McClatchy News has the goods: Aleksandr Burman, a Ukrainian who engaged in a health care scheme that cost the federal government $26 million and was sentenced to a decade in prison, paid $725,000 cash for a condo at a Trump Tower I in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla. in 2009. Leonid Zeldovich, who has reportedly done extensive business in the Russian-annexed area … Read More
Trump To Head To Hostile G7 Summit
I am heading for Canada and the G-7 for talks that will mostly center on the long time unfair trade practiced against the United States. From there I go to Singapore and talks with North Korea on Denuclearization. Won’t be talking about the Russian Witch Hunt Hoax for a while! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 8, 2018 Looking forward … Read More
Trump Starts Trade War With Allies
Even the Koch brothers hate this. The Trump administration announced today that it would impose hefty metal tariffs on the European Union, Canada and Mexico starting Friday, immediately provoking fears of an international trade war that sent stocks tumbling. The measure has already been met with vows of retaliation against American businesses and now threatens the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The action, which was … Read More
The Horrible Things The Trump Administration Is Doing That Are Unrelated To Scandals
Sometimes, you forget that these people are just plain evil: The Trump administration is moving to reverse Obama-era rules barring hunters on some public lands in Alaska from baiting brown bears with bacon and doughnuts and using spotlights to shoot mother black bears and cubs hibernating in their dens. The National Park Service issued a notice Monday of its intent … Read More
Gas Prices Rise to Levels Not Seen In More Than 3 Years
Remember that $50 bucks or whatever you got in a huge tax refund? It’s gone. You’re going to spend three or four times that amount in increased gas prices, thanks to Trump: You may have noticed, gas prices are on the rise and hitting levels not seen in more than three years. Gas prices nationwide are up a nickel in … Read More
Mulvaney, The Head Of The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, Is The Wolf Guarding The Henhouse
The man is very Trumpian in his dealings: Mick Mulvaney, the interim director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, told banking industry executives on Tuesday that they should press lawmakers hard to pursue their agenda, and revealed that, as a congressman, he would meet only with lobbyists if they had contributed to his campaign. “We had a hierarchy in my office … Read More
Dow Down 600 Points
Weird that Trump doesn’t brag about his own stock market the way he bragged about Obama’s. UPDATE: Some rebound in the pm, but closed 425 points down.
Introducing The Navigator
Why do progressives lose when we should win more often? Some say it is because of the way we frame the issues when talking about them. For example, Trump supporters point to the stock market and say the economy is doing great. What is the progressive response that resonates better with voters? (a) The economy might be better in the … Read More
Trump’s Trade War Taking A Toll On His Base
Trump probably thinks like this: (1) Coal and steel workers getting killed by cheap China imports (2) If I raise tariffs on imported coal and steel from China, the coal and steel industry will offer more US jobs (3) Reelection! Obviously, he knows that there is such a thing as a “trade war”, but he thinks he can win it … Read More
Trump Singlehandedly Bringing Stocks Down
Remember when Trump took all the credit for a rising stock market? Well, he has to take the blame when it goes down, and he REALLY DOES have to take the blame this time. As of 3:15 pm, the Dow has dropped close to 700 points. Why? Trade war fears and a presidential attack on Amazon are rocking Wall Street. … Read More
Trump’s Tariff Follies
Trump said yesterday he plans to impose tariffs of 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum. However, he didn’t elaborate on the details, saying the formal announcement will come next week. In a tweet on Friday morning, the president said “trade wars are good and easy to win.” When a country (USA) is losing many billions of … Read More
The Wild West Of The West Wing
It is the first day of March 2018. I wrote a lot of posts yesterday, and I didn’t even it HALF of the things going on. The breaking news that would be major scandals in any other White House. It was insane. Here’s what happened JUST YESTERDAY: Hope Hicks — without question, the aide (family aside) with whom Trump is closest … Read More
Stocks Waaaay Down Again
After losing a record 1,175 points on Monday, the Dow tumbled 1,033 points more yesterday. It landed in a correction, a 10% decline from previous highs. The market turmoil follows a prolonged period of booming stock prices with virtually no sharp declines. Such a rapid rise is unusual, and market analysts long warned that a pullback was overdue. Today was another … Read More
The Dumbest Shutdown Ever
Most people slept through it, but yes, the United States government shutdown for several hours last night. Yesterday, in something of a throwback, the two parties struck a deal and came out with a bi-partisan spending bill. Great news, right? But Republican and libertarian Rand Paul had to make a point: Republicans no longer care about deficit spending. Rand wanted … Read More
Trump Wants Stock Market To Take A Loyalty Pledge
What the… In the “old days,” when good news was reported, the Stock Market would go up. Today, when good news is reported, the Stock Market goes down. Big mistake, and we have so much good (great) news about the economy! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 7, 2018 Actually, it is not a “mistake”; most economists agree that it … Read More