;)
The Commentariat -- October 2, 2016
Presidential Race
SNL's first cold opening of the season has its moments. It's a bit of typecasting, but Alec Baldwin has Trump down pat:
** David Barstow, et al., of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump declared a $916 million loss on his 1995 income tax returns, a tax deduction so substantial it could have allowed him to legally avoid paying any federal income taxes for up to 18 years, records obtained by The New York Times show. The 1995 tax records, never before disclosed, reveal the extraordinary tax benefits that Mr. Trump ... derived from the financial wreckage he left behind in the early 1990s through mismanagement of three Atlantic City casinos, his ill-fated foray into the airline business and his ill-timed purchase of the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan.... 'He has a vast benefit from his destruction' in the early 1990s, said one of the experts, Joel Rosenfeld.... Mr. Trump declined to comment on the documents. Instead, the campaign released a statement that neither challenged nor confirmed the $916 million loss.... A lawyer for Mr. Trump, Marc E. Kasowitz, emailed a letter to The Times arguing that publication of the records is illegal because Mr. Trump has not authorized the disclosure of any of his tax returns. Mr. Kasowitz threatened 'prompt initiation of appropriate legal action.'" ...
... CW: That death rattle you heard all week was coming from Trump's Ambitions. The Times just nailed the coffin shut. ...
There it is. This bombshell report reveals the colossal nature of Donald Trump's past business failures and just how long he may have avoided paying any federal income taxes whatsoever. In one year, Donald Trump lost nearly a billion dollars. A billion. He stiffed small businesses, laid off workers, and walked away from hardworking communities. And how did it work out for him? He apparently got to avoid paying taxes for nearly two decades -- while tens of millions of working families paid theirs. He calls that 'smart.' Now that the gig is up, why doesn't he go ahead and release his returns to show us all how 'smart' he really is? -- Clinton campaign response to the NYT report ...
... Scott Lemieux in LG&$: "It is overwhelmingly likely that two of the major theories for why Trump doesn't want to release his tax returns -- that they would show that he pays little or no federal taxes, that they would reveal him as a shitty businessperson who can't make businesses profitable even though he refuses to pay a lot of people -- are both correct. The story is also good by showing the massive tax advantages available to the .1%." -- CW ...
... Judd Legum of Think Progress republishes seven tweets by Donald Trump where Trump (a) complains about other people's not paying enough in taxes or (b) complains about all the taxes he pays. -- CW ...
By Driftglass.
... The Times Story Headfakes Trump. Eli Stokols of Politico: "The story, which posted Saturday night just as Trump had taken the stage for a rally in Manheim, Pa., seemed to send the candidate, already reeling from a week that started with a bad debate and continued with a stream of recriminations over his treatment of a former Miss Universe in a 3 a.m. tweetstorm, spiraling at even greater velocity into a political abyss. After taking the stage 102 minutes after the rally's scheduled 7 p.m. start time, Trump veered off-script several times, impersonating Clinton's near fall last month as she was suffering from pneumonia and asserting -- after taking credit all week for his restraint in not bringing up Bill Clinton's sexual improprieties at the debate -- that she probably isn't faithful to her husband anymore because, he said, 'Why should she be?'" CW: This is a straight news story. ...
... Ben Jacobs of the Guardian: "Speaking to a crowd of nearly 5,000 in Pennsylvania on Saturday night, Trump made some of his wildest accusations yet about his opponent and the integrity of American elections. Trump attacked his Democratic rival in starkly personal terms. He said of her 'she has bad temperament, she could actually be crazy' and went on to imply that she had been unfaithful for her husband. 'I don't even think she's loyal to Bill, if you want to know the truth. And really folks, why should she be, right,' Trump said.... [He] said bluntly on Saturday 'she should be in prison'.... Trump also warned of the specter of voter fraud without evidence, revisiting accusations he first made in August that there will be voter fraud in 'certain areas' of Pennsylvania, a statement that was a clear dog-whistle about African American areas of Philadelphia. 'Watch your polling booths, because I hear too many stories about Pennsylvania, certain areas,' the Republican nominee told the almost exclusively white crowd in Manheim. He added 'we can't lose an election because you know what I am talking about'." ...
... The Washington Post story, by Jenna Johnson, is here. ...
... CW: Once again, Trump projects his own shortcomings onto his opponent. The SNL skit got that right. Also, in his actual Pennsylvania performance, Trump again showed how very, very funny other people's disabilities are, even if the "disabilities" are extremely transitory. Watch him mock Clinton's stumbling after she became dehydrated as a result of pneumonia:
... Ben Kamisar of the Hill: "It's a personal attack Republicans have warned Trump to avoid. But while he has refused to engage on the issue, even publicly wishing her well, his tone changed Saturday night after an especially heated week." -- CW
David Cloud of the Los Angeles Times: "Five years ago, Hillary Clinton reached one of the least-noticed diplomatic agreements of her tenure as secretary of State -- a deal obligating Japan to continue paying nearly $2 billion a year to help defray the cost of U.S. troops stationed on its territory.... The payments, which began in 1978 and are considered a pillar of the post-war U.S.-Japanese alliance, cover about a third or more of the cost of keeping 49,000 U.S. troops in Japan.... Despite that history..., Donald Trump has insisted repeatedly that Japan and other U.S. allies contribute little or nothing to the United States for their own defense.... Trump's attacks on allies as freeloaders is core to his political message.... National security experts say his false claims on defense issues could undermine the network of military and diplomatic alliances constructed around the globe by U.S. presidents of both parties over the last 70 years." -- CW
Regardless of your politics, today is a day to celebrate the remarkable peaceful transitions to power that occur in this country with each presidential transition. It is something we should not take for granted. -- Rick Hasen, January 20, 2008 ...
... Rick Hasen: "Donald Trump threatens this peace by raising the prospect not only of sending his supporters, unsupervised, into polling places (likely in minority neighborhoods). This can lead to voter intimidation on election day. He has also backed off his earlier, somewhat ambiguous statement that he would support Hillary Clinton if she won.... This is already having an effect on his supporters. According to an AP-NORC poll: '... Half the people who have a favorable opinion of the Republican nominee say they have little to no confidence in the integrity of the vote count, the poll finds.' This is what happens when a candidate irresponsibly sows doubts." -- CW
Ezra Klein: "The last six days proved Donald Trump is dangerously unfit for the presidency.... The problem is that Trump is predictable and controllable.... His behavior, though unusual, is quite predictable -- a fact the Clinton campaign proved by predicting it. His actions, though beyond the control of his allies, can be controlled by his enemies -- a fact the Clinton campaign proved by controlling them.... [Regarding the Alicia Machado saga,] Hillary Clinton did everything but spraypaint 'THIS IS A TRAP' on the side of Trump Tower. And still Trump fell for it.... Six days later, he's still falling for it... So far, this has played out, within the safe space of a presidential campaign, as farce. If Trump were to win the White House, it would play out as tragedy." ...
... CW: One really, really easy way for foreign governments to trip up Trump, according to Trump himself: mess with his mic. From a New York Times story (also linked on yesterday's Commentariat): "Mr. Trump said he did not think he needed to prepare more rigorously for the next debate than he did for the first one, because any shortcomings on Monday, he argued, were because of a problem with the microphone at his lectern, which he 'spent 50 percent of my thought process' dealing with." Emphasis added. That's right: a person presenting himself as a candidate for Leader of the Free World is completely thrown off his game if there's a minor issue with a microphone."
Maureen Dowd: "For centuries, women were seen as unfit to hold public office. Ambition, power and business were the province of men. Unlike gossipy feminine chatter in the parlor, manly discourse was considered impersonal, unemotional, forthright and reasonable. Every minute of every day, Trump debunks that old 'science' when he shows that the gossipy, backbiting, scolding, mercurial, overly emotional, shrewish, menopausal one in this race is not the woman." CW: Of course Dowd has to knock Clinton, too, because, who knows, it might win her another Pulitzer.
Other News & Views
Martin Chulov of the Guardian: "An unrelenting Russian and Syrian blitz of eastern Aleppo heavily damaged one of the city's three remaining hospitals on Saturday, as Moscow warned that any American attempts to stop its assault would lead to 'frightening tectonic shifts in the Middle East'." -- CW ...
... Anne Barnard of the New York Times: "Secretary of State John Kerry was clearly exasperated, not least at his own government. Over and over again, he complained to a small group of Syrian civilians that his diplomacy had not been backed by a serious threat of military force, according to an audio recording of the meeting obtained by The New York Times.... His frustrations and dissent within the Obama administration have hardly been a secret, but in the recorded conversation, Mr. Kerry lamented being outmaneuvered by the Russians, expressed disagreement with some of Mr. Obama's policy decisions and said Congress would never agree to use force." Barnard analyzes snippets of audio included with the article. -- CW
Beyond the Beltway
A Disaster Waiting to Happen. Emma Fitzsimmons of the New York Times: "The Federal Railroad Administration began investigating safety problems at New Jersey Transit before a fatal train crash last week, a federal rail official confirmed on Saturday. Federal officials began an audit in June of New Jersey Transit, the nation's third-busiest commuter railroad, after noticing an increase in safety violations and a leadership vacuum at the top of the agency, said the official, who was briefed on the investigation but was not authorized to discuss it publicly. After completing the audit, the federal agency issued a series of violations to the railroad, the official said.... After halting most work on transportation projects this summer, Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, announced a deal with Democratic legislative leaders on Friday to raise the gas tax by 23 cents per gallon to finance the fund." -- CW
To Protect & Serve, Ctd. Cleve Wootson of the Washington Post: "'F-- this guy,' the officer says before aiming his police cruiser at the mentally ill homeless man that he and his partner had been sent out to confront. 'I'm going to hit him.' 'Okay, go for it. Go for it,' his partner responds, his voice recorded on the Sacramento police cruiser's dash cam. Twice, the man dodges their accelerating cruiser. In the second attempt, he leaps into a median, barely avoiding the vehicle. But Joseph Mann, 51, could not escape the volley of bullets that followed moments later. Mann died in the street shortly after that July 11 shooting. Mann's family has accused officers Randy Lozoya and John Tennis of escalating the situation and showing no regard for his life, even before they jumped out of the car, fired 18 bullets and shot Mann 14 times.... Police released the dash-cam video two weeks ago, after resisting for two months following the fatal confrontation." CW: Mann was black. ...
... The Sacramento Bee story, by Anita Chabria & Phillip Reese, is here. -- CW
Way Beyond
Brexit Timetable. Jessica Elgot of the Guardian: British PM "Theresa May has confirmed she will trigger article 50 before the end of March 2017, setting in motion the two-year process of leaving the European Union. The pledge by the prime minister means the UK will leave the EU by spring 2019, before the next general election, with the prime minister also announcing plans for a 'great repeal bill' to incorporate all EU regulations in UK law as soon as Brexit takes effect." -- CW
News Lede
Washington Post: "Colombian voters have rejected a peace deal with FARC rebels, a surprise outcome that risks prolonging a 52-year-old armed conflict, and in doing so tossed the peace process into chaos. By a razor margin of 50.25 to 49.75 percent, voters rejected the peace deal, a Brexit-style backlash that few were expecting. After nearly six years of negotiations, many handshakes and ceremonial signatures, Colombia's half-century war is not over. Not even close." -- CW
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Reader Comments (15)
Sacramento PD Chief announced his retirement on 9/13 after 3 1/2 years as Chief. The Mann family has filed suit. Yup. Running for the exit. I was surprised that it wasn't the Sacto Sheriff Dept, generally much more Neanderthal.
"Finally. Someone who thinks like me", from the WaPo. A woman who is seriously mentally unstable and relates very strongly to the lyin' king (courtesy NYT commenters) is profiled in a sad and interesting story. If you don't have to be this unwell to vote for the mooching comrade, it sure does help.
From how far back does the tax, marital, and business cheat start that combover? Really.
From the NY TIMES report on Trump's taxes...
"Mr. Trump knows the tax code far better than anyone who has ever run for President and he is the only one that knows how to fix it."
Yes, "fix" it indeed, as in the "fix is in". They're clever little bastards with their slippery tongues. On the rare moment they do actually speak the truth, it's true meaning is much more sinister than they'd have you believe, unless you too specialize in double-speak.
@safari: From 1983 to 2001, John Kasich, who ran for president this year, was the chair or ranking member of the House Budget Committee. His ideas, starting with his avid promotion of a balanced budget amendment, are stoopid, but he is an into-the-weeds guy, and I have no doubt he "knows the tax code far better" than Donald Trump.
But let's just stipulate, for argument's sake, that Donald Trump knows the tax code better than Hillary Clinton does. In fact, it's possible that he knows the tax code -- as it applies to billionaires -- better than Clinton does.
Since we're going out on a limb here, let's also pretend that both Clinton's & Trump's tax policy goals are equally laudable. They aren't, but we're in TrumpLand, so we can make up things.
So let's look at how Trump & Clinton might go about "fixing" the code.
Trump, whose "primary consultant is" himself," won't need to bother with tax experts to "fix" it. By a 2012 IRS estimate, the U.S. tax code is "about 4 million" words. Trump has said he can't be bothered with reading long documents. So he's going to have to "fix" the tax code based on his self-described "very good brain"; that is, on his uninformed "intuition."
Clinton, on the other hand, has policy goals related to the U.S. tax structure. She wants to level the playing field by increasing taxes on the wealthy. She's consulted macroeconomists and developed various proposals on how to do that; one, for instance, is to lower the estate tax exemption. So President Clinton and/or her staff at the Office of Management & Budget, perhaps along with Congressional staff with expertise in the area, as well as other outside tax code experts, will say, "Here are my goals, blah, blah, blah. Let's figure out how we get there." These experts, who study the tax code for a living, will figure that out. Working with staff, they'll also know how to write legislation to achieve her policy goals. Clinton will read the proposed changes to the code, will ask questions about parts she may not fully understand, make changes as necessary, & send the proposal up to Congress (who, okay, will likely sit on it, but we're just pretending).
Guess which approach would more reliably achieve the aims the President wanted.
Everything Trump says is crazy shit. He has no idea what he's talking about.
Marie
GOD once more dragged himself from his retreat in the clouds and reluctantly paid me another visit. This time it was not a Starbuck's bistro, but right smack down at my kitchen table. Imagine my surprise to discover said GOD person sitting straight up on one of my kitchen chairs.
"At least you can offer me a cup of coffee," He said, and "make it strong and black."
So what's on your mind this time, I asked. "Something must really be getting under your craw for you to take the time to squizzle down here again."
"Squizzle? Is that actually a word?" He asked with a frown to which I answered, "It is now."
"Alright, " He muttered, "down to business. I want you and your sassy friends over at that R.C. bloggy thingy to get together and in person deliver a message from me."
"No kidding?"
"No kidding. And the message is to be delivered to Donald J. Trump."
"And the message is?"
"Do I really have to spell it out? It is for his eyes only, but believe me, it is Huge and it will change the course of this whole asinine abattoir––think nails and coffin, something I believe your Web mistress invoked."
"What's in it for us? I asked
"Sanity and peace."
Finished with his coffee which he said wasn't too hot, He shook my hand, gave me a sealed envelope (looked like some kind of tax info to me) and went out the window––not the door–– because he's God, for Pete's sake!
A whiff of Old Spice one more lingered in the air.
I may be entirely wrong, because I don't think like they do, but I'm
thinking that there will be a lot of trumpbots who are going to feel
really sorry for this poor guy who lost a billion dollars of his (hard?)
earned money even if it were through his own stupidity. I had a loss
one year when a lot of plants that I had purchased for a client froze
before being planted. That loss didn't matter according to tax code.
@Forrest Morris: Sounds like an "act of god" loss to me.
Marie
Forrest,
I had a very similar thought regarding that little tax form line item.
"Poor Donald! Look, Heinrich, he loses money just like we do. Remember when we invested in that product that promised to send the darkies back to Africa but all it did was wipe out our savings? The H&R block lady told us there was no special deduction for losing money on Black Remover so we had to eat that loss. But Brave Donald must have taken on those Demycrap tax people. He's our hero."
It will make them think he's A. a regular Jo(sef Goebbels) and B. smart to make sure he didn't have to pay taxes and give free money to layabout lazy moochers who get handouts from the guv'mint. At that point they'll head to the bank where they'll cash their Social Security checks and their disability checks (bad backs from carrying decades of invented grievances ) and calculate how long it will take them to drive to the next Trump rally where they might get to see some colored person beaten up.
Jeebus, whadda a hypocrite!
CNBC has Leigh Ann Caldwell's report on Trump's Long History of Tweet-Shaming on Taxes "the twit on taxes" head there for a collection of his previous tax-shaming tweets! Two examples below.
“Flashback – Jeb Bush received a $4M tax payer bailout in 1990 … Guess who was POTUS then?,” tweeted Trvmpvs. (June 2015)
“The @washingtonpost loses money (a deduction) and gives owner @JeffBezos power to screw public on low taxation of @Amazon! Big tax shelter,” another Trvmpvs tweet (7 December 2015)
I sincerely hope that the Reality Chex site is maintained at least another 5 weeks, because this is one of the few places I intend to look at until after the election. Rachel Maddow will be hard to give up, but I just can't stomach listening to any more of Trump's total shit, and even worse, is listening to talking head supporters who defend him. I also don't think I can take any more polls or pundits who discuss the possibility of DT actually winning the presidency without going stark raving crazy, so I intend to cover my head with a pillow until November 7th and pray like hell that when I uncover my head, Hillary is President.
From the WaPo: Roodee Kazootee on tv -
“He’s a genius — absolute genius,” Giuliani said on ABC’s “This Week.” “This was a perfectly legal application of the tax code, and he would’ve been a fool not to ...'
If the actions show that DJT is a genius, why did the campaign not use them as examples of DJT's smarts well before today?
Because:
-- his voters are too stupid to appreciate the tax gambit (and business loss) as sure signs of his genius ?
-- DJT is too humble to expound on his genius, preferring to keep his light under a bushel basket?
-- DJT knew that people were already aware that he was a genius, from his draft avoidance (service if for suckers) and from screwing his dead brother's family out of their inheritance. Showing the tax genius would have been piling on, and in bad taste.
-- Giuliani is a word-whore?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-supporters-defend-gop-nominee-as-a-genius-with-taxes/2016/10/02/dc28080a-88a5-11e6-b24f-a7f89eb68887_story.html?hpid=hp_regional-hp-cards_rhp-card-politics%3Ahomepage%2Fcard
Anyone else wish the second debate was tomorrow night? It's in the realm of possibility that Trump may become more unhinged in coming days but right now he's dancing to Hillarys tune.
I can't fault Trump for carrying his business losses forward. He'd be a moron not to.
Rather than viewing this as a sign of his 'business genius' I would point to his ability to get $855,000,000 in tax breaks from the state of New York. Other states are probably too embarrassed to say how much they donated to the Trump cause. Or I might question how many millions of that loss were Trump dollars and how many were donated by scammed investors?
To listen to the media as played by Trump, all over America businessmen are phoning their accountants asking why they hadn't taken advantage of this little known tax break. Rather than picking Trump as the expert on the tax code I would pick Mitt Romney. He made his money by exploiting the tax code. He just wasn't 'smart' enough to avoid paying taxes by losing money.
Trump's speaking and campaigning looks more and more like a Friar's Roast! Crude, rude, insulting, degrading and obnoxious.