Year: 2018
Trump Considering a Legally Questionable Tax Cut for the Very Wealthy
$100,000,000,000
“The Trump administration is considering bypassing Congress to grant a $100 billion tax cut mainly to the wealthy, a legally tenuous maneuver that would cut capital gains taxation and fulfill a long-held ambition of many investors and conservatives,” the New York Times reports.
Mueller: Ukraine Paid Manafort $60 Million
$60 million
“Prosecutors from special counsel Robert Mueller’s office said Monday that Paul Manafort earned $60 million from his work as a political consultant in Ukraine and challenged a motion by the former Trump campaign chairman’s attorneys to exclude dozens of exhibits on the topic,” CNN reports. “Manafort is charged with lying on tax forms and bank fraud. He has denied all charges against him.”
Ron Desantis is Proud to Portray Himself as an Idiot to Show His Devotion to Trump
Don’t skip this ad just because you don’t live in Florida. But first, tie a bow around your chin so your jaw won’t get hurt when it drops to the ground.
Florida’s choices for governor are a Republican who is owned and operated by the NRA and Big Sugar (and whose agency stopped conducting background checks for concealed carry permits because it couldn’t remember its password), a Hillary Clinton-esque moderate Democrat who is almost guaranteed to lose because of the lack of enthusiasm she inspires among voters, and…this putz.
To paraphrase the old saying about Mexico, “Poor Florida — so far from God and so close to the United States.”
Russsia Has Liquidated Most of Its U.S. Treasury Bonds
84%
“The Russian government has sold off the vast majority of its holdings of U.S. Treasury securities for reasons that remain mysterious, in a dramatic move that experts are calling unprecedented,” the Daily Mail reports. “A U.S. Treasury report released on July 18 shows that Russian holdings of Treasury securities declined by 84% between March and May, down to just $14.9 billion from March holdings of $96.1 billion.”
Half of Republicans Want to Defend Trump in Russia Probe
49%
A new CBS News poll finds that 49% of Republicans say that hearing criticisms of President Trump on the Russia investigation only makes them want to defend him more. Another 42% say they want to wait to see what the facts show. Seventy percent of Republicans call the Russia investigation a “witch hunt,” while 77% of Democrats call it a “critical” matter of national security.
Nightmare Scenario is Too Simple, Too Close
Norm Ornstein’s nightmare will be yours after you read this.
The magnificent Diane Rehm recently had the very smart Mr. Ornstein as a guest on her podcast. His book with his writing partner, Thomas Mann, It’s Even Worse Than It Looks, was criticized for its lack of false equivalencies in mostly blaming Republicans for obstructionism under Obama, but to many others this only lent him greater credibility.
That’s why I can’t get his nightmare scenario for how Trump could end our democracy out of my head. Here’s what Ornstein said on Rehm’s podcast. You must understand it too. […]
