Sir Tiny Hands *Wants* the Government to Shut Down

From the New York Times…

President Trump said Tuesday that the United States needed “a good ‘shutdown’” this fall to force a partisan confrontation over federal spending and suggested that he might move to reverse longstanding Senate rules that effectively require a supermajority to approve most major pieces of legislation.

The declarations, in two posts on Twitter, appeared aimed at defending a compromise spending package that Congress is likely to clear this week, but that fails to accomplish many of Mr. Trump’s stated goals — including allocating any money to build a wall on the southern border, a project that was his most talked-about campaign promise. Conservative activists have criticized the agreement as one that does not address their priorities and swells the deficit, but the White House has signaled that the president would accept it rather than set off a government shutdown.

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He Actually Thought Being President Would be EASIER Than His Last Job

I… how… I don’t…

From Reuters…

He misses driving, feels as if he is in a cocoon, and is surprised how hard his new job is.

President Donald Trump on Thursday reflected on his first 100 days in office with a wistful look at his life before the White House.

“I loved my previous life. I had so many things going,” Trump told Reuters in an interview. “This is more work than in my previous life. I thought it would be easier.”

A wealthy businessman from New York, Trump assumed public office for the first time when he entered the White House on Jan. 20 after he defeated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in an upset.

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Orange Julius Caesar Proposes Tax Cuts that Help the Wealthy

What an obvious title. We all knew that’s what he’d do…

From the New York Times…

President Trump on Wednesday proposed sharp reductions in individual and business income tax rates and a radical reordering of the tax code that would significantly benefit the wealthy, but he offered no explanation of how the plan would be financed as he rushed to show progress before the 100-day mark of his presidency.

Mr. Trump’s skeletal outline of a tax package, unveiled at the White House in a single-page statement filled with bullet points, was less a plan than a wish list. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Gary D. Cohn, the director of Mr. Trump’s National Economic Council, laid out the bare bones to reporters, part of a mad dash toward the administration’s 100th day on Saturday that has included the resurrection of a health care bill, near-daily signings of executive orders and the possible withdrawal of the United States from the North American Free Trade Agreement.

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The FCC Is Destroying Net Neutrality

From the Washington Post…

Tech companies and Internet providers are poised for another dramatic showdown as the head of the Federal Communications Commission revealed a plan Wednesday for rolling back his predecessor’s rules mandating an open Internet.

The proposal from FCC Chairman Ajit Pai marks the first step toward undoing a key decision of the Obama era, one that forced Internet providers to behave more like legacy telephone companies. The stricter rules for ISPs had made it illegal to block or slow down websites for consumers — and they paved the road for other policies, such as one governing online privacy, which was overturned in a separate controversial move by Congress and President Trump earlier this year.

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National Monuments to be Opened for Development?!?

Wow… seriously? This is entirely unprecedented and utterly ridiculous…

From Reuters…

U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to allow national monument designations to be rescinded or reduce the size of sites as the administration pushes to open up more federal land to drilling, mining and other development.

Trump’s order is part of an effort to reverse many of the environmental protections implemented by his predecessor, Democratic President Barack Obama that Trump said were hobbling economic growth. Trump’s agenda is being cheered by industry but enraging conservationists.

Legal challenges are expected because no president has ever rescinded a monument designation.

In announcing the order on Wednesday Republican Trump said Obama’s use of the 1906 Antiquities Act to create monuments was an “egregious abuse of federal power” that allowed the federal government to “lock up” millions of acres of land and water.

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Things for Immigrants are Just Getting Worse…

From the New York Times…

For more than 15 years, jails that hold immigrants facing deportation have had to follow a growing list of requirements:

Notify immigration officials if a detainee spends two weeks or longer in solitary confinement. Check on suicidal inmates every 15 minutes, and evaluate their mental health every day. Inform detainees, in languages they can understand, how to obtain medical care. In disciplinary hearings, provide a staff member who can advocate in English on the detainee’s behalf.

But as the Trump administration seeks to quickly find jail space for its crackdown on illegal immigration, it is moving to curtail these rules as a way to entice more sheriffs and local officials to make their correctional facilities available.

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Republicans Are Forcing Gorsuch Through…

From the Washington Post…

Republicans on Thursday cleared the way for Judge Neil Gorsuch to be confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court, overcoming a historic Democratic blockade by changing the rules of the U.S. Senate — a move that highlighted the fierce partisanship that has seized Congress.

The long-anticipated rules change now means that all presidential nominees for executive branch positions and the federal courts need only a simple-majority vote to be confirmed by senators.

At this point, we can all expect to say Justice Neil Gorsuch.

Fuck.

Agent Orange Bombs Syria

I literally don’t even know how to title this. I’m so fucking mad…

U.S. Launches Missiles at Syrian Base Over Chemical Weapons Attack

The United States fired 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at Syria overnight in response to what it believes was a chemical weapons attack that killed more than 100 people.

At least six people were killed, Syria claimed, but the Pentagon said civilians were not targeted and the strike was aimed at a military airfield in Homs.

All but one of the missiles hit their intended target, one U.S. military official told NBC News. The other missile failed.

The strike completed a policy reversal for President Donald Trump — who once warned America to stay out of the conflict — and drew angry responses from Damascus and its main ally, Russia.

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CNN’s Alisyn Camerota Asks Agent-Orange-Voters How His 60 Days Have Been

I really… really… want to comment on this, but… I can’t. I honestly don’t know what to say to this.

It’s terrifying, frankly.

What I will say is this… one thing many people say, and really do believe, in many cases, is that these conservatives and these conservative ideals are dying out. However, that belies a lack of understanding of how things get passed on from generation to generation. Sure, people are getting older today, but they’re also having children and grand-children who are being brought up to believe the same things. These extreme right-wing views infect each generation like a virus, and I don’t see the virus going extinct any time soon…

From Alternet… (ignore the rather hyperbolic title)

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