Lawrence Benson

A retired health policy academic at Alliance Manchester Business School all views are my own

[Lawrence Benson @HealthPolicyGuy]

@red_revenant Jeez !

[Action for Happiness @actionhappiness]

Self Care September - Day 1: Find time for self-care. It’s not selfish, it’s essential https://t.co/rry9VO52NK #SelfCareSeptember

[Keith Burge @carryonkeith]

Now Starmer's gone too far; he's removed Liz Truss' portrait.

[Kamala Harris @KamalaHarris]

As Vice President, I have had the privilege of visiting Arlington National Cemetery several times. It is a solemn place; a place where we come together to honor American heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service of this nation.

It is not a place for politics.

And yet, as was reported this week, Donald Trump’s team chose to film a video there, resulting in an altercation with cemetery staff. Let me be clear: the former president disrespected sacred ground, all for the sake of a political stunt.

This is nothing new from Donald Trump. This is a man who has called our fallen service members “suckers” and “losers” and disparaged Medal of Honor recipients.

A man who, during a previous visit to the cemetery, reportedly said of fallen service members, “I don’t get it. What was in it for them?”

This is a man who is unable to comprehend anything other than service to himself.

If there is one thing on which we as Americans can all agree, it is that our veterans, military families, and service members should be honored, never disparaged, and treated with nothing less than our highest respect and gratitude.

And it is my belief that someone who cannot meet this simple, sacred duty should never again stand behind the seal of the President of the United States of America.

I will always honor the service and sacrifice of all of America’s fallen heroes, who made the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of our beloved nation and our cherished freedoms. I mourn them and salute them. And I will never politicize them.

[StevieB @StevieB09074258]

Attlee inherited a deficit of 264% in 1945, yet his Labour government gave us the welfare state.

#TaxWealth
#FixBritain

[Barack Obama @BarackObama]

This November, we have the chance to elect @KamalaHarris and @Tim_Walz – two people who will get up every single day to fight for you. And there’s no time to waste. Make sure you’re registered to vote at https://t.co/NKXRGNgbZX.

[Yvette Cooper @YvetteCooperMP]

Thank you to all the police officers working tonight to protect & support local communities.

[Occupy Democrats @OccupyDemocrats]

BREAKING: Donald Trump suffers a crushing defeat as a New York appeals court rejects his challenge to the gag order in his hush money criminal case — meaning he cannot speak about prosecutors and others involved in the case until he's sentenced.

And it gets even better...

Judge Juan Merchan is set to deliver sentencing on September 18th, just seven weeks out from the election on November 5th.

"Justice Merchan did not act in excess of jurisdiction by maintaining the narrowly tailored protections," the court said.

That means Trump will have to spend most of his campaign muzzled, unable to spread his lies and smears about the case.

Since Kamala Harris has the issues cornered — and Trump's only electoral tool at this point is whining — this constitutes a major setback for him.

Please retweet and ❤️ to thank the court for not caving to Trump — and consider joining the growing exodus to Tribel, a new pro-democracy social network that is exploding in popularity because Twitter and Facebook are trying to stop its growth — which is only making Tribel grow even faster. Please follow us on Tribel to get all of our breaking news alerts sent straight to your phone or computer by clicking the following link: https://t.co/HnJzSKjCwX

[Occupy Democrats @OccupyDemocrats]

BREAKING: Donald Trump explodes his own lawyers' hard work by boasting about all of the cash that he supposedly has — right after his attorneys claimed that it's "impossible" for him to post his $454 million bond.

These geniuses can't even get their own story straight...

"THROUGH HARD WORK, TALENT, AND LUCK, I CURRENTLY HAVE ALMOST FIVE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS IN CASH, A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF WHICH I INTENDED TO USE IN MY CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT," Trump claimed on Truth Social in all caps, clearly infuriated.

But his outburst wasn't done there. For ease of readability, we have removed his caps lock. Just imagine Trump screaming the following—

"The often overturned political hack judge on the rigged and corrupt A.G. case, where I have done nothing wrong, knew this, wanted to take it away from me, and that’s where and why he came up with the shocking number which, coupled with his crazy interest demand, is approximately $454,000,000," Trump wrote.

"I did nothing wrong except win an election in 2016 that I wasn’t expected to win, did even better in 2020, and now lead, by a lot, in 2024. This is communism in America!" he added.

Of course, the likely explanation for this rant is simply Trump's infamous insecurity. He can't stand the idea of his followers knowing that he's broke, so he has to insist that he's still incredibly wealthy.

If he were really as rich as he claims he wouldn't be running around getting rejected by creditors.

The truth will be revealed on Monday, when the money is due for the New York civil case. If he fails to produce it, New York Attorney Letitia James will almost certainly move forward with seizing his properties.

Grab your popcorn.

Please retweet and ❤️ if you support seizing Trump's real estate assets — and consider joining the growing exodus to Tribel, a new pro-democracy social network that is exploding in popularity because Twitter and Facebook are trying to stop its growth — which is only making Tribel grow even faster. Please follow us on Tribel to get all of our breaking news alerts sent straight to your phone or computer by clicking the following link: https://t.co/HnJzSKjCwX

[Occupy Democrats @OccupyDemocrats]

Donald Trump is so f*cked.

[Occupy Democrats @OccupyDemocrats]

BREAKING: Donald Trump breaks the emergency glass and begs for a new trial in the E. Jean Carroll lawsuit that saddled him with a staggering $83.3 million damages bill.

Clearly, the embattled ex-president can't find the money to pay up. And it gets even better...

"Just before President Trump took the stand at trial, the Court engaged in a colloquy with defense counsel designed to restrict the scope of President Trump’s testimony," wrote Trump's shady lawyers in a new filing.

Trump and his team are complaining that U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan restricted what Trump could tell jurors on the witness stand — a perfectly reasonable move from the judge given Trump's penchant for lying, threatening, and smearing.

The restrictions were implemented after Trump was found liable for defamation before the trial because Carroll won a separate lawsuit.

This new request from Trump's team will almost certainly be rejected given its legal baselessness. It's a desperate Hail Mary from a cornered, sinking man.

Best of all? Trump has to pay the $83.3 million to Carroll by March 9th — just four days away. Between this and the jaw-dropping $454 million he owes for his civil fraud case, Trump is barreling towards complete financial ruin.

Please retweet and ❤️ to urge the judge to reject Trump's request — and consider joining the growing exodus to Tribel, a new pro-democracy social network that is exploding in popularity because Twitter and Facebook are trying to stop its growth — which is only making Tribel grow even faster. Please follow us on Tribel to get all of our breaking news alerts sent straight to your phone or computer by clicking the following link: https://t.co/HnJzSKjCwX

[Occupy Democrats @OccupyDemocrats]

BREAKING: Donald Trump's week from hell takes a turn for the worse as his hometown newspaper rips him to shreds and proudly endorses Joe Biden for president.

But it gets even worse for Trump...

"It’s time for those who remain undecided to look with a set of fresh eyes at the evidence amassing before them," the editors of the The Palm Beach Post wrote in a piece entitled "Ignore pundits, sure, but consider the evidence piling up against Trump."

Mar-a-Lago is of course located in Palm Beach, so we can be certain that Trump's rich neighbors will see the paper's endorsement — as well as its brutal attack on Trump.

"As annoying as the acid taunts of pundits and penmen about the former President may strike you, cast that rhetoric aside for a minute and evaluate the evidence," the paper stated.

"And we use the word 'evidence' advisedly, because aside from candidate Trump’s own crowd-stirring lies about the elections and an abundance of audio and video recordings going back years, there’s now a growing record of court testimony and documentation, tested by argument and counterargument, that is laying itself out before us," they added.

"Judges and juries of Trump’s peers in recent weeks have found the evidence overwhelming, to the tune of more than a half-billion dollars in fines, mounting with interest," they explained.

"In civil cases he’s been found to have engaged in sexual assault, defamation and corporate fraud, and the clock is winding down on criminal trials, as well," they went on. "The latter will put the lie to his claims he was cheated out of reelection. They will support charges he tried to racketeer his way to a win in Georgia and nationally – just listen to that recording again. And they will spell out how, with words, actions and inaction, he sought to overthrow the will of the voters on Jan. 6, 2021."

The Palm Beach Post endorsed Joe Biden for president in 2020 as well because they "yearned so strongly to remove" Trump. Now in 2024, they clearly want to do everything within their power to keep the MAGA maniac out of the White House.

"Trump has openly demonstrated why, even if you put character aside — which we can’t — the nation would have much to fear from his second term," the editors wrote.

"As you consider your ballot, though you might prefer his tilt to the right to Biden’s tilt to the left, ask yourself if this is the quality of a man who should represent you, speak for you, act in your name, be the master of your universe," they urged. "Don’t listen to the pundits. Just look at the evidence."

Well said!

We will be proudly voting for Joe Biden. Will you?

Please retweet and ❤️ if you will be voting for Biden to defeat Trump's fascism — and consider joining the growing exodus to Tribel, a new pro-democracy social network that is exploding in popularity because Twitter and Facebook are trying to stop its growth — which is only making Tribel grow even faster. Please follow us on Tribel to get all of our breaking news alerts sent straight to your phone or computer by clicking the following link: https://t.co/HnJzSKjCwX

[Jack Hopkins @thejackhopkins]

Donald Trump has been declared the worst President in U.S. history. Of course, we knew that…but….we should certainly spread the news. That’s quite an achievement.

[Fascinating @fasc1nate]

The last American slave ship docked illegally in Mobile, Alabama, in 1860, carrying about 160 West African captives.

Among them was Cudjo Lewis, who recognized how his birth culture might be erased while toiling in this new land.

So when he was freed, he purchased two acres and started a self-sufficient community of survivors of the last slave ship.

Known to outsiders as Africatown, Lewis' neighborhood was modeled on his West African home, where extended families lived together, members conversed in their regional languages, and partook in traditions that might otherwise be lost to them in America.

Today, Africatown still exists and houses the descendants of the nation's last slave ship community.

[Lawrence Benson @HealthPolicyGuy]

Hey I see what you did there! Yes two I guess 🍏🍏🦜🦢enjoy your day Mindapples. I do voluntary work today and this always helps to motivate and inspire me.

[Mindapples @mindapples]

@HealthPolicyGuy Hey Laurence thanks for sharing your 5 Mindapples. Here's a little something to remind you to keep them up. Does it count for two of your 5 😜🍏

[Mindapples @mindapples]

@HealthPolicyGuy Hey Laurence thanks for sharing your 5 Mindapples. Here's a little something to remind you to keep them up. Does it count for two of your 5 😜🍏

[Lawrence Benson @HealthPolicyGuy]

Hi Mindapples I am back on Twitter / X you were one of my fave Twitterati during COVID. My 5 mind apples 🍏are riding my electric bike , going bird spotting, playing chess with a friend , singing in a choir and listening to an entire LP on vinyl.

[Mindapples @mindapples]

Need some inspiration about what you can do to look after your mind?
What are your winter #mindapples?
#5adayforthemind #wellbeing

[Mindapples @mindapples]

Need some inspiration about what you can do to look after your mind?
What are your winter #mindapples?
#5adayforthemind #wellbeing

[Lawrence Benson @HealthPolicyGuy]

I could do with eating whatever he / she does, the perhaps not!

[Nature is Amazing ☘️ @AMAZlNGNATURE]

“I’m a happy, happy dog” 😅