Jeff Holmes

The GOP budget bill would devastate rural America to fund tax cuts for the rich.

Over 12 million rural residents rely on Medicaid, and more than 6 million on SNAP. Local hospitals on the brink could close, and small businesses that rely on SNAP purchases could struggle to pay workers.

Long article that I didn't finish, but I love the idea of finding new ways to reinvigorate interest in learning, especially communally!

Financial markets flail in the face of America’s tariffs Asia is hit hardest, but nowhere looks good

'Owing to Mr Trump’s “declaration of economic independence”, Americans will be liberated from a noticeable percentage of their equity wealth.' www.economist.com/finance-and-...

30 years ago a professor explained tariffs to me as “economic sanctions a country puts on itself” and that stuck with me.

Today I'm highlighting World Vision. This is an organization with a proven track record of dedicating a high amount of donations directly towards aid. They are fighting the long fight against world hunger and poverty. Surely you could spare $5 or $10 today.

www.worldvision.org/donate?fbcli...

As the Trump administration has essentially crippled America's ability to help the world, it's up to those of goodwill to step up.

Please consider supporting an organization at any level either just once or monthly. $10 a month from thousands of people would make a huge difference.

That’s nearly half of all deaths in children under the age of 5.

The children die because their bodies lack basic nutrients.

Globally, 822 million people suffer from undernourishment.

Time to step up.

A child dies from hunger every 10 seconds.

Poor nutrition and hunger is responsible for the death of 3.1 million children a year.

UNICEF has a 4 star rating from Charity Navigator. Please consider becoming a monthly donor to this or another organization providing relief and development.

www.unicefusa.org?form=donate&...

World Vision has a 4 star rating from Charity Navigator. Please consider becoming a monthly donor to this or another organization providing relief and development.

donate.worldvision.org/give/world-v...

World Vision has a 4 star rating from Charity Navigator. Please consider becoming a monthly donor to this or another organization providing relief and development.
donate.worldvision.org/give/world-v...

If you can afford to go out right now and buy a beer or burger just because you feel like it, you (like me) have disposable income. The poorest of the world live on less than $1 a day. There are millions in dire poverty facing starvation.

Renowned geneticist Francis Collins retires from NIH, urging 'respect' for embattled workers Dr. Francis Collins, a renowned geneticist, and former longtime director of the National Institutes of Health, is retiring from the government agency and urging “respect” for its embattled workers.

"When you hear about patients surviving stage 4 cancer because of immunotherapy, that was based on NIH research over many decades. When you hear about sickle cell disease being cured because of CRISPR gene editing, that was built on years of research supported by NIH"

apnews.com/article/nih-...

Social media post by Tristan Snell (@TristanSnell ) with a verified badge, reading: 'Jon Stewart invited Elon Musk onto the Daily Show. Musk said he’d only do it if the show would appear unedited. Stewart and the Daily Show agreed – calling Musk’s bluff. Musk has now chickened out and refuses to go on the show.'

Remember: Musk is a coward at heart. A weak man, not a strong one. A fragile ego just like the guy he shares an office with.

Two social media posts on Twitter. The first post by Nick is (@ikisnick ), posted 17 hours ago, reads: 'The American people have not thanked us even once for putting more sewage in their water.' The post includes a photo of a man in a dark suit and red tie, sitting on a yellow upholstered chair, gesturing with his hand. The second post, quoted below, is by More Perfect Union (@M ...), posted 19 hours ago, stating: 'BREAKING: The Supreme Court just weakened the Clean Water Act’s limitations on raw sewage discharge into our water in a 5-4 ruling.'

This is where we are, America.

McGovern: There has been a lot of outrage in this chamber about an interruption last night. Well, you know what, I agree that there was a violation of dignity and decorum of this chamber. And it came from the podium where Donald Trump was standing.

More Than 5,000 Fired USDA Employees Just Got Their Jobs Back The Merit Systems Protection Board significantly broadened a previous decision to restore six federal workers' jobs after Trump illegally terminated them.

NEW: More than 5,000 fired USDA employees just got their jobs back, at least for now, in another legal defeat for Trump www.huffpost.com/entry/usda-e...

The SAVE Act is specifically designed to disenfranchise a ton of American women.

Let us recall how many of the techbros now infiltrating the American government, like Peter Thiel, believe that women shouldn’t be allowed to vote.

He's. Such. A. Dick.

I mean, we all know his is small, but he's practically a walking dick.

Shorter: I voted for him because I wanted him to hurt other people. Just not me or my people. The others. The others, only.

A tweet from Anonymous ( @YourAnonNews ). The tweet includes an image of a cartoon dinosaur wearing a red "TRUMP 45-47" cap, standing on a rocky landscape with a fiery meteor descending in the sky. Another smaller dinosaur is visible in the background. The dinosaur with the cap has a speech bubble saying, "Haha! That’s really going to hurt the liberals!"

Accurate.

Great infographic. Pass it on.

GOP: "We have to cut spending and cut the deficit and debt!! So much waste!"

Also the GOP in the Senate: "let's pass this bill that adds $300 BILLION to the deficit just on border and military spending."

There are many ways to help feed your hungry neighbors. Of course it's great to do so directly and form a relationship. But giving to local orgs that have a wider reach and access to help the hungry is good too!

Title: What Costs More: Billionaire Tax Avoidance or Federal Workers? Subtitle: Musk’s tax avoidance could fund 677K federal jobs • Current Tax Rate: 3.27% • Top Federal Tax Rate: 37% Cost Comparison (Bar Chart): • Cost of Musk’s Tax Avoidance (smallest bar, purple) • Cost of Top 100 Billionaires’ Tax Avoidance (largest bar, red) • Total Federal Workforce Salaries (mid-sized bar, green) X-axis ranges from $0B to $380B, showing that billionaire tax avoidance covers a significant portion of federal workforce salaries. Impact on Federal Workforce: • Average Federal Salary: $106,000 • Jobs Musk’s Avoidance Could Fund: 677,782 (29.5% of all federal employees) Federal Workforce Breakdown (Pie Chart): • A segment representing 29.5% of the workforce highlights the share Musk’s avoided taxes could fund, labeled “Share Equal to Musk’s Avoided Taxes: 29.5%”. Sources: • Musk’s Tax Rate: ProPublica • Billionaire Gains: Bloomberg Billionaires Index (Dec. 31, 2024) • Federal Employee Data: USAFacts

How many federal workers would DOGE need to fire to make up for Musk not paying his fair share of taxes?

Answer: 677,000. That's 44% of the entire non-DoD federal workforce.

Again, this power grab is not about the budget. It’s about politics.

This is terrible.

A CDC vaccine committee meeting, the first of Kennedy's tenure at HHS, gets postponed An HHS spokesperson didn’t say when the meeting would be rescheduled.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) makes recommendations that determine access to vaccines in the US.

The ACIP meeting scheduled for next week is now delayed.

This is how RFK Jr will administratively destroy vaccination programs.
www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

DOGE By The Numbers
theonion.com/doge-by...

"The rich must live more simply that the poor may simply live."
- Dr. Charles Birch.

You got a job? A car? A house? Do you eat whenever you want? Buy medicine when you need it? Subscribe to a streaming platform?

We're rich. Sure, we're not the ultra wealthy. But we all can make a difference.