1/. If you read one thing today, read this.
Thom Hartmann summarises where we are going .....and it ain't pretty....
The toadies’s Trump has installed to run our federal agencies, in this case Social Security, are apparently just as good at lying as is Trump himself. The commissioner of Social Security himself sent an email — I don’t know if it only went to Social Security recipients or to everybody in the country (I am a recipient and received it) — blatantly lying, suggesting to people that Republicans had essentially ended the income tax on Social Security. There is no exclusion for Social Security taxation in the billionaire tax cut/construct concentration camps bill that passed Thursday. Trump had made that as a campaign promise, and it was offered as an amendment in the original version, but it does not exist in the Senate version which was voted on and passed this week.
2/. Scarlett Johanssen is having a moment, isn't she? The star of the new Jurassic Park etc....
Here's an old video she did for SNL.....She's Ivanka, in "Complicit".....
3/. Rolling Stone summarises the disgusting Big, Ugly Bill.....
Republicans in Congress have obeyed Donald Trump and passed the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill,” a sweeping reconciliation package that pairs massive tax breaks for the wealthy with massive cuts to Medicaid and other social services.
The bill’s journey through Capitol Hill has been fraught. Democrats were universally opposed to the legislation, and Republicans weren’t exactly in lock-step over it, either. Republicans in both chambers of Congress voted against the bill, despite Trump attacking them by name and threatening retribution. The bill passed through the House in June, and then barely made it through the Senate on Tuesday. Vice President J.D. Vance broke a 50-50 tie after three Republican senators broke with the party and voted against the bill. “What do I tell 663,000 people in two years or three years when President Trump breaks his promise by pushing them off of Medicaid because the funding isn’t there anymore?” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who announced his retirement amid attacks from Trump
4/. All part of the Big, Ugly Bill......
5/. We'll fix it in the midterms say the Dems.....
Midterms? Dream on....
James Carville isn’t a man prone to panic, but when he says, “I would not put it at all past [Trump] to try to call martial law or declare that there’s some kind of national emergency,” around next year’s elections it’s time to sit up straight.
Speaking to NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo, Carville warned that as Donald Trump sees a political shellacking coming in the 2026 midterms — particularly in states like New Jersey and Virginia — he may try something extreme to hold onto power. “The hoof prints are coming,” Carville said, and he’s not wrong.
This isn’t hyperbole. This is history — the history of nations that have lost their democracies like Hungary and Russia — threatening to repeat itself.
Donald Trump has already laid the psychological and structural groundwork to undermine or suspend elections; he just may not need to declare martial law if his fixers pull off what’s happening already this year.
6/. The thought of the New York Mayor doing things for poor people has enraged some billionaires.....
The Supreme Court’s first chief justice, John Jay, would have empathized with the billionaires who’ve been freaking out ever since Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary for mayor of New York last Tuesday. “Those who own the country ought to govern it,” Jay insisted. But now, oligarchs accustomed to such governance are furious that the nation’s capital of capitalism is in danger of serving people instead of megaprofits.
Meanwhile, among progressives, euphoria is especially fitting because the Mamdani campaign’s win was truly a people-powered victory, thanks to active efforts of 40,000 volunteers. In a city where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans six-to-one, the Democratic nomination would ordinarily be a virtual guarantee of winning the general election. But the forces of oligarchy now mobilizing could disprove a claim that “Mamdani’s widespread appeal represents the total collapse of a Democratic Party establishment.”
8/. I got one of these emails, and immediately knew it was BS....
This story spells it out.....
Republicans/Trumpies have a very effective propaganda machine.....the email would fool every Fox News watcher at least.....
An email sent by the US Social Security Administration (SSA) that claims Donald Trump’s major new spending bill has eliminated taxes on benefits for most recipients is misleading, critics have said.
The reconciliation bill – which the president called the “one big, beautiful bill” before signing it on Friday after Republicans in Congress passed it – includes provisions that will strip people of their health insurance, cut food assistance for the poor, kill off clean energy development and raise the national debt by trillions of dollars.
But the bill also “eliminates federal income taxes on social security benefits for most beneficiaries, providing relief to individuals and couples”, the previously apolitical SSA stated in an email circulated on Thursday.
Frank Bisignano, the commissioner of the agency, said in a statement that nearly 90% of social security beneficiaries will no longer pay federal income taxes on their benefits. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/05/social-security-administration-email-trump-tax-bill
9/. Will Democrats learn from Mamdani's victory? Of course not.....
An excellent article by Bernie......
The Democratic party is at a crossroads.
It can continue to push policies that maintain a broken and rigged economic and political system and ignore the pain of the 60% of Americans who live paycheck to paycheck. It can turn its back on the dreams of a younger generation which, if we don’t change that system, will likely be worse off than their parents.
It can continue to depend upon billionaire donors and out-of-touch campaign consultants and spend huge amounts of money on dumb 30-second ads that fewer and fewer people respond to.
It can ignore the tragic reality that tens of millions of Americans are giving up on democracy because they don’t see their government understanding their struggles and the realities of their lives or doing anything about it.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/25/democrats-learn-zohran-mamdani-victory?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
10/. Bob Lefsetz with one of his excellent riffs on politics......
The people want change.
That’s been the story of the past three decades, rapid upheaval, great leaps forward with some getting ahead and some left behind and those on the left want to deny it as much as those on the right want to rewrite the history of the sixties.
So now we’ve got overanalysis of Mamdani’s victory. The Democratic party and the media are deep in the weeds, meanwhile the right is salivating, believing the left…has moved too far left. But they are wrong. The left finally have a candidate who looks like them, thinks like them and acts like them.
We live in a multiracial world. Which was established by MTV, the dominant cultural outlet which put people of color into homes around the globe and made rappers icons. But we’ve got old people who want to deny this. They believe in the old tropes. They’re stunned that Black men voted for Trump. Just because they were Democrats before? Can’t they see that times change?
Like this endless excoriation of smartphones and social media. Sounds like nothing so much as our parents calling the television the idiot box, imploring us to turn it off and go outside.
11/. Tom Tomorrow nails it again......our wonderful Democratic Party consultants.....
12/. The Times put together a quiz to see if you could spot the AI fake videos.......
You will probably do as badly as I did......
13/. Tried and tried but couldn't spot the difference!
14/. We have had personal experience of this - Fox News watchers have NO IDEA Medicaid will be cut. Seriously.
They also believe Mamdani is a Communist, and NYC is a hellhole, where it's actually one of the safest big cities in the world.
Propaganda on steroids, which means half the people you meet are living in a different reality.
15/. AI - Kelly Boesch loves flying......go fullscreen....
16/. If Bob Lefsetz really likes something, it's often pretty good....."The Convict". on HBO....
This is my streaming tip of the weekend.
There are four seasons and last night we only finished the first, but I want to tell you about the show because I couldn’t wait to watch it last night. That’s what I’m looking for in a series, the same thing I’m looking for in a book, something that calls out to me throughout the day, that I just can’t wait to get back to. That’s the experience I had with “The Convict.”
It’s a Polish prison drama on MAX. Turned off yet? The funny thing about watching something with subtitles is after a while, you’re convinced the actors are speaking English.
Anyway, “The Convict” is a women’s prison drama. But this ain’t no “Orange Is the New Black,” with elements of levity, no, this is much darker, much more real, more akin to “Oz.” However “Oz,” although intense, never really escaped from the screen into your heart. You knew you were watching a show. And you could tell that they were making the show for you. This is American television. Whereas “The Convict”? It plays that much more real.
17/. The 20 best TV shows of the summer.....
Steamy love affairs! Joanna Lumley as the Addams Family gran! Liz Hurley’s big cash giveaway! Here are all the best shows coming your way
18/. Bob Lefsetz likes "Drive To Survive", a show about F1 racing......
I wouldn’t exactly call it FOMO.
I haven’t watched the past four seasons, I was boycotting the show and to a great degree the sport ever since Lewis Hamilton’s championship was stolen by Red Bull at the end of 2021. Actually, it’s funny, this year Christian Horner asks Netflix whether he’s going to be portrayed as a villain like he was in the previous six seasons and…he’s only got himself to blame. Lobbying the ultimately fired race director Michael Masi in Abu Dhabi. But now that McLaren is dominating and the unappealing Verstappen is losing, I’ve been reeled back in.
So I’m watching the series and the feeling starts to build, I’D LIKE TO BE THERE!
https://lefsetz.com/wordpress/2025/06/28/drive-to-survive-season-7/
I had to look it up.....FOMO:
anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, often aroused by posts seen on social media.
Today's tragic story.....
A Husband’s Guide to Supporting an Aging Wife
Gentlemen, let’s face it—aging brings changes for all of us. For women, one of those changes seems to be a sudden inability to keep up with housekeeping.
Now, before you panic, let me reassure you: with a little patience and understanding, you too can help your wife adjust to her golden years.
I’m Rob, and I’d like to share how I’ve navigated this challenging chapter with my lovely wife, Carol.
When I retired a few years ago, Carol graciously stepped up and took on a full-time job—in addition to her part-time gig.
She said we needed the extra income and benefits.
Who was I to argue? I supported her every step of the way, from the comfort of my recliner.
But not long after she started, I began noticing... signs. She seemed tired in the evenings.
When I’d return from a grueling day of golf, she'd come home looking a little worn out.
Sometimes she even wanted to rest before making dinner. Can you imagine?
But I didn’t get upset. I told her, “Take your time, sweetheart—just make sure you wake me up when the food’s ready.”
Now, I eat lunch at the club, so dinner at home is a must.
And sure, back in the day she’d clean up right after we ate, but lately, those dishes just sit there.
So I help—by gently reminding her that dishes don't wash themselves. It’s all about encouragement, guys.
She's also started complaining more. Like how it’s “hard” to pay the bills during her lunch break.
I suggested spacing it out—maybe do half the bills one day, half the next.
And hey, skipping lunch here and there wouldn’t hurt the ol’ waistline, right?
It’s all about offering helpful tips, delivered with my signature charm.
Lately, she needs breaks while doing chores. Just the other day, she had to rest halfway through mowing the lawn!
I didn’t scold her. I said, “Treat yourself to a tall glass of orange juice, and while you’re up, make one for me too.”
I know—I sound like a saint. It’s not easy being this patient and supportive, but I believe we’re put on this Earth to lift each other up.
And if just one man out there learns from my example, I’ve done my part.
Postscript:
Rob tragically passed away shortly after publishing this article.
The coroner ruled the cause of death as internal trauma from an unfortunate incident involving his prized 50-inch Big Bertha Driver II golf club.
Authorities reported it was lodged in an... improbable location, with only five inches of grip still visible. A sledgehammer was found nearby.
Carol was arrested but quickly acquitted.
The all-woman jury returned a Not Guilty verdict after only nine minutes, accepting her defense that Rob had accidentally sat on his golf club.
No one contested the ruling.
Today's Italian joke
Mrs. Castranova comes to visit her son Anthony for dinner.
He lives with a female room-mate, Maria.
During the course of the meal, his mother couldn't help but notice how lovely Anthony’s roommate was.
Throughout the evening, while watching the two interact,
she started to wonder if there was more between Anthony and his roommate than met the eye.
Reading his mom's thoughts, Anthony volunteered, "I know what you must be thinking, but I assure you, Maria and I are just roommates.''
About a week later, Maria came to Anthony saying,
"Ever since your mother came to dinner, I've been unable to find the silver sugar bowl. You don't suppose she took it, do you?"
"Well,I doubt it, butI'll email her, just to be sure."
So he sat down and wrote an email:
I'm not saying that you"did" take the sugar bowl from my house;
I'm not saying that you"did not" take it.
But the fact remains that it has been missing ever since you were here for dinner.
A few days later, Anthony received a response email from
I'm not saying that you"do" sleep with Maria,
and I'm not saying that you "do not"sleep with her.
But the fact remains that if she was sleeping in her OWN bed,
she would have found the sugar bowl by now.
Moral: Never Bulla Shita you Mama!
Today's farmer jokes....
- “Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.”
- “Keep skunks, lawyers and bankers at a distance.”
- “Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.”
- “A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.”
- “Words that soak into your ears are whispered…….not yelled.”
- “Meanness don’t just happen overnight.”
- “Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads.”
- “Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.”
- “It don’t take a very big person to carry a grudge.”
- “You cannot unsay a cruel word.”
- “Every path has a few puddles.”
- “When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.”
- “The best sermons are lived, not preached.”
- “Most of the stuff people worry about, ain’t never gonna happen anyway.”
- “Don’t judge folks by their relatives.
- “Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.”
- “Live a good and honorable life, then when you get older and think back, you’ll enjoy it a second time.
- “Don’t interfere with somethin’ that ain’t bothering you none.”
- “Timin’ has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.”
- “If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’.”
- “Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.
- “The biggest troublemaker you’ll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin’.”
- “Always drink upstream from the herd.”
- “Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.”
- “Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin’ it back in.”
- “If you get to thinkin’ you’re a person of some influence, try orderin’ somebody else’s dog around.”
- “Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, and leave the rest to God.”
- “Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”
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