December 19, 2019

Meanwhile, Trump calls a woman protestor a slob and laments that security didn't "rough her up"

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1207471493837287424



Trump disses a woman protester: "There is a slob, there is a real slob ... She will get hell when she comes back home with mom."

Trump then laments that security didn't rough her up as she was getting kicked out.

December 18, 2019

'The Far Side' Returns With Updated Website and (Potentially) New Comics

After a 25-year hibernation, the beloved comic strip The Far Side returned Tuesday with a revamped website, unseen sketches and the promise of new comics in the future.

In September, cartoonist Gary Larson hinted on the long-dormant Far Side website that the comic would reappear in 2019 in some capacity; “Uncommon, unreal, and (soon-to-be) unfrozen. A new online era of The Far Side is coming,” the previously barren website hinted.

In addition to the updated website — which for now features a “daily dose” of previously published works and a curated collection that brings together old comics thematically, a notable improvement considering the cartoonist spent decades actively keeping The Far Side off the Internet — Larson also gave the New York Times a rare interview where he mapped out his goals for TheFarSide.com.

“I’m not ‘back,’ at least in the sense I think you’re asking,” Larson told the Times of The Far Side, which ran from January 1st, 1980 to December 31st, 1994. “Returning to the world of deadlines isn’t exactly on my to-do list.” While the website — launching in time for the strip’s 40th anniversary — will primarily serve as a place for Larson’s previous cartoons, “I’m looking forward to slipping in some new things every so often.”

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/the-far-side-returns-new-website-gary-larson-interview-929057/

December 18, 2019

Why are Democrats in Congress undermining Obamacare? - WaPo Editorial Board

THE $1.4 TRILLION spending bill now making its way to final passage in time to meet a Friday deadline will banish the specter of a partial government shutdown for the foreseeable future. That’s the good news. Otherwise, it is a monumental exercise in fiscal looseness that may add $500 billion to the federal debt over the next decade, according to estimates by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. President Trump and his fellow Republicans deserve much of the blame for this situation, given that, under Mr. Trump, the party has abandoned any pretense of concern over balanced budgets. Yet many of the worst reported provisions enjoy significant Democratic support, too — even though they will undermine the signature policy accomplishment of the Obama administration.

We refer to the bill’s permanent repeal of three key funding sources for Obamacare: a 40 percent excise tax on the value of relatively high-cost “Cadillac” employer-paid health insurance plans; an annual tax on premiums collected by health insurers, allocated according to each insurer based on market share; and a 2.3 percent excise tax on the value of medical devices sold within the United States. Taken together, the elimination of these revenue-raisers will cost roughly $373 billion over a decade, of which $197 billion comes from repealing the “Cadillac tax,” $151 billion from ending the fee on health insurers and $25 billion from the tax cut for medical device-makers, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.

Compounding the damage is the fact that each tax also served legitimate health-market policy goals, in addition to helping pay for expanded coverage. By reducing incentives for excessive consumption of services, the Cadillac tax would have helped slow the overall growth of health costs. As for the health insurance tax and the medical device tax, those are the rough equivalents of partial rebates to the government for the expanded business those firms enjoyed because of Obamacare.

Of course, repeal is a bit redundant in that Congress has delayed or suspended each of the taxes at least once; indeed, the Cadillac tax has never been imposed, because of repeated “postponements.” Yet permanent elimination represents a final capitulation to the interest groups that opposed them. Both the GOP-aligned U.S. Chamber of Commerce and pro-Democratic labor unions waged a relentless campaign against the Cadillac tax, the former because it was hostile to Obamacare and taxes generally; the latter because union contracts often call for lusher-than-average health benefits. Among the leading Democratic presidential candidates, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) have been particularly dogged foes of the tax on medical devices, in deference to home-state industry. Something to remember as they, and their rivals, promise tax hikes to pay for health-care expansion.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-are-democrats-in-congress-undermining-obamacare/2019/12/17/4a898f76-20f1-11ea-a153-dce4b94e4249_story.html

This is just an example of how hard M4A would be.

December 17, 2019

We Are Republicans, and We Want Trump Defeated

By George T. Conway III, Steve Schmidt, John Weaver and Rick Wilson


Dec. 17, 2019





Patriotism and the survival of our nation in the face of the crimes, corruption and corrosive nature of Donald Trump are a higher calling than mere politics. As Americans, we must stem the damage he and his followers are doing to the rule of law, the Constitution and the American character.

That’s why we are announcing the Lincoln Project, an effort to highlight our country’s story and values, and its people’s sacrifices and obligations. This effort transcends partisanship and is dedicated to nothing less than preservation of the principles that so many have fought for, on battlefields far from home and within their own communities.


Over these next 11 months, our efforts will be dedicated to defeating President Trump and Trumpism at the ballot box and to elect those patriots who will hold the line. We do not undertake this task lightly, nor from ideological preference. We have been, and remain, broadly conservative (or classically liberal) in our politics and outlooks. Our many policy differences with national Democrats remain, but our shared fidelity to the Constitution dictates a common effort.

The 2020 general election, by every indication, will be about persuasion, with turnout expected to be at record highs. Our efforts are aimed at persuading enough disaffected conservatives, Republicans and Republican-leaning independents in swing states and districts to help ensure a victory in the Electoral College, and congressional majorities that don’t enable or abet Mr. Trump’s violations of the Constitution, even if that means Democratic control of the Senate and an expanded Democratic majority in the House.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/17/opinion/lincoln-project.html

December 17, 2019

Republicans scoff at Chuck Schumer's impeachment trial proposal

Chuck Schumer is trying to woo independent-minded Republicans to back his framework for an impeachment trial. But Susan Collins isn’t a fan of his tactics.

In an interview Monday, the Maine Republican criticized the Senate minority leader for widely publicizing his opening offer before Schumer had even sat down with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

“I was surprised that he didn’t first sit down with the Senate majority leader and discuss his proposals rather than doing a letter that he released to the press,” Collins said. “The more constructive way would have been for him to sit down with Sen. McConnell.”

Several GOP senators said that any conversation on witnesses would quickly turn to subpoenaing Hunter Biden, who has come under scrutiny for his role advising Ukrainian gas company Burisma while his father was vice president.

"If we're going to have witnesses... then you're going to have allow the defense to call witnesses that they believe are exculpatory. If that's the direction [Democrats] want to go, then that's what we'll do," said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). "You can't have a process where only side gets to call unlimited witnesses."

https://www.politico.com/news/2019/12/16/chuck-schumer-impeachment-trial-proposal-086361


They shouldn't depend on Collins for anything. I still remember her condescending speech concerning Brett Kavanaugh. Republicans want to get this over with because they're afraid of what might come out. Especially with Parnas and those Russian payments.

December 16, 2019

SC's US Rep Joe Cunningham to vote in favor of impeaching Trump

https://twitter.com/JoeCunninghamSC/status/1206686506385104897


“At the end of day, this is simply about the rule of law, whether we’re a country with laws or not and what type of precedent we want to set for future presidents.”



Joe was the Rep who had to pray on it over the weekend. He won Mark Sanford's old seat in a close race. Thank you, Joe!

December 16, 2019

There's a picture of Reagan hanging in Van Drew's office

https://twitter.com/nycsouthpaw/status/1206677941830275077


Picture of Reagan hanging in VanDrew's office

December 15, 2019

Scuffles break out as Adam Schiff speaks at Armenian town hall

At a town hall event on Saturday where an Armenian organization was thanking U.S. government officials for their support of resolutions recognizing the Armenian Genocide, scuffles broke out as Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), a co-sponsor of a resolution on the issue, spoke in the auditorium at the Glendale Central Library.

As Schiff began speaking, an elderly man and woman and a younger woman held up signs stating “Don’t Impeach.” When they were asked to take down the signs, they refused.

Then, about a dozen people scattered throughout the auditorium began yelling “Liar.”

When some in the audience asked them to refrain from yelling, several scuffles broke out throughout the room, and the audience members who were yelling at Schiff removed their jackets. They were wearing pro-President Trump T-shirts.

After roughly 15 minutes, the scuffles settled down, and the event continued.

https://www.latimes.com/socal/glendale-news-press/news/story/2019-12-14/scuffles-break-out-as-schiff-speaks-at-armenian-town-hall

December 14, 2019

Democratic chairs decline to sign letter supporting Van Drew

Facing growing concerns about his ability to win a Democratic primary next year, Rep. Jeff Van Drew (D-Dennis) asked Democratic county chairmen to sign a letter backing him for re-election.

The answer for many of them was no, the New Jersey Globe has learned.

“Some of us have had enough of Jefferson Van Drew,” one top Democrat told the Globe. “He’s on his own now.”

As a result, the letter never happened, according to six sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Van Drew’s opposition to the impeachment of President Donald Trump has become a significant political liability in New Jersey’s 2nd district, where the progressive and moderate wings of the Democratic party appear united in their opposition to Trump.

That doesn’t mean Van Drew will necessarily lose party support as he prepares to seek a second term in Congress, but it is unusual for county chairmen to refuse to automatically endorse an incumbent.

https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/democratic-chairs-decline-to-sign-letter-supporting-van-drew/


This article was from 12/6

December 14, 2019

Everything Trump Touches Dies, people

https://twitter.com/emptywheel/status/1205948621277089793

I think I see far less downside to Van Drew flipping parties. He's hitching his cart to Trump's corruption and can be challenged more clearly in election.



https://twitter.com/KylePineda2/status/1205949375513542662


As a constituent in his district that has also worked a number of campaigns there a party switch likely ends his political career. He may even have issues surviving a primary. Plus the state party and unions will have a field day.