{"id":55477,"date":"2018-01-02T18:04:54","date_gmt":"2018-01-02T23:04:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=55477"},"modified":"2018-01-02T18:06:07","modified_gmt":"2018-01-02T23:06:07","slug":"the-daily-gouge-archive-friday-december-30th-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=55477","title":{"rendered":"The Daily Gouge Archive, Friday, December 29th, 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>It&#8217;s Friday, December 29th, 2017&#8230;but before we begin, further evidence, whatever you might have heard to the contrary, Washington is <em>one<\/em> swamp which is <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>far<\/em><\/span> from being drained:<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"headline head1\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/2017\/12\/28\/nunes-blasts-doj-fbi-for-failure-to-produce-records-relating-to-anti-trump-dossier.html\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\">Nunes blasts DOJ, FBI for &#8216;failure&#8217; to produce records rel<\/span><span style=\"color: #ff0000; text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\">at<\/span><span style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\">ing to anti-Trump dossier<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/video.foxnews.com\/v\/embed.js?id=5695164591001&#038;w=420&#038;h=235\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/script><noscript>Watch the latest video at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.foxnews.com\" class=\"broken_link\">foxnews.com<\/a><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p><strong>All of which, as the <em>WSJ<\/em>&#8216;s Kimberly Strassel suggests, makes the coming New Year perfect for&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"wsj-article-headline\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/a-big-beautiful-trump-2018-issue-1514499989\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000; text-decoration: underline;\">A Big, Beautiful Trump 2<\/span><span style=\"color: #ff0000; text-decoration: underline;\">018 Issue<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<h3 class=\"sub-head\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/a-big-beautiful-trump-2018-issue-1514499989\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #008000; text-decoration: underline;\">Civil-service reform could get bip<\/span><span style=\"color: #008000; text-decoration: underline;\">artisan support, even in a rough election year<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #008000;\">.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/BN-WT903_2WIpe_M_20171228104909.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-55425\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/BN-WT903_2WIpe_M_20171228104909.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"266\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/BN-WT903_2WIpe_M_20171228104909.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/BN-WT903_2WIpe_M_20171228104909-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><em><strong>Just to be clear, these are <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">EPA employees<\/span>, federal workers whose salaries <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">WE<\/span> are <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">paying<\/span>!<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;President Trump is on the hunt for a 2018 issue\u2014a strong follow-up to his tax-cut victory that will motivate voters and gain bipartisan support. Democrats are pushing for an infrastructure bill, inviting the president to spend with them. House GOP leaders are mulling entitlement reform\u2014a noble goal, if unlikely in a midterm cycle.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Fortunately for the president, there\u2019s a better idea out there that\u2019s already a Trump theme. <span style=\"color: #008000;\">It\u2019s also a sure winner with the public, so Republicans ought to be able to pressure Democrats to join.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><em>Let 2018 be <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">the year of civil-service reform<\/span>\u2014<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">a root-and-branch overhaul of the government itself<\/span><\/em>. <span style=\"color: #008000;\">Call it <em>Operation Drain the Swamp<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>&#8230;&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>And the douche pumps pictured above should be the first ones&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/TRUMP_DRAIN_THE_SWAMP-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-55426\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/TRUMP_DRAIN_THE_SWAMP-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"298\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/TRUMP_DRAIN_THE_SWAMP-1.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/TRUMP_DRAIN_THE_SWAMP-1-300x224.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;forced into the sewer.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Now, here&#8217;s The Gouge!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>First up on the last edition of 2017, writing at the\u00a0<em>WSJ<\/em>, John Bolton, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>our<\/em><\/span>\u00a0choice as Secretary of State in <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>any<\/em><\/span> Administration, tells us&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"wsj-article-headline\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/how-to-defund-the-u-n-1514233054\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #3366ff;\">How to Defund the U.N.<\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<h3 class=\"sub-head\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><a style=\"color: #333399;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/how-to-defund-the-u-n-1514233054\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #333399; text-decoration: underline;\">A few of its agencies do useful work. American taxpayers shouldn\u2019t pay for the many<\/span><span style=\"color: #333399; text-decoration: underline;\"> that don\u2019t<\/span><\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/MoneyDowntheToilet.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-55378\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/MoneyDowntheToilet.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"286\" height=\"352\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/MoneyDowntheToilet.jpg 286w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/MoneyDowntheToilet-244x300.jpg 244w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 286px) 100vw, 286px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>Turtle Bay has been impervious to reform largely because most U.N. budgets are financed through effectively mandatory contributions.<\/strong><\/span> Under this system, calculated by a \u201ccapacity to pay\u201d formula, each U.N. member is assigned a fixed percentage of each agency\u2019s budget to contribute. <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>The <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>highest<\/em><\/span> assessment is <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>22%<\/em><\/span>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>paid by the U.S<\/em><em>.<\/em><\/span> <span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">This far exceeds other major economies, whose contribution levels are based on prevailing exchange rates rather than purchasing power parity.<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>China\u2019s<\/em><\/span> assessment is <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>just under 8%<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Why does the U.S. tolerate this<\/em><\/span>?<\/strong><\/span> It is either consistently outvoted when setting the budgets that determine contributions or has joined the \u201cconsensus\u201d to avoid the appearance of losing. Yet dodging embarrassing votes means acquiescing to increasingly high expenditures.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #333399;\">The U.S. should reject this international taxation regime <em>and move instead to <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">voluntary<\/span> contributions<\/em>.<\/span> <em>This means paying only for what the country <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">wants<\/span>\u2014<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">and expecting to get what it pays for<\/span><\/em>.<\/strong><\/span> Agencies failing to deliver will see their budgets cut, modestly or substantially. Perhaps America will depart some organizations entirely. This is a performance incentive the current assessment-taxation system simply does not provide.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/DRvzGzMW4AAMzuC.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-55415\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/DRvzGzMW4AAMzuC.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"196\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/DRvzGzMW4AAMzuC.png 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/DRvzGzMW4AAMzuC-300x147.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>Start with the U.N. Human Rights Council&#8230;<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">The U.N.\u2019s five regional economic and social councils, which have no concrete accomplishments, don\u2019t deserve American funding either&#8230;<\/span>Next come vast swaths of U.N. bureaucracy&#8230;<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">Significant savings could be realized by reducing other U.N. offices that are little more than self-licking ice cream cones, including many dealing with \u201cPalestinian\u201d questions.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8230;Some will argue incorrectly that unilaterally moving to voluntary contributions violates the U.N. Charter. <span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #333399;\">In construing treaties, like contracts, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>parties are absolved from performance when others violate their commitments<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Defenders of the assessed-contribution model would doubtless not enjoy estimating how often the charter has been violated since 1945<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">If the U.S. moved first, Japan and some European Union countries might well follow America\u2019s lead. <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong><em>Elites <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">love<\/span> the U.N.<\/em>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>but they would have a tough time explaining to voters why they are not insisting their contributions be used effectively, as America has<\/em><\/span>. <span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">Apart from risking the loss of a meaningless General Assembly vote\u2014the Security Council vote and veto being written into the Charter itself\u2014<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>the U.S. has nothing substantial to lose<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>Thus could Mr. Trump revolutionize the U.N. system. The swamp in Turtle Bay might be drained much more quickly than the one in Washington.<\/strong><\/span>&#8220;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Speaking of government bureaucrats flushing money directly down the toilet, courtesy of <em>Best of the Web<\/em>, James F<\/strong><strong>reeman recalls the Ghost of Stimulus Past:<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"wsj-article-headline\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/he-didnt-build-that-1514414540?mod=djemBestOfTheWeb\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #333399; text-decoration: underline;\">He Didn\u2019t Buil<\/span><span style=\"color: #333399; text-decoration: underline;\">d That<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<h3 class=\"sub-head\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/he-didnt-build-that-1514414540?mod=djemBestOfTheWeb\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Obama, Trump and the ghosts of infrastructure plans past<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/335018.full_.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-55390 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/335018.full_.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"261\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;According to polls most Americans\u00a0still don\u2019t approve\u00a0of the job Donald Trump is doing as President. But they have to be impressed by his recent policy achievements. And as Washington ponders a new program to encourage the construction of roads and bridges, the former real-estate developer would seem to have the perfect set of skills and experience to oversee a building boom. <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>To avoid the mistakes of his predecessor, Mr. Trump will need to prioritize the protection of taxpayers.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"paywall\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\n<p>&#8230;<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Voters heard <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>a lot<\/em><\/span> about infrastructure from former President Barack Obama, especially when he first took office.\u00a0<span style=\"color: #333399;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Sold as a way to create jobs while making needed transportation improvements and an environmentally sensitive economy<\/em><\/span>, the stimulus plan was drafted in haste by Democrats in Congress and then signed by Mr. Obama on Feb. 17, 2009.<\/span> The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was priced at $787 billion when enacted; <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>the official estimate later soared past $800 billion<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>In a 2012 book called \u201cMoney Well Spent?,\u201d Michael Grabell of the nonprofit news organization ProPublica noted that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>only about 10% of the spending, or $80 billion, was devoted to infrastructure<\/em><\/span>\u2014<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>and very little of that total went to critical work<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong> <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">The political necessity to fund the \u201cshovel-ready\u201d projects promised by the president <em>meant that money didn\u2019t go to the bridges most in need of repair <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">but to jobs that could quickly clear the thicket of regulatory permitting<\/span><\/em>.<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Repaving roads<\/em><\/span> was a typical activity; <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>less than 12% of the infrastructure spending went for work on bridges<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Even with his report of such modest success, Mr. Grabell may still have overstated the case. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>I<\/strong><strong>n 2014 the Obama White House released <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>its own review<\/em><\/span> of its stimulus program. <span style=\"color: #333399;\">Writing for the Huffington Post, Philip K. Howard\u00a0decided\u00a0to find out how much of the money went to transportation infrastructure, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>based on Team Obama\u2019s own data<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> According to Mr. Howard:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong><em>Toward the back of the report (Table 8 on p. 34) there\u2019s a chart that gives the number: <\/em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">$30 billion<\/span><em>. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">That\u2019s a little more than <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">3 percent<\/span> of the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">total<\/span> stimulus plan.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\"><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Three percent<\/span>!!<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/700349611.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-55391\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/700349611.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"277\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/700349611.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/700349611-300x208.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230;<span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>Here\u2019s hoping that America\u2019s current developer-in-chief, with his significant experience in private construction projects<\/strong> <\/span><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>(only if you buy Trump&#8217;s hype!)<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>, will favor the creation of infrastructure\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>without<\/em><\/span>\u00a0public money.<\/strong><\/span> <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><em>Taxpayers<\/em> have suffered <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">enough<\/span>.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><em>&#8220;<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Though as Rich Terrell notes, this belated recognition of the flagrant fraud, wanton waste and egregious abuse at the heart of the 2009 Stimulus is just in keeping with the only <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>truly<\/em><\/span> amazing aspect of The Dear Misleader&#8217;s time in office: his&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Image-12-28-17-at-8.20-AM.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-55388\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Image-12-28-17-at-8.20-AM.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Image-12-28-17-at-8.20-AM.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Image-12-28-17-at-8.20-AM-267x300.jpg 267w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Which is shriveling quicker than an Irishman&#8217;s schwantz in the Arctic Ocean.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Next up, courtesy of his\u00a0<em>Morning Jolt<\/em>, Jim Geraghty explains, <em>Facebook<\/em>&#8216;s supposed best efforts to the contrary notwithstanding&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/morning-jolt\/454982\/facebooks-futile-attempt-curb-fake-news?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=171228_Jolt&amp;utm_term=Jolt\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Why Social Media Companies Can\u2019t Stop \u2018Fake News<\/span><\/a>\u2019<\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/fakenews.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-55416\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/fakenews.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"248\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/fakenews.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/fakenews-300x186.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;Right before the holiday, Guy Benson noted that two widely spread viral tweets about the tax reform bill were flat-out false. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>The first, from actress Jenna Fischer, contended that because of the GOP-supported tax reform, \u201cschool teachers can no longer deduct the cost of their classroom supplies on their taxes.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Cut Fischer a little bit of slack; she eventually corrected her assertion and offered a lengthy apology.<\/strong><\/span> Her information was outdated; the House version of the bill would indeed have eliminated the $250 deductions that teachers could take for purchasing school supplies for their students. A short time earlier, it was a fair complaint; the final version of the bill kept the deduction intact, however. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Still, her original complaining Tweet was retweeted at least 46,000 times; her apology was retweeted 3,600 times.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The second, from a now-deleted Twitter account called \u201c@Sykotik_Dreams\u201d \u2014 declared, \u201cMy wife\u2019s friend just received a letter from Medicaid and Social Security saying her severely disabled autistic 7 year old son just lost his healthcare and benefits. The letter states that it\u2019s due to your #TaxScamBill. It\u2019s 3 days before Christmas you [bad word] [bad word]!!\u201d <strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">This, too, was retweeted more than 46,000 times before it was deleted.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8230;<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Let me help you understand how people decide whether information is accurate or not, Facebook. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">A great many people have strong belief systems, and at the core of those strong belief systems is the idea that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>they<\/em><\/span> are <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>good<\/em><\/span> and <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>people who disagree<\/em><\/span> are <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>bad<\/em><\/span>; alternately, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>my tribe<\/em><\/span> is <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>good<\/em><\/span> and the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>other tribes<\/em><\/span> are <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>bad<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> If <em>new information<\/em> comes along and appears to confirm that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>they and their tribe<\/em><\/span><em> are <\/em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>good<\/em><\/span>, or that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>the other tribes<\/em><\/span><em> are <\/em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>bad<\/em><\/span>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>then they choose to believe it<\/em><\/span>. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">If <em>new information<\/em> comes along and appears to confirm that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>they and their tribe<\/em><\/span><em> are <\/em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>bad<\/em><\/span>, or that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>the other tribes<\/em><\/span><em> are <\/em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>good<\/em><\/span>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>they will declare the information false<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span>&#8220;<\/p>\n<p><strong>As usual, Mr. Geraghty is spot on.\u00a0 Which is why <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>we<\/em><\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><em>always<\/em><\/span><\/span> attempt to verify, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #ff0000;\"><em>to the very best of our ability<\/em><\/span>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #ff0000;\"><em>every<\/em><\/span> story which crosses our computer.\u00a0 Unfortunately, like so many of life&#8217;s <em>other<\/em> lessons, it&#8217;s one we learned early on only through experience, having published what turned out to be a tall tale we <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>so<\/em><\/span> wanted to be true.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Case in point, courtesy Dan Flynn writing at <em>City-Journal<\/em>\u00a0via the <em>WSJ<\/em>:<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"wsj-article-headline\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Words of the Year<\/span><\/h1>\n<h3 class=\"sub-head\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\">\u2018The ventriloquists at Oxford, Merriam-Webster, and Dictionary.com put words in our mouths.\u2019<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/feminazis.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-55413\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/feminazis.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"294\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/feminazis.png 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/feminazis-300x221.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Merriam-Webster named \u201cfeminism\u201d its Word of the Year for 2017\u2014not 1971, as might have been more appropriate. <span style=\"color: #800080;\">The reference company\u2019s shortlist for consideration included \u201cAntifa,\u201d \u201cWhite Fragility\u201d (two words?), and \u201cBroflake,\u201d <em>defined as \u201c<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">a man who is readily upset or offended by progressive attitudes that conflict with his more conventional or conservative views<\/span><\/em>.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8230;<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"paywall\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\n<p><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Oxford Dictionaries selected a similarly politically charged term, albeit one more obscure than the ubiquitous \u201cfeminism.\u201d<\/span> The company defines \u201cyouthquake\u201d as \u201ca significant cultural, political, or social change arising from the actions or influence of young people.\u201d <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">That seems neutral enough, until one understands that it was UK Labour Party gains, fueled by the youth vote, that led to the company\u2019s elevation of a term that, <em>as a befuddled Washington Post pointed out, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">nobody really uses<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8230;<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Dictionary.com went with \u201ccomplicit,\u201d which initially appears to be a perfectly cromulent and un-weaponized word.<\/span> But in <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>explaining<\/em><\/span> its choice, the popular website <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>cited the complicity of various politicians in aiding and abetting Donald Trump\u2019s agenda<\/em><\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8230;<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\">In selecting these as the year\u2019s supposed buzzwords, the ventriloquists at Oxford, Merriam-Webster, and Dictionary.com <em>put words in <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">our<\/span> mouths<\/em>.<\/span> <em>The words define <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">them<\/span> more than they do <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">us<\/span><\/em>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>A <em>better<\/em> candidate for 2017\u2019s word of the year can be found in a 36-year-old Kinks song. \u201c<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Predictable<\/em><\/span>,\u201d Ray Davies sang in 1981, \u201cyeah, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>that\u2019s<\/em><\/span> the word of the year.\u201d <span style=\"color: #800080;\">Davies, who boasts a better track record with the English language than the philologists, glossarists, and other word weirdos insisting that they know best what words we should use, drew a bead on our times earlier than most.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/21t1fw.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-55403\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/21t1fw.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"261\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/21t1fw.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/21t1fw-300x196.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Thus do three formerly unimpeachable sources of fact surrender to the power of Political Correctness.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/b-p_pngWfwA?start=5785\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Which brings us, appropriately enough, to\u00a0<em>The Lighter Side<\/em>:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/ISIS.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-55412\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/ISIS.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"320\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/ISIS.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/ISIS-300x208.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/sk122817dAPR20171228064510.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-55393\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/sk122817dAPR20171228064510.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"361\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/sk122817dAPR20171228064510.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/sk122817dAPR20171228064510-300x234.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/lb171227c20171227032251.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-55394\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/lb171227c20171227032251.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"302\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/lb171227c20171227032251.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/lb171227c20171227032251-300x196.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Dims.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-55396\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Dims.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Dims.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Dims-300x195.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/kn122817dAPR20171227084506.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-55395\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/kn122817dAPR20171227084506.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"324\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/kn122817dAPR20171227084506.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/kn122817dAPR20171227084506-300x210.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/gv122717dAPR20171227054508-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-55421\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/gv122717dAPR20171227054508-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"332\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/gv122717dAPR20171227054508-1.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/gv122717dAPR20171227054508-1-300x216.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/download-14.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-55384\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/download-14.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"492\" height=\"469\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/download-14.jpeg 492w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/download-14-300x286.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 492px) 100vw, 492px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/download-4-1.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-55383\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/download-4-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"492\" height=\"438\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/download-4-1.jpeg 492w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/download-4-1-300x267.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 492px) 100vw, 492px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/download-3-7.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-55382\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/download-3-7.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"492\" height=\"428\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/download-3-7.jpeg 492w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/download-3-7-300x261.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 492px) 100vw, 492px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/download-2-10.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-55381\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/download-2-10.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"492\" height=\"434\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/download-2-10.jpeg 492w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/download-2-10-300x265.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 492px) 100vw, 492px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/download-1-10.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-55380\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/download-1-10.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"492\" height=\"510\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/download-1-10.jpeg 492w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/download-1-10-289x300.jpeg 289w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 492px) 100vw, 492px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>We&#8217;ll be taking Monday off, so until January 3rd&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GLUNypEfrFQ?start=86\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Here&#8217;s wishing you and yours a blessed 2018.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Magoo<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s Friday, December 29th, 2017&#8230;but before we begin, further evidence, whatever you might have heard to the contrary, Washington is one swamp which is far from being drained: Nunes blasts DOJ, FBI for &#8216;failure&#8217; to produce records relating to anti-Trump dossier &nbsp; \u00a0Watch the latest video at foxnews.com All of which, as the WSJ&#8216;s Kimberly [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1988,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1988"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=55477"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55477\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55479,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55477\/revisions\/55479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=55477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=55477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=55477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}