I've said "I can't even . . ." so often that I can't even say it anymore. The rationalizations these people come up with -- I can understand thinking them in private or muttering them among close friends and associates, but saying them out loud for a national audience? whereupon much of the mainstream media reports it all with a straight face? I can't even . . .
I read elsewhere that Quatar has been trying to offload this white elephant for years - too ostentatious, too big a target, completely out of style with the leaner meaner trend in private jets for royalty and the filthy rich. They finally found the perfect mark. But as alway, when trump makes a bad decision, its the rest of us that have to pay.
Absolutely. Chris Hayes, on MSNBC, just did a segment on this and compared it to Michael Jordan trying to sell his "personalized" mansion for years, and have to do a deep discount to finally sell it. There's also reporting that because the plane is about 13 years old, that it'll need basic updates, and then there's the cost of stripping it (to look for bugs and other surveillance items), adding the necessary Air Force 1 equipment and safety features. It'll cost around $800M to get it up and running and it may take two years to do that. Of course, Trump sees it as "free" because he won't have to pay a dime and he doesn't care if taxpayers pay for him to have a new plane.
So, the "free" gift of the 747-800, purportedly valued at $400 million, will cost $1 billion or so to refurbish. This he can afford to do (other people's - aka our - money. And then his "library" gets the plane to display which probably will have to be gutted to remove all of the fancy stuff they had to install to make it Trump-worthy.
Hawley asked the question of how Donald J Trump could possibly need more money….as a fellow rich guy, Hawley knows that for people like Trump and his ilk..there is no “enough” their greed dictates that no matter what they’ve accumulated, there always should be be, must be, more. Trump’s despicable middle east griftathon is where the indifference and in many cases cooperation of morally bankrupt slugs like Hawley have brought the United States. Our “leaders” have traded American exceptionalism for racism, xenophobia, homophobia, misogyny, anti-semitism and naked greed.
Let’s start to turn this around at the midterm elections. And in the meantime, email and call your elected folks, protest when you can, and don’t let these opportunists take our country from us. We the people elected these clowns, and we the people must fix that.
TFG and his ilk are hollow on the inside and try to fill it with things and artificial status. They are blind to their insatiable need, and are masters of self rationalization. More medical professionals need to discard the so-called Goldwater rule and speak out, as Brandy Lee did for example.
It would be great if more would do that. When dealing with a fella who believes that there are no rules, abandoning the “Goldwater Rule” to safeguard the public from his lawlessness would be for the greater good.
GAH!!! 47 keeps saying it's a "free gift" and I have been screaming for several days that IT'S NOT FREE!!! First of all, it's a BRIBE, not "a gift"...the Qatari will definitely look for "quid pro quo". Secondly: it's a used jet and the upkeep will be very pricey--and who pays for that?? Why, WE DO--the U.S. taxpayers. Thirdly: it is going to take who knows how many millions of bucks to strip it down, not only to make sure there are no kill switches and surveillance equipment on board but to add all the gear that makes a it a flying Oval Office. Once again, who pays for that?? Yup, the U.S. taxpayer.
It's beyond disgusting...this government can't possibly afford to provide basic healthcare to our own poorest citizens, nor offer help with food (which BTW is NOT decreasing in price!)...gosh no. We have to give the richest 1% in the country even MORE money by cutting their taxes...AGAIN.
That flying bordello is NOT a gift to the nation; it is a specific bribe for the amoral ass who lied himself into a second term.
Here's a solution for the jet. It gets given to DOD but no public money can be used to upgrade it to the proper security levels to be AF1. If he wants to use it for that, he has to fund it--or perhaps we should say that the ultimate beneficiary, the Presidential Library--will have to fund it. (We know it will take forever anyway.) Once in the possession of the Presidential Library, it can not be used by him personally or his family or any entity that has benefitted from any grifting that he did while in office. The only people allowed to fly in it would be whoever at the National Archives is in charge of his presidential library. He can wave at them as they fly above him.
As for Speaker Johnson … well, only brown-skinned Christians are to be punished: If it’s white and obvious, it’s fine. Besides, why jeopardize Louisiana was a torture export port?
Poor Donny, rubbing two sticks together, in awe of “groceries” … helpless, hapless billionaire … those nice Qataris only want to bring joy into a sad life.
The gifted 747 or the offer to build a Trump Tower in Damascus for him doesn't surprise me. What pisses me off is the look-the-other-way approach by Republicans. They are so completely hypocritical in everything they do and say. I can't hardly stand to watch or read the news anymore. Most journalists certainly don't call them out on their responses. We're all supposed to assume this is OK.
Trump is a liar. He's a narcissist. He's a wannabe dictator who has monarchical visions of his place in the White House. This "deal" stinks. The "art of the deal" is actually nothing more than a stinky fart. His supporters and apologists, starting with his press secretary, are despicable sub-human beings, lying like their boss to support his illegal and evil ways. Oh, yeah! Trump did tell the truth recently. When he was asked whether he'd support the Constitution (to which he swore an oath to protect and defend) he said "I'm not sure". In these troubling times it's hard to believe that a person as stupid, greedy and just plain mean could achieve election to the Presidency.
Goodbye Emoluments Clause, we hardly knew ye. Next to go will be (5 U.S.C. § 3110) which forbids nepotism. Then the Hatch Act, and so forth. The barriers of law come down and the devils are abroad in the land.
To think our week started out with Nosferdoofus suggesting habeas corpus was optional and ended with the Supreme Court mulling whether to keep birthright citizenship, with the Quatari jet sandwiched inbetween. Just another week in Trump's America.
I've said "I can't even . . ." so often that I can't even say it anymore. The rationalizations these people come up with -- I can understand thinking them in private or muttering them among close friends and associates, but saying them out loud for a national audience? whereupon much of the mainstream media reports it all with a straight face? I can't even . . .
I read elsewhere that Quatar has been trying to offload this white elephant for years - too ostentatious, too big a target, completely out of style with the leaner meaner trend in private jets for royalty and the filthy rich. They finally found the perfect mark. But as alway, when trump makes a bad decision, its the rest of us that have to pay.
Absolutely. Chris Hayes, on MSNBC, just did a segment on this and compared it to Michael Jordan trying to sell his "personalized" mansion for years, and have to do a deep discount to finally sell it. There's also reporting that because the plane is about 13 years old, that it'll need basic updates, and then there's the cost of stripping it (to look for bugs and other surveillance items), adding the necessary Air Force 1 equipment and safety features. It'll cost around $800M to get it up and running and it may take two years to do that. Of course, Trump sees it as "free" because he won't have to pay a dime and he doesn't care if taxpayers pay for him to have a new plane.
So, the "free" gift of the 747-800, purportedly valued at $400 million, will cost $1 billion or so to refurbish. This he can afford to do (other people's - aka our - money. And then his "library" gets the plane to display which probably will have to be gutted to remove all of the fancy stuff they had to install to make it Trump-worthy.
"It's so gaudy, over the top and ridiculous we'll never unload this piece of - oh - wait"
Hawley asked the question of how Donald J Trump could possibly need more money….as a fellow rich guy, Hawley knows that for people like Trump and his ilk..there is no “enough” their greed dictates that no matter what they’ve accumulated, there always should be be, must be, more. Trump’s despicable middle east griftathon is where the indifference and in many cases cooperation of morally bankrupt slugs like Hawley have brought the United States. Our “leaders” have traded American exceptionalism for racism, xenophobia, homophobia, misogyny, anti-semitism and naked greed.
Let’s start to turn this around at the midterm elections. And in the meantime, email and call your elected folks, protest when you can, and don’t let these opportunists take our country from us. We the people elected these clowns, and we the people must fix that.
TFG and his ilk are hollow on the inside and try to fill it with things and artificial status. They are blind to their insatiable need, and are masters of self rationalization. More medical professionals need to discard the so-called Goldwater rule and speak out, as Brandy Lee did for example.
It would be great if more would do that. When dealing with a fella who believes that there are no rules, abandoning the “Goldwater Rule” to safeguard the public from his lawlessness would be for the greater good.
Aye
GAH!!! 47 keeps saying it's a "free gift" and I have been screaming for several days that IT'S NOT FREE!!! First of all, it's a BRIBE, not "a gift"...the Qatari will definitely look for "quid pro quo". Secondly: it's a used jet and the upkeep will be very pricey--and who pays for that?? Why, WE DO--the U.S. taxpayers. Thirdly: it is going to take who knows how many millions of bucks to strip it down, not only to make sure there are no kill switches and surveillance equipment on board but to add all the gear that makes a it a flying Oval Office. Once again, who pays for that?? Yup, the U.S. taxpayer.
It's beyond disgusting...this government can't possibly afford to provide basic healthcare to our own poorest citizens, nor offer help with food (which BTW is NOT decreasing in price!)...gosh no. We have to give the richest 1% in the country even MORE money by cutting their taxes...AGAIN.
That flying bordello is NOT a gift to the nation; it is a specific bribe for the amoral ass who lied himself into a second term.
Here's a solution for the jet. It gets given to DOD but no public money can be used to upgrade it to the proper security levels to be AF1. If he wants to use it for that, he has to fund it--or perhaps we should say that the ultimate beneficiary, the Presidential Library--will have to fund it. (We know it will take forever anyway.) Once in the possession of the Presidential Library, it can not be used by him personally or his family or any entity that has benefitted from any grifting that he did while in office. The only people allowed to fly in it would be whoever at the National Archives is in charge of his presidential library. He can wave at them as they fly above him.
As for Speaker Johnson … well, only brown-skinned Christians are to be punished: If it’s white and obvious, it’s fine. Besides, why jeopardize Louisiana was a torture export port?
One has to be constantly reminded that this small-minded, petty, *grasping* man is President of the United States! Not some rich toddler pretending.
Poor Donny, rubbing two sticks together, in awe of “groceries” … helpless, hapless billionaire … those nice Qataris only want to bring joy into a sad life.
The gifted 747 or the offer to build a Trump Tower in Damascus for him doesn't surprise me. What pisses me off is the look-the-other-way approach by Republicans. They are so completely hypocritical in everything they do and say. I can't hardly stand to watch or read the news anymore. Most journalists certainly don't call them out on their responses. We're all supposed to assume this is OK.
Trump is a liar. He's a narcissist. He's a wannabe dictator who has monarchical visions of his place in the White House. This "deal" stinks. The "art of the deal" is actually nothing more than a stinky fart. His supporters and apologists, starting with his press secretary, are despicable sub-human beings, lying like their boss to support his illegal and evil ways. Oh, yeah! Trump did tell the truth recently. When he was asked whether he'd support the Constitution (to which he swore an oath to protect and defend) he said "I'm not sure". In these troubling times it's hard to believe that a person as stupid, greedy and just plain mean could achieve election to the Presidency.
Goodbye Emoluments Clause, we hardly knew ye. Next to go will be (5 U.S.C. § 3110) which forbids nepotism. Then the Hatch Act, and so forth. The barriers of law come down and the devils are abroad in the land.
To think our week started out with Nosferdoofus suggesting habeas corpus was optional and ended with the Supreme Court mulling whether to keep birthright citizenship, with the Quatari jet sandwiched inbetween. Just another week in Trump's America.