Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The current Supreme Court is a rogue court. Very dangerous.

You know it’s bad when the Project 2025 people have to create training videos on “How To Be Normal”.

American History and Black History can not be separated.

Republican also-rans: four mules fighting over a turnip.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

You can’t love your country only when you win.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

This fight is for everything.

Innocent people don’t delay justice.

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

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

You cannot shame the shameless.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

So many bastards, so little time.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

You’re just a puppy masquerading as an old coot.

He seems like a smart guy, but JFC, what a dick!

You are here: Home / READ THE BILL

READ THE BILL

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One of these images is the bill that Republicans will vote on sometime tonight or tomorrow. Principled deficit hawk Jeff Flake, concerned Susan Collins, and champion of regular order John McCain have all rolled over for this heaping pile of hot garbage. I’m sure we’ll all be treated to puff pieces in Politico or Axios detailing the long night of the soul that each of them endured as they struggled with the deep moral question of whether a stuffing money into their donors’ pockets was worth the inevitable deaths of children and the elderly that will come from their votes. I can only hope that we take Flake’s seat next year, and McCain’s in the special election.

Reader Interactions

167Comments

  1. 1.

    mdblanche

    I can’t understand any of the top excerpt, but it looks like the bottom one says “my dad killed JFK.”

  2. 2.

    Baud

    I can only hope that we take Flake’s seat next year, and McCain’s in the special election.

    And Doug Jones in Alabama!

  3. 3.

    Ruckus

    From my understanding of what has been presented, the top sample is garbage and the bottom sample is the bill.
    @mdblanche:
    I didn’t get that from this. Do you have the latest magic decoder ring?

  8. 8.

    Ohio Mom

    The whole scene on the Senate floor tonight is like one of those things a book editor or movie critic would label too preposterous — beyond the limits of willing suspension of disbelief.

    They are having an orgy of sorts — for one small example, adding stuff like a special provision just for Betsy Devos’s favorite Christian college.

    Yes, we have had bad laws before. But did we ever have anything like this frenzy before?

  10. 10.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    McCain is the dumbest. He’s going to die anyway so why not just vote against this abomination? If that fuck cares so much about legacy, that is? Unless he really believes, like Ryan does, that Free Markets Uber Alles now and forever.

  14. 14.

    Amaranthine RBG

    @Baud:
    It’s nice to think so, but it’s probably Moore by 4 or more points

    Jones has outspent him by 8 to 1 so there is no sentient person in Alabama who doesn’t know the facts and Moore is still up in polls, which (as some of us knew prior to November 2016) tend to underreport preferences of racist assholes.

    The few hundred dollars I sent to Jones would have been better spent on a bottle of Pappy van Winkle.

  16. 16.

    debbie

    I’m sure we’ll all be treated to puff pieces in Politico or Axios detailing the long night of the soul that each of them endured as they struggled with the deep moral question …

    If only I could post the GIF of Medea fainting. Oh Lord …

  17. 17.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Ohio Mom:

    Yes, we have had bad laws before. But did we ever have anything like this frenzy before?

    I’ve heard the legislative process for this Congress compared to that of the Chinese Politburo (they have a Congress btw, it’s just a rubber stamp). They act like the Party in a one-party state. Pence so far this year has done 3 tie-casting votes. For comparison, Cheney cast 8 over 8 years, Al Gore cast 4 over 8 years, and Biden cast none.

  22. 22.

    JPL

    @Amaranthine RBG: Not necessarily. I never expected Ossoff to win, but he did energize voters which are out in full force for local elections. They will vote again, and maybe lose again, but they don’t appear to be ready to give up. Baby steps.

    A local state senate seat flipped in the district. Well not officially but the runoff is two dems.

  23. 23.

    ChrisH

    GOP’s rush on this in light if the Meuller news today makes me think of Smee from Hook stuffing his pants full of booty and trying to escape before Robin Williams gets to him.

  24. 24.

    Baud

    @HinTN: Still getting used to it, but I’m impressed so far. The knock on Samsung is that they slow down with age. But my phone is still zippy.

  31. 31.

    chris

    @JPL:

    gives his daughter and wife a break

    Don’t forget the death tax, can’t leave poor Megan less than the full hundred million.

  34. 34.

    Amaranthine RBG

    @Steve in the ATL:
    Right beside the text entry box in messages

    I know my teenage daughter LOVES getting them from me even more than my usual barrage of text messages. /s

  36. 36.

    Ruckus

    @Baud:
    Just updated my motorola to the latest android #7.
    Phone is still the same with the exception that the battery craps out 30-50% faster. I like it when improvements are worse.

  43. 43.

    Adam L Silverman

    Quid, Pro, and Quo!

  50. 50.

    geg6

    Monsters, each and every one of them. They make me wish I still believed in religion just so I could savor the thought of them burning in hell forever. Monsters.

  54. 54.

    Ruckus

    @Baud:
    So far I have as well. They’ve actually all been upgrades.
    Oh well my luck always runs out sooner than later.

  55. 55.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Omnes Omnibus: It is a little known fact that Hamilton was big into doing P90X in the Congressional gym each morning. So they’ve got Ryan on as a subject matter expert. Pretty much the only thing he knows anything about.

  56. 56.

    Gin & Tonic

    Tired of politics, I was cataloging some vacation photos. Here’s one of the Wimbachklamm in Berchtesgaden National Park. Considering it was getting late and the light wasn’t so good, I feel pretty happy with a handheld 1/2-second exposure.

  59. 59.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Ohio Mom:

    Being compared to China is not a good look.

    No, it’s not.@Roger Moore:
    Should have thought of that. Does the bill have language in it that abolished the estate tax?

  60. 60.

    Amaranthine RBG

    @Steve in the ATL:
    No. Click on App Store button right next to text entry box and options will open at bottom screen

    I think the Animoji badge is a little monkey face. Click that and a whole new way annoy loved ones will present itself.

  66. 66.

    Baud

    “[A] clarification tonight on something one of Flynn’s confidants told us and we reported earlier today,” Ross said on the program. “He said the president had asked Flynn to contact Russia during the campaign. He’s now clarifying that saying, according to Flynn, candidate Trump asked him during the campaign to find ways to repair relations with Russia and other world hot spots. And then after the election, the president-elect asked him to contact Russia on issues including working together to fight ISIS.”

  67. 67.

    NotMax

    They’re no longer making sausage, it’s more like J R in WV’s pineapple cake.

    (With apologies to the esteemed commenter for associating him even tangentially with this mess.)

  70. 70.

    japa21

    @Amaranthine RBG: Normally I would agree with you, but polls are based upon prior voting records, i.e W percentage is white males, X% is white females, Y are AA males and Z are AA females. They also break it down by prior voting records by age. If there is any kind of significant switch in turnout, and reports are that there has been a major push to register and get AA folks to the polls, than current poll results can be thrown out the window. Moore has been screaming about black felons being allowed to vote and that they are trying to steal the election from good white Christian folks. That would indicate to me that the AA vote worries them.

  71. 71.

    Adam L Silverman

    @HinTN: Right now it’s 44 yes, 40 no. But if all the GOP senators vote no, then it fails and they stay in session.

  73. 73.

    Another Scott

    @Ruckus: Sometimes it can take a while for the upgrade to “take”. Have you shut it down and rebooted it a few times (not all at once, but over a few days)? If not, it might be worth a try.

    Good luck!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  86. 86.

    Adam L Silverman

  89. 89.

    Adam L Silverman

    Now we’re getting to the good stuff!

  94. 94.

    Ruckus

    @Another Scott:
    Oh it’s taken. It had to be rebooted to run and is a completely new version of android, there are noticeable differences. Phone works fine, is a high end motorola so it has power and more than enough memory. And I’ve shut it down and restarted 4 times now, still eats battery like it’s going out of style. This is the third complete system upgrade, I bought the motorola because it is extremely android generic. All the motorola stuff is simple apps, nothing about the system is from lenovo, or at least it was totally generic until lenovo brought motorola. Don’t know if that is still true.

  98. 98.

    chris

    Well I guess that’s it then. It’s over.

    The wild dog-like, frenzied reporting on Flynn pleading to a ONE COUNT of lying to FBI is laughable. He lied. The “collusion” case died.— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) 2 December 2017

    That this will be believed by a significant number of Americans is frightening.

  101. 101.

    Baud

    @Ruckus: Do you know what’s eating the battery? I had a Motorola phone that would randomly eat up battery at times, but at other times worked fine.

  104. 104.

    Yarrow

    @Adam L Silverman: Ivanka really wanted Flynn to have a job in the administration. Now why would that be?

    On November 11, 2016, Christie was chairing a transition meeting, when, according to four sources, Flynn walked in with an ally, General Keith Kellogg. “Gentlemen, can I help you?” Christie asked. Ivanka Trump, who was a member of the transition team’s executive council, announced that she had invited them. Christie tried to reclaim control of the meeting, but Ivanka took over. Praising Flynn’s “amazing loyalty to my father,” she turned to him and asked, “General, what job do you want?” A participant at the meeting said, “It was like Princess Ivanka had laid the sword on Flynn’s shoulders and said, ‘Rise and go forth.’ ” (A source close to Ivanka didn’t deny the account, but said that it exaggerated her role, and that she was merely trying to show appreciation for Flynn’s support.)

  105. 105.

    Mary G

    They are getting ready to vote down three amendments by Wilmer and Rubio. I have fretted myself into an ulcer today because I itemized $11,716 in medical expenses last year despite having Medicare and the best supplement plan. I can afford the higher taxes but it is sickening to think of all the disabled people I know who don’t have my privileges. Turning the TV and twitter off for my mental/physical health, and cranking up some loud ass music.

  109. 109.

    CarolDuhart2

    @chris: The problem for Laura is twofold: Flynn’s already pled guilty. But there’s still state charges on kidnappling and associated crimes out there. Mueller’s got leverage here.

  110. 110.

    Jeffro

    @Adam L Silverman:
    Out of this list:

    DEVIN NUNES
    TREY GOWDY

    Misc
    ——
    Gingrich
    Giuliani
    Sessions
    Bannon
    Preibus
    Mnuchin

    Family
    ———
    Jared
    Ivanka
    Don Jr
    Eric

    I expect that eventually Nunes, Giuliani, Sessions, Bannon, Jared, and Don Jr. will be indicted. Eric will, of course, be left wondering what happened, and who’s taking him for ice cream next Tuesday afternoon…

  111. 111.

    Ruckus

    @Another Scott:
    I have friends in the weird car business who send me pics of things that people have made that look a lot like some of those drawings. People have taken his work as inspiration, or he is actually drawing close to reality. Either that or some of my friends know about people with access to really good……..

  113. 113.

    Jeffro

    @NotMax: I was – without going into too much detail – explaining that very movie metaphor to my wife & kids earlier this evening, when asked “what happens next?” Adam has noted earlier today and earlier in general that this is where it get really interesting with this gang. He’s right. It’s a prosecutor’s dream.

  115. 115.

    B.B.A.

    @Omnes Omnibus: Let there be a thousand blossoms bloom, as far as I’m concerned. But I ain’t spending any time on it because in the meantime, every three months, a person is torn to pieces by a crocodile in north Queensland.

  117. 117.

    Kay

    James Comey‏Verified account
    @Comey
    Follow Follow @Comey
    More
    “But justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream”

  122. 122.

    Yarrow

    @Jeffro: Eric could end up in the orange jumpsuit with a long prison sentence and still wonder who’s taking him for ice cream next Tuesday.

  123. 123.

    Ruckus

    @Baud:
    No but it seems to use it up a lot even when locked. I haven’t gone to far into it I just upgraded this week. I don’t have a lot running nor do I use the thing a lot and I’ve had it for 2 yrs so I’m sort of used to how it worked. Something has changed. Could be an app, could be the os, could be the phase of the moon. That moon thing effects a lot of stuff.

  124. 124.

    Steeplejack

    @Ruckus:

    My Moto X will be four years old in January. Haven’t perceived any decline in performance (which I know is subjective), so I’m not feeling the urge to upgrade yet. But I have been sniffing the breezes a bit as to what’s out there now.

  125. 125.

    Kay

    Cannot believe they’re giving the DeVos family a special gift. The Hillsdale Handout.

    Corrupt scumbags.

  129. 129.

    Mnemosyne

    Funny how Congress is legally prohibited from giving themselves a raise but not from passing a tax law that will primarily benefit themselves.

  133. 133.

    Ruckus

    @Steeplejack:
    The samsung stuff just doesn’t do it for me, the istuff is expensive (but so is a lot of other stuff now that istuff has set the high price) so that leaves real oddballs or what? I’d go with istuff because I like how it works and have mac at home but my budget for a phone says screw you, so I’ll stick with the moto x pure edition. The phone works fine, etc, just this new wrinkle is annoying.

  135. 135.

    J R in WV

    @NotMax:

    They’re no longer making sausage, it’s more like J R in WV’s pineapple cake.

    (With apologies to the esteemed commenter for associating him even tangentially with this mess.)

    This may be worse than the pineapple skillet cake with fresh pineapple. Predigested batter! But sausage has room for such terrible ingredients.

    And if I wasn’t ready to take the heat for the baking disaster, I would never have mentioned it, so you go brother!! Use it as a metaphor for Trump, or Sanders, or whoever. Certainly this Republican bill writing in public is the worst thing I’ve ever seen and I watched the Nixon administration work its way into impeachment.

  137. 137.

    NotMax

    @Mnemosyne

    They’re not prohibited, it’s that any approved raise doesn’t go into effect until after the next congressional election. Meanwhile automatic annual COLAs remain in force unless specifically voted down.

  140. 140.

    Ruckus

    @Steve in the ATL:
    That’s doable for me, where in the hotel or close surrounding area?
    And no, I’m not real up on a lot of stuff in Glendale, even though I live in the next town. I do know of a great Armenian place a couple dozen blocks away south of there but it would not work well for much of a big meet up.

  141. 141.

    MikeS

    @Gin & Tonic: I don’t think it is actually a carnivorus plant, just a spiky hairy one. The flower one the left looks like it is in Asteraceae (Asters, sunflowers, thoroughworts, etc.) Time to get out one of my rarely used books for the 2nd time in a week!

  142. 142.

    Duane

    @Yarrow: Remember all the wailing from repubs about reading the ACA.
    They’re the biggest bunch of phoney, traitorous, hippocrites to ever walk the earth.

  143. 143.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Ruckus: I won’t have a car but can walk or Lyft. I’ve never been there before so don’t know what’s around.

    ETA: but I’m told there is lots of stuff in walking distance of the hotel. I’ll do some checking.

  146. 146.

    Steeplejack

    @Another Scott:

    That triggered a long-lost memory of Glen Baxter. Glad to see that lots of his stuff is available on Amazon*. If you Google him and click the “Images” tab you can see examples of his work.

    * Link removed that probably caused moderation. FYWP.

  149. 149.

    Ruckus

    @Steve in the ATL:
    If there isn’t a big crowd and you are up for Armenian (it really is good) I could drive you there and back, I live east on the freeway just south of the hotel. I know there are places, in the hotel and around but I have little more specific knowledge than you.

  154. 154.

    Ruckus

    @Another Scott:
    Didn’t see that on the site, but of course I hadn’t looked all that hard. Thanks!
    And of course the directions on how to do what they say don’t include the latest update so that will have to wait till they decide to actually figure it out.

  160. 160.

    PsiFighter37

    @Mike in NC: It does exist and it’s going to pass tonight unless someone with an R next to their name grows some balls or a conscience. Don’t count on it.

  166. 166.

    MobiusKlein

    Why the fuck is the Senate voting for this all at 1:00 AM Eastern time, on a Friday night?

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