Category: Uncategorized

Five Questions Congress Needs to Ask About the Impact of the Lopsided Rewrite of the Tax Code

The American people got a highly misleading June 24 report from Congressional staff about the effect of repealing Donald Trump’s $10,000 limit on state and local tax deductions, known as SALT.

Millionaires and billionaires get most of the benefits if the limitation is repealed, the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation reported.

Duh.

Our major news organizations promptly parroted the findings without digging deeper. And none thought to report on whether the tax committee staff had been asked the right or best question in preparing its analysis.

View the complete July 4 article by David Cay Johnston on the DC Reports website here.

The president again lashes out at his onetime favorite news network.

President Donald Trump lit into his once-favorite network on Sunday, saying Fox News is now even “worse” than his longtime bête noire, CNN.

Trump said the network “forgot the people who got them there.” He griped Fox News was “loading up with Democrats” and complained it was citing The New York Times as “a ‘source’ of information,” an apparent reference to the newspaper’s Sunday article about disease, hunger and overcrowding at a Texas center holding migrant children.

The president tweeted: Continue reading “Trump Rages At Fox News, Says It’s Now Worse Than ‘Fake News CNN’”

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump read most of his Independence Day speech from a prepared text, but stumbled on his history at one point: He talked about airports during the American Revolution.

“Our Army manned the air, it rammed the ramparts, it took over the airports,” Trump said of the fighting force created by the Continental Congress in 1775.

There was no air travel in 18th Century America.

View the complete July 4 article by David Jackson on The USA Today website here.

Why did U.S. President Donald Trump recently call off a retaliatory strike against Iran?

The answer was proportionality: Trump said the American response to Iran’s downing of an American drone should be on a similar scale.

That decision, Trump said, came from his “gut.”

WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday defended his upcoming “Salute to America” event — a ramped up July 4th celebration in Washington — amid criticism of its likely high price tag and potentially partisan undertones

The cost of our great Salute to America tomorrow will be very little compared to what it is worth. We own the planes, we have the pilots, the airport is right next door (Andrews), all we need is the fuel. We own the tanks and all. Fireworks are donated by two of the greats. Nice!” Trump tweeted Wednesday morning.

Facts First: The White House and federal agencies involved in the Salute to America event declined to provide cost estimates, so it’s impossible to determine the exact price tag. Still, it’s safe to say that the costs incurred by the federal government as well as the city of Washington DC and other regional economies will be in the millions of dollars, and go well beyond the cost of fuel and include security and logistical costs. In addition, many of the planes are coming from much farther than “right next door.”

The involvement of military assets — from fighter jets to tanks to armored vehicles — has created logistical headaches that are likely to take lots of money to resolve. But beyond the military demonstrations, Trump’s planned presence on the National Mall will likely rack up huge security costs that go beyond what a traditional July 4th event requires.

View the complete July 3 article by Sarah Westwood and Ryan Browne on the CNN website here.

There is truly no bottom for Trump’s morally depraved behavior.

While speaking at a conference to religious conservatives on Wednesday, Trump once again disparaged the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), this time saying he’s glad McCain is dead and suggesting that the Arizonan is in hell.

The comment came during a riff on how Republicans failed to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, blaming the failure on McCain’s infamous thumbs-down vote against the GOP plan that would have caused millions to lose their health insurance.

View the complete June 26 article by Emily Singer on the National Memo website here.

Crack open an iPhone and you’ll begin to see why President Donald Trump’s ongoing trade war with China doesn’t make sense.

On paper, imports of the popular smartphone and other goods from China look like a big loss to the U.S. The president certainly thinks so and has often cited the massive U.S.-China bilateral trade deficit – US$420 billion in 2018 – as a reason to fight his trade war.

When an iPhone X arrives in the U.S., it adds about $370 – its factory cost – to the deficit. All told, iPhones add tens of billions of dollars a year to the U.S. deficit with China, which is the gap between imports and exports. But, thanks to the globe-spanning supply chains that run through China, trade deficits in the modern economy are not always what they seem.

View the complete June 25 article by Jason Dedrick, Professor of Information Studies at Syracuse University; Greg Linden, Research Associate at the University of California, Berkeley; and Kenneth L. Kraemer, Research Professor of Business at the University of California, Irvine, here.

Hall also shared an article on social media linking being LGBTQ with childhood sexual trauma

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – In a story published today by City Pages, it was revealed that, during Twin Cities Pride weekend, Republican Senator Dan Hall attended an event for a pro-conversion therapy group.

EXCERPT FROM CITY PAGES:

Freedom March, a self-described “group of Christians who have been delivered from LGTBQ lifestyles,” set up shop under some white tents and got ready to testify. Its leadership, as indicated on its website, is composed of “former homosexuals” and “former transgenders” who have since left those identities behind through “the power of the blood of Jesus.”

“Freedom March is not about suppression,” the site says. “It’s about FREEDOM.” Continue reading “ICYMI: GOP Senator Dan Hall Attends Anti-LGBTQ, Pro-Conversion Therapy Event During Pride Weekend”

Trump’s enormous unpopularity is making Republicans worry about not only holding on to the White House, but also about key 2020 Senate races, the Hillreported.

“His numbers are problematic,” a Republican pollster told the Hill. “Folks are nervous, but no one is surprised.”

View the complete June 23 article by Dan Desai Martin on the National Memo website here.

Neighbors,

Here’s a quick update from the Capitol: Continue reading “Rep. Michael Nelson (HD40A) Update: June 20, 2019”