Wiretap: Trump’s tax bombshell, and the aftermath

It makes him smart

The biggest story in politics is the New York Times scoop on Donald Trump’s 1995 tax returns and what they show about his business acumen and the probability that he used giant losses to pay no federal income tax for decades. Here, here and here are takes on how Donald Trump used the tax code to turn $900 million in losses into a giant tax shelter.

Genius!

Rudy Giuliani looks at the Times scoop on Trump’s enormous business losses, his willingness to stiff the little guy, his $900 million tax avoidance and comes up with a one word description: Genius! Via the New Yorker.

Have at it

If you want to see the entire Jake Tapper-Giuliani smackdown, have at it. Via YouTube.

Moving on

Trump’s plan to overcome his very bad week, capped by the tax-return story: To move away from the long-ago Clinton sex scandals and to concentrate on just how the Clintons made their money. Via the Washington Post.

Terrible, horrible

How bad was Donald Trump’s week? This bad: An NBC News analysis figures it was the worst week any presidential candidate has ever had.

Lock her up

If you don’t believe NBC, just check out Jenna Johnson’s report in the Washington Post on Trump’s Friday night rally in Mannheim, Pennsylvania, in which he suggested that Hillary Clinton may have cheated on Bill, imitated Clinton’s pneumonia stumble and agreed with crowd that Clinton should be locked up. And that wasn’t all.

Say again?

Jonah Goldberg on Parmenides’s Fallacy and why he (sometimes, but only rarely) wishes Trump would win. Via the National Review.

Feel the Bern

Maybe the biggest winner in the Times bombshell was Mr. Inequality himself: Bernie Sanders. Via Politico.

Unbearably small

Jeffrey Goldberg: The unbearable smallness of Benjamin Netanyahu. Via the Atlantic.

Can Obamacare survive?

Obamacare is clearly struggling. How, and whether, it can be saved will be determined by the 2016 election. Via the New York Times.

The Colorado Independent is a statewide online news source operating in a time when spin is plentiful, but factual, fair and unflinching news in the public interest is all too rare. Our award-winning team of veteran investigative and explanatory reporters and news columnists aims to amplify the voices of Coloradans whose stories are unheard, shine light on the relationships between people, power and policy, and hold public officials to account. We strive to report the news with context, social conscience, and soul, and to give Coloradans the insight they need to promote conversation, understanding and progress in this square, swing state we call home.