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RFK Jr sounds weird. I don’t mean his ideas about vaccines and contagious disease. I mean that when he vocalizes, it sounds . . . creaky. RFK Jr has a condition called “spasmodic dysphonia.” It’s known to have a genetic component. But this is RFK Jr, so of course he blames vaccines. “In an interview with the outlet, Kennedy said he took annual flu shots until the mid-1990s, then stopped in 2005 "when I began looking at the side effects."   "I was preparing litigation against some of the flu shots several years ago and one of the entries that was listed on a lot of them was spasmodic dysphonia, which is an injury I have to my voice. That's why my voice is so screwed up," Kennedy said.   "That turns out to be a vaccine injury," he continued. "Do I know it was caused by the annual flu shot? I have no idea."   “When pressed by the interviewer, who asked if he suspected it was caused by the vaccine, he said it's "a possibility."   ...

I still see folks claiming that Congress “stole” Social Security, that SS is a Ponzi scheme and that SS is bankrupt or will be soon. All myths. Here are some core truths about SS that everyone needs to know. • SS is separate from the general fund. SS doesn’t affect the federal deficit or national debt. Those who claim we must cut SS in order to balance the budget are lying; • By law, unexpended SS taxes must be invested in US treasuries. That means that, just like your passbook savings account, the money isn’t sitting around in a box, nor has it been “stolen.” Treasuries are backed by the full faith and credit of the US government;   • There is no account with your SS payments in it, like your savings account or your 401k. Your SS payments were/are being used to pay the benefits of current retirees. Future taxpayers will pay for your retirement. Thus has it ever been;   • Your SS benefit is calculated based on the top 35 earning years. If you haven’t paid in for 35 years by th...

If you want to understand Donald Trump, follow the money. That includes foreign policy. Kidnap the president of Venezuela for the oil. Take over Greenland for the minerals. And Gaza? Certainly not for the Palestinians or Israel. “Countries on   Donald Trump ’s “Board of Peace” for   Gaza   will be asked to contribute $1 billion in order to keep their membership for more than 3 years, according to reports.     "Each Member State shall serve a term of no more than three years from this Charter’s entry into force, subject to renewal by the Chairman," a draft document first reported by   Bloomberg News   shows.   “It adds that the three-year term “shall not apply to Member States that contribute more than USD $1,000,000,000 in cash funds to the Board of Peace within the first year of the Charter.” Where does this billion dollars/country go?   “ The draft also reportedly suggests that Trump would control the money himself.” So it’s not about peace...

In an effort to extort Greenland from Denmark, Trump has ordered a 10% tariff on goods from EU nations that have opposed the US expropriation effort beginning in February. He has threatened to raise that to 25% if they don’t capitulate. A couple of points: • The tariffs are mostly a nothingburger for EU economies: “ At face value, a 10% tariff rising to 25% would have minimal economic consequences, Capital Economics chief economist Neil Shearing said in a note Sunday, estimating they would reduce GDP in the targeted NATO economies by 0.1-0.3 percentage points and add 0.1-0.2 points to U.S. inflation.” • Europe owns a lot of treasuries, which helps keep America’s debt service low. “European countries own $8 trillion of US bonds and equities, almost twice as much as the rest of the world combined,” Saravelos pointed out. “In an environment where the geoeconomic stability of the western alliance is being disrupted existentially, it is not clear why Europeans would be as willing to play th...

While Elon was out slashing jobs and programs, Trump and his family continued to grift on the taxpayer dime. Trump’s trips to Mar-a-Lago alone have cost millions this year alone. Imagine the government efficiency if he was forced to live in the White House! Then, there are the bills racked up by his family. “The documentation does not specify which hotel the agency has booked, but   taxpayers laid out nearly $28,000   for [Eric Trump’s] Secret Service detail to stay at the Trump-owned property while accompanying him to Doonbeg on a 2017 business trip. When President Trump visited Doonbeg in 2019, his hotel   billed the Secret Service more than $10,000   for agents’ lodging during the two-day trip, and that same year   charged taxpayers over $15,000   to house then-VP Mike Pence’s Secret Service detail for two nights.   “Eric   once claimed   that the family business let the Secret Service stay at their hotels for free or at cost. However, ...

The privileged elitists on Trump’s cabinet can’t help themselves. They broadcast how, like Trump himself, they’re out of touch. “ Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins made waves this week with claims that the Trump administration’s   revamped food pyramid   leaves plenty of room for Americans to maintain a healthy diet for as little as $3 a meal.   “In an interview Wednesday with News Nation, Rollins said her agency came up with plenty of low-cost meals that conform with the new dietary guidelines, which call for Americans to eat more red meat and butter, and less processed food. “Are we asking them to spend more on their diet? And the answer to that is no.”   “She said the agency ran “over 1,000 simulations” and found that “it can cost around $3 a meal for a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, you know, a corn tortilla and one other thing.” How big a “piece.” What is “one other thing?” Here’s a reality check: “ “Is it possible to cook one healthy meal for $3? Yes...