Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

This chaos was totally avoidable.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

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

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Bad people in a position to do bad things will do bad things because they are bad people. End of story.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

The National Guard is not Batman.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

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

Let there be snark.

America is going up in flames. The NYTimes fawns over MAGA celebrities. No longer a real newspaper.

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

So many bastards, so little time.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

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Grim Grey Dawn Open Thread: Eternities of Anhedonia

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illiteracy is a genuine problem

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— BeijingPalmer (@beijingpalmer.bsky.social) February 14, 2025 at 2:01 PM

I mean this is the guy who named his surveillance and intelligence company after the lying orb that drives its owner mad

— Brendan O’Kane (@bokane.org) February 14, 2025 at 2:11 PM

Maybe Thiel just wants the rest of us to be as miserable as he seems to be?

Type of Guy (actual, observed): “I don’t really like books, or sports, or films, or paintings, or music, or dance, or sports, or food, or wine, or pets, or people. I want to live forever.”

— Eric Rauchway (@rauchway.bsky.social) February 15, 2025 at 12:30 PM

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War for Ukraine Day 1,088: More Drone Swarms

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Painting by NEIVANMADE. It has a white background an in the center are Soldiers in green doing air defense by firing at incoming Russian missiles in the upper right. The missiles are red and yellow. In the upper left, written in green, is the text: "SAVE THE BRAVEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD!" Below the Soldiers, also written in green, is "SUPPORT FOR KHARKIV"

(Image by NEIVANMADE)

As of 7:00 PM EST/2:oo AM local time in Ukraine, all of eastern and central Ukraine is under air raid alerts for drone swarms.

The Trump natsec delegation is preparing to negotiate with Russia. I’m not sure why given that the US is not a party to Russia’s genocidal re-invasion of Ukraine – as in it is not one of the two sides actually fighting – and because the Trump natsec team has decided to do so without the Ukrainians. You know, the people that have been fighting the genocidal Russian re-invasion for just shy of the past three years.

They’re walking back already because they know Putin’s goals remain maximalist. Let’s see whether US starts pushing for ceasefire while details are supposedly hammered out. Ukr army will not stop defending before it has a clear, feasible deal w security guarantees. Anything else leads to surrender

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— Maria Popova 🇨🇦 (@popovaprof.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 2:08 PM

BREAM: Given the cost that the Ukrainian people have paid, why would they not have a direct seat at the table?

WALTZ: President Trump is clear it needs to come to an end.

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) February 16, 2025 at 10:10 AM

President Zelenskyy was traveling to the UAE today, so there’s no address. However, he did sit for an interview with NBC News.

Zelenskyy: “I will never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine. Never.”

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) February 16, 2025 at 10:16 AM

And that settles that.

Here’s the full video:

Waltz also had some thoughts about what the US is “owed” by Ukraine:

I’d like to remind you that there was no deal or agreement on that. However, Ukraine did sign a written agreement in which the U.S. provided “security assurances” in exchange for Ukraine giving up its nuclear weapons. We would now like our nuclear weapons back

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— Tatarigami (@tatarigami.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 3:23 PM

Waltz is a retired US Army Special Forces/a Green Beret. The motto of the Green Berets’ is de oppresor liber: to liberate the oppressed. COL (ret) Waltz seems to have forgotten this.

We also now know more about the US proposal regarding Ukraine’s mineral resources:

⚡️’A colonial agreement’ — former Ukrainian official slams US minerals deal, AP reports.

The U.S. delegates in Munich did not offer any security guarantees in exchange for Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, current and former senior Ukrainian officials said.

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— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) February 16, 2025 at 4:32 PM

From The Kyiv Independent:

The United States offered Ukraine “a colonial agreement” on exchanging Ukrainian rare earth minerals for U.S. military aid, a former senior Ukrainian official told the Associated Press (AP) on Feb. 16.

The comment comes after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent delivered a draft of the agreement to President Volodymyr Zelensky on Feb. 12. Zelensky refused to sign the document, saying it did not sufficiently protect Ukraine’s interests.

“For me is very important the connection between some kind of security guarantees and some kind of investment,” Zelensky said.

The president did not give details as to the problems with the document.

“It’s a colonial agreement and Zelensky cannot sign it,” a former senior Ukrainian official told the AP. The former official spoke under the condition of anonymity in order to speak freely.

The current and former senior Ukrainian officials who spoke to the AP said that the U.S. delegates at the Munich Security Conference did not offer any security guarantees in exchange for Ukraine’s rare earth minerals.

According to the senior Ukrainian official, the U.S. delegates were more focused on the commercial aspects of a future partnership and did not have “ready answers” to how Ukraine’s mineral deposits could be protected in the event of ongoing Russian aggression.

White House National Security Council Spokesperson Brian Hughes said Zelensky’s refusal to sign the agreement was “short-sighted.”

National Security Adviser Mike Waltz also encouraged Zelensky to take the deal in comments to Fox News on Feb. 16.

“Zelensky would be very wise to enter into this agreement with the United States,” he said.

“We’re talking about growing the pie for the Ukrainian economy.”

Waltz has previously said that the U.S. needs to “recoup” the costs of former military aid packages to Ukraine.

Ukraine has signaled that it is open to developing a partnership in resource extraction with the U.S. and other partners in exchange for security guarantees.

After his address to the Munich Security Forum yesterday, President Zelenskyy sat for a question and answer session with Christiane Amanpour. I have the video of his address from yesterday, which includes the Q&A session, queued up to start at 27:46, when the interview starts.

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Last Talk about the Zoom with Elle Reeve Yesterday

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Anyone want to talk about yesterday’s zoom with Elle Reeve?

We had sort of planned for a presentation by Elle, followed by questions from the folks participating in the zoom, but the world is a different place than it was when we originally planned the zoom.

So instead we just opened it up for questions from the get-go.  We’re flexible, right? :-)

I would love it if you guys would share your feedback on the zoom here.   Depressing?  Inspiring?

Thoughts on the format?  Thoughts on anything that was talked about, anything you wish we had gotten to, but didn’t?  Thoughts about format for the zoom in two weeks?   Thoughts about what we’ll want to focus on then?

Have at it!

 

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Horror and Courage

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This is horrible:

CANANDAIGUA, NY (AP) — New York State Police charged five people Friday with murder in the killing of a missing man who authorities said died following repeated acts of violence and torture for more than a month by multiple individuals who later discarded his body in a field.

The victim, Sam Nordquist, a 24-year-old transgender man originally from Minnesota, was reported missing on Feb. 9. Police said he arrived in New York in September and had lost contact with loved ones.

Major Kevin Sucher, commander of the state police troop that includes the Finger Lakes region, said the facts and circumstances of the case were “beyond depraved” and “by far the worst” homicide investigation the office has ever been part of.

“No human being should have to endure what Sam endured,” he said, during televised news conference. Police did not share many details of the case, noting it remained under active investigation.

Five people have been arrested and charged with second-degree murder in the death of Sam.  Ages range from 38 to 19.  Other than one person, they’re from the little towns south of Rochester, including Canandaigua, which is a roughly 30 minute drive from Rochester.

Rochester is a LGBTQ+ friendly town that serves as a refuge for the kids who grow up in the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes, areas where you’ll often see Trump signs and the stars and bars flying.  Some of the kids who stay in the poor towns where they grew up are often bigots like their parents.  There’s not a lot in those towns — most of the money made there is from tourists visiting the lakes and wineries that dot the area.

Moving from horror to courage, a group of medical professionals have signed an editorial in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.   No lies told:

With the Trump administration now in control of federal leadership, those of us who work in the field of gender medicine — particularly gender medicine for young people — have experienced a challenging last few months. Gender care for youths and related issues such as bathroom use and sports participation have become ubiquitous topics in both national and local media. This is despite the fact that gender-diverse youths represent only a small fraction of our population (1.4% of young people, according to the UCLA Williams Institute) and are by far some of the most vulnerable members of our community.

Manufacturing a good enemy is the best way to stay in power. The right wing has certainly seized upon that strategy in recent times. Lately, it has been hard to ignore all the stories about gender-diverse people, just trying to live their lives, that have been spun into false narratives about abusive parents and health care providers, potential assaults in restrooms and the imminent end of women’s sports.

During the election season, Donald Trump actively ran ads that attacked and denigrated transgender people, aiming to score cheap political points with a riled-up base of supporters who generally know nothing about how gender care actually works. Since he took office those attacks have continued with recent executive orders. It is disappointing that someone who engages in this behavior could manage to win the presidency of the United States. The truth is that fearmongering has been an effective strategy thus far, and left unchecked it is a strategy we expect to continue for the foreseeable future.

[…]

We’re not going anywhere. What’s more, we’re expanding. Over the coming days and months, we will work alongside our partners to protect our communities, deepen our impact and stand up as Minnesota has always done: as a source of safety and care. Our commitment is unwavering, and we invite you to stand with us as we forge a path forward.

The women and men signing that editorial are heroes.

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Sunday Morning Open Thread: Failing to Plan / Planning to Fail

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One of our problems is that a clear-eyed description of who’s in charge of our government, what & who influences them, their ideas & plans, & what they’re doing, all sounds so crazy that it’s hard to convince people it’s as bad as it really is.

— Dana Houle (@danahoule.bsky.social) February 15, 2025 at 1:30 PM


 

the GOP owns the whole thing, and they can't agree on who is first, they can't agree on what the bill will include, they can't agree on one bill or two, they can't agree on what they're going to cut and boost, and trump hasn't given them the revenue they will need to even *pretend* it's legitimate

— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachine.com) February 11, 2025 at 7:16 PM


 

So I mostly think this is happening because MAGA is run by people too stupid to understand where this country's wealth and power comes from, but I also think they'd rather be kings of a shitty country than citizens of a good one.

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— Don Zeko (@donzeko.bsky.social) February 15, 2025 at 5:59 PM

i think the issue is that the republican party considers itself terminally ill

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— rev. howard arson (@theophite.bsky.social) February 15, 2025 at 2:07 AM

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War for Ukraine Day 1,087: The US Has Decided to Negotiate With No One For Nothing

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At 6:45 PM EST/1:45 AM local time in Ukraine, almost all of eastern and central Ukraine is under air raid alert for drone swarms.

A quick correction that actually sets up tonight’s update. After I’d done last night’s update, Josh Rogin updated his reporting regarding what President Zelenskyy told the bipartisan CODEL. This was the original reporting, which got screen shotted onto Bluesky:

there are so many things wrong with this

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— Adam Keiper (@adamkeiper.com) February 14, 2025 at 12:49 PM

Here’s the updates, I’m going to copy and paste the text from the second and third tweets from his tweet thread:

UPDATE: After a lot more reporting, I have a lot more detail. This plan, which I have now seen, was presented to Zelensky by U.S. Ambassador Bridget Brink several days ago, in advance of Secretary Bessent’s trip to Kyiv. Zelensky told the lawmakers about it today… 1/2

2/2 In today’s meeting with U.S. lawmakers, Zelensky was telling them about this paper, which many of them didn’t already know about, not the other way around. Z said he could not sign it because it didn’t contain any security guarantees for Ukraine. Apologies for any confusion.

UPDATED, NEW DETAILS: US deal was given to Zelensky only just before he met Treasury Sec Bessent in Kyiv. It was dated Feb. 7, 2025, & only referenced US getting Ukrainian resources in exchange for past military aid, & didn’t contain proposals for similar future assistance www.ft.com/content/b08b…

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— Christopher Miller (@christopherjm.ft.com) February 15, 2025 at 11:02 AM

Another sticking point is the doc’s specification that New York be the jurisdiction in which disputes over the mineral rights are resolved. Kyiv did not believe the proposal was enforceable under New York law.

www.ft.com/content/b08b…

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— Christopher Miller (@christopherjm.ft.com) February 15, 2025 at 11:03 AM

US ambassador Bridget Brink first presented Zelensky and his team with the US minerals deal just before Bessent’s arrival in Kyiv, sources familiar told me. They said she made clear to Zelensky he was expected to sign the deal during Bessent’s visit.

www.ft.com/content/b08b…

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— Christopher Miller (@christopherjm.ft.com) February 15, 2025 at 11:03 AM

From The Financial Times:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected a US bid to take ownership of around 50 per cent of the rights to his country’s rare earth minerals and is trying to negotiate a better deal, according to several people familiar with the matter.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent offered Zelenskyy the deal during a visit to Kyiv on Wednesday, which came after President Donald Trump suggested the US was owed half a trillion dollars’ worth of Ukraine’s resources in exchange for its assistance to the war-torn country.

Zelenskyy wants American and European security guarantees to be tied directly to any deal on the mineral reserves, according to four people familiar with the US-Ukraine negotiations.

He is also keen for other countries, including EU states, to be involved in future natural resource exploitation.

But the deal proposed by Trump and delivered by Bessent only referenced the US getting Ukrainian resources in exchange for past military assistance, and did not contain any proposals for similar future assistance, according to a person familiar with the document.

“We are still talking,” Zelenskyy said in Munich on Saturday. “I have had different dialogues.”

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the conference, Zelenskyy said it was “not in our interests today . . . not in the interests of sovereign Ukraine” to agree to the US deal as it currently stands.

A senior Ukrainian official told the Financial Times that Kyiv was “trying to negotiate a better deal”.

During his visit to the presidential office in Kyiv this week Bessent brought a document that Trump wanted Zelenskyy to sign before Bessent returned to Washington, according to five people familiar with the matter.

Speaking to reporters before he and Zelenskyy discussed the deal privately for roughly an hour, Bessent described it as an “economic agreement” with Kyiv to “further intertwine our economies”.

The Trump administration would “stand to the end [with Kyiv] by increasing our economic commitment” which would “provide a long-term security shield for all Ukrainians” once Russia’s war is over, Bessent said.

“When we looked at the details there was nothing there [about future US security guarantees],” another Ukrainian official told the FT.

Asked whether it was a bad deal for Ukraine, a third Ukrainian official familiar with the proposal said it was “a Trump deal”. “This is Trump dealmaking,” the official said. “It’s tough.”

Ukraine’s main concern is the lack of connection to broader security guarantees, according to three people who have reviewed the proposal.

Ukrainian officials asked how the agreement would contribute to their country’s long-term security, but were only told it would ensure an American presence on Ukrainian soil — a vague response that left key questions unanswered, those people said.

PoliticoEU has more: (emphasis mine)

“The deal was not signed yet. Sides are discussing the details,” said a Ukrainian official familiar with the negotiations who was granted anonymity to discuss ongoing talks. “Lawyers are working on it. In their draft, the U.S. has described a very complicated way how they want to get 50 percent [of Ukraine’s rare earths].”

The official added that the U.S. scheme “might not work” as it could fall afoul of  Ukrainian law.

But the draft deal may contain legal snares, former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told POLITICO.

He said Trump has no legal right to Ukraine’s raw minerals as Kyiv signed a strategic partnership with the EU in 2021 on them.

“Today, Trump claims Ukraine’s raw materials as a way to fuel America’s economy. But these raw materials are not only Ukrainian, they’re also European.,” Kuleba said. “Why should Europe give away the resources that should fuel its own economy to America?”

One of the lead architects of the proposal, Senator Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally, said he is dangling Ukraine’s mineral wealth in front of the president to persuade him that Ukraine is worth protecting — even pulling out a map to show Trump where Ukraine’s riches are located.

“The main thing for me is that Ukraine has value — literally has value,” Graham said at a POLITICO Pub event on the sidelines of the Munich conference. “Trump now sees Ukraine differently … I said these people are sitting on a gold mine … I showed him a map, ‘look!’”

Oh goody, Lindsey Graham had an idea, which explains why it’s “very complicated.”

Where does this leave things? With the Trump folks sending mixed messages and once again demonstrating that America first is America alone.

Several times this week Hegseth and Vance made it clear that Ukraine is now Europe’s problem and that Europe needed to step up to take care of itself and Ukraine. Now, Kellogg has decided that Europe need no be involved in ending Russia’s genocidal re-invasion of Ukraine.

⚡️Europe won’t participate in peace negotiations, but its interests to be considered, Kellogg says.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Kellogg mentioned the Minsk II deal of 2015, saying that it involved “a lot of people” but didn’t work out.

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— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) February 15, 2025 at 11:00 AM

From The Kyiv Independent:

U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, said on Feb. 15 that Europe will not be directly involved in negotiations to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, but its interests will be considered.

Kellogg’s remarks come as the Trump administration is trying to bring Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating table. Trump has repeatedly claimed that he aims to end the war as soon as possible but has not outlined specific steps to do so.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Kellogg mentioned the Minsk II deal of 2015, which aimed to end Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine in 2014 and involved Germany and France alongside Ukraine and Russia.

“There were a lot of people at the table, but it didn’t work out,” Kellogg said. That’s why Europe will not be involved in the negotiations, but its interests will be taken into account, he added.

Kellogg also stressed that Russia’s war against Ukraine could end even this year, pledging to “engage all parties” in 180 days to try to achieve this.

Kellogg said that Trump “will not give up important interests,” adding that the U.S. will continue to help Ukraine, but “the killing must be stopped.”

The Kremlin has repeatedly emphasized that it views the U.S. as its “main counterpart” in efforts to end the war.

Zelensky said that he wants European allies to be involved in peace negotiations. Kyiv insists that no talks about Ukraine and ending Russia’s war should be held without Ukraine.

You know you’re in the wrong place as a US senior natsec official when this happens:

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated at the Munich Conference that Europe must be involved in negotiations to end the Ukraine-Russia war. He emphasized that all parties must join the peace process to achieve stability in Europe, according to Reuters.

www.reuters.com/world/china-…

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) February 15, 2025 at 10:51 AM

Trump, Vance, Hegseth, and Kellogg keep giving Putin exactly what he wants. By the time they get to Saudi next week, they’ll be nothing to negotiate as they’ll have given it all away before they ever got there.

Any negotiations about peace in Ukraine without Ukraine and Europe are inherently senseless. If Washington’s position is that Ukraine is solely a European security concern, then the idea of establishing a new security paradigm in Europe without Europe and Ukraine is illogical

— Tatarigami (@tatarigami.bsky.social) February 15, 2025 at 2:59 PM

So you’re telling me that Europe has spent over $140 billion in Ukriane aid, will have to take the lead in deterring Russia in the future, will have to deploy its militaries as peacekeepers AND, amid that, it’s not getting a say in talks with Putin?

— Illia Ponomarenko (@ioponomarenko.bsky.social) February 15, 2025 at 1:29 PM

That’s quite interesting, I would even say, a groundbreaking and revolutionarily masterful negotiation strategy.

— Illia Ponomarenko (@ioponomarenko.bsky.social) February 15, 2025 at 1:29 PM

During his speech at the Munich Security Conference, Zelensky stated that he would not remove the issue of Ukraine’s NATO membership from the negotiation table, and also remarked that it seems as though Putin is the most influential member of NATO, holding the decisive vote.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) February 15, 2025 at 6:13 AM

Here is President Zelenskyy’s address to the Munich Security Conference. Video below, English transcript after the jump.

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Taxes

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I started to do my taxes but was stymied by lack of one document, so here I am.  I want to report that it was very, very difficult to buy the basic TurboTax program that I’ve started using to prepare taxes.  Intuit really, really wanted me to use the alternative that would have a human being help me in some way (I’m sure not very much help for like $70 over the price of their base product).  But, fuck ’em, I was able to find their base $70 (plus $20 to e-file in New York) product.

The catch-22 that Republicans love is, on the one hand, keeping tax forms complex because their tax-filing-software donor class wants that, while blocking and stymying the free e-file option (which Musk wanted to kill but didn’t get done, yet).

The other thing about taxes that isn’t much discussed is that most small business people cheat on them in some way or other.  These people, who are predominantly Republicans and generally resentful of “welfare queens” or whatever other bullshit is being stirred up about the undeserving poors, often work pretty hard  to avoid paying taxes.  Charging personal stuff to business accounts, having a spouse on the payroll who doesn’t do anything, and a hundred other cheats are common practice.  I’m technically a “small businessman” and when I had an accountant,  she used to laugh at my mileage reports and deductions, because they would be for tiny amounts that I could have inflated with basically zero risk.

I guess we all know this, but Musk is kind of the culmination of the long-term hatred of taxes that has occupied the Republican Party since basically the beginning of the income tax system.  I’m guessing most of the small businessmen are happy to see what he’s doing, well, until the face-eating leopards come for them.

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