Specifically for Seniors - A New Direction

A FACT CHECK at the White House website proclaims “President Trump will always a protect Social Security and Medicare.” It goes on to quote Elon Musk saying “The waste and fraud in entitlement spending — which is most of the federal spending is entitlements — so, that’s, like, the big one to eliminate. That’s the, sort of half-trillion, maybe $6-700 billion a year.” After a list of “facts” about fraud, improper payments to deceased individuals and improper payments to both SSA and Medicare and Medicaid services, the page goes on to ask “What kind of a person doesn’t support eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in government spending that ultimately costs taxpayers more?”Link to the Whitehouse web site:https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/03/fact-check-president-trump-will-always-protect-social-security-medicare/Am I missing something? First, Social Security and Medicare are not entitlements, they are services for which older Americans have paid for by deductions from THEIR salaries. And , second, where is, in this so-called Fact Sheet, plans for how President Trump is going to preserve Social Security and Medicare except for a statement that reads “The Trump Administration will not cut Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits. President Trump himself has said it (over and over and over again).”Conversely, President’s Trump’s budget seeks to reduce or eliminate the Older Americans Act, to dissolve the Administration for Community Living, and cut funding to critical services that help older adults to live independently.In order to be able to understand more completely what’s going on, we called on Nathan Boucher, to explain the effect of Trump’s real budget proposals on senior care. Nathan is Associate Research Professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy and Duke University faculty at Sanford School of Public Policy, the Medical School, and the Nursing School. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Duke Center for the Study of Aging & Human Development as well as Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy Core Faculty. Nathan and I talked about the Older Americans Act and the Administration for Community Living which provide services like Meals on Wheels, Adult Day Care, Falls and Elder Abuse Prevention and Respite care as well as services for younger people with disabilities. We discussed that despite reassurances that Medicare and Medicaid will not be touched, plans are in the works for reducing Medicaid and adding a work requirement and more difficult paperwork which would affect at least 7.6 million people.

A recent space tourism flight on the Blue Origin capsule featuring an all-female crew including Katy Perry and Gayle King sparked some controversy over whether it was a publicity stunt to promote Jeff Bezos’ space tourism business or whether it had some scientific purpose. We were curious about humans’ venture into space, so we called on the go-to-expert on all things space flight Dr. Jonathan McDowell. Dr. McDowell is an astrophysicist on the Chandra X-ray Center team at the Center for Astrophysics, Harvard and Smithsonian, supporting NASA'sChandra X-ray Observatory space telescope mission. He studies black holes and quasars, and leads the science software algorithms team for the Chandra X-ray Observatory.Jonathan's astrophysics publications include studies of cosmology, black holes, galaxies, quasars, nearby galaxies, and asteroids.Jonathan is the editor of Jonathan's Space Report, a free internet newsletter founded in 1989 covering technical details of all space launches.Jonathan and I talked about space tourism, the Chandra Xray Observatory at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics right here in Cambridge, Massachusetts, how he became interested in space, learning from Stephen Hawking, and all things spaceflight. Jonathan discussed satellites and space junk, commercial and government entities in space, the Big Bang, and whether Klingons and Vulcans exist and what the likelihood is that we will ever meet one.My only disappointment in this whole discussion was that Dr, McDowell did not agree that tom Baker was the only real Dr. Who.

A Free ranging discussion of freedom of the press.Dictators hate a free press. Victor Orbán in Hungary built his own media universe while simultaneously dismantling the free press. The Nazis smashed printing presses of opposition newspapers. One of Trump’s first actions was to dictate who would cover him in the White House and on Air Force One and refuse to allow the Associated Press admittance to press briefings. Social media and press giants like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk control or rather eliminate control over truthfulness of content placed on Facebook and X; Jeff Bezos, owner of the Washington Post, stated he will not print opinions that oppose his subservience to Donald Trump.My guest today on Specifically for Seniors is Rebecca Hamilton a Professor of Law at American University Washington College of Law. Her research and teaching focus is on national security law, technology, international law, and criminal law. Her scholarship draws on her experience in the prosecution of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court, as well as her journalism background, including work in conflict zones as a foreign correspondent for The Washington Post. She is the author of FIGHTING FOR DARFUR: PUBLIC ACTION AND THE STRUGGLE TO STOP GENOCIDE, which analyzes citizen activism and the effort to stop mass atrocities.Rebecca and I talk about the First Amendment, control of media by billionaires who wish to control thought, Trump and his efforts to interfere with public access to the news, the punishment of non-profits and universities, the constitution crisis we are experiencing, law firm, academic freedom and what we as citizens can do.Links to interviewshttps://www.justsecurity.org/107377/trump-control-us-media-information/https://www.justsecurity.org/109439/collective-law-firms-universities-media/ Also - on a different note - The joy that is becoming a hearing aid userhttps://slate.com/technology/2024/10/hearing-aids-loss-sudden-deafness-apple-airpods.html

A recent article in the Washington Post described the current administration's attempts to cancel leases for many National Park Service buildings saying that it could save taxpayers millions of dollars. This move came after the firing of about 1000 probationary workers.I wanted to learn more about the National Park Service and how funding cuts will affect visitors this summer, but more than that - about the cultural and historical background of our national parks and the politics affecting them.So I called on Alan Spears to help us out. Alan is currently the Senior Director of Cultural Resources in the Government Affairs department. He serves as the National Parks Conservation Association's resident historian and cultural resources expert. Alan and I talked about his experience when working on a clean-up project that necessitated a helicopter rescue. We discussed the totality of the National Park Service, the number of visitors each year, and how the extent of funding cuts will affect visitors' experience at the parks and the affect it is having on the park workers. We talked about the mission of the National Parks Conservation Association.We discussed the fact that recently there has been an attempt to rewrite and erase part of American history by an executive order to remove content that "disparages Americans". Trump issued an executive order entitled "Restoring truth and sanity to American History". The order directed the Department of the Interior to conduct a review of history monuments, memorials and other properties for "partisan ideology".We briefly touched on the treaty with Tribal lands, mining on public lands, climate change, air quality and what we, as citizens, can do.NPR Interview and Article: Trump wants to restore statues and monuments. Will that happen?https://www.npr.org/2025/03/28/nx-s1-5343613/trump-executive-order-smithsonian-monuments

I was 6 years old when Voice of America first broadcast during World War II. It was established in 1941 initially focused on countering Nazi and Japanese propaganda during World War II and later played a significant role during the Cold War broadcasting to communist countries. Very recently, however, the White House moved to close down Voice of America to "ensure taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda. "To get an up-close and personal view of what’s happening at VOA, we asked Steve Herman to be a guest on the podcast. Steven Herman is the chief national correspondent for the Voice of America. From 2017 to 2021, Steve was senior White House correspondent and subsequently VOA's White House bureau chief. Steve is the author of five books, the most recent of which is His latest, Behind the White House Curtain: A Senior Journalist’s Story of Covering the President — and Why It Matters, is a 2024 release from Kent State University Press.In our conversation, Steve and I discussed why the Voice of America was so vital and why it was supported by all American presidents for the past 80 years with the exception of the current president. We talked about the dedication and diligence of the 1300 employees of VOA who have been put on leave and the closure of VOA. Steve pointed out that since VOA was shuttered, the world now can only hear the voices of Moscow, Beijing Pyongyang and Tehran and the danger that causes. We discussed Steve's appearance on 60 Minutes and his book Behind the White House Curtain: A Senior Journalist's Story of Covering the President - and Why It Matters.Book Availability:https://a.co/d/6zaFTL8About the Bookhttps://www.c-span.org/program/book-tv/behind-the-white-house-curtain/643228

The news that the Trump administration plans to eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency's offices and the future implications of Trump's energy policies on the environment and climate led to my concern about how it will affect my children and grandchildren and yours. Because I didn't understand what all the implications could be and what we could do about it, I invited David Cain from the Citizens' Climate Lobby to talk with us about the organization, what it does, and how he became active in the CCL. We talked about what the Citizen's Climate Lobby is and its mission, its climate solutions and how to volunteer.Links:Citizens' Climate Lobbyhttps://www.citizensclimatelobby.orgPodcastshttps://www.youtube.com/@CitizensClimateLobbyMonthly Speakershttps://www.citizensclimatelobby.org/monthly-speakersWrite Congress to Protect NOAAhttps://community.citizensclimate.org/tools/protect-noaa#/152/Write Congress to defend the IRA (Inflation Reduction Act) climate provisionshttps://citizensclimatelobby.org/get-loud-take-action/protect-climate-ira/

One cannot turn on the news on TV or read a newspaper without hearing the words - Constitutional crisis. There's so much confusion about whether we are in a Constitutional Crisis or not, Professor Alexandra Keyssar rejoined the podcast to help us understand what a Constitutional crisis is and whether we are in one.Alexander Keyssar is the Matthew W. Stirling Jr. Professor of History and Social Policy. An historian by training, he has specialized in the exploration of historical problems that have contemporary policy implications. His book, The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States (2000), was named the best book in U.S. history by both the American Historical Association and the Historical Society; it was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the Los Angeles Times Book Award. A significantly revised and updated edition of The Right to Vote was published in 2009. His 1986 book, Out of Work: The First Century of Unemployment in Massachusetts, was awarded three scholarly prizes. Keyssar is coauthor of The Way of the Ship: America's Maritime History Reenvisioned, 1600-2000 (2008), and of Inventing America, a text integrating the history of technology and science into the mainstream of American history. In addition, he has co-edited a book series on Comparative and International Working-Class History. In 2004/5, Keyssar chaired the Social Science Research Council's National Research Commission on Voting and Elections, and he writes frequently for the popular press about American politics and history. Keyssar's latest book, entitled Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College? (2020), is published by Harvard University Press.

WE AT SPECIFICALLY FOR SENIORS WILL CONTINUE TO JOIN AS MANY GROUPS AS POSSIBLE, MONITOR THEIR APPEALS TO THE PUBLIC. AND BRING THEM TO YOU IN WHAT WE LIKE TO CALL SPECIFICALLY FOR SENIORS ACTION CASTS. WE WILL PRESENT THEIR VIDEOS, SUMMARIZE THEIR THOUGHTS AND PROVIDE IDEAS FROM THESE GROUPS AS TO HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE. WHEN POSSIBLE WE WILL PROVIDE LINKS TO WAYS YOU CAN EASILY PARTICIPATE IN THE SHOW NOTES SO BE SURE TO CHECK THERE.WE WILL LET YOU KNOW WHEN THESE ACTION CASTS DROP, SO WATCH FOR THE NOTICE ANNOUNCING A SPECIFICALLY FOR SENIORS ACTION CAST. WE WILL PROVIDE LINKS TO WAYS YOU CAN EASILY PARTICIPATE IN THE SHOW NOTES SO BE SURE TO CHECK THERE.TODAY ON ACTION CAST FROM SPECIFICALLY FOR SENIORS A VIDEO FROM C.A.P - THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS, ATAMERICANPROGRESS.ORG - A PUBLIC POLICY RESEARCH ABD ADVOCACY ORGANIZATION WHIUCH PRESENTS A LIBERAL VIEWPOINT ON ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL ISSUES. CAP IS HEADQUARTERED IN WASHINGTON DC. THE ISSUE TODAY IS THE SAVE ACT. MORE INFORMATION IS IN THE SHOW NOTES AND AT CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS https://www.americanprogress.orgSHOW NOTESTHE SAVE ACTFROM https://www.americanprogress.org“This act would force every single American citizen to prove their citizenship status in person when registering to vote or updating their voter registration information. For the vast majority of Americans, this would mean presenting a passport or birth certificate at their local election office. This SAVE Act threatens to disenfranchise millions of U.S. citizens: 146 million Americans do not have a passport, and 69 million women who have married do not have a birth certificate that matches their new legal name. Working-class and low-income Americans would also be disproportionately disenfranchised if the bill became law, as the vast majority of these groups do not possess a passport. The only Americans who stand to benefit from the SAVE Act are out-of-touch politicians who are willing to trade Americans’ right to vote for political points with the media and the administration. These politicians are trying to use claims of election integrity to trick us into making it harder for millions of eligible American citizens to cast their vote. Tell Congress to protect your rights by voting no on the SAVE Act.”CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESShttps://www.americanprogress.org

From Indivisible.org"The House and Senate are heading home for recess from March 15-23 -- and they are desperate to avoid you.Why? Because during the last recess, the few Republicans who dared to hold town halls got absolutely wrecked by their own constituents. People showed up. They demanded answers. They called out their Members of Congress for gutting Medicaid, slashing Social Security, and letting President Musk seize control of federal systems with zero oversight. In the days that followed, we saw those same Republicans start to get very nervous about their complicity and their plan to slash very popular programs like Medicaid.Republican leadership took notes. Now they’re telling their members to dodge town halls altogether. They know that if voters see what they’re actually doing -- selling out the country to billionaires while shredding programs that millions rely on -- it will be politically devastating."ACTION LINKS ⁠⁠Call Senate Republicans⁠⁠ -- If they’re gutting Medicaid and Social Security, they should say it to your face. ⁠⁠Call House Republicans⁠⁠ -- They’re looting the government for billionaires. Make them explain why. ⁠⁠Call Senate Democrats⁠⁠ -- They must hold the line against extreme MAGA cuts and demand real guardrails to protect against the Trump-Musk coup. ⁠⁠Call House Democrats⁠⁠ -- They need to hear from us. No deals. No blank checks. No business as usual.

There's an old Joke:What's the difference between ignorance and apathy?The answer: I don't know and I don't care.That pretty much sums up the way many of us feel right now.This podcast was recorded in mid- February, 2025 about a month after the inauguration of Donald Trump. In the few short weeks of his second term as president, he has fundamentally changed most of which we older adults have long considered the basis of our democracy - freedom of the press, birthright citizenship and three equal branches of government. He is attempting to cut off aid to foreign countries, drastically alter our concerns about climate change, pardon convicted insurgents , more than decimate the FBI and CIA, change the way we approach public health concerns, annex foreign countries, allow a select group of billionaires to make drastic changes to the way our government works and even wage war on paper straws.We re frustrated about our seeming lack of ability to do anything about it and to make our voices heard. So I invited Sam Daley-Harris, author of "Reclaiming Our Democracy: Every Citizen's Guide to Transformational advocacy" to help us learn how to make a difference.Throughout the last three years, Specifically for Seniors has attempted to bring conversations of interest, importance and just plain fun to you, our listeners. We have talked with artists, politicians, authors, physicians, historians, journalists, comedians, biologists, retirement experts, political activists and other podcasters.But in our more than 90 podcasts, we have never become actively involved in attempting to change our world. The current president and his sycophants, however, have forced Specifically for Seniors to change direction. We older adults must make our voices heard to create a better life for ourselves, our children, grandchildren and beyond.Specifically for Seniors hereby issues call to action, urging older adults to accept our responsibility as advocates to work toward transformational change in our communities, government , our world and in ourselves Important Links:⁠Sign Up to Stay in Touch or Learn More⁠⁠Reclaiming Our Democracy: Every Citizen's Guide to Transformational Advocacy⁠⁠Whitehouse Comment Line⁠⁠Indivisible⁠⁠Moms Demand Action⁠ ⁠Citizen’s Climate Lobby⁠⁠Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL)⁠⁠RESULTS.org⁠