'Cause I'm the Taxman 🤡 😱 ✡️🌻😱 🤡

State of Play:  Trump is due to meet with Putin in Alaska on Friday.  Though it’s unlikely that he’ll return Alaska, purchased by the US from Russia in 1867 years ago for $7.2 million, there’s a non-zero chance that he’ll offer up occasional thorn in his side Senator Lisa Murkowski and a far greater chance that he’ll concede to Putin’s demand that Ukraine’s Zelenskyy hand back a large chunk of Ukrainian territory in exchange for peace, or really just a ceasefire, while Putin refreshes his troops in preparation to glomming on to more Ukrainian land or invading some of the other countries that used to make up the USSR. As of now Zelenskyy is not invited to the “summit” though VP Vance says they are working on getting him into the loop.  Needless to say, Zelenskyy is not all that enthused by what South Carolina’s Senator Lindsey Graham, who really needs to keep Trump’s endorsement in his upcoming primary, is now calling a land swap, especially if that land swap involves Ukraine giving up way more than it gets back. For what it’s worth, the NY Post reports that several of our European allies, or one-time allies, believe that Trump’s real estate buddy/everything envoy Steve Witkoff who brokered the meeting may have misunderstood what Putin said he was willing to consider, not unbelievable given that Witkoff has been known to rely on Putin’s interpreters. In other international news, according to Axios, Witkoff who certainly has his hands full, met with Qatari Prime Minister Abdulrahman al-Thani in Spain on Saturday to discuss an end to the Gaza war and the release of all 50 remaining Israeli hostages, part of an effort to head off the highly contentious Israeli plan to expand its Gaza offensive and occupy Gaza City.  Remember when we had a State Department and a Secretary of State who did such things.  Apparently not so much anymore, not that Secretary of Rubio is one to trust.  If they haven’t already, his State Department which now houses the skeleton of US AID is planning to destroy a $9.7 million stock of birth control products currently held in a storeroom in Belgium rather than dispense the needed pills, IUDs, and implants to needy third world countries. Apparently, the same 🤡 🤡 who believe that the US shouldn’t help with AIDs prevention in third world countries is opposed to what they call abortifacients but what the rest of us call birth control.   And lastly, Trump is planning to send the military and the FBI into Washington DC to help with crime fighting. Though DC did experience a spike in crime in 2023, crime there has declined since, but Trump is Trump. His plan involves arresting the homeless. What could possibly go wrong?

People, People, Taxman:  In June by a vote of 53 to 44 with all Democrats voting against him, former Missouri Congressman Billy Long was confirmed by the Senate to serve as the IRS Commissioner. Long had little relevant experience but had been involved with controversial tax credit schemes before his appointment, probably one of the reasons that Trump found him so appealing.  However, much to Trump’s chagrin it turned out that Long wasn’t quite as unethical as he hoped and Democrats feared. After refusing to handover all of the requested immigrant taxpayer information that ICE requested, he was fired from his position. If anyone’s counting, Long was Trump’s sixth IRS commissioner. Keeping with Trump’s approach of assigning multiple positions to his loyalists,  Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will serve as acting IRS Commissioner until Trump can find someone more willing to cooperate with the INS.  Long isn’t completely out of the Trump-o-sphere,  he is ironically expected to be nominated to serve as Ambassador to Iceland perhaps because Greece has already been given to Donald Jr’s ex fiancée Kimberly Guilfoyle or maybe just to punk us.  In other people news, last week Trump nominated the Steve Bannon endorsed Stephen Miran, currently the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, to serve out the final few months of the Federal Reserve seat being vacated by Fed Governor Adriana Kugler who resigned last week. The WSJ reports that Miran is a strong advocate of a weaker dollar, something to consider on your next trip abroad and also whenever you buy anything originating overseas.  He is likely one of those that Trump is considering as Fed Chair once current Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s term ends in May 2026, or sooner if he manages to kick Powell to the curb beforehand but not necessarily at the top of what appears to be growing list.  Though it’s unlikely that he’ll actually get booted or even be subjected to a House ethics review, married Florida Congressman Cory Mills, the Republican who threatened to release revenge porn to punish his former girlfriend, the reigning Miss USA, who dumped him, has been getting lots of negative press coverage and has hired a defense lawyer.  Add New York Attorney General Tish James to the long list of people that Trump and his complicit DOJ are targeting. The DOJ has opened an investigation into her prosecution of Trump, focusing on her office's handling of the civil fraud case against Trump, examining whether it violated his legal rights. And lastly, there’s not a whole lot new to report on the Jeffrey Epstein front  It’s still ugly and percolating, no new files have yet been released, Ghislaine Maxwell is still in jail, albeit a nicer one, but she won’t be allowed to engage in the perk of training 🐶 🐶 because people who were convicted of sex crimes especially the abuse of minors aren’t allowed near vulnerable dogs. They’re allowed in the Oval Office and Congress, just not near the 🐶 🐶.

Midterm Madness: Thought the midterm elections don’t take place until 2026, but the battle is already on.  Trump and his Republican abettors, are continuing to press ahead with their redistricting plans which are a blatant effort to stack the cards, making it more difficult for Democrats to win back the House even if the majority of voters want a change in governance.  Though they haven’t committed any federal crimes, the FBI has agreed to go after the Texas Democrats who’ve left the state to avoid giving Governor Abbott the quorum he needs to move forward with a redistricting vote.  Other states on both sides of the political divide are now considering following Abbott’s example though a few Republican governors including New Hampshire’s Kelly Ayotte say that they have no plans to follow suit. It’s not just redistricting, a week doesn’t go by without another Republican attempt to restrict voter turnout, followed by a lawsuit by one or more Democratic entities to get the restriction deemed unconstitutional. For more details following Mark Elias and his Democracy Docket updates is well worthwhile.          

#BringThemAllHomeNow