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Donald Jessica Trump found guilty as fuck – May 30, 2024!

We won’t go back.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

Days Since JD Vance Insulted Women Across America: Zero

Their boy Ron is an empty plastic cup that will never know pudding.

Republicans don’t trust women.

Shut up, hissy kitty!

Republican speaker of the house Mike Johnson is the bland and smiling face of evil.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

I’m more Christian than these people and I’m an atheist.

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

Dead end MAGA boomers crying about Talyor Swift being a Dem is my kind of music. Turn it up.

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

Trump’s legal defense is going to be a dumpster fire inside a clown car on a derailing train.

I was promised a recession.

Maybe you would prefer that we take Joelle’s side in ALL CAPS?

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

The gop couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

You are here: Home / Anderson On Health Insurance / Good news in the Senate Reconciliation Instructions

Good news in the Senate Reconciliation Instructions

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Yes, I know how to write click-baity titles:

This means the Senate reconciliation instruction can’t touch the ACA. There might be another whack at the ACA if/when the reconciliation tax cut bill is passed but this is a breather.

Open thread

Reader Interactions

103Comments

  1. 1.

    Corner Stone

    Yes, I know how to write click-baity titles

    I thought your previous thread was about The Gold Cup until I read it a few times.

  2. 2.

    Droppy

    Yes, David Anderson, king of click bait. “This one crazy trick can get your silver-level plan’s cross-check stratofillibator index coordinated with the multi-state broofgumbar pay out scheme – check it out!”

  3. 3.

    Corner Stone

    @Droppy: “This is what Four Level Funding of Silver Gap Scheming looked like in the ’90s – You Won’t Believe What It Looks Like Today!”

  5. 5.

    p.a.

    Broofgumbar can sell across state lines now? Thanks DJT! #WINNING. Suck it libtards.

    Ummmm… what’s the plural of broofgumbar?

  8. 8.

    rikyrah

    PART OF THE FRIDAY NEWS DUMP.

    I’ll say it again…Race Bannon’s House of Cards fantasies are delusional.

    ……………………….

    Mike Pence sent his lawyer to meet with Robert Mueller over the Russia investigation

    Bryan Logan

    Vice President Mike Pence sent the lawyer representing him in the federal probe of Russia’s US-election meddling to meet with special counsel Robert Mueller this summer, Politico reported on Thursday.

    Pence’s attorney, Richard Cullen, signed on to represent the vice president in June, about a month after Mueller’s investigation got underway. A source cited by Politico said Pence wanted Cullen to meet with Mueller to assure the special counsel that Pence was ready to cooperate with the ongoing investigation.

  9. 9.

    Kay

    Justice Neil M. Gorsuch addressed a conservative group at the Trump International Hotel on Thursday, drawing protests and criticism for speaking at a venue that is the subject of several lawsuits against the president.
    In his remarks, Justice Gorsuch called for civility in debates over public controversies. On the one hand, he said, the First Amendment guarantees that “Americans can say pretty much anything they want for more or less any reason they want more or less anytime they want.”

    Another one who is going to lecture us about civility while he ignores ethical boundaries. Yipee! There weren’t enough of those people!

  10. 10.

    Kay

    It’s so gross how they all go to the President’s hotel. None of these people can give a speech in a library or something? Some public space?

    I think it’s fabulous how we’re just proudly and publicly corrupt now. Let that flag fly!

  11. 11.

    rikyrah

    The GOP’s tax plan rollout burdened by familiar missteps
    09/29/17 11:20 AM
    By Steve Benen

    The Republican effort to overhaul the nation’s health care system obviously didn’t turn out well for the party. One of the key questions now is what lessons, if any, GOP leaders have learned from their most recent fiasco.

    Given the rollout of the Republicans’ tax “framework” this week, there’s reason to believe the party is repeating some of its more glaring mistakes.

    A familiar closed-door process

    The GOP health care proposals, in both chambers, were written in secret, with a small group of like-minded partisans crafting plans behind closed doors. This made bipartisanship practically impossible, and limited the ability of those affected by the legislation to buy into the proposed reforms.

    On tax policy, Republicans are doing … the exact same thing. In fact, just yesterday, Gary Cohn, the president’s top economic adviser, told reporters, “Our opening offer and our final offer are on the table.” Despite Donald Trump’s talk that the tax plan could receive bipartisan backing, Cohn, the former Goldman Sachs chief, was part of the secretive “Big Six” talks that was limited to Republicans.

  12. 12.

    gene108

    @rikyrah:

    Race Bannon’s House of Cards fantasies are delusional

    Race Bannon, like Sparky Anderson, was a guy, whose hair turned totally gray earlier than most folks. Race was a good guy. A tough guy. I don’t get the comparison’s to Mike Pence, who is not a good guy or a tough guy.

  13. 13.

    gene108

    @Kay: @Kay:

    Ethics are for the losers, who don’t have billions in media propping up their every stupidity.

    If Gorsuck had any honor, he would have refused the Supreme Court seat and demanded Garland get a hearing.

    Edit: The reasons Republicans get away with so much and why the last two Republican Presidents are way dumber than the last two Democratic Presidents is because right-wing media makes it possible for idiots to cover up their idiocy, since right-wing media will polish any turd any Republican lays and half the country will agree with right-wing media. This makes it so one side has to have super duper people running to get elected, while the other can send out any old idiot, who will get fluffed up and made acceptable, such as Roy Moore in Alabama.

  15. 15.

    rikyrah

    @Kay:

    Another one who is going to lecture us about civility while he ignores ethical boundaries. Yipee! There weren’t enough of those people!

    I know…I know…

  17. 17.

    Scott

    The budget resolution will allow $1.5 Trillion to be borrowed and added to the national debt and then transferred to the wealthiest among us.

  18. 18.

    Butch

    I’m sorry to ask such as basic question but I’m confused – am I correct that the GOP is going to try its tax cut bill under reconciliation?

  19. 19.

    rikyrah

    @Butch:

    I’m sorry to ask such as basic question but I’m confused – am I correct that the GOP is going to try its tax cut bill under reconciliation?

    Doesn’t it have to be ‘revenue neutral’ under reconciliation?

    These cuts put a hole in the budget.
    Which is why they wanted Trumpcare.

  20. 20.

    Humboldtblue

    The US Air Force Academy has had some trouble with tolerating those who aren’t white, Christian and willing to bow down to authoritarians but the newest commandant has some choice words for the current crop of racists attacking black cadets with vile racist graffiti.

    GTFO

  22. 22.

    efgoldman

    @Butch:

    am I correct that the GOP is going to try its tax cut bill under reconciliation?

    It doesn’t stand a prayer of passing regular order (i.e. the Dems can filibuster it to death). It’s the only hope they have, and even than it’s iffy

  23. 23.

    prob50

    @Scott:

    The budget resolution will allow $1.5 Trillion to be borrowed and added to the national debt and then transferred to the wealthiest among us.

    But just think about how all that $$1.5 trill is going to trickle down over the rest of us.

    Oh, wait, that WASN’T $$, just some wet yellow stuff.

  24. 24.

    Butch

    @JMG: So there are reconciliations and it will have to be revenue neutral? But I thought there was no budget yet. That’s why I’m confused. What budget are these instructions included in? Or is the GOP doing this assuming that there will be instructions if they ever get around to a budget?

  25. 25.

    catclub

    @Scott:

    $1.5 Trillion to be borrowed and added to the national debt

    I had realized that all the tax bills are scored over 10 years (“new bill will spend $10B more on blatz” then realize it is over ten years)
    but I guess that even though a budget resolution is for next year’s budget, it is also scored on ten years. huh

  26. 26.

    Major Major Major Major

    @Kay:

    On the one hand, he said, the First Amendment guarantees that “Americans can say pretty much anything they want for more or less any reason they want more or less anytime they want.”

    Now, I’m no Supreme Court justice, but I’m pretty sure that is not actually true.

  28. 28.

    Major Major Major Major

    @Butch: A budget can just be flim-flam with reconciliation instructions stapled to it like they did for the ACA.

    @rikyrah: Not quite, by my understanding–any individual, atomic, reconciliation bill has to be revenue-neutral on its own merits, so even if they tried two, one shrinking the deficit with service cuts and the next one expanding it to where it was with tax cuts, only the one shrinking the deficit would be valid under reconciliation rules. There is some wiggle room here based on the kind of spending that is cut in the first bill, but Graham-Cassidy and BCRA were not structured to try and take advantage of it. But I could be wrong.

    ETA yes, see also the ‘after ten years’ part below

  29. 29.

    catclub

    @rikyrah:

    Doesn’t it have to be ‘revenue neutral’ under reconciliation?

    Nope, not as I understand it. It has to have no budget busting effects after ten years – so Bush’s 2001 tax bill which blew giant holes in the budget, expired after ten years.

    But if the law does not expire in ten years, it does have to be budget neutral.

  31. 31.

    A Ghost To Most

    @Humboldtblue: The takeover of the AF by talibangelicals was starting by the time I left in 1978. My last superior badgered me constantly to come to his “Bible studies”, and told me that an atheist could never be a true American.

    It was the beginning of a long history of christian discrimination against me and my family, including by members of both my and my wife’s family.

    Fuckem

  32. 32.

    James Powell

    @gene108:

    The reasons Republicans get away with so much and why the last two Republican Presidents are way dumber than the last two Democratic Presidents is because right-wing media makes it possible for idiots to cover up their idiocy

    Not disagreeing with you, but I feel compelled to add that the main reason Republicans get away so much is that their white supremacist voters will support the party that promotes and protects white supremacy without regard to policies, character, ethics, legality, loyalty to the United States, aesthetics, or any other issue.

  33. 33.

    Yutsano

    @Laura:

    I sure hope nobody tries a Rocky and Bullwinkle reboot…

    June Foray was Rocky The Flying Squirrel. No one can replace her voice. And no one should try.

  35. 35.

    rikyrah

    @James Powell:

    loyalty to the United States,

    Everything you wrote is true…..

    the loyalty to the United States is the truly surprising thing, but once again…they should NEVER be allowed to forget their treason against this country.

  37. 37.

    gene108

    @catclub:

    That’s my understanding too. Blow a hole in the budget for 10 years, because the tax cuts will not be revenue neutral and when they are about to expire, like they did with the Bush, Jr. tax cuts expiring, hold the government hostage.

  42. 42.

    TenguPhule

    This means the Senate reconciliation instruction can’t touch the ACA.

    Never forget. Republicans always lie.

  44. 44.

    TenguPhule

    In non-political news, Christmas is looking grim.

    Toymakers say there is ‘widespread panic’ following Toys R Us bankruptcy

    Toys R Us announced Monday that it had received $3.1 billion from JP Morgan and others to help pay for inventory and company investments. Although some suppliers said they are optimistic that the money could help shore up the company, others said they worry about their own long-term prospects.

    “The bankruptcy news cast a widespread panic all the way down our chain,” said the chief executive of a U.S.-based toy company that does millions of dollars in business with Toys R Us each year. He spoke on the condition of anonymity because negotiations with Toys R Us are ongoing.

    “Obviously Toys R Us has been very insistent that we ship to them because without product for the holidays, they don’t survive,” he said, adding that he was still deciding whether to send about $4 million worth of holiday inventory.

    Toys R Us owes the company millions of dollars — a sum that is more than three times what the the company posted in profits last year, he said.

    For now, the priority is to get back as much money as possible, he said. The company is already struggling to repay suppliers and is cutting back on its marketing budget for the holidays. Staff layoffs may be next, he said, adding that Toys R Us represents about 20 percent of the company’s business.

    “This has ruined our year,” he said. “Right now everybody is basically working out their own side deals, getting what they can. We’re not a Mattel, Hasbro or Spin Master. We’re not a multibillion-dollar company. We’re a small company that is going to end up getting pennies on the dollar.”

    I don’t think 2018 is going to be a good year for the US economy.

  45. 45.

    Major Major Major Major

    @Spanky: The Democratic base doesn’t care if you’re not white, but they’re also not enough to win a presidential election.

    ETA: and at any rate, you seem to be confusing two statements. One is that a Democrat must be exceptional to win, [John Kerry was not an exceptional candidate to address your example], while Republicans can run any old idiot. I then noted that this sentiment is the canonical example given for white/male supremacy (e.g. “backwards and in high heels”). You’ve apparently taken this to mean that I was saying that a Democrat must be whiter than John Kerry.

  49. 49.

    Humboldtblue

    @prob50:

    Can you imagine being an extraordinarily bright, smart, athletic, engaged, driven, ambitious young black man or woman headed to one of our military academies and when you get there you get greeted with the nastiest racial slurs we have?

    Fuck these people, fuck them all, they are enemies of my country.

  53. 53.

    Mike in NC

    @Humboldtblue: Has anybody ever looked into why the Air Force Academy is a hotbed of religious nutjobs? Is it simply because Colorado Springs is filled with these extremists? I had to deal with a few while stationed in San Diego in the 80s.

  55. 55.

    TenguPhule

    OMFG, there’s now a FOURTH Planegate asshole.

    Not only did Zinke charter a $12,000-plus private plane in June for a trip between two airports that run regular commercial flights, but he did so using a plane owned by Wyoming oil and gas executives. Oh, and it meant he got to spend the night at his home. Oh, and he was in Nevada in the first place for what appear to be pretty political purposes.

    Here are The Post’s Drew Harwell and Lisa Rein coloring it all in:

    Zinke took the private charter flight in late June after giving a motivational speech to the Vegas Golden Knights, the city’s new National Hockey League team. The team is owned by Bill Foley, chairman of Fidelity National Financial. Employees and political action committees associated with the financial services company donated a total of $199,523 to Zinke’s two congressional campaigns, Federal Election Commission records show.

    Zinke was in the Las Vegas area that day after flying on a commercial Southwest Airlines jet from Reno, Nev., where he spoke the night before at a nearby dinner in Lake Tahoe held by the Rule of Law Defense Fund, a conservative group of attorneys general backed by the Koch brothers.

    Just before the Golden Knights dinner, Zinke had appeared in the tiny rural Nevada town of Pahrump to announce a routine local funding grant from Congress to rural communities.

    Via Wapo.

    Grifters all the fucking way down.

  56. 56.

    Roger Moore

    @rikyrah:
    Of course their approach to taxes is the same as their approach to ACA repeal. In both cases, they’re trying to push through a massively unpopular policy. The only practical way of doing that is stealth and speed; they aren’t going to be able to build a consensus and get bipartisan agreement when their goal is to do something that pleases only their ultra-rich donors.

  57. 57.

    TenguPhule

    @Major Major Major Major:

    but what does Toys ‘R Us have to do with it?

    They owe a shit ton of money to toymakers. Who in turn owe money to their own supplier networks.

    This is basically the toy equivalent to one of the big three carmakers going tits up.

    Right before the season they make 40% of their sales on.

    There’s going to some serious pain in the economy as distribution shrinks to basically Walmart, Target and Amazon.

  58. 58.

    Humboldtblue

    @WaterGirl:

    I’m fucking blind with rage just thinking about it and while the General’s response is what you expect, it’s still a fucking tragedy.

    @Mike in NC:

    That’s the only reason I can think of, Mike.

  59. 59.

    SiubhanDuinne (at some point in the indeterminate future to be known by my real name, Judith Mann Costello, but maybe not quite yet)

    @p.a.:

    Ummmm… what’s the plural of broofgumbar?

    Broofsgumbar. Most people say “broofgumsbar,” but they’re just wrong. Morans.

    I’m actually interested in acquiring a small version. A broofgumbarrette.

  60. 60.

    TenguPhule

    @O. Felix Culpa: From the cunning minds that brought us Garfield, Smurfs and Chipmunk live actions, I am pretty sure we can expect Moose and Squirrel to be equally defiled on the big screen.

  61. 61.

    WaterGirl

    @Humboldtblue: I hadn’t seen/heard the backstory of what had happened in the prep school. I suppose it will be something awful enough to send me into a rage or make me want to go rock in the corner for awhile.

  63. 63.

    hueyplong

    It will be news if one of these cabinet a-holes has NOT abused travel.

    But such matters pass from relevance during Republican administrations. The rich expect such perks and, like our nation’s indispensable CEO’s, could not be coerced into serving were such perks to be withheld.

    It’s not like some undeserving minorities were riding those aerial Cadillacs.

  68. 68.

    Roger Moore

    @Spanky:

    John Kerry not white enough for the base?

    It’s not just the candidate’s skin color that matters; it’s their attitude toward white supremacy and patriarchy. If they support those things, they can be Republicans in good standing even if they’re black women like Mia Love. If they oppose those things, they are evil even if they’re straight white men like John Kerry.

  69. 69.

    Mnemosyne

    @TenguPhule:

    This is what vampire capitalists do — they skim profits off the top and decimate the industry that surrounds the company.

    Basically, they are now holding Toys R Us hostage. If they go under, they’re going to drag a big chunk of the toy and kidswear industry with them.

  70. 70.

    WaterGirl

    @Humboldtblue: It is awful, but to me it pales against 8-year-old boys being strung up by teenagers and nazis threatening people with torches and cheering when someone is murdered when a car is driven into a crowd. Or today’s news of a corrupt supreme court justice. It’s like a blitz – they are coming at our country from every direction. Which isn’t to downplay what happened here.

    edit: It helps that I saw that impassioned response before I saw anything else about what had engendered that response.

  71. 71.

    TenguPhule

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Toys R Us owes $14.06 million to Jakks, which last year posted a profit of $1.2 million, making the California-based toy supplier one of more than 100,000 creditors sideswiped by the toy chain’s bankruptcy in the run-up to the all-important holiday season. In total, Toys R Us owes $7.5 billion to a group that includes virtually every major toymaker in the country: Mattel (owed $136 million), Hasbro ($59 million), Spin Master ($33 million), Lego ($32 million), Radio Flyer ($12 million), Crayola ($2.6 million).

    From the story I linked.

  72. 72.

    TenguPhule

    @Mnemosyne:

    Basically, they are now holding Toys R Us hostage. If they go under, they’re going to drag a big chunk of the toy and kidswear industry with them.

    Ironic who’s waging the real war on Christmas.

  74. 74.

    SiubhanDuinne (at some point in the indeterminate future to be known by my real name, Judith Mann Costello, but maybe not quite yet)

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Huh, I never thought of gumbar as an adjective.

    Don’t feel bad; most people don’t. It’s a Nambian linguistic construction.

  76. 76.

    rikyrah

    Congress fails to follow through on key children’s health program
    09/29/17 12:54 PM
    By Steve Benen

    When Congress returned from its summer break earlier this month, lawmakers faced a daunting to-do list for September. Among other things, the House and Senate had to prevent a government shutdown and increase the debt ceiling. They were also poised to take a variety of major legislative priorities, ranging from health care to tax policy, prompting lots of chatter about “the month from hell.”

    Now that legislating has wrapped up for the month – lawmakers left town yesterday – September wasn’t quite as dramatic as originally feared, largely because Democrats and Donald Trump struck a deal to punt questions over government funding and the debt ceiling a few months.

    But perhaps more interesting than what Congress did in September is what it didn’t do. One of the tasks members were supposed to tackle this month was reauthorizing the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and as TPM explained yesterday, that didn’t happen.

    ………………………………………..

    I’ll confess, when Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) struck a bipartisan deal on Sept. 12 to extend CHIP for five years, I more or less assumed everything would work out. After all, that’s usually what happens: Congress approaches a deadline, some bipartisan pairings work on an agreement, and it passes in the 11th hour.

    Except, this time, it didn’t work out at all. Senate Republicans focused their energies on yet another ACA repeal gambit, and reauthorizing CHIP was pushed to the back-burner.

    Now, my point is not that 9 million children will lose their coverage over the weekend. If that were poised to happen, you’d probably be hearing a lot more about this. There have been previous instances in which CHIP wasn’t reauthorized in time – if you’ve been reading me forever, you might recall George W. Bush twice vetoed a CHIP bill 10 years ago around this time – without triggering an immediate crisis.

    But The New Republic’s Clio Chang wrote a good piece explaining why this shouldn’t be dismissed, either.

    [M]ost states have enough funding to maintain the program for a few months. But ten states would run out of funding by the end of the year and Minnesota would run out by the end of October. According to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “When their federal funding runs out, states with separate CHIP programs (rather than CHIP-funded Medicaid expansions for children) may be forced to impose enrollment caps or freezes, or shut their programs entirely.”

    Furthermore, there would be numerous adverse consequences that would begin immediately. States would have to start shifting costs to cover administrative tasks necessary for ending the program, such as sending parents notices in the mail. And the lack of assurance that the program will exist in the future makes it impossible for states to budget and plan. Basically, states would have to focus on a variety of things completely unrelated to the program’s intent of expanding access to and improving children’s health care.

  77. 77.

    TenguPhule

    @rikyrah:

    I more or less assumed everything would work out. After all, that’s usually what happens: Congress approaches a deadline, some bipartisan pairings work on an agreement, and it passes in the 11th hour.

    Except, this time, it didn’t work out at all. Senate Republicans focused their energies on yet another ACA repeal gambit, and reauthorizing CHIP was pushed to the back-burner.

    The Republicans had to prove they were serious by shooting one of the hostages.

  79. 79.

    catclub

    @Roger Moore: and they will likely succeed because although there was the absolute minimum number of GOP senators willing to vote against the ACA repeal bills (because they objected in principle to the very bad bills), so far zero GOP senators have said they would stand against a tax giveaway bill.

  81. 81.

    trollhattan

    @Humboldtblue:
    I love this guy. The AF academy has institutional issues with arch-conservatism and it’s nice to see a general facing down a slice of that.

    Did Colorado Springs become wingnut central because the academy is there or vice versa?

  82. 82.

    A Ghost To Most

    @trollhattan: I’ve often wondered that myself. There are a metric shit ton of military retirees there, as well as the HQ for “Focus on the Family”.

    I call CO Springs Dobsonville, and it is the one area of Colorado from the Front Range west that I avoid if at all possible.

  83. 83.

    Ruckus

    @Mnemosyne:
    It is a bit more complex than that.
    Toy makers have to have a good hit rate, the percentage of their range that sells very well. They have to invest a lot of money up front to design/build/inventory product, mostly in secrecy for whenever they want it released, xmas being the biggie. That means the entire industry is geared up and has to sell massive amounts of product to make up for the rest of the year. There are a few companies that do this very well over time and a secondary level that does OK. That introduction has to start about now to make the kids aware of anything new, so they can bug their parents. It’s sort of a house of cards, the designers have to come up with stuff the kids will like, the parents have to be able to afford the stuff the kids like, the company has to anticipate the demand reasonably, design and build tooling to mfg the product, get the products made and in distribution at the proper time, and then they have to pretty much pray that a competitor hasn’t come up with a blockbuster that overshadows them.
    I used to build tooling for Mattel and a couple other much smaller outfits and nothing had the level of secrecy, urgency and terror on the part of customers. Not defense work, airplane tooling, nothing else.

  84. 84.

    Humboldtblue

    @trollhattan:

    @A Ghost To Most:

    I think it’s a combination and the backlash from conservatives following Vietnam and the whole bogus “moral majority” shit. Dobson and his gang of religious fuckwads certainly played on the “god, country, patriotism” angle after watching the dirty hippies take to the streets and it grew from there. The military does engender uniformity and in a relatively closed society such as a strict religious congregation they eat that shit up and the next thing ya know the Academy chaplain is hanging with the Dobson’s.

  85. 85.

    Roger Moore

    @Mnemosyne:

    Basically, they are now holding Toys R Us hostage. If they go under, they’re going to drag a big chunk of the toy and kidswear industry with them.

    One more example of the dangers of market concentration. Any time you get a player that dominant, they become a single point of failure for the whole industry. It isn’t quite as bad as TBTF in the banking industry, but it’s awful nonetheless.

  87. 87.

    Roger Moore

    @catclub:
    Just wait. The whole thing about writing laws is that the details matter. Everyone in the GOP backed repeal and replace back when it was just a slogan and the “replace” part was an abstraction. Once they had to actually write the “replace” part, there were details for people to object to. I think the same thing is going to happen with tax reform. It sounds great as long as in in the abstract and you can pretend it isn’t going to blow up the budget. When it comes time to put in actual numbers and see how it affects real people, you’ll start to see objections mount.

  89. 89.

    trollhattan

    @Humboldtblue: Last night I finished the Vietnam War episode that takes us through Kent State and Jackson State and found it to have affected me even more than the previous ones. Suspect it’s because by that point we were at war with ourselves and willing to slaughter our own children if it proved “necessary.” That more than half of the country thought the kids “deserved it” was quite more than I can handle. Are we really at a “new low” today?

  90. 90.

    ericblair

    @TenguPhule:

    Not only did Zinke charter a $12,000-plus private plane in June for a trip between two airports that run regular commercial flights, but he did so using a plane owned by Wyoming oil and gas executives. Oh, and it meant he got to spend the night at his home. Oh, and he was in Nevada in the first place for what appear to be pretty political purposes.

    Okay. Now, I’m familiar with federal acquisition rules for normal schlubs, and how does a plane owned by oil and gas executives get a contract for air transportation services? Was there some acquisition vehicle that got competed out and they won by being best value or lowest cost technically acceptable? Or did Zinke’s office just hand over tens of thousands of dollars to his buds? What happens when normal office drones try to hand out tens of thousands of government cash to their friends?

    We just keep trundling by scandals that would stop almost any other administration in its tracks, but they’re always be another one tomorrow. Jesus fuck. These people gotta pay.

  94. 94.

    Humboldtblue

    @trollhattan:

    I haven’t started watching it yet. I am an avid reader of military history and yet I have always avoided going deep into the Vietnam story primarily because it had so much impact on me and my family as I was growing up. I was a little boy for most of it but coming from a large family with six older brothers and sisters and a staunchly anti-war mother, there was none of the glory I could glean (as a little boy) as I did from the Civil War or WW2. My brothers and sister and my dad had a long family text thread about the issue last week and it’s quite simply a difficult one to discuss.

  95. 95.

    trollhattan

    @Humboldtblue:
    Completely understand. I feel like I’m re-living my youth and have gotten to the point where I was exactly the age my kid is today and so am trying to relate to her how I/we experienced and processed all that was occurring. That we’re utterly isolated from the wars now ongoing is a crime, almost literally. Her cohort lives in a state of continual war and are utterly removed from that daily reality.

  96. 96.

    Ruckus

    @trollhattan:
    I don’t think we are at a new low. I’m not sure we ever recovered from the entire Vietnam war debacle, the war, the draft, the police/protests, the 68 convention, Kent State………..
    We thought we moved on but we didn’t settle anything, just like the end of the civil war, there really was no resolution of the issues. A lot of people sort of glossed over Nixon’s bullshit till not all that long ago – mainly when the repubs put up GWB and now drumpf as their shining leaders and we have had to really appraise the entire party for what it is, a large bullshit and racist party of thieves. And it seems a lot of Americans like that sort of crap. The disrespecting of the (confederate) flag, the outright bigotry of politicians like Moore………….

  97. 97.

    TenguPhule

    @trollhattan:

    Have they restored the Bush-era hookers-and-blow program for the resource managers yet?

    Year isn’t over yet.

    But yeah, I expect we’ll find that that happened too.

  98. 98.

    Ruckus

    @Scott:
    I got that. But really, why not drink horse piss? It’s probably closer to beer than any of the cheap stuff, Blatz, Brew 102, Butt Light………… and cheaper too. Of course the tap is not all that appealing.

  99. 99.

    trollhattan

    @Ruckus:
    From your lips…. I was jolted at all the hate directed at, of all people, Water Cronkite on his passing. I didn’t realize/understand the huge cohort who still believe we lost Vietnam just because we weren’t sufficiently committed to winning it and in large part because of the liberal media in general and Cronkite specifically. We never faced up to any of it. Interestingly, Obama was so young as to represent a leapfrog of the entire Vietnam era, which Trump has dragged us right back into, him and his bone spur.

  101. 101.

    Ruckus

    @Humboldtblue:
    @trollhattan:
    One of the things that we sometimes fail to understand is that people over the eons have fantasized about war, while in truth it is horrible. WWII was the first war that film was readily available for, during the war. And that was mostly cleaned up and sanitized for support of the war. Vietnam changed that, with raw footage 24 hrs after it happened, as it really was, during a not popular war. It’s hard to sanitize and bullshit when so many have seen and played in a part of that war.

  102. 102.

    thalarctosMaritimus

    @rikyrah: I was confused for a moment–I thought it was a reference to Steve Bannon’s racism, but I do see it, now that you mention it.

  103. 103.

    The Golux

    @prob50:

    But just think about how all that $$1.5 trill is going to trickle down over the rest of us.

    Oh, wait, that WASN’T $$, just some wet yellow stuff.

    Just remember, “trickle down” is, in reality, “tinkle down”.

    Which is completely unintentional, and they’d prevent it if they could.

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