Sam Bellamy
@sambdesk.bsky.social
Not the pirate. Contributor to fightthefire.substack.com, an all-free site. Winner of multiple prestigious awards from dogs. Whistles through darkness. Resists, persists, insists. Aspires to ask "WTF did you just say?" at a WH press conference.
Pinned
Dunning-Kruger, how do you do?
MAGA voters too dim to see they’re screwed; Democrats too skittish to fight on
fightthefire.substack.com
MAGA too dim to see they’re screwed; Dems too skittish to fight on
"Sunday morning, as a group of Senate Democrats were putting together a plan with Republicans to end the federal shutdown, our very stable genius was spreading a lie on his misnamed Truth Social platform."
Free links/subscriptions.
"Sunday morning, as a group of Senate Democrats were putting together a plan with Republicans to end the federal shutdown, our very stable genius was spreading a lie on his misnamed Truth Social platform."
Free links/subscriptions.
Reposted by Sam Bellamy
MAGA too dim to see they’re screwed; Dems too skittish to fight on
"Sunday morning, as a group of Senate Democrats were putting together a plan with Republicans to end the federal shutdown, our very stable genius was spreading a lie on his misnamed Truth Social platform."
Free links/subscriptions.
"Sunday morning, as a group of Senate Democrats were putting together a plan with Republicans to end the federal shutdown, our very stable genius was spreading a lie on his misnamed Truth Social platform."
Free links/subscriptions.
Dunning-Kruger, how do you do?
MAGA voters too dim to see they’re screwed; Democrats too skittish to fight on
fightthefire.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:18 PM
MAGA too dim to see they’re screwed; Dems too skittish to fight on
"Sunday morning, as a group of Senate Democrats were putting together a plan with Republicans to end the federal shutdown, our very stable genius was spreading a lie on his misnamed Truth Social platform."
Free links/subscriptions.
"Sunday morning, as a group of Senate Democrats were putting together a plan with Republicans to end the federal shutdown, our very stable genius was spreading a lie on his misnamed Truth Social platform."
Free links/subscriptions.
Reposted by Sam Bellamy
The latest from Christopher Shields, only at Fight the Fire -- "Lonely Johnson."
All links and subscriptions are free. Our payment is your company and your support as we all fight to end this nightmare.
All links and subscriptions are free. Our payment is your company and your support as we all fight to end this nightmare.
Lonely Johnson
Cartoon by Shields
fightthefire.substack.com
November 8, 2025 at 2:35 PM
The latest from Christopher Shields, only at Fight the Fire -- "Lonely Johnson."
All links and subscriptions are free. Our payment is your company and your support as we all fight to end this nightmare.
All links and subscriptions are free. Our payment is your company and your support as we all fight to end this nightmare.
Reposted by Sam Bellamy
New from Christopher Shields, only at Fight the Fire.
Click to see the full cartoon. All links and subscriptions are free. Join us and see more!
Click to see the full cartoon. All links and subscriptions are free. Join us and see more!
Your stomach is RIGGED!
Cartoon by Shields
fightthefire.substack.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:42 AM
New from Christopher Shields, only at Fight the Fire.
Click to see the full cartoon. All links and subscriptions are free. Join us and see more!
Click to see the full cartoon. All links and subscriptions are free. Join us and see more!
MAGA too dim to see they’re screwed; Dems too skittish to fight on
"Sunday morning, as a group of Senate Democrats were putting together a plan with Republicans to end the federal shutdown, our very stable genius was spreading a lie on his misnamed Truth Social platform."
Free links/subscriptions.
"Sunday morning, as a group of Senate Democrats were putting together a plan with Republicans to end the federal shutdown, our very stable genius was spreading a lie on his misnamed Truth Social platform."
Free links/subscriptions.
Dunning-Kruger, how do you do?
MAGA voters too dim to see they’re screwed; Democrats too skittish to fight on
fightthefire.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:18 PM
MAGA too dim to see they’re screwed; Dems too skittish to fight on
"Sunday morning, as a group of Senate Democrats were putting together a plan with Republicans to end the federal shutdown, our very stable genius was spreading a lie on his misnamed Truth Social platform."
Free links/subscriptions.
"Sunday morning, as a group of Senate Democrats were putting together a plan with Republicans to end the federal shutdown, our very stable genius was spreading a lie on his misnamed Truth Social platform."
Free links/subscriptions.
Reposted by Sam Bellamy
New at Fight the Fire, where all links/subscriptions are free.
The GOP is shocked, shocked! to find bigots in its midst. Let the MAGA war against itself rage on.
"For some Republicans, apparently, Fuentes’s virulent assholiness is too much on the nose."
fightthefire.substack.com/p/gop-shocke...
The GOP is shocked, shocked! to find bigots in its midst. Let the MAGA war against itself rage on.
"For some Republicans, apparently, Fuentes’s virulent assholiness is too much on the nose."
fightthefire.substack.com/p/gop-shocke...
GOP shocked, shocked! to find bigots in its midst
Apparently there's a MAGA civil war raging over Groyper punk Nick Fuentes
fightthefire.substack.com
November 9, 2025 at 9:40 PM
New at Fight the Fire, where all links/subscriptions are free.
The GOP is shocked, shocked! to find bigots in its midst. Let the MAGA war against itself rage on.
"For some Republicans, apparently, Fuentes’s virulent assholiness is too much on the nose."
fightthefire.substack.com/p/gop-shocke...
The GOP is shocked, shocked! to find bigots in its midst. Let the MAGA war against itself rage on.
"For some Republicans, apparently, Fuentes’s virulent assholiness is too much on the nose."
fightthefire.substack.com/p/gop-shocke...
Reposted by Sam Bellamy
Free* at Fight the Fire: The GOP's Doctor Dolittle Caucus
"Republicans have tried – and failed – to repeal or weaken the Affordable Care Act more than 70 times since 2010, or an average of once every four months. That’s a whole lot of losing."
*All links/subscription are free at Fight the Fire.
"Republicans have tried – and failed – to repeal or weaken the Affordable Care Act more than 70 times since 2010, or an average of once every four months. That’s a whole lot of losing."
*All links/subscription are free at Fight the Fire.
The GOP's Doctor Dolittle Caucus
Tried to repeal Obamacare more than 70 times - but damned if they have a better idea
fightthefire.substack.com
November 4, 2025 at 11:51 PM
Free* at Fight the Fire: The GOP's Doctor Dolittle Caucus
"Republicans have tried – and failed – to repeal or weaken the Affordable Care Act more than 70 times since 2010, or an average of once every four months. That’s a whole lot of losing."
*All links/subscription are free at Fight the Fire.
"Republicans have tried – and failed – to repeal or weaken the Affordable Care Act more than 70 times since 2010, or an average of once every four months. That’s a whole lot of losing."
*All links/subscription are free at Fight the Fire.
Reposted by Sam Bellamy
Trump administration's new hire-a-white-guy campaign. Free link
"You know what they say, 'If you want the job done right, you gotta find a white guy.' Or an orangish one, if he’s not too busy sharing state secrets with his caddy or viewing the daily highlight reel of ICE raids with Stephen Miller."
"You know what they say, 'If you want the job done right, you gotta find a white guy.' Or an orangish one, if he’s not too busy sharing state secrets with his caddy or viewing the daily highlight reel of ICE raids with Stephen Miller."
Hire a white guy today!
The Labor Department certainly can't be accused of being 'woke' in its new social media campaign
fightthefire.substack.com
November 7, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Trump administration's new hire-a-white-guy campaign. Free link
"You know what they say, 'If you want the job done right, you gotta find a white guy.' Or an orangish one, if he’s not too busy sharing state secrets with his caddy or viewing the daily highlight reel of ICE raids with Stephen Miller."
"You know what they say, 'If you want the job done right, you gotta find a white guy.' Or an orangish one, if he’s not too busy sharing state secrets with his caddy or viewing the daily highlight reel of ICE raids with Stephen Miller."
Reposted by Sam Bellamy
New column at Fight the Fire, where all links/subscriptions are free:
The artistic flair of the short-fingered vulgarian at the Kennedy Center, where ticket sales have plummeted since his hostile takeover.
"For a guy who detests 'losers,' Trump certainly does a lot of losing."
The artistic flair of the short-fingered vulgarian at the Kennedy Center, where ticket sales have plummeted since his hostile takeover.
"For a guy who detests 'losers,' Trump certainly does a lot of losing."
The artistic flair of the short-fingered vulgarian
Even these weeping willows got the chainsaw at the Kennedy Center
fightthefire.substack.com
November 2, 2025 at 3:09 PM
New column at Fight the Fire, where all links/subscriptions are free:
The artistic flair of the short-fingered vulgarian at the Kennedy Center, where ticket sales have plummeted since his hostile takeover.
"For a guy who detests 'losers,' Trump certainly does a lot of losing."
The artistic flair of the short-fingered vulgarian at the Kennedy Center, where ticket sales have plummeted since his hostile takeover.
"For a guy who detests 'losers,' Trump certainly does a lot of losing."
Reposted by Sam Bellamy
Unless they pull out a victory on ACA later, this is the Democratic wall of shame.
(Getty/Reuters photos via CNN)
(Getty/Reuters photos via CNN)
November 10, 2025 at 4:20 AM
Unless they pull out a victory on ACA later, this is the Democratic wall of shame.
(Getty/Reuters photos via CNN)
(Getty/Reuters photos via CNN)
Reposted by Sam Bellamy
New from Christopher Shields, only at Fight the Fire.
Click for the full toon. All links and subscriptions are free.
Click for the full toon. All links and subscriptions are free.
Long overdue for a bath
Cartoon by Shields
fightthefire.substack.com
November 5, 2025 at 2:21 AM
New from Christopher Shields, only at Fight the Fire.
Click for the full toon. All links and subscriptions are free.
Click for the full toon. All links and subscriptions are free.
Reposted by Sam Bellamy
If you've liked or shared one of our Substack posts in recent days, please consider getting a free subscription to explore our archives and get new cartoons and columns.
Everything is free at the site. Our payment is your company and your support in the fight to end this nightmare.
Everything is free at the site. Our payment is your company and your support in the fight to end this nightmare.
Fight the Fire | Substack
Defend democracy: join the patriotic bucket brigade. Click to read Fight the Fire, a Substack publication.
fightthefire.substack.com
November 8, 2025 at 2:04 PM
If you've liked or shared one of our Substack posts in recent days, please consider getting a free subscription to explore our archives and get new cartoons and columns.
Everything is free at the site. Our payment is your company and your support in the fight to end this nightmare.
Everything is free at the site. Our payment is your company and your support in the fight to end this nightmare.
Reposted by Sam Bellamy
Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper: “I voted no just because … piss off, I’m just frustrated,”
November 10, 2025 at 4:11 AM
Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper: “I voted no just because … piss off, I’m just frustrated,”
Reposted by Sam Bellamy
Currently, ACA subsidies kick in if policies exceed 8.5% of modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) - basically, salary minus IRA deductions.
But in 2026, it's 400% of poverty level. In numbers I run, if you exceed that, your premium can jump to about 33% of income. In every case, way over 8.5%. (1)
But in 2026, it's 400% of poverty level. In numbers I run, if you exceed that, your premium can jump to about 33% of income. In every case, way over 8.5%. (1)
November 9, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Currently, ACA subsidies kick in if policies exceed 8.5% of modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) - basically, salary minus IRA deductions.
But in 2026, it's 400% of poverty level. In numbers I run, if you exceed that, your premium can jump to about 33% of income. In every case, way over 8.5%. (1)
But in 2026, it's 400% of poverty level. In numbers I run, if you exceed that, your premium can jump to about 33% of income. In every case, way over 8.5%. (1)
Reposted by Sam Bellamy
(2) 400% of poverty level is a healthy income in much of country. Fall below that, many can get a policy (not a very good one) for free. Go above that, and you're hit with policies in way above typical 8.5% of income range. A third, a quarter. Untenable for most without dipping into retirement fund.
November 9, 2025 at 2:16 PM
(2) 400% of poverty level is a healthy income in much of country. Fall below that, many can get a policy (not a very good one) for free. Go above that, and you're hit with policies in way above typical 8.5% of income range. A third, a quarter. Untenable for most without dipping into retirement fund.
Reposted by Sam Bellamy
(3) surely there are many in the WH or GOP side of House who are aware of this fiasco. Members of Congress do pay part of their own insurance, but at salaries of at least $174,000, they don't feel it as much.
ACA needs fixing. But erasing these subsidies isn't part of that fix.
ACA needs fixing. But erasing these subsidies isn't part of that fix.
November 9, 2025 at 2:24 PM
(3) surely there are many in the WH or GOP side of House who are aware of this fiasco. Members of Congress do pay part of their own insurance, but at salaries of at least $174,000, they don't feel it as much.
ACA needs fixing. But erasing these subsidies isn't part of that fix.
ACA needs fixing. But erasing these subsidies isn't part of that fix.
Reposted by Sam Bellamy
(4) And these folks falling off ACA subsidies is on top of the large number of people with subsidies who will see premiums double. Many will be forced to drop insurance, reversing the gains made since ACA.
November 10, 2025 at 4:43 AM
(4) And these folks falling off ACA subsidies is on top of the large number of people with subsidies who will see premiums double. Many will be forced to drop insurance, reversing the gains made since ACA.
(4) And these folks falling off ACA subsidies is on top of the large number of people with subsidies who will see premiums double. Many will be forced to drop insurance, reversing the gains made since ACA.
November 10, 2025 at 4:43 AM
(4) And these folks falling off ACA subsidies is on top of the large number of people with subsidies who will see premiums double. Many will be forced to drop insurance, reversing the gains made since ACA.
Reposted by Sam Bellamy
We need to hammer Republican senators and House members -- our own and others - to vote to extend ACA subsidies NOW.
November 10, 2025 at 3:56 AM
We need to hammer Republican senators and House members -- our own and others - to vote to extend ACA subsidies NOW.
Unless they pull out a victory on ACA later, this is the Democratic wall of shame.
(Getty/Reuters photos via CNN)
(Getty/Reuters photos via CNN)
November 10, 2025 at 4:20 AM
Unless they pull out a victory on ACA later, this is the Democratic wall of shame.
(Getty/Reuters photos via CNN)
(Getty/Reuters photos via CNN)
From The Post: "Of the seven Democrats and one independent who voted yes tonight, two, Senators Dick Durbin of Illinois and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, are retiring. The remaining six are not up for reelection until at least 2028."
Those six apparently count on not getting primaried.
Those six apparently count on not getting primaried.
November 10, 2025 at 4:16 AM
From The Post: "Of the seven Democrats and one independent who voted yes tonight, two, Senators Dick Durbin of Illinois and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, are retiring. The remaining six are not up for reelection until at least 2028."
Those six apparently count on not getting primaried.
Those six apparently count on not getting primaried.
Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper: “I voted no just because … piss off, I’m just frustrated,”
November 10, 2025 at 4:11 AM
Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper: “I voted no just because … piss off, I’m just frustrated,”
The Dems who surrendered also may fear the tide will turn against them soon as voters grow frustrated with airline travel delays and cancellations, particularly if this stretched into Thanksgiving.
Fetterman caved because the porch light's out and he revels in being contrarian.
Fetterman caved because the porch light's out and he revels in being contrarian.
November 10, 2025 at 4:07 AM
The Dems who surrendered also may fear the tide will turn against them soon as voters grow frustrated with airline travel delays and cancellations, particularly if this stretched into Thanksgiving.
Fetterman caved because the porch light's out and he revels in being contrarian.
Fetterman caved because the porch light's out and he revels in being contrarian.
Unless Angus King, Tim Kaine et al have a head count on the GOP side that shows they'll extend ACA subsidies, I don't understand this. Kaine in particular doesn't strike me as someone to horse-trade health care for millions of Americans to benefit federal workers.
November 10, 2025 at 4:00 AM
Unless Angus King, Tim Kaine et al have a head count on the GOP side that shows they'll extend ACA subsidies, I don't understand this. Kaine in particular doesn't strike me as someone to horse-trade health care for millions of Americans to benefit federal workers.
Reposted by Sam Bellamy
Rep. Greg Casar of Texas: “A deal that doesn’t reduce health care costs is a betrayal of millions of Americans counting on Democrats to fight for them. Accepting nothing but a pinky promise from Republicans isn’t a compromise — it’s capitulation.”
That it is. Tragically.
That it is. Tragically.
November 10, 2025 at 3:41 AM
Rep. Greg Casar of Texas: “A deal that doesn’t reduce health care costs is a betrayal of millions of Americans counting on Democrats to fight for them. Accepting nothing but a pinky promise from Republicans isn’t a compromise — it’s capitulation.”
That it is. Tragically.
That it is. Tragically.
We need to hammer Republican senators and House members -- our own and others - to vote to extend ACA subsidies NOW.
November 10, 2025 at 3:56 AM
We need to hammer Republican senators and House members -- our own and others - to vote to extend ACA subsidies NOW.