The Tax Men: The House voted 227 to 205 yesterday to approve a sweeping overhaul of the tax code and a $1.5 trillion tax cut.  Thirteen Republicans voted against the bill and no Democrats voted for it.

A tax bill already opposed by some Republican senators still has to pass, and the two must be reconciled, before the Republicans can declare a major legislative accomplishment in their first year controlling both houses of Congress and the presidency.

The primary goal of the “Tax Cut and Jobs Act” is to lower taxes on business to make them more profitable and to discourage them from moving out of the country.

The bill also:

-Lowers taxes for 92 percent of Americans for five years, and far fewer after that.

-Eliminates almost all itemized deductions except for charitable donations, property taxes up to $10,000 a year, and the mortgage interest deduction.

-Raises the exemption from estate taxes to $11 million and gets rid of the tax entirely in 2024.

The House bill is a hastily-written collection of provisions that lowers taxes in some areas, but backfires in others. House Republicans can say they are lowering federal taxes while ignoring the effect of raising state and local taxes.

Rep. Lee Zeldin, Republican of New York, voted against the bill and said, “You’re taking more money from a place like New York in order to pay for deeper tax cuts elsewhere.”

The Weinstein Effect: Minnesota Sen. Al Franken has apologized after a woman accused him of kissing and groping her while the two were on USO tour of the Middle East before Franken ran for office.

Leeann Tweeden, a radio host and former Playboy model, said Franken forcibly kissed her during a rehearsal for the show. A picture taken later shows Franken pretending to reach for her breasts as she slept in a flak jacket in an airplane.

“I respect women. I don’t respect men who don’t,” Franken said in his apology. “And the fact that my own actions have given people a good reason to doubt that makes me feel ashamed.”

A second woman, longtime Bay Area conservative talk host Melanie Morgan, “stalked and harassed” her regarding a political argument following a television appearance, but her accusations are not sexual in nature.

Fellow Democrats are not stepping up to defend him. President Trump, who has been largely silent about Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore, jumped in with a tweet. “The Al Frankenstien picture is really bad, speaks a thousand words. Where do his hands go in pictures 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 while she sleeps? …..”

Franken says he remembers the kiss only as a rehearsal for a scene. He can’t deny the picture. His prior life as a comedian has often shadowed Franken’s political life. He admits that things he did in intentional bad taste as a comedian don’t play well years later now that he’s a senator. The Ethics Committee might investigate.

Jersey Justice: A mistrial was declared in the federal corruption trial of New Jersey Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez after the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict. He was accused of accepting expensive gift for political favors.

Both Menendez and Senate Democrats dodged a bullet. They would have faced trying to keep a convicted felon in office for two months until New Jersey’s newly-elected governor takes office with the power to replace him with a Democrat.

Big Oil: The Keystone Pipeline, has leaked 5,000 barrels of oil in Amherst, SD, just days before neighboring Nebraska is expected to decide on a permit for the larger Keystone XL that would cross the state further to the south. The spill has fed the arguments of opponents who say the Keystone XL is a major danger to the environment.

The Russia Thing: The Senate Judiciary Committee has evidence that Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, failed to disclose conversations and communications he had regarding contacts with the Russians during the 2016 campaign. They also say he failed to turn over his phone records.

One letter that fell into the committee’s hands not disclosed by Kushner mentioned a “Russian backdoor overture.”

Frat Boys: Ohio State University has suspended all its fraternities and sororities after 11 of 37 houses have been accused of recruiting and alcohol violations.

Texas State University on this week suspended all its frats following the death of a Phi Kappa Psi pledge on Sunday night.

The Obit Page: The Italian Mafia’s Mafia ‘boss of bosses’ Salvatore ‘Toto’ Riina managed to do what few people in his business ever accomplish. He died of natural causes.

Riina was 87 and serving 26 life sentences. He  escaped 25 of them.

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