.
A laudable but minor step. The big question is what he does to avoid the appearance of any conflict of interest with the Trump Organization. https://t.co/RUynYvz3cl
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) December 24, 2016
In case you missed this latest attempt to obfuscate Trump’s rampant criminality, over the holiday. The Washington Post takes a well-deserved victory lap:
President-elect Donald Trump said he plans to shut down his charitable foundation, a decision that comes after repeated controversies over how it collected and disbursed funds.
In a statement Saturday, Trump offered no timeline for when his foundation would close down but said he had directed his attorney to take the steps needed to close it. It was not immediately clear when the foundation would be able to dissolve, given an ongoing investigation in New York…
The Donald J. Trump Foundation has come under intense scrutiny this year after a series of reports in The Washington Post detailing its practices, including cases in which Trump apparently used the charity’s money to settle lawsuits involving his for-profit businesses.
New York’s attorney general has been investigating the charity after some of these reports, and a spokeswoman for that office said the foundation could not officially shut down until that probe is over…
Schneiderman’s office is also investigating the Trump Foundation after reports in The Post describing apparent cases of self-dealing that date back to 2007. The Trump Foundation spent $30,000 to buy two large portraits of Trump himself, including one that was hung up in the sports bar at a Trump-owned resort. Trump also appears to have used $258,000 of his foundation’s money — legally earmarked for charitable purposes — to settle lawsuits involving two of his for-profit clubs…
***********
Apart from beseeching Murphy the Trickster God for this to be the millipede’s worth of shoes that trips up the President-Asterisk, preferably before January 20, what’s on the agenda for the day?
.
Eric Trump: GIve me money and I'll give to St. Jude
America: I'd rather just give directly to St. Jude
Eric: Why do you hate sick children?— Wyeth Ruthven (@wyethwire) December 23, 2016
Based on what's been reported, I count at least four lies/misleading statements in here. See if you can spot them. pic.twitter.com/cbWPrkuEwx
— Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) December 27, 2016
As I (and others) wrote, this just isn't true. A large chunk of money went to advance Trump's political prospects https://t.co/J1nCG82iCn https://t.co/NHMEzMviOc
— Rebecca Berg (@rebeccagberg) December 27, 2016
Backstory on Trump Fdn. It appeared to violate laws by buying portraits of him, paying to settle his biz's lawsuits. https://t.co/MCDKWiTqNx https://t.co/GXlpVgND4T
— David Fahrenthold (@Fahrenthold) December 27, 2016
Unknown known
I did not have relations with that portrait.
EBT
I know he is sneezing in that last photo. But it looks like he doesn’t know how a smile works. Or maybe he was pretending to be a Cenobite. (Hellraiser not monk)
mai naem mobile
I was flipping channels on Sunday and clicked on MTP. They showed multiple clips of Lumpy’s interviews so I’m not sure if the one I happened to click on was live or an older one. Anyhow, it was a close up one and,shit, I don’t even have one of those huge 4K teevees but man he’s got bad skin. All that tanning shit must be doing a number on his skin.
opiejeanne
I don’t want to talk about Rump just yet. It’s my 47th anniversary married to a wonderful person.Yay!
Rump is a liar; that is all.
opiejeanne
@Unknown known: Hah!
Zinsky
Conservatives don’t really understand concepts like conflict of interest or even hypocrisy. When I point out the hypocrisy in my conservative friend’s worldview (like being pro-war and pro-death penalty while claiming to be “pro-life”), their eyes just glaze over. I guess they have held contradictory beliefs so long, they just don’t understand why that is a problem in their “logic”. Same with conflicts of interest – Hey, if it benefits me, it ain’t a conflict!
P.S. Congrats to opiejeanne on 47 years of marriage! That’s wonderful!
gene108
I wonder how much of this info will filter to unenthusiastic Trump supporters? The ones, who voted for the first time in years or the ones, or who voted for Obama in 2008 or 2012.
There’s a huge right-wing information network that will not report this and will go out of its way to normalize Trump.
Driving back home, from NC, after visiting my mom, I was flipping through radio stations and came across one that made the following statements:
1. Trump won the popular vote, by 1.7 million, because what gave Hillary her 2.8 million more votes is the 4.5 million vote margin in CA, which clearly does not reflect values of normal people;
2. CA is a liberal hell hole, where – as seen on HGTV – 1800 sq. ft. houses sell for 600k, unlike in rural America where 600 k gets you a mansion;
3. CA is stuck in this liberal hellscape because of unfair districting;
4. And that to get an extension added to your house, you need to oay – based on one anecdote- 40k in fees and permits before breaking ground.
I do not think I have ever heard a liberal media person spout such venom against an entire state. I’ve heard people be flabbergasted that Kansas, for example, is gutting its infrastructure to offset tax cuts. But never openly mocking rural America for its low cost of living.
The media – right-wing and mainstream – really is a drag trying to improve this country, because they keep spouting misleading statements about how terrible life is in Blue America or socialist hellholes like Sweden.
I think this election really showed there’s sometimes no way to penetrate the noise from the media and set people straight.
Until the media gets fixed, I don’t know what we can do to promote our vision.
ThresherK (tablet)
@opiejeanne: Congrats!
gene108
@opiejeanne:
Congrats!!!!!
ThresherK (tablet)
@opiejeanne: Pardon my asking, but is there a story you’d care to share about getting married the week before New Year’s?
(“no” is an acceptable answer if I’ve overstepped.)
OzarkHillbilly
@opiejeanne: Congratulations.
Applejinx
@gene108: Well, it’s true about California but it’s no socialist hellhole, it’s a capitalist hellhole. Property values reflect the free-market tendency to concentrate value in little spots and pockets, and liberal states have had more value in money terms for a very long time because economically conservative ideas don’t work (or, rather, they channel value to isolated individuals and then to Swiss bank accounts: it’s extractive, if you win you get more of a prize)
However, now that free-market ideas have completely taken over the Democratic party as well, the natural effect is to turn ‘winning’ states like California into hyper-economies larger than many countries, and this replicates the same pattern all over again. It makes California the best place to go to be a freemarket right-wing capitalist, and makes it more impossible to exist there as a 40 hour a week wage worker.
There’s no difference, it’s exactly the same principle. It’s just that in California, rich people stay and compete for things like housing. In Kansas, rich people leave, or they have their money leave (and store it in some tax haven).
rikyrah
Morning Everyone ????
rikyrah
@opiejeanne:
47 years!!!
Congratulations!!!????
Odie Hugh Manatee
@opiejeanne: Congrats and keep on truckin! :)
raven
@opiejeanne: Well done.
OzarkHillbilly
@opiejeanne: On the occasion of my Aunt and Uncle’s 50th somebody asked Tony if they had ever thought about divorce.
“Divorce? Never. Murder on the other hand…..”
Baud
@opiejeanne: Whoa…
Congrats!
p.a.
@opiejeanne: congratulations!
raven
I didn’t know George Michael was British.
Alain the site fixer
@opiejeanne: that is so great! Enjoy your wonderful milestone and may many more be in your collective future!
Mustang Bobby
@opiejeanne: Mazel tov!
JPL
@opiejeanne: Congrats!
BillinGlendaleCA
@opiejeanne: Congrats!
BillinGlendaleCA
@Applejinx: People want to move to California because the weather’s nice(most of the time), it’s got great natural beauty, and there are jobs here. I’m a native and there are very few other places that I’d consider living.
ETA: We also usually try stupid stuff first and try to warn y’all, but do you listen? NO.
OzarkHillbilly
@raven: I didn’t know George Michael. Had never even heard of him until he died. Not sure which hole in the ground I was in during that decade.
Raven
@OzarkHillbilly: I recognize some of the music and, years ago, my brother pointed out where he got busted in LA.
debbie
@mai naem mobile:
He has orange skin in more ways than one. Which is why I think his line about looking in the mirror and seeing a 35-year-old is one of the funniest I’ve ever heard.
bystander
@opiejeanne: (a) Yay! (b) Indeed.
Dear Jeebus,
It’s OK if the Christmas present I spoke to you about comes late. Anytime between now and January 20 will be perfect. Thanks!
Your friend, Bystander
EBT
@BillinGlendaleCA: I moved because the south east doesn’t feel safe to be trans in.
Immanentize
@opiejeanne: Happy Anniversary! Marriage is tricky business so Congratulations on the dedicated union!
debbie
@OzarkHillbilly:
Knew of him and his music, but it wasn’t what I was listening to at the time.
Immanentize
@OzarkHillbilly: I don’t know how anyone could have missed “Wake me up before you Go-Go.” It was everywhere (radio, MTV, etc.). But you are a lucky man for having missed it.
FlyingToaster (Tablet)
@Applejinx: I remember my niece visiting Massachusetts for the first time: “I can’t believe all this stuff is free!” Referring to the Freedom Trail, Charles River Greenway, Minuteman Bike Trail, etc.
Not free, kiddo; I pay taxes, but unlike your fair state, I am not then also nickeled and dimed to death by user fees — which I remember all too well having to pay back when I was a teenager. Or every other year when I visit out there.
Capitalism works, with oversight. Crony capitalism plus low taxes plus regressive fee structures don’t.
BillinGlendaleCA
Starry, Starry, Night.
JPL
@BillinGlendaleCA: How lovely!
OzarkHillbilly
@Immanentize: Back in the day I listened to KSHE (this was when the mascot was still a pig wearing headphones and smoking a doobie) but when they went corporate in the early/mid 80s, I stopped listening to music radio all together. I found out about KDHX soon after they started up in ’87:
I joined up as a member and helped with a few projects (I have friends who are far more involved than I ever wanted top be) The shows I listened to the most were the morning folk music shows and the afternoon drive time blues shows. That was all the music I ever needed. It’s nothing against Pop (hard to deny the power of “Billie Jean”), it’s just that my musical genes took me elsewhere.
BillinGlendaleCA
@JPL: Thanks, that’s from my cave’s entrance.
Mary G
@opiejeanne: Happy Anniversary!???
OzarkHillbilly
A rat’s head stuck in an opening at the bottom of a garbage can in Brooklyn, New York, US .
Chris
@Zinsky:
Conservatives “think” of everything in terms of tribalism and that’s it. Your concepts of “hypocrisy” are total gibberish for that kind of mindset. To them, you sound like some guy telling General Patton at the Battle of the Bulge, “but sir, you’re killing German soldiers, but you’re not killing American soldiers! That’s hypocritical!”
(They do vaguely grok that there’s a thing called “hypocrisy” that normal people pay attention to, so they try to deploy it in their own arguments against liberals, but the way they do it usually just reinforces the notion that they really don’t understand what the hell it is).
EBT
@OzarkHillbilly: Things that get born in packs of 20 tend to not be smart or durable.
Chris
@opiejeanne:
Like Diogenes looking for an honest man, I continue to look for the few and far Good Things that happened in 2016. This counts. Congratulations!
Botsplainer
A couple of random thoughts moving forward:
1. Obama’s preferred model of incremental change toward more progressive policies appears to ultimately be the better one, in that institutions get invested in the system as it changes. The ACA, for instance, will be more difficult to unwind because of the institutional players now invested in success of certain features of it.
2. The purity ponies of the left really don’t understand this. The challenge is in getting them to cease their shrieking and sniping at incumbency, as any gains can be lost in an instant.
3. I do wonder (at the risk of sounding like an asshole) if all the economic, regulatory, gender, and social gains of the past several years didn’t get sacrificed on a pyre of trans issues and “taking a knee” during the National Anthem, as if it was “too much, too fast” for more timid white voters. While the sentiments and goals are correct, some people need a chance to catch a breath.
greennotGreen
@opiejeanne: Congratulations Opiejeanne for being able to say after 47 years that you’re married to a wonderful person. I’m afraid there’s some unknown proportion of people married 47 years who could not say that.
I was married for a couple of years (plus 4 living in sin before marriage) 37 years ago but decided after that I had really poor taste in men, so I gave up relationships in general. For those of us out here who haven’t had the experience of a long term, successful partnership, what is it like? What are the best parts that we’ve missed?
greennotGreen
@OzarkHillbilly: I am so not clicking on that!
Joe Falco
@OzarkHillbilly: a commentary on the state of the US, I see.
satby
@opiejeanne: Happy Anniversary to you and Mr. opiejeane!
Spanky
Off in search of the dates for Hanukkah (25 Kislev, of course), I stumbled on this, which seemed appropriate in this season especially:
Happy holidays, stand firm, bear witness.
Chris
@Applejinx:
I’ve always found it fascinating that most rich people prefer to live in blue states, even in the age of the globalized and Information Age economy when they could theoretically live almost anywhere and still run their companies. Many of these people (hello Wall Street) are conservatives or libertarians and are horrified by the “socialism” that’s transformed these states in the last hundred years, and, according to Randroid ideology, should’ve “gone Galt” a long time ago and retired to some places that still gives people like them The Proper Respect (like, I don’t know, Alabama). But no. You’d think the average red state simply doesn’t have much to offer you no matter how rich you are.
BillinGlendaleCA
Starry, Starry Night(Part II), I like this one much better.
greennotGreen
@Chris: But don’t most red states have cities that are islands of blue? Certainly that’s the case in stoplight-red Tennessee where Nashville and Memphis are in sharp contrast on the color-coded maps. Those blue patches offer a lot of the blue state benefits that the rich enjoy while those same rich can take advantage of low or no state income taxes.
EBT
@greennotGreen: Yeah but the cities have minorities which is bad to the rich, while also still having the inferior environment and air of low class that the state at large has. Redding California is a shithole that is objectively worse than Austin Texas, but I know which one I would live in and it sure isn’t Texas.
Patricia Kayden
@opiejeanne: Congrats!! You’ve been married for as long as I’ve been alive plus 1. Hope you and your SO have a great day celebrating your union.
Hellbastard
Was looking over the Facebook page of my new representative, Jodey Arrington (R, Texas 19th). Several of his republican constituents were pleading with him to protect Medicare and SS. Was tempted to leave a nasty note but refrained. Others were throwing around nonsense stories and other fake news tidbits. I’m at a loss as to how to reach out to such folks. “Well, no, ma’am, Obama did not divert VA funding to Syrian refugees. Here’s a link to a trusty fact checker to check for yourself.” They want to believe this kind of crap.
Spanky
@BillinGlendaleCA: In this one you got Castor and Pollux. And Polaris.
Chris
@greennotGreen:
I believe it… but for whatever reason, rich people don’t want to move there either.
Patricia Kayden
@OzarkHillbilly: Why?
gene108
@Botsplainer:
I don’t wonder.
The last 8 years are whiplash inducing, from a social change perspective.
8 years ago Obama and Hillary debated whether…ummm…maybe…gay marriage in the future…but…ok…we’ll try civil unions for a bit, if only the states think it’s ok…
To now: Gay Marriage, Fuck Yeah!!!!
The momentum Black Lives Matter picked up as a major component of the Democratic platform is also whiplash inducing, because it really calls into question the underlying racism in the foundation of this country that blacks are violent and lazy and are only able to function in society because whites place and enforce strict rules on their conduct.
The Democrats went all in this year on being inclusive, like I have never seen before. There was no deference paid to the notion more conservative voters might object.
I think that’s one reason the loss stings so badly. I thought we might, as a society, have already turned a corner on social issues. But it is still a long slow turn that is a work in progress.
greennotGreen
@EBT: Minorities? In what way are minorities bad to the rich? The rich we have who think that way live in Williamson County (I can go on a huge rant about the giant cars, giant houses and giant churches in Williamson County that has also given the country Marsha Blackburn.)
Kay
@Botsplainer:
That’s a misunderstanding of activism and organizing, though. Taking a knee isn’t about persuading white people. It’s about attracting movement members. They’re literally “starting something”. Someone has to go first. If the measure was “is this politically feasible to the majority right now?” activism would look exactly like the US Senate :)
They’re valuable, those people. They’re not sufficient but they’re necessary.
greennotGreen
@greennotGreen: On second thought, I may be naive. Years in academia and in the multi-ethnic gay-friendly liberal hell-hole of Nashville may have obscured my cynical vision. I have no such illusions about the rest of my state where it’s God and guns, fuck yeah! (Oh, and the Confederate flag – “Heritage, not Hate.” Yeah, right.)
OzarkHillbilly
@Patricia Kayden: Because the rust weakened the metal enuf for it to push it’s head thru but not enough for the metal to break off thereby keeping the rat from pulling it’s head back. In theory it should be able to push the rest of the way thru but it’s little rat brain can’t compute that.
Oh wait a minute, you meant why did I post that? Because it’s funny.
EBT
@greennotGreen: We are talking about rich white conservatives, who by nature tend to be insular.
low-tech cyclist
@opiejeanne:
Congrats! My wife and I are running a couple decades behind you and your spousal unit, but after >25 years, this marriage stuff is pretty damn good. I think we’ll stay with it for another few decades.
danielx
@Zinsky:
They understand those concepts well enough; it’s just that they don’t apply to other conservatives.
delk
Last night they moved Gav to a new 24 hour emergency vet. This one is in the city and much closer and specializes in radiology. They will be giving him an ultrasound later today.
He looked better and was super excited to see us although after a few minutes of vigorous tail wagging, his breathing was getting ragged. We left around midnight and they were going to give him another five hour plasma transfusion. Should know the ultrasound results around noon.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@greennotGreen: I though it’s pretty much if a city gets over a certain population it goes blue.
Kay
@gene108:
Racism is huge. The fact is zero tolerance policing and criminal law locked up a lot of white working class. They were slammed by it- the whole roster of horrors- criminal records, families destroyed, endless probationary periods and fines they can’t pay. There was a BIPARTISAN move to stop doing it – Kasich was part of it- he reduced sentencing guidelines on a whole category of crimes by executive decree.
Black Lives Matter came along and all of a sudden white Republicans were no longer interested in criminal justice reform and they raced back to law ‘n order. It’s a shame because it really does harm low income whites, particularly young men.
But that’s how powerful racism is. If black people want it they won’t do it even if it benefits white men.
hedgehog mobile
@opiejeanne: Congratulations!?
Skepticat
On nearly every blog, I see people writing that they just want 2016 to be over and go away. Don’t they realize that 2017 is the year that brings us Vulgarmort in the White House? I fear that before long we’re going to be extremely nostalgic about what a wonderful year 2016 was (apart from the loss of too many musical icons and other terrific people, of course).
Gin & Tonic
Is Amy Klobuchar playing the role of Kelly Ayotte now that Kelly has been turfed out? Is this better or worse? I know very little about Klobuchar, but I think at least some of her constituents among the snarling jackals have spoken well of her.
I raise the question because she is currently in Estonia with the McCain/Graham team, there to reaffirm the US’s commitment to NATO. Personally, I view this affirmation as a good thing, and welcome the bipartisan support now that the GOP has fallen head over heels for Putin.
danielx
@Kay:
Yup. The ‘cutting-off-your-head-to-spite-your-body-syndrome’ is alive and well. For cons, whether a program works or is valid is irrelevant if a) it benefits the wrong people and/or b) is ideologically suspect, and yes, b) is usually directly related to a).
manyakitty
@BillinGlendaleCA: Both are excellent!
Elmo
@opiejeanne: Congratulations! My wife and I celebrated our 25th anniversary of being together this year, though we’ve only been legally married for three. (Thanks, Maryland voters!)
satby
@delk: I hope that they get to the bottom of his illness and get it fixed.Keeping you and Gav in my thoughts.
Baud
@Kay:
Cuz they know who those white men will blame for making it an issue.
manyakitty
@delk: Hopefully, these are all good things.
greennotGreen
@EBT: I thought we were talking about rich people in general. Also, how rich?
Baud
@delk: Best of luck.
manyakitty
@opiejeanne: Congratulations, with hopes for many more!
NotMax
A flight which doesn’t inspire confidence.
A transatlantic jet diverted to Shannon Airport early yesterday so that passengers could use the toilet facilities.
Baud
@Gin & Tonic:
I don’t know much about Klobuchar, but she is probably looking to burnish her foreign policy creds.
Baud
@NotMax: Better than not diverting.
greennotGreen
@delk: Good thoughts to you and your pup.
EBT
@greennotGreen: I thought it was why ideologically aligned rich people live in blue states instead of red states. So I figured talking in generalities would mean rich white conservative.
rikyrah
@Botsplainer:
Yes, because Black people should just be silent as the police slaughter us, willy nilly, sometimes ON CAMERA…and nothing is done about it.
yes, the ‘ taking a knee’ is far more offensive than the Black Lives taken by the police.
EBT
@rikyrah: Thank you.
rikyrah
@delk:
Glad to hear the positive results. Will continue to send positive thoughts and prayers hoping for a complete recovery.
rikyrah
@Kay:
Keep on telling that truth, Kay.
Tell it.
tobie
OT…Virginia is holding special elections on Jan 10 for the state government. Is much at stake here? Any chance of making the state legislature a little bluer?
rikyrah
Netanyahu Brought This on Himself
by Martin Longman
December 26, 2016 12:30 PM
Donald Trump can change our nation’s foreign relations with Israel, but he can’t undo the latest UN Security Council Resolution condemning Israel’s settlement activity in East Jerusalem and the West Bank as “a flagrant violation under international law” that is “dangerously imperiling the viability” of a two-state solution. The Security Council voted unanimously, 14-0 with the United States abstaining, and then broke out in self-congratulatory applause.
Nancy Pelosi gently criticized the vote, while Chuck Schumer said, “It is extremely frustrating, disappointing and confounding that the administration has failed to veto this resolution.” But their discomfort won’t change the result, either.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should look in the mirror before he criticizes anyone else. It would have been one thing if he had limited himself to playing the role of bad cop to Obama’s good cop as the U.S. negotiated a nuclear agreement with Iran. But he came to Washington and addressed Congress in an attempt to sabotage the negotiations. That was an extraordinary display of disrespect, and it removed any leg he had to stand on as he accuses the president of betrayal.
More broadly, Israel needs to consider the unanimity of global opinion now arrayed against it.
JPL
@delk: Fingers crossed that they are able to find the cause, and that Gav is able to join you at home soon.
StringOnAStick
@greennotGreen: The best parts of a long term relationship are many, but I suppose what you value most has to do with your background before that. For me, having a husband who is my best and closest friend and who will be there for me no matter what is a treasure beyond any.
Botsplainer
@rikyrah:
To be honest, what was needed was an American version of the sort of “Truth and Reconciliation” bodies they had in South Africa at some point in the 60s – which could have dampened the revanchist bullshit we saw from white conservatives for the past 50 years. We didn’t get that.
What we did get this election was a whiplash which has the possibility of erasing about 30-50 years’ worth of economic, regulatory and social gains (maybe more) in about 2 months’ time. I don’t claim to have an answer on that.
EBT
http://www.rawstory.com/2016/12/trump-fans-deploraball-party-descends-into-chaotic-infighting-over-nazi-salutes-and-book-burnings/
Yarrow
@Botsplainer: @gene108:
Adam Silverman made this exact point in a post right after the election. He said historically every period of substantial movement forward in social issues, etc. is followed by a retrenchment or backlash. So this election and the response by white people was not surprising along those lines.
Elizabelle
Merry Christmas Week morning, y’all.
@ delk: Hope Gav continues to improve. Drama pup; needs to be back at home.
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
The thing that leapt out at me was this claim that he can’t shut down the “charity” until the investigation is over. That seems unlikely. Why couldn’t they still look into what the foundation had been doing even after it’s shut down. This strikes me as akin to his telling us that he couldn’t let us see his taxes until after the audit is over.
eclare
@delk: Good luck with everything, I wish you the best. Sounds like a horrible few days for all.
Kay
@Baud:
It made criminal justice reform “bipartisan” because it was affecting BOTH GOP voters and Dem voters. Whole law review articles were written about it- how there was a chance for real progress. Kasich acted, but he only did so after a re-elect and because he’s termed out, but still.
Then Black Lives Matter came along, Trump saw an opportunity to exploit racism, and Republicans forgot all about reform and went back to the law n order Party. I’m not blaming BLM- I don’t think activists have a duty to sit back until people are “ready”- that’s the opposite of what they’re about, actually, but I DO think it’s an example of how “white identity politics” works. The line to pay fees at the muni ct here isn’t made up of black people. It’s all poor white people- 90% young men. They’ve lost their OWN generation of young men to these policies, poor white people.
Didn’t matter. Black Lives Matter became the face of criminal justice reform and all that was forgotten. Race trumped everything.
Skepticat
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.): I was thinking he wants to shut down the charity only to keep them from looking.
Woodrowfan
@Elmo: CONGRATS!
Happily, Maryland will not reverse it. I am worried about my same-sex couple friends in red states. And even those in DC and here in Virginia. Congress could f-over DC (which they’ve been doing for 200+ years) and the only thing controlling the nuts in Richmond is a Democratic governor.
EBT
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.): It’s the AG making that claim though, I would imagine because if he closed it then the laws requiring record keeping would change.
Gindy51
@rikyrah: He’s about to get hit with a corruption scandal and investigation of Trumpian size as well as this whining not going over too well at home and abroad. http://www.timesofisrael.com/report-netanyahu-to-be-investigated-for-bribery-fraud/
BBA
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.): Under NY state law the AG can ask the court to dissolve the foundation if its violations are grave enough. The smart move would be to shut it down now before that can happen (you can’t fire me, I quit!) but Trump probably thinks he can win in court, have his foundation and eat it too.
Baud
@Kay: I remember a couple of years ago that libertarians were all over the place leading the charge on drug and criminal justice reform. They’ve been silent since BLM came along.
Chris
@rikyrah:
Israel has spent a couple of decades now merrily alienating every other nation on the planet in the secure knowledge that Big Brother America would be behind them all the way. In the Obama years, they’ve decided that they can now double down on that strategy by alienating half of the American political spectrum as well, secure in the knowledge that the other half will always be there for them. Somebody needs to teach Bibi the old says about eggs and baskets.
Still, there’s something surreal about watching longstanding bipartisan U.S. policy suddenly denounced as an unforgivable betrayal.
Yarrow
@delk: Fingers crossed everything goes well for your pup. If they find something with the ultrasound I hope it’s something that’s simple to fix.
LAC
@rikyrah: I have this sneaking suspicion that this is exactly what will be asked of us for “the good of the party”. That and smile through “well-meaning” criticisms of Barack Obama’s legacy.
Yarrow
@BBA: If Trump shuts the foundation down, can’t it still be investigated? If not, that seems like a giant loophole.
1. Do criminal stuff.
2. Get wind that your criminal activity will be investigated.
3. Shut down foundation.
4. No investigation!
Why wouldn’t everyone just shut down their business or foundation or organization if they can do that to avoid investigation?
Gin & Tonic
@Chris: What is surreal is watching an ostensible ally working so hard publicly to undermine a sitting President.
rikyrah
@Baud:
Uh huh
Uh huh
rikyrah
@LAC:
and, they can go phuck themselves.
BBA
@Yarrow: oh, it wouldn’t stop the investigation but it would prevent the embarrassment of getting shut down by the government. Better from a PR perspective even if the actual consequences are about the same.
burnspbesq
Perhaps I lack imagination, but I can’t imagine a Republican Congress impeaching a Republican President, even if Schnieiderman were able to indict and convict for some violation of New York law.
There is no five-run home run. If we win, we win with pitching and defense.
Berto
Trump is what happens when you “look forward” and don’t prosecute the bankers, whose fraud crashed the world’s economy.
Like the election, it’s history, and we need to move forward and fight for every progressive inch.
But that doesn’t mean we need to forget the lesson.
Cowboy Diva
@OzarkHillbilly: Giving over KSHE “We play more than just old white guys, honest” for KDHX “We make you proud to be a St. Louisan again” makes complete sense to me.
burnspbesq
@rikyrah:
That’s hilarious. If anything, Israel will double down on its unconscionable actions–and continue treating legitimate dissent as anti-Semitic.
stinger
@opiejeanne: At last, some good news. Congratulations, and thanks for sharing!
rikyrah
@Berto: @Berto:
Just exactly what LAWS did they break?
I didn’t say ethics, because they don’t have any.
but, what LAWS did they break?
If this were back in the days of Glass-Stengall, yes, it would be obvious- the LAWS broken.
Berto
@rikyrah: ,
Accounting control fraud. William Black, who has prosecuted this type of fraud in the past, has the lowdown here:
http://neweconomicperspectives.org
and here:
https://www.ted.com/talks/william_black_how_to_rob_a_bank_from_the_inside_that_is
Fun fact: Fraud is a felony, punishable by prison time, if the perpetrator isn’t rich and/ or connected.
muddy
God bless the nation,
Obligation,
Altercation,
Interest of conflict.
Population,
Lost your patience,
Confirmation,
Symptoms of a hostage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnwbjrOjsWU
Atmosphere, Americareful
LAC
@Berto: No. Trump is what happens when racial resentment is glossed over because look, we elected a black guy! And we have a media that is either interested in being a propaganda tool or trotting out every conspiracy theory for its 15 minutes of light. You think a banker perp walk would have stopped a Trump, in of itself, you need to see this beautiful bridge I have in Brooklyn. HUUUGE!!
TriassicSands
Trump has so many new ways to steal money, he doesn’t need his “Foundation” any more.
Another Scott
@tobie: BlueVirginia says 2 Senate (1D, 1R) and 1 House (1R) seats are up. Winning all of them would be difficult, but working hard on them is worth doing.
Cheers,
Scott.
Brachiator
@opiejeanne: Congratulations!
catclub
@TriassicSands: I would argue that he no longer needs his foundation to pay his legal obligations – see his Palm Beach imbroglio – since he will not be fined while President. Everybody says he will have to make the payment on the Trump U settlement before inauguration. I still think he will delay, delay, delay on that.
catclub
@rikyrah: Lots of perjury on legal documents for forclosures. That was all wrapped up into a settlement.
Following the lowlevel forgers up to their bosses never happened. Their bosses end at the Steve Mnuchin level.
Another Scott
@Berto: Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.
There has been plenty of prosecution of financial crimes.
You don’t hear about the big players going to prison and being broken up because they can’t clearly be demonstrated to have broken the law. Funny how having lobbyists paid to help write the rules, and legal teams that tell them exactly where the lines they can’t cross are, helps them avoid jail, huh.
:-/
But even with all that, there has been lots of fines and prosecutions. Things that aren’t going to happen under Donnie (certainly not to the same extent anyway).
Cheers,
Scott.
karen marie
@greennotGreen: A member of the club! We are few and far between, so it’s always nice to see a fellow traveler.
Berto
@LAC: ,
“You think a banker perp walk would have stopped a Trump, in of itself, ”
No, but I think more would have been more motivated to vote for the Democratic candidate, which might have stopped him.
And no, I’m not downplaying the bigotry. That’s the mainstream medias job.
Brachiator
@Kay:
Long history of that in these United States. After the Civil War, white southerners fought Reconstruction efforts to expand public schools to everyone because it would involve educating Negroes.
Today, some whites think that Obamacare gives health care to Mexican illegal aliens and unworthy black people, and so are willing to see Republicans repeal it.
Steeplejack (tablet)
@opiejeanne:
Happy anniversary! I hope the next 47 years are just as good.
Neldob
Congrats Opiejeanne and spouse!
opiejeanne
@ThresherK (tablet): We were in college at Cal Poly Pomona, came home for Thanksgiving and told our folks we were getting married over Christmas break. We’d been engaged for several months and Dave was about to graduate in March with a degree in Civil Engineering. The Methodist church I’d attended as a teen was available two days after Christmas, and I ran around and did all of the prep: $100 for flowers from a family friend, $100 for the photographer (the florist’s brother), $100 for the cake that was just like the one at my childhood best friend’s wedding cake of a month earlier. Mom sighed and worried about making a dress that quickly, but took me shopping at the local department store in Arcadia: Henshaw’s. Their wedding dresses were marked down 90% because the new models were due in January, so I got a $200 gown for $20. Silk. Silly design as I look at it now, but the fashion in 1969. It was the only size 3, and they had to cut it down for me. Also, it was for a woman who was 9 feet tall, judging by the length.
I was a sophomore, he was a Senior.
I was 19, he was 22.
We were idiots, children with ridiculous dreams.
It wasn’t easy getting here, loving someone else is a decision you make every day and some days it’s harder than others.
Seven months later we had our first child, which is why it was December rather than right after graduation in March.
opiejeanne
@OzarkHillbilly: Hhaha! I’ve asked him to please divorce me if it ever gets that bad, I’d prefer it to being dead.
LAC
@Berto: and we are back to the precious snowflake shit again – be motivated to vote, period! Because that is only way forward.
SFAW
@opiejeanne:
Happy Anniversary and congratulations! (And many more, of course.)
ETA:
So is Patricia Kayden your kid?
SFAW
@LAC:
I don’t think Berto was talking about himself, I think he was lamenting the morons who were still of the “Well, TEFA’s kind of sleazy, but I just don’t know about that Hillary” mindset. If Comey had done his fucking job — well, the one for which he gets paid, not the one he’s done because he HATESHATESHATES Hitlary — the election might have turned out differently.
opiejeanne
@greennotGreen: Companionship. Raising your babies together. Comfort and strength when you’re scared, and being able to provide the same for your partner. Great sex, let’s not forget that; I think it comes with really knowing the other person well. Having the same goals helps, and not being rigid helps ( I’m still learning to unbend a bit). I’m wrapped way too tight and he’s more relaxed; when I overreact, he stays pretty darned calm. I admire his steadfastness, his solidity, his dedication, his willingness to let me be.
opiejeanne
@SFAW: No, that first one was a boy. I was there so I remember. :-) He turned out pretty well, despite our best efforts.
Humdog
@opiejeanne: this is very nice. I hope your husband sees it. Congratulations on 47 years, pretty good call for a 19 year old to make!
opiejeanne
@Humdog: I thought the fact that we felt like best friends was a nice clue about what a good person he was.
J R in WV
@raven:
I didn’t know who George Michael was, at all. Never heard of him, don’t know any of his songs they’ve been playing. 80s pop didn’t do it for me then, certainly doesn’t now. Elton John, Jon Bon Jovi, Billy Joel, all boring no talent pop monsters to me.
When Stevie Ray Vaughn’s plane crashed, that was a tragedy.
When Prince made Doves Cry, that was really sad.
When Princess Carrie Leia dies… I mean, that’s really, really bad.
J R in WV
@BillinGlendaleCA:
Really nice night shot. You know, the exif data is all messed up, 0mm lens, for example. Not your fault, probably, just what happens with unusual setups. Great picture, tho.
What’s that (straight/curved) line on the left? Power line?
J R in WV
@greennotGreen:
It’s especially sad in Tennessee, where the state’s nickname “The Volunteers” aka The Vols, was from the fact that more men from TN volunteered for the Union Army than would have been drafted if TN had NOT seceded from the United States of America.
In other words, TN was more loyal to the United States than many of the states which did not secede. And now I suspect that almost no one in the state is aware of that fact. If they knew about that from a young age, maybe they wouldn’t be such bigoted assholes.
PS: Married since spring of 1971, so will be 46 years next spring. Best Friends since 1969!
J R in WV
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.):
The state Attorney General said that Trump can’t shut down the foundation until his (The AG’s) investigation into tax fraud, self dealing and other potential violations of law is complete.
Trump wanted to shut it down before he could be indicted.
So you’ve kind of got it backwards. The cops won’t let him squirm out until they’re done.
Berto
@LAC: ,
I voted for Hillary, unlike her husband (too right-wing) and Obama (Telecomm Immunity vote in 2008, lack of financial prosecutions since).
Trump is a bridge too far.
Also, enough with the “special snowflake” shit. Calling anyone who wants a more progressive Democratic nominee a “special snowflake” is how we got here in the first place.
Berto
@Another Scott: ,
Just so you know, the bank buildings did not commit fraud.
The bank’s incorporation papers did not commit fraud.
The bank’s General Ledger did not commit fraud.
It was the bankers, and I don’t think fining a corporation $13 billion for committing fraud which brought in more than 5 times that amount of money is a deterrent. Your mileage may vary.
Agreed that it won’t get better with Donnie, any other Republican, and i’m pretty sure any Democrat at this point, unless the party decides to work for people over corporations.
Steeplejack (tablet)
@J R in WV:
The “Volunteer State” nickname precedes the Civil War and almost certainly comes from the Mexican-American War.
fuckwit
@Botsplainer: yes. this.
i’m not so worried about a second american civil war because it seems the first one still hasn’t ended yet.