said this November will likely be no different. President Trump’s approval ratings are down, with polls showing the public growing more and more dissatisfied with his handling of the economy, where affordability still makes headlines, and with his handling of foreign affairs. Trump promised to stay out of “forever wars,” but he, along with Israel, plunged the United States into what many have said was an unnecessary conflict with Iran that still goes on.


Still, with all that said, victory for a Democrat in the 2nd Congressional District has been a giant tease over the years. Then-state Rep. Clarke Tucker, who is now a state senator, got 46% of the vote in 2018 against Hill, now in his sixth term. Two years later, Sen. Joyce Elliott got almost 45%.

Because of those scares, the Republicans in the Legislature redrew the boundaries of the district, carving up liberal-leaning Pulaski County into three districts, giving Hill an easier path in 2022 and 2024, when he got around 60% of the vote both times.
 

Dems say 2nd District is ‘in play’​

by Byron TateAugust 5, 2026 2:49 pm
unnamed-2.jpg


Chris Jones is vying for the 2nd Congressional District seat, which Dems say is in play.Credit: Chris Jones campaign
Two months ago, a poll showed Democratic candidate Chris Jones was 3% ahead of his Republican opponent, French Hill.

Now there’s more good news for Jones. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the campaign arm for the House of Representatives, announced Wednesday that the 2nd Congressional seat the two are vying for is “in play,” according to a news release from the political organization.

“French Hill has abandoned Arkansas’ working families,” said committee chair Suzan DelBene. “From Hill’s war of choice in Iran causing gas prices to skyrocket, to voting to kick nearly 150,000 Arkansans off their health insurance, voters are sick and tired of Hill’s betrayal. This November, they are going to elect a leader who is ready to hit the ground running and fight for them, not Republicans’ billionaire buddies.”



ADVERTISING


The committee’s national “Districts in Play” program identifies vulnerable districts that the party thinks it can flip from red to blue. The designation can mean more money from the party for a candidate and more from political action committees that want to focus campaign contributions in places where it matters the most.

“This designation reflects the momentum that’s been building across Central Arkansas,” Jones stated in the release. “We are here not because of insiders in Washington, but because neighbors are talking to neighbors, volunteers are knocking on doors, and people believe our district deserves better. Today’s announcement confirms what we’ve been seeing on the ground for months: This race is competitive because Arkansans are demanding new leadership.”

The poll, released in May, surveyed 660 Arkansans and showed that independents were leaning heavily toward Jones and that an eyebrow-raising quarter of Republicans did not think that Hill deserved to be reelected.


The party in opposition to the president typically picks up districts in the House and Senate in mid-term elections, and pollsters have said this November will likely be no different. President Trump’s approval ratings are down, with polls showing the public growing more and more dissatisfied with his handling of the economy, where affordability still makes headlines, and with his handling of foreign affairs. Trump promised to stay out of “forever wars,” but he, along with Israel, plunged the United States into what many have said was an unnecessary conflict with Iran that still goes on.


Still, with all that said, victory for a Democrat in the 2nd Congressional District has been a giant tease over the years. Then-state Rep. Clarke Tucker, who is now a state senator, got 46% of the vote in 2018 against Hill, now in his sixth term. Two years later, Sen. Joyce Elliott got almost 45%.

Because of those scares, the Republicans in the Legislature redrew the boundaries of the district, carving up liberal-leaning Pulaski County into three districts, giving Hill an easier path in 2022 and 2024, when he got around 60% of the vote both times.
He's a good man who does the work and doesn't hide.
 
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