Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Republicans Pass Historically Awful And Unpopular Wealthfare Tax Bill



Speaking of Republican incompetence:
After years of false starts and failed promises, House Republicans had another one Tuesday: They passed a tax bill with provisions that were struck down by the Senate parliamentarian. 
Even though House Republicans had already congratulated themselves in a series of speeches, the House will have to vote again on Wednesday, after the Senate passed a new version of the final tax bill, 51-48, on a party-line vote with John McCain (R-Ariz.) absent.  (our emphasis)


Barring extreme political malpractice by Democrats (something that's always to be considered), this monstrosity will be one of several anvils that will bring Republicans down in 2018 and beyond. Here's some preliminary, generic evidence in one demographic:

Now, we all just need to vote when the time comes, k?
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Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Video Of The Day: Only Words


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Today's Cartoon Threefer


(click on images to enlarge)


(Drew Sheneman, The Star Ledger, Newark, NJ)


(Stuart Carlson, via gocomics.com)


(Tom Toles, Washington Post)
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Disney World Unveils Animatronic Trump


Disney World has added popular vote loser Donald "Rump" Trump to its animatronic Hall of Presidents exhibit. We share this reaction by his some of his predecessors:

(Photoshop via Balloon Juice)

Disney apparently overcame the obstacle noted by Conan O'Brien back in January:
"The Hall of Presidents at Disney World is getting ready to unveil its animatronic Donald Trump. They're having a little trouble though, because every time they turn the Donald Trump robot on it grabs Minnie Mouse by the p*ssy."
More reactions:





Another proud milestone in our nation's history!
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It Takes Two Hands For A Sap To Sip


Sociopath and f*cking moron Donald "Rump" Trump yesterday, delivering his banal national security speech:

Getty Images





Rump last month during a live speech on TV:

People Magazine

The physical signs of debility are there, as are the signs of his mental deterioration (slurring words, limited vocabulary, manic episodes on Twitter, etc.). It's alarming and should be of concern to everyone. That physical exam early next year can't come too soon.
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Public Opposition to Republican Wealthfare Tax Bill Increasing


As coin-operated Rethuglicans ram through their tax giveaway to their donor class, a new CNN poll shows that the public opposition to their tax legislation is increasing. In just a month, disapproval of the Rethuglican giveaway to multi-national corporations and the top 1% has grown from 45% disapproval in November to 55% disapproval today. Sixty-six percent of Americans see the legislation as benefitting the wealthy rather than the middle class, with 37% saying that if the bill passes their family will be worse off. The poll also showed that neo-fascist con man Donald "Rump" Trump's approval rating is at 35%, the lowest point so far in CNN's polling.

Following the bill's passage, the amount of lying by the Rethuglicans about the nature of the bill and its impact on the middle class will expand exponentially, as they face voters in 2018. Signs are that the voters will be a lot smarter than the Rethugs think they are.
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Don't Assume Elected Dems "Get It"


Just watched a short clip of passionless Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) dutifully peering over his glasses and reading from a piece of paper in a monotone about how bad the Republican wealthfare tax bill is.  It quickly brought to mind several pronouncements in recent days by Virginia Democratic Gov.- elect Ralph Northam and Alabama Senator- elect Doug Jones. If you're not sure what this is about, here's some background:
Political conditions are looking extremely favorable for Democrats. In special and off-year elections across the country, they have drastically improved on Hillary Clinton's margin almost everywhere — most astoundingly in Virginia, where Ralph Northam won the governorship by a comfortable 9 points, and in Alabama, where Doug Jones knocked off Roy Moore for the open Senate seat. 
But over the weekend, both victors revealed the danger of milquetoast centrist liberalism at this moment in history. In an interview with The Washington Post, Northam seemingly discarded his campaign promises to push for the ObamaCare Medicaid expansion, suggesting that it needs to have Republican-style means tests and work requirements instead. Jones, meanwhile, suggested that he might vote with the GOP, and said that it was time to put President Trump's numerous sexual harassment and assault allegations behind us.  [snip]
Northam justified this by vapid knee-jerk centrism. "Virginians deserve civility," he told the Post. "They're looking for a moral compass." Actually, what they're looking for is the Medicaid expansion, which is supported in the state by 69 percent of voters, according to a recent poll. Health care was rated as the most important issue by a 39-percent plurality of voters in exit polls — and that group broke 77-23 for Northam. As for a "moral compass," one could do worse than an all-out attack on the party that just finished running a viciously racist, conspiracy-mongering campaign for governor. 
We need to keep an eye on this, and Virginia Democrats -- whose energy propelled Northam into office in a landslide -- apparently need to keep him from going squishy right off the bat.

Ed Burmila at Rolling Stone sees the same pattern:
... Democrats have developed a habit over the last four decades of trying to get their voting base fired up during elections without delivering a whole lot once in power. They think Americans, and liberals in particular, want to see bipartisanship – lots of hand-holding and playing nice. By the time they wake up from that fantasy, it may be too late.
After dispensing with Northam's self- inflicted wound, Burmila has this to say about Jones:
Doug Jones, meanwhile, flubbed a softball question by saying it's time to "move on" regarding accusations of sexual assault and misconduct against Trump. A more forceful, even if noncommittal, answer would have been so simple: I look forward to hearing what these women have to say. Donald Trump is remarkably unpopular right now. What could Jones gain by being gentle? If ever there is a time to score points by taking a whack at Trump, this is it. 
Democrats like Jones depend heavily on the support of women, especially African-American and Hispanic women. It's not fair to make too much of a single comment, but we can forgive some of the people who worked hard to elect him if they take it as a bad sign. 
This pretty well sums up our thoughts in this time when our country is threatened as at no other time since the Civil War, and one party is hellbent on holding onto power at any cosrt:
The Democrats, of course, have accomplished some things while in power; health care reform in 2009 is an obvious example. But they are maddeningly stuck on the idea that taking the high road and extending an olive branch to Republicans – who have no intention of compromising – is what voters want. 
What Democratic voters would like to see from their party are results. A lot of Americans are working their asses off to fight back against Trump. If it's too much to ask for elected officials who will do the same, the Democratic Party in 2020 will once again be scratching its head and wondering why the voters it relies on most heavily didn't show up. 
Once more, elected Democrats: these are not normal times. The opposition went around the bend and over the cliff a long time ago.  They're now well underway in the process of deconstructing America and obstructing justice. If you can't wake up and find your footing even at this late stage, we're all in for a sh*tload of trouble.  That's why it's so important for us to not assume the fight is over when Democrats win.  In these instances, the fight's only begun.
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Monday, December 18, 2017

Tweet Of The Day - Missing Element


The Giant Toddler put on his big boy pants today to give "his" National Security Strategy speech outlining priorities and threats to our national security. Something was missing, though...


That's it!
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Making Your Water Polluted Again (UPDATED)


It's hard to imagine the Orwellian atmosphere inside Federal agencies, where career staff are being asked to adopt alternative facts and lie for their new overlords in the administration of demagogue and nihilist Donald "Rump" Trump. Rump has made a point of undercutting or terminating every initiative by President Obama that he can lay his little fingers on, largely out of envy and vindictiveness. The first sign was to appoint people to executive positions that were either totally unqualified (we're seeing through your "smart" glasses Rick "Oops" Perry) or were opponents of the agencies they were appointed to head. A prominent example of the latter is fossil industry shill EPA Administrator Scott "Screw It" Pruitt, who was an EPA nemesis when he was Oklahoma's Attorney General, suing the EPA some 14 times.

Employees of the EPA -- long time careerists and scientists dedicated to its mission -- have been appalled at the ham-fisted, pro-industry approach of Pruitt to eliminating regulations carefully researched and written to protect America's air and water. ProPublica takes a look inside the EPA's Office of Water, and it portrays employees struggling to fight the polluting headwinds of Pruitt:
"Since Trump was elected, dozens of environmental rules have been either opened for reconsideration or overturned altogether. These regulations would have had far-ranging effects, from banning hazardous pesticides and offshore oil drilling to stopping coal-mining debris from being dumped into local streams to forbidding hunters from shooting Alaskan wolves on wildlife refuges. They would have required infrastructure projects to be built to higher flood standards and greenhouse gas emissions to be limited and tracked."
Pruitt's actions on the rule for effluents promise real damage to water quality and people's health, while it rewards a handful of big coal polluters:
"Longtime staffers and environmental experts say it is an instance in which science and prevailing industry practices were swept aside to benefit a handful of coal-fired power plants that were having trouble meeting the new standards. [snip] Many of the rules were years or even decades in the making, and the sheer speed with which they’ve been cast aside has left the EPA staffers who helped craft them shaken."
Pruitt's secretive, non-participatory style applies to the public, not to fossil and extraction industry lobbyists, however:
"Since taking the administrator post, it’s been reported that he’s given lobbyists broad access and appointed people to key jobs who have close ties to the industries they are overseeing."
Perhaps that "access" to lobbyists is why Pruitt had a soundproof room built in his office. You know, to conduct the public's business.

UPDATE: Not all is lost, though. Some are resisting.
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Today's Cartoons


(click on images to enlarge)


(Jeff Bagley, The Salt Lake Tribune)


(Chris Britt, Illinois Times)


(Steve Breen, San Diego Union-Tribune)


(Kim Warp, The New Yorker)
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Rethuglican Family Values: Off Track


News Item: Track Palin arrested on felony burglary and assault charges stemming from a domestic violence dispute. Palin, the eldest son of snowbilly grifter Sarah Palin, was previously arrested in 2016 for assaulting his girlfriend in another domestic violence incident. Then there was that drunken brawl involving the Palins in 2014.

Clearly, the young man has problems that need to be addressed in a clinical setting with mental health professionals. His unstable, dysfunctional family should participate, too.
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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):




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."
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Sunday, December 17, 2017

Trove Of E-Mails Spell Trouble For Trump Team


The Associated Press is reporting that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team is in possession of thousands of e-mails from the transition team of con artist and Putin loyalist Donald "Rump" Trump. The e-mails had not been obtained from Rump's transition organization, "Trump for Russia America," but were obtained from the General Services Administration, which was providing Federal IT services and other logistics for the transition group. The significance of this is that Rump transition officials were unaware of the e-mails' possession by Mueller and his FBI team, allowing the Special Counsel's team to question transition officials about situations and communications described in the e-mails without the Trumpers knowing that thousands of e-mail exchanges were already in the FBI's possession. It also suggests that the Special Counsel didn't trust the transition group to turn over all of their e-mails to the investigation.

Undoubtedly, the e-mails represent a trove of potentially incriminating evidence of conspiracy/collusion and potential attempts to obstruct or cover the trail of that collusion. Also, if Rump transition team officials -- potentially including Rump, Jr. and Jared "Mr. Ivanka Trump" Kushner -- lied about something that was in those e-mails, they would be subject to felony perjury. That would give the Mueller team leverage to get them to plea bargain in return for testimony against others higher up.

For the Trumpers now protesting the Special Counsel obtaining the e-mails from the GSA, there's this: the Rump transition team was told that, by using Federal computer resources, they should have no expectation of privacy regarding materials produced.
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Across The Universe, Cont. - Ongoing Cosmic Collision


(click on image to enlarge)



From NASA/ ESA, December 14, 2017:  NGC 5256 is a pair of galaxies in its final stage of merging. It was previously observed by Hubble as part of a collection of 59 images of merging galaxies, released on Hubble’s 18th anniversary on 24 April 2008. The new data make the gas and dust being whirled around inside and outside the galaxy more visible than ever before.

 This image is composed of data gathered with the Advanced Camera for Surveys and the Wide-Field Camera 3.

 Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA
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Tweet Of The Day


This speaks for all of us who, on a daily if not hourly basis, try to process and react to the dystopian Trump environment:



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