Re: The Serious Side - part 2

by Donnamarie Thu 23 Feb 2017, 14:08

annemarie I think we are already there with Trump being the most hated man ever to hold the office of President. I don't see it getting any better. Most of the damage was done during the campaign...at least for me. IMO he will never overcome all the lies and hateful things he said.

On that note I'm going back to look at the Instagram pic of our guy with drink in hand to help soothe me. Thanks carol for that!

by party animal - not! Thu 23 Feb 2017, 15:30

Have to say, guys, I am seriously impressed with the turn-outs at all the town halls around the country (for those whose representatives are prepared to turn up that is!)

Brilliant!

by Donnamarie Thu 23 Feb 2017, 16:33

They have been amazing PAN. I hope they continue. Luckily I have Democratic Representatives in my area or I'd be at every town meeting I could find. The vocal outrage over the ACA possibly being repealed has been particularly satisfying to watch. I think now with Trump's reversal of Obama's recently enacted protections for transgender students there will be even more vocal condemnation.

by LizzyNY Thu 23 Feb 2017, 18:49

carolhathaway wrote:Lizzy,
sorry for giving you a headache!
Here'a Casamigos, presented to you by a very special guy

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQ0lGmHAxCv/?tagged=georgeclooney

I knew there was a reason I like you so much. You are the bestest friend ever!!!!!! That picture of George is gorgeous and drove that other twit, What's-his-name right out of my head. I don't even need that drink now -( but I won't turn it down. Very Happy

) Thank you, thank you, thank you! Give Flowers

Donnamarie - Saw in a post somewhere that a lot of Democrats are attending these meetings. Good. Just because your representative is a Republican doesn't mean you have no voice. They still represent you in Congress and you have the right to attend these meetings and hold them accountable for the things they are doing, whatever their party affiliation or yours.

by Donnamarie Thu 23 Feb 2017, 20:06

Lizzy when watching clips from some of these town halls there have been a number of people who have made your point ... that their Republican representative or senator represent all the people. Some have been almost accusatory in their tone too. I think there are mostly Democrats and Independents at these events but there are some Republicans there too.

Like I said my rep/senators are all Democrats. Though in my neighboring district there is a woman republican representative who has been ducking meeting with her constituency. If she did hold a town hall I would be tempted to attend just to lend a voice ...

by party animal - not! Thu 23 Feb 2017, 20:31

I think that would be great, Donnamarie, even if you're a fly on the wall!

Well now, look at this..........

http://www.vox.com/conversations/2017/2/22/14697718/donald-trump-putin-russia-kremlin-hillary-clinton

by Donnamarie Fri 24 Feb 2017, 04:33

PAN, I nodded my head at just about everything the editor said about Putin and Trump. It all fits really nicely in explaining Putin's motives. I still believe Putin has something on Trump. If not the dossier, what? Shady business dealings? There is no logical explanation for Trump's warm and fuzzy feelings toward this thug. It seems obvious that Trump is trying to get Russian sanctions lifted one way or another. Why? What part does Bannon play in all of this? Is this part of Bannon's plan to help Russia destroy world order, break up the EU and malign democracy. Stay tuned ...

by What Would He Say Fri 24 Feb 2017, 09:51

Katiedot wrote:
What Would He Say wrote:Thats MY problem, sorting fake news from false memory.....

Example; take G. Clooney, as we are here....

Q. Was the "no marriage, no kids" False memory?
A. No

QED....so was it Fake News....

Or do both belong to a multi coloured spectrum ?.......No black No white.....
It was neither false memory nor fake news. It was a man changing his mind about how he saw his future. He met someone who meant something to him, who he wanted to keep in his life and simply changed his mind.

Sorry I did not explain myself well.... when I said both fake news and false memory are not simply black and white...what I should have said is that they are on a spectrum from black to white....

Sometimes out of necessity we have to relay fake news....white lies for the protection of the innocent, or to keep harm away, to enhance, make the unattractive appealing.....it does not make you a bad person.....

False memory has the same spectrum.....how many times have you gone back to a restaurant or place or person and thought.... it wasn't as good as I remember it....

Everything comes into play, timing, place, who you surround yourself with, health mental and physical everything even your tastebuds develops over time.......it's the human condition.....

I love that George is human...I love that he changes his mind....Long may he continue to do so.....

by annemarie Fri 24 Feb 2017, 15:30

Jenner wants Donald Dumb to call her, it amazes me when people assume Trump will keep his word.

I have seen where someone said people shouldn't jump to conclusions ,they should wait and see what he comes

up with. Why there was nothing wrong with the order in place, he simply wants to undo everything former President Obama has done.

by Donnamarie Fri 24 Feb 2017, 20:20

annemarie this man doesn't deserve the attention he's getting. He doesn't deserve our time discussing this pathetic excuse for a leader. But we have to keep calling him out when he lies, when he criticizes our government, minorities and the press.

How do most of us not jump to conclusions when he has shown himself to be totally inept from the get go? I'm not that optimistic. IMO he pretty much wants to put his big footprint on everything while he's in office. He wants to be a consequential President of humongous proportions. If he can he wants to erase everything Obama accomplished in office ... as if Obama wasn't a transformational President. He would like to diminish him to a mere blip on the presidential radar screen.

Those are my happy thoughts for the day. Evil or Very Mad

by carolhathaway Fri 24 Feb 2017, 22:32

Back from our man in Paris tonight:
The White House banned The New York Times, CNN and Politico

https://mobile.twitter.com/nytimes/status/835250484579549185/photo/1

by party animal - not! Sat 25 Feb 2017, 00:13

Oh, the toddler's thrown the toys out of the pram again......but there must be a reason behind this. Someone getting too close to the truth?

And who is going to deal with the 'White House' getting in touch with Comey about the FBI's investigation's into the White House?!

And if they all stood together and left, what on earth would he do when he wanted them? And of course he's sitting in a house and doing a job which is paid for by the taxpayers!

by carolhathaway Sat 25 Feb 2017, 13:39

Fox News presented the 'Swedish Defense and National Security Advisor' to talk about the - as Trump had statued - 'increasing security problems and violence by immigrants in Sweden'.
The problem about this:
Sweden doesn't have anybody with this title and say that they also don't need this position (since the crime rate hasn't increased due to immigrants). This man is a convicted criminal - in Sweden and also in the States where he lives...

https://mobile.twitter.com/jamesmashiri/status/835091440279695360/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

by annemarie Sat 25 Feb 2017, 14:48

Fox news is outrageous , so did they hire this guy to make what Trump said believable or are they just too stupid to check the facts.

by party animal - not! Sat 25 Feb 2017, 15:35

Here's one to watch - and I don't mean with affection!

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/02/24/meet-felix-sater-the-russian-bad-hombre-who-works-with-trump.html

by Donnamarie Sat 25 Feb 2017, 15:49

The thing is PAN there are so many stories to watch that none of them tend to stay in the forefront for very long. The story you posted was brought to light sometime early last week. It plays for a day or two and then there is some new "shiny object" to take its place.
Yea Slater is just another bad hombré that Trump associates himself with. And Cohen seems like a piece of work. He's got multiple versions of how this plan ended up at the White House.

by party animal - not! Sat 25 Feb 2017, 16:26

Yep, it's as if Trump is story-bombing everything quite intentionally so that no one story sticks for too long.

Totally deliberate of course and then covered by all the rubbish e g Tackyland-by-a-lake, and a ball tonight (?) at the White House with Melania as the main exhibit. Let's hope the press boycott that!

Highly dangerous to not keep up with it all I think

by LizzyNY Sat 25 Feb 2017, 16:47

PAN - When the Soviet Union fell there was a major influx of Russians into NYC - so many, in fact, that the Brighton Beach neighborhood became known as Little Odessa. As with any other large group of people, not all of these immigrants were saints.

The Russian Mafia made itself at home here and has ruled Brighton and the Russian crime world with the same tactics Putin used in his younger days. It's no secret. They have made fortunes and infiltrated many legitimate business to launder their profits - just like all the other criminal networks from the mafia to ISIS.

That Trump would have no problem working with them speaks to his complete lack of ethics and disdain for anyone who doesn't "game" the system like he does.

by LizzyNY Sat 25 Feb 2017, 16:57

PAN - You're right. It is imperative to keep up with everything these thugs do. I wish the media would retaliate, though. If he doesn't allow them into briefings they should give him only bare bones coverage.

Report on any and all legitimate issues - orders he issues, events/rulings, in Congress, investigations, etc. - things that will actually affect us - but- NO COVERAGE of anything related to his family's social life. No pictures of his family or friends. And especially NO PICTURES OF HIM. I am sick of seeing his smug smirk plastered everywhere. If it isn't necessary to show him - like if he fell down and broke his neck we might want to see it - but otherwise, SPARE US!

IMO, nothing would bug him more than NOT seeing his ugly puss all over the media.

by annemarie Sat 25 Feb 2017, 17:06

Yes, Lizzy he loves the attention and it would kill him to not have it .

by party animal - not! Sat 25 Feb 2017, 17:09

Let's see what they do, Lizzy.

Problem is the journos and editors have their shareholders breathing down their necks. 'Twas ever thus. The White Corespondents Dinner should be interesting!?

by LizzyNY Sat 25 Feb 2017, 17:22

Everyone's talking about which journalists or comedians will attend. I'm wondering if Trump will be there. After all, these are the scum that print all the fake news about him. Why would he put himself in the position where he'd have to be civil to people who are there to roast his sorry ass?

by annemarie Sat 25 Feb 2017, 17:23

Bill Maher on the press

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikiZvUGkLjo

by Donnamarie Sat 25 Feb 2017, 21:40

Maher is right on many points.

I would like to see the White House Correspondents Dinner go bye-bye. It has become way more of a celebrity event than a recognition of quality journalism.
It would be completely hypocritical of Trump to attend this dinner. Tho it's never stopped him before to contradict himself. But he will endure a real verbal beating if he goes. He doesn't have a sense of humor at all so I don't see anything good coming out of this for him.

I just read that Bloomberg has cancelled their attendance and CNN is considering dropping out. On top of that I can't imagine many celebrities showing up for this year's event.

by annemarie Sat 25 Feb 2017, 21:59

The times will air this add on Oscar Sunday.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4259574/New-York-Times-broadcast-truth-ad-Academy-Awards.htm

by party animal - not! Sat 25 Feb 2017, 22:00

Now this is really good to see

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/kansas-bar-shooting-racist-killing-indian-victim-man-save-ian-grillot-srinivas-kuchibhotla-were-all-a7597271.html

Hope it gets a whole lot more coverage. And now a fund has been started for the Indian families too....

by carolhathaway Sat 25 Feb 2017, 23:01

PAN,
but hate has never led to anything good, and if it leads to shoot others, it's even more horrofying.

Two days ago, a man who lived just 25 miles away from my hometown, was convicted of being a Salafist who had planned to bomb policemen. He was German, had no muslim background, his family never immigrated from an islamic country, and three years ago he was a neonazi who wanted to kill muslims.
This guy is certainly dangerous, but he's not a fighter for ISIS or Daesh, he's simply somebody who wants to cause fear and hate and who wants a reason to kill others...

by carolhathaway Sat 25 Feb 2017, 23:16

By the way:
You know that one of the Short Documentaries nominated for an Oscar called'Watani' is about a Syrian refugee family, a mother and her children (her husband is still fighting in Aleppo), who now live in the town my husband works, just 15 miles away.

The mother was invited by the director of the movie to join her for the Academy Awards, and since the ban was banned, she got her visa and came to Los Angeles yesterday. I'm sure that it will be an extraordinary experience for her.

Oh yes, and my husband married the two Syrian doctors yesterday. You remember? He works in a nearby clinic while she works in the States, and due to the ban, they didn't know what to do. They took the risk, she came from the States, but without her parents who were afraid they wouldn't be allowed to re-enter the States. Her brothers who already live in the States for 20 years, also didn't risk to not be united with their families. So my husband did everything to organize to skype the wedding and said that it was just heartbreaking, eveybody was crying on both sides of the pond...

by annemarie Sat 25 Feb 2017, 23:20

Donald Won't attend the White House correspondents dinner.

http://people.com/politics/donald-trump-not-attending-white-house-correspondents-dinner/

by Donnamarie Sun 26 Feb 2017, 00:48

Good! I just heard this on the news. This could change the dinner's typical platform by making the event a rallying around the value of journalists and the importance of the first amendment ... with some jokes thrown in for good measure. It will be interesting to see what the dinner organizers do.

carol, you share so many emotional stories with us.
This one no exception. It's really sad and totally unnecessary that this couple couldn't be with their family for such a monumental event.

by annemarie Tue 28 Feb 2017, 20:41

The new Beast is almost ready! President Trump's armored limousine undergoes last-minute testing

A new photo has been released showing a prototype of the new generation of presidential limousines
General Motors was originally supposed to have the new limo ready my Inauguration Day, but that got pushed back to March 30
The limo - nicknamed The Beast - is reportedly built to withstand ballistic, IED and chemical weapons attacks

By Ashley Collman For Dailymail.com
PUBLISHED: 14:08 EST, 28 February 2017 | UPDATED: 15:02 EST, 28 February 2017

[email=?subject=Read%20this:%20The%20new%20Beast%20is%20almost%20ready!%20President%20Trump%27s%20armored%20limousine%20undergoes%20last-minute%20testing&body=The%20new%20Beast%20is%20almost%20ready%21%20President%20Trump%27s%20armored%20limousine%20undergoes%20last-minute%20testing%0A%0AA%20new%20photo%20has%20been%20released%20showing%20a%20prototype%20of%20the%20new%20generation%20of%20presidential%20limousines.%0A%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fnews%2Farticle-4268766%2FPresident-Trump-s-new-armored-limo-undergoes-testing.html%3Fito%3Demail_share_article-top%0A%0A%0AMost%20Read%20Articles%3A%0A%0AMake%20yourself%20at%20home%2C%20Kellyanne%21%20White%20House%20adviser%20is%20taken%20to%20task%20after%20she%20makes%20herself%20comfortable%20on%20the%20Oval%20Office%20couch%20while%20wearing%20her%20heels%20as%20Trump%20hosts%20leaders%20of%20black%20colleges%C2%A0%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fnews%2Farticle-4266510%2FKellyanne-Conway-photographed-making-comfortable.html%3Fito%3Demail_share_article-top_most-read-articles%0A%0AOscars%20sensation%20%27Gary%20from%20Chicago%27%20is%20attempted%20RAPIST%3A%20Stars%27%20homes%20tourist%20was%20released%20from%20jail%20just%20three%20days%20before%20stunt%20after%2022%20years%20inside%20and%20met%20his%20fiancee%20Vickie%20behind%20bars%20after%20finding%20God%C2%A0%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fnews%2Farticle-4266554%2FOscars-Gary-Chicago-served-20-years-prison.html%3Fito%3Demail_share_article-top_most-read-articles%0A%0AWhite%20couple%20weep%20as%20judge%20gives%20them%2028%20years%20in%20prison%20for%20interrupting%20a%20black%20child%27s%20eighth%20birthday%20party%20with%20Confederate%20flags%2C%20racist%20slurs%20and%20armed%20threats%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fnews%2Farticle-4265496%2FGeorgia-couple-given-years-prison-hate-crime.html%3Fito%3Demail_share_article-top_most-read-articles%0A%0A]e-mail[/email]

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A photo has surfaced showing President Trump's new armored limousine in its final stages.
General Motors won a $15.8million contract to create a new line of presidential limos, and originally planned to have it ready by Inauguration Day. But the date got pushed back to March 30 .
A recently released photo shows the camouflage prototype going through testing.
The Serious Side - part 2 - Page 19 3DCE9C0900000578-0-image-a-53_1488307099198

The Serious Side - part 2 - Page 19 3DCE9C0900000578-0-image-a-53_1488307099198

+2
President Trump's new limo (center) appears to be in its final stages of development, according to this recently released photo
The Serious Side - part 2 - Page 19 3DCF86D600000578-4268766-image-a-61_1488308725956

The Serious Side - part 2 - Page 19 3DCF86D600000578-4268766-image-a-61_1488308725956

+2
It was originally believed the new limo would debut on Inauguration Day, but it was pushed back to March 30

hate to defend anything about the new administration, but I do like the truth. If this was supposed to be ready by inauguration day, the specs and expense would have been Obama's decision. Requirements for security and transportation items like this--and air force one-- are decided way in advance and with heavy input in terms of security and communications. If Trump approves plans for a new air force one, he will never be the one to actually use it due to the long lead time.

by annemarie Tue 28 Feb 2017, 21:26

Fava, I get it but to me it is still a waste of money.

by Sevens Wed 01 Mar 2017, 15:16

Disney's CEO running for president 2020?
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/rambling-reporter/will-disneys-bob-iger-run-president-2020-hollywood-friends-are-nudging-981626

by LizzyNY Wed 01 Mar 2017, 17:26

Curious. Did anyone watch the speech last night? If you did, what are your thoughts?

by Donnamarie Wed 01 Mar 2017, 17:49

Lizzy I didn't watch the speech in real time but have seen loads of clips from it. It seems the kind words and ovation for the Navy Seal's widow was the highlight of the evening. Trump was right in what he said about Navy Seal Owens but I don't for a minute think he was that sincere about it. His words about coming together as a country are all well and good but if anyone knows what Trump is all about you see the speech more of a show than a pivot to being presidential. He started his speech by condemning the hate crimes of late. He got lots of applause for his recognizing that these antisemetic and hateful acts are wrong but in my mind I think he knew he had to call them out. His remarks weren't heartfelt IMO. He quoted from the Bible. PLEASE!

How many times has the media asked the question "is this Trump's pivotal moment". I say no. I say he has his schtick and plays to his audience.

What did you think?

by carolhathaway Wed 01 Mar 2017, 21:02

I guess we'll see during the next weeks and months what he really thinks, his actions and tweets are what counts in the end, not his speech...

It worries me more that he'd said before that the States need to raise their defense budget due to the terror in the world, and then adds that the States need to win wars again...

by Donnamarie Wed 01 Mar 2017, 21:19

Carol, you're right about Trump. There is always a conflict between what he says and what he does. The Washington Post had an article today fact checking his speech last night. It was full of inaccuracies or lies. Take your pick.

If you google Jason Rezaian look for an opinion piece he wrote today for the Washington Post. Rezaian was a Washington Post journalist. As you probably will recall he was imprisoned by Iran for almost 2 years before being released last year. Anyway, it's a really good read.

'I watched the 2016 State of the Union addressfrom prison in Iran. This year, I attended it as a free man'. --
Washington Post, March 1, 2017.

by LizzyNY Wed 01 Mar 2017, 22:01

Donnamarie - I didn't see it in real time either, but like you I have seen a lot of clips. It was apparently a well written speech and he read it well - which means nothing because only God knows if he believed a single word of it.

It's not what he says, but what he does that matters and too much of what he says is at odds with what he's doing behind the scenes. I don't think I will ever trust a word this man says - and he can rail against bigotry and anti-semitism all he wants but as long as he's in bed with Steve Bannon and the NRA it's all for show an he's full of s--t.

by annemarie Wed 01 Mar 2017, 22:53

Definitely full of it that we all know.

by melbert Thu 02 Mar 2017, 02:56

Donnamarie wrote:Carol, you're right about Trump. There is always a conflict between what he says and what he does. The Washington Post had an article today fact checking his speech last night. It was full of inaccuracies or lies. Take your pick.

Alternative facts !!!

by carolhathaway Thu 02 Mar 2017, 06:33

Donna,
I read this article after you mentioned it, really informative.

From the comments I read about his speech, most were quite surprised that he's able to give a speech without screwing up, unfinished sentences and self-contradictory statements. In fact, that's something everybody who gives speeches, should know, so IMO no way to celebrate him for being able to read a well-written (Bannon?) speech from a teleprompter.

I'm quite worried about his idea about a new department at Homeland Security where people can report crimes committed by immigrants. This sounds more like a try to prove that immigrants are more criminal than Americans (which, in fact are mostly immigrants, just more generations ahead,), and to denunciate them. Because you have the police where you can file charges, and you already have Homeland Security. So it's either just populism or a new try to destabilize the country.

by party animal - not! Thu 02 Mar 2017, 11:07

For those who are interested. Two words. Jeff Sessions. And this important journalist

https://twitter.com/20committee/status/837112824820350980

@Isikoff. A brilliant investigative journalist for Yahoo

and

Louise Mensch's twitter page. Many more links in the detective work on this and the whole Russian thing (which in my view looks HUGE)

Washington Post is good but cannot give a link as I am not a subscriber, and the NYT because I am and my name's all over it!

by annemarie Thu 02 Mar 2017, 11:15

The whole idea is ridiculous, Homeland handles terrorists and that is a lot of work for them.

The police are for crimes committed by immigrants and all citizens who commit crimes.

He is trying to make it appear immigrants are terrorists which we know he has stated before.

I would like to hope this won't happen , but as we have seen no one other than the judges have the guts

to say no to him.

by LizzyNY Thu 02 Mar 2017, 16:30

annemarie - If there is definitive proof that there has been collusion between members of Trump's team and the Russians maybe we're getting closer to it being revealed to the public. If there is solid, undeniable proof of this he should be finished.

by annemarie Thu 02 Mar 2017, 18:00

I want to believe that will actin will be taken if undeniable proof is found. But, I also think the republicans want to get whatever they want passed so they will let him get away with just about anything .I feel like it will take something like him almost starting world war three for them to step in.

by annemarie Thu 02 Mar 2017, 18:02

Republicans pass on chance to see Trumps tax returns.

[size=36]These 23 Republicans Passed on a Chance to Get Trump's Tax Returns
Congress has a duty to make sure President Trump isn’t selling out the United States. These legislators are in more active dereliction of that duty than most.

The Serious Side - part 2 - Page 19 Lead_960

The Serious Side - part 2 - Page 19 Lead_960

Kevin Lemarque / Reuters

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CONOR FRIEDERSDORF
FEB 15, 2017
POLITICS

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Subscribe to The Atlantic’s Politics & Policy Daily, a roundup of ideas and events in American politics.

More than 800,000 Americans have signed a petition demanding the release of Donald Trump’s tax returns. Polls show that a majority of the country wants to see the documents.

On April 15, tens of thousands plan to take to the streets in protest of the president’s refusal to release his tax returns to the public. Some worry Trump is hiding financial ties to Russia. Others want to understand all the conflicts of interest that flow from his failure to divest from his business interests. Twenty thousand people say they’re going to a Los Angeles protest. Eleven thousand are signed up to attend in New York City. Folks will protest in Boise, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Raleigh, Pittsburgh, Knoxville, Salt Lake City, and other municipalities throughout the U.S.

And this week, the movement got a new champion and 23 new targets for ire.

The champion is Represenative Bill Pascrell, who sits on the Ways and Means Committee. He found that “a rarely invoked 1924 law could be used to examine President Donald Trump's tax returns for possible conflicts of interest and Constitutional violations,” USA Today reported. “The 1924 law gives congressional committees that set tax policy the power to examine tax returns. It was used in 1974 when Congress looked at President Richard Nixon's returns, and in 2014 when the Ways and Means Committee released confidential tax information as part of its investigation into the Internal Revenue Service's handling of applications for nonprofit status.”

This prompted Democrats on the committee to introduce an amendment Tuesday that would’ve triggered a request for the tax returns to the Treasury Department. “Unless this amendment is adopted, we will never see the president's tax returns while he's in office,” Representative Sander Levin told his Republican colleagues. “Before you stonewall this, I urge you to think twice. You'll only keep the issue alive.”

Last year, after some of Trump’s worrying foreign conflicts were exposed, I argued that Congress cannot fulfill its constitutional duty to check and balance the next president, or provide adequate oversight of the federal agencies he presides over, without a full, accurate understanding of his business holdings and debts. I urged Americans to tell their representatives that they favor an exhaustive inquiry into Trump’s finances to determine exactly where his interests and ours diverge.

The amendment was rejected on a party-line vote by these 23 Republicans (the ones with asterisks next to their names represent relatively competitive districts; the others are thought to be in “safe seats” for the GOP, and only vulnerable in primaries):

Kevin Brady of Texas
Sam Johnson of Texas
Devin Nunes of California
Pat Tiberi of Ohio
Dave Reichert of Washington*
Peter Roskam of Illinois*
Vern Buchanan of Florida
Adrian Smith of Nebraska
Lynn Jenkins of Kansas
Erik Paulsen of Minnesota*
Kenny Marchant of Texas
Diane Black of Tennessee
Tom Reed of New York
Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania
Jim Renacci of Ohio
Pat Meehan of Pennsylvania*
Kristi Noem of South Dakota
George Holding of North Carolina
Jason Smith of Missouri
Tom Rice of South Carolina
David Schweikert of Arizona
Jackie Walorski of Indiana
Carlos Curbelo of Florida*

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The vote could come back to haunt these legislators if the tax returns eventually come to light and reveal something that American voters feel they should’ve known, especially given the weak rationale offered by Republicans in defense of the vote.

“If Congress begins to use its powers to rummage around in the tax returns of the president, what prevents Congress from doing the same to average Americans?” House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady told reporters, according to CNBC. “Privacy and civil liberties are still important rights in this country, and the Ways and Means Committee is not going to start to weaken them.”

This strikes me as wildly unpersuasive. First, the law was reportedly used decades ago in the special case of a corrupt president and no slippery slope seems to have been stepped on. Second, a bright-line question easily presents itself to keep Ways and Means off that slope: “Do we have a Constitutional responsibility to check, balance, and oversee the person whose tax return we are requesting?” That ought to be sufficient to protect “average Americans.” Third, how many “average Americans” would even care if Ways and Means pulled their tax return, which consists of information they’re already forced to give the federal government? Fourth, there are about six dozen steps congressional Republicans could take to end privacy abrogations that are orders of magnitude more intrusive than a remote threat of a future Congress voting to look at one’s tax returns! Take ending the NSA program that collects details on the private communications of almost everyone.

The president of the United States is the most powerful person in the world. For that reason alone, he or she has the least expectation of privacy of any American citizen. Tax returns are documents that every modern president has released to the public. And financial ties and relationships bear directly on Trump’s official duties, particularly due to his failure to fully divest himself from his businesses. Meanwhile, multiple allies of the president have suspicious ties to a foreign government.

Given all that context, it is obscene for members of Congress to eschew a lawful way to examine the president’s tax returns and make sure that he isn’t selling out America.

They should be judged harshly by voters and history alike.
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by party animal - not! Thu 02 Mar 2017, 19:07

Just heard that the Senate have asked to speak to the British spy, Chris Steele.......

by Donnamarie Thu 02 Mar 2017, 19:22

PAN, isn't Steele still in hiding?

The Republicans' motives for not insisting on Trump releasing his returns are obvious. Any of us can figure that one out. They are using Trump for as long as they can to get at least some of their agenda through the Congress. Their lack of action on Trump's taxes and their general weak stance on the Russian hacking will come back to haunt them. I hope they get hurt bad in the midterm elections!

I think after this Sessions' brouhaha there is a good chance a special prosecutor will be appointed. If we can get a SERIOUS investigation going into ties between the Trump people and the Russians there is a good chance that Trump may have no choice but to release his tax returns. There are way too many connections between the people Trump associates with and Russian oligarchs. He keeps claiming he doesn't have or had any relationships with anyone in Russia. That in itself is a lie. He is hiding something in his returns. If it isn't about his money being tied to Russian business interests it may just be that he isn't half as rich as he claims.

by LizzyNY Thu 02 Mar 2017, 20:07

It just occurred to me that another reason Trump won't release his returns is that they might include information that could be damaging if used against him in a court case. He's always being sued by someone. Maybe there's something in his returns that could hurt him in court.

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