Ironically, just before reading your post I received an actual message from Zach Nunn:
Hi Ray,
On this day 249 years ago, our founders made a bold declaration: that all people are created equal and entitled to live free.
Image
That promise has been kept alive not by words, but by service. From the farms of Iowa to battlefields overseas, generations of Americans have stood up to defend our liberty. As a Colonel in the Air Force and your voice in Congress, I’ve sworn to uphold those principles, and I carry that duty with me every single day.
*************** AN OPEN POST RESPONSE **************
Well Zach, you, your party and your corrupt, habitual lying, insurrectionist, draft dodging leader and his white supremacist staff don't seem to agree with our founders. It's one thing to support Trump's pathetic policies, it is something else to insult our intelligence that you have done shit to keep this promise alive. Actually, doing nothing to keep the promise alive would be far better than what you are actually doing--destroying the promise of equality.
I don't need someone to tell me he is upholding the principles of equality and freedom when he just voted to give ICE a trillion dollars to beat and disappear brown and black skinned people who have been in this country for more than a decade, including US Citizens. The deportations are frequently as retaliation for their free speech.
And Alligator Alcatraz? What is that all about? That just tells me you and your MAGA cult not only disdain your duty to the Constitution, freedom and equality, you also think your cruelty and abuse of trust is funny. Abusing people of color is a big joke to you.
I do agree with you about one thing. Generations of Americans have stood up to defend our liberty. YOU are NOT one of them. For example, 8,000 people in YOUR district stood outside the State Capitol to vehemently protest your actions.
To clarify, you claim to be my voice in Congress. You aren't. Unfortunately, you are my elected representative. I don't know what "duty" you think you are fulfilling, but there is a difference between a Trump lap dog and somebody representing Iowans in Congress. Don't insult our intelligence by being the former and pretending to be the latter.
Thank you Ray, you truly summed it up! Apparently "they" have forgotten that WE put them in office and "they" are supposed to work for US. If they don't work for US we should find qualified people that WILL work for US because that is what they are supposed to do. They don't work for corporations, banks, or Wall Street. They are supposed to work for US.
"They" haven't forgotten. They just don't care. Except in the states where almost nobody lives, every Congressional district contains about 760,000 men, women, and children. And in states controlled by Republicans, the greed of a couple of billionaires, including some who don't even live in the district, outweigh the needs and interests of everybody else in the district -- or the entire state. "What a country..."
And don't forget your pets! They are very unhappy about fireworks (in spite of the cute image posted here.) Also, people from war zones are very unhappy about fireworks. They trigger PTSD. You can watch the NYC fireworks on TV and have a nice drink at the same time, while doing laundry! Cheers! (And don't forget: I'll be 80 on Monday! Fireworks are permitted then!)
Happy 4th Trygve! Just found out that my husband and I will no longer be paying income tax on our social security income. And that this action has shortened the trust fund another two years back to 2032. Do they really think we’re that dumb? We need a dem congress to fix social security. They can start by ending the FICA tax cap! Keep up the good work Trygve and hope you run again.
Trygve, you bring a voice of sanity to my inbox every time you post a new Substack entry.
I am in the process of leaving North Dakota for an assisted living place near my son and daughter-in-law, and one of the FEW things I'll miss is the ability to vote for you in the future.
Of course, depending on the exact effects of the Big Betrayal Bill on Medicaid and other programs, I may not be leaving North Dakota, but finding a nice refrigerator box under a bridge someplace.
Isn't it ironic that the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence is the same day as the death of rights the Founding Fathers envisioned and put in our new nation?
Fuck politicians I just noticed how all of you voted for a big ugly bill to give tax breaks to billionaires and trillionaire’s while taking Healthcare away from the average taxpayer so screw you
A basic problem is that there are many more positions than just Democrat or Republican. Only two containers are not enough to contain all the voters points of view and their shadings. We must move beyond a binary winner take all electoral system.
Except that the DNC will not support the proposal to ban Super PAC and dark money from the Democratic primaries. In our system if the winners of the primaries Democratic or Republican do not represent the voters the middle class and poor will just get screwed again and the cycle of flipping from Democrat to Republican will just be repeated. The Democratic establishment is not afraid that members of the Squad will lose in the general election they are afraid they will win. To say you have to take money from the rich to reduce their influence is equivalent to, "We had to bomb the village to save it!" Yes, I am old enough to remember the Viet Nam War!
And at overlong last, Degenerate Don has made good (or made bad) on one of his first and biggest campaign promises.
Since 2015 he has been promising a wonderful health plan that would put Obamacare to shame. In another few weeks.
Month after month, year after year. A bill with features that Obamacare never thought of.
Surprising features. Like his admission during his “debate “ with Kamala Harris that all he ever had was a plan for a plan.
And now it seems he never had that, either.
But aHA. Just passed yesterday, with approval from about 98% of Republiscum in Congress and. 0% of Democrats, about 15 million Americans—or the equivalent of about every resident in Alabama Louisiana and Mississippi— will lose their health coverage. To celebrate, in Nebraska, whose entire congressional delegation voted for the Big Buttugly Bill, the first of its six rural hospitals announced last night that it has to shut down what little remains open.
Well, Americans have tried democracy for a quarter of a millennium. I can’t say I’m looking forward to what’s coming next.
Whew! Almost had a caniption <sp?> fit! We moved into a Blue district over a year ago and your post made me fear we were still in the odious district of one of the most despicable Republicans there is. Thank heavens it was only a temporary delusion.
I no longer live in ND, but i saw a letter from Kevin Kramer assuring my ND residing sibling that the BBB will cut the deficit by over $500 billion. Evidently this is because the &4.5 trillion in tax cuts don’t count because after all the staff cuts at the IRS, oligarchs weren’t going to pay their tax obligations anyway.
You are spot on here Trygve! We just got through with the fireworks that jack up our Aussie Border puppy for almost an hour. The biggest reason why? We have a fireworks store in town and everyone in the valley was shooting them off at the same time. I truly hope that those folks that get "hurt" with this bill are not the poorest in our nation, I hope many of them realize before the mid-terms that they have to get out and vote the ones that passed this bill out of their positions. It's not going to stop the bleeding early, but I believe if we put them in office we can heist them out of there as well. They are supposed to be working for US the people of this fair land not for themselves or their "boss." Happy 4th of July Trygve!
Ironically, just before reading your post I received an actual message from Zach Nunn:
Hi Ray,
On this day 249 years ago, our founders made a bold declaration: that all people are created equal and entitled to live free.
Image
That promise has been kept alive not by words, but by service. From the farms of Iowa to battlefields overseas, generations of Americans have stood up to defend our liberty. As a Colonel in the Air Force and your voice in Congress, I’ve sworn to uphold those principles, and I carry that duty with me every single day.
*************** AN OPEN POST RESPONSE **************
Well Zach, you, your party and your corrupt, habitual lying, insurrectionist, draft dodging leader and his white supremacist staff don't seem to agree with our founders. It's one thing to support Trump's pathetic policies, it is something else to insult our intelligence that you have done shit to keep this promise alive. Actually, doing nothing to keep the promise alive would be far better than what you are actually doing--destroying the promise of equality.
I don't need someone to tell me he is upholding the principles of equality and freedom when he just voted to give ICE a trillion dollars to beat and disappear brown and black skinned people who have been in this country for more than a decade, including US Citizens. The deportations are frequently as retaliation for their free speech.
And Alligator Alcatraz? What is that all about? That just tells me you and your MAGA cult not only disdain your duty to the Constitution, freedom and equality, you also think your cruelty and abuse of trust is funny. Abusing people of color is a big joke to you.
I do agree with you about one thing. Generations of Americans have stood up to defend our liberty. YOU are NOT one of them. For example, 8,000 people in YOUR district stood outside the State Capitol to vehemently protest your actions.
To clarify, you claim to be my voice in Congress. You aren't. Unfortunately, you are my elected representative. I don't know what "duty" you think you are fulfilling, but there is a difference between a Trump lap dog and somebody representing Iowans in Congress. Don't insult our intelligence by being the former and pretending to be the latter.
Thank you Ray, you truly summed it up! Apparently "they" have forgotten that WE put them in office and "they" are supposed to work for US. If they don't work for US we should find qualified people that WILL work for US because that is what they are supposed to do. They don't work for corporations, banks, or Wall Street. They are supposed to work for US.
"They" haven't forgotten. They just don't care. Except in the states where almost nobody lives, every Congressional district contains about 760,000 men, women, and children. And in states controlled by Republicans, the greed of a couple of billionaires, including some who don't even live in the district, outweigh the needs and interests of everybody else in the district -- or the entire state. "What a country..."
And don't forget your pets! They are very unhappy about fireworks (in spite of the cute image posted here.) Also, people from war zones are very unhappy about fireworks. They trigger PTSD. You can watch the NYC fireworks on TV and have a nice drink at the same time, while doing laundry! Cheers! (And don't forget: I'll be 80 on Monday! Fireworks are permitted then!)
Happy 4th Trygve! Just found out that my husband and I will no longer be paying income tax on our social security income. And that this action has shortened the trust fund another two years back to 2032. Do they really think we’re that dumb? We need a dem congress to fix social security. They can start by ending the FICA tax cap! Keep up the good work Trygve and hope you run again.
Who knew the Declaration of Independence had a "void after 249 years" clause?
🤷
Trygve, you bring a voice of sanity to my inbox every time you post a new Substack entry.
I am in the process of leaving North Dakota for an assisted living place near my son and daughter-in-law, and one of the FEW things I'll miss is the ability to vote for you in the future.
Of course, depending on the exact effects of the Big Betrayal Bill on Medicaid and other programs, I may not be leaving North Dakota, but finding a nice refrigerator box under a bridge someplace.
Isn't it ironic that the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence is the same day as the death of rights the Founding Fathers envisioned and put in our new nation?
Fuck politicians I just noticed how all of you voted for a big ugly bill to give tax breaks to billionaires and trillionaire’s while taking Healthcare away from the average taxpayer so screw you
A basic problem is that there are many more positions than just Democrat or Republican. Only two containers are not enough to contain all the voters points of view and their shadings. We must move beyond a binary winner take all electoral system.
At this moment why don't we concentrate on "Democracy -- yes or no?"
Because the party in favor of billionaires and autocrats is not fragmenting over points of view.
Except that the DNC will not support the proposal to ban Super PAC and dark money from the Democratic primaries. In our system if the winners of the primaries Democratic or Republican do not represent the voters the middle class and poor will just get screwed again and the cycle of flipping from Democrat to Republican will just be repeated. The Democratic establishment is not afraid that members of the Squad will lose in the general election they are afraid they will win. To say you have to take money from the rich to reduce their influence is equivalent to, "We had to bomb the village to save it!" Yes, I am old enough to remember the Viet Nam War!
> But also try not to be brown
Truth.
I guess democracy is only good for 250 years! Thanks for post and Happy July 4th
It was great to laugh on this sorrowful day after the big ugly bill. Thank you for inserting a little joy into an otherwise bleak landscape.
Republicans = ASSHOLES EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK
And at overlong last, Degenerate Don has made good (or made bad) on one of his first and biggest campaign promises.
Since 2015 he has been promising a wonderful health plan that would put Obamacare to shame. In another few weeks.
Month after month, year after year. A bill with features that Obamacare never thought of.
Surprising features. Like his admission during his “debate “ with Kamala Harris that all he ever had was a plan for a plan.
And now it seems he never had that, either.
But aHA. Just passed yesterday, with approval from about 98% of Republiscum in Congress and. 0% of Democrats, about 15 million Americans—or the equivalent of about every resident in Alabama Louisiana and Mississippi— will lose their health coverage. To celebrate, in Nebraska, whose entire congressional delegation voted for the Big Buttugly Bill, the first of its six rural hospitals announced last night that it has to shut down what little remains open.
Well, Americans have tried democracy for a quarter of a millennium. I can’t say I’m looking forward to what’s coming next.
Whew! Almost had a caniption <sp?> fit! We moved into a Blue district over a year ago and your post made me fear we were still in the odious district of one of the most despicable Republicans there is. Thank heavens it was only a temporary delusion.
I no longer live in ND, but i saw a letter from Kevin Kramer assuring my ND residing sibling that the BBB will cut the deficit by over $500 billion. Evidently this is because the &4.5 trillion in tax cuts don’t count because after all the staff cuts at the IRS, oligarchs weren’t going to pay their tax obligations anyway.
A PS to my comment above. The change in social security income tax was in the Big Ugly Bill.
You are spot on here Trygve! We just got through with the fireworks that jack up our Aussie Border puppy for almost an hour. The biggest reason why? We have a fireworks store in town and everyone in the valley was shooting them off at the same time. I truly hope that those folks that get "hurt" with this bill are not the poorest in our nation, I hope many of them realize before the mid-terms that they have to get out and vote the ones that passed this bill out of their positions. It's not going to stop the bleeding early, but I believe if we put them in office we can heist them out of there as well. They are supposed to be working for US the people of this fair land not for themselves or their "boss." Happy 4th of July Trygve!