That is the greatest idea! If we marched en mass like the No Kings protests, we would be unstoppable. Imagine the reflecting pond turned a more suitable color to fit Donito Metamucillin, BROWN....
If King George III had proposed a gold ballroom, even the tea would have gone back into the harbor. Meanwhile, somewhere in a warehouse, thousands of powdered wigs are whispering, "We specifically warned you about this."
So true! In my mom's assisted living, at any one time there are several people over 100 years old, plus most of the rest can clearly remember when FDR was president! Not to mention recalling Hitler and Mussolini.
Excellent post Andy and very timely! I love your optimism and your determination to soldier on ! Having been raised in two great parliamentary democracies, I find that as an American citizen it is so much more difficult to hold politicians accountable or to force a vote of no confidence in the government! Do you agree? ☺️💕
Yes! I vastly prefer the UK system. People may bemoan the revolving door of Prime Ministers, but it’s better than the disaster we’re stuck with in the USA.
I'm 73 & recently filed the government form to the FCC indicating that is unacceptable for TV programming to be politized/punished. I march now in gatherings representing my beliefs. When I was growing up I would have never thought I would have to get so involved. My son, daughter & granddaughter are also involved...we don't have a choice.
Sure.. fcc.gov/ecfs/filings The link pulls up a form. Use your legal name or it won't send, use zip code +4 or it won't send. ( the USPS can tell you that extra code if you don't have it and finally under the number why you're contacting them I used 26-124. My FB is public & so you'll can see what they sent me back
But how do we deal with the Jim Jones type cult followers of Trump? Or the cult followers of the Rajneesh in Oregon who gave up money, status, everything to follow the Rajnesh? It seems to me that the 30+ percent of Americans who follow Trump regardless of what he does cannot have their minds changed in any way, shape, form, or manner. They’ll drink the Kool-Aid happily. And they control the Republican Party now. Will November elections really help with Democrats and their infighting? Will the Republicans who are now starting to just a tiny bit react against Trump cause people to stick with them in November because they are now “changing their minds“?
OF COURSE we have the stomach to rebel…on overpasses and town squares, every day. We choose which bank to use that doesn’t support ICE. And we Bostonians even cheered for the Knicks, our “mortal basketball nemeses.” There are countless choices to be made. Yes, we get tired (well, me at 76), but we persist. Together, all things are possible! (Can you tell that I’m clergy?😉)
No. I cannot but I choose to resist and will continue until our representatives put our country and its peoples (all people) first. And I recruit neighbors every chance I get. we must do this together. Not watch others do what we all must do! It takes the whole community, not individuals yo rise up and change the way things are done. Some places in the US are doing it bit we need more of us to strp up. Join a local group you believe in. Don't wait to see what else happens. Thanks for reading my rant. Have a great 250 year celebration.
If we had a parliamentary system of government, I think you would be right. I think there would be a revolt. But I don’t think our two party system with one party controlled, or in control of all three branches of government, has the support of enough people at the polls to make a difference. I still can’t believe that the American people supported doge, but they did or at least enough of them did the Republicans whoever they are if there even anti-Trumper still are conservatives, and still marched to the drummer of keeping the wealthy and power.
I'm usually an optimist but boy, I hope you're right, Andy. Otherwise, massive demonstrations will make the No Kings protests look like a neighborhood parade.
Yes, I believe we do. Particularly those of us in our 80’s who see their investments falling, worry if there will be enough money to care for husband with serious physical and or mental disease, failure of S.S., Medicare, now the threat of banning mail in ballots. Yes, “I am mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore”.
I think when they see exactly how much his waste of taxpayer money is rising daily, along with his misuse of it, his family if grifters also using it for their own personal use, Americans will definitely be ready to toss this regime over and that it will happen soon.
The GOP philosophy has been, I got mine eff you, since at least the Reagan years if not longer. I just keep wondering how long before the 99% figures it out
I have already changed my tax withholdings to stop having federal taxes withheld. I'm poor enough that I get them refunded anyway and I need all the income I can get: my savings account is now below $6000, lower than it was before the pandemic support payments finally began, and while I am going to have a tiny income increase (due to one more exercise class at the senior center next term) that is nowhere near enough to cover all my expenses.
I have neighbors in worse shape, they put off dental work because they can't afford it, and I know there are millions across the nation in even worse shape than that.
FDT, 8647 and his entire greedy Epstein Elite Emotional Support Crew and their ignorant violent cult base.
Sandra Nicht: Many of us cannot make ends meet. We have tightened the belt until there is no more way to cut things out -- reasonable medicine, food, shelter. We try to hang on, on credit cards (a total no-win) and we try to get home equity loans if we can, or borrow from friends, if we can. A lot of us have no one to ask.
After mr trumpf and his pal musk(rat) fired most of the government, eliminating Consumer watchdogs, the corporations (like electricity, food, etc) have all, while making record profits for themselves, easily verifiable, jacked up prices on the essentials we need to live.
For people on fixed income too old to go out and get a job, this is like drowning. There is no where to turn. This is WRONG. And it sucks. As Walt Whitman said "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation". And, he might have added, women too.
We need to STOP mr trumpf, NOW. One sick, febble minded person with no morals, scruples, principles (except ME! ME! ME!, the only thing that motivates this creep) is truly wrecking the entire world. EVery single thing he touches is damaged or destroyed. Why are we ALLOWING this?We are the people of the United States, with every advantage in the world to succeed. allowing this? We have made a terrible, terrible mistake in letting this go on.
At 81 I am still at it. Protests, letters cavassing phone banking, you name it I'm game. It is maddening that this administration gets away with what is patently illegal and unconstitutional. If we manage to take back our government the Dems should not only impeach and indict all of them but impound all the money they stole from us
Well, there will be a revolt me thinks but not this one. The US taxpayer has automatic withholding so the mechanism of revolt is broken. The rich have been revolting for 40 years causing the national debt to balloon. The revolt will come when foreign governments decide that investing in US debt is no longer a good idea. The US debt level is too high and many if not most countries are losing trust in the country that prints paper with the words “Full faith and credit of the American people”. The IOUs are becoming worthless. Trump likes inflation but if he were to sponsor serious inflation it would hurt his favorite billionaires so we are going to be put in a box as painful as the Great Depression. Sorry.
Neither is fantasy. We need to recognize how government—particularly the federal government—has engineered the system specifically to prevent a taxpayer revolt. Your employer takes income tax out of your paycheck before you ever see it. Sales taxes are collected at retail (and aren’t federal anyway). You can’t pump gas without paying the taxes. About the only tax you pay with a check is real estate, which isn’t federal. Thatcher’s big mistake was making her poll tax something you had to pay separately. It is a mistake no government will make again.
Good considerations. It seems to me that Lawyers might be able to shed some light on this question, possibly? (The lawyers working in Think Tanks, like the Brookings Institution, The Carnegie Foundation, etc).
I would think there are some lawyers who would speak the truth off the record, and give us the best options for engineering a real and effective Tax Revolt. We are handing our hard earned money to mr trumpf, who immediately puts it into his own pockets, the pockets of his Billiionaire pals,or those of his own children, or blows our money by committing mass murder against people in places like Venezuela and Iran, most of whose peopole have no more control over their governments than a fieldmouse. I would like some factual input from some legal minds. And I think it is a GREAT idea!
A tax revolt is not going to happen. What the mid-terms should do is to return control of the Congress to Democrats who can promptly start investigations into the criminal behavior of the Mango Mussolini. There is no shortage of evidence of Trump and his minions selling pardons, policy and lucrative contracts. None of this had anything to do with his "official " duties as president. (His official duty is to faithfully execute the laws and to support and defend the Constitution. Accepting bribes and doling out no bid contracts in return is not part of the performance plan of POTUS.)
Be sure to circulate this link of Sen. Chris Murphy (D, Conn.) to everyone with whom you discuss politics. This is what is truly revolting!
As a tax professional I cannot condone not paying taxes. However, it makes my stomach turn to know that my tax dollars are probably going straight into Metamucillini's pockets (or worse, his dumb kids, his useless spouse pockets and....). However I continue to work on a formula to calculate my share of losses to declare on my return based on all the grifting he's been allowed to do........
Agree 100%! Trump admin has been acting like it's THEIR money and Trump just keeps using it to get what he personally wants. He is making "deals" for the country that he has no right to make. He claims the tariffs are covering expenses but I don't believe it. I want an audit - a public one! The US will be bankrupt just like his casinos!
As I sent my next quarterly estimated tax payment last week, I wondered who would speak up about this option. Trump’s billionaire friends are paying less and less taxes and we, the other 99% or so keep paying more. How do we get this movement started? It can only work if so many refuse to pay that it overwhelms the resources of the IRS.
There was a "Tax refusal" movement back in the Reagan years, but about all you could do was refuse to pay the telephone war tax to the utility, who was unlikely to come after you directly for $2.68. The only solution is to tax the rich and tax wealth. They have it figured out that they don't have income -- so no income tax for them! They are so wealthy they can borrow against their assets and live off that. (It's not income.)
AT&T turned me into a credit agency for a bill I had receipt showing I paid. They damaged my pristine credit record, but they had to give in after months of my fighting them. And acknowledge I was correct in a letter. They wil come after you for $2.68.
And when they die, the estate passes to their heirs tax free, the estate pays off the debt by selling some stepped up assets tax free, and the cycle starts all over again!
Andy, as usual , you are right on the money. In this case , the tax money! Americans work hard for their money. We deserve to be heard and we deserve better from so-called “public servants” ! Time for a mass rebellion! I am all in!! Thank you!
Could America see another tax revolt? That's a fair question.
Maybe not over taxes alone—but over the combination of everything. Higher taxes for ordinary Americans while the ultra-wealthy keep getting breaks. Then add billions spent on vanity projects like a White House ballroom, rebuilding the Rose Garden and reflecting pool, military adventures, and what critics call the "Arc de Trump."
And let's not forget the ever-growing use of ICE as what many see as a private political army.
Pile all of that together, and people may eventually ask, "Exactly what are we paying for?"
History shows that citizens usually don't rise up over one issue—they do when enough frustrations pile up at the same time. If those frustrations continue to grow, especially if people believe elections are being manipulated or undermined, public anger could become impossible for any administration to ignore.
I say throw tea in the reflection pond dressed as business men.
That is the greatest idea! If we marched en mass like the No Kings protests, we would be unstoppable. Imagine the reflecting pond turned a more suitable color to fit Donito Metamucillin, BROWN....
:-) !!
the Minneapolis Dildo Squad has truckloads coming (see what I did there) to DC...
😏
We'll have to shoot them over tRump's new fence out of a cannon.
What makes trump think a fence will keep out the protestors from the trump dump?
Oooh! Great idea, or maybe a rare bourbon in rocks glasses, dissolve the paint and kill the algae.
Wonderful idea. But a cheap bourbon would be better. More appropriate.
and bring small knives to cut the paint
At. Night.
If King George III had proposed a gold ballroom, even the tea would have gone back into the harbor. Meanwhile, somewhere in a warehouse, thousands of powdered wigs are whispering, "We specifically warned you about this."
"Republicans may be about to learn an unpleasant lesson: you can ban the teaching of history, but that won’t keep it from repeating."
Now that's an aphorism that resonates with this history teacher!
Well said, Mr. Borowitz.
Given today's lifespans, there are some pretty good Walking History Books going around. '100 years ago' isn't as forgotten as it might once have been.
So true! In my mom's assisted living, at any one time there are several people over 100 years old, plus most of the rest can clearly remember when FDR was president! Not to mention recalling Hitler and Mussolini.
I think that saying would make a really great tee shirt!!!
I actually have a T-shirt that says "That's what I do. I read history and I know things." :-D
:-) !!
I nearly fell over when reading that. Great sucker punch to this regime!
Brilliant!
The real question is whether Americans have the stomach to rebel.
I plan to fight all the way until November—and beyond.
Excellent post Andy and very timely! I love your optimism and your determination to soldier on ! Having been raised in two great parliamentary democracies, I find that as an American citizen it is so much more difficult to hold politicians accountable or to force a vote of no confidence in the government! Do you agree? ☺️💕
Yes! I vastly prefer the UK system. People may bemoan the revolving door of Prime Ministers, but it’s better than the disaster we’re stuck with in the USA.
Over my long life I've heard discussions about the parliamentary system and whether it would be better. Maybe it's time to consider it seriously.
Perhaps we should say that the American Revolution was a mistake, and petition for representation in Parliament. God Save The (authentic) King!
It would work both ways, though. The MAGA side could always try to get rid of someone like Obama. The president they most love to hate.
they miss his programs in silence, lining the halls of any ER
Great minds think alike!😉💕
We could use a revolving door.
I'm 73 & recently filed the government form to the FCC indicating that is unacceptable for TV programming to be politized/punished. I march now in gatherings representing my beliefs. When I was growing up I would have never thought I would have to get so involved. My son, daughter & granddaughter are also involved...we don't have a choice.
Can you post a link to that form, please?
Sure.. fcc.gov/ecfs/filings The link pulls up a form. Use your legal name or it won't send, use zip code +4 or it won't send. ( the USPS can tell you that extra code if you don't have it and finally under the number why you're contacting them I used 26-124. My FB is public & so you'll can see what they sent me back
I shall proudly cast my vote on Notrumpber 3rd !......Out with team donOLD and in with team BLUE.
As we say in Maine, Shuck Susan!
Save the date! I’m changing the name of the month!
Me, too Andy! ALL THE WAY. ❤️🔥
Me too!
TG for AB!!
But how do we deal with the Jim Jones type cult followers of Trump? Or the cult followers of the Rajneesh in Oregon who gave up money, status, everything to follow the Rajnesh? It seems to me that the 30+ percent of Americans who follow Trump regardless of what he does cannot have their minds changed in any way, shape, form, or manner. They’ll drink the Kool-Aid happily. And they control the Republican Party now. Will November elections really help with Democrats and their infighting? Will the Republicans who are now starting to just a tiny bit react against Trump cause people to stick with them in November because they are now “changing their minds“?
Me, too! For my children and grandchildren.
OF COURSE we have the stomach to rebel…on overpasses and town squares, every day. We choose which bank to use that doesn’t support ICE. And we Bostonians even cheered for the Knicks, our “mortal basketball nemeses.” There are countless choices to be made. Yes, we get tired (well, me at 76), but we persist. Together, all things are possible! (Can you tell that I’m clergy?😉)
No. I cannot but I choose to resist and will continue until our representatives put our country and its peoples (all people) first. And I recruit neighbors every chance I get. we must do this together. Not watch others do what we all must do! It takes the whole community, not individuals yo rise up and change the way things are done. Some places in the US are doing it bit we need more of us to strp up. Join a local group you believe in. Don't wait to see what else happens. Thanks for reading my rant. Have a great 250 year celebration.
Some folks in my area protest every Friday for about an hour. They've been doing it since his reelection. I join them when I'm able to (I'm disabled).
It's also a great way to make new friends as we all know there's at least one thing we have in common.
If we had a parliamentary system of government, I think you would be right. I think there would be a revolt. But I don’t think our two party system with one party controlled, or in control of all three branches of government, has the support of enough people at the polls to make a difference. I still can’t believe that the American people supported doge, but they did or at least enough of them did the Republicans whoever they are if there even anti-Trumper still are conservatives, and still marched to the drummer of keeping the wealthy and power.
Actually, the 1986 midterms really did slam the brakes on Reagan’s agenda. I also prefer the parliamentary system but midterms can be a corrective.
I'm usually an optimist but boy, I hope you're right, Andy. Otherwise, massive demonstrations will make the No Kings protests look like a neighborhood parade.
Sadly, the brakes were slammed after the train wreck.
Yes, I believe we do. Particularly those of us in our 80’s who see their investments falling, worry if there will be enough money to care for husband with serious physical and or mental disease, failure of S.S., Medicare, now the threat of banning mail in ballots. Yes, “I am mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore”.
I think when they see exactly how much his waste of taxpayer money is rising daily, along with his misuse of it, his family if grifters also using it for their own personal use, Americans will definitely be ready to toss this regime over and that it will happen soon.
I have to believe that we do have the stomach to rebel…
Come on people, the rich aren’t going to eat themselves.
If you watch JAWS backwards, it’s a heart warming story about a shark who gives arms and legs to people who need them.
Al Gorythm: Your comment is hilarious! Never thought of seeing Jaws this way! :-)
The rich won't eat themselves. 😅 I have my knife and fork ready, but I suspect Musk and Bezos won't be very tasty. Is there a marinade you suggest?
You might just have to hold your nose and choke it down.
As the late great Hannibal Lecturer said, “If you eat one billionaire, the rest will start behaving.
formaldehyde
The GOP philosophy has been, I got mine eff you, since at least the Reagan years if not longer. I just keep wondering how long before the 99% figures it out
Looong before Reagan. The republican mantra since Taft has been
'I got mine, God help you get yours, because I won't.'
How about No Kings Rallies on Monday, November 2?
I'd have to miss it because I'm always a poll worker.
bravo to Beth !!!
Thank you for your dedication 👏👏👏
If those idiots haven't figured it out already, I don't think they'll try to now. I know, I don't get it either.
It’s a revolt that could be revolutionary!
I have already changed my tax withholdings to stop having federal taxes withheld. I'm poor enough that I get them refunded anyway and I need all the income I can get: my savings account is now below $6000, lower than it was before the pandemic support payments finally began, and while I am going to have a tiny income increase (due to one more exercise class at the senior center next term) that is nowhere near enough to cover all my expenses.
I have neighbors in worse shape, they put off dental work because they can't afford it, and I know there are millions across the nation in even worse shape than that.
FDT, 8647 and his entire greedy Epstein Elite Emotional Support Crew and their ignorant violent cult base.
Sandra Nicht: Many of us cannot make ends meet. We have tightened the belt until there is no more way to cut things out -- reasonable medicine, food, shelter. We try to hang on, on credit cards (a total no-win) and we try to get home equity loans if we can, or borrow from friends, if we can. A lot of us have no one to ask.
After mr trumpf and his pal musk(rat) fired most of the government, eliminating Consumer watchdogs, the corporations (like electricity, food, etc) have all, while making record profits for themselves, easily verifiable, jacked up prices on the essentials we need to live.
For people on fixed income too old to go out and get a job, this is like drowning. There is no where to turn. This is WRONG. And it sucks. As Walt Whitman said "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation". And, he might have added, women too.
We need to STOP mr trumpf, NOW. One sick, febble minded person with no morals, scruples, principles (except ME! ME! ME!, the only thing that motivates this creep) is truly wrecking the entire world. EVery single thing he touches is damaged or destroyed. Why are we ALLOWING this?We are the people of the United States, with every advantage in the world to succeed. allowing this? We have made a terrible, terrible mistake in letting this go on.
Lives of quiet desperation was Thoreau. Otherwise, brava!
At 81 I am still at it. Protests, letters cavassing phone banking, you name it I'm game. It is maddening that this administration gets away with what is patently illegal and unconstitutional. If we manage to take back our government the Dems should not only impeach and indict all of them but impound all the money they stole from us
The entire Trump family included
Well, there will be a revolt me thinks but not this one. The US taxpayer has automatic withholding so the mechanism of revolt is broken. The rich have been revolting for 40 years causing the national debt to balloon. The revolt will come when foreign governments decide that investing in US debt is no longer a good idea. The US debt level is too high and many if not most countries are losing trust in the country that prints paper with the words “Full faith and credit of the American people”. The IOUs are becoming worthless. Trump likes inflation but if he were to sponsor serious inflation it would hurt his favorite billionaires so we are going to be put in a box as painful as the Great Depression. Sorry.
Hopelessness isn’t a plan.
Agree! I'm in the trenches with you, Andy. We will prevail!
Neither is fantasy. We need to recognize how government—particularly the federal government—has engineered the system specifically to prevent a taxpayer revolt. Your employer takes income tax out of your paycheck before you ever see it. Sales taxes are collected at retail (and aren’t federal anyway). You can’t pump gas without paying the taxes. About the only tax you pay with a check is real estate, which isn’t federal. Thatcher’s big mistake was making her poll tax something you had to pay separately. It is a mistake no government will make again.
So how do we rebel? I’m looking for a plan.
See: 1986 midterms.
Of course, a revolt disconnected from taxes, happening at the ballot box is very much possible.
Good considerations. It seems to me that Lawyers might be able to shed some light on this question, possibly? (The lawyers working in Think Tanks, like the Brookings Institution, The Carnegie Foundation, etc).
I would think there are some lawyers who would speak the truth off the record, and give us the best options for engineering a real and effective Tax Revolt. We are handing our hard earned money to mr trumpf, who immediately puts it into his own pockets, the pockets of his Billiionaire pals,or those of his own children, or blows our money by committing mass murder against people in places like Venezuela and Iran, most of whose peopole have no more control over their governments than a fieldmouse. I would like some factual input from some legal minds. And I think it is a GREAT idea!
A tax revolt is not going to happen. What the mid-terms should do is to return control of the Congress to Democrats who can promptly start investigations into the criminal behavior of the Mango Mussolini. There is no shortage of evidence of Trump and his minions selling pardons, policy and lucrative contracts. None of this had anything to do with his "official " duties as president. (His official duty is to faithfully execute the laws and to support and defend the Constitution. Accepting bribes and doling out no bid contracts in return is not part of the performance plan of POTUS.)
Be sure to circulate this link of Sen. Chris Murphy (D, Conn.) to everyone with whom you discuss politics. This is what is truly revolting!
https://youtu.be/DaQ_95hPhu4?is=ClBssUal3KTfdE7S
It certainly is not!!! Hopelessness is the enemy.
As a tax professional I cannot condone not paying taxes. However, it makes my stomach turn to know that my tax dollars are probably going straight into Metamucillini's pockets (or worse, his dumb kids, his useless spouse pockets and....). However I continue to work on a formula to calculate my share of losses to declare on my return based on all the grifting he's been allowed to do........
you can stop withholding federal taxes and place that money in an interest bearing account....
I changed my withholding, you can too. Stop withholding federal taxes and instead place them in a dedicated account to accrue interest for YOU....
Agree 100%! Trump admin has been acting like it's THEIR money and Trump just keeps using it to get what he personally wants. He is making "deals" for the country that he has no right to make. He claims the tariffs are covering expenses but I don't believe it. I want an audit - a public one! The US will be bankrupt just like his casinos!
They can't withold everythong. maw
This is brilliant. We the people don’t want to pay for killing school girls in Iran, nor do we want to pay for a cage fight on the WH lawn.
As I sent my next quarterly estimated tax payment last week, I wondered who would speak up about this option. Trump’s billionaire friends are paying less and less taxes and we, the other 99% or so keep paying more. How do we get this movement started? It can only work if so many refuse to pay that it overwhelms the resources of the IRS.
There was a "Tax refusal" movement back in the Reagan years, but about all you could do was refuse to pay the telephone war tax to the utility, who was unlikely to come after you directly for $2.68. The only solution is to tax the rich and tax wealth. They have it figured out that they don't have income -- so no income tax for them! They are so wealthy they can borrow against their assets and live off that. (It's not income.)
AT&T turned me into a credit agency for a bill I had receipt showing I paid. They damaged my pristine credit record, but they had to give in after months of my fighting them. And acknowledge I was correct in a letter. They wil come after you for $2.68.
And when they die, the estate passes to their heirs tax free, the estate pays off the debt by selling some stepped up assets tax free, and the cycle starts all over again!
* Pat Paulsen: “No taxes. Let’s just tip the government 15% if they do a good job.”
Andy, as usual , you are right on the money. In this case , the tax money! Americans work hard for their money. We deserve to be heard and we deserve better from so-called “public servants” ! Time for a mass rebellion! I am all in!! Thank you!
A not so funny possibility:
Could America see another tax revolt? That's a fair question.
Maybe not over taxes alone—but over the combination of everything. Higher taxes for ordinary Americans while the ultra-wealthy keep getting breaks. Then add billions spent on vanity projects like a White House ballroom, rebuilding the Rose Garden and reflecting pool, military adventures, and what critics call the "Arc de Trump."
And let's not forget the ever-growing use of ICE as what many see as a private political army.
Pile all of that together, and people may eventually ask, "Exactly what are we paying for?"
History shows that citizens usually don't rise up over one issue—they do when enough frustrations pile up at the same time. If those frustrations continue to grow, especially if people believe elections are being manipulated or undermined, public anger could become impossible for any administration to ignore.
the combination of everything ✅
Excellent post Andy. Thank you!!