The Indictment Thread (Trump Admin Meltdown Thread Part II)

[The Sybian]

Shock! Horror!

FBI director contradicts official claims about alleged abuser

And Trey Gowdy went off about how horrible the WH was for keeping him on. When pushed, he made it sound like his oversight committee is investigating the WH for having more than 30 staffers still onboard who were not able to get security clearance.

[DSafetyGuy]

So, a friend is an illustrator and he's had a relatively recent source of artistic inspiration that's been getting some appreciation.

[EnochRoot]

So, a friend is an illustrator and he's had a relatively recent source of artistic inspiration that's been getting some appreciation.

That's some good stuff right there.

(Austin rocks, btw)..

[L-Jam3]

For a moment I thought the first picture was of a group of Trumps as the flute section of The Max Rebo Band.

[Pruitt]

Veterans Affairs Secretary a Slimeball!

Vivieca Wright Simpson, VA’s third-most-senior official, altered language in an email from an aide coordinating the trip to make it appear that Shulkin was receiving an award from the Danish government, then used the award to justify paying for his wife’s travel, Inspector General Michael J. Missal said in a report released Wednesday. VA paid more than $4,300 for her airfare.

“Although the [inspector general’s office] cannot determine the value VA gained from the Secretary and his delegation’s three and a half days of meetings in Copenhagen and London at a cost of at least $122,334, the investigation revealed serious derelictions by VA personnel,” the watchdog concluded.

[Johnnie]

Only the best people.

Fucking VA.

[The Sybian]

[Pruitt]

Very funny indeed!

This Cohen fella, not the brightest light is he?

I mean, did he just render her NDA moot?

[Johnnie]

Gates is about to flip.

Steve Bannon met with Mueller multiple times over the past week

130 White House officials lack permanent security clearances

Kushner is massively in debt and can probably be blackmailed

Trump supports a 25 cent gas tax to help play for infrastructure

It's a good thing there was a massive tax overhaul that was supposed to benefit the middle class!

This country fucking sucks.

[Pruitt]

This country fucking sucks.

It's like all the dark comments about America that I've been hearing since high school and university have been proven right. It is very disturbing and brutally disheartening.

[A_B]

This country fucking sucks.

It's like all the dark comments about America that I've been hearing since high school and university have been proven right. It is very disturbing and brutally disheartening.

I'm all in on voting with my middle finger from here on out.

ETA: That proposed gas tax would take back about 60% of any savings an individual got on the tax reform.

[brian]

The worst part is that in truth the gas tax should have been/should be pegged to inflation, but raising any kind of taxes has been demonized thanks to the Republicans.

Of all of the shit Trump has proposed over the last 13 months, about the only thing that makes sense is actually raising the gas tax assuming that all of the money goes to infrastructure and not to build his magical wall on the southern border.

[Steve of phpBB]

Bitching about a possible gas tax is why we can't have nice things.

A gas tax is a no-brainer. In real terms, it has dwindled to about nothing since it was last raised. The price of gas is significantly lower than a few years ago, so it wouldn't hurt that much. And it is logical to have transportation users pay to improve our transportation network. And since our dependence on driving causes so much ill in society, from pollution to Middle East entanglements, anything that disincentivizes driving has important societal benefits.

But god forbid we raise the gas tax by a penny a mile.

[rass]

But god forbid we raise the gas tax by a penny a mile.

Hey, one of Trump's lap dogs managed to do it two years ago (and he was already a lame duck at that point, to go with another animal based descriptor).

[sancarlos]

Bitching about a possible gas tax is why we can't have nice things.

A gas tax is a no-brainer. In real terms, it has dwindled to about nothing since it was last raised. The price of gas is significantly lower than a few years ago, so it wouldn't hurt that much. And it is logical to have transportation users pay to improve our transportation network. And since our dependence on driving causes so much ill in society, from pollution to Middle East entanglements, anything that disincentivizes driving has important societal benefits.

But god forbid we raise the gas tax by a penny a mile.

And of course an irony is that a gas tax works in favor of demand for hybrids and electric cars, and against gas guzzlers, to the detriment of Trump's friends at the oil companies. Wonder how Rex Tillerson views this.

[P.D.X.]

Bitching about a possible gas tax is why we can't have nice things.

A gas tax is a no-brainer. In real terms, it has dwindled to about nothing since it was last raised. The price of gas is significantly lower than a few years ago, so it wouldn't hurt that much. And it is logical to have transportation users pay to improve our transportation network. And since our dependence on driving causes so much ill in society, from pollution to Middle East entanglements, anything that disincentivizes driving has important societal benefits.

But god forbid we raise the gas tax by a penny a mile.

And of course an irony is that a gas tax works in favor of demand for hybrids and electric cars, and against gas guzzlers, to the detriment of Trump's friends at the oil companies. Wonder how Rex Tillerson views this.

And generally hurts the urban elite libtards much less than his own constituents.

[brian]

I don't know about that. Flat taxes like the gas taxes are generally felt more by those with lower incomes as opposed to the regressive taxes.

So I don't think the urban libtards (many of whom don't own cars to begin with, at least in many cities) aren't as affected.

[Johnnie]

It's not that a gas tax would be bad, it's that we had 1.5 trillion to give away under the guise of helping the middle class and then we potentially decide "fuck the middle class" and raise a tax on the most obvious thing everyone has to buy.

But it's double fucked. Do you buy anything that needs to be delivered? Cool. Shipping companies need to buy that gas too. And guess who gets stuck with that mark up? Not them. That's the only real "trickle down" that actually works.

[A_B]

I don't know about that. Flat taxes like the gas taxes are generally felt more by those with lower incomes as opposed to the regressive taxes.

So I don't think the urban libtards (many of whom don't own cars to begin with, at least in many cities) aren't as affected.

I think you maybe misread.

[brian]

I hear ya and we agree I'm just saying that we do need to do something about repairing roads and bridges and the money needs to come from somewhere. It would be nice to be having that conversation in a world where Trump and the GOP didn't just give away trillions to the wealthy.

[L-Jam3]

C'mon, Brian. Don't you know that when you give massive tax breaks to the rich they reinvest it into their companies and hire more people who are taxed a lower rate? JOBS! JOBS! JOBS!

[Ryan]

C'mon, Brian. Don't you know that when you give massive tax breaks to the rich they reinvest it into their companies and hire more people who are taxed a lower rate? JOBS! JOBS! JOBS!

At least those same companies don't control all the huge trucks that do something like 500x the damage to roads that passenger cars do and even if they did, at least they wouldn't pass the gas upcharge on to drivers of said passenger cars.

OH WAIT THEY DO AND THEY WOULD! DARN IT!

[sancarlos]

I don't know about that. Flat taxes like the gas taxes are generally felt more by those with lower incomes as opposed to the regressive taxes.

So I don't think the urban libtards (many of whom don't own cars to begin with, at least in many cities) aren't as affected.

Yeah that's was PDX said.

[P.D.X.]

I hear ya and we agree I'm just saying that we do need to do something about repairing roads and bridges and the money needs to come from somewhere. It would be nice to be having that conversation in a world where Trump and the GOP didn't just give away trillions to the wealthy.

Hopefully, come election time, it's repeated over and over again that Trump's "big" promises (wall, infrastructure) are all being proposed to be built on the backs of the classes he was pledging relief to. All while the wealthy are doing Scrooge Mcduck dives into their money pools.

[Steve of phpBB]

It's not that a gas tax would be bad, it's that we had 1.5 trillion to give away under the guise of helping the middle class and then we potentially decide "fuck the middle class" and raise a tax on the most obvious thing everyone has to buy.

But it's double fucked. Do you buy anything that needs to be delivered? Cool. Shipping companies need to buy that gas too. And guess who gets stuck with that mark up? Not them. That's the only real "trickle down" that actually works.

You're right - if I drive the roads, or pay others to drive the roads for me, a gas tax would force me to pay more for those roads.

The thing about a gas tax is that it pretty much applies to everyone. Richer people like me buy more stuff from Amazon than poorer people. We take more drives. We may live farther out in the suburbs to commute to city jobs. So we pay more.

I'm sure people with lower incomes would *feel* the tax more, and that sucks. But I don't think that's a reason not to do it. I would rather that problem be solved in many other ways.

[Steve of phpBB]

Breaking: Mueller indicts a bunch of Russians for election interference.

[Ryan]

It's not that a gas tax would be bad, it's that we had 1.5 trillion to give away under the guise of helping the middle class and then we potentially decide "fuck the middle class" and raise a tax on the most obvious thing everyone has to buy.

But it's double fucked. Do you buy anything that needs to be delivered? Cool. Shipping companies need to buy that gas too. And guess who gets stuck with that mark up? Not them. That's the only real "trickle down" that actually works.

At least those same companies don't control all the huge trucks that do something like 500x the damage to roads that passenger cars do and even if they did, at least they wouldn't pass the gas upcharge on to drivers of said passenger cars.

OH WAIT THEY DO AND THEY WOULD! DARN IT!

Sorry, missed your post.

[A_B]

It's not that a gas tax would be bad, it's that we had 1.5 trillion to give away under the guise of helping the middle class and then we potentially decide "fuck the middle class" and raise a tax on the most obvious thing everyone has to buy.

But it's double fucked. Do you buy anything that needs to be delivered? Cool. Shipping companies need to buy that gas too. And guess who gets stuck with that mark up? Not them. That's the only real "trickle down" that actually works.

You're right - if I drive the roads, or pay others to drive the roads for me, a gas tax would force me to pay more for those roads.

The thing about a gas tax is that it pretty much applies to everyone. Richer people like me buy more stuff from Amazon than poorer people. We take more drives. We may live farther out in the suburbs to commute to city jobs. So we pay more.

I'm sure people with lower incomes would *feel* the tax more, and that sucks. But I don't think that's a reason not to do it. I would rather that problem be solved in many other ways.

So you were OK with Franken not being ousted cause it might hurt the party and you're OK with fucking the poor. When did you become a republican, Steve?!?!?

[Johnnie]

It's not that a gas tax would be bad, it's that we had 1.5 trillion to give away under the guise of helping the middle class and then we potentially decide "fuck the middle class" and raise a tax on the most obvious thing everyone has to buy.

But it's double fucked. Do you buy anything that needs to be delivered? Cool. Shipping companies need to buy that gas too. And guess who gets stuck with that mark up? Not them. That's the only real "trickle down" that actually works.

At least those same companies don't control all the huge trucks that do something like 500x the damage to roads that passenger cars do and even if they did, at least they wouldn't pass the gas upcharge on to drivers of said passenger cars.

OH WAIT THEY DO AND THEY WOULD! DARN IT!

Sorry, missed your post.

It's ok. We're still friends.

(I refreshed and honestly thought I missed your post.)

[P.D.X.]

We may live farther out in the suburbs to commute to city jobs. So we pay more.

This is debatable. Urban cost of living is rising at such a fast pace that it's pushing lower-income people away from city centers. Of course, they're more likely to commute via public transportation, but in any case economic gentrification and commute costs are really hurting upward mobility.

[Johnnie]

Breaking: Mueller indicts a bunch of Russians for election interference.

Reddit megathread:

https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comme ... ndicts_13/

[brian]

Not sure how the news media aren't filleting Trump 24 hours a day for refusing to enforce sanctions that Congress voted something like 519-5 to impose.

[A_B]

Not sure how the news media aren't filleting Trump 24 hours a day for refusing to enforce sanctions that Congress voted something like 519-5 to impose.

I don't understand why there isn't a way for that to be overruled.

[The Sybian]

Not sure how the news media aren't filleting Trump 24 hours a day for refusing to enforce sanctions that Congress voted something like 519-5 to impose.

And his refusal to release the Dem's response to the Nunes memo went by almost without mention. There was such outrage and a push to release the Nunes memo, and just silence when the Dem's memo didn't come out. I expected the Lefty pundits and politicians to make a much bigger deal.

[TT2.0]

why do we need a gas tax? cant we reallpcate some of the millions of dollars in tax revenue that we already pay that gets spent on useless shit loke the arts or maybe take a couple billion out of our humongous defense budget? Why should I eat the tax on gas when the government pisses away the money we already give them?

[Pruitt]

Just want to point out that Trump's twitter feed has a few pictures of him with survivor of the Parkland shooting and staff of the hospital.

In every picture, the people with Trump are smiling like Santa's come to visit. And he and Slovenian Barbie are smiling for the camera like they're on a red carpet.

Not even faked concern. Just a series of pictures of people happy to have Trump around.

[EnochRoot]

So basically the 13 Russians that Mueller just indicted fire-proofs Rosenstein / Mueller, and legitimizes talk of obstruction, because now there is proof of a crime having occurred.

I’m curious about the Texas ‘grass roots’ organization that advised the troll farms. I’d bet that’s got the GOP’s fingerprints on it.

[Steve of phpBB]

why do we need a gas tax? cant we reallpcate some of the millions of dollars in tax revenue that we already pay that gets spent on useless shit loke the arts or maybe take a couple billion out of our humongous defense budget? Why should I eat the tax on gas when the government pisses away the money we already give them?

The money spent on "useless shit" like arts isn't anywhere near enough to cover transportation funding.

I'd be fine cutting our military funding, but that's a different fight.

You should eat the tax on gas because you use and otherwise benefit from highways.

[TT2.0]

why do we need a gas tax? cant we reallpcate some of the millions of dollars in tax revenue that we already pay that gets spent on useless shit loke the arts or maybe take a couple billion out of our humongous defense budget? Why should I eat the tax on gas when the government pisses away the money we already give them?

The money spent on "useless shit" like arts isn't anywhere near enough to cover transportation funding.

I'd be fine cutting our military funding, but that's a different fight.

You should eat the tax on gas because you use and otherwise benefit from highways.

lets fight the different fight then. i drive roughly 125 miles a day to work and back

[mister d]

But if you took a train you’d expect to pay, right? Roads aren’t free.