The GOP Can't Stop Blaming Each Other Over Their Health Care Failure

Because it's fun to watch Republicans eat their young:

http://time.com/4714131/donald-trump-republican-gop-freedom-caucus-health-care-ahca/

and

http://time.com/4712852/ahca-donald-trump-obamacare-repeal-failure/

Even ExxonMobil Wants President Trump to Stick With the Paris Climate Deal

Now THIS is unexpected:

http://fortune.com/2017/03/29/exxon-mobil-donald-trump-paris-agreement-climate-change/

Even Exxon Mobil thinks Trump's views on climate change are wrong!

GOP Congressman Turns Science Committee Into Platform For His Own Anti-Science Views

This is nothing short of disgusting:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/climate-change-house-science-committee-us_us_58d94964e4b02a2eaab64c3b

Trump pushes for immediate cuts to education and medical research to pay for his wall

Another purely dick move:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/03/28/1647989/-Trump-pushes-for-immediate-cuts-to-education-and-medical-research-to-pay-for-his-wall

Donald Trump’s Disastrous Plan To Derail U.S. Climate Action

More pointless pettiness from the Asshole in Chief:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-climate-order_us_559aab91e4b0c706985a42be

White House blame game intensifies as Trump agenda stalls

Nice! As long as they're at each other's throats, hopefully they can't get much done:

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/trump-blame-agenda-stalls-236508

Make Tweets Great Again

This is a brilliant way to turn Trumplethinskin's tweets into something good:

https://maketweetsgreatagain.us/

The Death Of Trumpcare Is The Ultimate Proof Of Obamacare’s Historic Accomplishment

This shows just how much better Democrats are at governing:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/health-care-republicans-repeal-obamacare_us_58d81295e4b03787d3598bf6?0r

Twitter Trolls Are Unleashing Dungeons & Dragons Fury On Republicans With New Trending Hashtag

When geeking gaming collides with politics!

http://cheezburger.com/1795077/twitter-trolls-are-unleashing-dungeons-dragons-fury-on-republicans-with-new-trending-hashtag

‘Hello, Bob’: President Trump called my cellphone to say that the health-care bill was dead

Trump's doing everything he can to try to shift blame for the Trumpcare failure on the Democrats...even though the GOP used reconciliation procedures so they could cut the Democrats out of the process, and they did nothing to work with them on the bill:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/president-trump-called-my-cellphone-to-say-that-the-health-care-bill-was-dead/2017/03/24/8282c3f6-10ce-11e7-9b0d-d27c98455440_story.html

When the GOP won the presidency and both houses of Congress, THEY took over ownership of Obamacare. It was theirs to improve or destroy as they wanted, and the Democrats could do nothing (even the Senate filibuster could be bypassed). So the popular vote loser can add one more of his lies to the unending list.

How Trump Can Fix His Troubled White House

Amazingly (horrifyingly), Bill Clinton and Trumplethinskin started out surprisingly alike:

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/03/clinton-transition-trump-chaos/514760/

Inside the GOP’s Health Care Debacle

This article gives great details on the whole Trumpcare/Ryancare shit-show:

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/03/obamacare-vote-paul-ryan-health-care-ahca-replacement-failure-trump-214947

The failure of the Republican health care bill reveals a party unready to govern

Hey Trump, maybe you should recall all the copies of The Art of the Deal:

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/3/24/15054446/gop-health-bill-ahca

Schadenfreude, baby!

New Quinnipiac poll shows Trump’s numbers sliding, 60 percent find him dishonest.

The schadenfreude of watching "the great deal maker" fail his first legislative deal is so delicious and sweet that I think I have a dental cavity now:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/03/22/new_quinnipiac_poll_shows_trump_s_numbers_sliding_60_percent_find_him_dishonest.html

New poll: only 3% of Trump voters regret their vote

Why does stupid always double down???

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/03/22/how-many-trump-voters-really-regret-their-votes/?utm_term=.9e11df8e4068

Can President Trump Handle the Truth?

A deeper analysis of Trump's problem with the truth:

http://time.com/4710614/donald-trump-fbi-surveillance-house-intelligence-committee/

Trump's Credibility Crisis Arrives

Trump has cried wolf too many times:

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/03/trumps-credibility-crisis-arrives/520347/?utm_source=atltw

Let’s Revisit All Those Times Trump Surrogates Said You Can’t Elect Someone Under FBI Investigation

More conservative hypocrisy, where they disqualified HRC for the same problem Trump has:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-versus-hillary-fbi-investigation_us_58d01a73e4b0ec9d29de2c1e

50-year-old climate model had it right. But, then as now, facts made no difference to policymakers

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/3/16/1644043/-50-year-old-climate-model-had-it-right-But-then-as-now-facts-made-no-difference-to-policymakers

Why ‘Trump Administration’ Is An Oxymoron

"Donald Trump took the oath of office two months ago, but is not yet running a real presidency. His administration, thus far, largely is playing like a junta that surprised the royal guards and seized the palace--while still remaining unable to pacify the capital city, let alone inspire the countryside.":

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/why-trump-administration-is-an-oxymoron_us_58cb1996e4b00705db4dd6ae?2m7

Six Levels of Atheism

A useful way to look up one's level of religious belief...although just to point out, agnosticism isn't somewhere on a spectrum between theism and atheism, but a reference to knowledge claims (gnostic vs. agnostic), not belief:

http://www.atheistrepublic.com/blog/dean-van-drasek/six-levels-atheism

Robert Reich's dead-on accurate assessement

The current snapshot of (mostly) Republican attitudes in Washington:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/3/17/1644611/-Robert-Reich-s-dead-on-accurate-assessement

The Problem With Facts

This is a long but profound and sobering article on why fact-checking doesn't really work:

http://timharford.com/2017/03/the-problem-with-facts/

And Jesus Said Unto Paul of Ryan

I really don't know how Christians square their support of Republicans with their religion. It seems like the ultimate hypocrisy to me:

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/03/16/opinion/and-jesus-said-unto-paul-of-ryan.html

Texas Is Considering A Bill That Could Let Science Instructors Teach Creationism

Ugh, when will this creationism bullshit just die?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/texas-teach-creationism-law_us_58cc2af8e4b0be71dcf4a155?gsxmy74sfk1rftj4i

Special Report: Russian elite invested nearly $100 million in Trump buildings, records show

MORE Trump ties to Russia:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/special-report-russian-elite-invested-nearly-100-million-180436652.html

Bill Gates: Cutting Foreign Aid Makes America Less Safe

When people can't think more than one step ahead...

http://time.com/4704550/bill-gates-cutting-foreign-aid-makes-america-less-safe/

A Budget Is A Moral Document. The One Trump Produced Is Dark.

This is the article...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-budget_us_58cb0384e4b0ec9d29da5634

...but this is more illustrative:

http://freethoughtblogs.com/singham/wp-content/blogs.dir/36/files/2017/03/Trumps-priorities.jpg

How to start a ranked choice voting campaign in your area

I read about this in the 1990s, and it still seems like a good way to eliminate extremist candidates:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-6t61jX3Zs&feature=youtu.be

Say What Now? Republicans on Discrimination

We knew this already, but it's nice to see it confirmed:

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/lovejoyfeminism/2017/03/say-now-republicans-discrimination.html

Did Donald Trump leak his own tax returns? Many pundits believe he did and here's why

This WOULD be such a Trump thing to do:

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/3/15/1643593/-Did-Donald-Trump-leak-his-own-tax-returns-Most-pundits-think-so-and-here-s-why

Trump’s Anti-Muslim Rhetoric Continues To Haunt His Travel Ban In Court

I just love how Trump is his own worst enemy:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-anti-muslim-travel-ban_us_58c9cd0ce4b0be71dcf15710

Trump and the Parasitic Presidency

"America elected a parasite." Yeah, that's about right:

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/03/13/opinion/trump-and-the-parasitic-presidency.html

This Article Won’t Change Your Mind

Unfortunately, even when you're armed with all the facts on your side, cognitive dissonance can too often result in the other side doubling down:

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/03/this-article-wont-change-your-mind/519093/

Breaking Faith: The culture war over religious morality has faded; in its place is something much worse.

There is a downside to the dying of religion in America, although it's mainly with conservatives who lose their religion:

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/04/breaking-faith/517785/?ncid=newsltushpmgnews

Journalist Who Received Trump Tax Return Questions If Trump Leaked It Himself

Over-hyped or not, I think the information in Maddow's report (watch the video) is a strong argument for why we need to see Trump's taxes:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/rachel-maddow-donald-trump-tax-return_us_58c8a110e4b022994fa317ba?

Life Without the EPA: Superfund Apartments and Acid Rain

This is why we very much need to keep the EPA:

http://www.livescience.com/58266-what-if-the-epa-was-abolished.html

17 Republicans in Congress join fight against global warming, challenging President Trump

Hey, they're not ALL irrational science-deniers! Maybe there is some hope after all:

https://www.aol.com/article/news/2017/03/15/17-republicans-congress-join-fight-global-warming-challenge-trump/21895850/

I Have a Theory About Steve Bannon and AHCA

An interesting theory, and we'll likely know soon enough if the Trump administration is out to destroy Ryan. Although it's fun to watch them attack each other, I don't want to see any faction gain traction over the others and become, you know, effective:

http://m.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/03/i-have-theory-about-steve-bannon-and-ahca?ncid=newsltushpmgnews

No easy answers: why left-wing economics is not the answer to right-wing populism

It appears the better the social safety net, the more xenophobic the population:

http://www.vox.com/world/2017/3/13/14698812/bernie-trump-corbyn-left-wing-populism

Texas state rep introduces bill to fine men for masturbating as 'act against an unborn child'

THIS is how you troll bone-headed Republicans into seeing the hypocrisy of their positions:

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/3/13/1642899/-Texas-state-rep-introduces-bill-to-fine-men-for-masturbating-as-act-against-an-unborn-child

GOP's Wealth Care Plan Moving at Breakneck Speed

More GOP hypocrisy revealed as Rep. Raskin took to the House floor to compare the open process used to pass the Affordable Care Act (ACA) versus the GOP's closed process for the American Health Care Act (AHCA):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjRmM0TXNq4

We Compared Obama’s Words To Trump’s And The Result Will Make You Sad

Just to show in stark contrast the difference between a thoughtful president and a thoughtless one:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/barack-obama-donald-trump-quotes_us_579a155fe4b02d5d5ed489ce?jc91c1mj1jxajor=

Steve Bannon under active criminal investigation for... get this... residency fraud.

I love irony and hate hypocrisy too much to not post this:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/3/11/1642519/-Steve-Bannon-under-active-criminal-investigation-for-get-this-residency-fraud

Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer introduces the 'No TRUMP Act'

This is just great trolling:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/03/09/oregon-rep-earl-blumenauer-introduces-no-trump-act/98957876/

Paul Ryan’s Wonk Shtick Is Getting Old

Ryan doesn't actually believe in helping the disadvantaged get healthcare, since he's a Randian (https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/04/audio-surfaces-paul-ryans-effusive-love-ayn-rand/328754/), so it's no surprise Ryancare helps the rich while hosing the poor:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/paul-ryan-wonk-health-care_us_58c3553ae4b0ed71826cdce2?jc91c1mj1jxajor

A Satire Website Posted Fake News To Trump Supporters. Many Believed It.

Well, I guess most Trump supporters ARE dumb as fuck....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/a-million-trump-supporters-fell-for-this-absurd-fake-news-site_us_58c42653e4b0d1078ca7222e?tcjeg4jhe61or

Bernie Sanders’ Campaign Faced A Fake News Tsunami. Where Did It Come From?

Something all of us Bernie supporters should be aware of:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-fake-news-russia_us_58c34d97e4b0ed71826cdb36

Hillary didn't deserve that abuse either.

Christians for Donald Trump

This is a GREAT video to show Christian Trump supporters:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-6fbLnTyNE&feature=youtu.be

If Rural Voters Were Angry Before, Wait Until The GOP Repeals Obamacare

Here's hoping!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/rural-voters-obamacare-repeal_us_58c1d0b9e4b0d1078ca56b0e

How The Racist Backlash To Barack Obama Gave Us Donald Trump

Evidence that this was racist from the beginning:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cornell-belcher-barack-obama-racist-backlash_us_58c2e645e4b0ed71826c6c1f

Insurance Companies Just Accidentally Made The Case For Medicare For All

Republicans SHOULD get behind this...but won't:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/insurance-companies-medicare-for-all_us_58c1b1fae4b054a0ea690dc8

Trump Promises Tea Party Groups He Will Punish America: If TrumpCare Fails, He Will Let ACA Fail

Yeah, he's a special kind of evil:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/03/09/1641791/-Trump-Promises-Tea-Party-Groups-He-Will-Punish-America-If-TrumpCare-Fails-He-Will-Let-ACA-Fail

Sources: FBI investigation continues into 'odd' computer link between Russian bank and Trump Organization

Sounds like a long shot...but it does look odd indeed:

http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/09/politics/fbi-investigation-continues-into-odd-computer-link-between-russian-bank-and-trump-organization/index.html?adkey=bn

Republicans could see catastrophic losses in 2018's gubernatorial races if Trump sparks a backlash

This describes in detail how and where the battles are going to be fought:

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/3/8/1638381/-Republicans-could-see-catastrophic-losses-in-2018-s-gubernatorial-races-if-Trump-sparks-a-backlash

EPA: Fossil Fuel Companies No Longer Need to Report Emissions

Another infuriating piece of actual damage Trump can and is doing:

https://futurism.com/epa-fossil-fuel-companies-no-longer-need-to-report-emissions/

At least it's reversible...sometime....

E.P.A. Head Stacks Agency With Climate Change Skeptics

Putting the FoxNews in charge of the hen house....

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/07/us/politics/scott-pruitt-environmental-protection-agency.html

Inside the Anti-Science Forces of the Internet

This is a massive problem. When science is ignored, stupidity and ignorance rule, and civilization can't stand:

https://www.buzzfeed.com/stephaniemlee/inside-the-internets-war-on-science

Congress Can Remove Donald Trump From Office Without Impeaching Him

Another option for getting rid of Der Gropenfuehrer:

http://time.com/4692507/congress-remove-donald-trump-impeachment/

The Health Care Industry Really Doesn't Like GOP's Obamacare Replacement

With the medical organizations and many Republicans blasting Ryancare, the bill is doomed to fail and will be yet another black eye for the GOP, just adding more impetus for Democrats to win in 2018 and 2020:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/health-care-industry-gop-bill_us_58bf2eaae4b054a0ea65d4ce

and

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/conservatives-ryancare-republican-welfare_us_58bed995e4b033be1468b462

and

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ama-oppose-obamacare-repeal-bill_us_58c010c2e4b0d1078ca2a977

A Party Not Ready to Govern

This is pretty much the ideal scenario (so far). The GOP is so dysfunctional they can't get much done, and the stuff they do manage to get done is terrible and just pisses off more and more people. As long as Trump doesn't get so frustrated that he nukes someone, this is good:

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/03/06/opinion/a-party-not-ready-to-govern.html

An Insider's View: The Dark Rigidity of Fundamentalist Rural America

This article brilliantly explains why intelligent, educated liberals have a problem connecting with rural America. And it's why I make more anti-theism videos arguing why God is evil rather than defending evolution or atheism:

http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/rural-america-understanding-isnt-problem

Included:

Their economic situation is largely the result of voting for supply-side economic policies that have been the largest redistribution of wealth from the bottom/middle to the top in U.S. history.

Immigrants haven’t taken their jobs. If all immigrants, legal or otherwise, were removed from the U.S., our economy would come to a screeching halt and food prices would soar.

Immigrants are not responsible for companies moving their plants overseas. The almost exclusively white business owners are responsible, because they care more about their shareholders (who are also mostly white) than about American workers.

No one is coming for their guns. All that has been proposed during the entire Obama administration is having better background checks.

Gay people getting married is not a threat to their freedom to believe in whatever white god they want to. No one is going to make their church marry gays, have a gay pastor or accept gays for membership.

Women having access to birth control doesn’t affect their lives either, especially women they complain about being teenage single mothers.

Blacks are not “lazy moochers living off their hard-earned tax dollars” any more than many of their fellow rural neighbors. People in need are people in need. People who can’t find jobs because of their circumstances, a changing economy or outsourcing overseas belong to all races.

They get a tremendous amount of help from the government they complain does nothing for them. From the roads and utility grids they use to farm subsidies, crop insurance and commodities protections, they benefit greatly from government assistance. The Farm Bill is one of the largest financial expenditures by the U.S. government. Without government assistance, their lives would be considerably worse.

They get the largest share of Food Stamps, Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security.

They complain about globalization, yet line up like everyone else to get the latest Apple products. They have no problem buying foreign-made guns, scopes and hunting equipment. They don’t think twice about driving trucks whose engines were made in Canada, tires made in Japan, radios made in Korea, and computer parts made in Malaysia.

They use illicit drugs as much as any other group. But when other people do it is a “moral failing” and they should be severely punished, legally. When they do it, it is a “health crisis” that needs sympathy and attention.

When jobs dry up for whatever reason, they refuse to relocate but lecture the poor in places like Flint for staying in failing towns.

They are quick to judge minorities for being “welfare moochers,” but don’t think twice about cashing their welfare checks every month.

They complain about coastal liberals, but taxes from California and New York cover their farm subsidies, help maintain their highways and keep the hospitals in their sparsely populated rural areas open for business.

They complain about “the little man being run out of business,” and then turn around and shop at big-box stores.

They make sure outsiders are not welcome, deny businesses permits to build, then complain about businesses, plants opening up in less rural areas.

Government has not done enough to help them in many cases, but their local and state governments are almost completely Republican and so are their representatives and senators. Instead of holding them accountable, they vote them into office over and over and over again.

All the economic policies and ideas that could help rural America belong to the Democratic Party: raising the minimum wage, strengthening unions, spending on infrastructure, renewable energy growth, slowing down the damage done by climate change, and healthcare reform. All of these and more would really help a lot of rural white Americans.

The Two Contradictory Faces of Donald Trump: President and Provocateur

A good rundown of Trump's contradictions that don't work for him anymore:

http://time.com/4691425/donald-trump-russia-obama-fbi/?xid=newsletter-brief

It's time GOP faces reality, even if Twitler can't

Yeah, this is my feeling exactly:

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/3/4/1640237/-It-s-time-GOP-faces-reality-even-if-Twitler-can-t

Guns v. Abortion

This Stunningly Racist French Novel Is How Steve Bannon Explains The World

More insight into Bannon's whackjob mind:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/steve-bannon-camp-of-the-saints-immigration_us_58b75206e4b0284854b3dc03

Inside Trump’s fury: The president rages at leaks, setbacks and accusations

I get such a kick out of hearing about Trump raging impotently about his flailing administration: :-)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/inside-trumps-fury-the-president-rages-at-leaks-setbacks-and-accusations/2017/03/05/40713af4-01df-11e7-ad5b-d22680e18d10_story.html

Trump accuses Obama of wiretapping him

The Wee-Handed Tweet Monkey strikes again:

http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/04/politics/trump-obama-wiretap-tweet/index.html

Trump played nice for a night—a technique straight out of the autocrat’s playbook

https://qz.com/922104/donald-trumps-joint-session-address-played-nice-for-a-night-in-front-of-congress-and-used-a-technique-straight-out-of-the-autocrats-playbook/

Democrats (And Rand Paul) Go In Search Of Secret GOP Obamacare Bill

This seems just childish:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/democrats-secret-gop-obamacare-bill_us_58b85f66e4b0a8ded67b3323

Now Republicans Are Keeping Their Obamacare Plans A Secret

The battle is between conservatives and ultra-conservatives, which is completely at odds with what most Americans (and even the SCROTUS) want, so the GOP is doomed to failure:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/republicans-obamacare-plans_us_58b80b7ce4b01fc1bde61f71?

'Trump Slump' Could Mean Well Over $10 Billion Per Year in Lost Tourism Revenues

The stock market is up, but tourism is taking a multi-billion dollar beating:

http://time.com/money/4687114/trump-slump-foreign-tourism-us-immigration-travel/

Trump’s rollback of a clean water rule hinges on a definition of “waters” Scalia found in a dictionary

This is yet another opportunity for the courts to embarrass Trump and weaken his agenda:

https://qz.com/922503/trumps-rollback-of-a-clean-water-rule-hinges-on-a-definition-of-waters-scalia-found-in-a-dictionary/

Bush’s Ethics Lawyer: Jeff Sessions May Go To Jail If He Lied To Congress

This SHOULD be a slam-dunk case:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/richard-painter-jeff-sessions-russia_us_58b7d1afe4b0a8ded67a525d

Each Trump administration scandal only makes a better 2018 and 2020 outcome more likely.

Study: Energy Regulations Don’t Slow Economic Growth

Regulation encourages innovation, not economic hardship:

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/dispatches/2016/12/28/study-energy-regulations-dont-slow-economic-growth/

I Gave Donald Trump A Chance, And Then He...

A nice long list of every evil, stupid or fucked-up thing Trump has done so far:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/i-gave-donald-trump-a-chance-and-then-he_us_58b41f40e4b0e5fdf61974a9