Well, I bet Mitch McConnell wishes he could have kept the Senate health care bill secret until after the vote. First that whole representative democracy thing got in the way, then the CBO came out with a report that basically confirmed everyone’s worst fears about this terrible bill.
Read MoreFriend Or Foe
U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East is getting curiouser and curiouser. Soon after President Trump’s recent visit, a major rift happened between Saudi Arabia and Qatar (among others). Trump came out firmly in support of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. If you were just getting a handle on the various Sunni and Shiite players, now add in a rift between Sunni nations.
Read MoreMeanwhile, Besides Russia
While the investigations into Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election and President Trump’s possible obstruction of justice are vital, don’t forget about all the other political maneuvers going on at the same time. There are so many overlapping “meanwhiles” it’s nearly impossible to keep up.
Read MorePresidential Pens
President Trump has a cheap showman’s talent for making things look much bigger than they really are. We should count our blessings and be glad he’s not truly efficient and productive when it comes to legislation and actually enacting his policies. Trump loves his Executive Orders— which are really just statements of principles and are basically press releases with extra hype.
Read MoreThe Kushner Kables
I’m sure there’s a perfectly innocent explanation for all of this Russia intrigue, right? Right? This thing keeps getting curiouser and curiouser. The Washington Post reported that Jared Kushner tried to set up a back-channel line of communication with the Russians, going as far as suggesting using Russian communication equipment at their embassy in order to avoid U.S. intelligence snooping. (We know this, apparently, because our snoops intercepted Russian communications with Moscow.)
Read MoreStorytime With The President
Who knew the CBO score for the House Republican healthcare plan would be so exciting and dangerous? I’ve said before the House Republican plan will kill people, I never knew a House Republican candidate would try to strangle a reporter for asking questions about the CBO score! (Must be a little touchy about that bill.) Now that Trump has been on his first overseas trip, met Pope Francis and did not strangle a single reporter, surely now he is truly presidential.
Read MoreTaxcutiva
It seems like a lifetime ago that the House Republicans passed their awful American Health Care Act. While the Donald Trump/Russia debacle has been rapidly unfolding let’s not forget about legislation that could, um, kill people. That’s what happens when you provide health care “access” that could keep the old, poor and sick from affording actual care.
Read MoreMake the FBI Great Again
You just can’t make this stuff up, and if you did, people would say you’re full of it. Yes, on the day after firing FBI Director James Comey, President Trump met with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and Henry Kissinger. Everything’s fine. There’s no constitutional crisis, just ask Sergey Lavrov!
Read MoreTrump Branded Solutions
So it turns out Trump Branded Solutions work not only in the present but in the past, too! If only the supposedly-Trumpian Andrew Jackson had been around to get a better deal, the Civil War would’ve been averted. Since President Trump knows how to fix up the past, just think of all the good work his administration could do across history.
Read MoreThe Best First 100 Days Ever
Here’s hoping we make it through President Trump’s first 100 days quickly, before he tries to ram through any additional executive orders, tax cuts or health care policy. For a guy who doesn’t think the grand measure of First One Hundred Days doesn’t mean anything, he sure looks like he’s a kid cramming to do his homework at the last minute on the bus. (Or in the limo, as the case may be.)
Read MoreArmada of Misinformation
It should come as no surprise that Donald Trump’s misinformation campaign doesn’t stop with North Korea. When Trump said, “we’re sending an armada,” it turns out the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson and it’s strike group were heading in the opposite direction of the Korean Peninsula, a few thousand miles to the south.
Read MoreTomahawks Away!
I’m a little surprised it took President Trump this long to figure out where the Tomahawk launch button was in the Oval Office. These neat little cruise missiles have been the go-to “safe” weapon of choice for U.S. foreign policy for decades now. (And they look so beautiful when they launch from ships!)
Read MoreKushner! The Musical.
Well, the babyfaced, bedimpled Jared Kushner sure has his hands full. From hopping into Iraq to being in charge of negotiating Middle East peace, to making the United States government more “innovative” and like a business, President Trump has put a lot on Kushner’s plate.
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Featured
The firehose of news is still gushing. Let’s take a quick look at some of the major stories just in the past few days. Repeal and replace fails, shady meetings at the White House compound, a derailed House Intelligence Committee investigation, more awfulness in Iraq, environmental destruction and . . . the beginnings of another round of Repeal & Replace. (It’s never over ’til it’s over.)