Trump, June 2017: From [Covfefe] with Love

I got flack for saying that ~40% of US eligible voters are just too dumb and/or selfish to be trusted with voting power, but idk any other conclusion that fits.

― A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Thursday, June 29, 2017 6:22 PM (nine minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

thats the issue of our times.. how do you create a coherent and compelling argument to counter appealing to the ugliest and shittiest parts of human nature?

I got flack for saying that ~40% of US eligible voters are just too dumb and/or selfish to be trusted with voting power, but idk any other conclusion that fits.

This is exactly what the plutocrats think, btw (though maybe double that %)

On the bright side, one consequence of the Trump presidency will be fewer who equate wealth with virtue.

the people I respect the most who actually engage with politics are some of the kindest, most pragmatic, accepting people. they work in advocacy groups, lobbying, and community outreach. they tend to be knowledgeable about who their own representatives are from the local government to the national

unfortunately there are very few of them who are cut out for, or even interested in running for office outside of the local sphere. there are a lot of good reasons why, and I can't blame them

i can't remember where i read this, i think in a review of a book about the spanish civil war, where it is stated that the revolutionaries and their sympathizers finally realized, after franco's crushing victory, that "being right was not enough". it chilled me when i read it, and i still wonder what the answer is to the question: "well, what is?"

okay now

Uhh Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) put out his first music video for his new EP "Mystified" and nobody is talking about this pic.twitter.com/ojQdZSCrJK

— Jack Smith IV (@JackSmithIV) June 29, 2017

On the bright side, one consequence of the Trump presidency will be fewer who equate wealth with virtue.

Yeah, about .000001% fewer.

loooooooool xp

presented without comment and without hyperlink, this is the first edition of "West Wing Reads", the white house's weekly press eblast; this is what the "intellectual" side of this administration wants you to know

"Real CBO BCRA Headline: No Individual Market Losses in 2018, But Up 1 Million From 2017"
- Josh Archambault in Forbes
Reality check! An analysis by Forbes contributor Josh Archambault reveals surprising flaws in the CBO’s score of the Senate healthcare bill, which concludes 22 million more Americans will be without health coverage by 2026. As Archambault points out, the CBO score is based on an old, inaccurate 2016 CBO estimate of how many Americans will purchase Obamacare. If you use their January 2017 update, Republican legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare would result in only 2 million fewer on the individual market by 2026, and would actually result in no losses and even some gains in enrollment in the years preceding, Archambault estimates.
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Anthem Inc.’s decision to leave the Nevada marketplace has created an “Obamacare 'crisis' for rural Nevadans,” Bloomberg explains. About 8,000 people in 13 counties and Carson City will be without access to the Obamacare health plans. Bloomberg notes GOP Senator Dean Heller is “playing a major role” in the debate over the future of the Affordable Care Act, and stands in opposition to the Republican Senatorial plan to repair the failing exchanges.
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Michael Needham, the chief executive officer of Heritage Action, writes in Real Clear Politics, Republicans “cannot cede the playing field” on Obamacare repeal and replace because they’re upset with the process. He argues “conservatives are right to fight to improve the bill” where they can, and should evaluate the Senate bill on its own merits and “for the meaningful reforms it contains.”
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In Fox News, Attorney General Jeff Sessions urges Congress to pass Kate’s Law and the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act, two bills “that would make all Americans safer.” Lifezette details how President Trump gathered families “shattered by criminal aliens” to “highlight two bills that face final vote in the House of Representatives before moving on to the Senate.”
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In terms of Energy Week, the Institute for Policy Innovation’s Merrill Matthews writes in The Hill that increased U.S. natural gas production is not only helping reduce U.S. emissions, but other countries are likely to rely on imports of American LNG to do the same. And The Washington Times reports on President Trump’s pledge during a Wednesday roundtable to bring in a “golden age of American energy dominance” by lifting restrictive federal regulations.

As long as Steinbeck's 'temporarily embarrassed millionaires' line applies, it won't be fewer at all.

why is Scarborough channeling Chandler Bing in that video

I got flack for saying that ~40% of US eligible voters are just too dumb and/or selfish to be trusted with voting power, but idk any other conclusion that fits.

I would be curious how this figure was reached.

Using a protractor.

grandparents do not count as a "bona fide connection" apparently, re: muslim ban?

i sort of get why people believe in concepts like the final judgment because i want so much for the assholes who decide these things to be forced to take a long hard look at themselves, to be shown shame, to be made to weep

JoScar's song is decent like i dunno a Fountains of Wayne album track on the second side or something

you might even say i want people to look inside, and be terrified by what they see

Meantime!

CBO on debt limit: "Treasury will most likely run out of
cash in early to mid-October." https://t.co/wqoIWh4JTX

— Phil Mattingly (@Phil_Mattingly) June 29, 2017

increased U.S. natural gas production is ... helping reduce U.S. emissions

this is actually true, though coal magnates don't wanna hear it

"Morning Joe" uses New Pornographers and Elvis C as bumpers all the time, so I guess it's no surprise Joe wants to be Ric Ocasek.

Eephus otm

the boost in natural gas production is also strongly linked to fracking, which has its own list of possible ecological (and possibly tectonic risks), but that's another issue

Hot fanfic!

Cruz just came up to Angus, put his arm around him and told me he's a "master legislator." These guys are ready for a recess

— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) June 29, 2017

BTW, this is more quietly making the rounds, and is of interest:

Whoa. My amdt to sunset 2001 AUMF was adopted in DOD Approps markup! GOP & Dems agree: a floor debate & vote on endless war is long overdue. pic.twitter.com/FS8LfYWo5J

— Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) June 29, 2017

Worth noting, of course, that this was a GOP-led committee signing off on this. This does mean floor debate, though of course nothing could result. Still...

Useful note too re the 'Trump tweets are the perfect distraction!'

Been in dozens of scrums w/ GOP senators today—countless questions, nearly all on health care; I heard no more than ONE about Trump's tweet.

— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) June 29, 2017

Based on what Republican senators are saying coming out of this meeting, it's hard to envision a health care deal by tomorrow.

— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) June 29, 2017

That Lee amendment is pretty amazing.

if Trump banned use of the word "scrum" outside of describing rugby matches I might have to vote for his reelection.

Trump's a total scrumbag.

i can't remember where i read this, i think in a review of a book about the spanish civil war, where it is stated that the revolutionaries and their sympathizers finally realized, after franco's crushing victory, that "being right was not enough". it chilled me when i read it, and i still wonder what the answer is to the question: "well, what is?"

Mao had some thoughts on this IIRC

it's weird -- and farcical -- that there is no punishment for that mika tweet. if trump worked for any other organization he would be fired, forced to step down, or at the very least pressured to take a leave of absence. but this will be forgotten in two days

publishing sexist, abusive comments about a reporter

Information!

CBO just released a report on the "longer-term" effects of #BCRA. The 26% cut to Medicaid bumps up to a 35% cut by 2036.

— Aisling McDonough (@AislingMcDL) June 29, 2017

this is good imo, on Trump-as-aberration

http://fusion.kinja.com/this-is-normal-1796496747

Wacky!

Senate Rs coming to the idea that keeping some of Obamacare's taxes is necessary for health reform to work https://t.co/WvsWJ5b3NA

— Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) June 29, 2017

But faced with the political peril of cutting taxes for the rich in a bill projected to lead to 22 million fewer Americans having health insurance, many GOP senators are softening their stance. They want to keep some of the taxes, at least for a while, to increase the financial assistance for poor and middle-class Americans to buy insurance and possibly to ease the cuts to Medicaid currently in the bill.

Keeping the taxes in place would be a remarkable concession. A feature of Obamacare particularly anathema to conservative orthodoxy would remain in place. But it might be their best shot to save a faltering bill, particularly if it is accompanied by a concession to conservatives on rolling back Obamacare’s insurance reforms.

“Leaving it as it is where you’re repealing that tax and at the same time not providing lower-income citizens with enough money to purchase health plans, that’s not a sustainable proposition,” Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) told reporters Thursday, “and certainly not one worthy of becoming law.”

"an eye-opening journey of courage, fiscal reality, and self-discovery for many in the GOP" is a phrase I hope to encounter in at least one news story

Re: Flat Top Joe and the Purple Canoes or whatever his band is called, I do not like how he holds that guitar.

i'm sure he holds other things very well

Oh no, where will Louise Mensch post her hot takes

Heat Street is folding on August 4th as a standalone operation. Will be restructured under MarketWatch. Story coming shortly

— Steven Perlberg (@perlberg) June 29, 2017

i guess i could muster some outrage if that tweet had been directed at almost anyone other than fucking idiot Morning Joe's somehow even stupider wife

I would be curious how this figure was reached.

uh pulled it outta my ass, wtf did you think?

I heaaaaard that

kayfabe covfefe :)

"It means more worries
For the rest of your days..."

oh lols of pain

I can muster outrage, that tweet is a fucking masterstroke of sexist garbage no matter who it's directed at. frankly, describing her in terms of whose wife she is is not a great approach either imho.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/gop-operative-sought-clinton-emails-from-hackers-implied-a-connection-to-flynn-1498770851?mod=e2tw

fake news librul rag, the wall street journal, with some real shit re russia

dr c otm

Those investigators have examined reports from intelligence agencies that describe Russian hackers discussing how to obtain emails from Mrs. Clinton’s server and then transmit them to Mr. Flynn via an intermediary, according to U.S. officials with knowledge of the intelligence.

It isn’t clear who that intermediary might have been or whether Mr. Smith’s operation was the one allegedly under discussion by the Russian hackers. The reports were compiled during the same period when Mr. Smith’s group was operating, according to the officials.

xp

Mr. Smith is also conveniently not alive right now =\

Oh Gucciferpaws

rankly, describing her in terms of whose wife she is is not a great approach either imho.

^fair point. but they're both human garbage who were more than happy to give Trump a cushy platform right up til the very end.