The Angry Independent

The Angry Independent Independent in politics. Independent in life. Real stories, real people, local businesses, community, humor, everyday life—and politics when it matters.

No party owns my voice. No person controls my mind. Welcome to The Angry Independent.

08/22/2026

I just watched a Fox News video featuring Republican U.S. Senator Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania, and I genuinely had to listen to part of it again.

McCormick acknowledged the problem: “There’s no doubt that there are still pressures on food prices, on inflation, gas prices, housing and so forth.”

Then came the part that got me: “And so we need to stay the course.”

Are you sh****ng me?

So this is where we’re at now? We don’t even have to pretend everything is great anymore? Food is expensive. Inflation remains a problem. Gasoline is expensive. Housing affordability is a problem. Just stay the course.

And this isn’t some random political commentator sitting behind a microphone. Dave McCormick is a Republican United States senator from Pennsylvania. More importantly considering the subject he’s discussing, McCormick sits on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. He also serves on that committee’s Housing, Transportation and Community Development Subcommittee.

So I think Americans have every right to ask: STAY THE COURSE TO WHERE?

Let’s forget political spin for a minute and look at the numbers. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, consumer prices in July were 3.4% higher than a year earlier. Food: up 3.0%. Food at home: up 2.7%. Shelter: up 3.2%. Energy: up 14.7%. Gasoline: up 24.6%.

And according to BLS, after adjusting for inflation, real average hourly earnings were actually down 0.2% from July 2025 to July 2026.

That’s not liberal propaganda. That’s not MSNBC. That’s not some anti-Trump page. That’s the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.

And even Fox News is reporting the pain. On August 15, Fox News reported that the national average gasoline price had reached a record $4.07 per gallon, while warning about rising diesel costs ahead of harvest season. Fox itself recently published an opinion piece making essentially the same broader point: politicians can talk about GDP and economic statistics all they want, but Americans experience the economy through their grocery bills, mortgage payments and everyday expenses.

Exactly.

So what exactly are Americans being asked to “stay the course” for? Donald Trump didn’t run for president promising Americans that everything would become more expensive but eventually they would learn to tolerate it. He ran on fixing this s**t.

And when you’re president, eventually the scoreboard belongs to you.

Trump has been back in office long enough that MAGA cannot claim every positive development belongs to Donald Trump while every negative development somehow remains Joe Biden’s fault. That’s not accountability. That’s fandom.

Then we have military spending. The Trump administration’s FY2027 proposal calls for $1.5 trillion in total defense resources — approximately $441 billion more than the previous year’s enacted level when the administration’s mandatory and discretionary defense resources are combined.

Let me understand this correctly. Americans are being told government spending needs to be controlled. We’re told sacrifices need to be made. We’re told Washington has to become more efficient. We’re told programs need to be cut. But somehow another $441 BILLION in total defense resources can be found?

I’m not anti-military. I’m not anti-defense. I believe the United States should have the strongest military on Earth, and the men and women serving this country deserve the best equipment and protection available. But supporting our military doesn’t mean Americans aren’t allowed to question the size of the check. Those are two completely different things.

Especially when we’re already spending enormous amounts of money dealing with conflicts and instability around the world. At some point, America First has to mean Americans first.

That’s where my bigger problem with MAGA begins.

The Republican Party used to scream about deficits, excessive government spending and fiscal responsibility. Now? If Trump spends it, apparently it’s necessary. If Trump says it, apparently it’s true. If something goes well, Trump did it. If something goes badly, Biden did it. And when a Republican senator acknowledges that Americans are still struggling with food, inflation, gasoline and housing? Stay the course.

Meanwhile, these same people constantly warn America about the “radical left.” I’m an Independent. I’ve criticized Democrats plenty, and I’ll continue criticizing them when they deserve it. But I’m starting to wonder whether radical is even the correct word anymore.

Because unquestioning political loyalty isn’t conservatism. It’s political tribalism.

Here’s the question I want every Trump supporter — and frankly every American regardless of political party — to ask: ARE YOU ACTUALLY BETTER OFF?

Not emotionally. Not because your candidate won. Not because Trump pi**es off people you don’t like. Not because Democrats p**s you off. Financially.

Does your paycheck buy more? Are groceries more affordable? Is housing more affordable? Is gasoline cheaper? Are your monthly bills easier to pay? Do you have greater purchasing power?

Those are measurable questions. And that’s how presidents should be judged. Not hats. Not flags. Not rallies. Not memes. Not Facebook arguments. RESULTS.

I don’t owe Donald Trump loyalty. I don’t owe Democrats loyalty. I don’t owe Republicans loyalty. Politicians work for us. We don’t work for them.

So when a United States senator sits on Fox News, acknowledges that Americans are still experiencing pressure from food prices, inflation, gasoline and housing, and then tells us we need to “stay the course,” I’m going to ask the most obvious question imaginable: WHY?

Show me where this course is taking us. Show me the results. Show me how the average working American is materially better off.

And please don’t answer the question by saying Biden, Democrats, radical left, illegal immigrants or fake news. Show me the numbers.

Because eventually every administration has to own its record.

And if the best sales pitch Republicans have for struggling Americans is, “Yes, we know things are expensive. Stay the course,” then maybe MAGA needs to stop worrying about the radical left for five minutes and start asking some difficult questions of the people on its own side.

SOURCES: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; White House FY2027 budget materials; Fox News.

And yes — the video attached to this post is from Fox News.

Stay the course? Stay the course to where?

# # SEEKING A SERIOUS INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTI am looking for **one experienced investigative journalist** affiliated ...
08/21/2026

# # SEEKING A SERIOUS INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST

I am looking for **one experienced investigative journalist** affiliated with a legitimate newspaper, television station, magazine, or recognized news organization.

I will not be providing details about the story publicly.

What I can say is this:

**This is a political story involving extremely powerful people and political connections stretching from the highest levels of state government down through local government.**

The potential story is substantial, sensitive and heavily documented.

I'm not looking for someone to spend months chasing rumors or trying to figure out whether there is actually a story. A significant amount of the groundwork has already been done, and the documentation can be independently verified.

What I'm looking for is something much harder to find:

**A journalist willing to write a politically uncomfortable story when the evidence supports it — regardless of who might be embarrassed, angered or politically damaged by its publication.**

Before I disclose the subject, location, people involved, or underlying documentation, **I will be researching and vetting the journalist first.**

This isn't about finding someone who agrees with me.

It's about finding someone with the independence, credibility and courage to look at the evidence, verify it and decide whether the public deserves to know what happened.

If you're that journalist — or personally know a legitimate investigative journalist who has demonstrated a willingness to take on powerful political interests — **send me a private message with your name, news organization and examples of your investigative work.**

No details about the underlying story will be discussed publicly.

**I'm not looking for someone to discover the story.**

**I'm looking for someone with the courage to tell it.**

OHIO IS #1 FOR BUSINESS. BUT IS THAT ACTUALLY THE SAME AS BEING #1 FOR OHIOANS?Ohio politicians are celebrating CNBC n...
08/19/2026

OHIO IS #1 FOR BUSINESS. BUT IS THAT ACTUALLY THE SAME AS BEING #1 FOR OHIOANS?

Ohio politicians are celebrating CNBC naming Ohio the #1 state for business in America.

Congratulations. Seriously. Bringing businesses, investment and jobs to Ohio is a good thing.

But before we start handing out trophies, I have a question:

What exactly did we have to do to become #1?

Ohio is also ranked #1 in Cost of Doing Business. We have no corporate income tax. We’ve dramatically reduced the number of businesses paying the Commercial Activity Tax. We offer companies grants, loans, tax credits, infrastructure assistance and customized incentive packages to convince them to locate and expand here.

Maybe that’s smart economic development.

But taxpayers should still be allowed to ask:

How much are we giving away, and what are Ohioans getting in return?

Are these incentives producing good-paying, permanent jobs? Are the companies receiving public assistance creating enough economic activity to justify it? Are locally owned small businesses getting the same opportunities as corporations negotiating multimillion-dollar projects?

And most importantly:

When does being the best state for businesses translate into being the best state for the people who live here?

Because there’s another way to look at being the cheapest place for corporations to operate.

Maybe we’re incredibly competitive.

Or maybe we’re so desperate for investment that we’re willing to give away more than everyone else.

I don’t know that the second explanation is true.

But before politicians use this ranking as proof that everything they’re doing is working, taxpayers deserve to know which explanation it is.

Being #1 for business is worth celebrating only if Ohioans are winning too.

Otherwise, we’re not #1.

We’re just the cheapest date in the country.

— The Angry Independent

PIPE DOWN ABOUT MY AI USE. 😂I love the environment and I protect the environment by driving an electric car and other th...
08/19/2026

PIPE DOWN ABOUT MY AI USE. 😂

I love the environment and I protect the environment by driving an electric car and other things. However, your hypocrisy in lecturing me is boring. And then when I confront you, you then lecture me on how I can’t take criticism. So while you’re destroying the environment with your car at a ridiculously higher rate than my AI images. You should probably look in the mirror, go visit your parents and smack them in the faces for making you think that you’re exempt to your own opinions.

I keep hearing about how “terrible for the environment” it is that I use AI to help create content.

So I did the math.

An average gasoline car produces about 400 grams of CO₂ for every mile driven.

An average ChatGPT text query, using current estimates, comes out to roughly 0.12 grams of CO₂ from the electricity used.

That means:

ONE MILE in your gas-powered car ≈ 3,300 average ChatGPT queries.

Drive 10 miles? That’s roughly the equivalent of 33,000 ChatGPT queries.

And here’s where this gets even better:

I DRIVE AN ELECTRIC CAR.

So before you fire up your gas-powered vehicle, drive across town, and then get on Facebook to lecture me about the environmental consequences of AI…

PIPE DOWN. 😂

But wait. There’s another tiny problem with your argument.

YOU’RE COMPLAINING ABOUT AI WHILE YOU’RE ON FACEBOOK.

Facebook’s parent company, Meta, has invested tens of billions of dollars in AI infrastructure. AI is used throughout Facebook to recommend posts, rank your feed, target advertising, moderate content, and decide what you’re likely to see.

Think about the irony:

You opened a platform that extensively uses AI.

AI helped determine what appeared in your feed.

It showed you my AI-generated content.

Then you used that AI-powered platform to complain in the comments about me using AI.

😂😂😂

And there’s a decent chance you drove a gas-powered car today while doing thousands of times more environmental damage per mile than one ordinary ChatGPT text query.

So here’s our new environmental plan:

I’ll keep using ChatGPT.

You stop driving your gas-powered car.

And if you’re really committed to eliminating AI, you might want to start by getting off Facebook.

Otherwise…

PIPE DOWN.

The irony is using more energy than my prompt.

And full disclosure, I also hate data centers and the governments that allow them without paying the damages they do or even for the resources they use.

— The Angry Independent

08/15/2026

I know I failed. Lol.

IF YOU THINK ONLY THE LEFT PRACTICES SOCIALISM, YOU’RE A FU***NG IDIOTMost people screaming “socialism” could not define...
08/13/2026

IF YOU THINK ONLY THE LEFT PRACTICES SOCIALISM, YOU’RE A FU***NG IDIOT

Most people screaming “socialism” could not define it if you spotted them the first three letters. Socialism and communism are not identical. America is neither purely socialist nor purely capitalist. We have a mixed economy combining private businesses and property with taxes, subsidies, public services, and government programs. Both parties participate in that system.

Democrats openly support collectively funded programs. Republicans condemn those programs as socialism—and then take the money home to their own states. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, public schools, police, firefighters, roads, farm subsidies, disaster relief, veterans’ benefits, and corporate incentives all use public money for a collective purpose.

No, every government program is not technically socialism. But Republicans have spent decades defining socialism as government taking money from some people and using it to benefit others. If that is their definition, Republican-led states are some of America’s biggest socialists.

Look at how much federal spending states received in 2023 for every dollar attributed to them in federal receipts:

New Mexico received $2.91 for every $1 it contributed.
Mississippi received $2.57.
West Virginia received $2.57.
Kentucky received $2.28.
Alaska received $2.26.
Alabama received $2.18.
Louisiana received $2.00.

New Mexico is Democratic. Kentucky has a Democratic governor and Republican legislature. But Mississippi, West Virginia, Alaska, Alabama, and Louisiana are controlled by Republicans.

Apparently, receiving twice what you contribute is socialism when a poor family does it—but conservative government when an entire Republican state does it.

Some federal spending comes from military installations, government contracts, Social Security, infrastructure, and other programs—not merely welfare. But that does not erase the hypocrisy. Republicans still support government redistribution when the money benefits their states, industries, contractors, farmers, hospitals, and voters.

Medicaid exposes this hypocrisy perfectly. Medicaid is administered by the states but jointly funded by state and federal governments. Washington matches state spending, with lower-income states generally receiving a larger federal match.

Federal money represented 50.1% of Louisiana’s state revenue in fiscal year 2023. Arizona received 48.8% and Wyoming received 46.1%. Nationwide, Medicaid accounted for 68.8% of federal grants to states in fiscal year 2024.

Republican governors do not return that money. Republican legislatures do not refuse to spend it. They use federal taxpayers to support their healthcare systems and state budgets—then tell their voters that government-funded healthcare is socialism when Democrats discuss expanding it.

Give me a fu***ng break.

Republicans don’t oppose redistribution. They want to decide who deserves it. Money helping a poor mother buy groceries is socialism. Money supporting a corporation is economic development. A struggling family needing healthcare is government dependency. A Republican-led state relying on federal Medicaid money is responsible budgeting.

It is the same public treasury. Only the recipient changes.

None of this means every public program is good or every tax is fair. We should debate how much government spends, where the money goes, and whether programs actually work. But Republicans cannot honestly condemn the entire concept of publicly funded assistance while their own states collect billions of dollars from the same system.

The left practices socialist-style policies. The right practices socialist-style policies. The difference is that the right calls it socialism only when somebody they dislike receives the benefit.

If you believe socialism exists only on the left while Republican-led states receive two dollars or more in federal spending for every dollar attributed to them in federal receipts, you are not defending capitalism.

You’re a fu***ng idiot.

—The Angry Independent

Sources: Rockefeller Institute of Government, Pew Charitable Trusts, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and National Conference of State Legislatures.

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