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kpete
kpete's Journal
kpete's Journal
May 16, 2016
https://theobamadiary.com/2016/05/16/early-bird-chat-748/#comment-1535135
King Trump
Trump’s ego tells him that he’s a billionaire, handsome and fantastically successful in all he does. He sees himself as yuuuge, when in fact, he is reasonably well off compared to most of us; is an overweight, vain old man; and has a long history of failed business decisions and bankruptcies. If Trump ever really looked at his orange skinned, double chinned, pot-bellied, combed over self in the mirror and saw the truth, he would probably crack under the impact. He’s a loud-mouthed boaster who manages to con people into thinking he’s a fighter on their behalf when in fact he never in his life cared for anyone but himself. If he had lived in the age of the Bourbon kings of France, he would have been one of the despicable rich who rolled over poor children and peasants while traveling in their carriages.
https://theobamadiary.com/2016/05/16/early-bird-chat-748/#comment-1535135
May 16, 2016
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20160308/BLOGS02/160309865/how-did-trump-qualify-for-a-middle-class-tax-break
One of the enduring mysteries of Donald Trump is just how much wealth he has. Forbes pegs his net worth at $4.5 billion, while Bloomberg News puts it at $2.9 billion. The GOP front-runner himself has said he’s “really rich.”
Maybe, but Trump’s income is low enough to qualify for a New York state property-tax break that most high-rollers don’t get.
It’s called the STAR program, which stands for the New York State School Tax Relief Program and has been around since 1997. It offers an approximately $300 annual benefit for those who qualify. Hundreds of thousands of New York homeowners get it.
City says Trump should not have received tax break but won’t explain how it happened
Here’s where it gets interesting for Trump: To be eligible for STAR, a married couple must have annual income of $500,000 or less. One wouldn’t think a guy as rich as Trump claims to be would qualify, but records filed with the city’s Department of Finance show he received a $302 STAR benefit on his latest property-tax bill for his Trump Tower penthouse on Fifth Avenue.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/wait-what--8
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20160308/BLOGS02/160309865/how-did-trump-qualify-for-a-middle-class-tax-break
How Did Trump Qualify for a MIDDLE-CLASS Tax Cut?
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20160308/BLOGS02/160309865/how-did-trump-qualify-for-a-middle-class-tax-break
One of the enduring mysteries of Donald Trump is just how much wealth he has. Forbes pegs his net worth at $4.5 billion, while Bloomberg News puts it at $2.9 billion. The GOP front-runner himself has said he’s “really rich.”
Maybe, but Trump’s income is low enough to qualify for a New York state property-tax break that most high-rollers don’t get.
It’s called the STAR program, which stands for the New York State School Tax Relief Program and has been around since 1997. It offers an approximately $300 annual benefit for those who qualify. Hundreds of thousands of New York homeowners get it.
City says Trump should not have received tax break but won’t explain how it happened
Here’s where it gets interesting for Trump: To be eligible for STAR, a married couple must have annual income of $500,000 or less. One wouldn’t think a guy as rich as Trump claims to be would qualify, but records filed with the city’s Department of Finance show he received a $302 STAR benefit on his latest property-tax bill for his Trump Tower penthouse on Fifth Avenue.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/wait-what--8
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20160308/BLOGS02/160309865/how-did-trump-qualify-for-a-middle-class-tax-break
May 16, 2016
Trey Gowdy’s Former Top Lawyer Undercuts The Benghazi Committee
Trey Gowdy’s Former Top Lawyer Undercuts The Benghazi Committee
The former general said he believed military officials did everything they could to save four Americans.
..........
....... in Monday’s letter, which includes four separate comments from Gowdy’s recently departed chief counsel, Democrats say Gowdy’s own staffer agreed with the military.
According to the letter, that staffer, former Gen. Dana Chipman, said in interviews with former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and former Defense Department Chief of Staff Jeremy Bash that the department did all it could on that night when Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed.
“I think you ordered exactly the right forces to move out and to head toward a position where they could reinforce what was occurring in Benghazi or in Tripoli or elsewhere in the region,” Chipman told Panetta in the committee’s January interview with the former defense secretary, according to transcribed excerpts. “And, sir, I don’t disagree with the actions you took, the recommendations you made, and the decisions you directed."
Chipman was similarly deferential to Bash.
“I would posit that from my perspective, having looked at all the materials over the last 18 months, we could not have affected the response to what occurred by 5:15 in the morning on the 12th of September in Benghazi, Libya,” said Chipman, who himself served 33 years in the Army.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trey-gowdy-dana-chipman-benghazi-committee_us_5738db52e4b08f96c18373e2?olgbhkbd5t2z7zxgvi
May 15, 2016
https://theobamadiary.com/2016/05/15/president-obama-delivers-rutgers-university-commencement-address/#comments
POTUS to Rutgers grads: America is better than it was 50 years ago—"or even eight years ago."
"When you hear someone longing for the good old days, take it with a grain of salt."
8 YEARS AGO
“Let me be as clear as I can be, in politics and in life, ignorance is not a virtue.”
"You've got to be a citizen full time, all the time.
Vote, pay attention, be informed, be engaged."
https://theobamadiary.com/2016/05/15/president-obama-delivers-rutgers-university-commencement-address/#comments
May 15, 2016
Laura Esquivel (born 1950, Mexico City) is a novelist, essayist, and screenwriter. Her 1989 novel, Like Water For Chocolate (Como Agua para Chocolate), is not only a literary classic, but a culinary one.
Mr. Trump: On your Cinco de Mayo “taco bowl"
Mr. Trump: On your Cinco de Mayo “taco bowl"
by Laura Esquivel
How could I explain what a taco is to you, Mr. Trump? Maybe I’d have to start by explaining what a tortilla is, or better yet, what a corncob is. Beginning with how corn is planted, how it’s harvested, how it makes its way to our tables. Corn is a sacred food in our cultures. It is believed to have been a gift from Quetzalcoatl to men for our sustenance (I’m sorry, I might be going to fast, do you even know who I’m talking about?) It’s OK, never mind. The point is, corn is the base of our diet. We cook it in many different ways, all of them very nutritious and tasty. Immigrant farmers and day laborers —those you seem to despise so much—know how to plant it, harvest it, and bring it to their table to be shared in an act of reciprocity to the earth’s enormous generosity.
How to explain to you, in simple terms, what generosity is? Suffice it to say, I’m certain that those immigrants who have been forced to leave their lands behind and put their lives in danger to cross the border, wouldn’t hesitate for a second before offering you a real taco if you were starving. If they found you in the street, penniless, homeless, jobless and without friends. Because they know firsthand the profound grief that a human experiences under those circumstances, and they would try to alleviate your situation. They would even do so without expecting anything in return, although I’m also sure that you might find a way to thank them. Or maybe you wouldn’t even know how to react. How can I explain to you the gratitude that surges from one’s heart after receiving help? Maybe the ones best suited to explain this to you through their own experiences would be the south Americans (not Hispanics) who cross Mexico on “The Beast” and that are fed by Las Patronas, those admirable Mexican women who cook for them. Do you know what I’m talking about? Do you know of this train? Of those women? Do you even know what hunger is? What about necessity? Abuse? Discrimination? The pain caused by watching someone starve to death? The profound injustice of an economic system that creates poor people only to mock them after? I would venture to guess that you don’t. You know nothing about this, just like you know nothing about so many other things.
I’ll leave you now, but before I go I just want to explain that the 5th of May is not even an official holiday in Mexico, and that I hope someday you’ll be offered a real taco.
How to explain to you, in simple terms, what generosity is? Suffice it to say, I’m certain that those immigrants who have been forced to leave their lands behind and put their lives in danger to cross the border, wouldn’t hesitate for a second before offering you a real taco if you were starving. If they found you in the street, penniless, homeless, jobless and without friends. Because they know firsthand the profound grief that a human experiences under those circumstances, and they would try to alleviate your situation. They would even do so without expecting anything in return, although I’m also sure that you might find a way to thank them. Or maybe you wouldn’t even know how to react. How can I explain to you the gratitude that surges from one’s heart after receiving help? Maybe the ones best suited to explain this to you through their own experiences would be the south Americans (not Hispanics) who cross Mexico on “The Beast” and that are fed by Las Patronas, those admirable Mexican women who cook for them. Do you know what I’m talking about? Do you know of this train? Of those women? Do you even know what hunger is? What about necessity? Abuse? Discrimination? The pain caused by watching someone starve to death? The profound injustice of an economic system that creates poor people only to mock them after? I would venture to guess that you don’t. You know nothing about this, just like you know nothing about so many other things.
I’ll leave you now, but before I go I just want to explain that the 5th of May is not even an official holiday in Mexico, and that I hope someday you’ll be offered a real taco.
Laura Esquivel (born 1950, Mexico City) is a novelist, essayist, and screenwriter. Her 1989 novel, Like Water For Chocolate (Como Agua para Chocolate), is not only a literary classic, but a culinary one.
May 15, 2016
“You think you’ve got it bad, LBGT community? I don’t think you know what it’s like to be really discriminated against… I recently turned on the television news and saw this odd guy with little hands, and he was raving. Turns out, the ones being discriminated against are straight, middle-aged white men… It makes sense. I’ve been losing parts right and left to what used to be called ‘diversity actors.’ One that really hurts, seeing the role of Dr. Dre in Straight Outta Compton going to Corey Hawkins. And I can’t remember the last time I got a Teen Choice Award. … It’s not easy being a straight, white man.”
More & Video:
http://addictinginfo.org/2016/05/15/watch-robert-de-niro-makes-sure-to-perfectly-roast-trump-during-glaad-media-awards-speech/
" It’s not easy being a straight, white man.”
Robert De Niro Makes Sure To Perfectly Roast Trump During GLAAD Media Awards Speech“You think you’ve got it bad, LBGT community? I don’t think you know what it’s like to be really discriminated against… I recently turned on the television news and saw this odd guy with little hands, and he was raving. Turns out, the ones being discriminated against are straight, middle-aged white men… It makes sense. I’ve been losing parts right and left to what used to be called ‘diversity actors.’ One that really hurts, seeing the role of Dr. Dre in Straight Outta Compton going to Corey Hawkins. And I can’t remember the last time I got a Teen Choice Award. … It’s not easy being a straight, white man.”
More & Video:
http://addictinginfo.org/2016/05/15/watch-robert-de-niro-makes-sure-to-perfectly-roast-trump-during-glaad-media-awards-speech/
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Member since: Fri Sep 17, 2004, 03:59 PMNumber of posts: 72,035
