Since I’ve never been a fan of The Donald (wasn’t even before his dick started leading his life for him in re: Wife #1), the crap that he’s been spouting lately didn’t really interest me, and basically I ignored it. Unfortunately, when you write a political/opinion blog, you really can’t ignore the lunatic fringe and their vomitous spewings for very long. I guess that I was like a lot of other folks; The Donald was, well, being “The Donald” and therefore whatever he was spewing wasn’t worthy of note. I hereby apologize to all: what he’s spewing in indeed worthy of note, if only to do the hand-smacking-head motion together with the thought “just HOW stupid does this P. T. Barnum wannabe think the rest of us ARE?”
The answer, of course, is that he thinks we’re all pretty stupid. As in, whatever he says is pure gold and only the truly and terminally dumb wouldn’t sit up and take notice of it, as witness his breaking his own arm patting himself on the back about this crap about the President’s long-form birth certificate. *HE* is convinced that he’s the one that forced the President to pony it up by pressuring him in public, in as rude and raunchy a fashion as was possible (incidentally, I believe what the President said: he’s tired of the nonsense, and nobody forced him to do anything).
So, let’s take a look at The Donald and see just exactly where he’s coming from, shall we? Here is a man, born into wealth and privilege, who basically has cheated and lied his way into more wealth and privilege by gaming the system through bankruptcy after bankruptcy after bankruptcy, and who brags about this fraud as if it’s something to be proud of. Here’s a man who is a sadistic “moralist” who believes that he’s been divinely appointed to the role of political candidate wannabe, and, as such, can say and do whatever he wants, including lie about everything that has to do with his main opponent, the President. Here is a man who is a born-again ReThug© who hasn’t bothered to vote for the last 20 years, and who has not supported the Republican Party by contributing either money or time to said party. Most importantly, here is a man whose only verifiable income comes from a reality show where he gets to exercise his sadistic impulses to the fullest by embarrassing people who are dumb enough to be a part of it.
Basically, here is a man who is a proven liar, cheat and fraud, who thinks that he’s going to be given the Presidency without his having to work for either the position or the job, simply because he’s a better liar, cheat and fraud than anybody else running. Anybody who questions his “divine rights” is, of course, the worst sort of human being: a person who is jealous of his success in business and envious of his wealth.
So, I ask again, just how stupid does this huckster think we all are? Pretty stupid, judging from the things that he’s been saying lately (http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/donald-trump-filed-bankruptcy-times/story?id=13419250):
"I've used the laws of this country to pare debt. ... We'll have the company. We'll throw it into a chapter. We'll negotiate with the banks. We'll make a fantastic deal. You know, it's like on 'The Apprentice.' It's not personal. It's just business," Trump told ABC's George Stephanopoulos last Thursday. Doug Heller, the executive director of Consumer Watchdog, said Trump is the "most egregious, almost comical example" of the disparity between what the average American faces when going through bankruptcy and the "ease with which the very rich can move in and out of bankruptcy."
"Under the American bankruptcy laws, if you end up in bankruptcy because you're struggling with divorce or medical payments or a sudden change of income, it's a disaster. If you fail miserably with huge dollars involved then you just need some accountants to rework your books," Heller said. The multi-billionaire touts his huge net worth and big business experience as qualifications for his possible presidential run. Trump recently bragged that he has "a much bigger net worth" than Mitt Romney, who he said is "basically a small business guy." "I'm a much bigger businessman. … I mean, my net worth is many, many, many times Mitt Romney's," Trump said.
The big business man has wrangled with big debt in the past 20 years. Trump's first visit to bankruptcy court was in 1991, when his Atlantic City casino, the Taj Mahal, was buried under a mountain of debt. The Taj carried a $1 billion price tag and was financed by junk bonds carrying a staggering 14 percent interest rate. As construction completed, the economy slumped, as did the Atlantic City gambling scene, soon plunging Trump into $3.4 billion of debt. Just one year after the Taj Mahal deal was struck, Trump was back in court, again "restructuring" his debt. This time the Trump Plaza Hotel in Atlantic City was in the lenders' crosshairs. Trump owed $550 million on the hotel and agreed to give up 49 percent of the hotel to Citibank and five other lenders. In return, Donald Trump was given a similar deal as before, with more lenient conditions to repay the debt. The Donald stayed on as chief executive, but his salary was taken away. "Here's a guy who's failed so miserably so many times and it's not as though he had to claw his way back after seven years in credit hell. He just said. 'OK, this isn't my problem anymore.' For him, it's just been a platform to the next money-making scheme," said Dough Heller, the executive director of Consumer Watchdog.
In 2004 Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts Inc. filed for voluntary bankruptcy after accumulating $1.8 billion in debt. The Donald agreed to reduce his share in the company from 47 percent to 25 percent, meaning he no longer had control over the company. The deal also included lower interest rates and a $500 million loan to make improvements. Also in 2004, he lost control of his name. One rule when you have a name like Trump is you never let anyone own it and control it. He got into such a bad spot here that he ended up with others owning and controlling his name. They can do what they want once they own it," LoPucki said.
Shortly after the proceedings, Trump told CNN's Geri Willis that his personal fortune would not be affected. "This is a very small portion of my net worth. It's less than 2 percent," he said. When the economy turned downward in 2008, so too did Trump's real estate holdings. Trump Entertainment and his affiliated companies had $2.06 billion in assets and was $1.74 billion in debt. In December 2008 his company missed a $53.1 million bond interest payment, propelling Trump Entertainment Resorts into bankruptcy court and plunging its stock price from $4 per share to a mere 23 cents. This time, Trump fought with his board of directors over the restructuring and ended up resigning as chairman of the board. He emerged from a messy, months-long process with a 10 percent share of the company.
LoPucki said it was very unusual for anyone to have that many large businesses go through bankruptcy. Most of the debt Trump incurred was through bonds that were sold to the public. "People knew who Donald Trump was and for that reason were willing to trust the bonds, and they got burned," LoPucki said. "The people who invested with him or based on his name lost money, but he himself came out pretty well." “
Well, today, this liar, cheat and fraud practically broke his arm patting himself on the back as being the man who “forced the issue”. Trust me, Donald baby, you didn’t force anything. The President is tired of being in the crosshairs of this particularly egregious lie, and he decided to make an end to it. Nothing more, nothing less. In the process, he basically took out The Huckster as well, and shamed him beyond belief – not that The Donald will ever admit that point.
And THIS, gangers, is the man who thinks that he can run the country? Nay, nay, I say. Trust me, collectively we are NOT that stupid.
The answer, of course, is that he thinks we’re all pretty stupid. As in, whatever he says is pure gold and only the truly and terminally dumb wouldn’t sit up and take notice of it, as witness his breaking his own arm patting himself on the back about this crap about the President’s long-form birth certificate. *HE* is convinced that he’s the one that forced the President to pony it up by pressuring him in public, in as rude and raunchy a fashion as was possible (incidentally, I believe what the President said: he’s tired of the nonsense, and nobody forced him to do anything).
So, let’s take a look at The Donald and see just exactly where he’s coming from, shall we? Here is a man, born into wealth and privilege, who basically has cheated and lied his way into more wealth and privilege by gaming the system through bankruptcy after bankruptcy after bankruptcy, and who brags about this fraud as if it’s something to be proud of. Here’s a man who is a sadistic “moralist” who believes that he’s been divinely appointed to the role of political candidate wannabe, and, as such, can say and do whatever he wants, including lie about everything that has to do with his main opponent, the President. Here is a man who is a born-again ReThug© who hasn’t bothered to vote for the last 20 years, and who has not supported the Republican Party by contributing either money or time to said party. Most importantly, here is a man whose only verifiable income comes from a reality show where he gets to exercise his sadistic impulses to the fullest by embarrassing people who are dumb enough to be a part of it.
Basically, here is a man who is a proven liar, cheat and fraud, who thinks that he’s going to be given the Presidency without his having to work for either the position or the job, simply because he’s a better liar, cheat and fraud than anybody else running. Anybody who questions his “divine rights” is, of course, the worst sort of human being: a person who is jealous of his success in business and envious of his wealth.
So, I ask again, just how stupid does this huckster think we all are? Pretty stupid, judging from the things that he’s been saying lately (http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/donald-trump-filed-bankruptcy-times/story?id=13419250):
"I've used the laws of this country to pare debt. ... We'll have the company. We'll throw it into a chapter. We'll negotiate with the banks. We'll make a fantastic deal. You know, it's like on 'The Apprentice.' It's not personal. It's just business," Trump told ABC's George Stephanopoulos last Thursday. Doug Heller, the executive director of Consumer Watchdog, said Trump is the "most egregious, almost comical example" of the disparity between what the average American faces when going through bankruptcy and the "ease with which the very rich can move in and out of bankruptcy."
"Under the American bankruptcy laws, if you end up in bankruptcy because you're struggling with divorce or medical payments or a sudden change of income, it's a disaster. If you fail miserably with huge dollars involved then you just need some accountants to rework your books," Heller said. The multi-billionaire touts his huge net worth and big business experience as qualifications for his possible presidential run. Trump recently bragged that he has "a much bigger net worth" than Mitt Romney, who he said is "basically a small business guy." "I'm a much bigger businessman. … I mean, my net worth is many, many, many times Mitt Romney's," Trump said.
The big business man has wrangled with big debt in the past 20 years. Trump's first visit to bankruptcy court was in 1991, when his Atlantic City casino, the Taj Mahal, was buried under a mountain of debt. The Taj carried a $1 billion price tag and was financed by junk bonds carrying a staggering 14 percent interest rate. As construction completed, the economy slumped, as did the Atlantic City gambling scene, soon plunging Trump into $3.4 billion of debt. Just one year after the Taj Mahal deal was struck, Trump was back in court, again "restructuring" his debt. This time the Trump Plaza Hotel in Atlantic City was in the lenders' crosshairs. Trump owed $550 million on the hotel and agreed to give up 49 percent of the hotel to Citibank and five other lenders. In return, Donald Trump was given a similar deal as before, with more lenient conditions to repay the debt. The Donald stayed on as chief executive, but his salary was taken away. "Here's a guy who's failed so miserably so many times and it's not as though he had to claw his way back after seven years in credit hell. He just said. 'OK, this isn't my problem anymore.' For him, it's just been a platform to the next money-making scheme," said Dough Heller, the executive director of Consumer Watchdog.
In 2004 Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts Inc. filed for voluntary bankruptcy after accumulating $1.8 billion in debt. The Donald agreed to reduce his share in the company from 47 percent to 25 percent, meaning he no longer had control over the company. The deal also included lower interest rates and a $500 million loan to make improvements. Also in 2004, he lost control of his name. One rule when you have a name like Trump is you never let anyone own it and control it. He got into such a bad spot here that he ended up with others owning and controlling his name. They can do what they want once they own it," LoPucki said.
Shortly after the proceedings, Trump told CNN's Geri Willis that his personal fortune would not be affected. "This is a very small portion of my net worth. It's less than 2 percent," he said. When the economy turned downward in 2008, so too did Trump's real estate holdings. Trump Entertainment and his affiliated companies had $2.06 billion in assets and was $1.74 billion in debt. In December 2008 his company missed a $53.1 million bond interest payment, propelling Trump Entertainment Resorts into bankruptcy court and plunging its stock price from $4 per share to a mere 23 cents. This time, Trump fought with his board of directors over the restructuring and ended up resigning as chairman of the board. He emerged from a messy, months-long process with a 10 percent share of the company.
LoPucki said it was very unusual for anyone to have that many large businesses go through bankruptcy. Most of the debt Trump incurred was through bonds that were sold to the public. "People knew who Donald Trump was and for that reason were willing to trust the bonds, and they got burned," LoPucki said. "The people who invested with him or based on his name lost money, but he himself came out pretty well." “
Well, today, this liar, cheat and fraud practically broke his arm patting himself on the back as being the man who “forced the issue”. Trust me, Donald baby, you didn’t force anything. The President is tired of being in the crosshairs of this particularly egregious lie, and he decided to make an end to it. Nothing more, nothing less. In the process, he basically took out The Huckster as well, and shamed him beyond belief – not that The Donald will ever admit that point.
And THIS, gangers, is the man who thinks that he can run the country? Nay, nay, I say. Trust me, collectively we are NOT that stupid.
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