I already sent Cassidy an email. I am a pharmacist and I told Cassidy that RFK, jr was dangerous and it was his fault he got approved so it was his job to get him to resign!!!!
Jen sayz: Point the finger at Republicans who talk a good game (generally after the fact) but are every bit as responsible for the serial calamities as Trump is.
Pressure on Cassidy could be the straw that breaks the proverbial camel's back.
Every Congressional Republican should have to confrtont the issue. How about resolutions in the House and Senate for starters?
I'm not a pharmacist, but I wrote him, too, about confirming a known and tenacious anti-vaxer right at the time when the measles epidemic was spreading. The blood of the three people, two of them children, who died from a totally preventable disease is on the hands of the cowards who bow to drumpf.
You are correct on all counts. Now I heard that RFK,Jr was going to go after Tylenol use in pregnant patient as a cause of autism. There isn’t a shred of evidence for this and a gazillion pregnant women have had Tylenol when pregnant. He and Oz both are dangerous as hell because neither one of knows what the fuck they are doing.
There's a really good person running against her on our side, Graham Platner. I've already donated to his campaign. He's a character and very vocal and smart...just what we need.
A good person, former state legislator, ran against her before and after her ridiculous statements defending Trump and Kavenaugh. No confidence in Maine voters.
Democrats must fight fire with fire, but must also concentrate on issues which impact a large percentage of American. Like how RFKJr is limiting access to proven vaccines, how the Big Beautiful Bill is cutting Medicaid and SNAP, how funding for medical research is being slashed, how Republicans are participating in a cover-up of people sexually abusing children. Just a few examples.
When your enemy hangs by a few unraveling threads, when he’s clearly lost what little mind he has left and spews whackadoodle nonsense out his ugly piehole every damn day, when the talking points memo to his lackeys is so incoherent and filled with inane poo like “yes, I’ve heard about the drawings, no, I haven’t seen them,” when the breadcrumb trail of cruel illegalities leading to them all threatens the Constitution itself, when your own conscience DEMANDS you shout stop…
You shout STOP. You call insane bullshit out for what it is. You don’t play nice. You don’t give his wormtongues an inch of space to wriggle around in. And you support strong, powerful voices who condemn them to their faces. They speak for you. They speak for your republic.
You know that The ACA commonly known as Obamacare made sure all vaccines were covered but the Big Horrific Bill that tRump signed on 4July dismantled it completely which Repugnant’s had wanted all along. Of course what we really need is Medicare-For-All.
I'm on Medicare, and my doctor recommended I go to the pharmacy for a Pneumonia vaccine. I went to CVS, they ran my claim, then said I was not qualified for the vaccine. I'm over 65; they stated the vaccine is no longer covered under Medicare.
I'm in California. I visit a senior center often to help out. Several of the Seniors have mentioned that CVS said they did not qualify for Flu Vaccines either. A few opted to pay out of pocket; the cost was $225 per person. I will try another pharmacy. Thank you for the link.
Hmmmm… I am in Southern California, and just recently got both the COVID-19 and the influenza vaccines At CVS, so I should think you would be able to get the flu vaccine at CVS.
I will further look into this. I hate to think this, but could it be based on race? I am Latina. Born and raised in California. The reason my mind thinks about the race card is because of the immigrant population being targeted. I hope this is not the case. I will check other pharmacies.
I think that it is CVS corporate being confused about the current HHS guidelines for vaccines, because the targeting you mentioned is being done by the ICE, and cross fingers not by Medicare so far.
I sure hope being Latina is not the issue. If it is, that would make my city (El Paso, TX) a house of horrors because 85% of our population is Hispanic.
You might want to try a different pharmacy. I've gotten vaccinated at CVS several times, but they don't tell you what flu shot they give you, and I have no confidence that they give the higher dose to older people. I'm 80 and on Medicare. The information I have says vaccines will be business as usual in Texas, where I am. But I will hope that information is correct.
Susan, it's great you have availability there in Texas. I know that Walmart carries an enhanced flu vaccine for seniors. I requested information from the pharmacist last year regarding this vaccine. He stated that this flu vaccine gives you immunity in 7 days. Regular flu vaccines take approximately 2 weeks. Stay healthy and safe.
Margaret, it's good to know that the higher dose vaccine gives immunity quicker. Thank you for that information. Here is a link to Your Local Epidemiologist Substack, which is where I got my information on availability of vaccines. You might want to check her map to see what the situation in your state is. I hope you are able to stay health and safe also.
I assume you have an account at Medicare where you can chat and ask questions. The Medicare home page should also have information regarding vaccine coverage.
That is horrible!!! This was only supposed to be the case for the Covid vaccine. Call up HHS and cream at them!!!! 1-877-696-6775 or if you want to call Medicare call 1-800-MEDICARE.
Indivisible.org urged folks to call their senators (and representatives) about letting Medicare use AI to choose which procedures Medicare will cover for individual patients. Sounds very strange! Here’s the link: https://share.google/MmzoFYO9qVJykm6ts
Great column. The problem is that the Democratic leadership, especially in the Senate (and you know who you are, Chuck Schumer) just doesn't have the stomach for a fight. It's time the caucus staged a mutiny and replaced them with someone who will fight!
Like in The Godfather, when Michael dismissed Tom Hagen as consiglieri. His explanation:
You're not a wartime consiglieri, Tom, and things will get rough.
We need a wartime consiglieri as minority leader, because under Drumpf, things have already gotten rough!
I'm not so sure about the lack of a "stomach for a fight". I'm concerned that they haven't yet crafted an alternative story line for how the country could and should be run and for whose benefit.
All praise Jennifer Rubin! Reading her commentary first thing in the morning is the only way I know to deal with these troubling times. I don't know how she does it — processing and commenting so brilliantly, nearly every day. I so admire her wisdom and intensity. I especially like the way she calls out "corporate media". We need more Truth Tellers like her, and Heather Cox Richardson, to fight alongside the Newsoms and Pritzkers with their "sharp, biting, and mocking political combat". Onward!
Anyone who would confirm someone to HHS without a medical or scientific degree is an utter and complete idiot. Especially if that person is an antivaxer. No one in their right mind does that even if Trump is the dictator Nazi in chief.
Show the Republicans that the people will vote them out of office for supporting Trump by making sure Democrats Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill win their races for Governor of Virginia and New Jersey overwhelmingly!
Yes! I've been a monthly supporter for Spanberger for a long while and have recently contributed to Mikie Sherrill also. I just wish I had Elon Musks's seemingy endless resources!
But it's going to take more than money. My sincere thanks to everyone who is protesting, marching, sending letters. I've done some of that myself but I could do more. And will start doing so immediately. Today!
And.... the Epstein files. How much of the drivel spewing out of the White House has been generated specifically to generate outrage? Epstein was a bad, bad guy. Trump was very friendly with him until he turned on him in the early 2000's. You're known by the friends you keep.
Of course, Agent Orange actually has and has never had any friends. He doesn't do relationships, only transactions. It's another reason that we now have no international allies. He has made sure that when our country needs help, no one will come...only laugh.
For this to work in Congress, the Democratic leadership needs to change.
It was bizarre from the start that Schumer remained the leader of the Senate Dems after the 2024 debacle. Hakeem Jeffries is equally lacking in charisma and fighting spirit. And of course, both are in thrall to AIPAC and Israel, which is increasingly out of step with Democratic voters.
Think about what our communities could do to legally fight crime and improve their cities if they had the $1million per day being spent on the National Guard? Dems should ask for the cash....they'd neuter the soft on crime gop narrative, and the National Guard could go back to their families and day jobs.
I have just written to my senators and my representative (all Democrats), urging them to press a hard bargain for their cooperation to avoid a government funding failure on 1 October. I recommend that our Democratic legislators insist on prompt passage of legislation to reinstate the inspectors general who were summarily dismissed since January. All of them.
And any new IG nominees must meet the approval of three-fourths of the members of the appropriate committees.
You might say, "But the President will veto any such legislation." Probably.
But then how do he and his MAGA followers answer the question, "What are you afraid of? After all, the job of an inspector general is to expose waste, fraud, abuse, and corruption!"
Even if the veto is not overridden, the public will get the essential message that the Republicans never were really serious about clean governance.
Why not. I constantly contact my Representatives, even though my State, Delaware, isn't one of the big boys that Orange A$$ targets. If they haven't been living in a cave, they must realize that we must not sit on our haunches. Push back like Pritzer and Newsom. They're effective. The Regime constantly exhausts us. If it gets vetoed, bring something new up. Exhaust them. Get in your face politics. Make it obvious that they don't care. I'm going to go after the Democrats that have been waffling and namby pamby. My previous home, NYC.
Well written as always, but elementary stuff the Democrats should have been deploying ever since The Grifer came down that golden escalator a decade ago. His mentor is Roy Cohn, for God's sake. That means he'll stop at nothing to achieve his greedy ambitions. He's a spineless, weak, petty, crazed individual who, like any schoolyard bully, if you bop him in the beak, he's going to back off. Why does the old guard Democratic leadership not see this? Decorum is long gone. Unwritten rules of normalcy have been shattered by the scumbag in the Oval. Fight fire with fire is the new mantra, and untll Hakeem Jefferies and Chuck Schumer realize that and start promoting young, fiery Democrats into key positions, democracy will remain in peril. If we'd just managed to hold onto two SCOTUS seats, we wouldn't be in this mess. There's a lot of blame to be tossed around there, but I'll start with that criminal Mitch McConnell. But Democrats stood by as this anti-democracy wave was building up and did nothing. Even Obama, great as he was/is, should have put up more of a fight getting Merrick Garland appointed to the high court.
"Trump, of all people, knows that once politicians sense weakness, bluster and threats will not suffice to protect him."
Sorry, Jen, but when has this approach ever failed him? It has worked through two impeachments, various criminal charges, and even the insurrection he brought on the Capitol.
Well, Jim, you're absolutely correct, but keep in mind that Trump didn't do this alone. He depended on the Republican party and, importantly, his MAGA base, both of which are even now showing signs of getting ever smaller. Now Trump is insulting his base and pressing Republicans to support his policies which are daily growing weirder, more extreme and more lawless. His cohort sees the polls and fears the result, So - what do they do? They cheat.
I have little doubt that Trump is now thinking about disrupting elections by intimidation, using "his" military to scare voters. It comes down to this: we must ALL insist on our right to vote and we must reject cheating and threats. Citizens have still got the power. Now we need to be sure we're smart enough to use it.
I think Jen was referring to all of the politicians that Trump has eviscerated with bluster and threats once he smelled weakness, then extrapolating to Trump who perhaps for the first time is showing weakness himself and knows only too well (from his own past practices) what the end of that road might look like.
yes. and the frustrating thing is they don't "get it". It should be obvious. but it isn't. But the answer, if there is an answer is to try and communicate in a way they can hear. and saying trump and his administration are bad, evil, etc. does not resonate. maybe saying and asking; what is going on with your healthcare? what is going on with your schools and jobs and do you feel safe? I do not know.
I already sent Cassidy an email. I am a pharmacist and I told Cassidy that RFK, jr was dangerous and it was his fault he got approved so it was his job to get him to resign!!!!
Jen sayz: Point the finger at Republicans who talk a good game (generally after the fact) but are every bit as responsible for the serial calamities as Trump is.
Pressure on Cassidy could be the straw that breaks the proverbial camel's back.
Every Congressional Republican should have to confrtont the issue. How about resolutions in the House and Senate for starters?
How about interviews of every member, Jen?
I'm not a pharmacist, but I wrote him, too, about confirming a known and tenacious anti-vaxer right at the time when the measles epidemic was spreading. The blood of the three people, two of them children, who died from a totally preventable disease is on the hands of the cowards who bow to drumpf.
You are correct on all counts. Now I heard that RFK,Jr was going to go after Tylenol use in pregnant patient as a cause of autism. There isn’t a shred of evidence for this and a gazillion pregnant women have had Tylenol when pregnant. He and Oz both are dangerous as hell because neither one of knows what the fuck they are doing.
Incompetence and arrogance are requirements for a post in the drumpf regime.
And the resume is enhanced when these qualities are accompanied by malice.
Absolutely.
Is Susan Collins still 'concerned'?
There's a really good person running against her on our side, Graham Platner. I've already donated to his campaign. He's a character and very vocal and smart...just what we need.
A good person, former state legislator, ran against her before and after her ridiculous statements defending Trump and Kavenaugh. No confidence in Maine voters.
Good. RFK is much better for the country as a gadfly than as our most senior health care arbitrator.
Share it, please?
I've sent him a couple... for all the good it's done.
What is his email, please? The more, the merrier!
https://www.cassidy.senate.gov/contact/get-in-touch/
Thank you!!!!
Democrats must fight fire with fire, but must also concentrate on issues which impact a large percentage of American. Like how RFKJr is limiting access to proven vaccines, how the Big Beautiful Bill is cutting Medicaid and SNAP, how funding for medical research is being slashed, how Republicans are participating in a cover-up of people sexually abusing children. Just a few examples.
Flash: Discharge petition has 217 signatures as of 10:30 am. Need one more.
Good outline to help all of us contacting legislators. An aside, my maiden name Greenstein?
When your enemy hangs by a few unraveling threads, when he’s clearly lost what little mind he has left and spews whackadoodle nonsense out his ugly piehole every damn day, when the talking points memo to his lackeys is so incoherent and filled with inane poo like “yes, I’ve heard about the drawings, no, I haven’t seen them,” when the breadcrumb trail of cruel illegalities leading to them all threatens the Constitution itself, when your own conscience DEMANDS you shout stop…
You shout STOP. You call insane bullshit out for what it is. You don’t play nice. You don’t give his wormtongues an inch of space to wriggle around in. And you support strong, powerful voices who condemn them to their faces. They speak for you. They speak for your republic.
NOT through me.
NOT in my name.
NOT on my goddam watch.
Yes!
Yes, yes, yes!
We are also going to have to go after HHS’s desire to restrict Medicare for some people thru AI. That is not ok and dangerous too!!!!
You know that The ACA commonly known as Obamacare made sure all vaccines were covered but the Big Horrific Bill that tRump signed on 4July dismantled it completely which Repugnant’s had wanted all along. Of course what we really need is Medicare-For-All.
I'm on Medicare, and my doctor recommended I go to the pharmacy for a Pneumonia vaccine. I went to CVS, they ran my claim, then said I was not qualified for the vaccine. I'm over 65; they stated the vaccine is no longer covered under Medicare.
Which state are you in? I just searched and according to the link below, Medicare covers pneumonia vaccines:
https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/pneumococcal-shots
Other non-Medicare sites listed the same app approval. I think you should try again, you should be able to get it.
(I am also over 65, retired and on Medicare so I sympathize greatly with your issue here)
I'm in California. I visit a senior center often to help out. Several of the Seniors have mentioned that CVS said they did not qualify for Flu Vaccines either. A few opted to pay out of pocket; the cost was $225 per person. I will try another pharmacy. Thank you for the link.
Hmmmm… I am in Southern California, and just recently got both the COVID-19 and the influenza vaccines At CVS, so I should think you would be able to get the flu vaccine at CVS.
I will further look into this. I hate to think this, but could it be based on race? I am Latina. Born and raised in California. The reason my mind thinks about the race card is because of the immigrant population being targeted. I hope this is not the case. I will check other pharmacies.
I think that it is CVS corporate being confused about the current HHS guidelines for vaccines, because the targeting you mentioned is being done by the ICE, and cross fingers not by Medicare so far.
I sure hope being Latina is not the issue. If it is, that would make my city (El Paso, TX) a house of horrors because 85% of our population is Hispanic.
Then maybe we need to boycott CVS....or at least go elsewhere - if there is an elsewhere!
You might want to try a different pharmacy. I've gotten vaccinated at CVS several times, but they don't tell you what flu shot they give you, and I have no confidence that they give the higher dose to older people. I'm 80 and on Medicare. The information I have says vaccines will be business as usual in Texas, where I am. But I will hope that information is correct.
Susan, it's great you have availability there in Texas. I know that Walmart carries an enhanced flu vaccine for seniors. I requested information from the pharmacist last year regarding this vaccine. He stated that this flu vaccine gives you immunity in 7 days. Regular flu vaccines take approximately 2 weeks. Stay healthy and safe.
Margaret, it's good to know that the higher dose vaccine gives immunity quicker. Thank you for that information. Here is a link to Your Local Epidemiologist Substack, which is where I got my information on availability of vaccines. You might want to check her map to see what the situation in your state is. I hope you are able to stay health and safe also.
Oops, I forgot to add the link. Here it is: https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/pharmaceutical-ads-in-the-us-top?utm_campaign=email-half-post&r=4v3ud&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
I assume you have an account at Medicare where you can chat and ask questions. The Medicare home page should also have information regarding vaccine coverage.
That is horrible!!! This was only supposed to be the case for the Covid vaccine. Call up HHS and cream at them!!!! 1-877-696-6775 or if you want to call Medicare call 1-800-MEDICARE.
Laura, thank you for the phone number. I will contact them.
I found it odd that I was denied. This has never happened before.
Indivisible.org urged folks to call their senators (and representatives) about letting Medicare use AI to choose which procedures Medicare will cover for individual patients. Sounds very strange! Here’s the link: https://share.google/MmzoFYO9qVJykm6ts
Great column. The problem is that the Democratic leadership, especially in the Senate (and you know who you are, Chuck Schumer) just doesn't have the stomach for a fight. It's time the caucus staged a mutiny and replaced them with someone who will fight!
Like in The Godfather, when Michael dismissed Tom Hagen as consiglieri. His explanation:
You're not a wartime consiglieri, Tom, and things will get rough.
We need a wartime consiglieri as minority leader, because under Drumpf, things have already gotten rough!
I'm not so sure about the lack of a "stomach for a fight". I'm concerned that they haven't yet crafted an alternative story line for how the country could and should be run and for whose benefit.
All praise Jennifer Rubin! Reading her commentary first thing in the morning is the only way I know to deal with these troubling times. I don't know how she does it — processing and commenting so brilliantly, nearly every day. I so admire her wisdom and intensity. I especially like the way she calls out "corporate media". We need more Truth Tellers like her, and Heather Cox Richardson, to fight alongside the Newsoms and Pritzkers with their "sharp, biting, and mocking political combat". Onward!
Why fail to mention RFK Jr wouldn’t be where he is IF those same GOP Senators hadn’t voted to confirm him!
I thought she did … or was it one of the commenters here … it all runs together after awhile. Anyway, well known that hypocrisy is GOP’s MO.
Anyone who would confirm someone to HHS without a medical or scientific degree is an utter and complete idiot. Especially if that person is an antivaxer. No one in their right mind does that even if Trump is the dictator Nazi in chief.
Well, you have accurately categorized the Republican Senators who voted to confirm RFK jr.
It’s a matter of proving FEALTY to the king & his agenda.
Fear of falling out of favor & being primaried rules the day.
Show the Republicans that the people will vote them out of office for supporting Trump by making sure Democrats Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill win their races for Governor of Virginia and New Jersey overwhelmingly!
Yes! I've been a monthly supporter for Spanberger for a long while and have recently contributed to Mikie Sherrill also. I just wish I had Elon Musks's seemingy endless resources!
But it's going to take more than money. My sincere thanks to everyone who is protesting, marching, sending letters. I've done some of that myself but I could do more. And will start doing so immediately. Today!
And.... the Epstein files. How much of the drivel spewing out of the White House has been generated specifically to generate outrage? Epstein was a bad, bad guy. Trump was very friendly with him until he turned on him in the early 2000's. You're known by the friends you keep.
https://www.thebulwark.com?utm_source=navbar&utm_medium=web
Of course, Agent Orange actually has and has never had any friends. He doesn't do relationships, only transactions. It's another reason that we now have no international allies. He has made sure that when our country needs help, no one will come...only laugh.
For this to work in Congress, the Democratic leadership needs to change.
It was bizarre from the start that Schumer remained the leader of the Senate Dems after the 2024 debacle. Hakeem Jeffries is equally lacking in charisma and fighting spirit. And of course, both are in thrall to AIPAC and Israel, which is increasingly out of step with Democratic voters.
Democrats must bring the heat...
Not with Hakeem and Chuck at the helm...
Think about what our communities could do to legally fight crime and improve their cities if they had the $1million per day being spent on the National Guard? Dems should ask for the cash....they'd neuter the soft on crime gop narrative, and the National Guard could go back to their families and day jobs.
They should relentlessly point that out. "Waste of money. You call yourselfs the fiscally efficient Party? Prove it!"
Carole:
Speaking of efficiency . . .
I have just written to my senators and my representative (all Democrats), urging them to press a hard bargain for their cooperation to avoid a government funding failure on 1 October. I recommend that our Democratic legislators insist on prompt passage of legislation to reinstate the inspectors general who were summarily dismissed since January. All of them.
And any new IG nominees must meet the approval of three-fourths of the members of the appropriate committees.
You might say, "But the President will veto any such legislation." Probably.
But then how do he and his MAGA followers answer the question, "What are you afraid of? After all, the job of an inspector general is to expose waste, fraud, abuse, and corruption!"
Even if the veto is not overridden, the public will get the essential message that the Republicans never were really serious about clean governance.
What do you think?
Discussion, anyone?
\Vince S
Why not. I constantly contact my Representatives, even though my State, Delaware, isn't one of the big boys that Orange A$$ targets. If they haven't been living in a cave, they must realize that we must not sit on our haunches. Push back like Pritzer and Newsom. They're effective. The Regime constantly exhausts us. If it gets vetoed, bring something new up. Exhaust them. Get in your face politics. Make it obvious that they don't care. I'm going to go after the Democrats that have been waffling and namby pamby. My previous home, NYC.
Well written as always, but elementary stuff the Democrats should have been deploying ever since The Grifer came down that golden escalator a decade ago. His mentor is Roy Cohn, for God's sake. That means he'll stop at nothing to achieve his greedy ambitions. He's a spineless, weak, petty, crazed individual who, like any schoolyard bully, if you bop him in the beak, he's going to back off. Why does the old guard Democratic leadership not see this? Decorum is long gone. Unwritten rules of normalcy have been shattered by the scumbag in the Oval. Fight fire with fire is the new mantra, and untll Hakeem Jefferies and Chuck Schumer realize that and start promoting young, fiery Democrats into key positions, democracy will remain in peril. If we'd just managed to hold onto two SCOTUS seats, we wouldn't be in this mess. There's a lot of blame to be tossed around there, but I'll start with that criminal Mitch McConnell. But Democrats stood by as this anti-democracy wave was building up and did nothing. Even Obama, great as he was/is, should have put up more of a fight getting Merrick Garland appointed to the high court.
"Trump, of all people, knows that once politicians sense weakness, bluster and threats will not suffice to protect him."
Sorry, Jen, but when has this approach ever failed him? It has worked through two impeachments, various criminal charges, and even the insurrection he brought on the Capitol.
Well, Jim, you're absolutely correct, but keep in mind that Trump didn't do this alone. He depended on the Republican party and, importantly, his MAGA base, both of which are even now showing signs of getting ever smaller. Now Trump is insulting his base and pressing Republicans to support his policies which are daily growing weirder, more extreme and more lawless. His cohort sees the polls and fears the result, So - what do they do? They cheat.
I have little doubt that Trump is now thinking about disrupting elections by intimidation, using "his" military to scare voters. It comes down to this: we must ALL insist on our right to vote and we must reject cheating and threats. Citizens have still got the power. Now we need to be sure we're smart enough to use it.
I think Jen was referring to all of the politicians that Trump has eviscerated with bluster and threats once he smelled weakness, then extrapolating to Trump who perhaps for the first time is showing weakness himself and knows only too well (from his own past practices) what the end of that road might look like.
The fire 🔥 should be all these policies and actions just don’t work and are making life worse for Trump voters
But those voters will need to see & feel it fairly dramatically in order to overcome their ‘cognitive dissonance’, right? 🙄
yes. and the frustrating thing is they don't "get it". It should be obvious. but it isn't. But the answer, if there is an answer is to try and communicate in a way they can hear. and saying trump and his administration are bad, evil, etc. does not resonate. maybe saying and asking; what is going on with your healthcare? what is going on with your schools and jobs and do you feel safe? I do not know.