Quickies- Monday's Suck Edition

Sorry folks but I've been busy as can be lately. You'll just have to settle for a quickie.

• All it took for Trump's presidential extravaganza to run out of steam was a simple dose of reality.

• Remember a few weeks ago when Republicans almost shut down government because they wanted to shrink government, cut spending, and take us back to pre-2008 spending levels? CBO says their much touted $38 billion in spending cuts will actually increase spending by $3 billion. In other words, had Republicans just shut up and quit with their phony core principle stump speeches, the feds would have actually spent less.

• Wonder why the Dow has been stagnant?  “The full consequences of a default – or even the serious prospect of default – by the United States are impossible to predict and awesome to contemplate. Denigration of the full faith and credit of the United States would have substantial effects on the domestic financial markets and the value of the dollar.”-- 1983 President Reagan when warning Congress about not raising America's debt limit.

• Must read health care reform article: "Bad News for Mail Robbers: The Obvious Constitutionality of Health Care Reform."  Oh yeah it's written by an actual real Libertarian, not a Paultard.

• In case there are still any retards left who still believe torture led to the killing of bin Laden, CIA Director Leon Panetta unequivocally stated in a private letter the couriers name was first learned from a detainee not in American custody.  Great work by Greg Sargent on this one.  Will it quieten the pro-torture chickenhawks in the GOP?  Not a chance.

*Update:

Atrios, as only Atrios could, makes a quick explanation for the Reagan quote above: "Actual Reagan is irrelevant, it's the mythical Reagan inside their heads that's important. And he, magically, tells them exactly what they want to hear." 

Very true.  We have to remember, in the Republican Fantasy World, Reagan not only shrunk government, cut spending and raised revenues but he also never raised the debt limit.  Of course, as anyone with half a brain or all their chromosomes will tell you, Reagan didn't do any of that stuff.  But we aren't dealing with sane people here.  We're dealing with Republicans and we can throw basic sanity right out the window.