The Donald Trump Score Card

Working class authoritarianism, a phenomenon identified long ago by the sociologist S.M. Lipset, can explain a good deal of the political behavior of the white blue collar voters who rallied behind Trump.
The White Working Class, Authoritarianism, and the Future of the Democratic Party | Blue Mass Group
The rise of American authoritarianism
Working class authoritarianism rears its ugly head
It may not adequately explain the "Lost Boys" syndrome of the Alt Right/AltLite--the young male gamers who flocked to Milo Yianoppoulos and Gavin McKinnes to save them from castrating feminists. Possibly this is that strain of authoritarianism called "wild card" authoritarianism, combining characteristics of both right-wing and left-wing authoritarianism.http://ajbenjaminjr.tripod.com/articles/14b.pdf

The Lost Boys
http://thefederalist.com/2017/08/25/white-nationalists-just-sexually-frustrated-lost-boys/
The Suffering of The Lost Boys
The Alt Lite component of these marginalized manchildren seems to be more "libertarian" (read self-indulgent) than authoritarian--the products of permissive or lax parenting. But AltLite shares with AltRight common social attitudes--especially the hatred of Muslims and immigrants, the media, liberals, etc., and rejection of the conservative, as well as the liberal establishment. They seem to be driven, in particular, by insecurities and sense of personal inadequacy resulting from difficulties in holding a steady job or forming stable sexual relationships. Some are searching for a code to live by. Not to different from the guys who were the footsoldiers for ISIS and AlShabab. How the alt-right emerged from male self-help
But they are prolific in cyberspace, using social media, blogs and podcasts to disseminate their Pepe Frog wisdom--"reinstating a Spirit of Western chauvinism" , as the Proud Boys put it. Hopefully, psychologists will give these misfits more attention--both as a political phenomenon to be studied and as lads badly in need of professional help.

 

...

 

Why China 'holds all the aces' in a full-blown US-China trade war
by Teresa Barger
Published 11:52 AM ET Fri, 15 June 2018 Updated 1:09 PM ET Fri, 15 June 2018

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/15/why-china-holds-all-the-aces-in-a-full-blown-us-china-trade-war.html

excerpts:

"But before evaluating the policy prescriptions for this problem, we must first consider the starting point, which is flawed. The current $370 billion deficit estimate does not account for value-added. When looking at the value-added content of Chinese exports, the U.S. deficit with China is actually only half of what it seems. And if we then add back the U.S. surplus in "invisibles" and how much money the United States brings back from investments in China, the U.S.–China deficit shrinks from 2 percent of U.S. GDP to 0.8 percent, a report from Oxford Economics revealed.

In the case of the Apple iPhone, this means that China's exports balance accounts for the full $500 iPhone value, when China adds only approximately $15 to $30 of the value to the phone. Most of the iPhone value accretes to Samsung in Korea ($150) and to Apple — the brand owner and engineer. This highlights how the normal accounting of trade flows is inherently distorted under the current trade-deficit estimates. So maybe the deck has only 25 not 52 cards.

The iPhone example also points to an area of weakness in the president's policy prescription: If the United States introduces tariffs on China's high-tech goods, U.S. companies and consumers could indirectly end up footing part of the bill. This is because the high-tech industries that Trump's tariffs are focused on is where Chinese value-added has the lowest share. If Trump were really interested in impacting the true trade imbalance and not just the misleading headline estimate, he would introduce tariffs on those sectors where China's value-added is highest. This would include sectors like textiles, where 75 percent of value-added is really "made in China.""


"Above all else, the Trump–Xi trade shenanigans seem to underscore the different agendas at play here: one oriented toward political posturing and "winning" against a dubious scorecard, and the other focused on economic realities and a long-term development strategy. While the United States will undoubtedly declare victory, China seems to hold all the aces."

 

Okie I noticed something today: Yesterday the Trump Administration put out a statement indicating they wish to give US farmers 12 Billion in aid because of the tariff problem which had been imposed by Trump himself. Today, they put out a statement indicating they will cut 13 Billion in student aid relief from poor American college students. Go figure!

 

Anything to make sure the poor stay in their place. In poverty.

 

Trump says China is 'vicious,' using U.S. farmers as trade pawns
Daphne Psaledakis, Julie Ingwersen
July 25, 2018 / 7:34 AM

Trump says China is 'vicious,' using U.S. farmers as trade pawns

excerpt:

“China is targeting our farmers, who they know I love & respect, as a way of getting me to continue allowing them to take advantage of the U.S. They are being vicious in what will be their failed attempt. We were being nice - until now!” Trump wrote on Twitter.

The administration on Tuesday unveiled the largest emergency farm aid package since 1998, dipping into a Great Depression-era program that will pay up to $12 billion starting in September to help U.S. farmers weather losses.

Rural and agricultural states supported Trump by wide margins in the 2016 election and the aid package comes ahead of U.S. mid-term elections in November.

 

Trump and DeVos call for massive cuts to college student aid programs
by Danielle Douglas-Gabriel
February 13, 2018

Trump and DeVos call for massive cuts to college student aid programs

excerpt:

"President Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos released a fiscal 2019 budget Monday that rehashes many of the proposals floated by the White House last year. Among them are plans to ax loan forgiveness for public servants, alter the terms of income-driven student loan repayment and stop paying the interest on low-income students’ loans while they are in school. Those three changes alone could increase the cost of higher education for borrowers by more than $200 billion over the next decade."

 

Thank You, this supports what I said above in 9323. Everything Trump is anti ordinary Americans. Everything Trump is for the ultra rich!

 

Thank You, this supports what I said above in 9323. Everything Trump is anti ordinary Americans. Everything Trump is for the ultra rich!

 

Interesting developments re Trump and the emoluments clause. A federal judge ruled that Maryland and the District of Columbia can proceed with their lawsuit against Trump for unconstitutionally accepting payments from foreign and state interests through his Washington hotel. This is not only an impeachable offense but could allow the plaintiffs to obtain financial records from his company.Trump hotel ruling could open door to his financial records In other developments, CNN aired a tape recording of Trump shortly before the 2016 election in which Trump and lawyer Michael Cohen discussed a plan to purchase the rights to Playboy model Karen McDougal's story from American Media Inc. Cohen tape: Trump heard discussing buying rights to Playboy model's story American Media Inc.,whose publisher is a long time Trump crony ,had the tabloid National Enquirer, purchase exclusive rights to Ms. McDougall's story in 2006 and then not publish it. The fact that suddenly in September 2016 Trump and Cohen became interested in purchasing the rights-which could become evidence of campaign disclosure law violations. Conservative columnist George Will, who deosn't want to go down that road, says this is further evidence that Trump is "a seedy man" and "a lowlife from Queens".Trump-Cohen tape is just more evidence president is “seedy” and “low life from Queens,” says conservative columnist Oh, what a tangled web we weave! This is like a TV melodrama!

 

I would tell people

But the people who would listen already know all of this, and the people that need to hear it dont care. Trump's base is extremely loyal. I truly think he could murder someone on 5th avenue and his approval ratings would stay the same.

 

that's what he said last year?

 

Who pockets the extra billion?

 

We Might See Trump’s Tax Returns After All
A federal judge ruled that a lawsuit targeting President Trump’s alleged violation of the emoluments clause will proceed
by Andy Kroll
July 25, 2018 3:55PM ET

We Might See Trump’s Tax Returns After All – Rolling Stone

excerpt:

"WASHINGTON — Lawyers battling to prevent President Trump from profiting off of his private businesses — and to potentially force him to divest from those businesses and even reveal his personal tax returns — just notched their biggest victory yet.

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that he would not block a lawsuit filed by the attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia that accuses the president of violating the Constitution by accepting emoluments — gifts or payments — from foreign governments. According to the two attorneys general, the decision is the first time in history that a U.S. court has interpreted the emoluments clause and applied it to a sitting president. The clause bans the president from receiving emoluments from a “King, Prince or Foreign State.”"

 

Cohen no longer sounds like he's going to take a bullet for Trump. More like he is firing one at him.


Trump-Cohen feud: Taped discussion of payoff to Playboy model triggers open warfare
John Fritze and David Jackson, USA TODAY
Published 4:29 p.m. ET July 25, 2018 | Updated 6:37 p.m. ET July 25, 2018

Trump-Cohen feud: Taped discussion of payoff to Playboy model triggers open warfare

excerpt:

"Cohen's shift in allegiance has created an atmosphere of anxiety in a White House already under siege.

The president's friends and associates said they were watching the Cohen saga with a mixture of annoyance and worry. At this point, some said, Cohen – who once boasted he would "take a bullet" for Trump – may have an advantage because the White House does not know precisely what information he might have or what he might tell prosecutors.

"We all feel like we're under the gun here," said Sam Nunberg, a former Trump campaign aide and political adviser. "But who is Michael playing to?"

Those close to Trump believe he has been treated unfairly, and the release of the tape constitutes a violation of attorney-client privilege, said four aides and advisers speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal legal matters. Trump recently waived a claim to attorney-client privilege that would have shielded the tapes from prosecutors.

After weeks of hedging his remarks about Cohen – and even defending him against an FBI raid on his home and offices in early April – Trump blasted his former close associate on Wednesday for surreptitiously recording their conversation about a payoff to Karen McDougal and then releasing the audio to the media."

 

It appears Cohen finally concluded that Trump isn't going to pay his legal fees.


Michael Cohen Wants Trump to Pay His Legal Fees
Former personal lawyer for Trump hires New York attorney Guy Petrillo
By Rebecca Ballhaus and
Rebecca Davis O’Brien
Updated June 19, 2018 6:45 p.m. ET

Michael Cohen Wants Trump to Pay His Legal Fees

 

In the spirit of Sarah Huckabee Sanders, it's just a minor blemish in the otherwise perfect Trump-Cohen family. Probably nothing will come of it.

 

non-homeless people

 

especially if that someone wasn't white.

remember when trump said that the raid on cohen's office was an attack on the country? My oh my, how times have changed.

 

Commentary: Donald Trump has never been in more trouble than right now
by Paul Waldman
The Washington Post
April 10, 2018

Donald Trump has never been in more trouble than right now

excerpt:

"Making this more problematic, Trump isn't someone who played close to the line a time or two, or once did a shady deal. He may well be the single most corrupt major business figure in the United States of America. He ran scams like Trump University to con struggling people out of their money. He lent his name to pyramid schemes. He bankrupted casinos and still somehow made millions while others were left holding the bag. He refused to pay vendors. He exploited foreign workers. He used illegal labor. He discriminated against African-American renters. He violated antitrust laws. He did business with the mob and with Eastern European kleptocrats. His properties became the go-to vehicle for Russian oligarchs and mobsters to launder their money.

So it was no accident that when he ran for president, the people who joined him in his quest were also a collection of grifters, liars, and crooks — people like Paul Manafort. Those were the kind of operators Trump has attracted all his life. Honest, upright people with a deep respect for the law don't go to work for Donald Trump.

As for Cohen, he may be called "Trump's personal attorney," but Trump has plenty of lawyers. Cohen's real job was to be a deal-maker and fixer. He's the guy Trump would use when he wanted to do a shady deal with a Kazakh oligarch to build a tower in the Republic of Georgia. He's the guy Trump would have used to negotiate a payment of hush money to a porn star. He's up to his eyeballs in all of Trump's business. I don't know what they're going to find when they start combing through Cohen's computers and cell phone records, but I know it's going to be pretty darn interesting."