Politics

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dismissed the left wing of her Democratic Party on Sunday, saying the number of outspoken progressives in Congress is "like five people." Speaking to CBS's "60 Minutes," the California Democrat said...

Over the weekend, Sarah Sanders took a new approach to why explain why Donald Trump won’t release his tax returns—Democrats in Congress just “aren’t smart enough” to understand Donald Trump’s complex tax filings. It’s...

When was the last time you heard Senate Republicans float a single legislative idea intended to help the American people? And no, Donald Trump's border wall doesn't count because, while it might satisfy his racist...

The Donald apparently had a fit of jeaolus rage tonight after 60 minutes did a piece on the Speaker… https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1117585367358738433 so Madame Speaker was left with no choice but to acknowledge her audience: https://twitter.com/TeamPelosi/status/1117594161245577221 and Nancy’s twitter following...

Trump and the fascist GOP drink the Democratic weakness like an authoritarian elixir that gives them dictatorial strength. Rep. Nadler talked really tough about there being a hard deadline to turn over the Mueller report: Nadler declined...

Trust me on this one, I know of which I speak. On that sunny June day in 2015, when The Grate Pumpkin clanked and wheezed his way down that schlock gilt elevator in Trump Tower,to the tepid applause of paid minions, and thrilled the racists and bed wetters of the far right, I donned my most wrinkled earnest journalist shirt, grabbed my laptop, hopped into Bennie The Cab, and careened down to Toontown to cover the GOP primaries.Those daily dispatches from the insanity front formed the genesis of my President Evil book trilogy. On the surface there are several striking similarities between the GOP primary field of 2016, and the current Democratic crop in 2020, especially at this early stage. In 2016, the GOP fielded 17 candidates right out o the chute to challenge for the Presidency, in 2020, the Democrats will at least match, if not surpass that number. In 2016, Barack Obama was finishing up his second term, and was loathed by the GOP base the way a 5 year old hates Brussels sprouts. In 2020, The Democrats are licking their chops over a first term President with historic lows in popularity, and a polarizing figure with terrible policies, but a cult like following. And in both 2014 and 2018, the President’s party had a midterm that spelled trouble for the future. But there the similarities end, and the exact, total, polar opposites begin. In 2016. GOP strategists gushed over their field with phrases like “The Dream Team (Moronic, since every candidate was a team of one), and “The deepest bench in history (True, if you’re coaching a tee ball team in the first game of the preseason). But lets look t the Opening Day lineup, shall we? Fourteen lily white, tried and true, political male hacks, a novelty wing nut African American, and an obligatory 2016 white woman who ran Hewlett Packard into the ground. Oh yeah, and a baggy pants comic that was a repulsive mix between Groucho Marx and Andrew Dice Clay. I haven’t seen a bench that deep since the softball scene in Ernest Goes To Camp. Already, at this early stage, the Democrats have 4 women candidates (I don’t count the phantom candidacy of Tulsi Gabbard), two African Americans, including a female, a Hispanic former Obama cabinet head, and an openly gay man. We have two septuagenarian, white haired, male candidates for those who prefer the grandfatherly Presidential figure. In baseball, you can’t stock your bench with sluggers, you need utility infielders, singles hitters, and pinch runners too. The Democratic 2020 bench is stocked like the New York Yankees of the glory days. In 2016, not only was diversity in the candidates lacking, diversity in messaging was almost non existent. For several years, the base of the Republican party had been growing steadily older, whiter, more evangelical, more racist, and more fearful of change. A modern, diverse message was not only unwelcome, it was shunned. Here I can speak from personal experience. Us creaky old farts don’t much like newfangled ideas shouted out to us over a microphone, it sounds too much like that rap music crap. And so the candidates in 2016 on the GOP side were reduced to earnestly promoting the same tired, old message, desperately trying to find the magic […]

Tax season is in its last week, which means stories of Americans getting absolutely screwed by the new Republican tax law continue. It is the Republican man to cap tax deductions for state and...

It’s an unfortunate fact of life, at one time or another most Americans need the assistance of the government. Even a walking diaper stain as allegedly rich and powerful as The Pampers President needs government support to get anything done, especially in his current job. The worst part of it is, that to obtain government assistance means dealing directly with the necessary government agency. The prospect of having to deal with Uncle Sam tends to lead to a strong yearning for the return of the days of no Novacaine root canal for most people. Fortunately, my interactions with the behemoth that is known as the US government has been limited, and mostly positive. Back in November, I needed assistance from the Goliath Social Security Administration in putting in a claim for Disability Insurance for my new best friend, blindness. In all three cases, two on the phone and one in person, I found every one of them pleasant, courteous, helpful, and as compassionate as any Samaritan you could meet under difficult circumstances. Maybe the fact that I treated them as human beings and not enemies had something to do with it, but I don’t think so. They honestly wanted to help. The clai is currently processing. But no single department of the sprawling sub continent that is the bureaucracy of government causes more night terrors than the dreaded Internal Revenue Service. The mere thought of having to deal with these revenue leaches immediately turns the individual taxpayer into the albino monk from the DaVinci Code, preferring to strip down and flog him or herself with a saltwater knotted hemp rope than pick up the phone and dial. But here’s the funny thing. The people of the IRS, especially the ones you deal with personally, are not Orcs from the Lord of the Rings. They honestly want to help, but there’s one thing. They have to follow the rules. And who writes those rules? The Congress of the United States. Our duly elected representatives write the tax laws, and the IRS enforces them. And there are no exceptions, freebies, or friends discounts, under penalty of law. But that doesn’t mean that they don’t want to help. Here’s a perfect example. Right now, the IRS is developing a free tax software program for all US taxpayers to use if they so desire. The program would auto populate all applicable parts of the form where the IRS already has the tax info, and would ask probing questions to determine any lesser known, or arcane loopholes and benefits that the taxpayer may qualify for. The best part is that the software would automatically be upgraded with any future changes to the tax laws, so taxpayers would not have to worry about using an obsolete program, The US Senate has a competing bill in the draft stages that would compete with the House bill,, but wold contain similar language barring the IRS from sticking their big, fat, IRS noses into personal tax preparation matters. So, who’s that pissing in the punch bowl? Why, none other than the US Congress, of courses!  In a maliciously deceptively named, bipartisan Taxpayer First Act, recently passed by the House, it specifically forbids the IRS to develop and make avail for distribution and use, their new taxpayer software. Why in the world would they do such a thing to thumb […]

Mitch McConnell has a plan for keeping the Senate majority in the 2020 election: Pretend Donald Trump doesn't exist and scare old people. The hope is to win back the suburbs and be the...

A coalition of 26 progressive groups on Thursday urged House Democrats to investigate the GOP-controlled Senate's "sham confirmation process" for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018. "Many issues went unresolved during last year's...