Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Arkansas Granny

Arkansas Granny's Journal
Arkansas Granny's Journal
December 29, 2016

Subject: [President-Elect Pool] Transition pool 16 - PEOTUS gaggle

The president-elect took a number of questions from reporters on the steps of his Mar-a-Lago resort, flanked by Don King.

PEOTUS was asked again about Kerry's speech, he said they have "different views... we'll see what happens after January 20, right?"

Quizzed about the claim that Sprint 5,000 jobs were previously announced he said that Sprint said "because of me they are doing 5,000 jobs in this country ."

He was asked about efforts to disclose intelligence about Russian interference in the election, to which PEOTUS responded "they should do the best they can, figure it all out."

http://publicpool.kinja.com/subject-president-elect-pool-transition-pool-16-pe-1790575241


More at link.

December 27, 2016

Trump cant dissolve his foundation during investigation, NY attorney general says

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Donald Trump cannot move ahead with his plan to dismantle his charitable foundation because state prosecutors are probing whether the president-elect personally benefited from its spending, the New York attorney general’s office said Tuesday.

“The Trump foundation is still under investigation by this office and cannot legally dissolve until that investigation is complete,” said Amy Spitalnick, spokeswoman for state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

<snip>

Trump’s charity has admitted that it violated IRS regulations barring it from using its money or assets to benefit Trump, his family, his companies or substantial contributors to the foundation.

The admissions by the Donald J. Trump Foundation were in a 2015 tax filing made public after a presidential election in which it was revealed that Trump has used the charity to settle lawsuits, make a $25,000 political contribution and purchase items, such as a painting of himself, that was displayed at one of his properties.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/ny-ag-trump-cant-dissolve-foundation-investigation/


Did DT think that he could side step the investigation by closing the foundation. I wonder what other violations will turn up due to the investigation.
December 24, 2016

AP: Eric Trump Foundation Flouts Charity Standards

A charity operated by one of Donald Trump's sons flouts philanthropic standards by financially benefiting charities connected to the Trump family and members of the charity's board, an Associated Press investigation shows.

The AP found that Eric Trump has exaggerated the size of his foundation and the donations it receives. At the same time, the charity's payments for services or donations to other groups repeatedly went to one of Donald Trump's private golf clubs and to charities linked to the Trumps by corporate, family or philanthropic relationships.

The Eric Trump Foundation has raised $7.3 million mostly for children ill with cancer, according to IRS filings since 2007. The charity has long raised money from donors willing to make large contributions to hobnob with the Trumps. For example, golf at the foundation's chief 2015 fundraiser cost up to $50,000 per foursome. Donald Trump often attends these events, which include a gala dinner, and mixes with the guests and has his photo taken.

On Wednesday, the younger Trump said he'll cease soliciting donations for his nonprofit to avoid accusations that contributions could be perceived as a means to buy access to the Trump White House.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/ap-eric-trump-foundation-flouts-charity-standards-44361388


Nothing but a bunch of grifters.
December 13, 2016

Scientists are frantically copying U.S. climate data, fearing it might vanish under Trump

Alarmed that decades of crucial climate measurements could vanish under a hostile Trump administration, scientists have begun a feverish attempt to copy reams of government data onto independent servers in hopes of safeguarding it from any political interference.

The efforts include a “guerrilla archiving event” in Toronto where experts will copy irreplaceable public data, meetings at the University of Pennsylvania focused on how to download as much federal data as possible in the coming weeks, and a collaboration of scientists and database experts who are compiling an online site to harbor scientific information.

“Something that seemed a little paranoid to me before all of a sudden seems potentially realistic, or at least something you’d want to hedge against,” said Nick Santos, an environmental researcher at the University of California at Davis, who over the weekend began copying government climate data onto a nongovernment server, where it will remain available to the public. “Doing this can only be a good thing. Hopefully they leave everything in place. But if not, we’re planning for that.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/12/13/scientists-are-frantically-copying-u-s-climate-data-fearing-it-might-vanish-under-trump/?postshare=3751481645413207&tid=ss_tw&utm_term=.1c4ceeb9da3b


I hadn't considered that data might be destroyed, but I suppose it is a possibility. I have a feeling we're going back to the dark ages.
December 9, 2016

Talk about pay to play!

Six donors that Trump appointed gave almost $12 million with their families to back his campaign and the party

With his choice of restaurant executive Andrew Puzder to serve as his Labor secretary, President-elect Donald Trump has now tapped six big donors and fundraisers to serve in his administration, lining up an unprecedented concentration of wealthy backers for top posts.

Together with their families, Trump's nominees gave $11.6 million to support his presidential bid, his allied super PACs and the Republican National Committee, according to a Washington Post analysis of federal campaign filings.

One single appointee — WWE co-founder Linda McMahon — contributed $7.5 million to back his White House run before Trump selected her to run the Small Business Administration this week. She and her husband Vince were also the top outside donors to Trump's private foundation.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/12/09/the-six-donors-trump-appointed-to-his-administration-gave-almost-12-million-with-their-families-to-his-campaign-and-the-party/?postshare=4101481310955345&tid=ss_tw&utm_term=.57e18ba12350

December 7, 2016

Exclusive: Trump chooses pro wrestling magnate Linda McMahon to head SBA

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-sba-id

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump plans to nominate professional wrestling magnate and former Senate candidate Linda McMahon as his choice to head the Small Business Administration, transition officials told Reuters on Wednesday.

The announcement was expected later on Wednesday.

McMahon, 68, is a co-founder and former CEO of the professional wrestling franchise WWE, which is based in Stamford, Connecticut. She ran unsuccessfully for a U.S. Senate seat in Connecticut in 2010. She was an early supporter of Trump's presidential campaign.

The SBA, which has at least one office in every U.S. state, provides support to small businesses such as extending loans and making sure they get a percentage of federal contracts.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-sba-idUSKBN13W2T0

December 7, 2016

Why conservatives might be more likely to fall for fake news

This week, a North Carolina man took an AR-15 rifle into DC's Comet Ping Pong pizza restaurant to "self-investigate" a fake internet conspiracy theory involving Hillary Clinton, John Podesta and a child sex ring.

It's the latest example of the impact that "fake news" -- untrue or wildly misleading stories masquerading as fact, usually to appeal to a particular worldview -- is having on the real world.

Numerous reports have highlighted how fake news creators began targeting conservative readers after finding them receptive to stories that reinforced their existing worldview. As one fake news creator told NPR, "We've tried to do [fake news with] liberals. It just has never worked, it never takes off. You'll get debunked within the first two comments and then the whole thing just kind of fizzles out."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/12/07/why-conservatives-might-be-more-likely-to-fall-for-fake-news/?tid=sm_tw&utm_term=.418565ec2ad2

November 23, 2016

I'm watching Kelly Anne Conway being interviewed on PBS and I can't help but wonder

how much Trump gave her when she sold him her soul. She is a perfect spokesperson for him. She can lie with a straight face and turn every question into an indictment of anyone who has opposed or criticized Trump. What a disgusting piece of work.

November 17, 2016

Owning Our Shit (Profanity)

I’m about to piss y’all off. I might even lose some friends because of this. If you’re too much of a (grab ’em by the) pussy to handle it or tired of angry rants, maybe you should stop reading now because I’m going in on all of us. It’s been a week since the election and I’ve had some time to weep, rage, drink a bottle of wine, gather my thoughts, eat lots of carbs, weep again and drink two more bottles of wine, but still I have not yet been able to come to peace with the worst thing that has happened to this country since they made a standalone movie for Catwoman. But maybe bitching to you, my friends, my fellow progressives, may help bring some solace and help us understand where we went wrong so we can come together and kumbaya or whatever.

I’ve got one major thing to say to you. HILLARY CLINTON DID NOT FAIL US, WE FAILED HILLARY CLINTON. Now I know, I know, she won the popular vote by almost two million votes, and I know that a lot of you were a part of that so yay go ahead and pat yourselves on the back. You done? Okay. You say she was flawed? Y’all motherfuckers didn’t DESERVE the candidate you got, and every day I watched as progressives posted on Facebook about how much they hated corrupt Clinton, talked about how imperfect she was as a candidate, posted articles that were flat out lies, or wrote things like #ImWithHerIGuess. Your enthusiasm for the former First Lady, Senator of New York, Secretary of State and first ever possible female President was shameful when you compare it to the enthusiasm the other side had for their “flawed” (racist homophobic tax evading possible rapist who has to make his undocumented Mexican maids wash the orange out of his bedsheets every fucking morning) candidate. If you would have just swallowed your pride and given Hillary half of the love you gave Obama, then we might not have woken up on November 9th worrying about families being torn apart, marriage licenses being taken way, guns getting into the wrong hands and women having to stay pregnant after getting raped. Does that sound too harsh? Too bad! This reality show is now our reality and we need to accept it and own our shit. We stepped in it and now its going to take at least four years to clean it off.

https://medium.com/@adrianjanchondo/owning-our-shit-df551475fce7#.aron0t37q

Missing entry

Profile Information

Gender: Female
Hometown: Arkansas
Home country: USA
Member since: Thu Jan 13, 2005, 04:13 PM
Number of posts: 31,514
Latest Discussions»Arkansas Granny's Journal