Warning Signs #332
By Hank Silverberg
Over the past few weeks much of the media and a lot of the public have been fixated on tariffs and Donald Trump's effort to turn a good economy into a world-wide depression.
What his ultimate plan is, we don't know. In fact, I am among those who think he doesn't really have one.
But while all this was going on, his minions in Congress have been screwing the average American very quickly.
Two bills passed by the House are good examples.
First, there is the SAVE Act (H.R.8281), which requires all individuals to have documentary proof of U.S. citizenship in order to register to vote in federal elections. It requires every state to set up such a system to provide the needed documents to the boards of election, eliminating ANY voter registration by mail or on-line. And it would penalize an election officer who registers a voter who has not provided proof of citizenship.
On the first part, no state in the United States allows non-citizens to vote in federal elections, and there has NEVER been any evidence to the contrary.
But the real problem is what documentation can be used to prove you are a citizen. Under the bill, you would now have to show a birth certificate or a U.S. Passport as proof of where you were born.
You will have to show a certified copy of your birth certificate. For many people, that's no problem. But in some lower income communities, birth certificates don't exist. And even if they do, getting a certified copy takes time and money--putting up a financial barrier for many people. And even if you have all that, it would be difficult for the poor and elderly and disabled to physically show up at the Board of Elections to register.
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But that's not the worst of it. The bill could disenfranchise millions of married women who took their husband's name when they got married, or in some cases don't have proof of divorce. They will have to show their birth certificate and a certified marriage license to prove they are the same person listed on the birth certificate.
There is also one unclear aspect of all this. Many Americans have gone through the trouble of getting a "Real I-D" certification on their driver's license--producing the same documents to do so. They did so because you are not allowed to fly without it. But it's unclear if that state-issued Real I-D license will be accepted.
So if you are already registered to vote, what's the issue for you? If you move into a new home or move to a new town, or change party affiliation or change your name for any reason, you will have to re-register under the new rules.
You don't have to panic just yet. The bill faces a rough road in the U.S. Senate where it has failed once before. Get on the phone to your senator and tell him to vote no.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/04/11/what-is-save-act-2025/83042307007/
The second bill, which has moved through the House without much notice, was a budget resolution for fiscal 2025. Included were $4.5 TRILLION in tax cuts over the next ten years, while also raising the debt limit by $4 trillion.
The vote on what President Trump has dubbed "one big beautiful bill" was 216-214 with two Republicans joining the Democrats and voting no.
The tax cuts, which will benefit mostly the wealthy, come at a time when DOGE continues to cut out many popular and vital programs that benefit most of the American public, and as DOGE looks at possible cuts in Medicaid and Social Security.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office predicts the GOP tax plan would increase the federal deficit by $6 trillion over the next decade, with the tax cuts estimated to add $52 trillion to a national debt which is currently over $36 trillion.
The math is questionable on this package and there will likely be changes. But while were all worried about tariffs, Congress is making things worse. The only good news here, is the Senate has yet to vote on the budget resolution. It can still be stopped.
Abortion Abolitionists!
That is the new overall name for anti-abortion groups across the country, which have been gaining momentum since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a 50-year-old right Roe Vs Wade) decision that made abortion legal. It's now not guaranteed by federal law and this new form of abolitionists are attacking that right to choose state by state with some success.
Polls taken over the last few years show that 8 out of 10 Americans are opposed to laws making it a crime for women who get abortions and punishing them with either fines or jail time.
But the Associated Press is reporting that at least 12 states have introduced bills that would allow prosecutors to charge women who have an abortion with homicide. In some of those states, those women could even face the death penalty.
Most of the 12 states already ban abortion, but the current restrictions usually penalize the provider, not the woman involved.
As you read this list of states, you get the feeling that the lawmakers there live in some alternative universe.
The bills to punish women who have abortions remain active in Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kanas, Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina, and Texas.
This is by no means definitive. An Oklahoma bill on punishing the pregnant women died quickly last year. The North Dakota legislature voted against a similar one. But the bill in Georgia has nearly two dozen Republican co-sponsors. This battle may be fought and lost or won, at the state level.
Dumbest Quote of The Week!
There are some people you hear or see on TV, whether they be politicians, celebrities or alleged journalists that you just can't help but wonder how they got there and why they are still there.
That's the case with the subject of this week's dumbest quote.
I am not sure if you can call Fox News personality Jesse Watters a journalist. He often sounds like a clown. And so it was this past week where he cited "research" claiming that a "desk job" makes you a woman.
"When you sit behind a screen all day, it makes you a woman. Studies have shown this."
He went on:
"If you're out working, you are around other guys and you're not around HR ladies and lawyers. That gives you estrogen."
The guy is looney tunes. His comment was even too much for his ultra-conservative colleague, Jeanine Pirro, who I have used for one of my dumb quotes in the past. She pointed out that he sits behind a screen all day and called his comment "hypocrisy".
So if Watters believes this, I suggest he get out from behind his cushy desk, leave his big fat salary behind, put on a hard hat and go get a construction job--so he can be a man!
Happy Passover to all!
(My recent book "The Campaign" can be purchased at the links below. Or you can buy a copy by emailing me at: HankSilverberg@gmail.com for instructions on how to get a copy at a reduced price and with my signature)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084Q7K6M5/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-campaign-hank-silverberg/1126429796
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