tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90673830354501268022024-03-14T00:08:16.551-07:00BobbyG's Binge ThinkingRandom observationsBobbyGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03807934795994985233noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067383035450126802.post-71996063417580412452023-05-11T15:42:00.006-07:002023-05-13T11:06:38.521-07:00TRANSCRIPT: Donald Trump, May 10th, 2023 CNN Town Hall<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000;">Posted as a public service, in case CNN deletes it.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000;">The <i>public</i> owns this discourse.</span><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><img border="0" data-original-height="507" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMpQgl04Z_RZdus0i_ZJ-k5TQ5Okbrt46y9aG_ALJPSV1pXhMBL8OLWsQM-h1SHYB-yEryhGRulyqhRWWjHJxX_eRtP7GCdbl8g_xC57ZnEEjb3osEMO8TCv1s6IRWAREzAg8A0tg3_Ja5TQyAuhwLnyGmAPFF4pmvDcZIyPSIlgE8jCxyXZKg4ALVeg/w379-h400/TrumpCNNtownhall.jpg" width="379" /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">TRUMP CNN TOWN HALL <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/11/politics/transcript-cnn-town-hall-trump/index.html" target="_blank">TRANSCRIPT</a> MAY 10TH, 2023</span></b><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><b><span style="font-size: medium;">KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN HOST: Good evening, and welcome to New Hampshire, the first GOP primary state.<br /><br />We’re live here at Saint Anselm College for CNN’s town hall with former President Donald Trump. I’m Kaitlan Collins.<br /><br />Tonight, President Trump is here as he embarks on a campaign unlike any other in the history of U.S. presidential elections. He’s the first former president in more than a century to seek a return to the White House. And he is currently leading the Republican field, while also facing multiple criminal investigations and an indictment.<br /><br />Just yesterday, he was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation. No questions are off the table, and we agreed to no conditions. We’re here to give voters the answers that they deserve. Our audience is made up of Republicans and undeclared voters who plan to take part in New Hampshire’s Republican primary.<br /><br />They will get the chance to question the former president directly. These voters and the issues that they care about the most will help decide if former President Trump will get a second chance to take on President Joe Biden.<br /><br />Please welcome the front-runner for the Republican nomination, former President Donald Trump.</span></b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><blockquote><span style="color: #0c343d;"><b>DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you.<br />TRUMP: Thank you.</b><br />COLLINS: How are you? Thank you for being here tonight.<br />TRUMP: How nice to see you.<br />TRUMP: Thank you.<br />COLLINS: You have got quite a crowd.<br />TRUMP: Thank you.<br />COLLINS: President Trump, thank you for your time here tonight.<br />TRUMP: Thank you.<br />COLLINS: We got a great crowd here in New Hampshire, a lot of voters with a lot of questions about what your 2024 term would look like, what another Trump term would look like.<br /><br />We will get to the voters shortly, but your polls show that you are dominating the Republican race right now, but you are also under active federal investigation for trying to overturn the 2020 election results. Your first term ended with a deadly riot at the Capitol, and you still have not publicly acknowledged the 2020 election results.<br />Why should Americans put you back in the White House?<br /><br />TRUMP: Because we did fantastically. We got 12 million more votes than we had in – as you know, in 2016. I actually say we did far better in that election, got the most that anybody’s ever gotten as a sitting president of the United States.<br /><br />I think that, when you look at that result and when you look at what happened during that election, unless you’re a very stupid person, you see what happens.<br /><br />A lot of the people – a lot of the people in this audience and perhaps maybe a couple that don’t, but most people understand what happened.<br /><br />That was a rigged election, and it’s a shame that we had to go through it. It’s very bad for our country. All over the world, they looked at it, and they saw exactly what everyone else saw. And you look – even if you just look recently with the 51 intelligence agents, that made a 16-point difference.<br /><br />If you look at the FBI…<br /><br />COLLINS: But, Mr. President…<br /><br />TRUMP: If you look at the FBI and Twitter – they call it Twitter Files – made a big difference.<br /><br />If you look at True the Vote…<br /><br />COLLINS: Mr. President, back to what you just said there, though, it was not a rigged election. It was not a stolen election.<br /><br />You and your supporters lost more than 60 court cases on the election. And it’s been nearly two-and-a-half years. Can you publicly acknowledge that you did lose the 2020 election?<br /><br />TRUMP: Now, let me – let me just go on.<br /><br />If you look at True the Vote, they found millions of votes on camera, on government cameras, where they were stuffing ballot boxes.<br /><br />So, with all of that, I think it’s a shame that – what happened. I think it’s a very sad thing for our country. I think it’s a very sad thing, frankly, for the world, because, if you look at what’s gone to our country, our country has gone to hell. Our borders are bad. Our military has been bad.<br /><br />You look at the taxes, you look at inflation, what’s happened to inflation, it’s just destroying our country. We have really become, in many ways, a Third World country. And it’s very sad what’s happened in this administration. And it’s something that we will turn around on day one.<br /><br />We were energy-independent. Now energy is at a level that we have never had to pay before. We – nobody can afford to continue to pay what’s happening with energy. But we were energy-independent. And we were getting out of Afghanistan with strength and with dignity. And, instead, we got out, we looked like fools…<br /><br />COLLINS: And, Mr. President…<br />TRUMP: … probably the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country.<br /><br />COLLINS: We have a lot of questions about the economy and foreign policy tonight.<br />TRUMP: Good.<br /><br />COLLINS: But what you just said there, Republican officials debunked those claims about fraudulent ballots.<br /><br />We want to give you a chance tonight…<br /><br />TRUMP: Who? Who?<br /><br />COLLINS: Republican officials in Georgia…<br /><br />TRUMP: Who?<br />COLLINS: … and every single state. There is no – your own election officials, Mr. President.<br /><br />So, we wanted to give you a chance…<br /><br />TRUMP: Look, people were afraid to take on the issue.<br /><br />But we have a big problem in this country. We have elections…<br /><br />COLLINS: Well, we wanted to give you a chance to acknowledge the results.<br /><br />TRUMP: We have elections that were horrible.<br /><br />If you look at what happened in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, if you look at what happened in Detroit, Michigan, if you look at what happened in Atlanta, millions of votes, and all you have to do is take a look at government cameras. You will see them, people going to 28 different voting booths to vote, to put in seven ballots apiece. I mean, and they’re all on camera.<br /><br />COLLINS: But, Mr. President, I have to stop you there, because – because there is no evidence of that.<br /><br />Your own election officials testified to that and have said that. Republicans in these states did this. In Georgia, there were multiple recounts, including a hand recount.<br />We have questions about the claims that you’re making tonight from voters on this topic.<br /><br />I want to bring in Scott Dustin from Concord. He works in insurance litigation. He is an undeclared voter. That’s what they call independents here in New Hampshire, as you know.<br />TRUMP: OK.<br /><br />COLLINS: He did vote for you in 2020.<br />Scott, what’s your question for the president?<br /><br />SCOTT DUSTIN, WORKS IN INSURANCE LITIGATION: Hi, President Trump.<br />TRUMP: Hi, Scott.<br />DUSTIN: And welcome back to New Hampshire.<br />TRUMP: Thank you.<br /><br />DUSTIN: Will you suspend polarizing talk of election fraud during your run for president?<br /><br />TRUMP: Will I suspend – excuse me? What?<br />DUSTIN: Will you suspend polarizing talk of election fraud during your run for president?<br /><br />TRUMP: Yes, unless I see election fraud.<br /><br />If I see election fraud, I think I have an obligation to say it. And what we went through a short while ago has really put our country in a big problem. I hope to do that. I hope we’re going to have very honest elections. We should have voter I.D. We should have one-day elections. We should have paper ballots, instead of these mail-in votes.<br /><br />But the answer is yes. And I hope that it’s going to be very straight-up, because, if it’s going to be straight-up, we’re going to win the election.<br /><br />Thank you.<br />COLLINS: So you will suspend talk, to his question, about the 2020 election on the campaign trail?<br /><br />TRUMP: Well, I guess we’re going to just win. We’re at a point now. We’re getting so close. Let’s just win it again and straighten out our country.<br /><br />COLLINS: One other question on this.<br />COLLINS: When you – when you have talked about the 2020 election results in the past, you once suggested terminating the Constitution.<br /><br />Do you stand by those comments?<br /><br />TRUMP: No, no. You are able to do certain things. I’m not talking about terminating the Constitution. I’m talking about cherishing the Constitution.<br /><br />The Constitution says that we’re supposed to have legal and well-maintained and well-looked-at elections. And we didn’t have that. I cherish our Constitution, but we have to live up to the Constitution. We weren’t living up to the Constitution.<br /><br />COLLINS: I would just say that there’s no evidence of that election fraud.<br /><br />You did once tweet…<br />TRUMP: I know you’re supposed to say that, but – you know, I’m glad you say that.<br />But, look…<br /><br />COLLINS: It’s the truth, Mr. President.<br /><br />TRUMP: … that was a horrible election.<br />TRUMP: That was a horrible election. And unless somebody is very stupid – and I know you very well. You’re not stupid at all. But you perhaps are given an agenda, or you have an agenda.<br /><br />Look, we have to have honest elections in our country. We have open borders. We have…<br />TRUMP: You look at what’s happening.<br /><br />I mean, we have elections. We have open borders. Look at what’s happening on our Southern border. Millions and millions of people are coming here. They’re being released from prisons. They’re being released from mental institutions. And we have millions of people pouring into our country. And now they’re getting rid of Title 42, which I put on, which kept people out that were sick and had problems.<br /><br />COLLINS: And, Mr. President, we have a lot of questions about immigration to get to tonight.<br /><br />TRUMP: Yes.<br />COLLINS: Obviously, that’s a big topic, especially given what’s expected to happen tomorrow.<br /><br />But I want to talk about the influence you have over your voters. It’s very clear that you are very influential over them. You have a lot of impact. I have been to many of your rallies and seen it up close, which raised a lot of questions about the influence that we saw that you had on them on January 6 and your supporters when they attacked the Capitol.<br /><br />Do you have any regrets about your actions on January 6?<br /><br />TRUMP: Well, you know, January 6 was – again, we go back to it, but January 6 had to do with the fact that hundreds of thousands of people – and you don’t see the pictures very often.<br /><br />A lot of the people here probably were there. January 6, it was the largest crowd I have ever spoken to. That was prior to the walk down to the Capitol Building. I don’t think – and I have spoken to hundreds of thousands of people. I have never spoken to a crowd as large as this.<br /><br />And that was because they thought the election was rigged. And they were there proud. They were there with love in their heart. That was an unbelievable – and it was a beautiful day. And what I was asked to do – I wasn’t involved in it very much. I was asked to come in. Would I make a speech?<br /><br />I made a speech. I said, walk peacefully and patriotically, many different things. In fact, I brought a list of things. I don’t want to bore the audience, but we can go sentence after sentence after sentence of things I said and things I put out.<br /><br />One of the big problems was that Nancy Pelosi, crazy Nancy, as I affectionately call her…<br /><br />TRUMP: … crazy Nancy Pelosi and the mayor of Washington were in charge, as you know, of security, and they did not do their job.<br /><br />COLLINS: They’re not in charge of the National Guard. You’re in charge of the National Guard.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #0c343d;">TRUMP: They are in charge. Well, I offered them National Guard. I said, we will give you soldiers. We will give you National Guard. We will give you whatever you want.</span></p></span></blockquote></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><blockquote><span style="color: #0c343d;">And they turned me down. And, in fact, she turned me down.<br /><br />COLLINS: Your acting defense secretary…<br /><br />TRUMP: She turned – excuse me – she turned me down in writing. They turned me down.<br /><br />COLLINS: But your acting defense secretary, Chris Miller, at the time, he says you never gave a formal order to deploy the National Guard.<br /><br />But, when it came that day…<br /><br />TRUMP: Excuse me. Just the opposite.<br /><br />COLLINS: He test…<br /><br />TRUMP: Chris Miller wrote a book, and he’s a fantastic guy, and he was ready to go. They turned him down.<br /><br />If you look, the mayor of Washington, D.C., lovely lady, she said, we don’t want it. We don’t like the look. Nancy Pelosi said, oh, we don’t like the look.<br /><br />If they would have had just – I offered them 10,000 soldiers. I said it could be 10,000. It could be more. But I offered them specifically 10,000 soldiers. If they would have taken 500 soldiers, you wouldn’t have had the problem. They turned it down.<br /><br />And if you look at the inspector general report, he says they turned it down. They made a terrible mistake.<br /><br />COLLINS: Well, Chris Miller was your acting defense secretary. He says you never gave that order.<br /><br />But back to what happened on that day, he said you weren’t…<br /><br />TRUMP: He did not say that.<br />COLLINS: You – he has testified that, Mr. President.<br />TRUMP: He did not say that.<br />COLLINS: But you said you weren’t very involved that day.<br /><br />You did tell your supporters to come to Washington. You tweeted about it, about that speech…<br /><br />TRUMP: That’s true, of course.<br /><br />COLLINS: … that happened on the rally. So, when they…<br /><br />TRUMP: Am I allowed to say that?<br /><br />COLLINS: When they went to the Capitol and they were breaking into the Capitol, smashing windows, injuring police officers, why did you – why did it take you three hours to tell them to go home?<br /><br />TRUMP: I don’t believe it did. Oh, let me pull it out. I have to pull it out.<br />TRUMP: So – so, if you look at – on January 5, the day before, I said: “Please support our Capitol Police and law enforcement. They are truly on the side of our country. Stay peaceful. Stay peaceful.”<br /><br />This was the day before. And this was in the form of Twitter. Now I use TRUTH, TRUTH Social. I think it’s far superior, OK?<br /><br />TRUMP: I hope everybody’s on – I hope everybody’s on TRUTH.<br /><br />If you look, January 6, this is at 2:00 – before 2:30. “I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful.” This is right after – as it was happening. But what happened is, they took it down. I don’t know why. I think they took it down because it was so good. They didn’t like it being up there.<br /><br />TRUMP: “I am asking” – this is – and we didn’t know until I got it back, because now I have 90 million people waiting for me to go back.<br /><br />But I’m on TRUTH, and I’m staying on TRUTH.<br /><br />Listen, “I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol remain peaceful. No violation.” It’s we want “no violation. We want no violence. Remember, we are the party of law and order. Respect the law and our great men and women in blue. Thank you.”<br />That was at 2:30. That was very early.<br /><br />COLLINS: Mr. President, I looked at the same timeline that you did.<br />Once it was clear…<br /><br />TRUMP: No, I know, but you didn’t report that. You know why? Because it was taken down.<br /><br />COLLINS: We did report it. I was reporting that day.<br /><br />TRUMP: It was taken down, and it wasn’t put back up.<br /><br />COLLINS: But when it was clear to you that they were not being peaceful – you saw them rushing the Capitol, breaking windows. They were hitting officers with flagpoles, Tasing them, beating them up.<br /><br />When it was clear they weren’t being peaceful, why did you wait three hours to tell them to leave the Capitol? They listen to you like no one else.<br /><br />TRUMP: Yes.<br /><br />COLLINS: You know that.<br /><br />TRUMP: They do. I agree with that.<br /><br />But Nancy Pelosi…<br /><br />COLLINS: So, why didn’t you tell them to go home sooner?<br /><br />TRUMP: Nancy Pelosi and the mayor are in charge. I assumed they were able to do their job. They weren’t.<br /><br />COLLINS: But Pelosi is not in charge of Capitol security.<br /><br />TRUMP: And it kicked in.<br /><br />And, if you remember, I made a video right outside the Oval Office in the Rose Garden. And I’m very proud of that video. I didn’t have a script. I don’t need scripts, like a certain person that’s in there right now.<br /><br />COLLINS: But what time – the video, it came out much later, after they had already attacked the Capitol.<br /><br />TRUMP: It’s right there. It’s right…<br />TRUMP: It was a great video. And it was a beautiful video.<br /><br />And it said – I mean, I don’t want to read it all, but you have – “You have to go home now. We have to have peace. We have to have law and order. We have to respect our great people of law and order. We love the people of law and order. We can’t play into the hands of these other people. We have to have peace. Please go home.”<br />I said that. You know what they did?<br /><br />COLLINS: Well, referring to the law and order there, Mr. President…<br /><br />TRUMP: They took that down. And, you know, to this day, it hasn’t been put up.<br />And the reason is, it’s so good and so conclusive that all of this nonsense and all of the tens of millions of dollars that have been spent are just wiped away with this one, and they have never put it back up. They had another one that they did the same thing.<br /><br />COLLINS: But that video that you referenced there, it wasn’t posted until 4:17 p.m.<br />TRUMP: No, I will tell you…<br />COLLINS: They breached the Capitol at 2:00 p.m., Mr. President.<br />TRUMP: That video was posted…<br />COLLINS: 4:17 p.m.<br /><br />TRUMP: Yes, before – actually, a little bit before that.<br /><br />COLLINS: Right. So, that’s my question.<br /><br />TRUMP: But – excuse me.<br /><br />COLLINS: Because, in that three hours, over 140 officers were injured.<br /><br />TRUMP: Excuse me. It was posted after the first one I just read, though, and that was at 2:00.<br /><br />COLLINS: But I think the reason the timeline is so critical here, because, going back to your influence, in that three hours…<br /><br />TRUMP: There’s another one I post.<br /><br />COLLINS: … over 140 officers were injured that day.<br />TRUMP: And a person named Ashli Babbitt was killed.<br />COLLINS: Yes.<br /><br />TRUMP: You know what? She was killed, and she shouldn’t have been killed.<br /><br />And that thug that killed her, there was no reason to shoot her at blank range. Cold, blank range, they shot her. And she was a good person. She was a patriot.<br /><br />COLLINS: One person who was there…<br /><br />TRUMP: And there was no reason. There was no reason.<br /><br />And he went on television to brag about the fact that he killed her.<br />TRUMP: She was a patriot. There was no reason –<br /><br />COLLINS: One person who was there –<br /><br />TRUMP: – there was no reason. And he went on television to brag about the fact that he killed her.<br /><br />COLLINS: That officer was not bragging about the fact that he killed her.<br /><br />TRUMP: Oh, he was bragging.<br /><br />COLLINS: But one person who was at the Capitol that day, as you know, was your vice president, Mike Pence, who says that you endangered his life on that day. Do you feel –<br /><br />TRUMP: I don’t think he was in any danger.<br /><br />COLLINS: Mr. President, do you feel that you owe him an apology?<br /><br />TRUMP: No, because he did something wrong. He should have put the votes back to the state legislatures and I think we would have had a different outcome. I really do.<br /><br />COLLINS: But he doesn’t have the authority to do that as you know.<br /><br />TRUMP: What?<br />COLLINS: The vice president doesn’t have the authority to reject those – those electoral results.<br /><br />TRUMP: Okay, are you ready? Let’s have this now, just now, because it’s interest – let’s keep it interesting, right?<br /><br />I like Mike Pence very much. He’s a very fine man. He’s a very nice man. He made a mistake.<br /><br />His lawyer said, you cannot move. I call them the human conveyer belt. I said, even if the votes you mean – I talked to his lawyer – even if the votes are absolutely fraudulent, he can’t send – yes, sir, he can’t send them back. And the Democrats played it and the RINOs played it.<br /><br />And then, the election was over. They told them he couldn’t do it. And Mike said to me, I can’t do it. The lawyers told me I can’t do it, they can’t do it.<br /><br />But the lawyers were wrong because right after the election, they all met, the RINOs and the Democrats, and they worked out a plan to make sure that future vice presidents don’t do what I said you could do.<br /><br />COLLINS: That’s not what happened. You’re referring to the Electoral Count Act.<br />TRUMP: That’s exactly –<br /><br />COLLINS: I’ve read – I’ve read that. There is – there is no authority.<br />TRUMP: No, excuse me –<br /><br />COLLINS: Legal experts, including Republican legal experts, say that he does not have that authority, Mr. President.<br /><br />But I want to move on –<br /><br />TRUMP: Kaitlan, why did they change the law then saying that you can’t do it?<br /><br />COLLINS: They didn’t change the law. They strengthened the law because they are worried about a president exploiting –<br /><br />TRUMP: Oh, they strengthened it, meaning you could do it. Thank you.<br />COLLINS: That’s not what it means.<br />TRUMP: Thank you.<br />COLLINS: They strengthened the law –<br /><br />TRUMP: Mike had the right to do it. They convinced him he didn’t, and it was a horrible thing for our country.<br /><br />If you would have sent those votes back to Georgia, Pennsylvania, and other states – Wisconsin, which if you look at Wisconsin, they virtually admitted now that the election was rigged.<br /><br />COLLINS: They have not admitted that, Mr. President.<br /><br />TRUMP: If you sent the votes back to many of those states, they would not come back in the affirmative, and remember what I said, and you just said it pretty much. You admitted what I said was right.<br /><br />COLLINS: I did not.<br /><br />TRUMP: They said he didn’t have the right to do it, and he did have the right to do it, and that’s why they changed the law taking that right away.<br /><br />COLLINS: I should note that your campaign paid for a recount that happened in Wisconsin and actually had more votes for President Biden by the end of it.<br />But I want to move on to Wayne Beyer. He’s a retired attorney for North Conway –<br />TRUMP: By the way, so many illegal votes were cast in Wisconsin. And if you look in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, they had so many legal – illegal votes, they didn’t even know what to do with them. You’re absolutely wrong about that.<br /><br />COLLINS: Mr. President, there weren’t any fraudulent votes in Wisconsin.<br />I do want to get to the audience and we have questions from the audience.<br /><br />A retired – Wayne Beyer is a retired attorney from North Conway. He’s previously served in Republican administrations. He volunteered for the Republican Party in the 2022 midterms. He voted for you in 2020.<br /><br />What’s your question for the president, Wayne?<br /><br />WAYNE BEYER, RETIRED ATTORNEY: Thank you for coming, Mr. President.<br />TRUMP: Thank you, Wayne.<br /><br />BEYER: My question to you is: will you pardon the January 6th rioters who were convicted of federal offenses?<br /><br />TRUMP: I am inclined to pardon many of them. I can’t say for every single one because a couple of them, probably, they got out of control.<br /><br />But, you know, when you look at Antifa, what they’ve done to Portland, and if you look at Antifa, look at what they’ve done to Minneapolis and so many other – so many other places, look at what they did to Seattle. And BLM – BLM, many people were killed.<br /><br />These people – I’m not trying to justify anything, but you have two standards of justice in this country, and what they’ve done – and I love that question because what they’ve done to see many people is nothing – nothing. And then what they’ve done to these people, they’ve persecuted these people.<br /><br />And yeah, my answer is I am most likely – if I get in, I will most likely – I would say it will be a large portion of them. You know, they did a very –<br /><br />And it’ll be very early on. And they’re living in hell right now.<br /><br />COLLINS: So when it comes to pardons –<br /><br />TRUMP: They’re living in hell, and they’re policemen, and they’re firemen, and they’re soldiers, and they’re carpenters and electricians and they’re great people. Many of them are just great people.<br /><br />COLLINS: Mr. President, one of the people who was convicted was a former policeman but he was convicted of attacking a police officer, I should note.<br /><br />But when you said you are considering pardoning a large portion of those charged with crimes on January 6th, does that include the four Proud Boys members who were charged and convicted of seditious conspiracy?<br /><br />TRUMP: I don’t know. I’ll have to look at their case, but I will say in Washington, D.C., you cannot get a fair trial, you cannot. Just like in New York City, you can’t get a fair trial either.<br /><br />COLLINS: Speaking of New York, I want to ask you about a significant verdict that was reached yesterday. I know this is something you want to weigh in on as well.<br />A Manhattan jury found –<br /><br />TRUMP: Sure.<br /><br />COLLINS: – that you sexually abused the writer E. Jean Carroll and defamed her.<br />You’ve denied this.<br /><br />But what do you say to voters who say it disqualifies you from being president?<br /><br />TRUMP: Well, there weren’t too many of them because my poll numbers just came out. They went up, okay?<br /><br />I think – I think I’m – I’m the only person in history who had a charge like that, and usually you leave office and you say, I’m sorry but I’m going to back home – I’m back home to my family and everything. I’m going to be resigned.<br /><br />My poll numbers went up and they went up with the other fake charge, too, because what’s happening is they’re doing this for election interference.<br /><br />This woman, I don’t know her. I never met her. I have no idea who she is. I had a picture taken years ago with her and her husband, nice guy John Johnson.<br /><br />He was a newscaster, very nice man. She called him an ape, happens to be African-American. Called him an ape – the judge wouldn’t allow us to put that in.<br /><br />Her dog or her cat was named vagina, the judge wouldn’t allow to put that in. All these things, he – but with her, they can put in anything, “Access Hollywood” –<br /><br />COLLINS: This was a jury of nine people who found you –<br /><br />TRUMP: That’s right.<br />COLLINS: – liable of sexual abuse. Do you think that – that will deter women from voting for you?<br /><br />TRUMP: No, I don’t think so because I think the whole thing – just so you understand – ready?<br /><br />I never met this woman. I never saw this woman. This woman said I met her at the front door of Bergdorf Goodman which I never go into other than for a couple of charities. I met her in the front door. She was about 60 years. This is like 22, 23 years ago.<br /><br />I met her in the front door of Bergdorf Goodman. I was immediately attracted to her and she was immediately attracted to me. And we had this great chemistry.<br /><br />We’re walking into a crowded department store. We had this great chemistry. And a few minutes later, we end up in a room, a dressing room of Bergdorf Goodman, right near the cash register.<br /><br />And then she found out that there were locks in the door. She said, I found one that was open. She found one, she learned this at trial. She found one that was open.<br />What kind of a woman meet somebody and brings them up and within minutes, you’re playing hanky-panky in a dressing room, okay? I don’t know if she was married then or not. John Johnson, I feel sorry for you, John Johnson.<br /><br />COLLINS: Mr. President, can I – can I ask you this?<br />TRUMP: Think of it, think of this –<br />COLLINS: I know you’re recounting what you said but, Mr. President –<br />TRUMP: But let me just, if I could because you asked a question.<br />COLLINS: This was a jury though –<br /><br />TRUMP: Just so you understand, because I was walking in at a department – because I was very famous then and I owned the Plaza Hotel right next door and I owned the buildings around it. I’m not going into a dressing room of a crowded department store.<br /><br />Then I say, if she was being raped – and by the way, they said she wasn’t raped, okay? That was her charge. It wasn’t –<br /><br />COLLINS: They found that you sexually abused her.<br /><br />TRUMP: Oh, that was – say what the – they didn’t – they said he didn’t rape her.<br /><br />COLLINS: They did not say –<br /><br />TRUMP: And I didn’t do anything else either. You know what? Because I have no idea who the hell she is. I don’t know who this woman is.<br /><br />COLLINS: But, Mr. President, can I – can I ask you given your recounting and your version –<br /><br />TRUMP: I don’t know who – and I tell you this. Are you ready?<br />COLLINS: But, Mr. President, can I – can I ask you because –<br /><br />TRUMP: And I swear on my children, which I never do. I have no idea who this woman. This is a fake story, made up story.<br /><br />We had a horrible Clinton-appointed judge. He was horrible. He allowed her to put everything in. He allowed us to put nothing in. This is a fake story.<br /><br />COLLINS: Mr. President, you’re recounting your version of events here right now to the audience. You reference the trial. You did not go to the trial and actually testify.<br /><br />TRUMP: That’s right.<br /><br />COLLINS: Do you wish that you had testified?<br /><br />TRUMP: No, it wouldn’t have made a difference. This is rigged deal. This was a – my lawyer said, sir, you don’t have to do it.<br /><br />I actually said, I think I should, it would be disrespectful. They said, sir, don’t do it. This is fake story and you don’t want to give it credibility.<br /><br />COLLINS: One thing you –<br /><br />TRUMP: That’s why I didn’t go.<br /><br />COLLINS: One thing you did do in this –<br /><br />TRUMP: And I swear and I’ve never done that, and I swear to – I have no idea who the hell – she’s a whack job.<br /><br />COLLINS: Mr. President, you did not testify in person in this trial. There was a taped deposition of you from October, and in it, you defended the comments that you made on that “Access Hollywood” tape about being able to grab women how you want. Do you stand by those comments?<br /><br />TRUMP: I said if you’re famous and rich or whatever I said, but I said if you’re a star, you are – and I said women let you. I didn’t say you grab. I said women let. You know you didn’t use that word, but if you look, women let you.<br /><br />Now, they said will you take that back? I said, look, for a million years, this is the way it’s been. I want to be honest. This is the way it’s been. I can take it back if you’d like to.<br /><br />But if you’re a famous person, if you’re a star – and I’m not referring to myself. I’m saying people that are famous, people that are stars.<br /><br />COLLINS: But you were asked in a deposition if you consider yourself to be a star and you said yes.<br /><br />TRUMP: People that are rich, people that are powerful, they tend to do pretty well in a lot of different ways, okay?<br /><br />And you would like me to take that back. I can’t take it back because it happens to be true. I’ve said it’s been true for one million years, approximately a million years, perhaps a little bit longer than that.<br /><br />COLLINS: So you standby those comments?<br /><br />TRUMP: I don’t want to lie. Oh, here’s what – here’s what she wants me to say.<br /><br />COLLINS: Mr. President, let’s get to the audience questions tonight.<br /><br />TRUMP: A rich and famous person has no advantage over anyone else. Well, you do have an advantage, and I say unfortunately, but that’s the way it is.<br /><br />COLLINS: You said unfortunately or fortunately.<br /><br />TRUMP: Well, fortunately or unfortunately for her.<br /><br />COLLINS: But, Mr. President, we have a lot of audience questions to get to tonight. I want to go back to the audience.<br /><br />We’ve got Danielle Reger. She works as an oral surgery assistant. She’s a Republican activist from Derry. She was a New Hampshire delegate for you in 2020.<br />What’s your question?<br /><br />DANIELLE REGER, ORAL SURGERY ASSISTANT: Hi, thank you so much for coming to New Hampshire to answer our questions.<br />TRUMP: Thank you.<br />REGER: My question is regarding the economy.<br />Over the past two years, we have seen the prices for everything skyrocket, from food to gas to utilities and insurance costs. Many peoples’ bills are up several hundred dollars a month, including mine.<br />If elected president, again, what is the first thing you would do to help bring down the cost to make things more affordable?<br /><br />TRUMP: Drill, baby, drill.<br /><br />TRUMP: Well, we were energy independent. We were soon going to be energy dominant.<br /><br />And nobody had ever done what I did. We got oil down to $1.87. Actually, it fell lower than that in some cases. We’d have to save the oil companies – the price was getting.<br /><br />So, we were doing incredibly. We had the greatest economy in the history of our country, probably the greatest economy in the history of the world.<br /><br />We’re energy independent, soon to be energy dominant. We were going to be bigger than Russia and Saudi Arabia put together times two. We have more liquid gold under our feet than any other nation – any other nation.<br /><br />And these stupid fools ended it. And energy went from $1.87 and even lower for gasoline, for a car. They went from $1.87 to $5, $6, $7, $8 and even $9, and your electricity bills went through the roof. Your heating bills went through the roof.<br /><br />And that’s what started inflation. And it hasn’t stopped because people are paying now for bacon and for eggs and for the – two and three times what it was just a little while ago.<br /><br />We created the greatest economy in history. A big part of that economy was I get – I got you the biggest tax cuts in the history of our country, bigger than the Reagan cuts, bigger than any –<br /><br />TRUMP: And also, Kaitlan, also, as you know, we got the biggest regulation and regulatory cuts.<br /><br />We – this place was rocking, and then we were given a gift from China. And China paid a big price. And let me tell you something, I took in hundreds of billions of dollars in taxes from China.<br /><br />But prior to COVID coming in – and then I rebuilt the economy again a second time. But we had prior to COVID coming in as – from China, from Wuhan, which I said it came from Wuhan, and everybody said, oh, you’re wrong about that. You’re wrong. It came from Wuhan. I said it right from day one.<br /><br />So we had the greatest economy in the world, is historic. They made energy so high, and energy is all invasive. It is massive as an industry and as a cost. It lifted everything.<br /><br />COLLINS: Mr. President, staying on the economy –<br /><br />TRUMP: If you made do – if you made donuts, if you made – no matter what you did, and we had inflation the likes of which – I guess we have, as you said, for 52 years, but I think more than that, we had no inflation, we had the lowest energy prices we’ve had in decades. This country was rocking and rolling.<br /><br />And by the way, we had the most secure border in the history of our country and now we have –<br /><br />COLLINS: Mr. President, we have – we have more questions on the economy. I want to make sure we get to all of those.<br /><br />As you know, the U.S. could be three weeks away from defaulting on its debt. There could be millions of jobs lost, people not getting their Social Security payments. We believe it’d put the U.S. into a recession.<br /><br />On that topic, I want to bring in Marta Saravia, a student here at Saint Anselm. She’s an undeclared voter who did not vote in 2020.<br />Marta, what’s your question?<br />MARTA SARAVIA, SAINT ANSELM COLLEGE STUDENT: Hi, Mr. President.<br />TRUMP: Hi. Thank you.<br />SARAVIA: So, my question is, what do you think about the United States current debt situation, and how can we move forward?<br /><br />TRUMP: Such an important question. So we’re at $33 trillion, a number that nobody ever thought possible.<br /><br />When we had our economy rocking and rolling just prior to COVID coming in, like literally, we were making a fortune. And oil, we were going to make so much money from oil, we were going to start paying off debt.<br /><br />But then with COVID coming in, we had to do other things. We had to keep this country alive because it was so serious. But we have to get the country back.<br />We have to lower energy prices. We have to lower interest rates. Interest rates are through the roof. Energy has to come down, it all has to come down and we have to start paying off debt.<br /><br />But when we have a debt limit, and they use that very seriously. I mean, they came in – Schumer came in with Nancy Pelosi, and they were using, we’ll violate it, we’ll do whatever – they talked a whole lot different than they do right now.<br /><br />I say to the Republicans out there – congressmen, senators – if they don’t give you massive cuts, you’re going to have to do a default. And I don’t believe they’re going to do a default because I think the Democrats will absolutely cave because you don’t want to have that happen. But it’s better than what we’re doing right now because we’re spending money like drunken sailors. You know the expression?<br /><br />COLLINS: So, just to be clear, Mr. President, you think the U.S. should default if the White House does not agree to the spending cuts Republicans are demanding?<br /><br />TRUMP: Well, you might as well do it now because you’ll do it later, because we have –<br />TRUMP: Well, you might as well do it now because you’ll do it later. Because we have to save this country. Our country is dying. Our country is being destroyed by stupid people, by very stupid people.<br /><br />COLLINS: You once said that using the – that using the debt ceiling as a negotiating wedge just could not happen. You – you said that when you were in the Oval Office.<br /><br />TRUMP: Sure, that’s when I was president.<br />COLLINS: So why is it different now that you’re out of office?<br />TRUMP: Because now I’m not president.<br /><br />COLLINS: The U.S. defaulting would be massively consequential…<br />TRUMP: Well, you don’t know…<br />COLLINS: … for everyone in this room, for all Americans.<br /><br />TRUMP: You don’t know. It’s psychological. It’s really psychological more than anything else. And it could be very bad. It could be, maybe, nothing. Maybe it’s – you have a bad week or a bad day, but, look, you have to cut your costs. We’re – we’re spending $7 trillion on – much of it on nonsense – $7 trillion on nonsense.<br /><br />COLLINS: We’ve got another question from a voter tonight.<br /><br />TRUMP: I actually said get all of that money that was wasted and, frankly, the Senate should have never approved it. Get all that money that was wasted. And if they don’t get rid of that, you’ll have to default.<br /><br />COLLINS: Mr. President…<br />TRUMP: OK? You’ll have to default.<br /><br />COLLINS: Mr. President, we’ve got another voter here tonight…<br /><br />TRUMP: And, by the way, you’re going to default eventually, anyway, but it’s going to be much messier. I don’t think you’ll have to default. I think, if the Republicans hold strong and they say “We want five” – let’s say, “We want $5 trillion off,” I really think the Democrats have no choice but to do it. And if I win, they’re going to be doing the same thing to me in two years, I guarantee you that. They’re going to play a very hardball game…<br /><br />COLLINS: Mr. President, we’ve got another voter here tonight…<br /><br />TRUMP: … and they did that before.<br /><br />COLLINS: Bobby Petrino has been waiting very patiently. He’s a student at Saint Anselm. He’s a member of College Republicans. He’s an undeclared voter right now. He supported you in 2020.<br /><br />Bobby, what’s your question for President Trump?<br /><br />QUESTION: Hi, thank you for coming. This is a bit of a pivot. But, with gun violence and mass shootings in the news cycle recently, I’m worried that state governments and the federal government are going to act to repress gun rights. Under your administration, you instructed the Department of Justice and the ATF to ban bump stocks. If elected president again, how would you act not only to defend our second amendment rights but to restore rights that have been taken from us such as, by example, recently, the ATF’s ruling on the pistol-stabilizing braces?<br /><br />TRUMP: Yeah, as you know, the bump stocks are actually a very unimportant thing. And NRA, I went with them, and they said it doesn’t mean anything. Actually, all they do is teach you how to shoot very inaccurately. So we did that.<br /><br />There’s been nobody that’s protected the second amendment, as you know, like I have. I’ve protected it through thick and thin, not easy to do. But we have a very big mental health problem in this country. And again, it’s not the gun that pulls the trigger; it’s the person that pulls the trigger. And we have to protect our second amendment.<br />We have to protect our Second Amendment.<br /><br />COLLINS: Mr. President, you dealt with a lot of mass shootings when you were in office. This year there have already been more than 200 mass shootings in 2023.<br /><br />TRUMP: Yeah.<br />COLLINS: If you are re-elected, are there any new gun restrictions that you would sign into law?<br /><br />TRUMP: I would do numerous things. For instance, schools, we would harden, very – very much harden – and I also, I’m a very believer – I believe in teachers; I love teachers. I think they’re incredible, and they love the children – not quite like the parents, but they love the children, in many cases, almost as much.<br /><br />Many of these teachers are soldiers, ex-soldiers, ex-policemen. They’re people that really understand weapons. And you don’t need – 5 percent of the teachers would be more than you could ever have if you’re going to hire security guards. But in addition to that, have security guards. You have to harden your entrances. You have to make schools safe.<br /><br />And you can make other places safe. But it is a big mental health problem in this country more than anything else. And remember, we have 700 million guns – 700 million. Many people, if they don’t have a gun, they’re not going to be very safe. I mean, if they don’t have a gun – it gives them security. Now, you need them for entertainment; you need them for hunting; you need them for a lot of different things. But there are people that, if they didn’t have the privilege of having a gun in some form, they – many of them would not be alive today. You know, there’s a certain country that had a very strict policy on guns, very, very strict.<br /><br />COLLINS: Which country?<br /><br />TRUMP: Brazil. OK, Brazil, very strict. And the former president of Brazil – and the killing was incredible. They were walking into people’s homes and killing people.<br /> <br />They had no protection. He said, “Go out and buy guns.” People went out and bought guns, and it went way down. The numbers went way down because they had security.<br /><br />If you look at Chicago, Chicago has the singles toughest gun policies in the nation. They are so tough, you can’t breathe; New York, too, and other places also. All of those places are the worst and most dangerous places. So that’s not the answer.<br /><br />COLLINS: So no new restrictions that you would sign if re-elected, Mr. President.<br />I want you to meet Julie Miles, a registered nurse from Merrimack. She’s a Republican who voted for you in 2020.<br />Julie, what’s your question for the president?<br /><br />QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President.<br />TRUMP: Thank you.<br /><br />QUESTION: I appreciate you answering this question this evening. How do you plan to appeal to women voters in New Hampshire who are concerned about the Dobbs decision and how states may change their laws?<br /><br />TRUMP: It’s such a great question, and it was such a great victory. And people are starting to understand it now. You know that they wanted to bring it back to the states, but that was probably the least important part of that victory. Getting rid of Roe v. Wade was an incredible thing for pro-life because it gave pro-life something to negotiate with. Pro-life had absolutely nothing, being stuck in Roe v. Wade to negotiate with. And now what’s happening, and I see it all over, deals are being made; deals are going to (inaudible) look, everybody that was president wanted to get rid, and tried to get rid of Roe v. Wade.<br /><br />COLLINS: You mean Republicans?<br /><br />TRUMP: For 50 years – Republicans. For 50 years this has been going on – actually a couple of Democrats, too. But for 50 years, this has been going on. I was able to do it, and I was very honored to do it. But by doing it, things are happening that are very, very positive.<br /><br />And you have to – I happen to believe in the exceptions, the life of the mother, rape, incest, like Ronald Reagan believed in the exceptions. But I happen to believe that. I think it – I think it’s frankly important to do that, but a lot of people are, you know, against that – a relatively small – relatively small number, but the way I – the way I look at it…<br /><br />COLLINS: So let me ask you…<br /><br />TRUMP: I think it’s very important to say this. I consider the other side to be radical. Because the other side, under Roe v. Wade and other things, the other side, they’re radical. Because they will – remember the debate with Hillary Clinton? And I said, “Rip the baby out of the womb at the end of the ninth month, they will kill the baby in the ninth month.” If you look at that crazy governor of Virginia from – the former governor, where he said, “No, the baby will be born and then we’ll decide,” essentially whether or not to execute the baby.<br /><br />COLLINS: But, Mr. President, can we talk about what you would do…<br /><br />TRUMP: No, but these are the radical people.<br /><br />COLLINS: … if you are re-elected…<br />TRUMP: It’s not the pro-life people that are radical…<br />COLLINS: But if you are re-elected…<br />TRUMP: It’s these people.<br /><br />COLLINS: … and you’re back in the Oval Office, and you get legislation to your desk, would you sign a federal abortion ban into law?<br /><br />TRUMP: What I will do is negotiate so that people are happy. But the fact that we were able – I was able – I’m so proud of it. We put three great justices on the Supreme Court. We have almost 300 federal judges on the Supreme Court.<br /><br />COLLINS: So you – just to be clear – just to be clear, Mr. President, you – you would sign a federal abortion ban into law?<br /><br />TRUMP: Well, I said this. I said this. I want to do what’s right. And we’re looking. And we want to do what’s right for everybody.<br /><br />COLLINS: But what’s right?<br /><br />TRUMP: But now, for the first time, the people that are pro-life have negotiating capability, because you didn’t have it before. They could kill the baby in the ninth month or after the baby was born. Now they won’t be able to do that.<br /><br />COLLINS: But I think this is a really important question for you to answer because this is something every Republican, including those who are running against you for the nomination, are being asked about, is would you sign a federal abortion ban into law?<br /><br />TRUMP: Well, and many of them are going to give you the same answer as I – I am. First of all, I am honored to have done what I did, and a lot of people said – they said, “In 150 years, he’s now the most consequential president because he saved so many lives.” And I’m honored to have done it.<br /><br />TRUMP: And – and because of what I’ve done, we now have a great negotiating ability. That’s what I do in life. I negotiate. We have a great negotiating ability, and I think we’re going to be able to get something done.<br /><br />COLLINS: But what do you mean “negotiating ability?” Because the question that Republicans have, and some of your allies on Capitol Hill say that they want to introduce legislation when it comes to banning abortion. If they send it to your desk, would you sign it?<br /><br />TRUMP: Some people are at six weeks; some people are at three weeks, two weeks.<br />COLLINS: Where’s President Trump?<br /><br />TRUMP: President Trump is going to make a determination what he thinks is great for the country and what’s fair for the country. But the fact that I was able to terminate Roe v. Wade, after 50 years of trying – they worked for 50 years. I’ve never seen anything like it. They worked – and I was even – I was so honored to have done it. We are in a very good negotiating position right now, only because of what I was able to do.<br /><br />And remember this, again, you talk about radicalism. People that will kill a baby in the ninth month or the eighth month or the seventh month, or after the baby is born, they’re the radicals, not the pro-life people.<br /><br />COLLINS: I just want to give you one more chance, though, because you did not answer whether or not you’d sign a federal abortion ban or how many weeks into pregnancy you believe abortion should be banned.<br /><br />TRUMP: Yeah, but I’ve given you…<br /><br />COLLINS: Can you answer either of those tonight?<br /><br />TRUMP: I’ve given you the answer probably four times already.<br /><br />COLLINS: Which one is it, then?<br /><br />TRUMP: I’m looking – I’m looking…<br /><br />COLLINS: You haven’t answered it.<br /><br />TRUMP: … at a solution that’s going to work – very complex issue for the country. You have people on both sides of an issue. But we are now in a very strong position. Pro-life people are in a strong position to make a deal that’s going to be good and going to be satisfactory for them.<br /><br />If you weren’t able to get rid of – you wouldn’t even be having a discussion if you weren’t able to get rid of Roe v. Wade, which put pro-life in a dead position, a horrible position. They could kill the baby at any time they wanted to. But we did something that nobody thought was do-able. And other Republican presidents, and others, by the way, they wanted to get it out. They also wanted to bring it back to the states. But bringing it back to the states is a less important issue…<br /><br />COLLINS: But that’s why it’s…<br /><br />TRUMP: … than the issue that we just talked about.<br /><br />COLLINS: the question about a federal abortion ban. You did not say yes or no to that. You did not say how many weeks…<br /><br />TRUMP: It depends what – it depends what the deal is. Lindsey Graham’s a good man.<br /><br />COLLINS: You did not say how many weeks.<br />TRUMP: He’s got an idea. And a lot of other people have an idea. And I look at all the…<br /><br />COLLINS: And a lot of people will be curious what your idea…<br />TRUMP: I’ll make the right decision…<br />COLLINS: … is on that.<br />President Trump, we’ve got more questions to come for you tonight.<br />TRUMP: Yeah, I’ll make the right decision…<br /><br />COLLINS: We’ll be right back…<br /><br />TRUMP: … for the country.<br /><br />COLLINS: … in just a moment.<br /><br />COLLINS: Welcome back to CNN’s Republican presidential town hall with former President Donald Trump.<br /><br />President Trump, I’d like you to meet Jennifer Simmons. She is a stay-at-home mom and former town selectman from Windham. She’s Republican, and she voted for you in 2020.<br /><br />Jennifer, what’s your question tonight?<br /><br />QUESTION: Good evening, Mr. President.<br />TRUMP: Thank you.<br /><br />QUESTION: Title 42 is expected to expire tomorrow. Our southern border and now our northern border are experiencing record migration. We learned on May 2nd that the Biden administration plans on deploying 1,500 troops to the southern border.<br />Do you agree with deploying troops to the border? And how will a Trump administration slow down the rate of migrants coming across all our borders?<br /><br />TRUMP: Sure, a very fair question, especially since tomorrow is going to be a day of infamy. You’re going to have tens of thousands of people pouring into our country. Even the judge, you know, the judge overruled them when they wanted to terminate it early. And he said, do you know that you better extend this thing. The judge in Texas said, I hope you’re going to extend this.<br /><br />But this is my policy that they’re letting terminate because they lost in court. They wanted to go earlier. You’re going to have millions of people pouring into our country right now at a level that nobody has ever seen before. These people are sick. <br /><br />Anybody that wants this to happen to our country, they’re destroying our country. And this should not be allowed to happen, how they’re not going to do a version of Title 42 or my Title 42, which was tough.<br /><br />If people are sick and have infectious diseases and lots of other problems, we don’t want them being into our country. We have enough problems right now. We have problems like we’ve never had in the history of our country. Our country–<br /><br />COLLINS: But, Mr. President–<br /><br />TRUMP: Our country is being–<br />COLLINS: – the reason it’s ending–<br />TRUMP: – destroyed.<br /><br />COLLINS: The reason it’s ending is because the health policy, the COVID-era pandemic emergency is coming to an end. That’s what Title 42 was. You put it in place because of COVID.<br /><br />TRUMP: That’s true, but you have–<br /><br />COLLINS: When it comes to big questions about what your immigration policy would look like if you are re-elected, some of your Republican rivals have criticized you for not fulfilling the promises that you made on the campaign trail like finishing the border wall. So how do voters know that you would get those done if you’re re-elected?<br /><br />TRUMP: I did finish the wall. I built a wall. I built–<br />COLLINS: You didn’t finish the wall.<br /><br />TRUMP: – hundreds of miles of wall. And I finished it. And then I said, we have to build some more because there are areas like water going through a dam. There are some areas where a lot of people are coming. You close up one and they come into another. And we started another 100 miles of wall. In fact, I said to my people, if we start this and don’t finish it, and then we had a rigged election, I’m sorry to say it. And–<br /><br />COLLINS: The election was not rigged, Mr. President.<br />TRUMP: Oh, OK, good, I know. I’m–<br />COLLINS: You can’t keep saying that all night long.<br />TRUMP: I’m glad you’re saying that. And so then–<br />COLLINS: You cannot keep saying the election–<br />TRUMP: – they took over and–<br />COLLINS: – was rigged.<br /><br />TRUMP: – they decided not to finish it. It would have taken them three weeks. I’ve built hundreds of miles of wall. If we didn’t have it, it would be – hard to believe it could be any worse, they’re just letting people flow into our country.<br /><br />Look, a country has to have borders. There’s never been anything like is happening to our country right now.<br /><br />COLLINS: You built about 52 miles of new wall when you were in office–<br /><br />TRUMP: You see this?<br />COLLINS: – Mr. President. It wasn’t the complete wall. One other thing that – with immigration–<br /><br />TRUMP: No, but I have to respond to that.<br />COLLINS: With your immigration – it was only about 52 miles–<br />TRUMP: OK. Can I respond?<br />COLLINS: – of new wall.<br /><br />TRUMP: This is what she does.<br /><br />TRUMP: I built hundreds of miles. Some of the wall was up there, and it would be laying on the ground, rusted rotten steel, rusted rotten wood. A little – and what the radical left crazy Democrats did, if there’s a piece of wood laying down, they consider that a wall. I built 30-foot walls that go down seven feet into the ground. If there was a little piece of wood sitting in the ground, they said, oh, he’s not building a wall, we already had a wall. Because this is the game. They’re a party of disinformation.<br /><br />COLLINS: It’s not a game, Mr. President. It’s about 52 miles of new wall. One other immigration policy–<br /><br />TRUMP: No, no–<br />COLLINS: – you had when you were–<br />TRUMP: – they – I built new wall.<br />COLLINS: – in office–<br />TRUMP: I built new wall.<br />COLLINS: Fifth-two miles of–<br />TRUMP: For hundreds of miles.<br /><br />COLLINS: CBP, Mr. President.<br /><br />TRUMP: What I did is I replaced other wall that was laying down, that was up and rotting in the ground for 30 years. Some of it was steel that you couldn’t even say it was steel.<br /><br />COLLINS: Mr. President, it was only about 52 miles of new wall. But moving on, another immigration policy you had was the zero-tolerance immigration policy that separated families at the border. If you are re-elected, are you ruling out instituting that?<br /><br />TRUMP: Well, when you have that policy, people don’t come. If a family hears they’re going to be separated, they love their family, they don’t come. So I know it sounds harsh, but if you remember, remember they said I was building prisons for children? It turned out that it was Obama that was building the prisons–<br /><br />COLLINS: But would you–<br />TRUMP: – for the children.<br /><br />COLLINS: – re – re-implement that if you’re re-elected? Is that what you’re saying?<br />TRUMP: Well, here’s – we have to save our country, all right? We can’t afford–<br />COLLINS: So it sounds like that’s a yes.<br /><br />TRUMP: No, no. When you say to a family that if you come we’re going to break you up, they don’t come. And we can’t afford to have anymore – look at New York City. <br /><br />Look what’s happening. They’re living in Central Park in New York City. The city is being swamped. Los Angeles is being swamped. Iowa is being swamped. Our whole country is being destroyed. Millions of people are coming into our country.<br /><br />And you know what the number is going to be, in my opinion, by the end of the year, not the 4 million that you hear and the 3 million. I think it’s going to be 15 million people. And in these people, they have no idea where they come from. They come from 129 different countries so far, 129, not just–<br /><br />COLLINS: But, Mr. President, just–<br />TRUMP: – the four that we talk about.<br /><br />COLLINS: Just to put a button on that, it sounds like what you’re saying is that you’re not ruling out re-implementing that immigration policy. I want to get to another voter. Kaitlyn Boissoneau is a student here at St. Anselm College. She’s a Republican. This will be the first election that she has voted in.<br />What’s your question for the president, Kaitlyn?<br />KAITLYN BOISSONEAU, STUDENT, ST. ANSELM COLLEGE: Hello, President Trump.<br />TRUMP: Hi.<br />BOISSONEAU: Thank you so much for coming.<br />TRUMP: Thank you.<br /><br />BOISSONEAU: The current administration has made it clear that we should continue to provide military equipment to Ukraine so that they can defend themselves. Do you support this decision? And how would you deal with the increasing threat posed by Vladimir Putin?<br /><br />TRUMP: First of all, thank you very much. That’s really nice. And it’s an important question. So important. Because we’re giving away so much equipment. We don’t want have ammunition for ourselves right now. We don’t have ammunition for ourselves. We’re giving away so much. But here’s the thing. Have to say it to start off. It no longer matters.<br /><br />If I were president, this would have never happened. And even the Democrats admit that. Putin knew it would have never happened and his pipeline would have never happened. A lot of things would have never happened. But this would never have happened.<br /><br />COLLINS: Which Democrats say that, Mr. President?<br /><br />TRUMP: And all those dead people, both Russian and Ukrainian, it wouldn’t – they wouldn’t be dead today. And all those cities that are blown up and disintegrated right to the ground, that wouldn’t have happened, OK?<br /><br />Now, here’s the problem. We’ve given so far $171 billion. They’ve given – they, meaning European Union, which is approximately the same size, altogether, as our economy, they’ve given about 20. So we’re at 170, let’s say, and they’re at 20. You don’t have to know too much about history to realize – or geography to realize that they’re a little bit more affected than we are, OK? So they’ve got to put up a lot more money because they’re taking advantage of us like every other country did.<br /><br />That’s why I ended NAFTA and replaced it with the USMCA, Mexico-Canada.<br /><br />COLLINS: But on this issue, Mr. President, I should know, I don’t know any Democrats who have said they don’t believe Putin would’ve invaded if you were president. But her question is, would you continue to give Ukraine money and weapons if you’re elected. What’s the answer?<br /><br />TRUMP: I have a very good relationship with President Zelenskyy because, as you know, he backed me up with the – with the phony impeachment – impeachment hoax, number one, when he said the president didn’t do anything wrong. So I happen to–<br /><br />COLLINS: That was when you asked–<br />TRUMP: – like – so–<br />COLLINS: – him for an investigation–<br />TRUMP: – I happen to like – yes–<br />COLLINS: – for weapons.<br /><br />TRUMP: – that’s right. And it was – I was totally exonerated, by the way. Just a waste of time and money.<br />COLLINS: You were impeached over that.<br />TRUMP: Yes, I was impeached.<br />COLLINS: You were impeached over that. But let’s stay on topic here, Mr. President. Because the question is, would you give Ukraine weapons and funding?<br /><br />TRUMP: I was impeached by a crazy woman named Nancy Pelosi–<br /><br />COLLINS: But the question here is, would you give Ukraine weapons and funding if you are re-elected?<br /><br />TRUMP: I would sit down – let – let me just put it a nicer way. If I’m president, I will have that war settled in one day, 24 hours.<br /><br />COLLINS: How would you settle that war in one day?<br /><br />TRUMP: First, I’ll meet with Putin, I’ll meet with Zelenskyy. They both have weaknesses and they both have strengths. And within 24 hours that war will be settled. It will be over. It will be absolutely over.<br /><br />COLLINS: Do you want Ukraine to win this war?<br /><br />TRUMP: I don’t think in terms of winning and losing. I think in terms of getting it settled so we stop killing all these people and breaking down–<br /><br />COLLINS: What do you – can I just follow up on that? You said you don’t think in terms–<br /><br />TRUMP: But one of the things you have to do–<br />COLLINS: – of winning and losing–<br />TRUMP: – you have to get the – you have to get Europe–<br />COLLINS: Mr. President, can I just follow up on that? Because that’s a really important statement that you just made there.<br /><br />TRUMP: Excuse me, let me just follow up.<br />COLLINS: Can you say if you want Ukraine or Russia to win this war?<br /><br />TRUMP: I want everybody to stop dying. They’re dying, Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying.<br /><br />TRUMP: And I’ll have that done – I’ll have that done in 24 hours. I’ll have it done. You need the power of the presidency to do it.<br /><br />COLLINS: But you won’t say that you want Ukraine to win. You said when you were in–<br /><br />TRUMP: You know what I’ll say? I’ll say this.<br />COLLINS: – in office–<br />TRUMP: I want Europe to put up more money. Because they’re in for 20 billion, we’re in for 170. And they should be–<br /><br />COLLINS: But that’s not an answer about who should win the war.<br /><br />TRUMP: And they should equalize. They have plenty of money. They should equalize. I got with NATO–<br /><br />COLLINS: But I’m asking you about Ukraine right now, Mr. President.<br /><br />TRUMP: – to put up hundreds of billions of dollars that they weren’t paying under Obama and Bush and all of these other presidents. That’s why they’re – they’re able to help them fight the war because of the money I got. But I want Europe to–<br /><br />COLLINS: But let’s talk about what’s happening–<br /><br />TRUMP: Excuse me.<br />COLLINS: – in Ukraine, Mr. President.<br /><br />TRUMP: I want Europe to put up more money. Because they’re laughing at us. They think we’re a bunch of jerks. We’re spending $170 billion for a faraway land and they’re right next door to that land, and they’re in for 20. I don’t think so.<br /><br />COLLINS: When it comes to what’s happening there, when you were in office, you said that you respected President Putin.<br /><br />TRUMP: Yes, I do.<br /><br />COLLINS: Do you still respect him today?<br /><br />TRUMP: He made a tremendous mistake. Made that – he made – he’s a smart guy, you know? I remember I said, he was smart, she was smart. They said, he–<br /><br />COLLINS: What was his mistake?<br /><br />TRUMP: – said President Xi of China, right, is smart. OK, 1.5 billion people, he’s the ruler of 1.5 billion people. I said, yes, he’s a smart guy. How dare he say he’s smart. Of course he’s smart. They want you to say he’s a stupid person. OK, he’s not a stupid person. He’s very smart. He’s very cunning. And Putin made a bad mistake, in my opinion.<br /><br />COLLINS: What was his mistake?<br /><br />TRUMP: It would have – his mistake was going in. He would have never gone in if I was president. We used to talk about it too.<br /><br />COLLINS: Do you believe he is a war criminal?<br /><br />TRUMP: What?<br />COLLINS: Do you believe that Putin is a war criminal? He’s responsible for the deaths of thousands of Ukrainian–<br /><br />TRUMP: Well, I think this–<br /><br />COLLINS: – men and women and civilian –<br /><br />TRUMP: I think it’s something that should not be discussed now. It should be discussed later. Because right now we have to get a war – if you say he’s a war criminal, it’s going to be a lot tougher to make a deal to get this thing stopped, because if he’s going to be a war criminal, where people are going to go and grab him and execute him, he’s going to fight a lot harder than he’s fighting, you know, under the other circumstance.<br /><br />That’s something to be discussed at a later date.<br /><br />COLLINS: But isn’t it important to–<br />TRUMP: Right now we want to get–<br />COLLINS: – call it what it is?<br /><br />TRUMP: – that war settled. And I’m not talking about the money, either, I’m talking about all the lives that are being – the number of people being killed in that war is far greater than you’re hearing. When they blow up the city and those buildings come pouring down, and they say two people were injured, no, no, hundreds and thousands of people are being killed. And we have to get that war settled.<br /><br />COLLINS: We have more with former President Trump right after this. We’re going to take a quick break. And then we’ll be back to questions from voters right after that.<br /><br />COLLINS: Welcome back to CNN’s Republican Presidential Town Hall with former President Trump.<br /><br />President Trump, you – we had a lot more voters’ questions, I should note, in here in New Hampshire to get to. But I also want to talk about some of the other investigations that you’re facing. We’ve talked about others at the top. But one of those is the special counsel’s investigation into classified documents that–<br /><br />TRUMP: Sure.<br />COLLINS: – were found at Mar-a-Lago. Why did you take those documents with you when you left the White House?<br /><br />TRUMP: I had every right to under the Presidential Records Act. You have the Presidential Records Act. I was there and I took what I took and it gets declassified.<br />Biden, on the other hand, he has 1,850 boxes. He had boxes sent to Chinatown, Chinatown, where they don’t speak even English in that Chinatown we’re talking about.<br /><br />COLLINS: Well, can I – I got to stop you right there, because–<br /><br />TRUMP: And nobody talks about him. They talk about us.<br /><br />Just so you understand, I had every right to do it. I didn’t make a secret of it. You know, the boxes were stationed outside of the White House. People were taking pictures of the GSA and the various people that were moving–<br /><br />COLLINS: I got to stop you right there, though, because the Presidential Records Act, which is not well-known to a lot of people, I read it. It does not say that you can take documents with you.<br /><br />It says, actually, that they are the property of the federal government when you leave.<br /><br />TRUMP: It says you – it says you talk, you negotiate, you make a deal.<br />It’s not criminal, by the way, not – it’s –<br /><br />COLLINS: It does – it does not say that you can negotiate.<br /><br />TRUMP: The Presidential Records Act is not criminal. And just so you know–<br /><br />COLLINS: It does not say you can negotiate to take the documents with you.<br /><br />TRUMP: Just so you – can I tell you, just so you understand, the Presidential Records Act is not criminal.<br /><br />I took the documents. I’m allowed to. You know who else took them? Obama took them. Nixon took them. Reagan took them.<br /><br />COLLINS: Obama did not take documents.<br /><br />TRUMP: Oh, he didn’t? He didn’t?<br /><br />COLLINS: The difference here that I would like to note –<br /><br />TRUMP: Take a look.<br />Reagan took them.<br /><br />COLLINS: The National Archives says that President Obama did not documents.<br />TRUMP: Even Jimmy Carter. Even Mike Pence had some documents, and he’s a very honorable guy.<br /><br />COLLINS: You referenced Pence. You referenced Biden.<br /><br />TRUMP: But you know who took them more than anybody is Joe Biden. He has 1,800 boxes.<br /><br />COLLINS: That’s not –<br />COLLINS: – Mr. President. And you know that.<br />TRUMP: And nobody even knows where they are, 1,800, and nobody talks about him.<br /><br />COLLINS: Mr. President, that’s not accurate.<br /><br />TRUMP: And they – and they put a rough guy on us. And they – in the meantime, they had nobody.<br /><br />COLLINS: I think it’s important, Mr. President, to actually set the record straight here.<br />They took documents, including President – Vice President Pence. When they realized they had documents, they turned them back over.<br /><br />The difference is that you waited to turn yours over, and it was a year-and-a-half effort–<br /><br />TRUMP: Excuse me.<br /><br />COLLINS: – that included a subpoena with those documents.<br /><br />One question about what happened when you had those documents.<br /><br />TRUMP: It included a raid on my house. That what it included.<br /><br />COLLINS: But you had gotten a – you had gotten a subpoena, and they had not been turned over yet.<br /><br />TRUMP: They didn’t raid Biden’s house. They didn’t raid Biden’s house. You know what he – happened? They put him in the house. That’s the one with the Corvette where the documents were laying all over the floor. That was fine.<br /><br />TRUMP: And you know who happens to be at Mar-a-Lago? Secret Service. And they’re phenomenal.<br /><br />I have Secret Service. He didn’t have Secret Service. The other thing, the vice president cannot declassify. He didn’t have the right to declassify. He has documents from when he was a senator, and even Democrat senators say, I can’t believe it.<br /><br />No, I went by the Presidential Records Act, and we were negotiating with NARA.<br /><br />COLLINS: That’s not what the Presidential Records Act says. That’s not what it says, Mr. President.<br /><br />TRUMP: And NARA has red-flagged a thing called the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights, because they consider them dangerous documents.<br /><br />COLLINS: Mr. President, that’s not what it says. And I should note–<br /><br />TRUMP: Those are the people we’re dealing with.<br /><br />COLLINS: And I should note that there is a special counsel investigating your document situation, also President Biden’s document situation.<br /><br />When it comes to your documents, did you ever show those classified documents to anyone?<br /><br />TRUMP: Not really. I would have the right to. By the way, they were declassified after–<br /><br />COLLINS: What do you mean not really?<br /><br />TRUMP: Not – not that I can think of.<br /><br />Let me just tell you, I have the absolute right to do whatever I want with them. I have the right. I was negotiating with NARA. Do you know what NARA is?<br /><br />COLLINS: The National Archives.<br /><br />TRUMP: Extremely – extremely left group of people.<br /><br />COLLINS: But you don’t negotiate with them.<br /><br />TRUMP: Extremely left. And I was negotiating with them.<br /><br />COLLINS: They’re not left. They’re bipartisan.<br /><br />TRUMP: All of a sudden, they raided my house.<br /><br />TRUMP: They didn’t raid the house of Joe Biden. They didn’t raid Obama.<br /><br />COLLINS: But Joe Biden didn’t ignore a subpoena to get those documents back, like you did. And so that’s the question.<br /><br />TRUMP: Joe Biden took 1,850 boxes.<br /><br />COLLINS: But that’s the question that investigators have, I think, is why you held onto those documents when you knew the federal government was seeking them and then had given you a subpoena to return them.<br /><br />TRUMP: Are you ready? Are you ready? Can I talk?<br /><br />COLLINS: Yes. What’s the answer?<br />TRUMP: Do you mind?<br />TRUMP: Can I – do you mind?<br />COLLINS: I would like for you to answer the question.<br />TRUMP: OK. It’s very simple to answer.<br />COLLINS: That’s why I asked it.<br /><br />TRUMP: It’s very simple to – you’re a nasty person, I will tell you.<br /><br />COLLINS: Can you answer why you – why you held onto the document?<br /><br />TRUMP: Very simple.<br /><br />I was negotiating, and we were talking to NARA – that’s Washington – to bring whatever they want. They can have whatever they want.<br /><br />When we left Washington, we had the boxes lined up on the sidewalk outside for everybody. People are taking pictures of them. Everybody knew we were taking those boxes. And the GSA, the Government Service, the GSA was the one taking them. They brought them down to Mar-a-Lago.<br /><br />We were negotiating with NARA. All of a sudden, they raid our house. When Biden has his documents, he won’t give back the 1,850 boxes. And you’re going to find some real gems in there.<br /><br />COLLINS: But it was Biden who alerted them that he had the documents.<br /><br />TRUMP: So, you–<br />TRUMP: – have all these different sets of – all these different set of–<br /><br />COLLINS: The National Archives reached out to you to get your documents back.<br />Why did you not turn them over when you got a subpoena asking for you to turn them over?<br /><br />TRUMP: Because we were negotiating with them. We were negotiating with them, as per, as per the Presidential Records Act. We were negotiating with NARA.<br /><br />COLLINS: That’s not what the Presidential Records Act says. I have seen it.<br /><br />TRUMP: Very nice people, but they got to love our Constitution a little bit more, because – and they shouldn’t red-flag it, by the way.<br /><br />Very nice people. We were negotiating with NARA, and that’s what the Presidential Records Act says, because Richard Nixon, surprisingly, had problems. And he had a lot of problems dealing with NARA, and they ended up passing legislation–<br /><br />COLLINS: Well, that’s why they created–<br /><br />TRUMP: – called the Presidential Records Act just for this kind of a thing. We were dealing with them.<br /><br />COLLINS: My last on this – on this subject, Mr. President–<br /><br />TRUMP: We were talking to them. Excuse me. Wait a minute. Wait. Wait. Wait.<br />We were talking to them. We would have done it. But, all of a sudden, they raided the house. Now, why haven’t – why hasn’t the FBI raided Biden?<br /><br />COLLINS: But I just explained to you why.<br /><br />TRUMP: Why? Eighteen hundred and 50 boxes.<br /><br />COLLINS: It’s because he – they alerted the government that they had those documents and had them come and get the documents from his house.<br /><br />TRUMP: OK. Why didn’t – no, he – they didn’t take them.<br /><br />COLLINS: My question for you, though, when it comes to documents, do you still have any classified documents in your possession?<br /><br />TRUMP: Are you ready?<br />COLLINS: Do you?<br />TRUMP: No. No, I don’t have anything. I have no classified documents. And, by the way, they become automatically declassified when I took them.<br /><br />COLLINS: No, you had to declassify them.<br />TRUMP: But why – let me ask you a question. Why is it that Biden had nine boxes in Chinatown? And he gets a lot of money from China.<br />TRUMP: Why is that? And why–<br />COLLINS: There is no evidence of that, Mr. President. No, you cannot–<br />COLLINS: There is no evidence of that, Mr. President<br />TRUMP: And why don’t they put this guy Jack Smith and his group of – and his group of thugs–<br /><br />COLLINS: What you’re referring to is an office that he had.<br />TRUMP: Why don’t they put him in charge of that?<br /><br />COLLINS: Mr. President, I need to stop you right there, because there’s no evidence of what you just said there.<br /><br />What you’re referring to there is an office that he had after leaving the vice presidency.<br /><br />TRUMP: No, no. That’s at the University of Pennsylvania.<br /><br />COLLINS: He had a temporary office.<br /><br />But I want to ask you about another investigation that you’re facing.<br /><br />TRUMP: You’re so wrong. You don’t know the subject.<br /><br />COLLINS: I do know the subject. And I do know the facts, Mr. President<br />.<br />TRUMP: He had one at University of Pennsylvania, but he also had nine boxes in Chinatown.<br /><br />COLLINS: I want to move on to another investigation that you’re facing, which is the one that’s happening in Georgia–<br /><br />TRUMP: She doesn’t understand.<br /><br />COLLINS: – where they are investigating there your efforts to overturn the election results in the state of Georgia.<br /><br />TRUMP: I did nothing wrong. It was a perfect phone call.<br /><br />COLLINS: At the center of that – let me finish my question.<br /><br />At the center of that is that call that you had with the secretary of state–<br /><br />TRUMP: Perfect call.<br /><br />COLLINS: – Brad Raffensperger.<br /><br />TRUMP: Yes, sure.<br /><br />COLLINS: Given the fact that there are indictments expected to come in that case this summer, is that a call you would make again today?<br /><br />TRUMP: Yes, I called questioning the election. I thought it was a rigged election. I thought it had a lot of problems.<br /><br />I had every – I guess he’s secretary of state. I called – listen to this. There are like seven lawyers on the call, many of them from there. We’re having a call. We’re having a normal call. Nobody said, oh, gee, he shouldn’t have said that.<br />Why – if this call was bad – I questioned the election.<br /><br />COLLINS: You asked him to find you votes.<br /><br />TRUMP: If this call was bad – I didn’t ask him to find anything.<br />Let me just tell you–<br /><br />COLLINS: We have heard the audiotape, Mr. President. There’s an audio of you asking him to find you 11,000-something votes.<br /><br />TRUMP: – if this call was bad – I said, you owe me votes because the election was rigged. That election was rigged.<br /><br />And if this call was bad, why didn’t him and his lawyers hang up? How dare you say that?<br /><br />This was a perfect phone call.<br /><br />COLLINS: Well, they were clearly concerned enough they recorded the call.<br />And I should note that, of course–<br /><br />TRUMP: This was a call that was made to question the results of election.<br />And we have – and when we can’t make a call to question election results, then this country ought to just forget about it.<br /><br />COLLINS: You weren’t just questioning the election results.<br />TRUMP: I was questioning the election.<br />COLLINS: You were asking him to find you votes.<br /><br />And I should note that there is no evidence of fraud. There is no rigged election in the state of Georgia.<br /><br />I want to get back to the audience, though, Mr. President, because those are false claims you’re making about what happened in Georgia.<br /><br />John – Jordan Sullenberger is here. He’s an undeclared voter from Hollis. He voted for you in 2020.<br /><br />Jordan, what is your question for President Trump tonight?<br /><br />JORDAN SULLENBERGER, MILITARY VETERAN: Thank you, Mr. Trump.<br />TRUMP: Thank you very much.<br /><br />SULLENBERGER: I’m 26. I’m a veteran. I help manage a private aviation company.<br />TRUMP: You want a job?<br />SULLENBERGER: I’d love one, yes.<br />TRUMP: I’m looking – I’m looking for somebody very good.<br />SULLENBERGER: I – I’m not for mandates or government interference in private business.<br />TRUMP: Right.<br />SULLENBERGER: But I have seen Republicans going after us, like DeSantis, after Disney.<br />TRUMP: Right.<br /><br />SULLENBERGER: What would you do as president to protect us from government interference?<br /><br />TRUMP: Well, I’m the one that really wants to protect you.<br /><br />All of these fake investigations of me are about election interference. They think, because I’m leading Biden by 11 points, seven points, nine points, I’m leading DeSanctimonious by a lot–<br /><br />TRUMP: – by 40 points or 45 points. I think he ought to just relax and take it easy and think about the future, because, right now, his future is not looking so good.<br /><br />I will tell you this. We are really putting it to Biden, but he’s putting it to himself, because the economy stinks, inflation is horrible, and the border is a disaster. And, by the way, the way he got out of Afghanistan was the single most embarrassing moment in the history of our country.<br /><br />COLLINS: Mr. President, I have one more question for you here tonight.<br />And I think, while we’re in front of the voters here in New Hampshire – in New Hampshire, this is a fundamental question for you.<br /><br />You are running in the 2024 race. If you are the Republican nominee and you are in that 2024 race, will you commit tonight to accepting the results of the 2024 election?<br /><br />TRUMP: Yes, if I think it’s an honest election, absolutely, I would.<br /><br />COLLINS: Will you commit to accepting the results of the election regardless of the outcome?<br /><br />TRUMP: Do you want me to answer it again?<br /><br />If I think it’s an honest election, I would be honored to. And, right now, we are so far ahead of both Democrat and Republican. And you know what? If I don’t win, this country is going to be in big trouble. It’s so sad to see what’s happening.<br /><br />COLLINS: But no commitment there on the – accepting the results regardless of the outcome?<br /><br />TRUMP: It’s – if it’s an honest election, correct, I would.<br /><br />COLLINS: OK, so not committing to accepting the 2020 election results or acknowledging what happened in 2020.<br /><br />TRUMP: Go ahead.<br /><br />COLLINS: President Trump, I want to thank you for coming here tonight.<br />This is an important conversation with voters to hear and to have.<br />Thank you to our audience and to our host, Saint Anselm College.<br /><br />COLLINS: CNN’s coverage continues with Anderson Cooper and Jake Tapper.<br /><br />TRUMP: Thank you.<br />TRUMP: Thank you very much.<br />Thank you very much, Kaitlan.<br />Good job.<br />TRUMP: Thank you. Thank you very much.<br />I like you guys. We love New Hampshire. Thank you. Thank you, Woody (ph). Good luck, Woody.<br /><br />COLLINS: Thanks, everyone. </span></blockquote></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf9fdbvBcyQxYqCiYKtSjK_8uz0tElyLi7otJXWl3QrMuoq9lJC6VoC5GyyXZksgGVukOaM28yh-znJP17Gj_HpFYkWyY1nSpdebhQ_g8uQo83HZBaMVZI1CNUoKOPiF7EZnCDyKJCDq8uEhFWrNy9CvTciDXzdk_LhkyAoQWbWWxfXYcDpXC5ZdPl6g/s600/TrumpIStheLaw.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf9fdbvBcyQxYqCiYKtSjK_8uz0tElyLi7otJXWl3QrMuoq9lJC6VoC5GyyXZksgGVukOaM28yh-znJP17Gj_HpFYkWyY1nSpdebhQ_g8uQo83HZBaMVZI1CNUoKOPiF7EZnCDyKJCDq8uEhFWrNy9CvTciDXzdk_LhkyAoQWbWWxfXYcDpXC5ZdPl6g/s16000/TrumpIStheLaw.jpg" /></a></div>__________</div><div style="text-align: left;"> <br /></div><iframe allowtansparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets/tweet_button.html" style="height: 20px; width: 130px;"></iframe>BobbyGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03807934795994985233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067383035450126802.post-16641285934640672912022-10-14T12:30:00.005-07:002022-10-14T12:45:47.183-07:00Donald Trump "responds" to the January 6th Committee.<div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>This is actually pretty sad.<br /><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;">––</span></span><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="370" data-original-width="596" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRkRS1sYj7dte2HTA76mie-kNBdwCJoBxiO2xwj7sM6F9OUli3ZcNk9V1aT5FmcGKNu8UqfduGy-Tv2sMf4mYC0CMW-UKqAycJ-n5T_ZVVvzNggusJta8gbHtYnGefrWxeBjadmTzYmtPMytOxQH3f8mjhQSyYTfPZSCPWgWl7qDGX9N97IWxbpAS9lA/s320/DJT103122.png" width="320" /></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><blockquote>The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson Chairperson<br /><br />The Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol <br />Longworth House Office Building<br />Washington, D.C. 20515<br /><br />Dear Chairman Thompson,<br /><br /><b>THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 2020 WAS RIGGED AND STOLEN!</b><br /><br />The same group of Radical Left Democrats who utilized their Majority position in Congress to create the fiction of Russia, Russia, Russia, Impeachment Hoax #1, Impeachment Hoax #2, the $48 Million Mueller Report (which ended in No Collusion!), Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, the atrocious and illegal Spying on my Campaign, and so much more, are the people who created this Committee of highly partisan political Hacks and Thugs whose sole function is to destroy the lives of many hard-working American Patriots, whose records in life have been unblemished until this point of attempted ruination. The double standard of the Unselects between what has taken place on the “RIGHT,” and what has taken place with Radical Left, lawless groups such as Antifa, Black Lives Matter, and others, is startling and will never be acceptable, even to those who will be writing the history of what you have done to America.<br /><br />This memo is being written to express our anger, disappointment, and complaint that with all of the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on what many consider to be a Charade and Witch Hunt, and despite strong and powerful requests, you have not spent even a short moment on examining the massive Election Fraud that took place during the 2020 Presidential Election, and have targeted only those who were, as concerned American Citizens, protesting the Fraud itself. Those who committed the Fraud, thereby having created the Crime of the Century, go unblemished and untouched, but those who fought the Crime have suffered a fate that was unthinkable just a short time ago. We have a two-tier system of Justice in the United States that cannot be allowed to continue. A Majority of people in our Country say that the Presidential Election of 2020 was determinatively dishonest, including the fact that many Legislatures were overridden by local and State politicians and judges on vital regulations and requirements, which is totally illegal and UNCONSTITUTIONAL. In February 2021, Time Magazine broke the story of the shadow campaign that was launched to rig the 2020 Presidential Election. The authors write:<br /><i><blockquote><span style="color: #0c343d;">“‘To the President, something felt amiss. ‘It was all very, very strange,’ Trump said on Dec. 2. ‘Within days after the election, we witnessed an orchestrated effort to anoint the winner, even while many key states were still being counted.’ In a way, Trump was right. There was a conspiracy unfolding behind the scenes...”</span></blockquote></i>You did not ask one question about any of this. Since 1888, no incumbent President has gained votes and lost reelection. I received many millions more votes in 2020 than I did in 2016, unheard of in our political History. When you win Ohio, Florida, and Iowa, which I did in a landslide, no President has lost the General Election since 1960. We swept all four bellwether States (Iowa, Florida, Ohio, and North Carolina) that have correctly predicted Election winners since 1896. I won 18 of the 19 bellwether counties, my coattails secured the Victories of 27 out of 27 “toss up” House races, and the Democrats did not flip a single State Legislature. Yet somehow Biden beat Obama with the Black population in select Swing State cities, but nowhere else. It is all not possible, or very likely, but should have been a major subject of your Committee’s work because it was the Election result that brought this record-breaking crowd to Washington, D.C. on January 6th.<br /><br />A large percentage of American Citizens, including almost the entire Republican Party, feel that the Election was Rigged and Stolen (because they have seen the determinative evidence, some of which is attached to this letter).<br /><br />No work was done by the Committee on Election Fraud. We, and a huge portion of the American people, simply asked that it be a part of your Committee’s work. It wasn’t. In addition, the Unselect Committee has willfully ignored the fact that days before January 6, 2021, I recommended and authorized thousands of troops to be deployed to ensure that there was peace, safety, and security at the Capitol and throughout Washington, D.C. on January 6th because I knew, just based on instinct and what I was hearing, that the crowd coming to listen to my speech, and various others, would be a very big one, far bigger than anyone thought possible. As it turns out, it was indeed one of the largest crowds I have ever spoken before, a very wide swath stretching all the way back to the Washington Monument. The massive size of this crowd, and its meaning, has never been a subject of your Committee, nor has it been discussed by the Fake News Media that absolutely refuses to acknowledge, in any way, shape or form, the magnitude of what was taking place. In fact, for such a historic event, there are very few pictures that accurately show the event, or how many people were really there. Incredibly, it seems that pictures showing the size of the event were perhaps cancelled, scrubbed, deleted or, in any event, not available, but we still have some—as attached.<br /><br />The Department of Defense timeline shows that National Guard troops could have easily been present at the Capitol before January 6th and that I fully authorized this recommendation and request. Following my authorization, the Department of Defense was surprised to receive a wholesale refusal, in writing, from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Capitol Police, who do not report to me, but report to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. The law requires their authorization before any troop deployment could be utilized in Washington, D.C.<br /><br />Why the failure to act or use this ready force? Had even a small percentage of National Guard or fencing been there, there would have been no problem, January 6th would have been just another date. I did my job long ahead of schedule. Some people call it good instinct, but the troops were ready to go. Nancy Pelosi and Muriel Bowser didn’t do their job, they didn’t like the look of soldiers, and sadly your Committee refuses to say anything about it, because if they did, it would be clear that I did everything correctly, and that is not what the Committee wants to see. You stated openly that Nancy Pelosi is off limits, there will be no discussions on this subject, yet she and the Mayor were responsible for this very bad decision not to bring in the troops. The troops were ready to go, and you refuse to even discuss this subject. Why?<br /><br />Despite very poor television ratings, the Unselect Committee has perpetuated a Show Trial the likes of which this Country has never seen before. There is no Due Process, no Cross-Examination, no “real” Republican members, and no legitimacy since you do not talk about Election Fraud or not calling up the troops. It is a Witch Hunt of the highest level, a continuation of what has been going on for years. You have not gone after the people that created the Fraud, but rather great American Patriots who questioned it, as is their Constitutional right. These people have had their lives ruined as your Committee sits back and basks in the glow.<br /><br />The people of this Country will not stand for unequal justice under the law, or Liberty and Justice for some. Election Day is coming. We demand answers on the Crime of the Century.<br /><br />CC:<br />Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren <br />Congressman Adam Schiff <br />Congressman Pete Aguilar <br />Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy <br />Congressman Jamie Raskin <br />Congresswoman Elaine Luria <br />Congresswoman Liz Cheney <br />Congressman Adam Kinzinger<br /><br /></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDE_tIHgn2NYtEgysxuMFsEiY2USDdG4QRmXyA9o8gzBzoplQwZbXXx_ycT1OAB4uvEuz_7e87DGbP6yGJQPotcPOOD7ASx2kw7qqfJNr4AI6ESBd97iZa_CcL-Yedpp2KyT4pcGcyYNbSJWN_FGRHq30y7nUURA-_9_Aolvqa-vTgBRtlHZ4Zg_Bh8g/s364/DJTsig.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="206" data-original-width="364" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDE_tIHgn2NYtEgysxuMFsEiY2USDdG4QRmXyA9o8gzBzoplQwZbXXx_ycT1OAB4uvEuz_7e87DGbP6yGJQPotcPOOD7ASx2kw7qqfJNr4AI6ESBd97iZa_CcL-Yedpp2KyT4pcGcyYNbSJWN_FGRHq30y7nUURA-_9_Aolvqa-vTgBRtlHZ4Zg_Bh8g/w320-h181/DJTsig.png" width="320" /></a><br /></div></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><blockquote><b>APPENDIX</b><br /><br /><span style="color: #20124d;"><b>Arizona</b></span><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Maricopa County accepted at least 20,000 mail-in ballots after Election Day 2020, including 18,000 on November 4, 2020, picked up from the U.S. Postal Service—more than the entire Election margin of 10,457 ballots.</li><li>A study of early ballot envelope signatures identified 229,430 mismatched signatures in Maricopa County. Officials only reported 25,000 mismatches, or 1.3%.</li><li>The Arizona Forensic Audit of Maricopa County identified numerous anomalies, fraud, and Election law violations that are determinative, including 17,322 duplicate absentee ballot envelopes, which surged after the Election. Between November 4th and November 9th, scores of mail-in ballot duplicates emerged. 96% of the ballots that came in on two of these days were duplicates.</li><li>Auditors discovered evidence that millions of files of General Election data and security logs were deleted, with purges taking place on critical days, including the day before the audit began on February 2, 2021.</li><li>The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors admitted they purged the system and moved Election data after they received a subpoena.</li><li>Another analysis by Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai in Pima County found significant anomalies with mail-in ballots. In precincts with anomalous high turnout (over 92%), mail-in ballots started flipping from 6% Republican for Biden to 40% of Republicans voting for Biden, which is highly suspect.</li><li>Two precincts in Pima had over 100 percent turnout for mail-in ballots— which is impossible—and 40 precincts had over 97% returned.</li><li>The audit discovered numerous State Election laws were broken in the 2020 Presidential Election, including A.R.S. 16-547, A.R.S. 16-548, A.R.S. 16-550, A.R.S. 16-551, A.R.S. 16-552, A.R.S. 16-621, A.R.S. 16 Articles 1, 1.1, and 2.</li><li>2,500 duplicated ballots created from a damaged ballot had no serial numbers, a violation of A.R.S. 16-62</li><li>1,919 mail-in ballot envelopes were missing signatures, a violation of A.R.S. 16-547.</li><li>Maricopa County reported 1,455 “no signatures” on mail-in ballot envelopes.</li><li>To this day, Maricopa County has never provided chain of custody documents for all Election equipment and ballots, in violation of A.R.S. 16-621</li><li>At least 740,000 ballots violated chain of custody requirements in Maricopa County.</li></ul></blockquote><blockquote><span style="color: #20124d;"><b>Georgia</b></span><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>43,907 ballots from Facebook-funded drop boxes were counted in DeKalb County that violated the chain of custody rules. Remember, Georgia was decided by 11,779 votes.</li><li>Poll workers were caught scanning ballots multiple times on camera in Fulton County. Ballot images confirmed at least 3,390 duplicate votes were counted for Joe Biden.</li><li>At least 10,300 illegally cast votes in Georgia (and up to 35,000) are from individuals who voted in the wrong county, more than necessary to “tip the 2020 results.”</li><li>Brad Raffensperger’s own investigator in Fulton County reported ballots were “unaccounted for.” He witnessed at least 2,800 ballots that “came in mail carts instead of black ballot bins,” violating chain of custody, and reported 1,200 ballots that were “cured” and “wheeled in through the back door” days after Election Day, when President Trump’s massive lead “shrunk as more votes continue to be tallied in Fulton County.”</li><li>The investigator also found “identical vote tallies repeated multiple times” that “likely resulted in about 1,000 extra votes being tallied” for Joe Biden.</li><li>A week after this private memo was sent to him, Brad Raffensperger falsely claimed publicly the Election results were “trustworthy” and “sound,” when he knew they were not.</li><li>Raffensperger was told of numerous irregularities on a video conference call with Republicans after the 2020 Election, that put “the outcome of the Election into doubt.” including an admission from an Elections Board Member in Gwinnett County that, “We have way more ballots than we have envelopes. I don’t think it was done right.”</li><li>Hundreds of voters were taken away from “Trump” after Election workers altered ballots that were rejected by voting machines. “Trump” votes were thrown out, while spoiled ballots were unlawfully counted for Joe Biden.</li><li>During the hand recount, tally sheets were falsified showing unanimous vote counts for Joe Biden, including 100-0 and 200-0 fraudulent counts.</li></ul><span style="color: #20124d;"><b>Michigan</b></span><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Officials in Detroit illegally blocked Republican poll challengers’ access, covered the windows, called the police, and denied lawful challenges in order to count ballots in secret.</li><li>Affidavits and video evidence show thousands of ballots being delivered through a back door of the then-named TCF Center at 3:30 a.m. on Election night. The RINOs in the State Senate confirmed this also in their report analyzing the 2020 Election, and said a “large volume” of ballots were delivered to the TCF Center with no chain of custody. Those ballots came from drop boxes.</li><li>Matt DePerno found voting machines were subverted and accessed remotely. In Antrim County, 7,048 votes were changed in favor of Joe Biden.</li></ul><span style="color: #20124d;"><b>Pennsylvania</b></span><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>In Pennsylvania, as of February 2021, there were 121,240 more votes than voters. By law, Pennsylvania cannot certify an Election with this type of discrepancy.</li><li>A lawsuit filed in Delaware County revealed video evidence of Election officials discussing destroying Election evidence from November 2020. “It’s a felony,” one official says after talking about the need to “get rid” of voting “pads and second scanners.” Videos and sources involved in the litigation say the Delaware County officials “violated numerous Election laws and needed to hide evidence,” and that the destruction of records was “done to ensure records eventually provided actually matched the Election results that were reported in Nov. 2020.”</li><li>Attorney General Bill Barr ordered U.S. Attorney Bill McSwain to stand down and not investigate Election irregularities, even after McSwain reported that his office “received various allegations of voter fraud and election irregularities.”</li></ul><span style="color: #20124d;"><b>Wisconsin</b></span><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>In Wisconsin, nearly 200,000 voters identified as “indefinitely confined,” even though that was often not the case. They were simply using COVID as a means to skirt Voter ID laws for mail-in ballots. These ballots should have been thrown out. After the 2020 Presidential Election, a judge ruled the Democrat Governor did not have legal authority “to exempt all voters to get an absentee ballot without an ID.”</li><li>44,272 people, according to the Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau, voted in November 2020, without ever showing Voter ID, which is more than twice the vote margin in the State.</li><li>The Wisconsin Election Commission ordered nursing homes to violate Election laws, leading to widespread voter fraud and 95 to 100% turnout in nursing homes—an impossibility!</li><li>In a powerful ruling by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, drop boxes that were used in the 2020 Election were found to be illegal. In a concurring opinion, justices stated, “If elections are conducted outside of the law, the people have not conferred their consent on the government. Such elections are unlawful and their results are illegitimate.”</li></ul><b>We have only covered five Swing States</b>, this does not pertain to the rest of the Country. For example, what is being done about the “cash for votes” scheme in Nevada, where 15 out of 17 counties had more votes than voters?<br /><br />Is the Committee going to report on the million dollars the FBI wanted to pay Christopher Steele as an incentive to prove the dossier allegations and “Get Trump,” or is it going to get to the bottom of the fact that my Campaign was blatantly spied on by the Democrats, even while I was in the Oval Office, in what for anyone else would be one of the biggest scandals in political history?<br /><br />It was also recently reported that the FBI interfered in the 2020 Presidential Election by telling Facebook and the Media not to reveal anything about Hunter Biden’s laptop. The FBI said it was “Russian disinformation,” but knew that it wasn’t. It was a well-guarded secret that only one newspaper had the courage to report. Eight in 10 Americans believe this unprecedented collusion impacted the outcome of the 2020 Presidential Election.<br /><br />In addition, True the Vote, the Nation’s leading voters’ rights organization, collected over 4 million minutes of ballot drop box video, showing ballot stuffing at a level not seen before. This is also supported by highly accurate cell phone data that tracked the same individuals going to as many as 28 different locations in one day to do this. All in all, millions of ballots were stuffed. Based on their research, True the Vote estimates as many as 7% of all mail-in ballots cast could have been ineligible—approximately 4.8 million votes, an Election-changing number many times over.<br /><br />Also, why haven’t you spoken with the USPS Inspector General, and the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, about the 1.1 million mail-in ballots that they admit were deemed undeliverable, 560,814 rejected, and 14.7 million still “unable to be tracked” (as the Public Interest Legal Foundation uncovered)? Where are they?<br /><br />To this day, new evidence is emerging as Patriots around the Country are uncovering systemic problems within their voter rolls. Furthermore, Republican counties across the nation, from Texas to Michigan, Arizona to Wisconsin and more, have voted to decertify and reject the 2020 Election. The most recent Rasmussen Poll on the issue found a staggering 55% think cheating likely affected the outcome, including 53% of Independents and 35% of Democrats, revealing this issue is not going away.<br /><br />There are many other facts and discrepancies that we are not presenting at this time due to time constraints, but that are also Election determinative. At your request, I will present these additional numbers to you, but everything already presented would change the final Election result many times over.<br /><br /></blockquote></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>OKEEE-DOKEEE, THEN...</b></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><b>Lose a little on every evidence-free assertion,</b></i></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><b>make it up in volume. </b></i></span></span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>BTW: <a href="https://www.emptywheel.net/2022/10/14/on-trumps-subpoena-and-marc-shorts-testimony/" target="_blank">Marcy Wheeler</a> on the Trump travails. </b><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">__________</div><div style="text-align: left;"> <br /></div><iframe allowtansparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets/tweet_button.html" style="height: 20px; width: 130px;"></iframe>BobbyGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03807934795994985233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067383035450126802.post-78801886681754158132022-08-21T13:41:00.004-07:002023-07-29T14:57:04.859-07:00Watt's up?<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Rhuj_7mR5A_dLhnVE5BpJrFyUhK1KHQjhmXsc0oVaJwXdFjK_uCHqu2DZiG_tSRDEz0hRJKs38K2_NB8loYdE7WMJVP3VbmuHn78J8DkbncqsgwJH_UCU3hk9SHKAdEB5MK7USb42kGaiLGd2LWdgEPVqW1YlpiDBER-QbDjvb_L3_OOlq2p_PJnUA/s324/WattsTheWater.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="161" data-original-width="324" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Rhuj_7mR5A_dLhnVE5BpJrFyUhK1KHQjhmXsc0oVaJwXdFjK_uCHqu2DZiG_tSRDEz0hRJKs38K2_NB8loYdE7WMJVP3VbmuHn78J8DkbncqsgwJH_UCU3hk9SHKAdEB5MK7USb42kGaiLGd2LWdgEPVqW1YlpiDBER-QbDjvb_L3_OOlq2p_PJnUA/s320/WattsTheWater.png" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></span></span></div><div><b><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
look out now across a wide space of nothing but water and birds ending
in a line of green slopes with clumps of trees. Right over the edge of
the boat the water contains seemingly just under the surface a
ceaselessly moving network of reflected sunlight through which a school
of very tiny fish passes delightfully uncaught. Yet only a few yards
from where we are moored, tackle shops sell the salmon and crabs with
which this particular area abounds. <br /><br />This is the paradox of the
ocean. Sand, flying spray, pebbles and shells, driftwood, sparkling
water, space incredibly luminous with cloud banks along horizons
underlying skies into which one's imagination can reach without end. But
under the surface of both sky and water there is the grim business of
preying. Men and birds against fish, fish against fish. The tortuous
process of life continuing by the painful transformation of one form or
body into another. To creatures who do not anticipate and reflect
imaginatively on this holocaust of eating and being eaten, this is
perhaps not so terrible. But poor man! Skillful beyond all other
animals, by being able to think in time, and abstractly knowing the
future, he dies before he is dead. He shrinks from the shark's teeth
before they bite him, and he dreads the alien germ long, long before its
banquet begins. <br /></span></span></span></span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></span></span></b></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #274e13;">At
this moment I see a gull that has picked a crab from a tidepool.
Sprawled now upon the sand, the crab shrinks from the walls of its shell
which is resounding to the tap, tap, tap of the gull's beak. Who's that
knocking at my door? <br /><br />I suppose the shell of a crab, a clam, or a
mussel is the boundary of its universe. To put ourselves into their
position, we would have to imagine a knocking sound louder and louder, a
sound which doesn't come from anywhere in particular, from some door,
the walls, the ceiling, the floor. No, instead think of a knocking which
comes from everywhere, beating against all the boundaries of space and
consciousness, intruding like some utterly unknown dimension into our
known and familiar world. <br /><br />"Let me in! Let me in! I love you so
much I could eat you. I love you to the very core, especially the soft,
juicy parts, the vitals most tender and alive. Surrender to this agony,
and you will be transformed into Me. Dying to yourself you will become
alive as Me. We shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an
eye, on the morning when the last trumpet sounds. For behold! I am He
who stands at the door and knocks." <br /><br />There is simply no way of
getting around all this. The gull can't really be said to be rapacious
or greedy. It's just that his being alive at all is the same thing as
eating crabs. Sea birds are transformations of fish; men are
transformations of wheat, steers, and chickens. A love for the food is
the very agony of the food. To object to this inseparability of pleasure
and pain, life and death, is to object to existence. But, of course, we
cannot help objecting when our time comes. <i>Objecting to pain is pain</i>.
So far as we know, the gull and the fish don't philosophize. They
appear instead to enjoy life when they are eating, and hate it when
being eaten. But they don't reflect upon the process as a whole and say,
"How rough to have to work so hard for a living," or, "It's just hell
having to watch out all the time for those damn gulls." I'm sure that in
their world this is all something that just goes along with life like
having eyes or feet or wings. <br /><br />But man, with his astonishing
ability to stand aside from himself and think about himself-in short, to
comment on life, man has done something which confuses his own
existence down to its roots. For the more sensitive he is, the more he
finds the very act of living in conflict with his moral conscience. Upon
reflection a universe so arranged that there is no way of living except
by destroying other lives seems to be a hideous mistake, not a divine
but a devilish creation. Of course, there is the myth that once upon a
time things were quite otherwise, that there was no death, that the lion lay down with the lamb. But that since then there has been a fall, a
vast error which has corrupted the whole of nature. But all that must
have been eons ago, perhaps in some other galaxy where the conditions of
life were quite different. Or perhaps the ghastly mistake was just that
step in man's evolution which made it possible for him to reflect, to
comment upon life as a whole. For in being able to stand aside from life
and think about it, he also put himself outside it and found it alien.
Perhaps thinking about the world and objecting to its whole principle
are simply two aspects of but one activity. The very words suggest, do
they not, that <i>we must object to everything that becomes an object</i>? But aren't there also times when we speak of something that we know as a <i>subject</i>—the subject of this book, the subject I am now studying. I wonder, then, <i>would it be possible to subject to life instead of objecting to it</i>? Is this merely playing with words, or does it possibly mean something? <br /><br />Now,
if the gulls and the fish do not philosophize, they have no
consciousness of life being good as a whole or bad as a whole. So when
we philosophize and pity the poor fish, that really turns out to be just
our own problem. From its own standpoint, the world of plants and
animals and insects and birds does not find itself problematic at all.
There isn't the slightest evidence to suggest such dis-ease. On the
contrary, I incline to feel that all these creatures really "swing" or
"groove." They go on living right up to the very moment when the game is
no longer worth the candle. I'm quite sure that they don't lecture each
other about their duties or worry about where they are going after they
die. <br /><br />Isn't it, then, an enormous relief for us men to see that
the plant and animal world is not a problem to itself, and that we are
wasting intellectual energy in making moral judgments about it? But, of
course, we can't return to the unreflective consciousness of the animal
world without becoming monstrous in a way that animals are not. To be
human is precisely to have that extra circuit of consciousness which
enables us to know that we know, and thus to take an attitude towards
all that we experience. The mistake which we have made—and this, if
anything, is <i>the fall of man</i>—is to suppose that that extra
circuit, that ability to take an attitude toward the rest of life as a
whole, is the same as actually standing aside and being separate from
what we see. We seem to feel that the thing which knows that it knows is
one's essential self, that-in other words-our personal identity is
entirely on the side of the commentator. We forget, because we learn to
ignore so subtly, the larger organismic fact that self-consciousness is
simply a subordinate part and an instrument of our whole being, a sort
of mental counterpart of the finger-thumb opposition in the human hand.
Now which is really you, the finger or the thumb? <br /><br />Observe the
stages of this differentiation, the levels of abstraction: First, the
organism from its environment, and with this knowledge of the
environment. Second, the distinction of knowing knowledge from knowledge
itself. But in concrete fact all this, like the finger-thumb
opposition, is <i>a difference which does not divide</i>. The thumb is
not floating in the air alongside the rest of the hand. At their roots
both fingers and thumb are joined. And at our roots we are joined to the
whole subject of nature. Of course, you might say that nature or the
whole universe is nothing but a big abstraction. But tell me, is an
orange nothing but an abstraction from its component molecules, skins,
segments, fibers and fluids? <br /><br />I think that our difficulty is we
have learned to feel our consciousness much too superficially, as if all
our sensation were in the tips of the fingers and none in the palm. Our
comments on life are insufficiently balanced by the clear sensation
that <i>what we are talking about is ourselves</i>, and ourselves in a
sense far more basic and real than that extra circuit which knows
knowing. Are we misled by the fact that we move freely on the earth and
are not rooted to it in the same way as trees to the ground or fingers
to the hand? Were we as spatially distant from the earth as one atom of
an orange from another, I suppose we might be somewhere out by the moon
or Mars. Now we know that the atom, the molecule, the cell, or
subordinate organ of any particular organism is what it is by virtue of
its place and its membership in the pattern of the whole. But blood in a
test tube rapidly ceases to be the same thing as blood in veins. In the
same way, man must be beware (be + aware) lest in cutting himself off
psychically from the world which he sees, and so isolating the subject
from the object, lest in doing this he rapidly ceases to be man. <br /><br />So
I think this is why I love the ocean. It is the most difficult part of
nature to mess up with emblems and symptoms of man's dissociated
consciousness, though by no means impossible to nationalistic,
industrial man. But the ocean is an environment in which <i>the awareness of our roots can awaken</i>, in which space so real because of the light and color can be seen as joining things instead of separating them…</span> [Alan Watts, <i>"The Water,"</i> April 1970, <u>Cloud-Hidden, Whereabouts Unknown</u>.] </span></span></b></span><span style="font-size: large;"><div></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b> </b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7sj56oyjAW6dp358KpRsIBX2jP2Ybm9M-Cm1wIO8QZGd1LxOT3GK1kQHDJTmPEeJwW8akez016TXuQkm1AOcBB8PitdNtL-r04mX-9EsRZClKkkG8nJ3y-ox9eFZqYVGrzkgXcPlOMXnBtOXlP_oDmTmnB6b5te82ZQqHhVzhf8BHGiZ1VKa5NjJmlQ/s500/WattsCloudHidden.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="297" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7sj56oyjAW6dp358KpRsIBX2jP2Ybm9M-Cm1wIO8QZGd1LxOT3GK1kQHDJTmPEeJwW8akez016TXuQkm1AOcBB8PitdNtL-r04mX-9EsRZClKkkG8nJ3y-ox9eFZqYVGrzkgXcPlOMXnBtOXlP_oDmTmnB6b5te82ZQqHhVzhf8BHGiZ1VKa5NjJmlQ/w238-h400/WattsCloudHidden.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Posted in reflection of <a href="https://regionalextensioncenter.blogspot.com/2022/08/justin-gress-some-new-unsparing.html" target="_blank">this fine book</a>.</b><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;">__________</div><div style="text-align: left;"> <br /></div><iframe allowtansparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets/tweet_button.html" style="height: 20px; width: 130px;"></iframe></span>BobbyGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03807934795994985233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067383035450126802.post-70443225518888231322022-01-18T14:20:00.001-08:002022-01-18T14:20:24.285-08:00Kim Wehle, Esq on SCOTUS and federal regulation<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="300" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/1197630400&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe><div style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Interstate, Lucida Grande, Lucida Sans Unicode, Lucida Sans, Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; font-weight: 100; line-break: anywhere; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap; word-break: normal;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/user-830442635" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Background Briefing with Ian Masters">Background Briefing with Ian Masters</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/user-830442635/the-supreme-courts-power-grab-puts-the-authority-of-all-government-depts-and-agencies-in-jeopardy" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="The Supreme Court's Power Grab Puts the Authority of All Government Depts and Agencies in Jeopardy">The Supreme Court's Power Grab Puts the Authority of All Government Depts and Agencies in Jeopardy</a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;">__________<br /></div>BobbyGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03807934795994985233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067383035450126802.post-64258128319903280432022-01-08T14:35:00.007-08:002022-01-09T11:54:36.568-08:00CRUZIN'... a domestic terrorism timeline<div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjo0LQCO8tc-j7N3hSQNfMXrm0-DV5wgwlDjyLu1QXYD5QCxjSiK5xHPvF7Nxv-_Vzt_8LkKeh-1ryz3p5oMoZMEAI76ZOmlkV0cb9sBBFxw917lUX2nwGUe9VYeFvEMbp04mw0T_Y4YMdI5vCdPHN-GiOfcg7n_g6RU45uoEaL33azbOJn53c4m9ASPg=s913" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="617" data-original-width="913" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjo0LQCO8tc-j7N3hSQNfMXrm0-DV5wgwlDjyLu1QXYD5QCxjSiK5xHPvF7Nxv-_Vzt_8LkKeh-1ryz3p5oMoZMEAI76ZOmlkV0cb9sBBFxw917lUX2nwGUe9VYeFvEMbp04mw0T_Y4YMdI5vCdPHN-GiOfcg7n_g6RU45uoEaL33azbOJn53c4m9ASPg=s320" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhxjSL7KiRUSV2WKRtvftBMFk2z6XoJqlHaJMnWgdUv6rDnpgVnh8EgVITJyTuG8nizqweqTshm95WeUwdNjy0tSZEzWf-SsCUcshLqQXzfgv-9SkSpLxlF3VVeZ191c0EzFxe6CjUndO9-vZAAu-fKDFoyeoE6poRC4Iup_SSc13LC-ABUclDMZRlZVg=s1012" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="579" data-original-width="1012" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhxjSL7KiRUSV2WKRtvftBMFk2z6XoJqlHaJMnWgdUv6rDnpgVnh8EgVITJyTuG8nizqweqTshm95WeUwdNjy0tSZEzWf-SsCUcshLqQXzfgv-9SkSpLxlF3VVeZ191c0EzFxe6CjUndO9-vZAAu-fKDFoyeoE6poRC4Iup_SSc13LC-ABUclDMZRlZVg=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjARnaON0ZP9Xc8EuOozeGFLDt1f_Ekk6Sz-gQjEKtvnC8VN8In2Q_d6edAxRnjXxHZo7RbaPEj4Vn_ceGqJWpoTjcAZXE6uFZuDgv0fGohuTpPAv_bxuMMHU-b-3MTBFulNf1qJeGSkJQtMvFsSppRXvEN7UyVPiVEzdS28Etibjp2oOp6aREozhON3w=s1228" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="649" data-original-width="1228" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjARnaON0ZP9Xc8EuOozeGFLDt1f_Ekk6Sz-gQjEKtvnC8VN8In2Q_d6edAxRnjXxHZo7RbaPEj4Vn_ceGqJWpoTjcAZXE6uFZuDgv0fGohuTpPAv_bxuMMHU-b-3MTBFulNf1qJeGSkJQtMvFsSppRXvEN7UyVPiVEzdS28Etibjp2oOp6aREozhON3w=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgB45mWp6gLk_lzffxcu7dLefuSjILdqN7ZsKL3fht602PySfrF16AcjHfUukms01p6ETOd-L-77FYprcB6mHjB9L4Z_fw47vm6RM-A3GhCNW1Shpy5_Anxb4hIzZhyheYnxK6fF3tabouso6UZdeYO48KNYUmmgjd-NSs-gxBIkI2t_Bj0PnhBGaBirQ=s1359" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="632" data-original-width="1359" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgB45mWp6gLk_lzffxcu7dLefuSjILdqN7ZsKL3fht602PySfrF16AcjHfUukms01p6ETOd-L-77FYprcB6mHjB9L4Z_fw47vm6RM-A3GhCNW1Shpy5_Anxb4hIzZhyheYnxK6fF3tabouso6UZdeYO48KNYUmmgjd-NSs-gxBIkI2t_Bj0PnhBGaBirQ=w400-h186" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4LdPrYWh0EvOEssCrMpkAKlJOZxwYYIzN_MXQSN4zaadqq3CNxLJ0hjrjcKd5T5Pd7fInPdaimO1ASCIL082_a8XkmMv1w1CsPHiIVdWfeVp5klzJKJRX4eIOZKiouJ-uqEAm0eFtEl9i0PEY4kr4vucHc8IJsO_DCDSO_BLQytkhANES5FrsTNrPyQ=s1292" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1147" data-original-width="1292" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4LdPrYWh0EvOEssCrMpkAKlJOZxwYYIzN_MXQSN4zaadqq3CNxLJ0hjrjcKd5T5Pd7fInPdaimO1ASCIL082_a8XkmMv1w1CsPHiIVdWfeVp5klzJKJRX4eIOZKiouJ-uqEAm0eFtEl9i0PEY4kr4vucHc8IJsO_DCDSO_BLQytkhANES5FrsTNrPyQ=w459-h408" width="459" /></a></div><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Okeee Dokeee, then.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JTqVByY6-tE" width="560" youtube-src-id="JTqVByY6-tE"></iframe></div><br />BobbyGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03807934795994985233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067383035450126802.post-5172424984219641012021-11-17T18:30:00.013-08:002021-11-22T06:30:32.958-08:00My Las Vegas era music podcasts<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Santa Fe and The Fat City Horns, and their extended tribe.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaLMeeUT8AxDhyq43sMfpqRROde2id8UTXTgtVQbwN5nDnmRsLwYKoRrtLjR7U8booMhR23wfxziGXfDro22Zp9gPZOm_hFYu-0LrG8t8z3dMmrkv8W_VRywKdS2CkB6FuQz24PFxBz1Ba/s712/SFblogBanner.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="153" data-original-width="712" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaLMeeUT8AxDhyq43sMfpqRROde2id8UTXTgtVQbwN5nDnmRsLwYKoRrtLjR7U8booMhR23wfxziGXfDro22Zp9gPZOm_hFYu-0LrG8t8z3dMmrkv8W_VRywKdS2CkB6FuQz24PFxBz1Ba/w612-h132/SFblogBanner.jpg" width="612" /></a></div> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>We lived in Las Vegas from 1992 through 2013. Loved it there. </b></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Moved there from Knoxville TN when Cheryl was promoted and transferred to take up the post of QA Manager for the DOE contractor Nevada Test Site nuclear waste cleanup program. I was long <a href="https://Busking.BGladd.com" target="_blank">out of music</a>. But, in the fall of 2005 I was exhorted by a local bass player I'd met to <i>"go check out Santa Fe, man. Every cat in town would kill to be in <u>that</u> band."</i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i> </i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">The night I first saw them at their Monday night late lounge gig at Palace Station, I was <i>thunderstruck</i> in the first 10 seconds. 15 top tier Vegas show musicians who did this over-the-top off-night gig for fun. <i>Tasered</i>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Speechless. I could not sleep that night after what I'd just experienced. Floated into my health care analyst day gig bleary-eyed Tuesday morning—as late as I could finesse it.<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I became a rabid regular. We soon became friends. Baddest cats in town, but not an once of ego within a hundred miles of them. Friendliest, nicest people I ever met. They're still going strong, better than ever.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I became their <a href="https://www.santafeandthefatcityhorns.com/gallery/" target="_blank">photographer</a>, <a href="https://santafeandthefatcityhorns.blogspot.com" target="_blank">blogger</a>, and podcaster. Eventually, I became the goto <i>"20-feet-from-stardom"</i> freelance photojournalist in Vegas. My stash of live performance shots is somewhere around 40,000. I never charged anyone a dime. Having been a hardscrabble road musician, and now a comfortable white collar tech guy, I just felt the need to help others promote their art. Vegas is about a dozen performers deep on every instrument and vocal type at the top, people who can just walk in and read the charts cold, but their struggles to survive is something I knew all too well, and felt compelled to support.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixiHOgAz075JqtQDfgOy9cXdd_ZumlbEfYNVKsAO396QLio_X9HnKk-ZRa1G_sbyqSmRLVY1PHU6eYblhEH5kBjb2vEeEDXLsQaa4GSuWiCqWXAAnCZnK8OoCI_Bd1STw5-paKadvd-G1i/s1102/SFBhomepagr.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="731" data-original-width="1102" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixiHOgAz075JqtQDfgOy9cXdd_ZumlbEfYNVKsAO396QLio_X9HnKk-ZRa1G_sbyqSmRLVY1PHU6eYblhEH5kBjb2vEeEDXLsQaa4GSuWiCqWXAAnCZnK8OoCI_Bd1STw5-paKadvd-G1i/w580-h384/SFBhomepagr.jpg" width="580" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">How blessed have I been? </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">These podcasts have been offline for a number of years now (expired hosting URL). But I'm putting them back up. They need to be back up.<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My Santa Fe and Friends podcast series. Turn it way up and enjoy.</span></span><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span face=""><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"><b>Santa Fe Podcast #1, Rochon Westmoreland on bass</b></span></span></span></span><iframe allowfullscreen="" autostart="false" frameborder="" height="50px" marginheight="0px" marginwidth="0px" name="BobbyGiFrame" no="" scrolling="no" src="https://www.bgladd.com/podcasts/SantaFePodcast01.mp3" style="border: 0px #073763 none;" width="500px"></iframe> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span face=""><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"><b>Santa Fe Podcast #2, bandleader Jerry Lopez on guitar</b></span></span></span></span><iframe allowfullscreen="" autostart="false" frameborder="" height="50px" marginheight="0px" marginwidth="0px" name="BobbyGiFrame" no="" scrolling="no" src="https://www.bgladd.com/podcasts/SantaFePodcast02.mp3" style="border: 0px #073763 none;" width="500px"></iframe> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span face=""><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"><b>Santa Fe Podcast #3, Here come the Fat City Horns</b></span></span></span></span><iframe allowfullscreen="" autostart="false" frameborder="" height="50px" marginheight="0px" marginwidth="0px" name="BobbyGiFrame" no="" scrolling="no" src="https://www.bgladd.com/podcasts/SantaFePodcast03.mp3" style="border: 0px #073763 none;" width="500px"></iframe> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span face=""><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"><b>Santa Fe Podcast #4, Friends of Santa Fe, Volume 1</b></span></span></span></span><iframe allowfullscreen="" autostart="false" frameborder="" height="50px" marginheight="0px" marginwidth="0px" name="BobbyGiFrame" no="" scrolling="no" src="https://www.bgladd.com/podcasts/SantaFePodcast04.mp3" style="border: 0px #073763 none;" width="500px"></iframe> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span face=""><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"><b>Santa Fe Podcast #5, Santa Fe band members solo projects</b></span></span></span></span><iframe allowfullscreen="" autostart="false" frameborder="" height="50px" marginheight="0px" marginwidth="0px" name="BobbyGiFrame" no="" scrolling="no" src="https://www.bgladd.com/podcasts/SantaFePodcast05.mp3" style="border: 0px #073763 none;" width="500px"></iframe> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span face=""><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"><b>Santa Fe Podcast #6, Friends of Santa Fe, Volume 2</b></span></span></span></span><iframe allowfullscreen="" autostart="false" frameborder="" height="50px" marginheight="0px" marginwidth="0px" name="BobbyGiFrame" no="" scrolling="no" src="https://www.bgladd.com/podcasts/SantaFePodcast06.mp3" style="border: 0px #073763 none;" width="500px"></iframe> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span face=""><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"><b>Santa Fe Podcast #7, Friends of Santa Fe, Volume 3</b></span></span></span></span><iframe allowfullscreen="" autostart="false" frameborder="" height="50px" marginheight="0px" marginwidth="0px" name="BobbyGiFrame" no="" scrolling="no" src="https://www.bgladd.com/podcasts/SantaFePodcast07.mp3" style="border: 0px #073763 none;" width="500px"></iframe> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span face=""><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"><b>Santa Fe Podcast #8, Friends of Santa Fe, Volume 4</b></span></span></span></span><iframe allowfullscreen="" autostart="false" frameborder="" height="50px" marginheight="0px" marginwidth="0px" name="BobbyGiFrame" no="" scrolling="no" src="https://www.bgladd.com/podcasts/SantaFePodcast08.mp3" style="border: 0px #073763 none;" width="500px"></iframe> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span face=""><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"><b>Santa Fe Podcast #9, Friends of Santa Fe, Volume 5</b></span></span></span></span><iframe allowfullscreen="" autostart="false" frameborder="" height="50px" marginheight="0px" marginwidth="0px" name="BobbyGiFrame" no="" scrolling="no" src="https://www.bgladd.com/podcasts/SantaFePodcast09.mp3" style="border: 0px #073763 none;" width="500px"></iframe> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span face=""><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"><b>Santa Fe Podcast #10, Jerry's pal Jay Graydon, “Scene 29” licks</b></span></span></span></span><iframe allowfullscreen="" autostart="false" frameborder="" height="50px" marginheight="0px" marginwidth="0px" name="BobbyGiFrame" no="" scrolling="no" src="https://www.bgladd.com/podcasts/SantaFePodcast10.mp3" style="border: 0px #073763 none;" width="500px"></iframe> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span face=""><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"><b>Santa Fe Podcast #11, Friends of Santa Fe, “The Edge Effect”</b></span></span></span></span><iframe allowfullscreen="" autostart="false" frameborder="" height="50px" marginheight="0px" marginwidth="0px" name="BobbyGiFrame" no="" scrolling="no" src="https://www.bgladd.com/podcasts/SantaFePodcast11.mp3" style="border: 0px #073763 none;" width="500px"></iframe>
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<div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>PODCAST CENTRAL IN VEGAS</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">Still miss <a href="https://8210CreekWaterLane.blogspot.com" target="_blank">that pad</a>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRfBnNjnEBmdLkEaEHN0f8GxYxJ_CrjUj2mxopsVOQzqARiyiqJ8RyN12eVu9hWEBruAr_bunLTeFlRPImeEO_OnE7NdwN-S8ACkTMc1fQNyLXHQgZuiFx1wBIIHsix6h8l_2M18TryV4p/s1200/PodcastCentralLV.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="385" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRfBnNjnEBmdLkEaEHN0f8GxYxJ_CrjUj2mxopsVOQzqARiyiqJ8RyN12eVu9hWEBruAr_bunLTeFlRPImeEO_OnE7NdwN-S8ACkTMc1fQNyLXHQgZuiFx1wBIIHsix6h8l_2M18TryV4p/w579-h385/PodcastCentralLV.jpg" width="579" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFKUTsbKHUBDc049pX_cx_KYiwHpq2YTsJZ9sVIhT7Q2M7jDlrWP0YzCx_mwrV5KaMfHVJmG_pe8pvYHVYrEZmOHBz8Jdod7SrKrkfPOHCEV3wTSFMNoq3PYdKbjayF25jg0Ylz9wiTR_D/s866/Poster.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="866" data-original-width="564" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFKUTsbKHUBDc049pX_cx_KYiwHpq2YTsJZ9sVIhT7Q2M7jDlrWP0YzCx_mwrV5KaMfHVJmG_pe8pvYHVYrEZmOHBz8Jdod7SrKrkfPOHCEV3wTSFMNoq3PYdKbjayF25jg0Ylz9wiTR_D/s16000/Poster.jpg" /></a> <br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiArpZTxc3TdoOqP7pEdnvMGskblK8467o1Qg8O7DFcRWF3zFNPIfilkhdlmVNHLPhigDZRRMOG2wIGajZLPeR1h1QPF-Xo42ObCUEASxn3bCn1Ti9n3jM3i46K2Yemh58BGnn2QspNrX_G/s1200/Southpoint.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="799" data-original-width="1200" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiArpZTxc3TdoOqP7pEdnvMGskblK8467o1Qg8O7DFcRWF3zFNPIfilkhdlmVNHLPhigDZRRMOG2wIGajZLPeR1h1QPF-Xo42ObCUEASxn3bCn1Ti9n3jM3i46K2Yemh58BGnn2QspNrX_G/w594-h395/Southpoint.jpg" width="594" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoDG47Im76t0b-0XrdJaFmPTfGaQB9S1irv6_VDBvsuX2eT6Mj_Lr_IXuSIOAPNFZJDhqLNS6GhCyeg2skSOoUe1pTKATa6mwPS1tHTPoxHVVY9BnBSlw2OiY8Kqhk53DoIqm9KZgNHSjS/s2048/EveryTime.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1363" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoDG47Im76t0b-0XrdJaFmPTfGaQB9S1irv6_VDBvsuX2eT6Mj_Lr_IXuSIOAPNFZJDhqLNS6GhCyeg2skSOoUe1pTKATa6mwPS1tHTPoxHVVY9BnBSlw2OiY8Kqhk53DoIqm9KZgNHSjS/w400-h266/EveryTime.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>THE HISTORY</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mumrkaIm1lU" width="560" youtube-src-id="mumrkaIm1lU"></iframe></div></b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/44nsgGNmA44" width="560" youtube-src-id="44nsgGNmA44"></iframe></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Mg5yIluQFIo" width="560" youtube-src-id="Mg5yIluQFIo"></iframe></div>__________<div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>BobbyGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03807934795994985233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067383035450126802.post-75590282388398207352021-11-01T05:15:00.029-07:002022-04-10T07:58:34.665-07:00"Follow the TRUTH?" Uhhh...<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><blockquote><b>Maybe you might want to Follow the <i>DISCLAIMER</i>.</b> <br /></blockquote></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAVPzWt5mew5PK-2VZ09t46SPcGoh5dUolrCbASiyg8NZ61r2eCFMTKKleOtGx6EPENHsaQgwJgY4Nh61geJ5ssEEkGydu26yiXGhSX5OXXZkxo0fq-jKbsuN3VnVRS0n-eLfiaoUfZ_Kl/s1200/TRUTH_BS.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="784" data-original-width="1200" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAVPzWt5mew5PK-2VZ09t46SPcGoh5dUolrCbASiyg8NZ61r2eCFMTKKleOtGx6EPENHsaQgwJgY4Nh61geJ5ssEEkGydu26yiXGhSX5OXXZkxo0fq-jKbsuN3VnVRS0n-eLfiaoUfZ_Kl/w400-h261/TRUTH_BS.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>APRIL 2022 UPDATE</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg375iMgsXVHy88NDNwRv876SN4W7WUsFDBBBgDiR2uL2RmplLbchB-T5TY2s-C12NfjZov7Mrc8n3Sh3TL6X-hq8DROAYLYkS9aCygrmcgkp1bSE8JQTeioLQcEa9rp5_6-0Fc530mnbVA9Qrm4JN2QGo32z_CXPmebdGpsnFvhWH8BoAAlUL6u0bciw/s638/HarshTruth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="579" data-original-width="638" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg375iMgsXVHy88NDNwRv876SN4W7WUsFDBBBgDiR2uL2RmplLbchB-T5TY2s-C12NfjZov7Mrc8n3Sh3TL6X-hq8DROAYLYkS9aCygrmcgkp1bSE8JQTeioLQcEa9rp5_6-0Fc530mnbVA9Qrm4JN2QGo32z_CXPmebdGpsnFvhWH8BoAAlUL6u0bciw/w469-h426/HarshTruth.jpg" width="469" /></a></div></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><blockquote><b>It's not going well at all. This may turn out to be Trump's fastest business failure ever. Nonetheless he'll still likely come away with s ton of investors' money via this Smash & Grab.<br /></b></blockquote>__________</div><div style="text-align: left;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>At the outset last fall, Trump's TMTG people put out a colorful, dutifully artsy 22-slide Pitch Deck for the incipient SPAC merger and IPO with the dubious $DAWC.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGHBeLY7d3m2jeQJ0ecgWtsqonemZ8V90u8NlvJ68HsWP4TZpCFd9CZBX6xOV-MQFfuhkHbxYACG6bF8UYX1o9zPLG3BgpoDujKtC28WEoHoCeGsNuJhlPYrOzF62NZ38IIUZ9oo6YRl2n/s962/TMTGoverview.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="212" data-original-width="962" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGHBeLY7d3m2jeQJ0ecgWtsqonemZ8V90u8NlvJ68HsWP4TZpCFd9CZBX6xOV-MQFfuhkHbxYACG6bF8UYX1o9zPLG3BgpoDujKtC28WEoHoCeGsNuJhlPYrOzF62NZ38IIUZ9oo6YRl2n/w502-h112/TMTGoverview.png" width="502" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd04o_GmcnKvmkMzERwaBU8T7K5c8MLtjqevU5x8i5DvWM4ZGrusUk0pSusSriFLUWbacmEqL2azjtQmI5-kV11sSE4B6eftnH9SBjmFEnGjMJeY3mSCJkZuW1qoaN37hJ_G5XWVYuNed_/s793/TrumpSocialMediaFollowing.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="566" data-original-width="793" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd04o_GmcnKvmkMzERwaBU8T7K5c8MLtjqevU5x8i5DvWM4ZGrusUk0pSusSriFLUWbacmEqL2azjtQmI5-kV11sSE4B6eftnH9SBjmFEnGjMJeY3mSCJkZuW1qoaN37hJ_G5XWVYuNed_/w400-h285/TrumpSocialMediaFollowing.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlmc0RLqbt90f4Yt4KWgVTSpTobFRbxZKabnh4M32lx3S_Cr3-TYXxSbkM3DASQHNShc3qTlIcpHN6OjR12rmkN7q28pdUFtt2jLCD9WVFzjo679LKMwU7QC8R9oJW-AA_GB3N3jTfKD2m/s634/MassiveTrump.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="541" data-original-width="634" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlmc0RLqbt90f4Yt4KWgVTSpTobFRbxZKabnh4M32lx3S_Cr3-TYXxSbkM3DASQHNShc3qTlIcpHN6OjR12rmkN7q28pdUFtt2jLCD9WVFzjo679LKMwU7QC8R9oJW-AA_GB3N3jTfKD2m/w438-h373/MassiveTrump.png" width="438" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_21C92QVlK7-8GN5K_LsDMJqFEGiKYlS_ChXtQQTOPLzc8GCi_5J7c91bWNTQ8FVrMYEO9IIkNV1HPI214z0hyphenhyphenwg-FzyicBjRlklMQEF-ECxUXM4fPSIBUjdhORY7KcqTCtaCm41T95WT/s1157/GalvanizingTrump.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1157" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_21C92QVlK7-8GN5K_LsDMJqFEGiKYlS_ChXtQQTOPLzc8GCi_5J7c91bWNTQ8FVrMYEO9IIkNV1HPI214z0hyphenhyphenwg-FzyicBjRlklMQEF-ECxUXM4fPSIBUjdhORY7KcqTCtaCm41T95WT/w561-h305/GalvanizingTrump.png" width="561" /><i><b></b></i></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b> </b></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Yeah, blah, blah, blah...</b></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b> </b></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFlJPVj4eBH3i90gxT7Reu0KWTBc93xPPbAyBlyFn58QAyLWdJ9o1DWbpvcRaUImj2cAIVoKVXbdCMaSfFkGsOlpG3WYQL4vlbaZjOfkpZkpXgg1Krs2ANsns30cKxhv-5hCdeKi7XMazE/s667/TMTG3.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="205" data-original-width="667" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFlJPVj4eBH3i90gxT7Reu0KWTBc93xPPbAyBlyFn58QAyLWdJ9o1DWbpvcRaUImj2cAIVoKVXbdCMaSfFkGsOlpG3WYQL4vlbaZjOfkpZkpXgg1Krs2ANsns30cKxhv-5hCdeKi7XMazE/w462-h141/TMTG3.png" width="462" /></a></div></b></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">Above: The short-term competition incumbency as Trump sees it (slide 7). Their combined market cap is north of $1.5 <u><i>trillion</i></u>. Trump's piddley-assed startup value will be a rounding error by comparison. Loose change pocket lint.<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b> <br /></b></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Slide 22 is the only one you need to examine carefully.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><blockquote><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Disclaimer</b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Confldentlality and Disclosures</b></span><br />This presentation is not intended to be all-inclusive or to contain all the information that a person may desire in considering an investment in The Company and 1s not intended to form the basis of any investment decision in The Company. You should consult your own legal, regulatory, tax, business, financial and accounting advisors to the extent you deem necessary and must make your own investment decision and perform your own independent investigation and analysis of an investment in The Company and the transactions contemplated in this presentation. This presentation shall neither constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which the offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Use of Data</b></span> <br />The data contained herein is derived from various internal and external sources. No representation is made as to the reasonableness of the assumptions made within or the accuracy or completeness of any projections or modeling or any other information contained herein. Any data on past performance or modeling contained herein is not an indication as to future performance. The Company and TMTG assume no obligation to update the information in this presentation. <br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Use of Non-GAAP Financial Metrics </b></span><br />This presentation includes certain non-GAAP financial measures (including on a forward-looking basis) such as Adjusted Gross Profit. Contribution profit, AdJusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income. TMTG defines Adjusted Gross Margin as GAAP Gross Profit less Net Impairment. Contribution Profit is defined as GAAP Gross Profit less selling and holding costs associated with the sale of a home. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income (loss), adjusted for interest expense, interest income, income: taxes, depreciation and amortization, and AdJusted Net Income is defined as GAAP Net Income less Stock Based Compensation. Warrant Expense, Net Impairment. Intangible Amortization Expense, Restructuring costs and Other. These non-GAAP measures are an addition, and not a substitute for or superior to measures of financial performance prepared In accordance with GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to net Income, operating income or any other performance measures derived in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to their most directly comparable GAAP counterparts are included in the Appendix to this presentation. TMTG believes that these non-GAAP measures of financial results (Including on a forward-looking basis) provide useful supplemental information to investors about TMTG, TMTG's management uses forward looking non-GAAP measures to evaluate TMTG's projected financial and operating performance. However, there are a number of limitations related to the use of these non-GAAP measures and their nearest GAAP equivalents. For example, other companies may calculate non-GAAP measures differently, or may use other measures to calculate their financial performance, and therefore TMTG's non·GAAP measures may not be directly comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies, <br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Personnel Disclosure</b></span> <br />All personnel listed in the deck may change from time to time, subject to no notice. Please do not rely on any personnel listed in the deck. Some personnel may or may not be in a consulting phase subject to a contractual employment agreement, there is no guarantee whatsoever that such employment agreement will be finalized. Companies are cautioned not to rely on listed personnel, nor does TMTG give any assurances regarding listed personnel.</blockquote></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Channeling my inner John MacEnroe: <span style="color: #990000;"><i>"You Cannot Be Serious!" <br /></i></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000;"><i><b> </b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>BUT <i>WAIT!</i> THERE'S <i>MORE! </i><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Down in the TRUTH End-User <b>ToS</b> (<a href="https://www.truthsocial.com/terms-of-service" target="_blank">Terms of Service</a>) is "non-disparagement" language reserving TMTG's unfettered <i>"at will"</i> right to terminate subscribers for <i>any</i> reason—or "no reason."</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>14: TERM AND TERMINATION</b></span><br />These Terms of Service shall remain in full force and effect while you use the Site. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF THESE TERMS OF SERVICE, WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO, IN OUR SOLE DISCRETION AND WITHOUT NOTICE OR LIABILITY, DENY ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE SITE (INCLUDING BLOCKING CERTAIN EMAIL AND/OR IP ADDRESSES), TO ANY PERSON FOR ANY REASON OR FOR NO REASON, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION FOR BREACH OF ANY REPRESENTATION, WARRANTY, OR COVENANT CONTAINED IN THESE TERMS OF SERVICE OR OF ANY APPLICABLE LAW OR REGULATION. WE MAY TERMINATE YOUR USE OR PARTICIPATION IN THE SITE OR DELETE YOUR ACCOUNT AND ANY CONTENT OR INFORMATION THAT YOU POSTED AT ANY TIME, WITHOUT WARNING, IN OUR SOLE DISCRETION.<br /><br />If we terminate or suspend your account for any reason, you are prohibited from registering and creating a new account under your name, a fake or borrowed name, your email address or the name of any third party, even if you may be acting on behalf of the third party.<br /><br />In addition to terminating or suspending your account, we reserve the right to take appropriate legal action, including without limitation pursuing civil, criminal, and injunctive redress.</blockquote></span><b>LOL. There are currently 27 fine print Sections in the ToS.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Their "privacy" and "data collection / usage" policies are equally dense and self-servingly one-sided. Anyone who signs up for this stuff deserves all of the adversity they are setting themselves up for.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">This appears to be yet <i>another</i> <a href="https://hillreporter.com/watch-new-meidas-touch-podcast-breaks-down-trumps-pump-and-dump-scheme-tied-into-new-truth-social-app-116101" target="_blank">classic Trump grift.</a></span><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>ACCORDING TO <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2021/11/01/trumps-new-company-is-planning-for-his-possible-conviction-or-presidential-run/?sh=338ea81867c0" target="_blank"><i>FORBES</i></a></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><blockquote>A representative of the special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, merging with Trump’s business declined to comment on anything related to the business: “Unfortunately, at this time, we are not accepting press questions for interviews.”<br /><br />There have been some hints at Trump’s role. A company press release describes him as the “chairman.” The merger agreement calls him the “company principal.” A different document refers to a “majority stockholder,” without saying who it is. A slide deck released last week really only features one person, Donald Trump, but it comes with a strange “personnel disclosure” on the final page. “Please do not rely on any personnel listed in the deck,” the fine print says. “Some personnel may or may not be in a consulting phase subject to a contractual employment agreement; there is no guarantee whatsoever that such employment agreement will be finalized. Companies are cautioned not to rely on listed personnel, nor does [the Trump Media and Technology Group] give any assurances regarding listed personnel.”<br /><br />Helming a public company could be challenging for the former president, given all the rules that come with it. Trump previously led such a business, Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts. Shareholders sued after he used the publicly traded company to buy a casino he personally owned at a suspiciously high valuation. Trump fought the allegations for a half decade, then settled around 2002 without admitting wrongdoing. As part of the settlement, he agreed to a new set of rules on corporate governance, including one that required a special committee to approve deals involving Trump’s other businesses.<br /><br />“If Trump is really an officer or director of this company, as opposed to a licensor of his name or something like that, I expect he will be on the wrong end of a securities-fraud suit before long,” says Michael Klausner, a business and law professor at Stanford. “I can’t imagine him being any more truthful about his business than he is about anything else. Especially when it comes to size—the company, his following on the platform, crowds or other size-related facts—he just makes it up.”</blockquote></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>ACCORING TO <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/buying-shares-of-dwac-and-its-trump-deal-is-closer-to-gambling-than-investing-11635253716" target="_blank"><i>MARKETPLACE</i></a></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2fvCcGDGlBLpv55-O96H5f9y0uMLiO_eIDVk65Ci7O-N9yK5ar1T9rFFb5_EdTRwYBhL1EP78qmGcSRdvxkqFJ9F37yqOd2Wi0STszLwDbpu1RhNmQGPwphpz0jrUkJOLVwIomEHFc99l/s910/TMTGopinion.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="210" data-original-width="910" height="115" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2fvCcGDGlBLpv55-O96H5f9y0uMLiO_eIDVk65Ci7O-N9yK5ar1T9rFFb5_EdTRwYBhL1EP78qmGcSRdvxkqFJ9F37yqOd2Wi0STszLwDbpu1RhNmQGPwphpz0jrUkJOLVwIomEHFc99l/w495-h115/TMTGopinion.png" width="495" /></a></div></b><span style="font-family: arial;"><blockquote><b>No insight into a business plan and no mention of a single dollar figure</b><br /><br />The meme-stock and SPAC phenomenon has gone to the extreme as Digital World Acquisition Corp., a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, announced plans to merge with Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG).<br /><br />Digital World Acquisition Corp. DWAC, -6.44% and TMTG have no revenue, no cash flows, no profits or even a clear business plan, and DWAC’s stock is up nearly 10-fold in less than a week.<br /><br />Investors need to remain cautious and not get caught up in the trading fervor.<br /><br />DWAC is a vehicle for TMTG to raise capital and has become a meme-stock target for speculators looking to prop up and cash in on Donald Trump’s social media power. TMTG will have close to $300 million in capital once the SPAC merger closes and no realistic plans on how it will operate a business. Given the stock price’s meteoric rise and lack of fundamentals and clear plans behind the business, putting capital into DWAC now is closer to gambling than investing…</blockquote></span><b><i>"Gambling?"</i> Can you say <i>"multiple casino bankruptcies?"</i> Ring any bells?<br /> <br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Grifter gonna grift. Ya dance wit' da one what brung ya.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>to wit:</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i> </i><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Trump Baja Ocean Resort.</b> Trump merely licensed his name/brand for a fee and served as the pitchman. He was not the developer, not "the builder," and had no investment stake in the (ultimately bankrupt) project. That's not how he and daughter Ivanka portrayed themselves.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><blockquote>[Donald Trump on camera @ 1:54] <span style="color: #4c1130;"><b>“I‘m very, very proud of the fact that, when I build, I have investors that </b><span style="color: black;">[sic]</span><b> follow me all over. They invest in me, they invest in what I build. And that’s why I’m so excited about Trump Ocean Resort. It’s going to be very, very special." </b></span></blockquote></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XFRyYKbIITs" width="560" youtube-src-id="XFRyYKbIITs"></iframe></div> <br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>CODA</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFhgNTEodWGgSXFluL9x0CA0mmsYKlIDRc17kRvDdeqI08Paa5NSoPdRGzZZ01x5M9RqkKqKgCTwjMVbayt1Suq104ySLH2hUjGsYl4Ak8llrq2e9YbEFvW8TS6G7FDDc3-JeB3_xqGZml/s1004/TrumpEntertainment.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="551" data-original-width="1004" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFhgNTEodWGgSXFluL9x0CA0mmsYKlIDRc17kRvDdeqI08Paa5NSoPdRGzZZ01x5M9RqkKqKgCTwjMVbayt1Suq104ySLH2hUjGsYl4Ak8llrq2e9YbEFvW8TS6G7FDDc3-JeB3_xqGZml/w604-h332/TrumpEntertainment.png" width="604" /></a></div><i> </i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>"The Apprentice"</i> and <i>"Miss Universe." </i>Yeah, a real Mega-Mogul. Send your checks today.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b> </b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpi0O3OyV9WH0Ec7Q5tkUujYcWSeeWCFPy_Z0tEuShKcJfbwTPNtvuaSPBKmBm3XycOufQDYvLcsK1fYBu7iFr4u0dHPFaRL4uTdKC-mMGxpjlVV0vsf5M1eXBz-hrg40epoDE-Tcu-yIM/s698/MAGAsheep.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="515" data-original-width="698" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpi0O3OyV9WH0Ec7Q5tkUujYcWSeeWCFPy_Z0tEuShKcJfbwTPNtvuaSPBKmBm3XycOufQDYvLcsK1fYBu7iFr4u0dHPFaRL4uTdKC-mMGxpjlVV0vsf5M1eXBz-hrg40epoDE-Tcu-yIM/s320/MAGAsheep.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></span>UPDATE</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><blockquote><b><a href="https://www.axios.com/trump-social-media-spac-scrutiny-a81b7dab-2174-4215-926e-2cec34610a60.html" target="_blank">Trump Media & Technology Group</a> was always bound to be controversial</b>, but it's inviting extra scrutiny by keeping basic details secret and making wild promises.<br /><br /><b>Among the notable departures</b> from industry norms:<span style="font-family: arial;"><p></p></span></blockquote></span><blockquote><span style="font-family: arial;"><blockquote><span style="font-family: arial;"><p>TMTG until Monday hadn't disclosed any members of the executive management team, outside of chairman Trump, before naming outgoing California Congressman Devin Nunes as CEO. No word still on a CFO.</p></span></blockquote></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><blockquote><span style="font-family: arial;"><p>A pitch deck filed with the SEC does identify 30 employees, but only with first name and last initials (a LinkedIn search doesn't turn up anyone who says they work for TMTG or its "Truth Social" brand). <br /></p></span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: arial;"><p> TMTG isn't disclosing any of the investors who it says committed $1 billion in PIPE financing, to help it go public via a SPAC called Digital World Acquisition Corp. <br /></p></span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: arial;"><p>There also has been relatively little information on what TMTG is building, beyond some early screenshots that look like a reskinned version of Twitter, although Axios is told by a source that there is a team actively developing new products. </p></span></blockquote></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: arial;"><blockquote><span style="font-family: arial;"><p><b>Among the big promises</b>: <br /></p></span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: arial;"><p></p></span><blockquote><span style="font-family: arial;"><p>The pitch deck projects $3.6 billion in revenue by 2026, which would put it on par with Twitter's current business.</p></span>It projects 40 million streaming subscribers by 2026, which is roughly the same size as ViacomCBS' streaming subscriber totals today... </blockquote></blockquote></span><span style="font-family: arial;"></span><b>It's a multi-billion dollar grift attempt.</b><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>FROM <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/12/09/trump-net-worth-billion-dollar-investment-media-company-523970" target="_blank">POLITICO</a>, Dec 10th</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: white; font-size: 18px;"><span style="color: #20124d;"></span></span><blockquote><span style="color: #20124d; font-size: small;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: white;">The ridicule that’s gushing down on Trump’s company from the tech and financial press is wholly warranted. Putting money into the company is “is closer to gambling than investing,” says </span><a aria-label="Marketwatch (opens in a new window)" href="https://www.marketwatch.com/amp/story/buying-shares-of-dwac-and-its-trump-deal-is-closer-to-gambling-than-investing-11635253716" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-skip: objects; text-decoration: none; touch-action: manipulation;" target="_blank">Marketwatch</a><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: white;">. TMTG has already blown through its promise to produce a </span><a aria-label="beta version (opens in a new window)" href="https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-social-media-blows-deadline-051258714.html" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-skip: objects; text-decoration: none; touch-action: manipulation;" target="_blank">beta version</a><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: white;"> of its Truth software by November and the Securities and Exchange Commission has commenced an </span><a aria-label="investigation (opens in a new window)" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/06/business/trump-media-spac-investigation.html" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-skip: objects; text-decoration: none; touch-action: manipulation;" target="_blank">investigation</a><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: white;"> of whether Trump’s media company had broken securities laws in its formation. All this flakiness gives us a safe harbor the size of the San Francisco Bay to speculate that Trump hasn’t set out to create a viable media business as much as he has dreamed up a new fusion of politics, media and finance designed with one primary objective: To give people who like Trump an easy and legal way to give Trump money.</span></span></blockquote></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>UPDATE</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">From a <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/01/03/dan-bongino-and-the-big-business-of-returning-trump-to-power" target="_blank"><i><b>New Yorker</b></i> article</a> about incendiary right-wing radio host <b>Dan Bongino</b>. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjI1q93u0mzkS5sMY260uSX2k6F0VJofWX7xxmNrvjslUjI_Cbg2LcHQ536F4fT9VjxwB3vqE9-B-0rGuIIhbjD8XtfUiKStNL_bW3wsnzLy_tDTFMwykqsqNhRtAXZ16B_RROrT07T0g6EzPXE8XW185klPyhC8lmgTF6TiSkzcxNO3PY73YXr_bjEeQ=s903" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="903" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjI1q93u0mzkS5sMY260uSX2k6F0VJofWX7xxmNrvjslUjI_Cbg2LcHQ536F4fT9VjxwB3vqE9-B-0rGuIIhbjD8XtfUiKStNL_bW3wsnzLy_tDTFMwykqsqNhRtAXZ16B_RROrT07T0g6EzPXE8XW185klPyhC8lmgTF6TiSkzcxNO3PY73YXr_bjEeQ=w266-h400" width="266" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><blockquote><span style="color: #20124d;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Trump announced in October that the Trump Media & Technology Group was developing an alternative to Twitter, called Truth Social. To finance its growth, the firm would merge with a publicly traded blank-check company (the fashionable Wall Street innovation known as a “special-purpose acquisition company,” or spac), giving the former President access to hundreds of millions of dollars. To Trump’s critics, the deal sounded like a grift to end all grifts. Within weeks, it was under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. But, if Trump can hold it together, it may provide his largest step yet toward regaining a political voice in the lead-up to the 2024 election.<br /><br />Several weeks after Trump’s announcement, Rumble declared that it, too, planned to merge with a spac. Then the companies announced a partnership: Bongino’s favored platform would stream the video for Trump’s app. If conservatives wanted to get out of the wilderness, Bongino told listeners, they needed to build their own “parallel information economy.” Act now. “We decide who comes in,” he said. “It’s the only way to win.”…<br /><br />A fanatically loyal audience can be very profitable—and, at times, very dangerous. During a public event in Idaho in October, the pro-Trump commentator Charlie Kirk was asked by a fan, “When do we get to use the guns?” The crowd tittered, and the fan continued, “I mean, literally, where’s the line? How many elections are they going to steal before we kill these people?” Kirk, who seemed to sense how poorly the moment was going to play on YouTube, interrupted him. “I’m going to denounce that,” he said. “We have to be the ones that do not play into the violent aims and ambitions of the other side.” Instead, he said, Idaho should ban vaccine mandates, eject some federal agencies, and “pick and choose” what federal laws it considers constitutional. When the man asked again when violence was required, Kirk urged him to be wary of abetting his opponents’ conspiracy: “They’re trying to get you to do something that then justifies what they actually want to do.”<br /><br />The moment captured the perils of living in a nation beset by information warfare: if January 6th made anything clear, it was that some number of Americans will eventually abandon a distinction between rhetorical battle and the real thing. Bongino’s business thrives in that borderland, the realm of thinking where the best way to stay safe is to buy the shotguns and holsters that he advertises on his show…</span></span> <br /></blockquote><blockquote><span style="color: #20124d;"><span style="font-family: arial;">…“The only good news about the rapid descent is we’re going to hit a bottom soon. And I promise you. . . . ” He [Bongino] squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fists. “I promise you! I know it—the Lord will not let this country go down like that.” He stared into the camera again. “There will be an ascent just as fast, where freedom and liberty will reëmerge, and these people on the other side of it, the Big Tech tyrant totalitarian fascists, their liberal buddies, the Biden Administration, they will all—all—have to answer for this.”…</span></span></blockquote>Yeah. Right.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Good article. Bongino is a real piece of work.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>FEBRUARY UPDATE</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgdu_S4rBt3d7rT3F1kvh1-fLdJQiHbyxqKl8EPCBDHmmPIHKl_AvaxJbGjxgo0OEFvX9uu9bkBuznsCJ8mSk0V8PnYoDFcXjbf6tl8jBMI9A145wuswk5ATF0Wn_xl8lQkkWVc2MqOY0yBXPgHGM7XHDON4wZ0mvtlvGqcuHEpNXLNzVRwIe8RvJMc2g=s1428" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1428" data-original-width="1268" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgdu_S4rBt3d7rT3F1kvh1-fLdJQiHbyxqKl8EPCBDHmmPIHKl_AvaxJbGjxgo0OEFvX9uu9bkBuznsCJ8mSk0V8PnYoDFcXjbf6tl8jBMI9A145wuswk5ATF0Wn_xl8lQkkWVc2MqOY0yBXPgHGM7XHDON4wZ0mvtlvGqcuHEpNXLNzVRwIe8RvJMc2g=w568-h640" width="568" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">_________</div><div style="text-align: left;"> <br /></div><iframe allowtansparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets/tweet_button.html" style="height: 20px; width: 130px;"></iframe>BobbyGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03807934795994985233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067383035450126802.post-31280665315962995452021-10-21T09:22:00.007-07:002021-10-22T05:53:02.006-07:00Follow the Truth<div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxkP43HYOlcg-GisGSOoW96sdS-3bDmjrc4Oze7N9H43s2S_9asd0q5aQAWLNCuxu23UyVrpVTWgp4tqVniq8eILhwFcbegiTLYBOeUmS1w_y6svXrUeuUS_VwUwQb9dF0Vwx4qkZ3Btnk/s1200/TRUTH_BS.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="784" data-original-width="1200" height="363" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxkP43HYOlcg-GisGSOoW96sdS-3bDmjrc4Oze7N9H43s2S_9asd0q5aQAWLNCuxu23UyVrpVTWgp4tqVniq8eILhwFcbegiTLYBOeUmS1w_y6svXrUeuUS_VwUwQb9dF0Vwx4qkZ3Btnk/w555-h363/TRUTH_BS.jpg" width="555" /></a></div> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Right. But, I don't think the "Founder" of the foregoing, Donald Trump, got the Memo.</b></span><br /><div style="font-size: 17px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #060908;"></span></span></div><blockquote><div><span style="color: #20124d;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>We
learn that we are separate beings in the world, distinct from what is
other than ourselves, by coming up against obstacles to the fulfillment
of our intentions—that is, by running into opposition to the
implementation of our will. When certain aspects of our experience fail
to submit to our wishes, when they are on the contrary unyielding and
even hostile to our interests, it then becomes clear to us that they are
not parts of ourselves. We recognize that they are not under our direct
and immediate control; instead, it becomes apparent that they are
independent of us. That is the origin of our concept of reality, which
is essentially a concept of what limits us, of what we cannot alter or
control by the mere movement of our will. </span></span></span></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #20124d;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><br /></span></span></span></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #20124d;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>To
the extent that we learn in greater detail how we are limited, and what
the limits of our limitation are, we come thereby to delineate our own
boundaries and thus to discern our own shape. We learn what we can and
cannot do, and the sorts of effort we must make in order to accomplish
what is actually possible for us. We learn our powers and our
vulnerabilities. This not only provides us with an even more emphatic
sense of our separateness. It defines for us the specific sort of being
that we are. </span></span></span></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #20124d;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><br /></span></span></span></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #20124d;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>Thus,
our recognition and understanding of our own identity arises out of,
and depends integrally on, our appreciation of a reality that is
definitively independent of ourselves. In other words, it arises out of
and depends on our recognition that there are facts and truths over
which we cannot hope to exercise direct or immediate control. If there
were no such facts or truths, if the world invariably and unresistingly
became whatever we might like or wish it to be, we would be unable to
distinguish ourselves from what is other than ourselves and we would
have no sense of what in particular we ourselves are. It is only through
our recognition of a world of stubbornly independent reality, fact, and
truth that we come both to recognize ourselves as beings distinct from
others and to articulate the specific nature of our own identities. </span></span></span></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #20124d;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><br /></span></span></span></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #20124d;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>How, then, can we fail to take the importance of factuality and of reality seriously? How can we fail to care about truth? </span></span></span></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #20124d;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><br /></span></span></span></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #20124d;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>We cannot.</span></span></span></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #060908;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #060908;">Frankfurt, Harry G.. <u>On Truth</u> (pp. 98-101). Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.</span></span></span></div></blockquote><div style="font-size: 17px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #060908;"></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;">Yeah.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><span style="color: #060908;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(6, 9, 8); font-size: 17px;"><div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></div><blockquote><div><span style="color: #0c343d;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Consider
a Fourth of July orator, who goes on bombastically about “our great and
blessed country, whose Founding Fathers under divine guidance created a
new beginning for mankind.” This is surely humbug. As Black’s account
suggests, the orator is not lying. He would be lying only if it were his
intention to bring about in his audience beliefs that he himself
regards as false, concerning such matters as whether our country is
great, whether it is blessed, whether the Founders had divine guidance,
and whether what they did was in fact to create a new beginning for
mankind. But the orator does not really care what his audience thinks
about the Founding Fathers, or about the role of the deity in our
country’s history, or the like. At least, it is not an interest in what
anyone thinks about these matters that motivates his speech. </span></span></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #0c343d;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #0c343d;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It
is clear that what makes Fourth of July oration humbug is not
fundamentally that the speaker regards his statements as false. Rather,
just as Black’s account suggests, the orator intends these statements to
convey a certain impression of himself. He is not trying to deceive
anyone concerning American history. What he cares about is what people
think of <i><span>him</span></i>. He wants them to think of him as a
patriot, as someone who has deep thoughts and feelings about the origins
and the mission of our country, who appreciates the importance of
religion, who is sensitive to the greatness of our history, whose pride
in that history is combined with humility before God, and so on.</span></span></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Frankfurt, Harry G.. <u>On Bullshit</u> (pp. 16-18). Princeton University Press. Kindle Edition. </span></span></div></blockquote><div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhrv_mjDbQFJU5LfZ4Exngug6NozSy-yDYull7hOvZA_6ZWYOtvTmuDVqgbGRcamZ00-OatLx0cIL1-YBoegKxdC-nb6rHtgmpLweqtXjTnaikkHfHfj2hl5XpYHgbvmLQZCmNvIGhEInf/s1288/TrumpMediaScam.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1277" data-original-width="1288" height="594" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhrv_mjDbQFJU5LfZ4Exngug6NozSy-yDYull7hOvZA_6ZWYOtvTmuDVqgbGRcamZ00-OatLx0cIL1-YBoegKxdC-nb6rHtgmpLweqtXjTnaikkHfHfj2hl5XpYHgbvmLQZCmNvIGhEInf/w600-h594/TrumpMediaScam.jpg" width="600" /></a></div><b> </b></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #060908;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(6, 9, 8); font-size: 17px;"><b>The jokes just write themselves. Hpw many Scaramuccis will <i>this</i> last?<br /><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #060908;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(6, 9, 8); font-size: 17px;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsRMfelwf1bfbAlyS7LjX-96O_MEkRUG9zvDywm9_uqwFpyszvQqjvjle_BPk4-0B4pujrYuy52VhaMLtgHcL4XontcRxJi6HyOm_SpfpoQKTQcS5XlX1h1C6_QX5FpueosF6_GuheGB_j/s347/TRUMPsocialScam.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="347" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsRMfelwf1bfbAlyS7LjX-96O_MEkRUG9zvDywm9_uqwFpyszvQqjvjle_BPk4-0B4pujrYuy52VhaMLtgHcL4XontcRxJi6HyOm_SpfpoQKTQcS5XlX1h1C6_QX5FpueosF6_GuheGB_j/s320/TRUMPsocialScam.png" width="320" /></a></div></b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9UzaIpt5vUSblmcW0V6cHuRYtyNc-BufGvq6Xj8_ZORQ0w7MmD_yJ-7I0lQzAwu7FndCnuMnJJ4_iPJtuSBcw3Qm1kCRtVggktx5i7LGZWt0mawJJhp8rsREaybIY50nUDhNGlvBhypMl/s492/TrumpPuke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="492" data-original-width="480" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9UzaIpt5vUSblmcW0V6cHuRYtyNc-BufGvq6Xj8_ZORQ0w7MmD_yJ-7I0lQzAwu7FndCnuMnJJ4_iPJtuSBcw3Qm1kCRtVggktx5i7LGZWt0mawJJhp8rsREaybIY50nUDhNGlvBhypMl/w345-h354/TrumpPuke.jpg" width="345" /></a></div> _________</span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"> <br /></div><iframe allowtansparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets/tweet_button.html" style="height: 20px; width: 130px;"></iframe>BobbyGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03807934795994985233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067383035450126802.post-15010163134731647082021-10-19T07:53:00.003-07:002021-10-22T11:50:09.260-07:00Keepin' it classy, as always<div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjneGvCKcfugdDfR02QB106_Hh8LA8o6RfEjgI81VEQAohta1h2RuCvNm1teHvUZdyl3Psqo0BaWIg0OH_7WQYVjkTOahIxMvGnU5NaY9TiODqEHhIVl4ur_dW0SQ2tmFEUm09yu25_XoL6/s1045/ClassyTrump.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1011" data-original-width="1045" height="558" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjneGvCKcfugdDfR02QB106_Hh8LA8o6RfEjgI81VEQAohta1h2RuCvNm1teHvUZdyl3Psqo0BaWIg0OH_7WQYVjkTOahIxMvGnU5NaY9TiODqEHhIVl4ur_dW0SQ2tmFEUm09yu25_XoL6/w576-h558/ClassyTrump.jpg" width="576" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxgsiK2vRSH7fxhruo5sROxzTPTUTJnhTd344afTHkqlCDLVq9r97MbcauGUAg1T53aLvhFJyLsgSq58fybTgtas_Ie3a2p2A9d5zlkhz0dOvhqEkJWVzexId-lmPODBm-_p8JEVZWIqDI/s960/TrumpClown.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="624" data-original-width="960" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxgsiK2vRSH7fxhruo5sROxzTPTUTJnhTd344afTHkqlCDLVq9r97MbcauGUAg1T53aLvhFJyLsgSq58fybTgtas_Ie3a2p2A9d5zlkhz0dOvhqEkJWVzexId-lmPODBm-_p8JEVZWIqDI/w471-h306/TrumpClown.jpg" width="471" /></a></div> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>BUT <i>WAIT!</i> THERE'S <i>MORE!</i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCjC7GGSDTwmuXOHlMwKHjFuCbq-b6KQqVvNKREFzaD2q0pHlyN-ZWdpHko3CWDX9g0asq_ZEMAeKt4ORTo9nX1gncszzRLWwk_1pL5e6DrzuGBmUT0pBGV_ctoScRMjFnFy3aP-RTY9Lg/s1168/Trump102221.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1168" data-original-width="970" height="622" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCjC7GGSDTwmuXOHlMwKHjFuCbq-b6KQqVvNKREFzaD2q0pHlyN-ZWdpHko3CWDX9g0asq_ZEMAeKt4ORTo9nX1gncszzRLWwk_1pL5e6DrzuGBmUT0pBGV_ctoScRMjFnFy3aP-RTY9Lg/w517-h622/Trump102221.jpg" width="517" /></a></div>__________<br /></div>BobbyGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03807934795994985233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067383035450126802.post-48998602023674275382021-10-11T16:32:00.041-07:002022-06-16T15:02:38.695-07:00U.S. Presidential Elections and the "Independent State Legislatures Doctrine"<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAE4xI7Vi7GYCoYEsNpwqR4JIFJCMlCF-N4y80aIL2pchB7e7IH5nU8ntDGbs3xV2-nMQnkzDchiWGwKC2k2H5m-J8oABuQL_FPtLbndjMffArVkOKz2Xxo-DU6fmpBV5kOMMKvrRwA9yd/s995/WeThePeople.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="995" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAE4xI7Vi7GYCoYEsNpwqR4JIFJCMlCF-N4y80aIL2pchB7e7IH5nU8ntDGbs3xV2-nMQnkzDchiWGwKC2k2H5m-J8oABuQL_FPtLbndjMffArVkOKz2Xxo-DU6fmpBV5kOMMKvrRwA9yd/w400-h210/WeThePeople.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></b></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Article II, Section 1</b><b> </b></span></div></div><div dir="ltr"><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">The executive Power <u>shall</u> be vested in a President of the United States of America. He <u>shall</u> hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and,
together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected,
as follows: <br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: #fcff01;">Each State <u>shall</u> appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof <b><u>may</u></b>
direct, a Number of Electors</span>, equal to the whole Number of Senators and
Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but
no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or
Profit under the United States, <u>shall</u> be appointed an Elector.<br /><br />The Electors <u>shall</u> meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least <u>shall</u> not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they <u>shall</u> make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they <u>shall</u>
sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of
the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The
President of the Senate <u>shall</u>, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes <u>shall</u> then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes <u>shall</u>
be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of
Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such
Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of
Representatives <u>shall</u> immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for
President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest
on the List the said House <u>shall</u> in like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes <u>shall</u> be taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; A quorum for this Purpose <u>shall</u> consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States <u>shall</u>
be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the
President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the
Electors <u>shall</u> be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate <u>shall</u> chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President.<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Congress <b><u>may</u></b> determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they <u>shall</u> give their Votes; which Day <u>shall</u> be the same throughout the United States.<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, <u>shall</u> be eligible to the Office of President; neither <u>shall</u> any person be eligible to that Office who <u>shall</u> not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his
Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of
the said Office, the Same <u>shall</u> devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress <b><u>may</u></b>
by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or
Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what
Officer <u>shall</u> then act as President, and such Officer <u>shall</u> act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President <u>shall</u> be elected.<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">The President <u>shall</u>, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which <u>shall</u> neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he <u>shall</u> have been elected, and he <u>shall</u> not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he <u>shall</u> take the following Oath or Affirmation:--"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I <b><u>will</u></b> faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and <b><u>will</u></b> to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."<br /></span></li></ol></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">____</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Subsection/Clause 2 is the focus of the <i><b>"<a href="https://www.salon.com/2021/09/27/beware-the-independent-state-legislatures-doctrine--it-could-checkmate-democracy/" target="_blank">Independent State Legislatures Doctrine.</a>"</b></i> Sixteen "<u>shall</u>" directives and one (curious) "<u>may</u>." Notably absent is any constitutional language authorizing a state to set (or rescind) an election's procedures <i>post hoc—</i>once an election result is known and Electors' tallies have been submitted to Congress. Are we to believe the Framers intended to provide state legislatures <i>carte blanche</i>? "Original Intent / Textualism" is no help here.</span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400;"></span></span></span></div><blockquote><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400;">This once-obscure theory — known as the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="https://www.georgialawreview.org/article/18632-the-independent-state-legislature-doctrine-federal-elections-and-state-constitutions" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; text-decoration: none;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400;"><u style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400;">Independent State Legislatures doctrine</span></u></span></a><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400;"> — had been a stealth effort in right-wing legal circles. But recent election-related litigation in state supreme courts and the federal courts, much of it related to the "Big Lie," has accelerated its prominence and highlighted its dangers. </span></span></span></div><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400;">Here's what the Independent State Legislature doctrine argues: The U.S. Constitution gives state legislatures the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/23/opinion/trump-election-courts.html" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; text-decoration: none;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400;"><u style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400;">sole authority</span></u></span></a><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>to set all election rules — including the assigning of Electoral College votes — independently, and immune from judicial review. Taken to its natural extreme, it holds that election laws set by state legislatures supersede any rights guaranteed in state constitutions or even initiatives passed by voters. It effectively concludes that there can be no possible checks and balances on state legislatures' authority when it comes to election law.</span></span></span></div></blockquote><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400;"></span></span></span></div>
</div><div dir="ltr"><b>Yesh, but "immune from judicial review" implies that even SCOTUS has no standing in this regard.<span style="color: #990000;">**</span> OK: <i>ARTICLE III, Section 2: In all cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction.</i></b></div><div dir="ltr"><b> </b></div><div dir="ltr"><b>The 2020 election is lawfully <i>concluded</i>. <u>All 50 states</u> had certified prior to January 6th, in the wake of dozens of fruitless challenges in "battleground" states.<br /></b></div><div dir="ltr"><b> </b></div><div dir="ltr"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2rMgGCnSxpl2JWIvRkLYgObsoCDahb_LOUVUEPHWxTkowg5H4WIPEGLFnbd-l4NdkVtdV7tPN2QrDDAazPHxGDhPpqUeZjAAFXhVXtKKgeiX87n20k_MDgseeNJrNjFHtj84ZqwHCmAxI/s1132/AZcert2020.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1132" data-original-width="1091" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2rMgGCnSxpl2JWIvRkLYgObsoCDahb_LOUVUEPHWxTkowg5H4WIPEGLFnbd-l4NdkVtdV7tPN2QrDDAazPHxGDhPpqUeZjAAFXhVXtKKgeiX87n20k_MDgseeNJrNjFHtj84ZqwHCmAxI/w385-h400/AZcert2020.jpg" width="385" /></a></div><br /></b></div><div dir="ltr"><b>States' legislative authority with respect to future election processes (in advance of them) is a separate issue. But, you don't get a Mulligan once your state has Certified but you are miffed at the outcome. You Snooze, You Lose.</b><br />
</div><div dir="ltr"><blockquote><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>**</b></span> <span style="color: #20124d;">The right of citizens "to vote" (exact words) is explicitly set forth in the 14th, 16th 19th, 24th, and 26th Amendments. I'm not buyin' that SCOTUS could not act to strike down any states' legislative enactments that abrogated it. <i>Seriously? </i>Uhhh... ARTICLE III, Section 2</span>, anyone?<br /></span></blockquote></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="color: #990000;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia;">“Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors…” </span></b></span></i></span><br /></div><div dir="ltr"> </div><div dir="ltr"><b>"In such Manner" that otherwise comports with the "supreme Law of the Land."</b></div><div dir="ltr"><b><blockquote><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><u>ARTICLE VI</u>: <br />This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding. </span></span></span></blockquote></b> <i>'eh?</i><br /></div><div dir="ltr"> </div><div dir="ltr"><b>NONETHELESS</b></div><div dir="ltr"> </div><div dir="ltr">SCOTUS now has a 6-3 "conservative" majority, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-liberals-see-dwindling-legal-options-challenge-voting-curbs-2021-08-31/" target="_blank">four of whom</a>—Justices Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Thomas—have already expressed affinity for the <i>"Independent Legislatures"</i> concept. So, we could perhaps see an eventual 5-4 vote in its favor should they opt to take it up. </div><div dir="ltr"><b> </b></div><div dir="ltr"><b>"<u>The Rule of Five</u>."</b><br /></div><div dir="ltr"> </div><div dir="ltr"><b>UPDATE: THE "EASTMAN MEMO"</b></div><div dir="ltr"> </div><div dir="ltr">After the November 3rd election, "White House lawyer" John Eastman circulated a 6-pg "<a href="https://cdn.cnn.com/cnn/2021/images/09/21/privileged.and.confidential.--.jan.3.memo.on.jan.6.scenario.pdf" target="_blank">confidential memo</a>" (pdf) articulating his proposed process for overturning the apparent Biden win and re-installing Donald Trump for a second term summarily. It begins and ends thus:</div><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-family: arial;"><blockquote><u><b>PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL</b></u><br />January 6 scenario<br /><br />Article II, § 1, cl. 2 of the U.S. Constitution assigns to the <i>legislatures</i> of the states the plenary power to determine the manner for choosing presidential electors. Modernly, that is done via statutes that establish the procedures pursuant to which an election must be conducted.<br /><br />…The fact is that the Constitution assigns this power [<span style="color: #990000;"><i>to decide a presidential election</i></span>] to the Vice President as the ultimate arbiter. We should take all of our actions with that in mind. [<span style="color: #990000;"><i>And, never mind the otherwise “plenary power“ of the states.</i></span>]<br /><br />[<span style="color: #990000;">-snip-</span>]<br /><br />… I have outlined the likely results of each of the above scenarios, but I should also point out that we are facing a constitutional crisis much bigger than the winner of this particular election. If the illegality and fraud that demonstrably occurred here is allowed to stand—and the Supreme Court has signaled unmistakably that it will not do anything about it—then the sovereign people no longer control the direction of their government, and we will have ceased to be a self-governing people. The stakes could not be higher.</blockquote></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>It's worth yet again noting that “illegality and fraud,“ while asserted <i>ad nauseum</i> to have been "demonstrable," were never confirmed, notwithstanding protracted, withering scrutiny—inclusive of more than 60 failed court challenges.</b></span><br /></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-family: arial;"><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="background-color: #fcff01;">"The Supreme Court has signaled unmistakably that it will not do anything about it."</span> </i>But, but, but... oh, never mind—"ultimate arbiter," anyone<i>? </i>Was not the VP's action "arbitration?" C'mon. Pence was the "ultimate arbiter" until he was <i>not</i>?<i><br /></i></span></blockquote></span> </div><div dir="ltr"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfB2dAQ-j3C4CffbxwJQgC_g3p2TYquSh-QTL_cSeSrR0Vo_-zwdSqdY5l8mBJcucqUs_7sS7xQdDv9ocyhkaKyD5MYMdJpePXbVAupss8lLRLgq9LA49L8mPdjxsdaatRkZ7yZ3Ki9CMY/s596/ReleaseKraken.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="596" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfB2dAQ-j3C4CffbxwJQgC_g3p2TYquSh-QTL_cSeSrR0Vo_-zwdSqdY5l8mBJcucqUs_7sS7xQdDv9ocyhkaKyD5MYMdJpePXbVAupss8lLRLgq9LA49L8mPdjxsdaatRkZ7yZ3Ki9CMY/s320/ReleaseKraken.jpg" width="320" /></a> <br /></div></div><div dir="ltr"><b> </b></div><div dir="ltr"><b>SUMMARY RECAP</b></div><div dir="ltr"><b> </b></div><div dir="ltr"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK9LP3IymYLNTXvQ7cSK5sAlzDh1VTJZ9kC-gsIq29muOcVCWzTTNyWoKOm6JwWa_IDIKvq-YbVM1CA9eynVv6guI6HqhtXnwdIfqF65sRPwZwvPhwhuGjZDIgP3DSAsVUU9xwmMJ1hWID/s650/Eastman.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="650" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK9LP3IymYLNTXvQ7cSK5sAlzDh1VTJZ9kC-gsIq29muOcVCWzTTNyWoKOm6JwWa_IDIKvq-YbVM1CA9eynVv6guI6HqhtXnwdIfqF65sRPwZwvPhwhuGjZDIgP3DSAsVUU9xwmMJ1hWID/w400-h294/Eastman.png" width="400" /></a></div></b></div><div dir="ltr"><b> </b></div><div dir="ltr">This is what passes for constitutional analytic sophistication at the <a href="https://www.claremont.org/page/claremonts-mission/" target="_blank"><b>Claremont Institute</b></a> these days. <b><br /></b></div><div dir="ltr"><b> </b></div><div dir="ltr"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">GAME, SET, AND MATCH,</span></span> <br /></b></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/10/john-eastman-cancel-culture/620424/" target="_blank">JEREMY B. ROSEN, ESQ</a> (FEDERALIST SOCIETY): </b><br /></span></span><blockquote><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #073763;">[John Eastman] “prepared a six-page memo for Pence, arguing that Pence had broad powers to stop the Electoral College–vote counting in the Senate. Eastman asserted that the vice president had the authority under the Twelfth Amendment to determine on his own which Electoral College votes were valid and to count only those, thus giving the election to Trump. This theory does not hold up to basic scrutiny. Applying originalism to interpret the Twelfth Amendment, Derek Muller, a professor at the University of Iowa and a prominent conservative election lawyer, explains that the vice president lacks any authority other than to announce the votes that have already been counted by Congress. Indeed, in 2000, Eastman himself argued that Vice President Al Gore did not have power over the counting, because only both houses of Congress possess such authority. If Gore lacked the power to challenge the counting of Electoral College votes he disputed to deprive then-Governor Bush of the presidency, so too did Pence with regard to Trump.”</span> </span></span></blockquote><b><br /></b></div><div dir="ltr"><b>UPDATE:JOHN EASTMAN HEADS TO <a href="https://www.rawstory.com/john-eastman-memo-2655344373/" target="_blank">THE WAFFLE HOUSE</a> </b></div><div dir="ltr"><b><br /></b></div><div dir="ltr"><i><b>"John Eastman now rejects ‘coup memo’ he wrote for Trump: ‘Anybody who thinks that that’s a viable strategy is crazy’."</b></i><br /></div><div dir="ltr"><b><br /></b></div><div dir="ltr">Poignant. Where do they find these people? <i>"Anybody who thinks that's a viable strategy is crazy."<b><br /></b></i></div><div dir="ltr"><b><br /></b></div><div dir="ltr"><b>Like, uhhh..., say, <i>these</i> dim bulbs?</b></div><div dir="ltr"><b><br /></b></div><div dir="ltr"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmmU1FSaNN8sHB2q4JVV5cHqAYyICVWWATA_TXzhD5yQT6rNNgtJkxipkQmCWqWDxzvkHs2p4xHJHhcmZEwRywwHeKKValypth3AcWlUBSVD-Vk2WBykAjjFRXjQN-oqZMTPCqMhIeB8Om/s980/TheJ6Shaman.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="980" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmmU1FSaNN8sHB2q4JVV5cHqAYyICVWWATA_TXzhD5yQT6rNNgtJkxipkQmCWqWDxzvkHs2p4xHJHhcmZEwRywwHeKKValypth3AcWlUBSVD-Vk2WBykAjjFRXjQN-oqZMTPCqMhIeB8Om/s320/TheJ6Shaman.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b></b></div><div dir="ltr"><b><br /></b></div><div dir="ltr"><b>I call the Eastman 'coup memo' "accessory to incitement of insurrection."<br /></b></div><div dir="ltr"><b><br /></b></div><div dir="ltr"><b>OCT 13TH ERRATA</b></div><div dir="ltr"><b> </b></div><div dir="ltr"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-xBQ5C6MLqUXDA5hcP879mGjs3C05B_JqMV6aWDw4FA3A4zu7uWGQ9RU3Yi6G9dtVGYSd4FP9shHpalWKbt7pp6Qh1rCHeH6cB4V3KkMljFNT3Hu4J4EXhcDOoK0a1HU86zMWEviAWquc/s479/Trump1013Tantrum.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="479" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-xBQ5C6MLqUXDA5hcP879mGjs3C05B_JqMV6aWDw4FA3A4zu7uWGQ9RU3Yi6G9dtVGYSd4FP9shHpalWKbt7pp6Qh1rCHeH6cB4V3KkMljFNT3Hu4J4EXhcDOoK0a1HU86zMWEviAWquc/w388-h233/Trump1013Tantrum.png" width="388" /></a></div>Nope.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHWiXohJR0kKfP6pOB_tufOW2KTI6rl8ox28fstsIUIjOPe78UShdhX4Z5y3qPcISy98oFOf2eJFj0ivLhYK6meE4X6RWmTIkjmgU9UJ55oL0G0df3s3p5R7ZIFSBxiQRpINxYrIPXPvkr/s458/WhinyDJT.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="458" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHWiXohJR0kKfP6pOB_tufOW2KTI6rl8ox28fstsIUIjOPe78UShdhX4Z5y3qPcISy98oFOf2eJFj0ivLhYK6meE4X6RWmTIkjmgU9UJ55oL0G0df3s3p5R7ZIFSBxiQRpINxYrIPXPvkr/w391-h246/WhinyDJT.png" width="391" /></a></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span><blockquote><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"Why isn't the January 6th Unselect Committee of partisan hacks studying the massive Presidential Election Fraud, which took place on November 3rd and was the reason that hundreds of thousands of people went to Washington to protest on January 6th?" Trump asked, even though his claims of fraud were long ago debunked.<br /><br />"Look at the numbers now being reported on the fraud, which we now call the 'Really Big Lie.' You cannot study January 6th without studying the reason it happened, November 3rd," Trump argued, attempting to claim that those debunking his lies are the ones actually lying.<br /><br />"But the Democrats don't want to do that because they know what took place on Election Day in the Swing States, and beyond. If we had an honest media this Election would have been overturned many months ago, but our media is almost as corrupt as our political system!" Trump argued, though even Fox News has accurately reported Trump lost the election.</span><b><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></b></span></blockquote><b></b></div><div dir="ltr"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuWOFo421yOCpqagMKE38tV7UBJILZQC7rRYLmy5uvfIv7ZmhCoV6-7RXUsG7zuGaLaJ5KvGTpSxR8JPbsvv41g5QHgN6EQ7BbNC8C-EGmTAWjA-97SYk5DZ6P7dqMW9tsQAjJMLW0kvUr/s1500/A7C8DAF4-EAFA-468C-8C75-CDA36D41C8C0.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1500" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuWOFo421yOCpqagMKE38tV7UBJILZQC7rRYLmy5uvfIv7ZmhCoV6-7RXUsG7zuGaLaJ5KvGTpSxR8JPbsvv41g5QHgN6EQ7BbNC8C-EGmTAWjA-97SYk5DZ6P7dqMW9tsQAjJMLW0kvUr/w626-h171/A7C8DAF4-EAFA-468C-8C75-CDA36D41C8C0.jpeg" width="626" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><b>FOLLOW-UP</b></div><div dir="ltr"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF9Xcf5c4xYvCr1C_wcLj2Z7DMtl9uZMG6ox6pG1ND5LxRcjqucBPIJmJzo5UNROQgCRkkRQgJaIOU5BQY0UVWv5ROFXuI3v7SA6J4tgn2Obx6CEbkqd9U1wq-oP1nZbkR0hRTwZ1kcddq/s615/WhiteHouse101921.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="318" data-original-width="615" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF9Xcf5c4xYvCr1C_wcLj2Z7DMtl9uZMG6ox6pG1ND5LxRcjqucBPIJmJzo5UNROQgCRkkRQgJaIOU5BQY0UVWv5ROFXuI3v7SA6J4tgn2Obx6CEbkqd9U1wq-oP1nZbkR0hRTwZ1kcddq/w474-h244/WhiteHouse101921.jpg" width="474" /></a></div><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>OCT 27TH UPDATE</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dMaVFjSqB28" width="560" youtube-src-id="dMaVFjSqB28"></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Oopsie. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="As Vice President Mike Pence hid from a marauding mob during the Jan. 6 invasion of the Capitol, an attorney for President Donald Trump emailed a top Pence aide to say that Pence had caused the violence by refusing to block certification of Trump’s election loss. The attorney, John C. Eastman, also continued to press for Pence to act even after Trump’s supporters had trampled through the Capitol — an attack the Pence aide, Greg Jacob, had described as a “siege” in their email exchange. “The ‘siege’ is because YOU and your boss did not do what was necessary to allow this to be aired in a public way so that the American people can see for themselves what happened,” Eastman wrote to Jacob, referring to Trump’s claims of voter fraud…" target="_blank"><b>WAPO, OCT 30TH</b></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><blockquote><span style="color: #0c343d;">As Vice President Mike Pence hid from a marauding mob during the Jan. 6 invasion of the Capitol, an attorney for President Donald Trump emailed a top Pence aide to say that Pence had caused the violence by refusing to block certification of Trump’s election loss.<br /><br />The attorney, John C. Eastman, also continued to press for Pence to act even after Trump’s supporters had trampled through the Capitol — an attack the Pence aide, Greg Jacob, had described as a “siege” in their email exchange.<br /><br />“The ‘siege’ is because YOU and your boss did not do what was necessary to allow this to be aired in a public way so that the American people can see for themselves what happened,” Eastman wrote to Jacob, referring to Trump’s claims of voter fraud…</span></blockquote></span>See also <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/30/trump-2020-election-steal-presidency-coup-inside-story" target="_blank"><i><b>The Guardian</b></i></a>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><h1 class="dcr-29zico" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border: 0px none; box-sizing: inherit; color: #ab0613; font-family: "GH Guardian Headline", "Guardian Egyptian Web", Georgia, serif; font-size: 2.125rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: auto; padding: 4px 0px 0px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><blockquote>‘A roadmap for a coup’: inside Trump’s plot to steal the presidency</blockquote></h1></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>UPDATE</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Wikipedia to John Eastman: <i><b>"<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/wikipedia-jimmy-wales-john-eastman-editing/2021/10/28/f2d61bea-35fd-11ec-9bc4-86107e7b0ab1_story.html" target="_blank">We are out of fucks to give.</a>" </b></i><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><blockquote>In a world of inequality, we are well accustomed to rich, powerful, connected people getting preferential treatment, whether a good table at a restaurant, admission to a selective college for their offspring or a torn-up speeding ticket. Despite its countercultural tendencies, the digital world has wound up in a quite similar place. On large platforms like YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, the most important, newsworthy users are given VIP treatment. Their voices are amplified; their misdeeds are excused; they are, up to a point (see: Trump), freed from the automated policing that the rest of us have to endure. The notable exception is Wikipedia. There, VIPs have been shouting “Do you have any idea who you are dealing with?!” for years, only to be told either, <i>not really,</i> or, <i>don’t care</i>, and then instructed, as Eastman was, to take their objections to a Talk page where the community can weigh in… </blockquote></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>UPDATE </b><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijkfEXDeKhXQUaMRhwENVzDKHMSBxa1nqNK9uN-LVDvYASHF4RJrbfRWmukJfsZ2CK15ItQIbwJAD_A_h2KjjB5T4ZeakVC3YNOydbJzqqw7PuPyJ46tTW1mLfw0kngDBmjWDdUMJcze-z/s699/Eastman111621.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="654" data-original-width="699" height="564" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijkfEXDeKhXQUaMRhwENVzDKHMSBxa1nqNK9uN-LVDvYASHF4RJrbfRWmukJfsZ2CK15ItQIbwJAD_A_h2KjjB5T4ZeakVC3YNOydbJzqqw7PuPyJ46tTW1mLfw0kngDBmjWDdUMJcze-z/w604-h564/Eastman111621.png" width="604" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://statesuniteddemocracy.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Supplemental-Letter-to-State-Bar-of-California.pdf" target="_blank">35 pdf pages of Eastman Ass-Whup</a>. </b></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>SUBSIDIARY PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION PROCESS CONSIDERATIONS <br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><blockquote><b>AMENDMENT XII</b><br /><br />The Electors shall meet in their respective states and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate;-The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted;-The person having the greatest Number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President-The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States. </blockquote></span></span>See also the <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/3/15" target="_blank"><b>Electoral Count Act of 1887, 3.USC.15</b></a>. <i>Neither</i> of which—notwithstanding the protracted, acrimonious pushback—get you to constitutional justification for nullifying the 2020 vote count certification on January 6th.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">See also <i><b>"<a href="https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2083&context=faculty_scholarship" target="_blank">The Electoral Count Mess: The Electoral Count Act of 1887 is Unconstitutional</a>"</b></i> (pdf).<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><blockquote><span style="color: #20124d;"><u><b>Abstract</b></u>: In this essay, and in light of the controversy that arose in the wake of the 2020 presidential election, we explain the constitutional process for counting electoral votes. In short, every four years, the Twelfth Amendment requires the President of the Senate (usually the Vice President of the United States) to open certificates provided by state presidential electors and count the votes contained therein. The Constitution allows no role for Congress in this process, and thus, the provisions of the Electoral Count Act purporting to grant Congress the power, by concurrent resolution, to reject a state’s electoral votes, is unconstitutional. Further, the objections raised to two states’ electoral votes on January 6, 2021, were not proper within the terms of the Act, and therefore, even if Congress has the power specified in the Act, congressional action rejecting states’ electoral votes would have been contrary to law. While state executive or state judicially-ordered departures from the requirements of state election laws in presidential elections might violate the federal Constitution’s requirement that electors be chosen as specified by state legislatures, determining whether this has taken place is much more complicated than simply examining the language of state election statutes. We suggest that making this determination requires a careful examination of state interpretation traditions that we decline to undertake in this brief essay on the constitutional process for counting electoral votes. </span></blockquote></span><b>Again, you don't get a Mulligan when you don't like the presidential election outcome but can't prove outcome-changing fraud (particularly in light of the myriad administrative, legislative, and judicial reviews comprising the 2020 election challenges).</b><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">________</div><div style="text-align: left;"> <b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>IMPORTANT UPDATE, DEC 2021<br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitvDvaf-99_vF7MwhI5t37QWPRBs-1H_uxJGtxyX6aRShcGZV19gwJTHsKMsh91ED7rSLuaZBP4GqwWtOSwxmfjf1voTk3gjb4NEMYS2MTrU03qiCIe12eHYLEflniPPJ_cqWoRtBrZwrO/s644/GellmanTrumpCoup.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="584" data-original-width="644" height="536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitvDvaf-99_vF7MwhI5t37QWPRBs-1H_uxJGtxyX6aRShcGZV19gwJTHsKMsh91ED7rSLuaZBP4GqwWtOSwxmfjf1voTk3gjb4NEMYS2MTrU03qiCIe12eHYLEflniPPJ_cqWoRtBrZwrO/w591-h536/GellmanTrumpCoup.png" width="591" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/01/january-6-insurrection-trump-coup-2024-election/620843/" target="_blank">Read all of it carefully</a>.</b></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>JANUARY 2022 UPDATE</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">From the conservative <a href="Trump's Electoral Forgery/Fraud The smoking guns are all around us" target="_blank"><i><b>Bulwark</b></i></a>. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="subtitle" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.16em; margin: 8px 0px 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Trump's Electoral Forgery/Fraud: The smoking guns are all around us</span></span></b></span></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">Connecting the myriad incriminating dots. <br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">__________</div><div style="text-align: left;"> <br /></div><iframe allowtansparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets/tweet_button.html" style="height: 20px; width: 130px;"></iframe>
BobbyGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03807934795994985233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067383035450126802.post-91827759765800660682020-08-29T13:55:00.002-07:002020-08-30T11:48:01.712-07:00UNFIT<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8wXkrm083zJgMpEyG5MK2MnZD7l43UpwNwQqrAFu0BAHRKgR_lww0ZQqvBdDQiZ2opShQjWWt7ejlSbyQFkTFaiMUuCRFJIIvUA9TSkBufZDCJajdF_4MWlC4oA4M-xRAVHuI_rENVhwZ/s530/Unfit.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="530" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8wXkrm083zJgMpEyG5MK2MnZD7l43UpwNwQqrAFu0BAHRKgR_lww0ZQqvBdDQiZ2opShQjWWt7ejlSbyQFkTFaiMUuCRFJIIvUA9TSkBufZDCJajdF_4MWlC4oA4M-xRAVHuI_rENVhwZ/w339-h275/Unfit.png" width="339" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TCr9zxWQAYI" width="560" youtube-src-id="TCr9zxWQAYI"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijdNxCYhnaYheWanBFKf4ePJ1iPxtgSOGRHmuAm8RlM-e-XqHr3AOriqx1wTCPA9gXDkaizsg_Zj8AFF1FFlQKf0CvddSb1cPYEoBxvHOvG45aWEuBvka3ixSU68ZYg6aN93WeTuW10q7a/s1241/TrumpPodiumRNC.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="1241" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijdNxCYhnaYheWanBFKf4ePJ1iPxtgSOGRHmuAm8RlM-e-XqHr3AOriqx1wTCPA9gXDkaizsg_Zj8AFF1FFlQKf0CvddSb1cPYEoBxvHOvG45aWEuBvka3ixSU68ZYg6aN93WeTuW10q7a/w512-h268/TrumpPodiumRNC.jpg" width="512" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0h2ZDHJnl1u9TQOL1dAiTLH4iQ9wV9b5DMbzMkyAvqlTrOWaAJ97N9zHjVg59NtnAwTOYkbJVluV27YeVrahn96ptgE1nqcWr269XbYAyDbHL0DhXeQ_XSKl0HziMcoqNSPxBhOTqDrpl/s640/45.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="456" data-original-width="640" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0h2ZDHJnl1u9TQOL1dAiTLH4iQ9wV9b5DMbzMkyAvqlTrOWaAJ97N9zHjVg59NtnAwTOYkbJVluV27YeVrahn96ptgE1nqcWr269XbYAyDbHL0DhXeQ_XSKl0HziMcoqNSPxBhOTqDrpl/w512-h365/45.jpg" width="512" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM14Lmuztg0UQr3XzOEhtoUEanJlhsxyY4V_cEpgefUYkS_4eKwHukUcovL8g59pvJaG0fmNQ3LWJM2TuMx0VzWMoxx8sz428GdJSoT87TFqGrunxniO5fGh0JCYG6ZqXDtydo_wY8x5dZ/s600/DarkAndScary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM14Lmuztg0UQr3XzOEhtoUEanJlhsxyY4V_cEpgefUYkS_4eKwHukUcovL8g59pvJaG0fmNQ3LWJM2TuMx0VzWMoxx8sz428GdJSoT87TFqGrunxniO5fGh0JCYG6ZqXDtydo_wY8x5dZ/s0/DarkAndScary.jpg" /></a></div>_____________<br /><p></p>BobbyGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03807934795994985233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067383035450126802.post-84069935810737551562020-03-18T05:57:00.000-07:002020-03-23T05:22:45.471-07:00Psychiatric disease vector<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>And, <i>apropos</i>...</b><br />
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“If I get corona, I get corona. At the end of the day, I'm not gonna let it stop me from partying”: Spring breakers are still flocking to Miami, despite coronavirus warnings. <a href="https://t.co/RTwqZrxqae">https://t.co/RTwqZrxqae</a> <a href="https://t.co/rfPfea1LrC">pic.twitter.com/rfPfea1LrC</a></div>
— CBS News (@CBSNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/CBSNews/status/1240639692636372993?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 19, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Nostradumbass <a href="https://t.co/NbdFYf7zl5">pic.twitter.com/NbdFYf7zl5</a></div>
— 🦦Marie-Caroline🦥 (@NoWay7790) <a href="https://twitter.com/NoWay7790/status/1241073614449004545?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2020</a></blockquote>
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<iframe allowtansparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets/tweet_button.html" style="height: 20px; width: 130px;"></iframe>BobbyGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03807934795994985233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067383035450126802.post-53065525485968471402019-12-24T05:47:00.001-08:002019-12-24T07:18:49.584-08:00Donald Trump, windbag transcript<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://cdn.cfr.org/sites/default/files/styles/article_header_l_16x9_600px/public/image/2019/07/RTX6W45K.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="600" src="https://cdn.cfr.org/sites/default/files/styles/article_header_l_16x9_600px/public/image/2019/07/RTX6W45K.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Donald Trump, Dec 22nd, 2019, <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-turning-point-usa-student-action-summit-west-palm-beach-fl/" target="_blank">speaking to Turning Point USA.</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000;"><i><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"We’ll have an economy based on wind. I never understood wind. You know, I know windmills very much. I’ve studied it better than anybody I know. It’s very expensive. They’re made in China and Germany mostly — very few made here, almost none. But they’re manufactured tremendous — if you’re into this — tremendous fumes. Gases are spewing into the atmosphere. You know we have a world, right? So the world is tiny compared to the universe. So tremendous, tremendous amount of fumes and everything. You talk about the carbon footprint — fumes are spewing into the air. Right? Spewing. Whether it’s in China, Germany, it’s going into the air. It’s our air, their air, everything — right?</span></span></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000;"><i><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So they make these things and then they put them up. And if you own a house within vision of some of these monsters, your house is worth 50 percent of the price. They’re noisy. They kill the birds. You want to see a bird graveyard? You just go. Take a look. A bird graveyard. Go under a windmill someday. You’ll see more birds than you’ve ever seen ever in your life. </span></span></b></i><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(Laughter.)</span></span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000;"><i><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You know, in California, they were killing the bald eagle. If you shoot a bald eagle, they want to put you in jail for 10 years. A windmill will kill many bald eagles. It’s true.</span></span></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000;"><i><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And you know what? After a certain number, they make you turn the windmill off. That’s true, by the way. This is — they make you turn it off after you — and yet, if you killed one they put you in jail. That’s okay. But why is it okay for these windmills to destroy the bird population? And that’s what they’re doing.</span></span></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000;"><i><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I’ll tell you another thing about windmills. And I’m not — look, I like all forms of energy. And I think </span></span></b></i><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(inaudible)</span></span></b></span><i><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> — really, they’re okay in industrial areas. Like you have an industrial plant, you put up a windmill — you know, et cetera, et cetera.</span></span></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000;"><i><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I’ve seen the most beautiful fields, farms, fields — most gorgeous things you’ve ever seen, and then you have these ugly things going up. And sometimes they’re made by different companies. You know, I’m like a perfectionist; I really built good stuff. And so you’ll see like a few windmills made by one company: General Electric. And then you’ll see a few made by Siemens, and you’ll see a few made by some other guy that doesn’t have 10 cents, so it looks like a — so you see all these windows, they’re all different shades of color. They’re like sort of white, but one is like an orange-white. </span></span></b></i><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(Laughter.)</span></span></b></span><i><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> It’s my favorite color: orange. </span></span></b></i><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(Applause.)</span></span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000;"><i><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">No, but — and you see these magnificent fields, and they’re owned — and you know what they don’t tell you about windmills? After 10 years, they look like hell. You know, they start to get tired, old. You got to replace them. A lot of times, people don’t replace them. They need massive subsidy from the government in order to make it. It’s really a terrible thing.</span></span></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000;"><i><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And what they want to do is they want to get rid of all petroleum product. That means you basically won’t have any factories in the United States.</span></span></b></i></span></div>
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So tell me though, how are you going to win Texas when you say, “We’re going to get rid of all petroleum,” right?" </span></span></b></i><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> (Applause)...</span></span></b></span></span></blockquote>
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<b>Uhhh... You <i>do</i> know that wind energy is actually <a href="https://regionalextensioncenter.blogspot.com/2019/09/covering-climate-now-here-comes-sun.html" target="_blank">solar energy</a>?</b><br />
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<iframe allowtansparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets/tweet_button.html" style="height: 20px; width: 130px;"></iframe>BobbyGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03807934795994985233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067383035450126802.post-11068546887039041292019-11-21T14:19:00.000-08:002019-11-21T14:47:55.702-08:00Dr. Fiona Hill, Patriot<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2l1yHG3gb0mWOGdKuJklzxhgLQJan6WF04Pg7m71vRS_87WfUpkw_sWc0SQpjeRr_unJPcnmLYZCKBapeXUdXfszoVC-_w4nZxE-55ZVSi0z98o4nD-m-223V6B2H_9YOzMFMNKQ_Qfex/s1600/DrFionaHill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="657" data-original-width="495" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2l1yHG3gb0mWOGdKuJklzxhgLQJan6WF04Pg7m71vRS_87WfUpkw_sWc0SQpjeRr_unJPcnmLYZCKBapeXUdXfszoVC-_w4nZxE-55ZVSi0z98o4nD-m-223V6B2H_9YOzMFMNKQ_Qfex/s400/DrFionaHill.jpg" width="301" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://twitter.com/BobbyGvegas" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>@BobbyGvegas</b></span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "timesnewromanps"; font-size: 20.000000pt; font-weight: 700;"><a href="https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/6556215/Fiona-Hill-Opening-Statement.pdf" target="_blank">Opening Statement of Dr. Fiona Hill</a><br />
to the House of Representatives
Permanent</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "timesnewromanps"; font-size: 20.000000pt; font-weight: 700;">Select Committee on Intelligence
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "timesnewromanps"; font-size: 20.000000pt; font-style: italic;">November 21, 2019</span><br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3vPsDsNX32Q" width="560"></iframe>
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________<br />
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<iframe allowtansparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets/tweet_button.html" style="height: 20px; width: 130px;"></iframe>BobbyGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03807934795994985233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067383035450126802.post-2130814288021275762019-11-16T06:10:00.000-08:002019-11-16T06:10:32.491-08:00We can't say we weren't warned<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #990000;"><i><b>When a man unprincipled in private life, desperate in his fortune, bold in his temper, possessed of considerable talents . . . is seen to mount the hobby horse of popularity—to join in the cry of danger to liberty—to take every opportunity of embarrassing the General Government & bringing it under suspicion—to flatter and fall in with all the non sense of the zealots of the day—It may justly be suspected that his object is to throw things into confusion that he may “ride the storm and direct the whirlwind.”</b></i></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> — Alexander Hamilton, 1792</span></span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKNJuyI0bJa9d7U7JvZAlxlaR8VdrPtBsdUqgDHbEIVZu2VnMmDnVpZfgA9YwBu69HLJYrAspNsDIk-VpbjrwfHlkcvnydhBrcDVeU1D28ULHIXlTmJci41WeleFkXbGjagcxBBtRT0ujj/s1600/TrumpSidelit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="456" data-original-width="804" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKNJuyI0bJa9d7U7JvZAlxlaR8VdrPtBsdUqgDHbEIVZu2VnMmDnVpZfgA9YwBu69HLJYrAspNsDIk-VpbjrwfHlkcvnydhBrcDVeU1D28ULHIXlTmJci41WeleFkXbGjagcxBBtRT0ujj/s640/TrumpSidelit.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<iframe allowtansparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets/tweet_button.html" style="height: 20px; width: 130px;"></iframe>BobbyGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03807934795994985233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067383035450126802.post-67027564935417100002019-08-25T07:06:00.000-07:002019-08-25T07:06:26.836-07:00Cleanup on Aisle 45<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_qfFf1T5qQKMwl0UHbTKFUXUsBvE1JyP_tvFFYLvXHv4icM2ZdauPjkKti1CCrefzl0PPh09iIt3RB6sLvbWsc9V4l4ZXiYj0iixw5zfNznNd7hpIMf8R1WAvquZwRj-Z3R-KWdmxfwfX/s1600/TRUmpSign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_qfFf1T5qQKMwl0UHbTKFUXUsBvE1JyP_tvFFYLvXHv4icM2ZdauPjkKti1CCrefzl0PPh09iIt3RB6sLvbWsc9V4l4ZXiYj0iixw5zfNznNd7hpIMf8R1WAvquZwRj-Z3R-KWdmxfwfX/s1600/TRUmpSign.jpg" /></a></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Once upon a time, a child was born into wealth and wanted for nothing, but he was possessed by bottomless, endless, grating, grasping wanting, and wanted more, and got it, and more after that, and always more. He was a pair of ragged orange claws upon the ocean floor, forever scuttling, pinching, reaching for more, a carrion crab, a lobster and a boiling lobster pot in one, a termite, a tyrant over his own little empires. He got a boost at the beginning from the wealth handed him and then moved among grifters and mobsters who cut him slack as long as he was useful, or maybe there’s slack in arenas where people live by personal loyalty until they betray, and not by rules, and certainly not by the law or the book. So for seven decades, he fed his appetites and exercised his license to lie, cheat, steal, and stiff working people of their wages, made messes, left them behind, grabbed more baubles, and left them in ruin.<br /><br />He was supposed to be a great maker of things, but he was mostly a breaker. He acquired buildings and women and enterprises and treated them all alike, promoting and deserting them, running into bankruptcies and divorces, treading on lawsuits the way a lumberjack of old walked across the logs floating on their way to the mill, but as long as he moved in his underworld of dealmakers the rules were wobbly and the enforcement was wobblier and he could stay afloat. But his appetite was endless, and he wanted more, and he gambled to become the most powerful man in the world, and won, careless of what he wished for…<br /><br />The man in the white house sits, naked and obscene, a pustule of ego, in the harsh light, a man whose grasp exceeded his understanding, because his understanding was dulled by indulgence. He must know somewhere below the surface he skates on that he has destroyed his image, and like Dorian Gray before him, will be devoured by his own corrosion in due time too. One way or another this will kill him, though he may drag down millions with him. One way or another, he knows he has stepped off a cliff, pronounced himself king of the air, and is in freefall. Another dungheap awaits his landing; the dung is all his; when he plunges into it he will be, at last, a self-made man."</span></b></i></span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://lithub.com/rebecca-solnit-the-loneliness-of-donald-trump/" target="_blank">Rebecca Solnit</a>.</span> </b></span><br />
<br />
Read all of it. She wrote it more than two years ago, and in August 2019 it rings painfully more on point than ever.<br />
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<iframe allowtansparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets/tweet_button.html" style="height: 20px; width: 130px;"></iframe>BobbyGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03807934795994985233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067383035450126802.post-12949999893062088832019-07-21T14:14:00.002-07:002019-07-21T14:20:21.949-07:00Quadrant IV: Hierarchy + Scarcity = Exterminism<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><i>From Peter Frase's thoughtful book <u><b>Four Futures</b></u><b>.</b></i></span> </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR6XfRHBykJcLA4J5mu5tmJ0xWjgnC7pnVEV6JNkSm_uJvX6AXTbfdzRUimcx4da5NCvIpRAtZSLRq_MMlRv1TA2MWuD_C8yFXb_gumG6di8hH10IMl3L5vwAsiKsgyyiAfJBdFoVN8ktT/s1600/Quadrants.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="711" data-original-width="598" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR6XfRHBykJcLA4J5mu5tmJ0xWjgnC7pnVEV6JNkSm_uJvX6AXTbfdzRUimcx4da5NCvIpRAtZSLRq_MMlRv1TA2MWuD_C8yFXb_gumG6di8hH10IMl3L5vwAsiKsgyyiAfJBdFoVN8ktT/s400/Quadrants.jpg" width="336" /></a></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hierarchy and Scarcity: Exterminism</span></b></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[I]f we do not arrive [at a post-capitalist society] as equals, and environmental limits continue to press against us, we come to the fourth and most disturbing of our possible futures. In a way, it resembles the communism that we began with—but it is a communism for the few.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A paradoxical truth about that global elite we have learned to call the “one percent” is that, while they are defined by their control of a huge swathe of the world’s monetary wealth, they are at the same time the fragment of humanity whose daily lives are least dominated by money. As Charles Stross has written, the very richest inhabit an existence in which most worldly goods are, in effect, free. That is, their wealth is so great relative to the cost of food, housing, travel, and other amenities that they rarely have to consider the cost of anything. Whatever they want, they can have.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Which is to say that for the very rich, the world is already something like the communism described earlier. The difference, of course, is that their post-scarcity condition is made possible not just by machines but by the labor of the global working class. But an optimistic view of future developments—the future I have described as communism—is that we will eventually come to a state in which we are all, in some sense, the one percent. As William Gibson famously remarked, “the future is already here; it’s just unevenly distributed.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But what if resources and energy are simply too scarce to allow everyone to enjoy the material standard of living of today’s rich? What if we arrive in a future that no longer requires the mass proletariat’s labor in production, but is unable to provide everyone with an arbitrarily high standard of consumption? If we arrive in that world as an egalitarian society, then the answer is the socialist regime of shared conservation described in the previous section. But if, instead, we remain a society polarized between a privileged elite and a downtrodden mass, then the most plausible trajectory leads to something much darker; I will call it by the term that E. P. Thompson used to describe a different dystopia, during the peak of the cold war: exterminism.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The great danger posed by the automation of production, in the context of a world of hierarchy and scarce resources, is that it makes the great mass of people superfluous from the standpoint of the ruling elite. This is in contrast to capitalism, where the antagonism between capital and labor was characterized by both a clash of interests and a relationship of mutual dependence: the workers depend on capitalists as long as they don’t control the means of production themselves, while the capitalists need workers to run their factories and shops. It is as the lyrics of “Solidarity Forever” had it: “They have taken untold millions that they never toiled to earn/But without our brain and muscle not a single wheel can turn.” With the rise of the robots, the second line ceases to hold.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The existence of an impoverished, economically superfluous rabble poses a great danger to the ruling class, which will naturally fear imminent expropriation; confronted with this threat, several courses of action present themselves. The masses can be bought off with some degree of redistribution of resources, as the rich share out their wealth in the form of social welfare programs, at least if resource constraints aren’t too binding. But in addition to potentially reintroducing scarcity into the lives of the rich, this solution is liable to lead to an ever-rising tide of demands on the part of the masses, thus raising the specter of expropriation once again. This is essentially what happened at the high tide of the welfare state, when bosses began to fear that both profits and control over the workplace were slipping out of their hands.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If buying off the angry mob isn’t a sustainable strategy, another option is simply to run away and hide from them. This is the trajectory of what the sociologist Bryan Turner calls “enclave society”, an order in which “governments and other agencies seek to regulate spaces and, where necessary, to immobilize flows of people, goods and services” by means of “enclosure, bureaucratic barriers, legal exclusions and registrations.” Gated communities, private islands, ghettos, prisons, terrorism paranoia, biological quarantines; together, these amount to an inverted global gulag, where the rich live in tiny islands of wealth strewn around an ocean of misery. In Tropic of Chaos, Christian Parenti makes the case that we are already constructing this new order, as climate change brings about what he calls the “catastrophic convergence” of ecological disruption, economic inequality, and state failure. The legacy of colonialism and neoliberalism is that the rich countries, along with the elites of the poorer ones, have facilitated a disintegration into anarchic violence, as various tribal and political factions fight over the diminishing bounty of damaged ecosystems. Faced with this bleak reality, many of the rich—which, in global terms, includes many workers in the rich countries as well—have resigned themselves to barricading themselves into their fortresses, to be protected by unmanned drones and private military contractors. Guard labor, which we encountered in the rentist society, reappears in an even more malevolent form, as a lucky few are employed as enforcers and protectors for the rich.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But this too, is an unstable equilibrium, for the same basic reason that buying off the masses is. So long as the immiserated hordes exist, there is the danger that it may one day become impossible to hold them at bay. Once mass labor has been rendered superfluous, a final solution lurks: the genocidal war of the rich against the poor. Many have called the recent Justin Timberlake vehicle, In Time, a Marxist film, but it is more precisely a parable of the road to exterminism. In the movie, a tiny ruling class literally lives forever in their gated enclaves due to genetic technology, while everyone else is programmed to die at 25 unless they can beg, borrow or steal more time. The only thing saving the workers is that the rich still have some need for their labor; when that need expires, so presumably will the working class itself.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hence exterminism, as a description of this type of society. Such a genocidal telos may seem like an outlandish, comic book villain level of barbarism; perhaps it is unreasonable to think that a world scarred by the holocausts of the twentieth century could again sink to such depravity. Then again, the United States is already a country where a serious candidate for the Presidency revels in executing the innocent, while the sitting Commander in Chief casually orders the assassination of American citizens without even the pretense of due process, to widespread liberal applause.<br />___</span></blockquote>
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<br />
Original essay, upon which <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Four-Futures-After-Capitalism-Jacobin/dp/1781688133/ref=asc_df_1781688133/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312154648235&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17054414195586862887&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9007901&hvtargid=pla-451382857581&psc=1" target="_blank">the subsequent book</a> is based, freely available at <a href="https://www.jacobinmag.com/2011/12/four-futures/" target="_blank"><b>Jacobin</b></a>. Highly recommended.<br />
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BobbyGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03807934795994985233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067383035450126802.post-8696686610787659012019-06-01T06:35:00.000-07:002019-06-01T06:51:43.727-07:00Republican Former Prosecutors on Donald Trump and Obstruction of Justice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUrh_gx8B7Nc0oe3t74MV8_BGa0b8IjJ2ssTx_lSFYVW_LBtzwLuVV-u35ep3xAaQgUzfzGfCGs73q-qduoTpe3Z1ZoaAD8Hqs84fmsGTKsPYmIXCFe9tAZu8z2C2lfSGbCjHnQoCjBrMp/s1600/TrumpObstruction.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUrh_gx8B7Nc0oe3t74MV8_BGa0b8IjJ2ssTx_lSFYVW_LBtzwLuVV-u35ep3xAaQgUzfzGfCGs73q-qduoTpe3Z1ZoaAD8Hqs84fmsGTKsPYmIXCFe9tAZu8z2C2lfSGbCjHnQoCjBrMp/s1600/TrumpObstruction.png" /></a></div>
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NOTE: You have to click <i>"watch this video on YouTube"</i> to view it. Begs the question of why they included the iFrame "share" embed code. Whatever. Worth your time to click through. <br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets/tweet_button.html" style="height: 20px; width: 130px;"></iframe>BobbyGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03807934795994985233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067383035450126802.post-56369085768876301632019-05-02T05:40:00.000-07:002019-12-14T08:46:07.500-08:00Consumer alert and warning: American Movers and Storage<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRR91BvwWaCFe0_jd-ephi5s9pdFRlPsVqmSCXcGyeGxDTzLaaCZIQLKUODK1YykNhgsO8OcxYe7PsCv3nrFdLDXtRWZ_e2D-cCpNYxXzyY8C0a3eiRX4oKNkdI6z114PRVCNEXAbUUgB8/s1600/AvoidAMS.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="545" data-original-width="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRR91BvwWaCFe0_jd-ephi5s9pdFRlPsVqmSCXcGyeGxDTzLaaCZIQLKUODK1YykNhgsO8OcxYe7PsCv3nrFdLDXtRWZ_e2D-cCpNYxXzyY8C0a3eiRX4oKNkdI6z114PRVCNEXAbUUgB8/s1600/AvoidAMS.png" /></a></div>
<br />
We've just completed our move from the Bay Area to Baltimore. I will recount ASAP in dispositive detail our sorry, maddening particulars regarding <a href="https://americanmovers.co/about-us/" target="_blank"><b>American Movers and Storage</b></a>. Stay tuned.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #990000;"><i><b>Avoid this company.</b></i></span></span></span><br />
<br />
From their website:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #20124d;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">WHY CHOOSE US?</span></b></span></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #20124d;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><u>Perfect timing </u>. Our efficient team guarantees efficacy every step of the way, making sure your move is completed in a timely manner.</span></b></span></li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #20124d;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><u>Satisfaction guaranteed</u>. We will surpass your expectations in both quality of service and productivity. Our teams are trained to excel in all aspects of the relocation task.</span></b></span> </li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #20124d;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><u>Always extra careful</u>. Our clients enjoy our team’s dedication to perfection. We treat your items like they were our own and give it the utmost attention to safeguard the quality of your inventory.</span></b></span> </li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
Our experience with these people has been zero for three on those counts. The marketing platitudes don't even come <i>close</i> to the reality we got.<br />
<br />
My 1-star <a href="https://www.yelp.com/biz/american-movers-and-storage-macon" target="_blank"><b>Yelp</b> review</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); display: inline !important; float: none; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">This review rating should start with a decimal point.</span><br style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); display: inline !important; float: none; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">"We're a family-owned business with our own fleet of trucks and drivers." - Our AMS "Senior Moving Coordinator" contact (salesman) Maybe that's even technically true, but it's FAR from the entire story. Their truck showed up two days late for pickup in California, severely complicating our departure. It was an Enterprise 26' rental. The driver and his associate were subcontractors from Las Vegas. One reason they were late was that CHP had sequestered their truck overnight near Bakersfield for logbook violations.</span><br style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); display: inline !important; float: none; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">We were quoted a "7-14 day" delivery window to our new home in Baltimore. "AMS" finally arrived after 20 days, and the driver, (another contractor, who spoke broken Russian accent English), refused to enter our neighborhood, citing "commercial vehicle size/weight restrictions," which my new neighbors all scoffed at ("moving vans come in and out of here all the time"). I myself had seen an Atlas Van Lines semi down the street on the day we closed on the house on March 29th.</span><br style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); display: inline !important; float: none; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Mr. "Senior Moving Coordinator" had stopped responding to my phone calls and emails midway through the episode.</span><br style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); display: inline !important; float: none; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">They held us up for a last-minute Sunday night additional $1,900 "shuttle service fee" in order to relinquish our belongings. We had no choice, as the driver threatened "I'm leaving Maryland tomorrow."</span><br style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); display: inline !important; float: none; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">As we unpack, the inventory of broken and otherwise damaged items grows depressingly. The fact that this seems to be an industry-wide failing in no way excuses AMS.</span><br style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); display: inline !important; float: none; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">There's LOTS more. I will be documenting ALL of this in litigation-worthy detail here ASAP:</span><br style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><a href="https://www.yelp.com/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fbgladd.blogspot.com%2F2019%2F05%2Fconsumer-alert-and-warning-american.html&s=593cbf74e058edce14a1bb24cf3228106da355a2dfbdba4b0d0da0a18914a3f9" rel="nofollow" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border: 0px none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" target="_blank">bgladd.blogspot.com/2019…</a><br style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); display: inline !important; float: none; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">AVOID THIS COMPANY.</span></span></span></blockquote>
Up next, their many websites and email addresses that don't work. One domain name goes to a GoDaddy.com "parked URL" page -- <i>"do you want to buy this domain?"</i> <br />
<br />
<b>UPDATE</b><br />
<br />
There were accruing yellow flags. I missed them until it was too late. Juggling too many logistical balls in the air.<br />
<br />
First oddity. Their "Social Media" links did not work.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc40zbuxPahH9XEOS2yG2FHcHKs1O3XcVpzku-QKjB0vrrw4W-T0BgV-QY3e5Kj9y5AdO15CivK6O5YO4z9Pl3AQ6v8xrQTLZMfh23ywdnlhHGvmRQZgISjJpY97bhsSbYVQ-YVt4E9gUk/s1600/AMSsocialmedia.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="134" data-original-width="443" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc40zbuxPahH9XEOS2yG2FHcHKs1O3XcVpzku-QKjB0vrrw4W-T0BgV-QY3e5Kj9y5AdO15CivK6O5YO4z9Pl3AQ6v8xrQTLZMfh23ywdnlhHGvmRQZgISjJpY97bhsSbYVQ-YVt4E9gUk/s400/AMSsocialmedia.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Clicking any of them just throws you back to the top of the page. You won't find them by direct searching anyway.<br />
<br />
My contact was one <b>Daniel Snyder</b>, "Senior Moving Coordinator." His email footer:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Daniel Snyder<br />4782197606<br />Senior moving coordinator<br />
American Movers and Storage<br />(877) 635-5059 Ext. 1022<br />
<a href="mailto:daniel@movingservicegroup.com">daniel@movingservicegroup.com</a><br />
<a href="https://americanmovers.co/" target="_BLANK">https://americanmovers.co</a></b></span></span></span></blockquote>
<b>"<span style="color: #990000;">movingservicegroup.com</span>?"</b> That domain doesn't actively exist, it's a GoDaddy.com parked URL.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3YgBIXMn6rX3RmkuRUCaZk1GmjuNWgTTMnwgPuDMQ7__3ojd8seTIUhOBGY3NY8vlmpHE8jzrHe4g1XOfQAYCiOVZuvST0GLTo6TiPzwFJpvtxU7wPcNOQRd1Vu4ZnuBWAQsMtrPSYftT/s1600/movingservicegroup.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="234" data-original-width="532" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3YgBIXMn6rX3RmkuRUCaZk1GmjuNWgTTMnwgPuDMQ7__3ojd8seTIUhOBGY3NY8vlmpHE8jzrHe4g1XOfQAYCiOVZuvST0GLTo6TiPzwFJpvtxU7wPcNOQRd1Vu4ZnuBWAQsMtrPSYftT/s320/movingservicegroup.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Ugh. Of course, again, I didn't start drilling down until problems started to ensue, and by then it was too late.<br />
<br />
The truck--a 26' Enterprise rental--showed up for pickup two days late, with a driver and laborer that were obvious itinerant subs. The manifest paperwork masthead comprised another yellow flag.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHYOf5jLvOkExMA7jKS588WfF6n2F7eB06GsJ8lDenpQWgRnk65BmmC7Bc9TX__IIyclj8N78QGHFnIsBGcWBZNT0kyxx_36eH9AkdR67iYqPudaTZrVPdNkFkqYbHtf0gbdaGiGb9ZY0G/s1600/EMS-manifest-header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="244" data-original-width="600" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHYOf5jLvOkExMA7jKS588WfF6n2F7eB06GsJ8lDenpQWgRnk65BmmC7Bc9TX__IIyclj8N78QGHFnIsBGcWBZNT0kyxx_36eH9AkdR67iYqPudaTZrVPdNkFkqYbHtf0gbdaGiGb9ZY0G/s400/EMS-manifest-header.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>"<span style="color: #990000;">executivemovingandstorage.com</span>?"</b> Search for <i>them</i>.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxryc-RoDKMVznAJQyoDs8kjYu5MieEhLH3wMgrPrSRxveZqbFG6e5RjpTTDjawG0bQ-cB0ITZ8-J0R0vJU7LXCfF_Ti91dSJ_zpD3cAxJWX8fLSCLlWp_C5qllNlqLzlCFvVXkwyde3Co/s1600/NoFindExecMS.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="100" data-original-width="546" height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxryc-RoDKMVznAJQyoDs8kjYu5MieEhLH3wMgrPrSRxveZqbFG6e5RjpTTDjawG0bQ-cB0ITZ8-J0R0vJU7LXCfF_Ti91dSJ_zpD3cAxJWX8fLSCLlWp_C5qllNlqLzlCFvVXkwyde3Co/s400/NoFindExecMS.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqM2RInP4o2GdYHPL9PzJV-yoSVwthNGLUjzIHjKOcADor8b65gs4flVLSkyFEU1c9RBovtI6xr-L3xJm-lgnd1w39XrmMDTlOQFIG78rwObn1kANDAAa_OG5i_MgUzcKMT3qQSEWuHES9/s1600/ExecMS-GoDaddy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="89" data-original-width="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqM2RInP4o2GdYHPL9PzJV-yoSVwthNGLUjzIHjKOcADor8b65gs4flVLSkyFEU1c9RBovtI6xr-L3xJm-lgnd1w39XrmMDTlOQFIG78rwObn1kANDAAa_OG5i_MgUzcKMT3qQSEWuHES9/s1600/ExecMS-GoDaddy.png" /></a></div>
<br />
Shit.<br />
<br />
The email contact page icon for AMS?<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZm93QhBka-gHURm2cGQyEf-wlWPa_WtQAnYE68zcBkY9c7IINFz1rkxqxjgsHJ7lZiLpNVjjDISpob2Js57E9aguHV0oidgwNQK1UT3Kwt3tKY-SSKjT6pHAv7ZoCIH3m3lnU5IIOEp9v/s1600/AMSbad-email-link.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="239" data-original-width="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZm93QhBka-gHURm2cGQyEf-wlWPa_WtQAnYE68zcBkY9c7IINFz1rkxqxjgsHJ7lZiLpNVjjDISpob2Js57E9aguHV0oidgwNQK1UT3Kwt3tKY-SSKjT6pHAv7ZoCIH3m3lnU5IIOEp9v/s1600/AMSbad-email-link.png" /></a></div>
<br />
It <i>also</i> goes off into the bit bucket, via a different email address ("<b>info@eastcoastvanline.com"</b>) than the one visible <i>on</i> the web page.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMN2bFkBHoX4k-4SeGuidQ0I11xEujhP2pf91uEq1vn-L0wXS3tVDckJvqyi0RLxODtfmf74WbuIOA_evCxrICKAuelmU2jKHFTIRbej751vdz9edjl_7GEdo-2j5aZJVtI2aqz0WT9px6/s1600/AMS-PermanentError.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="516" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMN2bFkBHoX4k-4SeGuidQ0I11xEujhP2pf91uEq1vn-L0wXS3tVDckJvqyi0RLxODtfmf74WbuIOA_evCxrICKAuelmU2jKHFTIRbej751vdz9edjl_7GEdo-2j5aZJVtI2aqz0WT9px6/s640/AMS-PermanentError.png" width="640" /></a></div>
"<b><span style="color: #990000;">eastcoastvanline.com</span>" </b>apparently doesn't exist at all.<b><br /></b><br />
<br />
Soon after the truck departed Antioch, Daniel Snyder stopped responding to my phone calls and emails. The increasingly petulant "customer service" reps answering the phone refused to put me through to his voicemail.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Your call is being recorded for quality assurance purposes."</span></b></i></span></span></blockquote>
Right. How much you wanna bet those have been deleted had they even been captured?<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRYKqk4ndd02nVeSxyQ2bDMqK-kVzDgDiLcAEGSFTtjHE9Oz1AkXs1m36oCpuM2tZmMyN9wKMI68qWO5SyaMu2rP3RtdTBoQjI_xeDJg0SV2rq_NT38VrqLh5wFUXsqWOnqb688pnfgA5N/s1600/BSmeter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="302" data-original-width="480" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRYKqk4ndd02nVeSxyQ2bDMqK-kVzDgDiLcAEGSFTtjHE9Oz1AkXs1m36oCpuM2tZmMyN9wKMI68qWO5SyaMu2rP3RtdTBoQjI_xeDJg0SV2rq_NT38VrqLh5wFUXsqWOnqb688pnfgA5N/s320/BSmeter.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
To be clear: my own due diligence was woefully inadequate. I fell for some slick salesmanship amid a relentless cacophony of contending offers that seemed way dubious by comparison.<br />
<br />
We probably have no recourse (though I <i>will</i> seek out legal counsel), except to persistently warn others.<br />
<br />
<b>SUNDAY MAY 5TH UPDATE</b><br />
<br />
As I posted to Facebook:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-family: , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Well, another day, another ugly American Movers and Storage surprise. Matt and Eileen came over yesterday afternoon and moved two of our three 7 ft office library heavy wood bookcases upstairs into the spare bedroom office for us. When I cut the black plastic shrink wrapping off it just now, this is what I found. They literally destroyed the back panel of this one. I was expecting to put in shelves and unbox books this morning, but no.</span></b></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPfJ5RGqpZw_JtsMIq622NMjLc-qppow0tsTDP-aV76ybN4RSzGOAeuGQUdb_cGws1HvwB3zM7_pP668kaRPdIn1hAWYwjwIAJO1s9yYaNrN4d-9Nr-DE4YnIwxS-oC7C7UwqxB1qF2-Zd/s1600/BrokenBookcase.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPfJ5RGqpZw_JtsMIq622NMjLc-qppow0tsTDP-aV76ybN4RSzGOAeuGQUdb_cGws1HvwB3zM7_pP668kaRPdIn1hAWYwjwIAJO1s9yYaNrN4d-9Nr-DE4YnIwxS-oC7C7UwqxB1qF2-Zd/s640/BrokenBookcase.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #20124d;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">WHY CHOOSE US?</span></b></span></span></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #20124d;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><u>Perfect timing </u>. Our efficient team guarantees efficacy every step of the way, making sure your move is completed in a timely manner.</span></b></span></span></li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #20124d;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><u>Satisfaction guaranteed</u>.
We will surpass your expectations in both quality of service and
productivity. Our teams are trained to excel in all aspects of the
relocation task.</span></b></span></span> </li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #20124d;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><u>Always extra careful</u>.
Our clients enjoy our team’s dedication to perfection. We treat your
items like they were our own and give it the utmost attention to
safeguard the quality of your inventory.</span></b></span></span> </li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIeAlsxt2Vgx3Y5l-N840pT7hB99VpwAtTOUr4rmdylp35d56XYplbwpNgetUyBMnZk2TSZG0J5FskqaKcR8TD3_C-D2RM1Y5_pPL4KdBvcsDHZ87qr8y0iChNRX98bpxEvM8OCBnsl4dP/s1600/AMS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="303" data-original-width="316" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIeAlsxt2Vgx3Y5l-N840pT7hB99VpwAtTOUr4rmdylp35d56XYplbwpNgetUyBMnZk2TSZG0J5FskqaKcR8TD3_C-D2RM1Y5_pPL4KdBvcsDHZ87qr8y0iChNRX98bpxEvM8OCBnsl4dP/s200/AMS.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<b>MAY 8TH UPDATE</b><br />
<br />
It has been 10 days since the egregiously late (and last-minute "$1,900 shuttle fee" extortionate) delivery of our belongings. Not one peep of follow-up inquiry from AMS. Imagine my surprise.<br />
<br />
The mounting damage toll continues to accrue. Probably at least $500 of loss thus far. It's random, too. Some fragile items survived without a scratch. But many properly packed boxes were obviously subjected to recklessly indifferent, repeatedly rough handling.<br />
<br />
We had a foyer 15" x 46" metal table with a beveled glass top. The carefully wrapped top is nowhere to be found. We have to assume they broke and discarded it. (We were given no breakage report.)<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;">We <i>expected</i> to have inevitable, unavoidable breakage and damage. <i>This</i> is well beyond the pale, however. RECKLESS INDIFFERENCE. If this recounting deprives AMS of at least <i>one</i> future victim customer, it will have been worth my time. Beyond that, I'm dubious regarding getting any legal redress, given the mountain of ostructive fine print to which I had to assent in writing. Not that I won't look into it once time permits.</span></blockquote>
<b>___ </b><br />
<br />
<b>DEC 14TH 2019: BOGUS "SHUTTLE FEE" UPDATE</b><br />
<br />
I now have a new neighbor moving in next door at 320 Paddington. View from my front porch this morning.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ2AbczZm3_qR4mXXnLqt2eCCMn5NKGk3Vew1itB3ldXbsWNzun7i_j16AW9NcSX5SznEaSvf5TLwRVKgmuL4gZwaGOSRJKBtayJgF-oy45YX4nSjJSVOCyTJ0MKl53VlhI4S30oYKhePd/s1600/Truck320PaddingtonDec142019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ2AbczZm3_qR4mXXnLqt2eCCMn5NKGk3Vew1itB3ldXbsWNzun7i_j16AW9NcSX5SznEaSvf5TLwRVKgmuL4gZwaGOSRJKBtayJgF-oy45YX4nSjJSVOCyTJ0MKl53VlhI4S30oYKhePd/s400/Truck320PaddingtonDec142019.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Yeah, that looks like a "less than 3/4 ton truck." While not a semi, it's a 26 ft box truck. Gross weight, empty, ~13,000 lbs. Max gross weight, loaded, 26,000 lbs (13 tons).<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;">We've seen multiple moving van semis on our Homeland District residential streets since we got here in April.</span></blockquote>
AMS plainly extorted us. And I'm sure they give a [<i>bleep</i>].<br />
_____________<br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets/tweet_button.html" style="height: 20px; width: 130px;"></iframe>BobbyGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03807934795994985233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067383035450126802.post-73360282666934075262019-03-25T14:06:00.001-07:002019-04-26T10:10:29.225-07:00Will Donald Trump skate past accountability again?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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BobbyGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03807934795994985233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067383035450126802.post-45348450951892769972019-03-22T12:37:00.001-07:002019-03-22T12:37:46.125-07:00Trump's own Best Words update<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap=""><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>From CNN:</b></span></span></pre>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap=""><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"It's always interesting to me because a deputy, that <span style="color: black;">[sic]</span> didn't get any votes, appoints a man that <span style="color: black;">[sic]</span> didn't get any votes, he's going to write a report on me. I had one of the greatest election victories in history. Would you say that's true? They came from the valleys, they came from the rivers, they came from the cities, they came from all over, they voted in one of the greatest elections in the history of our country, and now I have a man, because we have an attorney general who -- nobody can even believe he didn't tell me, but he recused himself -- so I have a man who is a deputy who I don't know, who I didn't know at all, and he appoints a man who had just left my office, I didn't give him the job at the FBI, Comey's his best friend, but listen, you know it better than anybody, you've been very fair in this, but listen, I have a deputy, appoints a man to write a report on me, to make a determination on my presidency? People will not stand for it."
<span style="color: black;">Wednesday before leaving the White House for a speech in Ohio:</span> "It's interesting that a man gets appointed by a deputy; he writes a report. You know -- never figured that one out, I had the greatest electoral victory -- one of them -- in the history of our country. Tremendous success. Tens of millions of voters. And now somebody is going to write a report who never got a vote."</span> </span></pre>
</blockquote>
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">_____________ </pre>
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets/tweet_button.html" style="height: 20px; width: 130px;"></iframe>BobbyGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03807934795994985233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067383035450126802.post-82928540226277671162019-02-16T09:52:00.001-08:002019-02-16T13:17:36.373-08:00In Trump's Own Best Words. Our Southern Border "National Emergency"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">[<i>Feb. 15th, 2019</i>]</span> PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much, everybody.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /> Before we begin, I'd like to just say that we have a large team of very talented people in China.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /> TRUMP: We've had a negotiation going on for about two days. It's going extremely well. Who knows what that means, because it only matters if we get it done. But we're very much working very closely with China and President Xi, who I respect a lot. Very good relationship that we have.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />And we're a lot closer than we ever were in this country with having a real trade deal. We're covering everything, all of the points that people have been talking about for years and said couldn't be done, whether it was theft or anything -- anything -- the unfairness. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />We've been losing, on average, $375 billion with China. A lot of people think it's $506 billion. Some people think it's much more than that. We're going to be leveling the playing field.<br /><br />The tariffs are hurting China very badly. They don't want them. And, frankly, if we can make the deal, it'd be my honor to remove them. But otherwise we're having many billions of dollars pouring into our treasury. We've never had that before with China. It's been very much of a one-way street.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />So that's happening.<br /><br />And the relationship with China's very good. But I think they finally respect our country. They haven't respected us for a long time. Not for a long time.<br /><br />The U.K. and the U.S., as you probably have been seeing and hearing, we're agreeing to go forward and preserve our trade agreement. You know all of the situation with respect to Brexit, and the complexity and the problems. But we have a very good trading relationship with U.K. and that's just been strengthened further.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />So with the U.K., we're continuing our trade and we are going to actually be increasing it very substantially as time goes by. We expect that the U.K. will be very, very substantially increased as it relates to trade with the United States. The relationship there also is very good.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />We have a lot of great announcements having to do with Syria and our success with the eradication of the caliphate. And that'll be announced over the next 24 hours.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />And many other things. A lot of positive things are going on.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />We're working on a -- a summit. And you know all about the summit. It'll be in Vietnam, Hanoi. And we will -- we'll be meeting in Hanoi. I think a lot of you will be going, I suspect. And I hope we have the same good luck as we had in the first summit.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />A lot was done in the first summit. No more rockets going up, no more missiles going up, no more testing of nuclear. Get back our remains, the remains of our great heroes from the Korean War. And we got back our hostages.<br /><br />But we hope we're going to be very much equally as successful. I'm in no rush for speed. We just don't want testing.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /> The sanctions, as you know, remain. Everything is remaining. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />TRUMP: China's been helping us and Russia's been helping us. And South Korea, I think you can say, has been -- we've been working very closely with South Korea, with Japan. But China, Russia on the border have really been at least partially living up to what they're supposed to be doing, and that's OK, as per the United Nations.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />So we will have a meeting on the 27th and 28th of February. And I think that will be very successful, and I look forward to seeing Chairman Kim. We have also established a very good relationship, which has never happened between him or his family and the United Nations. They have really taken advantage of the United States. Billions of dollars has been paid to them. And we -- we won't let that happen, but we think that North Korea and Chairman Kim have a tremendous potential as an economic force, economic power.<br /><br />Their location between South Korea and then Russia and China, right smack in the middle, is phenomenal. And we think they have a great chance for tremendous economic prosperity in the future. So I look forward to seeing Chairman Kim in Vietnam.<br /><br />Today I'm announcing several critical actions that my administration is taking to confront a problem that we have right here at home. We fight wars that are 6,000 miles away, wars that we should have never been in, in many cases, but we don't control our own border. So we are going to confront the national security crisis on our southern border. And we're going to do it one way or the other. We have to do it -- not because it was a campaign promise, which it is.<br /><br />It was one of many, by the way, not my only one. We're rebuilding the military. Our economy is thriving like never before. You look at other economies, they're doing terribly, and we're doing phenomenally. The market is up tremendously today, not that that's anything, but, you know, because they'll go back in and they'll say, "Oh, the market just went down." But the market is getting close to the new highs that we created. We -- we have all the records. We have every record. But we're getting close to that point again where we'll create new records.<br /><br />So our country is doing very well economically and we've done a lot. But one of the things I said I have to do and I want to do is border security because we have tremendous amounts of drugs flowing into our country, much of it coming from the southern border.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />When you look and when you listen to politicians, in particular certain Democrats, they say it all comes through the port of entry. It's wrong. It's wrong. It's just a lie. It's all a lie.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />They say walls don't work. Walls work 100 percent. Whether it's El Paso -- I really was smiling because the other night I was in El Paso. We had a tremendous crowd and -- tremendous crowd -- and I asked the people, many of whom were from El Paso, but they came from all over Texas. And I asked them; I said, "Let me ask you the -- as a crowd, when the wall went up, was it better? You were there, some of you."<br /><br />It was not only better; it was like 100 percent better. You know what they did.<br /><br />But that's only one example. There are so many examples. In El Paso, they have close to 2,000 murders right on the other side of the wall. And they had 23 murders. It's a lot of murders. But it's not close to 2,000 murders, right on the other side of the wall, in Mexico.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />TRUMP: So everyone knows that walls work. And there are better examples than El Paso, frankly. You just take a look, almost everywhere. Take a look at Israel. They're building another wall. Their wall is 99.9 percent effective, they tell me -- 99.9 percent. That's what it would be with us, too. The only weakness is they go to a wall and then they go around the wall. They go around the wall and in. OK? That's what it is, very simple.<br /><br />And a big majority of the big drugs -- the big drug loads don't go through ports of entry. They can't go through ports of entry. You can't take big loads because you have people -- we have some very capable people, the Border Patrol, law enforcement, looking.<br /><br />You can't take human traffic, women and girls -- you can't take them through ports of entry. You can't have them tied up in the backseat of a car or a truck or a van. They open the door, they look. They can't see women with tape on their mouth or three women whose hands are tied.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />They go through areas where you have no wall. Everybody knows that. Nancy knows it. Chuck knows it. They all know it.<br /><br />It's all a big lie. It's a big con game.<br /><br />You don't have to be very smart to know you put up a barrier, the people come in and that's it. They can't do anything unless they walk left or right, and they find an area where there's no barrier and they come into the United States. Welcome. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />We've detained more people. Our border agents are doing such incredible work. Our military has been incredible. We put up barbed wire on top of certain old walls that were there. We fixed the wall and we load it up with barbed wire. It's very successful.<br /><br />But our military has been fantastic and I want to thank them. And it's very necessary.<br /><br />We've broken up two caravans that are on their way. They just are breaking. They're in the process of breaking up. We have another one that we haven't been able to break up yet.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />We've been, actually, working with Mexico much better than ever before. I want to thank the president. I want to thank Mexico. They have their own problems. They have the largest number of murders that they've ever had in their history, almost 40,000 murders. 40,000. And they got to straighten that out, and I think they will. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />But I just want to thank the president because he's been helping us with these monstrous caravans that have been coming up. We had one that was up to over 15,000 people. It's largely broken up. Others have gotten through.<br /><br />And in Tijuana, you have a lot of people staying there. If we didn't have the wall up and if we didn't have the wall secured and strengthened, they would have walked right through. They'd be welcomed to the United States.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />One of the things we'd save tremendous -- just a tremendous amount on would be sending the military. If we had a wall, we don't need the military, because we'd have a wall.<br /><br />So I'm going to be signing a national emergency. And it's been signed many times before. <br />It's been signed by other presidents. From 1977 or so, it gave the presidents the power.<br /><br />There's rarely been a problem. They sign it; nobody cares. I guess they weren't very exciting. But nobody cares. They sign it for far less important things in some cases -- in many cases.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />We're talking about an invasion of our country with drugs, with human traffickers, with all types of criminals and gangs.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />We have some of the greatest people I know, they've been with me from the beginning of my campaign -- almost from the first week, the angel moms. Unfortunately, we have new angel moms.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />One incredible woman just showed me her daughter who we're talking about, killed in the year of '18. I said, "I haven't seen you before." She said, "No, I'm new." I said, "That's too bad." It's too bad. It's so sad.<br /><br />TRUMP: Stand up just for a second. Show how beautiful your girl was. Thank you.<br /><br />I have such respect for these people, angel moms, angel dads, angel families. I have great respect for these people, these are great people. These are great people. They're fighting for their children that have been killed by people that were illegally in this country.<br /><br />And the press doesn't cover them, they don't want to, incredibly, and they're not treated the way they should be. They're fighting for other people because they don't want to -- what happened to their children or husband or anybody.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />We have one young lady whose husband -- please, stand up. Your husband was just killed in Maryland. Incredible man, just killed. Beautiful children, won't be seeing their father again. These are brave people, these are people that are -- they don't have to be here, they don't have to be doing this, they're doing it for other people.<br /><br />So I just want to thank all of you for being here, OK? I really do, I want to thank you, incredible people. Last year, 70,000 Americans were killed at least -- I think the number is ridiculously low, by drugs, including meth and heroin and cocaine, fentanyl.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />Now, one of the things that I did with President Xi in China when I met him in Argentina at a summit -- before I even started talking about trade -- it was a trade meeting, went very well, but before I talked about trade I talked about something more important.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />I said listen, we have tremendous amounts of fentanyl coming into our country, kills tens of thousands of people, I think far more than anybody registers. And I'd love you to declare it a lethal drug and put it on your criminal list, and their criminal list is much tougher than our criminal list.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />Their criminal list, a drug dealer gets a thing called the death penalty. Our criminal list, a drug dealer gets a thing called how about a fine? And when I asked President Xi, I said do you have a drug problem? No, no, no, I said you have 1.4 billion people, what do you mean you have no drug problem?</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />No we don't have a drug problem. I said why? Death penalty. We give death penalty to people that sell drugs, end of problem. What do we do? We set up a blue ribbon communities. Lovely men and women, they sit around a table, they have lunch, they eat, they dine and they waste a lot of time.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />So if we want to get smart, we can get smart. You can end the drug problem -- can end it a lot faster than you think. But President Xi's agreed to put fentanyl on his list of deadly, deadly drugs, and it's a criminal penalty and the penalty is death.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />So that's frankly one of the things I'm most excited about in our trade deal. If you want to know the truth, I think maybe there's no more important point. We're going to make billions of dollars with this trade deal, it's going to be great for our country and great for China, I hope.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />Their market's down close to 40 percent. Our market's way up. We've picked up, since my election, trillions of dollars of worth -- trillions, many trillions, and China's lost trillions of dollars. But I want it to be good for China and I wanted to be good for the United States, so we'll see what happens.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />TRUMP: China's coming here next week, by the way. They're coming home, the traders, and then China is coming here next week, and then I'll be meeting with President Xi at some point after that to maybe -- for some remaining deals. We'll make them directly, one-on-one, ourselves.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />So we're going to be signing, today -- and registering -- national emergency. And it's a great thing to do because we have an invasion of drugs, invasion of gangs, invasion of people and it's unacceptable.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />And by signing the national emergency, something signed many times by other presidents many, many times -- President Obama, in fact, we may be using one of the national emergencies that he signed having to do with cartels, criminal cartels. It's a very good emergency that he signed, and we're going to use parts of it in our dealings on cartels. So that would be a second national emergency. But in that case, it's already in place.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />And what we want -- really want to do is simple. It's not like it's complicated. It's very simple. We want to stop drugs from coming into our country. We want to stop criminals and gangs from coming into our country.<br /><br />Nobody's done the job that we've ever done. I mean, nobody's done the job that we've done on the border. And in a way, what I did by creating such a great economy -- and if the opposing party got in, this economy would be down the tubes.<br /><br />You know, I hear a lot of people say, oh, well, but maybe the previous administration -- let me tell you, the previous administration, it was heading south and it was going fast. We would have been down the tubes. The regulations were strangling our country, unnecessary regulations.<br /><br />By creating such a strong economy -- you just look at your televisions or (ph) see what's going on today, it's through the roof -- what happens is, more people want to come. So we have far more people trying to get into our country today than, probably, we've ever had before.<br /><br />And we've done an incredible job in stopping them, but it's a massive number of people. If we had the wall, it would be very easy. We would make up for the cost of the wall, just with the cost of the fact that I would be able to have fewer people. We wouldn't need all of this incredible talent -- some of whom are sitting in the first row -- you wouldn't need all of this incredible talent.<br /><br />We would get -- we would get thousands of law enforcement people including Border Patrol, you put them in different areas, you have them doing different things, law enforcement or Border Patrol. And I want to thank law enforcement, and I want to thank Border Patrol, and I want to thank ICE. ICE is abused by the press and by the Democrats.<br /><br />And by the way, we're going to be taking care of ICE. You know, we talk about the -- the new bill. We're going to be taking care of ICE. They wanted to get rid of ICE. And the bill is just the opposite of that. A lot of good things happened.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />So that's the story. We want to have a safe country. I ran on a very simple slogan. Make America Great Again. If you're going to have drugs pouring across the border, if you're going to have human traffickers pouring across the border in areas where we have no protection, in areas where we don't have a barrier, then very hard to make America great again.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />But we've done a fantastic job. But we haven't been given the equipment. We haven't been given the walls.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />TRUMP: And in the bill, by the way, they didn't even fight us on most of the stuff -- ports of entry -- we have so much money, we don't know what to do with it. I don't know what to do with all the money they're giving us. It's crazy.<br /><br />The only place they don't want to give us much money -- 1 billion, 375 million dollars, sounds like a lot, but it's not so much. Although we're putting it to much better use than it used to be.<br /><br />A lot of the past administrations they had -- it was easy to get -- they didn't build or they didn't do what they could have done. It would have been great.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />It would have been great to have done it earlier, but I was a little new to the job, a little new to the profession, and we had a little disappointment for the first year and a half.</span></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">People that should have stepped up did not step up. They didn't step up and they should have. It would have been easy. Not that easy, but it would have been a lot easier. But some people didn't step up.<br /><br />But we're stepping up now. So we have a chance of getting close to $8 billion -- whether it's $8 billion or $2 billion or $1.5 billion, it's going to build a lot of wall. We're getting it done.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />We're right now in construction with wall in some of the most important areas. And we have renovated a tremendous amount of wall, making it just as new.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />That's where a lot of the money has been spent, on renovation. In fact, we were restricted to renovating. Which is OK, but we're going to run out of areas that we can renovate pretty soon, so -- and we need new wall.<br /><br />So I want to thank everybody for being here. I want to thank in particular the angel moms and dads for being here. Thank you very much. We have great respect for you.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />The real country -- our real country, the people that really love our country, they love you. So I just want you to know that. I know how hard you fight and I know how hard a fight you're having.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />I also want to thank all of the law enforcement for the job you do. I -- believe me, our country loves you and they respect you greatly. And we're giving you a lot of surplus.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />We're giving you surplus military equipment, which a lot of people didn't like giving previous to this administration, but hundreds of millions of dollars of surplus equipment. And as we get it, as you know we send it down, and you have much better protection. But I really appreciate you being here.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />So the -- the order is signed. And I'll sign the final papers as soon as I get into the Oval Office. And we will have a national emergency, and we will then be sued, and they will sue us in the 9th Circuit, even though it shouldn't be there, and we will possibly get a bad ruling, and then we'll get another bad ruling, and then we'll end up in the Supreme Court, and hopefully we'll get a fair shake and we'll win in the Supreme Court.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />Just like the ban, they sued us in the 9th Circuit and we lost, and then we lost in the appellate division, and then we went to the Supreme Court and we won.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />And it was very interesting, because yesterday they were talking about the ban -- because we have a ban, it's very helpful.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />Madam Secretary, is that right? Without the ban, we'd have a bigger problem.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />We have a ban on certain areas, certain countries, depending on what's going on in the world. And we won.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />But somebody said, "President Trump lost on the ban." Well, he was right. I lost at the lower court. He -- he didn't say that we ultimately won at the United States Supreme Court. They didn't want to say that. They didn't want to go that far. They were saying how I lost -- a person sitting right up here -- "Donald Trump lost on the ban." Yes, I did. And then I lost a second time.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />You should have said that, too.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />And then it went to the Supreme Court and I won.<br /><br />TRUMP: Didn't want to take it that far, but we won on the ban and we won on other things, too.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />The probably easiest one to win is on declaring a national emergency because we're declaring it for virtual invasion purposes, drugs, traffickers and gangs.<br /><br />And one of the things, just to finish, we have removed thousands of MS-13 gang monsters, thousands. They're out of this country. We take them out by the thousands. And they are monsters.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">__________</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />OK. Do you have any questions? Yeah? John, go...</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: #990000;"> (CROSSTALK)</span></span></b><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />QUESTION: You were prepared. (LAUGHTER)<br /><br />Mr. President, a lot of the money...</span></b></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /> TRUMP: Were you saying I was prepared?</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: #990000;"> QUESTION: With the microphone and prepared for questions.</span></span></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">TRUMP: Oh, I thought you meant I was prepared. (LAUGHTER)</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: #990000;">QUESTION: Oh, no, no, no.</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /> TRUMP: I couldn't believe you said that. (LAUGHTER)</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /> People don't like saying that.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /> <span style="color: #990000;">QUESTION: You were prepared for questions.</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />TRUMP: I am prepared. I'm always prepared.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: #990000;">QUESTION: A lot of the money that goes to count toward your $8 billion is money that's being reprogrammed in the DOD budget. How -- how can you guarantee to military families and to our men and women of the military that none of the money that would be reprogrammed to a wall will take away from other technology, other renovations, construction that is desperately need in our military?</span></span></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">TRUMP: Yeah. So, John, we had certain funds that are being used at the discretion of generals, at the discretion of the military. Some of them haven't been allocated yet. And some of the generals think that this is more important.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />I was speaking to a couple of them. They think this is far more important than what they were going to use it for. I said, "What were you going to use it for?" And I won't go into details, but it didn't sound too important to me.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />Plus, if you think, I've gotten $700 billion for the military in year one, and then last year $716 billion. And we're rebuilding our military. But we have a lot. And under the previous administration, our military was depleted, badly depleted, and they weren't spending -- I mean, they had a much less -- they had a much smaller amount of money.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />So when I got $700 billion and then $716 billion -- and this year it's going to be pretty big, too, because there's few things more important than our military. You know, I'm a big deficit believer and all of that, but before we really start focusing on certain things, we have to build up our military. It was very badly depleted. And we're buying all new jet fighters, all new missiles, all new defensive equipment. We have -- we'll soon have a military like we've never had before.<br /><br />But when you think about the kind of numbers you're talking about, so you have $700 billion, $716 billion, when I need $2 billion, $3 billion out of that for a wall, which is a very important instrument, very important for the military because of the drugs that pour in -- and as you know, we have specific rules and regulations where they have drugs and what you can do in order to stop drugs. And that's part of it, too. We're taking a lot of money from that realm also.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />But when you have that kind of money going into the military, this is a very, very small amount that we're asking for.<br /><br /><span style="color: #990000;">QUESTION: Mr. President...</span><br /><br />TRUMP: Yeah, go ahead.<br /><br /><span style="color: #990000;">QUESTION: Mr. President...</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />TRUMP: Go ahead, ABC -- not NBC. I like ABC a little bit more, not much. Come on, ABC -- not much, pretty close.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: #990000;">QUESTION: Mr. President, what do you say to those, including some of your Republican allies, who say that you are violating the Constitution with this move and setting a bad precedent that will be abused by possibly Democratic presidents in the future? Marco Rubio...</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />TRUMP: Well, not too many people.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: #990000;">QUESTION: ... has made this point.</span><br /><br />TRUMP: Yeah, not too many people have said that. But the courts will determine that. Look, I expect to be sued. I shouldn't be sued. Very rarely do you get sued when you do national emergency. And then other people say, "Oh, if you use it for this, now what are we using it for?"<br /><br />We've got to get rid of drugs, and gangs and people. It's an invasion. We have an invasion of drugs and criminals coming into our country that we stop, but it's very hard to stop. With a wall, it would be very easy.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />So I think that we will be very successful in court. I think it's clear. And the people that say we create precedent, well, what do you have -- 56 or a lot of times -- well, that's creating precedent. And many of those are far less important than having a border. You don't have a border, you don't have a country.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />You know, we fight -- before I got here -- we fight all over the world to create borders for countries, but we don't create a border for our own country. So I think what will happen is sadly we'll be sued, and sadly it'll go through a process and happily we'll win, I think.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />Go ahead. Let's go, let's hear it NBC. Come on.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: #990000;">QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President. I just want to say when -- in the past, when President Obama tried to use executive action as it related to immigration, you said the whole concept of executive order, it's not the way the country's supposed to be run. You said you're supposed to go through Congress and make a deal.<br /><br />Will you concede that you were unable to make the deal that you had promised in the past and that the deal you're ending up with now from Congress is less than what you could have had...</span><br /><br />TRUMP: No. Look...</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: #990000;"> QUESTION: ... before a 35-day shutdown?</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />TRUMP: ... I went through Congress, I made a deal. I got almost $1.4 billion when I wasn't supposed to get $1 -- not $1. He's not going to get $1. Well, I got $1.4 billion, but I'm not happy with it. I also got billions and billions of dollars for other things -- port of entries, lots of different things, a -- the purchase of drug equipment, more than we were even requesting.<br /><br />In fact, the primary fight was on the wall. Everything else we have so much, as I said, I don't know what to do with it; we have so much money. But on the wall, they skimped. So I did -- I was successful in that sense, but I want to do it faster.<br /><br />I could do the wall over a longer period of time, I didn't need to do this, but I'd rather do it much faster. And I don't have to do it for the election; I've already done a lot of wall for the election 2020. And the only reason we're up here talking about this is because of the election, because they want to try and win an election which it looks like they're not going to be able to do.<br /><br />And this is one of the ways they think they can possibly win is by obstruction and a lot of other nonsense. And I think that I just want to get it done faster, that's all. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />OK. Yes, ma'am, go ahead.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: #990000;"> QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President. </span></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">TRUMP: Thank you.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: #990000;"> QUESTION: Roberta Rampton from Reuters.</span></span></b><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />I wanted to ask about China. Do you feel that enough progress has been made in the talks to head off the increase in tariffs scheduled for March 1?</span></b></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />TRUMP: Well, you know, you have -- you're talking to the wrong person, because I happen to like tariffs. OK? I mean, we're taking in billions and billions of dollars in tariffs from China and our steel industry now is an example. We tax dumped steel -- much of it comes from China -- at 25 percent.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />Our steel industry is so vibrant now, again. They're building plants all over the United States. It's a beautiful thing. And from a defensive standpoint and from any standpoint, you need steel. You know, you can do without certain industries; our country cannot do without steel.<br /><br />So I love tariffs, but I also love them to negotiate. And right now, China is paying us billions of dollars a year in tariffs and I haven't even started.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />Now, here's the thing. If we make a deal, they won't have to pay. You know, it'll be a whole different story, they won't be paying that but we'll have a fair deal.<br /><br />TRUMP: There won't be intellectual property theft. There won't be so many other things that have gone on.<br /><br />And no other president has done this. No other president. You know, we didn't have a deal with China. Yet the WTO, one of the worst trade deals ever made -- probably even worse than NAFTA, if that's believable, which is, you know, hard to believe, because I think NAFTA was just a disaster. It was a total disaster for our country.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />And now we made the USMCA, which is going to be a terrific -- a great deal.<br /><br />And, by the way, the USMCA from Mexico -- that's United States, Mexico, Canada -- that's where the money's coming from, not directly, but indirectly, for the wall. And nobody wants to talk about that. Because we're saving billions and billions of dollars a year, if Congress approves that deal.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />Now, they might not want to approve a deal just because they'll say -- one of the things I'm thinking of doing -- this has never been done before. No matter how good a deal I make with China, if they sell me Beijing for one dollar, if they give me 50 percent of their land and every ship that they've built over the last two years, which is a lot, and they give them to me free, the Democrats will say, "What a lousy deal. That's a terrible deal."</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />Like ZTE, I got a billion -- more than a billion-dollar penalty in a short period of time. And the Democrats said, "Oh, should have gotten more." When I made that deal, I said, "This is incredible. I just got -- I got over a billion-dollar penalty," plus they had to change their board of directors, they had to change their top management, but they had to a pay over a billion dollars.<br /><br />I said, "What a deal." It took me like a week.<br /><br />And the Democrats didn't even know there was a problem with ZTE. I'm the one that fined them. I'm the one that settled it. Over a billion dollars. And President Xi called me. And he said, it would be important to him if they could get a deal. And we made (inaudible) pay, like, in a short period of time.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />The Democrats went out and said, "Oh, they should've done better."<br /><br />So what I'm thinking of doing is getting Chuck Schumer, getting Nancy Pelosi, having them bring two or three of their brilliant representatives, and we'll all go down together and what we'll do is we'll negotiate. I'll put them in the room and let them speak up.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />Because any deal I make with China, if it's the great -- it's going to be better than any deal that anybody ever dreamed possible, or I'm not going to have a deal, it's very simple.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />But any deal I make with China, Schumer's going to stand up and say, "Oh, it should've been better. It should've been better."</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />And you know what? That's not acceptable to me. So I'm thinking about doing something very different. I don't think it's ever been -- I just don't want to be second-guessed. But that's not even second-guess, that's called politics. Sadly, I'd probably do the same thing to them, OK?<br /><br />But any deal I make, toward the end I'm going to bring Schumer -- at least offer him -- and Pelosi. I'm going to say, "Please join me on the deal.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />And by the way, I just see our new attorney general sitting in the front row. Please stand up, Bill.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /> <span style="color: #990000;">(APPLAUSE)</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /> Such an easy job he has got. He's got the easiest job in government.<br /><br />Thank you. And congratulations. That was a great vote yesterday. Thank you very much. <br /><br />Yes, go ahead. Go ahead.<br /><span style="color: #990000;"><br />QUESTION: In your remarks, sir, you said that you were too new to politics earlier in your administration when you would've preferred that this be done. Is that an admission of how you might be changing on the job and...</span><br />TRUMP: Well, I'm learning. I mean, I am learning.<br /><br />Don't forget, it's not like I did -- done this for -- a senator came into my office and said, "I've been running for office 30 years. I've won seven out of seven. I did lose a couple when I was younger." I said, "Well, I've won one out of one."</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />TRUMP: But, you know, I never did politics before. Now I do politics.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />I will tell you, I'm very disappointed at certain people -- particular one -- for not having pushed this faster...</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: #990000;">QUESTION: Are you referring to Speaker Ryan, sir?</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />TRUMP: ... but I've learned (ph) -- who? </span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">QUESTION: Speaker Ryan?</span></b></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /> TRUMP: Let's not talk about it.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: #990000;">QUESTION: OK.</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />TRUMP: What difference does it make? But they should have pushed it faster. They should have pushed it harder. And they didn't, they didn't. If they would have, it would have been a little bit better.<br /><br />In the meantime, I built a lot of wall. I have a lot of money, and I built a lot of wall. But it would have been nice to have gotten done.<br /><br />And I would like to see major immigration reform. And maybe that's something we can all work on, bill where we all get together and do major immigration reform. Not just for a wall, for a barrier, for port of entry, for other things.<br /><br />We have a real problem. We have catch-and-release. You catch a criminal, and you have to release him. We have so many other things. You have chain migration. Where a bad person comes in, brings 22 or 23 or 35 of his family members because he has his mother, his grandmother, his sister, his cousin, his uncle. They're all in.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> <br />You know what happened on the West Side Highway. That young wise guy drove over and killed eight people and horribly injured -- nobody talks about that -- horribly, like loss of legs and arms. Going 60 miles an hour, he made a right turn into a park on the West Side Highway along the Hudson River in New York. He had many people brought in because he was in the United States. It's called chain migration.<br /><br />And then you have the lottery. It's a horror show. Because when countries put people into the lottery, they're not putting you in. They're putting some very bad people in the lottery. It's common sense.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />If I ran a country and I have a lottery system of people going to the United States, I'm not going to put in my stars. I'm going to put in people I don't want. The lottery system's a disaster. I'm stuck with it.<br /><br /><span style="color: #990000;">QUESTION: Mr. President, could you tell us...</span><br /><br />TRUMP: It should -- wait. It should have never happened. OK.<br /><br /><span style="color: #990000;">QUESTION: Mr. President could you tell us to what degree some of the outside conservative voices helped to shape your views on this national emergency?</span><br /><br />TRUMP: I -- I would talk about it. Look, Sean Hannity has been a terrific, terrific supporter of what I do. Not of me. If I changed my views, he wouldn't be with me. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />Rush Limbaugh, I think he's a great guy. Here's a guy who could speak for three hours without a phone call. Try doing that sometime. For three hours, he speaks. He's got one of the biggest audiences in the history of the world. I mean, this guy is unbelievable.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />Try speaking for three hours without taking calls. Taking calls is easy. "OK, I'll answer this one, I'll answer that one." He goes for three hours...<br /><br /><span style="color: #990000;">QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /> TRUMP: ... and he's got an audience that's fantastic.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />Wait.</span></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">QUESTION: ... (inaudible) decided policy, sir?</span></b></span><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">TRUMP: They don't decide policy. In fact, if I went opposite -- I mean, they have somebody, Ann Coulter. I don't know her. I hardly know her. I haven't spoken to her in way over a year. But the press loves saying, "Ann Coulter."</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />Probably if I did speak to her, she'd be very nice. I just don't have the time to speak to her. I would speak to her. I have nothing against her. In fact, I like her for one reason. When they asked her, like right at the beginning, "Who's going to win the election?" She said, "Donald Trump." And the two people that asked her that question smiled. They said, "You're kidding, aren't you?" "Nope. Donald Trump."</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />So I like her. But she's off the reservation. But anybody that knows her understands that. But I haven't spoken to her. I don't follow her. I don't talk to her. But the press loves to bring up the name "Ann Coulter." And you know what, I think she's fine. I think she's good. But I just don't speak to her.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />TRUMP: Laura's been great, Laura Ingraham. Tucker Carlson's been great. I actually have a couple of people on CNN that have been very good. I have someone -- MSNBC the other day, they did a great report of me. I was like, "Where the hell did that come from?" I think it was the only one in over a year.<br /><br />So the crazy thing is I just had, as you know, Rasmussen, 52 percent in the polls. It's my highest poll number and people get what we're doing. They get it, they really get it and I'm honored by it.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />Yes, Jim Acosta?</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: #990000;"> QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President. I -- I wonder if you could comment on this disconnect that we seem to have in this country where you are presenting information about what's happening at the border, calling it an invasion, talking about women with duct tape over their mouths and so on.<br /><br />And yet there's a lot of reporting out there, there's a lot of crime data out there, there's a lot of Department of Homeland Security data out there that shows border crossings at a near record low...</span><br /><br />TRUMP: That's because of us. But it's still -- excuse me...</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: #990000;">QUESTION: That shows undocumented immigrants committing crimes at lower levels...</span><br />TRUMP: It's still massive numbers of crossings.<br /><br /><span style="color: #990000;">QUESTIONS: Shows undocumented criminals -- or undocumented immigrants committing crimes at lower levels than native-born Americans.</span></span></b><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />What -- what do you say to...</span></b></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />TRUMP: You don't -- you don't really believe that stat, do you? Do you really believe that stat? Take a look at our federal prisons.<br /><br /><span style="color: #990000;">QUESTION: What do you -- well let me ask you this. I believe -- I believe in facts and statistics (inaudible).</span><br /><br />TRUMP: OK. Anymore? Quick, let's go.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: #990000;">QUESTION: Let me just ask you this. What do you say to your critics who say that you are creating a national emergency, that you're concocting a national emergency here in order to get your wall because you couldn't get it through other ways?</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />TRUMP: I as the Angel Moms, what do you think? Do you think I'm creating something? Ask these incredible women who lost their daughters and their sons, OK? Because your question is a very political question, because you have an agenda, you're CNN, you're fake news, you have an agenda.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />The numbers that you gave are wrong. Take a look at our federal prison population, see how many of them percentage wise are illegal aliens, just see. Go ahead and see. It's a fake question. Yes, go ahead.<br /><span style="color: #990000;"><br />QUESTION: Can I ask a follow up?</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;"><br />QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President. Just to follow up on that, you -- unifying crime reporting statistics, numbers from your own Border Patrol, numbers from this government, show that the amount of illegal immigrants are down, there is not violence on the border and that most...</span><br /><br />TRUMP: There's not violence on the border (ph)? <br /><br /><span style="color: #990000;">QUESTION: There's not as much violence as -- wait a minute -- wait a minute -- let me finish the question...</span><br /><br />TRUMP: Oh really? You had 26 people killed?</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: #990000;">QUESTION: Please, let me finish the question, please.</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />TRUMP: Two weeks ago, 26 people were killed in a gunfight on the border. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: #990000;">QUESTION: I understand what the -- I understand what you're saying.</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />TRUMP: A mile away from where I went.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: #990000;">QUESTION: I -- I was there, I understand. That's not the question. The question is...</span><br />TRUMP: Do we forget about that?</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: #990000;">QUESTION: No, I'm not forgetting about it, I'm asking you to clarify where you get your numbers, because most of the DEA crime reporting statistics that we see show that drugs are coming across at the ports of entry, that illegal immigration is down and that the violence is down. </span></span></b><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />So what do you base your facts on?</span></b></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /> TRUMP: OK. Let me -- come on, let's go.<br /><br /><span style="color: #990000;">QUESTION: And secondly...</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /> TRUMP: No, no, you get one, you get one. Wait, sit down, sit down.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: #990000;"> QUESTION: Could you -- could you please answer it.</span><br />TRUMP: Sit down! You get one question. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: #990000;">QUESTION: Please?</span><br />TRUMP: I get my numbers from a lot of sources, like Homeland Security primarily, and the numbers that I have from Homeland Security are a disaster. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />And you know what else is a disaster? The numbers that come out of Homeland Security, Kirstjen, for the cost that we spend and the money that we lose because of illegal immigration, billions and billions of dollars a month. Billions and billions of dollars, and it's unnecessary.<br /><br /><span style="color: #990000;">QUESTION: So your own government's stats are wrong, are you saying? </span></span></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">TRUMP: No, no, I use many stats. I use many stats.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: #990000;"> QUESTION: Could you share those stats with us?</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />TRUMP: Let me tell you, you have stats that are far worse than the ones that I use, but I use many stats, but I also use Homeland Security. All right, next question. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: #990000;">QUESTION: And do you -- wait a minute -- just a quick follow-up...</span></span></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">TRUMP: No, go, please. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: #990000;">QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President. </span></span></b><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />I just want to bring you back to China for a second. The White House put out a statement today talking about the March 1st deadline. The other day, though, you gave the possibility that maybe this could slide. </span></b></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;"><br />Are you eying a possible extension 30 days, maybe 60 days? Where does the status there...</span><br /><br />TRUMP: Very good question.<br /><br /><span style="color: #990000;">QUESTION: Or is March 1st the deadline?</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />TRUMP: So it's a very big deal. I guess you could say it's, like, must be the biggest deal ever made, if you think, trade with China, how big does that get? Although, if you look, the USMCA is right up there.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />But it's very complicated. There are many, many points that we're bringing up that nobody ever brought up or thought to bring up, but they're very important, because we were on the wrong side of every one of them.<br /><br />There is a possibility that I will extend the date. And if I do that; if I see that we're close to a deal or the deal is going in the right direction, I would do that at the same tariffs that we're charging now. I would not increase the tariffs.</span></b><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />QUESTION: Let me also ask you about the debt, sir, because it's gone from a shade under $20 trillion from when you took office...</span></b></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />TRUMP: Yeah.<br /><br /><span style="color: #990000;">QUESTION: Now it's a shade over $22 trillion and heading in the wrong direction. What are your plans to -- to reverse it?</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />TRUMP: Well, it's all about growth. But before...</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: #990000;">QUESTION: Growth only or...</span><br /><br />TRUMP: ... I really focus on that -- and you have to remember, President Obama put on more debt on this country than every president in the history of our country combined. So when I took over, we had one man that put on more debt than every other president combined. Combine them all. So you can't be talking about that. But I talk about it because I consider it very important.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />But first I have to straighten out the military. The military was depleted. And if we don't have a strong military that hopefully we won't have to use because it's strong -- if we don't have a strong military, you don't have to worry about debt. You have bigger problems. So I had to straighten out the military. That's why I did the 700 and $716 billion. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />But growth will straighten it out. You saw last month the trade deficit went way down. Everybody said, "What happened?" Well, what's happening is growth. But before I can focus too much on that, a very big expense is military. And we have no choice but to straighten out our military.<br /><span style="color: #990000;"><br />QUESTION: Is growth the only answer, sir, or is...<br /><br />(CROSSTALK)</span><br />TRUMP: Yes, ma'am, go ahead.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: #990000;">QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President. On North Korea, back on the last summit, you guys came out with a pretty general agreement.</span><br /><br />TRUMP: Yes.<br /><br /><span style="color: #990000;">QUESTION: I was wondering what you thought has, you know, been accomplished since the last summit, and then...</span></span></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">TRUMP: A lot.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: #990000;"> QUESTION: ... are we going to be seeing anything...</span><br /><br />TRUMP: A lot's been accomplished.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /> QUESTION: ... concrete on...</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /> TRUMP: OK.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: #990000;"> QUESTION: ... denuclearization?</span><br /><br />TRUMP: Yeah, a lot's been accomplished. We're dealing with them. We're talking to them. When I came into office, I met right there in the Oval Office with President Obama. And I sat in those beautiful chairs. And we talked. It was supposed to be 15 minutes. As you know, it ended up being many times longer than that.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />And I said, "What's the biggest problem?" He said, "By far, North Korea."<br /><br />And I don't want to speak for him. But I believe he would have gone to war with North Korea. I think he was ready to go to war. In fact, he told me he was so close to starting a big war with North Korea. Now, where are we now?<br /><br />No missiles, no rockets, no nuclear testing. We've learned a lot. But much more importantly than all of it, much more important -- much, much more important than that -- is we have a great relationship. I have a very good relationship with Kim Jong-un. And I've done a job. In fact, I think I can say this: Prime Minister Abe of Japan gave me the most beautiful copy of a letter that he sent to the people who give out a thing called the Nobel Prize.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />He said, "I have nominated you, or, respectfully, on behalf of Japan, I am asking them to give you the Nobel Peace Prize." <br /><br />I said, "Thank you." <br /><br />TRUMP: Many other people feel that way, too. I'll probably never get it. But that's OK. They gave it to Obama. He didn't even know what he got it for. He was there for about 15 seconds and he got the Nobel Prize. He said, "Oh, what did I get it for?" With me, I probably will never get it.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />But if you look at Idlib Province in Syria, I stopped the slaughter of perhaps 3 million people. Nobody talks about that. They don't talk about that. <br /><br />Russia and Iran and Syria were going to go in and perhaps destroy 3 million people in order to get 45,000 terrorists.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />And I heard about it from a woman who had her parents and her brothers living there. And she said, "Please, please." And I thought -- I said, "No. It can't happen. What are you talking about?" "No, they're going to" -- and I come home and I read a certain paper where the story was there, that they were actually forming to go into -- to, really, to really do big destruction.<br /><br />And I put out a statement that, "You'd better not do it." And in all fairness to Russia and Iran and Syria, they didn't attack. Or they're doing it surgically, at least. Saved a lot of people. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />We do a lot of good work. This administration does a tremendous job and we don’t get credit for it. But I think the people understand what we do.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> <br />So, Prime Minister Abe came here -- I mean, it was the most beautiful five- letter -- five-page letter. Nobel Prize. He sent it to them. You know why? Because he had rocket ships and he had missiles flying over Japan. And they had alarms going off -- you know that.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />Now, all of a sudden, they feel good. They feel safe. I did that.<br /><br />And it was a very tough dialogue at the beginning. Fire and fury. Total annihilation. “My button is bigger than yours” and “My button works.” Remember that? You don’t remember that.<br /><br />And people said, "Trump is crazy." </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />And you know what it ended up being? A very good relationship. I like him a lot and he likes me a lot.<br /><br />Nobody else would have done that. The Obama administration couldn’t have done it. Number one, they probably wouldn’t have done it. And number two, they didn’t have the capability to do it.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />So I just want to thank everybody. I want to wish our new attorney general great luck and speed and enjoy your life. Bill, good luck. A tremendous reputation. I know you’ll do a great job. Thank you very much. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />And thank you, everybody. Thank you very much. Thank you.</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">____________</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Okeee-Dokeee, then.</span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets/tweet_button.html" style="height: 20px; width: 130px;"></iframe>BobbyGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03807934795994985233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067383035450126802.post-16278887852753192012019-01-26T15:08:00.000-08:002019-01-26T15:10:13.600-08:00January 25th, 2019 #Presidementia speech From the I-Just-Got-Hosed Garden<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Ending-the-shutdown Transcript: in his own Best Words.</b></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #073763;"><b>Thank you very much. My fellow Americans, I am very proud to announce today that we have reached a deal to end the shutdown and re-open the federal government. [Applause] As everyone knows, I have a very powerful alternative, but I didn’t want to use it at this time. Hopefully it will be unnecessary. I want to thank all of the incredible federal workers, and their amazing families, who have shown such extraordinary devotion in the face of this recent hardship.<br /><br />You are fantastic people. You are incredible patriots. Many of you have suffered far greater than anyone, but your families would know or understand. And not only did you not complain, but in many cases you encouraged me to keep going because you care so much about our country and about its border security.<br /><br />Again, I thank you. All Americans, I thank you. You are very, very special people. I am so proud that you are citizens of our country. When I say "Make America Great Again," it could never be done without you. Great people. In a short while, I will sign a bill to open our government for three weeks until February 15th. I will make sure that all employees receive their back pay very quickly, or as soon as possible.<br /><br />It'll happen fast. I am asking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to put this proposal on the floor immediately. After 36 days of spirited debate and dialogue, I have seen and heard from enough Democrats and Republicans that they are willing to put partisanship aside -- I think -- and put the security of the American people first.<br /><br />I do believe they're going to do that. They have said they are for complete border security, and they have finally and fully acknowledged that having barriers, fencing, or walls -- or whatever you want to call it -- will be an important part of the solution. A bipartisan Conference Committee of House and Senate lawmakers and leaders will immediately begin reviewing the requests of our Homeland Security experts -- and experts they are -- and also law enforcement professionals, who have worked with us so closely.<br /><br />We want to thank Border Patrol, ICE, and all law enforcement. Been incredible. [Applause] Based on operational guidance from the experts in the field, they will put together a Homeland Security package for me to shortly sign into law. Over the next 21 days, I expect that both Democrats and Republicans will operate in good faith.<br /><br />This is an opportunity for all parties to work together for the benefit of our whole beautiful, wonderful nation. If we make a fair deal, the American people will be proud of their government for proving that we can put country before party. We can show all Americans, and people all around the world, that both political parties are united when it comes to protecting our country and protecting our people.<br /><br />Many disagree, but I really feel that, working with Democrats and Republicans, we can make a truly great and secure deal happen for everyone. Walls should not be controversial. Our country has built 654 miles of barrier over the last 15 years, and every career Border Patrol agent I have spoken with has told me that walls work.<br /><br />They do work. No matter where you go, they work. Israel built a wall -- 99.9 percent successful. Won't be any different for us. They keep criminals out. They save good people from attempting a very dangerous journey from other countries -- thousands of miles -- because they think they have a glimmer of hope of coming through.<br /><br />With a wall, they don’t have that hope. They keep drugs out, and they dramatically increase efficiency by allowing us to patrol far larger areas with far fewer people. It’s just common sense. Walls work. That’s why most of the Democrats in Congress have voted in the past for bills that include walls and physical barriers and very powerful fences.<br /><br />The walls we are building are not medieval walls. They are smart walls designed to meet the needs of frontline border agents, and are operationally effective. These barriers are made of steel, have see-through visibility, which is very important, and are equipped with sensors, monitors, and cutting-edge technology, including state-of-the-art drones.<br /><br />We do not need 2,000 miles of concrete wall from sea to shining sea -- we never did; we never proposed that; we never wanted that -- because we have barriers at the border where natural structures are as good as anything that we can build. They're already there. They've been there for millions of years. Our proposed structures will be in pre-determined high-risk locations that have been specifically identified by the Border Patrol to stop illicit flows of people and drugs.<br /><br />No border security plan can ever work without a physical barrier. Just doesn’t happen. At the same time, we need to increase drug detection technology and manpower to modernize our ports of entry, which are obsolete. The equipment is obsolete. They're old. They're tired. This is something we have all come to agree on, and will allow for quicker and safer commerce.<br /><br />These critical investments will improve and facilitate legal trade and travel through our lawful ports of entry. Our plan also includes desperately needed humanitarian assistance for those being exploited and abused by coyotes, smugglers, and the dangerous journey north. The requests we have put before Congress are vital to ending the humanitarian and security crisis on our southern border.<br /><br />Absolutely vital. Will not work without it. This crisis threatens the safety of our country and thousands of American lives. Criminal cartels, narco-terrorists, transnational gangs like MS-13, and human traffickers are brazenly violating U.S. laws and terrorizing innocent communities. Human traffickers -- the victims are women and children.<br /><br />Maybe to a lesser extent, believe or not, children. Women are tied up. They're bound. Duct tape put around their faces, around their mouths. In many cases, they can't even breathe. They're put in the backs of cars or vans or trucks. They don’t go through your port of entry. They make a right turn going very quickly.<br /><br />They go into the desert areas, or whatever areas you can look at. And as soon as there's no protection, they make a left or a right into the United States of America. There's nobody to catch them. There's nobody to find them. They can't come through the port, because if they come through the port, people will see four women sitting in a van with tape around their face and around their mouth.<br /><br />Can't have that. And that problem, because of the Internet, is the biggest problem -- it's never been like this before -- that you can imagine. It's at the worst level -- human trafficking -- in the history of the world. This is not a United States problem; this is a world problem. But they come through areas where they have no protection, where they have no steel barriers, where they have no walls.<br /><br />And we can stop almost 100 percent of that. The profits reaped by these murderous organizations are used to fund their malign and destabilizing conduct throughout this hemisphere. Last year alone, ICE officers removed 10,000 known or suspected gang members, like MS-13 and members as bad as them. Horrible people.<br /><br />Tough. Mean. Sadistic. In the last two years, ICE officers arrested a total of 266,000 criminal aliens inside of the United States, including those charged or convicted of nearly 100,000 assaults, 30,000 sex crimes, and 4,000 homicides or, as you would call them, violent, vicious killings. It can be stopped.<br /><br />Vast quantities of lethal drugs -- including meth, fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine -- are smuggled across our southern border and into U.S. schools and communities. Drugs kill much more than 70,000 Americans a year and cost our society in excess of $700 billion. The sheer volume of illegal immigration has overwhelmed federal authorities and stretched our immigration system beyond the breaking point.<br /><br />Nearly 50 migrants a day are being referred for medical assistance -- they are very, very sick -- making this a health crisis as well. It's a very big health crisis. People have no idea how big it is, unless you're there. Our backlog in the immigration courts is now far greater than the 800,000 cases that you've been hearing about over the last couple of years.<br /><br />Think of that, though: 800,000 cases because our laws are obsolete. So obsolete. They're the laughing stock all over the world. Our immigration laws, all over the world -- they’ve been there for a long time -- are the laughing stock, all over the world. We do not have the necessary space or resources to detain, house, vet, screen, and safely process this tremendous influx of people.<br /><br />In short, we do not have control over who is entering our country, where they come from, who they are, or why they are coming. The result, for many years, is a colossal danger to public safety. We're going to straighten it out. It's not hard. It's easy, if given the resources. Last month was the third straight month in a row with 60,000 apprehensions on our southern border.<br /><br />Think of that. we apprehended 60,000 people. That's like a stadium full of people. A big stadium. There are many criminals being apprehended, but vast numbers are coming because our economy is so strong. We have the strongest economy now in the entire world. You see what's happening. We have nowhere left to house them and no way to promptly remove them.<br /><br />We can't get them out because our laws are so obsolete, so antiquated, and so bad. Without new resources from Congress, we will be forced to release these people into communities -- something we don’t want to do -- called catch-and-release. You catch them. Even if they are criminals, you then release them.<br /><br />And you can't release them from where they came, so they go into our country and end up in places you would least suspect. And we do as little releasing as possible, by they're coming by the hundreds of thousands. I have had zero Democrat lawmakers volunteer to have them released into their districts or states.<br /><br />And I think they know that, and that's what we're going to be discussing over the next three weeks. The painful reality is that the tremendous economic and financial burdens of illegal immigration fall on the shoulders of low-income Americans, including millions of wonderful, patriotic, law-abiding immigrants who enrich our nation.<br /><br />As Commander-in-Chief, my highest priority is the defense of our great country. We cannot surrender operational control over the nation’s borders to foreign cartels, traffickers, and smugglers. We want future Americans to come to our country legally and through a system based on merit. We need people to come to our country.<br /><br />We have great companies moving back into the United States. And we have the lowest employment and the best employment numbers that we've ever had. There are more people working today in the United States than have ever worked in our country. We need people to come in to help us -- the farms, and with all of these great companies that are moving back.<br /><br />Finally, they're moving back. People said it couldn’t happen. It's happening. And we want them to enjoy the blessings of safety and liberty, and the rule of law. We cannot protect and deliver these blessings without a strong and secure border. I believe that crime in this country can go down by a massive percentage if we have great security on our southern border.<br /><br />I believe drugs, large percentages of which come through the southern border, will be cut by a number that nobody will believe. So let me be very clear: We really have no choice but to build a powerful wall or steel barrier. If we don’t get a fair deal from Congress, the government will either shut down on February 15th, again, or I will use the powers afforded to me under the laws and the Constitution of the United States to address this emergency.<br /><br />We will have great security. And I want to thank you all very much. Thank you very much. [Applause]</b></span></blockquote>
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What can I say? <br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets/tweet_button.html" style="height: 20px; width: 130px;"></iframe>BobbyGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03807934795994985233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067383035450126802.post-69399941413845195562018-11-28T19:40:00.000-08:002018-12-03T17:41:39.397-08:00Using the Best Words, President Trump dismisses the 2018 U.S. and IPCC climate change reports<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b> </b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>On November 27th, 2018, Donald Trump spoke with <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/11/27/president-trumps-full-washington-post-interview-transcript-annotated/?utm_term=.ad82df51b9e5" target="_blank">the Washington Post</a> on a variety of topics. He was asked about the recent <a href="http://regionalextensioncenter.blogspot.com/2018/11/an-important-climate-change-update.html" target="_blank">dire national and international climate change reports</a>.</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"One of the problems that a lot of people like myself — we have very high levels of intelligence, but we’re not necessarily such believers. You look at our air and our water, and it’s right now at a record clean. But when you look at China and you look at parts of Asia and when you look at South America, and when you look at many other places in this world, including Russia, including — just many other places — the air is incredibly dirty.”</span></b></i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />"And when you’re talking about an atmosphere, oceans are very small. And it blows over and it sails over. I mean, we take thousands of tons of garbage off our beaches all the time that comes over from Asia. It just flows right down the Pacific, it flows, and we say where does this come from. And it takes many people to start off with. Number two, if you go back and if you look at articles, they talked about global freezing, they talked about at some point the planets could have freeze to death, then it’s going to die of heat exhaustion. There is movement in the atmosphere. There’s no question. As to whether or not it’s man-made and whether or not the effects that you’re talking about are there, I don’t see it — not nearly like it is.”<br /><br />"Do we want clean water? Absolutely. Do we want clean air to breathe? Absolutely.”<br /><br />"The fire in California, where I was, if you looked at the floor, the floor of the fire, they have trees that were fallen, they did no forest management, no forest maintenance, and you can light — you can take a match like this and light a tree trunk when that thing is laying there for more than 14 or 15 months. And it’s a massive problem in California. Josh, you go to other places where they have denser trees — it’s more dense, where the trees are more flammable — they don’t have forest fires like this, because they maintain."<br /><br />"And it was very interesting, I was watching the firemen, and they’re raking brush — you know the tumbleweed and brush, and all this stuff that’s growing underneath. It’s on fire, and they’re raking it, working so hard, and they’re raking all this stuff. If that was raked in the beginning, there’d be nothing to catch on fire. It’s very interesting to see. A lot of the trees, they took tremendous burn at the bottom, but they didn’t catch on fire. The bottom is all burned but they didn’t catch on fire because they sucked the water, they’re wet. You need forest management, and they don’t have it.”</span></b></i></span></span></blockquote>
The Best Words.<br />
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<b>ON CONFLATING DIRTY AIR WITH GLOBAL WARMING</b><br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets/tweet_button.html" style="height: 20px; width: 130px;"></iframe>BobbyGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03807934795994985233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067383035450126802.post-30750700986154260522017-07-25T09:52:00.001-07:002017-08-07T13:52:07.685-07:00Donald Trump at the 2017 Boy Scout Jamboree<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><b>"I said, who the hell wants to speak about politics when I'm in front of the Boy Scouts? Right?"</b></i></span></span></span><br />
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<b>The transcript of Trump's July 24th speech:</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "pt serif" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">TRUMP: Thank you, everybody. Thank you very much. I am thrilled to be here. Thrilled.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />And if you think that was an easy trip, you're wrong. But I am thrilled.<br />(LAUGHTER)<br />19th Boy Scout Jamboree, wow, and to address such a tremendous group. Boy, you have a lot of people here. The press will say it's about 200 people.<br />(LAUGHTER)<br />It looks like about 45,000 people. You set a record today.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />You set a record. That's a great honor, believe me.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Tonight we put aside all of the policy fights in Washington, D.C. you've been hearing about with the fake news and all of that. We're going to put that...<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />We're going to put that aside. And instead we're going to talk about success, about how all of you amazing young Scouts can achieve your dreams, what to think of, what I've been thinking about. You want to achieve your dreams, I said, who the hell wants to speak about politics when I'm in front of the Boy Scouts? Right?<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />There are many great honors that come with the job of being president of the United States. But looking out at this incredible gathering of mostly young patriots. Mostly young. I'm especially proud to speak to you as the honorary president of the Boy Scouts of America.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />CROWD: USA! USA! USA!<br />TRUMP: You are the young people of character, integrity who will serve as leaders of our communities and uphold the sacred values of our nation.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I want to thank Boy Scouts President Randall Stephenson, chief Scout executive Michael Surbaugh, Jamboree Chairman Ralph de la Vega and the thousands of volunteers who made this a life-changing experience for all of you. And when they asked me to be here, I said absolutely yes.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />Finally -- and we can't forgot these people -- I especially want to salute the moms and the dads and troop leaders who are here tonight.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(APPLAUSE) Thank you for making scouting possible. Thank you, mom and dad, troop leaders.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When you volunteer for the Boy Scouts you are not only shaping young lives, you are shaping the future of America.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />The United States has no better citizens than its Boy Scouts.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />No better.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />The values, traditions and skills you learn here will serve you throughout your lives. And just as importantly, they will serve your families, your cities, and in the future and in the present will serve your country.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />The Scouts believe in putting America first.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />You know, I go to Washington and I see all these politicians, and I see the swamp, and it's not a good place. In fact, today, I said we ought to change it from the word "swamp" to the word "cesspool" or perhaps to the word "sewer."<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />But it's not good. Not good. And I see what's going on. And believe me, I'd much rather be with you, that I can tell you.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />I'll tell you the reason that I love this, and the reason that I really wanted to be here, is because as president, I rely on former Boy Scouts every single day. And so do the American people.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It's amazing how many Boy Scouts we have at the highest level of our great government. Many of my top advisers in the White House were Scouts. Ten members of my cabinet were Scouts. Can you believe that? Ten.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is not only a Boy Scout, he is your former national president.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />The vice president of the United States, Mike Pence -- a good guy -- was a Scout, and it meant so much to him.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />Some of you here tonight might even have camped out in this yard when Mike was the governor of Indiana, but the scouting was very, very important.<br />And by the way, where are our Indiana scouts tonight?<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />I wonder if the television cameras will follow you? They don't doing that when they see these massive crowds. They don't like doing that.<br />Hi, folks.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />There's a lot of love in this big, beautiful place. A lot of love. And a lot of love for our country. And a lot of love for our country.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke is here tonight.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Come here, Ryan.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />Ryan is an Eagle Scout from Big Sky Country in Montana.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />Pretty good.<br />And by the way, he is doing a fantastic job. He makes sure that we leave our national parks and federal lands better than we found them in the best scouting tradition.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So thank you very much, Ryan.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />Secretary of Energy Rick Perry of Texas, an Eagle Scout from the great state.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />The first time he came to the National Jamboree was in 1964. He was very young then. And Rick told me just a little while ago, it totally changed his life.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, Rick, thank you very much for being here. And we're doing -- we're doing a lot with energy.<br />(APPLAUSE) And very soon, Rick, we will be an energy exporter. Isn't that nice? An energy exporter.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />In other words, we'll be selling our energy instead of buying it from everybody all over the globe. So that's good.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />We will be energy dominant.<br />And I'll tell you what, the folks in West Virginia who were so nice to me, boy, have we kept our promise. We are going on and on. So we love West Virginia. We want to thank you.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Where's West Virginia by the way?<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />Thank you.<br />Secretary Tom Price is also here today. Dr. Price still lives the Scout oath, helping to keep millions of Americans strong and healthy as our secretary of Health and Human Services. And he's doing a great job. And hopefully he's going to gets the votes tomorrow to start our path toward killing this horrible thing known as Obamacare that's really hurting us.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />CROWD: USA! USA! USA!<br />TRUMP: By the way, are you going to get the votes? He better get them. He better get them. Oh, he better. Otherwise I'll say, "Tom, you're fired." I'll get somebody.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />He better get Senator Capito to vote for it. He better get the other senators to vote for it. It's time.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You know, after seven years of saying repeal and replace Obamacare we have a chance to now do it. They better do it. Hopefully they'll do it.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As we can see just by looking at our government, in America, Scouts lead the way. And another thing I've noticed -- and I've noticed it all my life -- there is a tremendous spirit with being a Scout, more so than almost anything I can think of. So whatever is going on, keep doing it. It's incredible to watch, believe me.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />Each of these leaders will tell that you their road to American success -- and you have to understand -- their American success, and they are a great, great story, was paved with the patriotic American values and traditions they learned in the Boy Scouts. And some day, many years from now, when you look back on all of the adventures in your lives you will be able to say the same, I got my start as a Scout, just like these incredibly great people that are doing such a good job for our country. So that's going to happen.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />Boy Scout values are American values. And great Boy Scouts become great, great Americans.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />As the Scout law says, a scout is trustworthy, loyal -- we could use some more loyalty I will tell that you that.<br />(CROWD CHANTING)<br />That was very impressive. You've heard that before. But here you learn the rewards of hard work and perseverance, never, ever give up. Never quit. Persevere. Never, ever quit. You learn the satisfaction of building a roaring campfire, reaching a mountain summit or earning a merit badge after mastering a certain skill. There's no better feeling than an achievement that you've earned with your own sweat, tears, resolve, hard work. There's nothing like it. Do you agree with that?<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />I'm waving to people back there so small I can't even see them. Man, this is a lot of people. Turn those cameras back there, please. That is so incredible.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">By the way, what do you think the chances are that this incredible massive crowd, record setting, is going to be shown on television tonight? One percent or zero?<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />The fake media will say, "President Trump spoke" -- you know what is -- "President Trump spoke before a small crowd of Boy Scouts today." That's some -- that is some crowd. Fake media. Fake news.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Thank you. And I'm honored by that. By the way, all of you people that can't even see you, so thank you. I hope you can hear.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Through scouting you also learned to believe in yourself -- so important -- to have confidence in your ability and to take responsibility for your own life. When you face down new challenges -- and you will have plenty of them -- develop talents you never thought possible, and lead your teammates through daring trials, you discover that you can handle anything. And you learn it by being a Scout. It's great.<br />(APPLAUSE) You can do anything. You can be anything you want to be. But in order to succeed, you must find out what you love to do. You have to find your passion, no matter what they tell you. If you don't -- I love you too. I don't know. Nice guy.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />Hey, what am I going to do? He sounds like a nice person. He -- he, he, he. I do. I do love you.<br />(CROWD CHANTING)<br />By the way, just a question, did President Obama ever come to a Jamboree?<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />And we'll be back. We'll be back. The answer is no. But we'll be back.<br />In life, in order to be successful -- and you people are well on the road to success -- you have to find out what makes you excited, what makes you want to get up each morning and go to work? You have to find it. If you love what you do and dedicate yourself to your work, then you will gain momentum? And look, you have to. You need the word "momentum." You will gain that momentum. And each success will create another success. The word "momentum."</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'll tell you a story that's very interesting for me. When I was young there was a man named William Levitt. You have some here. You have some in different states. Anybody ever hear of Levittown?<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />And he was a very successful man, became unbelievable -- he was a home builder, became an unbelievable success, and got more and more successful. And he'd build homes, and at night he'd go to these major sites with teams of people, and he'd scour the sites for nails, and sawdust and small pieces of wood, and they cleaned the site, so when the workers came in the next morning, the sites would be spotless and clean, and he did it properly. And he did this for 20 years, and then he was offered a lot of money for his company, and he sold his company, for a tremendous amount of money, at the time especially. This is a long time ago. Sold his company for a tremendous amount of money.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And he went out and bought a big yacht, and he had a very interesting life. I won't go any more than that, because you're Boy Scouts so I'm not going to tell you what he did.<br />(CROWD CHANTING)<br />Should I tell you? Should I tell you?<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />You're Boy Scouts, but you know life. You know life.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So look at you. Who would think this is the Boy Scouts, right? So he had a very, very interesting life, and the company that bought his company was a big conglomerate, and they didn't know anything about building homes, and they didn't know anything about picking up the nails and the sawdust and selling it, and the scraps of wood. This was a big conglomerate based in New York City.<br />And after about a 10-year period, there were losing a lot with it. It didn't mean anything to them. And they couldn't sell it. So they called William Levitt up, and they said, would you like to buy back your company, and he said, yes, I would. He so badly wanted it. He got bored with this life of yachts, and sailing, and all of the things he did in the south of France and other places. You won't get bored, right? You know, truthfully, you're workers. You'll get bored too, believe me. Of course having a few good years like that isn't so bad.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But what happened is he bought back his company, and he bought back a lot of empty land, and he worked hard at getting zoning, and he worked hard on starting to develop, and in the end he failed, and he failed badly, lost all of his money. He went personally bankrupt, and he was now much older. And I saw him at a cocktail party. And it was very sad because the hottest people in New York were at this party. It was the party of Steve Ross -- Steve Ross, who was one of the great people. He came up and discovered, really founded Time Warner, and he was a great guy. He had a lot of successful people at the party.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And I was doing well, so I got invited to the party. I was very young. And I go in, but I'm in the real estate business, and I see a hundred people, some of whom I recognize, and they're big in the entertainment business.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And I see sitting in the corner was a little old man who was all by himself. Nobody was talking to him. I immediately recognized that that man was the once great William Levitt, of Levittown, and I immediately went over. I wanted to talk to him more than the Hollywood, show business, communications people.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So I went over and talked to him, and I said, "Mr. Levitt, I'm Donald Trump." He said, "I know." I said, "Mr. Levitt, how are you doing?" He goes, "Not well, not well at all." And I knew that. But he said, "Not well at all." And he explained what was happening and how bad it's been and how hard it's been. And I said, "What exactly happened? Why did this happen to you? You're one of the greats ever in our industry. Why did this happen to you?"</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And he said, "Donald, I lost my momentum. I lost my momentum." A word you never hear when you're talking about success when some of these guys that never made 10 cents, they're on television giving you things about how you're going to be successful, and the only thing they ever did was a book and a tape. But I tell you -- I'll tell you, it was very sad, and I never forgot that moment.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And I thought about it, and it's exactly true. He lost his momentum, meaning he took this period of time off, long, years, and then when he got back, he didn't have that same momentum.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In life, I always tell this to people, you have to know whether or not you continue to have the momentum. And if you don't have it, that's OK. Because you're going to go on, and you're going to learn and you're going to do things that are great. But you have to know about the word "momentum."</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But the big thing, never quit, never give up; do something you love. When you do something you love as a Scout, I see that you love it. But when you do something that you love, you'll never fail. What you're going to do is give it a shot again and again and again. You're ultimately going to be successful.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And remember this, you're not working. Because when you're doing something that you love, like I do -- of course I love my business, but this is a little bit different. Who thought this was going to happen. We're, you know, having a good time. We're doing a good job.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />Doing a good job. But when you do something that you love, remember this, it's not work. So you'll work 24/7. You're going to work all the time. And at the end of the year you're not really working. You don't think of it as work. When you're not doing something that you like or when you're forced into do something that you really don't like, that's called work, and it's hard work, and tedious work.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So as much as you can do something that you love, work hard and never ever give up, and you're going to be tremendously successful, tremendously successful.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />Now, with that, I have to tell you our economy is doing great. Our stock market has picked up since the election, November 8th -- do we remember that day? Was that a beautiful day?<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />What a day.<br />Do you remember that famous night on television, November 8th where they said, these dishonest people, where they said, there is no path to victory for Donald Trump. They forgot about the forgotten people.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">By the way, they're not forgetting about the forgotten people anymore. They're going crazy trying to figure it out, but I told them, far too late; it's far too late.<br />But you remember that incredible night with the maps, and the Republicans are red and the Democrats are blue, and that map was so red it was unbelievable. And they didn't know what to say.<br />(APPLAUSE) And you know, we have a tremendous disadvantage in the Electoral College. Popular vote is much easier. We have -- because New York, California, Illinois, you have to practically run the East Coast. And we did. We won Florida. We won South Carolina. We won North Carolina. We won Pennsylvania.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />We won and won. So when they said, there is no way to victory; there is no way to 270. You know I went to Maine four times because it's one vote, and we won.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We won. One vote. I went there because I kept hearing we're at 269. But then Wisconsin came in. Many, many years. Michigan came in.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />So -- and we worked hard there. You know, my opponent didn't work hard there, because she was told...<br />(BOOING)<br />She was told she was going to win Michigan, and I said, well, wait a minute. The car industry is moving to Mexico. Why is she going to move -- she's there. Why are they allowing it to move? And by the way, do you see those car industry -- do you see what's happening? They're coming back to Michigan. They're coming back to Ohio. They're starting to peel back in.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />And we go to Wisconsin, now, Wisconsin hadn't been won in many, many years by a Republican. But we go to Wisconsin, and we had tremendous crowds. And I'd leave these massive crowds, I'd say, why are we going to lose this state?</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The polls, that's also fake news. They're fake polls. But the polls are saying -- but we won Wisconsin.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />So I have to tell you, what we did, in all fairness, is an unbelievable tribute to you and all of the other millions and millions of people that came out and voted for make America great again.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />And I'll tell you what, we are indeed making America great again.<br />CROWD: USA! USA! USA!<br />TRUMP: And I'll tell you what, we are indeed making America great again. What's going on is incredible.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />We had the best jobs report in 16 years. The stock market on a daily basis is hitting an all-time high.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We're going to be bringing back very soon trillions of dollars from companies that can't get their money back into this country, and that money is going to be used to help rebuild America. We're doing things that nobody ever thought was possible, and we've just started. It's just the beginning, believe me.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />You know, in the Boy Scouts you learn right from wrong, correct? You learn to contribute to your communities, to take pride in your nation, and to seek out opportunities to serve. You pledge to help other people at all times.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />In the Scout oath, you pledge on your honor to do your best and to do your duty to God and your country.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />And by the way, under the Trump administration you'll be saying "Merry Christmas" again when you go shopping, believe me.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />Merry Christmas.<br />They've been downplaying that little beautiful phrase. You're going to be saying "Merry Christmas" again, folks.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />But the words "duty," "country" and "God" are beautiful words. In other words, basically what you're doing is you're pledging to be a great American patriot.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />For more than a century that is exactly what our Boy Scouts have been. Last year you gave more than 15 million hours of service to helping people in your communities. Incredible. That's an incredible stat.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />All of you here tonight will contribute more than 100,000 hours of service by the end of this Jamboree -- 100,000.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />When natural disaster strikes, when people face hardship, when the beauty and glory of our outdoor spaces must be restored and taken care of, America turns to the Boy Scouts because we know that the Boy Scouts never ever, ever let us down.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />Just like you know you can count on me, we know we can count on you, because we know the values that you live by.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />Your values are the same values that have always kept America strong, proud and free.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And by the way, do you see the billions and billions and billions of additional money that we're putting back into our military? Billions of dollars.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />New planes, new ships, great equipment for our people that are so great to us. We love our vets. We love our soldiers. And we love our police, by the way.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />Firemen, police. We love our police. Those are all special people. Uniformed services.<br />Two days ago I traveled to Norfolk, Virginia to commission an American aircraft carrier into the fleet of the United States Navy.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />It's the newest, largest and most advanced aircraft carrier anywhere in the world, and it's named for an Eagle Scout -- the USS Gerald R. Ford.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />Everywhere it sails that great Scout's name will be feared and revered, because that ship will be a symbol of American power, prestige and strength.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />Our nation honors President Gerald R. Ford today because he lived his life the scouting way. Boy Scouts celebrate American patriots, especially the brave members of our Armed Forces. Thank you very much.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />Thank you. Thank you.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />American hearts are warmed every year when we read about Boy Scouts placing thousands and thousands of flags next to veterans' grave sites all across the country. By honoring our heroes, you help to ensure that their memory never, ever dies. You should take great pride in the example you set for every citizen of our country to follow.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />Generations of American Boy Scouts have sworn the same oath and lived according to the same law. You inherit a noble American tradition. And as you embark on your lives, never cease to be proud of you who you are and the principles you hold dear and stand by. Wear your values as your badge of honor.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What you've done few have done before you. What you've done is incredible.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What you've done is admired by all. So I want to congratulate you, Boy Scouts.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />Let your scouting oath guide your path from this day forward. Remember your duty, honor your history, take care of the people God put into your life, and love and cherish your great country.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />You are very special people. You're special in the lives of America. You're special to me. But if you do what we say, I promise you that you will live scouting's adventure every single day of your life, and you will win, win, win, and help people in doing so.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />Your lives will have meaning, and purpose and joy. You will become leaders, and you will inspire others to achieve the dreams they once thought were totally impossible. Things that you said could never, ever happen are already happening for you. And if you do these things, and if you refuse to give in to doubt or to fear, then you will help to make America great again, you will be proud of yourself, be proud of the uniform you wear, and be proud of the country you love.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />CROWD: USA! USA! USA!<br />TRUMP: And never, ever forget, America is proud of you.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />This is a very, very special occasion for me. I've known so many Scouts over the years. Winners. I've known so many great people. They've been taught so well, and they love the heritage. But this is very special for me.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And I just want to end by saying, very importantly, God bless you. God bless the Boy Scouts. God Bless the United States of America. Go out, have a great time in life, compete, and go out and show me that there is nobody, nobody like a Boy Scout.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />Thank you very much, everybody. (APPLAUSE)<br />Thank you very much.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />Thank you.<br />(APPLAUSE)<br />Thank you very much<br />(APPLAUSE) </span></span></span></span></span></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "pt serif" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>"The Scouts believe in putting America first."</b></i></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "pt serif" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><a href="https://medium.com/@BobbyGvegas/i-alone-can-solve-8a4b5fe1ff47" target="_blank">Draw your own conclusions</a></span>. </span></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "pt serif" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">____________</span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "pt serif" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "pt serif" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets/tweet_button.html" style="height: 20px; width: 130px;"></iframe>BobbyGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03807934795994985233noreply@blogger.com0