Month: September 2017

No kidding

~ susie ~ 4 Comments

Trump Inaugural

Anyone who was paying attention figured it out — but unfortunately, a lot of people just weren’t paying attention:

Russian-funded Facebook ads purchased during the 2016 presidential election promoted Green Party candidate Jill Stein as well as then-candidate Donald Trump and Democratic primary candidate Bernie Sanders, said Politico on Wednesday.

“Other advertisements paid for by shadowy Russian buyers criticized Hillary Clinton and promoted Donald Trump. Some backed Bernie Sanders and his platform even after his presidential campaign had ended, according to a person with knowledge of the ads,” wrote Politico’s Josh Dawsey.

Dawsey reported that the Stein ad he saw was placed late in the campaign and played upon some liberals’ belief that Clinton is too hawkish and would lead the U.S. into war with Iran.

“Choose peace and vote for Jill Stein,” said the ad. “Trust me. It’s not a wasted vote. … The only way to take our country back is to stop voting for the corporations and banks that own us. #GrowaSpineVoteJillStein.”

Stein was one of the guests — along with disgraced former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn — at a 2015 Russia Today gala in Moscow, which has caused some like CNN’s Michael Smerconish to question whether she worked with Russia to sway the election away from Clinton.

However, there is currently no evidence that Stein, Sanders or Trump knew about the ads or played any role in producing and promoting them.

It’s a start

~ susie ~ 1 Comment

20170831-OSEC-LSC-0732
But we really want to get the man at the top:

Michael Flynn and Paul Manafort are almost sure to be indicted as a result of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, the Connecticut senator told POLITICO.

“I’m about 99 percent sure there will be some criminal charges from this investigation,” said Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Blumenthal has also served as a U.S. attorney and spent 20 years as his state’s attorney general.

Blumenthal said he is less certain Trump himself would end up facing charges, including for possible obstruction of justice for his firing of FBI Director James Comey.

That’s because it’s not clear that a sitting president can be indicted — at least, on the federal level. (Thank God for Eric Schneiderman.) If he simply reports to Congress and leaves it to them to decide whether to impeach, well, good luck until we get a Democratic majority.

Like magic, Steve Schmidt makes the Republican Party disappear

~ susie ~ 2 Comments

National Agenda

STEPHANIE RUHLE: How does attacking Senator John McCain, a man fighting for his life, how is that a win for the president? STEVE SCHMIDT It’s not a win for the president. He’s literally alienated every group from the NFL to prisoners of war, that you could think to name in America. He is the great divider.… Continue reading “Like magic, Steve Schmidt makes the Republican Party disappear” →

They say this can’t pass

~ susie ~ 2 Comments

President trump will present a plan for tax reform

But you can’t underestimate these bastards, so:

With multiple failed attempts at repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, all eyes are on Republicans as they prepare to pass major tax reform measures that would effectively provide a hefty tax cut to the top tax bracket while lowering the corporate tax rate to around 20 percent from 35 percent.

As President Donald Trump prepares to announce his plan to “cut taxes tremendously for the middle-class” tomorrow, details about the tax reform plan, which was largely constructed in secrecy by former Goldman Sachs employees now in the administration, are beginning to make their way to the public. On Tuesday, Axios reported Republicans have agreed on a plan to raise the bottom tax rate from 10 percent to 12 percent, while also doubling the standard deduction.

This increase in the bottom tax rate is one of the ways the Trump administration is planning on paying for the massive tax cut for the rich. Trump’s plan is expected to slash the top individual tax rate from 39.5 percent to 35 percent.

“[Republicans] are clearly looking for ways to offset the enormous tax cuts their plan gives to the wealthy and corporations. Just the tax cuts that have been reported would cost $5 trillion,” said Seth Hanlon, senior fellow specializing in tax policy at the Center For American Progress.