Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

Conservatism: there are people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

There are a lot more evil idiots than evil geniuses.

If you don’t believe freedom is for everybody, then the thing you love isn’t freedom, it is privilege.

If you can’t control your emotions, someone else will.

Radicalized white males who support Trump are pitching a tent in the abyss.

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

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

I really should read my own blog.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. keep building.

They punch you in the face and then start crying because their fist hurts.

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

My right to basic bodily autonomy is not on the table. that’s the new deal.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

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

People are weird.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

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Leaky Leaky (Open Thread)

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Will we get to see Donald Trump’s long-hidden tax returns today? Maybe.

A House committee is expected to vote Tuesday afternoon on whether to make public tax returns belonging to former President Donald J. Trump, who broke with modern precedent by keeping his finances confidential during his campaign and while in office.

The mostly closed-door meeting of the Ways and Means Committee is likely to bring an end to a longstanding battle that Democrats in the House have been waging since 2019, when they took over the chamber and began trying to perform oversight of Mr. Trump. Republicans, who are expected to oppose any bid to make Mr. Trump’s returns public, will regain control of the chamber next month.

A rarely used federal law allows the committee to obtain any U.S. taxpayer’s returns. While the statute generally requires lawmakers to keep such information confidential, it also empowers them to make it public by voting to report the material to the full House.

On the one hand, the returns aren’t useful for oversight anymore since Trump successfully ran out the clock by appealing the decision to release them all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. It would suck if he were rewarded for that obstructive behavior by his (possibly both fraudulent and/or humiliating) returns remaining secret.

On the other hand, releasing the returns publicly without any connection to oversight activities might smack of spiteful partisan overreach to normies. Maybe. I’m not convinced anyone cares about that sort of thing anymore, especially after the wrecking ball Republicans have taken to civic norms over the past several years.

Maybe the committee should vote to keep the returns confidential and accidentally leave a copy on the table for an aide to pick up and anonymously mail to ProPublica. I could live with that. The committee meets at 3 PM ET today.

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

129Comments

  3. 3.

    rikyrah

    Jeff Bercovici (@jeffbercovici) tweeted at 0:04 AM on Sun, Dec 18, 2022:
    There is a straight line from Peter Thiel calling Valleywag/Gawker a terrorist organization rather than a newsroom and Musk doing what he’s doing

     

    Max Fisher (@Max_Fisher) tweeted at 11:47 PM on Thu, Dec 15, 2022:
    People really need to understand how mainstream it has become in some tech VC circles to argue that journalism itself is dangerous as an idea and should be abolished, and that it will be up to the tech world to carry this out.

     

    Max Fisher (@Max_Fisher) tweeted at 0:19 AM on Fri, Dec 16, 2022:
    There’s a deep belief that the defining battle of our time is bw tech companies that want to liberate us and dying institutions like the newsmedia trying to halt that progress out of a desperate bid for survival. Only by destroying those institutions can big tech save humanity.

  4. 4.

    cain

    They should release it because their constituents want to see it -namely us. He’s also running for president and so again we need to see his finances like everyone else.

    The press will complain because only Dems have agency. For all the norms the GOP are destroying the press still thinks the two parties are the same. If that is how they are going to play there are no consequences for us – and there will be negative ones if we don’t release it because our side have been wanting to see them for awhile. I don’t think most people give a shit what happens to Trump at this stage.

  5. 5.

    MattF

    I can see releasing the returns if, e.g., they show  large payments from Russia or SA— but otherwise, why bother? You’re not going to change anyone’s mind at this point.

  6. 6.

    MomSense

    @rikyrah:

    Back in 2016 I joked that when we finally got the tax returns we would find out that Wilmer had more cash in hand than the Tangerine Tin Pot.
    Those were the good ole days before Comey fucked us.

  8. 8.

    BR

    There’s something real happening on Mastodon in a way that I haven’t seen in a decade. It’s the first real new thing in the social media space. Everything else has been one company copying another and trying to steal its users, which has worked well for each company that comes up with a more addictive algorithm from Myspace to Facebook to Twitter to Instagram to Tiktok. But Mastodon and the federated services not only feel different but actually are different underneath.

  9. 9.

    Anonymous At Work

    I think the George Santos situation is going to get interesting in the short term.  Seems like the GOP is going to cut the serial fraudster loose BUT if they do that before January 3rd or shortly thereafter, Kevin McCarthy loses a backer.  Right now, he’s counting each supporter carefully (or as carefully as a novice like him can actually whip).  GOP-in-Disarray could rule the day, overshadowing the fluff pieces for incoming GOP “luminaries”.

    Spit-balling but what’s the thought?

  10. 10.

    Greg

    The issue is not that Jim Jordan will release tax returns of elected Dems. It is that he will release those of the Dem donors selectively, making them look as bad as possible.

  11. 11.

    Old School

    Assuming it is the full Ways and Means Committee that is voting, it is comprised of 25 Democrats and 17 Republicans.

  12. 12.

    sdhays

    @rikyrah: Is this really a “tech” phenomenon? It seems like the same thing as Rupert Murdoch buying the New York Post or Wall Street Journal, just with a techie angle because these particular right wing assholes are from the tech space.

  13. 13.

    ian

    Is everyone gearing up for it getting really cold?  It is supposed to get to -45 with wind-chill where I am at tomorrow night.

  14. 14.

    Matt McIrvin

    @BR: Well… The outward form of Mastodon is pretty explicitly borrowed from Twitter. The back end is something else, but that’s not what most new users are going to see or be interested in except as an obstacle to adoption.

    I’m on Mastodon and really liking it so far, but as a former user of multiple defunct or moribund social media platforms, I am skeptical that it will avoid the same pathologies we see everywhere else. Many of them are just consequences of scale. The fact that it’s currently non-profit and non-ad-supported helps, but how sustainable that is is going to depend on the willingness and ability of users to fund their favorite instance.

  15. 15.

    trollhattan

    @MattF: Presumably they will embarrass him; otherwise, why would have he fought so hard to keep them Super Duper Secret?

    I’ll settle for that.

  16. 16.

    Old School

    The overhaul of the Electoral Count Act is part of the omnibus government spending bill.

    Here’s what it would do:

    • Clarify the vice-president’s role. Trump and his supporters falsely insisted vice-president Mike Pence could intervene and refuse to certify Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 election. The bill confirms the vice-president’s purely ceremonial role presiding over the certification every January 6 after a presidential election, and that the VP has no power to determine the results of the election.
    • Make it more difficult to object. Under current law, just one member of the Senate and one member of the House need to lodge an objection to automatically trigger votes in both chambers on whether to overturn or discard a state’s presidential election results. The bill would significantly raise that threshold, requiring a fifth of each chamber to object before votes would be held.
    • No fake electors. The bill would ensure that there is only one slate of electors, a response to Trump allies’ unsuccessful efforts to create alternate, illegitimate slates of Trump electors in states that Biden narrowly won in 2020. Each state’s governor would be required to submit the electors, which are sent under a formal process to Congress and opened at the rostrum during the joint session. Congress could not accept a slate submitted by a different official, so there could not be competing lists of electors from one state.
    • Catastrophic events. The legislation would revise language in current law that wasn’t used during the 2020 election, but which lawmakers think could be abused. Presently, state legislatures can override the popular vote in their states by calling a “failed election,” but the term is not defined under the law. The bill says a state could only move its presidential election day if there are “extraordinary and catastrophic” events, such as natural disasters, that necessitate that.
  17. 17.

    MattF

    @BR: I’m pretty happy with Mastodon. I chose a somewhat specialized mathematics-oriented server (mathstodon.xyz) and have already gotten sucked into a variety of mathematical rabbit holes. And I get as much politics as I want by following politically oriented accounts.

    ETA: But I suspect the free-software and run-by-volunteers ethos will turn out to be unfixable problems.

  18. 18.

    patrick II

    Now that the returns are no longer under audit, I am sure he will appreciate the helping hand as he promised.

  19. 19.

    Matt McIrvin

    @sdhays: The biggest hole in modern news media is the lack of decent local news outlets, and what killed most of them was conglomerates buying them up and squeezing them for levels of profit that were incompatible with them doing their job.

  20. 20.

    tobie

    @Anonymous At Work: I like Mastodon. It takes more work than Twitter. More to read, more links to follow to participate in a conversation but that’s all good. Since you don’t have quote-tweets, you also don’t have pile-ons. It’s a win for my sanity and my reading list.

    If the tax returns reveal conflicts of interest in the few policy matters the Trump admin pursued (stock in Carrier, Clorox, or Kodak??? or the makers of Ivermectin and hydroxychoroquine) or indebtedness to Saudi Arabia, UAE, Russia, and China, then they should be released IMO. It would shed light the previous admin and point to areas where conflict of interest laws need to be beefed up (and not with Trump steak).

  21. 21.

    Betty Cracker

    @ian: Good God, man! That is inhumane!

    We’re supposed to get highs in the 40s and lows in the 20s for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, which is about as cold as it ever gets in this section of Florida. I see pros and cons. Pro — my Christmas Day roasting won’t overheat the house. Con: I have a small house, and everyone will be trapped inside it. No dock parties or boat rides!

  22. 22.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @Greg: Here’s an interesting piece on a 1920s effort to disclose how much people paid in taxes.

    One goal of the 1924 tax publicity law was to show whether wealthy Americans and large corporations were paying their fair share of taxes. Newspapers published big stories on the first release of tax payments. Oil heir John D. Rockefeller Jr. was America’s biggest taxpayer, with a tax bill of $7,435,160.41, equal to about $123 million now. Next was automaker Henry Ford, who paid $2,467,400.10, or $41 million today. Douglas Fairbanks and Gloria Swanson were the highest-paying movie stars. Incomes weren’t disclosed, though they could be roughly inferred.
    The Big Reveal was short-lived. In 1926, Republican President Calvin Coolidge, under pressure from rich taxpayers, got Congress to end the public tax payments.

    IMHO, at least anyone running for office should have to disclose their returns.

  24. 24.

    lowtechcyclist

    Tesla started the year with a market value of $400 per share. This afternoon, that’s down to $140. Correct me if I’m wrong, but Tesla shares have lost 65% of their market value this year.

    They’re still probably worth a good deal more than is justified by Tesla’s profits, so my guess is that the downhill sled ride is still a ways from the bottom of the hill.

  25. 25.

    trollhattan

    @Betty Cracker: Wow, watch for dropping iguanas.

    [checks] Ah, 63 and sunny for Christmas. Beats 48 and fog, like at present.

    Minus urgleblurggle degrees, I’m right out.

  26. 26.

    SuzieC

    Jennifer Rubin made a pretty good argument against releasing the tax returns in this morning’s WaPo but I disagree with her. Every other President has released his or her tax returns; ditto presidential candidates.  Trump is a candidate and voters deserve to know what he has fought so long and hard to hide.

  27. 27.

    Geminid

    I don’t think there will be blowback among “normies” if the Committee releases Trump’s tax information. Many would expect this to be done and may not even be aware that it is any way exceptional.

    Trump’s partisans will raise a horrible howl but I don’t really care what they do anymore, at least not in political terms. And I don’t think there is much sympathy now for Trump outside of his hard core supporters.

  28. 28.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    have some good news

    Juliet Eilperin @eilperin 5h

    In the long-running battle between the White House and @USPS Postmaster Louis DeJoy, Biden has won, as DeJoy tells @jacobbogage the agency will buy 66,000 vehicles to build one of the largest electric fleets in the nation. #climateactionnow

  32. 32.

    Anonymous At Work

    @Old School: The objections “reform” is pretty meaningless.  Objecting without sanction for fraudulent or frivilous objections means that a closely divided body (when was the last time that a major political party in the minority didn’t have at least 20% of a chamber?) can always have an objection.  I suspect if Biden wins in 2024, we’ll see a perfect 51/51 objections.

    I would like to know how tightly defined “Catastrophic Events” is defined.  Hurricane wipes out half of Florida, DeathSantis might object depending on which half, but it should be easy.  Governor Youngkin stubs his toe and wants to rerun the election in VA?  What’s teh speed-brake on that perversion?

  33. 33.

    rikyrah

    Blue America pays for mooching Red America.

    And, over all, we are okay with it.
    The thing is…
    If Red America was in the financial drivers seat….the level of cruelty they would bestow upon Blue America…

    You know it…I know it….

    John Della Volpe (@dellavolpe) tweeted at 8:31 AM on Sat, Dec 17, 2022:
    Fact that 70% of America’s GDP comes from Biden/blue counties still doesn’t seem to be well understood.
    (https://twitter.com/dellavolpe/status/1604122164898455552?t=PT7hK2MvL3Pk6KUEmw-M7w&s=03)

  34. 34.

    Mai Naem mobile

    I am going to be disappointed if they don’t release the tax returns. Its not like the GOP are going to give the Dems any credit for not releasing them. You need to know his possible conflicts of interest. Thats all. I also really want to know if he truly donated his POTUS salary because I’ve never believed TFG would give money away.

  35. 35.

    James E Powell

    @lowtechcyclist:

    Tesla started the year with a market value of $400 per share. This afternoon, that’s down to $140. Correct me if I’m wrong, but Tesla shares have lost 65% of their market value this year.

    Obligatory.

  36. 36.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    IMHO, at least anyone running for office should have to disclose their returns.

    That could be made automatic: Congress could pass a law requiring the IRS to release the last N years of the tax returns of anyone listed on the ballot for Federal office in any U.S. state or territory.

    Obviously that won’t happen until the next time the Dems have control of both houses of Congress and the Presidency, and no telling when that will be.

  38. 38.

    Geminid

    @Anonymous At Work: Republicans can’t cut Santos loose. The voters of the NY 3rd put him in there and it will take them to turn him out in 2024. That is, unless he proves to be so toxic that there is a 2/3s vote in the House to expell him. A Republican might not be able to win a special election for that seat, so Santos will have very toxic for that to happen.

    Another possibility is that the Russian mob decides Soto knows too much and kills him

    Eta: now that I think about it, I think Santos is more or less a tool for the Russian mob, and probably doesn’t know enough to be worth rubbing out. Although assassinating one of the members of Congress they own might help keep the others in line.

  40. 40.

    James E Powell

    @SuzieC:

    Jennifer Rubin made a pretty good argument against releasing the tax returns in this morning’s WaPo

    If we were talking about Hillary Clinton instead of Donald Trump, not one journalist or cable news talking head in the nation would argue that her tax returns shouldn’t be released. Not one.

  44. 44.

    Chip Daniels

    ..releasing the returns publicly without any connection to oversight activities might smack of spiteful partisan overreach to normies people who never gave a crap about partisanship before today.

  45. 45.

    Barbara

    @James E Powell: That’s just not an argument.  I think those running for federal office should release their tax returns, and I would support a law that made that happen.  I don’t think as a rule that others should be forced to release their tax returns to the public, or at least, not in the normal course.

  47. 47.

    BR

    @Matt McIrvin: ​

    I think there will be problems of moderation and trolls hopping from one server to another. But I think that will just lead to new third-party services that catalog a list of troll email addresses or things like that, or rate limit sign-ups. There will definitely be problems of scale but I think there’s motivation to fix it.

  48. 48.

    Elizabelle

    @Geminid:  I don’t know.  Where did he get the $700,000 to loan his campaign?

    He was elected based upon lies, lies, lies.

    That would not seem to have been a free and fair election, with such a fraudulent candidate on the ballot.

    I’m irritated that people are blaming Democrats for this.  Jackass fraudster is a Republican (or so we think), and they voted for him.  As they would vote for a ham sandwich or ball of wax with an R behind its name.

    Maybe the financial fraud will be his undoing.

    NY Times readers, when taking a break from blaming Democrats, were wondering if the guy is even gay.  Who can believe anything he attests?

  49. 49.

    The Moar You Know

    The issue is not that Jim Jordan will release tax returns of elected Dems. It is that he will release those of the Dem donors selectively, making them look as bad as possible.

    @Greg: he will no matter what the committee decides to do.  Might as well get our licks in while we can.

  50. 50.

    James E Powell

    @Geminid:

    I don’t think there will be blowback among “normies” if the Committee releases Trump’s tax information.

    I agree with you. The normies won’t even be aware of the process, how it happened, or why.

    And even if the returns show a criminality, corruption, and lying, the white normies will still vote Republican by huge margins. Because gas is too expensive, or they don’t like the Democratic candidate’s laugh, or because some other reason that FOX gives them to hate us & vote for Rs.

    So, release the fucking tax returns and let the world know Trump’s not some special person.

  51. 51.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Geminid: IANAL, but Dan Goldman is

    Daniel Goldman @danielsgoldman
    If allegations are true (and Santos has not even denied them), there are at least two possible federal crimes at play:
    1) conspiracy to defraud the US (same as Mueller with Russians in 16 and Trump in 20), and:
    2) filing false statements to FEC.
    @EDNYnews should investigate.

  52. 52.

    Geminid

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Between the USPS, UPS and Amazon, Americans will be seeing a lot of electric delivery vans before too long. Seeing businesses using these vehicles will help break down scepticism among car owners as to efficiency and reliability.

  53. 53.

    Anonymous At Work

    @Geminid: Where’s the Russian mob as his “secret clients” coming from?  Don’t disbelieve but as a Democrat, I demand an exhaustive/exhausting amount of evidence to arrive at a semi-firm initial conclusion (but not a final conclusion).

  54. 54.

    Cameron

    @Betty Cracker: Wow – Accuweather sez mid-50’s/high-30’s here for Christmas.  Tampa isn’t that far from south Manatee County, is it?  (Accuweather also sent me an emergency warning a few years ago that there was a tornado directly over my apartment; there wasn’t a cloud in the sky….)

  55. 55.

    Matt McIrvin

    @BR: The fact that you can pretty easily jump instances does reduce the level of risk/commitment involved in starting on one, which is clever.

  56. 56.

    cain

    @BR: My mastodon is pretty much equivalent to twitter right now – but it’s actually even more diverse than before. The engagement is off the chart compared to twitter. I think people are really liking this community space that we are building for ourselves. This might be the first mass community movement ever seen. The first real public square.

    Thanks Elroy!

  57. 57.

    rikyrah

    @James E Powell:

     

    Tesla started the year with a market value of $400 per share. This afternoon, that’s down to $140. Correct me if I’m wrong, but Tesla shares have lost 65% of their market value this year.

     

    BWA HA AH AH AH HA HAH AH AH AHAH AH

  58. 58.

    Geminid

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Well, I think there is a very good chance Soto will be indicted, probably on several felony counts. He’ll make bail and return to Congress and there will be little chance of expulsion until he is convicted.

    However, prosecutors might have so much on Santos that he takes a plea deal requiring him to resign his seat.

  60. 60.

    James E Powell

    @Barbara:

    I wasn’t making an argument, just an observation.

    I agree with you on the release of tax records by candidates, not by anyone & everyone. The questions would be, which returns, what triggers the obligation, when do they have to be produced, and to whom?

  61. 61.

    cain

    @Matt McIrvin:

    I’m on Mastodon and really liking it so far, but as a former user of multiple defunct or moribund social media platforms, I am skeptical that it will avoid the same pathologies we see everywhere else. Many of them are just consequences of scale. The fact that it’s currently non-profit and non-ad-supported helps, but how sustainable that is is going to depend on the willingness and ability of users to fund their favorite instance.

    No, what’s different are conversations happening between BiPOC and LBGTQ+ – it’s centered around under-represented communities more than it has ever in any other space. Meaning we are leading with those conversations in the forefront. The black voices are strong and clear – and people are making the adjustments – not algorithms.

  62. 62.

    Cacti

    Read them into the Congressional record.

    It would piss him off royally, and there’s nothing he could do to prevent it or undo it.

  63. 63.

    David ⛄ 🎅The Establishment🎄 🦌 🕎 Koch

    On CNN – Haberman: People are sick of running to defend Trump

    🤣
    With tribunal on the horizon, Access Sally starts pretending she never liked Twitler

  64. 64.

    Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg

    Laying here in bed, recovering and sleeping.

    Daughters are helping out a lot, which pleases me.

    Anyway, I’m seeing some Jennifer Coolidge commercials and am struggling to see the draw – I think I hate every character she plays. While I really like White Lotus, I hate her character. She’s typecast.

  66. 66.

    James E Powell

    @WaterGirl:

    Glad that DeJoy-less moved off the mark, but why in the hell is he still in place with the conflict of interest he has with his own business?

    I ask that question every time his name comes up.

  67. 67.

    Geminid

    @Anonymous At Work: I suggest you look up Viktor Vekselburg, who is reported to be a supporter of Santos. You will see several stories about federal agents executing a search warrant on Vekselburg’s Long Island home and carrying away boxes of seized materials. This happened in August I believe.

    I know I am jumping to a conclusion here but Santos seems crooked and Russian oligarch Vekselburg definitely is.

  69. 69.

    Craig

    @Greg: if Gym Jordan is going to do that, then he’s going to do it regardless of whether Trump’s taxes get released. Stop being afraid of how hypothetically terrible Republicans will be, they’ll always be worse.

  70. 70.

    PaulWartenberg

    I would argue for releasing trump’s tax returns. the Republicans are going to scream partisanship no matter what, so go ahead and give it to us, baby.

    The American people do have a vested interest in see if trump is a clown living on credit.

  71. 71.

    piratedan

    @James E Powell: agreed, some people went to the trouble of making him do so…

    They hounded Obama until the Hospital released his BC, it didn’t make them happy and sure they spun additional conspiracy theories because that’s just what they fucking do over there as of late…

    In this instance, this helps to deflate the balloon, no special treatment and even if there’s nothing embarrassing in them, the point gets made.  In fact, in a way, this is a win-win… if there’s something obvious regarding who he’s indebted to, that’s on the record; if he’s actually broke, that’s on the record, even if there’s nothing malicious in there at all… then it becomes a question of, wtf were you doing?

  72. 72.

    WaterGirl

    The House has another choice – they can release the tax returns to the relevant Senate committee, and they can take up the relevant questions there.  Maybe they will be smart enough to do that.

  73. 73.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @eclare:

    I haven’t seen White Lotus (I tried but could not get into it)

    Me neither. Kind of curious about the new season, which some people say is better, and I like Michael Imperioli and F Murray Abraham– he and Mandy Patinkin were so damn good in Homeland

  74. 74.

    cain

    @PaulWartenberg:

    I would argue for releasing trump’s tax returns. the Republicans are going to scream partisanship no matter what, so go ahead and give it to us, baby.

    Yep, so we might as well get something for it. Seeing that buffoon’s tax returns and letting people know that he’s not so rich and that he owes a ton of money to Russia.

    They might cry about partisanship, but the info in those tax returns are going to make them scramble for a story to cover up why they support him.

  75. 75.

    Major Major Major Major

    Honestly I doubt there’s much in them. No 1099 from the FSB or whatever. People’s opinions on Trump are probably pretty solidified! But at the end of the day I don’t really have a take for what Dems should do here.

    @James E Powell: Today I learned that I can buy an ETF for “expecting $TSLA to shit the bed”, but it’s up 8% today and I’m thinking I should let it fall a bit before I buy in…

  76. 76.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Honestly I doubt there’s much in them. No 1099 from the FSB or whatever. People’s opinions on Trump are probably pretty solidified!

    Kinda where I am. Aren’t every POTUS’s returns subject to audit? so the idea that some glaring crime will be revealed seems pretty small to me. I think 1) they will show he’s not as rich as he claims to be, but we know that and 2) that he use the presidency as a major grift, but we know that.

    I kind of hope they do release them cause I’m curious as to what Suzanne Craig et al can do with them, but I don’t think they’ll make a lot of news

  77. 77.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg: We just started White Lotus S2 and everyone is really good but agreed, Coolidge is kinda hard to take.  Her performance is great and funny, but she’s almost like a completely unrealistic clown of a character, where the rest of the cast are all pretty close to the kind of people most of us might know in real life.

  78. 78.

    M31

    They should release Trump’s tax returns and also release Hilary’s too at the same time.

    Yeah yeah yeah she released them already but so what.

  79. 79.

    bbleh

    Maybe the committee should vote to keep the returns confidential and accidentally leave a copy on the table for an aide to pick up and anonymously mail to ProPublica.

    They should vote to keep them confidential, leak them immediately, and then angrily accuse the Republicans of leaking to score political points

    @Craig: this, in general.

  81. 81.

    Brachiator

    On the one hand, the returns aren’t useful for oversight anymore since Trump successfully ran out the clock by appealing the decision to release them all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. It would suck if he were rewarded for that obstructive behavior by his (possibly both fraudulent and/or humiliating) returns remaining secret.

    If Congress is not investigating something, the Trump tax returns should remain confidential. If the IRS has something to investigate, they should get on it.

  82. 82.

    trollhattan

    Ferndale quake news beginning to emerge and it’s worse than early reports had it:

    FERNDALE, Calif. —

    At least two people have died and 11 others have been hurt after a strong earthquake shook a rural stretch of Northern California early Tuesday.

    The quake jolted residents awake, cut off power to 70,000 people, and damaged some buildings and roads, officials said. Humboldt County emergency officials said that two people died as a result of medical emergencies that happened during or just after the quake.

    The magnitude 6.4 earthquake occurred at 2:34 a.m. near Ferndale, a small community about 210 miles northwest of San Francisco and close to the Pacific coast. The epicenter was just offshore at a depth of about 10 miles. Numerous aftershocks followed.

  84. 84.

    Geminid

    @Brachiator: Trump’s tax returns may show some shell corporations we don’t know about. Since the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) is about to go into effect, Committee Democrats can argue there is a public interest because the returns may disclose a need to “tweak” the CTA, which requires shell companies to report their “beneficial” (actual) ownership. That excuse would satisfy me at least.

  85. 85.

    Ken

    @bbleh: They should vote to keep them confidential, leak them immediately, and then angrily accuse the Republicans of leaking to score political points

    Bonus points if they can make it look like the leak came from Alito, or Ginni Thomas.

  87. 87.

    Betty Cracker

    @Cameron: I live about 75 miles or so north of Tampa

    Speaking of weather apps, I use MyRadar on my laptop and my phone, and I love it. But it does send random and unlikely alerts every now and then. I got two alerts about being near a wildfire hotspot today. It’s been raining all day, and there’s no mention of a fire in the local news.

  89. 89.

    Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg

    Peacock Network (I’ve been watching episodes of “The Office” as I drift in and out of sleep all day) is running commercials for Jefferson’s Ocean, which is cracking me up.

    It is a tiny artisanal distillery about 5 miles from where I sit, a really nice premium bourbon that is actually affordable. Neat concept – it ages on barrels put out to sea.

  90. 90.

    zhena gogolia

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Abraham is great. I adore Coolidge and think she’s brilliant in this. Her scenes with Tom Hollander are fabulous. Theo James does such a good American-asshole-bro accent I can’t believe he’s Mr. Pamuk! All the Italian actors are superb, and the music is wonderful as well. It’s a total soap opera but I don’t care. Oh, and Aubrey Plaza is really good too.

    I’m a little apprehensive about how it’s all going to end, but I’m enjoying it.

  92. 92.

    way2blue

    My vote is to release Trump’s tax documents to the public.  In part, because ‘running out the clock’ shouldn’t ultimately be rewarded.  And because the Republican House will bury them and lie about what’s in them.   High level gov’t officials should routinely release their tax returns.  Full stop.

  93. 93.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @zhena gogolia: thanks, maybe with these long winter evenings I’ll dial it up. One of the reviews I saw did say Sicily was their favorite character. That’s a place I’d like to go.

  94. 94.

    Another Scott

    They should be released.  Every major party presidential nominee since Nixon, and most of the candidates (except Rmoney?) released many years of them.  Treating TFG as someone special is very bad.

    Put them out.

    There’s probably nothing obviously incriminating in them because his numbers people knew how to set things up to hide nefarious things.  But they should be public.

    Easy call, it seems to me.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  95. 95.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    b-boy bouiebaisse @jbouie 1h
    let’s goooooo

    Acyn @Acyn. 
    Kevin Brady (R-TX) warns that releasing Trump’s tax returns could lead to the release of tax returns of Supreme Court Justices

    heh

  97. 97.

    Betty Cracker

    @eclare: I watched the first season of White Lotus mainly because Coolidge is in it and I love her, but I didn’t try to watch the second. Almost every character was so irredeemably awful in the first.

    I still quote a Coolidge line from Best in Show to my hubby every now and then — we both loved her in that. “I’m gonna be right here until I get another message…from myself.”

    Coolidge was also great as the nail technician in Legally Blonde.

  98. 98.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Acyn @Acyn. 

    Kevin Brady (R-TX) warns that releasing Trump’s tax returns could lead to the release of tax returns of Supreme Court Justices

    That would simply be terrible!  The tax returns of Amy Coathanger Barrett, the alleged blackout drunk college rapist, and the Supreme Court Injustice (Gorsuch).

    Not to mention what fun possibly lies in Clarence and Ginny’s returns…

  100. 100.

    Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony

    @Ken: @bbleh:

    “They should vote to keep them confidential, leak them immediately, and then angrily accuse the Republicans of leaking to score political points”

    Bonus points if they can make it look like the leak came from Alito, or Ginni Thomas.

    I’d prefer they anonomously leak them to someone known to be indiscreet in DeSantis’s close orbit. I’d prefer when the info comes out, it is immediately linked to that fascist clown. In particular, he is the GOP elites favorite Trump alternative, so it becomes believable that GOP members leaked it.

  101. 101.

    Gregory

    Maybe the committee should vote to keep the returns confidential and accidentally leave a copy on the table for an aide to pick up and anonymously mail to ProPublica. I could live with that. The committee meets at 3 PM ET today.

    I disagree, for two reasons.  1) Congress has oversight responsibility over the Executive Branch, and Trump defied precedent by not releasing his returns, so he arguably has something to hide.  Trump should not be rewarded for running out the judicial clock.  B) If the returns were leaked, the so-called “liberal media” would ignore the story because they don’t report on other people’s scoops.  (Hence the yawning silence over Josh Marshall obtaining Meadows’ tweets that put him squarely at the center of a conspiracy to foment insurrection.)

  103. 103.

    Captain C

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: If that’s the case, we’ll find out a) Boof Kavanaugh’s booze bill (that he no doubt tries to deduct as a business expense or suchlike), and perhaps b) who paid off his million dollars or so in debts and therefore owns a Supreme Court justice.

  107. 107.

    Barry

    @sdhays: “Is this really a “tech” phenomenon? It seems like the same thing as Rupert Murdoch buying the New York Post or Wall Street Journal, just with a techie angle because these particular right wing assholes are from the tech space.”

    IMHO, it’s the same as it always was.  Rich people hating criticism, and bootlickers who say that Now It’s Different.

  109. 109.

    Betty Cracker

    @zhena gogolia: Maybe you’re right — it’s the acting that makes all the difference. I enjoy plenty of shows that feature horrible characters as long as there’s good acting and an interesting plot.

  112. 112.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Betty Cracker: I recently re-watched Veep and it features some of the most unredeemable and/or pathetic characters ever written, with a couple of exceptions (Richard Splett!), but I love it. Julia Louis Dreyfuss is so good.

  116. 116.

    Another Scott

    @Captain C: On b) it probably was his parents.

    What’s infuriating about it to me is that he’s twisting the rules to hide the details.  Congress should make the rules apply equally to everyone.  Those with money, or those with rich parents, should not be able to hide their financial dealings that others have to disclose.

    Grr…,
    Scott.

  117. 117.

    tybee

    21 here on xmas eve, 25 xmas night. there goes the citrus crop, the bananas and a lot of other stuff as well.

  118. 118.

    Betty Cracker

    @tybee: We’re getting a hard freeze too, which sucks. Our citrus trees are in giant pots, so we can drag those into the game room downstairs. We will probably cover some plants. The banana trees are fucked though. The good news is they’ll come back.

  120. 120.

    J R in WV

    @MattF: ​
     

    But I suspect the free-software and run-by-volunteers ethos will turn out to be unfixable problems.

    Somehow the Linux operating system, a somewhat clone of the UNIX OS created by Linus Torvalds and many volunteers, a classic Free Software creation, manages to be successful, especially in the server world. Even tho it’s all a free open source toolset.

  123. 123.

    Ruckus

    @Betty Cracker:

    Here in SoCal it is supposed to be 78 on Sunday. Sorry, I had to post that. It has been in the upper 30s at night and low 50s for a bit but sun every day does raise the temp a bit. I’ve seen snow fall in SoCal. Once, and when it hits the ground it’s gone. I’ve also seen it rain over 30 days straight and fill up the LA river. Look on line for pics, that is a hell of a lot of rain.

    Just in case you wonder I’ve lived in snow land and I’ve sailed above the Arctic Circle in December so I know cold. But there is a reason that LA county is more populated than 40 states.

  125. 125.

    Ruckus

    @SuzieC:

    SFB made such a stink about his tax returns that everyone knows there is a lot in them that would not look good for SFB. It would either show A, that he cheats/lies on his taxes or B, that he’s not even close to how rich he claims. I’m going with C, both of the above.

  126. 126.

    Ruckus

    @Geminid:

    I already see a lot of electric delivery vans in my part of LA county. Gas has dropped to around $4/gal +/- but that’s still rather high, all things considered and that makes people that buy vans look for any way to drop costs, especially daily operational costs.

  127. 127.

    Ruckus

    @PaulWartenberg:

    The American people do have a vested interest in see if trump is a clown living on credit.

    I don’t really think I need to bring this up but there is a very good reason he doesn’t want his taxes shown. And I’d bet it has to do with him saying he’s worth a hell of a lot more than he actually is and would likely show him to either be a lot less “well off” or pretty damn deep in shit. He’s failed at every thing he’s ever tried to do to make money, primarily because he thinks his shit doesn’t stink, although we all know better. His wealth should be a lot higher than it is and if he was smarter than a wad of used chewing tobacco it actually could be. But he’s SFB and always has been. He’s the mistake that never stops proving who he is.

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