NSFW THE TRUMPOCALYPSE

[Mischief]

According to the Republicans, if your estate isn't more than $5.5 million per person ($11 million for a married couple), it's because you've wasted your money on "booze, women and movies." (Those are the amounts below which no estate tax becomes due under existing law. The Republicans are doing away with the state tax, to help all the deserving rich who haven't wasted their money on booze, women and movies.)

 

[Mischief]

John Dowd says a president can't even technically obstruct justice.

Here's the money quote Dowd gave to Axios: The “president cannot obstruct justice because he is the chief law enforcement officer under [the Constitution's Article II] and has every right to express his view of any case.”

Analysis | Trump’s lawyer says a president can’t technically obstruct justice. Experts say that’s fanciful.

They are laying the groundwork for shutting down the special counsel's investigation.

 

[Mischief]

 

[Mischief]

The argument, then: If, instead of blowing your money on booze and “women,” you were to invest it, you too could have an estate large enough to qualify (for the current estate tax).

How much are we talking about? Well, in 2017, the estate tax applies only to estates worth $5.49 million or more. In the interest of providing life advice to our readers, we decided to figure out just how much you’d need to cut back on your booze and moving pictures to save enough to qualify for that tax.

The most popular liquor in Iowa, according to the Des Moines Register, is Black Velvet Canadian whisky. (Note: The Post spells the name of the drink as “whiskey” unless it’s Canadian or Scotch.)

Local grocery giant Hy-Vee doesn’t list prices for the drink on its website, so we called a Des Moines-area Walmart. There, a 1.75-liter bottle costs $17.67. So we can do the math.

For an Iowan to save enough to qualify for the estate tax simply by cutting out her favorite liquor, she would simply need to buy 310,697 fewer bottles of it. If she usually goes through a bottle a day — an unhealthy habit, to be sure — she simply needs to stop doing so for 851 years to save the $5.5 million or so.

Analysis | Why aren’t you paying the estate tax? Maybe because you bought 311,000 bottles of whisky.

 

[MadamSarcastra]

Trump Orders Largest National Monument Reduction In U.S. History

**sigh** Dick.

 

[PTree15]

^^^His assault on this country is relentless.

 

[Amy SF]

Supreme court allows enforcement of Trump travel ban as appeals proceed

 

[MadamSarcastra]

Supreme court allows enforcement of Trump travel ban as appeals proceed

Yup. That, too....

 

[MadamSarcastra]

Paul Manafort just tried to secretly collaborate with a colleague linked to Russian intelligence, feds say

 

[MadamSarcastra]

 

[MadamSarcastra]

Today’s cartoon, by David Sipress:

“Try the other eye, senator.”

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These are from The New Yorker, by the way... I get them via email (I'm not entirely sure why since I haven't subscribed to them online... we get the physical, tangible mag here... still doesn't explain why I get the emails)... but I post the cartoons I dig....

 

[Andy_T]

It is mind-boggling for me how the "1%" can be so greedy ... don't they have enough, already?

(Not to talk about how an unfortunately significant enough part of the "99%" can be so stupid to elect their puppets to do as they please...)

Quite frankly, I'm disgusted.

Also with the attitude I see from too many people "Hmm, well, killing Obamacare, expanding the deficit, hmm, all very bad, for sure, but let's check the tax calculator how much I personally will save now "

It seems to me that people in the US have a very unhealthy view that "taxes" are a very bad thing that should be totally removed, as opposed to the understanding I see in most European countries that those taxes are somehow important because they are typically used to pay for things the community requires, like roads, universities, medical care and so on ...

 

[Mischief]

The Handelsblatt (German trade paper) broke the news, that Mueller has subpoenaed dt's and his family's banking records from Deutsche Bank.

Here’s hoping Mueller and his team are around long enough to sift through the records. What dt has been hiding all along, the reason he won’t return his tax returns - at least some of can be found in these records, namely the money ties between dt and Russian mobsters.

This is going to cause dt to explode. We're going to see what the Republican members of Congress are made of. (I'm not hopeful.)

 

[Amy SF]

The Handelsblatt (German trade paper) broke the news, that Mueller has subpoenaed dt's and his family's banking records from Deutsche Bank.

Here’s hoping Mueller and his team are around long enough to sift through the records. What dt has been hiding all along, the reason he won’t return his tax returns - at least some of can be found in these records, namely the money ties between dt and Russian mobsters.

This is going to cause dt to explode. We're going to see what the Republican members of Congress are made of. (I'm not hopeful.)

I was under the impression that DT has a cozy relationship with Italian mobsters, but perhaps that’s part of his domestic dealings in New York. I guess he also cozied up to Russian mobsters for other dealings.

 

[Mischief]

I was under the impression that DT has a cozy relationship with Italian mobsters, but perhaps that’s part of his domestic dealings in New York. I guess he also cozied up to Russian mobsters for other dealings.

I think that the family has long had a cozy relationship with the Italian Mafia in NY, dated back to dt's father. However, after dt's succession of bankruptcies, he and his sons needed really big money, and that's when they went to the Russians.

 

[Mischief]

Facing multiple allegations of sexual harassment, Rep. John Conyers Jr. (Mich.) resigned as Congress’s longest-serving member on Tuesday, becoming the first lawmaker to step down as Capitol Hill grapples with allegations of inappropriate behavior by lawmakers.

Conyers, who represented the Detroit area for 52 years, yielded to mounting pressure from Democratic leaders to step aside as a growing number of former female aides accused him of unwanted advances and mistreatment. He has denied wrongdoing.

One can criticize the unapologetic manner in which he left and the cheesy effort to install his son, but the important point is that the Democratic Party forced him out. After presumably working behind the scenes while calling him an “icon” publicly, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) publicly called for him to step down.

The contrast with the GOP, which stood behind President Trump even after the “Access Hollywood” tape and now has thrown its full support behind an accused child molester, could not be greater — or more toxic — for the GOP. To be blunt, one party has adopted a zero-tolerance position (with Sen. Al Franken, Democrat of Minnesota, set to go before the ethics committee) and another party opens its arms to people it believes are miscreants.

Opinion | Conyers resigns, setting up a stark contrast between the two parties

This.

 

[MadamSarcastra]

Trump’s Transition Team Colluded With Israel. Why Isn’t That News?


U.S. to Recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital, Trump Says, Alarming Middle East Leaders

 

[Mischief]

Vice President Mike Pence and former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus considered a coup to replace then candidate Donald Trump following the release of the "Access Hollywood" tape just weeks before the 2016 presidential election, The Atlantic reported in a lengthy profile of Pence on Tuesday.

The tape, in which Trump boasted about sexually assaulting women, sent the Republican Party into a panic as party leaders and donors pressured the Republican National Committee to force the former reality-TV star off the ticket.

Just hours after the video's publication by The Washington Post on October 8, Pence told the RNC that he was willing and ready to take Trump's place as the party's presidential nominee, several sources told the Atlantic.

But Priebus told CNN the coup story is "100% false."

"It was never discussed — never contemplated," Priebus said.


In the panicked days that followed the release of the "Access Hollywood" tape, the RNC came under intense pressure to replace Trump, and the organization's lawyers reportedly discussed a little-known legal mechanism by which they could force the nominee to step down.

Meanwhile, a small group of billionaire GOP donors reportedly asked a Trump associate how much money Trump would need to be paid to abandon the race. According to one source, they were told $800 million, but it is unclear if Trump knew about the discussions or if the offer was made.

Mike Pence and Reince Priebus reportedly planned a coup to replace Trump after the 'Access Hollywood' tape

For the full story, here's the link to The Atlantic article: God’s Plan for Mike Pence

 

[Mischief]

If you need a laugh, check out the reviews for dt's maga ornament on Amazon:
Here are a couple:

I think it tried to deport the figures in our nativity scene.

I had requested a different ornament, but for some reason, my college elected to get this one in its place. I don't understand. The other ornament wasn't perfect, but it was perfectly qualified for its position on my tree; much more qualified than the one I ended up with.

Damn... I have to go. There's a group of carolers in white cloaks on my lawn.

Fantastic! I heard this ornament was being considered for "Ornament of the Year" by Ornament Magazine, but they wanted a long interview and photo session, so it said "No Thanks." SAD!

I put this ornament on my tree. The next night, more people attended my Christmas party than any Christmas party in American history. The photos don't show that because they were taken before all the guests got there.

For some reason after adorning our Christmas tree with this as a joke, the tree took on a life of its own and kept trying to grope the cat. This ornament is a bad hombre.

 

[Jamie in Chile]

Interestingly some of the technology companies in very un-Republican californian cities like Apple, Google and Facebook will likely benefit from this plan. I wonder which way their top management votes in elections. Will be interesting to see their share prices when trading opens on Monday.

No significant change to any of them.

The overall stock market rose only 1% on Monday, but has since fallen back to the level of just before the vote.

Which possibly indicates that this harsh plan is not even believed to boost the economy by the stock market. Or, alternatively, maybe the stock market had already factored in a high probability of this bill going through the senate.

Mixed results for the US dollar this week, up against some currencies, and down against others, but no large changes against any major currencies.