Seldom Balanced – Usually Fair
From Dave Dubya:
The Party of Trump is pressing on with their extremely unpopular “Tax Cuts For The Rich And Screw Everyone Else” legislation. Every time the corporate media call that rapacious violation of the public interest “tax reform” I want to throw a brick at the TV.
The Republican Kleptocracy is kicking in, while kicking the little guy in the gut. Is there any other way they operate?
From Frances Langum:
Are they trying to mess up this process on purpose? Is it a secret plan to make everyone mad? Because that part is working.
Senator Jon Tester of Montana took to Twitter and showed off his copy of the GOP tax plan as it was at the moment it was handed to him. (We can’t be sure that more edits from LOBBYISTS haven’t arrived in the meantime.)
He shows off scribbles in the margin of his “final” copy that are an absolute mess.
Boy are they rushing this.
From North Carolina pastor John Pavlovitz:
This week, after Donald Trump’s words at the White house christmas Tree lighting, Evangelist Franklin Graham posted on social media: “Never in my lifetime have we had a POTUS willing to take such a strong outspoken stand for the Christian faith like Donald Trump.”
(I’ll pause here to let the rational folks stop laughing.)
The Reverend may actually believe this, but I think he conveniently left out one rather critical detail: A dark-skinned, itinerant, refugee Jesus wouldn’t be allowed in Donald Trump’s America. And if he were already here, his life would be a living hell right now.
There was a time when the President of the United States was popular and respected in Britain and around the world.
Wondering why a few conservative friends fail to be impressed.
From Jonathan Bernstein:
It’s been an ugly process. While congressional scholar Josh Huder reminds us that each of the last several majority leaders have trampled on traditional procedures, he also says that Mitch McConnell “is doing more harm to the institution than any modern majority leader.” As Sarah Binder put it, “Senate leaders also continue to negotiate the bill’s details in secret, just as they did this summer in crafting the health-care repeal bill. And as with this past summer’s effort, even senators who are trying to negotiate changes in the pending bill are being kept in the dark.”
It’s true that Harry Reid, then the Senate majority leader, negotiated a post-committee version of the Affordable Care Act in his office behind closed doors. But the contrast is stark. That bill had full committee mark-ups before Reid combined them. The final product was available to everyone throughout a lengthy floor debate.
Democrats even paused the process at multiple points (in committee and on the Senate floor) for Congressional Budget Office scores, giving both supporters and opponents plenty of time to look closely at what they were voting on. This bill? They were still writing it on Friday, hours into the final debate.
From the Borowitz Report:
WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—In a unique accord, the billionaire Koch brothers and the National Rifle Association have reached a timeshare agreement over the ownership of House Speaker Paul Ryan, representatives of both parties have confirmed.
Speaking on behalf of the Kochs, Charles Koch said that he contacted the N.R.A.’s executive director, Wayne LaPierre, with the timeshare proposal “so that we could all get the maximum enjoyment out of owning Paul.”
The arrangement is intended to minimize conflicts between the Kochs and the gun group that have arisen in the past when both co-owners have wanted to use Ryan at the same time, Koch said.
From Ted McLaughlin at jobsanger:
Friday night, the Republicans passed their onerous tax plan. Fifty-one of the fifty-two Republicans (with Corker as the exception) in the Senate voted for the plan. All Democrats and both Independents voted against the plan. While the plan is very similar to the one passed by Republicans in the House, there are differences that will have to be worked out. It looks like that will happen though.
The Republicans are celebrating. They are still telling voters that the plan is for the benefit of the middle class. That is laughable. The few tiny tax cuts given to the middle class will disappear by 2027, and then everyone making less than $75,000 a year will actually owe more in taxes than they currently do.
But its different for the rich. They will continue to enjoy the tax cut benefits after 2017, and so will the corporations — because their tax cut benefits are permanent.
This is NOT a middle class tax cut.
From Tommy Christopher:
Republicans have already made few bones about the fact that this bill was basically a payoff to their wealthy donors, but Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley took things to another level when he openly displayed the contempt for ordinary Americans that is the beating heart of his party’s politics.
In an interview with the Des Moines Register, Grassley said that people who “invest” are more deserving of tax cuts because they don’t waste their money on frivolities:
“I think not having the estate tax recognizes the people that are investing,” Grassley said, “as opposed to those that are just spending every darn penny they have, whether it’s on booze or women or movies.”
Grassley’s attitude explains a lot about Republicans, but it certainly doesn’t reflect the experience of average Americans, who actually spend their money on things like cancer treatments and child care and putting their kids through college.
Wondering why a few conservative friends are less than impressed.
Oh, by the way,
Hello. The current administration is trying really hard to make sure you don't know you have access to good, affordable health insurance. pic.twitter.com/VU10FkD2Xy
— John Scalzi (@scalzi) November 1, 2017
