So it says at the official USDA website, quoted in "USDA blames Democrats for potential SNAP benefits lapse in new message: 'The well has run dry'/The federal agency's website features a banner that says no benefits will be issued on Nov. 1" (NBC News).
Gender mutilation procedures! The Democrats say that what they are fighting for is to keep health insurance premiums from doubling. It's a shame the issues are so confusing. We're talking about millions of ordinary people — 43 million — facing loss of food stamps. That's so much raw anxiety. So elemental. How are they supposed to begin to think about complicated politics? By getting upset about transgender people and immigrants taking their money?!
Posts
273 comments:
1 – 200 of 273 Newer› Newest»The empathy is very late to the party, just as Democrats intended. Can anyone point to the empathetic warnings from NBC News imploring Democrats not to use tens of millions of people as political pawns?
The current CR is supposed to fund the government through November 21, so does it become moot if the shutdown lasts until November 21?
Official government websites now are the mouthpiece for political operatives talking points about the other party?
That is the choice Democrats are proposing: pay for illegals to get Obamacare or the government stays shut down. It is only this dead simple because Schumer is so simple he made himself dead politically speaking. He put that demand in writing.
Be useful to learn why health insurance premiums are doubling. Couldn't possibly be due to Obamacare, could it? That coupled with the end of covid support funding, which, again, goes back to government policies.
Dems are so smart. Their inaction will starve their voters just so they can put on an anti-Trump show.
"The current CR is supposed to fund the government through November 21, so does it become moot if the shutdown lasts until November 21?"
The other day I was fishing with a guy who spends a lot (as in billions) for the Air Force. He said the office consensus was that the shutdown wouldn't end until Nov. 15 for that reason. In it's current form it's too short to help, and changing it is too much trouble because ... reasons.
Every other shutdown has been accompanied by sob stories 24/7 from corporate media, highlighting harms that will befall the poor citizens dependent on their government (which surprisingly has reached an all-time high of one in eight on SNAP benefits), but not this time for some reason.
Any of our resident media consumers have any thoughts on why there is such a notable deviation from past practices in the current standoff? Why none of the heartstring-pulling vignettes that media loves so much? Why no headlines in print blasting 80-point messages about “women and minorities hardest hit” that they use for special emphasis in crisis situations?
Why is it crickets? Where the FUCK is Schumer hiding when it is him stopping the last three votes to move forward?
"Official government websites now are the mouthpiece for political operatives talking points about the other party?"
"Official government websites now are the mouthpiece "
"now are the mouthpiece"
"now"
Come on man.
Maybe the could run food stamps more like S&H green stamps, always a cash cow for Baldwin United. Merchants pay now and stamps are cashed in much later.
With every purchase you get a food stamp, which you can save in a book until you have enough to get what you want.
The merchants pay for it.
Isn't this the same thing as blocking off Lincoln Memorial? The Obamacare*temporary* subsidies going away don't hurt poor people that much. Someone said they'll have to pay an extra $42/month. However, early retirees in their 50s will have to unretire. Too bad so sad.
The USDA is warning people and the complaint is that they are “now a mouthpiece”. I guess it was better when government agencies like FEMA quietly went about denying benefits to people based on politics and we didn’t have to hear about the travesty?
"Birches said...
Isn't this the same thing as blocking off Lincoln Memorial? "
No they are qualitatively different. The Federal Government can not distribute funds it does not and has not been allocated. The shutdown has made it so there is no funds to allocate. The Federal Government is not taking any action in this matter. On the other hand, blocking off the Lincoln Memorial did require Government Action. The no action option in that scenario would leave the Lincoln Memorial unblocked and open.
"How are they supposed to begin to think about complicated politics? By getting upset about transgender people and immigrants taking their money?!"
This is a specious argument. Transgenderism and using illegal immigrants as pawns is what the Democratic Party has chosen as the hill to die on. ACA subsidies are part of it too. The holdouts in the Senate are the ones blocking the budget process (not only CRs, but an actual budget) and they own this disaster. The USDA's statement is correct.
It's the old people who will most suffer. The alone ones who don't cook much and already stopped buying foods because of the prices (they have that depression mentality: won't pay that price for this, b/c they remember what it used to cost...) If you still shop for yourselves, you see them w/ sparse carts and in thin-nish bodies at the store. We need more community meals, and take home options. Even a warm meal for an elder two or three times a week can keep them going if they drink milk or bread, eggs and toast the other days.
Go help someone, ann and meade. Not that there's much need in Madison... Milwaukee is going to be hurting. Go brewers-- you won't be there outside of summer though, so you likely have little to worry about yourselves.
Buy meade a new bike instead w/your amazon commissions.
Are you finally over the damn ballroom coverage?
Things are only "confusing", professor
when you don't have the will or discipline
to get educated.
The more you read, the less confused you'll be...
Choose your sources more wisely?
here's an idea!
how about the Democrats offer a plan,
that DOESN'T fund genital mutilation or ilegal aliens?
What Gilbar said.
Keep your barbecue grills inside the garage for the winter, people? You can get money recycling them. Don't provide temptations... the government will likely not reopen this year.
Starve them out won't work, but it will likely put old senior citizens (no, not you folks here) who live alone and have food insecurity into an early grave. Decent nutrition is a way to keep people healthy, and healthy people don't need as much medical care.
Facts how do they work?
Dave Begley said...
Dems are so smart. Their inaction will starve their voters just so they can put on an anti-Trump show.
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It's going to backfire on all of them.
People will realize we can live without governments or legal justice. Americans have a lot of guns. Even ann saw which way the winds were blowing years ago...
Work it out yourselves seems to be the message now. Street smarts>book smarts. Everybody watch your back, and get used to living like that, if you that's how you want to live. In Israel, they walk around strapped with guns. In India, there's a formalized caste system... nttawwt.
Keep grabbing and putting away for your children/grands. Protect, provide, procure... put your own first. What could go wrong?
Remember...
you built this, ann!
Even though it didn't really become gutterbait until you fell in with that uber-conservative commoner from ... INdiana, is it?
I think Indiana is actually whiter than madison, nttawwt.
A lot of people have fled there. Just a thought in case madison goes south fast...
Maybe if people get hungry enough, they could eat all the mutilated genitals instead of burning them, or however they dispose of all those chopped-off body parts? Babies are pretty tender too, jonathan swift taught us....
"Official government websites now are the mouthpiece for political operatives talking points about the other party?"
"Official government websites now are the mouthpiece "
"now are the mouthpiece"
"now"
------------
websites are
now is an adverb, correctly placed here next to the verb
Don't try diagramming until you can properly identify the parts of speech. It's not a trick. It's a tool. Not a parlor game, but a skill builder to help you write better. Some people just don't have the ear for it... like not everybody can play music. nttawwt. Don't show your ignorance though, or try to jump into a game you have no business playing. I don't suit up to play football.
Are Schumer, et al, really saying, “Let them eat cake”?
Are Schumer, et al, really saying, “Let them eat cake”?
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No. He's not giving them a stipend to buy cakes or anything else.
They're messaging on the ballroom thing. SNAP recipients accept their fate and will go without. Elderly --80s and 90s folks-- in urban areas hardest hit. You won't see it though. They'll stay inside until a welfare check takes them to the hospital er's.
Because they dont care Professor
As they didnt care about food and fuel prices from 21-24
The democrat minority leader Chuck Schumer is shutting down the Government. The R"s could re-open the Government tommorrow by getting rid of the filibuster for budget bills. Why should 60 Senators be needed to keep open the the Government, while 51 Senators can pass a budget reconciliation.
Notice, the lack of sob stories in the MSM in the media. Or the abscence of Chuck Schumer in interviews. No tough questions to chuck about "Why are hurting people and shutting down the Government?". That's only when the R's in the House do it.
BTW, it does matter if the D's don't like the cuts. Let them go to the people in 2026 and win some elections. God, USA "Democracy' is so insane. We have unelected 700 unelected District Judges deciding if the POTUS can send troops somewhere or whether he can raise or lower tarriffs. Or send federal agents to enforce the immigration laws.
What would this country be like if we had 5 Sotomayors on the SCOTUS?
I think our normally astute commenters are missing the real strategy of the Democrats this time. Listen to me now and hear me later.
It goes something like this, I believe. They opened the borders and let 20,000,000 poor people, assorted criminals, jihadists, and likely Chinese and other enemy military units come in unvetted. Trump has so far deported or forced out about 2,000,000. So there are still about 18,000,000 left and somewhat quiet so far because they've been generously housed and fed. So what happens when they are no longer housed and fed?
I suggest you read Kurt Slichter's book, "The Attack". I don't think it should be classified as fiction. I see as a very real scenario for a Red October (OK, Red November) moment. The Democrats have been fighting like hell to keep them here, and I don't it's just because of their future voting preferences. It's more like an imported army.
Can Trump declare an emergency and fund SNAP?
Well they are cranking up the sob stories but leaving schumer put of them
If Trump did declare an emergency and fund snap, would the Dems go to court to stop him? Would a federal judge say he couldn't feed the people?
Well its a possibility
Could Trump require proof of citizenship or legal status to receive the emergency Snap assistance and tell illegals they can get food at the nearest ICE facility?
Asking for a friend.
"The Democrats say that what they are fighting for is to keep health insurance premiums from doubling."
The Democrats say a lot of false bullshit, Ann. Grow up.
Yes the Trump administration can use contingency funds to keep the snap program going. So far I don't think the American people are completely blaming Trump for the shutdown. If people lose their SNAP benefits which is 43 million people, and he refuses to fund it, he's going to take a political hit. Especially since he appears to be hyper focused on building a ballroom for billionaire donors for whom he does their bidding.
Or Mehico air drop Tamales?
The Dems were willing to let nearly a mjllion die to accomplish their goal think on that
Gotta get better scripts Howard
Based on 2025 data from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), approximately 17.4 million people living in states won by Donald Trump in the 2024 election received Obamacare (ACA) subsidies.
Here is a breakdown of the numbers:
Total enrollees: For 2025, there were 24.3 million people enrolled in ACA marketplace plans.
Enrollees in Trump-won states: 18.7 million, or 77% of total enrollees, live in states that voted for Trump in 2024.
Subsidized enrollees in Trump-won states: 93% of all marketplace enrollees nationwide received premium tax credits in 2025. The percentage is even higher for enrollees in states won by Trump, with states like Florida and Mississippi seeing 98% to 99% of enrollees getting subsidies. Applying the 93% national average to the 18.7 million enrollees in Trump-won states suggests that roughly 17.4 million of them received subsidies.
Why are there 43 million Americans on food stamps? Just...what are we doing here. In a nation of 330,000,000 million, that we have almost 13% of them on food stamps? While at the same time cutting down the number of food producing farms around the country?
And if Democrats truly wanted healthcare costs to not double, or triple, or more- they would not have pushed through Obamacare. And that's the truth. Prices shot up immediately after it's passing and they have never seen an inkling of market pressure since.
Support for subsidies: A 2025 KFF tracking poll also showed significant support for extending the enhanced ACA tax credits, even among Republicans and "Make America Great Again" supporters.
Republicans: 63% favor extending the credits.
"MAGA" supporters: 56% favor extending the credits.
Largest areas of growth: Since the enhanced premium tax credits were introduced, enrollment has more than doubled. Over half of the national growth has come from states that voted for Trump, including Texas, Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina.
As soon as the shutdown hit, the government should have been requiring Proof of Citizenship to receive any further benefits. The Progressive Democrats still have the Media Division solidly in their ranks, so Republicans can do little more than lay out the story in their own outlets. They should be more vocal at proclaiming when the Progressive Democrats use parliamentary procedure to avoid voting, and proactive in laying the responsibility for the shutdown at the feet of those promoting it.
This is why the Democrats are not blinking. Between snap and the ACA subsidies, they believe Trump will get the blame for devastating the working poor. The reason the working poor need help is wages have gone down in the middle class has been destroyed by the billionaire class. And like I said above Trump is building a special ballroom for the billionaires that own him and the federal government.
What we have here is a Mexican standoff
Kaiser who pushed the ACA in the first place like fanduel advertising on espn
This is the point where subsidies and gamesmanship results in Democrats being painted into a corner and/or hoisted on their own petards.
SNAP helps some people but also facilitated buying junk food (e.g., RFK Jr.), and other unhealthy life choices with non-SNAP income.
Obamacare or "the Affordable Care Act" or ACA was always a foot in the door for universal healthcare, and the cynical Biden handlers used COVID-19 mania to push for upper-class subsidies and de facto universal coverage. The 2026 cost of $27,000 per year for 4 people points to its absurd pricing structure and the absolute failure of the ACA. Paying $27K is hardly "affordable."
Would not those in the upper income brackets self insure rather than pay that much? Why not put $27K into Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and get interest on the balance, then spend it if needed? The Democrats are actually making the case to end the ACA rather than expand and continue these circular subsidies.
The question is, can Trump avoid a Marie Antoinette moment?
Democrats bray: all's fair in lust and abortion.
The ACA passed with only Democrat votes. The temporary funding that is about to run out was renewed in 2023 with only Democrat votes and Autopen signed it. This standoff is 100% about the ACA and illegal aliens. If democrats would honestly explain why we need to spend $1.6 Trillion RIGHT NOW then maybe we could shift some blame to republicans. Big “if” though.
When the filibuster is evaded to reopen government will it be reported as solving the crisis for SNAP recipients and government employees or condemned for breaking norms?
Other than wealth shifting, isn’t getting people upset about transgender people and immigrants taking their money pretty much all the GOP have?
The shutdown is about UCA, baby... fetus replacement reform, simulants (not transgender generally), Fentanyl Lives Matter Inc, redistributive debt, and Diversity (e.g. racism, sexism, etc).
If people lose their SNAP benefits which is 43 million people, and he refuses to fund it, he's going to take a political hit
…I don’t believe that’s true but for Schumer that has always been the desired outcome, no matter how many broken eggs…
If people lose their SNAP benefits which is 43 million people, and he refuses to fund it, he's going to take a political hit.
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That's what you and teh Dems are gambling on.
People will blame the Senate Dems. Re-read ann's original post. The Dems are the ones bitching about a ballroom and using the American people as pawns...
Also, how many undocumented working AMericans here today have American citizen children by now? Y'all waited too damn long to address the immigration problem. They are embedded here now. Who did that? Who refused to stop the problem in Texas and Cali and even flew/transported migrants to "sanctuary cities" all across the nation and employed them, legally or not?
Gonna be hard to crack down now and deny American citizen childen food without looking bad, Dems. It take a long time to really starve a body. You can go with little nutrition for a long time. But kids and elders will indeed suffer.
We all know America today. Suffering and protesting is the whole point. Now go focus more on that ballroom. The hungry people likely will not give a damn.
Ronald J. Ward said...
Other than wealth shifting, isn’t getting people upset about transgender people and immigrants taking their money pretty much all the GOP have?
------------
Israel and End Times is up there too.
Christian Nationalism and Jesus Save Our Country!
Leftists are infamous for wielding liberal license to justify... rationalize wicked solutions to hard problems.
When the filibuster is evaded to reopen government will it be reported as solving the crisis for SNAP recipients and government employees or condemned for breaking norms?
----------
Government re-open?
What a pollyanna you are.
Trump is making good progress with the government closed, and the Dem politicians are being paid not to work. There's no incentive here to reopen anything.
We will see rehajm. You may very well be right. But when people start losing their food benefits, they might stop thinking so much about the trans gendered illegal alien Boogeyman when they have to figure out their revised Budget on what to prioritize rent, food, medicine... I'm pretty sure that the thoughts of a grand new ballroom at the White House will do a little to ease their financial anxiety.
This situation is pure politics where the wonky details of policy and structure become completely unimportant and the main angle that is going to leverage the situation is theatre.
“As they [Democrats] didnt care about food and fuel prices from 21-24”
Bingo. Any discussion by them related to inflation and the high cost of living was all self-serving lies and obfuscation.
It's also about the withdrawal of subsidies and preferred status for the Green blight industrial complex and range limited, intermittent energy converters with hydrocarbon-fueled generator backups.
Okay, Birches. Just for you 🖕
“Can Trump declare an emergency and fund SNAP?”
“Due to an ongoing government shutdown, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is not using its emergency funds to pay for November Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program “(SNAP) benefits. The USDA, under the Trump administration, stated in a memo that the contingency funds are legally reserved for unforeseen events like natural disasters, not government shutdowns. This conflicts with earlier USDA shutdown plans that indicated contingency funds would be used in such a situation.”
Gemini
There is too much overthinking here. It only takes 5-6 senators to reopen government and ensure people get SNAP.
The side that wants policy during a shutdown has always lost.
And if it wasn’t their distraction of a “grand new ballroom” it would be some other horseshit complaint couched as sincere hand-wringing empathy.
Even the federal Department of Agriculture is getting salty.
If 43M lose SNAP benefits, the majority will be blue voters in blue states. Given Trump's coldness toward these locations, they'll have to find alternative funding.
The Dems are attempting slow-go trench warfare to drag this into the next election campaign. If they take the House or Senate in 2026, funding will continue per the old status quo.
The Democrats will soon let loose antifa and their other brownshirts to press their “case”…
Oh, wait…
Iman: you are absolutely correct. However in the case of the big beautiful billionaire ballroom, Trump has handed the Democrats a picture perfect whipping boy that has the potential to make Trump look like King Louis XVI
“If Trump did declare an emergency and fund snap, would the Dems go to court to stop him? Would a federal judge say he couldn't feed the people?”
No, why would they? Democrats don’t want the poor used as pawns to further Trump’s agenda for his billionaires.
Higher SNAP participation in rural Republican-leaning counties
Historically, studies have shown that rural counties, which are often more politically conservative, have higher rates of SNAP participation than urban, liberal-leaning areas.
A 2018 analysis found that the top 100 counties ranked by percentage of the population receiving SNAP clustered in regions such as Central Appalachian coal country, the Black Belt of the South, and the Mississippi Delta, which are areas with significant rural populations.
A 2017 analysis showed that two-thirds of the counties with the highest SNAP participation were rural, while only 11.5% were metropolitan.
Especially since he appears to be hyper focused on building a ballroom for billionaire donors for whom he does their bidding.
Yeah he's so hyper focused on the ballroom that he flew to Malaysia over the weekend to broker a peace agreement between Cambodia and Thailand and negotiated deals for "rare earth" minerals.
Let them eat new manufacturing jobs
That's a great point boat builder. "Let them eat rare earth metals"
Ron we are upset democrats let in 20,000,000 third-worlders while lying about the border being secure. That was a National Security breach not just a financial disaster. It’s not the immigrants “taking our money” it’s Democrats GIVING taxpayer dollars to illegals through hundred of unaccountable NGOs, unearned benefits and illegal reimbursement schemes for states like California that openly advertise to immigrants that medical care is free to them and then demand we repay their generosity with our money.
We don’t blame the immigrants. You do, to blameshift and hide the fact we are angry at Democrats for doing this, for luring them here on promises You can’t keep without stealing from us. We’ve never blamed the innocent people seeking help but we have tried to regulate it but Democrats just cheat and ignore the law and keep doing it.
So yes the uninvited guests you let in must go so we can correct the injustice You are inflicting on innocent Americans who HAVE PAID with their lives, jobs and yes their taxes. You lefties never clean up your messes. It’s pretty much the only thing that kept the GOP alive until Trump reestablished it.
Hey inga, we're supposed to stop using AI because the sensitive snowflakes here on the blog are uncomfortable with those facts
AI Overview
“SNAP recipients in blue states are not larger than in red states; however, the total amount of SNAP benefits and the percentage of people receiving benefits varies between red and blue states due to factors like poverty rates and economic conditions. For example, some Southern states, which are often considered red states, have some of the highest SNAP participation rates due to higher poverty levels.
Higher poverty in Southern states: States with high poverty rates, such as Louisiana and Oklahoma, have some of the highest SNAP participation rates.”
Let them eat street tacos
The flying monkeys are getting desperate
Let them eat Argentinian beef
“Hey inga, we're supposed to stop using AI because the sensitive snowflakes here on the blog are uncomfortable with those facts.”
Meh, they can go fly a kite.
The Bill To Permanently Fix Health Care For All
Subsidies under the Obamacares umbrella are the primary drivers of public and private debt, and progressive prices as mechanisms of shared responsibility. Academic pricing is in second. Labor and environmental arbitrage serve to exacerbate and obfuscate the problems and solutions.
“Today, SNAP has ballooned far beyond what it was intended to be. The average benefit per person is about $187 a month, and the maximum allotment for a family of four can reach around $975, more in some states. Compare that to the USDA’s “thrifty food plan,” which estimates a family of four needs about $1,000 a month for groceries. SNAP, once supplemental, now nearly covers the full cost of eating.”
https://pjmedia.com/jamie-wilson/2025/10/26/from-lifeline-to-hammock-how-food-stamps-became-a-way-of-life-n4945282
An eff you is preferable to AI slop. If the Althouse comment section becomes a bunch of AI parrots, no one will read it anymore.
Pin the tale, tail on the Ass.
Howard you know full well AI makes up things. Stop encouraging low information voters to rely on it. Even judges and appeals court clerks have been caught with false citations in their decisions. Like any tool it can and is misused by people.
Also Sprach Birchesthustra
Case in point, no one has read Inga's slop in years. You usually have a personal voice Howard. If it becomes AI, I will go right on past.
Yes Birches. 100%
Who is pushing for manufacturing jobs and not the dole
“An eff you is preferable to AI slop. If the Althouse comment section becomes a bunch of AI parrots, no one will read it anymore.”
Baloney. Althouse herself has published her interactions with AI. If that bores you, goodbye.
Unless you post your question, the response AND the citations then AI is just another anonymous source for lazy writers. Even more often lazy thinkers who simply can’t write without machine assistance.
Mike, I like how you have characterized yourself and others here on the blog as "low information voters"
In any event I'm just spitballing right now. Based on everything that has happened up to this date my perspective has shifted towards the Democrats in its battle over the shutdown. Maybe I'm right maybe I'm wrong but over the course of the rest of this year we will certainly find out.
Point made
We're not writing a master's thesis here Mike.
Howard--Chuckie's violin is getting tinier by the week. I'm old enough to remember when the ballroom was supposed to be a distraction from "Epstein." But that was way back in early October.
So Dems are not reopening government so they can deny SNAP to poor people in red states?
I don’t think this information favors Dems like they think it does.
“Case in point, no one has read Inga's slop in years. You usually have a personal voice Howard. If it becomes AI, I will go right on past.”
Apparently, you do read what I’ve posted or you wouldn’t be so triggered, anything that doesn’t agree with your view pisses you off, it seems. Now go away and let the adults talk about extremely important current events that affect all of us.
I use facts. My opinions are my own. I encourage others to do the same.
The Progressives dreams are coming true. They are Cloward and Pivening us into chaos, so they can usher in their Socialistic Utopia. They WANT riots , chaos and death. Why else would they do anything they are doing now?
Most of the time the question is implied in the answer. Besides it's too much work. I got to work fast before I bug out of here.
If you can't understand the difference between posting interactions with Grok or CHAT and copy pasting walls of text into a comment section then I can't help you.
Even the federal Department of Agriculture is getting salty.
LOL! Thx.
Blue counties in red states more like
The important issue here is the use of Public resources for partisan political purpose. That is profoundly disturbing and dismaying.
There is no "right" to free stuff from Government. SNAP is a "benefit." It is a forced redistribution of property by the Sovereign Power as determined - wisely or not - by the elected Trustees of that Power.
This is a crisis entirely of the dems' making.
The 2026 cost of $27,000 per year for 4 people points to its absurd pricing structure and the absolute failure of the ACA. Paying $27K is hardly "affordable."
For a whole lot of families of 4 (by definition skewing younger and therefore healthier), would they spend $27k on health care if they were paying out of pocket? And I hear the deductible is also set to rise to like $25k - so that normal family of 4 will be paying $25k out of pocket anyway, plus paying $27k for an exigency unlikely to benefit them in any way. Where are the actuaries? Or am I misunderstanding something?
Sounds to me like a transfer of wealth indeed - from taxpayers to insurance companies.
Inga, I was responding to Howard's comment, not yours. But I'm not surprised you were up there with AI slop. Everyone knows it's all you do anymore.
“We're not writing a master's thesis here Mike.”
Exactly, these calls to disregard facts, that are produced by AI, are based in stubborn ignorance. If Birches just spews her opinion with no supporting facts or info, it’s just her opinion which could be pretty stupid.
If you're not using AI, you're like a contractor that refuses to use cordless power tools and laser levels.
Exactly Howard. I’m mocking those who CTRL-C / CTRL-V not those who write. I gave good advice at 8:55 for those who are reliant on AI as a crutch. It was not intended for the majority here who write or at least paraphrase original work.
Howard flipped me off and I was perfectly cordial in response. You, on the other hand, are going off the deep end for comments you didn't even think up yourself.
I might be on the wrong thread... My comment wouldn't post, which necessitates a sequence of actions on my post that involves exiting the thread and coming back. I'll try to figure out if this is where it was supposed to go out not.
Burning teslas writing mash notes to murderers thats the dem priorities
Baloney. Althouse herself has published her interactions with AI. If that bores you, goodbye.
Thank you for bringing that up, Inga. Goodbye is a real possibility. Althouse is of course free to run the blog how she sees fit, but the AI stuff has become very tiresome, and is seriously detracting from what has long been the best blog ever.
“Inga, I was responding to Howard's comment, not yours. But I'm not surprised you were up there with AI slop. Everyone knows it's all you do anymore.”
I don’t care, I’m responding to you which is probably a waste of my time. Althouse doesn’t seem to agree with you that everything produced by AI is slop. All you’ve done is distract from the topic of this blogpost. Scram.
The algorithms seem to leave out facts
@ Howard re: 8:44 AM
"Grok, Why is Trump President?"
Somewhat OT:
There are now hundreds of AI, many trained on curated data. Those are useful to fields reliant on analyzing data. General AI use is very different and GIGO applies in spades. I’m agnostic on most AI but I am a harsh judge of lazy writing. I subcontract graphics design somewhat for our brewery labels using AI and some marketing tools that use AI.
Now you know, Howard.
A crutch is a lifesaving tool. Only people that have never had to use crutches for an extended period of time would mock the use of crutches. Peer reviewed papers are there for crutches. Government statistics are crutches. Excel spreadsheet does a crutch. Reading glasses are crutches. I could go on forever and ever and ever but I think you get my point
The Dems have showed their priorities again and again
https://open.substack.com/pub/c9offeeandcovid/p/preparedness-monday-october-27-2025?
How are they supposed to begin to think about complicated politics? By getting upset about transgender people and immigrants taking their money?!
It’s a start. Althouse recalls when Democrats cared — or at least acted as though they cared — about poor people, and appears not to realize how that has changed. Yes, today’s Democrats care more about transgender surgeries and illegal immigrants than poor Americans. That’s reality.
Commenting on a silly political blog is one thing. Performing applied science and/or engineering is another. All of the technical stuff that I use AI for lists numerous papers studies websites etc that can be perused and which also contained their own references which can be explored as well to get the true lay of the land. Most of the time I find the AI is pretty accurate in outlining the facts and expressing the uncertainty.
Howard, they seem to accept info from specifically stated right wing sources. They can’t deal with AI because it pulls info from ALL sources available.
The samizdat press has to do all the heavy lifting
Do even hear yourself Inga?
Exactly, these calls to disregard facts, that are produced by AI…
Obviously you, like Howard, missed the point. AI makes up shit. They are often opinion (“Trump is corrupt!”) presented as fact but AI also hallucinates. That is a fact. It’s why SCOTUS disallows briefs written by AI. It takes too long for humans to sift through the bullshit and find what is a true “fact” and what is AI fluff.
Like you wrote, “facts PRODUCED by AI.” Not cited. Not quoted. Not provided. “Produced.”
Do you get it yet?
The journals that let michael mann pollute their masthead fof instance
Gee Howie it’s almost like industry AI is trained to cite facts and opinion AI cites earlier opinions. The devil you say!
Mark at 6:41 complains that reality is a GOP talking point.
The Trump administration’s handling of the SNAP benefits are going to boomerang on them the same way his handling of storm aid has. It’s only a matter of time that Trumps’s own supporters get sick of it.
https://newrepublic.com/article/202269/transcript-trump-nixing-dem-storm-aid-backfires-screwing-maga-voters
Transcript: Trump Nixing Dem Storm Aid Backfires, Screwing MAGA Voters
After Trump’s handling of disasters boomerangs on MAGA country, the author of a piece on his retribution against blue America explains how this saga reveals MAGA ideology’s deepest depravities.
“Like you wrote, “facts PRODUCED by AI.” Not cited. Not quoted. Not provided. “Produced.”’
Now you’re being ridiculous. Are you asserting that AI is not citing sources? You would be wrong, there are many citations listed in an AI answer.
Automated Intelligence (i.e. data scavenging, assembly, and narration) is a gigawatt facility derived from and influenced by Anthropogenic Intelligence.
"Why are there 43 million Americans on food stamps? Just...what are we doing here. In a nation of 330,000,000 million, that we have almost 13% of them on food stamps?"
Look at the birth rate.
The new republic is as stalinist as it was under michael straight try again
Jamie makes a good point at 9am. Shame it is getting lost in the muck.
Jamie, I noticed a similar problem with home owner insurance in Houston. My premium just about exceeds my taxes now, yet my deductible for anything needing serious work on my home is so high that no recent hurricane or other natural event has caused enough damage for even 10% of my deductible costs. I might as well be paying completely out of pocket.
Democrats are like Islamic Males. Entitled to power.
Inag - your party sucks donkey balls.
The strategy for Dems is to blackmail. Hold everyone hostage and use their Soviet Press to lie.
The Democrats say that what they are fighting for is to keep health insurance premiums from doubling.
Democrats are saying "Save us, oh please save us from the consequences of the law that we passed, over the objection of every Republican (and at a time when a no-vote had been elected to replace Senator Kennedy as the deciding no vote but we refused to seat him until after the vote was held). Save us from ourselves!"
Why do we even HAVE food stamps. A commodities program like there used to be in the 60's would be better.
Each recipient could get a monthly/semi monthly package of actual food, based on family size and age of children......instead of being able to buy junk food and sell their stamps to buy drugs and alcohol.
Meat, poultry, dairy, vegetables, breads, pasta etc...plus a kit of basic supplies like flour, salt, sugar, oil, spices etc. A temporary program until the person can get back to work (if they ever worked) and find non governmental subsidies. There are also many free food pantries funded by Charities...oooh the concept!
Oh..yeah I know why. Not all but most are lazy ingrates who on food stamps don't want to or don't know how to cook or do the most basic of life functions and would rather not work ....just stay on the taxpayer's dime. They think the world owes them a free ride.
I'm sick of paying taxes for this and have no sympathy for most all of those who are whining and bitching about losing their free ride.
Obesity continues to be the biggest health problem for poor children. State school programs in this red state provide three meals a day to kids, using school buses in the summer to deliver them. I stopped volunteering at my church food bank when I saw too many people in expensive cars going from food bank to food bank and selling the food at the massive flea market in Bradenton. Various food banks kept track of the double-dippers, which is how word gets around.
So if you're really concerned about this, eliminate food stamps when the government opens because people waste a huge percentage on soda, junk food, and selling stamps; provide only healthy options like WIC for all people who really need food; make it a crime to re-sell food from food banks; require fathers in addition to mothers to work to feed their children; and, in the meantime, get off your ass and go volunteer at a disciplined feeding center, meals on wheels, or a food bank that won't tolerate fraudulent exploitation. Sorry that probably means you'll have to work alongside people of faith, who have been feeding people all along.
Or, just whine online.
Speaking only for myself, not instructing anyone as Howard fears, I avoid reading what others present as AI text in general not just here. I appreciate the host for presenting it in a format that shows her questions and sometimes her reasoning in asking follow up questions. That makes for compelling blog material. Often I pass because she said something more interesting to me.
But here in the murky swamp of comments I regularly avoid AI. You do you. But realize some of us have come to see AI text as an assignment. Now I have to consider the source and reliability of the thing you copied somewhere. Yikes. I’m not interested in assessing the validity of your “facts.”
Unfortunately AI lies. Not interested in why you like it.
"It's a shame the issues are so confusing."
Actually, the technical term is "ratchet".
For Inga and all of those who are relying on AI.
AI is a machine. AI is a program made by people. The answers you get to the questions you ask are subjective and reflect the prejudices of the human who wrote the program. Read a book.
Or. What Mike W said.
Inga:
“If Trump did declare an emergency and fund snap, would the Dems go to court to stop him? Would a federal judge say he couldn't feed the people?”
No, why would they? Democrats don’t want the poor used as pawns to further Trump’s agenda for his billionaires.
Minority Whip Katherine Clark, October 23rd:
"I mean, shutdowns are terrible and, of course, there will be, you know, families that are going to suffer. We take that responsibility very seriously. But it is one of the few leverage times we have,"
Really? Democrats don't want the poor used as pawns?
"Why are there 43 million Americans on food stamps? Just...what are we doing here. In a nation of 330,000,000 million, that we have almost 13% of them on food stamps?"
24.7 million children (33%) in the United States live in fatherless homes. 45.6% of Black children lived with their mother only in 2021.
This is 100% due and the intention of the left.
Althouse said, "Look at the birth rate."
I don't understand.
Let’s ask Robby Starbuck about AI ‘facts’.
Trump should fund SNAP benefits, but only for those who can answer three civics questions correctly on video wearing a MAGA hat, because I care about the needy, and getting help should be easy.
“sucks donkey balls”
“Where do I sign!?!?!!!”
—— TeaBagHag
In the animal kingdom an oversupply of resources leads to overpopulation and eventually a mas die-off when they are depleted. Is that what you want?
If the Dems don't want the poor as pawns, why does everything they do produce more poor? Why would they import millions more?
@Curious George: 24.7 million children (33%) in the United States live in fatherless homes.
This was the unstated objective of Hillary Clinton's "It takes a village to raise a child" book and rhetoric. Sugar Daddy big government is meant to step in to take care of those poor souls. Cradle to grave. Housing, SNAP, healthcare, and everything else. The only thing Hillary asked is that they pump out a future generation of dependent voters to keep the hegemony in place.
I've been dirt poor while raising children in the US, and it wasn't all that long ago. No one needs food stamps to avoid going hungry. Charity food share programs give away vast amounts of quality food every day. Of course, most of it requires cooking.
“ Why are there 43 million Americans on food stamps? Just...what are we doing here”
It’s taking my tax dollars to subsidize the payroll of full time workers for Walmart, Amazon, the banking industry, and other very profitable people.
AI addicts repeat after me: C'mon, brain!
It is a crisis I tell you a crisis.
Rahm Emmanuel could not be reached for comment, but we all know what this is about.
"We're talking about millions of ordinary people — 43 million — facing loss of food stamps."
Why is the United States Department of Agriculture handing out free money 43 million people, many of whom are not American citizens? Let's see ... originally, it was supposed to be about the USDA buying up "surplus" agricultural products, to maintain a "fair" price. At first they just destroyed it, or stored it indefinitely in refrigerated warehouses, but then some progressive individual said, "Hey, let's give it to the poor!". Then at some point, they stopped buying the food, and just gave away the money. Kind of a ratchet effect.
Howard said...
Let them eat Argentinian beef
I know people who visited Argentina recently and they talked about the beef situation there. They have cow stock that they protect and won’t allow to be grown anywhere else.
It is also noticeably better than the standard corporate corn fed slop we have here.
Old and Slow (great name btw) Charity food share programs give away vast amounts of quality food every day. Of course, most of it requires cooking.
Exactly. I'm old and slow. Lived through several recessions. Relied on commodities when I was a young adult between jobs. Cooking is a life skill that can be learned by anyone.
A better program would be to combine commodities and teach people how to cook food. Budgeting and other life skills that they should have learned from their parents...but didn't because they are raised in a culture where people just don't know these skills and can't pass them on. Generations of freeloaders.
Schools...before unionization used to teach Home Economics. We should go back to this.
Jupiter said...
Why is the United States Department of Agriculture handing out free money 43 million people, many of whom are not American citizens?
The 43 million people never get any of that money. 60-70% of SNAP money is spent on administrative costs.
The rest is subsidies for giant corporate food producers who can get their products registered in the SNAP program.
SNAP is just like every other government welfare program. It launderers taxpayer dollars to rich democrats who use poor people for justification.
Oh..yeah I know why. Not all but most are lazy ingrates who on food stamps don't want to or don't know how to cook or do the most basic of life functions and would rather not work ....just stay on the taxpayer's dime. They think the world owes them a free ride.
------------------
Lol. It's hard for the homeless to cook, but the best of them can do it with crock pots, george foremans and open outlets outdoors. Good luck to you.
I'm going to put this right here- the commenters can take guesses at the context and the commenter who posted it as a quote:
"Tonight, U.S. Senator Patty Murray made the following statement on the federal government shutdown."
“Families from across the political spectrum are sick of governing by crisis and the uncertainty it creates for businesses and communities. That’s why for six months I have fought every day for the budget that I passed in the Senate to be negotiated with the budget passed in the House. But at every turn I’ve been rebuffed by Tea Party Republicans who insist that the only way to negotiate is by holding our economy hostage in exchange for outrageous political demands."
"I don't understand."
The birth rate has collapsed. We need young people to choose to have children and they're not doing it. The day will come when we'll desperately throw money at them, but it will be too late. In fact, it is probably already too late, and we still do not admit we have a problem. Everything should be done with an eye toward encouraging young people to be fruitful and multiply.
You could call it the Schumer Shutdown. It is what it is. But it's unfair to stick Schumer with all the blame. The ultra left wing (which is 75 % or so of the Democrat Party--the rest of it is just ordinary left wing) Democrats have gone mad. And Schumer is powerless in the face of that ultra left wing's obsessions.
"Schumer is powerless in the face of that ultra left wing's obsessions."
The CR needs 7 more votes. If Schumer himself voted yay I bet 6 others would follow. I don't buy that he's powerless.
Schumer isn't powerless at all- he is scared of AOC challenging him in the next Democratic primary.
Chuck Schumer is looking out for one person out of 340M; Chuck Schumer.
Interesting rants about AI. last week I mildly castigated Ann for leaning on AI too much. Most of what I have seen from AI harks back to the early days of computing : "garbage In , garbage out".
Ann Althouse said...
"I don't understand."
The birth rate has collapsed. We need young people to choose to have children and they're not doing it. The day will come when we'll desperately throw money at them, but it will be too late. In fact, it is probably already too late, and we still do not admit we have a problem. Everything should be done with an eye toward encouraging young people to be fruitful and multiply.
LOL. This is hilarious!
Are men still “Splooge Stooges” Ann?
The first thing you need to fix is the young women in the country who you taught to hate men.
The reason we have this issue of paying for healthcare is that nobody has made any serious attempt to control the costs. I mean, that would make some voters and donors angry!
It is axiomatic that you can have your health care Fast, Inexpensive, High Tech. Oh, but you can only have two of the three, so now pick.
I'd add that you also can't provide it for the entire world. So if you insist on including illegal aliens then you have to eliminate not one but two of the components.
O Mike, three have voted with us several times and we only needed four more. I hope the bipartisan consensus hasn’t broken down.
As to the birthrate I have one observation: if the US cuts down on the number of people competing for jobs (limiting immigration) the law of supply and demand will raise wages and encourage those on the margin to start households, thus increasing the birth rate to some degree. Continuing oversupply of labor at the low end through illegal immigration negatively effects workforce entry by native Americans; lowers the general standard of living for those in lower to middle income brackets; and, as I said , discourages family formation. No one so far has been able to repeal the law of supply and demand.
And reintroduce the free market with no middlemen claiming to “insure” your health while secretly limiting care and pocketing the “savings.”
The great American fall in birth rate has not really affected the conservative population of the US.
“AI is a machine. AI is a program made by people. The answers you get to the questions you ask are subjective and reflect the prejudices of the human who wrote the program. Read a book.”
What do you think the human author of a book is doing? Do more research.
"only needed four more."
Even better.
Oh..yeah I know why. Not all but most are lazy ingrates who on food stamps don't want to or don't know how to cook or do the most basic of life functions and would rather not work ....just stay on the taxpayer's dime. They think the world owes them a free ride.
There's a significant cohort of them who do some work -- those who are using the program for fraud. A significant portion of the provisions sold in urban bodegas and ethnic grocery stores are fenced by food stamp recipients with phantom dependents or unreported income from other sources.
“Yikes. I’m not interested in assessing the validity of your “facts.””
Lazy. You’d rather just pronounce something you don’t agree with as false. Are humans capable of having facts about every subject under the sun stored in their brains to just tap into instantaneously? Try honesty, you don’t know more than any AI program out there and are unwilling to check out the info including citations because you’re lazy or have an issue with AI for really not very good reasons.
Chuck Schumer is looking out for one person out of 340M; Chuck Schumer.
False. He's looking out for the profits of the insurance companies that are pouring rivers of money into the coffers of the Democrat Party.
I don't know why Trump isn't hitting him hard on this, each and every day.
The great American fall in birth rate has not really affected the conservative population of the US.
This is the #1 reason the Democrats betrayed the trade unions who used to be their base, and flung open the borders. They need to replace their voters, who are seized with the self-extinction madness.
I didn’t “pronounce” anything false. I said my experience with AI leads me to skip over it. I gave my reasoning but you still pretend I’m responding to your “facts.” Sorry. Never saw em. Don’t care. Moving on.
Go read some news. It’s happening.
Inga said...
“Yikes. I’m not interested in assessing the validity of your “facts.””
Lazy.
lol. This thread is gold.
You are a lying retard who has lied so many times nobody cares about your cut and paste bullshit.
You are too stupid to understand what you are cutting and pasting. You are just worthless in conversations on a fundamental level.
A 2018 analysis found that the top 100 counties ranked by percentage of the population receiving SNAP clustered in regions such as Central Appalachian coal country, the Black Belt of the South, and the Mississippi Delta, which are areas with significant rural populations.
Two out of three of those are most decidedly NOT Republican-voting areas.
And then you have the true retards who think everyone else is a retard because they are too retarded to see the truth. Sad.
Did we ever figure out how the Marines were firing rounds under I-5?
“Moving on.”
Good, because your repetitive anti AI comments are boring.
I figured it was something like that
Yet you obsessively read and comment on what I write. That thing under I-5 is definitely not part of the firing range either but maybe AI can help you.
Maybe review the subject predicate thing.
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