Froth Slosh B'Gosh

Well, It Seems....

That "Send her back" will be the "Lock her up" of the 2020 campaign.  

This sort of rhetoric gets people killed.

Democrats Sue Treasury

They're seeking Trump's tax returns.

Rep. Richard E. Neal (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, filed the lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department after months of feuding with the Trump administration over the returns.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, who have denied Democrats’ demands for the returns, are named as defendants.
“Defendants have mounted an extraordinary attack on the authority of Congress to obtain information needed to conduct oversight of Treasury, the IRS, and the tax laws on behalf of the American people who participate in the Nation’s voluntary tax system,” the 49-page lawsuit states.

This should be a no-brainer, but with the Republicans' efforts to to make the courts more partisan and favorable to their ideology, I no longer trust Federal judges to act constitutionally. 

I Know He Has No Concept of History and Doesn't Read...

But now he looks like Neville Chamberlain.

 

Horrific

Right-wing fascist nut job admirer of Trump kills 49 people in New Zealand because of religion.  Thanks Fox News!

And There You Have It=

Its necessary to comfort the comfortable by cutting their tax obligations, and as a result, add over a trillion dollars to the deficit, hence, we can no longer afford to comfort the poor, the sick, and the vulnerable.  

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) said Wednesday that congressional Republicans will aim next year to reduce spending on both federal health care and anti-poverty programs, citing the need to reduce America's deficit.
“We're going to have to get back next year at entitlement reform, which is how you tackle the debt and the deficit,”

Which of course, was the plan all along.

IOKIYAR

Because it always is.

"And you have zero issue posting your pro-life stance all over the place when you had no issue asking me to abort our unborn child just last week when we thought that was one of the options," Shannon Edwards, a forensic psychologist in Pittsburgh with whom the congressman admitted last month to having a relationship, wrote to Mr. Murphy on Jan. 25, in the midst of an unfounded pregnancy scare.
A text from Mr. Murphy’s cell phone number that same day in response says, "I get what you say about my March for life messages. I've never written them. Staff does them. I read them and winced. I told staff don't write any more. I will."
The congressman has been lauded by the Family Research Council, for his stance on abortion, as well as for family values, generally. He also has been endorsed by LifePAC, which opposes abortion rights, and is a member of the House Pro-Life Caucus, an affiliation that is often cited by his office.

And he will pay no price politically, because he's a Republican.

Another Day, Another Scandal

Jeff Sessions is a liar.

At his Jan. 10 Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing, Sessions was asked by Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) what he would do if he learned of any evidence that anyone affiliated with the Trump campaign communicated with the Russian government in the course of the 2016 campaign.

“I’m not aware of any of those activities,” he responded. He added: “I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I did not have communications with the Russians.”

Of course, we now know that he did, in fact, have at least two encounters, one of which was a private meeting, with the Russian ambassador.  Now, amid calls for his resignation, Sessions announced he was recusing himself from the probe into Russian efforts to influence the election.  As well he should, since he's now a potential target.

Not even two months in, and this is shaping up as the most corrupt administration ever.

Government By Clusterfuck

We're three days in, and Trump and his minions have lurched from one unforced error to another.  Shutting down the Department of the Interior's Twitter feed because it showed the small size of the inauguration crowd, having a plagiarized Styrofoam cake at the reception, blatantly lying in an appearance for the CIA's weekend crew, and doing it in front of the most sacred spot at Langley, to having your lickspittles lie repeatedly to the media and being called out on it by Chuck Todd, of all people.

In my job, I do a lot  of feather-smoothing, it just goes with the territory.  There are diplomatic ways of doing things, and ways of acknowledging disappointment without looking like a raving loon.  For example, this is what Trump, Spicer, and Company should have said: "Sure, we're disappointed with the turnout, but it was rainy day, and that had a depressing effect on turnout."  and MOVE ON.  Instead, they're getting into arguments with people who buy ink by the barrel.

I'm afraid that when they have to deal with a real crisis, this bunch will fail spectacularly and with tragic consequences.  I hope I'm wrong about that.

As Always, IOKIYAR

I'm old enough to remember when this was grounds for automatic rejection.

Treasury secretary nominee Steven T. Mnuchin defended his ties to offshore business entities and his management of a controversial California bank during a testy confirmation hearing on Thursday.

Speaking before the Senate Finance committee, Mnuchin said businesses in the Cayman Islands and Anguilla revealed in his financial disclosures were not used for his personal benefit but served nonprofits and pensions. A memo compiled by Democratic committee staffers obtained by The Washington Post showed Mnuchin initially omitted some of those entities -- as well as more than $100 million in personal assets -- from his nomination paperwork.

IIRC, presidential appointments were routinely rejected for things as mundane as employing an undocumented immigrant.  Forgetting to declare hundreds of millions of dollars in assets, ties to overseas tax havens, and shady banking practices?  Eh, what can you do?

 

Its All About The Hippie Punching

Republicans in Michigan passed a law preventing local governments from banning the use of plastic bags.

A new law in Michigan will prohibit local governments from banning, regulating or imposing fees on the use of plastic bags and other containers. You read that correctly: It’s not a ban on plastic bags — it’s a ban on banning plastic bags...

The new public act prohibits local ordinances from “regulating the use, disposition, or sale of, prohibiting or restricting, or imposing any fee, charge, or tax on certain containers,” including plastic bags, as well as cups, bottles and other forms of packaging. This means individual cities and municipalities are not allowed to ban plastic bags or charge customers a fee for using them.  

So much for local government knows best, eh?  I'm of the opinion that Republicans' mind set works like this:  "Will this law piss off liberals?  If yes, enact.  If no, table and think of something that will piss off liberals."  The utility of the law, common sense, and demonstrated need do not enter into the calculation.