Octopus Overlords

Kraken wrote: Mon Dec 04, 2017 2:13 am

Smoove_B wrote: Sun Dec 03, 2017 11:18 pm The masks - they are completely off:

“I think not having the estate tax recognizes the people that are investing,” [Senator] Grassley said, “as opposed to those that are just spending every darn penny they have, whether it’s on booze or women or movies.”

Jesus H. Christ Iowa. This is your voice?

The man is right. Instead of seeing a movie next month, I'm investing $22 in a coal mine.

Smoove_B wrote: Sun Dec 03, 2017 11:18 pm The masks - they are completely off:

“I think not having the estate tax recognizes the people that are investing,” [Senator] Grassley said, “as opposed to those that are just spending every darn penny they have, whether it’s on booze or women or movies.”

Jesus H. Christ Iowa. This is your voice?

Zaxxon wrote: Mon Dec 04, 2017 9:23 pm And that is supremely embarrassing.

Coal CEO Robert Murray warns that if the Senate version of tax reform is enacted by President Trump he’ll be destroying thousands of coal mining jobs in the process.

“We won’t have enough cash flow to exist. It wipes us out,” Murray told CNNMoney in an interview on Tuesday.

Murray, a fierce supporter of Trump’s efforts to revive coal, condemned the Senate bill as a “mockery” that would inflict a devastating tax hike on beleaguered coal mining firms as well as other capital-intensive companies.

Octavious wrote: Wed Dec 06, 2017 3:12 pm Who knew that writing a tax plan at the last second would end up with horrible mistakes. Can't wait to see what else they screwed up.

YellowKing wrote: Wed Dec 06, 2017 5:18 pm Polls are showing this bill is deeply unpopular. It's just bizarre how the GOP thinks their re-election hinges on passing the most unpopular legislation imaginable. It's almost as if they are living in their own reality....

malchior wrote: Wed Dec 06, 2017 5:28 pm The cynic in me thinks they don't care and more just want party loyalty--hence the talk about them punishing Freylinghuysen for not selling out his constituents. They will see what happens with the mid-terms and see how the gerrymander/suppression wall holds up. If their majorities survive the wave then they'll really let loose next year up until the next Presidential campaign kicks off.

RunningMn9 wrote: Wed Dec 06, 2017 5:53 pm

malchior wrote: Wed Dec 06, 2017 5:28 pm The cynic in me thinks they don't care and more just want party loyalty--hence the talk about them punishing Freylinghuysen for not selling out his constituents. They will see what happens with the mid-terms and see how the gerrymander/suppression wall holds up. If their majorities survive the wave then they'll really let loose next year up until the next Presidential campaign kicks off.

Did Freylinghuysen vote no?

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) said Wednesday that congressional Republicans will aim next year to reduce spending on both federal health care and anti-poverty programs, citing the need to reduce America's deficit.

“We're going to have to get back next year at entitlement reform, which is how you tackle the debt and the deficit,” Ryan said during an appearance on Ross Kaminsky's talk radio show. "... Frankly, it's the health care entitlements that are the big drivers of our debt, so we spend more time on the health care entitlements — because that's really where the problem lies, fiscally speaking.”

Ryan said that he believes he has begun convincing President Trump in their private conversations about the need to rein in Medicare, the federal health program that primarily insures the elderly. As a candidate, Trump vowed not to cut spending on Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid. (Ryan also suggested congressional Republicans were unlikely to try changing Social Security, because the rules of the Senate forbid changes to the program through reconciliation — the procedure the Senate can use to pass legislation with only 50 votes.)

We singles live empty lives of quiet desperation and will die alone. Now Rubio is demanding that we also fund happy families with children who fill their days with joy.

pr0ner wrote: Fri Dec 15, 2017 2:33 pm Ann Coulter has a sad.

We singles live empty lives of quiet desperation and will die alone. Now Rubio is demanding that we also fund happy families with children who fill their days with joy.

pr0ner wrote: Fri Dec 15, 2017 2:33 pm Ann Coulter has a sad.

https://twitter.com/AnnCoulter/status/9 ... 5467871232

We singles live empty lives of quiet desperation and will die alone. Now Rubio is demanding that we also fund happy families with children who fill their days with joy.

El Guapo wrote: Mon Dec 18, 2017 2:46 pmIt's been awhile since I took U.S. history, but this is why the 30s were boom years, right?

malchior wrote: Mon Dec 18, 2017 3:48 pm

El Guapo wrote: Mon Dec 18, 2017 2:46 pmIt's been awhile since I took U.S. history, but this is why the 30s were boom years, right?

It's not like there is a hypothesis that tax cuts at the top cause asset bubbles. The idea is unproven due to small sample size but guess we'll see. Who doesn't love natural experiments?

“Well, our Democratic colleagues simply refused to participate in the process. We probably could have made it better if they had.”

It’s a curious message. As Republicans get ready to approve their only meaningful legislative accomplishment of the year, it’s a bit jarring to hear the #2 GOP senator already making excuses for why his party’s bill isn’t “better.”

But it’s even more bizarre that Cornyn is blaming Democrats for the bill’s shortcomings. Indeed, when George Stephanopoulos asked why it was necessary to add this controversial provision in the final package, the Texas Republican again said, “Well, we were working very hard. It was a very intense process. As I said, the Democrats refused to participate.”

Moments later, in the same interview, Cornyn once again insisted, “As I said, our Democratic colleagues had every chance to participate and simply refused.”

It’s almost as if the Senate Majority Whip appeared on the show because he wanted to push a single talking point, even if that meant ignoring important questions.

Cornyn’s evasiveness was its own problem, but making matters worse was the fact that his talking point was demonstrably silly.


The Republican tax plan was written in secret by Republicans. Democrats weren’t invited to participate in negotiations, though they were desperate to have some input.