Trump Won’t Say What He Is Doing with Tens of Millions in Leftover Inaugural Fund Money
Donald Trump has a long history of making promises to donate money and not following through — at least until repeated public pressure is put on him to do so. At the Daily Beast, Lachlan Markay is continuing to pressure Trump about one of these many promises:
Representatives for President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee still won’t say what the committee did—or plans to do—with the tens of millions of dollars it pledged to charity last year. And it may be many more months until the public finally knows.
The committee smashed the record for inauguration fundraising, bringing in about $107 million, double the sum raised for Barack Obama’s first inauguration, which held the previous record. But Trump’s inaugural committee only spent about half of that money. The rest, it said, would go to philanthropic ends.
More than a year later, no one knows what those ends will be.
A spokesperson for Tom Barrack, Trump’s personal friend and the chairman of the committee, told The Daily Beast on Dec. 8 that it would be filing an annual report detailing its charitable giving with the Internal Revenue Service “in the next several weeks.” It is now Feb. 12, and it still hasn’t done so and there is no indication of when it will.
This is not an isolated incident. It is part of a longstanding pattern. In March 2017, the Washington Post‘s David Fahrenthold published a long article about this pattern. One of the other major promises Trump made was to donate proceeds of foreign money going to the Trump Organization:
The Trump Organization — the president’s global real estate and branding business — pledged not to keep any profits that it made by renting hotel rooms and banquet halls to foreign governments. Those proceeds, Trump’s attorney said, would be given to the U.S. treasury.
. . . .
On Friday, for instance, the Trump Organization said it would not make its donations until the end of each calendar year. A spokeswoman provided few specifics about how the amount would be calculated.
Well, the 2017 calendar year is long since over, and as I told you on February 8, there are still no specifics — and there are unlikely to be anything like accurate specifics, ever:
Trump promised from the beginning that he would return foreign government payments to his hotel and other entities, but a year later there is no proof that he has — and it’s very unlikely he will provide said proof, since the Trump Organization is not even keeping track of that money.
Partisans got very upset at me for mentioning this fact in a post about Hillary and Uranium One. But it was central to the post’s theme about the potential for corruption when foreigners put cash in a politician’s pocket. And frankly, I no longer care what partisans say.
Trump’s pattern of promising donations is hardly new with his occupancy of the Oval Office. As detailed in the March 2017 WaPo piece linked above and previous pieces, Trump did this a lot in the past:
Washington Post reports last year highlighted past Trump promises of charity that months later had not come to fruition. In January 2016, for instance, Trump said he had donated $1 million of his own money — and raised an additional $5 million from others — for veterans’ charities. But Trump did not make good on his $1 million promise until four months later, under pressure from the media. Before he actually paid, Trump’s campaign manager made a false claim that the money had already been spent.
During last year’s presidential campaign, The Post also showed that Trump had spent years promising large donations to charity — building a public reputation as a man whose generosity was as impressive as his wealth.
But The Post found little evidence to show Trump’s actual generosity matched his boasting.
The Post called 450 charities that seemed close to the candidate — nonprofit groups that he had praised on Twitter or that had paid him to rent banquet space. It asked whether each had received a gift from Trump’s own pocket. That search turned up one donation from Trump himself between 2008 and 2015 — a gift of less than $10,000 to the Police Athletic League in New York City.
Remember how he promised to donate his “The Apprentice” salary to charity, and then took back the promise when it was revealed he wasn’t living up to it? That’s the guy we’re dealing with here.
Trump’s image as a guy who likes to donate money is as fraudulent as his pretense that he has a full head of hair. Yes, the guy who used to call up reporters and pretend to be his own spokesman, and who lied about it during the campaign, is a fraud and a pathological habitual liar.
But if we shrug our shoulders at his fraud and allow him to pocket tens of millions of dollars because nobody pushes him on it, then we normalize the fraud. So good for Lachlan Markay, for holding Trump’s feet to the fire.
[Cross-posted at RedState and The Jury Talks Back.]
Did you use to care what partisans said?
papertiger (c8116c) — 2/12/2018 @ 9:30 amSo you’ve demonstraited the man is frugal.
Now we just have to encourage him to apply his natural tendencies to the national debt.
papertiger (c8116c) — 2/12/2018 @ 9:32 am“The Democrat Operatives and Democrat partisans will say…”
Colonel Haiku (1d71cc) — 2/12/2018 @ 9:33 amThat’s our President; when it rains he’s always out on the green looking for golf balls.
papertiger (c8116c) — 2/12/2018 @ 9:39 amI know he has nothing to do with it, haskell and mcturtle, nonetheless feed molochs minions
http://www.lifenews.com/2018/02/09/new-trump-official-at-hhs-helped-expose-planned-parenthoods-sale-of-aborted-baby-parts
narciso (d1f714) — 2/12/2018 @ 9:45 amThe daily basilisk curiously received every dubious leak from the usual suspects, yet now cries squirrel,
narciso (d1f714) — 2/12/2018 @ 9:52 amThey will choose wisely honest:
https://mobile.twitter.com/semil/status/962942237410697217
narciso (d1f714) — 2/12/2018 @ 9:56 amThis is how the cover with a pillow:
narciso (d1f714) — 2/12/2018 @ 10:06 amhttps://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-news-hypes-questionable-texts-from-mark-warner-that-republicans-read-months-ago
I’d be curious about what mechanism you think exists by which Trump could “pocket tens of millions of dollars” that’s in his inaugural committee account.
The OP begins with the proposition that he — or the inaugural committee overseeing the account — hasn’t yet donated the money to charity. Or at least they haven’t filed disclosures with the IRS/FEC or whoever about the disposition of the money.
But you end with the completely unsupported idea that the failure to file a disclosure on a timeline you agree with is suggestive of “fraud” an intent/ability to “pocket” the money.
This is the kind of “NeverTrump” nonsense that gets you tagged as being “unhinged”.
shipwreckedcrew (56b591) — 2/12/2018 @ 10:06 amI guess you could have included the following statements from the law firm into your OP — had you wanted to.
Nah — innuendo and baseless speculation is more entertaining.
shipwreckedcrew (56b591) — 2/12/2018 @ 10:11 amI have always believed the campaign funds collections were corrupt as well as things like “Presidential Library Funds”. Anything, and I really do mean anything dealing in cash having to do with any politician or their elections should be held in escrow accounts and managed solely by independent entities like Price, Waterhouse PC accountants or other such notable and reliable money management companies. Under no circumstances should the pols themselves or their surrogates have any contact whatsoever with the actual funds. That includes everything from their “war chests” to their phony-baloney library funds. Plus, there should be a time limit on these holdings after which they are turned in to reduce the deficit. Say six months after the election and a year for collecting library funds.
Rev.Hoagie (6bbda7) — 2/12/2018 @ 10:14 amIt took them a couple of days to find a large enough pillow:
https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2018/02/11/former_cia_director_john_brennan_investigated_for_perjury.html
They weren’t even creative enough to suggest he was one of the aources
narciso (d1f714) — 2/12/2018 @ 10:15 amCharities, by law, must tell the Washington Post everything about charitable contributions when the WaPo calls them.
BuDuh (fc15db) — 2/12/2018 @ 10:21 amHas everyone here filed their taxes yet?
No?
Y’all must be engaged in fraud! Fraud I say!
TheBas (d96d7a) — 2/12/2018 @ 10:22 amI’m shocked, SHOCKED that you would cast aspersions on President Trump’s integrity.
Anything less than unadulterated praise for our Great Leader is treason!
(I was reading a new history of the Third Reich the other day, and one historian quoted said of Hitler: “He always told the truth, except when he gave his word.” Trump still has a long way to go to reach even that low standard…)
Dave (445e97) — 2/12/2018 @ 10:29 amThat kind of thinking leads here:
https://nypost.com/2018/02/12/trump-jr-s-wife-hospitalized-after-opening-envelope-with-white-powder/?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=NYPTwitter&utm_medium=SocialFlow
narciso (d1f714) — 2/12/2018 @ 10:33 am“A spokesperson for Tom Barrack, Trump’s personal friend and the chairman of the committee, told The Daily Beast on Dec. 8 that it would be filing an annual report detailing its charitable giving with the Internal Revenue Service “in the next several weeks.” It is now Feb. 12, and it still hasn’t done so and there is no indication of when it will.”
Third or fourth hand hearsay is always damning. Especially where one of the hands the story passes through are the yuuugely – sooper – klean hands of the Daily Beast.
Fred Z (05d938) — 2/12/2018 @ 10:33 amSo good for Lachlan Markay, for holding Trump’s feet to the fire.
Because there are so few doing that in the media.
random viking (6a54c2) — 2/12/2018 @ 10:47 am
Rev.Hoagie (6bbda7) — 2/12/2018 @ 10:50 amFunny you mention that, Dave. When I was a kid we had a neighbor, Mr. Heinz, who was with the German army in WWII. Yes, he was a NAZI before the war. As a boy his parents got him into the Hitler youth and he was a member of the Nazi party at that point. He would tell me stories of him growing up in a poor but beautiful Germany. How he watched Der Fuhrer rise to power. He saw Hitler speak and actually shook his had once. They believed Hitler to be a great man who would install true socialism and thereby economic freedom in Germany instead of the “oppressive” kind of socialism the Russians had: communism. Then Mr. Heinz would lean in and say, junge (boy) don’t buy into their bullsh!t, socialists are communists in waiting. The old guy had been wounded three times and captured in the Battle of the Bulge. He said the greatest day in his life was when they shipped him as a POW to America. “I knew the day I got here I would never leave this beautiful, abundant and free country”.
Yes the esser wing in particular, held nationalization as a goal, like some of these new members of the alt right like Jason lne
narciso (d1f714) — 2/12/2018 @ 10:53 amThis isn’t the same tom barrack who was misquoted by wolf and Sherman right.
narciso (d1f714) — 2/12/2018 @ 11:01 amnarciso, do you mean nationalization as in socialization or as in nationalist? IOW, the economic form of nationalization of economic factors or the patriotic form of nationalism in putting your own country first?
Rev.Hoagie (6bbda7) — 2/12/2018 @ 11:03 am12 — great article on Brennan. More than worthy of a thread hijacking.
Lee Smith’s tablet article for Friday or Saturday laid out the case of Brennan being the driving force behind the entire Trump-Russian collusion meme.
Brennan’s public commentary on the subject since he left office might make him the dumbest “former intelligence official” to ever hold sway over journalists.
I think Brennan’s baseline problem is that he ACTUALLY BELIEVES — still — the information Steele provided.
Clapper isn’t too far behind, but Brennan is putting distance between them for first and second with regards to being idiotic in their press appearances.
A little-noticed interview over the weekend by Judge Jeanine of Congressman Chris Stewart dropped an interesting little nugget of information that might explain an awful lot about how the House Intel Comm and Senate Judiciary Comm have gained momentum in the last two months. I don’t make a habit of paying attention to her show because I don’t find her to be very serious in her approach.
But the video of her interview at about the 2:30 mark mentions Bill Priestap, the head of FBI Counterintelligence, which makes him Peter Strzok’s boss. Of all the senior FBI officials who would have been in the loop in the Carter Page FISA application, Priestap is the only one who has not been moved out of his position. Comey — fired. McCabe — transferred pending retirement. Ribicki — quits. Baker — removed and demoted. Strozk — transferred pending termination (my guess).
The hint in the interview is that Priestap is cooperating. If true, he would have significant insight on the thinking and conversations of probably everyone involved — including the connections to other intelligence agency involvement like the CIA and NSA. He would be the primary contact for the FBI with those other two agencies. He would also work closely with the State Dept on collecting counter-intelligence information received by diplomats.
Comey threw Pristap under the bus in his March (?) 2017 testimony. The leaders on the intelligence committees in both the House and Senate are supposed to be notified of all counter-intelligence investigations happening inside the US. Comey was questioned by a female GOP backbencher from New York whose name escapes me — but she knew the subject matter. Because she’s a new member of Congress, her questioning came near the end of the first round of questioning of Comey, long after the press quit paying attention. She asked him when the FBI first advised the leaders on the Intel Comms about the Page investigation, suggesting that her information was that the Comms had been told only a couple weeks before the hearing — or 9 months after the investigation started. She asked him to explain the delay.
Comey seems to have been caught off-guard by the question, and said that his recollection was that the FBI Counter-Intelligence Chief had advised against informing Congress — without identifying Priestap by name.
Its quite possible that Priestap might have taken issue with that testimony, and decided that he wasn’t going to take a bullet for Comey and the rest of the Intel Chiefs who opted to not tell the Cong so the GOP leaders would not find out.
If Obama FBI and DOJ leadership have something to hide, they should be very worried about Priestap cooperating with Congress, the IG, and now maybe the new leadership in the FBI.
shipwreckedcrew (56b591) — 2/12/2018 @ 11:08 amNo the Esser wing that Rohm was a part of, was for nationalization of industry, there is a similar commonality among one cohort of working class Frenchman who vote for the front nationale as with the socialist.
narciso (783dca) — 2/12/2018 @ 11:27 amIt took DJT 6 months to distribute $5.6 million to veterans groups following the famous telethon he operated in the campaign. Even that was a ridiculous delay. We’re talking over a year, now, for the inaugural donations and counting.
Is there a ruling anywhere which allows unused inaugural funds to be converted into “campaign” funds? Are they considered such as a matter of course? If so, DJT can freely distribute them to pol buddies’ campaigns.
SJW – Pat cited the commmittee’s self-described calendar goals. Dang well they should be accountable on these.
Ed from SFV (3400a5) — 2/12/2018 @ 11:30 amSo it would appear, but it was laufman Morgan st al, who were the sources for the basilisk, and vanity fair and politico…
narciso (783dca) — 2/12/2018 @ 11:30 amThat would be Elise Stefanik the youngest member of Congress as it happens.
narciso (783dca) — 2/12/2018 @ 11:31 amKortan, who never had any job before he became bureau spokesman.
narciso (783dca) — 2/12/2018 @ 11:32 am12.
That would seem to be obvious, since the dossier would seem to hurt Trump’s chances for victory.
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 2/12/2018 @ 11:32 amHow could it not, that and the flawed crowdstrike attribution and Clint watts mulderesque musings.
narciso (783dca) — 2/12/2018 @ 11:46 amThe thing about the dossier is, the information clearly came from insiders in Russia. Or if not, was made up by enemies of Trump. So it had to be intended to hurt Trump.
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 2/12/2018 @ 11:53 amSo, on May 23, 2017, Brennen says he doesn’t know (even then) who commissioned the dossier.
It was well known by that time that Fusion GPS had hired Christopher Steele. What was not known was who had hired Fusion GPS.
This was a tightly kept secret that Fusion GPS tried hard to keep, and even later they misled people, saying that the project wss first fudned by a Republican and then by a Democrat.
The all important point though, is where did the allegations in the dossier come from? And they could on;y have come from
The New York Times had, in January, 2017:
The CIA, of course, was not involved with the FISA warrant. Brennen also claims the dossier was not part of the corpus of intelligence information that they had.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/11/us/politics/donald-trump-russia-intelligence.html
By that time, it is almost clear taht Steele was hired by “Democratic supporters of Hillary Clinton.”
Except this wasn’t an independent expenditure.
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 2/12/2018 @ 11:53 amTo believe the dossier you’d have to believe Steele had honest sources in Russia.
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 2/12/2018 @ 11:55 amSources the CIA did not have – sources that the CIA should be very interested in having.
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 2/12/2018 @ 11:57 amI like how you can save up to 15% on your inaugural by switching to GEICO.
Pinandpuller (a2f749) — 2/12/2018 @ 12:03 pmDave
Paying for a new history of the Third Reich is like paying someone to tell you the weather when you can step outside.
That’s a summary of what Seth Rogan contributed to a round table discussion I stopped on for a minute last night.
Pinandpuller (a2f749) — 2/12/2018 @ 12:07 pmConDave… on teh grift…
Colonel Haiku (1d71cc) — 2/12/2018 @ 12:14 pmhe’ll probably just give it to a bunch of sleazy grifter veterans who’ll blow it all on flaming hot cheetos and mountain dew
happyfeet (28a91b) — 2/12/2018 @ 12:57 pmIf he was stealing the money, the WaPo would have told us by now. Maybe he’s keeping it for his 2nd inauguration. Or his 3rd.
Kevin M (752a26) — 2/12/2018 @ 12:58 pmPinandpuller, perhaps Dave is looking for something the Third Reich did he doesn’t agree with?
Gun control. Check
Freedom of speech replaced with PC or eliminated. Check
Freedom of religion replaced with secularism. Check
Government enforced racist policy. Check
Government control of industry through taxes, tax breaks and over regulation. Check
Government control of education. Check
Government control of information and the media. Check
Government control of entertainment and the movies. Check
Government control of the arts. Check
Hell the only thing left is to make eating meat illegal. They already made smoking cigarettes illegal and even Hitler didn’t have the balls to do that.
Rev.Hoagie (6bbda7) — 2/12/2018 @ 1:04 pmif this inauguration thinger’s seriously all people have to whine about i’d say President Trump’s running a pretty fantastically ethical operation
contrast with dirty dirty food stamp lol
happyfeet (28a91b) — 2/12/2018 @ 1:16 pmand of course we all remember how much smarmy-ass harvardtrash ted and his grimacing sicky sacky donate to charity
happyfeet (28a91b) — 2/12/2018 @ 1:17 pmYou talk a pretty big game for a guy who engaged in a series of distortions in this thread, and got his ass handed to him by the host throughout. Now you’re walking off whistling pretending like it never happened that you a) told a flat-out falsehood about whether Schiff accused Nunes of making “substantive” changes to the memo he sent to Trump, and got whacked across the snout by me with links and quotes proving the opposite of what you said; b) falsely accused me of misunderstanding the process; and c) falsely accused of misstating Trump’s actions when I quoted you a rule that proves otherwise.
As for this, I guess you could have included the following statements in your comment — had you wanted to:
But then we don’t quote the whole article in every post. That’s why we use links.
Ed from SfV adequately dismantled your argument above so I don’t have to. You keep self-beclowning every thread and yet don’t tone down your aggressive dishonesty a whit.
Patterico (117533) — 2/12/2018 @ 1:24 pmTrump releases 2019 budget with $3 trillion in cuts
i want to sing a song and dedicate it to our president, President Donald Trump
because he’s the best one
happyfeet (28a91b) — 2/12/2018 @ 1:29 pm43 – haven’t gone back to that yet, but I will — rest easy.
shipwreckedcrew (56b591) — 2/12/2018 @ 1:35 pm25 — Ed, do you know where the money for vets went? Do you know how the groups were selected? Do you know if groups were asked to submit requests, and document what the money would be used for? Do you know if any time was spent vetting the groups making the requests to make sure a certain percentage of donated funds ended up with the intended recipients, and not spent on administrative costs and salaries?
I don’t know if Trump’s people did that or not.
But if you don’t know, they you are in no position to question why it took 6 months.
shipwreckedcrew (56b591) — 2/12/2018 @ 1:38 pmmy love for President Trump is so much love i can’t even
i can’t stop crying he makes me so happy
happyfeet (28a91b) — 2/12/2018 @ 1:39 pm43 — and how many full time employees do you think an “inaugural committee has”?? How many do you think it still has?
Maybe the folks responsible have day jobs.
They have a legal deadline.
That deadline hasn’t passed.
Maybe the money has been distributed, but just not yet reported?
But I’ll ask you the same questions you ignored in using EdSF as a dodge – what mechanism would allow Trump to “pocket” the millions supposedly left in the account?
Why is the failure to file reports — not yet due mind you — evidence of fraud?
shipwreckedcrew (56b591) — 2/12/2018 @ 1:41 pmmeanwhile sleazy FBI rank-and-file trash can’t wait to cash in on ass-jacking the American president in the private sector
BuzzFeed hires former FBI, White House cyber officials in attempt to verify Trump dossier: report
happyfeet (28a91b) — 2/12/2018 @ 2:07 pmHell the only thing left is to make eating meat illegal. They already made smoking cigarettes illegal and even Hitler didn’t have the balls to do that.
Rev.Hoagie (6bbda7) — 2/12/2018 @ 1:04 pm
Nazi Meth makes you crave sugary snacks so you can’t ban them, just tax the s**isse out of them.
Pinandpuller (0ca701) — 2/12/2018 @ 2:16 pmDid someone take a personal day today?
Pinandpuller (0ca701) — 2/12/2018 @ 2:17 pmWhit house cyberofficials in the last adminiastration, snorfle. They didnt bother to actually analyze the dnc servers why was that.
narciso (d1f714) — 2/12/2018 @ 2:20 pmDid anyone find the State Department’s missing $6 billion? That buys a lot of ground penetrating radar I bet.
Pinandpuller (0ca701) — 2/12/2018 @ 2:21 pmRe red sparrow, seeing hitman 47, I think Hannah ware would have been better to capture dominikas enigmatic visage.
narciso (d1f714) — 2/12/2018 @ 2:24 pmThis means William arkin is no longer the middleman:
https://www.www.thewrap.com/ex-cia-chief-john-brennan-signs-as-msnbc-nbc-as-contributor/
narciso (d1f714) — 2/12/2018 @ 2:43 pmHey Ben, you out mailing fan letters to Vanessa?
I didn’t realize that was Michelle Dockery, narciso Hanna NSFW
Pinandpuller (0ca701) — 2/12/2018 @ 2:45 pmi wanna see that again now
happyfeet (28a91b) — 2/12/2018 @ 2:50 pmSo Bruce Willis is remaking Death Wish. Is vigilantism a big thing in authoritarian governments?
Pinandpuller (0ca701) — 2/12/2018 @ 2:54 pmseeing a dissipated Bruce Greenwood pop up on some lame Fox medical show makes me reflect on how Eric Bana never really happened either
a lot of people bet the wrong way on these guys
speaking of dissipated losers on Fox any part David Duchovny can play could be played by Steve Bannon anymore
man that dude been rode hard and put up wet
happyfeet (28a91b) — 2/12/2018 @ 2:54 pmThey could have remade Death Wish with Leslie Jones.
Pinandpuller (0ca701) — 2/12/2018 @ 2:57 pm…Leslie Jones and the Uncle Ruckus cat from the LA County board meeting video as her mentor (much like Bronson’s character had to be trained with firearms).
urbanleftbehind (9adb35) — 2/12/2018 @ 3:09 pmThe whole point of Death Wish is that Paul Kersey is a bleeding heart liberal who gets smacked in the face by reality. Bruce Willis doesn’t even come off like a factory refurbished liberal. And from the trailer it doesn’t look like his wife dies.
Pinandpuller (0ca701) — 2/12/2018 @ 3:09 pmThey did one with Kevin bacon, just a few years ago. Eric banas career has gone decidedly pearshaped after star trek, when he was unre
narciso (d1f714) — 2/12/2018 @ 3:25 pmVictory mincing by the host? Say it isn’t so.
Colonel Haiku (1d71cc) — 2/12/2018 @ 3:32 pmThis is the modern version of lying to your diary
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/963178377921290240.html
narciso (d1f714) — 2/12/2018 @ 4:03 pmCome on you saw the Thomas crown affair
https://loadedforguccifer.wordpress.com/2018/02/12/say-hi-to-guccifer2-0/
narciso (d1f714) — 2/12/2018 @ 4:11 pmFree-marketers are right that tax cuts stimulate economic growth that in turn lead to expanding production and eventually more federal tax revenue.
But the problem traditionally has been that to obtain tax reductions, Republicans also have had to sign on reluctantly to larger expenditures. Or, worse, they willingly believed they could spend more, simply because more money poured into the federal treasuries.
George W. Bush doubled the national debt. After running against Bush profligacy (remember the Chinese credit card trope), Barack Obama doubled it again by doubling Bush’s levels of borrowing. Conservatives blasted Obama for his even greater lack of thrift. The Tea Party movement emerged in reaction to reckless expenditures and borrowing to fund Obamacare.
Now Donald Trump is caught in the same old matrix. His deregulation, tax cuts, and energy expansion will likely increase federal revenue. But his various budget concessions and his own proposed increases in defense spending and infrastructure would likely bleed the budget at a far greater rate than the growing federal revenue.
Once again, new spending will discredit conservative vows of budget prudence and supply-side economics. (Budget-wise, what good does it do to expand the economy if the political price is acquiescence to ever greater and costlier government?)
If Trump wants to build the wall and “make Mexico pay for it,” why not simply slap a 10 percent tax on the $50 billion in remittances that flow annually to Mexico and Latin America, largely from illegal aliens and foreign nationals? In addition, the government could help fund the wall with fees and fines from DACA qualifiers who seek green cards.
If Trump wants a huge private-public partnership to build infrastructure, why not, at a time of record oil production, increase the federal gas tax for three or four years to pay for the project? What better way to ensure the entire idea does not end up like California’s stalled and ever more costly high-speed rail project? If Trump wants family leave and other popular entitlements, why not calibrate the costs as users’ fees paid out from an individual’s future Social Security payments?
Eight years of traditional stimulus such as massive budget deficits, near-zero interest rates, and huge increases in federal spending did not lead to much economic growth. But those policies did result in record debt. As the economy grows, we will see interest rates rise and growing deficits that are not so easily serviced.”
https://amgreatness.com/2018/02/11/republican-embarrassments/
Colonel Haiku (1d71cc) — 2/12/2018 @ 4:12 pmJason Statham and Ben Foster did pretty good in the first Mechanic remake but now he’s just banging a check.
Pinandpuller (0ca701) — 2/12/2018 @ 4:12 pmHes past 50, which is the top age for these sorts of roles, Willis has been able to pull it off, but with diminishing returns.
narciso (d1f714) — 2/12/2018 @ 4:20 pmHe should come up with some nick like comandante gamaliel
http://dailycaller.com/2018/02/12/harvard-professor-claims-source-died-plane-crash
narciso (d1f714) — 2/12/2018 @ 4:25 pmWait, people are still buying this “next year I’ll do this great thing” stuff?
Yes, of course Trump is making a grand promise that will not happen. He also promised to balanced the budget “relatively quickly” but has instead drastically increased our deficit.
You say he’s the best on the sole basis of his promises, and well it’s hard to disagree that he makes the best promises. No Obamacare? Mexico bought us a wall? ISIS long long gone? Or hey, let’s look at the post: tens of millions given to charities? What a bunch of great fantasies we can congratulate Trump for.
Trump has alienated so many people that he just can’t make a deal. It just isn’t going to happen. Many voters actually prefer monsters from North Korea to Trump. Wrong as that is, Trump’s politics are a complete failure, and his lack of integrity is among the problems.
Dustin (ba94b2) — 2/12/2018 @ 5:09 pmExactly, Dustin. Despite all the legal sophistry above by Trumpkins and Trump supporters, the simple fact is that Trump is all moo and no steak. He promises and you will starve to death waiting for him to deliver.
nk (dbc370) — 2/12/2018 @ 5:16 pmLike Rob Porter. He fires the guy and then tweets how unjust it is for unproven allegations to ruin a man’s career and life. WTF, Mr. Orange-Skinned-President? Fact of the matter is, Trump has more hair than he has integrity. Not trustworthy. Very sad.
nk (dbc370) — 2/12/2018 @ 5:20 pmDustbin and nk are correct however here’s about 160 promises Trump did keep:
January:
Ended the Trans Pacific Partnership via executive order: prioritized Christian refugee settlement; instituted the first version of the travel ban (which would have to be revised a few times); resumed criminal prosecution of individuals who had illegally crossed the border for the first time; expedited environmental reviews on infrastructure projects; reduced regulatory burdens on manufacturers; supported the March for Life and sending Vice President Mike Pence to attend (first VP to ever go to the pro-life march); introduced task forces within government agencies to end “job killing regulations” and thus increase “economic opportunity”; helped launch the United States-Canada Council for Advancement of Women Entrepreneurs with Canadian PM Justin Trudeau; expanded deportation priorities for those who “have committed acts that constitute a chargeable criminal offense”; signed a memorandum promising to rebuild and expand the military; ordered a hiring freeze on federal employees; signed an executive order that said for every one new regulation, two must be cut; reinstated the “Mexico City Policy” on not funding organizations that promote abortions worldwide; donated his salary; met with tech giants like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg.
February:
Eliminated a Dodd-Frank rule that mandated oil companies publicly disclose taxes and fees paid to other governments, saving energy companies $385 million a year; ordered a review of both Dodd-Frank and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s purview; countered Russian propaganda outlets like RT by launching American-run Russian-language broadcasters; purchased new F-35 jets at a considerably reduced price, a savings of $725 million compared to what was paid earlier in the program; refused to fill government positions he felt were unnecessary; signed three executive orders strengthening law enforcement protections; reversed the Obama administration’s policy on transgender bathrooms in public schools; rescinded an Obama administration rule that took away Second Amendment rights from certain senior citizens.
March:
Signed an executive order that would review our trade deficits; condemned an anti-Israel U.N. report by the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, which ended with the commission’s executive director resigning; homebuilder confidence highest in almost 12 years; Trump administration negotiated a G-20 statement that did not mention climate change nor opposed economic protectionism; signed an executive order mandating an audit of executive branch agencies.
April:
Neil Gorsuch nominated and appointed to the Supreme Court; government announced illegal border crossings were down 40 percent in first month of the Trump administration and 73 percent by the president’s 100th day in office; signed an executive order expanding offshore drilling for gas and oil as well as a leasing program to develop energy resources off the coast; announced an investigation into Chinese trade policies regarding steel and aluminum exports; announced the “Buy American and Hire American” executive order, which reformed visa waivers and loopholes; ordered the Department of Agriculture to examine regulations and eliminate unnecessary ones; refused to sign the G-7 statement on energy because “the other nations could not agree to include support for nuclear and fossil fuels without support for the Paris climate agreement,” thus leaving the G-7 without a joint statement; refused waivers for companies that wanted to deal with sanctions-laden Russia; the Department of Justice announced efforts to speed up illegal immigrant deportations, including announcing the hiring of 125 immigration judges within two years; announced an executive order slashing funding for sanctuary cities; announced that deportation of criminal aliens and gang members were up 38 percent over the final year of Obama’s term, with roughly 6,000 members of the ultra-violent MS-13 gang arrested in the first several months of the administration; gave Defense Secretary Mattis the authority to set troop levels in the fight against the Islamic State group, a key factor in virtually wiping out the terrorist group; the military used the “Mother of All Bombs” on the Islamic State group in Afghanistan; signed the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act of 2017, which authorized additional funds for private treatment for veterans more than 40 miles from a VA facility; Attorney General Jeff Sessions ordered a review of Obama-era “agreements” with local police departments which restricted their ability to fight crime; Trump ordered Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to conduct a review of education policies with an eye to returning power to states and local governments; Trump signed a “bill into law annulling a recent Obama administration regulation that would have prohibited states from discriminating in awarding Title X family planning funds based on whether a local clinic also performs abortions; the administration eliminated funding for the United Nations Population Fund, a pro-abortion agency with links to China’s one-child policy; the administration appointed Dr. Charmaine Yoest as the assistant secretary of public affairs for the Department of Health and Human Services. Yoest is a former president of Americans United for Life and replaced a Planned Parenthood advocate. Two other pro-life advocates with the Family Research Council also received appointments to key positions.
May:
Visited the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia (where he signed a $110 billion arms deal with a further $350 million in the coming 10 years; further deals with American businesses were also finalized); helped strengthen alliances with Arab allies and Israel during the trip, as well, with a speech about security and regional relations to the Arab Islamic American Summit; income rose 0.4 percent in the United States in May, which beat estimates of 0.3 percent; housing sales doubled over the same period the previous year; Mexico agreed to cut back its exports of sugar to the United States, a major trade win for the United States; Trump announced his intention to renegotiate NAFTA; ordered air strikes on Syria after President Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons on his own people; the number of unaccompanied child illegal immigrants entering the United States fell under 1,000 for the first time in several years; the president established a commission to investigate voter fraud; the Trump administration announced its intent to create a school choice plan states can opt into; on the National Day of Prayer, Trump signed an executive order that eliminated the Johnson Amendment, which had severe IRS restrictions on the political activities of tax-exempt religious groups; the administration expanded the Mexico City policy “to restrict funding to any international health organization that performs or gives information about abortions, expanding the amount of money affected from $600,000 to nearly $9 billion.”
June:
Approved Dakota Access Pipeline and Keystone XL projects; inflation reduced to 1.6 percent, an eight-month low; American beef imports returned to China for the first time in 14 years; Trump announced a rollback in relations with communist Cuba, partially ending Obama’s rapprochement with the country; signed executive order increasing apprenticeship programs; expanded property rights by ending Obama’s Waters of the United States rule; Department of Homeleand Security announced new tracking system to monitor whether visitors have left the country on schedule; Trump pulled out of the Paris Climate Accord; at Trump’s urging, NATO members increased their share of defense in the organization by a total of $10 billion; the administration implemented the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, sanctions aimed at Russian oligarchs; Trump administration implemented more sanctions against the Russians, this time on 38 persons and entities responsible for violations in the conflict with Ukraine; ICE announces that it arrested an average of 13,085 between February and June, compared to 9,134 average arrests in the last three months of the Obama administration; the DHS ended Deferred Action for Parents of Americans, which would have given 4 million parents of illegal immigrant children amnesty in the U.S.; Trump gave the Pentagon authorization to set troop levels in Afghanistan and Somalia, allowing military leaders to better assess the threat there; signed the Veterans Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act, which established protections for whistleblowers and allowed senior officials at Veterans Affairs to fire underperforming employees more easily. Since January of 2017, 500 employees had been fired from one of Obama’s most disastrous departments and 200 more had faced suspensions. The VA also adopted a new Defense Department records system which allowed them to share information more easily with the Pentagon; a new VA hotline also became operational in June; Betsy DeVos appointed Adam Kissel, one of the most vocal critics of Title IX abuses in the Obama administration, to be deputy assistant secretary for higher education programs.
GDP grew by 2.6 percent, double the first quarter; unemployment fell from 4.8 in January to 4.4 percent; Trump signed an order that increased drilling for energy on federally owned lands; rescinded the Obama administration’s “Stream Protection Rule,” which cost the coal industry and America $81 million a year; Trump managed to get “companies such as Ford, Chrysler and Carrier Air Conditioners to manufacture and build plants in the United States,” as well as getting companies like Corning and Foxconn to make significant investments in the United States; the administration ended a program to arm “moderate” rebels in Syria, many of whom who turned out not to be so “moderate”; coalition forces pushed the Islamic State group out of the Iraqi city of Mosul; the president created the Office of American Innovation, which aims to modernize the U.S. government; Trump implemented a five-year ban on lobbying for political appointees and prohibited them from lobbying for foreign countries; the DOJ busted 400 doctors and other health care providers who were prescribing opioid drugs to addicts in what Attorney General Jeff Sessions called the “largest health-care fraud takedown operation in American history”; Sessions’ DOJ also cracked down on leaks, “pursuing three times more investigations in the first six months of the Trump administration than had been open at the end of the Obama administration.”
August:
The Trump administration helped initiate a United Nations resolution that would sanction North Korea, cutting the country’s export revenue by a third; implemented sanctions on Chinese and Russian individuals and entities for doing business with the Kim regime; the Small-Business Optimism Index hit 105.3, the highest in 11 years and up 11 percent since before Trump’s election; other consumer and business confidence measures hit similar highs; the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 1.3 million new jobs were created in the first 200 days of Trump’s presidency (Obama’s first 200 days saw the loss of 400 million jobs); the labor force participation rose to 62.9 percent in July, with 6 million new job openings in June; the manufacturing index was the highest in July since it was under President Reagan; Trump signed an order beginning a federal investigation of Chinese intellectual property theft; the administration announced it would aim to increase infrastructure production by reducing permit time from 10 to two years; the U.S. struck a deal to export pork to Argentina, the first time in 15 years that’s been allowed; China and Canada were fined $2 billion for illegal trade practices; DHS ended a program that allowed minors from three Central American countries to enter the U.S.; deportation orders increased by 28 percent compared to the same period in 2016; the government announced nearly all 42,000 illegal immigrants in federal prisons “either had deportation orders or were being investigated for possible deportation”; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services began denying requests from companies trying to hire cheap labor for high-skilled jobs if the jobs were available in the United States and there was no reasonable explanation as to why the lower wages were necessary; the president “elevated the Department of Defense’s Cyber Command to the status of Unified Combatant Command in August, demonstrating an increased focus on cyber security”; President Trump issued an order that stopped an Obama-era order to allow transgender individuals in the military; the president gave a speech warning Pakistan about its role in supporting jihadist groups; more VA reform in the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act, which streamlined the disability benefits claims process; the administration also posted information on VA employee disciplinary action online, making it the first agency where that information is available on the internet; according to WND, Trump “signed the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act in August, which provides educational benefits to veterans, service members and their family members, including tuition, fees, books, housing and other additional costs”; the president signed an executive order that streamlined the permit process for infrastructure projects, with a projected cost savings in the billions; Health and Human Services did away with one of Obama’s directives that hindered states’ abilities to implement work requirements for welfare; statistics showed 1.1 fewer Americans on food stamps during the Trump administration; the Department of Justice launched a unit specifically meant to tackle opioid prescription fraud and abuse; the DOJ also ended Operation Choke Point, an Obama initiative that discouraged banks from dealing with gun dealers.
September:
Not satisfied with just Neil Gorsuch, the administration moved to fill up lower courts with constitutionalists who infuriate liberals. A livid Ron Klain, a Democrat official, said that a “massive transformation is underway in how our fundamental rights are defined by the federal judiciary” and that the president “is proving wildly successful in one respect: naming youthful conservative nominees to the federal bench in record-setting numbers”; the Commerce Department slapped a 219 percent tarriff on jets from Canada’s Bombardier in favor of Boeing, arguing that Canada and the U.K. are subsidizing the planes in violation of trade agreements; Trump started renegotiating the United States-South Korea Free Trade Agreement; the president shut down a politically motivated “climate-change advisory panel” operating under the aegis of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, arguing that it mostly just promoted Barack Obama’s talking points on climate change; the Environmental Protection Agency decided not to renew appointments for dozens of scientists on related advisory panels; household wealth hit $1.7 trillion, a new high, and property values played a significant role in this; Trump signed an executive order for “enhanced vetting” to protect against terrorist threats entering the country; Kim Jong Un backed down off a threat to conduct missile tests around Guam after Trump and his administration warned that it could result in military action; the administration also deployed THAAD, an anti-missile defense system, to South Korea; Trump signed an executive order allowing America greater leverage in going after entities that “finance and facilitate trade with North Korea” (China is most affected); China’s central bank subsequently ordered financial institutions to stop dealing with Pyongyang; Trump gave his speech to the U.N. General Assembly: “I put America first and you should do the same with your nations,” Trump said, also specifically targeting Venezuela as an example of failed socialism; Trump ended the Obama administration’s policy of Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals for illegal immigrants, although he gave Congress time to come up with a legislative solution (which is what should have been done in the first place); the Dow Jones records record highs through the first week of September, reaching 22,400 in mid-September, representing a $4 trillion growth in wealth.
October:
White House announced new drone program that will integrate the unmanned vehicles into the national airspace system, thus creating economic opportunity: the White House says they “present opportunities to enhance the safety of the American public, increase the efficiency and productivity of American industry, and create tens of thousands of new American jobs”; it’s announced that Melania Trump has cut down the number of aides on her payroll compared to Michelle Obama; the president signed an executive order directing agencies to encourage cheaper health plans by allowing competition across state lines and that are not bound by some of Obamacare’s rules and regulations; consumer optimism hit a 13-year-high; Trump announced he would not certify the Iran nuclear deal and threatened to pull out unless serious changes are made, including blocking off any paths to ballistic missiles or nuclear weapons; the Department of the Treasury, according to WND, also sanctioned “more than 25 entities and individuals involved in Iran’s ballistic missile program. The U.S. also sanctioned 16 entities and individuals that have supported Iran’s military and Revolutionary Guard Corps in the development of drones, fast attack boats and other military equipment”; the administration quit the U.N. cultural group UNESCO over its anti-Israel bias; Trump won a challenge to his travel ban in the Supreme Court; EPA Chief Scott Pruitt eliminated Obama’s Clean Power Plan; the administration submitted a 70-point immigration proposal to Congress which includes merit-based immigration and stronger borders; Attorney General Sessions “issued guidance to all administrative agencies and executive departments regarding religious liberty protections in federal law in keeping with Trump’s May 4 executive order. The guidance interprets existing protections for religious liberty in federal law, identifying 20 high-level principles that administrative agencies and executive departments can put to practical use to ensure the religious freedoms of Americans are lawfully protected”; the Pentagon “reprogrammed” $400 million for missile defense systems; the Trump administration expanded exemptions for Obamacare contraception mandates on religious moral grounds; the House Homeland Security Committee gave the first sign of approval to President Trump’s wall, authorizing $10 billion in infrastructure to move it along, as well as funding for 10,000 more border agents; Trump revived the National Space Council, which had been gone for 25 years; the Office of Management and Budget issued a statement of policy to support the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, making abortions after 20 weeks unlawful; the president issued a statement affirming his “strong commitment to promoting the health, well-being, and inherent dignity of all children and adults with Down syndrome”; HHS publishes a draft of a their new strategic plan which says life begins at conception; tax reform begins.
November:
Dow Jones goes above 24,000; mining increases by 28.6 in second quarter and is one of the leading contributors to American financial growth; North Korea was announced as a state sponsor of terror on Nov. 20; Attorney General Sessions announces that President Obama’s habit of issuing “guidance memos” to change federal laws will end; Trump issued a memorandum saying that there was enough oil from other nations to allow “a significant reduction in the volume of petroleum and petroleum products” from Iran; during his visit to China, the president secures “trade and investment deals worth more than $250 billion were announced that are expected to create jobs for American workers, farmers and ranchers by increasing U.S. exports to China and stimulating investment in American communities”; the government releases 13,000 documents related to the JFK assassination over the protests of some in the intelligence community; the president proclaimed the 100th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution as the National Day for the Victims of Communism; guidance from the Department of Agriculture insists that Christians who oppose same-sex marriage should not be discriminated against for said beliefs; semiconductor company Broadcom Limited announces its moving operations from Singapore to the United States; EPA Director Scott Pruitt appoints 66 more conservative voices on three scientific committees at the agency.
December:
Rev.Hoagie (6bbda7) — 2/12/2018 @ 5:22 pmTrump announces he will recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, something that the last three U.S. presidents promised but failed to follow through on; the president also announces that the U.S. embassy will be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem; the Senate tax reform bill eliminates the individual mandate for Obamacare, which would effectively kill the program; the move is part of the biggest rewrite of the tax system since 1986 and will reduce rates on both businesses and individual taxpayers; Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announces that the administration will withdraw from the Global Compact on Migration, a non-binding U.N. pact which the U.S. says conflicts with its immigration laws; Trump reduces the size of several “national monuments” which were more like land grabs by Democrat presidents, prompting much consternation among environmentalists; and to top it all off, DHfigures show that Border Patrol arrests reached record lows and were down 25 percent from a year earlier, meaning less people were trying to enter our country illegally. ICE also announced a massive increase in apprehensions from the previous year.
I think if you cut 3 trillion out of the budget, there’s a strong possibility than a large contingent would go mad, ala valentines carrier wave in kingsman
narciso (d1f714) — 2/12/2018 @ 5:22 pmLet’s face it, regardless of what Trump does the commie lovers will hate him. It’s just the way they are. Everybody knows he’s a dickhead but it does not excuse what Dustbin puts as: ” Many voters actually prefer monsters from North Korea to Trump. Wrong as that is”. That’s not wrong, that’s pathetic that people would be so full of hate for Trump who whether you love him or hate him is NOT A MURDERING COMMIE DESPOT shows how shallow the left in America is. I loathed Barrack Hussein but I didn’t prefer Castro. What kind of un American thinks like that? Commies, that’s who.
Rev.Hoagie (6bbda7) — 2/12/2018 @ 5:31 pmhttp://ace.mu.nu/archives/Trump%20-%20paradox.jpg
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 2/12/2018 @ 5:33 pmI think more like peter quills, Hes an irascible fellow, as he described to the nova corps on zandar, you figure the cognate he used.
narciso (d1f714) — 2/12/2018 @ 5:35 pm“Many voters actually prefer monsters from North Korea to Trump. Wrong as that is.”
With voters like these, anything’s possible.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 2/12/2018 @ 5:36 pm
Rev.Hoagie (6bbda7) — 2/12/2018 @ 5:47 pmColonel, they’re called leftist democrats. They always prefer the dictator to any elected Republican. Bear in mind they also believe in AGW, men can become women, second hand smoke kills a trillion people a day, socialism is good and Barrack Hussein was the greatest president ever and his wife was a beautiful goddess. So go figure, these fools can believe anything. Except the truth. They still think Hillary won. MAGA
These are the same people who are so ignorant of anything outside their bubble they can’t tell the difference between Pyeongchang and P.F. Chang. Could have been worse. They could have put Pyongyang, RNK so they ignorantly lucked out.
Rev.Hoagie (6bbda7) — 2/12/2018 @ 5:51 pmhttp://www.trbimg.com/img-5a8215a5/turbine/ct-1518474657-b4kcyosknt-snap-image/750/750×422
Your homework assignment tonight– listen to and attempt to decipher our Captain’s scatter shot blather of scrambled words and fragmented sentences introducing his infrastructure meeting today.
It’s a whole new language.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 2/12/2018 @ 5:52 pmSo this season of homeland opens with carried looking at the two suns in the sky, and the crazy moves at least 1.5 mensch.
narciso (d1f714) — 2/12/2018 @ 5:56 pm80… Point taken, Hoagie. BTW… did you know there are even some voters that prefer heroin to Diet Coke?
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 2/12/2018 @ 5:56 pm“what mechanism would allow Trump to “pocket” the millions supposedly left in the account?”
– shipwreckedcrew
I don’t think this post is primarily about Trump being greedy – who knows if he is? Maybe children of privilege, born with a silver spoon in their mouths, don’t care so much about money. Why would they? It’s been handed to them for nothing all their lives.
This post is primarily about Trump being a serial liar, which is obviously harder for you to argue against.
Leviticus (1ee626) — 2/12/2018 @ 5:57 pmis all moo and no steak. He promises and you will starve to death waiting for him to deliver.
nk (dbc370) — 2/12/2018 @ 5:16 pm
Wasn’t that from The Odyssey? Hey, as long as the imaginary steak isn’t well done I’m OK.
Pinandpuller (0ca701) — 2/12/2018 @ 6:03 pmLike when circle turned his crew into pigs and he ate some of them?
narciso (d1f714) — 2/12/2018 @ 6:05 pmso we know slutty slutty food stamp pocketed monies for his second inauguration for sure, and didn’t give *any* money to charity at all
he renovated his office and threw an easter egg party
so the bar’s set pretty goddamn low
happyfeet (28a91b) — 2/12/2018 @ 6:06 pmWhen the Khmer Rouge seized power in Cambodia back in 1975, the New York Times was moved to gush, “For most, a better life.”
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 2/12/2018 @ 6:07 pmThe late Sydney schamberg to his credit reconsidered.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/02/12/is-there-a-smarter-way-to-think-about-sexual-assault-on-campus
narciso (d1f714) — 2/12/2018 @ 6:08 pmTwo views on a four trillion dollar budget from Associated Press
Pinandpuller (0ca701) — 2/12/2018 @ 6:11 pmand food stamp’s second inaugural committee didn’t completely wind down until June of 2017
happyfeet (28a91b) — 2/12/2018 @ 6:12 pmThen why didn’t we keep Obama and save the cost of an election?
nk (dbc370) — 2/12/2018 @ 6:31 pmInterview with Joe DiGenova this morning, worth listening to all 7.5 minutes. Claims Priestap and others are cooperating, there are dozens of criminal investigations, and IG’s report will provide the nails for the coffin (due in 2-3 weeks). Sounds like DiGenova kept in touch with his buddies at DOJ.
http://www.wmal.com/2018/02/12/listen-joe-digenova-analyzed-the-democrat-memo/
Lenny (5ea732) — 2/12/2018 @ 6:32 pmWhen I reached the ship and the shore, I rebuked my men one by one, but things were beyond remedy, the cattle were already dead. The gods at once showed my men dark omens. The ox-hides crawled about, raw meat and roast bellowed on the spit, and all around sounded the noise of lowing cattle. Nevertheless my faithful comrades feasted for six days on the pick of Helios’ cattle they had stolen. And when Zeus, Cronos’ son, brought the seventh day on us, the tempest ceased, and we embarked, and, raising the mast and hoisting the white sail, we put out into open water.
It was not till the island fell astern, and we were out of sight of all but sky and sea, that Zeus anchored a black cloud above our hollow ship, and the waves beneath were dark. She had not run on for long before there came a howling gale, a tempest out of the west, and the first squall snapped both our forestays, so that the mast toppled backwards and the rigging fell into the hold, while the tip of the mast hitting the stern struck the steersman’s skull and crushed the bones. He plunged like a diver from the deck, and his brave spirit fled the bones.
At that same instant Zeus thundered and hurled his lightning at the ship. Struck by the bolt she shivered from stem to stern, and filled with sulphurous smoke. Falling from the deck, my men floated like sea-gulls in the breakers round the black ship. The gods had robbed them of their homecoming. But I ran up and down the ship till a surge ripped the sides from the keel, and drove her on naked, snapping the mast close to the keel. The backstay of ox-hide rope lay across the mast, and with it I lashed the keel and mast together, and sitting astride I was carried before the driving wind.
That’s what happens when you sacrifice sacred cows.
Pinandpuller (0ca701) — 2/12/2018 @ 6:33 pmIt’s a whole new language.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 2/12/2018 @ 5:52 pm
In England it’s called a Roundabout.
Pinandpuller (0ca701) — 2/12/2018 @ 6:37 pmHoagie, that was a whole lot of copypasta to fail to show Trump keeping any of his promises (cited specifically in my comment).
I particularly like that you credit Trump for the Dow closing high. That’s ridiculous even for you, but did you plan to credit Trump if the Dow takes another plunge?
Keep up the loyal partisan thing if that makes you happy, but consider that a lot of us are waiting for the GOP and its Trump to deliver.
Dustin (9487ca) — 2/12/2018 @ 6:49 pmThen again may be the Iranians did interfere in our elections, if w insists the converse is true
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/dhs-pushes-back-on-nbc-no-evidence-russians-manipulated-elections/article/2648823
narciso (d1f714) — 2/12/2018 @ 6:54 pm“Then why didn’t we keep Obama and save the cost of an election?”
nk (dbc370) — 2/12/2018 @ 6:31 pm
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 2/12/2018 @ 7:06 pmBetter Call SaulDON’T Call nk!Shorter Dustin:(with fingers stuffed firmly in ears) la-la-la-la, I can’t hear you, la-la-la…
TheBas (d96d7a) — 2/12/2018 @ 7:07 pmἌνδρα μοι ἔννεπε, Μοῦσα, πολύτροπον, ὅς μάλα πολλὰ
πλάγχθη, ἐπεὶ Τροίης ἱερὸν πτολίεθρον ἔπερσεν·
πολλῶν δ’ ἀνθρώπων ἴδεν ἄστεα καὶ νόον ἔγνω,
πολλὰ δ’ ὅ γ’ ἐν πόντῳ πάθεν ἄλγεα ὃν κατὰ θυμόν,
ἀρνύμενος ἥν τε ψυχὴν καὶ νόστον ἑταίρων.
ἀλλ’ οὐδ’ ὣς ἑτάρους ἐρρύσατο, ἱέμενός περ·
αὐτῶν γὰρ σφετέρῃσιν ἀτασθαλίῃσιν ὄλοντο,
νήπιοι, οἳ κατὰ βοῦς Ὑπερίονος Ἠελίοιο
ἤσθιον· αὐτὰρ ὁ τοῖσιν ἀφείλετο νόστιμον ἧμαρ.
τῶν ἁμόθεν γε, θεά, θύγατερ Διός, εἰπὲ καὶ ἡμῖν.
Link
It’s the beginning of The Odyssey, as well-known as “Whan that Aprille” and better-known than “Call me Ishmael”.
nk (dbc370) — 2/12/2018 @ 7:08 pmthat’s pretty but it’s completely illegible
happyfeet (28a91b) — 2/12/2018 @ 7:09 pmSorta like what aspect Patterico is doing with happyfeets comment #92.
TheBas (d96d7a) — 2/12/2018 @ 7:10 pmI expect, not aspect.
TheBas (d96d7a) — 2/12/2018 @ 7:10 pmThey been waiting for so long…
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CPWw8kVWsAAMRLt.jpg
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 2/12/2018 @ 7:13 pmthat’s pathetic that people would be so full of hate for Trump who whether you love him or hate him is NOT A MURDERING COMMIE DESPOT shows how shallow the left in America is.
Well, portions of the Left want a murdering commie despot.
Kevin M (752a26) — 2/12/2018 @ 7:30 pmExcellent troll of the mouth breathers, Prosecutor. Now, who was the better choice in the last general? Going forward, how should we work with what we have? Again, and again, and again, and again. Our good man lost in the primaries. Bad fortune, that. But: reality. Trump or Hillary? Trump or Hillary? Trump or Hillary? In the real world, good people had to take a difficult decision. And they are and remain good people, no matter your screeds and the Greek chorus that has assembled itself around you. Ben Burns! You must be proud to take refuge in that moral quagmire.
Estarcatus (cd97e1) — 2/12/2018 @ 7:32 pmhappyfeet re: #88 & #92
You notice how President Trump saved so much more on his inauguration that those other guys.
(Trump didn’t hire herders to push everyone into the Atlatnic’s pre positioned picture frame)
Frugal.
papertiger (c8116c) — 2/12/2018 @ 7:33 pmThe man, O Muse, that many a way
Wound with his wisdom to his wished stay;
That wandered wondrous far, when he the town
Of sacred Troy had sack’d and shivered down;
The cities of a world of nations,
With all their manners, minds, and fashions,
He saw and knew; at sea felt many woes,
Much care sustained, to save from overthrows
Himself and friends in their retreat for home;
But so their fates he could not overcome,
Though much he thirsted it. O men unwise,
They perish’d by their own impieties,
That in their hunger’s rapine would not shun
The oxen of the lofty-going Sun,
Who therefore from their eyes the day bereft
Of safe return. These acts, in some part left,
Tell us, as others, deified Seed
Chapman translation. The one that sparked off Keats.
Much have I travell’d in the realms of gold,
Kishnevi (86d06e) — 2/12/2018 @ 7:35 pmAnd many goodly states and kingdoms seen;
Round many western islands have I been
Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold.
Oft of one wide expanse had I been told
That deep-brow’d Homer ruled as his demesne;
Yet did I never breathe its pure serene
Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold:
Then felt I like some watcher of the skies
When a new planet swims into his ken;
Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes
He star’d at the Pacific—and all his men
Look’d at each other with a wild surmise—
Silent, upon a peak in Darien.
108 – Just so.
Estarcatus (cd97e1) — 2/12/2018 @ 7:36 pmThat want anywhere the reason I voted for him, it was on foreign and economic policy
narciso (d1f714) — 2/12/2018 @ 7:50 pmTales of the Anglo-African countries.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botswana
Republic of Botswana is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966.[6] Since then, it has maintained a strong tradition of stable representative democracy, with a consistent record of uninterrupted democratic elections and the best perceived corruption ranking in Africa since at least 1998.
Formerly one of the poorest countries in the world—with a GDP per capita of about US$70 per year in the late 1960s—Botswana has since transformed itself into one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. The economy is dominated by mining, cattle, and tourism. Botswana boasts a GDP (purchasing power parity) per capita of about $18,825 per year as of 2015, which is one of the highest in Africa.[9] Its high gross national income (by some estimates the fourth-largest in Africa) gives the country a relatively high standard of living and the highest Human Development Index of continental Sub-Saharan Africa.[10]
Those damn Anglo-African traditions.
papertiger (c8116c) — 2/12/2018 @ 7:53 pmThat’s not a good translation. It’s more of a re-write. And it’s got to be the height of conceit to re-write Homer.
nk (dbc370) — 2/12/2018 @ 7:54 pmSome stuff just sooooo good… http://youtu.be/SEGSQlFZNjc
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 2/12/2018 @ 7:58 pmSeriously did they use babelfish for that translation?
narciso (d1f714) — 2/12/2018 @ 7:58 pmTrump was. No one could really be sure because he really is such an especially dishonest man, and his politics were generally very clinton supporting, but it turns out he appoints some good people to the judiciary, and that’s enough to tip the scales quite a bit.
But it’s not a light decision. Trump’s impact on the reputation of our country, of the GOP, on our partisan divisions, are heavy. Yes, the left is just as much to blame, and they want Trump to fail just as much as Trump wanted Obama to fail, but to those of us who really are beyond partisanship, we just see the nation we love sinking. Trump’s fans are a consequence of years of hate towards good people who just want some kind of justice, but there’s more to politics than partisan justice.
Dustin (ba94b2) — 2/12/2018 @ 8:00 pm“A few days ago, Former President George W. Bush said this:
Americans don’t want to pick cotton at 105 degrees, but there are people who want to put food on their family’s tables and are willing to do that. We should thank them.
This brought to my mind the old slave-owner justification for black slavery. I’m not alone.
Victor Davis Hanson:
Bush put a 21st-century spin on 19th-century plantation owners’ pleas that they needed imported chattel African labor because American workers were neither acclimatized to heat nor inexpensive enough to pick cotton in scorching Southern temperatures.
Additionally, gentleman-farmer Hanson points out that there is more than one area in which the former president demonstrated his cluelessness.
To wit, cotton picking (which I used to do as a child in the 1960s on my father’s small 40-acre cotton allotment) has been widely mechanized for over 50 years. And agriculture now only accounts for about 10-20 percent of illegal alien labor.
Mechanization has revolutionized farming, even in crops once deemed impossible to automate such as nuts, olives, raisins, and delicate Napa Valley wine grapes. New computerized and laser-calibrated breakthroughs will likely mean that even soft fruit and vegetables will soon be mechanically picked, matching ongoing labor reduction in weeding and irrigation.
Read the whole thing.
Bush’s defense of illegal aliens – essentially a criticism of Donald Trump – wasn’t a surprise to me, though his location while doing it, in Dubai, was(!) After all, as president, he advocated the proposed Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007, which put many of his defenders in near revolt, including me.
Also, I remember when neither the former president nor most of his representatives would even try to rebut the Liberal/Leftist attacks on that administration and its policies. They left that up to the New Media: conservative bloggers. Stupid us.
After Barack H. Obama became president, GWB remained silent about his successor, even when the former repeatedly blamed him for bad things that happened from 2009 to 2017. I understood GWB’s stance at the time, and it also made me think that he was being consistent; he had little to say about his own predecessor, one William J. Clinton, even in the wake of the horror in 2001 which, in my own opinion, was the crowning achievement that rested on the many Islamic terror attacks on the US which occurred during the Clinton Administration and went unanswered by it. (That opinion is why I voted for George W. Bush in 2000.)
The silence during his own administration and the silence during the Obama Administration seemed characteristic of GWB. He let his actions do the talking, or so it seemed.
But now Trump’s presidency seems to have loosened GWB’s tongue.”
https://baldilocks-talking.blogspot.com/2018/02/i-dont-miss-george-w-bush-anymore.html
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 2/12/2018 @ 8:07 pmChapman made the first translation of Homer into English. Circa 1600, so if you can read Shakespeare you can read Chapman. Back then paraphrase was much more acceptable.
TBH the Lattimore translations have served me pretty well for 40 years.
Kishnevi (86d06e) — 2/12/2018 @ 8:13 pmswc continues his self-beclowning:
You have got to be kidding. You really missed how this went down? How about the fact that his flack lied and said it had already happened when it hadn’t?
Trump has done this his whole life and you act like that has no relevance to the question. And you proceed, time and time again, from a position of aggression combined with ignorance. You continually use my Web site to spread false information. I detailed several instances earlier and while you write walls of text here and wrote a comment about Schiff on the other thread you somehow couldn’t find the time to say: “Gee, I was flat-out wrong when I said Schiff never accused Nunes of making substantive changes to the memo. I’m sorry that I continually insulted you baselessly, Patterico, and I’m sorry that I said things that were factually untrue.” You claim that you’ll get back to it, but you had your chance to address the Schiff issue already and you didn’t say what an honest person would say.
Stop trying to mislead my readers.
Patterico (115b1f) — 2/12/2018 @ 8:15 pmI’ll let you know once he’s out of office.
I know people had to make their choice at the time and I have never criticized those who picked him as the least bad choice. I made my choice, you made yours; let it go.
It’s partisan hackery slurping his privates that I object to. Not voting for him.
Patterico (115b1f) — 2/12/2018 @ 8:19 pmHe’s worth shit on the debt, and the jury is out on whether he gets us into a stupid war with his idiot mouth. So I’m not opining until he’s gone.
Patterico (115b1f) — 2/12/2018 @ 8:20 pmWatching “The Trade” about the heroin business from the growers south of the border to the unfortunate users, in this case, in the state of Ohio.
I’m reminded of what my brother-in-law – originally from Mexico, now a U.S. citizen – told me some 25 years ago, when I was saying how terrible it was that there was so much poverty so close to the land of plenty. He looked away for a bit, then turned, looked me in the eye and said, “those people are not your friends, they’re not OUR friends…”
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 2/12/2018 @ 8:27 pmRight it isn’t 20 years of looking the other way, under clinton bush and Obama, as north korea was equipped by Russian Pakistani Chinese technicians, has anything to do with it.
narciso (d1f714) — 2/12/2018 @ 8:29 pmOn North Korea, of course it does. It’s more Clinton’s fault than anyone’s.
Patterico (115b1f) — 2/12/2018 @ 8:33 pmNot merely, but largely, re china the world has for nearly 30 years has in. Councils of state, privately acted like tiananmen was an inconvenience
narciso (d1f714) — 2/12/2018 @ 8:36 pm120 – I understand. But there is a flip side to that coin. We all have to let it go and move forward. I respect you, I have since your troubles with Mr. Kimberlain (I am sure I am spelling the name wrong). Your blog has been required reading for me for years, along with all things Hitchens, Powerline, Ace, and even HuffPo. The world is a strange place now. I don’t want strife, but a community, a respectful marketplace where we may offer up our intellectual wares for consideration and allow gentle reasoning and morality to be the measure of their worth.
I think we’re all better than this. I know that we are. Like I said, it’s a strange world these days. I think together, though, we might feel our way through, and figure out together how to live through these times with our honor and decency intact. I admit, I feel a bit lost. But if I’m going to be lost, I’m happy enough to be so in the company of good and honorable men.
Estarcatus (cd97e1) — 2/12/2018 @ 8:39 pmHere’s what that means and what it doesn’t mean.
1. It does mean that both sides can stop recriminations about how people voted. I never engaged in such recriminations. People still engage in them with me. Let. It. Go.
2. It does not mean I don’t get to criticize the sitting President of the United States. If you’re trying to make me stop doing that, please cease your efforts. This is what bloggers do. Get used to it.
Patterico (115b1f) — 2/12/2018 @ 8:46 pmThey make Hillary serum disciplined:
narciso (d1f714) — 2/12/2018 @ 9:05 pmhttps://saraacarter.com/fbi-agents-texts-suggest-use-unsecured-messages-discuss-classified-information/
The only thing that matters is what he signs. Now back to sucking his privates with you.
Patterico (115b1f) — 2/12/2018 @ 9:05 pmRe budgets
Kishnevi (86d06e) — 2/12/2018 @ 9:11 pmThe President proposes Congress disposes.
I think you might have mentioned this author in the past, NJ:
narciso (d1f714) — 2/12/2018 @ 9:14 pmhttps://www.gutenberg.org/files/49525/49525-h/49525-h.htm
127 –
2. Well, yeah. This is your platform. I respect that. I wish you well.
Estarcatus (cd97e1) — 2/12/2018 @ 9:49 pmThat sounds like it could be a flounce.
Patterico (e2d5d0) — 2/12/2018 @ 9:57 pmThis would be ironic:
http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/255290/christopher-steele-putin-oleg-deripaska
narciso (d1f714) — 2/12/2018 @ 10:00 pm133 – Good humor. Nice way to end the day.
Estarcatus (cd97e1) — 2/12/2018 @ 10:10 pmI think we can all agree that every man here knows how to string his own bow.
Pinandpuller (0ca701) — 2/12/2018 @ 10:12 pm“Dichter, rede nicht”- Goethe
I guess that used to be a well known statement.
To be fair, here’s another good one:
“You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.”
Pinandpuller (0ca701) — 2/12/2018 @ 10:53 pm“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.”- Goethe
Pinandpuller (0ca701) — 2/12/2018 @ 11:03 pmTuesday… another day of him going full-Chelsea Handler? Tune in and see…
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 2/13/2018 @ 4:39 amHeh! Did you see the story on Faux News? Chelsea is getting shade for equating hookers, ahem I mean “porn stars”, with child molesters and wife beaters.
nk (dbc370) — 2/13/2018 @ 5:10 amIt’s in her jeans…
Colonel Haiku (1d71cc) — 2/13/2018 @ 5:23 amI did see this… http://victorygirlsblog.com/cocaine-encrusted-fingers-chelsea-handler-comes/
Colonel Haiku (1d71cc) — 2/13/2018 @ 5:26 amObama had his trannies
Trump has got porn stars
Thank god there’s penicillin
For leprosy and pox
Now Monday in the West Wing
nk (dbc370) — 2/13/2018 @ 5:53 amFinds Donald picking lice
He says “I shouldn’t have done it
But ooh that girl looked nice”
It’s the F-ing he gets for the F-ing he got.
Colonel Haiku (1d71cc) — 2/13/2018 @ 5:58 amNit to mention, vampaigning with bubba the love sponge, and other victorian gents, like kendrick lamar
narciso (d1f714) — 2/13/2018 @ 6:03 amThat could be a word, “vampaigning”, meaning a seductive woman using her looks and charm to run for public office or for some other political goal, but I don’t think that Chelsea Handler could pull it off except with a very narrow demographic.
nk (dbc370) — 2/13/2018 @ 6:11 amIts perfectly cromulent word, someone on another blog compared trump to commissioner Samms from another series
narciso (d1f714) — 2/13/2018 @ 6:16 amToday’s diversity update.
Rev.Hoagie (6bbda7) — 2/13/2018 @ 6:18 amBut trump was the Russian tool:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-13/u-s-strikes-said-to-kill-scores-of-russian-fighters-in-syria
narciso (d1f714) — 2/13/2018 @ 6:30 am149. What? Russian forces attack a US base. Narciso pats Trump on the back for it. Dude, I’m sorry, but you are seriously deranged.
Tillman (a95660) — 2/13/2018 @ 6:40 amThe only thing that matters is what he signs.
this used to be true but #resist and #nevertrump have done yeoman’s work in elevating the import of the virtuous signal to a much more exalted place in our politics than it used to occupy
President Trump’s budget foregrounds deficit reduction in the discussion going forward, and in the very best of ways: he identifies dozens of specific cuts in department budgets and programs and line items.
This isn’t a lame-ass Bush-style waste fraud and abuse budget no sir.
I call that raising awareness.
happyfeet (28a91b) — 2/13/2018 @ 6:51 amPitchfork misses the point,
narciso (d1f714) — 2/13/2018 @ 6:52 amYou think you only find these in captivity:
narciso (d1f714) — 2/13/2018 @ 6:58 amhttp://dailycaller.com/2018/02/12/tucker-north-korea-sympathizer
Deir Er zour was the closest point to al quaim, which was the main transmit point to jihadists attacking coalition forces, it was also where the north Koreans had a reactor, that was taken out by Israel in 2007
narciso (d1f714) — 2/13/2018 @ 7:09 am152. You’re fine with our base being attacked by Russian forces?
Tillman (a95660) — 2/13/2018 @ 7:13 amNo one is claiming that Russia is licking Spanky’s boots. It’s the opposite.
Nuke Russia!
nk (dbc370) — 2/13/2018 @ 7:16 amRand Paul has no veto, so your gotcha is as idiotic as most of your Trump-worshipping comments.
Patterico (115b1f) — 2/13/2018 @ 7:29 amI’ll answer your questions once you have fully addressed all your distortions. You have a lot of catching up to do.
Patterico (115b1f) — 2/13/2018 @ 7:32 amNetflix has a documentary coming up.
Ben burn (b3d5ab) — 2/13/2018 @ 7:47 amPutin’s Criminal Government and Olympic dopeheads..then there’s this
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/02/12/world/europe/russia-youtube-instagram-navalny.html?referer=
No one is claiming that Russia is licking Spanky’s boots. It’s the opposite
Literalists need explicit instructions .
Ben burn (b3d5ab) — 2/13/2018 @ 7:49 amNow back to sucking his privates with you.
Who’s the Teabagger?
Ben burn (b3d5ab) — 2/13/2018 @ 7:58 amRand Paul has no veto but you know who does?
Our president, President Donald Trump!
He’s powerful like that.
happyfeet (28a91b) — 2/13/2018 @ 8:30 amI think it was sick to premiere Our Cartoon President the night before Don Jr panicked over baking soda.
Ben burn (b3d5ab) — 2/13/2018 @ 8:33 amPutinesque. A model for behavior.
A review of properties listed in a 2016 Business Insider report indicates Trump owns 17 major hotels and clubs in the US. A search of the Department of Labor database revealed three that applied for H-2B visas in 2016 and 2017.
Under the H-2B program, employers must first try to hire American workers — or legal immigrants already in the United States — at reasonable wages for their openings. If they can’t find qualified US workers, then employers can ask the Department of Labor for permission to hire foreign guest workers on H-2B visas. Documents show that hiring managers at the Trump establishments made the minimum efforts required by law to recruit US workers.
Ben burn (b3d5ab) — 2/13/2018 @ 8:48 amhttps://www.vox.com/2018/2/13/16466542/trump-h-2b-guest-workers
Hey Ben! Did you just get back from the post office?
Pinandpuller (a02107) — 2/13/2018 @ 8:56 amZappa foretold the blighted offspring of Trump
https://g.co/kgs/yRujqb
Ben burn (b3d5ab) — 2/13/2018 @ 9:01 amIt takes time to donate money, things that are vetted, tax law firms and compliance engaged.
EPWJ (4dc563) — 2/13/2018 @ 9:03 amAs it appears that deripasha might have funded the dossier, it’s worth noting.
narciso (364166) — 2/13/2018 @ 9:07 amI want to see Kathy Griffin painted by Kehinde Wiley.
Pinandpuller (a02107) — 2/13/2018 @ 9:37 amDeeezil is a great guitar player but his name might as well be straight out of Compton.
Pinandpuller (a02107) — 2/13/2018 @ 9:43 amRe 25, 43, and 119:
Excellent job of moving the goal posts and conflating two different issues into one interchangeable one.
<blockquote>It took DJT 6 months to distribute $5.6 million to veterans groups following the famous telethon he operated in the campaign. Even that was a ridiculous delay. We’re talking over a year, now, for the inaugural donations and counting.
Is there a ruling anywhere which allows unused inaugural funds to be converted into “campaign” funds? Are they considered such as a matter of course? If so, DJT can freely distribute them to pol buddies’ campaigns.
SJW – Pat cited the commmittee’s self-described calendar goals. Dang well they should be accountable on these.
Ed from SFV (3400a5) — 2/12/2018 @ 11:30 am
The Host at 119:
Unfortunately, your post included a link to a WaPo article that is behind their paywall, and I don’t pay for the Post. So I don’t know everything said in the link.
But, the issue of Trump’s delay in donating the $1 million he pledged, and the amount of time it took to distribute the entire $5.6 million raised in that same telethon ARE NOT THE SAME ISSUE.
So are you going to apologize for your mischaracterizing the exchange between Ed and I, and your inaccuracy in jumping in the middle?
My response was directed to Ed’s point that it took 6 months for the $5.6 million to be distributed, and my questions were whether he had any information on whether or not there was any form of application process to receive money from the $5.6 million, whether there was vetting done into groups asking for some of the funds to determine how the money might be used or the level of administrative costs compared to funds that make it to beneficiaries. My point was that its not necessarily as easy as just signing your name to 5 checks for a million dollars each and writing a list for the IRS. So you can’t necessarily take issue with a 6 month time frame unless you have an understanding of the process that was followed. Maybe a decision was made by people entrusted with the issue to distribute $100,000 to 56 separate veterans funds. How long should that take? Unless you know what they did, you can’t criticize the time taken.
But then I thought — Holy Cow, maybe that information is out there somewhere — the information on the distribution of the $5.6 million, which was the subject of the exchange with Ed. And I found this from ABC News on May 31:
On the question of intellectual dishonesty, you jump in on a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT subject — and that was the delay by Trump himself in making good on his own pledge.
On that subject I don’t think there is a whole lot to disagree with you about. Trump has a history of “talking a good” game with regard to his own charitable endeavors, which never quite measures up to reality.
But that wasn’t the point I raised with Ed, so its a non-sequitur by you — and a platform to shoot a bunch of spitballs in my direction. If only you had paid attention to your own rules about mischaracterizating the words of others.
shipwreckedcrew (56b591) — 2/13/2018 @ 1:51 pmposition of aggression combined with ignorance.
Welcome to my world.
Ben burn (b3d5ab) — 2/13/2018 @ 2:27 pmI am looking forward to the rest of this spirited debate.
BuDuh (fc15db) — 2/13/2018 @ 5:58 pmAnd, for the third time I ask what mechanism do you think exists by which Trump could “pocket” whatever remains in his inaugural account?
How does it amount to “fraud” when an organization has not filed a report with the IRS which is not yet due?
shipwreckedcrew (56b591) — 2/13/2018 @ 8:19 pmYou’re so cute when your hands are on your hips and you get huffy.
The simple answer to your question is that it does not amount to fraud yet, and I never said it did. What are the mechanisms by which he could pocket it? Keeping it for the next inaugural, never paying it back after that, transferring it to his bank account, being defended by you after the bank transfer, etc.
Hey, you know, your antics on that moribund thread are just too precious to leave on a thread that nobody is reading. It’s special enough that I want to summarize it here for people.
First, you said: “Even though Schiff jumped up and down, and yelled and screamed that it had been changed, he never even said the changes were substantive.”
Then I cited you a news article that said: “Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the committee, made the claims in a letter to Nunes, accusing the committee chair of making “substantive” changes to the confidential memo before sharing it with White House counsel for release.”
For those keeping score, that means that I proved what you said was 100% completely wrong.
You came back to the subject and failed to acknowledge that you had promoted a falsehood. I chided you for not forthrightly admitting error. And tonight, you gave us one for the ages:
“So, I’ll stick with my earlier point, slightly revised – Schiff’s complaints, however they might be characterized, have never been established by him to have been substantive, and in the 10 days since the Memo was released, he’s never returned to the subject to defend his claims.”
“I’ll stick with my earlier point, slightly revised” — classic. Just classic.
“I’ll stick with my earlier point, slightly revised” — while failing to admit a whopper, and pretending that you are just tweaking the claim, is one of the all-time great examples of trolling. It’s right up there with “I work here is done.”
I’ll have occasion to come back to that one.
I’m not even angry at you any more for your numerous distortions in that thread.
You have become the comic relief.
Patterico (115b1f) — 2/13/2018 @ 8:35 pmMischaracterizate this:
I’ll stick with my earlier point, slightly revised: there is nothing wrong with what Trump did.
As I noted in the earlier thread, Obama is sticking with his earlier point, slightly revised: if you like your doctor, you might be able to keep him.
Patterico (115b1f) — 2/13/2018 @ 8:37 pmDidn’t you write that?
Are you now admitting that you don’t know of any mechanism by which he could “pocket” the millions in the account, and its not “fraud” to fail to file a report that’s not yet due?
I’m just trying to keep track of where the goal posts are.
shipwreckedcrew (56b591) — 2/13/2018 @ 9:00 pmAnd I’ll note that there’s nothing but the sound of crickets over the fact that you responded to my comment to Ed about the delay in distributing $5.6 million, with the completely separate and distinct issue of Trump’s failure to make good on his $1 million pledge until pushed to do so.
Do you remember writing:
Can you explain how your point related to the exchange between Ed and I over the period of time it took to distribute the $5.6 million?
You concede that the article you linked, and the argument you made was about his personal pledge, and the point of contention between Ed and I had nothing to do with that, correct?
shipwreckedcrew (56b591) — 2/13/2018 @ 9:04 pmYup. I’m convinced that if nobody holds his feet to the fire, he’ll try to pocket the proceeds, just like he tried to get away with not paying $1 million to veterans as part of his stunt to avoid questions from Megyn Kelly in a debate.
And I just told you the mechanism. He transfers it to his bank account. People would defend him. My bet is you would too.
This is all really easy to glean from the post if you read it like a normal person does, rather than as a drooling partisan hellbent on scoring points.
Patterico (115b1f) — 2/13/2018 @ 9:10 pmBut instead you keep mischaracterizating everything.
You should stick with your earlier point, slightly revised.
Patterico (115b1f) — 2/13/2018 @ 9:11 pmShow you mean it — delete the post.
shipwreckedcrew (56b591) — 2/13/2018 @ 9:37 pmI don’t mean it. I’m mocking the troll.
Patterico (115b1f) — 2/13/2018 @ 9:39 pm182 — no kidding?? Shocked.
shipwreckedcrew (56b591) — 2/14/2018 @ 6:30 amReturn filed.
Trump paid himself $25 million by sending the money to a SoCal firm that is owned by a good friend of Melania’s.
I’m sure the company didn’t earn it, but she probably got a 10% cut by letting Trump launder the money through her newly formed company in Calif.
Cut & Paste for your next post — will save you time.
shipwreckedcrew (56b591) — 2/15/2018 @ 2:01 pmWell, the 2017 calendar year is long since over, and as I told you on February 8, there are still no specifics — and there are unlikely to be anything like accurate specifics, ever
five million and counting wow boy were you wrong Mr. Patterico oh my goodness!
remember how we saw above at #88 that our slutty-assed former president barack obama never gave a single dime to charity out of his inaugural monies
while sleazy soldier-slaughtering George W. Bush did slightly better (see #92 above) – about maybe half of what President Donald Trump is doing (but he also slaughtered and maimed thousands of our soldiers, so you have to balance that out)
happyfeet (28a91b) — 2/15/2018 @ 4:43 pma SoCal firm that is owned by a good friend of Melania’s.
actually this person is Stephanie Winston Wolkoff she’s the lady who plans the Met Gala, which is the closest analog to an inauguration that there is in the whole whirl of America!
meanwhile charities are get over five million dollars to fund their essential life-changing missions
an unprecedented sum!
and all thanks to our president, President Donald Trump
Reported inauguration adviser Stephanie Winston Wolkoff is known for glam events
happyfeet (28a91b) — 2/15/2018 @ 5:07 pm