Unsightly Mental Blemishes

Remember the Republican hysteria when the Democrats pushed through a measure to increase funding for the IRS? Well, here’s another approach for government collection of taxes:

Basis shifting allows complex partnership businesses to shift the value of certain assets, such as land or machinery, by moving assets from one business to another one that are linked entities. The moves can allow the partnership to depreciate the same asset over and over again in some cases, greatly reducing tax bills.

Lawyers and accountants for the partnerships say it is legal, and that Congress could pass a ban if lawmakers want to stop the practice. Biden administration officials view basis shifting for the sole purpose of reducing tax bills as illegal, citing a rule known as the “economic substance doctrine” that says the transactions must have a purpose other than just avoiding taxes. [WaPo]

Although, given SCOTUS’ distaste for stare decisis, depending on such a doctrine may be foolish.

But the Republicans may end up embracing this sort of thing anyways. Keep in mind that one of the tenets of the Republican Party is that cutting taxes should result in higher tax revenues as businesses, freed of the horrible burden of taxes, generate more business and thus pay more in taxes – but at a lower rate. This is known as the Laffer Curve, and has not been observed in the wild, only on a napkin of Laffer’s.

I kid you not.

So when the Laffer Curve fails during this second Trump Administration – because we just know taxes are going down – Republicans will be desperate to defend their broken religious tenet.

And here’s a source of revenue that they can use to cover up their failure. It’s sort of hidden, and certainly obscure – it’s perfect.

This could all be wrong, of course, as business’ hold big, if dubious, sway in the upcoming Administration. They may insist on both a tax cut and a defunding of the IRS. It depends on who has Trump’s and Speaker Johnson’s (R-LA) ears, assuming the latter wins the speakership again.

It should be entertaining.

If Biden decides to play politics, he may not try to pass such a rule, but instead leave it on the docket for the incoming President to have to deal with. Hidden taxes funding the Laffer Curve? But more revenue from business … Trump’s head may come off from too much spinning.

Coterminous:

1. having the same border or covering the same area
2. being the same in extent; coextensive in range or scope [Collins Dictionary]

Interesting. Noted in “I’m not afraid to say it: Annexing Canada is not a good idea,” Alexandra Petri, WaPo:

I also think that, once we annex Canada, we would have no idea what to do with it. We’d be out of our depth in so many ways. First, it would make the country a weird shape and ruin all the maps. Also Alaska, which likes its space, would be stressed out to find itself suddenly coterminous with the rest of the United States. We should leave Alaska be; it’s full of bears.

Following former Rep Gaetz (R-FL) withdrawal from consideration as head of DoJ, we now have the second nominee withdrawing from consideration, this time for the head of the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency), a Sheriff Chronister from Florida:

“Over the past several days, as the gravity of this very important responsibility set in, I’ve concluded that I must respectfully withdraw from consideration,” he wrote. “There is more work to be done for the citizens of Hillsborough County and a lot of initiatives I am committed to fulfilling.”

Some conservatives had opposed Trump’s choice of Chronister, citing the sheriff’s enforcement of public health orders during the covid pandemic. The right-wing opposition crystallized around Chronister’s arrest of a pastor who was charged with ignoring state and local public health orders by holding large church services in March 2020 — the same month the World Health Organization declared covid-19 a pandemic and Trump declared a national emergency.

The criticism unfolded swiftly after Trump’s announcement on Saturday that he would tap Chronister for the role of leading the nation’s top drug enforcement agency. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) was among the critics, saying on X on Sunday that Chronister should be “disqualified” over the pastor’s arrest. The Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association said in a statement that it was “shocked and dismayed” by the selection, citing Chronister’s enforcement of covid mandates.

Or, in other words, if you’re a responsible Republican, don’t bother to have ambitions in the Trump Administration, even if have had your profile raised by your response to events – or by your own efforts. If Trump accidentally picks you, the extremists on the right will chase you away.

How long will it take to realize the effort is probably coordinated outside of the United States?

The first step in recovering from the political disaster that descended upon Democrats in 2024 is to collect data on why voters rejected them – barely, it’s true, this was no landslide, but it remains clear that they lost.

So this informal, anecdote-ridden survey of Fall River, MA, by E. J. Dionne Jr in WaPo collects some of that data:

Fall River is socially conservative, and both [Mayor Ed] Lambert and [local journalist Marc] Dion cited Trump’s much-played advertisement against Harris on transgender issues. “Pronouns have honked off traditional males to an unbelievable degree,” said Dion.

Yet both also stressed that the role of gender identity in the campaign was less about attitudes toward transgender people than a symbol to many voters of which groups the Democrats prioritized. “The greater the focus on identity politics,” Lambert said, “the more rationale there is for someone to say you’re not paying attention to what I care about.” [WaPo]

Two complaints are cited here: the pronouns issue, or transgenderism, and an inclination to pursue social issues rather than economic issues. With regard to the first issue, I rather suspect those within the Party who consider themselves to be advocates of transgenderism will complain of a lack of proper messaging, or that the electorate is made up of bigots.

Such is the nature of Cover Your Ass; I’ll bet most are not even aware they’ve abrogated one of the most important tenets of liberal democracies. They’re convinced nothing is truly their fault. But it’s my guess that excluding nearly everyone from that conversation, and then running around calling everyone looking for a discussion a bigot, will be cited frequently over the next year or so.

The second issue is probably met with more warmth by the Democrats, although the electorate may be resistant to their message, even if it’s true. The Republicans have a definite history of mismanaging the economy and the Federal deficit, and they continued that tradition in Mr Trump’s first term.

This WaPo article is something of an echo for Democrats:

Voters in Waterbury [, CT] saw a different reality than the one portrayed in the Democratic messages that filtered into their communities, according to interviews with more than a dozen voters, party strategists and politicians. Grocery prices crept up, even as the White House said inflation was easing. Some saw a party that catered to the whims of leftist groups, even as Democrats touted their blue-collar bona fides. And some residents took issue with Harris herself, wondering why Biden’s handpicked heir apparent should be commander in chief without winning a primary. …

Waterbury Mayor Paul Pernerewski, a Democrat, said he was not particularly surprised by the election results. National Democrats did not fully address the needs of the people in his community, he said, nor did they land an effective counterpunch on a Republican standard-bearer who has long tapped into the sense of grievance and dispossession of America’s White working-class voters.

I’ll be interested to see what else comes up for the Democrats.

President Biden decided to take advantage of his position over the weekend, and it’s got an uproar going:

GOP lawmakers began publicly fuming shortly after President Joe Biden announced that he was pardoning his son Hunter Biden.

President-elect Donald Trump’s communications director, Steven Cheung, reacted to the announcement without naming the president or his son.

“The failed witch hunts against President Trump have proven that the Democrat-controlled DOJ and other radical prosecutors are guilty of weaponizing the justice system,” Cheung said in a statement. [NBC News]

Really, the only reason that last paragraph made it in is so I can say Poor guy, Cheung has to continually push lies as part of his job. Can he not find a dignified post?

But, in general, there is a valid point in the Republicans’ groaning and moaning, as President Biden did say he wasn’t going to pardon his son.

Notably, this was before Trump won the election and began to nominate history’s worst American Cabinet, all because his fragile ego can’t take the battering from actually competent folks. I suspect the President didn’t feel it safe for his son to be in jail during Trump’s tenure.

But, more in line with Mr Trump’s history, I suggest President Biden release a statement:

The former President set a very high bar for being corrupt in his last term, and, as I come to the end of my term, I wish only to match it.

Which will remind everyone where the pus-filled corruption is located on the Republican side of things.

Last night my Arts Editor and I enjoyed a rendition of Agatha Christie’s The Unexpected Guest at Theatre in the Round. Crisp, clear, and with only one discernible plot hole, it was enhanced with hot apple cider (“Toddy of Evidence”) and cookies at intermission, which warmed me up nicely: an entirely pleasant experience.

Just ignore the dead body in the wheelchair. They’ll be wheeling it off presently.

Enshittification:

Enshittification, also known as crapification and platform decay, is a pattern in which online products and services decline in quality. Initially, vendors create high-quality offerings to attract users, then they degrade those offerings to better serve business customers, and finally degrade their services to users and business customers to maximize profits for shareholders. [Wikipedia]

The effect of self-important investors on damn near anything phenomenon. I’m not sure how well this fits a social media platform in which the problem appears to be an invasion of dishonest users intent on using the platform for ends unintended by the inventors of the platform itself, though.

Noted in “X is Elon’s world. Threads is a mess. Is Bluesky any better?,” Maura Judkis, WaPo:

Mmmmmmmmmm….tastes like Kool-Aid. Waiter, bring me grape!

Sparkling Cyanide (2003), based loosely on an Agatha Christie novel, meditates on the evils of the ol’ prosperity lust. The orphans who inherit their parents’ fortune, but only serially, are the first to lose a life, of the eldest of course, hardly touching lip to bubbly at a nightclub party before succumbing to the evil desires. Operatives of a Brit secret service puzzle over the death, as government ministers are present and interested, resulting in various dirty linens’ exposure, a traditional and important element in Christie stories. Don’t forget the too-happy step-brother!

Then a billionaire American, widower of the now-dead orphan, decides to recreate the incident, but the stand-in for the corpse survives just fine, while the billionaire himself flies to the floor to bubble his life away. This is hardly sensible; what is going on?

It’s an okay story, but I fear the translation to the screen may not do Christie justice, or perhaps the original story was not quite so compelling as her best. Still, it was a pleasant passage of an hour or so.

Rep Seth Moulton (D-MA), inspiration for this thread, engages in a bit of anonymous validation in the pages of WaPo, following his announcement of unease at the thought of his daughters competing against trans-women in sports:

And, yes, it doesn’t taste great.

Happy Thanksgiving!

His Star Wars helmet was that big!

Our Thankgiving film this year was Eye of the Beast (2007), which is definitely a second, or even third, echelon movie. Dr. Dan Leland is a young marine biologist investigating why the fish catch keeps shrinking in Canada’s Lake Winnipeg, arriving just in time over the latest disappearance to occur, that of young folks Krissy and Robbie. They’re not so worried about the missing as when actual bodies show up, so there’s time to show how local fishing folks detest folks like Dr. Leland, who they see as an interfering busybody. As a heaping addition of provincial scorn, local Indigenous people also view Leland suspiciously. We need some sexual tension? OK, the local law enforcement officer happens to be an attractive young lady. That keeps Leland interested.

Then Robbie’s boat, now reduced to a wreck, floats into the picture, along with Robbie himself, and we have ourselves a body and evidence. What could be down there eating fish and the occasional human snack? Well, I was voting for carnivorous hippos, since they’ve already migrated to South America courtesy of the drug trade, but I was outvoted. So the plot meanders along, finally reaching the end after reducing quite a few more folks into fish food and, somewhat cleverly, oh, well, that would be telling.

It’s a clumsily told story. For example, an innocent tourist is killed, but it’s nothing more than a killing that doesn’t do anything for the plot. Or a scientist working for the commercial firm that sent Dr. Leland tries to call him, but upon failure neither leaves an important message nor is ever shown again? Why?

Of course, you’ll see this if being a completist monster movie viewer is important to you. Otherwise, don’t bother.

For those who remember the 2022 surprise victory of Mary Peltola (D-AK) over former governor Sarah Palin (R-AK) and Nick Begich (R-AK), no doubt due to ranked choice voting (RCV) implemented in Alaska for that election, the bittersweet news for 2024 is that Rep Peltola lost her reelection bid to Nick Begich (R-AK), 51.3% to 48.7%, but a proposal to repeal RCV was defeated by a razor’s edge, barring a recount finding large anomalies:

The system, first approved by voters in 2020, quickly drew Republican opposition after a Democrat flipped the state’s single U.S. House seat in 2022, the first time it was used. But the state’s predominantly Native areas formed a bulwark to defend it this fall, despite notorious barriers to political participation in these more rural and remote regions.

The measure to repeal the system trails by 664 votes, or 0.21 percent, with all ballots counted. The small margin means that proponents of repeal may ask for a recount in December, though no statewide recount has changed a lead of this size in this century. [Bolts]

RCV is, I and many others think, the savior of moderates in the United States, as it allows moderates the opportunity to pick up votes for absolutists without voters being troubled that some favorite, deserving or not, isn’t on the ballot. Zealots, regardless of ideological position, have little to offer beyond bulging eyes and hair on fire, so they reject RCV as, somehow, too difficult to understand.

Moderates, much more so than steely-eyed right- and left- wingers, are not so arrogant and more prone to compromise and dealing. Their zealot-rivals, meanwhile, dig in their heels and are far more vulnerable to manipulation by thoughtful grifters and national adversaries.

As for the failure of Peltola, I suspect she was caught up in the anti-Democrat wave of 2024. Will it happen again in 2026? Honestly, both Parties are wandering around with their heads up their asses, so it becomes difficult to make confident predictions; and look at my 2024 predictions.

A Vampire preparing to perform the classic Kangaroo-Hop, famous in vampire lore for destroying their knee cartilage and enforcing a rough lifetime on vampires, after which they lay on the ground, squalling about the unfairness of life and their hunger for human blood, while small children taunt them with ketchup packets, and dingoes drag them out into the bush for feasts of their own.

Vampire Cleanup Department (2017) is a listless vampire-takeoff movie, using the device that, following a vampire feast, a cleanup must occur or the public may lose its lunch. Sometimes, too, the vampire is hanging around, and must “cleaned up” as well.

Sounds innovative? Or just a bit limp?

The problem may be that it’s filled with Chinese stereotypes, which may not be surprising for a Hong Kong-made movie, but is still irritating. Yes, even for ignorant Americans such as myself.

So, after a lot of dubious plot perturbations, a tragedy occurs, and then is maybe reversed, and we’re not sure why except the lead actor is sort of cute.

I was not impressed. You, on the other hand, may enjoy it. Maybe I was in a bad mood – the post-surgical blues, as it were.

Propinquity:

1. : nearness of blood : KINSHIP
2. : nearness in place or time : PROXIMITY

I hardly ever see propinquity, and didn’t know what it meant when I encountered it this time. Still, this usage is a bit of a cheat on my part, as it’s actually used as a proper noun, but alluding to evocative properties of some homes.

One … Two … Three! Oh,wait, I forgot Simon says!

Kansas City Confidential (1952) is a coolish sample of near-film noir. With World War II in the rear view mirror, Kansas City is rife with unemployed former soldiers. While most are harmless, a few are not. Mr. Big, a pseudonym, wants to pull off the perfect crime, so when he picks his three minions, one by one and vets each, he remains masked and unidentifiable; he specifies all should be masked for the actual crime in order to keep the perpetrators anonymous if one is picked up. The plan is an armored truck hit at its most vulnerable moment, open to pick up funds from the bank. In order to throw off the cops, they use a flower delivery truck that mimics a flower delivery truck that always shows up on the same route, every day, in front of the bank.

As the flower delivery truck glides away to deliver to its various customers, the heist occurs. All goes smoothly, if not interpersonally, as the four masked men have the usual clashes of men addicted to the quick fix, but they make it out and away, with Mr Big promising cuts when the heat drops off.

Meanwhile, the cops pick up the delivery truck driver, a World War II vet named Rolfe, with some minor offenses on his record, and the cops work him over. Despite promises of success by the cop, Rolfe survives the night and is released on evidence indicating his innocence.

But he’s not happy, and, working his own connections, he discovers one of the minions is headed for the gambling mecca of Tijuana, so off he goes. From here on in, the plot is dictated by the nature of the choices made by all these men, and I shan’t reveal more, except to say that, for some characters, there is a happy ending, and thus I can’t quite call it film noir.

But I can say that, if not fascinating, it was interesting and believable. Characters are worked out in careful detail, so each action-reaction is more than plausible – it just about had to occur as depicted.

But the nature of the story, and the unremitting greed of the bad guys, made it hard to connect with any of the characters in the gang, and Rolfe is also a bit cold and distant. A hook to motivate the robbers beyond sordid stupidity would have improved the story, and Rolfe, despite opportunity, did the story no real favors. The script needed a rewrite.

But it was an almost satisfying chunk of story. Hunt it down if you’re wondering what to do for an hour and a half or so. And then ask how you would have modified it to make it more interesting.

Erick Erickson has the low-down:

Donald Trump has picked a George Soros employee to be Treasury Secretary.

Is this draining the swamp?

Scott Bessent spent years working as George Soros’s right hand at Soros Investments. Trump now wants him to be Treasury Secretary.

If that’s not bad enough, he’s picked Rep. Chavez-Deremer [(R-OR)] of Oregon to be his Labor Secretary. This lady not only supports Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers who, by the way, is praising the pick, but Chavez-Deremer also supports the PRO Act, which would force right-to-work states to unionize.

But wait, there’s more. The National Education Association is also supporting Chavez-Deremer because she opposes school choice and cuts to the Department of Education.

Hey, Erickson, welcome to Trump-World, the domain of Mr Mendacity. Who may be afflicted to dementia.

How soon will Erickson advocate for VP-elect Vance to use the 25th Amendment to replace Trump with, ahhhhhhh, himself?

And how will that affect independent voters’ perceptions of the Republicans?

Or are we seeing Mr Trump deliberately stirring the pot, in his role of Head Drama Queen, just to see what comes popping out?

Baffling times? For some folks, yes.

This way to the path of folly.

Folly? Sure it was. I consistently misread the polls and the national mood, believing the Democrats had the advantage, as demonstrated by their dominance in special elections. Between the horrid performance of Republican House and Senate members in 2022-2024, and the Democrats’ natural advantage on the abortion issue, I figured they’d gain the House, hold the Senate, and, heck, the Presidency, too. Who would vote for Mr. Mendacity?

Well, a lot of people, it turns out. I haven’t seen an authoritative analysis as of yet, although a lot of hobby horse riding is out there, and I’m fighting surgical after-effects and a head cold (yes, yes, it’s all minor, but bothersome), so I’ll just mention a few issues here:

• It’s the economy, stupid. A favorite of folks who think Americans can’t think beyond the tip of their nose, but important in a nation where the favored economic stance is that you should be borrowed, mortgaged, and leveraged to the hilt. When you have no real margin, even minor inflation can enrage folks who think they have to buy the biggest house they can – and that makes the economy important.
• Americans are fascists! I’ve seen this out of the progressive wing who can’t empathize more than half an inch. This is followed by a rancid screed about cutting ties with all MAGA friends and family. I do wonder if that’s just covert Russian propaganda, of course, but I don’t read the comments. This I’ve seen on Daily Kos. This is a CYA (Cover Your Ass) position.
• Americans hate women and will never elect us! Presumably from female writers, there’s a hidden assumption that the Democratic policy positions on offer were at least as good, if not better, than the GOP’s positions. And some may be. But if the opinion of the policy aggregate, and the behaviors exhibited by the Democrats, is that they’re inferior or dangerous, then this position is inflated with arrogance. This is a CYA position.
• The Democrats should have held a primary when Biden dropped out. I’ve seen this a couple of times, and the complaint seems to be that, rather than old-fashioned debate, Harris was simply anointed. I don’t know if there was really time to run a debate and a mini-primary, but that seems to have spread to enough of the citizenry that it may have cost the Democrats a Senate seat or two. And just how many intra-Party debates did Trump participate in?
• Vote splitting. That is, where abortion amendments to state constitutions were on the ballot, opinion is that abortion rights voters voted for the amendment and against Harris and, where applicable, the Senate candidate(s) from the Democrats. I had not expected that. If it’s true.
• Transgenderism! I didn’t see my own take on how the Democrats have botched the issue, but some reports have credited a single Trump ad for a two percent swing in voters, which in our system needs a lot more analysis before it can be proclaimed important – but remains an important signal of a political Party is desperate need of reform.

I’m sure I’ve seen more, but, if you want an executive summary, the Democrats need to hire and then take seriously the recommendations of a PR Firm. Their public image is much worse than I imagined, or they imagine, and, given their treatment of Rep Moulton’s (D-MA) quite reasonable remarks on transgenderism, they just don’t get it^[1].

Once they figure out how they’ve come to grief, the Democrats will need to eject the dull-minded who let this disaster occur, and install those who will respect the citizenry, understand that arrogance leads to absolutist positions unacceptable to those citizens, as they should have learned in the wake of the 2021 Virginia Governor’s race, and that governance is complex and requires compromise.

Not that there’s much chance of that with the arrogant Republicans. That’s a challenge. Yes, a challenge.

Here’s an earlier summary of my post-election thoughts.

¹ I added the last clause to the sentence later. I plead post-surgical anesthesia syndrome.

WaPo’s Jennifer Rubin talks about the quasi-competition:

Demisexual:

Demisexuality is a sexual orientation in which an individual does not experience primary sexual attraction – the type of attraction that is based on immediately observable characteristics such as appearance or smell and is experienced immediately after a first encounter. A demisexual person can only experience secondary sexual attraction – the type of attraction that occurs after the development of an emotional bond. The amount of time that a demisexual individual needs to know another person before developing sexual attraction towards them varies from person to person. Demisexuality is generally categorized on the asexuality spectrum. [Wikipedia]

Noted in “Asexuals: the most oppressed group in the alphabet soup,” Julie Bindel’s writing and podcasts:

For the benefit of any bigots who haven’t bothered reading up on what those particular identities are, let me help you out. Demisexual is an “umbrella term used to describe people who may only feel sexually or romantically attracted to people with whom they have formed an emotional bond”, whereas ‘greysexual’ (also known as Grey-A) is another umbrella term, this time describing people who experience attraction only occasionally, rarely, or under certain conditions.

Bindel’s use of the term bigot may be sarcastic or even ironic.

I suspect Rep Buddy Carter (R-GA) may find himself being primaried in 2026 as punishment for consorting with the enemy:

I submit that Congress would be more effective if every member slept in their office because there is inherent value in getting to know people across the aisle as people rather than as just the opposition.

Some folks might decry this practice as “rent-free living.” However, if it maximizes Congress’s productivity and camaraderie while respecting professional boundaries with staff, then it is a step worth taking. [WaPo]

Work with, exercise with, it all leads to socialize with – and realize that your political enemy who reputedly eats babies and laughs at God is actually … just another human being, warts and all. Combine that with a Republican Party still trying to accelerate to the right, with a leadership built on the myths about Democrats, not the reality, and it seems unlikely Rep Carter will be in Congress all that much longer.

Bombogenesis:

To understand bombogenesis, you need to first remember the basics of high and low pressure. High pressure tends to clear the skies and calm the winds. Low pressure tends to pull in wetter air and gusty winds. Thus, the higher the pressure, the calmer it’ll be, and conversely, the lower the pressure, the stormier it’ll be.

Pressure? Yes, we measure the state of the atmosphere in millibars. “Static” or standard low pressure is about 1013 mb. Low-pressure systems tend to be in the upper 900 mb range.

As a storm forms, we refer to its “genesis” to borrow the biblical term – it is growing. If a storm grows quickly, it’s called rapid intensification. If a storm’s central pressure drops more than 24 mb in 24 hours, that’s bombogenesis. [krem2]

Sounds a bit silly. Noted in this Ryan Hall video.

The Portable Door (2023) is a whimsical little story concerning starting a new job that happens to involve goblins. It’s all very silly, and then it comes to an end.

The problem? There’s no real risk for the characters’ choices. Think of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Right from the start is a man driven by his ambitious moral choices in one framework, and how they collide with those of another – and the presence of the woman he loves as the background to it. By the time the Ark is opened, the audience is quivering in near-panic.

But this? A colorless Brit with magical powers that he hasn’t earned, another Brit in a fast track to division leadership, oddball management… it may be worth a laugh, but that’s it in the end.

So there’s a reason I’ve never heard of this movie: there’s nothing memorable about it.

Too bad.

From WaPo:

The protests erupted into Parliament’s debating chamber Thursday when Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, a 22-year-old lawmaker for Te Pati Maori, or the Maori Party, was asked to state how her party was voting on the controversial Treaty Principles Bill, which seeks to reinterpret New Zealand’s foundational agreement between the British Crown and the Maori people.

Maipi-Clarke used the opportunity to perform a haka, or war dance. She tore up a copy of the bill in front of its author, as members of Parliament (MPs) from the Maori, Green and Labour parties, and people in the public gallery, joined in the haka.

Yeah!