March 4, 2024
Today’s humor and news at the end.
Note: We seek an At-Large Board member: Interested in joining a winning team? Contact President Henry Osborne at Henry.osborne at comcast.net.
Winning Wednesdays resume on March 13 and 27 and the second and fourth Wednesdays for the remainder of the political year, Norbeck Room, CH 2.
March 28: This is your only chance in Leisure World to attend a US Senatorial debate between candidates Angela Alsobrooks and David Trone. Crystal Ballroom, Clubhouse 1 at 7pm. (Sen. Cardin is retiring.) Please help us organize questions by submitting them in advance online at bit.ly/dclw-03-28. Also, you can zoom the meeting and post your questions at the same link.
April 11: Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman, Crystal Ballroom, Clubhouse 1 at 7pm. You can join by zoom at bit.ly/dclw-04-11
May 9: Our entire delegation to Annapolis will be here to answer your questions about this year’s session.
A non-Club event of interest: Our representative on the County Council, Kristin Mink, is here on March 22, noon-1:30 pm in the Crystal Ballroom, CH 1. Councilmember Mink’s Town Hall is to answer any questions you may have about the Council’s activities.
Really, you couldn’t make this stuff up
Chutzpah: Sean Hannity slammed Pres. Biden on Fox (non)News for visiting the southern border as “a cynical sick political stunt and beyond disgraceful.” Without missing a beat, he then noted his upcoming show with Donald Trump will be aired from the border. (Political Wire)
If only legislators could read: A West Virginia bill is moving forward that would allow librarians and teachers to be criminally liable if minors obtain books with “obscene material,” USA Today reports.
You can’t be serious, George: Former Rep. George Santos “alleged in a lawsuit that late-night host Jimmy Kimmel deceived him into making videos on the Cameo app that were used to ridicule the disgraced New York Republican on the show,” the AP reports.
Tommy, can you hear me? “Republicans are more likely to suffer hearing loss. A big reason may be guns.” (The Washington Post 2/18)
The Wolf of Mar-a-Lago: “Maj. Michael Haley, the husband of Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, hit back at Donald Trump’s questioning of his whereabouts with a photo of a wolf: “The difference between humans and animals? Animals would never allow the dumbest ones to lead the pack.” (Political Wire)
“Virginia is for … VA conservatives have pointed to the prosecution of Prince William County’s former top election official for allegedly fudging 2020 vote counts as the strongest evidence available that fraud was a real concern in the last presidential contest,” the Virginia Mercury reports.
“On Thursday, after the case against former Registrar Michele White was dropped, the county’s elections office revealed that the tabulation errors actually worked in favor of former President Donald Trump.”
Social Security and more news
Welfare for the rich: For most Americans, payroll taxes for Social Security are a reality throughout the year. However, for people earning one million dollars or more annually, contributions to Social Security for 2024 will end on March 2. Social Security taxes are only paid on the first $168,600 of wage income this year. And…
It took only 4 minutes for Elon Musk to pay his maximum earnings subject to Social Security taxes. Why? FICA taxes stop at $168,800 of earnings– no matter how much you make. Legislation to raise that cap to $1 million, which would keep Social Security solvent for decades, is being blocked by the Speaker and other Republicans…
Instead, they are looking at cutting Social Security. A commission is being proposed that would be tasked with recommending cuts to programs like Social Security and Medicare with no amendments or proper debate allowed. There is no requirement that the commission’s deliberations would be open to the public, allowing politicians to fast-track cuts to these critical benefits behind closed doors. (Alliance for Retired Americans)
Rep. Jamie Raskin: “Given that I was marching at age three, you know I’m not letting any coup-plotting, election-denying, insurrection-supplying autocrat, kleptocrat, plutocrat or theocrat turn us around or block progress for democracy in America.”
More Jamie: “The inevitable destination of authoritarian movements is to whitewash history and wipe out the truth, but the American people will never forget what happened on January 6th.” (And the Democratic Club has Jamie as our speaker on June 28. Details TBA.)