By Nathan Barton

The new TrumpTax now seems a done deal, but on Tuesday the 19th of December, it was a bizarre sort of public spectacle as the House and Senate debated it, voted on it, traded back and forth, and played their usual parliamentary games.

Not the least of the bizarre behavior was in Congress, but in the realm of “celebrity-land” and featured a certain “Rosy O’Donnell” of television fame. As reported by The Blaze, she used Twitter to publicly offer 2 million FRNs (dollars) to both Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona, and Senator Susan Collins of Maine, to vote against the tax bill.

As a number of people pointed out, what she did was a federal crime. Although she later tried to make it into a joke or an offer to donate to their favorite charity, nothing similar to that defense has worked with situations where someone makes a joke about a bomb on an airliner or about assassinating the president. Rosie O’Donnell IS A CRIMINAL – no matter if unindicted or without an actual court conviction.

I must ask, as a libertarian, is this law a good one, a just law? Is attempting to bribe – offering a bribe – to a federal official something which is wrong and should be a criminal act? As long as we are stuck with non-voluntary government, yes, this is a very bad thing. Criminal as Congress is, as the FedGov is, it CAN be worse. It should be a crime, a felony, to offer a bribe to a senator or congress critter. I would suggest (though it is not now) a suitable punishment would be a fine of ten times the amount of the bribe offered. In O’Donnell’s case, this would be a paltry $40 million for her – enough to hurt and make her think about how stupid she is.

Which brings me to my next point. Although a lot of the Twitter message traffic is reported, there are two serious omissions. Not a word from either Flake, Collins or their staffers is to be found. Surely someone would have quickly used the NSA or other means of tracing and reporting that O’Donnell addressed both of these officials directly and offered to pay them to vote against the TrumpTax bill. Would it not be appropriate – indeed, even expected – for them to respond with indignation at the mere offer? To explain in short phrases (and simple words, of course) that what she was doing was illegal? And even for their staff to call the FBI to report an attempted crime?

O’Donnell is stupid – she offered the bribe in public and made it specific, a simple and illegal exchange. It is, I admit, a bit unlike her – maybe her hatred and anger caused her to behave stupidly.

Or maybe there is something more. She could have called up either of those officers (or several others – I’m sure she would get through quickly) and talked about how bad the bill was and, oh, by the way, she has a friend that has to sell their three-million-dollar mansion for just a million bucks, and did they have a family member interested? Or talk about how nice it would be if the next reelection campaign could get ten or twenty people to each donate a few hundred thousand.

That is the way we know business is often done. It is much harder to prove than when the idiot uses Twitter.

Or it could be she was just making a bid, and thinks (as do many people in Hollywood, it seems) Trump is as dumb as a rock – even dumber than George W. And hoped he’d offer a counter-proposal to Flake and Snow or Collins (I get those mixed up).

So, how many times has that happened? More than we think, or even can guess. Action’s dictum applies: power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Government has too much power, and it is getting closer and closer to being absolute: of course, people buy officials.

One of the other bizarre items about this tax vote business features Arizona Senator John McCain. Listening on Tuesday night to a talk show host from Seattle (subbing for the very outspoken and irritating Mark Levin), he pointed out that McCain was not going to be able to vote, as he was in Arizona getting treatment for his brain cancer. He went on to explain that he disagreed vehemently with McCain on many political issues but that should not distract from the fact that McCain was a nice guy, had served his country so well, and that his family was going through the worst time they’d had since he was a POW in ‘Nam back in the 1970s.

The radio host went on to explain how he was receiving hateful e-mails from political opponents. His own mother has stage 4 cancer and he has gotten many messages from the left-wing political opponents (this guy is a conservative like Levin), including ones wishing his mother was dead, hoping she would die quickly, and generally demonstrating that their political hatred of him extended to his family. He pointed out correctly that this sort of thing was both getting more common and often typical of the liberal “social justice warriors” today.

I understand and sympathize, but do not necessarily agree that we must totally separate personal and political matters. Especially not when (as in the case of John McCain), the political opponents are NOT men (or women) of honor and NOT “nice people.” Does that mean that we should treat them with anything but the utmost respect? Of course not – even when we have to kill them. Does that mean we want them dead? No, we want them to have a chance to repent, to cease their evil. If there is some way short of killing them to do that, by all means, let us encourage that and do what we can to promote that. Should we threaten their family and loved ones? No, at least if they are not participating in the man’s (or woman’s) evil actions.

John McCain (literally, John son of Cain – an appropriate surname) is an evil man. This host knew little about his past and his traitorous and dishonorable actions. Which is not a surprise: Wikipedia, for example, tells little of the truth. But it does confirm some things. For example, that family which is going through the worst time since he was a POW? Bogus. The wife he was married to while serving off Vietnam and when a POW, who had to endure knowing he was in durance vile? He divorced her in 1980 to marry the woman he was having an affair with – the same wife he has now. How is THAT for honor and keeping the oaths (vows) he took? That fire on-board an aircraft carrier which nearly killed him? Guess what the record says about who caused that fire? Right, a Naval officer by the name of John McCain. In one of a series of spectacular “accidents” in which his poor flying skills and attitude were major factors. If he had NOT had a grandfather and father who were admirals, he’d not just have been cashiered – he’d have served time in Fort Leavenworth and NOT in Congress. His political record is as bad, if somewhat different, as that of such notorious gangsters and corrupt politicians as Teddy Kennedy and Robert Byrd. The disastrous acts of Congress for which he was often the deciding vote is too long to list. The man is a scumbag. The earth will be better off with him gone.

But, even the worst of men can repent… so I don’t pray for his early death or for his family’s destruction. God is patient: John McCain will be judged and sentenced for his evil, and we don’t need to hurry it What we DO need to do is get rid of the POWER that people like him and Flake, and Reid and Snow and Collins have over the lives, fortunes, property, and future of at least 350 million – if not of the 7 billion or so now on earth and many more in the future.

Mama’s Note: No matter what is said or done, this new “tax cut” is simply more of the same smoke and mirrors as all the rest of the actions of congress. Without meaningful spending cuts, meaningful withdrawal from trying to control the world, and without meaningful elimination of the power and control this non-voluntary government has over everyone… it is nothing less than a massive tissue of lies – another one in a very long series of such lies. Whether the “cuts” are for rich or poor, individuals or businesses, they will simply result in more debt, more regulation, and more power to those who crave it. That, of course, was always the intent…