Eugene Robinson is making sense: “The president campaigned on a pledge to clean up Washington. Instead, he has created a huge new federally protected wetland — the Trump Family Swamp Inc.”
Trumps “Monetize The Presidency”
User-Supported News Commentary Hosted by Craig Crawford
Eugene Robinson is making sense: “The president campaigned on a pledge to clean up Washington. Instead, he has created a huge new federally protected wetland — the Trump Family Swamp Inc.”
foresee tax bill silver lining:
trump resigns per deal with Mueller not to be charged after stepping down, allowed to keep business and property and enjoy tax breaks from new law.
also more gopers [led by ryan, corker, et al departure announcements] leave critterville in droves to wallow in new found wealth.
Awaiting the morning glory here and I have it on good authority that the days will start getting longer at the end of the week. The dark, long nights of tax cuts and looming government shutdown, soon to give way to more sunshine, eventually. I have a correction to Robinson — trump family global sewer, inc.
in above cartoon, charlie is played by susan and lucy played by mitch
time:
Republican Senator Susan Collins ripped news coverage of her decision to vote for the GOP tax-cut bill as “unbelievably sexist” on Tuesday.
“I cannot believe that the press would have treated another senator with 20 years of experience as they have treated me,” the Maine senator told reporters at the Capitol.
“They’ve ignored everything that I’ve gotten, and there have been stories after stories about how I’ve been duped,” she said. “How are you duped when all of your amendments get accepted? And when the majority leader — and I confirmed it again today with him — will be offering the two insurance bills that I care about as well as the provision waiving the automatic cut in Medicare that could be triggered by this bill?”
The moderate Republican has often won praise from liberals for backing Planned Parenthood and especially for her crucial vote in July to block a repeal of Obamacare. Yet she’s taken heat for deciding to back the GOP tax-cut plan, which contains a provision eliminating Obamacare’s requirement that most Americans get health insurance or pay a penalty.
Collins criticized a reporter, whom she didn’t identify, who covered her meeting with people suffering from serious health conditions.
“The reporter actually wrote that I didn’t cry,” Collins said. The same group met with Arizona GOP Senator Jeff Flake, Collins said, but there was no mention of his lack of tears. “I can’t imagine a reporter writing that about a male senator,” she said.
“It’s been extremely discouraging to see the press coverage on this given the significant impact that I’ve had on this bill,” she said.
Collins said the press hasn’t given her enough credit for her victories in negotiating revisions to the tax-cut plan.
“I think I got more in this tax bill than any other member of the Senate,” Collins said, when asked by a reporter about accusations she had gotten rolled or was naïve in the deal she struck.
Collins said her three amendments — retaining some state and local tax deductions, restoring a more generous medical expense deduction for two years and retaining retirement account tax breaks — were all maintained or improved in the conference report.
Collins also pointed to a number of House provisions she helped kill — including taxes on graduate student tuition assistance, private activity bonds, student loans and other issues. “The list goes on and on,” she said.
“It doesn’t mean I like every provision of the final bill but I clearly had an impact,” she said.
Bah humbug to the congress and the congrussians…the whole lot of them! Watching flake, collins and corker in the spotlight, gurgling and in a wide-eyed trance over their hypocritical stance after sucking on the repug money teat? More greedy repugs by being stingy to their citizens. Feeding donors in gerrymandered districts to fill their empty barrels with moola for their fat retirements.
Meanwhile, over at state, putie’s sanity ballast, tillerson wins over nationalist wing of WH. Susan Thornton stays at state. bannon loses and I have to mention –is bannon pregnant? He looks like he is about eight months along and dropping.
susan, Hillary could just as well say what you said with a little bit of editing:
“I cannot believe that the press would have treated another senator and former secretary of state with 20 years of experience as they have treated me,” ……
“They’ve ignored everything that I’ve gotten, and there have been stories after stories about how I’ve been
duped,” she said.a conniving crooked bitch.bw, that bannon baby bump (or blimp) may be where he’s stashed the money.
The GOP don’t act so much like people who have been bribed…..they act more like someone “made them an offer they couldn’t refuse”.
Especially Corker.
tillerson’s win is bad news for pompeo who gave putie an intelligence gift for the holidays expecting to be sos next year, not tillerson. And despite halley’s most magnificent metal props and threats to allies over J-salem? She is not getting trump’s attention even with her over-the-top performance. The second coming has been postponed, pence to visit Israel, Egypt in January. A busy holiday for the trumpence junta ahead all neatly wrapped-up for Christmas…in MAGA printed wrapping paper. Gifts for the naughty and vice.
Patd, you beat me to it at 6:25. When is Collins up for re-election?
BW, LoL!
Now that the tax cut for billionaires is moving towards the muddy white house (no more capitalization needed for a while) we can expect many things. One that I enjoy is the very real possibility that SFB will find out he is being looked at as a traitor. The other is that we will learn he is stepping down for medical reasons due to syphilis infection in his brain, if not that then Alzheimer’s.
The ripple effect of the Virginia recount is wonderful. Now there is a good story to tell folk who give the old “my vote does not matter/count” answer when you ask them for their vote. There are still two recounts and a court case building against the two districts which were given the wrong ballots. Virginia may end up true blue yet.
Made him an offer.
Notice that they didnt even bother themselves with the usual garbage about “trickle-down” and “Job creators”. They just said, “The billionaires want more money.”
Wonder if Corker owns one less horse these days.
The NY Daily News put it succinctly.
Got their news notifications yesterday. I’m beginning to appreciate the rag.
They can live with being deplorable as long as the rabble can’t get thru the gates.
on this day dec. 20
1946 – The Frank Capra film “It’s A Wonderful Life” had a preview showing for charity at New York City’s Globe Theatre, a day before its “official” world premiere. James Stewart and Donna Reed star in the film.
and in keeping with that, remember what the new tax bill teaches us:
every time a bell rings
the 1% get more things
Anthem of the 1%…
It’s Raining Tax Cuts! Hallelujah
It’s Raining Tax Cuts! Amen
I’m gonna go out,
I’m gonna let myself get,
Absolutely soaking wet!
my apologies to the Weather Girls…
Matthew 13:12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” [George Santayana]
Off to see The Greatest Showman … will return singing. Probably the new Congressional theme song
All the shine of a thousand spotlights
All the stars we steal from the nightsky
Will never be enough
Never be enough
Towers of gold are still too little
These hands could hold the world but it’ll
Never be enough
Never be enough
🙁
“To a new world of gods & monsters!”
Pass the gin.
*****************
Screaming & crying as the democrats are now doing isn’t a plan. – whskyjack, 12/19/17
Will note today they’re goin’ all out with a tweet storm! A Better Deal indeed.
Also good to remember that whatever the Republicans do, their President came to power after the Access Hollywood tape. Puts stuff in perspective.
Katherine Graham Cracker made an astute observation yesterday about how people should realize the GOP signed their death warrant with this. Voters may not realize this until it hits home, really home, then the anger can be channeled & exploited wisely, if the Democratic Party has anyone forward looking enough to get this. The current waaahwaaahwaaah of Party leadership is annoying & easily tuned out. Please, go away. Let people with vision & understanding of the new reality take over.
I hearby nominate Katherine Graham Cracker as Chief Butt Kicker for the Party she loves. Get. It. Done.
excerpt from business insider:
Chris Christie defends Robert Mueller over escalating attacks against the Russia investigation
“I believe he’s an honest guy and I believe he’s going to try to do a good, honest, fair, just job,” Christie said of Mueller during an interview that aired Tuesday night on MSNBC. Christie made the comment when asked to respond to accusations that the Russia investigation is biased against the president.
“Bob Mueller is a good man who I think will try to do the right thing by this investigation but that doesn’t mean he’s perfect,” Christie added, pointing to text messages between an FBI agent and an FBI lawyer that indicated a possible bias against Trump.
[….]
Christie suggested Trump and his allies’ attacks on Mueller and the FBI are shortsighted: “I think they think, well, if we discredit him, then anything that happens will be discredited,” Christie said, “… this could turn out that Mueller exonerates the president. You don’t want to discredit the guy who might in fact exonerate you.”
sfgate: The Latest: Trump claims GOP tax bill repeals Obamacare
and what I heard him say, in addition to that the bill repeals ocare, is that they/he purposely kept this under wraps so as not to get too much attention. he equates repealing the mandate as doing in aca. wonder when he’s going to tell susan collins that her fixit bills won’t be necessary.
Someone posted what E.J. Dionne Jr. wrote about Susan’s Collins’ vote for the tax bill on FB and I didn’t copy it…. but to paraphrase it…
Susan Collins’ vote on this tax bill while being worried about the deficit is like being worried about losing weight and then ordering a big piece of cream pie.
yup….
SJ
You need to get out more. But thanks for thinking of me
what twit said re tax bill killing ocare according to the wrap:
“The individual mandate is being repealed. When the individual mandate is being repealed that means Obamacare is being repealed because they get their money from the individual mandate,” Trump said during a televised cabinet meeting.
“In this bill not only do we have massive tax cuts and tax reform, we have essentially repealed Obamacare and we will come up with something that will be much better,” he added after the Senate approved the legislation in a party-line vote.
Trump bluntly added that he and his team deliberately didn’t publicize the backdoor Obamacare repeal in order to keep the media from focusing on it.
“We didn’t want to bring it up. I told people specifically be quiet with the fake news media because I don’t want them talking too much about it,” said Trump. “But now that it’s approved, I can say the individual mandate on health care … has been repealed.”
hidden cameras showing ecstatic gopers at tax bill passing
Money talks and citizens f–ked
Donors over voters….Gooper logic
2017 has been a dismal disgusting mess. Today I went for the antidote: The Greatest Showman. An injection of all singing, all dancing, nothing but joy and happiness was needed. How “From Now On” got the money for the film.
https://youtu.be/PluaPvhkIMU
Lyrics if you want to sing along. The people in the theater were: https://www.lyricsondemand.com/soundtracks/g/greatestshowmanlyrics/fromnowonlyrics.html
Today is December 20, a Wednesday and one which I normally assign to the “it’s gonna be a long day of meetings”. As no one wanted a meeting, none happened. Fine. Then in the afternoon I see the greedy old perverts were able to get a vote switched in Virginia. Damn.
I am working on planning my hours to be outraged and disgusted. Rather than go hour after hour of viewing insanity and greed, I am scheduling it. Early morning will be around six or six thirty, time for Morning Joe and Mika to provide some mirth. Around eleven thirty or so will be a few minutes given seeing the hate, lunch goes well with it. Evenings are still TBD. But, I need to back off from what is going on. Being a nonperson means I need to plan for proving I am a human and I exist, so that will need to be put in my schedule. It is important to pace oneself during these times of treason and raids.
Trying to vote against people who are more than happy to just kill you is always an iffy proposition
Great writing in the New Yorker
https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/the-republicans-win-on-taxes-is-a-loss-for-american-democracy?mbid=nl_Daily%20122017%20Su
When I saw the celebration on the WH lawn with the tax-slappy repugs dancing on the grave of the 99%? I thought, good time for a Mars Attacks moment.
BlondeW… ask and ye shall receive….
Franken is gillibranded forever, departs Senate January 2nd. End of story…(or is it?)
I heard folks were back tracking so maybe he leaves and runs again
I am so sick, I love that scene in the movie to pieces! However, I would imagine the feeling is reciprocated by the repugs watching the 99% burn…pure joy to them. They are sicker than me.
If Al says he’s leaving……he’s leaving.
He could leave and come back. Maybe he could run for governor
It’s safe to say, at this permt, that Al has numerous complaints against democrats as well as those he may have against GOP
oh, good……we’ve unleashed another fucking independent.
I think Al stays a dem and redeems himself by doing the right thing and then running for office again with everyone’s support kind of a triumphant return
The only people, flawed as they may be, who have ever done one damn decent thing for the working man and woman in America are Democrats.
Infependants ain’t never done the first [expletive deleted] thing.
From now on, if you ain’t a stand-up democrat, “off the road, Toad”
Al has no need for “redemption”.
Besides, redemption is for Catholics and goobers, and whatnot.
it’s a “guilt” thing……
Shame…….so many thousands of years of history and we only have 70 or so to share with the present age.
It is hard enough to remember my opinions, without also remembering my reasons for them!
Neech
The man of knowledge must be able not only to love his enemies but also to hate his friends.
Neetch
The snake which cannot cast its skin has to die. As well the minds which are prevented from changing their opinions; they cease to be mind.
Neech
Neech
like
Friedrich Nietzsche
All things are subject to interpretation. Whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth.
Neetch
Friedrich Nietzsche
like
like
I read a lot of that dude when I was in me younger Yute….
“Remorse.– Never yield to remorse, but at once tell yourself: remorse would simply mean adding to the first act of stupidity a second.”
A non Christmas song
https://youtu.be/8PYKOo_jgJo
Thanks, Jack…..
Astrid
Jamie, thank you. we needed that…. and these last lines for sure:
And from now on
These eyes will not be blinded by the light
From now on
What’s waited till tomorrow starts tonight
It starts tonight
And let the promise in me start
Like an anthem in my heart
From now on
From now on
From now on
And we will come back home
And we will come back home
Home, again!
From now on!