The Funny Papers

Ed Hall, Pedro X. Molina, Kevin Siers, Michael de Adder, Lalo Alcaraz, Jack Ohman, Darrin Bell, Steve Breen, Clay Bennett, Steve Brodner, Mike Luckovich, David Fitzsimmons, Gary Markstein

The Funny Papers

JD Crowe, Darrin Bell, Dave Whamond, Ed Hall, MacLeod, Ed Wexler, Lalo Alcaraz, RJ Matson, Bill Bramhall, Bill Day, Jack Ohman, Michael de Adder, Clay Bennett, Gary Huck,

More IvankaLies™

Ivanka ‘Complicit’ _____ has written a book y’all!

Well, to be fair, it’s probably more like her jewelry or clothing lines, in that she had someone do the work for her and then she slapped her name on it, but still ...

To be fair, Ivanka inked the deal for her book—Women Who Work: Rewriting the Rules for Success—a while ago ... before she became Complicit ... before she became First Accomplice, before she became the Presidential ASSistant.

And to be fair, she wants y’all to know that she will neither promote this book, nor will she profit from the proceeds from this book ...

::::cough lie cough::::

You see, all the profits from her book will go to ... her own charitable fund, and then that fund will donate to a worthy cause and that worthy cause will probably be either Ivanka _____ or Daddy’s reelection campaign.

Well, actually, she says the money is going to the National Urban League and the Boys and Girls Club of America ... which means it ends up helping low income minority families which, you know, didn’t vote for Daddy but now maybe they will because Complicit slipped ‘em some cash.

But do not forget that the proceeds from the book she did not write herself will be filtered through a foundation she set up and which she controls.

And don’t forget she only put up a portion of her advance from the book, too.

She’s a liar, like Daddy, and you just know he is so proud of her for her lack of ethics; he trained her right.

The Daily Hypocrite: Jason Chaffetz and His Lack of Ethics

From the Height of Hypocrisy file comes the story of, of course, a Republican.

This time is GOP’s flunky, Congressman Jason Chaffetz of Utah and the head of the House Oversight Committee.

Chaffetz is criticizing Walter Shaub, the director of the federal Office of Government Ethics [OGE], because Shaub is questioning Donald _____’s many, many, conflicts of interest.

Chaffetz has threatened to subpoena Shaub if he refuses to participate in an official interview:

“He seems to be acting prematurely at best, without doing investigations or thorough looks. He’s rendering opinions publicly that really cause you to scratch your head. We need the Office of Government Ethics to act ethically. Ironically, that’s not what they’re doing.”

Yup, he’s questioning the ethics of the ethics department because the ethics department is questioning the ethics of the president which is something they’re supposed to do. Sure, Walter Shaub, an Obama appointee, is a frequent critics of _____’s ethics, especially when said the president-elect “stepping back from running his positions is meaningless from a conflict of interest perspective.”

Chaffetz now claims Shaub has refused to agree to a meeting to discuss matters related to OGE’s public remarks about Trump, but this also comes on the heels of the GOP’s failed attempt to pass language reauthorizing the office.

Huh, so the guy questioning the ethics of the guy questioning the ethics of the president-elect has worked to limit the scope of the ethics office?

Of course, Jason Chaffetz is giddy with praise over _____’s new ALLEGED ethics policy:

“President-elect _____’s obligation is to comply with the laws on the books. It appears he is going to great lengths to be as responsible as possible and comply with those requirements."

Remember, _____ isn’t turning over his businesses to an impartial third party, but to his two sons, Donnie Junior and Eric the Dumb One.

Very ethical, because if anyone thinks that _____ won’t be involved every single day in his businesses and conversing with his two little Hitler Youth sons about those businesses, then you’ve apparently received a degree in Asshattery from _____ U.

I think someone should be questioning the ethics on one goose-stepping Jason Chaffetz.

Oh, and one more tidbit about ethics and Jason Chaffetz ... for most of the presidential campaign last year he spoke out against ____ and it wasn't until _____ became the official nominee that Chaffetz put on the Golden Uniform of a _____ Nazi.

Politico

House GOP Has No Time For Ethics ... Oops, Maybe Not ... ?

And the treachery begins ...

Yesterday House Republicans voted to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics [OCE]—an independent body created in 2008 to investigate allegations of misconduct by lawmakers after several bribery and corruption scandals sent members to prison.

The OCE was created after the cases of former Republican California Congressman, Randy "Duke" Cunningham—who served seven years in prison on bribery and other charges—and Republican Ohio Congressman, Bob Ney—who was charged in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal and pleaded guilty to corruption charges—and Republican Louisiana Congressman—Rep. William Jefferson was also convicted of corruption.

Sense a trend ... Republican?

So, this new disemboweling of the OCE, met with outcry by the Democrats and bipartisan government watchdog groups, will be voted on today by the full House. Oh, and this new package includes a way for Republican leaders to punish lawmakers if there is a repeat of the Democratic sit-in last summer over gun control.

Yup, it’s the GOP playing nasty; who’da thunk it?

Under the ethics change pushed by Republican Virginia Congressman Bob Goodlatte, the OCE would fall under the control of the House Ethics Committee, which is run by lawmakers. So, lawmakers would be watching lawmakers in regards to ethics; yeah, nothing to see there.

The OCE would be changed to the Office of Congressional Complaint Review, and the rule change would require that "any matter that may involve a violation of criminal law must be referred to the Committee on Ethics for potential referral to law enforcement agencies after an affirmative vote by the members."

All that means is, again, that lawmakers would have the final say under the change as to what to do about violations by lawmakers.

Now, to be fair, while House Republicans voted 119-74 in favor of the change, Republican Speaker Paul Ryan and Republican Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy spoke out against the change, but failed to sway the majority of the Republicans, many of whom have felt unfairly targeted by the OCE.

Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was not happy:

"Republicans claim they want to 'drain the swamp,' but the night before the new Congress gets sworn in, the House GOP has eliminated the only independent ethics oversight of their actions. Evidently, ethics are the first casualty of the new Republican Congress."

Chris Carson, president of the League of Women Voters, blasted Ryan and his team:

"We all know the so-called House Ethics Committee is worthless for anything other than a whitewash — sweeping corruption under the rug. That's why the independent Office of Congressional Ethics has been so important. The OCE works to stop corruption and that's why Speaker Ryan is cutting its authority. Speaker Ryan is giving a green light to congressional corruption."

Well, Republican corruption clearly.

#Resist. And in 2017, vote them all out.

Moments ago, House Republicans changed their minds and decided not to go forward with this treachery.

For now, I'm sure ....

Yahoo

Is Rep. Aaron Schock On The Down [ton Abbey] Low?

I have never been to the Rayburn House Office Building is Washington, DC, where many members of Congress have their offices, bit according to Ben Terris of the Washington Post, it’s your typical drab, beige, bureaucratic government building.

When a member of Congress moves into an office in the Rayburn, the rooms are spare and bare; furniture and computers are of the hand-me-down-from-the-last-tenant variety. But new members are allowed to paint, though they have limited choices that the House will provide: beige, eggshell, light blue, light gray or light yellow — that the House will provide. If you wish a different color, then the lawmaker must pay for that.

Which is how we come to Congressman Aaron Schock’s offices; y’all remember Schock, right? He, of the turquoise belt and gingham blouse, er, shirt, in the photo that went viral; the one that made us all wonder if he might be a little light in the Congressional loafers?

Schock’s new office — his outer office — is bold, bright red; there are gold-colored wall sconces with black candles; there’s a Federal-style bull’s-eye mirror with an eagle perched on top and, according to the woman at the front desk, it’s “based off of the red room in ‘Downton Abbey.’”

How very Dowager Countess. Terris was suddenly interested, and then another woman came out and asked if he’d like to see the rest; would he?

She introduced herself as Annie Brahler, the interior decorator whose company, Euro Trash, designed Schock’s new digs. She escorted Terris into Schock’s private office, another dramatic red room with a crystal chandelier, a table propped up by two eagles, a bust of Abraham Lincoln and massive arrangements of pheasant feathers.

Pheasant feathers. Terris was intrigued, but then he received a call on his cell phone: Schock’s communications director, Benjamin Cole who asked who told him that he could photograph the office. Cole said, "Stay where you are. You’ve created a bit of a crisis in the office.”

A staff member came in and asked Terris to delete the photos from my phone, but, well, that didn’t exactly happen and that’s when the story really took off.

See, Schock’s people wanted Terris to delete the pictures, and not do any story about the redecoration of his offices, but rather allow Schock to talk about any number of other things … like the six pack abs he proudly displays on the cover of Men’s Health; or his Instagram, which features him leaping for joy on a South American glacier — see that photo HERE — or smiling with Ariana Grande.

You know, political stiff. Not the gossipy stuff like what his new office is like.

Brahler, happy to let a reporter tour the office and see her work, was taken aback by all the fuss over the pictures. She’d met Schock several years ago, after he’d seen her work featured in magazines and offered her services for free, though Schock, according to Congressional rules, would have to pay for the furnishings.

So she decorated his old offices in the Cannon House Office Building, and when he moved into the Rayburn, he called again; she admits that, while his office looks kind of Downton-esque, it’s not a replica of the television show, it's just what Schock wanted.

Meanwhile, back to Benjamin Cole, recovering from the fit he threw that a reporter was in the office; he explained that Schock hadn’t seen the finished space yet and wondered if it was a bit unfair to write about it before the congressman had seen it. Terris agreed, though he asked if he could be there when Schock got his first peek-a-boo.

That was all well and good, until Aaron Schock decided he wasn’t interested in doing a whole story about how his office is decorated; he’d talk about anything else — well, not the turquoise belt — but would rather not discuss his offices.

And he sent Cole, his communications director, to make a point to Terris: the office is definitely not based on Downton Abbey because, well, maybe Schock doesn’t watch the show and he definitely doesn’t want to talk about it.

But someone does want to talk, and that’s the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington [CREW]  who have asked the Office of Congressional Ethics) to investigate whether Republican Schock violated House rules by accepting free interior decorating work for his not Downton Abbey inspired offices.

CREW reports, via press release:

 “Perhaps it’s not totally surprising that the same congressman who spent campaign money on P90X workout DVDs wanted to create a more picturesque setting in which to be photographed, but the rules clearly require him to pay for those renovations himself. Again and again, Rep. Schock’s seeming obsession with his image impedes his ability to conduct himself in ethical manner.”

House rules prohibit members of Congress from accepting gifts, which are defined in the rules as any “item having monetary value” — like interior decoration services — and the rules explicitly prohibit members from using “outside private donations, funds, or in-kind goods and services” — as in campaign contributions — to pay for their congressional office.

CREW is also asking that Schock be investigated as to whether or not he used campaign funds to pay for his office furniture. They state that in 2012 campaign paid $5,522 to Brahler’s company for what it described as “office equipment” but with the revelation now that Brahler redecorated Schock’s previous suite, they seem to believe that campaign funds were used to pretty up Aaron spaces — a clear violation of House rules.

Maybe Schock should have just asked Brahler to redecorate his closet; that way no one would have seen it except for him.

Just sayin’ … and then Aaron said, when cornered by NBC News to ask about his Downton Office:

“I'm different. I came to Congress at 27 … as Taylor Swift said, 'haters are gonna hate.'"

Downton-Abbey-Office-Working-Turquoise-Belt-Wearing-Shirltess-Congressman-Quoting-A-Taylor-Swift-Song.

So.Not.Gay.

sources:

Towleroad: Aaron Schock's New Office
Towleroad: Aaron Schock Ethics Charge
Washington Post
New Civil Rights Movement

Doctor Refuses To Give Man His HIV Medications

The Hippocratic Oath is historically taken by physicians, physician assistants' and other healthcare professionals swearing to practice medicine ethically. It is widely believed to have been written by Hippocrates, often regarded as the father of western medicine. 

This is the widely used modern version of the oath, as written by Dr. Louis Lasagna in 1964:

I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:

I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow.

I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures [that] are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism.

I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug.

I will not be ashamed to say "I know not", nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient's recovery.

I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given to me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God.

I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person's family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick.

I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure.I will remember that I remain a member of society with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.

If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, be respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help.

Keep that oath in mind......

Joao Simoes is a gay man; he is also HIV+. And he is suing the Trinitas Medical Center in New Jersey because, he says, the hospital denied him treatment and a visit from his sister, and that a doctor, upon learning that Simoes was HIV+, said, "This is what he gets for going against God's will."

Simoes says Dr. Susan Borga approached him while he was confined to the hospital's mental health wing. He watched as she spoke nonchalantly with one man who told her that he'd just gotten out of prison after serving time for murder, but her reaction to him was entirely different. Simoes told her of his HIV status, and Dr. Borga asked how he contracted HIV.

Simoes said, simply, "I got it from unprotected sex."

It was then, that Joao Simoes says Dr. Borga closed his file, put it down and looked at plaintiff with disgust on her face and asked, coldly, "Is that from sex with men?"

When he said 'Yes' Dr. Borga left the room.

After that, no nurse or doctor came to see Simoes, even though he needed to take his HIV medication. It wasn't until the third day of his stay that Simoes was allowed to call his personal physician, and it was then that he learned that Dr. Borga had already spoken to his doctor.

When Simoes' doctor told Borga about his HIV medications, she allegedly said: "You must be gay, too, if you're his doctor."

In court documents, Simoes' doctor says that, when Borga realized he had an accent, she said, "What, do you need a translator?"

He quietly responded, again, that Joao Simoes needed his HIV medications, and that's when Borga said, "This is what he gets for going against God's will" and hung up on him.
Let me say this: I don't smoke. Never have. I cannot stand the smell of cigarette smoke. But, if I were a doctor, would I tell a patient with lung cancer that they got what they deserve?

Would I tell an alcoholic with cirrhosis of the liver that the disease is all their fault?

Would I tell an obese man I couldn't help him with his heart problems or diabetes because he brought this on himself?

I get that Dr. Borga has a religious viewpoint, but she is also a doctor.

She needs top pick one over the other.

And, from this story, I’d suggest she give up medicine and join a convent.

source