If anyone was wondering why the Trump scampaign banned the Washington Post from its press pool, here’s David A. Farenthold’s latest – “Trump promised millions to charity. We found less than $10,000 over 7 years”:
In May, under pressure from the news media, Donald Trump made good on a pledge he made four months earlier: He gave $1 million to a nonprofit group helping veterans’ families.
Before that, however, when was the last time that Trump had given any of his own money to a charity?
If Trump stands by his promises, such donations should be occurring all the time. In the 15 years prior to the veterans donation, Trump promised to donate earnings from a wide variety of his moneymaking enterprises: “The Apprentice.” Trump Vodka. Trump University. A book. Another book. If he had honored all those pledges, Trump’s gifts to charity would have topped $8.5 million.
But in the 15 years prior to the veterans’ gift, public records show that Trump donated about $2.8 million through a foundation set up to give his money away — less than a third of the pledged amount — and nothing since 2009. Records show Trump has given nothing to his foundation since 2008…
In recent years, Trump’s follow-through on his promises has been seemingly nonexistent.
The Post contacted 167 charities searching for evidence of personal gifts from Trump in the period between 2008 and this May. The Post sought out charities that had some link to Trump, either because he had given them his foundation’s money, appeared at their charity galas or praised them publicly.
The search turned up just one donation in that period — a 2009 gift of between $5,000 and $9,999 to the Police Athletic League of New York City…
What has set Trump apart from other wealthy philanthropists is not how much he gives — it is how often he promises that he is going to give….
These promises seemed designed to reassure potential customers and voters and to reconcile two sides of Trump’s public persona. On one hand, Trump said he had so much money that he didn’t need more. But on the other hand, he was always selling something.
The explanation was that the money Trump was making wasn’t for him to keep…
Apparently it was for him to to pass on to his creditors– a forty-year game of financial musical chairs, which bears some resemblance to what economists call a Ponzi scheme, IIRC.
… Trump’s representatives have repeatedly said there have been many charitable donations from Trump in recent years but that he has purposely kept them under wraps.
This year, The Post got the same response when it probed a separate claim that Trump had made about his charitable giving. At the launch of his campaign, Trump said that he had given away $102 million in the past five years. That figure turned out to comprise mostly land-use agreements and free rounds of golf given away at Trump’s courses.
Trump’s campaign said that none of the $102 million it had counted was actually a cash gift from Trump’s pocket. Such gifts existed, Trump’s staff said. But they were private. If so, those gifts are remarkably difficult to find.
Of the 167 charities reviewed by The Post, 39 declined to comment. Forty others — including the Eric Trump Foundation — did not respond to The Post’s inquiries.
An additional 77 charities had no record of receiving a personal donation from Trump.
That left 11 that acknowledged receiving the kind of personal donation that Trump claims to be giving all the time.
The most recent of those was the gift to the Police Athletic League in 2009.
Insert your own jokes about the Policeman’s Ball.
Much more detail at the link. Joking aside, it looks like the late great Tunch (through his minions in the Balloon Juice community) might’ve funneled almost as much money to animal charities as Donald Trump has actually donated to charities not intimately connected to his own family (his son’s private school, his daughter’s ballet school). And Tunch never tried to use his celebrity to run for higher office.
redshirt
With this clown running, we HAVE to take back the Senate.
Taking back the House is the dream, of course, but I don’t even want to list it as a goal since it seems so unlikely. But we should be working towards it.
Thank FSM 2020 is a Presidential election year.
Patricia Kayden
Liar. I guess he thinks he can make claims and no one will fact check him. Had he not run for President, he could lie to his heart’s content. But alas…
raven
Yea but he’s gonna “take care of da vetrans”.
NotMax
$10,000 versus $102,000,000.
Obviously an innocent rounding error.
Aleta
A cat like that doesn’t have to run for anything.
Roger Moore
Must be the last time Trump needed police help to weasel out of something.
Corner Stone
@Aleta:
Roger Moore
Given his stature, I think Tunch would have greatly preferred standing for office to running.
Bruuuuce
@Aleta:
Roll, perhaps. Run? I don’t think so (he says, looking at his own calico butterball).
danielx
As the white and tan eminence behind the throne, the Cardinal Richelieu of cats, Tunch had all the higher office he needed or wanted.
NotMax
OT:
Any BJers (some of y’all fly a lot) have anything informatively positive or negative to mention about flying on Virgin America airlines?
~16 hour travel time to NY from Hawaii (and same going back) is bad enough without unnecessary additional agita.
Have flown Delta the last couple of times and found them basic and unremarkable but comfortable and bearable enough, all things considered.
debbie
Is this what muckraking looks like?
schrodinger's cat
Bernie Sanders op-ed in NYT is something else. What a sore loser he is.
RandomMonster
Tunch was a wannabe-despot I would have loved to spend time with. The other wannabe-despot isn’t worthy of being mentioned in the same breath.
rikyrah
HUH??
Sam Newhouse @news_haus
Activists planning DNC protests see the Democratic Party as the face of oppression
rikyrah
According to Stuart Rothenberg, strategists for Republican Congressional campaigns are beginning to plan for a “blank check” approach this election.
divF
@NotMax: 16 hours HNL – JFK (or EWR)? That seems about 5 hours too long. Do you have a stop somewhere ?
Adam L Silverman
@raven: If by take care you mean this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IKVj4l5GU4
Roger Moore
@NotMax:
I have enjoyed my flights on Virgin America. They’re not quite as different from other airlines as Southwest, but they clearly have decided to rethink some of the outdated stuff that other airlines do, e.g. everyone gets a seat back digital entertainment center (that can also be used to order food and drink) instead of a magazine.
RandomMonster
@NotMax: Favorite domestic carrier. I choose it whenever I have to fly SFO – Boston.
raven
@Adam L Silverman: Yea, that’s it.
NotMax
@danielx
Éminence
grisefloof.Tripod
At least National Socialism was an ethos…
He flops around so much, an gives such wildly inconsistent answers, he’s getting clobbered on “trust” questions:
schrodinger's cat
@NotMax: I have taken Virgin Atlantic from London to Mumbai and back. Much better tea than Delta or any other American airlines. Also, their food was better.
Adam L Silverman
@raven: That’s what I figured.
hovercraft
@Patricia Kayden:
Hubris, this is what will bring him down. He thought that his MO that made him a huge celebrity and made him rich, could be transferred to a presidential election. In the past all publicity was good publicity, that’s not true anymore. And at the moment he is being hurt by all these revelations both politically and in his business. His house of cards is privately held so he has been free to bullshit his way through his professional life, pretending to be a billionaire, but as a candidate there are forensic accountants combing their way through his finances. Each day more of his shams and scams are revealed and it’s only June. The RNC and his primary opponents should all be sued for malpractice, how did they allow him to become the nominee without exposing him. He is a con man and they are stuck with him, they own him.
redshirt
I once foolishly took BA from Boston to Sydney via London. It was OK going over. Hell coming back.
Adam L Silverman
@schrodinger’s cat: So what’s your view on the fact that all it actually takes to get Britain to leave an entire continent is to schedule an election?//
RandomMonster
@schrodinger’s cat: Virgin Atlantic is awesome (or at least used to be). Back when I used to fly business, their ‘upper class’ or whatever it was called was way better than first class on United and other airlines. They actually made flying fun. (Miss those days…)
The Dangerman
From Trump largesse to largest cat…
ETA: Someplace in there is a joke about hairballs…
Adam L Silverman
@hovercraft: They also appear to have taken his twitter privileges away. Over 30 hours offline, then when it Trump twitter comes back online its from a workstation, not a phone. And it is unusually subdued. It’ll be interesting to see how long that lasts.
NotMax
@divF
Yes. Always opt for short layover(s) because
1) less cost
2) allows for intervals of leg stretching
3) no direct flights from Maui to east coast, anyway
Prefer LGA, but JFK acceptable. Newark or Westchester out of the question.
dogwood
@schrodinger’s cat:
So what did you think about the end of season 4 of The Americans? If I’m correct we seem to be the only ones around here who watch it.
Tripod
@Adam L Silverman:
The next manic episode?
hovercraft
@Adam L Silverman:
I saw that, Betsy Woodruff was reporting that the forced birthers are upset that he hasn’t ( as of this afternoon) responded to the Texas ruling, not so much as a tweet. Poor Melania and Baron are probably ready to kill him.
trollhattan
@rikyrah:
I’m convinced smart Republican money is being spent keeping ardent Berners burning, with the explicit goal of disrupting the Democratic Convention, whether outside or inside. It will make great b-roll video for Fox all fall.
Adam L Silverman
@Tripod: @hovercraft: I honestly don’t know. But every other attempt to control him has lasted from 24-72 hours. So I give this one through Thursday.
jl
Tunch slander! Must retract.
Tunch bravely explored the frontiers of how much cat food (edit: and snacks!) could be packed into one very dense animal. He is a hero and made great sacrifices for catdom. History will note him well and long.
LAO
I remember reading that Trump decided to forgo a campaign self vetting and its stories like this that make me believe it’s true. What f*cking chutzpah! Did he really believe that the press (or democrats) wouldn’t investigate every outrageous claim he’s made?
Adam L Silverman
@trollhattan: That’s already leaked. A PAC being run by Romney’s former campaign manager or communications director is running that. They leaked the strategy, intentionally or not, last week.
Tripod
@RandomMonster:
Mine is still Braniff. All planes should have Alexander Calder paint schemes.
sinnedbackwards
@NotMax: Flew the Delta JFK-HNL nonstop just after Xmas (warning: seasonal flight; most of the year you change at a hub.) Was upgraded to Comfort because I have status. It was nice.
Delta has by far the best on-time and completion records. Otherwise, they treat me well because I have status, so YMMV.
Have flown Alaska (buying VA) as a Delta flyer. Always treated well, always upgraded, have no reason to dislike them (although the Delta deal is probably going away.)
Amir Khalid
@Adam L Silverman:
Trump’s problem seems to be that he won’t behave himself on his own, and there’s no one with the power to make him do it. Even if his people can take away his Twitter, can they keep him off if he stamps his feet and makes demands? Can they control what he says at rallies? He’s tried before to tone things down and act like a president, but he doesn’t seem to have managed it for more than two or three days at a time.
redshirt
United is the worst that I’ve regularly experienced. I’ve been on two flights that had unscheduled stops because the bathrooms stopped working.
Ian
@hovercraft:
They knew these things, but surely other candidate X will fall on his sword to get Trump so I can walk free to the election unbloodied!
redshirt
@Amir Khalid: 2 or 3 days seems generous.
danielx
@Adam L Silverman:
Why, it’s almost like his medication wears off.
Coincidence? I think not.
SectionH
@NotMax: My son’s been using them some on short hops from SAN to other California places. He likes them well enough.
Have you looked at Alaska? They’ve been adding transcon flights from a number of West Coast cities. They’ll fly you from OGG, and you may be able to connect in a number of places.
NotMax
@schrodinger’s cat
Food not a consideration as have always carried my own.
Only airline meal ever served me that was markedly above the grade of poor was on a Danair flight from Paris to Aberdeen, over 40 years ago.
sloan
He must be spending all that money on Ballon Juice ads because that’s all I see on every page of this site lately.
“STOP CROOKED HILLARY”
lol
RandomMonster
@Tripod: Calder paint schemes, that I can get behind!
LAO
@Amir Khalid: I think his problem is more along the line of a personality disorder. If Trump doesn’t believe he’s misbehaving, there’s nothing anyone can do to control him. Certainly, he’s made it this far in life without any consequences, so I don’t think he’ll start now. Or that he can be convinced his behavior is a problem.
hovercraft
@Ian:
That just doesn’t make any sense, I know they like to con their supporters but this level of self delusion is unforgivable. He led all the polls from last summer on except for that brief period when Ben Carson tied/led in a few polls. The responsible people should have beat him back. Wait, oh yeah there are no responsible people left in that party, carry on.
Amir Khalid
@sloan:
I had a mental image of this site being renamed The TRUMP HUGE and CLASSY Balloon Juice Blog and its logo redone as a .GIF with flashing lights.
Shudder.
Suzanne
@LAO: Exactly. Trump has a pathological version of male entitlement. Nothing will make him calm down on his own shirt if mental health care, and the dude is 70 and it has worked for him so far, so I am not optimistic that he will make the change.
randy khan
@redshirt:
Virgin America, like Virgin Atlantic, is going for a slightly cheeky attitude. If you like that sort of thing, it’s fun, but it’s just stuff at the edges. My sense is that Virgin is somewhat devoted to little bits of nickel and diming to extract more cash from passengers, particularly on things like desirable seat assignments.
I have good experiences on Delta generally, but have status (just Silver, but it’s enough to make a difference; I may make Gold this year, which I presume will improve things if it happens). From New York, if Jet Blue has Hawaii flights (which I don’t know), I’d try them out.
I avoid United. My wife and I have both had bad experiences (and I don’t mean delays – they happen to everyone) and neither of us wants to have more of them.
eric
@LAO: The best part is that after a while of behaving, then the press will say he is being controlled and that will be another trigger for his ego. And, then when they point out he is behaving because he is LOSING, my word it will be special
NotMax
@SectionH
Flew on Alaska for one leg (Seattle – Maui) within the past few years. Complete and utter horror show. Never again, not at any price.
Not to mention that most of the layovers in Seattle are in the range of 4 – 10 (!) hours.
@sinnedbackwards
Tend to avoid HNL if at all possible. Multiple reasons, including that Honolulu-Maui flights stop fairly early in the evening.
SectionH
@schrodinger’s cat: Virgin Atlantic isn’t the same airline as Virgin America.
Chyron HR
@jl:
“Long” isn’t a synonym for “wide”.
dedc79
This almost makes me want to reconsider my decision never to subscribe to the Washington Post. Almost.
redshirt
Open question: Does anyone like United Airlines?
LAO
@eric: I really hate how low a bar the press sets for Trump’s behavior. “He didn’t froth at the mouth today, so presidential.”. “Trump went a day with out making a racially charged comment, my goodness, he’s really turned the corner”.
FFS, the man is woefully inadequate in every way and shouldn’t even be near the White House as a guest. But, for the next 5 months, we will all be forced to watch the kabuki theater that is our press Corp, turning themselves into pretzels, in an effort to mask his deficiencies.
Lizzy L
@NotMax: I flew on Virgin America from SFO to JFK about 3 weeks ago, and back again a week later. No particular negatives; neither flight was comfortable but that’s true of every airline I’ve been on in the past 15 years. Both flights arrived on time. The food was meh.
Adam L Silverman
@LAO: But his campain didn’t. The VP and senior counsel of the Trump Organization started the day tweeting a meme that Secretary Clinton had murdered someone – unclear if this was a reference to Vince Foster or Ambassador Stevens. And the campaign sent a formal email out asking for those who receive it to indict Hillary by donating money to Trump:
http://gawker.com/trump-fundraising-email-asks-voters-to-indict-clinton-1782778423
Even when they keep him off twitter and off the call in interviews and off the campaign trail, the campaign still can’t do even a passable strategic communication job.
Jeffro
@NotMax: Virgin is unbelievable – enjoy!
LAO
@Adam L Silverman: my comment was sarcastic. IMO, Trump isn’t remotely Presidential and his campaign is a poorly run joke (so far). I expect it will remain a joke because Trump is pathologically unable to see himself as the problem.
Watching the British press ripping the leave campaign leaders has gotten me even more depressed about the state of the American press.
Karen
@hovercraft:
I understand that but if none of his growing hordes of minions care about that, what difference does it make.
J R in WV
@NotMax:
We flew to and from HI on Delta, from WV. Flying home, I asked a guy at the gate desk if we could upgrade to first class, and handed him our tix.
He clicked away on the terminal, said it would be $100/each – although our tickets were eligible for an upgrade, he didn’t care.
It was a really nice flight, warm towels to clean up with, champagne to sip, real food, and plenty of room to wriggle around in. Cheap upgrades are the best!!
Jeffro
@LAO:
I have to admit, it’s at least partially human nature. Every one of Trump’s teleprompter speeches really grabs me…I mean, I can still sort through the lies and the stupidity and the hate…but it’s just such a step up from his usual Palinesque word salad, it almost starts to look like he has a fully functioning brain instead of just the lizard part.
schrodinger's cat
@dogwood: I am so over the Paige teenage angst drama. The episodes with Martha were the best this season. I also liked William, too bad he had to die.
Miss Bianca
@NotMax: Wow, does it really take that long to fly from HI to NY? Is that nonstop or with layovers?
schrodinger's cat
@SectionH: I know, but Virgin Atlantic own 25% ownership stake in Virgin America. Also, you can use frequent flier miles of VAtlantic for VAmerica.
divF
@redshirt:
Probably not.
Some of us have to make a virtue of necessity. I fly from SF to Denver, Chicago, and Dulles, all United hubs. If you have enough miles to get economy plus seats, it is not so bad.
sloan
@Amir Khalid:Brilliant! I’ll just keep clicking on those Trump ads until John has enough money for the site remodel.
hovercraft
@Adam L Silverman:
What I don’t get is who they are targeting with this. The base already hates the Clintons and will never vote for her. The base vote for each side is between 45 and 47 %, so you need that 6 to 10 % in the middle, and I don’t see this bullshit persuading them. Pivoting or etch-a-sketching is standard to appeal to the middle and neither Drump or the party seem to be doing it. They are running the same plan that has caused them to lose the last two presidential elections. I know the mid-terms have been landslides for them but that is because of voting patterns of the two bases. Is the echo chamber so strong that they really believe that it will win ? Drump is who he is and cannot be controlled, he lacks discipline and as you said will relapse any minute. He apparently hired a communications director today but I doubt that will improve things. Yesterday when they put out a standard gop statement to the media he couldn’t stop himself from stepping all over it to call an msnbc reporter to call Warren Pochahontas. He/ they are simply fucked.
eric
@LAO: It will be worse when the polls tighten a little and you will have to hear about how much stronger he is as a candidate. good times ahead
J R in WV
@redshirt:
deleted
Adam L Silverman
@divF: I’ve found that as long as you don’t have to go through O’Hare you’re okay with them. Through O’Hare and all bets are off as to whether you’re going to show up in Germany with only your B bag containing body armor, kevlar helmet, socks, tshirts, and underwear while you A bag with your uniforms that you need to wear is sent somewhere and will, eventually, be sent on a subsequent flight, either United or Lufthansa, to Germany. That will not be within 24 to 48 hours but will be in 7-10 days or so.
Patricia Kayden
@Jeffro: I thought teleprompters were bad though. Repubs make such a fuss whenever President Obama uses one.
@hovercraft: Yep. He has ticked off enough people in the MSM that he’s going to get exposed something awful during this Summer. Couldn’t happen to a nicer person.
Adam L Silverman
@hovercraft: Yes. Regardless of ditching Lewandowski, which I honestly think may have actually been a way to plant him on TV, and replacing him with Manafort and Trump’s son in law, the operating concept seems to remain: let Trump be Trump.
NotMax
@Miss Bianca
With reasonably short layover(s). Prefer to find flights with short layovers that end up in the 12 hour range but if price is significantly better, have done and will do the 16 hour option.
schrodinger's cat
@dogwood: There is couple more people who watch it. Trollhattan, Momsense and a few others who are slipping my mind right now
hovercraft
@Karen:
That he will probably lose both the election and the bulk of his business which after all is licensing his name. His brand is supposed to that of a winner, being branded as a racist, grifter, con man who screws charities will shrink the market of people who are willing to shell out money for the privilege of slapping his name on their products.
eric
Trump is blasting on FB that he leads in a Texas poll by 8 (41-33). Romney won it by 16.
dogwood
@schrodinger’s cat:
I had enough of Paige long ago. Loved the episode when Elizabeth lit into her and told her in no uncertain terms she would suck up to the minister whether she liked it or not. Thought the last episode was just profoundly sad all around. Arcady, Oleg, William – all so defeated in different ways. I do think next season we’re going to finally get a real Russian bad guy. That chick who’s taking over for Arcady might really be trouble.
schrodinger's cat
@Adam L Silverman: If only it had been easy during the current voters’ great grandpa’s times
schrodinger's cat
@dogwood: I will miss Arkady. Philip’s Russian son story line seems to be a bit too soapy to me.
divF
@Adam L Silverman:
Amen, brother ! On those rare occasions where I am forced to connect through O’Hare, I invariably have a major screw-up. Missing equipment, bad weather (summer and winter). My favorite was the time that United had to replace the cockpit windshield because it had been hit by a bird on approach – a four hour delay. The only reason they let us off the aircraft was that they can’t test to see if the cabin will pressurize correctly with passengers on board.
Adam L Silverman
@schrodinger’s cat: It is what it is.
hovercraft
@eric:
Aww isn’t that cute, I guess the timeout is over, between that and calling trade policy the rape of our country.
Miss Bianca
@NotMax: yow.
o/t, but do you know how I made myself the most popular gal backstage with the 10-20-year-old male actor crowd last week?
That collection of Alan Moore Superman stories with “Man of Tomorrow” in it. Swear to Dog, they *all* wanted to know what I was reading! And then wanted to borrow it! ; )
scav
Is the resort to actual work reporting on Trumpfty’s past actions the cause or the consequence of not being stenographers for his current blather?
Miss Bianca
@Adam L Silverman: Why, that almost sounds like you’re speaking from experience…
SectionH
@NotMax: Sorry about that Alaska flight. I’m usually a Delta flyer, but in Alaska’s defense I’ll say that any and every airline have had/can have a flight from hell. I vaguely still have that hate-feeling about United, but a fair amount of that is based on their hubs, also too.
You might get up-to-date info on Virgin America from Flyertalk. Although I don’t go there that often any more, I think the old lags (I used to be one) are still happy to give the most helpful advice they can – and sometimes just reading a bit on airline forums, or searching on topics (the search function is about as good as BJ’s, though, afaict) is informative. If nothing else, anything involving Hawai’i usually gets lots of attention. Good luck.
NotMax
@divF
1961. Return trip from Hell. Brazil to NY.
Nearly 3 days long, 9 different planes. Included, along with every Murphy’s Law possible being invoked, having one crippled plane doing a one-eighty and at first being threatened with being shot down by the army if attempted landing back at its originating airport.
dogwood
@schrodinger’s cat:
Yea, I’m not thinking the son story line is gonna be my cup of tea either. But what I love about that show, is it’s expertise in creating the most fascinating complete characters and tons of them. There are four scenes from that show that are among the best I’ve ever seen on television. The episode where Elizabeth forces the elderly woman to overdose, Nina’s meeting in prison with her husband, Martha being put on the plane, and William’s deathbed description of Phillip and Elizabeth.
Omnes Omnibus
@Adam L Silverman: FFS. Always put one uniform and a pair of boots in the A bag. Put some underwear and socks in the B.
CaseyL
@dogwood: @schrodinger’s cat:
I love The Americans. There’s so many ways to appreciate it: pure spy thriller, funhouse mirror family drama, ultra-dark comedy…
I like the kids, and I usually hate TV children. I love how raising kids has to have put some serious dents in the adult Jennings’ perceptions of their ultimate responsibility.
The episode in Season 1 (I think it was) where they walked into the hotel room to find their spy-friends and their friends’ kids shot to death. It was fascinating that the first impulse Phillip and Elizabeth had was to run and find/protect Paige and Henry, rather than gather clues about what had happened. And it was fascinating that Phillip’s first reaction to hearing that The Centre wanted to recruit Paige and/or Henry was parental, not spymasterly.
I love it that Phillip, though he’s obviously reached a point of despair and disgust with what he’s doing, still doggedly does it; while Elizabeth, who has the most adamantine devotion to the Soviet Cause, is also starting to crack under the stress of cultivating false friendships that turn out to be real, that she then has to betray and destroy.
The spy stuff in and of itself isn’t nearly as interesting as the human toll it takes, and how well the series is presenting that.
Adam L Silverman
@divF: The only good reason to go through O’Hare is if you absolutely have to get the good caramel corn!
http://www.garrettpopcorn.com/
hovercraft
@Adam L Silverman:
This is Trump being Trump.
According to bloomberg the convention will be awesome.
Not a serious campaign.
Adam L Silverman
@Miss Bianca: I heard it from a guy who’s cousins, sister’s brother in law’s green grocery was told by one of his vegetable suppliers that she knew a guy that had witnessed it.
SectionH
@schrodinger’s cat: And Delta owns 49% of Virgin Atlantic. But – I am not making this up – Alaska is actually trying to buy Virgin America. Likely a consequence of the fallout of the short, hot romance between AK and DL, and the subsequent morning-after regret on the part of AK.
The Virgins are not the same airline, never were – and this includes Virgin Australia.
Substitute the name Trump. I don’t actually hate Richard Branson, but I do fear he gave the Cheeto Jeebus ideas.
Adam L Silverman
@Omnes Omnibus: It was my first trip with all that stuff and no one thought to square the silly civilian away beyond: “good you got everything in, did you put the helmet inside the neck opening of the IBA in upside down and then packed everything into the space? Yes. Good!” I borrowed a spare set of ACUs from my Spec4 and then went over to uniform sales and got the credit card out.
What was funny was that 1/2 the flight was a bunch of OpFor guys going to Hohenfells too and the only Army issued duffel bag that didn’t make it on the plane, out of my 8 member team and about 100 or so OpFor Soldiers, was one of mine.
The Ancient Randonneur
@hovercraft:
Nice. A convicted rapist and a guy who once responded to a question about rape by saying a woman should just lay back and enjoy it.
Miss Bianca
@Adam L Silverman: Surely you mean – “I met a man whose brother said he knew a man who knew the Oxford Girl?”
patrick II
I wish they wouldn’t run these stories until after the convention.
NotMax
@SectionH
One thing about that particular Alaska flight was that the ground staff and the flight crew were not just rude, they all were surly and even nasty, insulting and, in one case, threatening. A company which cannot be bothered to train its employees to meet the most minimum standard of customer relations is not one which will see my shekels again.
Yes, anyone can suffer a bad day. But everyone? Thanks but no thanks.
Adam L Silverman
@hovercraft: They’re also prohibiting anyone that hasn’t endorsed him from speaking. So neither of the last two men standing, Senator Cruz or Governor Kasich, will be allowed to speak as of now.
smith
@hovercraft: I’m most looking forward to the keynote address by Clint Eastwood’s chair.
Adam L Silverman
@Miss Bianca: No, no I don’t.
nutella
@The Ancient Randonneur:
Yeah, odd that he seemed to disapprove of alleged Mexican rapists but he fully supports convicted American rapists. It’s almost like he doesn’t actually care about rape at all. Hmmm.
PurpleGirl
@NotMax: I paid for a friend to fly to NYC from LA a few years ago and used Virgin American. He said it wasn’t bad. I think he used them twice.
Omnes Omnibus
@Adam L Silverman: When I flew to Germany, each of my bags had a mix of civilian, BDU, and Class A stuff. I had military family to advise me.
Miss Bianca
@Adam L Silverman: Ah. Well then.
dogwood
@CaseyL:
I’ve hounded all my friends to watch it, and they have all thanked me profusely. It’s the best show on tv. I saw an interview with the creators awhile back that was pretty interesting. They had three big concerns about the show that ended up being no problem whatsoever. Would Americans watch a show and be able to sympathize with Russian spies? Would Americand watch a show when 1/3 of it is subtitled? And would they be able to find a large top-notch cast of Russian actors who speak English well? They were especially concerned about finding a Nina. The woman who played Nina was the first audition, and when it was over they knew they were home free.
divF
@NotMax:
Yikes!
Mostly prop planes ?
hovercraft
@Adam L Silverman:
I guess he got a hold of a phone, he tweeted this as Lawrence O’Donnell and his panel were mocking his guest list.
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
38m
Iron Mike Tyson was not asked to speak at the Convention though I’m sure he would do a good job if he was. The media makes everything up!
View details ·
NotMax
@divF
Mixed bag; some props, some jets. Suffice it to say saw a lot of airfields which we had no intention of seeing.
Have told this before, but by the time we touched down in Mexico City (plane #7, from Panama) I had been airsick for so long that was green complexioned.
Parents sat me down, leaning against a pillar, in the concourse while they tried to get a flight out heading in the right direction. Poor little NotMax looked so pathetic that Mexican peasant women who passed by were giving me coins.
redshirt
@NotMax: I spent close to 44 hours from Sydney to Boston via Cairns and Singapore and London. But when in London at 2 AM local time I found this wonderful bathroom below decks and I stayed there for like 4 hours. It was huge. My flight to Boston was easy.
Lizzy L
Thinking about Trump’s non-existent charitable contributions: if they are indeed promissory, not real, that’s yet another reason (among many I am sure) why he doesn’t want to release his tax returns. No charitable deductions on his Schedule A; i.e. no contributions.
What a liar the man is…
Adam L Silverman
@hovercraft: Well that answers that question.
Adam L Silverman
@Miss Bianca: these things happen.
Miss Bianca
@Adam L Silverman: So, I guess that means…”I’ve danced with a man who danced with a girl who’s danced with the Prince of Wales” is RIGHT OUT, then, eh?
Adam L Silverman
Now Trump is hitting up Members of Iceland’s Parliament, the Althing, for donations and promising to match them up to $2 million total to stop “Crooked Hillary”.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/trump-now-hitting-up-iceland-mps-for-cash
Where the hell did Manafort get these email lists from?
I’m really beginning to wonder if this is just performance art. That there’s a Trump reality TV show that’s being filmed, but no one informed anyone.
Adam L Silverman
@Miss Bianca: I think its more like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYUFx_Ltjn8
divF
@redshirt:
@NotMax:
I have a standing invitation to visit KAUST in Saudi Arabia, expenses paid. However, I can’t quite bring myself to accept, because 20-28 hours in transit is just too much. Not to mention the 11 hour time difference.
The 2,3 days traveling by air you have described is an unimaginable horror.
rikyrah
I love these stories. Not only because they are true, but also because they are helping to DEFINE Trump.
Tom
@dogwood: My wife and I watch it. Dylan Baker is an American treasure.
Frank Langella isn’t too shabby either.
Omnes Omnibus
@Miss Bianca: Dear god, that was horrible.
NotMax
@divF
Heckuva trip, which included a multiple near drowning and our family (and only our family) being held hostage for 24 hours at gunpoint in a Guaraní Indian camp.
Miss Bianca
@Omnes Omnibus: Worse than I remembered. ; ) However, *I* make no judgements when it comes to free association, man. Don’t be a hater.
@Adam L Silverman: Wow. I think that just broke my brain. I bow to your confoozlement skillz. I think I gotta go lie down now…
Tom
@schrodinger’s cat: Given what Paige was going through, I felt the actress and writers did a good job.
As for Martha…they’ve been building that gun of hers for so long I would have bet money that she would turn it on Phillip or herself.
dogwood
@Tom:
I’ve always loved Frank Langella, but I preferred Margo Martindale as the handler. She is an amazing actress
Omnes Omnibus
@Miss Bianca: Palate cleanser? #notahater
Tom
@dogwood: I miss Arkady. He was a real boss — professional, cared about his workers, not afraid to roll up his sleeves and get things done.
I thought Oleg was obnoxious at first but Costa Ronin (and the writers) really won me over.
Tom
@CaseyL: Exactly. It’s the human elements on both sides that really keep us coming back.
Plus, I was voting age in 1976 so I remember the Reagan years. I find myself rooting for the KGB while watching this show.
SFAW
For schrodinger and dogwood:
I’m about to watch the final season of St Elsewhere (yeah, I’m a little behind), can you guys let me know if there are any major events or surprise endings, to save me the trouble of actually having to watch it? Same thing for The Usual Suspects.
Also, does anyone we care about get killed in The Force Awakens? Finding out now will save me the time that would be lost watching it.
dogwood
@Tom:
Whatever happens to to Paige and Henry they can never claim that their mother let spying, lying, and murdering interfere with keeping the house clean, doing the laundry and putting a hot meal on the table. She really is a superwoman.
GregB
So the Republican Convention will be biggest assembly if rogues and assholes the world has ever seen.
Adam L Silverman
@Miss Bianca: You’re welcome!
SectionH
@NotMax: Sounds infuriating. For me that’s United. I gave the $200 we-fucked-up voucher I got after that mess to my kid, bought a ticket on DL for my next flight, and that was all she wrote. (in 1999). I also walked away from Delta in 2003 when Robbie Borden got hired to screw DL’s frequent flyers. I’m not insanely brand-loyal.
Miss Bianca
@Omnes Omnibus: Ah, lovely! Free association on riffs, then – I’ll see you the Pogues and raise you the Left Banke.
Adam L Silverman
@SFAW: Krypton blows up at the beginning of Superman The Movie.
SFAW
@Adam L Silverman:
Christ, what an asshole.
And still with the “Crooked Hillary” bullshit? If some Dem started calling him “Deadbeat Donnie” on social media, and on TV/radio, he stroke out. I think this is a job for Baud!2016!! To the rescue!!!!
Omnes Omnibus
@Miss Bianca: I talked to her already tonight.
ETA: But I’ll play. Ting Tings.
Miss Bianca
@Omnes Omnibus: : )
Adam L Silverman
@SFAW: Josh Marshall dealt with that earlier today.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/how-does-it-feel-to-be-losing-so-badly
Also picture warning. I did not know there was such a thing as a Canary Sapiens.
SFAW
@Adam L Silverman:
Yeah, that one I knew about, because it happened 70 or so years ago. And St. Elsewhere happened almost 30 years ago. And The Usual Suspects happened 20 years ago.
And the fourth season of The Americans is like, what — ten years old? So I guess I shouldn’t complain, since it’s not as if it happened recently. And besides, it would only be a problem if someone does a binge-watch, and hadn’t caught up yet — and no one ever does that, do they?
Miss Bianca
@Omnes Omnibus: That sounded so damn 80s, I can’t resist…Bow Wow Wow!
Adam L Silverman
@SFAW: I don’t watch the show, but understand your concerns.
Emma
@Adam L Silverman: So I can’t sleep so decide to do a drive-by and find… not only the UK, but Iceland and Australia. Has anyone sat these clowns down and explained election campaign law to them?
Omnes Omnibus
@Miss Bianca: Bad link, kid.
Adam L Silverman
@Miss Bianca: That’s not Bow Wow Wow. This is Bow Wow Wow:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMICD3aMZpw
dogwood
@SFAW:
Just scroll on by. It’s not that difficult.
Adam L Silverman
@Emma: That’s where they’re eventually going to get in trouble, if there is trouble to be had. You have to knowingly solicit or accept foreign donations to break the election law. They could argue that they didn’t realize a portion of the list had foreign elected officials, or anyone else for that matter from another country, on the first one. But this is now the second and third if they’ve hit up some Aussies version of this. At some point someone is going to check time stamps on emails and if they’re after it became widely publicized that they were doing this, then an argument could be made that the behavior is willful and there’s a repeated pattern of violation. Of course Federal Election law is so rarely enforced, I don’t expect much to come of this other than bad press.
SFAW
@Adam L Silverman:
Sort of, but it looks like it’s mostly speculation/prediction, except for discussing Warren’s beatdown of him. OK, so I guess that IS social media, etc. Light dawns on Marblehead, as they say in the Bay State.
Gee, I thought it looked more like a Yellow-belly (or perhaps Yellow-crested? or maybe both) Sap — Sucker!
Omnes Omnibus
@Adam L Silverman: There are about five people here for whom I would not call that out.
Emma
@Adam L Silverman: I suppose we must content ourselves with watching the freak show as it passes.
Adam L Silverman
@SFAW: Yep, Marshall kind of glances off of it, but its pretty clearly implied. As for the picture, its just frightening. Also that’s the neatest I’ve ever seen his hair.
Adam L Silverman
@Omnes Omnibus: Okay, here too, as like the other night, I understand the words and the sentence, but I have no idea what you mean. If you’re willing, please clarify.
hovercraft
@Adam L Silverman:
I missed that earlier, but to his point the democrats lucked out in having our best candidate be a woman. The mans fragile ego will never recover from being beaten by a woman, and especially a who the media and the gop consider to be a weak flawed candidate. The humiliation is going to drive him nuts. I’m still putting my money on him having a meltdown during the debates, she’ll say something condescending and he’ll lose it.
Omnes Omnibus
@Adam L Silverman: There are people who seem like assholes to me.
ETA: If my view, if they do not violate Cole’s view, let them in.
Miss Bianca
@Adam L Silverman: Ok, well, that one *too*, of course…
SFAW
@dogwood:
Gee, thanks! Because I’m a moron, I never knew what scrolling was, until just now.
But it’s tough to unsee, and then scroll past, what one has already seen. Especially when one tries to read most/all of the comments, so as not to repeat someone else’s, should one desire to comment.
Of course, I realize it’s my own damn fault for not realizing that a thread about Trump’s dead-beatitude would of course pivot to The Americans, because why shouldn’t it?
AnotherBruce
@Adam L Silverman: This comment makes me think that this was a pre-arranged agreement between the Trump campaign and CNN. But then, campaigns like this bring out the conspiracy theorems embedded in the inner chambers of our minds.
Miss Bianca
@Omnes Omnibus: Aw, rats! this one work?
ETA: Nothing like having to repeat a joke…
hovercraft
@Adam L Silverman:
Probably taken just after it was um something, glued on, woven in, who knows, I can never do my hair as well as the salon. Melania deserves every penny she gets for putting up with him, physically and personality wise.
Adam L Silverman
@hovercraft: it is a possibility.
Adam L Silverman
@Omnes Omnibus: Ahh, okay.
dogwood
@Adam L Silverman:
One of the features I wish had come about after the last update would be the ability to be directed to the comment someone is replying to by clicking on the name of the original poster. Sometimes I’ll see a reply that appears interesting, but I’m not really sure what prompted it. I can scroll up, but that doesn’t always clear things up because he/she has commented many times throughout the thread.
Adam L Silverman
@AnotherBruce: His campaign is the wasteland of mirrors.
SFAW
@hovercraft:
No shit. I thought Mrs. SFAW deserves sainthood for putting up with me, but Melania has her own Baby Christian cross to bear.
Miss Bianca
@Adam L Silverman: Well, I’m glad that made sense to you, because I’m still confused.
Adam L Silverman
@dogwood: I think that is built in, but email me specifically what you mean, and I’ll pass it along to Alain.
Adam L Silverman
@Miss Bianca: of course!
SectionH
@Adam L Silverman:
Didn’t the actual email to Natalie McGarry say it came from one of the Donald’s spawn? [grumbles, now I have to climb down 7 and a half staircases, to find that reference, and my knees hurt…grumbles…] Oh yes, yes it did. Try this
I expect any patient google search would get you the public email addies of public people. Otherwise, plenty of “helpful” sources.
SFAW
@dogwood:
Actually, if I’m understanding you correctly, it can be done in two or three different ways:
1) Left-click on the name of the replied-to poster, you’ll jump to that comment
2) Right-click on same, select “Open in new tab” or window, and it will sort of jump. I say “sort of,” because the first move puts the original comment at the top of the screen, but then (at least on my system) it scrolls up and down, probably because it’s loading stuff up top, and it doesn’t always end up where you want
3) Mouse-over the address of the replied-to comment, then look for that address up-thread. A little more cumbersome, but works.
Naturally, if I misunderstood you, or if you already know all these things — “never mind.”
trollhattan
@SFAW:
Heh, The Americans may be set during Rockin’ Ronny’s era but we have two seasons left in the story arc. If the plan is to binge ten years after (Alvin Lee shout-out) then set the alarm clock for 2028.
dogwood
@SFAW:
I think my problem might be that I am using a tablet. What I probably need to do is switch to desktop mode. I prefer the way the site and comments appear in mobile form, but I should make the switch and just adapt.
SFAW
@dogwood:
Tablet? What does aspirin have to do with the site? (Other than the headache I get from thinking about Deadbeat Donnie.)
I only use a desktop, may end up using a tablet someday, but not anytime soon. Thus: I have no idea how to help you, unfortunately.
SFAW
@trollhattan:
The point is that the discussion I commented on related to the current season, or at least that’s how it appeared. Not everyone in this world, or on this site, watches the episodes as they are broadcast. In fact, I’ve heard tales of persons who actually binge-watch an entire season a month or two after the season is over. But they’re all losers, like me. Or is it “Sad!” and “Pathetic!”? I can never remember.
SectionH
@dogwood: whatever your tablet does to make a link open in a new tab would probably work best for you then. It’s been a while, because my less than 2 yr old iPad was bricked a few months ago by an Apple Store employee, and I’m not in a hurry to replace it, to put it mildly, but iirc, on BJ, if you hold extra time on a link, (or double tap, but I think the former) then you get an option box, which includes opening the link in a new tab. Tap there, should take you close enough to the comment you want to see.
I don’t know the other OS tablets, but expect there’s something similar.
dogwood
@SFAW:
When I retired 5 years ago my computer was on its last legs, so I decided to try an IPad because it was cheaper and I wouldn’t need the computer features that I required for my job. It’s worked out great, but I can’t seem to do things here that I can do on other sites, i.e. touching the hi-lighted name and being directed to the original comment. I’ts not a big deal, and I’ll definitely survive this first world problem.
dogwood
@SectionH:
Thanks.
dogwood
@SFAW:
Come on. I’ve binged watched plenty since I retired. And no one called you “sad” or “pathetic”. The discussion in question was overall very general. We stopped talking about it, so there’s not much else we can do.
voldemort
@NotMax: 16 hours? how many times are your changing planes? why not take the direct HNL to NYC hawaiian air flight?
SectionH
@dogwood: No problem, as they say in San Diego. I still indulge myself occasionally by saying “You’re welcome.”
Mr S inherited my first iPad, which is still going strong. His worst issues are with corporate websites which don’t like mac stuff anyway.
NotMax
@voldemort
See #32, above. Don’t mind relatively short layovers (under 2 hours).
Having to get to and from Honolulu unduly limits the possible times of flight and is highly inconvenient and stressful for a number of other reasons, also the budget for airfare can only stretch so far and Hawaiian Air is generally grossly overpriced..
SectionH
@NotMax: Fly Virgin, give us all a trip report, ok?
NotMax
@SectionH
Will let ya know. Right now just beginning researching flights and prices and had never heard of Virgin America before, thus the original question. Initial check on fares shows all carriers way outside my price range, however they usually come down as the calendar gets closer to my window for the trip.
Steeplejack
@redshirt:
Post 9/11 I don’t think in terms of “liking,” I think in terms of “bearable.” I’m not a frequent flier these days, but once or twice a year I fly from Washington, D.C., to Las Vegas to visit family, and United has become my go-to, because they have a nonstop flight from Dulles that goes out early Saturday evening, which is a good off-peak time to fly into Las Vegas. (I usually take the return flight in the middle of the week.) The flights have always been on time, and occasionally one is less than packed, which is rare on any flight these days. My only complaint is that a couple of times the in-flight wi-fi has been spotty (First World problem #589).
Zinsky
Trump’s stinginess towards charitable causes is probably one reason the degenerate won’t release his tax forms. I’ll bet they show little to no charitable giving. I bet they also show his income is a lot less than he wants people to think it is. His salary from “The Apprentice” was probably the most solid source of cash flow the pervert had! Real estate developers often are rich only on paper and have negative cash flow.
Uncle Cosmo
@redshirt:
Robert Browning, “Andrea del Sarto”
Uncle Cosmo
@divF: You guys beeching&moehning about O’Hare, ah swares. I had one of the finest encounters of my life in the concourse at ORD nearly 30 years ago. We had a 45-minute layover en route to SFO (where I’d been rebooked to reach Boise ID on a bidniz trip after missing the original flight out of BWI) & while stretching my legs spotted a fat older guy in a Hawaiian shirt & a brush cut & cauliflower ears standing there with a lady in a blonde beehive. I did a double-take, sauntered over & said, “My lord, you look just like Artie Donovan.”
“Yeah!” he said, face crinkling into a grin as he stuck out his paw.
One of my Unitas-era Baltimore Colts heroes in the flesh. We talked for a few minutes…& it was so cool he was more interested in learning about my life than talking about his. (When I told him I’d just bought a house 3 long blocks north of Memorial Stadium, Artie said, “We useta own a place in that neighborhood. We’d get a keg & invite the team over after every home game & they didn’t even hafta move their cars off the Stadium lot!”)
RIP, Fatso…:^(.
crosspalms
So El Cheapo keeps escaping from the confines of his promises — does he do it on a motorbike or just slide out on a film of Brylcreem?
SFAW
@dogwood:
Calm down. It was a Trump-riff.
Yeah, except when it wasn’t.
SFAW
@Uncle Cosmo:
You met Art Donovan? I’m envious.
Original Lee
@Suzanne: Late to the thread, but even if he does manage to hang onto the change through the election, I would not trust him not to revert the minute he takes possession of the White House.