Donald Trump 2019

[Horn Under a Bad Sign 20,341]

Against any other party, Trump would stand no chance.  Unfortunately, the Democrats can't help but trip over their own dicks, or labia majora as the case may be.

Exhibit 1:

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/03/07/trump-ilhan-omar-1211798

[Chuckie Finster 22,583]

If it makes y’all feel any better, this Omar stuff isn’t registering with the general public. Like, at all.

[bad_teammate 13,125]

Just now, Chuckie Finster said:

If it makes y’all feel any better, this Omar stuff isn’t registering with the general public. Like, at all.

Yep, them supporting their colleague would've cost them NOTHING among the voters.

[Hornius Emeritus 12,403]

12 minutes ago, bad_teammate said:

Yep, them supporting their colleague would've cost them NOTHING among the voters.

 

Supporting their colleague would have been a ridiculously stupid thing to do, politically speaking.

[Hugo Stiglitz 23,356]

1 hour ago, High Plains Drifter said:

 

Yeah, I got laughed at two years ago when I said this was the biggest scandal in US history.  I’m used to it. 

[Hugo Stiglitz 23,356]

Fucking mob boss dotard president shaking down our allies for “protection”

Thanks again McTurtle for all the Senate oversight on shit like this.

For years, President Donald Trump has complained that countries hosting American troops aren’t paying enough. Now he wants to get even, and then some.

Under White House direction, the administration is drawing up demands that Germany, Japan and eventually any other country hosting U.S. troops pay the full price of American soldiers deployed on their soil -- plus 50 percent or more for the privilege of hosting them, according to a dozen administration officials and people briefed on the matter.

In some cases, nations hosting American forces could be asked to pay five to six times as much as they do now under the “Cost Plus 50” formula.

[Francisco 2.0 32,290]

This gonna leave a mark.

https://www.axios.com/jared-kushner-ivanka-trump-security-clearance-leak-0a312b92-4a2d-4a70-a7fa-7fb7980d5305.html

Quote

From a White House source, the House Oversight Committee has obtained documents related to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump's security clearances that the Trump administration refused to provide, according to a senior Democratic aide involved in handling the documents.

Why it matters: The Trump administration's problems with leaks will now benefit Congress, making it harder for the White House to withhold information from Democratic investigators.

 

Quote

The news: The White House this week rejected the committee's request for documents on the process for granting security clearances to staffers. 

The twist: But the House Oversight Committee in early February had already obtained the leaked documents that detail the entire process, from the spring of 2017 to the spring of 2018, on how both Kushner and Trump were ultimately granted their security clearances.

The senior Democratic aide who was involved in handling the documents told Axios that two staffers on the Oversight Committee said the documents are "part of the puzzle that we would be asking for" from the White House, "so we appreciate having this upfront." 

 

 

 

[NBMisha 224]

Drump learning this is what investigations look like.

[Hugo Stiglitz 23,356]

Trump up and tweeting.  Since I’m no longer posting his tweets out of context, here is a summary:

[jimmyjazz 45,512]

Just a refresher on Trump's perpetual tax swindles, from a Facebook post by Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist David Cay Johston:

Quote

Actually, (name deleted) you have bollixed numerous facts.

First, the documents came in the mail to me, not Rachel. We reported on them at DCREPORT.org, and then I was a guest on her show—and many other shows.

In 2005 Trump paid two kinds of taxes, one of which was refunded in the next year or two.

He paid regular income tax. On $148 million he paid less than 3.5%. That means he paid a lower rate than the average of the poorest half of American income taxpayers, who paid a bit more than 3.5% that year. I’ll bet you pay more than 3.5% and make less than $148 million.

He also paid Alternative Minimum Tax, which was $31 million of his $36 million tax bill. But the AMT he paid gets REFUNDED to real estate owners. Basically, he just loaned that money to the government for a year or perhaps two.

The White House verified the document and, in a statement, inflated the total income taxes paid from $36 million to $38 million, even though the actual figures were right on the document. Trump then went on Tucker Carlson and claimed his income was $250 million – the man can’t even tell the truth when we can all look at the document.

In addition, the tax return showed how most of an illegal tax shelter he bought had been used up by 2004.

What was the shelter? Trump deducted the same money that he did not pay back to his bankers in 1990. When you don’t pay back loans that money is income to you and taxable. So instead of reporting $918 million as income he took a deduction of $918 million. That’s roughly $600 million of tax cheating right there.

My work inspired the NYTimes to then undertake a very costly investigation (three reporters each for well more than a year plus editors, etc.).

The Times showed with documents like checks and invoices and ledger sheets that Trump and his family are major tax cheats. And the newspaper didn’t say maybe or possibly, they flat out called it tax cheating because numerous prominent tax experts, shown the findings, said there was no question it was cheating on a massive scale over many years.

As someone with a global reputation on the intricacies and broad policies of tax law and policy expert I concur – the documentary evidence was overwhelming.

That brings us to Trump’s two tax fraud trials.

His own longtime tax lawyer and tax accountant, Jack Mitnick, testified under oath that the tax return in evidence bore his (photocopied) signature but he did not prepare the return. That’s fraud.

Trump deducted more than $600,000 of expenses for a business with no revenue – and no accounting records, checks or receipts. The judges in both cases ruled against Trump so he is beyond question a tax cheat.

All of this and much more – including all of the sources so you can check my work – is reported in The Making of Donald Trump. Those sources, more than 40 pages, are primarily official documents and many are on the internet so it’s easy to check my work. The book is in 11 languages and no one has found any error other than a few typos in the first two printings.

All this comes from Trump’s testimony and letters and other documents I have collected and analyzed over my three decades of reporting on him. In 1990 I revealed he was no billionaire (and he isn’t now, either). He called me a liar for four months until he had to put into the record his net worth statement. It showed he had a negative net worth -- $295 million LESS than ZERO.

In The Making, available at your library, you’ll read about his hiring illegal immigrants and then not paying them. His stiffing small business owners for goods and services. His posing as his own publicist to plant fake news. His claims that three prominent women were his lovers (none were) and how when offered the chance by Howard Stern to set the record straight he doubled down on this lie.

Be sure to read carefully how to get more money he put the life of his infant grandnephew in danger -- and makes no apologies for it. Then there’s his deep – and it is very deep – years of involvement with a major international cocaine trafficker named Joseph Weichselbaum. As I’ve said many times, inviting Trump to sue me if he thinks I slandered him, there is no logical explanation for his dealings with Weichselbaum unless they were in the drug smuggling business together, in which case everything Trump did makes perfect sense.

 

[bad_teammate 13,125]

7 hours ago, Hornius Emeritus said:

Supporting their colleague would have been a ridiculously stupid thing to do, politically speaking.

How?

Democratic voters don't care about Israel policy. Pelosi could've beheaded Omar on the capital steps and it wouldn't prevent one future Republican attack.

[Js1 85,055]

8 minutes ago, bad_teammate said:

How?

Democratic voters don't care about Israel policy. Pelosi could've beheaded Omar on the capital steps and it wouldn't prevent one future Republican attack.

She didn’t do it fast enough! 

[4th&Five 41,457]

LET’S HAVE A GREAT FRIDAY EVERYONE!!!

Edited March 8, 2019 by 4th&Five

[TornACL 7,673]

10 minutes ago, Js1 said:

She didn’t do it fast enough! 

They'd complain that Fox News didn't get a chance to televise it live 

[Js1 85,055]

So if the wall is being built and well under construction, no new money is needed via a national emergency taking funds from other sources.

You just played yourself, fool. 

Exhibit A.

[bolverk 29,359]

11 minutes ago, 4th&Five said:

LET’S HAVE A GREAT FRIDAY EVERYONE!!!

 

It's just hit me. Evil Frankie is our president.

WE HAVE A BORDER CRISIS!!! BROWN PEOPLE ARE COMING!!! STOCK UP ON YOUR PEPSI & PIZZA!!! GET OUT YOUR GUNS!!! BUILD THAT WALL!!!

[Judge Roybeanbag 11,796]

1 hour ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

Fucking mob boss dotard president shaking down our allies for “protection”

Thanks again McTurtle for all the Senate oversight on shit like this.

For years, President Donald Trump has complained that countries hosting American troops aren’t paying enough. Now he wants to get even, and then some.

Under White House direction, the administration is drawing up demands that Germany, Japan and eventually any other country hosting U.S. troops pay the full price of American soldiers deployed on their soil -- plus 50 percent or more for the privilege of hosting them, according to a dozen administration officials and people briefed on the matter.

In some cases, nations hosting American forces could be asked to pay five to six times as much as they do now under the “Cost Plus 50” formula.

Just for shits and giggles, a cost plus percentage of cost contract is illegal, according to the Fed.  Not that Trump knows, cares or even has a brain.

[Lurch 5,919]

Just a refresher on Trump's perpetual tax swindles, from a Facebook post by Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist David Cay Johston:

Actually, (name deleted) you have bollixed numerous facts.

First, the documents came in the mail to me, not Rachel. We reported on them at DCREPORT.org, and then I was a guest on her show—and many other shows.

In 2005 Trump paid two kinds of taxes, one of which was refunded in the next year or two.

He paid regular income tax. On $148 million he paid less than 3.5%. That means he paid a lower rate than the average of the poorest half of American income taxpayers, who paid a bit more than 3.5% that year. I’ll bet you pay more than 3.5% and make less than $148 million.

He also paid Alternative Minimum Tax, which was $31 million of his $36 million tax bill. But the AMT he paid gets REFUNDED to real estate owners. Basically, he just loaned that money to the government for a year or perhaps two.

The White House verified the document and, in a statement, inflated the total income taxes paid from $36 million to $38 million, even though the actual figures were right on the document. Trump then went on Tucker Carlson and claimed his income was $250 million – the man can’t even tell the truth when we can all look at the document.

In addition, the tax return showed how most of an illegal tax shelter he bought had been used up by 2004.

What was the shelter? Trump deducted the same money that he did not pay back to his bankers in 1990. When you don’t pay back loans that money is income to you and taxable. So instead of reporting $918 million as income he took a deduction of $918 million. That’s roughly $600 million of tax cheating right there.

My work inspired the NYTimes to then undertake a very costly investigation (three reporters each for well more than a year plus editors, etc.).

The Times showed with documents like checks and invoices and ledger sheets that Trump and his family are major tax cheats. And the newspaper didn’t say maybe or possibly, they flat out called it tax cheating because numerous prominent tax experts, shown the findings, said there was no question it was cheating on a massive scale over many years.

As someone with a global reputation on the intricacies and broad policies of tax law and policy expert I concur – the documentary evidence was overwhelming.

That brings us to Trump’s two tax fraud trials.

His own longtime tax lawyer and tax accountant, Jack Mitnick, testified under oath that the tax return in evidence bore his (photocopied) signature but he did not prepare the return. That’s fraud.

Trump deducted more than $600,000 of expenses for a business with no revenue – and no accounting records, checks or receipts. The judges in both cases ruled against Trump so he is beyond question a tax cheat.

All of this and much more – including all of the sources so you can check my work – is reported in The Making of Donald Trump. Those sources, more than 40 pages, are primarily official documents and many are on the internet so it’s easy to check my work. The book is in 11 languages and no one has found any error other than a few typos in the first two printings.

All this comes from Trump’s testimony and letters and other documents I have collected and analyzed over my three decades of reporting on him. In 1990 I revealed he was no billionaire (and he isn’t now, either). He called me a liar for four months until he had to put into the record his net worth statement. It showed he had a negative net worth -- $295 million LESS than ZERO.

In The Making, available at your library, you’ll read about his hiring illegal immigrants and then not paying them. His stiffing small business owners for goods and services. His posing as his own publicist to plant fake news. His claims that three prominent women were his lovers (none were) and how when offered the chance by Howard Stern to set the record straight he doubled down on this lie.

Be sure to read carefully how to get more money he put the life of his infant grandnephew in danger -- and makes no apologies for it. Then there’s his deep – and it is very deep – years of involvement with a major international cocaine trafficker named Joseph Weichselbaum. As I’ve said many times, inviting Trump to sue me if he thinks I slandered him, there is no logical explanation for his dealings with Weichselbaum unless they were in the drug smuggling business together, in which case everything Trump did makes perfect sense.

 


I’d not heard the drug smuggling story before

[Foggy Notion 1,202]

22 minutes ago, Lurch said:

 


I’d not heard the drug smuggling story before

This article sums up Trump's dealings with two convicted drug dealers. 

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-who-talks-about-executing-drug-dealers-vouched-for-two-of-them

[Born to Run 6,519]

Segments on NPR where they interview regular folks in Midwest about Trump drive me fucking crazy. “I don’t care about character, I care about my wallet.” “ Trump actually does what he said he would do unlike other politicians”.
What exactly positive has he done besides not tank a strong economy?
We are fucked.

[horncyclist 1,384]

Well, for the guy elected to undo everything Obama did, it was only a matter of time before he wrecked the economy:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/08/business/economy/jobs-report.html

I haven't dug into the jobs numbers and know its just one indicator. Also, the business cycle. But Trump's policies have been a net negative on the economy in my view. And by exploding the deficit with a premature and ineffective tax cut to the rich stimulus, he's made it difficult to respond to a slowing economy. 

 

[Biff Tannen 45,477]

14 minutes ago, Born to Run said:

Segments on NPR where they interview regular folks in Midwest about Trump drive me fucking crazy. “I don’t care about character, I care about my wallet.” “ Trump actually does what he said he would do unlike other politicians”.
What exactly positive has he done besides not tank a strong economy?
We are fucked.

20k jobs in Feb.  Way under expected.  Winning.

[High Plains Drifter 10,970]

10 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

20k jobs in Feb.  Way under expected.  Winning.

I wonder how much of an effect the shutdown had on that number?

[Mo Horn 8,795]

19 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

20k jobs in Feb.  Way under expected.  Winning.

Tweet coming that blames the Fed, immigrants, or I'm sure he can figure out how this is Obama's fault. 

Edited March 8, 2019 by Mo Horn

[Francisco 2.0 32,290]

WINNING.

https://splinternews.com/trump-reportedly-wants-to-steal-from-the-troops-to-pay-1833149788

 

Quote

It’s no secret that President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration to fund his border wall between the United States and Mexico will rely heavily on Defense Department money to kickstart construction. But, according to Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, we now have a better idea of just where in the Pentagon that money will reportedly come from: The Troops™, themselves.

 

Quote

Speaking with the Associated Press on Thursday, Durbin, who sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee and was reportedly among a “group of bipartisan lawmakers” who met with acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, asserted that money to fund Trump’s wall will be “coming out of military pay and pensions.”

Quote

“$1 billion,” Durbin added. “That’s the plan.” (We reached out to Sen. Richard Shelby, the chair of both the Senate Appropriations committee and subcommittee on Defense, and will update when and if we receive a response.)

 

Quote

As the AP reports, the $1 billion is unspent money that’s accumulated due to underperforming military recruitment efforts and an infrequently used voluntary early retirement fund. So, while not taking money directly out of soldiers’ paychecks, the plan would nevertheless mean less funds to pay future recruits and potential retirees. Per the AP, the money will instead be channeled through the DOD budget into a “drug interdiction” fund, where it will then be applied toward barrier construction.

“This is pay that would have gone to Army recruits that we can’t recruit,” Durbin said. “So there’s a ‘savings’ because we can’t recruit. The other part was they offered a voluntary change in military pensions, and they overestimated how many people would sign up for it.”

 

 

[retread 2,951]

 

[Js1 85,055]

They just got the bigliest pay raise in the history of the US military EVAH!

They can't afford it.

/Trump

[Francisco 2.0 32,290]

3 minutes ago, retread said:

 

Usually, this should leave a mark.

 

 

[Post Oak 20,182]

34 minutes ago, Born to Run said:

Segments on NPR where they interview regular folks in Midwest about Trump drive me fucking crazy. “I don’t care about character, I care about my wallet.” “ Trump actually does what he said he would do unlike other politicians”.
What exactly positive has he done besides not tank a strong economy?
We are fucked.

If  trump was a woman or a minority I bet their reaction would be different.

 

[bolverk 29,359]

10 minutes ago, retread said:

 

[retread 2,951]

"A guy can't watch the SB with friends?" - Trumpkins

[yoladu 4,065]

16 minutes ago, Francisco 2.0 said:

Usually, this should leave a mark.

 

 

usually.

 

(It is astonishing, fascinating, and a bit scary all at the same time. I wish someone smarter than me could explain the phenomenon we are experiencing right now.)

Edited March 8, 2019 by yoladu

[Captainant 27,309]

4 minutes ago, yoladu said:

usually.

 

(It is astonishing, fascinating, and a bit scary all at the same time. I wish someone smarter than me could explain the phenomenon we are experiencing right now.)

It's a combination of:

• racist mouthbreathers wanting to clap back at society for putting BARRACK HUSSEIN OBUMMER (he was black, you know) in office
• russian active measures
• a concerted effort by conservatives to muddy the water on every issue to prevent actual discourse (both sides, amirite) and inhibit public release of information
• a president who truly does not give a fuck aside from retaining and gaining as much power and wealth as possible

We're well and truly fucked. Thanks boomers.

[bolverk 29,359]

6 minutes ago, yoladu said:

usually.

 

(It is astonishing, fascinating, and a bit scary all at the same time. I wish someone smarter than me could explain the phenomenon we are experiencing right now.)

I think it has to do with the psychology of tribalism/identity. There appears to be some folk who are so completely invested in it that they can't let go of it. It's why party identity is often compared to a cult. Any threat to the leader of their tribe is viewed as an all-out assault on who they are as a person.

[retread 2,951]

In the age of the internet and ubiquitous information, you would think a person couldn't get away with any criminality at all. It turns out you can get away with exponentially more criminality. Weird.

['stache 21,743]

15 hours ago, Hank Kingsley said:

Because Biden is an old “centrist” career politician with 40-50 years worth of baggage. He will be eviscerated once he announces.

The fact you take polls seriously when we are a year from primaries is so strange.  

Because trump comes in with less baggage? Bitch, please. You can list any two democrats and they're going to lose, not because of any "baggage" or perceived "weaknesses" as a candidate, but because 63 million+ idiots will always show up to vote against the evil socialist (i.e. any democrat). Meanwhile, droves of young eligible voters will stay home because if they have any disagreement on any one issue it's just not worth their time. Even if they could work on that problem, it'll never be enough to overcome decades of brainwashing that all Ds are evil. Rs these days don't vote for their candidate, it can be literally anyone, but they will always show up to vote against the evil democrat. That is a problem that can't be undone anytime soon.

Edited March 8, 2019 by 'stache

[horncyclist 1,384]

Well, time to cancel the SpaceX commercial crew program contract. If Obama was for it, it must be a mistake.

In other news, USA! USA! USA!. Hell yeah, back to space. 

Edit to add that it's sad that it's an ex President tweeting about our technical achievements while the president is silent, tweeting at his politcal enemies instead. This is the type of cool shit that used to unite us. 

Edited March 8, 2019 by horncyclist

[4th&Five 41,457]

Bad lawyer and fraudster that I kept around for a decade...

[kevwun 15,595]

Pot meet kettle needs to be replaced by Trump meet Cohen.

Edited March 8, 2019 by kevwun

[Hugo Stiglitz 23,356]

38 minutes ago, Captainant said:

It's a combination of:

• racist mouthbreathers wanting to clap back at society for putting BARRACK HUSSEIN OBUMMER (he was black, you know) in office
• russian active measures
• a concerted effort by conservatives to muddy the water on every issue to prevent actual discourse (both sides, amirite) and inhibit public release of information
• a president who truly does not give a fuck aside from retaining and gaining as much power and wealth as possible

We're well and truly fucked. Thanks boomers.

Before the Russians cranked it up to 11, the billionaires were running their own active measures in this country.  The AstroTurfed Tea Party bullshit,  the death panels, the FW:FW:FW: emails, the Benghazi horseshit, the Soros crap, birtherism, the Sharia law fear tactics.  It was all a con job to consolidate wealth and power. 

The GOP prepared the information battlefield years before the Kremlin stepped in and cleaned our clock in 2016.

[retread 2,951]

^ 'Conservative' talk radio and Fox had a huge role in training people's minds. R voters are like trained dogs that perk up their ears when they hear Israel, MS-13, boot straps, trickle down, etc.

[FondrenRoad 4,378]

3 minutes ago, horncyclist said:

Well, time to cancel the SpaceX commercial crew program contract. If Obama was for it, it must be a mistake.

In other news, USA! USA! USA!. Hell yeah, back to space. 

Wouldn't be surprised if Trump tried to kill it. Not only was Obama for it, it will also end up taking money out of Vlad's pocket. We have been keeping the Russian space program afloat by paying them to take us up.

[horncyclist 1,384]

2 minutes ago, FondrenRoad said:

Wouldn't be surprised if Trump tried to kill it. Not only was Obama for it, it will also end up taking money out of Vlad's pocket. We have been keeping the Russian space program afloat by paying them to take us up.

Pence is big into rockets. Mainly cause they remind him of penises, but still, I think he his support is enough to keep things moving. Russia knew this was coming, though I had a concern about Russian sabotage. 

[David Dennison 18,603]

10 minutes ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

Before the Russians cranked it up to 11, the billionaires were running their own active measures in this country.  The AstroTurfed Tea Party bullshit,  the death panels, the FW:FW:FW: emails, the Benghazi horseshit, the Soros crap, birtherism, the Sharia law fear tactics.  It was all a con job to consolidate wealth and power. 

The GOP prepared the information battlefield years before the Kremlin stepped in and cleaned our clock in 2016.

Which makes voters' active participation in the con job by sheepishly participating in capitalism so frustrating. 

Edited March 8, 2019 by David Dennison

[SuingToGetAMessageBoard? 3,861]

15 minutes ago, 4th&Five said:

Bad lawyer and fraudster that I kept around for a decade...

I don't think I could write that poorly if I tried.

[4th&Five 41,457]

You must not have gone to Wharton.

[SuingToGetAMessageBoard? 3,861]

http://fortune.com/2019/03/07/tim-cook-tim-apple-twitter/

 

[Bama Chick 28,596]

^ 'Conservative' talk radio and Fox had a huge role in training people's minds. R voters are like trained dogs that perk up their ears when they hear Israel, MS-13, boot straps, trickle down, etc.

Need to throw Newt Gingrich in there too.

Give that evil motherfucker his due.

He was the Founding Father of the “Say whatever you need to say to frighten your base and get them to the polls, facts be damned! We’ll just make the press the enemy too!” strategy.

[David Dennison 18,603]

Looking forward to his job numbers tweet.

[NWBuck 8,543]

28 minutes ago, 4th&Five said:

"He asked for a pardon for the illegal things he did for me!"