ME: Joe, about halfway through the speech, I’m gonna wish you a happy birth–
BIDEN: IT’S MY BIRTHDAY!
ME: Joe.Happy birthday to @JoeBiden, my brother and the best vice president anybody could have. pic.twitter.com/sKbXjNiEjH
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) November 20, 2017
Meanwhile, in news of the current Oval Office occupant, from Buzzfeed
National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster mocked President Trump’s intelligence at a private dinner with a powerful tech CEO, according to five sources with knowledge of the conversation.
Over a July dinner with Oracle CEO Safra Catz — who has been mentioned as a candidate for several potential administration jobs — McMaster bluntly trashed his boss, said the sources, four of whom told BuzzFeed News they heard about the exchange directly from Catz. The top national security official dismissed the president variously as an “idiot” and a “dope” with the intelligence of a “kindergartner,” the sources said.
A sixth source who was not familiar with the details of the dinner told BuzzFeed News that McMaster had made similarly derogatory comments about Trump’s intelligence to him in private, including that the president lacked the necessary brainpower to understand the matters before the National Security Council.
Both Oracle and the Trump administration heatedly denied the comments that Catz later recounted…
Man’s not wrong, is all I’m saying.
dmsilev
My niece and nephew are kindergartners. I think they would justly take offense at being compared to Trump.
Bobby Thomson
If the dunce cap fits
Bobby Thomson
@dmsilev: age has nothing to do with low intelligence.
Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)
Who replaces Tambor as HR McMaster in HBO’s White House: The Trump Years?
Also, this just occurred to me, but here goes: Given everything that’s happened in the last two months, isn’t it kind of weird that up until now Bill Maher’s been more or less untouched? AFAICT, the only accusation against him was a Jenna Jameson tweet last year where she said his gropiness at the Playboy Mansion was worth than Trump p***y-grabbing, but that never went anywhere.
SiubhanDuinne
Happy 75th, Joe! (That tweet from Best POTUS Ever is pitch-perfect.)
hitless
Come back Barack!
Spanky
Somebody (yesterday?) was wondering why a Dem Governor and Dem SoS in PA wouldn’t look into suspicions about the integrity of the 2016 election. I think this raises more questions. Certainly doesn’t answer any.
And isn’t it grammar malpractice to make each sentence its own paragraph?
Major Major Major Major
I saw this and it reminded me of a conversation I had here a few days back. See, this is the right way to do things.
Spirit of Boaty McBoatface lives on as competition to name council gritters offers up ‘David Plowie’, ‘Spready Mercury’ and so much more
Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)
Happy birthday to Joe! Who is, I remind you, a toucher. I watched him with Colbert a couple of nights ago and he touched Colbert’s arm on the desk repeatedly. I’ll bet you could find women who claimed Biden had groped them, though I doubt if he saw it that way.
Eljai
Now that you mention it, I seem to recall some lady warning us that Trump was “temperamentally unfit” and “totally unqualified to be commander in chief” last year.
daveNYC
McMasters is one of maybe two non-morons at the cabinet level. Be a shame if he gets booted.
The Moar You Know
That ship’s done sailed.
Brachiator
@Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD):
I think that the Playboy Mansion is neutral territory as far as p***y grabbing goes. Kinda like a foreign nation’s embassy is not US territory.
The Moar You Know
@Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD): If all Bill Maher has done in his life is unwanted groping, I’d be relieved. And disbelieving, frankly. That guy has always struck me as a full-on serial rapist/murderer waiting for the right circumstances.
Karmus
In reference to Catz, not a man.
Anne Laurie
@Karmus: But McMasters is!
Corner Stone
@daveNYC: Requires citations to facts not in evidence.
Litlebritdifrnt
@Major Major Major Major:
I voted for Gritsy Bitsy I thought it was brilliant.
Betty Cracker
@Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady): These days, wingnuts on Twitter and elsewhere are constantly publishing photos of Biden in which it’s implied he’s molesting some random woman.
Major Major Major Major
@Litlebritdifrnt: I love Gritsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Anti-Slip Machiney (repeating it cuz, yes, brilliant) and am glad that the administrators agree with me about blanky mcblankface being lame.
Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)
@The Moar You Know: “[F]ull-on serial rapist/murderer waiting for the right circumstances” is exactly my impression of Mark Ames.
It’s kind of like Michael Jackson, in a way — it’d honestly be MORE surprising if he turned out to be even relatively clean.
Mary G
@Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady): I don’t think it’s sexual, or a power/control issue, but I have seen a few people flinch away from Joe over the years and I suspect he doesn’t get the concept of boundaries. Not everyone is comfortable with hugs, especially from a stranger. Even a VP.
SRW1
No wonder the Trump admin is understaffed. With that kind of recruitment drive …
McMaster’s call to duty appears to be wearing rather thin indeed. Dude resign, this thing is crashing anyway and despondence is no way to go through life..
Mike in NC
Anybody seeing those “Trumpy Bear” ads on TV? First time I saw one I thought it was an SNL spoof, but it’s a real item: a standard teddy bear with a white shirt collar and red necktie, with a patch of frizzy blond hair on top of his head. There’s a zippered compartment on the back of the bear which holds an American flag blanket. The ads show how senile white people can hug their Trumpy Bear and wrap the flag blanket around it and themselves (presumably while watching “Fox & Friends” or Sean Hannity).
I’m going to visit the web site to comment on what a fucked-up product they’ve created. Probably made in China, too.
kindness
I would happily trade Joe having hand gesture conversations behind a speech being given by President Obama to our current Orange troll & co.
Corner Stone
Boaty McBoatface had a noble and true purpose. Exploring the ocean vast and cold, all alone. Doing research to the benefit of all mankind. I feel deprived the contest holders cheated gradeschool children for years to come from their true destiny.
Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)
@Betty Cracker: @Mary G: I think Biden shows how context matters in judging actions. The call for a one-size-fits-all reaction is wrong and harmful. For one thing, it allows for rape or sexual contact with minors to be lumped in with much less harmful behavior.
But you knew that. I’ve been out all day and am just catching up.
PaulWartenberg
Della Reese passed away?
http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/20/entertainment/della-reese-dies/index.html
nonynony
@Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD):
Not weird to me. Women are still reluctant to speak out about these things – some feel guilty, some feel that their careers would be torpedoed, and some have just written it off as the “cost of doing business” for so long that even as they see various dirtbags get their commupance they still aren’t believing it will work in their own cases. It always takes at least one woman to actually decide “fuck it – I’m going to do it anyway” and take the risk before revelations of more start to come out. And that’s a chancy proposition.
Or at least it has been historically. This fall has been interesting to watch. I am beginning to suspect that the election of Trump has changed the calculus for a number of women who might have stayed silent before but having Trump in the White House pushes the calculus for them to be more in the “speak up” camp than they previously were. (Or maybe I’m full of shit and it’s just that there are finally enough women in positions of power in Hollywood and the media that women are thinking they might actually be believed when they speak up now and it’s totally an industry thing.)
Major Major Major Major
@Corner Stone: they named the attached submarine Boaty McBoatface.
After the naming decision one of my friends sent me a petition for David Attenborough to change his name to Boaty McBoatface which I thought was hilarious.
@nonynony: I also think Maher’s fan base is the type to turn rabidly against any accuser.
schrodingers_cat
What does M^2 have to say about his other two formerly uniformed amigos?
ruemara
@Major Major Major Major: That whole twitter thread was gold.
@Mary G: There’s a whole lot of people’s faves who have consent & boundary issues that can be turned into inappropriate touching claims. As Democrats are finding out.
Another Scott
@Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady): I vaguely recall a “news” story a few years ago that said that (all) the US Senators are “touchy” people and use that to build rapport, etc., to try to get stuff done. (Back slapping, touching shoulders, etc., etc.)
It would probably be impossible to find that story now, given what’s been in the news lately.
Cheers,
Scott.
Brachiator
@Mike in NC:
There really is such a thing?
schrodingers_cat
@Brachiator: And does the T shirt say, I am going grab your p?
WaterGirl
Why all this ratting out of McMaster for what he said about Trump? With friends like those, McMaster doesn’t need enemies.
Adam L Silverman
@Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady): They’re already out and about on social media with it. No need to go and look.
aimai
@Major Major Major Major: I don’t know why but David Plowie just wrecked me. I can’t stop laughing.
TenguPhule
OMFG, It’s ALWAYS PROJECTION WITH THESE MFERS!!!
Former Oklahoma state senator admits to child sex trafficking while in office
randy khan
The contrast between what people say about Trump in private and what they say in public is pretty astounding. I was just reading an article in the WaPo magazine about Trump’s spiritual advisor (who sure sounds like a fellow grafter to me) and she made a point of saying how great he was in meetings, how engaged, how quick to understand things, etc. Then you read something like this and it’s exactly the opposite. It would make me wonder, except that I don’t recall anything resembling that kind of contrast in descriptions of any recent President, going back at least to Nixon. (Even Reagan, whose preference for one-page memos was well known, and even publicized, never had any stories quite like those about Trump.)
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
Apparently he also insulted the intelligence of Mattis. So much for the Triumvirate.
TenguPhule
@Brachiator: Say it ain’t so.
TenguPhule
@WaterGirl: Mcmaster has no friends.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
Fresh new thread so I’m going to ask here: why can’t Dems just repeal the tax cut if it passes? Forgive my ignorance but it seems silly that such a thing can’t be as easily repealed as it was enacted.
Brachiator
@Another Scott:
“Is that a ‘glad hand,’ or are you really glad to see me?”
Adam L Silverman
@WaterGirl: I agree with Josh Marshall that it is far too much of a coincidence that when McMaster finally managed to get rid of Ezra Cohen-Watnick, the latter ended up in a spot in Oracle’s DC lobbying shop.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/cohen-watnick-strikes-again
From what I know of LTG McMaster, and given the full context that Buzzfeed recounted from its sources, that he also lashed into Secretary Mattis, I find this a bit of a stretch. The man does have a temper. He is known for it. And he can be very, very hard with subordinates if they screw up and he thinks they should have known better. But he’s not a fool, nor intemperate in a way that would have him do something like this at a dinner and in conversation with someone who is close to the person (the President) that he was belittling.
TenguPhule
@Major Major Major Major: I presume this was before you got sick of the McFace meme.
Amir Khalid
I’d like some confirmation on this McMasters story. It’s quite likely that this really is his opinion of POTUS. Is it likely that he would blurt it out at a dinner? I tend to think not. Most general officers know better than to be so indiscreet. It is possible he wanted his low opinion of Trump to find its way to the public, but I’m not sure to what purpose. And there are ways to do it that are more direct and less uncertain than loose lips at a dinner party.
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman:
Must be pretty stressful working for the most hated man on Earth.
tobie
@Spanky: Yes, I posted the question. Someone answered that election officials in PA are notoriously corrupt and that the media tends to focus on cities (Democratic), where more votes are at stake, than in rural precincts (Republican), where there could be just as much corruption. I don’t know what to make of the story about Wolf firing the Cortes, but the style of the passage you quote is god-awful.
Adam L Silverman
@TenguPhule: Not a new thing. He is a general officer despite his colleagues and peers, not because of them.
tobie
@WaterGirl: Why McMaster would trust Safra Catz, a member of the Trump transition team (!!), with his honest opinion is beyond me.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@TenguPhule:
He won’t have to worry about getting fired from this.
Trump: “Hey, Mick, I heard you called me an idiot and a kindagardner. Is that true!?”
McMaster: “Of course not, Mr. President. Just fake news made up by libtards.”
Trump: “Oh good. I knew that! I always knew I could trust you Mick.”
That’s how that would go. He’s easily bamboozled by foreign nations, why not his daddy substitute in a uniform? Wtf ever happened to “being tough in China and currency manipulation”? God Republicans are such fucking chumps.
OzarkHillbilly
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: DEMs can, but DEMS have to get the House, the Senate and probably the Presidency to do it.
cursorial
If Catz was just trying to avoid the no-win situation of being invited to join the dumpster fire at 1600, I compliment her on the subtlety of her strategy.
Adam L Silverman
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: In terms of process, all they’d need are the votes in both chambers and a Presidential signature. Politically, much, much more difficult.
dmsilev
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: Trump or Pence would veto that. If you mean after 2020, with a hypothetical D House+Senate+Presidency, sure they could undo the effects, though they’d run into a blizzard of “tax raising Democrat Party!” propaganda from the GOP (and never you mind that it would be a return to the prior status quo), so it might be difficult in practice.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@OzarkHillbilly:
@Adam L Silverman:
The way things are looking up, why not? I say go for it. Don’t let the GOP use this as a hook to sweep Dems out of power in a few election cycles. It’s stupid policy too.
Kraux Pas
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:
They could if Dems win enough seats. However, U.S. political discourse intended for mass consumption holds that taxes are always bad, always a burden. It’s basically a shibboleth of the Right’s brand of political correctness.
Genuine fiscal responsibility is seldom rewarded by voters.
Adam L Silverman
@TenguPhule: I’m sure it is. But not more than trying to keep the 5,000 Soldiers in your brigade combat alive in a war zone.
Repatriated
@dmsilev: “The Republicans gave your hard-earned tax dollars to the filthy rich – we’re going to take it back!” [Leads crowd chanting “Take It Back!’]
There, it’s just that simple a message.
Edit: phone keyboard typos
Mary G
@Betty Cracker: @ruemara: @Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady): The Republicans are kind of genius at co-opting issues that start out Democratic. Like “fake news” that was about Russians fooling the right, but Trump promptly turned it onto the MSM. They are doing the same thing conflating Franken with Moore. If there is a god, Frank Luntz will burn in hell.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Adam L Silverman:
I almost want to take a page out of the Republican playbook and disenfranchise R voters. They’re nuts and don’t deserve to live in a free society on account of their cultish stupidity.
Brachiator
@randy khan:
How could Trump have a spiritual advisor? He ain’t got no soul.
Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)
@Mary G: Also Roger Stone. He’s moved up on my list of people I want to see in orange jumpsuits.
Kraux Pas
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:
A poll test should do it, these fuckers are way out of touch with reality.
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: They could, if they win the Senate and the House with veto proof majorities, or win smaller majoirities and somehow get rid of the current POTUS and replace him with a Democrat. The challenge is the Republicans run both houses of Congress and the Presidency and all that would have to flip for the Dems to change the tax laws back to “before”. So…in three years maybe they can do it but it seems unlikely after the 2018 mid terms unless there’s an impeachment that involves both the POTUS and Vice-POTUS. At that point I think the next in line would be Speaker of the House…who in this scenario would be a Democrat.
noncarborundum
@dmsilev: Many kindergartners are quite bright. It’s probably fairer to say “with the accumulated knowledge and mature judgment of a kindergartner.”
OzarkHillbilly
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: At the very least DEMs could return things to today’s status quo by saying “We are cutting the taxes on everyone making $75 K of less and raising the taxes on the rich.” but it doesn’t always play that way. Besides, I think the real demon is the corporate tax cut.
TenguPhule
@Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady):
I just want to see him shorter by about 8 inches.
TenguPhule
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:
Because tax increases are massively unpopular and take strong political spines to pass and an acceptance that the right thing is not always the popular thing. See the ACA aftermath for what happens next.
Basically if the GOP pass this shit, there is no going back. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men aren’t putting this country back together again.
ruemara
@Repatriated: Rather like how the masses would “show up” to fight republicans if they were over the line. In reality, there’d be a minor percentage showing up to the protest, a majority still working on “why me vote, it hard” and a much louder, smaller minority declaring tax-raising Dems the enemy and getting all the screen time. It just doesn’t work that idealistic way.
Cacti
Would love to see a buddy film starring Barack and Joe.
Major Major Major Major
@TenguPhule: Since it was part of trying to get the boat in question named the name in question, it would get a pass even if it were circulated today; somebody trying to get the street gritters named Gritty McGritface would, indeed, be lame and unoriginal.
ETA: It’s a pretty straightforward distinction that I’ve for some reason had to articulate in excruciating detail.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@TenguPhule:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2nqGBiv70zQ
“Yeah, well I’m taller.”
noncarborundum
@TenguPhule:
It’s so. I’ve seen the ad too.
TenguPhule
@Cacti: A buddy cop film that has them shooting it out with the Republican National Committee in DC using duel-wielded uzis to a rocking soundtrack.
/If we’re gonna dream, let’s dream big.
TenguPhule
@noncarborundum: Oh damnit.
Major Major Major Major
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: @dmsilev: @OzarkHillbilly: Given that the elements of the bill which appear to be working-class tax cuts expire in 2024 or something, the Democrats running in 2020 to return to the pre-this-bill status quo could factually run on a working-class tax cut.
TenguPhule
@Major Major Major Major: The temporary cuts expire in 2023.
They’re backloading all the bad tax news to presumably come after a Democratic surge in 2020.
Repatriated
@ruemara: Assuming we have control of the veto points (which is your point about unmotivated voters) as a precondition, and that the path to it includes removal of Trump, messaging that frames it as a repudiation of Trump helps too.
This in no way reduces the stakes for the current fight, as the tax theft would still be in force for some time however.
OzarkHillbilly
@TenguPhule:
How did we ever get from the gilded age to a top tax rate of 90% under Eisenhower? It is not impossible to undo tax cuts. Probably take a long time, be done in bits and pieces, and possibly involve a true crises, but it’s not impossible.
Brachiator
@OzarkHillbilly:
It’s a trifecta. The reduction of the corporate tax, the massive reduction of estate taxes, and the elimination of the alternative minimum tax (AMT) give the maximum of benefits and future protection to the wealthiest Americans.
Also, the supposed middle class tax breaks will see many single people and married couples without children either seeing no change, or immediate tax increases.
Kraux Pas
I’m not saying that taxes were ever popular or beloved, but back then we didn’t have Reagan’s zombie death cult.
TenguPhule
@OzarkHillbilly:
A world war, a huge democratic surge because the alternatives were communism or facism, an outside nuclear armed enemy that served as a rallying point, a generally more patriotic richer class and some damn good politicians willing to do what was right and could lead their fellows in a straight line.
TenguPhule
@OzarkHillbilly:
The Bush cuts were supposed to all expire in 2010.
Now how did that work out for us?
Repatriated
@OzarkHillbilly:
Corner Stone
@TenguPhule: We’ve started a treatment of this a few years ago:
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@TenguPhule:
Jesus Christ. Yeah, we’re all doomed to a boot stomping down on our faces forever. News flash, the end of the Cold War showed that history never stops and almost nothing is a foregone conclusion even though hindsight makes it seem that way sometimes.
Major Major Major Major
@TenguPhule: Reasonably well, all told.
Repatriated
@Repatriated: stupid smartphone…
Julia Grey
@TenguPhule: Maybe he was drunk.
lgerard
@Major Major Major Major:
How did they not pick Basil Salty?
I demand that a special prosecutor look into the election irregularities that obviously took place!
Brachiator
@OzarkHillbilly:
Why do people keep referring to this? This was never the top effective tax rate, just as the average effective corporate tax rate today is 17 percent, nowhere near the top rate of 35 percent. Nor was the Age of Ike a Golden Age of social spending or a restraint of massive earnings for the wealthy.
@TenguPhule:
As an old ThinkProgress piece notes, even Reagan raised taxes.
Undoing Republican madness will take political will, but it is very possible.
ETA: Holy crap! Now harassment accusations are coming out against Charlie Rose. Is this now raw political warfare?
catclub
@Kraux Pas:
Club for Growth and Grover Norquist’s no taxes increases ever, pledge – which Reagan would fail.
Although raising taxes on poor people is not a problem for that pledge.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Brachiator:
Who cares about Charlie Rose? Isn’t he some milquetoast mediocrity on PBS?
TenguPhule
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: No, we’re facing a tidal wave of shit that needs to be stopped now in its tracks before the whole place goes to hell.
The tax abomination is economic SUICIDE BY COP. It can’t be allowed to pass if we’re supposed to have a country left afterwards.
bystander
@Brachiator: Now you know why they keep him on his own side of the table.
I don’t like Charlie Rose but I’m sorry to see his douchey, self important interviewing style was a mirror of his douchey self important soul.
Betty Cracker
@Brachiator: Or maybe it’s true. Story in WaPo seems well sourced.
Chris
Are all the people, allegedly affiliated with the Trump administration, who leak all this shit (they have to know it’s going to) trying to piss him off? They gotta know that he cares about his ego and about everybody telling everybody how awesome he is more than he does about literally anything else.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Chris:
What’s the worst he gonna do? Fire them?
Look to my comment here to what would happen: @? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:
TenguPhule
@Chris:
Money, dear boy. He’s cheap and the media pays well for exclusives.
Brachiator
@Betty Cracker:
Oh, I think a story can be well sourced and still be a political hit. It will be interesting to see where this all stops, and when.
schrodingers_cat
Called it! After drunk Charlie Rose, next to fall will be Tweety.
rikyrah
Eight women say Charlie Rose sexually harassed them — with nudity, groping and lewd calls
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/eight-women-say-charlie-rose-sexually-harassed-them–with-nudity-groping-and-lewd-calls/2017/11/20/9b168de8-caec-11e7-8321-481fd63f174d_story.html?pushid=5a134cefedb3621d00000034&tidr=notifi_push_breaking-news&utm_term=.dd4b91a0898c
Bex
@randy khan: Paula White? You would be correct about the grifter designation.
rikyrah
@The Moar You Know:
Uh huh
Uh huh ?
OzarkHillbilly
@Brachiator: You are absolutely right about the AMT (i forgot about that), but I think the elimination of the inheritance tax does minimal damage as their are many loopholes for competent estate planners to take advantage of. Exhibit 1: trump.
OzarkHillbilly
@TenguPhule: It can happen again.
@TenguPhule: Cowards are everywhere. Like I said, bits and pieces.
@Brachiator:
Because it was the base line that the top percentile had to work from. The effective tax rate was different for each and every filer.
OzarkHillbilly
@Repatriated: Heh. That’s why I won’t have a phone smarter than I.
TenguPhule
@OzarkHillbilly:
Perhaps, but can we skip the world war and nuclear enemy parts this time?
Brachiator
@OzarkHillbilly:
Eliminating the estate tax entirely would make outrageous wealth accumulation far easier than it is currently. People like Trump are lazy (and stupid), and being relieved of the burden of estate planning would be a huge benefit to them.
And there is this:
Not exactly small change.
Apparently, the bills would also see a reduction in the Gift Tax rate. For rich people, this Congress is the gift that keeps on giving.
Brachiator
@OzarkHillbilly: RE: Why do people keep referring to this?
From what I can see, the top rate was never 90 percent for any groups of tax filers. People cite this figure as though the 50s were some golden age of tax fairness or redistribution. This just is not true.
Elizabelle
@schrodingers_cat: oh, please. Tweety out too. Yes!
Kathleen
@Elizabelle: Happy Birthday Early! Finally caught you on a live thread (I think it’s still live. I do have a talent for killing plants and threads).
randy khan
@Bex:
That’s who it was.
The article was also remarkable for the number of times the reporter said, essentially, “I wanted to confirm/check on [x] but the White House wouldn’t tell me.”
randy khan
@OzarkHillbilly:
The real damage in the estate tax repeal is that they’re not repealing the stepped up basis, so even if the heirs sell they won’t pay tax on the gain. Since the only reason for the stepped up basis is to prevent taxing the gain twice, there’s no reason to keep it if you don’t have an inheritance tax.
barb 2
Thank YOU, Adam, for pointing me towards this book.
Collusion by Luke Harding
Everyone real American (as opposed to the RWNJ) needs to read this book.
It reads like a spy novel — except that it is true and happening right now.
Russia really wants us to be fighting among ourselves and he wants to kill democracy — the American brand of democracy and the Orange Monster is gladly helping. Trump is evil — he must pay for his crimes. He is one of the most pathological creatures ever — well at least in modern times. He’s the Soul twin of Andrew Jackson — I say this as a descendant of a foremother who’s parents survived the Trail of Tears. Trump is worse because I don’t believe Andrew Jackson was a traitor to his country.
I listened to Collusion on tape — knitted the whole time and got half of a vest knitted. I had to be doing something with my hands.
Most of us who read BJ — will have read about many of the details in Collusion. What Harding does is connect a whole lot of dots. Like I said it was like listening to a spy mystery novel — except that the people and the plot are real. How does this end and when does this hell end?