News Burst: March 22, 2017 (Patreon)

Hey All,

I hope you’re having a good day!

Here are some of the news stories I’m digging through today.

London Terrorist Attack: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/parliament-shooting-latest-news-man-shot-explosions-heard-westminster-london-a7643686.html

My Take: Obviously, this is the big news of the day, and everything else is fairly secondary and tertiary. As usual, we don’t have a lot of facts. As of the time I’m writing this, four are dead, perhaps two dozen more are injured, and the attacker’s status and identity are in flux. Lots of rumors are swirling around about who he is, but as none of us can actually trust what the media says, it’s best to wait for hard facts from the London/UK authorities.

Here’s the rub for me, and I’d be interested to see what my European-based viewers/listeners/supporters think about all of this: Regardless of the nature of this particular attack, Europe has a Radical Islamic Terrorist problem. And I’m not entirely sure what can be done about it. This is one of the most confounding, confusing, and difficult problems I’ve seen a society (and, really, a group of societies) encounter and confront in my lifetime. Balancing freedoms of religion, expression, movement, and Europe’s more liberal traditions of hyper-tolerance and open borders with the realities of the problems they’re dealing with seems almost insurmountable.

It’s scary, complicated stuff, and I’m not smart enough to know what the solution is. But that’s why Colin’s Last Stand exists, and why I wanted to foster this community. Because we need to have open, honest discussions and debates, even about sensitive problems like this one. I really wanna hear what you guys and gals think about what’s happening in Europe. It seems like a continent being ripped apart, not suddenly, but by a thousand cuts.

Well-wishes are worthless at times like these, as Anthony Jeselnik often reminds us, but nonetheless: I’m hoping all of my London-based supporters are safe, sound, and trying to figure out what the solution is to this repeatable, predictable issue that only seems to be getting sharper as the weeks and months pass.

The House Seems Poised to Kill Trumpcare: http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/325220-defying-trump-freedom-caucus-members-insist-theyll-oppose-gop-obamacare

My Take: If not for the London attack, this would definitely be the biggest news story of the day. I was actually watching The Circus last night (again, if you haven’t heard me say it a million times already, let me say it once more: The Circus fucking rules, and you should watch it), and this was the topic they covered. And it seemed, even then, a few days ago, that the Freedom Caucus in the House was ready to kill this thing, ironically because it doesn’t go far enough to dismantle and destroy Barack Obama’s signature legislative accomplishment. (It's worth noting, for fairness, that both Paul Ryan and Donald Trump are still claiming that it will pass.)

For me, it’s far more political than anything. Obamacare is absolutely imperfect, absolutely half-cocked, absolutely wrong-headed in many ways. But it’s also giving millions of people insurance. I don’t understand the point of passing a bill which throws more people off of the rolls, slashes Medicaid funding on a state level, and then leaves everyone in a deeper lurch. What’s the point? Making the House and Senate GOP vote on this thing is politically precarious, especially if it doesn’t pass. If the GOP were smart -- and I think they are -- neither chamber should vote on this thing. They’re going to commit long suicide with this one.

The criticism of the GOP is fair, here: They didn’t have a bill ready after seven years of bitching and whining, and that really is shocking. But, like Medicare and Social Security, Obamacare has become so essential to so many people that you can’t just blink it out of existence without one massive plan, and without being willing to pay a permanent political price. Repeal and Replace sounds great, but it’d be better to really take some time and ensure the Replacement fucking works. There isn’t a need to rush this through just because it was a promise. Better late than never, and better safe than sorry.

Neil Gorsuch’s Hearings Continue: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/neil-gorsuch-legal-views-democrats-respond-236352

My Take: I’m impressed by Neil Gorsuch. As I Tweeted out after this nomination was officially confirmed, he’s pretty much guaranteed his appointment. He’s smart, educated, moderate, and reasonable. Still, the Democrats are going after some of his more interesting, unorthodox, and unusual rulings, and it’s fascinating hearing what he has to say about them.

I will say this: Democrats need to be smarter about how they level their attacks. They basically ate themselves during cabinet confirmations, expending political capital foolishly while being unable to block a single person of consequence, including Betsy DeVos, who is clearly wildly unqualified for her position. They’re playing checkers; Republicans (and maybe even Trump) are playing chess. Gorsuch isn’t a hill worth dying on. He’s about as vanilla as it gets.

I'm not sure the Democrats will ever quite get it, but I'll say it again: They need to save their capital for times that matter. Because people are already tuning out. And, all things being equal, a disengaged and disinterested society that lacks trust of basic institutions will all but ensure Trump gets a second term.

Devin Nunes’ Intelligence Findings Vindicate Trump?: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/house-intel-chairman-trump-s-communications-possibly-picked-incidental-surveillance-n737201

My Take: This is a weird story. It’s impossible to know who to believe, because all of it is so politically-charged and politically-motivated. The basic gist of it is that Trump, as we all know, claims that Obama and/or the wider federal apparatus was spying on him, others in his circle, and perhaps even on many others in Trump Tower, during the campaign. Something that seems both unfathomable and entirely unsurprising, all at the same time.

Nunes’ findings, as head of the Intel Committee in the House, indicates that there may have been some wider spying on people as part of a catch-all program. Not exactly what Trump was claiming was happening, but still, when there’s smoke, maybe there’s fire. Like I said, who the hell knows at this point. Nunes admitted he doesn’t even know if the collection of whatever data and information happened was illegal to begin with. So, more nothing wrapped up in the veneer of (maybe) something.

Rachel Maddow Admits Trump May Have Leaked His Own Tax Documents: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2017/03/22/rachel_maddow_joins_the_view_trump_absolutely_could_have_leaked_his_own_2005_tax_return.html

My Take: I think it’s pretty much as obvious as the day is long that Trump and/or his team baited Maddow hook, line, and sinker with this one. I’ve always considered Maddow to be strikingly smart and incredibly interesting, even if she is as partisan as they come. I’ve long watched her show, and, in fact, am one of the few people who even remember how she got her start at MSNBC: By filling in for Keith Olbermann. Man, how time flies.

I can’t see how else this story can be spun. The 2005 tax filings show that Trump paid an effective 25% tax rate, literally twice what even Champagne Socialist Bernie Sanders paid in his filings for his recent run. While I respect their willingness to run with it regardless as soon as they figured out and confirmed its authenticity, I’m not sure they realized what they were actually doing. Because what they actually did was fed Trump’s narrative at yet another time when everything seemed to be crumbling in on him.

North Korea is Still Fucking Nuts: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-sanctions-idUSKBN16S2KY

My Take: What else can you possibly say about this country and this regime? Literally nothing. Other than that they have some sort of death wish. I think that’s pretty obvious at this point.

The sooner the people begin a revolution, the better. Because Kim Jong-Un is playing with fire. And if he thinks he’s going to bluster his way into success, especially with someone like Trump, he’s sadly mistaken. And if he thinks he’s going to launch missiles towards Seoul and Tokyo and that his country is going to be recognizable afterwards, I think we all know he’s got another thing coming.

Much like with the fall of East Germany, I can’t fucking wait for that country to fall so that we can finally, FINALLY get a real, true glimpse into what in the fuck is going on in there. I've been saying this for a decade, though. It seems like we're no closer to resolution, even as Juche's importance is lessened and some market ideals are instituted, or at least ignored.

Twitter’s Inept Leadership Continues to Stumble: http://www.thewrap.com/even-donald-trump-cant-save-twitter/

My Take: An interesting palate cleanser to wrap things up today. The basic rub here is that Trump (and the political climate generally) has been a gilded, golden, gift-wrapped offering to Twitter, and they’re so badly run, they can’t turn the ship around. More than halfway down from their IPO, and many dollars from their 52-week high, Twitter is such a good, useful app with tons of utility. They need to get the right people in there ASAP, because they’re squandering about as good of a second chance opportunity as companies get these days.

Okay, that’s it! I’m gonna go back and read some comments from yesterday and respond, and I’ll try to do the same here. In the meantime, enjoy, and talk amongst yourselves! -Colin