monitoring Trump and relevant contemporary events

Perhaps the most striking thing about the chaotic and exhausting first three weeks of the Trump administration is the degree to which Republicans have held together, placing loyalty above all else. The party of Lincoln has sold its soul — and like all Faustian bargains, this one will not end well.

Flynn on Wednesday denied that he had discussed sanctions with Kislyak. Asked in an interview whether he had ever done so, he twice said, “No.”

On Thursday, Flynn, through his spokesman, backed away from the denial. The spokesman said Flynn “indicated that while he had no recollection of discussing sanctions, he couldn’t be certain that the topic never came up.”

“SEE YOU IN COURT, THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE!”

Just now digging into the day's news and seeing the 9th Circuit ruling upholding the earlier lower court ruling. Good.

Trump blinked first. I guess someone must have told him about all those US treasury bonds held by the Chinese that could be dumped onto the market junking the dollar in the process.

Trump will find it very hard raising money for infrastructure if China's bonds are selling at half price.

If China is foolish enough to sell some of their holdings at half their value, that'll be a very good deal for someone at China's expense.

That would be a pretty good move on our part.

Groups want Trump to close loophole allowing illegal immigrants to abuse tax credits

Illegal immigrants need only one number to access billions of dollars in free taxpayer cash.

“It’s nothing but a welfare program designed for illegal immigrants. ITINS are for tourists or illegals. No ITIN filer is eligible to work in the United States.”

Numerous investigations by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration have chronicled not only improper Child Tax Credit fraud and error payments ranging from $5.9 billion to $7.1 billion, but schemes such as nearly 24,000 ITIN payments going to the same address.

“There is no policy reason why we should be supporting families who are here illegally.”

Being president is harder than Donald Trump thought, according to aides and allies who say that he’s growing increasingly frustrated with the challenges of running the massive federal bureaucracy.

In interviews, nearly two dozen people who’ve spent time with Trump in the three weeks since his inauguration said that his mood has careened between surprise and anger as he’s faced the predictable realities of governing, from congressional delays over his cabinet nominations and legal fights holding up his aggressive initiatives to staff in-fighting and leaks.