Weekly Rant: Idaho Shooter, Homelessness, Medicaid Work Requirements, Israel/Hamas War

In this hard-hitting episode of Meaning of the Minds, I tear into the shocking Idaho shooter case and its ties to homelessness, dissect why the mental health and addiction crisis keeps fueling violence, and celebrate the controversial work requirements added to the Big Beautiful Bill. We also break down why Medicaid reforms are a powder keg waiting to blow before the 2026 elections, and why Hamas will never give up all the Israeli hostages. No punches pulled, no sugar-coating. Just raw, unfiltered commentary you won’t hear anywhere else. 

Transcript

Hello everyone. Do you want to hear my weekly rant on the Idaho shooter, homelessness, work requirements for the Big Beautiful Bill, and the continuation of the Israel-Hamas war? If you do, then stay tuned for the Meaning of the Minds podcast.

Let’s begin with the Idaho shooter who killed all of the firefighters. First of all, he was a transient piece of shit. Last week, I actually talked to someone who is a friend of the third firefighter who was grievously wounded in the incident and was very impacted by it as a result. Of course, it turns out the shooter wasn’t a right-wing nutcase or a Hezbollah terrorist, but rather just a criminal fucking dirtbag, of which we have far more than we do terrorists or ideologues in this country.

He was from California. Do you mean that a homeless piece of shit from California went to another state and helped to ruin it? What a surprise. That never happens. Here’s some information about the story: Detectives found his pickup truck near the fire. It looks like he had been living out of the vehicle for weeks leading up to the shooting. He previously lived in both California and Phoenix before moving to Coeur d’Alene around 2023. Also, if he lived here in Portland, he would be referred to as your “unhoused neighbor.” See, there is no difference between him and you, other than the fact that you’re more privileged. You both could very easily end up in the same circumstance, lighting fires and shooting shotguns at responding firefighters if only you were brought down by the capitalist patriarchy and subjected to the same traumas as this man.

According to Idaho police, this guy had five prior minor contacts with law enforcement, such as trespass calls and welfare checks. He had no criminal record there. Also, I’d bet money they haven’t searched for criminal charges in California or Arizona, because I bet if they did, it would show he has a record. I can almost guarantee it.

My guess is that he was mentally ill, possibly or probably a drug addict, and violent, and that’s what sparked this. There is a huge problem I deal with every single day in my day job with homeless people who are crazy and drug addicted. Just so you know, nearly every single homeless person has a severe mental illness and/or is a drug addict on top of it. That is virtually every single homeless person I’ve had contact with, and I have contact with them literally every single day. I’m sure there are a few in the world who do not have a severe mental illness or a drug addiction, but I’m not sure if I’ve ever actually met them, and they are very, very few and far between.

The only way people like this are ever going to disappear from society is if, when they have a severe mental health issue, society forces antipsychotic medications on them, or if they’re a drug addict, forces them into drug treatment. The homeless problem is never going to go away in the United States unless that happens. We unfortunately allow pieces of shit like this guy to be totally crazy and potentially violent in our society because we are too weak to do anything about it. If people can’t control themselves, the government has to step up and do it. Trust me, I’m saying this as a libertarian, okay? People with severe mental illnesses and drug addiction are not capable or willing to make pro-social decisions for themselves or others.

In other news, the Big Beautiful Bill passed. The thing I find most interesting about this is the work requirement for Medicaid. All I can say to that is: fuck yes. There is an enormous subculture of people in the United States with an identity of being sick or mentally ill when they are fully capable of working but won’t admit they just don’t want to. Goodwill hires intellectually disabled people; if they can work, so can you. Got a mobility issue? Guess what? You can telework. I’m really sorry if your fibromyalgia or your chronic fatigue syndrome or whatever other made-up, fake-ass ailment you have is acting up for you right now. You know, it’s really strange that this horrific malady you experience doesn’t stop you from playing Xbox for 16 hours a day in your parents’ basement, or that your mobility issues don’t stop you from going to the weed store every other day for your 90% THC dabs. That’s somehow the only medicine that works for your specific condition, which is also so complicated you can’t get it diagnosed by a real doctor.

There’s no excuse, given our current technology, that someone can’t find some type of job which fits their capabilities. Again, if Corky from Life Goes On can work at Goodwill for a couple of hours a week, then you can find something that accounts for your totally undiagnosed and likely completely nonexistent autism.

As far as the target audience of this aspect of the Big Beautiful Bill: it applies to able-bodied Medicaid recipients between 19 and 64 years old. They will be required to participate in work, job training, volunteering, or school at least 80 hours a month to maintain Medicaid benefits. There’s an exemption for people who are disabled, pregnant, or caring for young children.

What you’re going to see in response is a tidal wave of states and doctors moving to make people on Medicaid permanently disabled when they’re not, so they don’t have to work. In response to this, there should be really rigorous reviews of all applicants and repeated retesting over time to ensure people don’t continue to milk the system. Medicaid recipients will also be required to submit documentation proving they meet the work requirements or qualify for an exemption.

An interesting note is that the deadline for states to implement the work requirements is December 31, 2026. States can choose to do it sooner, but guaranteed every liberal state will wait until the last minute. The most important thing to remember is that in November 2026, just a couple months before this goes into effect, the midterm elections will happen in the United States. At that time, the Democrats will almost certainly take either the House or the Senate, possibly both, and they’ll do everything in their power from that moment forward to stop the implementation of not only the Big Beautiful Bill, but anything else Trump tries to do for the rest of his administration. That will continue until a Democrat is elected president in the next cycle in 2028. It’s more than likely a Democrat will win; I can almost count on it. I’d probably bet on it. This is not something I want to happen, but it’s going to happen. So, get ready to potentially say hi to President AOC in 2028.

And the final thing to talk about this week is the Israel-Hamas discussion about the hostages. Again, they can never give all of them up. For each one they give away, the remaining hostages become worth more to each side, and they’re also an insurance policy against the destruction of Hamas. At this moment, there are 50 hostages remaining in Hamas custody. Have you ever asked yourself why Hamas never discusses giving up all the hostages? Why do you think they don’t? It’s because they can’t. The moment the last hostage leaves their hands, they’ll hear the buzz of armed Israeli drones and the screech of warplanes overhead. It’s nothing more than a delaying tactic to help keep them alive, and they will never, ever give up all the hostages. The only solution is to destroy Hamas entirely. Send the Gazans into the Sinai. Send them to Libya, Syria, or some other shithole Muslim country because they can’t stay there any longer. They’ve revoked that right.

And with that, that’s all I have for the week. Nice checking in with you all. Remember that sometimes war is the answer, and death to the monsters. I’ll talk to you next week. Bye.