The Reviews Are In - Fake News on the State of the Union

Here's What Prominent People Said

"I crossed the Delaware just to hear it"  - G. Washington (quoted by P. Ryan)

"I can't believe I fought to get women the right to vote for this idiot" - S. B. Anthony

"Makes my Gettysburg Address sound like the Oscar Meyer weiner jingle" - A Lincoln (quoted by D. Trump)

"I have a nightmare" - M. L. King, Jr.

"I would have put the entire speech in Hamlet" - W. Shakespeare (quoted by M. Pence)

"And they call me the King of Lies, I have to move over, there's a new King" - Satan

"That's not the way it is" - W. Conkite

"Donnie, make an appointment for a session on my counch" - S. Freud

"I would sexually harass this man after hearing this, and I am not even gay" - H. Weinstein

"Ich bein nein eine Trumper" - J. Kennedy

"# @ % & # + =" - R. Pryor

Not Able to Impose Literacy Testing for Voting – Kentucky to Impose Literacy Tests for Health Care

Going After Low Income Folks One Barrier at a Time

Kentucky wants to keep low income people off of health care. Well not Kentucky per se, it's the ultra conservative Governor and the Republicans who will stop at no cruelty in order to punish low income people. See in their minds poverty is the result of poor character, and the low income people, particularly the ones that need health care and cannot afford it are the lowest of them all.

So Kentucky is getting permission to impose work requirements on receiving Medicaid, never mind that many able bodied recipients are already working and those that are not are typically unable to physically do so. Now they want to add a health literacy test to the equation.

Kentucky says the courses, along with the bigger elements of the recently approved waiver it received from federal Medicaid rules, will help to “empower individuals to improve their health.”

A leading health experts says it better than we can.

“If these topics are taught at all in primary education, they certainly aren’t addressed consistently or in an evidence-based way,” said Harold Pollack, a professor at the University of Chicago who was a co-author of a book on basic financial education. “But singling out the Medicaid population for classes as a condition for access to insurance suggests that shrinking and stigmatizing the program, not literacy, is the goal.”

Conservatives probably agree, after all that is their intent. Kentucky conservatives, setting the standard for cruelty for the 21^st century.

Here's a Typical Republican Candidate – Running For Senate from West Va. On His Record

Criminal Record That Is

A man whose management of a coal company resulted in death of miners is running as a Republican for the Senate. Here is the scoop from the beautiful Mountain State.

Convicted ex-coal CEO woos working class, opening Senate bid

• By JOHN RABY Associated Press

LOGAN, W.Va. (AP) — A former coal company CEO who went to prison for charges stemming from the deadliest U.S. mine disaster in decades kicked off his U.S. Senate campaigning Thursday, seeking to persuade a largely working class audience that he identified with them. But one father present whose son died in the 2010 tragedy called the GOP businessman's jump into politics "more of a slap in our face."

Normal people, not Republican coal mine operators would be appalled that their mismanagement resulted in the death of miners. For conservatives, that appears to be a badge of honor, a voucher that is redeemed by a seat in the Senate.

Kimberly Clark to Use Tax Cut to Fire Thousands

Huh

Remember how the Trump tax cut was supposed to stimulate job growth.  Well the retail products company Kimberly Clark is going to use their tax cut to pay for severance and other costs of firing a large amount of their work force.

"Restructurings typically come with upfront costs for the companies, as they pay workers severance or renegotiate leases. In a conference call with analysts on Tuesday, Kimberly-Clark’s chief financial officer, Maria Henry, said “cash flow benefits” from the Republican tax cut would help fund “the restructuring program over the next few years.” She said the tax savings would also be used to make capital investments and to “allocate significant capital to shareholders.”

Gosh, expect the Republicans to really publicize this.  Oh, and that part about allocating capital to shareholders.  That means huge payments to shareholders at the same time regular employees get a nice pink slip. 

"In addition to announcing job cuts on Tuesday, Kimberly-Clark said it would raise its quarterly dividend by 3.1 percent this year. Last year, the company spent about $900 million repurchasing its own shares."

 Exactly what one might expect from Republican policies.

Atheists to America: Just Another Reason To Come Over to Our Side

Millions of Americans Believe God Made Trump President

A surprisingly fascinating book explains why.

A Headline We Can Believe

Nikki Haley Rips 'Offensive' And 'Disgusting' Rumor Of Affair With Trump That Stemmed From Michael Wolff's Book

Missouri Gov. Greitens Wins “Most Disgusting Person of the Month” Award

Strong Candidate to Win “Most Disgusting Person of the Year”

Missouri elected a Republican Governor last year, you know one of these 'holier than thou' and 'family values' person who thinks God has called upon him to cut taxes for the wealthy and harm low income families. Yep, just another Republican.

But it turns out the Governor is a rather disgusting person. He has admitted having a long affair with a woman who, conveniently, turned out not to be his wife. He is accused of but denies blackmailing her to keep things quiet. And he is unrepentant. He gave an interview in which, of course he didn't answer all the uncomfortable questions. Here is what is alleged.

After Greitens confirmed the affair in a statement that night, other media also reported the affair and allegations he had taken a nude photo of the woman.

The report included an audio recording of a conversation between a woman and her then-husband — recorded secretly by the husband — in which the woman said Greitens had bound her hands and blindfolded her, taken a photo of her partially nude and warned her to remain silent during an encounter in his St. Louis home.

But the Gov says everything is ok, nothing to see here and he will stay in office. Of course there is this indirect admission of some pretty ugly behavior.

Greitens did not directly say “yes” or “no” when asked Saturday if he had bound and blindfolded and taken a photo of the woman.

And true to form, Greitens says he has the support of his friends. Of course with friend like that . . .

 Finally, like all so-called religious scumbags he invokes God.

“I’m very confident that God has a way of bringing good from difficulty. God has a way of helping people in the midst of pain to emerge with wisdom,” Greitens said. “God has a way of helping you to move through suffering and actually become stronger.”

A spokesperson for God stated, and we quote “What a turd”. (Okay that's not true).

Pa. Congressman Blames Victim in His Sexual Harassment Case; Claims He is 'Wounded'

Course He Paid Huge Settlement with Taxpayer Money

The situation of Congressman Pat Meehan (R, Pa) is especially disturbing. The Congressman is, or was a member of the House Ethics Committee. He was accused of sexual harassment by a member of his staff and he settled the case by paying her with taxpayer money. He never disclosed this.

Now the jerk is whining about how hard this has been for him.

WASHINGTON — Under fire for using taxpayer money to settle a sexual misconduct complaint from a former aide, Representative Patrick Meehan, Republican of Pennsylvania, said Tuesday that the woman “specifically invited” his intimate communications, and that he was emotionally wounded when she filed a complaint against him.

And what else happened? Oh, this.

Mr. Meehan denied crossing the line into impropriety, but said in an interview that when the woman told him last year that she had started a relationship with someone outside the office, he “didn’t respond to it as well as I would like to have.”

Now people that have done nothing wrong don't do this.

The New York Times reported that Mr. Meehan, 62, a married father of three, had entered into a confidential agreement to settle the complaint brought by the aide, who is decades his junior. She left the office after filing a complaint alleging that Mr. Meehan became hostile after she rebuffed his romantic overtures, sources familiar with the situation told The Times.

And yes, that settlement was done with his government paid office funds. But maybe this is just a characteristic of Republicans, paying money when they did nothing wrong. After all Donnie paid over $100,000 to a woman not to disclose a relationship that he did not have. So why pay? Well these are just generous people.

Republican Legislator Promotes Racist Views on Drugs

He Must Love Justice Thomas's Rant to Support Racist Juror

This Forum reported on how Justice Thomas seemed to not only tolerate but to excuse a racist juror who voted to sentence an African American defendant to death.  Now we have a Kansas legislator promoting a racist views on drug usage.

"Attempting to explain at a weekend legislative coffee session with constituents why “all drugs” were outlawed in the United States in the 1930s, Rep. Stephen Alford offered the following, according to The Garden City Telegram: “One of the reasons why, I hate to say it, it’s that the African Americans, they were basically users and they basically responded the worst off to those drugs just because their character makeup, their genetics and that.”

At the risk of stating the obvious, this is not true."

Gosh, why would any minority, why would anyone who is not a racist vote for these people?

Trump Could Kill Thousands of Jobs With Tariffs on Solar Panels

And He Will, Just for the Fun of It

The Trumpmaster has decidedt to put import restrictions on Chinese made solar panels to protect inefficient U. S. manufacturers. Here is what could happen.

The prospect of the tariff poses a significant threat to the growth of solar in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, according to data compiled for the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) by GTM Research, a Rutgers University economist and the Hughes Hubbard & Reed law firm.

The analysis concluded the tariff would put $5.6 billion of capital investment between 2018 and 2021 at risk in the four states, along with nearly 15,000 jobs. Up to 9,000 megawatts of solar projects could be canceled, it said.

The report supports a claim made earlier this month by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, who told the U.S. Trade Representative that “any increase in solar panel prices will destroy billions of dollars’ worth of investment and result in thousands of job losses” in the state.

Trump has not said, “Hey, I screwed the middle class on tax cuts and now I can screw them on jobs, and nobody who voted for mewill care.” But everyone knows he is thinking it.

Hey smucks who put him in office, nice going. Sorry if you lose your job.

Sorry people, you voted for him, you gonna lose, big time.

Protesters Should Praise, Not Condemn Chuck Schumer and Other Comments on the Shutdown

Reality Bites

1. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is being attacked for ending the government shutdown with only a promise of a vote on immigrant legislation. This is rediculous. What exactly did these people think? That after a few days the Republicans would cave and give the Dems everything they wanted? The Dems got CHIP funding and they got the issue great visibility. They have more chances, the first coming up on February 8 and later a chance coming up on debt ceiling legislation.

This was the first battle in a war to get bigoted Republicans to sign on to legislation protecting young adults who were brought to this nation as children. The war is not over, it is only beginning. The Dems did a good job.

2. Wasn't  everyone, including Republicans just overjoyed that Trumpie sat on the sidelines. A weekend without obnoxious tweets and comments from Trumper. Oh joy!

3. Paul Ryan is soon to be in the headlights. Ryan will either have to decline to bring an immigration bill to the floor of the House, thus angering the nation, or bring the bill up and face the wrath of his Caucus.

4. Dreamers' are a wedge issue. The issue can easily split the Republican party if the Dems play this right.

5. Trump looked like a fool in all of this. Okay, not hard from Trump to do.

6. The media is quick to judge and has a short term view. This is a long term issue.

Israeli Treatment of Women Journalist Embarrasses That Nation and the Jewish People

Ultra Orthodox No Different Than Militant Islamic Clerics

It is disgusting that while the Vice President is in Israel sucking up to the Israeli government the women journalists accompanying him are being treated like crap.

First of all there was this.

At Netanyahu’s office on Monday morning, a visiting female journalist from Finland’s state television was asked to remove her bra during an overly zealous and demeaning security check. When she refused, she was prevented from covering Pence's news conference with Netanyahu.

But the main insult was the segregation of women at the Wailing Wall.

Tal Schneider, a prominent Israeli journalist, tweeted: “Separation at the Western Wall. The women stuck in isolation and can not photograph, work. Women journalists are second-class citizens. The American women photographers are frantically yelling at the representatives of the White House.

That the White House had no problem with this says it all about the Trump folks and women. But this does tremendous damage to the Jewish people. Israeli once was a leader in equal rights. It had a female Prime Minister long before the United States had a woman as head of state (well actually the U. S. has never had a woman head of state). But the country is in the grip of the Ultra Orthodox who consider women second, or maybe third class citizens.

This has to stop, and the Presidency has to be the place that leads the opposition not that acts in complicity.

Former NJ Gov. Christie: Stand in LIne at Security Like Everyone Else

An Arrogant Pol Gets What He Deserves

The last major picture everyone has of former NJ Gov. Christie is his lying on the beach that was reserved for him, while the rest of the population was shut out of the beach because he shut down the government.  What an arrogant asshole.  Now it turns out Christie is just one of us, again.

Mortal Again: Christie Blocked at VIP Entrance to Newark Airport

As Bloomberg reports:

Meet Chris Christie, former New Jersey governor and current nobody at Newark Liberty International Airport.

The two-term Republican, who left office on Jan. 16, was blocked from a VIP entrance he had used for eight years, and directed to stand in Transportation Security Administration screening lines at Terminal B like anyone else, according to a person familiar with the incident.

Yeah, about as good as it gets.

Which is Worst? Trump's Racism or the Republicans Who Pander to Him

Like the World's Toughest Question

One benefit, maybe the only benefit of Trumper's racist rants is that they have exposed just how craven and racist many of his Republican supporters are. For example, House Speaker Paul Ryan said the comments by the shithole about nations that were not, well, white was that they were 'unfortunate' and 'not helpful'.

But the real prizes go to Republican Senators. For example Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, he who would lead the charge to take health care from low income people.

Cassidy indicated he agreed with Faulker’s suggestion about there being something problematic with Durbin’s move to inform the American public about racist remarks made by their president.

“I totally agree with you,” Cassidy said. “It undermines trust going forward. Whatever was or was not said, if you disagree with what the fellow or the gal said, then you disagree with them, publicly then. But to go out and kind of, ah, report it, is going to undermine trust — not just for this issue, but for further issues.”

Yeah, letting the voters know the President is highly bigoted, just not right. And there are Senators Cotton and Perdue.

Cassidy isn’t the only Republican senator suggesting Durbin somehow acted in bad faith. Friday afternoon, Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AK) and David Perdue (R-GA) released a statement saying “regrettably, it seems that not everyone is committed to negotiating in good faith.”

While Cotton and Perdue stop short of denying that Trump made racist comments, they add, “In regards to Senator Durbin’s accusation, we do not recall the President saying these comments specifically but what he did call out was the imbalance in our current immigration system.”

And of course the legion of commentators, Republican flunkies (read elected officials) have all joined forces to say, well, say nothing.   

Grading the Dems on the Short Shutdown ; A Nice B+

With Extra Credit For Keeping Trumpie in D. C.

The Democrats did about as well as they could have done in the recent shutdown of the federal government. They got the Republicans to play their only big chip, Children’s Health Insurance Program funding and they got the Republicans to publicly commit to at least considering protecting DACA young people. In the public's view, with its short attention span the GOP did agree to protect DACA folks.

As an extra benefit the Democrats kept Donnie from going to Florida, playing golf and hobnobbing with people who were paying $100,000 to $250,000 to be with him, (not the idle rich, the stupid rich) and kept him from crowing about his one year in office. They also showed him up to be the inept negotiator and problem solver that he is.

All in all, pretty good, and while Republicans are out of weapons the Democrats still have funding and the debt ceiling to use to get full protection for young adults and children brought to this nation.

Opioid Crisis in New Hampshire Illustrates Failure of Government

Tragedy From Conservatives' Policy

For a variety of reasons the deaths from drug abuse are very high in New Hampshire. The NYT has the reasons for this, and they revolve around state government not doing what other states do to help people live.

A big reason for the problem is that New Hampshire is close to the supply of illegal drugs in Massachusetts. But as the Times reports

The researchers noted other factors, too:

• A shortage of workers in addiction and recovery. Northeast states have an average of 15.5 doctors per 100,000 residents who can prescribe Suboxone and other medication-assisted treatments; New Hampshire has seven.

• No needle exchanges, which can reduce the transmission of diseases like hepatitis C and save health care costs. New Hampshire finally legalized needle exchanges in June, long after many other states had done so, but did not fund them. Dartmouth medical students, using donations and grants, opened the first needle exchange last summer in a Claremont, N.H., soup kitchen, but it was shut down in October because it was too close to a school.

• “Live Free or Die.” The researchers said the New Hampshire ethos of “self-sufficiency and individualism” could inhibit some residents from seeking help. And for some, they said, the state’s “Live Free or Die” motto might justify risky behaviors. The state does not require drivers to wear seatbelts. It allows motorcyclists to ride without helmets. And state liquor stores are right on the major highways.

So yes there is a cost to denying government the resources it needs to do what government is supposed to do. And those who do so are not the ones who suffer and die, are they?

Two Faced Mitt Romney to Run for Senate as Friend and Foe of Trump

And Other Genuine Fake News

1. It is expected that former Massachusetts Gov. now part time resident of the state of Utah Mitt Romney will run for the Senate. Mitt did not say this when asked about his support of Trump. “Everyone knows how I feel, I love Donnie and will support him when it is politically advisable to do so, but he is not qualified to be President of anything and I will oppose him when it is politically advisable to do so, and there will be occasions when I do both. How? Come on people, don't you know me after all these years?”

2. After denying that Trumpie said 'shithole' Senator Perdue of Georgia is so pleased with himself he is going on the Professional Liars Tour.

3. Trump lawyers deny that they paid a Vegas woman $130,000 to shut her up. They expect to announce that Trump just paid the money out of concern for her student loans.

4. Sarah Sanders, the Press Secretary is loudly claiming that Trump didn't say what he said is on the tape with the WSJ. She cited the well know liberal bias of tape recorders and argued that when she says something it is true regardless of what you may hear.

Michael Gerson Tries and Fails to Make the Case for Anti-Abortion Rights

No Mention of the Rights of Women

After leaving the Bush White House conservative Michael Gerson has had a career as a columnist for the Washington Post. Because he has written thoughtful commentary at times he deserves a listen-to when he tries to justify eliminating the right of women to end a pregnancy. His main argument is that by outlawing abortion the nation is expanding rather than contracting rights and inclusion.

It is the antiabortion movement that appeals to inclusion. It argues for a more expansive definition of the human community. It opposes ending or exploiting one human life for the benefit of another. There are heart-rending stories that prevent the simplistic application of this approach. But most of the antiabortion men and women I know have the genuine and selfless motivation of trying to save innocent lives.

Of course the saving of innocent lives by the anti-abortion rights people does not include saving the life of the infant or the child once they are born. A large portion, almost certainly a majority of those in the anti-rights camp oppose government help with health care, education and other benefits that allow children to lead decent lives.

But the real and fatal error in Mr. Gerson's piece is his total lack of defense, or even recognition of a woman's right to control her own body. One must conclude that Mr. Gerson has no response to the position that the state must not, can not force a woman to carry a pregnancy to term during a time when the fetus is not viable. And because he has no response, Mr. Gerson simply ignores that argument. In that way he joins the rest of the anti-abortion rights movement, men and women who would use the power of government to enforce their desires for how a woman should behave on woman who do not want them to do so.

And of course if Mr. Gerson and others really wanted to stop abortions, they would spend their time and resources championing family planning. End unwanted pregnancies and you end abortions. It's that simple.

For Once - Dems Do the Right Thing

The Politics Don't Matter - The Lives of Children and Men and Women Brought to the Nation as Children Are More Important.

Missouri's Republican Gov. Scandal is Also About Policy

In Addition to the Gov. Lacking Basic Morals

Missouri is currently being roiled by the fact that its recently minted Republican Governor admitted to cheating on his wife and family and is credibly accused of trying to blackmail his paramour. But equally troubling is what the Missouri Republicans count as progress.

Todd Graves, the chairman of the Missouri Republican Party, said the governor’s style had hurt him with his political relationships but had resulted in some legislative victories, too.

Mr. Greitens achieved the passage of right-to-work legislation, long a goal among the state’s Republicans. He has signed into law bills that make it more difficult to sue an employer for discrimination and restrict how much plaintiffs can receive in injury lawsuits. And he has gotten the state to withhold $140 million that was slated to be spent on low-income housing tax credits.

Wow, that's kinda nice isn't. The war on low income, union and middle income families is alive and well in the state.

Republicans Want to Change Higher Education Finance and Rules

Some Good and a Lot of Bad

The college and university system in the U. S. is a disaster. The schools themselves are bloated bureaucracies. The faculty is overpaid and inefficient. Students leave college with large debt and in many cases no real career prospects. The athletic department needs drive the college. And for profit schools have left thousands with massive debts and no futures.

Republicans are going to try and change this.

The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives this week will propose sweeping legislation that aims to change where Americans go to college, how they pay for it, what they study, and how their success—or failure—affects the institutions they attend.

As usual with Republicans, part of the program is a bail out/gift to private sector schools who rip off low income, low performing students.

One of the biggest winners in the new higher education legislation is the for-profit college industry, which faced a major crackdown under the Obama administration, amid concerns about students who failed to finish programs and were left saddled with major debt and no way to pay for it.

The rollback of those regulations has been under way since President Donald Trump took office. The reauthorization proposal goes a step further by prohibiting future action by the Education Department on what’s known as the gainful employment regulation, which ties access to federal student aid to whether career programs lead to decent-paying jobs.

This will be a terrible outcome for the most vulnerable students. But some of the reforms may actually benefit students and their families.

As part of its plan to rein in student loans, graduate students and parents of undergraduates would face so far unspecified caps on how much they could borrow for tuition and living expenses—instead of borrowing whatever schools charge.

The change could cut into enrollment and potentially siphon off billions of dollars a year from universities.

This would end the free ride for colleges and force them to clean up their act, to become more responsive to their student body instead of themselves. But of course, since this is a Republican effort it has to have punitive measures.

The bill would also end loan-forgiveness programs for public-service employees, who currently can make 10 years of payments and then have their remaining debt forgiven, tax-free. It would also eliminate a program that ties monthly payments to income levels for private-sector workers. Current participants in both programs would be grandfathered in.

Reform is needed, and maybe just maybe common sense and Democrats could get rid of enough of the bad stuff to make the bill a net positive.

Hope doth spring eternal.

The Lies and Distortions of Andy Puzder in the WSJ Op Ed Section

Why Can't Conservatives Just Tell the Truth

Update:  It turns out the wife abuser Puzder is being considered for a job in the White House, one that doesn't require Senate confirmation because, well, even some Republican senators don't like a person who abuses one's spouse.

The policy implemented in the last 10 months is so lacking in decency, compassion, logic and common good that the only way to defend it is to lie, distort and omit. The best illustration of this is an opinion piece by former Hardee's CEO Andy Puzder, and the omission starts with his designation.

Mr. Puzder is a former CEO of CKE Restaurants.

Ok, that sounds ok. Well no. Mr. Puzder is ranting against the minimum wage. He is the former CEO of a fast food company, the very people paying close to the minimum wage. He rants against the $15.00 per hour minimum wage. He is CEO of a fast food company whose profits might (or might not) dip with an increase in the minimum wage to $15.00 an hour.

But the real problem with Mr. Puzder's pseudo analysis is his boldface lie that the tax cut, only weeks old, is having a positive effect on the economy.

Raise Wages via Growth, Not Mandates

American workers are already benefiting from tax reform.

Really, how can that be. Oh, Mr. Puzder is fooled by a few companies giving employees a small bonus. But everyone, that is everyone not snowed by propaganda, knows that while the companies get a tax cut for every year, the bonuses are one time only. And amazingly, those companies are ones that need regulatory relief from the feds. But the real garbage is right here.

That “gut punch” turned out to be bigger paychecks. After the GOP passed its tax bill, major U.S. employers including AT&T , Bank of America , Boeing , Wells Fargo , Fifth Third Bank, Comcast NBC Universal and Sinclair Broadcasting immediately committed to investing billions in growth, special bonuses or higher wages. Wells Fargo and Fifth Third are voluntarily increasing their base wages to $15 an hour. . . . . .

That competition kicked in almost immediately as more than 100 diverse businesses, including Wisconsin-based Associated Bank ,North Carolina-based BB&T Corp oration, Pennsylvania-based PNC Financial Services Group , New Jersey-based OceanFirst FinancialCorp. , Georgia-based Sun Trust Banks, Minnesota-based US Bank, theBank of Hawaii , and South Carolina-based Nephron Pharmaceuticals announced pay hikes for workers within two weeks of the tax bill’s passage.

Wow, employers voluntarily going to $15.00 an hour. Oh, how many employees do these banks have making less than $15.00 an hour? If you answered 'zero' you were probably pretty close. And if you have the chance, visit the dining areas of these companies. Think these workers will be getting $15.00 an hour. No. See they are employed by sub contractors so the person fixing lunch or cleaning up is making close to minimum wage and will not get a raise.

NJ Gov. Chris Christie – Gone a Day and Already Forgotten

A NYT Editorial Headline Says It Best -

With the leaving of office by NJ Republican Chris Christie a great sigh of relief has momentarily passed over the state, followed by collective amnesia. A really, really good editorial in the Times sums it up better than we could possibly do.

Now Chris Christie Is Just a Bad Memory

Here are just a few wonderful excerpts

But his miscalculations could be epic, perhaps none more damaging than his decision in 2010 to block a badly needed train tunnel to Manhattan under the Hudson River. The torment that now routinely afflicts New Jersey rail commuters underlines his shortsightedness.

The coarse, bullying style favored by both men may entertain people for a while, but the act eventually grows tiresome. The president might bear in mind that Mr. Christie’s plummet to 14 percent approval came after he’d won 60 percent of the vote in 2013. Mr. Trump, wallowing in the 30s, can only dream of 60 percent.

Enduring memories of his tenure will be of those traffic jams, of the governor happily sunning himself last July on a beach that was closed to the public during a budget dispute, of Mr. Christie standing almost worshipfully behind Mr. Trump during the 2016 campaign like a footman out of “Downton Abbey.”

And to paraphrase the editorial, maybe someday NJ will miss Christie. Today ain't that day. Tomorrow don't look so good for him either.

Trump Lies About What He Said About Relationship with North Korea Leader

Yes There is Audio Tape - Doesn't Matter to the Liar-in-Chief

Trumper raised eyebrows when he said to the WSJ interviewer that he had a good relationship with Kim, the leader of North Korea.  Now he is trying to lie his way out of it.  From USA Today

Donald J. Trump

✔@realDonaldTrump

The Wall Street Journal stated falsely that I said to them “I have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un” (of N. Korea). Obviously I didn’t say that. I said “I’d have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un,” a big difference. Fortunately we now record conversations with reporters...

7:58 AM - Jan 14, 2018

The problem of course is their is tape, and it is clear that what the President says he said is not what he said. Of course, a decent, truthful person could say that he mispoke and he meant to say "I'd" but that would be admitting a mistake, something Trumpie never does even when he does make a mistake. Lying is the behavior of choice for this man.

Australia Votes for Equality and Compassion and Tolerance

Deals Heavy Blow to Religious Leaders

In the continent down under they put marriage equality on the ballot. Australia is a fairly conservative place so the result was largely unexpected.

A nonbinding referendum conducted by mail found 61.6 percent of Australians in favor of allowing gay couples to wed. Even though the measure was expected to be approved, the size of the win and the unusually large participation of 12.7 million Australians out of the 16 million eligible voters added to its political legitimacy.

Though the vote isn’t binding, all major political party leaders have promised to implement the decision, which would make Australia one of approximately 26 countries that allow gay couples to wed.

The vote went against the tyranny of religionists who sought to impose their own personal faith issues on the public.

In a wealthy, urbanized country where 52 percent of the population regards themselves as Christian, according to a census last year, the vote marks a defeat for Australia’s two big churches, the Catholic Church and the Anglican Church, whose leaders were behind a well-organized campaign to defeat the referendum.

Yep, hatred and bigotry suffered another defeat, and hypocrisy in Australia is on the ropes.

Sinners going to hell in Australia - At least that what religion teaches

People celebrate after the announcement of the same-sex marriage postal survey result in front of the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia. (Ascui/EPA-Efe/Rex/Shutterstock)

Think a Work Requirement Is Needed for Medicaid? Think Again

But Conservatives Just Talk – They Don't Think

Kentucky has become the first state to try and impose work requirements for people receiving Medicaid benefits. See, in Conservative World the welfare class is just a bunch of able bodied men and women who choose to sit around and live off the welfare state, collect benefits like Medicaid and just laugh at the rest of the hard working world. Turns out this is not true.

When one looks at the data, data being to conservatives like garlic to a werewolf, the story is different, that is, real. Aaron Carroll of the excellent forum The Incidental Economist has reality.

A Kaiser Family Foundation analysis from spring of 2017 found that almost 80% of adults in Medicaid are from working families. Almost 60% are working themselves, and this is without any work requirements at all. Unfortunately, many in the United States, even if employed, have wages so low that they still qualify for Medicaid because they earn less than 138% of the poverty line. That is, of course, if those states accepted the Medicaid expansion. In states that didn’t, many adults who work can’t afford insurance.

Disability and Illness

Of those who don’t work, about 35% are unable to work because of disability or illness. Another 28% are taking care of other members of their families in lieu of jobs. Of those that remain, 18% are students, 8% are looking for work but can’t find it, and 8% are retired. That leaves about 3% of the nonworking adult Medicaid population who we could, possibly, define as “able-bodied” yet choosing not to work.

Not that this will make any difference to the ideologists. Their beliefs are solid despite the truth.

Paul Krugman Unearths Tweet That Shows How Republicans View a Typical American Family

Yep, That's a Middle Income Working Family All Right

Paul Krugman's column in the NYT exposes the fantasy world of Republicans, where only high income high wealth white Americans live.

“Consider, in particular, the tweet John Cornyn put out about how the tax bill will help what he apparently imagines is an ordinary family:

Photo

Yep just a typical American Apple Pie family, with $100k of income, two business they generate 40% of their income from.

But what happens when you take away the business income? Oh, you get a real typical American family. And what do they get? About a couple of $100 until their kids turn 17. And then they lose the child credits and their taxes go up, way up, more than what they were paying before.

That's life, that's Republicanism.

Donnie Tells Reporters

From the WaPo and Others:  "No, I'm not a racist,” he told reporters. “I'm the least racist person you have ever interviewed.”

To which the only response is that if that is true those reporters must have interviewed only the most virulent of racists.

Hey Missouri Governor – Quit Threatening Lawsuit

We know you're not going to, so quit making a fool of yourself

Missouri Gov. Greithens has joined good ole boy Roy Moore and their leader, Slick Donnie in threatening lawsuits against women who accuse them of sexual assault. Greithens is accused to doing bad things to a woman who is not his wife.

The frenzy in Jefferson City was triggered Wednesday night by a story on St. Louis television station KMOV (Channel 4). It quoted a man who provided a recording of his then-wife telling him that Greitens partially undressed her, taped her to exercise equipment, took her photo and then threatened to release the photo if she ever told anyone about the encounter.

“You’re never going to mention my name,” Greitens told the woman, according to her account on the recording. “Otherwise, this picture will be everywhere.”

Greitens in a cowardly move spoke through his attorney.

Greitens on Wednesday night confessed to having an affair, but denied through his lawyer that he took a photo, threatened the woman with releasing it or was ever violent with her.

Greitens’ attorney, James Bennett of the St. Louis firm of Dowd Bennett, said his client is considering a lawsuit in response to the stunning accusations. 

These threats of lawsuits are rediculous. No one is going to sue because no one is willing to go under oath. No one wants a public trial, least of how bullies like Trump, Moore and now Greitens. So they ought to quit making themselves out to be fools in additions to sexual predators.