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December 2017

Posted by Mary Chastain on December 14, 2017 19 Comments
The GOP's vision of passing a tax bill in the Senate is slowing fading as Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) has threatened to vote no on it unless the bill expands the child tax credit. From The Washington Post:
“I understand that this is a process of give and take, especially when there’s only a couple of us fighting for it, the leverage is lessened,” Rubio (R-Fla.) said Thursday in the Senate. “But given all the other changes made in the tax code leading into it, I can’t in good conscience support it unless we are able to increase [the child tax credit], and there’s ways to do it and we’ll be very reasonable about it.”

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on December 14, 2017 66 Comments
Democrat Dog Jones pulled off an upset in Alabama's special Senate election, barely beating embattled Republican Roy Moore. High on the Alabama win, Democrats are experiencing delusions of grandeur, believing bamamentum will carry over to the Lone Star State.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on December 14, 2017 18 Comments
The city of Mülheim in northwestern Germany cancelled its official Hanukkah festivities, citing 'security concerns,' German newspaper Bild Zeitung reported. All the outdoor Hanukkah events due to take place in Mülheim and the adjoining region have also been cancelled, the head of the local Jewish community confirmed. The German state of North-Rhine Westphalia, where Mülheim is located, has seen an upsurge of antisemitic attacks in the recent years. In the nearby city of Bochum, the Jewish community leaders have urged Jews to stop wearing kippah, the traditional Jewish skullcap that identifies them as Jews, in public. Last month, the local broadcaster Radio Bochum reported that Jews “routinely faced with insults on public streets when they are recognized as Jews.” The broadcaster identified the perpetrators as “Muslim youths.”

Posted by Mary Chastain on December 14, 2017 35 Comments
The local ABC station in Victoria, TX, has reported that Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX) will not seek re-election. The station is currently trying to receive more information from his office. His term ends on January 20, 2019. The news comes a day after Michael Rekola, Farenthold's former communications director in 2015, has come forward to reveal the improper behavior towards him from Farenthold, including sexual jokes about his then-fiancée.

Posted by Mike LaChance on December 14, 2017 14 Comments
The people who rioted in Washington, DC on inauguration day last January are in a world of trouble. Unfortunately for them, this was the United States capital, not the campus of UC Berkeley and there are real consequences for criminal behavior.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on December 13, 2017 10 Comments
In an infamous one-liner aimed at then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney (R-MA), then-candidate Obama and incumbent president (D) said, “The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back . . . the Cold War is over.”  This was after Obama's Secretary of State Hillary Clinton bungled the "Russian reset" by skewering the translation on her symbolic "reset" button.  This was also before Obama promised, in an equally-infamous hot mic moment,  "flexibility" with Russia after the 2012 election.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on December 13, 2017 29 Comments
This weekend, I reported on the spate of fires that have erupted though Southern California, which included the Skirball Fire that threatened the famous Getty Center Museum, destroyed several posh Bel Air homes, and shut the 405 freeway. In a move that surprised nobody, Governor Jerry Brown was quick to blame all the infernos on climate change, but a cooking fire by a homeless person started the fire.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 13, 2017 16 Comments
Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett was confirmed to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals today. Justice Willett is best known for his Twitter account, where he stays away from politics, and is quite funny. Kemberlee put together a Best of (Future SCOTUS?) Justice Don Willett’s Twitter Feed. As we previously reported, during confirmation hearings, Dems tried to attack some of his tweets, Aging, humorless Dem Senator rips judicial nominee Don Willett over Bacon Marriage tweet.

Posted by Mary Chastain on December 13, 2017 9 Comments
Republicans in the House and Senate have struck a deal on the tax bill. Details of the agreement have started to leak out as Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn said he has confidence it will pass next week. From Politico:
One major deal that fell into place, on the state and local tax deduction, would allow taxpayers to choose a property tax deduction or a deduction for state and local income taxes, up to $10,000 in either case, according to a GOP congressional aide and a person familiar with the process.
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