Steve Thomas

Consider the $3 glass of water. Trump will never give up grasping for more — we simply have to stop him By Lucian K. Truscott IV, Salon October 31, 2020 https://www.salon.com/2020/10/31/donald-trumps-insatiable-hunger-for-more-more-power-more-money-more-golf-more-women/ “Remember this number: $3. That’s how much Trump charged the federal government for a glass of water in April of 2018 when he and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. According to the Washington Post, Trump’s company also charged the government “$13,700 for guest rooms, $16,500 for food and wine and $6,000 for the roses and other floral arrangements,” over the two days he held meetings with Abe at the resort. But one day, Trump was scheduled to meet with Abe without aides and advisers, with no meal service or cocktails or any other celebratory nonsense. Just the two leaders, alone in a room, talking. According to the Post, the bill for that day contained a line item reading, “Bilateral meeting. Water. $3.00 each.” Donald Trump has been paid “at least $2.5 million by the U.S. government,” since taking office, according to official documents obtained by the Post. Trump has made more than 280 visits to his own hotels and golf clubs over the last four years, and the payments covered costs for “hotel rooms, ballrooms, cottages, rental houses, golf carts, votive candles, floating candles, candelabras, furniture moving, resort fees, decorative palm trees, strip steak, chocolate cake, breakfast buffets, $88 bottles of wine and $1,000 worth of liquor for White House aides.” according to the Post. And water. A total of six bucks for water, no charge being too small to make it onto a bill to the government for a payment going straight into the pocket of the man who owns the Trump Organization and everything it comprises, including his resort in Palm Beach. It’s apparently a good part of what the Trump base likes about him — his appetites, his pure, unadulterated, money-grubbing-right-down-to-$3-for-water greed. Trump has wanted more his entire life. He wants more money, of course. He has spent a lifetime in pursuit of more money, and then some more, and more and more. He borrowed so much money in pursuit of even more money that it drove him into bankruptcy, several bankruptcies in fact. Today, as president, he is said to be in debt for nearly $1 billion to banks and other lenders, a debt that will come due within the next few years, according to the New York Times and other reports. Trump wants more fame, a drive that started off with mentions in gossip columns like the New York Post’s “Page Six,” during the years he was coming into his own as a builder in New York City. He used to call gossip columnists and plant items about himself, posing as a PR person, and then he would call the columnists the next day and comment on their mention of him in order to gain yet another column inch or two in the tabloids. Some said he ran for president back in 2016 to “burnish his brand,” to achieve even more fame and use it to make even more money. Since he became president, he has been relentless in his pursuit of attention, tweeting at all hours, criticizing cable networks who don’t give him enough coverage, calling in to shows like “Fox & Friends” and “Hannity” both to reward them for the coverage they’ve already given him, and to get more coverage. He wants more women, from wife No. 1, Ivana, when he was just starting out, to wife No. 2, Marla Maples, after he jettisoned Ivana, and now wife No. 3, Melania, who replaced No. 2 when he determined she had a few too many miles on her. And then there were all the women in between, in and among his marriages, the women he groped on airplanes and at bars and during parties, the women he (allegedly) raped in places like a Bergdorf’s dressing room or a hotel room or a bathroom during a party, the women whose mouths he forced his tongue down, the women he pushed up against walls and pressed himself against, the women whose bodies he commented on in offices or across rooms, the women whose skirts he put his hand up at restaurant tables, the women whose breasts he grabbed at tennis tournaments and beauty pageants, the women whose rear ends he grabbed in green rooms before television show tapings, the women he dragged behind curtains at New Year’s Eve parties and forcibly kissed and groped. All of those women. Trump wanted their bodies and their mouths and he took them without asking permission because he was Donald Trump, and he took what he wanted. He wanted more golf, so he played more golf more frequently than any president before him. He wanted so much golf that he went around the world buying and building his own golf courses, and then he played them, because he owned them, and because he owned the golf carts, as president he could charge the government for his own Secret Service agents. He could even charge the government for the hotel rooms the agents stayed in while they protected him. He charged the government $17,000 a month for a cottage at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf course, which the Secret Service had to rent month after month just in case he had a mind to play a round of golf. Trump wants more adulation, more love from the “base,” and when he feels he isn’t getting enough, he tweets. There aren’t enough hours in the day for Donald Trump. He was up at 3 a.m. this week, tweeting about the Supreme Court, the court to which he has appointed three arch-conservative justices, yelling at them for their recent decisions allowing mail-in votes to be counted after Election Day, because of course, he wants more votes. He’s been up at 3 a.m. tweeting before, taunting a Miss Universe contestant for a “sex tape,” taunting CNN as “low rated,” bragging about his debate performance, yelling at polls that show him losing. And now Trump is making his final campaign swing through the “battleground states,” feeding the insatiable need of his base for more of himself. “Four more years” has become “12 more years.” Somehow Trump is owed more years of the presidency because “they” took two or three years away from him during the Russia investigation, because “they” spied on his 2016 campaign, because “they” don’t deserve to win. The red-hat-wearing mobs of un-masked fans at his rallies want more of the America they think Trump is bringing back to them. It’s an America that is more white, has more guns, has more churches, more of “us,” less of “them.” That’s what they like about him. They want it all, the same way he does. That’s what opposition to affirmative action has always been. They don’t want some of the college admissions, they want them all. That’s what Shelby County v. Holder was about, that’s what voter IDs and all the restrictive rules about voting by mail are about. They want all the votes. For the Trump base, making America great again means making America ours again, but he’s going to make sure he puts it on their tab, right there with $3 for water and $546 for rooms and $50 for decorative palm trees for table decorations and $1,005.60 for 26 servings of Patron and Don Julio tequila, 22 Chopin vodkas, and six glasses of Woodford Reserve bourbon consumed by White House staffers at the Mar-a-Lago bar. It’s going to cost us more than votes to get our country back. We’re going to be paying for Trump’s insatiable greed long after he’s gone. More than 228,000 of us have already paid with our lives. If the Friday totals keep up — 98,500 new cases and more than 900 dead — a half million of us may perish by the time Trump walks out of the White House for the last time.” Steve Thomas

Steve Bannon is starting to panic. Former Trump aide Steve Bannon ‘border wall’ fraud trial set for May 2021 “A federal judge ordered that Steve Bannon, a former top aide to President Donald Trump, and three co-defendants begin their trial on May 24, 2021, on charges of defrauding donors to a campaign to build a border wall.” https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/31/steven-bannon-case-border-wall-fraud-trial-of-trump-aide-set-for-may.html Trumpworld’s darkest plot yet is starting to implode By Alex Henderson, AlterNet October 31, 2020 https://www.rawstory.com/2020/10/trumpworlds-darkest-plot-yet-is-starting-to-implode/ “On October 29,” Peltz reports, “Bannon attacked Giuliani even though they’ve been working together to launder the bogus story that first appeared in the New York Post, calling him ‘one of the weak guys around’ Trump.” In a transcript of that October 29 conversation, according to Peltz, Bannon declared, “Wray must be fired this morning” — and Giuliani agreed with firing Wray, but not until after the election. Bannon, in response, told Giuliani, “You’re one of the weak guys around him. You’re getting weak on me, Rudy. No, you’re weak. You sort of sound like Chris; you spent too much time with Chris Christie. You’re getting weak.” Bannon also slammed Barr as “another weak link in this chain.” In an October 29 broadcast of “War Room,” Bannon ranted against Wray as well as Trump allies who he believes haven’t done enough to get him fired. “Fire him today,” Bannon declared. “Do not wait. You show weakness — the president is showing weakness by waiting. There’s not one person in this country, not one voter that will not vote for you by firing Wray. And don’t let the weak people around you convince you of that. Be strong, be who you are, be what your presidency is about.” Steve Thomas

I hope this doesn't come to anything. Saudi man crashes car into gates of Mecca’s Grand Mosque https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-mecca-middle-east-dubai-united-arab-emirates-ed031a6b5cece9cce8528bbda440082f4 DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — "A Saudi man in a speeding car crashed into the outer gates of Mecca’s Grand Mosque late Friday night, the country’s state-run news agency reported. The crash happened around 10:30 p.m. and saw the man’s car ram through a barrier and keep driving until it hit the gate on the Grand Mosque’s southern side, the Saudi Press Agency said. Authorities arrested the man inside, who appeared in an “abnormal” condition, the agency said, without elaborating. Police referred them man to prosecutors for possible charges, according to the report. Video on social media corresponded to the news agency’s account, with security forces later pushing the damaged sedan away." Steve Thomas

Searing Supercut Counts Down Donald Trump’s ‘100 Most Tremendous Scandals’ “Note: This list is not definitive,” warns “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.” By Lee Moran https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-100-scandals-the-daily-show_n_5f9d08e9c5b658b27c3a9a8a “The controversies have flowed thick and fast during Donald Trump’s presidency. On Friday, “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” released a montage featuring 100 of the “most tremendous” scandals that have engulfed the Trump White House in the last four years.” https://youtu.be/K9ernOuKUOw?t=179 Steve Thomas

Jim, I'm glad you went Green. I'm going to get a hybrid Gladiator when I'm 85. Did I tell you that when Donald Trump got out of his voting booth, he announced that he had voted straight Republican? The only problem is that his Congressional Representative is Laura Loomer. She is a proud Islamaphobe who has been banned by Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, as well as Uber and Lyft. Good job. Steve Thomas

Richard, I am getting the feeling that in these closing days, the more Donald Trump digs his heels in, the more people are starting to withdraw from him. I was reading this morning that he has even been leveling veiled threats against the Supreme Court; demanding that they "award" him the election. There's a lot of people out there who gripe and grouse about the way things are, but when faced with supporting armed insurrection against the United States, they're going, "Whoa. I didn't bargain for this." PS: I can tell Trump knows he is losing and is getting more desperate; no matter what he tells his rallies, because his language is getting cruder. Steve Thomas

Unions discussing general strike if Trump refuses to accept Biden victory https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/30/us-unions-general-strike-election-trump-biden-victory “US unions have begun discussing the idea of a general strike if Donald Trump refuses to accept an election results showing a Joe Biden victory. Such a move would be unprecedented in the modern era. There has not been a general strike in the United States since 1946 – and that was restricted to Oakland, California. Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, said a general strike could definitely be useful if Trump refuses to respect the election results. “What we’ve seen is people going about our business during the day and conducting mass protests at night, and that’s not going to be enough to make this president move,” Nelson said. “He will use those protests to further divide the country. We will have to do the one thing that takes all power and control from the government or anyone with corporate interests in keeping this person in office, and that is withholding our labor.”” Steve Thomas

This 1988 analysis of Trump’s handwriting is terrifying By Gerry Langer October 30, 2020 https://www.rawstory.com/2020/10/this-1988-analysis-of-trumps-handwriting-is-terrifying/ Felix Klein said, “In fact, the only writing that comes to mind that is as bad is Charles Manson’s.” “As Trump’s re-election is looking more remote and his legal and financial predicaments are looming large and threatening to destroy him, I am left fearing how he might react to defeat. Being so desperate and vindictive, he is capable of extreme destructiveness, not just of our democracy and its governmental agencies, but as Commander-in-Chief much worse. This is the reason I am putting out an analysis that was done over 30 years ago, which resonates as uncannily accurate today. I can only hope that the danger we face is clearly understood, so we are prepared to fight for our country and our very lives.” Steve Thomas

Trump officials end gray wolf protections across most of US By MATTHEW BROWN, JOHN FLESHER and JIM MONE https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-michigan-elections-30b039ee99901e14a1b0e3d3f63f5b6a BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (AP) — "Trump administration officials on Thursday stripped Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in most of the U.S., ending longstanding federal safeguards and putting states and tribes in charge of overseeing the predators. The U.S. Department of Interior announcement just days ahead of the Nov. 3 election could lead to resumption of wolf hunts in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin -- a crucial battleground in the campaign between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. It’s the latest in a series of administration actions on the environment that appeal to key blocs of rural voters in the race’s final days, including steps to allow more mining in Minnesota and logging in Alaska " Steve Thomas

Kathy, As a wise old scholar named Rosanne Rosanadanna once said, "Never Mind" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkFpiKAuWlA Steve Thomas

Donald Trump screen test: Steve Thomas

I have found this last week to be a great source of entertainment. - House Minority Leader, Kevin McCarthy - “Donald Trump has kept more promises than he has made.” Wait! What? - Second Son, Eric Trump - “The greatest issue facing the United States of America today is that Twitter is censoring my tweets.” - An outraged and incredulous White House Press Spokeswoman, Kayleigh McEnany - “We asked Miles Taylor if he was Anonymous, and he LIED!” - Jerry Falwell Jr sues Liberty University for ‘damage to his reputation' - “We attempted to meet several times with the Liberty University Board of Trustees Executive Committee but were unsuccessful in doing so. Thus, we were forced to seek remedy for Mr. Falwell’s ongoing injuries and damage to his reputation through the Court,” - Donald Trump speaking at his rally in Omaha Nebraska - “All you people down there get to huddle together for warmth. I’m standing up here all by myself freezing my ass off.” -Tucker Carlson on Twitter - https://twitter.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1321608055549775872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw The only copy of the Hunter Biden documents that Fox News had, has mysteriously disappeared. (People have suggested that they search Geraldo Rivera’s Al Capone Vault) - US President Donald Trump on Wednesday greeted Britain’s Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage at one of his final reelection rallies, bestowing on him the title “king of Europe.” - “The king of Europe we have right here,” Trump said of Farage. Wait, doesn't Brexit mean...? - The White House Office of Science and Technology - “One of Donald Trump’s greatest accomplishments in the last year is that he ended the Covid-19 pandemic.” Some have said that Donald Trump’s passport should be seized because he is a flight risk. - Hillary Clinton Joins New York’s Electoral College, Says She ‘Can’t Wait’ to Vote for Joe Biden - https://www.thedailybeast.com/hillary-clinton-joins-new-yorks-electoral-college-says-she-cant-wait-to-vote-for-joe-biden There’s probably no one on earth who has a better reason to hate the Electoral College than her—but Hillary Clinton is now slated to be a participant in the system that saw her defeated four years ago. According to USA Today, President Donald Trump’s 2016 nemesis is listed by the New York State Board of Elections as one of 29 Democratic electors for the state. That means that, in the extremely likely event of Joe Biden winning the popular vote in New York, Clinton and her fellow electors will proudly cast their votes for him to replace Trump. In an interview broadcast on SiriusXM Progress, Clinton reportedly said: “Pretty sure I’ll get to vote for Joe and Kamala in New York... I can’t wait.” This upcoming Saturday is Halloween, a full moon, a blue moon, the clocks get changed because of Daylight savings Time and an election. Political yard signs will be interspersed between gravestones, witches, and dancing skeletons. It just keeps getting better and better. Steve Thomas

Kathy, Thanks. I should have known. That was just too bizarre. Steve Thomas

female Omaha, Nebraska rally attendee: https://twitter.com/blaireerskine/status/1321394578952495105?ref_src=twsrc^tfw "I think this whole thing has been blown way out of proportion." "I think Trump did this to teach us a lesson." "What lesson? "I don't think that's really for me to know, and I think you are really nasty for asking." "The reason there are so many elderly people passed out and on the ground freezing is that you media people are counting them. If you weren’t counting them, there wouldn’t be so many,” Steve Thomas

- Jeff Paul - https://twitter.com/Jeff_Paul/status/1321331610344656897 "Thousands of people left out in the cold and stranded in #Omaha, #Nebraska after a #Trump rally. I’m told the shuttles aren’t operating & there aren’t enough busses. Police didn’t seem to know what to do. Some walked. I saw at least one woman getting medical attention." They bussed them in and then didn't make adequate provision for bussing them back out again. At least seven were taken to area hospitals with frostbite. Steve Thomas

REVEALED: Trump’s border wall is costing taxpayers billions more than initial contracts By Pro Publica October 28, 2020 https://www.rawstory.com/2020/10/revealed-trumps-border-wall-is-costing-taxpayers-billions-more-than-initial-contracts/ “Among the biggest beneficiaries of the wall contract changes is Galveston-based SLSCO, which has won the second-most in border wall contracts since 2017, about $2.2 billion, including nearly half a billion dollars in supplemental agreements. North Dakota-based Fisher Sand & Gravel has also won more than $2 billion in contracts since building a controversial private border fence in the Rio Grande Valley, which a ProPublica/Tribune investigation found was in danger of toppling if not fixed and properly maintained. On May 6, federal officials gave the firm a $1.2 billion contract, first reported by the Arizona Daily Star; the government did not publicly announce the massive award. The company’s CEO, Tommy Fisher, could not be reached for comment. SLSCO officials referred questions about its border wall contracts to CBP. In an October update, the administration said it had identified $15 billion — most of it from military funds — to build a total of 738 miles, which comes out to roughly $20 million a mile. That’s compared with the $2.4 billion the government spent from 2007-15 to build 653 miles of fence, as well as gates, roads, lighting and other infrastructure, according to the GAO. Roger Maier, a CBP spokesman, said it’s not reasonable to compare prior expenses to current ones.” Steve Thomas

Michigan judge halts state official’s ban on open carry of guns at polling places https://www.rawstory.com/2020/10/michigan-judge-halts-state-officials-ban-on-open-carry-of-guns-at-polling-places/ DETROIT — Michigan Court of Claims Judge Christopher Murray issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday that effectively halts Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s directive banning the open carry of guns near polling locations on Election Day.Attorney General Dana Nessel announced almost immediately after the decision was issued that her office would appeal to the Court of Appeals “as this issue is of significant public interest and importance to our election process.”The edict by Benson “smacks of an attempt at legislation” and lacks public input instead of following the regular rule-making proce… Trump says militia that sought to kidnap and kill Michigan’s Gov. Whitmer was ‘maybe a problem, maybe it wasn’t’ https://twitter.com/SalHernandez/status/1321180368960016385?ref_src=twsrc^tfw "But it was our people, my people, our people that helped her out" The FBI belongs to him now, don't you know. Steve Thomas

Can Justice Barrett be impeached for violating the Hatch Act? Steve Thomas

The U.S.-China cold war is coming to financial markets by Dion Rabouin https://www.axios.com/the-us-china-cold-war-hits-financial-markets-f0c07d2e-ca54-4539-9d2e-00f8b9221b6b.html “Ant Group's $34.5 billion IPO will make the Chinese fintech company the largest listing ever, and its choice to list its shares in Hong Kong and Shanghai rather than New York City marks a pivotal moment that could see the financial industry move towards China. Why it matters: "This was the first time such a big listing, the largest in human history, was priced outside New York City," Ant Group founder Jack Ma told the Bund Summit in Shanghai Saturday. "We wouldn’t have dared to think about it five years, or even three years ago." Driving the news: Ant Group will be valued at just under $314 billion, larger than some of the biggest banks in the U.S., including Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo and just below the market cap of JPMorgan Chase, the largest U.S. bank. China also is far ahead of the U.S. and the rest of the world in developing a central bank digital currency, and on Friday gave legal backing for a digital renminbi, which will more easily facilitate international transactions. What they're saying: The latest developments show "the rise and the increased importance of China's renminbi as a currency," Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio said in an interview Monday with Yahoo Finance. "More and more you're going to see the internationalization of the renminbi. You're going to see capital flows move in those directions."” Steve Thomas

Between yellow pumpkins and red Christmas trees. I wonder what country's holiday traditions Melania is celebrating. Yeah, yeah, I know. The tradition of having a Tyrannosaurus Rex for Halloween goes way back. Steve Thomas

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Texas GOP Governor Abbott to deploy 1000 National Guard troops for election By David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement October 26, 2020 https://www.rawstory.com/2020/10/texas-gop-governor-abbott-to-deploy-1000-national-guard-troops-for-election/ “The Texas Army National Guard said Monday it had been ordered to dispatch 1,000 troops to five major cities around the state in conjunction with the Nov. 3 election,” MySanAntonio.com reports. “We have not been asked to go to any polling locations as of yet. Now that could change, leading up to the election or after the election,” a Texas Army National Guard spokesperson says. Abbott has not released any information on this plan which some see as authoritarian voter intimidation. The Texas governor is already under fire after reducing ballot boxes to just one per county.” San Antonio election updates: Abbott to order 1,000 troops to Texas cities during election By Staff, Mark Dunphy, Priscilla Aguirre, Madalyn Mendoza, Sig Christenson Oct. 22, 2020 Updated: Oct. 26, 2020 https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/politics/article/San-Antonio-election-updates-Abbott-to-order-15664157.php October 26 “Guard troops ordered to S.A.: The Texas Army National Guard said Monday it had been ordered to dispatch 1,000 troops to five major cities around the state in conjunction with the Nov. 3 election, including San Antonio. The guard in recent weeks had told the San Antonio Express-News that its commander, Maj. Gen. Tracy Norris, had been asked to draft contingency plans in case of trouble at polling places in major cities around the state.” Steve Thomas

Attack Drones Dominating Tanks as Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict Showcases the Future of War “Azerbaijan’s Turkish and Israeli drones are wiping out tanks, artillery, and soldiers as the Armenians lose ground in the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. by Emil Filtenborg and Stefan Weichert Oct. 26, 2020 https://www.thedailybeast.com/attack-drones-dominating-tanks-as-armenia-azerbaijan-conflict-showcases-the-future-of-war?ref=home “Azerbaijan has previously confirmed that it is using Turkish drones in the war, according to Middle East Eye. Ian Williams, an expert in missile defense and missile proliferation at the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told The Daily Beast that what we see right now in Nagorno-Karabakh is the evolution of warfare. “We have for a long time declared tanks to be dead without it happening. However, the Armenian tanks have not done well in the current crisis,” said Williams. “Drones are relatively cheap for countries that would not normally be able to afford air support. The current crisis shows us what kind of damage they can do to an opponent without drones.”” “While the military claims they can shoot down drones such as the Bayraktar TB2, Vladimir Vartanyan, a military analyst who is part of the press department of the Republic of Artsakh, disagrees. “We can see them on our radar, but [the Turkish drones] fly too high for us to shoot them down,” he said. He explained that much of the Artsakh defenses are remnants from 1991 to 1994 and badly in need of an upgrade “We use everything that we have now because this is total war,” he said. “In my opinion, we need to buy some Russian systems, which have experience in shooting down these drones in Syria.”” “Nagorno-Karabakh is located next to regional superpowers such as Turkey, which support Azerbaijan militarily and politically in the conflict. At the same time, Russia has a defensive pact with Armenia, making the situation tense. The Republic of Artsakh is also located next to Iran, a major player in the region." “We must be attentive that the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan does not become a regional war,” Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said, according to BBC.”" Steve Thomas