Today on Digested: The Schooling of our Secretary of Education, and the Republican Plagarise-and-Push Healthcare Plan -- but first, Linda Sarsour has come out on Twitter saying she's making a list of all the people who have defamed her. She's making a list, and checking it twice. Gonna find out who's naughty and nice. Sharia Claus is Coming to Town.
Bra lokal-tid, mina älsklingar, and welcome to Digested for the 13th of July, 2017. I've got a great show in store for you and I hope you like it.
But before we begin, I'm not the only person suffering right now and it would drive me fucking bonkers to only shill for myself in this segment. Brian Martinez, the beloved Doge of the Honey Badgers, has come down with testicular cancer. This man is all heart, all love; and ashamed, even a little jealous of the familial love the Badger have for him, he was so sweet to me when I brought up that my own cancer had come back. The things that are done for men's rights, for the truth, are not done on the shoulders of one YouTuber; it's in even knowing each other, seeing each other's publications and information, and seeing the passion and effort put into every bit of the grind that keeps a lot of us going, and, among a select few others, it's your grind that keeps me going Brian. So go to feedthebadger.com and help this man out -- there is none more deserving.
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos Giving an Ear to Men's Rights
We begin in Men's Rights, where Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is under fire from all directions for her sharp policy changes from the Obama-era. In addition to appointing A. Wayne Johnson, former Visa and Deloitte, as Chief Operating Officer of the Federal Student Aid program, and putting a freeze on the Federal Student Loan Recovery program, she is now also under attack for speaking up about the hundreds of letters she has received from male victims of rape, those falsely-accused, and their families.
And, of course, before anyone even has the chance to defend her, every progressive media outlet had already written their hit-pieces on her. She barely has the support of the alt-media.
Despite the headlines like "DeVos plans to meet with groups that dismiss domestic violence and rape allegations" and "Betsy DeVos plans to consult men's rights trolls about campus sexual assault", Secretary DeVos has merely scheduled a series of meetings next week, with advocates for survivors of campus sexual assault, in addition to groups representing students who say they were wrongfully accused at college -- very likely in reference to her and Trump's concerns over the controversial 2011 guidelines provided to universities by the Obama administration, that took measures to increase the protections provided women with regards to rape on campuses, while stripping young men of theirs; effectively reinforcing the Duluth Model at universities nation-wide. DeVos plans on talking to groups including SAVE, or Stop Abusive and Violent Environments, which is dedicated to removing harmful gender-based stereotypes, especially as they impact boys, men, their families and those who love them."
However, overturning the extended guidelines and restrictions put in place with regards to Title IX under Obama will not increase the risk posed to women -- as Title IX will remain unaffected. While the position of Title IX Coordinator (which, if I might say, sounds like a really uneventful job) would be removed, so would the enforced female-victim reinforcing propaganda universities have to put up in bathrooms and the severely sexist guidelines which instruct the Title IX Coordinator to believe purported victims, and place the accused in a position of guilt before innocence is proven.
There are still a lot of questions about Betsy DeVos and whether or not she's the best for the job, but once you get past the outrage and vitriol that seems to be getting spat out by either side, she just sounds like a wise businesswoman, trying to make the education system both effective, and economically feasible within our fifty-state unconfederated nation.
Republicans Reveal New Health-care Bill; Rand Paul is Not Happy
And due to the complexity of that previous story, we've only got two for today; because this next one is far fucking worse. Republican Senate leaders unveiled their revised version of their "repeal-and-replace" health care bill, less than a week before the vote. But Susan Collins and Rand Paul, two Senate Republicans I respect highly, are firmly against the bill.
Senator McConnell's changes include Ted Cruz and Mike Lee's amendment that allows insurers to offer plans that do not meet all of ObamaCare's regulations, including those protecting people with pre-existing conditions, as well as mandating that plans cover certain services, such as maternity care and mental health-care. The plan also adds new funding, $70 Billion over 7 Years, aimed at easing costs for those sick people remaining in the ObamaCare plans, as well as an additional $70 Billion which has been added to the ObamaCare "Stability Fund", to help keep insurance premiums low with artificial competition. 1% of this stability fund would be set aside for bail-outs of high-cost states like Alaska and Alabama. It also sets aside $45 Billion for the combatting of opioid addiction, though Medicaid restrictions on drug addiction would remained in place.
However, the bill still keeps the current Medicaid standards relatively the same, meaning the expanded funds for ObamaCare and Medicaid will still end in 2024, and the tax-credits provided do not appear to be enough to incentivise businesses to cooperate with what is, in the end, a revised ObamaCare, nor will they be effective at lowering premiums under the conditions of Ted Cruz and Mike Lee's amendment, which could see large spikes in the insurance rates of those most ill.
So what, then, does all of this mean? Well, it means this isn't a "repeal-and-replace" at all -- it's just a rough plagarism of ObamaCare with some of the main characters changed to appeal to a Republican Senatorial audience. And it's exactly why I can't stand the Republicans, even if they're the party that got /ourguy/ elected. And say what you will about Trump (I mean, I'll say he's a brilliant strategist and businessman, and a president I'm proud to have voted for without hesitation), but there is one side-effect of his strategy mixed with his narcissistic behaviour has brought about: every congressman and senator seems to be focused on the president and their peers, and not a one of them on the people.
Honestly? I think we're going to be seeing the Veto Pen, next week.
Alright, then, it's time for another Person You Should Actually Sub! Today's PYSAS is Schmeckle, host of the Cuntstream. This man kinda came out of nowhere and showed great skill in pulling together entertaining and informed people for hangouts -- but he's criminally under-subbed in both places. You can find the links to both Schmeckle's channel and the Cuntstream channel below.
https://www.youtube.com/c/SchmeckleTV
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrV4Z_xRjPVPpLn_F20XdCA
Despite both sides saying "we're making ground, we're winning", I think we're all still in the trenches. That being the case, good night and good luck, my loves.