The End of the World: A Political Thread. A New Hope coming soon!
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The random rants of a narcissist. A great quote from one of my Trump "friends" (I'm not sure what to call these people anymore).
"Now that Bannon's gone things seem a lot more under control".
WTF? The brainwashing is real. I can't imagine what it would be like to support Trump, but if I did I'd be angry that he lied totally and has delivered nothing.
"Now that Bannon's gone things seem a lot more under control".
WTF? The brainwashing is real. I can't imagine what it would be like to support Trump, but if I did I'd be angry that he lied totally and has delivered nothing.
https://www.gq.com/story/trump-mar-a-lago-hurricane-insurance
In fact, the characteristics of this current situation—a Trump Organization property, a highly active hurricane season, and the prospect of big insurance payouts—calls to mind some deep reporting the AP did last year on a Trump storm-insurance swindle from 2005:
Donald Trump says he received a $17 million insurance payment in 2005 for hurricane damage to Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach. But The Associated Press has found little evidence of such large-scale damage. Two years after a series of storms, the real estate tycoon said he didn’t know how much had been spent on repairs, but acknowledged he pocketed some of the money. He transferred funds into his personal accounts, saying that under the terms of his policy “you didn’t have to reinvest it.”
Here’s Trump’s Tony Soprano word salad attempt at bulls***ting the extent of the damage:
“Landscaping, roofing, walls, painting, leaks, artwork in the—you know, the great tapestries, tiles, Spanish tiles, the beach, the erosion.”
And here’s the account Trump’s longtime former butler, Anthony Senecal, gave to the AP:
He said Hurricane Wilma, the last of a string of storms which barreled through in 2004 and 2005, flattened trees behind the estate, but the house itself only lost some roof tiles. “That house has never been seriously damaged,” said Senecal, discussing Mar-a-Lago’s luck with hurricanes. “I was there for all of them.”
Evidently, about a month after Wilma (the worst of the bunch), Trump hosted 370 guests at Mar-a-Lago for Donald Jr.’s wedding. (And yes, there is photographic evidence courtesy Getty Images.) Fast forward a decade and, with Hurricane Irma projected to swerve directly across the eastern tip of the Florida panhandle, Trump may not be so lucky.
For all of Mar-a-Lago’s annoying (and legally questionable) excess, it's prideful position as the capitol of America’s kleptocratic swamp, plenty of people would happily see it washed out to sea. Yet it's better to remember that we live in a world in which Puerto Rico, although spared the worst of Irma, only had $15 million in pre-allocated emergency funds; as Katrina victims pleaded for FEMA trailers a decade ago, Trump was able to line his pockets with $2 million more than that by telling falsehoods about storm damage.
Donald Trump says he received a $17 million insurance payment in 2005 for hurricane damage to Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach. But The Associated Press has found little evidence of such large-scale damage. Two years after a series of storms, the real estate tycoon said he didn’t know how much had been spent on repairs, but acknowledged he pocketed some of the money. He transferred funds into his personal accounts, saying that under the terms of his policy “you didn’t have to reinvest it.”
Here’s Trump’s Tony Soprano word salad attempt at bulls***ting the extent of the damage:
“Landscaping, roofing, walls, painting, leaks, artwork in the—you know, the great tapestries, tiles, Spanish tiles, the beach, the erosion.”
And here’s the account Trump’s longtime former butler, Anthony Senecal, gave to the AP:
He said Hurricane Wilma, the last of a string of storms which barreled through in 2004 and 2005, flattened trees behind the estate, but the house itself only lost some roof tiles. “That house has never been seriously damaged,” said Senecal, discussing Mar-a-Lago’s luck with hurricanes. “I was there for all of them.”
Evidently, about a month after Wilma (the worst of the bunch), Trump hosted 370 guests at Mar-a-Lago for Donald Jr.’s wedding. (And yes, there is photographic evidence courtesy Getty Images.) Fast forward a decade and, with Hurricane Irma projected to swerve directly across the eastern tip of the Florida panhandle, Trump may not be so lucky.
For all of Mar-a-Lago’s annoying (and legally questionable) excess, it's prideful position as the capitol of America’s kleptocratic swamp, plenty of people would happily see it washed out to sea. Yet it's better to remember that we live in a world in which Puerto Rico, although spared the worst of Irma, only had $15 million in pre-allocated emergency funds; as Katrina victims pleaded for FEMA trailers a decade ago, Trump was able to line his pockets with $2 million more than that by telling falsehoods about storm damage.
White House calling for ESPN to fire Jemele Hill over a Tweet about Trump. I've always liked Hill she is entertaining..... but it's ok for Trump to Tweet his garbage. Mmmmk.
Conservative heads are exploding!
There's a comment section over at Brietbart called "Amnesty Don" and even Anne Coulter is tweeting to Impeach Trump.
These people were and still are so f***ing stupid to think DJT was going to keep his promises. Now climb back into your holes!
There's a comment section over at Brietbart called "Amnesty Don" and even Anne Coulter is tweeting to Impeach Trump.
These people were and still are so f***ing stupid to think DJT was going to keep his promises. Now climb back into your holes!
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Conservative heads are exploding!
There's a comment section over at Brietbart called "Amnesty Don" and even Anne Coulter is tweeting to Impeach Trump.
These people were and still are so f***ing stupid to think DJT was going to keep his promises. Now climb back into your holes!
LOL Hollywood Steve Mnuchin
Secretary Steven Mnuchin requested use of a government jet to take him and his wife on their honeymoon in Scotland, France and Italy earlier this summer, sparking an “inquiry” by the Treasury Department's Office of Inspector General, sources tell ABC News.
Officials familiar with the matter say the highly unusual ask for a U.S. Air Force jet, which according to an Air Force spokesman could cost roughly $25,000 per hour to operate, was put in writing by the secretary's office but eventually deemed unnecessary after further consideration of by Treasury Department officials.
Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said in an interview with ABC News that Mnuchin's request for a government jet on his honeymoon defies common sense.
"You don't need a giant rulebook of government requirements to just say yourself, 'This is common sense, it's wrong,'" Wyden said. "That's just slap your forehead stuff."
Mnuchin, an independently wealthy former Goldman Sachs banker, has already triggered a review of his travel for using government jet to travel to Louisville and Fort Knox, Kentucky last month. The inspector general is reviewing whether he improperly used that trip to catch a prime view of the solar eclipse with his wife, a Scottish actress and model named Louise Linton.
Mnuchin's office denied he took that trip to watch the eclipse and said he was there to attend meetings on tax reform, and the Treasury Department said the Mnuchins would reimburse the government for Linton’s travel costs.
An official within The Treasury Department's Office of Inspector General said that in addition to reviewing the Kentucky trip, it has started an official "inquiry" into Mnuchin's honeymoon travel request.
A spokesman for the Treasury Department told ABC News that the secretary requested government travel for his honeymoon out of a concern for maintaining a secure method of communication.
“The Secretary is a member of the National Security Council and has responsibility for the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence," the spokesman said in a statement. "It is imperative that he have access to secure communications, and it is our practice to consider a wide range of options to ensure he has these capabilities during his travel, including the possible use of military aircraft."
The spokesman added the secretary's office ultimately decided the use of military aircraft was "unnecessary" after it became apparent that other methods for secure communication were available.
Mnuchin's office has also strongly denied that the secretary's opportunity to watch the solar eclipse within the so-called "path of totality" factored into his decision to visit Kentucky at that time, which included meetings on tax reform and a tour of Fort Knox. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) met with Mnuchin during that trip and tweeted a photo of them watching the eclipse together, complete with proper eyewear.
Aside from the President and Vice President, travel on military aircraft is typically reserved for cabinet members who deal directly with national security, such as the Secretaries of Defense and State.
One senior Treasury official who has worked with a number of past secretaries said that military aircraft are only used in "extreme" circumstances, such as if the secretary had to be rushed back to a meeting in Washington, D.C., with the President.
Another former senior Treasury official who worked closely with Mnuchin's predecessor, Secretary Jack Lew, said it would have been "exceedingly rare" for Secretary Lew to use military aircraft for official business. The only exception to the rule was foreign business travel. As for private travel, "there's not a chance in hell that Secretary Lew would have considered using military air," this former official said.
Adam Stump, a spokesman with the Department of Defense, which oversees and operates all government air travel for the executive branch, declined to comment on the specific request made by Mnuchin's office but cited existing departmental policies regarding the use of government aircraft.
"Generally, when other federal executive agency's request use of military airlift, it is provided on a reimbursable basis pursuant to Title 31 U.S.C., section 1535 and 1536, otherwise known as the ‘Economy Act,’" Stump said.
Noah Bookbinder, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington(CREW), a Washington, DC-based ethics watchdog, was critical of Mnuchin’s request.
“People can do whatever they want on their own time, on their vacations and in the houses that they live in, but they can't be expecting taxpayers to foot the bill for a Hollywood lifestyle,” Bookbinder said.
Meanwhile, Mnuchin's wife managed to stir her own controversy surrounding that August trip to Kentucky when she lashed out at a stranger on Instagram, an incident for which she later issued a public apology. Linton posted a photo of herself and her husband stepping off a government jet and wrote, "Great #daytrip to #Kentucky! #nicest #people #beautiful #countryside."
She went on to include hashtags of various luxury designers she was wearing: "#rolandmouret pants #tomford sunnies, #hermesscarf #valentinorockstudheels #valentino #usa," prompting one user to reply, "Glad we could pay for your little getaway. #deplorable."
Linton responded by belittling the woman in a series of comments and even mentioned her honeymoon.
"Aw!! Did you think this was a personal trip?! Adorable! Did you think the US govt paid for our honeymoon or personal travel?! Lololol."
Two people familiar with the matter say Linton was not aware that her husband had requested government travel for their honeymoon before making that comment.
Secretary Steven Mnuchin requested use of a government jet to take him and his wife on their honeymoon in Scotland, France and Italy earlier this summer, sparking an “inquiry” by the Treasury Department's Office of Inspector General, sources tell ABC News.
Officials familiar with the matter say the highly unusual ask for a U.S. Air Force jet, which according to an Air Force spokesman could cost roughly $25,000 per hour to operate, was put in writing by the secretary's office but eventually deemed unnecessary after further consideration of by Treasury Department officials.
Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said in an interview with ABC News that Mnuchin's request for a government jet on his honeymoon defies common sense.
"You don't need a giant rulebook of government requirements to just say yourself, 'This is common sense, it's wrong,'" Wyden said. "That's just slap your forehead stuff."
Mnuchin, an independently wealthy former Goldman Sachs banker, has already triggered a review of his travel for using government jet to travel to Louisville and Fort Knox, Kentucky last month. The inspector general is reviewing whether he improperly used that trip to catch a prime view of the solar eclipse with his wife, a Scottish actress and model named Louise Linton.
Mnuchin's office denied he took that trip to watch the eclipse and said he was there to attend meetings on tax reform, and the Treasury Department said the Mnuchins would reimburse the government for Linton’s travel costs.
An official within The Treasury Department's Office of Inspector General said that in addition to reviewing the Kentucky trip, it has started an official "inquiry" into Mnuchin's honeymoon travel request.
A spokesman for the Treasury Department told ABC News that the secretary requested government travel for his honeymoon out of a concern for maintaining a secure method of communication.
“The Secretary is a member of the National Security Council and has responsibility for the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence," the spokesman said in a statement. "It is imperative that he have access to secure communications, and it is our practice to consider a wide range of options to ensure he has these capabilities during his travel, including the possible use of military aircraft."
The spokesman added the secretary's office ultimately decided the use of military aircraft was "unnecessary" after it became apparent that other methods for secure communication were available.
Mnuchin's office has also strongly denied that the secretary's opportunity to watch the solar eclipse within the so-called "path of totality" factored into his decision to visit Kentucky at that time, which included meetings on tax reform and a tour of Fort Knox. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) met with Mnuchin during that trip and tweeted a photo of them watching the eclipse together, complete with proper eyewear.
Aside from the President and Vice President, travel on military aircraft is typically reserved for cabinet members who deal directly with national security, such as the Secretaries of Defense and State.
One senior Treasury official who has worked with a number of past secretaries said that military aircraft are only used in "extreme" circumstances, such as if the secretary had to be rushed back to a meeting in Washington, D.C., with the President.
Another former senior Treasury official who worked closely with Mnuchin's predecessor, Secretary Jack Lew, said it would have been "exceedingly rare" for Secretary Lew to use military aircraft for official business. The only exception to the rule was foreign business travel. As for private travel, "there's not a chance in hell that Secretary Lew would have considered using military air," this former official said.
Adam Stump, a spokesman with the Department of Defense, which oversees and operates all government air travel for the executive branch, declined to comment on the specific request made by Mnuchin's office but cited existing departmental policies regarding the use of government aircraft.
"Generally, when other federal executive agency's request use of military airlift, it is provided on a reimbursable basis pursuant to Title 31 U.S.C., section 1535 and 1536, otherwise known as the ‘Economy Act,’" Stump said.
Noah Bookbinder, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington(CREW), a Washington, DC-based ethics watchdog, was critical of Mnuchin’s request.
“People can do whatever they want on their own time, on their vacations and in the houses that they live in, but they can't be expecting taxpayers to foot the bill for a Hollywood lifestyle,” Bookbinder said.
Meanwhile, Mnuchin's wife managed to stir her own controversy surrounding that August trip to Kentucky when she lashed out at a stranger on Instagram, an incident for which she later issued a public apology. Linton posted a photo of herself and her husband stepping off a government jet and wrote, "Great #daytrip to #Kentucky! #nicest #people #beautiful #countryside."
She went on to include hashtags of various luxury designers she was wearing: "#rolandmouret pants #tomford sunnies, #hermesscarf #valentinorockstudheels #valentino #usa," prompting one user to reply, "Glad we could pay for your little getaway. #deplorable."
Linton responded by belittling the woman in a series of comments and even mentioned her honeymoon.
"Aw!! Did you think this was a personal trip?! Adorable! Did you think the US govt paid for our honeymoon or personal travel?! Lololol."
Two people familiar with the matter say Linton was not aware that her husband had requested government travel for their honeymoon before making that comment.
lol at the excitement in her face in the wedding pic. "I sure hope this is worth all the money I'll get."
You seem to be insinuating that she's an extremely shallow, money-grubbing whore, which ... oh, it's that bitch?! Carry on.
The WH has officially allowed bribes. Originally a major issue for the Clintons, it was reversed for obvious reasons.
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/13/trump-ethics-watchdog-legal-defense-242690
The U.S. Office of Government Ethics has quietly reversed its own internal policy prohibiting anonymous donations from lobbyists to White House staffers who have legal defense funds.
The little-noticed change could help President Donald Trump’s aides raise the money they need to pay attorneys as the Russia probe expands — but raises the potential for hidden conflicts of interest or other ethics trouble.
“You can picture a whole army of people with business before the government willing to step in here and make [the debt] go away,” said Marilyn Glynn, a former George W. Bush-era acting OGE director who worked in the office for 17 years.
Lawyer fees have long been the source of controversy for presidents under fire. Richard Nixon’s White House took covert steps to pay the Watergate burglars, and a trust set up during Bill Clinton’s first term to deal with Whitewater and other controversies had to return hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations from a controversial Arkansas friend who was later indicted for campaign finance abuses.
At issue for the Trump staffers is a 1993 OGE guidance document that gave a green light to organizers of legal defense funds for government employees to solicit anonymous donations from otherwise prohibited sources — like lobbyists or others with business before the government. That Clinton-era opinion reasoned that if such donors were anonymous, such donations could be legal because the employee “does not know who the paymasters are.”
But former OGE officials say the ethics office quickly determined that guidance had flaws, and instead advised attorneys to stay away from all lobbyist donations, anonymous or not, as they arranged funds benefiting the Clintons and a cadre of senior White House aides.
Informative read.
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/13/trump-ethics-watchdog-legal-defense-242690
The U.S. Office of Government Ethics has quietly reversed its own internal policy prohibiting anonymous donations from lobbyists to White House staffers who have legal defense funds.
The little-noticed change could help President Donald Trump’s aides raise the money they need to pay attorneys as the Russia probe expands — but raises the potential for hidden conflicts of interest or other ethics trouble.
“You can picture a whole army of people with business before the government willing to step in here and make [the debt] go away,” said Marilyn Glynn, a former George W. Bush-era acting OGE director who worked in the office for 17 years.
Lawyer fees have long been the source of controversy for presidents under fire. Richard Nixon’s White House took covert steps to pay the Watergate burglars, and a trust set up during Bill Clinton’s first term to deal with Whitewater and other controversies had to return hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations from a controversial Arkansas friend who was later indicted for campaign finance abuses.
At issue for the Trump staffers is a 1993 OGE guidance document that gave a green light to organizers of legal defense funds for government employees to solicit anonymous donations from otherwise prohibited sources — like lobbyists or others with business before the government. That Clinton-era opinion reasoned that if such donors were anonymous, such donations could be legal because the employee “does not know who the paymasters are.”
But former OGE officials say the ethics office quickly determined that guidance had flaws, and instead advised attorneys to stay away from all lobbyist donations, anonymous or not, as they arranged funds benefiting the Clintons and a cadre of senior White House aides.
Informative read.
I'm sure there's nothing to hide.....
https://www.aol.com/article/news/20...r-logs-mar-a-lago-only-22-officials/23211012/
https://www.aol.com/article/news/20...r-logs-mar-a-lago-only-22-officials/23211012/
The Trump administration released visitor logs from President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Friday after a lengthy court battle with an outside ethics organization.
But all the administration eventually provided was a list of 22 Japanese officialswho visited Mar-a-Lago in February with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
"After waiting months for a response to our request for comprehensive visitor logs from the President's multiple visits to Mar-a-Lago and having the government ask for a last-minute extension, today we received 22 names from the Japanese prime minister's visit to Mar-a-Lago and nothing else," Noah Bookbinder, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, the organization that sought the records, said in a statement. "The government does not believe that they need to release any further Mar-a-Lago visitor records. We vehemently disagree."
"The government seriously misrepresented their intentions to both us and the court," he continued. "This was spitting in the eye of transparency. We will be fighting this in court."
CREW, the National Security Archive, and the Knight First Amendment Institute were scheduled to receive the Mar-a-Lago visitor logs on Friday as a part of their court battle with the Department of Homeland Security. Those logs were requested for dates spanning from January 20 to March 8. CREW said in a statement that an additional lawsuit to obtain White House visitor logs is still ongoing.
CREW had similarly sued the Obama administration in 2009 for release of the White House logs, which the administration settled by agreeing to regularly release the information. Earlier this year, the White House announced it would keep the visitor logs secret.
But all the administration eventually provided was a list of 22 Japanese officialswho visited Mar-a-Lago in February with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
"After waiting months for a response to our request for comprehensive visitor logs from the President's multiple visits to Mar-a-Lago and having the government ask for a last-minute extension, today we received 22 names from the Japanese prime minister's visit to Mar-a-Lago and nothing else," Noah Bookbinder, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, the organization that sought the records, said in a statement. "The government does not believe that they need to release any further Mar-a-Lago visitor records. We vehemently disagree."
"The government seriously misrepresented their intentions to both us and the court," he continued. "This was spitting in the eye of transparency. We will be fighting this in court."
CREW, the National Security Archive, and the Knight First Amendment Institute were scheduled to receive the Mar-a-Lago visitor logs on Friday as a part of their court battle with the Department of Homeland Security. Those logs were requested for dates spanning from January 20 to March 8. CREW said in a statement that an additional lawsuit to obtain White House visitor logs is still ongoing.
CREW had similarly sued the Obama administration in 2009 for release of the White House logs, which the administration settled by agreeing to regularly release the information. Earlier this year, the White House announced it would keep the visitor logs secret.
Simpsons were definitely ahead of their time. From the episode Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington. It's almost like they knew of someone like Trump becoming president.
Russsian and Chinese warships are cruising within 100 miles off the North Korean coast. A clear message for USA to back off
I feel like we almost need a separate thread for the Russia investigation. This thing is like a slow-moving explosion, and we're just about to see the fireball form before it mushrooms.
Of course I'd be there all the time updating and feeling like some obsessed kook. Maybe it's a bad idea.
LOL.....Do you realize how pitiful their Navy's are? It's time we stand our ground with these two. (I am not saying go to war) but when they puff out their chest we should ignore them and continue.
They are pathetic, but I don't want any involvement. We don't have anybody in charge that I think can handle the NK situation properly.
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