“Republicans just gave us the middle finger by voting against the Honoring Our PACT Act, which protects toxin-exposed veterans.
We can’t say we’re surprised. Time and time again Republicans have shown they couldn’t care less about improving the lives of their constituents – and that includes veterans.
This is the same party that proclaims to fight for our freedoms and “advocates” for veterans. But clearly, when it comes time to step up and give us what we deserve, they decide to stand in the way.
Common Defense has been on the frontlines of the fight to get this bill passed because we know what a big difference it’ll make in the day-to-day lives of us veterans. And we’re thrilled that we’re one step closer to getting it signed into law – no thanks to the Republicans who tried to shoot it down.” 1
“Josh Hawley is a laughingstock. During Thursday night’s televised hearings of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, coup attempt at the U.S. Capitol, Rep. Elaine Luria showed video of Missouri’s junior senator that will surely follow him the rest of his life. In the clip, Hawley sprints across a hallway as he and his fellow senators are evacuated after insurrectionists had breached the Capitol building. When it played on the screen, the audience in the room with the committee erupted in laughter.” 2
“A prominent Missouri newspaper took aim at the midwestern state’s Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican, dubbing him a “laughingstock” after the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack against the U.S. Capitol on Thursday evening played a clip of him running as the riot unfolded. Hawley was captured in photos raising a fist in approval of supporters of former President Donald Trump who went on to violently attack the federal legislative branch last year. The Missouri senator also led the Senate GOP effort to object to President Joe Biden’s Electoral College victories in key swing states, giving credence to Trump’s misinformation that the 2020 election was “rigged” or “stolen.”” 3
“As a U.S. senator, Hawley had led the charge to object to the 2020 election on the false premise that some states failed to follow the law, bolstering the baseless claims from President Donald Trump that the election was stolen and should be overturned. Hawley had said the ascent of Joe Biden to the presidency “depends” on what would happen on Jan. 6, the day of a pro forma congressional vote to affirm the election. He had been photographed that day pumping his fist in the air as some Trump supporters were gathering on the grounds outside the U.S. Capitol. Later, as rioters ransacked the building and several senators huddled in a secure room, fearing for their lives and trying to persuade their pro-Trump colleagues to withdraw their efforts to undermine democracy, Hawley remained combative in pushing the very falsehoods that had helped stoke the violence.” 4
A major brokerage house, TD Ameritrade, has funneled millions of dollars into PACs that support “The Big Lie” 5 and various ultra-conservative organizations. They are responsible for over $2,140,000 going to Future45 and $1,800,000 going to Ending Spending Action Fund. Yes, they even contributed $21,600 to Josh Hawley, one of the congressmen who supported the January 6th insurrection. 6
“A tweet later deleted from Republican Rep. Jim Jordan’s Twitter account dismissed the claim that a 10-year-old girl was raped in his home state of Ohio and had to cross state lines to receive an abortion as “another lie.”” 7
Jim Jordan Tweets That 10-Year Rape is a Lie
“The first and most important thing to recognize right now is that a heinous, violent crime was committed on a 10-year-old Ohio child, and thankfully justice has now found the alleged perpetrator. A Columbus man was indicted Wednesday in a case that made national and international headlines about a 10-year-old girl who had to travel to Indiana for an abortion after Ohio’s abortion ban went into effect following the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.” 8
“Republican US Rep Jim Jordan of Ohio appears to have deleted a post on Twitter calling the case of a 10-year-old girl in his home state who traveled to Indiana for an abortion “another lie”.” 9
Ronald Dion DeSantis is an American politician and attorney serving as the 46th governor of Florida since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Florida’s 6th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2013 to 2018.
“Florida Governor Ron DeSantis joined Texas Governor Greg Abbott in the racist political stunt of cruelly flying migrants and asylum seekers to other states, even lying to trick families onto the planes. Both men talk frequently about their faith.” 10
“Three prominent, right-wing, Catholic governors — Ron DeSantis of Florida, Greg Abbott of Texas, and Doug Ducey of Arizona — have been making headlines for brazenly abusing migrants to score political points. And the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) hasn’t said a word about these shockingly cruel attacks on migrant families.
Last week, DeSantis tricked at least 50 asylum seekers into boarding a plane to the island of Martha’s Vineyard, MA — leading them to believe that the flight was actually to Boston and cruelly promising them shelter and assistance that didn’t exist. Abbott and Ducey have likewise bused thousands of migrants to northern cities without any plan in place to greet or care for them once they got there.
These relocation transports by MAGA governors aren’t without tragic — and racist — precedent. During the 1960s, southern segregationists orchestrated “Reverse Freedom Rides,” pushing hundreds of Black citizens to board one-way buses to northern cities and falsely promising them jobs and housing once they got there.
Catholic social teaching couldn’t be clearer on treating migrants with understanding and respect. The USCCB’s own website states that “we cannot excuse inhumane treatment of certain persons by claiming that their lack of legal status deprives them of rights given by the Creator.”” 11
“Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state’s top emergency management official confirmed Thursday that 800,000 to 1 million COVID test kits in the state’s stockpile recently expired without being used. At a Thursday news conference, Kevin Guthrie, the director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management, told reporters when asked about the state’s stockpile: “We had between 800,000 and a million test kits, Abbott rapid test kits, in our warehouse that did expire.”” 12
A gunman can confront me with an AR-15 in a store but no one can confront a sitting US senator … who wont do anything to curb gun violence … at a diner. Got it.
