US Politics January 2018: "You All Just Got A Lot Richer"

shit do not pass neck go directly to floor

chuck johnson, one of the few men who could make me side with steve bannon

also lol hoos

changing the libel laws

TBH I think when he started saying that, he obviously thought that when you're president you can just change laws.

GOP congresspeople are craven lickspittles who have caved to the Trumpgenda, of course, but that doesn't mean they're going to just start drafting/introducing/passing bills to repeal laws that Trump finds inconvenient. Trump and his crowd have no idea how lawmaking works, and obviously don't care.

When you've lived in a hermetically-sealed world for your entire life where you go 'waahh' and someone brings you your ba-ba, it can be difficult to adjust to the nuances of no longer being King Baby.

klosterman's looking well

lol that was my first thought as well

More fun:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/steve-bannon-leaves-breitbart-after-blow-up-over-comments-in-trump-book/2018/01/09/1afddebc-f199-11e7-97bf-bba379b809ab_story.html?utm_term=.61a9891fa1a8

A person close to Bannon, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said “there is no mass exodus” at Breitbart and people were not entirely surprised by the news.

“It’s not personality-driven anymore,” the Bannon ally said of the website. “We get to focus on the agenda. When it’s about issues, Breitbart wins. We hopefully won’t have the cult of personality tearing us down.”

Bannon has told associates he plans to focus on creating a political operation in 2018, the person said, and is banking that Trump eventually will need him again and that congressional Republican leaders will eventually desert the president.

Congressional leaders will certainly try to abandon Trump at a point but let's hope those manacles hold and pull them down with the rest of the ship.

Trump says it 'seems unlikely' he'll give an interview in Mueller investigation, says, 'I'll see what happens' https://t.co/543U1PMZTm

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 10, 2018

He's been saying that a lot, should be his new campaign slogan: "TRUMP 2020: We'll See What Happens"

"Make America Look Into That, Believe Me"

that Pete Hoekstra clip is a thing of beauty

Meanwhile ICE is busy rounding people up

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/immigration-agents-target-7-eleven-stores-in-nationwide-sweep/2018/01/10/315dae76-f62b-11e7-b34a-b85626af34ef_story.html?hpid=hp_rhp-more-top-stories_icecrackdown-128pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.cf5004ce230b

many grateful americans will be rushing to fill those vaunted 7-11 jerbs taken by immigrants

reading the 7-eleven news i was struck by the incredible amount effort put forth to being such assholes

like wouldn’t actually rebuilding america put people to work long term? is trump trying to save high schoolers’ after school jobs?

I try to imagine being in the room dreaming this unending cruelty and pettiness up and it blows me away every time

Somebody's lunchtime taquitos were stale yesterday, presumably. This affront will not stand. Sad!

I don't even know if I'm exaggerating anymore. That could be precisely the reason, god help everyone.

Pssstt...a little birdie gave me this tasty morsel.@RepMaxineWaters lowering the boom...@stevenmnuchin1 you really should STOP covering for @realDonaldTrump @POTUS because the Trump Titanic hit the Mother of all icebergs.
It slammed right into Democracy & Transparency
Whoopsie pic.twitter.com/aE8EKrH8Zq

— Alt_SeanSpicer'sMic🎙🤦🏻‍♀️🎙 (@Alt_Spicerlies) January 10, 2018

It's time immigration policy lefties start advancing ideas about how we can proceed to abolish ICE and create new customs enforcement that's accountable. Other than McElwee helpfully tweeting "abolish ICE" like a mantra, has anyone seen any proposals on this--popularly-aimed or otherwise?

To be clearer I'm not looking for "ICE is real bad" takes, I'm wondering if there's anything akin to CATO's old proposal that we abolish DHS

But the big beautiful wall

Kellyanne Conway tells @ChrisCuomo that after consulting with experts, Trump has “discovered” a physical wall is not needed across entire border; part of it is better technology, part of it is fencing, etc

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 11, 2018

Shouldn’t the wall be built across the entire border anyway, if nothing else, to make the surrounding area more beautiful?

I mean, beauty is in the eye of the MAGA

Worth a thought: wouldn't a big beautiful wall across the entire border make Mexico look great as well? They should pay for it!

he's pretty much proven himself to be a paper tiger. just one with rabies.

My take today is that no one is adequately appreciating the possibility of a government shutdown.

I'd say it's at least a 40% chance.https://t.co/P7xWvt6nIz

— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) January 11, 2018

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/01/10/trumps-ambassador-to-netherlands-was-asked-to-name-a-person-burned-because-of-islam-he-couldnt/

Disproven and paid for by Democrats “Dossier used to spy on Trump Campaign. Did FBI use Intel tool to influence the Election?” @foxandfriends Did Dems or Clinton also pay Russians? Where are hidden and smashed DNC servers? Where are Crooked Hillary Emails? What a mess!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2018

“House votes on controversial FISA ACT today.” This is the act that may have been used, with the help of the discredited and phony Dossier, to so badly surveil and abuse the Trump Campaign by the previous administration and others?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2018

release your tax returns. show those crooked liberals

good mourning!

GENERAL KELLY: "Sir, the transcript of the Glenn Simpson testimony fairly refutes the notion that the dossier is phony. No reasonable people believe this to be the case. Also it was not funded by Democrats."

TRUMP: "I said EXTRA TARTAR SAUCE! Where the fuck is Omarosa? Get me Omarosa!"

GENERAL KELLY: "Sir, again, Omarosa is no longer—"

TRUMP: "Are you sitting on the remote? Get up and see if you're sitting on the remote."

kinda amused how this guy is trying to battle the perception that he's an incompetent idiot by televising meetings in which he removes all doubt, keep it up Donnie

I genuinely believe that Trump has no idea how stupid he is. Like when he calls himself a stable genius, he really believes it. It's more than a little...oh, what's the word I'm grasping for...sad!

Whomp whomp

With that being said, I have personally directed the fix to the unmasking process since taking office and today’s vote is about foreign surveillance of foreign bad guys on foreign land. We need it! Get smart!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2018

Did someone just call him and tell him know about all the cool ways he can abuse FISA?

hey, Bush II did it!

Some of the tweets in this thread are funny. Better than Willis's serious thoughts on politics, anyhow.

"I'm sorry Steve. But the big boss said it's either him or you. And we can't drop him."
"So now I'm--"
"A total cuck"
"Total?"
"Total. Cuck to the core."
A single tear slid down Steve's face, streaking the pockmarks on his chin, resting between his two layers of shirts

— Oliver Willis (@owillis) January 9, 2018

Kellyanne Conway tells @ChrisCuomo that after consulting with experts, Trump has “discovered” a physical wall is not needed across entire border; part of it is better technology, part of it is fencing, etc

I think he should just say he can't build the wall because he received a credible threat of Banksy

To be clearer I'm not looking for "ICE is real bad" takes, I'm wondering if there's anything akin to CATO's old proposal that we abolish DHS

hoos I would take this to your thread or my "int'l left" thread, this one is pretty much all breathless Russia junk and lame trump jokes

foreign surveillance of foreign bad guys on foreign land

bad guys.

BAD GUYS.

Dude really is, like, five years old inside. Maybe Gen. Kelly lets him wear his cape and mask, but only in the residence. That's why he doesn't come downstairs until 11; he doesn't want to take off the cape.

Here's non-Russia junk.

A Walmart worker organizes products for the Christmas season at a Walmart store in Teterboro, New Jersey. Walmart to issue bonuses in wake of tax reform

Walmart's workers will soon reap the benefits of the recent tax law changes, as the world's largest private employer raises its starting wage, creates new benefits and distributes bonuses to eligible workers.

The big-box retailer announced Thursday it will increase its starting wage rate for hourly employees in the U.S. to $11, and expand maternity and parental leave benefits. Currently, Walmart's starting wage is $9 until workers complete a training program. Then, they receive $10.

Walmart will also pay a one-time cash bonus to eligible employees of as much as $1,000. The payouts, which should total roughly $400 million, will result in a one-time charge that the company will take in the fourth quarter of this year.

The bonuses will be determined by an employee's length of service at the company. Those workers with more than 20 years of experience will qualify to receive the full $1,000. However, workers with less than two years of experience will receive $200, a Walmart spokesman told CNBC.

Employees with 15 to 19 years of service at Walmart will receive $750, while those with 10 to 14 years of work there will receive a $400 bonus, he said. Five to nine years of experience merits a $300 bonus, while two to four years of service will result in a payout of $250.

I wonder how much the Waltons stand to gain by comparison

hoos I would take this to your thread or my "int'l left" thread, this one is pretty much all breathless Russia junk and lame trump jokes

seriously, no one is forcing you to read or contribute

Wow, $11/hour is almost a living wage!

breathless Russia junk

Feb thread title please

seriously, no one is forcing you to read or contribute

just trying to help a HOOS out since I didn't think he'd get much of a response to his q here

you might have said the thread is about politics, not policy

ok guys

the Wal-Mart news is interesting, it's hard to argue it's not at least relatively a Good Thing, no matter how clearly disingenuous. I've seen headlines though where some of the companies who've already handed out Tax Bill-related bonuses are also laying off workers, so I certainly wouldn't be shocked to see Wal-Mart follow suit eventually, once this trickle-down policy improbably shits the bed once again.

yeah it's "good" in the short term but there's much worse news coming for the bulk of these workers over the next decade