Elections, Taxes and the Years End: The Good, The Bad, and the WTF?

It's been a busy week in a lot of ways.  Sorry for the radio silence but between the paying job, projects, and just trying to survive I'd been distracted from keeping things up to date.  So here's what went down the past week.  The Good, The Bad, and the WTF!

Let's start with the good.  In this case, Roy Moore losing the special election against Doug Jones in Alabama to replace now attorney general Jeffy Sessions.  It's scary that it took allegations of child molestation to show Moore in all his scariness when many of his views (his disregard for the Constitution when it clashed with his interpretation of Christianity, his birtherism towards Barack Obama, believing the country';s best time was during slavery -to name just a few) should've shown him to be unelectable but in a climate like ours it's seen as "fake news" (a term that's a far cry from when Jon Stewart would call the Daily Show that as a way to point out that it was a comedy show , albeit one that dealt with real news and events).  People with even a slight bit of sanity owe African Americans, especially African American women, in Alabama thanks for their turnout - in spite of voter suppression attempts (it must be said that, while sheer numbers overcame that last week, the Repubs will continue to push this shit and try to make it even harder to vote).

The bad is the passage of electoral vote inner Donny's tax reform bill.  Pushed through when most people in either the House or Senate didn't read it, it's clear from what we know that it's going to benefit the one percent at the expense of the rest of us.  While Donny and the Repubs claim this will help the middle class, it's really going to help rich people in Congress more than anyone else - and their donors.  Ironically they keep having to re-vote due to having accidentally took out the decuctions corporations wanted and, today, because it violated three senate rules for bills.  While Donny will gloat that it's a win fo rhim.  It's his only win.

In the WTF - what the hell's up with Donny and his minions claiming the FBI is doing a coup against him via the Mueller probe?  It's ironic that, while the FBI has abused its power in the past (remember COINTELPRO?) the Intercept reports that apparently this probe is by the book.  So why now?  Part of it is cover to get the right wing base riled up and allow cover for Donny to try and fire asst atty General Rod Rosenstein, if not Mueller, to get someone who would shitcan the head of the probe towards Donny and Russia.  Donny thinks he'll be exonerated but as we learn more it appears Russia did play a role in influencing the election (though we should be just as concerned about shit like Operation Crosscheck and other attempts to disenfranchise people). 

Where does that leave us now.  It looks like our tax structure will trickle down from the poor and working people to the one percent.  Meanwhile the AL Atty General is reportedly investigating voter fraud in last week's election (you don't suppose this is an attempt to steal the election for Creeper Judge Roy Boy).  And the holidays are coming up. Meanwhile Doug Jones has said he's looking to reach across the aisle (even though the GOP has no desire for any bipartianship that doesn't include Democrats giving the right everything they want)

One thing is certain.  While 2018 is an election year, that means that the battles we see now will be in the public view as the new year emerges.