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Tag Archives: Propaganda

Apparently, ‘Triumph des Willens’ without Leni Riefenstahl, but with a bigger budget and no redeeming value

31 Saturday Jan 2026

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

grift, Melania Trump, Propaganda, reviews, right wingnuts

June 22, 2018 – Overland Park, Kansas

‘Melania’ Review: A Disingenuous Documentary That Misfires By Mistaking The First Lady’s Fame For Star Quality
By Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned
Published Jan. 30, 2026, 3:00 p.m. ET

Melania review: Shameless propaganda that could put you to sleep
If this supposed documentary weren’t about what it’s actually about, it could at times play as an unlikely meditation aid
Donald Clarke
Sat Jan 31 2026 – 07:25

‘Melania’ Review: A Tedious, Criminally Shallow Propaganda Puff Piece
The “Rush Hour” director returns with a shameful cinematic suck-up masquerading as a real documentary
William Bibbiani
January 30, 2026 @ 9:17 PM

‘Melania’ Review
The first lady’s reality show.
Sonny Bunch
Jan 31, 2026

An ego trip to the movies
Melania is a fascinatingly terrible film
By Robert Hutton
31 January, 2026

‘Melania’ Review: Brett Ratner’s Melania Trump Documentary Is an Unabashed, Fly-on-the-Gilded-Wall Fawn Job
The ‘Rush Hour’ director’s film offers an up-close and not-so-personal portrait of the first lady during the few weeks before President Trump’s second inauguration.
By Frank Scheck
January 30, 2026 12:46pm

Trust Me, ‘Melania’ Is an Unbelievable Abomination of Filmmaking
We bravely watched the new documentary and lived to tell the tale.
Kevin Fallon
Updated Jan. 30 2026 7:58PM EST

Jan 30, 2026 11:49am PT
‘Melania’ Review: Brett Ratner’s First Lady Documentary Is a Cheeseball Infomercial of Staggering Inertia
There’s no drama to a film that should have been called “Day of the Living Tradwife.”
By Owen Gleiberman

Melania review – First Lady is a preening, scowling void of pure nothingness in this ghastly bit of propaganda
Hitting cinemas as the streets of America remain filled with the angry and grieving, the vulgar, gilded lifestyle of the Trumps makes them look like Marie Antoinette skulking in her cake-filled chateau
Nick Hilton
Friday 30 January 2026 11:48 EST

You get the picture.

High on his own supply

24 Monday Nov 2025

Posted by Michael Bersin in Congress, Mark Alford, social media

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

4th Congressional District, former newsreader, gaslighting, Mark Alford, missouri, Propaganda, right wingnut, sycophant, that ridiculous hat, Trump sycophant

Yesterday:

Congressman Mark Alford
[November 23, 2025]
Americans are sick of being gaslit.
Home prices are out of control right now…but we have full confidence that the One Big Beautiful Bill will deliver real relief, & House Republicans will continue to work with POTUS to get America booming again.
[….]

What did he expect?:

Y’all are spewing enough ‘gas’ to heat the entire state this winter…

The BBB will cause v rural hospitals to close.

Yup. Prices on those homes in healthcare desserts will come down when the occupants die on the way to a big city hospital.

==========

The Big Beautiful Bill does nothing for home prices. Stopping investment companies from snapping up homes will.

Mark Alford
[….] how do you do that?

what does your favorite piece of legislation have that will increase housing affordability? Besides giving tax breaks to the wealthy, shafting people with higher insurance costs, and your President’s great idea is a fifty year mortgage. Student loans are preventing families from buying homes. The median age of the first time buyer is forty.

…you pass legislation that regulates it like you do any other industry with regulations?

regulations. Spain just did it to rein in the US hedge fund companies buying up all their residential property.

The naughty word Republicans hate. Regulations!

just ask JD. He’s very much into the “farm markets “. Do a lil research , he’ll show you how to get rich off the backs of laborers.

==========

all those, “we buy ugly houses” ads lol

the poor farmers are getting trashed by this administration. To make matters worse JD Vance is involved in buying up farms that have lost almost everything due to this administrations stupid policies.

its probably so he CAN benefit from buy all thoes farms then sell them back at a profit

Concepts of a plan

Percentage of a concept of a plan.

very vague concept. Almost a plan to have a concept of a plan.

a concept of an outline of a plan!!! 12 years in the making!!!

right. The bill was already passed. But we have to wait like trickle down economics. Wait for nothing to trickle down from billionaires with huge tax breaks… oh. And less jobs. Worst economic policy since Reagan.

Remind us which party is in charge of the government please?

*looks at notes* is that why both times hes been elected the first and fastest deal to pass was tax breaks for the ultra wealthy and then the extensions for it? Amazing how the 1% and mega corps get socialism while the rest of us live in capitalism. 👏

I thought Trump was gonna fix this all on day 1, Mark

Thought he was doing that day one??

Quiet, quiet Piggy

We all know when we’re being conned!! I doubt you even understand what affordability even means, just using it as a catch phrase for those of us who understand it very well because we live it every day!

Here’s an idea, just hear me out. Instead of working for the president, you start working for your constituents? Crazy, I know, but imagine the possibilities!

So you saying thoughts and prayers I guess?

“God has a plan!” SMH

Damn you and FOX are still sleeping together?!

Looking to tackle? Where’ve they been?

Yes, we’re absolutely tired of the GOP’s gaslighting.

Ahhh more ideas about the concepts of a potential plan. It’s not just housing man, and all of us middle classers know this. Healthcare, automobiles, housing…you know, all the actual really important stuff.

No it will not
Healthcare has been a problem so long that there is nothing you can do to change the fact that the big beautiful bill is going to take away from Medicare and assistance for people and these things actually have impacts on normal insurance and our insurance is going to be insane because of this.

If we want affordable houses we need to stop letting companies buy them. It’s really that simple.

But he keeps saying it is already booming. Best economy ever, highest stock market, huge profits from tariffs, best job growth, no inflation blah, blah, blah….

So you’re telling me I want my homes value to go down? Make it make sense.

Oh?? Wait, I thought prices were lower than ever?? Isn’t that what Trump assured us?? I’m am confused!! So now the gaslighting by Trump is reversing course??

lol there ya go everyone just have the same confidence as this man and your grocery bills will be fine

Yeah, a 50 year mortgage ought to fix that.

In a 50 year mortgage you can pay interest 10 times the value of the house you bought

Thus speaks, Alford, GURU of GASLIGHTING!!!!💥

Mark Alford (r) [2024 file photo].

I’m sure the billionaires are celebrating the Big Billionaire Bill😡

Right & u are the tooth fairy!!

Gonna payoff for who?

Lowering interest rates will increase home prices even more. Most people owning homes are not going to be happy if their homes are suddenly worth less.

Well the tariffs are causing building supply costs to rise…

Sounds like gaslighting.

Speaking of gaslighting ..

If you are a billionaire, you get relief.

Holy shit. Imagine thinking giving giant tax breaks to millionaires and cutting education funding will make things more affordable.
Well. You know the dummies in the cult think that.

Does the Trump administration have a “concept “

==========

After your 45 day paid vacation, it would be great if you got back to work again. Please don’t focus on gold medals, focus on rising costs, decreasing health coverage, poor air transportation, failing businesses, and I don’t know maybe setting up a tax code that requires the wealthy to pay taxes.

pretty much all things that the Big Beautiful Bill he is praising works against.

==========

Address gaslighting by gaslighting

The only plan this administration has is to make themselves even more wealthy than they are already.

Says the guy holding the match!

Good for you. So happy you are confident the outcome you say will come about, but what happens if it doesn’t? What skin in the game do you have to lose if everything goes south? Nothing really, you will not feel the effects that most other folks I lower economic situations will face.

Republicans are experts at gaslighting. Lies are the language they speak

lol. Before Mamdani you guys could not spell “ affordability”.

Funny that.

Sure 50 year mortgage solves everything

Starts off by saying Americans are tired of being gaslit…. proceeds to gaslight

Read the room, Mark Alford.

Who could have predicted that tariffs, essentially a national sales tax, would land most heavily on folks who are already at the edge on affordability? Asking for anyone who spent 20 minutes in a macro-economics class.

Having any town halls by chance? 🥴

We’re 10 months into The Felon’s reign and NOW you want to talk about affordability? Whatsamatta, last election shake yous guys up a bit? Giving folks’ tax dollars away to Argentina, tax breaks for millionaires, tariffs, gutting Healthcare, “modifying” a plane from Qatar, golf trips, say when… These are NOT conducive to “Affordability”. I thought The Felon said he didn’t want to hear that word again.

Sure, if only we could believe you. Stop giving tax breaks to the wealthy.
Make healthcare affordable

Relief by higher taxes and reduced services.

No one is concerned with the economy “cooking for the midterms”, they are worried about paying their utility bills and buying groceries. This statement is not what people want to hear from an elected official. They deserve resolution and resources, a solid plan and action behind it. Telling people they are mentally ill for voicing their financial hardships is morally wrong.

Well…if you studied economics and history you would see trickle down economics doesn’t work for the middle class and below.

First, he gives away billions to the rich, supports the big ugly bill that is damaging to the middle and lower class, and now he poses as a savior of prices. These guys think we’re all stupid. No Marc we’ve got you and we know who you serve. It isn’t the middle class or the poor.

Gaslighting? You should look it up. You congressman voted to cut snap Medicare and Medicaid. You are part of the affordability problem

Do they ever just shut up and actually do something. All republicans do is talk and go on vacation.

They consider that a feature, not a bug.

And so Congressman, your solution is more gaslighting. No thanks. We need actions, not more bluster.

You mean the bill that made it more difficult to get funding for certain professions?
The bill that gives the largest tax cuts to the already wealthy?
The bill that claims to be no tax on tips or overtime but comes with hefty stipulations?
Maybe it’s the bill that cuts multiple millions on Medicaid over the next 10 years.
That bill?
You were saying about gaslighting?

You live in Missouri, in. November. Why the tan???

I wish I could make a career of just saying random ridiculous shit and not have anyone question it.

The Big Beautiful Bill? Really? Did you actually even read it before eagerly voting for it? It cute SNAP and Healthcare, making life worse for your constituents. It eliminates school lunches for 420,000 students. And it adds $3.4 trillion to the debt. For what? Tax breaks for millionaires. You think this will help your constituents?

Are you joking right now???? We ALL know this bill will screw everyone but the billionaires!!

On and on…

Mike Kehoe (r) blinks, sort of

29 Wednesday Oct 2025

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

gaslighting, governor, Mike Kehoe, missouri, Propaganda, SNAP, sycophant, Trump shutdown, Trump sycophant, WIC

In July:

Final Budget Reconciliation Bill Will Take Health Coverage, Food Assistance Away From Missourians
22 Jul 2025

Medicaid (called MO HealthNet in Missouri) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) help keep Missourians and their families healthy and fed, so they can work, succeed in school, and contribute to their communities.

But recently passed provisions included in the final budget reconciliation bill (OBBB) amount to the largest cuts to Medicaid and SNAP in history and would take health coverage and food assistance away from Missourians, shift costs to states, and make life harder for families struggling to make ends meet.

An estimated 170,000 Missourians are expected to lose Medicaid and at least 58,000 Missourians are at risk of losing food assistance, with hundreds of thousands more at risk of additional cuts to health care, food assistance, or other critical services.

The bulk of these cuts come from creating new barriers and red tape for both Medicaid and SNAP that will overwhelm state systems and cause eligible Missourians to lose health insurance and food assistance.

[….]

Mike Kehoe (r) [2025 file photo].

Today:

Governor Kehoe Announces Expedited Appropriations for Food Assistance as Democrat-led Federal Government Shutdown Continues

OCTOBER 29, 2025

Jefferson City — Today, Governor Mike Kehoe announced additional steps his administration is taking to expedite food assistance for at-risk Missourians, given the impending loss of November Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits due to the Democrat-led federal government shutdown.

SNAP benefits are 100 percent federally funded, with each recipient receiving benefits from the federal government via their Electronic Benefit Transfer card. There is no mechanism for state appropriations to be transferred to cover this funding. The Missouri Department of Social Services stands ready to issue November SNAP benefits as soon as possible once the federal government is reopened.

“Democrats in Washington continue to hold the federal government hostage for political leverage, leaving Missouri’s most vulnerable uncertain if they will have food on the table next month,” said Governor Kehoe. “While the State of Missouri cannot fully replace federal SNAP benefits for those who rely on them, we are working to expedite additional funding sources to assist Missouri’s senior population and food banks.”

Governor Kehoe has directed a full $10.6 million fund transfer from the Senior Services Growth and Development Fund to Missouri Area Agencies on Aging. This funding will be critical in supporting Missouri’s Area Agencies on Aging in providing meals to seniors.

Additionally, Governor Kehoe has ordered a $5 million distribution to Missouri food banks using Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funding. This action takes the place of a regular appropriation typically issued later in the year but is being issued now given an increase in need due the loss of SNAP benefits.

Missourians in need of food assistance or looking to volunteer or donate are directed to Feeding Missouri – a coalition of six Missouri Food Banks working to provide hunger relief to every county in the state.

WIC Program Update

WIC benefits will be available for redemption in Missouri into November. WIC is the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, administered in Missouri by the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) and federally funded by the USDA, Food and Nutrition Service. WIC provides quality nutrition education, breastfeeding promotion and support, nutritious foods, and referrals to health services to qualifying individuals.

WIC families are encouraged to continue to attend appointments and redeem benefits using their WIC cards until further notice.

Missouri WIC will continue to monitor funding availability each day as the federal government shutdown continues. Retailers and participants will be notified should a pause in benefit redemption become necessary in the latter half of the month. Visit wic.mo.gov for updates.

###

The polling must be brutal.

“…due to the Democrat-led federal government shutdown…”

Yeah, no.

“Mike Kehoe is Trump’s Bitch”

Previously:

Mike Kehoe (r) lays an egg (October 25, 2025)

Mark Alford (r): franked campaign propaganda on our dimes

05 Friday Sep 2025

Posted by Michael Bersin in Congress, Mark Alford

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

4th Congressional District, franking, Mark Alford, missouri, Propaganda, sycophant, Trump sycophant

Mark Alford (r) [2024 file photo].

In today’s U.S. Mail, a franked mailing from from Mark Alford (r):

This particular piece doesn’t show up in the House Clerk’s database – yet.

The actual damage:

House Republicans’ tax and budget bill would rip away health care, food, and jobs in every congressional district
Estimated number of losses in health care coverage, people put at risk for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit cuts, and jobs at risk by 119th congressional district

District MO-04
Representative Mark Alford
Party affiliation Republican
Estimated health insurance coverage losses, 2034 23K
Number of people at risk of losing some or all SNAP benefits 19K
Number of jobs put at risk by elimination of clean energy tax credits 170

Despite ‘No Tax on Tips,’ Trump’s Big ‘Beautiful’ Bill Is Bad for Tipped Workers
“No tax on tips” is a symbolic tax break that is very limited and poorly targets the workers who need tax relief the most. Many among the small number of workers who will benefit will also face the bill’s cuts to basic needs programs.
[….]
One of the most–discussed policies in the Republican-passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) is the “no tax on tips” provision, which eliminates federal income taxes on the first $25,000 of tips earned by workers making less than $150,000 per year ($300,000 for married filers). Despite appearances, this provision will benefit only a small number of workers, and many of those workers will disproportionately suffer financial losses due to the OBBBA’s severe program cuts. The net result is that tipped workers are unlikely to experience significant gains from the OBBBA overall.
[….]
Because most workers who earn tips are relatively low income, “no tax on tips” has raised hopes that the OBBBA will benefit low-income Americans. For instance, analysts at The Budget Lab at Yale find that low-wage workers are several times more likely to receive tips than are high earners. However, tipped workers are vulnerable to other policy changes in the OBBBA that will offset the benefit of the tips deduction.
[….]

The One “Big Beautiful Bill” Provision That Says It All
How the OBBBA Cuts a Tax that Truly Benefits Only the Mega Rich.
[….]
The estate tax is paid for by heirs not by the deceased who are, you know, dead. Those heirs are decidedly not being double taxed as they didn’t earn the money in the first place. On the small business side, there’s perhaps a bit more merit. But, the typical small business is nowhere near large enough to be affected by an estate tax, even with the smaller $5 million exemption. In my own calculations using the Survey of Consumer Finances, the median self-employed person has a household net worth of about $460,000. One has to look above the 88th percentile to find self-employed people with household net worths above the $5 million exemption. Plus, the individual exemption is doubled for couples to $10 million, moving the number to the 93rd percentilefor affected businesses with a married couple involved, as many are. The OBBBA pushes those numbers to the 96th percentile for an individual and the 99th percentile for a couple. Most small businesses wouldn’t be affected by the estate tax with or without the OBBBA.
[….]
Indeed, the OBBBA is part of a long-term trend of weakening the estate tax so that even most very, very rich people in the U.S. are not affected by the tax at all.
[….]

I Wish Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Was the Solution to America’s Child Care Crisis. It’s Not.
Beware the ‘momwashing’ provisions.
[….]
The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit. This expanded tax credit ups the percentage that working parents can get back on child care expenses. Good on its face, sure, but it’s a superficial bone to throw. Parents have always been able to claim a certain percentage of child care expenses up to a certain amount. Now they can claim a slightly higher percentage of child care expenses up to a certain amount. That certain amount is $3,000 for one child and $6,000 for two or more. The percentage that could be claimed prior to the OBBB expansion ranged from 34% for families right on the poverty line ($30,000-$34,000 household income) to 20% for families bringing in over $206,000 per year. With the new bill, parents in the former bracket (right on the poverty line) can claim up to 49% of that allowed amount, with families making more than $34,000, but still below $206,000, getting a little boost on a sliding scale based on income bracket.

But let’s be clear, here: These are tax credits. Tax credits still require parents to pay up front for child care and then wait to recoup that break when they file their tax return. Not a single state can claim an average cost of accredited child care anywhere near the price tag of $3,000 per child annually so there’s a good chance most families are still paying beyond what they could claim. What’s more, both parents need to be working (or actively looking for work) in order to get the benefit.

Best case scenario: A family with a combined working income of $34,000, paying $6,000 for their two kids for the entire year (10% of their income) and filing everything perfectly when tax season rolls around, could now expect to get back $2,940 instead of $2040. $900 more. It is simply not realistic, in practice, and will barely dent the growing financial pressure on families that need the break the most.
[….]

Mark Alford (r) sent his constituents a pile of bullshit. We paid for it…and we’ll continue to do so.

Mark Alford (r) [2023 file photo].

Vote, then spin

23 Friday May 2025

Posted by Michael Bersin in Congress, Mark Alford, social media

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

4th Congressional District, Fascist pig, former newsreader, gaslighting, Mark Alford, missouri, Project 2025, Propaganda, social media, spin, sycophant, that ridiculous hat, Trump sycophant

“…The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command…” – George Orwell, 1984

Mark Alford (r) [2024 file photo].

“…Incredible how fast a washed-up local morning show anchor can go from fluff pieces to fascist cosplay. Supporting the deportation of American citizens with no due process, cozying up to dictators, touting Christianity while cutting government assistance. Sounds less like patriotism and more like selling out America one “Faux News” soundbite at a time. Truly soulless…”

Add trillions of dollars to the national debt, ensure massive tax breaks for the 1%, punish the poor, cut access to health care for millions – what’s not to like for right wingnuts?

The vote:

FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 145
HR 1 YEA-AND-NAY 22-May-2025 6:54 AM
QUESTION: On Passage
BILL TITLE: One Big Beautiful Act

—- YEAS 215 —

Alford
Burlison
Graves
Onder
Smith (MO)
Wagner

—- NAYS 214 —

Bell
Cleaver

—- ANSWERED “PRESENT” 1 —

—- NOT VOTING 2 —

Yesterday, from Mark Alford (r):

Congressman Mark Alford
[May 22, 2025]
PASSED! [….]
[….]

They ain’t buying the propaganda. Some of the responses:

in the middle of the night…nope no coverup there

You also get your Medicare cut – 4% Medicare cut per year for 10 years is now triggered due to the PayGo law passed in 2010. This is from the non-partisan CBO. So Medicare, Medicaid, and SNAP all get deep cuts while tariffs bring on the inflation. Your SS tax cut might help a little, but there is a lot here that is going to hurt like hell for the most vulnerable citizens

Nothing screams honesty and integrity like voting in the middle of the night. I will be voting against you Alford.

Hidden in this Bill is a kingmaking provision.
“No court of the United States may use appropriated funds to enforce a contempt citation for failure to comply with an injunction or temporary restraining order if no security was given when the injunction or order was issued….”
Translated: No federal court may enforce a contempt citation.
Obviously, courts need appropriated funds to do anything because Congress appropriates money to enable the courts to function. To require a security or bond to be given in civil proceedings seeking to stop alleged abuses by the federal government would effectively immunize such conduct from judicial review because those seeking such court orders generally don’t have the resources to post a bond.
Hence, with a stroke, the provision removes the judiciary’s capacity to hold officials in contempt.
How could you allow this?

Fascists gotta Fascist.

they can try but I hope the citizens would rise up in protest.

This basically neuters the courts and makes congress useless.

he doesn’t care.
MAGA wants us living in a fascist dictatorship. This is all part of the process.

Nice job, Congressman! As a person with money, I love getting more, and there is nothing better than watching people lose their healthcare. Thank you!

Probably sarcasm.

Hooray for the billionaires and corporations!
You did it.

Probably sarcasm.

Yaaaaaa your speech was awesome I see it took all night

Ditto.

You’re proud of this?!!

How many of your own constituents rely on Medicaid for access to healthcare?

41% of babies born in Missouri depend on Medicaid. [….]

Robin Hood in reverse, take from the poor and middle class and give to the rich !!

This is a huge problem for the working class. Despite your lies this bill will actually just transfer wealth from the working class to the wealthy elites. You should be ashamed of this bill which will give massive tax breaks to the wealthy and increase the national debt. All while cutting funding for social programs designed to offer assistance to our less fortunate citizens.

those are the talking points because that’s the easiest way to summarize the wealth grab. The lower tax brackets will all see increases so that the highest tax brackets can see cuts. Plus they will be making massive cuts to Medicaid and snap benefits. This bill extends and makes permanent the original tax breaks given during Trump’s first term. Those tax breaks increased the national debt by $10.7 trillion. This new big beautiful bill will make those tax breaks permanent and give even more to the wealthy elite.

I watched the congressional budget hearing on the bill itself. I’d encourage you to go watch it also. I will warn you it is over 4 hours long so block out some time for the research. It is worth the watch but it will unfortunately shatter your belief that this bill is good for Americans.

Tax breaks for the wealthy

Incredible how fast a washed-up local morning show anchor can go from fluff pieces to fascist cosplay. Supporting the deportation of American citizens with no due process, cozying up to dictators, touting Christianity while cutting government assistance. Sounds less like patriotism and more like selling out America one “Faux News” soundbite at a time. Truly soulless.

You just primaried yourself. You just voted to cut benefits and enrich rhe rich even more. Voters don’t like that.

As one of your constituents, I’m very disappointed that you voted YES to advance a House budget that rips away health care & food from millions—just to shower trillions on billionaires. Moms and families are watching. We’re not giving up on our families or economy.

There is so much extra BS among the 1,116 pages of that “big bill”. From repealing tanning bed taxes to allowing destruction of forests in the national parks. You should be embarrassed. Not proud.

Nice of you to admit you want children & the elderly to suffer the most. [….]

This is terrible for our country. You are terrible for our country and one day you will be held accountable for all these lies you are spreading.

This bill will take care of billionaires. It will help people as if you were just hit by a tornado or hurricane

There went Trumps promise Medicaid and Medicare wouldn’t get cut
Congressman Mark Alford fighting for the Elites at the cost to the poor. He’s what Maga is all about and it’s not making Americans Great.
Let the People see who Republicans fight for and the results they bring

Congressman Mark Alford, I know you’ve expressed a lot of concern about the debt and said it can’t continue to increase. So…how much is this going to add? $3 trillion? $4 trillion? But hey, at least all those billionaires are getting even more tax breaks.

You forgot stripping medical care and food assistance for the poor and infirm to give billions to the wealthy and upping the deficit by 3 plus trillions.

Mr. Alford, when will you have a real, in-person, town hall, instead of another meet and greet, or a rigged, virtual town halls where you get to pick who attends and what questions you’ll answer? Where you have to listen to your constituents instead of just talking at them to tell them your party’s line?

Robs hard working Americans and make the rich richer. Thanks for nothing.

Trump’s “One Big 💩 Bill” is Project 2025 in legislative form. Here’s how it quietly turns a far-right wishlist into federal law:
– Sec. 10008 – Expands work requirements for SNAP
– Project 2025: Pushes “moral reform” to make low-income people work more for food assistance.
– Sec. 10011 – Repeals education & obesity prevention grants
– Project 2025: Eliminates “social engineering” and funnels funding into “traditional values” education.
– Sec. 10012 – Restricts immigrant access to SNAP
– Project 2025: Blocks aid to undocumented and many legal immigrants.
– Sec. 110115 – Creates “Trump Accounts” and a Trump savings pilot program
– Project 2025: Promotes private savings plans tied to “American values” and market-based welfare.
– Sec. 44125 – Bans federal Medicaid/CHIP funding for gender transition procedures for minors
– Project 2025: Calls for a nationwide ban on federal support for gender-affirming care.
– Sec. 44141 – Requires states to impose Medicaid work requirements
– Project 2025: Promotes work mandates for benefits under the guise of personal responsibility.
– Sec. 44110 – Cuts off Medicaid/CHIP for those without verified legal status
– Project 2025: Strips access to healthcare for undocumented immigrants and narrows eligibility for others.
– Sec. 20001 – Military expansion for “quality of life” and Indo-Pacific readiness
– Project 2025: Backs massive defense buildup, especially near China and the southern border.
Dozens of sections quietly restructure the federal government to match the far-right’s long-term goals:
Guts environmental protections
– Sec. 42108 – Repeals Clean Air Act provisions used to limit emissions
– Sec. 42117 – Eliminates environmental and climate justice block grants
– Sec. 42301 – Strips EPA authority to enforce vehicle emissions standards
– Sec. 41009 – Rescinds funds from national parks, conservation, and climate programs
– Secs. 80307-80309 – Rescind National Park Service (NPS) funds provided under the Inflation Reduction Act:
– Sec. 80307: Cancels unobligated balances from Section 50221 (BLM and NPS resilience & restoration)
– Sec. 80308: Cancels funds from Section 50222 (ecosystem protection and climate adaptation)
– Sec. 80309: Cancels funds from Section 50223 (historic preservation and legacy infrastructure)
– Project 2025: Seeks to eliminate conservation efforts and open public lands for extraction and development.
– Sec. 80301-80309 – Blocks federal land conservation plans; rescinds NPS/BLM funds
– Sec. 80151-80152 – Charges protest fees and kills environmental data programs
– Project 2025: Calls for dismantling the EPA and environmental oversight to unleash fossil fuel production.
Centralizes power in the executive
– Sec. 30051 – Blocks agencies from issuing new rules without meeting strict cost-benefit standards
– Sec. 30061 – Prohibits the Secretary of Education from proposing new regulations
– Project 2025: Places all federal agencies under direct presidential control.
Weakens federal worker protections
– Sec. 90004 – Allows new federal hires to be fired at will-reviving “Schedule F”
– Sec. 90005 – Increases pension contributions for federal workers
– Sec. 90006 – Eliminates early retirement supplements
– Project 2025: Aims to purge and replace career civil servants with political loyalists.
Limits state authority
– Sec. 44001 – Preempts state and local governments from regulating artificial intelligence for 10 years
– Project 2025: Centralizes federal power to override states on tech, education, and energy policy.
Defunds watchdogs and public interest enforcement
– Sec. 50003 – Guts the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
– Sec. 50002 – Cuts enforcement powers from oversight bodies like the PCAOB
– Project 2025: Labels oversight and regulation as “deep state overreach.”
More buried provisions with Project 2025 fingerprints:
– Sec. 41008 – Creates a “De-Risking Fund” to protect fossil fuel companies from court orders or regulation
– Project 2025: Seeks to shield oil and gas interests from legal and environmental challenges.
– Sec. 44122 – Limits retroactive Medicaid coverage
– Project 2025: Reduces healthcare access by tightening eligibility windows.
– Sec. 44131 – Ends extra funding for states that expand Medicaid
– Project 2025: Actively seeks to roll back Medicaid expansion entirely.
– Sec. 80121(h) – Strips courts of jurisdiction to review federal permits and approvals
– Project 2025: Removes judicial oversight over mining, drilling, leasing, and environmental enforcement, effectively silencing the courts.
This isn’t just another bill. It’s the Project 2025 playbook written into law. This bill abuses budget reconciliation rules to jam through non-budget items: education rollbacks, environmental deregulation, and civil service purges.
Read the fine print. Read the bill.

To your everlasting shame 😡

Stop calling it the big beautiful bill. It’s a bullshit bill for billionaires.

Remember Trump proclaiming he would never cut Medicare? He lied to the tune of $500 billion. Seniors can now get a tax break if the buy a tanning bed but not if the need a hospital bed

And you’re proud of harming the poor, elderly, and children? Monster.

This bill hurts Seniors and the poor, it’s not beautiful [….]

I thought Trump had stopped all the illegal immigrants coming over the border. Why is there $46 billion dollars allocated for construction of the wall? Didn’t Mexico already pay for that?

Hey Mark I guess you don’t like fresh air or water Since you voted against polluting protections 😡 also now Republicans are known as the Lawless Party since You voted To ignore Judges😱 We Missourians don’t forget what You are Showing US

I hope you and every other Republican who voted for this travesty lose your seats in 2026. You’ve betrayed your constituents and your country.

You are cutting benefits while blowing up the deficit. Hiding unscrupulous language on judicial law within your bill. You must be really stupid to say you are not.
The Congressional Budget Office is clear 13.6 million Amercians will lose health coverage due to cuts to Medicaid and Affordable Care Act in House Budget Bill.
Only the U.S. Senate can stop these cuts.
Call your senators!

You lied cheated stole and in the middle of the night passed the largest tax hike and Medicaid cuts act in the history of time.
You could not even get plus 50%
Half of the representatives of the people in this country voted NO to your TAX hike.
If you were a true representative of the people you would have facilitated a deal… but you are nothing more than orange nose carpet licker.

Trump’s Republican budget takes food and health care from poor people to fund yachts and mansions for rich people.

You’re a really horrible person, Congressman Alford. You do realize that, don’t you. 🐷

I’ve gone past mad. Now I’m just sad. The cruelty is the point. The hatred of normal people is the point. Reversing every good thing the Democrats did is the point. Then Mark posts scripture? The up side: with our climate problems we’ll probably all be dead in 10 years.

They consider that a feature, not a bug.

Mark Alford (r) [2023 file photo].

Unaware of the concept of irony

28 Friday Mar 2025

Posted by Michael Bersin in Congress, Mark Alford, social media

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

4th Congressional District, Fascist putz, former newsreader, Mark Alford, missouri, NPR, Overton Window, PBS, Propaganda, right wingnut, Sesame Street hater, sycophant, that ridiculous hat, Trump sycophant

“…The taxpayer dollar should not be funding propaganda.”

Mark Alford (r) [2025 file photo]

Congressman Mark Alford
[March 26, 2025]
Here’s the truth: NPR and PBS have gotten funding from the taxpayers and they’ve gone way too far to the Left.
The taxpayer dollar should not be funding propaganda.
[….]

Elmo think Mark Alford (r) is a Fascist putz.

There is much hilarity in the responses:

Republicans try to kill Sesame Street every few years.

I donate to PBS. But PBS also supports coverage of local issues, extensions of the Emergency Broadcast Network and many other functions I expect it to cover out of the taxes I pay.

What you call propaganda is what I call Americanism. The whole everyone created equal with the right to Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness.
Freedom to go or not to any church of their choice. All religions treated equally by the secular government.
No one telling you what book you can or cannot read. Who you can marry based on their religion not yours. Treating people the same regardless of their eye color , religion or where their ancestors came from.
PBS got in trouble when the black mailman soaked his feet in the tub of water with Mr Robert’s . At a time when public pools were being closed rather than allow blacks to swim in a pool with whites.
Those dam leftist and the woke agenda. Think of it people of all skin, hair and eye color swimming together. Better cut that funding we cannot have people actually following the words in our founding documents.

You’ve been screeching to high hell about “freedom of speech”. WHICH IS IT? Fascist.

Now you are trying to silence Sesame Street???

Bad combover. Check. Too long red tie. Check. Orange spray tan. Check. Tiny hands. Check. Cluelessness. Check. Conviction. Check.

Do you ever disagree with anything the President wants to do?

No. This has been another edition of Short Answers to Simple Questions.

That’s just stupidity… pbs provides fine programming for all. Quit trying to make everything political!!!

Give us an example of what you call propaganda. Downtown Abbey? Nova? Masterpiece Theater?

Facts have a well-known liberal bias.

Malarkey.
You can tell the difference between a public broadcast station and a commercial one: no medicines and no vehicles. Or toilet paper with bears.
As for the “left-ness,” the Overton Window has moved so far Right that what used to be Eisenhower republicanism is now seen as allegedly “far left.”
Far left was the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the Weathermen, the Symbionese Liberation Army. Kidnappings. Bombs.
Today, “the Left” is pushing for saving Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, schools, school lunches, and other mechanisms for helping ordinary people.
So, I repeat, concerning public broadcasting and commercial stations: malarkey.

Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner.

How dare sesame street teach kids about love and inclusion.

Another sign of the new police state. Controlling the media.

Fascist pigs gotta Fascist pig.

Mr. Alford, when’s the next townhall Mondays with Mark?

Heh. Accountability.

You’d be more convincing if you spoke German and were filmed in Black and White.

Or, while wearing a gold Rolex watch. A short film directed by Leni Riefenstahl (March 27, 2025)

I love how you kiss his butt and never ever disagree. It’s almost like you have none of your own thoughts or opinions.

This is BS – leave it to Mark Alford to be as much of a tool as Josh Hawley. Pathetic lies – I doubt he even listens to PBS or Public Radio. They are about as middle of the road as you can get!!!

You sir are an idiot..PBS has some funding from government grants. Other than that they depend on individual donations

They are both reliable news sources. You don’t like them because they tell the truth.

PBS and NPR are exactly the kind of programs I would like my taxes to fund. Your constituents are not just right-wing, and it’s time you support more than just your own self interest.

You were a blow-hard as a news anchor, but you have really bottomed out as a representative.

Programming on PBS and NPR is probably a bit above your intelligence level, Mark. Better not criticize what you don’t understand.

Yep Antique’s Roadshow is just pushing it too far. [….]

Chairs and table – surrender to end the Civil War on April 9, 1865, at Wilmer McLean’s home in Appomattox Court House, Virginia. National Museum of American History.

It reminds right wingnuts of sad times.

Taxpayer dollars should not be funding your salary. I’d rather give it to PBS and NPR.

Mark Alford. You are WRONG.

They haven’t gone to the left. The right keeps moving the goal post.
I grew up Republican. I have had many Republicans from the days of old tell me that the Republican party is dead. This is something else. This is something evil. True Republicans do not support what is happening in our nation now.

No, ya’ll have gone way too far to the right. Beyond the right to helping no one and becoming total hypocrites.

Teaching history is way too far left. Wouldn’t want anyone to know how bad the good ol boys really were! They are exactly the same today.

This guy is worried about Sesame Street while our fearless dipshit bros are texting minute to minute military plans with a journalist. But yes, big bird is the problem. FFS.

Antiques Roadshow…..woke???? Who knew?

I guess when you’re sliding further right, those in the middle will always appear to be going further left

Overton Window.

Isn’t that what you are doing?

Ding, ding, ding. We have another winner.

Will this topic be discussed at a town hall meeting soon?

We see what you did there.

I wonder what Fred Rogers would say to the lot of you today. Helpers you are not.

What about Signalgate? What’s your stance on that? Should we be funding idiots who don’t know how to do their jobs?

It’s incredibly bold of you to describe NPR programming content as propaganda when you are a member of a political party that gets all it’s “news” from Fox News.

“Faux News channel, fascist groupies” – protest sign, circa 2003- 2004.

Clearly you have not spent much time actually watching PBS. My 87-year-old mother watches shows about sewing and animals and antiques. She does not have cable or streaming services. My children watched wholesome educational shows. PBS provides free, educational, family friendly programming for all ages and it is highly valuable to many taxpayers in this country. You are the extremist here. I wish you realized how ridiculous and oppressive and brainwashed you sound.

So Sesame Street is a problem now!!!??

I guess Russian state TV is where we’re headed.

“Make America Great Again” – in Russian.

Every time I see Mark Alford’s face I just know some stupid shit is about to fall out his face hole.

There’s that.

Don’t make an enemy of Big Bird.

Too late.

The total amount of federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is approximately $1.59 a year per person in the United States. $1.59 is roughly equivalent to what the government reimburses a U.S. Representative to drive 2.3 miles.

You really are just a pretty face, aren’t you.

Mark Alford (r) [2023 file photo].

This is what dictators do. Too bad the magats (not republicans, Trump voters specifically) don’t understand what’s happening because they refuse to study history.

Why didn’t you tell people in Nevada that our Social Security office is closing?

What a crock of shit

You’re a Republican. You are unable to speak the truth.

Project 2025 rides again. Silence the masses, brainwash.

They aren’t left. They are middle of the road and honest.
MAGA has gotten so far extreme right right you don’t recognize that.

Can you send this message out in a Signal group chat… we’re not really sure what you’re getting at? Make sure to be inclusive though, so everyone knows Elmo is a National Security threat.

Elmo see what you did there. Elmo sad.

Please explain this at your town hall

Shut up Mark. This isn’t going to lower prices or
Create jobs. This is a distraction

Jesus Christ, you’re an embarrassment.

Mark Alford (r) [2024 file photo].

Do you suffer from fantasy & delusions, or do you enjoy them? Your creditability is worthless.

The truth is, you are being paid with our taxes, and you are doing nothing to help us, your constituents. You won’t even face us in person. You are part of the most worthless do-nothing Congress in history. You are participating in the end of the American experiment in democracy, and you either don’t even realize it, or you are being purposely complicit.

Ah yes, NPR and PBS the terrifying propaganda machines known for fact-checking, nature documentaries, and Big Bird. Meanwhile, you’re fine with billions in tax breaks for oil companies and funding for actual partisan disinformation. If balanced reporting sounds ‘too far left’ to you, maybe the problem isn’t the media it’s your comfort zone being facts optional.

NPR and PBS are primarily funded by corporate sponsors and private donors and provide education, the arts, independent news, and a host of quality programming. The party of the poorly educated needs to keep its base angry and ignorant to stay in power. You’re a disgrace and a liar, Mark.

NPR and PBS are about as centrist as it gets. If you see them as “left” … just how far right must you be?

I have a suggestion for you ….shut the f#ck before you look like a puppet

Too late.

A short film directed by Leni Riefenstahl

27 Thursday Mar 2025

Posted by Michael Bersin in social media

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

due process, El Salvador, friend of Cricket, Homeland Security, immigration, Kristi Noem, Propaganda, right wingnut, social media, sycophant, Trump administration, Trump sycophant

Yesterday in El Salvador:

Secretary Kristi Noem @Sec_Noem

I toured the CECOT, El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center.

President Trump and I have a clear message to criminal illegal aliens: LEAVE NOW.

If you do not leave, we will hunt you down, arrest you, and you could end up in this El Salvadorian prison.

[….]
Last edited 6:08 PM · Mar 26, 2025

Musical score by Chet Atkins.

High on your own supply

12 Thursday Jan 2023

Posted by Michael Bersin in Congress, Jason Smith

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

8th Congressional District, Congress, House of Representatives, Jason Smith, missouri, Propaganda, right wingnut

Propaganda.

The republican majority’s U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee site:

The chair of the committee:

Jason Smith (r) [2022 file photo].

Go figure.

Il Duce

06 Tuesday Oct 2020

Posted by Michael Bersin in social media

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

COVID-19, Donald Trump, Fascist, Propaganda, social media, superspreader event, Twitter

Last night, shedding virus:

Leni Riefenstahl would have been more subtle.

We’re supposed to seek out Trump voters and listen to their concerns? Good luck with that.

31 Friday May 2019

Posted by Michael Bersin in Resist

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

#resist, cult, Donald Trump, Fascism, impeachment, Justin Amash, Michigan, Propaganda, Trumpistas

A colossal waste of time.

“Propaganda is not designed to fool the critical thinker, but only to give moral cowards an excuse not to think at all” – protest sign, circa 2003- 2004.

Republican Justin Amash stands by position to start impeachment proceedings despite criticism
The Michigan lawmaker is the only Republican member of Congress who has said he supports impeachment proceedings.
May 28, 2019, 10:25 PM ‎CDT / Updated May 28, 2019, 10:36 PM ‎CDT
By Leigh Ann Caldwell and Alex Moe

…a Republican who supported Amash and the president said she was upset about Amash’s position but wanted to hear his reasoning. She said that she will definitely support Trump in 2020 but that Tuesday night was the first time she had heard that the Mueller report didn’t completely exonerate the president.

“I was surprised to hear there was anything negative in the Mueller report at all about President Trump. I hadn’t heard that before,” she said. “I’ve mainly listened to conservative news and I hadn’t heard anything negative about that report and President Trump has been exonerated….”

Because she couldn’t be bothered to find the easily available report on-line and actually read it.

“Faux News channel, fascist groupies” – protest sign, circa 2003- 2004.

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