Trump’s phony tax cut

Trump promised a middle-class tax cut before the election. It’s just made up nonsense.

It wasn’t a real thing when Trump announced it. It isn’t a real thing now. It never will be a real thing. Clear? https://t.co/xXtcB1gTX9

— Ben White (@morningmoneyben) December 18, 2018

More on the Trump administration efforts to bypass appeals courts

Here’s a new example of their shady practices.

1/2 Trump, represented by DOJ in the emoluments case, has taken the very unusual step of asking the 4th Circuit to reverse the trial judge’s decision at a very early stage in the case, where an appeal is not usually available. The standard is very high. https://t.co/tJkdo3R1ZS
— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) March 19, 2019

They want to go right to the Supreme Court with their two new Trump-appointed conservative justices.

2019 is the year the Supreme Court will make or break Trump https://t.co/i1UujSmPw3 pic.twitter.com/SpPbrg9CAQ
— CNN (@CNN) December 16, 2018

This is a cruel, disgracefully irregular, and legally dubious request that no normal SG would ask SCOTUS to grant. So of course this SG asked anyway. https://t.co/tU2ftg6qET
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) December 15, 2018

Obamacare is more popular than Trump or his tax cut

Obamacare has become more popular since people now appreciate features such as protection for people with pre-existing conditions. Republicans are going against the public when they try to destroy it. They also have no replacement plan. Sad!

The latest GOP assault on Obamacare might boost its popularity even more

ICYMI
KFF Health Tracking Poll: 53% favorable / 40% unfavorable rating for Obamacare; many of its provisions continue to be quite popular (@KaiserFamFound) details: https://t.co/HDKvuWWYxl pic.twitter.com/PW8Lb5bM1M

— OpinionToday.com (@OpinionToday) December 15, 2018

Actually, Obamacare approval rating is higher than your approval rating.https://t.co/PqDeFJXLKg

— Sally Deal (@SallyDeal4) December 15, 2018

This one won't be a winner for you once people start losing health care with no replacement from Trump. You have convinced your voters that only poor black people benefit from Obamacare.

Fox News poll: Voters like Obamacare more than GOP tax cuts.https://t.co/eXs3MIfaUe

— Danny (@danzu72) December 15, 2018

Republicans don’t care about lies and crimes if Trump does them

Remember how Republicans treated Obama and the Clintons? Many of them don’t care what Trump does as long as he appoints conservative judges.

This confirms what u hear out in the country — many Republicans think Trump is lying but they don’t hold it against him. https://t.co/jMQR0AMO8h

— Glenn Thrush (@GlennThrush) December 15, 2018

I have an observation to make—it’s a disgrace that Mitch McConnell is not concerned that Trump was implicated in crimes. https://t.co/UtZxpsa4iQ

— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) December 12, 2018

Oh https://t.co/C2EAYnPEt0

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) December 15, 2018

I’ll believe what Hatch said the first time – he has done nothing about Trump’s horrible behavior:

“Sen. Orrin Hatch, issued a statement on Friday expressing regret for telling CNN ‘I don't care’ when asked about President Donald Trump being implicated in crimes by Michael Cohen.” Good reporting from ⁦@mkraju⁩ https://t.co/TB8sCIMZFR

— andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) December 14, 2018

“Stop.”
“I wasn’t there.”
“I don’t know anything about that.”
“Oh, I don’t do interviews on any of that stuff.”
See Republican senators dodge and dismiss @seungminkim’s questions about Trump and his legal woeshttps://t.co/GwudI7Dmio

— Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) December 15, 2018

Devin Nunes on Cohen-Trump hush-money scheme to silence Trump affairs right before election: “Even if what Cohen said happened, people do this all the time. They do settlements out of court. It happens. I don't know what the big deal is,” he said on Fox

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 14, 2018

We can just quit pretending that R’s who went after Bill Clinton and now defend Trump are being guided by anything other than power. It’s not even situational ethics because it’s not remotely related to ethics. It’s acquisition and exercise of power. Let’s just be honest. https://t.co/nS9Fzcn9Kl

— stuart stevens (@stuartpstevens) December 15, 2018

This gets at why House Rs also can’t come to terms w why they lost their majority. McCarthy deflecting bc about 80% of remaining caucus is more vulnerable to primaries than gen election defeat. https://t.co/sN9pTGK3Pu

— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) December 13, 2018

Actually prosecutors would need to prove that the payment was designed to *primarily* benefit the campaign. That is what both Cohen and the company that owns the National Enquirer admitted, and prosecutors had additional evidence sufficient to convince Cohen to plead guilty. https://t.co/qkRmVxJSGr

— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) December 13, 2018

I did watch. But we all know if this was President Obama paying off a porn star and if he had five kids by three wives, there would not only be calls for impeachment but grave lamentations on the degradation of traditional values served with a hearty side dish of racism. https://t.co/Ujly0X4ByQ

— stuart stevens (@stuartpstevens) December 15, 2018

As shown above, Hatch later regretted the comments below.

Orrin Hatch, who voted to impeach Clinton, says “I don’t care” about evidence that Trump broke the law. His comments make clear that the GOP commitment to the rule of law is situational: The law, in their view, only applies to their opponents. My latest: https://t.co/r1lj31eKtH

— Max Boot (@MaxBoot) December 11, 2018

"OK, but I don't care, all I can say is he's doing a good job as President." — Orrin Hatchhttps://t.co/VFliiRdTFf

— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) December 11, 2018

Orrin Hatch 2018: I don't care if the President's own DOJ has implicated him in felonies. What is a "crime" anyway?

Orrin Hatch 1999: "crimes of moral turpitude such as perjury and obstruction of justice go to the heart of qualification for public office" pic.twitter.com/8K8NVZSntj

— Brendan Nyhan (@BrendanNyhan) December 10, 2018

Paul Ryan supports immigration by white people

This is like Trump wanting more immigrants from Norway.

Oh so we’re good with immigration if it involves certain countries. Good to know. https://t.co/BKklf3kbW1

— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) December 15, 2018

Imagine the Right’s response if a lawmaker of Mexican descent did this … https://t.co/WhemCAxvG7

— Eugene Scott (@Eugene_Scott) December 15, 2018

After blocking comprehensive immigration reform for years, Paul Ryan making a special pitch to bring more White people to America on the way out the door is so fucking perfect that I can't stand it https://t.co/ekhYhDkcXA

— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) December 15, 2018

House Speaker Paul Ryan pushes for thousands of Irish visas as a nod to his ancestral heritage before leaving office https://t.co/VCKOG2fLgp

— POLITICO (@politico) December 14, 2018

Trump under investigation in many areas

a good graphic

UNDER INVESTIGATION:

Trump administration
Trump campaign
Trump transition
Trump inauguration
Trump organization
Trump foundation pic.twitter.com/FbfK6z4efg

— Josh Campbell (@joshscampbell) December 14, 2018

“Two years after Donald Trump won the presidency, nearly every organization he has led in the past decade is under investigation” https://t.co/utlPnkWbtD

— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) December 15, 2018

"At this point, the only surprise would be if there hadn’t been any corrupt dealings in the inauguration. It has long been a source of suspicion because the records are not public, and the sums are staggering." – @PaulWaldman1 https://t.co/wv1av9OBaD #TrumpCrimeFamily

— Democratic Coalition (@TheDemCoalition) December 15, 2018

update 12/18/18

I broke down precisely how many investigations are targeting Donald Trump—and what they are. Answer: There are *17* distinct investigations into Donald Trump's world, as prosecutors probe almost every aspect of how money flowed in and out of his orgs. https://t.co/K162RATwsr

— Garrett M. Graff (@vermontgmg) December 17, 2018

Just a reminder as we start another week in Washingtonhttps://t.co/ul9DNHfrjX

— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) December 17, 2018

Republicans lied about Obamacare

Many Republicans, including Trump, claimed they wanted to preserve the popular Obamacare provision to protect people with pre-existing conditions. At the same time, they supported a court case to kill Obamacare.

Now, a judge made a far-reaching decision that goes beyond even what some Republicans wanted but that was always a risk. Trump tweeted praise for the decision which kills all of Obamacare. This will wind up in the Supreme Court.

The GOP know that they can’t repeal the ACA in Congress. So they’ve continued their crusade through the courts — and a right-wing judge in Texas ruled in their favor. Let’s be very clear: the ACA is still the law of the land. https://t.co/ddjSJsXWkc

— Elizabeth Warren (@elizabethforma) December 15, 2018

States Involved in ACA Lawsuit #AMJoy #Obamacare pic.twitter.com/oCH75rF2tH

— AM Joy w/Joy Reid (@amjoyshow) December 15, 2018

Two legal experts who were on opposite sides of challenges to ACA at SCOTUS in 2012 and 2015 agree this time on how flawed last night's ACA ruling was: "this decision makes a mockery of the rule of law and basic principles of democracy." https://t.co/XUHgmPvQnV

— Indivisible Guide (@IndivisibleTeam) December 15, 2018

Judge Reed O'Connor, appointed by George W. Bush, previously blocked other Obama protections including another ACA rule, transgender rights, native American children's rights. You get the picture. https://t.co/p66AbF3wsJ

— Kevin B. Blackistone (@ProfBlackistone) December 15, 2018

I have a lot of friends who will try to downplay this ACA decision – "it's totally unsound logic!" "It will be appealed!" – but it actually should be a mass freakout moment about how vulnerable our hard-won progressive gains remain due to the fact we ceded the courts to the GOP

— Brian Fallon (@brianefallon) December 15, 2018

Researchers find roughly one additional death per year for every 800 people who lose insurance. So if the result of the GOP suit is that ACA falls and millions of Americans lose insurance, the consequence is also clear: More Americans will die. https://t.co/Xz01FYJBQT

— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) December 15, 2018

Short answer: Every legal attack on ACA has been focused on the market-based aspects. Mandate, subsidies. No court has suggested that expanding existing government programs would violate the Constitution. https://t.co/1HkpcQ1odp

— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) December 15, 2018

Analysis: With ACA in peril, Republicans get to show if they really want to protect people with preexisting conditions https://t.co/0CwwlsLuni

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 15, 2018

Tonight’s absurd ruling exposes the monstrous endgame of the GOP’s all-out assault on people w/ pre-existing conditions & the ACA. When @HouseDemocrats take the gavel, the House will swiftly intervene in the appeals process to #ProtectOurCare!

— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) December 15, 2018

This is exactly why Cruz argued that the ACA needed to be killed in 2013 — once the benefits were locked in, it would be politically impossible to take them away. 40 House Republicans, when they finish updating their resumes, will tell you he was right. https://t.co/wk43aJFgCw

— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) December 15, 2018

The case, seemingly bound for the Supreme Court's new conservative majority, now threatens to complicate a wide array of policies. https://t.co/6jt0XpYS5a

— POLITICO (@politico) December 15, 2018

update

There was not enough coverage of this lie at the time. https://t.co/ySUNr1lTKb

— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) December 15, 2018

update 12/16/18

Former President Barack Obama responded to a federal judge's ruling that core aspects of the Affordable Care Act were unconstitutional. https://t.co/JtTQnNLAmW

— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) December 16, 2018

Cutter’s Way

This is a very unusual film that is well worth seeing.

https://twitter.com/JonathanRosenba/status/1073809346872700928

R.I.P. Ivan Passer. A great filmmaker – and such a funny cool guy. We got to know him through his childhood friend Milos Forman (they also collaborated on “Loves of a Blonde” and ‘Fireman’s Ball”). This is one of his most unappreciated films – worth seeking out. pic.twitter.com/tfS2T96cGl
— Larry Karaszewski (@Karaszewski) January 10, 2020

The director of Cutter’s Way

Ivan Passer, a leading director of the Czech New Wave who went on to direct CUTTER’S WAY (1981), has died. He was 86.@Variety — https://t.co/sC5s6es0sa pic.twitter.com/X3Hxm7SQg1
— The Daily (@CriterionDaily) January 10, 2020

#Noirvember read:

I wrote about CUTTER’S WAY, a beachbummed post-Nam noir as psychologically grisly as any cathode-tubed war footage, a detective story of such absolute horror as to be almost Lovecraftian in its depiction of unimaginable human emptiness.https://t.co/gY1nYJVZd7 pic.twitter.com/8WIsz74nR6
— Travis Woods (@aHeartOfGould) November 21, 2023

Darlene Love – Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) over the years

Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

was originally performed by Darlene Love on Phil Spector’s 1963 A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records

Darlene Love performed it 28 times on David Letterman shows. This is a mashup of various performances.

This is the final one (when she was 73 years old):

This is the original recording – 51 years earlier!

The sax solo was performed by Steve Douglas.

Here are more versions from Letterman shows:

1986 (The first one) – it is so stripped down compared to the later ones!

2010

2001

2011

There are even more versions of this great performance on YouTube.

A late night holiday tradition returns! Reunited after 9 years, Dave, @paulshaffer, and the Queen of Christmas, Darlene Love, come together for a special performance of 'Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)'
WATCH: https://t.co/7tsC9FazMk pic.twitter.com/aZ6tOeECNL
— David Letterman (@Letterman) December 19, 2023

Watch David Letterman and Darlene Love reunite for the first time in eight years https://t.co/eEPvNfAUNp pic.twitter.com/T8odlVPB7J
— The A.V. Club (@TheAVClub) December 20, 2023

John Nelson:

Darlene Love and Cher while recording "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" …Cher sang backup vocals on this iconic Christmas song. (1963) pic.twitter.com/KFXJ2xSn2E
— Edward Elderman (@edwereddie) December 17, 2023