Monday Reading

As always, please follow the links to the articles for the full reads!

As passage of the Republican wealthfare tax bill nears, some "curious" features meant to secure votes and comfort the comfortable have been identified, including a so- called "Corker Kickback." That's a provision that would enrich those with real estate interests like Tennessee Republican real estate millionaire and former "man of principles" Sen. Bob "Liddle Bob" Corker.  But, Corker isn't the only familiar name who benefits from this windfall:

Republican congressional leaders and real estate moguls could be personally enriched by a  real-estate-related provision GOP lawmakers slipped into the final tax bill released Friday evening, according to experts interviewed by International Business Times. The legislative language was not part of previous versions of the bill and was added despite ongoing conflict-of-interest questions about the intertwining real estate interests and governmental responsibilities of President Donald Trump — the bill’s chief proponent. 

The Trump organization and the Kushners (the family of Ivanka's husband, Jared) have overseen vast real estate empires, and top GOP lawmakers writing the tax bill collectively have tens of millions of dollars of ownership stakes in real-estate-related LLCs. The new tax provision would specifically allow owners of large real estate holdings through LLCs to deduct a percentage of their “pass through” income from their taxes, according to experts. Although Trump, who became famous for his real estate holdings, has transitioned into branding in recent years, federal records show Trump has ownership stakes in myriad LLCs. (our emphasis)

Corrupt sociopaths.

Bill Moyers, who's now 83, bids an unwelcome farewell this week. His voice will be sorely missed:

BillMoyers.com will continue to serve as the archive of the television journalism my colleagues and I have produced over the past 44 years. I hope you find it useful. The site will go into archive mode on Wednesday, Dec. 20. 

Until it moves to a new home, our Trump-Russia timeline, created by the indefatigable Steve Harper and orchestrated by our producers, will continue to publish right here at BillMoyers.com, tracking the convergence of events connecting the Trump empire and Russian oligarchs now being investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller. [snip]

In the meantime, please remain vigilant and engaged as citizens in the civic and political life of your community and our country. Democracy is fragile, and no one can say with certainty that it can withstand the manifold risks to which it is now exposed.

As time passes, and the daily outrages pile up, we need to remember Puerto Rico is still suffering from Hurricane Maria. Many more have died there than have been officially counted. It appears politics has played a role in keeping the death count low:

Facing mounting evidence that Puerto Rico has vastly undercounted the number of people who died because of Hurricane Maria, Gov. Ricardo A. Rosselló ordered on Monday that every death on the island since the calamitous storm be reviewed. 

Officials will look again at all deaths attributed to natural causes after the hurricane, which made landfall Sept. 20 and knocked out power to 3.4 million Puerto Ricans — and to their hospitals and clinics. Parts of the island are still without power almost three months later, and the power grid is operating at only 70 percent of capacity. [snip]

For weeks after the storm, top leaders of Puerto Rico’s government insisted that its count of the dead was accurate and not significantly low. On Sept. 29, nine days after Maria made landfall, Héctor M. Pesquera, Puerto Rico’s public safety secretary, said he did not think the count would rise by much. Four days later, President Trump visited the island and remarked that the death toll — which officially stood at 16 at the time — was much lower than the 1,833 people who died in 2005 because of Hurricane Katrina. 

Sanctimonious weasel Sen. Ted Cruz (R- Texass) thought he would get a dig in on Star Wars icon Mark Hamill over Hamill's roasting FCC douchenozzle Ajit Pai for celebrating killing net neutrality with a sophomoric display. Turns out, The Force was not with Cruz or Pai (h/t Silver Spring Bureau Chief Brian):

Cute video Ajit "Aren't I Precious?" Pai 🤮-but you are profoundly unworthy 2 wield a lightsaber-A Jedi acts selflessly for the common man-NOT lie 2 enrich giant corporations. Btw-did you pay John Williams his royalty? @AjitPaiFCCorpShill #AJediYouAreNOT pic.twitter.com/SpIcOEySUY

— @HamillHimself (@HamillHimself) December 16, 2017

.@HammillHimself Luke, I know Hollywood can be confusing, but it was Vader who supported govt power over everything said & done on the Internet. That's why giant corps (Google, Facebook, Netflix) supported the FCC power grab of net neutrality. Reject the dark side:  Free the net! https://t.co/nARkMvIEYk

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) December 17, 2017

Thanks for smarm-spaining it to me @tedcruz I know politics can be confusing, but you'd have more credibility if you spelled my name correctly. I mean IT'S RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF YOU! Maybe you're just distracted from watching porn at the office again❤️-mh https://t.co/nHpJVG1Wpe

— @HamillHimself (@HamillHimself) December 17, 2017

We conclude with the lightsaber- worthy link round-up from Infidel 753, where you can browse the eclectic assortment of goodies.

BONUS:  "Liddle Bob" Corker is shocked! shocked! that the Corker Kickback was inserted in the bill at the last minute, just before he misplaced his "principles."

Apocalypse -- No

Establishment Republican hack and former Dumbya speechwriter Michael Gerson seems to have had a long- delayed, yet self- serving and probably short- lived "epiphany" concerning the extremist, apocalyptic rhetoric that has been the hallmark of Republican politics for decades (a tradition to which he gladly contributed - he didn't get the nickname "Mushroom Cloud" for nothing).  Much like David "Bobo" Brooks' recent discovery that the party he both promoted and made excuses for over the years had "suddenly" become "willfully ignorant" and "incompetent," Gerson has this moment of clarity today about the party that he both promoted and made excuses for over the years, starting with the admission that America isn't "going to hell":

The United States has a long list of social and economic challenges, disturbingly (and unjustly) concentrated in certain communities. But we are not slouching toward Gomorrah. Over the past few decades, divorce rates and abortion rates have both declined. Levels of violent crime have dropped dramatically. The U.S. economy, for all its problems, still attracts the world’s capital and the world’s best students. We have a wonderful country, thank you, flawed and free, carrying the highest political ideals of humanity, always capable of hope and healing. [snip]

Apocalyptic rhetoric is more than the evidence of historical ignorance and bad speechwriting. It leads to a distorted politics. If the United States has reached its midnight hour, it means that the institutions that have gotten us here are utterly discredited. The normal avenues of political reform are useless. Proposals for incremental policy change are so much deck-chair arranging. Political persuasion and compromise evince a lack of urgency. What we really need is to call a constitutional convention. Or to conduct a massive police action removing 11 million undocumented immigrants. Or to elect a really strong leader who knocks heads and sets everything straight.  [snip]

Trump and Carson can succeed only if the end times are upon us. And I don’t mean that in a theological way. In normal times, innovative policy and governing skill would matter most in selecting a president. Successful governors and legislators would naturally rise to the top. Only in a crisis of institutional legitimacy does the outsider become the savior. This means Trump, Carson and other apocalyptic politicians must encourage a mental state of emergency among Republicans. Lacking any relevant qualifications in the current political system, these candidates must bring that system into complete disrepute. Since the politicians have made such a hash of things, they insist, a businessman or a neurosurgeon couldn’t possibly do worse.  (our emphasis)

Oh, yes they could.

It's funny how, when the enraged pitchfork- wielding yahoos that you've cultivated are finally coming after you, the clouds -- even mushroom clouds -- part and the truth finally ekes out.

UPDATE:  Driftglass takes us back a short while to demonstrate Gerson's complicity.

Is Ted Cruz Just Now Figuring Out That Mitch McConnell Is A Liar?

In a speech that violated norms of Senate decorum and party loyalty, Sen. "Tailgunner Ted" Cruz (R-Calgary) called out his Republican Majority Leader, Sen. Mitch "Missy" McConnell on the Senate floor today (!) over what Tailgunner Ted thought were McConnell's assurances that the Export-Import Bank re-authorization would not be coming up for a vote in the Senate (it will):

"Not only what he told every Republican senator, but what he told the press over and over and over again, was a simple lie," Cruz said.  [snip]

"We now know that when the majority leader looks us in the eyes and makes an explicit commitment that he is willing to say things that he knows are false."  (our emphasis)

Some people are just slow learners. (Or maybe Tailgunner Ted is a liar?!  This is getting to be like eleventy- dimensional chess.  Let's just posit that all Republicans are liars until proven otherwise.)

It's hard to imagine it getting any crazier, or better.

(Obvious musical accompaniment)