UPDATE: 3 pm Pacific Preet Bharara Is Fired After Refusing to Step Down as U.S. Attorney On Friday, the Trump administration ordered 46 U.S. attorneys to resign immediately, generating a hailstorm of publicity. The announcement came on the heels of a Fox news commentator, Sean Hannity, calling for the Trump White House to "purge" Obama … [Read more...] about Trump abruptly fires 46 U.S. attorneys
The ACA replacement bill reflects the GOP’s fiscal and moral irresponsibility
WASHINGTON -- It's time to put an end to the myth that Republicans believe in fiscal responsibility. Saving taxpayer dollars takes a back seat to the ideological imperative of blaming and shaming the poor. Witness the GOP's long-awaited plan to replace the Affordable Care Act. House committees are moving forward on the legislation before the Congressional Budget Office … [Read more...] about The ACA replacement bill reflects the GOP’s fiscal and moral irresponsibility
Thoughts on Health Coverage
Everyone is talking about healthcare, so I thought I would weigh in on an idea I have been knocking around for awhile. I recently read a great article by the Brookings Institute on the tweaks that could be made to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), aka Obamacare, to bring it within the realities of the needs of the country, to fix its basic functional issues and to put it into the … [Read more...] about Thoughts on Health Coverage
(Updates) Slaves or (Involuntary) Immigrants?
Update II: Jelani Cobb at The New Yorker has an excellent piece about Dr. Carson’s gaffe in particular: This is roughly akin to arguing that it is technically possible to refer to a kidnapping victim as a “house guest,” presuming the latter term refers to a temporary visitor to one’s home. But more importantly, about Carson’s previously displayed “propensity … [Read more...] about (Updates) Slaves or (Involuntary) Immigrants?
Party Over Country
American democracy has reached a sad state of affairs. Partisanship and allegiance to one’s political party is currently considered by many politicians to be more important than patriotism and concern for the nation. The United States has elected a president around whom questions swirl, regarding his and his surrogates’ association with Russia prior to his assuming the … [Read more...] about Party Over Country
Nigel Farage Just Visited The Ecuadorian Embassy (home of Julian Assange) In London
Nigel Farage, Donald Trump's best bud from the UK who has visited him several times, was spotted visiting the Ecuadorian Embassy, home of Wikileaks' Julian Assange. Many now agree that Wikileaks has now become a de facto outlet for Russia. The latest massive Wikileak dump included vital info on how the CIA operates. And, guess what? It turns out that Farage was apparently … [Read more...] about Nigel Farage Just Visited The Ecuadorian Embassy (home of Julian Assange) In London
Trump’s health care and Obama fantasylands
WASHINGTON -- We shouldn't blithely move on to other matters until we deal with the institutional carnage inflicted upon us by Donald Trump. The current president of the United States has accused former president Barack Obama of committing a felony by having him wiretapped. But Trump refuses to offer a shred of evidence for perhaps the most incendiary charge one … [Read more...] about Trump’s health care and Obama fantasylands
Donald Trump Can’t Go Home Again & Here’s Why
When Donald Trump announced that he was running for president in June 2015, the setting was perfect for what at the time was his biggest celebrity stunt ever: Trump Tower on New York's ritzy Fifth Avenue. While not exactly evoking images of Washington skipping rocks across the Potomac at Mount Vernon or Lincoln studying law by firelight in a log cabin, the Tower was … [Read more...] about Donald Trump Can’t Go Home Again & Here’s Why
Along Came a Spider
March 9, 2017 Note to readers: This is the latest entry in Super Baby DonDon’s diary. The series imagines that President Donald Trump has the emotional make-up of a five-year-old and confides his deepest thoughts—such as they are—to Andrew Feinberg, and to readers, every day. In his private moments, he always thinks of himself as Super Baby DonDon. So I was in my … [Read more...] about Along Came a Spider
Can this president weather his own storms?
WASHINGTON -- Wow, we went from no drama to all drama in the blink of an eye. An embattled President Trump spent the weekend raging in frustration at his inability to control events -- and his administration is just in its second month. How will he make it through a year? Let alone four? And how long before Trump campaign insiders whose names have surfaced in reports … [Read more...] about Can this president weather his own storms?
Cartoon : Trumpcare
What You Should Know About Marijuana Suppositories
Rectal marijuana? Weed suppositories? Smoking might be the most common way to get high, but apparently it’s not the best —at least for medicinal purposes. As Vice puts it, "...taking it up the butt is actually much more effective than smoking it." Talk of rectal marijuana hit the news cycle following a story in the National… … [Read more...] about What You Should Know About Marijuana Suppositories
Cartoons: Voice
Voice by Clay Jones During Donald Trump’s State of the Disunion address to Congress last week he unveiled a new plan to unleash tyranny on people who are not the right color. That is, those who are not the white color. The new program is called VOICE, which is an acronym for Victims Of Immigration Crime Engagement office, and not a singing game show featuring that guy … [Read more...] about Cartoons: Voice
AHCA: Karma and a Campaign of Lies
Matthew Yglesias sums up the consequences of Republican dishonesty on health care on vox.com. Donald Trump added his own signature dose of shamelessness to the Republicans’ shameless crusade against Obamacare. “We’re going to have insurance for everybody,” Trump told the Washington Post after the election. Under Trumpcare, according to Trump, people “can expect to have … [Read more...] about AHCA: Karma and a Campaign of Lies
The Republican health-care plan’s top critics? Republicans.
WASHINGTON -- President Trump, long at the forefront of intellectual discovery, last week came up with a major finding: Health-care reform is hard. "Unbelievably complex," in fact. "Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated," the president said. Actually, we all knew. That's why Republicans' successor plan to Obamacare, "repeal and replace," … [Read more...] about The Republican health-care plan’s top critics? Republicans.
Cartoon: Swamp
Communicating climate change: Focus on the framing, not just the facts
By Rose Hendricks, Ph.D. Candidate in Cognitive Science, University of California, San Diego. How you package the information matters. Frame image via www.shutterstock.com. Humans are currently in a war against global warming. Or is it a race against global warming? Or maybe it’s just a problem we have to deal with? If you already consider climate… … [Read more...] about Communicating climate change: Focus on the framing, not just the facts
It’s the truth according to Trump. Believe it.
WASHINGTON -- President Trump has no evidence for his incendiary claim that Barack Obama ordered wiretaps on Trump Tower, and denials have come not just from the former president and his director of national intelligence but from Jim Comey -- the man Trump has showered with praise and retained as his FBI director. But Trump has something more powerful to him than any … [Read more...] about It’s the truth according to Trump. Believe it.
Cartoon: Madly Manly Men
Madly Manly Men by Clay Jones Yes. Donald Trump might be insane. I’m just kidding. There’s no “might” about it. Watching his rants is reminiscent of Charlie Sheen’s very public meltdown from a few years ago. The only difference is that Sheen might have been a bit more coherent and he wasn’t sober. Watching Trump meltdown in fits of rage, making up crowd sizes, … [Read more...] about Cartoon: Madly Manly Men
Chaffetz Says Americans Should Give Up iPhones And Buy Health Insurance
As Republican members of Congress promote a bill to replace the Affordable Care Act, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) Tuesday had a novel idea for how Americans should pay for health insurance in a post Obamacare world: give up their cellphones. In an interview on CNN, Chaffetz was asked about how simply having access to coverage was… … [Read more...] about Chaffetz Says Americans Should Give Up iPhones And Buy Health Insurance