Three Things You Need to Know - November 17, 2017

Flashy headlines don't tell the whole story on the tax plan.

Here comes the FLASH headline: The largest tax-code overhaul since the 1980’s passed through the House yesterday.

Doesn’t that sound flashy? The reality is there’s not much to get excited about. The REAL work on this plan goes down in the Senate, but probably the most interesting thing about this “tax plan” doesn’t even have anything to do with tax reform. Let’s get real here. This is still all about health care, we’re just calling it something else.

First, the tax numbers. After the Senate gets done revising this thing, individual tax cuts will be about 3.7 trillion and will raise revenue by 2.8 trillion. The Senate’s version is a marked improvement over the House’s. They improved it by increasing the child tax credit from 1,000 per child to 2,000, and they’re also - and this is the big one - repealing the Obamacare individual mandate.

The war on Obamacare never ended. It was just repackaged as “tax reform.” What was deemed “the largest tax-code overhaul in decades”, is - in reality - a tax plan that will be negated by inflation in 10 to 15 years. This is not an age-defining bill. The tax cuts make it better than what we have now, but it’s nothing earth-shattering. There’s only one age defining issue out there and that’s healthcare. This Bill could be the first salvo in scuttling Obamacare for good.

Notice that I said, “could be.” A couple days ago it was announced that the Alexander-Murray insurance company bailout would likely be included in the spending bill. This would basically negate the ultimate goal of repealing the individual mandate, and that ultimate goal is to cause Obamacare to fail. The Alexander-Murray bailout ensures that insurance companies and hospitals can continue operating like a cartel. Costs and premiums will remain high. Monthly premiums are now up to 2,100 dollars, and they’re rising. Those costs alone, completely wipe out the child tax credit.

To the Senate: if your goal really is to try and scuttle Obamacare, what good is repealing the individual mandate if you wind up bailing out the insurance companies? If you skimped on tax cuts to finally put a nail in the coffin of Obamacare, you better be prepared to go all the way. Stop the Alexander-Murray Obamacare payments, or this is all for nothing.

Franken-creep

If you always found Al Franken a little creepy, now you have confirmation.

Yesterday, Los Angeles radio news anchor Leeann Tweeden accused Al Franken of “forcibly kissing” her in 2006 when they were in Afghanistan as part of a U.S.O. tour. The kissing part of this story sounds pretty juvenile on Franken’s part, but it doesn’t appear to be the worst part of what Franken did. On the flight home, someone took a photo of Franken either groping, or looking like he is about to grope, Tweeden’s chest while she was sleeping.

The incident happened two years before the citizens of Minnesota elected Franken – the guy who played Stuart Smalley on Saturday Night Live – to represent them in the U.S. Senate.

Now, just like Roy Moore’s handwriting in the yearbook, we’re probably going to have days of photo-analysis trying to figure out whether either of Franken’s hands is actually making contact with Tweeden’s chest.

Either way, the photo is tasteless, disrespectful, and creepy.

Franken apologized, saying he realizes the photo’s not funny now, which actually just means he thought it was funny until he got caught.

As for the forced kiss, Tweeden says Franken wrote a skit for the two of them in which the characters kiss. She says he wanted to rehearse the kiss backstage. She did not want to. But he forced a, shall we say, “French” kiss on her anyway. She immediately shoved him away with both hands.

Franken said he doesn’t remember the rehearsal for the skit quite the same way as Tweeden does. No one could’ve seen that coming.

In Franken’s apology, he said he respects women, blah, blah, blah, and asked for a Senate ethics investigation on himself. That isn’t as noble as it might sound. A Senate ethics investigation is what you order up when you don’t want someone to get in actual trouble. Nothing ever results from those.

So, don’t even bother with the paperwork on that “ethics” investigation. We have photographic evidence of Al’s ethics and “respect for women.” Al Franken is a professional comedian. A guy like that doesn’t get elected Senator and suddenly become Ward Cleaver. The only surprise here is that it took nine years for something like this about Al Franken to come to light.

Fear the Reaper

Three letters were scrawled on the front door.

P. I. G.

Upon further inspection, crime scene investigations realized the ink was human blood.

It was the blood of actress Sharon Tate and her unborn child.

Tate had thrown a dinner party for her friends earlier that evening. She had no idea it would end in a bloody rampage.

Under Charles Manson’s instruction, members of his “family” invaded the Tate home and viciously killed everyone inside.

The next night, Manson rode with his followers to the home of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. They were also murdered.

Manson initially was sentenced to death. But a 1972 ruling by the California Supreme Court found the state’s death penalty law at the time unconstitutional.

His sentence was changed to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Manson has been denied parole 12 times.

But now Manson may finally get the punishment he deserves.

The 83-year-old has been hospitalized and sources are saying it’s only a matter of time until he passes on.

Charles Manson will die in his bed, content with living a long life—a luxury that Sharon Tate, her unborn son Paul Richard Polanski, and 8 other victims of Manson’s insanity will never know.

Let’s hope the grim reaper comes swiftly and Manson can start doing time on his next sentence.

MORE 3 THINGS

POLL: What DARK government secrets will Trump uncover?

Mark Wilson / Staff | Getty Images

Will the dark secrets of the Deep State finally see the light of day? Or will they slip back into darkness, as they have many times before?

The Trump administration is gearing up to fulfill one of Trump's most anticipated campaign promises: to make the contents of the JFK files, along with other Deep State secrets, available to the public. Kash Patel, who has promised to publicize the highly anticipated files, is expected to be confirmed next week as Trump's director of the FBI. Moreover, the House Oversight Committee created a new task force headed by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna called "Task Force on Declassification of Federal Secrets," which is tasked with investigating and declassifying information on the JFK, RFK, and MLK assassinations, UFOs, the Epstein list, COVID's origins, and 9/11. This all comes after the FBI found 2,400 "new" records relating to the assassination of President Kennedy following Trump's executive order to release the files.

Glenn discussed this topic with the cast of the Patrick Bet David podcast. Glenn expressed his confidence in Trump's radical transparency—on the condition that Kash Patel is confirmed. The cast was not as optimistic, expressing some doubt about whether Trump will actually unveil all that he has promised. But what do you think? What files are likely to see the light of day? And what files will continue to linger in the dark? Let us know in the poll below

Do you think the JFK, RFK, and MLK files will be unveiled?

Do you think the 9/11 files will be unveiled?

Do you think the COVID files will be unveiled?

Do you think the UFO files will be unveiled?

Do you think the Epstein list will be unveiled?

Transgender opera in Colombia? 10 SHOCKING ways USAID spent your tax dollars.

MANDEL NGAN / Contributor | Getty Images

The government has been doing what with our tax money!?

Under the determined eye of Elon Musk, DOGE has rooted out the corruption that permeates USAID, and it turns out that it's worse than we thought. Glenn recently read a list of atrocious causes that were funded by USAID, and the list was as long as it was shocking.

Since the January consumer index report was published today, one thing is clear: eggs are bearing the brunt of inflation. That's why we illustrated the extent of USAID's wasteful spending of YOUR taxpayer dollars by comparing it to the price of eggs. How many eggs could the American people have bought with their tax dollars that were given to a "transgender opera" in Colombia or indoctrinating Sri Lankans with woke gender ideology? The truth will shock you:

1. A “transgender opera” in Colombia

USAID spent $47,000 on a transgender opera in Colombia. That's over 135,000 eggs.

2. Sex changes and "LGBT activism" in Guatemala

$2 million was spent funding sex changes along with whatever "LGBT activism" means. That equates to over 5.7 million eggs!

3. Teaching Sri Lankan journalists how to avoid binary-gendered language

USAID forked over $7.9 million to combat the "gender binary" in Sri Lankan journalism. That could have bought nearly 23 million eggs.

4. Tourism in Egypt

$6 million (or just over 17 million eggs) was spent to fund tourism in Egypt. If only someone had thought to build some impressive landmarks...

5. A new "Sesame Street" show in Iraq

USAID spent $20 million to create a new Sesame Street show in Iraq. That's just short of 58 million eggs...

6. Helping the BBC value the diversity of Libyan society

$2.1 million was sent to the BBC (the British Broadcasting Corporation) to help them value the diversity of Libyan society (whatever that means). That could have bought over 6 million eggs.

7. Meals for a terrorist group linked to Al-Qaeda

$10 million worth of USAID-funded meals went to an Al-Qaeda linked terrorist group. That comes up to be just shy of 29 million eggs.

8. Promoting inclusion in Vietnam 

A combined $19.3 million was sent to two separate inclusion groups in Vietnam inclusion groups in Vietnam (why where they separated? Not very inclusive of them). That's over 55 million eggs.

9. Promoting DEI in Serbia's workplaces

USAID sent $1.5 million (4.3 million eggs) to “advance diversity equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities.”

10. Funding EcoHealth Alliance, tied to the Wuhan Institute of Virology's "bat research"

EcoHealth Alliance, one of the key NGOs that funded the Wuhan lab's bat virus research, received $5 million from USAID, which is equivalent to 14.5 million eggs.

The bottom line...

So, how much damage was done?

In total, approximately $73.8 million was wasted on the items on this list. That comes out to be 213 million eggs. Keep in mind that these are just the items on this list, there are many, many more that DOGE has uncovered and will uncover in the coming days. Case in point: that's a lot of eggs.

POLL: Should Trump stop producing pennies?

SAUL LOEB / Contributor, Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images

On Sunday, February 9th, President Trump ordered the U.S. Mint to halt the production of pennies. It costs the mint three cents to produce every penny, which Trump deemed wasteful. However, critics argue that axing the pennies will be compensated by ramping up nickel production, which costs 13 cents per coin.

In other news, President Trump promised on Truth Social that he would be reversing a Biden-era policy that mandated the use of paper straws throughout the federal government. From potentially slashing entire agencies to saying farewell to pennies and paper straws, Trump is hounding after wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars.

But what do you think? Was Trump right to put an end to pennies? And should plastic straws make a comeback? Let us know in the poll below:

Should Trump stop the production of pennies? 

Do you agree with Trump's reversal of the plastic straw ban?

Was this the most PATRIOTIC Super Bowl yet?

CHANDAN KHANNA / Contributor | Getty Images

The 2025 Super Bowl demonstrated Trump’s vision of a new America.

On Sunday, February 9th, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in the biggest sporting event of the year. But this wasn't just a victory for Eagles fans. For those watching, it became apparent that American culture has changed, the zeitgeist has shifted, and America has become cool again. While remnants of woke culture lingered, they felt out of step next to the parade of American Flags and patriotic messaging that dominated the national event. The message was clear: America is back.

Everybody knows that the commercials are the best part of any Super Bowl, and last night's game was no exception. As Glenn has pointed out, while some of the ads still carried woke messages (like Nike's), many more captured the newly kindled patriotism felt nationwide. Here are four of the best commercials from last Sunday that make this the most patriotic Super Bowl yet:

1. Rocket: "Own the Dream"

This touching commercial by the financial services company, Rocket, states "Everyone deserves a shot at the American dream," while showing images of people returning home and building families. The ad included a cover of John Denver's iconic song "Take Me Home, Country Roads" and featured an in-stadium sing-along, live from the Super Bowl.

2. Secret Service: "A History of Protection"

Donald Trump made history by being the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl, which required the efforts of hundreds of Secret Service agents to ensure his safety. The Secret Service boasted of this feat during their minute-long commercial, which lauded American values and achievements and featured iconic American imagery.

3. Brad Pitt: "Huddle Up"

The Super Bowl introduction celebrated snapshots of American achievement accompanied with a powerful commentary about unity narrated by Brad Pitt. The message is clear: Americans can achieve great things when we work together. The ad conjures up American ideals such as hard work, ingenuity, self-sacrifice, and teamwork.

4. Jeep: "Big Game"

Movie star Harrison Ford appeared in Jeep's Super Bowl commercial to promote freedom and to remind us that "freedom isn't free." Ford treks through the mountains while ruminating on what freedom means in America and the opportunities and responsibilities that come with it.