Dems Assail Unbalanced Economy

The March report on employment from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics shows non-farm payrolls increasing by 178,000 jobs. This exceeded expert predictions of a 60,000 increase. Since Trump's inauguration in January of 2025 the US private sector has added 609,000 jobs. Average hourly wages are 3.5% higher than a year ago. During the Biden Administration annual blue-collar wages declined by $1,703. In the past year these wages have risen by $1,186. The annual inflation rate that peaked at over 6% during the middle years of Biden's term have fallen to 2.5% in the first year of Trump's current term.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) complained that "while private enterprise has seen upticks in wages and profits, public sector employees haven't been as fortunate. The number of federal jobs has declined by more than 350,000. Thousands of long-term public servants have been forced out of what used to be secure high-paying jobs and into the private sector where employers insist that employees' outputs must be worth more than what it costs the company to pay them. This is cruel and unusual punishment."

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) seconded Schumer's observation and added "the fate of those on welfare is similarly bleak. New rules for the Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) program are preventing beneficiaries from purchasing soda, candy, and potato chips with their monthly EBT cards. These are sacrifices that those fortunate enough to be able to work for a living are not being asked to make. It's making these folks feel like second-class citizens. The rules need to be the same for everyone. If soda, candy, and chips are unhealthy for those who depend on government benefits they must be just as unhealthy for those who work. To be fair, those who can't afford to buy them shouldn't be deprived. At least they've got Medicaid to subsidize the diabetes, cancer, and heart attacks junk food gives them."

Voter ID Is Immoral

Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) argued against the SAVE America Act, saying "can you really trust the government with your name, address, date of birth, driver's license number, and biometric information like height, weight, hair color, and eye color? The SAVE Act asks you to place that trust in them. I personally would not. States would be required to report their full voter rolls to Department of Homeland Security and certify that there are no non-citizens on their list. And the federal government can require, then, states to purge their voter roles of any non-citizens."

The State of Rhode Island currently shares all of this information with left-wing election groups like the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) and the Center for Election Innovation & Research (CEIR). Rhode Island also invites non-citizens to register to vote. Reed is okay with this "because these are just public interest groups interested in encouraging more people to vote. They are not a heavily-armed military autocracy under the control of a right-wing fascist who is already sending Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) goons to terrorize immigrants whose dream is to become American citizens. It is an ethical travesty that any person is barred from voting for who will govern over them just because he or she is not a citizen. Voting is a human right. Limiting it to a fragment of the population is fundamentally unjust."

"Thankfully, in my home state it is illegal to ask for proof of citizenship from a person registering to vote," Reed added. "Rhode Island recognizes the illegitimacy of such a burdensome requirement. In my state, anyone who asserts that he or she is a citizen is allowed to register and cast a ballot. The fact that former President Biden sued Virginia for removing more than 6,000 non-citizens from the voter rolls shows that we are on the right side of this moral issue. The SAVE America Act is on the wrong side. That's why it must never be enacted."

In related news, Rep. Shomari Figures (D-Ala) attempted to prove that obtaining a photo ID is too difficult for a Black person. During a town hall meeting in the Truevine Missionary Baptist Church in Toulminville he asked for a show of hands of those who do not have a photo ID. Not one of the nearly 100 Black attendees raised a hand. "I'm guessing a group of church-going Blacks is not a representative sample of what's going on in the real world," Figures hypothesized. "I bet that the results at a homeless camp would be different. A few of these folks are mentally ill or on drugs and might not have be able to get a proper ID."

US Withdrawal from NATO Debated

President Trump's suggestion that the US might withdraw from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) drew criticism from former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) and Sen. Chris Coons (D-Conn), both members of the Senate defense appropriations subcommittee, who asserted that "Americans are safer when NATO is strong and united. NATO troops fought and died in Afghanistan and Iraq alongside American forces."

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) pointed out that "NATO stood by America and came to our aid after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Remember, the obligation of NATO members is to aid each other when any one of the members is attacked. Iran did not attack America. America attacked Iran. This does not trigger their NATO commitment."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) insisted "the American voters are opposed to Trump's war on Iran and to his idea of leaving NATO. Iran's decades of terror sponsorship have been mere pin pricks that can't be used to justify the catastrophe that Trump's war has become. Despite Trump's boasting, Iran is not decimated. This week Iran shot down two US pilots. To avoid losing this unnecessary war, a more prudent strategy would be to endure these continued pricks than to escalate the war or end the bonds that bind us to our European allies. Muslim assaults on other nations have a long history. Traditionally, the response has been to pay a bit of ransom to avert more costly wars. I see no good reason to divert from this traditional strategy. My wisdom will be validated when voters elect more Democrats this Fall and bring an end to Trump's tyranny."

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer defended his resistance to Trump's request for assistance, saying "Iran posed no existential danger to America. There was no need for him to attack them. NATO was formed to protect Europe from the Russians. Previous American presidents recognized that and spent trillions for that purpose. Most recently, President Biden spent $180 billion to help Ukraine fend off Russian attacks. Anyway, Trump says he has 'obliterated' the Iranians. He did it all without our help. So, I don't know why he's complaining."

Trump reminded these critics that "Iran has been funding terrorists that have attacked Iran's perceived enemies since 1979. Iran is a serious threat to every non-Muslim on the planet. In our negotiations with their leaders they boasted that they currently have enough enriched uranium to build a dozen nuclear warheads and also have the ballistic missiles to deliver them. I interpreted this as a clear threat that should be taken seriously and decided to destroy their military capability before they killed millions of innocent people."

"Yes you did, thank you very much," Starmer replied. "Clearly, America doesn't need our help. Besides, as you previously pointed out to me, we are too weak to defend ourselves. This is largely America's fault. While you were building up your armed forces we were spending the funds that would've been needed if we hadn't had the NATO alliance on social welfare benefits for our people. We have no money left for national defense. America is morally culpable for enabling our dependence on your military. The question is whether you are voluntarily going to fulfill your obligation to us or whether we're going to have to get the World Court to compel you to do so."

In related news, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned that "our country faces a total economic collapse if a ceasefire is not achieved within the new few weeks." In response, Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Chief Commander Ahmad Vahidi vowed that "our fight must go on until the Great Satan has surrendered or we have all been martyred in the struggle for Islam's world domination. We will never yield to the unbelievers."

Swalwell Issues Cease & Desist Letter

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif), who is currently a leading candidate to become his state's next governor, issued a cease-and-desist letter to FBI Director Kash Patel contending that "the FBI's intrusion into my relationship with Christine Fang is a violation of my privacy. She was a student who helped me campaign for Congress and is still a friend. The allegation that I may have divulged sensitive classified data to her that she passed on to China was proved false when Christopher Wray was the FBI Director while Biden was president. The case against me was dismissed. There is no need to release any files."

Sean Hecker and Norman Eisen, attorneys for Swalwell, warned Patel that "the congressman has never been accused of wrongdoing in that matter and your attempt to release the file is a transparent attempt to smear him and undermine his campaign for governor of California. Your actions threaten to expose you, others at the FBI, and the FBI itself to significant legal liability."

Patel said he is "skeptical that Swalwell's interaction with a suspected Chinese spy was purely innocent. I think it is worth another look. If I find out that it was purely innocent I won't release the file. But if I think there is more that needs to be investigated that's what we'll do. After all, we are the Federal Bureau of Investigation. As Director, I need to be sure that things that need to be investigated will be. If crimes are found they will be referred to the Attorney General for prosecution."

Judge Orders Subsidies to PBS & NPR Resumed

US District Judge Randolph Moss overturned the federal government's decision to discontinue the subsidies to the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR) calling it "a violation of the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech. Neither the President nor Congress has the right to cancel the payment of federal money to these broadcasters merely because they don't like what they are broadcasting or they have better uses for the funds."

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson called Judge Moss' decision "a ridiculous ruling by an activist judge attempting to undermine the law. NPR and PBS have no right to receive taxpayer funds, and Congress already voted to defund them. The Trump Administration looks forward to ultimate victory on the issue."

"Ordinarily, Congress and the president would have the authority to appropriate public funds for whatever purpose they wish as long as certain rules are followed," Moss said. "For decades both Congress and the president have deemed it proper to fund both these broadcasters. Unbeknownst to them, since taxpayers never objected to this long-term series of annual appropriations the legal doctrine of 'adverse possession' or 'squatters rights' was triggered. This means that the recipients of the long-term federal subsidies have accrued the right to receive the subsidies in perpetuity. It is too late for the Trump Administration or Congress to now decide that the appropriations can be discontinued."