Current Affairs Donald Trump POS: Judgement cometh and that right soon

[McBain]

What I don't get Bill is how you don't even bat an eyelid at the wasting of your own taxes.

No matter how aligned a Politician in Government is with my own views, to waste obscene amounts of Taxpayer money in contradiction of the lap of luxury they enjoy, and to extend this waste to family members running private businesses is truly shocking.

http://fortune.com/2017/02/22/trump-security-mar-a-lago-cost-taxpayers/

* He's now up to 6 trips.

Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Trips So Far May Have Cost Taxpayers Up To $10 Million
Feliz Solomon
Feb 22, 2017
Keeping the U.S. President safe and comfortable is never cheap, and over the course of four years of a Donald Trump administration, American taxpayers may find themselves left with an even heftier bill than usual.

A recent investigation by the Washington Post estimates that since taking office, the President’s three trips to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida have already cost the federal treasury some $10 million. At this rate, the report says, travel and security for Trump and his family could run up a bill in the hundreds of millions of dollars by the end of his term.

That’s not normal. Citing a conservative-leaning watchdog group called Judicial Watch, which monitored expenses during the administration of former President Barack Obama and plans to continue their work with the new White House, the Post said Obama’s extracurricular travel and safety expenses likely amounted to about $97 million over eight years in office.

In the five weeks since his inauguration, the President has already spent three weekends at Mar-a-Lago, which he has begun referring to as the “Winter White House,” indicating that more is in store for the lavish private club situated on a beachfront property that was not designed with presidential security in mind. Some of the estimated $10 million spent on these three trips included paying for the Coast Guard to patrol the shoreline, according to the Post.

Local officials in Palm Beach County, where the estate is located, also reportedly plan to ask Washington to reimburse their expenditures on extra security and traffic management, which could amount to tens of thousands of dollars so far. The county has already spent about $60,000 a day in overtime police payments, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw told the Post.

In New York, where First Lady Melania Trump has chosen to live with the couple’s school-aged son, the city pays roughly $500,000 each day to secure Trump Tower. This estimate, provided by police officials, could end up totaling about $183 million per year. Security for Trump’s extended family is also expected to run up a hefty tab.

For more on Trump's finances, watch Fortune's video:

Trump’s two sons, Eric and Donald Jr., have spent the past few weeks traveling the globe in their new capacity as the managers of their father’s business empire. Since the inauguration, the pair have visited the Dominican Republic to discuss property developments and the United Arab Emirates for the opening of a new Trump-brand golf resort. Next week, they will travel to Vancouver to christen a new Trump Tower.

Trump’s adult sons travel with Secret Service security details, sometimes stacking up bills as high as $100,000, according to records and purchase orders obtained by the Post. The report points out that, despite the President’s incomplete divestment—by handing over management to his sons but retaining his ownership rights—not only will taxpayers be footing the bill for an expansive security apparatus, but these visits are actually turning a profit for the Trump family business.

According to the Post, the departments of Defense and Homeland Security, which bear most of the costs, did not reply to the paper’s request for detailed data on expenses.

His every move seems to mock your constitution.

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/11/donald-trump-salary-george-washington-214458

In Oz, you waste our money or mess about - your head is on the block.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-...rrell-to-resign-over-icac-grange-wine/5393478
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-polit...blunt-warning-to-speaker-20150721-gih014.html
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-...signation-parliament-expenses-scandal/8180602

 

[verreauxi]

Other species??? Although tbf I would rather marry my cat that Kilmeade.

Trump's favorite morning show.

 

[ilikecheese]

Distract and deflect...the executive branch of the American Government in the Trump era. Flat out lies told to the world on nearly a daily basis.

Somehow folks like @mezzrow and @TX Bill find comfort in it all. The deflect instead of addressing the issues of the day.

Some of it is very boring and other parts are frankly disturbing what you are willing to accept as 'normal'. Mostly including what you deem as normal because of Osama Bin Obama.

The Birth Cert issue was/is a massive out of bounds, racists bundle of crap. It was not a normal exercise.

 

[Clint Planet]

Trump Voter Shocked To Find That Her Meals On Wheels Could Be Cut

“I was under the influence that he was going to help us.”

By Sebastian Murdock

• 
  
  Linda Preast has used a wheelchair since she had a stroke two years ago and now relies on Meals on Wheels, a service that provides food to millions of people with disabilities and the elderly. The 56-year-old Georgia resident never envisioned when she voted for President Donald Trump that he’d propose slashing funding for the programs.

“Are you surprised?” CBS News correspondent Michelle Miller asked Preast at her home in Jones County Saturday.

“Yeah,” Preast said. “Because he was told ― I was under the influence that he was going to help us.”

On Thursday, White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney attacked the service, saying programs like Meals on Wheels “are just not showing any results.”

“We can’t do that anymore,” Mulvaney said. “We can’t spend money on programs just because they sound good. And Meals on Wheels sounds great.”

The statements followed the Trump administration’s recent budget proposal, which would give $54 billion to the U.S. military while decimating funding for federal programs including the Environmental Protection Agency, the State Department and the Education Department.

Jenny Bertolette, vice president of communications for Meals on Wheels America, told The Huffington Post that the program is already struggling to meet the needs of the hungry.

“The scary thing about that is that funding is already not keeping up with pace,” Bertolette said. “There are already demands that we can’t meet. There is already a waitlist crisis... If this budget was enacted, it would obviously just make matters so much worse.”

Bertolette said since Mulvaney’s comments, Meals on Wheels has seen a 500 percent increase in volunteers and a 50 percent increase in online donations.

“What would you say to him to convince him not to cut this program?” Miller asked Preast.

“What if it was your momma?” Preast said.

 

[degsy]

Is he turning out worse than the doom mongers forcast? Despite all the so called checks and balances put there to stop a 'mad king George' type / no taxation without representation etc etc doing more or less what Trump is trying to do...I actually think he isn't 'trying to do' anything he makes it all up over his cornflakes.
He'll probably run, but I doubt he'll get a 2nd term.
Given the nutters over there though...who knows if he'll finish this one...nobody likes even thinking about stuff like that but it is America so you have to...then there's all the others

 

[Harryflashman]

Trump Voter Shocked To Find That Her Meals On Wheels Could Be Cut

“I was under the influence that he was going to help us.”

By Sebastian Murdock

• 
  
  Linda Preast has used a wheelchair since she had a stroke two years ago and now relies on Meals on Wheels, a service that provides food to millions of people with disabilities and the elderly. The 56-year-old Georgia resident never envisioned when she voted for President Donald Trump that he’d propose slashing funding for the programs.

“Are you surprised?” CBS News correspondent Michelle Miller asked Preast at her home in Jones County Saturday.

“Yeah,” Preast said. “Because he was told ― I was under the influence that he was going to help us.”

On Thursday, White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney attacked the service, saying programs like Meals on Wheels “are just not showing any results.”

“We can’t do that anymore,” Mulvaney said. “We can’t spend money on programs just because they sound good. And Meals on Wheels sounds great.”

The statements followed the Trump administration’s recent budget proposal, which would give $54 billion to the U.S. military while decimating funding for federal programs including the Environmental Protection Agency, the State Department and the Education Department.

Jenny Bertolette, vice president of communications for Meals on Wheels America, told The Huffington Post that the program is already struggling to meet the needs of the hungry.

“The scary thing about that is that funding is already not keeping up with pace,” Bertolette said. “There are already demands that we can’t meet. There is already a waitlist crisis... If this budget was enacted, it would obviously just make matters so much worse.”

Bertolette said since Mulvaney’s comments, Meals on Wheels has seen a 500 percent increase in volunteers and a 50 percent increase in online donations.

“What would you say to him to convince him not to cut this program?” Miller asked Preast.

“What if it was your momma?” Preast said.

I'm a little conflicted on this and those effected by potential reforms to the ACA . I feel for those who rely on the government for assistance and I believe it's societies job to help those less fortunate.


However I also can't believe stupidity of the turkeys who voted for Christmas and are surprised to find themselves being served up .

 

[DanEFC92]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world...get-cuts/ar-BBydDCt?li=AA4Zpp&ocid=spartanntp

Typical. So much for America First ey.

 

[longers]

lol

 

[Connor]

If anyone's read David Fahrenthold's piece, summing up his year following Trump: https://www.washingtonpost.com/life...00bd9d38a02_story.html?utm_term=.9308d840d495

Someone found that other painting.

 

[TX Bill]

I've read the article. He makes some good points but the cartoon above is apt.
I'd love to hear your defense of Trump, Bill.

He's not Hillary Clinton.

 

[TX Bill]

Not a terribly convincing article and not surprising since it comes from the echo-chamber "American Greatness," who are a group of Trump devotees who started a pro-Trump website and journal (as if you couldn't tell from their highly creative name). But the article largely can be boiled down to the tired meme of "Democrats play identity politics" which is a pseudo-intellectual way for Trump supporters who think they are "intellectual" to say "Democrats have different ideals than us." And the other part of the article is the flat-out false ascription regarding the "zealous attachment Democrats have to an uncompromising open borders ideology."

But there is a wrong-headed logic about the LA Times Opinion Piece and the derivative American Greatness article. The LA Times piece rightly suggests that the Democrats didn't have a formal platform on immigration during the 2016 presidential election. This is true (in fact, I would suggest that Clinton didn't really run on any platform except "I'm better than Trump" which obviously didn't work). In fact, very few presidential candidates prior to Trump made immigration a major component of their platform. And then the LA Times piece goes on to say that the Democrats reaction to Trump's policies once he was in office just show how much the Democrats want an open border policy.

Several thoughts come to mind:

1) Trump made several xenophobic and racist statements during his campaign concerning immigration. This is well documented and I don't need to provide links as any internet-savy six year-old could find his direct quotes online. Hence, one explanation for the resistance to Trump's policies is that American citizens (but not Trump supporters) do not like outright racists to hold the highest office in the country. So some of this resistance is simply a reaction to Trump's racism, independent of how much or how little his immigration policies overlap with previous administrations. Citing the Democrat's reaction to Trump's immigration policies (as the American Greatness piece did) is not equivalent to saying the Democrats "want an open border policy."

2) The evidence for how immigrants ostensibly ruin our economy and take American jobs is equivocal. For example, the debate about their economic impact (both positive and negative) is highly disputed since it can be measured in various ways; moreoever, the long-term benefit of immigration into our country has been absolutely net positive--as it must be, since this country was built on immigrants (...oh, wait, Trump is talking about brown immigrants...see point 1 above).

3) Both articles conveniently ignore Trump’s idiotic proposal to build a multi-billion dollar wall along our southern border, based not on any evidence that Mexicans/Central Americans are ruining the economy, but based—again—on simple racism/xenophobia (again, just google Trump's racist quotes about Mexicans). The costs and maintenance of this wall are formidable and its effectiveness is unclear.

4) The LA Times article, like the American Greatness article, like Trump, is obssessed with Obama and the Democrats. The Republicans control both houses and have a Republican president in the White House...why are they so focused on the past and those out of power? Maybe because all their own policies/ideas/proposals are highly unpopular?

5) The American Greatness piece then makes the fascinating statement that

Olsen [the author of the LA Times piece] shared with me [the writer of the American Greatness piece] that although his article made no mention at all of race and merely suggested that Democrats might want to consider making arguments that didn’t insult the voters they were trying to persuade, he was roundly attacked as “prejudiced and racist” just for bringing up the question of immigration.​

Wow.
This is a laughably preemptive way to have your cake and eat it too. Do you see the fool’s logic here: we voted for a racist in Trump and we support his racist advisor Bannon thus making us racist sympathizers—but please don’t insinuate that we are actually racist just because we voted for a racist and continue to support him. Thin-skinned identity politics is clearly at play here.

After some predictable "Dems play identity politics" the American Greatness article boils down to the following: Trump supporters want to have a dialogue on immigration reform, but Democrats want open borders and call us racist. I would suggest their logic is backwards: A dialogue on immigration reform is impossible when a racist is in charge. Let's be clear: there is certainly room to revise, revisit, and perhaps even restrict immigration into the US, but so long as the motivating factor is racism and not the economy, such a dialogue is impossible.

Why would the article have addressed your points above? The article was addressed to Democrats who just don't understand why they're completely out of power at this point.

If you want to have another conversation about your issues above, I'm not going to engage in one as it'll pretty much be addressed in the GOT echo chamber of "liberals good, conservatives evil." Been there done that. Not going to again.

And your response is crystal clear as to why, again, the left in this country is going to be out of power for quite awhile. Rather than address Democrat shortcomings as the author did and how the Democrats might find their way back into winning elections at the federal and state levels, you went on a rant as to the messenger rather than the message itself.

2018 is frankly going to be even worse for the Democrats than 2016 was and this proves it. Best wishes.

 

[TX Bill]

My brain is changing: I used to read all of Bill's posts in Yosemite Sam's voice but it seems to have morphed into a proto-Drumpf these days...

No worries. You were getting it wrong the first time so no change there then huh?

Again, how about addressing how the Dems are going to win the electorate back over in the USA? What feasible plans do they have at this point? How are they going to put the "calling everyone who voted for Trump racist, bigoted, and homophobic" back in the bottle?

 

[TX Bill]

I did read the article, the response was apt. Noone cares about the Dems Bill. The Dems aren't in charge.

You've let a lunatic run the asylum and all you want to debate is how the Dems are doing.

I'm not debating anything Dave, you just keep missing the mark here.

His POINT was that it's going to continue down this path until the Democrats come up with actual ideas. Your point apparently is just hammer Trump and the R's until the cows come home.

Sadly, that's all the D playbook is right now.

It will not win them any more elections anytime soon as half the country is tired of being called racist.

They'll have to do much much better than that as an election platform.

Carry on with your TDS in here. Misery just loves company.

 

[TX Bill]

Distract and deflect...the executive branch of the American Government in the Trump era. Flat out lies told to the world on nearly a daily basis.

Somehow folks like @mezzrow and @TX Bill find comfort in it all. The deflect instead of addressing the issues of the day.

Some of it is very boring and other parts are frankly disturbing what you are willing to accept as 'normal'. Mostly including what you deem as normal because of Osama Bin Obama.

The Birth Cert issue was/is a massive out of bounds, racists bundle of crap. It was not a normal exercise.

Irony much.

You still have the delusional belief that the Democrats are going to GAIN seats in 2018 just because the pendulum will swing that way cause "it always does?"

We've deflected nothing. You have however and refuse to see the shortcomings of your own party.

Republicans can and often do wrong. Democrats NEVER do wrong. It's always the fault of others.

Enjoy being the minority party for years because it's been a complete repudiation of progressive politics in this country of the last 30 years.

Bye.

 

[TX Bill]

*note to self.

Don't bother coming in here to have constructive debate when it's quite clear the GOT Labour/Liberal echo chamber will never have such debate.

Enjoy your thread in here mates and I may come in here in 2018 and again in 2020 to offer you some Xanax (or bleach) depending on how bad it is for you. Love your group think.

Ta.