Corporations need tax breaks
so they can earn more money
to pour into campaigns and PACs
to lobby for bigger tax cuts
Spoiler alert: All you frothing fanatics who still think Donald Trump is the savior of the free world may want to stop reading at this point because the rest of what I’m about to say will not be very pleasant to those of you who to this point have refused to think for yourselves and this will only serve to stoke your anger.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t read it; you should. You should read the words of what any rational observer of the body politic might write about this blusterous buffoon we know as POTUS. To refuse to read or hear or to ignore the facts would cast you into that 35 percent core group of Trump supporters that I refer to as a cult. You continue to experience mind-altering donalgasms with each new tweet.
Okay, you’re already composing your response for this post’s comments section. You will say:
- That I am a flaming liberal (I’m not. In fact, I only left the Republican Party after more than 30 years of an uninterrupted record of voting Republican because of the likes of Bobby Jindal and Donald Trump);
- That my candidate Hillary Clinton lost the election (she was not my candidate; I really dislike her intensely, just not with the same intensity as that with which I loathe Donald Trump. And Hillary didn’t lose, the American people lost);
- That I can’t get past losing (what I can’t get past is having a POTUS who is a laughingstock to the rest of the world, who would accept the word of Vladimir Putin over our own intelligence agencies, who thinks it is more important to have a child molester in the U.S. Senate than a Democrat, and who finds it impossible to distinguish documented facts from his sorry version of the truth).
Since becoming president, Trump has been caught telling no fewer than 500 lies that are easily substantiated as such. Yes, all politicians lie. Former Gov. Edwin Edwards once said as much. But this idiot has taken it to a new level, lying through his teeth even as he had to know his every utterance and tweet is fact-checked and more often than not, debunked before the echo of his words has faded. A few examples:
- During the campaign, he promised to release his income tax reports. He lied.
- He claimed the crowd for his inauguration was the “largest audience to ever witness an inauguration.” He lied.
- During his speech at CIA headquarters, he repeated his claim that he opposed the war with Iraq. But he told Howard Stern in 2002 that he supported the war. He lied.
- Trump has repeatedly, without any evidence to back his claim, said he only lost the national popular vote because of widespread voter fraud. He lied.
- Speaking to business leaders at the White House, Trump said, “I’m a very big person when it comes to the environment. I have received awards on the environment.” He has never received any environmental awards. He lied.
- Trump claimed that immigration and Customs Enforcement and border agents “unanimously endorsed me for president.” He lied.
- He said the national homicide rate was “horribly increasing.” In fact, it is down significantly (except perhaps in Baton Rouge). He lied.
- He claimed two people were fatally shot in Chicago during President Obama’s last speech as president. Didn’t happen. He lied.
- He claimed he had “one of the best memories of all time” but later could not remember a meeting with George Papadopoulos, who confessed to lying to the FBI about meeting with Soviet agents. Here is a photo of that meeting.
He Lied.
- His “alternative facts” spokesperson Kellyanne Conway alluded to the “Bowling Green massacre” in defending Trump’s travel ban. There was no “Bowling Green massacre.” She lied for him.
- Trump claimed The New York Times was “forced to apologize to its subscribers for the poor reporting it did on my election win.” Never happened. He lied.
- Trump promised tax reform that would lower taxes for working Americans. The biggest cruelest LIE of them all.
And these are only a handful of the buckets of lies that have poured out of his mouth.
Just as cruel, and approaching a new level of stupid, is the position taken on the tax bill by Louisiana’s two senators, John Kennedy and Bill Cassidy. Cassidy’s support is baffling because he worked as a physician at Earl K. Long Hospital in Baton Rouge where he had to know the desperation of Louisiana’s poor, uninsured citizens.
Kennedy is more understandable. In addition to drinking week killer, he once ran a TV ad during his first campaign for state treasurer in which he said, “During my time as secretary of Revenue, I reduced paperwork for small businesses by 150 percent.”
How anything can be reduced more than 100 percent is one of the great unsolved mysteries of our time. The real irony, however, is that the claim came from a man who was asking us to put him in charge of the state’s financial investments. Talk about voodoo economics….
Kennedy has said he would vote against the tax bill if it contained the so-called “TRIGGER” provision, which would automatically abort the bill and revert to the present tax rates if the new bill did not perform as projected by the Republicans in Congress who keep promising they are from the government and that they are here to help us. And they’ll still respect us in the morning.
ILLUSTRATION OF PROJECTED EFFECTS OF TAX BILL
Those of you who have stayed with me to this point need to consider one other feature of the so-called “tax reform” package.
If you have children in college, who are headed for college in a couple of years, or if you have children who recently graduated from college, it might interest you to know that the interest rates on student LOANS will no longer be deductible under the new tax bill. Moreover, students on TOPS or who receive other tuition EXEMPTIONS will find that those exemptions will now count as income on which taxes will be due.
Of course, Trump and his congressional lap dogs—Cassidy, Kennedy, Garrett Graves and the rest of Louisiana’s Repugnantcan delegation included—will continue to lie, distort, twist and skew the facts to make you believe their tax REFORM is the best thing for you since Barry Goldwater and you will continue to drink the Kool Aid—because you want to believe them.
Never mind that you continue to vote against your own economic interests because the Repugnantcans continue to feed you the red meat of islamophobia, illegal immigrants, welfare cheats (who in fact take only a tiny fraction of what corporate America and Wall Street steal from taxpayers every day), Obamacare and gun rights. They do this in the knowledge that you will continue to elect a 70-year-old child predator as long as he waves a pistol in the air and displays the Ten Commandments.
You are being taken for fools, to be perfectly honest. The Republicans are holding a Bible in one hand, wrapping themselves in the flag and picking your pocket, all in one swift motion.
And you love them for it.
I don’t suppose any of you have ever wondered what became of the so-called Fiscal Hawks now that the Republicans have full control over everything in Washington. It’s kinda funny how you don’t hear anything about deficit reduction these days.
Louisiana Voice 
Agree, Tom! The unfairness of the proposed huge permanent tax cuts for corporations accompanied by tiny tax cuts lasting for only 8 years for individuals is about what you expect from the GOP. However, ignoring the certain catastrophic impact ($1.7 TRILLION!) of this monstrous tax bill on the deficit that the GOP was so obsessed with while Obama was President, really exposes their shallowness & hypocrisy.
Several weeks ago (last month maybe?) one of the Repub congress critters was quoted as saying that deficits only matter when Dems are in charge and not when Repubs are in charge. Hypocritical much?
After the tax debate last night on CNN, one of Don Lemon’s guests, in an attempt to defend the POTUS, pointed out that, even in his own ghost-written book, Trump admits to lying if it suits his purpose and that the people who voted for him and still support him accept this as being okay because it is just Trump being Trump and part of the art of his leadership and ability to make deals.
The POTUS is now reiterating his birther claims about Obama he earlier dropped; repeating his assertion he would have won the popular vote were it not for illegal votes; saying that the Access Hollywood tape he earlier dismissed as locker room talk may have been faked; asserting that all major news sources present only fake news, and he retweeted a fake video portraying a Muslim gratuitously attacking a Dutch boy on crutches and another destroying a statue of the Virgin Mary- and these are just a few things he’s done over the past couple of days.
Has at least 1/3 of our country literally lost its mind? .
Stephen: yes, or so it seems…
I agree with Edith.
* in item about major news sources, I omitted,”…except Fox News”
This tax bill is immoral. It is emblematic of what this country has become now that conservatives control Washington and so many states (not that trump is a true conservative; he was a Democrat supporting reproductive freedom when it suited his purposes and now he’s just all-out trump). We are hurtling toward becoming a true oligarchy where the political class’s controllers own most of the wealth and the rest of us suffer. Anyone who saw the reporting yesterday, of American citizens protesting the tax bill in congress being forcibly removed and handcuffed should have been chilled by the sight. Will we soon be jailed for dissenting with the rulers?
Just wonder what it will take for uneducated Americans to realize that that they have sold their souls, their freedom (except of course, the liberty to possess enough firepower to massacre masses of humans) and their comfortable lives, complete with home ownership, affordable health care, enough to eat and still have some discretionary income for some recreation, all to be able to proclaim that they gave everything else up so as a society we can prevent reproductive freedom, immigration of non-white people and force faux Christian beliefs on everyone. (sorry for the run on sentence)
We have reached a shameful stage in our history where people state they would rather have sexual abusers running the country than someone of a hated political party. Where we actively punish young people for pursuing higher education by proposing to tax scholarships, and punish the less advantaged, including children, by taking away access to affordable healthcare (so much for being “pro-life”), all to give the rich more riches. We have become an immoral country and I’m happy to be a part of the resistance. Every vote counts and every election counts. Time for all moral Americans to stand up, and as that social justice warrior Saul Alinsky used to say, “take back our country.” Funny how the tea party excoriated him, but co-opted his slogan.
GOP in charge never produced anything good for the people, despite rump’s lies. I assume your readers are politically active enough to have registered. Given LA Sec. of State’s active suppression of votes by creating document hurdles LA voters, especially minorities, have been blocked even when trying to register. I urge your readers who care about our 1 person/1 vote democracy to actively participate in voter registration and turnout. That is the only way we will take our country back.
Alicia, You said “Given LA Sec. of State’s active suppression of votes by creating document hurdles LA voters, especially minorities, have been blocked even when trying to register.” Please elaborate with facts.
I think you’ve pretty much summed up Trump in a nutshell or at least what’s been revealed so far. You know more people may continue reading than you think. Judging by his sinking popularity numbers I have to think that there are a sizable number of people with secret regrets.
I hear all of you. Now, what is the solution? Will these Republican elected officials be re-elected? How can we help their cult followers/voters understand the harm they are doing to themselves and others? I am totally demoralized when watching how easily our Republican Senators and Representatives just out right lie. When challenged, they bluster and lie some more. Their lies are so easily fact checked and they are so arrogant, they just do not care – confident in their control of their base. We are truly corrupt as a nation. How can we ask for God to bless America when we are so far removed from seeking his blessings…? Enough questions for this go round…
The tax bill sucks. But that happens when half of Congress is occupied by communists. And half of the supposed good guys are swamp creatures that lie to get elected and don’t really want the change that got them elected. Lay off of Trump. You sat by for 8 years as Obama raped and pillaged our country. He turned the IRS and intelligence agencies against us. He made deals with Iran as they chanted “death to America”. Trump isn’t anyone’s savior but at least I don’t have to wonder if he truly hates this country like I did with Osama..I mean Obama.
Your comment reflects a very different reality from mine and the last half simply attacks a person who has not been president for almost a year. I guess it is good for you that you no longer have to wonder about at least one thing. However, I find myself wondering exactly how much our current POTUS actually cares about our country. I think I know how much he cares about himself.
Wow. You did it this time! Perfecto! I don’t know if Omaha hated America but he surely loved what he collected from it and he is still enjoying his fruits of our labor. I never trusted the man from day one because of where he came from and who his ancestors were. I still say he is Muslim because he sure had a whole lot of Muslims in high places in Washington. No one will make me believe that arrangement was done by accident. I still believe he plays a part of what is going to happen in our future and that is scary to me and I don’t trust him, never did and never will.
He came from Hawaii. What Muslims did he have in “high places” in Washington? If you know they were there, you must know who they were. Please name them.
Your comment that you believe Obama was a Muslim, which he wasn’t and isn’t, implies that being a Muslim is in some way insidious and defective and that a believers in Islam can not be trusted or tolerated. Wrong! The vast majority, like 99.999%, are law abiding, honest, hardworking individuals striving to make the world better for themselves and their families.
However, just as in Christianity-pause to remember the Oklahoma bombing-the fanatical fringe elements of Islam get the most publicity and exposure giving the religion a bad image.
The fact that an individual is a Muslim is not any worse than being a Baptist, Pentecostal, Lutheran or a Catholic. In all faiths one will find the “good, the bad and ugly” members, that should in no way imply that all members of a particular faith are not worth respect and consideration.
Valerie Jarret? There is one Muslim and she was in the White House. I run out of fingers and toes counting how many times he had the Muslim Brotherhood visit the White House. He backed Egypt when the Muslim Brotherhood took control and whined when the Egyptian Military threw them out. Not Muslim? Obama was the Manchurin Candidate if there ever was one.
Excellent observations, Tom. What happened to the Republican Party? They used to be concerned about the national debt. How can any honorable American think this “Moron,” to quote Tilerson, is fit for any public office?
Well Tom, I’m glad to see you had something to do over the Thanksgiving holiday! I did wonder what you might be up to and as usual you came through again. Never had a doubt you would. I would suggest though that you and those who stroke you so passionately, to get another booth over at the cafe. The one in the back,in the corner, in the dark is having its affects on you I think. Maybe try one by the window for a few times and let some light in. I would have guessed by now that even you would know, it’s not gonna matter who’s up there in the WH cause whether democrats or republicans, nothing is gonna get done for the regular working folks.
Amen Bud, on the part of it doesn’t matter who is in the WH and nothing is gonna get done for the regular folks. Look, I am not brain dead and certainly don’t think that Trump has done everything the way everyone would have wanted it to be done, myself included. I would take Trump over Obama Lama any day of the week and twice on Sundays, though. As far as Hillary goes, well, I can’t even say anything decent about her in one hundred lifetimes, so that is that.
It doesn’t matter to me where Tom sits because it is his blog and he has a right to speak out any day, any time, any where and I would stand up for his right to do so along with the rest of his blogger supporters. Freedom of speech is just that, freedom to express what he feels and he did a good job on this one. I always wait in anticipation of what is coming next when he hasn’t posted something new for a couple of days because Tom is like waiting for Christmas morning when we all wake up to see what we will get. He is a trip for sure and a good reporter. He always keep everyone on their toes. You never, ever know what is coming next and that is what is so exciting about his blog.
I agree with you Bud and hope things in Washington change soon because us regular folks need all the help we can get and more. I pray for that everyday because the America we used to know is going down the drain like butter on a hot grill.
I would love to see America be Great Again, that would be a blessing for everyone, no matter what political party they supported. Party really doesn’t matter as long as they do the right thing for “we the people, that being, all the people, the rich, the poor and yes, us regular folks too.”
Barbara, I do like Tom’s blog and do enjoy reading it. Believe me when I say I was being very facetious with my comments on where he sits at his restaurant, knowing well where / who he borrowed that catchy phrase from. He certainly has the right to express his views and opinions to which I support as a freedom loving American. While I may not always agree with him, as is my right, I will always support his and others rights to express theirs. Reading opposing views can only make one examine his/her position a little closer, which I do. Occasionally I will stir the pot to see the reactions, that I enjoy too.
I think you have misplaced your rage about the tax bill. The is all congress doing. If you think they will pass something trump wants after 11 months of nothing your wrong. And if they do it won’t be a Trump bill but he will claim it.
Tax bills come from congress remember that from civics ? That said I highly doubt their ability to even agree on what this should look like, that there won’t be a bill at all.
And the swamp I want to drain is Congress, including all but one of our elected members and I’m not really sure about him.
Don’t waste your thoughts on the hardcore base. They are still obsessed with our former black president. Rascist much? They will suffer the most if anything is passed. The tradgedy of poor protoplasm.
Interesting article, and apparently 30 to 35% of the country are idiots for supporting Trump. Well maybe the idiot percentage is more like 60% for those who believe that entrenched members of Congress actually represent us. I understand the hatred for the republican party, the party has changed as has the democratic party. I find it interesting that a lot of readers spent a lot of time protecting Obama and attacking Trump. I voted for the lesser of two evils and as long as McConnell and his greasy companions fight Trump, I made the right choice.