Faberge
Republicans are now in power, so deficits do not matter at all. I expect them to go up, and no one will say a word.
On the other hand, it would be kinda funny if this led to Trump losing his popularity. Republicans have been hypocrites for decades, saying they want something, when they really want something else. They’ve been complaining about deficits for years, but I didn’t think Trump would fall for it. It would be hysterical if he cut things like Social Security and the VA, and became persona non grata within the GOP.
You think that Trump has to curry favor with the Republican party rather than vice versa? Have you been living in a cave for the last few years?
Stranger
I agree that Republicans don’t care about the deficits they rack up. Once Republicans are in power, deficits are how they box Democrats into a corner to force them (in a later administration) to make hard choices about taxes and spending - it’s called the “Two Santas” strategy.
But there is one significant way that an executive-department firesale would help them - they can charge it as a savings against which they can pass a larger tax cut.
Keep in mind that the Republicans want to pass their agenda via reconciliation, which requires at least a fig leaf of budget-neutrality over the next decade. Every dime they save from Federal expenditures turns, by the magic of optimistic economic growth projections, into a quarter they can give back to their donor class in tax breaks. Then, when Democrats come to power, they have to deal with a supermajority requirement to pass bills to increase revenue through the Senate.
And so it begins. (The link goes to AOL.)
Indiana man pardoned for Jan. 6 crimes killed in traffic stop shooting by deputy
An Indiana man who was recently pardoned for his participation in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was shot and killed during a traffic stop by a sheriff’s deputy on Sunday.
Matthew Huttle, 42, was involved in a traffic stop at 4:15 p.m. on Sunday by a deputy with the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department, according to a press release. Huttle allegedly resisted arrest during the traffic stop and was found to have a firearm on him.
“An altercation took place between the suspect and the officer, which resulted in the officer firing his weapon and fatally wounding the suspect,” the release said.
Questions:
- Why did the so-called patriot, the criminal, have a gun?
- Where was he headed?
- Whom did he plan to kill?
And lest I forget, a very big, no, two very big thank yous to President Trump for ensuring violent criminals with firearms are not at large in the United States. (The link goes to a GIF; should be safe for work.)
Mapquest is still a thing, right?
Only if it’s a cheap plastic knockoff.
Google added that the name Gulf of Mexico will remain displayed for users in Mexico.
WHAT THE FUCK?
How much more bonkers is the world going to get?
Don’t you mean…
For which of the Mexican countries?
This could actually solve a lot of problems all over the world. Depending where you are, the map says different things.
Hold my beer and watch this.
[as Trump threatens to rain nuclear annihilation upon a NATO ally unless they give him whatever he wants]
Stranger
Trump is now saying he plans on levying massive tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors and computer chips, which is most of the ones used in every American product that uses such things. Such a move would be nothing short of catastrophic for the US economy; it’d devastate the American tech industry and be crushing to all consumers.
It’s becoming hard to believe that he oligarchs aren’t trying to crash the economy on purpose.
And what’s on the top of the new president’s agenda right now? (The link goes to ABC News.)
In a case that sits squarely at the intersection of his business and political interests, President Donald Trump is trying to stop a civil lawsuit against his multibillion-dollar social media company by arguing that he should be immune from civil litigation filed in state court while he serves as president.
I guess there’s some schadenfreude in this case, too.
Trump and his co-defendants – including FBI director nominee Kash Patel and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino – asked a Delaware judge to either issue a four-year delay of the case or dismiss a lawsuit filed by Trump Media & Technology Group co-founders Andy Litinsky and Wes Moss, who alleged that Trump and company executives orchestrated a scheme to prevent them from getting their full stake in the company after it went public.
So, the leapords are eating each other’s faces now.
I did find this part especially amusing, though.
Facing an “unprecedented” number of civil lawsuits, Trump argued that having to fend off the litigation would be a “distraction” from his presidential duties and “interfere substantially” with the function of the executive branch.
Trump himself is the one interfering with the proper functioning of the executive branch.
Elon got kicked out of the Whitehouse.
Steve Bannon II. 
“What do you MEAN ‘my key doesn’t work’…!?”
Susie Wiles “The Ice Maiden”. You have to admit, that’s pretty bad ass.