And back on top of the blog before moving forward:
"Trump campaign sets his personal fortune at $10 billion" by Jeff Horwitz Associated Press July 16, 2015
WASHINGTON— Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump filed financial documents with federal campaign regulators Wednesday and set his personal fortune at more than $10 billion with an annual income of more than $362 million....
The $10 billion figure — up nearly 15 percent since the previous year, by Trump’s calculation — would make him the wealthiest person ever to run for president, far surpassing previous magnates such as Ross Perot, business heirs such as Steve Forbes, or private-equity investors such as Mitt Romney, the 2012 GOP nominee.
Why not, right? let's take the ma$k of corporate government.
Among the sources of Trump’s income has been $214 million in payments from NBC related to 14 seasons of the business reality television show ‘‘The Apprentice.’’ NBC recently cut its ties with Trump following his controversial remarks about Mexican immigrants.
Trump is relying almost exclusively on his personal wealth to fund his White House bid. His fortune could help maintain his status as a major player in the Republican presidential primary, much to the dismay of GOP officials who worry that his hardline immigration statements could alienate Hispanic voters.
Turns out Trump has become the hot issue (over Steinle's killing, and why was the killer released?), and some views are unwelcome even if they are popular.
"Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump criticized US border and trade policies Saturday in a fiery speech before a packed, flag-waving crowd in Phoenix. In Las Vegas, Trump declared that the problem of illegal immigration needed to be solved but drew scattered groans when he suggested that a wall should be built along the US-Mexico border. Trump asserted that he would have more positive results in dealing with China and Russia if he were president and said he could be pals with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump’s speech was filled with insults leveled at business partners such as Univision and NBC that have dropped him in the wake of his comments that Mexican immigrants bring drugs and crime to the United States and are rapists."
Of course, he could have bought the crowds, right, and if a wall is good enough for Israel it is good enough for us! I mean, the rearrests and detentions (lucky you weren't tortured) really need to end, and he is right (according to the government).
The closed-minded Massholes up here hate him, but the fact that the pre$$ and Republican e$tabli$hment hate him has to count for something. Rich guy can't be bribed by lobbyists. Not too worry. They'll steal the vote from him if nothing else.
Btw, have you seen his campaign logo?
Filing a personal financial disclosure with the Federal Election Commission is one of the requirements, set by the hosts, to participate in next month’s televised GOP debate.
His campaign noted that Trump held stakes in almost 500 business entities and said the federal forms are ‘‘not designed for a man of Mr. Trump’s massive wealth.’’
Yeah, he's so rich he's above it all. Too big to file, so to speak.
He won't be giving up anytime soon.
Globe is still pushing the agenda, and I need to say something here. I don't care about color and race. I care about the economic and societal impacts as this slow-motion plan for a North AmeriKan Union (look at 'em trying to hold together Europe); however, pushing in-state college tuition for illegals (I know this is a sanctuary state, and it is not p.c. to suggest the high crime areas are where the sanctuaries are, but too bad) while citizens of the country that are outside the state have to pay full and higher tuition -- that's just wrong.
Of course, they can always work at the club for less wages.
Speaking of le$$er wages:
"Bush, Clinton, rivals disclose campaign finance data
WASHINGTON — Presidential contenders provided a glimpse inside their campaign war chests Wednesday, releasing financial statements that offered the first detailed accounting of how the candidates were raising and spending hundreds of millions of dollars in pursuit of elected office.
The reports showed, for instance, that Jeb Bush has relied largely on wealthy donors giving the maximum contribution — attracting far less financial support from more modest donors — and that Rick Perry, Ben Carson, and Rick Santorum were burning through the money they have raised much more quickly than most of their opponents.
He's $uppo$ed to be the guy to beat, but he's been getting trumped in the polls lately. He's fighting with his former friend Rubio, pre$umably because he is taking cash and advisers away from him, and his brother isn't helping matters either.
Hey, if you can't take the heat (happens all the time).... he better get to work.
Hillary Rodham Clinton raised the most money for the primary of any candidate, $46.7 million, while Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, running against Clinton for the Democratic nomination, brought in $15 million, the vast majority of it from donors giving $200 or less.
Nothing empty about those accounts. She looks free of the Webb, although it could well backfire on her, even with the controlled pre$$ while I expect the Sanders surge to soon slow; in fact, he's already becoming old news.
There is another female candidate in the race in case you forgot:
"Carly Fiorina, a 60-year-old cancer survivor, former corporate titan, and current longshot for the Republican presidential nomination, who watched one of her two stepdaughters deal with addiction for years before dying at age 34 in 2009, has proposed conducting surveys from the White House on policy questions to increase the role of the citizenry in governance. Citizens, she said, would be invited to weigh in through their smartphones, much the way reality television contests are decided."
Got my vote. Only problem is, the power elite and political cla$$ don't want true democracy or citizen participation. Just show up and vote for one of the two prescreened, preselected, corporate candidates they throw up every two or four years. That way they can claim legitimacy and the mantle of will of the people as they do things in our names to which we object. Open to fraud, too, just like the voting machines.
But while the reports, filed with the Federal Election Commission, provided an early look at the campaigns’ financial operations, they tell only part of the story; they did not include money being raised by the super PACs and other outside groups that are supporting many of the candidates.
The GOP presidential hopefuls are almost uniformly relying on these groups, which can tap unlimited corporate and individual donations, to amass the financial firepower they need to break through a crowded field. This is a stark departure from past campaigns and has made most of the candidates deeply reliant on a handful of ultra-wealthy donors.
The new fund-raising model has altered the landscape of a campaign that is still months away from the first votes.
Without super PACs, four Republicans — Bush, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and Carson— would have raised about the same amount of money, $10 million to $12 million in the second quarter of 2015, according to the FEC reports and past announcements from the campaigns. A fifth candidate, Rand Paul, would be close behind, while others, including Perry, would be trailing.
Cruz, Carson, Perry, and Paul?
How about that running mate?
Instead, the field has rapidly separated into three financial tiers. Bush has raised about $114 million with the help of a super PAC. Cruz, Rubio, and their super PACs occupy the next-highest tier, with each having raised more than $40 million.
Lagging them is a third tier, which includes several hopefuls who declared bids near or after the end of the fund-raising quarter and others who were slow to raise cash.
More than any other candidate, Bush appears to be relying on the fund-raising power of his super PAC — and $103 million in unlimited contributions it has collected — to fuel his campaign.
Sorry, but a few wealthy donors doesn't mean votes.
Bush’s report to the FEC Wednesday showed that he has had trouble attracting support from donors giving $200 or less — a group considered a key measure of grass-roots enthusiasm for a campaign. Out of the $11.4 million Bush’s campaign raised, only 3.3 percent came from these small donors, far less than what other candidates drew, and 81 percent came from wealthier donors making the maximum contribution of $2,700, the data showed. (Bush was his own biggest donor, contributing nearly $389,000 to his own campaign, the report showed.)
And that is Trumped by, you know.
In comparison, Mike Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor who is popular among many religious conservatives, reported Wednesday about 30 percent of his $2 million in donations came from smaller donors.
No hope for Huck.
On the Democratic side, the picture is the reverse. Clinton, who is far outpacing her rivals on the fund-raising front, has raised almost four times as much as the super PAC supporting her candidacy. Her campaign reported Wednesday raising about $46.7 million in contributions for the Democratic primary.
The 2016 campaign could prove to be the most expensive on record, with the candidates, political parties, super PACs, and special-interest groups spending perhaps $10 billion under fund-raising rules made looser by the US Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision in 2010 and other rulings.
--more--"
I guess Walker must be in the lower money tier.
See: Scott Walker declares presidential candidacy
I saw 2 minutes of CBS overnight and Walker was rabid about Obama and ISIS. Globe didn't hear a word of it I guess. So much for their credibility.
I pray to Christie the deal or omission isn't a joke like Jindal. Might make certain people chafe at being left out of the web version.
UPDATE: George H.W. Bush breaks bone in neck in fall in Maine
NDUs:
Thankfully, H.W. is okay. I suppose the patriarch of AmeriKa's number one crime family will have to depart this earth someday, but I wish him long life into the 100s. I mean, the state pomp and circumstance we are going to be treated to, it will be enough to make you wretch.
More good news for the Bushes:
"Hillary Rodham Clinton’s standing is falling among Democrats, and voters view her as less decisive and inspiring than when she launched her presidential campaign three months ago, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll. The survey offers a series of warning signs for the leading Democratic candidate. Most troubling, perhaps, for her prospects are questions about her compassion for average Americans, a quality that fueled President Obama’s two White House victories. Just 39 percent of all Americans have a favorable view of Clinton, compared to nearly half who say they have a negative opinion of her. That’s an eight-point increase in her unfavorable rating from an AP-GfK poll conducted at the end of April. Seven in 10 Democrats gave Clinton positive marks, an 11-point drop from the April survey."
Good news for Walker, though:
"Six months ahead of vote, candidates flood Granite State" by James Pindell and Jim O’Sullivan Globe Staff July 16, 2015
AMHERST, N.H. — Hillary Rodham Clinton held forth on climate change in Dover.
Near record cold July morning here, and don't think I didn't notice. Next.
Lindsey Graham stopped by the 48th Annual Stratham Fair. Chris Christie hosted his 12th town hall meeting in the state at the Franklin VFW. Donald Trump boasted about his personal wealth and blasted his opponents in Laconia.
“It’s great to be back in New Hampshire,” Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin called out to an overflow crowd at Joey’s Diner in Amherst.
He wasn’t the only one with that sentiment. Five presidential candidates fanned across New Hampshire on Thursday, one of the busiest days so far in a state primary that’s more than six months away. With a quarter of the field from both parties there, if you wanted to see the next leader of the free world, the Granite State may have been the place to look.
Walker, who this week became the 15th Republican to officially enter the race for president, kicked off his day of campaigning in the late morning, stepping onto the back of a red pickup truck to address the group assembled at the ’50s-themed dining establishment. Inside the diner, Walker spent 20 minutes repeating campaign themes he rolled out Monday in his announcement — “reform, growth, safety” — to about 100 prominent Republican activists.
The Scott Brown strategy? He lost up there.
“The reason I am out here is because I love America,” Walker said. “I love this country. I know you love this country, or you wouldn’t be here right now. We can turn this country around. And we just need new fresh leadership. Leadership that comes from outside of Washington.”
That's why I'm here, and that kind of rhetoric just might win him that nomination.
Walker quipped that his son, Matt, had shown him pictures comparing his large crowds to Clinton’s town hall, “where there were empty chairs.”
They are still supporters.
Walker then hopped on his Harley Davidson and was gone.
***********
Earlier in the afternoon, about 20 miles away, young Clinton backers had assembled more than 2½ hours before her event’s scheduled start, hoisting handmade signs (“Hillary is my Homegirl”) on the steps of the Dover City Hall.
Hundreds of people packed the halls of the municipal building, filing past city offices (“Tax Collection,” “Planning,” “Community Development”) on their way to a second-floor auditorium, where Clinton spoke in the round.
??????
During her meeting, Clinton reminisced about her 1992 visit to Dover, speculating that some in the crowd had not yet been born at the time. She gave a shout-out to the local girls’ softball team and held up regional institution Market Basket as an example of a company that encourages and supports workers with profit-sharing.
See: Return to Market Basket
Globe hasn't been back since.
Clinton said she would like to use tax credits to encourage other employers to follow suit. In response to a question, she offered a qualified endorsement of President Obama’s nuclear accord with Iran.
Latest: Obama Takes Aim at AIPAC
She isn't.
In response to another, she empathized with a woman pleading for a solution to persistent robocalls.
Noting that she has experienced the same problem at her home, Clinton said, “I’ve got to tell you, this is the first time I’ve been asked that. I don’t know the answer, I will try to find out if there is an answer.”
I'm just going to let it ring. Forget any links. You can search for an answer if you want.
During an answer on climate change, Clinton was interrupted when two young women, later joined by others, interrupted her by chanting “Act on climate!” The chants were drowned out by a standing ovation for Clinton, who suggested the protesters run for office.
I'm sure that was a plant and staged set-up to make that the noticeable event that it is. Campaigns have always worked that way.
Later at a campaign organizing event in Windham, Clinton spoke in the backyard of a 240-year-old house and fielded questions on a pipeline proposed for southern New Hampshire and whether she would consider Market Basket owner Arthur T. Demoulas as a running mate. One man offered that he thought both Clinton and US Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, were “beautiful women.”
(Blog editor rolls his eyes skyward, as if that has anything to do with the offices they seek or hold)
Clinton said she would relay the compliment.
Harassment, isn't it? Certainly politically incorrect to comment on a woman's appearance.
Meanwhile, on Weirs Beach, famous for hosting one of the largest motorcycle rallies in the country, at least a few hundred people could not get in the door for a Trump rally.
Oh, no.
Straight from New York City on his private plane to Laconia Municipal Airport, Trump spoke to a raucous crowd for 40 minutes, taking aim at former Florida governor Jeb Bush, a rival in the Republican primaries, and his super PAC’s $100 million fund-raising haul. Trump suggested there were strings attached to such a largesse.
“If you look at that $100 million, if you think those people aren’t giving without favors...” Trump said as the crowd drowned him out. “Now Hillary raised $46 million, now that is a lot of money. The good news: How much do I have?”
“Ten billion,” many in the audience responded.
“That’s right,” Trump said.
Around the same time, Christie was holding his own town hall meeting in Franklin, kicking off two days of campaigning in the state. Christie has made New Hampshire a top priority in his campaign, and this trip marks his 11th to the state this year.
Graham, too, has made numerous trips to New Hampshire. In Hooksett, he toured Macy Industries, then visited the Stratham Fair.
In contrast, Walker’s visit was the first time he’s been in the state since late May. He had been focusing much of his presidential travel on Iowa, the host of the first nominating contest, the caucuses, and a neighboring state to Wisconsin.
But Walker expressed his affinity for the Granite State....
And the winnah of the 2016 New Hampshire Republican Primary is....
--more--"
Related: Christie lays out plan for overhauling criminal justice
Obama beat him to it and Walker stole the attention:
"Obama tours federal prison, urges criminal justice reforms; Wants nonviolent offenders to get reduced sentences" by Peter Baker New York Times July 17, 2015
EL RENO, Okla. — There is a fine line between president and prisoner.
Yeah. One is a war criminal running free on public perks while the other guy gets less of a perk for less of a crime(s).
As Obama became the first occupant of his high office to visit a federal correctional facility, he said he could not help reflecting on what might have been. After all, as a young man, he had smoked marijuana and tried cocaine. But he did not end up with a prison term, let alone one lasting decades.
Is that how the CIA got control of and groomed him?
“There but for the grace of God,” Obama said after his tour. “And that is something we all have to think about.”
Close to 1 in every 12 black men 25 to 54 are imprisoned, compared with 1 in 60 nonblack men in that age group.
That is under his watch. Remember way back when he came in, the hope he would rectify it. Why did it take so long?
Obama visited the prison to showcase a bid to overhaul America’s criminal justice system in a way none of his predecessors have tried to do, at least not in modern times. Where other presidents worked to make life harder for criminals, Obama wants to make their conditions better.
Tired of all the agenda-pushing photo-op s***.
With 18 months left in office, he has embarked on a new effort to reduce sentences for nonviolent offenders; to make it easier for former convicts to reenter society; and to revamp prison life by easing overcrowding, cracking down on inmate rape, and limiting solitary confinement.
What was once politically unthinkable has become a bipartisan venture.
Yeah, the Koch brothers of all people are behind it.
Obama is making common cause with Republicans and Democrats who have come to the conclusion that the United States has given excessive sentences to too many nonviolent offenders, at an enormous moral and financial cost to the nation.
It's always a money thing with them, pure cost-benefit analysis in the worst way. This isn't out of the goodness of their hearts, it's out of the goodne$$ of their hearts.
*****************
The prison was locked down for his visit. The only inmates Obama saw were six nonviolent drug offenders who were selected to have a conversation with him recorded by the news organization Vice for a documentary on the criminal justice system.
It's like a campaign stop. Locked down sites and pre-screened audiences.
But those six made an impression.
Still, Obama said, “There are people who need to be in prison. I don’t have tolerance for violent criminals; many of them may have made mistakes, but we need to keep our communities safe.”
Except for illegals they have to release. Citizens and accused terrorists? In you go....
As for no tolerance (???? in this age of political correct tyranny that must be tolerated ????) for violent criminals, he's the most violent in the world today. He heads a global killing machine that is responsible for millions of deaths.
More than 2.2 million Americans are behind bars, and one study found that the size of the state and federal prison population is seven times what it was 40 years ago. Although the United States makes up less than 5 percent of the world’s population, it has more than 20 percent of the world’s prison population.
And they called it LAND of the FREE????!!!
--more--"
Also see: Obama commutes sentences of 46 nonviolent drug offenders
And I never even mentioned Guantanamo and indefinite detention.
UPDATE:
"Donald Trump's run already tells us everything we need to know about why the Republican Party is in such desperate trouble. The problem for the GOP is that the inmates are running the asylum.
Trump might be a deeply clownish figure, immune to facts, evidence, and good taste — but he’s not stupid. He clearly understands, as many members of the Republican Party did before bashing immigrants became a political liability, the way to the heart of a rank-and-file Republican voter.
This, in a nutshell, is the dilemma that risks turning the GOP into a rump political party. Their base of voters is overwhelmingly white and old, cultivated by two generations of Republican officeholders who played on their resentments and fears.
I reject the stereotyping.
Now the GOP is paying the price. Those white voters don’t much like illegal immigrants, don’t look kindly on politicians who want to improve the party’s appeal among Hispanics, and can clearly be reached by a racist demagogue with lots of money and bad hair."
Cohen is also the name of Trump's campaign director.
