Tuesday, January 03, 2017

What to Expect in the Coming Year

It is said that whatever happens in the first days of a new year defines your destiny for the rest of the year. If so, this is what we can expect.

Rampant Corruption
As their very first act of the new year, Republicans in Congress blatantly stripped the Office of Congressional Ethics of power. While they walked that back today we can be certain this is only temporary and they will accomplish the same goal, just more subtly, in future weeks.

Targeted Taxes
Trump threatened to impose a huge tax on General Motors cars entering the US from Mexico. While this is specifically outlawed by the Constitution (Article I, Section 10) and treaty (NAFTA), we've known for a couple decades now that Republicans view the restrictions within the Constitution with contempt. I'm not crying for GM though, they will just have to bribe some congressmen.

Rebirth of Jim Crow
North Carolina Republicans have appealed to the Supreme Court to allow a gerrymander directly designed to diminish African-American votes.

War
Trump tweeted what seems to be a threat of war (probably nuclear) with North Korea. He has previously suggested war (probably nuclear) with Iran. Trump seems to think that nuclear war is a kind of game (available for $31.99 from Amazon).

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