The Donald
Don’t shop online at Amazon or Zappos. But don’t buy goods at Wal-Mart or Kmart, either. Don’t drink Miller or Coors beer, and don’t eat See’s candies. Don’t buy clothes at Macy’s or T.J. Maxx.
Mental Compency to be President - The extreme result for the saying "Anyone can become President of the United States"
Related Issues: Talking
Points Great reasons to
dislike Donald Trump His Hair Often speculated as a "rug" or "piece," Trump's hair has taken on a life of its own. A swirling, unnaturally orange wisp, it wraps around his whole head, plunges all the way down to his eyebrows and flips back up again. For years, scientists have been trying to sample it to study its perplexing anti-gravitational properties, but probably haven't been able to afford the exorbitant licensing fees he demands. His Reality Show The Apprentice is a reality show hosted by Trump, in which contestants compete to win the prize of working for Donald Trump. Which would be like winning the lottery, only the ATM you must use for the rest of your life is a starving lion's mouth. At the end of each episode, he and his children gleefully eliminate contestants with the creative catchphrase "You're fired!" from behind a giant boardroom table, turning what is often the worst moment in person's life in to primetime television fodder. His Political Beliefs In the years leading up to his run for president, Trump made his controversial political beliefs known to anyone who would listen. Often viewed as nothing more than a public relations stunt to promote his TV show and products, his politics are mostly just a mix of bragging about how great America used to be and bullying other countries and politicians who don't feel the same way. Since declaring his bid for the Republican ticket, however, his views have become increasingly polarizing to the point where his business partners are starting to cut ties with him. That "Birther" Stuff Before President Obama released his official birth certificate, there was a small, but extremely vocal group who for some reason decided that he wasn't born in the US. Trump proudly spearheaded this movement armed with zero evidence, going so far as to errantly releasing what he thought was his own birth certificate, only to realize it wasn't an official state document. Even after the question of Obama's birth certificate was officially answered and the "birther" movement moved fully into the conspiracy theorist camp, Trump still refused to believe it. The Flaunting Of His Wealth Trump never misses an opportunity to plug his casinos, luxury buildings, golf courses, TV show, various products, or net worth even in the most inappropriate times. Arguably the most egregious example being after 9/11 when he interjected himself into the controversy over the building of a mosque near ground zero, offering millions of dollars for what was essentially a bribe to keep it his preferred distance away from the site. He Doesn't Believe In Global Warming Because It Snows Sometimes Never missing an opportunity to point to a thermometer below freezing, or that one time he was cold in Los Angeles, Trump feels his own personal experience with the weather is all the evidence he needs to deny global warming. Never mind the global consensus of the scientific community, Trump is backed up by secret information the general public doesn't know about. For example, the entire concept of climate change is a conspiracy cooked up by the Chinese to "make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive," which is an actual quote from his Twitter account. And Speaking Of His Twitter Account The treasure trove that is Donald
Trump's twitter account is arguably unparalleled in terms of
absurdity. In addition to that conspiratorial claim about
the Chinese inventing global warming, he never fails to
squeeze his patented brand of delusional self-promotion into
140 characters, no matter what the subject:On diet soda: "I
have never seen a thin person drinking Diet Coke."On using
Hurricane Sandy for promotional purposes: "Not one Trump
building, even those along the Hudson River, lost power
— a testament to quality systems and construction."On
how Obama is free-throwing us into oblivion: "Why is Obama
playing basketball today? This is why our country is in
trouble!" 20 Unbelievable
Donald Trump Quotes From the Miami Debate and His
Presidential Run Donald Trump Quotes on Minorities and Immigration One of the most discussed topics of the 2016 presidential election is Donald Trump on immigration, as he makes his strong viewpoints well known among voters. 1.During a press conference announcing his candidacy for presidency, Trump accused Mexican immigrants of being less-than-stellar citizens: “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best … They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” 2.When news broke that Mexican drug lord “El Chapo” had escaped from a U.S. prison, Trump had harsh words to say over Twitter: “Mexico’s biggest drug lord escapes from jail. Unbelievable corruption and USA is paying the price. I told you so!” 3.Following the San Bernandino, Calif., shootings, Donald Trump’s campaign released a statement asking for, “… a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.” 4.In a March interview with CNN, Trump said: “I think Islam hates us.” When pressed by Anderson Cooper for more details, Trump added that the war was against radical Islam but that, “it’s very hard to define. It’s very hard to separate. Because you don’t know who’s who.” Donald Trump Quotes on Women While Trump claims to “cherish” women, the Republican frontrunner has made his share of degrading comments about women since announcing his presidential campaign. From Donald Trump on Megyn Kelly to his thoughts on Hillary Clinton, learn what he’s had to say. 1.During the Aug. 6 Republican debate, moderator Megyn Kelly called Trump out for calling women he doesn’t like “fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals.” He responded by quipping, “Only Rosie O’Donnell.” 2.Following the Aug. 6 debate, Trump criticized Kelly, saying, “You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her wherever.” 3.In an August 2015 interview with The New York Times, Trump admitted that sometimes he takes his insults a little too far, then promptly said, “Heidi Klum. Sadly, she’s no longer a 10.” 4.During a Dec. 21 campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Mich., Trump lashed out at Hillary Clinton using a decidedly misogynistic term: “Even her race to Obama, she was gonna beat Obama,” he said. “I don’t know who would be worse, I don’t know. How does it get worse? But she was gonna beat — she was favored to win — and she got schlonged. She lost.” Donald Trump Quotes on Being Rich Donald Trump is a wealthy man and he won’t let voters forget it. Some of the most memorable Donald Trump quotes have been about the size of his bank account. 1.At his presidential announcement in New York, Donald Trump’s net worth became a topic of discussion. He said, “I have a total net worth and now with the increase it will be well over $10 billion, but here total net worth of $8 billion … I’m not doing that to brag because you know what? I don’t have to brag. I don’t have to.” 2.On Super Tuesday on March 8 Trump took to Twitter to remind voters why they should vote for him: Donald Trump Quotes on Republican Candidates and Party Leaders As the Republican frontrunner, Donald Trump doesn’t seem to care what he says about his fellow candidates or the leaders of the party he wants to represent in the White House. 1.“Just watched lightweight Marco Rubio lying to a small crowd about my past record,” Trump tweeted. “He is not as smart as Cruz, and may be an even bigger liar.” 2.In March 2016, after Mitt Romney gave a speech on why Americans should not vote for Trump, the presidential candidate tweeted: “Looks like two-time failed candidate Mitt Romney is going to be telling Republicans how to get elected. Not a good messenger!” 3.During a September 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, Carly Fiorina appeared on TV. Trump reacted, saying, “Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?! I mean, she’s a woman, and I’m not s’posedta say bad things, but really, folks, come on. Are we serious?” 4.At the March 10 Miami debate, Trump undermined the Republican party, saying, “One of the biggest political events anywhere in the world is happening right now with the Republican Party. Millions and millions of people are going out to the polls and they are voting … The Republican establishment, or whatever you want to call it, should embrace what’s happening.” Donald Trump Quotes on His Presidency and War If elected, Trump is sure he’ll make a great president; many of the best Donald Trump quotes have been on the subject of his candidacy and what will happen if he takes the reigns of the White House. 1.After Romney denounced Trump’s campaign, the Republican candidate tweeted: “I am the only one who can beat Hillary Clinton. I am not a Mitt Romney, who doesn’t know how to win. Hillary wants no part of ‘Trump.'” 2.When asked by moderator Jake Tapper at the March 10 debate why voters should trust he will run the country differently than his businesses, which employ foreign workers and manufacture abroad, Trump explained, “Because nobody knows the system better than me. I know the H1B. I know the H2B. Nobody knows it better than me.” The H1B and H2B are U.S. work visas. 3.In an interview with Fox and Friends, the Republican frontrunner said he would kill the family members of ISIS, saying, “And the other thing is with the terrorists, you have to take out their families. They, they care about their lives. Don’t kid yourself.” Donald Trump Quotes on Himself One thing the Republican frontrunner doesn’t lack is confidence and that makes for some interesting and sometimes bizarre moments. 1.After Marco Rubio made fun of Donald Trump’s hands, Trump asked at a March 3 debate, “Look at those hands, are they small hands? And, he referred to my hands — ‘If they’re small, something else must be small.’ I guarantee you there’s no problem. I guarantee.” 2.In an apology to Kelly and for comments he made about immigration and John McCain, Trump said, “I believe in apologizing. But to apologize for me is very difficult. I definitely would apologize if I were wrong on something.” 3.On March 11, Trump admitted at a
press conference that there’s two versions of himself,
“There’s the public version — and people see
that, and I don’t know what they see exactly, but it
seems to have worked over my lifetime — but it’s
probably different, I think, than the personal Donald
Trump. Jon Stewart
on President-elect Trump, hypocrisy in America alt-right The last few weeks have been a
difficult time for many families in our country.
Reports
of bullying against Muslim, Latino, African-American and
LGBTQ Our team is inspired by the strength and the resolve of families in Los Angeles, in California and throughout the country who are continuing to organize and fight for the future that their children deserve. These amazing families and their children should not and will not stand alone. Over the last two weeks, I've often thought of a quote from Albert Camus' The Plague, "What's true of all the evils in the world is true of plague as well. It helps men to rise above themselves." Although each of our organizations have our own mission and our own strategies, Parent Revolution is committed to rising above these differences to work with all community organizations and civic leaders who share a vision of our country that includes all of our families and all of our children. As we look ahead to challenging times,
we are thankful for all of you and all of your work. At
Parent Revolution, we will continue to follow the example of
families in California, who never give up and keep working
for what is right, even when it is hard. No, LGBT People
Aren't Exempt from Donald Trump's Blatant Bigotry Trump very publicly, often in large media forums, offers up vague hopes about attaining justice (on a whole range of issues, with his "make America great again" mantra), without explaining how he'll do that. He has in the distant past said that he supports non-discrimination laws that protect gay people, and even said last year, when asked on Meet the Press, that gay workers shouldn't be fired from their jobs because of their sexual orientation -- though didn't offer support for laws barring such discrimination, and certainly didn't say he'd pressure Congress to pass such a law. He offered more vagueness with an ounce of hope when asked by a lesbian reporter on the campaign trail in New Hampshire about LGBT rights, saying simply, "we're going to bring people together." Trump has been much less vocal when the media spotlight is on him, however, about his opposition to gay marriage. Certainly he's much less vocal about it than he is about, say, immigration policy, so we're not hearing his anti-gay positions as much or at all in mainstream media, or in his speeches, while he continues talking very publicly about building his wall on the border. But he is definitely speaking forcefully on his anti-gay positions to evangelicals on their media platforms, in their language, using the dog whistle on LGBT rights even if he's using the fog horn on other issues. Trump is much smarter than many give him credit for. By speaking with the fog horn on many issues it gives the impression that he places low priority on the issues with which he's using the dog whistle. In fact, he's calibrated what to speak softly on and what to take big, no matter that the positions may be equally extreme. In his Nevada victory speech, he said, "I love the evangelicals!" Only looking at Christian evangelical media forums, however, would you understand why they have reason to love him back: Last week in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network's David Brody, Trump called the Supreme Court's Obergefell marriage equality ruling "shocking" and told evangelicals to "trust me" on the issue, telegraphing that he would get the marriage equality ruling overturned. On Fox News Sunday, Trump in fact said he'd consider appointing judges who would overturn the Obergefell ruling, taking up a position that Marco Rubio had announced weeks earlier. Trump came out in support of the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA), which anti-gay Republicans introduced in Congress last year. It would allow government entities, non-profit organizations that receive government funds and businesses contracted with the federal government to discriminate against gays. Basically, it would allow for the kind of exemption on a whole variety of issues that the Kentucky clerk Kim Davis was demanding. While Trump had initially criticized Kim Davis in the mainstream media for not doing her job, he later quietly backtracked in talking to evengelical Christian-focused media outlets and when pressed in an interview with me at the Values Voter Summit last fall, he expressed support for Davis and her position. Trump has attacked Chief Justice John Roberts -- who voted against LGBT rights consistently -- as insufficiently conservative, and recently promised in a Christian Broadcasting Network town hall with Pat Robertson at Robertson's Regent University that he would put far right extremists on the court who would get Roe v. Wade "unpassed." At a South Carolina forum he suggested Justice Clarence Thomas, who is as anti-gay as Justice Samuel Alito and the late Justice Antonin Scalia, is a model for his own appointees if he becomes president, calling Thomas "very strong and consistent." This has huge ramifications considering the GOP will block president Obama from replacing Scalia and the next president may have that opportunity. All of the above is consistent with Trump's tweet in response to the Obergefell ruling last June: Even if Trump is serious about supporting anti-discrimination laws, he's not only not shown any evidence that he'd actually push Congress to pass them, but since he also supports FADA he'd be in favor of broad religious exemptions included within any such laws, which would allow those who want to discriminate to continue to discriminate. As we've seen, Trump is a master of
manipulation (of media and of constituencies) who learned
that on the gay issue he could give mixed signals, implying
"tolerance" of LGBT rights while on the campaign trail but
then speaking to anti-gay bigots within their forums and
telling them exactly what they want to hear. Unlike on
immigration, where he sees the swirling energy of the
extreme right and its demand for a very loud voice, he knows
evangelicals, who've suffered defeats, will accept someone
who more quietly makes promises -- as long as he's a winner.
And they're intent on making him a winner and holding him to
those promises. My Son Was
Murdered in the Line of Duty by Right-Wing Extremists. Trump
Should Focus on the Threat Posed by ‘Sovereign
Citizens.’ “It’s a shame what’s been happening to our great, truly great law enforcement officers,” Trump said as he signed the order. He was making good on promises to push back against the Black Lives Matter movement against police brutality, which some conservatives have cast as a “war on cops.” But a different, lesser-known ideology has a longer and more substantiated history of leading to deadly confrontations between extremists and police: the sovereign citizen movement. The far-right philosophy denies the legitimacy of nearly all government. Between 1990 and 2015, people associated with the movement killed 54 law enforcement and criminal justice officials, according to an analysis by the University of Maryland’s START (Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism) program. Sovereign citizens and similar right-wing extremists were responsible for 80 percent of ideologically motivated murders of on-duty police officers during those years, compared to only 12 such killings by Al Qaeda and other jihadists. The sovereign citizen movement’s ranks are surprisingly deep. The extremism experts at the Southern Poverty Law Center estimated in 2011 that there may be 100,000 “hard-core sovereign believers.” A 2015 survey of law enforcement officers by Charles Kurzman of the University of North Carolina and David Schanzer of Duke University found that 74 percent of American criminal justice agencies see anti-government extremism a threat, nearly twice as many as highlighted the danger from radical jihadists. Bob Paudert is tragically well acquainted with this threat. A former West Memphis, Arkansas, police chief, his son Brandon Paudert was killed in 2010 by two followers of the sovereign citizen movement. Brandon and a fellow officer pulled over a father and a son, who opened fire during the traffic stop before fleeing and ultimately dying in a shoot-out themselves. Since then, Paudert has become an expert on these extremists. He spoke with The Trace about his son’s death, and how how federal authorities might help local police prepare for encounters that can quickly turn deadly. My son was a sergeant out on a four-car interstate highway patrol. One of the others on that team, Officer Bill Evans, stopped a white Dodge Caravan driven by a father and son, Jerry Kane, Jr., and Joseph Kane. Joseph was 16 years old. Brandon, my son, pulled up in his cruiser 10 minutes later to assist Evans with the stop. He ran the van’s license plate, and learned that it was registered to a church in Ohio. Jerry said he was a pastor and a sovereign citizen. No one at the time knew what that meant. My son thought he’d stopped a pastor who was traveling, evangelizing. He wasn’t worried about his safety. The pastor gave my son and officer Evans a ton of paperwork — none of it was recognizable as a state registration. He didn’t even have a license. Instead, he handed over a homemade “traveller’s card.” Everyone was confused. They didn’t know what this paperwork was. Their guard was down to zero. Jerry Kane was at that time ready to kill the next police officer that stopped him at a traffic stop. His son got out of the van with an AK-47 and opened fire. Two minutes after my son arrived, he and Evans were dead. You almost think events like this can’t happen. Evans was one of the best-trained SWAT team members I’d ever seen. He’d been in dangerous situations, high-risk traffic stops. And he was killed by a 16-year-old kid without even drawing his weapon. randon Paudert poses with parents at his graduation from the police academy in Arkansas in 2003. (Photo provided by Bob Paudert) My son was a seven-year veteran of the force. He’d worked drug cases, and the team he was leading that day was looking out for traffickers. But he didn’t know these two posed any kind of threat. That night, the FBI arrived on the scene. My assistant chief asked them, “What are you doing here?” It turned out these guys were in the FBI’s database as sovereign citizens. So why didn’t my son get a hit when he checked the registration of the car? Why didn’t the FBI share this information with us? Not one chief or sheriff I spoke to afterward knew about the sovereign citizens. Later, I was invited to Washington, D.C., to meet with the FBI. I wanted to know why my men didn’t know these guys were sovereign citizens. The Kanes were in a database, but were listed as white-collar criminals for evading taxes, not as domestic terrorists. If Bill and Brandon had known what they were confronting that day when they pulled over that van, they might be alive. They could have called for backup. I don’t want that to happen to any other officers. A year after the shooting, I retired and joined the State and Local Anti-Terrorism (SLATT), a program funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. It was my job to inform officers around the country about the threat extremists like sovereign citizens might pose to their safety. I travelled to every state except Hawaii. Sovereign citizens have been more active in recent years because of Second Amendment issues. We found fear of new gun laws under Obama contributed to fear of the government, growth of the movement, and to the degree of hostility toward government employees. They’re a bigger problem than people realize. People don’t realize the individual who ambushed and killed three officers in Baton Rouge last year was a sovereign citizen. But for some reason, our government has de-emphasized the need to keep track of sovereign citizens and raise awareness of the movement among law enforcement. Last year, the SLATT program was cut. About 25 instructors lost their jobs. The DOJ decided not to fund it. No one knew why. But I still go out on my own. Federal law enforcement agencies consider the movement a serious enough threat to put out reports on them, but they don’t actually collect intelligence on individual sovereigns like they would jihadists. I agree taxes are too high, but I don’t think we should go against the government, certainly not with guns. The FBI keeps databases on violent gang members that local police can access, so why can’t they do the same for sovereigns? The government ought to collect and store information about this group that officers can be alerted to in cases like traffic stops, especially if the individuals have a criminal history. Maybe Obama didn’t want to stir right-wing extremists up by cracking down on them. I think he skirted around the issue. He never came down on these groups like I thought they would, not even on the white supremacists. I never understood why the government doesn’t put more effort into stopping homegrown terrorism. I’m hopeful that the Trump
administration will do more about the threat of domestic
terrorism, but reports that he’s shutting down a
Department of Homeland Security program doesn’t bode
well. I know the president says he is going after ISIS, but
I’ve never heard anything about what he plans to do the
dangerous extremists most likely to kill police. House
Republicans Just Voted to Eliminate the Only Federal Agency
That Makes Sure Voting Machines Can’t Be Hacked Republicans would make it easier to steal an election by killing the Election Assistance Commission. In a little-noticed 6-3 vote today, the House Administration Committee voted along party lines to eliminate the Election Assistance Commission, which helps states run elections and is the only federal agency charged with making sure voting machines can’t be hacked. The EAC was created after the disastrous 2000 election in Florida as part of the Help America Vote Act to rectify problems like butterfly ballots and hanging chads. (Republicans have tried to kill the agency for years.) The Committee also voted to eliminate the public-financing system for presidential elections dating back to the 1970s. THERE ARE 868 FEWER PLACES TO VOTE IN 2016 BECAUSE THE SUPREME COURT GUTTED THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT THE REAL ELECTION FRAUD “It is my firm belief that the EAC has outlived its usefulness and purpose,” said Committee chair Gregg Harper (R-MS), explaining why his bill transfers the EAC’s authority to the Federal Election Commission. Thirty-eight pro-democracy groups, including the NAACP and Common Cause, denounced the vote. “The EAC is the only federal agency which has as its central mission the improvement of election administration, and it undertakes essential activities that no other institution is equipped to address,” says the Brennan Center for Justice. This move is particularly worrisome given reports that suspected Russian hackers attempted to access voter-registration systems in more than 20 states during the 2016 election. Moreover, the Presidential Commission on Election Administration set up by President Obama in 2014 outlined an “impending crisis” in voting technology and the Brennan Center found that 42 states used voting machines in 2016 that were at least a decade-old and at risk of failing. The EAC was the agency tasked with making sure these voting systems were both modernized and secure. The EAC is not a perfect agency. It lacked a quorum of members from 2010 to 2014 and was paralyzed by inaction. Then, last year, its executive director unilaterally approved controversial proof-of-citizenship laws in Kansas, Georgia, and Alabama, which the federal courts subsequently blocked. But given the threats to American democracy at this moment, the EAC needs to be strengthened, not replaced. It’s particularly ironic that the
Trump administration is preparing to launch a massive
investigation into nonexistent voter fraud based on the lie
that millions voted illegally while House Republicans are
shutting down the agency that is supposed to make sure
America’s elections are secure. It’s more proof of
how the GOP’s real agenda is to make it harder to
vote. Donald Trump
featured in terrorist recruitment video According to media reports, the 51-minute video from the Somalia-based group with ties to al-Qaeda uses footage from the Republican presidential candidate's speech last month calling for a ban on Muslim immigration to the U.S. "There are ominous clouds gathering in
your horizon," al-Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki says in an
archival sound bite used in the video. "Yesterday, America
was a land of slavery, segregation, lynching, and Ku Klux
Klan. And tomorrow it will be a land of religious
discrimination and concentration camps." Donald Trump
featured in terrorist recruitment video According to media reports, the 51-minute video from the Somalia-based group with ties to al-Qaeda uses footage from the Republican presidential candidate's speech last month calling for a ban on Muslim immigration to the U.S. "There are ominous clouds gathering in
your horizon," al-Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki says in an
archival sound bite used in the video. "Yesterday, America
was a land of slavery, segregation, lynching, and Ku Klux
Klan. And tomorrow it will be a land of religious
discrimination and concentration camps." President
Trump Wants to Kill These 17 Federal Agencies and Programs.
Here's What They Actually Cost (and Do) A host of planned funding cuts to federal agencies, reported last week by The Hill, are part of the Trump administration's desire to eliminate roughly $10.5 trillion in spending over the next 10 years -- nearly all of the federal government's discretionary spending. Yet Trump has vowed not to cut entitlements, such as Medicare and Social Security, and promised to beef up military spending, which represents the lion's share of federal spending -- making it hard for him to do more than chip away at the margins of the nearly $20 trillion national debt. What, then, would the reported cuts accomplish? The answer appears to be defunding a number of projects seen as liberal darlings -- including groups aimed at preserving and supporting the environment, civil rights protections, the arts, minority-owned businesses, and public broadcasting. CONGRESS President Trump's Nominee Wants to Cut the Budget. He Just Won't Say How. To put this in context: The total cost, per American, of the following 17 programs said to be on the chopping block is $22.36 per year-- of which more than a third comes from a single clean-energy program. By contrast, housing subsidies, like the mortgage interest deduction, which are disproportionately used by the wealthy, cost $296.29 per American. Here's a list of the various federal agencies reportedly on the chopping block, along with some of their key initiatives -- and some of the jobs supported. Corporation for Public Broadcasting Budget: $445 million Cost per American: $1.37 Republicans have long been known to want to kill government funding for Big Bird. But the CPB is more than Sesame Street. For instance, the CPB is backing a program through Wisconsin Public Television called "Veterans Coming Home" -- which includes a series depicting what some of the 2.5 million veterans endure as they reenter society, but also funds services, such as job fairs, for returning vets. National Endowment for the Arts Budget: $150 million Cost per American: $0.46 The NEA supports art, and those who make it, across the country. Eliminating funding would kill hundreds of programs, like Art 365, which grants five Oklahoma artists $12,000 to support their work. Past grantees photographed "remote portions of our National Parks and wilderness areas," and used aerial photography to look at churchgoing demographics in Oklahoma. National Endowment for the Humanities Budget: $150 million Cost per American: $0.46 The NEH offers research funding to institutions like museums, colleges, and libraries. The agency has backed 16 Pulitzer winners and Ken Burns' The Civil War series, among other notable endeavors. One recent grantee is Michael Bernath, an associate professor at the University of Miami, who received $6,000 for his project "In a Land of Strangers: Northern Teachers in the Old South and the Emergence of American Sectional Identity, 1790-1865." Minority Business Development Agency Budget: $36 million Cost per American: $0.11 This federal agency helps minority-owned businesses "with the capital, contracts, and markets they need to grow," according to its website. The agency also advocates and promotes "minority-owned business with elected officials, policy makers, and business leaders." The MBDA says it helped a minority-owned construction company in Phoenix, for instance, secure $60 million in loans -- which allowed the company to expand operations and hire more employees. Read Next: Karen Finley: Donald Trump Owes All of His Wealth to Arts and Culture Economic Development Administration Budget: $215 million Cost per American: $0.66 The EDA supports "distressed communities with their infrastructure needs that will help drive regional growth," promotes "economic development projects that spur entrepreneurship and innovation at the regional level," and "provides direct technical assistance to firms negatively impacted by global trade." What does this mean? Seven years ago, the EDA gave a $2 million grant to the Pacific Northwest Diabetes Institute to buy new scientific equipment, in turn providing lab space that would support other high-tech companies in the area. The EDA says the grant ended up creating 184 jobs, saving another 110, and attracting another $500,000 in private investment. International Trade Administration Budget: $521 million Cost per American: $1.60 The ITA helps American businesses sell more products to overseas markets. One beneficiary was the Iron Fist Brewing Company, located in Vista, California. A representative of the San Diego U.S. Export Assistance Center connected with the brewery at a convention in 2013, and helped them export to Australia, Canada, Finland, Hong Kong, among others. Iron Fist hired two more employees thanks to new export revenue, the ITA reports. Manufacturing Extension Partnership Budget: $142 million Cost per American: $0.43 This is a so-called public-private partnership that helps small to medium-size manufacturers become more efficient, build new products, and improve sales and marketing techniques. Missoula, Mont.-based organic soap wholesaler Botanie used their local MEP affiliate to help keep pace with their growing business -- by, for instance, using more sophisticated technologies to track inventory. The MEP says it helped Botanie save $280,000 and retain six jobs. Office of Community Oriented Policing Services Budget: $286 million Cost per American: $0.88 The majority of COPS' annual budget is dedicated to hiring more police personnel to help local communities improve their policing. Last October, the Justice Department announced $119 million in grant funding for 184 law enforcement agencies across the country -- resulting in 900 created or saved jobs, the office reports. Among the recipients was the Dallas Police Department, which had lost five officers in an ambush a few months earlier; it got $3.1 million to hire 25 officers. ABORTION Republicans Take Upper Hand in Fight to Defund Planned Parenthood Office of Violence Against Women Budget: $480 million Cost per American: $1.48 The OVW runs 25 grant programs created through the 1994 Violence Against Women Act, in an effort to reduce domestic violence, sexual assault and dating violence. The police department and city government of Andalusia, Ala., for instance, received a $450,000 grant over three years that will cover domestic violence training for officers as well as the hiring of three additional police officers. Legal Services Corporation Budget: $503 million Cost per American: $1.55 The LSC helps poor Americans afford legal services, currently funding "134 independent legal aid organizations with more than 800 offices" in the U.S. For instance, the Atlanta Legal Aid Society -- which served nearly 33,000 people in 2015, including about 15,000 children -- received $3.8 million last year, supporting 109 positions. Two-thirds of clients served were African-Americans. Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department Budget: $156 million Cost per American: $0.48 The Civil Rights Division, a part of the Justice Department that employs 750 positions, works to fight discrimination and protect Americans' voting rights. Recently a Civil Rights Division investigation of the Chicago Police Department found that "CPD officers’ practices unnecessarily endanger themselves and result in unnecessary and avoidable uses of force." The city of Chicago and the Justice Department reached an agreement to improve the city's policing practices. Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Justice Department Budget: $123 million Cost per American: $0.38 The ENRD brings cases against those who break pollution-related laws. In one recent case, the division levied a $160,000 penalty against Iowa's Meadowvale Dairy for violating the Clean Water Act. Overseas Private Investment Corporation Budget: Self-sustaining Cost per American: $0 Using both loans and loan guarantees, OPIC works to help businesses with annual revenues below $400 million invest in "large scale" operations, such as airports and water systems. "Over the past five years, 71 percent of OPIC projects were in partnership with U.S. small businesses, accounting for over $600 million annually in U.S. exports," according to the State Department. One recent OPIC effort, for instance, provided an $87 million, 17-year loan, to a U.S. company, Al Tamweel Al Saree, to extend loans to micro and small-sized Iraqi businesses. UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change U.S. Funding: Estimated $10 million Cost per American: $0.03 The IPCC issues reports from the world's leading climate scientists on the state of global warming, and its impact on human populations. According to NASA, 2016 was the hottest year on record. Office of Electricity Deliverability and Energy Reliability Budget: $262 million Cost per American: $0.81 Created after the 2003 blackout left nearly 50 million Americans and Canadians without power, the OE invests in the electric grid to make it more modern, reliable and secure. The agency recently released a comprehensive report on how America can improve energy allocation. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Budget: $2.9 billion Cost per American: $8.95 The EERE works "to create and sustain American leadership in the transition to a global clean energy economy." What does that look like? In one recent demonstration project, the EERE helped a South Carolina-based BMW plant use bio-methane gas from a nearby landfill to power some forklifts. Office of Fossil Energy Budget: $878 million Cost per American: $2.71With projects
like the development of clean coal technology, this office
works to reduce the carbon footprint of fossil fuels. Its
Petra Nova project, based in Thompsons, Texas, is now "the
world’s largest post-combustion carbon-capture system."
Petra Nova received $190 million from the Department of
Energy, and has the potential to capture "1.6 million tons
of CO2 per year from an existing coal-fired power
plant." Witches
worldwide are planning to cast a spell on Donald
Trump. The ritual is to be done at the stroke of midnight on waning crescent moon ritual days, which are February 24th (midnight, Friday evening), March 26th, April 24th, May 23rd, June 21st (especially important as it is the summer solstice) etc. until Trump leaves office.Will it work? Honestly, there is only one way to find out. But hey, you watch didn't Hocus Pocus a million times for nothing, so here is how to cast a spell on Donald Trump. Supplies Unflattering photo of Trump (aka any picture of Trump)
Optional items include pyrite (or fool's gold), sulfur, and black thread. The document also says that you can substitute the orange candle for a baby carrot. Next, you carve the name "Donald J. Trump" into the orange candle (or carrot) with the pin, arrange the other items in a pleasing circle, and lean the tarot card on something so it is standing up vertically. Then, say a prayer for protection to your preferred deity (the document suggests the 23rd Psalm because it has connections to voodoo traditions). After that, it is time to cast the spell. Ritual (Light white candle)
(Light inscribed orange candle stub)
(Invert Tower tarot card)
At this point, you are to light the picture of Donald Trump on fire and let it burn until it turns to ash as you passionately exclaim "so mote it be!" three times. If you do not like that phrase, you can exchange it for one of Trump's signature catch phrases, such as "You're fired!" Then you snuff out the white candle and end the ritual. After performing the ritual, the document says it is important to have a good laugh at Trump's expense (think about how much he would hate being laughed at) and have a bite to eat (but not that carrot, though) because all that spell-casting is hard work. Then you are to discard the orange candle by burying it, discarding it at a crossroads, or in running water.The document also outlines alternatives and advanced versions of the spell, which could be read here. It also answers questions that I, a mere muggle, am unable to answer. Hey, desperate times call for magical measures. Update: To clarify, the
original document states that this is a binding spell, which
seeks to restrain someone from doing harm instead of harming
the targeted individual themselves. Binding does not
generate the potential negative blowback to the
caster’s karma. |
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