I'm sure he'll delete all his tweets now that he supported Gillespie

Had to work in that golf course plug.

what a sweet victory for Roem.

This is me when I agree with the worship leader we should try that tricky new song, but then it really bombs. pic.twitter.com/sGtRkXMgOt

— Ed Stetzer (@edstetzer) November 8, 2017

Trump's (or whomever said it) comment about Gillespie not being Trump enough may not be as crazy as it sounds.

The young man (25) I mentioned seeking a state house seat here as an (R) ran to the middle, indeed his highest profile backers were the (D) mayor of Athens and a long-time black (D) county commissioner ... just got beat up by an underfunded 0% chance hispanic lawyer. He didn't make great use of his 3:1 warchest advantage, kept things generic ... and got his butt beat.

He underperformed Trump in both the conservative county in the district AND in the liberal home of the university. Turnout from the (R) side looks low, turnout from the (D) ran extraordinarily high (how much a local sales tax referendum played into that is still unclear, votes from around the county still being counted). His approach gave conservatives little reason to be motivated to vote, and it cost him -- and the party -- a seat in the legislature. The %s were virtually identical opposites in the 2 counties, the turnout difference was heavily skewed to the left, which is highly unusual.

Another curiosity about the results: vote totals swung way back in favor of election-day voting instead of early voting. Odd to see that happen when the trend has been solidly the other direction. Nothing to indicate anything untoward about that, the %s were consistent across the board, I just though the reversal of the trend was interesting from a behavioral standpoint.

I second this.

If you remember the news reporter that was shot while on-air, her boyfriend won a VA delegate seat.

Man. That seems like it was like fifty notable shootings ago.

Hurst won on a gun control platform in a strong red area. He's one of more than 10 first time D candidates to win in VA this year.

http://www.roanoke.com/news/politics...e099653f4.html

A few predictions based on tonight:

More on the fence GOPers retire instead of face this electorate

National Dems even more unlikely to compromise on anything

More GOPers, especially in the House, are willing to publicly criticize Trump

A lot of ugly GOP primaries in 2018

Got some more of the local numbers in our little microcosm

It was, in the end, about turnout (gee, does that sound familiar)
Left county turnout was 26%
Right county turnout was 22% (and 12 & 11 in counties that have just a tiny piece of this district)

It should be a gotta-show-up wakeup call for the right in GA. No bets on whether it will be.

Trump just made a bad night for Republicans much worse for himself - The Washington Post

Seems like younger voters actually got out. Wonder if they'll still be motivated in 2018.

Still think red states get redder over the next few years but those purple states like Virginia could see some upheaval.

Still some uncalled races, but the VA House of Delegates may have actually flipped. Started at 66/34 R yesterday. Latest numbers look like 48/47 D with 5 uncalled/probable recounts. If they stay as they are, it's 50/50.

That's an enormous change in one night.

On a side note, just my own observation and personal opinion ...

I used to enjoy watching Morning Joe because I thought they did a good job of presenting both sides. It's now bash Trump for 3 hours, and while I think Trump has alot more bad than good, its getting pretty tiresome.

And when I change to Fox and Friends for a "breath/change of fresh air", the word that comes to mind is "sniveling".

CNN was what I thought did the best job of "fair and balanced". I know alot of people thought CNN was bad even before but I never thought so. But its now leaning heavily left (although not as bad as MSNBC).

Taking aside your personal politics, has anyone found a "fair and balanced" news program (not necessarily channel).



FWIW, I also enjoy Colbert's beginning monologues & video clips, its pretty funny but there just tends to be too much, consistent let's make fun of Trump. Starting to watch Jimmy Fallon now.

That's crazy.

I always say watch all the ones you mentioned for a clear picture of Washington DC. Fox shows you what really goes on with the Democrats and MCNBC/CNN show you the reality of the GOP. Put the two together and that is our government.

LOL, pretty much this, just knowing each will add a lot of hyperbole in their attempts to prop up and bash.

I also like to go to the Al Jazeera English web site, which I think is fairly balanced most of the time and I listen to BBC news as well.

Reuters

I wonder if this will cause Fox to back off attacking any GOPer that isn't 100% pro-Trump. I don't expect them to ever go anti-Trump, but just allowing space for GOPers to distance themselves from Trump could make a difference.

:confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:

Why on earth would they want to do that? They're not in the business of getting Republican/conservative candidates elected. They're in the business of making money for Fox News.

I tend to watch/read the BBC as its fairly balanced in the main, I also enjoy the Guardian and the Telegraph as they have interesting articles but they lean somewhat left and right respectively.

If you're interested in bias in UK newspapers/sites this might be useful:

UK Newspaper bias chart

But they're also in the business of friendly regulations and tax laws, and a Dem slaughter doesn't help with that. Like I said, I don't expect them to stop being all in on Trump, but perhaps they'll stop being all in on anti-anti-Trump.

Not really. Keep your eye on the ball here, people. Cash money, brother.

CBO says $1.7T added

GOP Tax Plan Would Add $1 Trillion To National Debt | HuffPost

My students are all freaking out because in part of the new tax plan, tuition waivers are considered taxable income. So if they are at GT and their PhD advisor is paying $20k in tuition annually, or tuition is comped by the University, it will be taxable income. Awesome for attracting doctoral students who are already paid minimum wage.

Congratulations to all of the ”DEPLORABLES” and the millions of people who gave us a MASSIVE (304-227) Electoral College landslide victory! pic.twitter.com/7ifv5gT7Ur

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 8, 2017

I guess the good news is we only get two more of these anniversary celebrations. He is such a vain motherfucker.

I'm just glad that the DFA's moronic outburst had no affect on the VA Gov election.

Satire (mostly):

Emergency DEFCON 1 Rating Declared As Trump Given 280 Characters On Twitter

Yeah, but Rupert and sons have a lot more going on than just Fox News.

My understanding is that this would also effect students who get free tuition as children of employees, so one of my main benefits will lose a lot of its value to me.

Me, too. I've put two (and a half) kids through college without any debt thanks to our 50% tuition benefit. Take that perk away from many educational professionals, and salary trade off for working in the educational sector vs. the private sector starts to look substantially less attractive.

Should be able to read this with a private window. DOJ trying to force TW to drop CNN before approving the AT&T merger.

US regulators demand CNN sale to approve AT&T-Time Warner deal

Here's the Politico version.

https://www.politico.com/story/2017/...ump-cnn-244697

Now this is, uh, interesting...

Frank Thorp V on Twitter: "👀

Sen @BobCorker announces Authority to Order the Use of Nuclear Weapons Hearing https://t.co/XKfnj5QyW6"

Not as exciting as Ben's link, but:

Is Administration Objecting to Big Merger to Punish CNN?

I know you’re looking for a program, but I saw this out on Twitter last year and the topic reminded me of it. May help:

CNN at the very least has moved quite a bit to the left since that graphic was made.

I saw a chart where tax increases in the GOP plan equal 99 billion and tax cuts for the top 1% equal 100 billion. It's trickle up economics.

A little late to the game, but I saw the perfect name for the Rand Paul/neighbor thing:

Atlas Shrubbed

I have no idea what happened with the Rand Paul thing. But I have loved the two reactions I've seen from folks.

(1) This is obviously a cover story; no one breaks a neighbor's ribs over lawn issues.

(2) It makes perfect sense to me that you would break a man's ribs over lawn issues.

And both sides are being completely serious. It's definitely a "there are two kinds of people . . . " sort of thing.

:lol:

great, great post here

Fairly long item here, but this guy (a NeverTrump R, btw) just crushes Carter Page and along the way the entire Trump battalion, part and present. Fun read.

Attention Required! | Cloudflare

Wow, that is one hell of an opening paragraph.

The Senate says they don't want to pass corporate tax cuts that will go into effect before 2019, Bill Cassidy won't vote on a tax plan that includes repealing the individual mandate.

Senate to delay corporate tax cut, breaking with Trump and House | TheHill

Tax reform by Thanksgiving not off to a good start.

Trump claiming he doesn't have any time to watch TV because he's too busy reading documents might be his most absurd lie yet.

Trump says he asked Putin again about interfering in the election and Putin denied it. Well, that's good enough for me. Let's move on to something else.

I'm just left now confused than every after Russia denied Putin denied it saying the topic never came up between them.

Classic, every time Trump tries to brown nose Putin, Putin throws him under the bus. But Trump just can't quit him.

If Trump actually goes after the church of scientology's tax exempt status we'll probably find out quickly if the pee tapes exist.

It is so easy to manipulate this guy.

White House daycare off duty tonight.

No kidding. The President of the United States just tweeted this:

Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me "old," when I would NEVER call him "short and fat?" Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend - and maybe someday that will happen!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 12, 2017

Nice one, had a good chuckle.

Oh wait. I might need to buy my bomb shelter first.

Looks like he made it to Vietnam without those pesky heel spurs acting up.

That was real? OMG! It's like the white trash teeny boppers I have to deal with occasionally...

What a dotard.

Heh. I confess that I hadn't thought about this angle...

The best part about Trump tweeting that Kim is short & fat is knowing that someone in the Nork government has to bring him this news.

— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) November 12, 2017

Trump laughs as Duterte shuts down questions.
You are the spies," Duterte says, referring to press.
“Hah, hah, hah," Trump laughs.
“You are," Duterte repeateds, per WH pool.

— Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) November 13, 2017

Good read

Trump’s Trade Policies Keep Backfiring
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features...ep-backfiring/

It's almost like this guy doesn't understand economics.

New proof that Don Jr. was in contact with Assange and WikiLinks during the election:

The Secret Correspondence Between Donald Trump Jr. and WikiLeaks - The Atlantic

I'm now seeing commercials on TV to impeach Trump. During Impractical Jokers no less.

heh

I don't think Peter King is on board with the tax reform plan.

From Sandy aid to tax reform @MickMulvaneyOMB tries to screw New York. Probably feels inferior because New York subsidizes his state of South Carolina.

— Rep. Pete King (@RepPeteKing) November 15, 2017

Oh great. I really don't think they should try to mix the 2. I'm all for some sort of tax plan and think it could pass on its own.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/15/politi...orm/index.html

North Korea sentences Trump to death:

North Korea Issues 'Death Sentence' Against Trump: 'He Will be Forced to Pay Dearly for His Blasphemy'

They just can't keep from tripping over their own damn feet. This move is far from brilliant.

Fuck it, put it all in one bill.

Tax cuts, ACA repeal, defunding Planned Parenthood, locking up Hillary, national voter ID, reciprocal concealed carry, Confederate statues, school vouchers, Reagan on Mt. Rushmore, Social Security cuts, standing for the National anthem, a Constitutional convention....

I really wish that whatever bill gets passed wouldn't go into affect until 2019 and next year they would publish some decent guidelines for people so they can plan ahead. Some people are going to have a nasty surprise that they aren't prepared for.

For example, lets take a family with 3 kids (and i'm rounding numbers here to make the math easy).

Current:

Standard deduction: 12,000
Personal exemptions: 20,000
Mortgage interest, taxes, donations, etc: 20,000

So this family itemizes and knocks off 32,000 at the start.

New bill (if passed as today):

Standard deduction: 24,000
Personal exemptions: 0
Mortgage interest, taxes, donations, etc: 20,000

So now they take the standard since that is more than itemizing... but they are now left with taxes on another $12,000 of income, which in the 25% bracket would be another $3,000. Hope they planned ahead given that surveys say that something like 50% of households would have trouble with an unexpected $500 bill.

Now, I know that doesn't take into account child tax credits and other stuff, but I think my point is this is going to have some trouble for a lot of people in the middle.

Edit: Heard this on the radio, so not sure where the numbers come from, but...

- 50 million households under $200,000/yr get no tax cut
- 20 million households under $200,000/yr get a tax increase

In the Senate bill all the income tax provisions expire in eight years while all the corporate tax cuts are permanent.

You would think in the end it will just be more federal debt with a lot cut out. They can't just alienate voters with tax increases like you describe right? I mean with these idiots in Congress anything is possible but it seems like you don't want "values" voter Joe Schmoe who always votes straight GOP to get a $3000 tax bill from the IRS when he is supposed to get getting a refund check.

That will just be spun into some other kind of BS that they believe, just like everything else coming from the GOP.

Well, the issue there is the 2 party system, right? It's very possible this Joe Schmoe is still gonna vote GOP for some other issue (gun rights, abortion, etc).

I don't disagree that this is true with most of their programs/ideas but most of the programs don't effect their core middle class voter like this one would. This one you would think would really stick out. I mean there is a reason neither party ever wants to increase taxes (outside of the normal bs they say) and that's losing votes.

If you look at charts on the new Senate bill, by the end of the ten year window it's basically a huge corporate tax cut paid for by tax increases on the poor and middle class, but they are terrified of their donors who are apparently saying, pass this or count us out.

As bad as this is, wait until next year, when Ryan says they are going to "reform" Medicare and Social Security. The Congressional GOP may end up with a zero approval rating.

Maybe but I think while people like to claim otherwise their pocketbook will always trump all other issues. A authoritarian who promised to reduce all income tax to 0 in exchange for all sorts of drastic measures would probably get a large chunk of votes.

As someone that I think is gonna be squeezed by this, we are looking for things to do before the end of the year. So we are likely going to accelerate some charitable donations of cash that we would have liked to do 2018 into this year, as well as go through our entire house to look at donations of household items so we can get that benefit in the 2017 tax year instead of the unknown 2018 tax year. Any other ideas that people have?

Probably not terrible ideas but I wouldn't do anything drastic yet. Repealing Obamacare seemed like it would be the easiest (easy meaning most support from their base) and that didn't happen. You have to think there will be a few hold outs on this one for the same reason.

I stopped believing things would eventually "stick out" once involvement with fucking Russians got dismissed with talking points.

But your point is valid that it tends to be the wallet that eventually hurts. My worry though is the amount of damage that will be done in the time it takes for all that core middle class to actually realize it.

This sounds straight out of a mafia movie.

Firm founded by KGB spy to guard US Moscow embassy
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41947030

My bet is that it'll be spun as being because of 'Obamacare' that the evil Democrats have been preventing them removing ....

Can we pick the card(s) that will go there?

Cards Against Humanity buys a piece of the U.S. border - CBS News

About time those 0.1%ers caught a break.

It's funny that anyone thought Trump was going to come in and help the middle class.

I'd bet nearly anything he wouldn't have been within $100k if asked to identify middle class earnings when he took office and I'd say there's still probably a 50% chance that hasn't changed.

We don't really need elephants do we?

Trophies from elephant hunts in Zimbabwe were banned in the U.S. Trump just reversed that. - The Washington Post

You're looking at this from an elitist perspective ... the middle class hunt and they need to bring their trophies home from their little hunting expeditions).

(both Trumps sons do trophy hunting and in his mind I'm sure they're 'middle class' as they have less money than he does ;) )

well excuse my elitist blood :) I'm sure he had no thought on this other than his sons when he agreed to it.

No longer will the middle class be forced to pay unfair taxes on their private jets.

JUST DISCOVERED: The Senate tax bill includes a tax break for private aircraft. Can you believe this? Not a joke ���� pic.twitter.com/KW6RCQGeYw

— Topher Spiro (@TopherSpiro) November 16, 2017

This seems like it should get some attention.

It sounds like something that would have happened under Obama, and rest assured if it had, you'd have a large contingent of opposition literally calling for him to be hung for treason. Not shot. Hung.

Trump is an apathetic, amoral POS who doesn't care about nor understand cause/effect/perception. I expect plenty more of this sort of "minor" stuff get pushed by him because it is so incredibly easy to spin things to him in a way that makes him go "hey, thats a pip of an idea, let's do that"

Also give the NRA sth to talk about: "gee, ain't it awesome what good weapons do. Conservation, just doing out part. Wait, you still wanna talk about Las Vegas and stuff ? Outrageous ... "

I don't think we say "pip of an idea" here :)

Well you should :p