@durbin.senate.gov I am begging you to hold the line. They will not uphold their end later, and I know you are smart enough to know that. All that voting yes will do now is give them confirmation that withholding people’s food is a tactic that will work again in the future.

He is literally quadrupling down on not fulfilling his obligation to feed vulnerable people. What a lunatic. #SNAP #shutdown #scotus

@durbin.senate.gov, I strongly insist that you stand with @duckworth.senate.gov and vote no on cloture today. You and your colleagues are our last defense against this disastrous continuing resolution. We need you to stand strong for all of us!

Some Facts About PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS That You May Not Know

About 7% (or $476 billion) of the 2024 federal budget supported economic security programs that provide aid to individuals and families facing hardship. These include programs like: TANF CASH ASSISTANCE SNAP (FOOD STAMPS) SSI (DISABILITY) SCHOOL MEALS HOUSING ASSISTANCE CHILDCARE ASSISTANCE This is a bit of a simplification, but essentially, if you are paying about 25% of your income in federal taxes, that would mean about 1.75% of your income is going to these programs.

The current federal poverty level (FPL) is $15,650 for a single individual. For a household of 4, the poverty level is $32,150. While Illinois has a higher state minimum wage, the federal minimum wage has remained at $7.25/hr. for over 15 years Meaning that a person who works full-time makes $15,080, or a household with two children and two working parents makes $30,160. That's less than the FPL! I don't care what they do for a living, no one working full time should be making less than the Federal Poverty Level.

The current maximum benefit amount for a single individual on SNAP is is $292/month. For a family of 4, the maximum benefit amount is $975/month. The minimum benefit amount is $23/month. You need to have a net income under 100% of the FPL to qualify. The closer to The FPL a household is, the less they receive. If I told you how net income and benefit amounts were calculated, it would drive you bonkers to see how detached from the actual cost of living they are. (But if you are curious, DM me, I would gladly show you!)

The greatest grift of all time is the one where millionaires and billionaires convinced the middle class that their struggles were created by people who had less than them, and not the very same millionaires and billionaires who exploited their labor, their tax system, and their wages.

We all need to hear this

Cartoon by Nick Anderson

American politicians should feel ashamed.

If Zelenskyy, a foreigner fighting a nearly insurmountable war against a nuclear power can stand up to Trump, Vance, and Musk, every US politician should be doing 100 times more to impede their takeover.

Congress is filled with hacks and cowards.

I really hope my fellow Americans saw that too. This administration is going to drag us into World War III, and we won’t be on the right side of history for this one. We have got to stop them.

That was not an attempt at diplomacy. That was an ambush staged by two of Putin’s favorite puppets, intended to make Ukraine look bad to the American media. Believe me, the whole world saw it for what it really was, the leaders of the U.S. trying to bully an ally to capitulating to Putin’s agenda.

Come on FNS! Where you at?

Wise man in a sweater in his home library 📚 contemplating: I don't know what word in the English language --I can't find one-- applies to people who are willing to sacrifice the literal existence of organized human life so they can put a few more dollars into highly stuffed pockets. The word 'evil' doesn't even begin to approach it. ~Noam Chomsky

Wise man…

The media needs to stop using the phrase "Trump outlawed diversity programs" and just say it like it is: Trump legalized discrimination against women and POC.

So what I’m hearing here is that if someone were to do whatever it took to get rid of a person who was harming the country, they would be perfectly within their rights to do so. Got it.

That’s exactly how I read it.

REPOST if you support our federal workforce and know how dedicated they are to their jobs. Show them you appreciate them!

Yes think about how judges are supposed to decide if things the president does are constitutional, and why the richest man in the world who just bought the election might not be into that.

History ignored repeats itself.

Hey NYTimes — *now* you’re lighting the beacons? NOW?!? After months of “Sauron: Avatar Of Evil… Or Extreme Uniter?” thumbsucker reporting you’re screaming what we’ve known since 2015? Fuck all the way off.

We need to all be calling it what it is—a coup.

That is what is happening.

A slow-moving coup is underway in the U.S., using executive overreach, dismantling oversight, and private-sector collusion. This isn’t just democratic erosion—it’s an active power grab.

#DemocracyAtRisk

Black Panther Party's Free Breakfast Program (1969-1980) • In 1966, Huey Newton online pharmacy buy cenforce no prescription pharmacy  and Bobby Seale online pharmacy order arimidex online with best prices today in the USA  created the Black Panther Party for...

The Black Panther Party were trailblazers in public health. The Free Breakfast Program fed more kids than the State of California.

Black History is American History.

So much for focusing on meritocracy. Lol

4/4 The stigma around disability and neurodiversity, as exemplified by this statement, are exactly why DEI must exist. Furthermore, these attitudes being put forward by our country’s leadership validate the dehumanization of people who are seen as different, and we all know where that leads.

3/4 Second of all, as someone who suffers from Bipolar Disorder, I resent the implication that having a mental illness or being fully paralyzed means that you are not mentally capable, or are somehow less deserving.

2/4 Do intellectually disabled people not deserve employment? Are you going to pay more for them to live, because right now, SSI pays $943 a month (which is deserving of its own separate conversation)

First of all, no, they weren’t hiring people without the cognitive capabilities to be air traffic controllers, a job that requires rigorous review and testing, but maybe they were given jobs at the FAA that were in their skillset, like facilities maintenance. Which, why not?