472 Comments
Feb 17Liked by Robert Reich

Hoping this craters his run for Dictator in Chief!

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Feb 17·edited Feb 17Liked by Robert Reich

Odd that the same guy who makes the campaign promise that if a NATO member fails to pay its dues, Russia can do whatever they want with them turns around and expresses righteous outrage when NY works the kind of magic on him that he advocates for any NATO member who falls into the rears on its dues! "Got'ta pay your bills!" he says!

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Plus, he almost NEVER pays his own bills. He has caused contractors to go bankrupt, lose their businesses, and some even committed suicide.

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Not to mention all those bankruptcies. You have to be a pretty lousy businessman to go bankrupt as a casino - and he managed to do it numerous times.

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Yes, indeed. He was NEVER a good businessman.

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👍

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Yes! Even after his daddy bought 2 million in chips at his casino- and never cashed them in essentially giving Donny a tax free loan!!

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Bankrupting the casinos makes more sense if you think of them less as "casinos" and more as "fronts for money laundering."

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Oooh. Never thought of that!!!

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Imagine what happened to the customers,the house must have robbed them blind!

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I dunno, if you're referring to the casino flops, I would have thought that robbing the customers blind is a) standard practice and b) profitable..... losing money running a casino takes some next-level poor management.

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His reputation in the builders community is that he doesn’t pay up and he will stiff you.

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Feb 17·edited Feb 17

I know someone whose father did work for Fred Trump, and Fred stiffed this man's father...so, there is that... Anecdotal, I know, but the anecdote supports the general theme represented here. In other words, the Trumps have been scuzzy people who don't pay their debts for a long, long time.

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McFadden

My information comes from my being a delegate to the Building Trades conventions in D.C. There was nothing else said about the developer. Only bad news and comments. He ran many contractors out of business by stringing them out on payouts with just enough money to make payroll and some of the materials. Then upon completion no final payment. Scum is the only monicker that fits this miserable excuse for a being.

Anecdotal 3rd or more testimony, but there was plenty out there. It really hits home when it happens to your Union Brothers.

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M J, what I don't understand is how so many Americans think this guy is worthy of anything. He helped none of them in the 4 years he was in office and has stolen from nearly everyone he has had work for him as well as the many many people who keep pumping money into his personal pockets when he is supposed to be so rich. I guess a lot of people prefer not to be in touch with reality.

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Sorry McGady

Spell check got you.

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Paul,

Trumpty the Mobster has represented himself as worthy of our Presidency. The Supreme Jesters pretend they are clarifying law. The Congress pretends they are working for US citizens though Citizens United and Corporations as Individuals have led to Big Money making all choices for themselves through the mouthpiece of 'our us Congress'. The hypocrisy, destruction, horror, evil perpetrated causes some of us to name the rot what it is, rotten to the core, as Reich and frankly others, are voicing. The practice places the rot where it belongs- mimicked, mocked, lowered to the hell it has created. So sorry if irony bothers you. It comforts me and I find amusing the varied ways this rotten trash is called out.

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OK, point taken. I edited my comment to reflect your observations. I hold that family in utter contempt and revulsion, though, because of their injurious practices against the citizens of NYC and our nation, as well as their purported tendencies towards white supremacy and fascism..

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Because the man is an ass.

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👍

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K, he needs to be crowned Hypocrite in chief, but he wouldn't understand what that even means.

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It astounding to me that the press would not pick up that this is the language of a protection scheme that might have been taking place in Moscow in the 1990s.

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Feb 17·edited Feb 17

Even >I< had forgotten about the '90s Russian protection racket that small store owners complained about in the news! 👍

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And Deutsche Bank is not pristine, Were found guilty in UK for laundering Russian money. In 2017, the bank reached a $7.2 billion civil settlement with federal prosecutors over its sale of toxic mortgage products in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis. The bank also paid a $150 million fine to a New York bank regulator in 2020, partly over its banking relationship with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The Fed orders from 2015 and 2017 stemmed from Deutsche’s relationship with the Estonian branch of Danske Bank, which has also run afoul of the authorities.

Bank regulators had found that in its dealings with Danske Bank, Deutsche did not properly monitor transactions involving high-risk customers. Deutsche stopped doing business with Danske’s Estonian branch in 2015.

Last year, Danske, the largest bank in Denmark, pleaded guilty to charges arising from a long-running money-laundering investigation. The bank also agreed to pay a $2 billion penalty.

DOJ is on to them. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/fed-fines-deutsche-bank-186-mln-insufficient-progress-addressing-anti-money-2023-07-19/

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Feb 17·edited Feb 17

👍 And like CSG says here, it goes waaaaaay beyond banking & other financial institution irregularities. It goes to all the people who worked for him that he flat-out stiffed - including his lawyers who have gotten themselves disbarred on his behalf. As distasteful and disreputable as he's become, look at ol' Giuliani as a case study!

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Maybe Trump's casinos were more about money laundering than gambling? Like Robin said in an earlier comment that it's unusual for a casino to go bankrupt.

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Feb 17·edited Feb 17

I'm thinkin' gathering kompromat - in his affiliated hotels, for "When what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" - if you do as you're told. Money laundering is a bonus!

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deletedFeb 17
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Supreme Court Justice Kennedy abruptly retired after tfg told him he would "take care of his son" a Duetche Bank employee. Stinks to high heaven and now we have 3 Supremes he got to choose or rather his handlers chose

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I published some stuff about the Panama Papers a couple of days ago.

Without getting into the details, Deutsche Bank is still in trouble in Deutschland for failing to clean up money laundry controls. Trump has long been acci=used of laundering Russian contraband. If they pay more than market value for a property looks like bribery. As of 2017, here in Baghdad By the Sea, at least 63 individuals with Russian passports or addresses have bought at least $98.4 million worth of property in seven Trump-branded luxury towers in southern Florida..https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-trump-property/

At the time, Trump said, “I can tell you, speaking for myself, I own nothing in Russia,” President Trump said at a news conference last month. “I have no loans in Russia. I don’t have any deals in Russia.”

It is within the realm of possibility that Deutsche Bank is a Russian proxy.

“While the president has denied having invested in Russia, he has said little or nothing about Russian investment in his businesses and properties in the United States or elsewhere,” said Rep. Adam Schiff, ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. “This should concern all Americans and is yet another reason why his refusal to release his tax returns should be met with considerable skepticism and concern.”

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As far as I know, there never was any investigation of that, & there should've been.

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Didn’t you say that bank was the only bank that would deal with Trump?

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Thank you, this is very interesting.

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founding

They (Deutsche Bank should have been out of here a long time ago) allowed lobbyist Bob Dole to take thousand dollar bills out of their bank and give it out as he walked the isles of the Congress buying votes.

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Because Deutsche Bank is incompetent and corrupt doesn’t make it ok to cheat them from making an appropriate profit on their investments. Two wrongs don’t make a right.

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They violated their own guidelines and relied on false valuations. They are not defendants...yet.

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It’s astounding until you realize corporate owned media has partnered with republicans. These days

the big, corporate owned media are about one thing-

making money. They couldn’t care less about democracy, the Constitution, our government or

anything else. They want republicans to be in power

bc they know republicans will lower their tax rate

even more, end their obligation to pay half of their

employees’ social security benefit and republicans

will continue to underfund the IRS so they won’t have the manpower to audit corporations.

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I vaguely remembered it myself and felt that I needed a refresher. Here eit is:

https://medium.com/@abbievansickle/timeline-of-trumps-relationship-to-russia-5e78c7e7f480

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Very interesting time line. I didn't make it all the way through but the Russian connections as well as the Ukrainian ones spans over a long period of time.

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Yes, the irony didn't escape me either! He is a notorious welsher, even before he became President: So many of his contractors were bilked: He would sign a contract with them and then start looking for ways to refuse payments: "not on time, bad work, no good enough", so the "you gotta pay your bills", coming from him tickled my funny bone!

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👍

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Ok for Me but Not for Thee!

Tfg’s motto

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👍

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founding

Putin Trump's friend just killed his political enemy. The victim was a beautiful man both physically and mentally. A hero. Guess Putin gets immunity like Trump wants.

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>Exactly!<

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The ultimate in hypocrisy!

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👍

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I know someone Trump injured, she stands sadly on Liberty Island weeping at what she sees. What Trump did to a woman named Carroll is how our lady of the harbor must feel. Donnie Boy, that's no way to treat a lady.

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Hell! How much purity $#17 does he feed those who trust him ‽

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DZK ; He is the biggest deadbeat ever! Plus, there are no 'dues' for NATO membership!

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tRump is just a crudball!

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Feb 17·edited Feb 17

They're supposed to contribute something like 2% of their GNP or thereabouts, as I understand it. What words Tovarich МАГАт wants to use is relatively trivial unless they're blatant lies. I'll not quibble this one. Dues by any other name.

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No, they are expected to spend 2% of GNP on their own defense, not contribute that to NATO.

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Trump acts like that money is owed to the US for our *protection*. That's a protection racket, not a treaty.

And that is NOT money that comes from all European countries and gets put in a bucket, or is held in escrow for the common defense. No: Each European country pledges to spend about 2% of *their* GDP on THEIR OWN DEFENSE. That's quite different. but the ignoramus has the intelligence of a concrete block.

And as far as attacking Poland with this line, Putin doesn't stand a chance: Poland is one country that spends *more*. The President of Poland, talking about Trump's idiotic statement said: "After 9/11, Poland responded and joined the US in Afghanistan for 10 years: We didn't send a bill!"

This shows which countries are spending more than 2% which are spending less. Remember it is 2% of *their* GDP. Since our GDP is so much larger, of course we spend the lion's share:

https://www.statista.com/chart/14636/defense-expenditures-of-nato-countries/

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👍

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They aren't even "dues."

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Feb 17·edited Feb 17

I think that was the word he used in his speech - or maybe it's just cognitive decline! 😏

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Goes to show how little he knows about NATO.

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You ought to see him cut loose on a weather map! 🤣

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Really shows how sharpie he is.

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True. He has NEVER paid a bill in his entire failed life! HOW do you lose money on CASINOS?!?

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👍 I've been bringing that up for months!

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It takes a SPECIAL kind of "fucking moron" to lose money on a no-lose business.

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And here's a guy a'talkin' 'bout ol' Tovarich МАГАтs most loyal supporters:

https://youtu.be/bQ19Wn3knWs?si=0GLUP19jZptIeuy9

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👍

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Hypocrite as well as liar and bully.

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Feb 17·edited Feb 17

Love it!! So sad that no one on the other side of the aisle will see it. Let's say I refuse to pay taxes in order to protest shipping even more weapons to the war. How long do you think it will take for the Feds to show up at my door and haul me off? I should take bets on it and give it a shot. Except then I would be liable for running an illegal gambling operation.

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Trump is incapable of recognizing irony or even his own hypocrisy. Donny hasn't had a functioning sense of humor in decades, supposing he ever did.

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Totally! :DD

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👍

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Excellent point, DZK!!

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His followers are happy with him regardless of his words or actions. He is their god.

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founding

As I read Tim Alberta, the white Evangelists believe he is doing God's work in "returning" America to a Christian State. They are militant in their fight against the secular left.

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A fake Christian state that denies full citizenship to non-Christians, that tramples on the poor and disadvantaged and protects White business interests, a fake Christian state that fails to protect us from predatory capitalists and viruses, and denies the reality of climate change. No wonder they hate Pope Francis! No wander leading Protestant theologians have condemned them.

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That's the scariest apart. What's worse than the threat of an authoritarian dictatorship? A Christian authoritarian dictatorship!

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founding

Exactly Robin. Which ever it is, it is bad for everyday people who work hard and deserve good health care , education, a salary that lets one live in dignity and to have their human rights respected.

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That could only happen in Hitler's Germany.

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Or Bunkerboy's "'Murica." He IDOLIZES that sick, evil "man."

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Elizabeth, that is exactly right. They believe he is "God ordained". How about barf ordained? :Q

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I personally think that all men that "start" religions are corrupt, they only do it to con money out of people "to get to live in heaven when they die". BS They use the money to get planes, trips, build expensive churches taking money away from people that can't really afford it.

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and in some cases they do it for sex with multiple under age wifes.

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So true, I don't remember how many times Joseph Smith (who started Mormons) and when he was killed then Brigham's had 50 plus "wives" and most of them were half his age.

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I agree. I remember reading that L Ron Hubbard, the 'inventor' of scientology said to his wife "if you want to make money, start a religion".

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Ironic, considering the FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION forbids this exact "Christian State:"

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

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founding

They look at issues like Trump's support for the anti choice, fixing the Supreme Court that put down Roe vs Wade. And on and on. But yes, it is ironic.

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A RAPIST is doing that. I cannot imagine being so dangerously stupid that you see a loser who LOST money on EVERY business venture, and ONLY had relations with women through THREAT OF VIOLENCE as a "manly man." He is in fact a spineless, d_ckless man-baby who never grew out of being a toddler.

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The second coming? NOT!

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Indeed! We know that "God works in mysterious ways", but that is pushing it a few bridges too far!

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So I have a question about the second coming; I am asking seriously: Is Jesus (or a Jesus stand-in) supposed to be born from a virgin (like Mary), or descend from heaven (as Jesus ascended to heaven)? Is there a definitive answer in Scripture, because either way Trump would not fit the description.

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Trump fits the description of the man on horseback.

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Chuckles... Man on horseback? Trump? [He would ride like a sack of potatoes!]

Did you mean Putin or one of the 4 horses of the Apocalypse?

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founding

They believe God choses flawed men to his work -like Moses So they don't see Trump as a god but rather as having been chosen by God to save Amerika.

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The Second Coming is mentioned in a number of faiths, but not in exactly the same way, [all Christian, as far as I know since it is the Second coming of *Jesus*].

The best explanation I've found is in the wiki:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Coming#:~:text=The%20Saviour's%20coming%20will%20be,but%20the%20unrighteous%20will%20die.

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Strange world!

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Feb 17Liked by Robert Reich

True. Still hoping this marvelous judgment wipes him out financially (and mentally) to at least slow his pace. :P

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Yes! My secret dream is that all these trials stress him out so much that he has a heart attack or stroke, but stays alive long enough to see Nikki Haley win the presidency.

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He is older, overweight and eats unhealthy food. His father and mother had alzheimers, not likely he can live not having that, pretty clear he is getting there right now.

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How about Nikki Haley winning the nomination and we leave it at that? That alone should finish him off.

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No Nikki Haley! She is a super nasty bitch. She speaks and sounds just like Trump! Otherwise, your comment is funny!

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Robin, Haley as President would be awful. Look at her record and at some recent statements that are divorced from reality.

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I'm not a huge Haley supporter, it was just a fantasy and I thought it would bother Trump more if she beat him, rather than Biden.

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T.R. ; Way to bring him down! YES!

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perhaps he qualifies as the 'anti-christ'.

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The He Touches It Dies . . Worthy of The Damien Franchise .. . # sick clown

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Tremendous Appeal for Iowans . .. and the mentally ill . ..

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founding

Remember, tRump 's voters numbered less than 3% of registered Iowa voters. Some landslide huh? I love my Iowa relatives who would NEVER cast a vote for the Orange Madness! 3% Woohoo!

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You are referring to Biden followers, right?

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The Orange Antichrist

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Trump's ego must be the size of Jupiter to accommodate an infinite number of craters...

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Jupiter, like Trump, is mostly made of gas. There is very little substance.

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And doesn't it have A Bigly Spot . . Mega MagHat Red ? . . #the space takes . . .

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A gas 'giant'!

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This is the Best analogy yet 😁

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Seriously, I think he must have the lowest self esteem of any human, ever. A complete waste of DNA.

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LOL! ;DD

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founding

How about Antares? LMAO, rhetorical reply mine I W-L. Your comparison was fair enough!

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none of his die hard supporters care.

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Where is the conflict between “con artist” and “good businessman”? Aren’t they often the same and isn’t that the problem in our system?

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Only if Faux "News" reports it.

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Feb 17·edited Feb 21Liked by Robert Reich

A simple analogy to these fraud laws is speed limits. You'll get a ticket even if you hit no one. Same with a stop sign.

These laws exist to protect society from reckless individuals out for themselves. Without them nobody would want to drive there.

A major financial center requires especially strong laws, and must enforce them. Without them nobody would want to do business there.

Source: "Common Sense for Dummies, 2nd Ed". Someone sent me a copy; I don't know why.

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I've dealt with bankers financing several large real-estate transactions and large lines of credit. If they had suspected (or known) that I was over-valuing collateral I might not have got the first bite at the apple and certainly wouldn't have ever got a second bite.

This is why every NY bank stopped making loans to tRump - they knew he was crooked. As we get farther down the path of uncovering just *how* crooked, expect to learn about massive money laundering tRump likely has been involved in (I've been told that suspicion of which was another reason the banks dumped him).

The simple truth is that bankers really, really hate being cheated out of loan interest - not to mention that if they turn a blind eye to asset over-valuation, leading to lower interest income on loans backed by over-valued assets, they are liable for shareholder lawsuits and punishment by the SEC.

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As I hear it and recall it. Deutsche Bank would not have made the loan, but there was the equivalent of a loan officer who was on the make, and thought he had a whale, that OK'd the loan.

However Deutsche Bank did not repudiate the loan or the loan officer.. probably hedging their bets like all of the non MAGAt politicians inside the beltway. they hate Trump but are cowards, terrified of him should he return to power, I believe that that attitude is infectious. and reaches into our judicial system.

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Yeah it reaches into our judicial system through the Federalist Society. I think moneyed New York fears tRump less than they fear the ghost of Roy Kohn

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John M Kelley, Jamie Dimon said as much at Davos. He said that he could work with Trump or Biden.

There were like thinking men in Germany in the 1920's and 30's, and they did do very well under the NAZI regime, men like Porsche, Thyssen, and a lot of them escaped serious consequence as well, thanks to intercession by American Corporations, some of whom were major partners. Ford, GM, DOW, Brown Brothers Harriman (Prescott Bush).

A good read: Crime and Punishment of I G Farben, free download here:https://archive.org/details/crimepunishmento0000bork

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Money has always found money, no matter who sits in government.

Paraphrasing Churchill, capitalism is the very worst system of economic organization in history - except for all the others

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Where did I say that?

Letitia James is just doing her job - protecting the legal interests of the State and citizens of New York from ne'er-do-wells, scalawags, grifters, con men, money launderers, and f*cking criminals. tRump and his entire org are all of those.

And tRump himself is a philanderer and a rapist as well, and also a Putin asset and likely a traitor. Anyone who votes for tRump is a Russian stooge and possibly a traitor. Beware your neighbors with tRump signs in their yards and bumper stickers on their tRucks.

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Mr Barnstall is a troll

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LOL! Nah, we have nothing to discuss. In my eyes you are willfully delusional. Yes, if you vote for the Ochre Abomination, I think it's possible you're a stooge. I think it's certain you're gullible and deeply misinformed.

I believe that it's likely that tRump, and the GOP generally, are going to lose in November, and badly. I also believe that tRump is probably going to be found guilty of enough of the charges against him that he's going to prison for the rest of his life, and good riddance to bad rubbish. I believe that judicial malfeasance that somehow delays tRump's trials until after the election would constitute election interference like never before seen in our country, betraying the rule of law and the majority of our citizens. I will be voting against tRump. I wish I had a younger candidate than Biden to vote for, but in terms of character and dedication to public service I don't believe I could have a *better* candidate to vote for. I'm sure in your eyes that makes me the willfully delusional one.

See? There, we're done. No response necessary

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Check your facts. The only people that vote for Trump are those who choose to disregard truth. I’m not gonna get into a back-and-forth with you because it’s clear you’re victim of disinformation and not open to any ideas other than those that fit your narrative. I posted this comment to counter your misinformation for the benefit of others on this thread.

https://time.com/5610317/mueller-report-myths-breakdown/

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Genuinely interested in the reasons you have for voting for Trump. Less in why you would broadcast it on a pro Democrat blog. For instance, how do you believe a Trump administration will benefit your children’s futures and enhance the the military protection and social health of US citizenry to a greater degree than Biden’s administration ?

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So, you think the drivers can properly assess risk on their own to protect themselves? It appears that you have never dealt with a driver.

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Analogies can be useful, if one can recognize them as analogies.

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And if they're actually analogous.

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People in banks are not banks. people can be bribed.

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It's amazing what he got away with, with all the lies about assets. Poor Deutsche Bank really got conned, a couple of ways. By then no one in the US would loan him money. He got a pass after another part of the bank turned him down. Bankers make mistakes going by brand names.

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founding

Being recognizable doesn't exactly make for a 'brand': the reason college athletes everywhere are interested in (and struggling with) so-called "name, identity, & likeness (NIL)" rights is that turning one's recognizability into a brand is *really* hard! (It was, in fact, some luck thereabouts i.e. via minor fame from 'The Apprentice' etc., that Trump himself was saved from total oblivion; getting invited to that fateful White House press dinner where Obama insulted him was a pivot - and allowed a byword to become altogether so much more.)

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I'm sure they can assess risks, but they are not likely to point out how they've been defrauded or by whom: they look like fools and investors tend to leave those banks.

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He’s always been white trash and always will be. Never understood why anyone would be so stupid to vote for him for President. Just unbelievable people are so ignorant!

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A lot of Dunning Kruger effect among those idiots

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So very true, Betty! Unfathomable🙄

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This is just like his saying he wasn't guilty of rape because he only used his fingers and not his . . .

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Or because his pathetic mushroom was too weak to penetrate!

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That's what Stormy Daniels implies.

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😂

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First he uses his fat little fingers and finishes the rape with his filthy mind.

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You are exactly right, Robert. I have a completely different perspective on Trump now. Why is he still around? I think the only reason he is not in jail is because too many people would be losing jobs: Political commentators, authors writing about Trump, book publishers, TV talking heads, etc. If Trump were gone no one would have anything to commentate on!

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Feb 17Liked by Robert Reich

And wouldn't that be heaven compared to the last 9 years.

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People are brainwashed, uneducated, or simply want to support a raging bully. Remember his parents had to send him to reform school as he was such a bully. They couldn't control him.

Trump became famous for his TV show. People loved the "Money, Money, Money" song and him yelling, "YOU'RE FIRED!" I think people originally thought he was a successful businessman as Robert stated, which isn't true. He has had five bankruptcies. He doesn't pay his attorneys so he can't get good attorneys to represent him.

I know a guy whose is a genius. He is very busy between work and family. He said he would vote for Trump because he would close the border. But he said that before and he didn’t. He LIED.

He also said Mexico would pay for the wall but they didn’t. He LIED.

He has lied so much Wikipedia devotes an entire section about all his lies, over 30,500 during his 4 years as president. The Republican Party (particularly in the House) is now doing the same thing, LYING.

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let's not forget Mark Burnett's role in the charade.

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We are attracted by any odd diversion, regardless of content or value. He's a con artist carnival barker.

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Its just like the movie, Network. Trump will no longer be an attraction when his ratings go down.

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That was a great movie. Too bad we're actually seeing the concept in action today. Or should I say, too bad for yellow hair/fake tan man.

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I believe his ratings had gone down which is why his show was pulled.

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Not to mention a gift wrapped SCOTUS and dozens of bought and paid for Judges! Then the Corporate Robber Baron’s who Diaperboy gave billions in tax breaks!Let’s not forget our Esteemed CON. GRESS , who’s protecting his ass by shooting down the funding bill ,so it can’t benefit Joe Bidens campaign ,never mind the Ukrainians getting slaughtered for lack of armaments .etc. etc .

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James Kalomiris ; The billionaires would not have him to help distract US from their evil greed with the culture wars BS.; They might get taxed fairly!

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Oh, I think they're already lining up the next top selling scandal. Researchers are busy.

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I don't know how they can ever jail him in a regular jail. He would be bait for every con who wanted to make a name for himself. He would need to be put in a secluded spot. I suggest a ocean liner that never touches port. All by himself. With of course his makeup and hair. He could have a one hole golf course for himself to play himself. Of course make him pay for the ship!!!!! The other option is to wipe him out financially

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The fact that trump is not in jail proves that America is seriously fucked up.

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He could even be back in the White House by this time next year. Talk about fucked up.

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What do you mean, no one was hurt. the taxpayers of New York City and New York State were hurt because Trump didn't pay what he owed; he falsified his records to get out of paying his share of the public burden. Society was harmed by his lies and his cheating. This was not a victimless crime.

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But people WERE hurt. Predatory practices hurt the little guy by taking up capital at lower rates, effectively raising rates for more marginal buyers. Banks were also hurt; they charged less interest than they were entitled to under a free and honest market.

I'm grateful you are in this fight, and I admire your voice, but please don't include MAGA talking points in your headlines.

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Much like tax fraud for Al Capone, this is what could be proven.

For people hurt how about: 500,000 excess Covid deaths in the U.S., over 500,000 military and civilian dead in Ukraine, and over 1 million displaced in Ukraine? Could there also be a connection to the support of Hamas and the horrors of Gaza?

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Don't forget the Kurds, who were helping us in Afghanistan and whom he betrayed,

this guy betrays everybody: His wives, his business partners, his creditors, everyone.

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And the CONSTITUTION! (Why is the Supreme Court worrying about one state ‘influencing the election’ when he should NOT legally be in ANY ballot. They should ban him from running for ANY office.).

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That he was not a successful businessman but just played one on TV was exposed long before he was elected yet people wanted to believe that he was. So many did not care to look or listen...same problem we have today.

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Distrust in information runs so high that Trump benefits from what has been a "liars dividend" everybody is dismissed as spinning tales so Trump is just as truthful as the others who simply prefer his outrageous resentful take

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Put more clearly: Distrust in politicians, distrust in information runs so high that Trump benefits from what has been a "liars' dividend". For the far too many who are alienated seeing every politician as a liar makes it easier for them just to choose the liar, they connective with most. So many are filled with resentment of the way things are in general the notion "draining the “swamp” appeals to those who are filled with resentment...making resentful angry Trump attractive no matter how much he lies. It’s so sad because it shows how shallow how non-discerning-how lacking in thinking skills so many Americans are.

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A lot of people were hurt. Legitimate business people who didn’t commit fraud were cheated of access to bank loans that went instead to the fraudster Trump. People who would have been employed working on projects financed by legitimate businesses who never received bank loans that went instead to Trump businesses never got those loans or employed those workers. Business fraud is not a crime with no victims.

I’d be willing to bet that some smaller businesses that were denied business loans that went instead to Trump or other disreputable business, went out of business. Smaller companies that depended on reputable banks may have lost access to business loans from those reputable banks; especially during the pandemic.

When a 1000 pound hog takes up space at the financial trough I guarantee the smaller financial entities have far less access to the cash they need to survive.

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I would add that the people who were hurt by and large are invisible because they weren’t wealthy people who mattered to police, to the FBI, to political pundits politicians or to reporters. Financial crimes that affect poor & middle class people are not victimless. Fraud isn’t victimless; it just affects ordinary working people, people who haven’t mattered here in the U.S. since Jimmy Carter’s presidency until now, during Joe Biden’s presidency. Pres. Biden is the first president in over 40 years to place the concerns of working people at the top of his list of things that matter, along with Wall Street & the economy.

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Feb 17·edited Feb 17

Conspiracy to commit a crime IS still a crime, even if the actual, physical attempt to commit that crime is then bungled. Attempting to rob a bank, but leaving the premises empty-handed is still felony robbery.

Though it may be difficult to fully quantify, Trump’s lawyers can argue that his lenders made money from his dealings with him, but it seems fairly certain that those banks would have made larger profits if he hadn’t defrauded them, so they can claim actual harm.

Malign intent that exists at a stage beyond merely thinking about it is punishable, and Trump’s entire being is nothing BUT malign intent.

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He wasn't just bad at business, he was phenomenally bad, he works with mobsters, stiffs contractors, lies to banks and still his businesses consistently fail, even a casino! I think it was 1990 according to tax records he lost more than twice as much as any other American. Abysmal.

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I bet he skimmed so much out of each of his bankruptcies.

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I want to see a lot of Biden ads featuring people who Trump conned out of their money — people who presumably won’t be fooled at the ballot box.

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Documentary: “You’ve Been Trumped”. It pulls at your heartstrings. We should tell the DNC chair!

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DJT's lifelong perpetration of fraud, led to his being elected by ignorant people loving his celebrity status, to being elected to prez of the U.S.! The MSM supported his fraud by giving him billions of $$$ in free publicity because it served their bottom lines, not The People of the U.S.! Millions of us were absolutely appalled that he was given a free ride all the way to the White House, where he then perpetrated more crimes against the Laws of the U.S., taking gifts from foreign governments, & their representatives. He opened a Hotel in an historical U.S. building where he was able to receive income from foreign dignitaries, as well as from multimillionaires & billionaires currying favor with him! Thank you, Justice Arthur F. Engoron for finally putting the FRAUD IN HIS RIGHTFUL PLACE!!!

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Feb 17·edited Feb 17

So Tovarich МАГАт >believes< that if you go into a store, shoplift $10 worth of merch, but leave $1 at the checkout you've paid for what you took ‽ After all, in Tovarich МАГАтs words, "they made money."

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And that's also the way that Epstein, Trump and Gaetz got away with sleeping with underage girls: they would slip some money in their hand so these girls, if they talked, would be regarded as prostitutes. "They made money"...

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And we can all imagine what happened to those victims who caught on early to their abuse and refused the money or tried to alert others whom they thought would help them within Epstein’s corrupt criminal carousal. We will never hear from them this side of the grave.

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Interesting! Point taken! 👍

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I raise a toast to Letitia I'm Gonna Get That Bastard James. And she got him, too. Put a notch on your rifle stock, Ms. James. You Da Woman. AND it's a one-two punch kind of day: Aileen Cannon refused to grant Trump's attorneys any extension past February 22 for pretrial https://www.msn.com/.../aileen-cannon.../ar-BB1inj6I...

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Wow! Really? Dumpy's suck-up judge got strict with him? I (seriously, no sarcasm) can't believe it.

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It’s all for show with Cannon. I think she was worried about Smith wanting another judge for her egregious, unprofessional behavior.

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