Tuesday, August 9, 2022

What A Day

Donald Trump has a very big house in Florida.  It keeps showing up on the television, aerial views of red tile roofs and parking lots with perfectly marked spaces.  I'm having a hard time figuring out if the circular driveway is to his own personal front door or the door of the golf club.  

I don't know a lot of people who have paved parking lots for their guests.  Then again, there aren't a lot of people like Donald Trump.

And this wasn't the best thing that happened.  The IRA (Inflation Reduction Act.... or DRC, the Democrat Retention Act) passed the Senate and will go to the House on Friday and suddenly the future does not seem to end in our planet burning up in my grandchildren's lifetime.  It's a really big deal and I wish it didn't have to share the news cycle with Donald Trump.

Not one Republican in the Senate voted for this bill.  I wonder how many of them will campaign on the good it does.  Probably the same ones who threw a hissy fit last week and voted against the PACT (burn pit poison) bill before John Stewart shamed them.

Do these people have no soul?   

Certainly,  Kevin McCarthy calling out the DOJ and Merrick Garland is petulant and absurd.  The man who burned documents in his White House office fireplace is telling someone to guard his documents?  

But it's so on brand for him that I could just laugh, especially after one of the talking heads explained that a conviction regarding the records the former President stole would preclude him from holding public office ever again.

I don't see anyone putting a former President in prison.  Would the Secret Service have adjoining cells?  An ankle bracelet and banishment from public pronouncements would suit me fine, but mostly I want to protect the USofA from having him anywhere near a position of power.  

I don't think our democracy could stand it.  I know that I couldn't.

But I'm not thinking about another Trumpian nightmare, nor am I thinking about Indiana's near total abortion ban.  I am focusing on the wheels of justice turning slowly in the right direction, on Chuck Schumer quoting his father's advice.  Don't give up.  If you work at it, God will provide.  And so he kept at it and never gave up and in the end the Senate did provide.

The world will be a little bit better after today.  That's something to smile about.

17 comments:

  1. Just curious. Did you actually look at what was in the new bill? Over doubling the size of the IRS for enforcement might not be good for the middle class, those like us, who trust an accountant to do our taxes but they are complicated. From what I've seen of this bill, watch out for what it really does and don't just cheer because it's democratic.

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    1. It's my understanding that the $ will go to updating systems (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/interactive/2022/irs-pipeline-tax-return-delays/) and enforcement will focus on the higher end.
      As for audits, we've had very complicated tax returns for years. We trust our accountant and were only audited once - and, after several years, collected FROM the IRS!
      I'm cheering for climate change and home grown manufacturing of chips (and not waiting 4 months for a pool pump, 8 months for a Ford truck) and $30 insulin (yeah, only if you're on Medicare/Medicaid but it's a start).
      a/b

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  2. Oh and when I told me husband this, he said he printed off all 700+ pages of the bill. He's reading it. Maybe you and your hubby should too; so we know what's coming down the track regarding farming, etc.

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    1. Typos in that--. and farming relates to our food in the market. I don't know why it says anonymous as it says it's me Rain posting it... Thank you blogspot lol

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    2. I recognized you, even with blogspot's non-help!
      There are always pieces that aren't quite right, but raising corporate taxes instead of pushing the burden on the middle class seems like something we can both agree upon.
      Good for Farm Boss for reading the whole damn thing - let me know if I've erred.
      a/b

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    3. I think it's complicated as they always are. It is frustrating that these bills are never simple and have so many hidden agendas. I am more into my own life, which is complicated enough right now; and how the rest of the world (China and Russia) will impact my life and my grandkids.

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    4. So many hidden agendas.... and pieces squeezed in at the end... but it's better than where we were before, especially re: the climate.
      Worrying about the world we're leaving for our grandkids is a universal truth, I think.
      a/b

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    5. If any of this relates to that... So we give people with more money a tax right-off for buying an electric car where we don't even know how we get the electricity... I wish I was more of a believer but I am not. And i do see that climate change is part of the planet-- and with many countries not caring about their manufacturing pollutes because we sent it there for cheaper purchases, how does that change anything except for some to fee righteous.

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  3. Just read the above comments and am confused. Not sure that the middle class needs to worry about IRS enforcement, and it you are, like I say to the adds on the radio for help with the IRS, just pay your damn taxes. I do.
    I feel more positive today too after the developments you referenced. There is hope.

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    1. Hope is pretty much all we have these days, eh?
      a/b

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  4. One must realize what a big deal it is to have a Federal judge (and a Trump-appointed one at that) approve a search warrant for the home of a former President. And one also must realize that this had AG Garland's approval before it went to the judge. The FBI knew what they were looking for and also knew it was there, because they didn't want to come up empty-handed. And BTW, Trump has a copy of the warrant, he can tell us what they were looking for, but we all know he won't. Finally, I doubt seriously that the IRS is coming after the middle class, more likely the 1%ers that are not paying their share of taxes.

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    1. I think to justify this big increase in the IRS, they need more than the so-called wealthy and if you don't have different sources of income, you probably don't see a concern. The middle class though is a lot more than just one income people. As for what the FBI did, why did they not care about Hillary and her destroying of records? We've had years of complicated income sources, which explains why we pay an accountant to figure it out for us-- and we are not upper income people.

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    2. Jim Comey did just what you said the FBI should do - and he announced it 10 days before the 2020 election, bringing the issue front and center and adding to Trumps' momentum. There were gazillions of hours of testimony - 11 of which Hilary sat for on one day and none of which DJT has ever agreed to - and the FBI found no criminal action required.
      a/b

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    3. And, considering the cuts the IRS has taken to its enforcement division over the past decade or so, this is more like catching up than increasing.
      a/b

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    4. And yes, Jim, he could tell us what they are looking for.... but that would imply that he would actually take the time to look at the document before beginning his public whine.
      a/b

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    5. It is important to understand that the 87,000 new IRS employees will be added over the next decade, and that they are not all enforcement agents as the right is screaming. The IRS has been woefully understaffed for some time now and needs to be built back up. Re: The former guy, he's never going to show the warrant, he'll just continue being the victim and fund raise off it which he has already done. Regarding Hillary's server, here is a link to a piece on the subject that is well worth reading.

      https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1557357323735244800.html

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    6. Thanks for that link. Trump took the 5th today - so he has reason to believe he's a criminal.... not that anyone cares, it seems.
      a/b

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