TDS

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10k+ OP
~ 2 years, 7 mos ago Oct 7, '23 8:35am

10k+
~ 2 years, 7 mos ago Oct 7, '23 10:03am

@mypeez :

10k+ OP
~ 2 years, 7 mos ago Oct 8, '23 10:48am

@skutfarcus :

10k+
~ 2 years, 7 mos ago Oct 8, '23 11:31am

Doonesbury had a good one today.
www.gocomics.com/doo nesbury/2023/10/08

10k+ OP
~ 2 years, 7 mos ago Oct 9, '23 5:08am

... but it's all TDS!?!

Letter: Top ten reasons why I won't vote for Donald Trump in 2024
www.sltrib.com/opini on/letters/2023/10/0 8/letter-top-ten-rea sons-why-i-wont
10 â€¢ He believes laws can be ignored and truths can be challenged â€¦ but only by him.

9 â€¢ Compassion, civility, integrity, decency and honesty â€¦ words he is unfamiliar with.

8 â€¢ There was a time when Republicans and Democrats could "agree to disagree" and still work towards a common goal â€¦ heck, they could even be friends. Not so much anymore as Trump has planted a very contagious virus of division and mistrust within our Democracy.

7 â€¢ He has indicated he would stop support for Ukraine and possibly leave NATO â€¦ I guess we just advance the doomsday clock another click towards midnight.

6 â€¢ His second term would consist of exacting revenge and ongoing court battles. Where will he find the time to run our country?

5 â€¢ Conspiracy to obstruct justice, conspiracy to commit forgery, lying to the U.S. government and racketeering - 91 criminal counts in total and yet his base remains resolute in their support. I'm saddened by their disconnect from reality as they continue to view our world through the lens of Fox News.

4 â€¢ The events of Jan. 6th occurred because of Donald Trump's refusal to accept the fact that "he lost" â€¦ and people died as a result.

3 â€¢ He has been convicted in civil court of sexual abuse, accused of sexual abuse by another 26 women and also caught (on tape) bragging about his sexual prowess â€¦ What am I missing here? More importantly, why have the values and morals of the GOP disintegrated to the point of supporting a candidate who is the antithesis of their original core values?

2 â€¢ He claims he is a successful businessman. Really? From the 1980s to 2016 Trump and his "businesses" have been involved in over 4,000 lawsuits. His failed businesses include Trump Steaks, Trump Airlines, Trump Vodka, Trump The Game, Trump University, Trump Magazine, Trump Ice, Tour De Trump and Trump Network. But just for the fun of it, let's throw in the Trump companies that have sought bankruptcy protection: Trump Taj Mahal, Trump's Castle, Trump Plaza Casinos, Trump Plaza Hotel, Trump Hotels and Casinos Resort and Trump Entertainment Resorts.

1 â€¢ If elected to a second term he will staff his Cabinet with only his most loyal supporters. He won't make the same mistake of allowing those with moral values, integrity and a duty to serve our Constitution influence his decisions.

God help us all if we put this man back in the White House for another four years.
Bill Owens, Sandy

1k+
~ 2 years, 7 mos ago Oct 9, '23 9:21am

... but it's all TDS!?! Letter: Top ten reasons why I won't vote for Donald Trump in 2024 www.sltrib.com/opini on/letters/2023/10/0 8/letter-top-ten-rea sons-why-i-wont 10 â€¢ He believes laws can be ignored and truths can be challenged â€¦ but only by him. 9 â€¢ Compassion, civility, integrity, decency and honesty â€¦ words he is unfamiliar with. 8 â€¢ There was a time when Republicans and Democrats could "agree to disagree" and still work towards a common goal â€¦ heck, they could even be friends. Not so much anymore as Trump has planted a very contagious virus of division and mistrust within our Democracy. 7 â€¢ He has indicated he would stop support for Ukraine and possibly leave NATO â€¦ I guess we just advance the doomsday clock another click towards midnight. 6 â€¢ His second term would consist of exacting revenge and ongoing court battles. Where will he find the time to run our country? 5 â€¢ Conspiracy to obstruct justice, conspiracy to commit forgery, lying to the U.S. government and racketeering - 91 criminal counts in total and yet his base remains resolute in their support. I'm saddened by their disconnect from reality as they continue to view our world through the lens of Fox News. 4 â€¢ The events of Jan. 6th occurred because of Donald Trump's refusal to accept the fact that "he lost" â€¦ and people died as a result. 3 â€¢ He has been convicted in civil court of sexual abuse, accused of sexual abuse by another 26 women and also caught (on tape) bragging about his sexual prowess â€¦ What am I missing here? More importantly, why have the values and morals of the GOP disintegrated to the point of supporting a candidate who is the antithesis of their original core values? 2 â€¢ He claims he is a successful businessman. Really? From the 1980s to 2016 Trump and his "businesses" have been involved in over 4,000 lawsuits. His failed businesses include Trump Steaks, Trump Airlines, Trump Vodka, Trump The Game, Trump University, Trump Magazine, Trump Ice, Tour De Trump and Trump Network. But just for the fun of it, let's throw in the Trump companies that have sought bankruptcy protection: Trump Taj Mahal, Trump's Castle, Trump Plaza Casinos, Trump Plaza Hotel, Trump Hotels and Casinos Resort and Trump Entertainment Resorts. 1 â€¢ If elected to a second term he will staff his Cabinet with only his most loyal supporters. He won't make the same mistake of allowing those with moral values, integrity and a duty to serve our Constitution influence his decisions. God help us all if we put this man back in the White House for another four years. Bill Owens, Sandy

@mypeez : This should be posted, printed, broadcast, put over the airwaves everywhere for everyone to see. I suspect he would still have his cult like backing, as they believe in his lies over the truth when it is presented to them. This piece says it all.

10k+
~ 2 years, 7 mos ago Oct 9, '23 12:24pm

@CCubs : Republicans want to believe that Biden is just as corrupt, but is getting away with it.

1k+
~ 2 years, 7 mos ago Oct 9, '23 3:36pm

That is what they "want" people to believe. Anyone with common sense knows better.

10k+
~ 2 years, 7 mos ago Oct 9, '23 3:39pm

Key words... common sense.

10k+ OP
~ 2 years, 7 mos ago Oct 14, '23 5:20am

Weird, it's almost like this might stifle his testimony?

Trump agreed to pay Weisselberg $2 million. But what does Weisselberg owe in return?
www.msnbc.com/rachel -maddow-show/maddowb log/trump-agreed-pay -weisselberg-2-
On Tuesday, former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg began his testimony with what some considered a blockbuster admission: Under a severance agreement signed shortly after he left the company, he is entitled to $2 million, paid in eight equal installments.

As of now, the Trump Organization hasn't even paid him half of that amount, according to the agreement's payment schedule - and he must fully comply with the agreement to be paid in full.

...

10k+
~ 2 years, 7 mos ago Oct 14, '23 1:02pm

@mypeez : A Yahoo article says Weisselberg testified it was a "a complete coincidence" that his $2 million in severance from Trump is exactly the same amount as the fine he paid to protect Trump in a 2022 tax fraud trial.

10k+ OP
~ 2 years, 7 mos ago Oct 17, '23 4:07am

Bigley.

How Trump Fooled Deutsche Bank
www.forbes.com/sites /danalexander/2023/1 0/16/how-trump-foole d-deutsche-bank
Trump's lender fell for lies about how big, and possibly how profitable, his properties actually were.

The New York attorney general is suing Donald Trump and his associates for allegedly lying about his net worth to financial institutions, something he also did for years when speaking with reporters. Why would someone so rich care that much about what people thought he was worth? "It was good for financing," Trump said in a 2015 interview with Forbes.

But despite Trump's bluster, it long remained unclear whether his lies were actually good for financing. After all, banks conduct due diligence on borrowers. But documents submitted into evidence during the trial last week show that Trump's longtime go-to lender, Deutsche Bank, fell for many of his lies, giving the bank a distorted view of its most famous client.

A Deutsche credit report describing 40 Wall Street, one of Trump's many buildings, is loaded with errors. "The 72-floor tower consists of 1.3MM SF in premier office space," the report says. "Based on a SF assumption, [Deutsche Bank] indicated an adjusted value of $541.6MM." According to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and New York City tax commission, the building is actually 63 stories, not the 72 Trump often claims. Those same records also show that 40 Wall Street doesn't have 1.3 million square feet of office space, instead containing 1.1 million square feet of office space and less than 1.2 million square feet of overall space. The square-footage mistake alone could have theoretically caused Deutsche to overvalue the property by about $50 million.

Trump's lies also affected Deutsche's understanding of Trump Tower. "The 68-story building contains residential and condominiums that are owned by residents, along with 178,000 square feet in commercial space and 114,000 square feet of retail space," says the credit report. But the building does not, in fact, have 68 levels-its floor numbers skip six through 13, tricking visitors into thinking the property is bigger than it really is. It also does not have 114,000 square feet of retail space. An SEC document says it has about 60,000. Deutsche Bank valued Trump Tower at $349 million. Its credit report does not explicitly say how the square footage miscalculation might have figured into its appraisal.

The bank did not trust all of Trump's numbers, but it underestimated the depth of Trump's lies-an error that Forbes has also made in the past. The bank's biggest miscalculation might have been in assessing Trump's club collection, composed of Mar-a-Lago, an assortment of U.S. golf clubs and three overseas golf resorts. Trump valued these properties, which the report suggests threw off an average of roughly $20 million of annual cash flow, at more than $2 billion. Deutsche Bank slashed that valuation by almost half, listing the properties at $1.2 billion. But the discounted figure was still about $500 million higher than the roughly $700 million Forbes came up with after consulting more than a dozen industry experts.

Deutsche appears to have taken a more careful approach with properties against which it held mortgages-Trump's hotel in Washington, D.C., golf resort in Miami and property in Chicago. Still, there are questions about whether it fully understood those assets. The Deutsche credit report states that the golf resort threw off $12.6 million of net operating income in 2017. But an income statement submitted to authorities in Miami, which Forbes obtained via a freedom of information request, lists net operating income at just a third of that amount-$4.3 million.

At the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., Deutsche believed that the Trump Organization turned a net operating profit of $7.6 million in 2017. But the House Oversight Committee released audited financial statements that call that figure into question. Those statements show cash flows at Trump's property below zero for the years ending August 31, 2017 and August 31, 2018.

The Trump Organization did not immediately respond to questions about whether it lied to Deutsche. The bank seemed to confirm that it did not have a full understanding of the properties. "We cannot comment on the details of current or former client accounts, nor the substance of legal claims based on certain facts that the [New York attorney general], itself, has alleged were unknown or unavailable to Deutsche Bank at the time," a Deutsche representative said in a statement. "The bank takes its legal obligations seriously, including appropriately responding to authorized investigations and proceedings."

10k+ OP
~ 2 years, 7 mos ago Oct 17, '23 4:17am

10k+
~ 2 years, 7 mos ago Oct 17, '23 6:17am

@mypeez : I don't trust DB's stmt. I think they knew what they were getting into. Haven't they been found to be involved in money laundering?

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