I just posted your newsletter to FB along with your Wiki bio. My message was to have folks read a reasonable level headed recounting about what is going on behind the doors in the House from a respected, at least my me and others, member of Congress. I am gobsmacked given the proliferation of unsupported, unfounded, highly questionable memes that circulate freely!
Same here, today, Tuesday, June 18. This has happened on at least one other Substack based progressive/middle post. They have been fighting it with some success.
Excellent writing , as always. I really would like to get your news letter into every American government class. It is a good politics 101 explanation of your world. That said, your video skills could use some work. :-) Thanks for the sanity.
Am I dreaming, or do I actually remember a time in my life when representatives were just that - men and women working together in Washington to make things happen for the people!? As always, my appreciation to those like you who are there to make improvements and for taking time to let us know and help us to understand what is going on.
900 billion defense budget is to keep capitalism going, To keep the 1% in power and bankrupt the working class. The “Culture War” is a systemic distraction to fool the American people. Did you know that the Religious Community didn’t even think to get involved in the abortion issue till they were manipulated by politicians to Garner their vote? Democrats weaponize identity politics to achieve the same thing. The GOP just uses religion. That 900 Billion could easily be invested in High Speed rail. As a nation we still do not have high speed rail, it could go into unemployment benefits to keep up with the inflation. Social Security benefits can be increased to keep up with the rate of inflation for our elderly population. We can as a nation provide free college without student debt.
There are SO MANY Dems and GOP voters living pay check to pay check and yet hold firmly to their racist/religious ideology (last I checked were suppose to separate church from state. This includes the Culture Wars) convinced that it’s the immigrant stealing the jobs, it’s the brown and black persons fault that they are poor. Our capitalist media outlets owed by corporations spew the rhetoric under the guise of “journalism” to confirm the ideology to the American People. We have no “free press”. It’s the Capitalist that are doing this the ones with the money and power.
It’s also telling that you have 1000 amendments for a bill. That is an act of desperation to keep capitalism going. It tells me that it’s a failure. 1000 amendments is Splitting hairs and splitting hairs does no one any favors.
Your communication with your constituents is so rare and absolutely appreciated. Outstanding job. I will support (and I have) whatever next opportunity you pursue. Thank you.
Thanks, Jeff. I would be interested in hearing your plan around gerrymandering, like they had in Wisconsin. We were the second most gerrymandered state in the country until Wisconsin fixed their problems, and I guess that means we have the dubious honor of being #1 now?
Thank you for providing us with the closed door details about this latest gobsmacked mess re: the amendments. The rosy version of “accomplishments” that was in my NC District 7 congressman’s typical canned email was beyond laughable.
Additional points this post doesn't say. With its planning for more neverending wars, the House Armed Services Committee
-- endangers real security with its worldwide aggression
-- ignores our federal spending deficit - and interest payments the USA pays debt holders, including countries we attack
-- worsens the climate crisis,
-- deliberately endangers humanity with nuclear and bioweapons accidents and threats
-- continues chronic military abuses of soldiers, military families, and veterans
-- plans to increase families harmed, by growing military ranks through a unanimously-committee-approved automatic draft/conscription
-- invites overspending for overdue, unfit, outdated corporate waste, fraud, and abuse - but feeds congressional campaign coffers, stock portfolios, and revolving government/industry doors (there's an offshoot market, google 'congressional stock tracker')
-- violates domestic and international laws, not exactly the democracy our country 'defends'
-- evaporates any USA claims to lead the world except in military failures, and we're no world leader in general health and food security, or safe cost effective comfortable high quality infrastructure like education, housing and utilities, or transportation.
Government documents, agency and oversight organization reports abound online if you look. Congress can reduce military spending to real defense spending by stopping wars, withdrawing covert actions, closing those 800+ military bases; that might even help pass those chronically failed financial audits. Congress can increase real national security further by using those savings to decrease personal debt and increase quality of life for all Americans. Just contact your congressman.
You do such good work especially in reaching out across the aisle. I think your amendments are great....especially re: licensure of former military medics so they can get into the health sector which is short of practitioners at practically all levels....good common sense measures. Thank you.
In the House of Representatives, the whole House is the dog. The right flank is the tail. Usually the dog has the privilege to wag the tail. In this useless Congress, the tail wags the dog. And we, taxpayers, pay the tail to wag the dog. What a shame!
"maybe someone in the Senate will object and decide to pluck out one of our amendments." You mean, like that brain-damaged, failed ex-football coach pretending to be a Senator?
Too bad that you use the term "culture war" to include things that are not about culture at all but about human life. Probably you and most of your followers disagree but please consider that 15 years ago those things in that bill that you consider "culture" would have been considered far out of bounds for most people. And even President Biden was in favor of retaining the Hyde and Helms amendments until he decided to run for election in 2020 and had a change of mind about it. Granted these amendments are not Hyde amendment issues per se but are similar. Consider some people's point of view: why should the US taxpayer pay for some female service member who is pregnant and does not want to be, to travel somewhere to end the life of her unborn human child (or future child for those who think that way)? And, think about what some people consider mutilation and hormone experimentation on many people who outgrow their points of view, and how people 15 years ago would have thought about it? The British health authorities have recently changed their opinion about these "treatments" for young people. Perhaps the US military should look into why the British have come to their present stance.
I appreciated having this to explain about the recent activity on passage of the defense bill.
Why do we have such a complicated system, and wow, can it be fixed? We seem to waste so much time and money when deciding on the contents of a bill. I hope we will change this and soon.
Thanks for being a sane voice midst the chaos. We will miss your influence in these situations.
I look forward to these newsletters and so does my daughter. We will also miss them. Wish all representatives would do this! Thank you from Virginia
I just posted your newsletter to FB along with your Wiki bio. My message was to have folks read a reasonable level headed recounting about what is going on behind the doors in the House from a respected, at least my me and others, member of Congress. I am gobsmacked given the proliferation of unsupported, unfounded, highly questionable memes that circulate freely!
I just “reposted” as comments to another post of mine about the “violation” and that seems to have passed muster. Color me baffled.
Same here, today, Tuesday, June 18. This has happened on at least one other Substack based progressive/middle post. They have been fighting it with some success.
It was odd, i was able to repost what I had posted as a “reply” to a comment to another post.
FB's algorithm has been usurped by bad actors, I think. The other site is a fact check site!
Excellent writing , as always. I really would like to get your news letter into every American government class. It is a good politics 101 explanation of your world. That said, your video skills could use some work. :-) Thanks for the sanity.
Am I dreaming, or do I actually remember a time in my life when representatives were just that - men and women working together in Washington to make things happen for the people!? As always, my appreciation to those like you who are there to make improvements and for taking time to let us know and help us to understand what is going on.
900 billion defense budget is to keep capitalism going, To keep the 1% in power and bankrupt the working class. The “Culture War” is a systemic distraction to fool the American people. Did you know that the Religious Community didn’t even think to get involved in the abortion issue till they were manipulated by politicians to Garner their vote? Democrats weaponize identity politics to achieve the same thing. The GOP just uses religion. That 900 Billion could easily be invested in High Speed rail. As a nation we still do not have high speed rail, it could go into unemployment benefits to keep up with the inflation. Social Security benefits can be increased to keep up with the rate of inflation for our elderly population. We can as a nation provide free college without student debt.
There are SO MANY Dems and GOP voters living pay check to pay check and yet hold firmly to their racist/religious ideology (last I checked were suppose to separate church from state. This includes the Culture Wars) convinced that it’s the immigrant stealing the jobs, it’s the brown and black persons fault that they are poor. Our capitalist media outlets owed by corporations spew the rhetoric under the guise of “journalism” to confirm the ideology to the American People. We have no “free press”. It’s the Capitalist that are doing this the ones with the money and power.
It’s also telling that you have 1000 amendments for a bill. That is an act of desperation to keep capitalism going. It tells me that it’s a failure. 1000 amendments is Splitting hairs and splitting hairs does no one any favors.
Your communication with your constituents is so rare and absolutely appreciated. Outstanding job. I will support (and I have) whatever next opportunity you pursue. Thank you.
Thanks, Jeff. I would be interested in hearing your plan around gerrymandering, like they had in Wisconsin. We were the second most gerrymandered state in the country until Wisconsin fixed their problems, and I guess that means we have the dubious honor of being #1 now?
Jeff Jackson.... I know you need advice.... ask MTG she is much more intelligent on these things than you are.
Don't do this when I'm sipping my coffee, it is hard on keyboards. ;-)
MTG??? Meet The Ghastly???
Too laughable!
Too laughable!
I hope this remark is clumsy sarcasm. A gnat has intelligence superior to MTG.
Thank you Jeff .
Thank you for providing us with the closed door details about this latest gobsmacked mess re: the amendments. The rosy version of “accomplishments” that was in my NC District 7 congressman’s typical canned email was beyond laughable.
Additional points this post doesn't say. With its planning for more neverending wars, the House Armed Services Committee
-- endangers real security with its worldwide aggression
-- ignores our federal spending deficit - and interest payments the USA pays debt holders, including countries we attack
-- worsens the climate crisis,
-- deliberately endangers humanity with nuclear and bioweapons accidents and threats
-- continues chronic military abuses of soldiers, military families, and veterans
-- plans to increase families harmed, by growing military ranks through a unanimously-committee-approved automatic draft/conscription
-- invites overspending for overdue, unfit, outdated corporate waste, fraud, and abuse - but feeds congressional campaign coffers, stock portfolios, and revolving government/industry doors (there's an offshoot market, google 'congressional stock tracker')
-- violates domestic and international laws, not exactly the democracy our country 'defends'
-- evaporates any USA claims to lead the world except in military failures, and we're no world leader in general health and food security, or safe cost effective comfortable high quality infrastructure like education, housing and utilities, or transportation.
Government documents, agency and oversight organization reports abound online if you look. Congress can reduce military spending to real defense spending by stopping wars, withdrawing covert actions, closing those 800+ military bases; that might even help pass those chronically failed financial audits. Congress can increase real national security further by using those savings to decrease personal debt and increase quality of life for all Americans. Just contact your congressman.
You do such good work especially in reaching out across the aisle. I think your amendments are great....especially re: licensure of former military medics so they can get into the health sector which is short of practitioners at practically all levels....good common sense measures. Thank you.
In the House of Representatives, the whole House is the dog. The right flank is the tail. Usually the dog has the privilege to wag the tail. In this useless Congress, the tail wags the dog. And we, taxpayers, pay the tail to wag the dog. What a shame!
"maybe someone in the Senate will object and decide to pluck out one of our amendments." You mean, like that brain-damaged, failed ex-football coach pretending to be a Senator?
Yep. Wish we had someone like Jeff here in Ohio. On ANY level.
Too bad that you use the term "culture war" to include things that are not about culture at all but about human life. Probably you and most of your followers disagree but please consider that 15 years ago those things in that bill that you consider "culture" would have been considered far out of bounds for most people. And even President Biden was in favor of retaining the Hyde and Helms amendments until he decided to run for election in 2020 and had a change of mind about it. Granted these amendments are not Hyde amendment issues per se but are similar. Consider some people's point of view: why should the US taxpayer pay for some female service member who is pregnant and does not want to be, to travel somewhere to end the life of her unborn human child (or future child for those who think that way)? And, think about what some people consider mutilation and hormone experimentation on many people who outgrow their points of view, and how people 15 years ago would have thought about it? The British health authorities have recently changed their opinion about these "treatments" for young people. Perhaps the US military should look into why the British have come to their present stance.
Exactly. If one is opposed to the chemical castration of children YOU are labeled the cultural warrior. What a load of BS.
I appreciated having this to explain about the recent activity on passage of the defense bill.
Why do we have such a complicated system, and wow, can it be fixed? We seem to waste so much time and money when deciding on the contents of a bill. I hope we will change this and soon.
Thank you for all you do!