Yesterday, I read through a social media piece....suggesting the FIFA folks (int'l soccer) intend to take the World Cup games from the US (slated for Canada, US and Mexico) and distribute them to Mexico and Canada entirely...because of ICE operations.
Upon reading....I sat for 2 minutes, and then said 'BS'. I looked it up via Grok (AI)....simply BS rumor started up....no facts.
I'd say at least 3 to 10 times a day now....I see fake news, and can pretty much ID it as fake within 2 minutes.
1. Was ObamaCare as designed and 'released' in 2014....most business analysts said quietly....if it lasted a decade....people would be lucky. Well....with increases set to take place in January....it's DONE. As much as people think the budget deal is the BIG thing to resolve....no, ObamaCare has to be thrown out and TrumpCare likely has to take place, and you can forget about gold, silver or bronze plans....you will end up with Medicare-Plus and if you want 'extra' stuff.....you will pay out of your own pocket.
2. If you are age 50, and been on food stamps, welfare, or SNAP for your entire life....there's something wrong.
3. If your family total of yearly health insurance premiums and deductibles exceed $30,000....I don't see any reason to continue. I'm not suggesting an alternative....but it makes little sense to hand over $300,000 over the next ten years.
4. Gov. Gavin Newsom actually did say: “There is nothing I dislike more than a politician who sits there and lies to you.”
The monthly SNAP money required is $8.5-to-$9 billion (give or take).
What the primary contingency fund has presently? Around $5.25 billion. If you do the math....it's about 2.5 weeks worth. However, if the judge means immedate turn-on....well, it takes about 7 days for the gov't to load and 'move' money to the states. So even if things go well on Monday....it would NOT show up until 10 November, and be about 60 percent of a normal month.
Trump's crew intends to ask the judges about their power to issue this command, and prepare them for the problem that it only lasts for two weeks.
I personally don't think either of the two judges involved....understands much on finance, SNAP, or moving money around.
The other problem that comes up....the two judges could direct the USDA to consider reallocating up to $23 billion from a separate account under the Agricultural Adjustment Act amendments of 1935.
Logically.....if this order occurred....it could potentially cover the full monthly SNAP outlay for November, December, January, and probably February.
However, at that point...the pot would be entirely gone (empty).
Meanwhile, the Trump team would likely ask....do the judges have this authority, and the Supreme Court (figure 10 days) would be handed the case, and ask under what authority that a judge can spend money....under the Constitution (there is none).
My humble guess is that Trump will marginally cooperate....handing out $3-billion...to get things started around the 10th, and let the Supreme Court say it's not legal....pinning finance/legal problems back onto the two judges.
But to add more 'fuel' to this....just guessing....most all grocery stores in the US...will begin shutting down by Wednesday of this week....where you can order and pay for your goods at the front door (figure a $10 fee involved).
More to come? I have this idea....that non-Americans on SNAP probably have a limited amount of time left....before they will be dumped off. If you think things are crappy now....just wait.
I spent an hour this AM....studying 2020, and the final five on the VP list for Joe Biden to pick from. The list?
Kamala Harris (Senator from California): Selected as the nominee; her prosecutorial background and appeal to diverse voters.
Susan Rice (former National Security Advisor): Praised for foreign policy expertise but faced scrutiny over past controversies like the Benghazi response.
Elizabeth Warren (Senator from Massachusetts): Valued for progressive policy chops but criticized for primary-season clashes with Biden.
Gretchen Whitmer (Governor of Michigan): Seen as a battleground-state boost with strong executive experience amid the COVID-19 crisis.
Stacey Abrams (former Georgia House Minority Leader): Highlighted for voter mobilization efforts, especially among Black voters in the South.
In the end...Joe selected Kamala...at least that's the story.
I'm of the mind that Jill Biden reviewed the list, and helped to select Kamala....thinking she was less likely to challenge Joe if the dementia-thing came up as a serious topic.
Well....I was curious about this and asked Grok (Twitter-AI):
"People with Alzheimer's disease may retain the ability to sign their name in the early stages, as this is often a deeply ingrained, automatic motor skill. However, as the disease progresses, cognitive and motor impairments can make signing difficult or inconsistent. In mild stages, they might still sign legibly, though they may struggle with understanding the purpose of signing. In moderate to severe stages, fine motor skills, memory, and recognition of their own name can deteriorate, potentially making signing impossible or resulting in irregular, unrecognizable signatures."
So I imagine early on....maybe in the first four weeks....his signature was 'crap' and if it got out....people would ask what's wrong with Joe's signature?
The comical side of this? There's probably nothing in the four-year period that he personally signed....so the value of any document...is zero.
I sat down this week and got to understand how EBT-card fraud occurs.
So....'Wendy' goes and gets registered for her and the kids to be on SNAP (the food stamp program). At the minimum....she could get $200. But on the max-side...it could go up to $1,500.
Wendy has four kids in this scenario, and gets $1,500 in EBT money.
Wendy goes to a 'dealer', who offers Wendy cash....$1,000 minimum....maybe even $1,250 in cash. On the books....Wendy can't collect cash, alcohol, tobacco, or hot prepared meals (like McDonalds or Pizza). But with the $1,200 in cash....she can get booze, smokes, weed, or pizza.
The dealer? They have a card to immediately buy grocery items or $1,500. They have several options then....offer to sell Wendy $900 of groceries for $1,000....offer some 'mom-and-pop' shop $10,000 of groceries from Costco at a rate of $10,500.
Illegal? Well....it's a federal felony under 7 U.S. Code § 2024, with penalties including permanent disqualification from SNAP, fines up to $250,000, and up to 20 years in prison.
I watched a podcast interview this week with former VP Kamala Harris. The chief thing I got out of this 15-to-20 min piece (yeah, it was a waste of my time)....she believes that the voting age should be lowered to 16.....mostly because Gen Z suffers from “climate anxiety.”
Afterwards, I paused over this.
Here in Europe....most all of the liberal or left-of-center parties....want the age shifted down to 16 as well. The general population of Europe....don't feel that happy about the idea.
With the Harris suggestion....I was thinking if you'd lower the booze-age, smokes-age, marrying-age, entry-into-the-Army-age....then it's a fine idea. But I'm pretty sure Harris isn't keen on those ideas.
Did Harris seemed boozed-up or tranquilized? Well....yeah, I did notice that about 3 minutes into the talk.
Reflecting upon the election....I generally put Harris into the category of least-qualified candidate....maybe for the past 100 years. Course, if you had opened up the situation and allowed Governor Newsom to run.....I'm not sure if he would be much better.
