Posts Tagged ‘cult of personality’

Trump’s 4th of July Self-Celebration Cost Taxpayers Over $5 Million

July 16, 2019

Trump's 4th of July Self-Celebration Cost Taxpayers Over $5 Million

“President Donald Trump’s Fourth of July celebration last week cost the federal government and Washington, D.C., $5.35 million, according to an Interior Department letter released exclusively to ABC News.

The National Park Service spent $2.45 million on staffing, medical services, barricades, and other logistics for the event, called Salute to America, which does not include the cost of other Fourth of July events like the Capitol Fourth concert.

The city of Washington, D.C., and Department of Defense said the Salute to America event and security cost $1.7 million and $1.2 million respectively, bringing the total cost of the event to $5.35 million.”

— “Trump’s Salute to America cost DC, feds more than $5 million,” Stephanie Ebb, ABC News

Between the $1.7 million in security costs for the “Salute to America” and the $7.3 million in security costs the 2017 Trump Inaugural Committee still owes the District of Columbia Government, DC’s security budget is bankrupt. If you attend any special events in DC from now on, you’re on your own.

Related:

“House Oversight Dems call on Trump to pay D.C. for Independence Day, inauguration,” Chris Marquette, Roll Call

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Image (“4th of July: Cult of Personality”) by Mike Licht. Download copies here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com.

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Independence Day Defiled

July 4, 2019

Independence Day Defiled
Americans have celebrated July 4th as the nation’s Independence Day since 1776.

No more. Today is a celebration of the Supreme Leader, who will personally harangue a cheering sea of red hats from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial this evening, conducting a political rally at enormous public expense. God Save America.

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Image (“July 4, 2019, after Bill Mauldin”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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Updates: Trump’s 4th of July Salute to Himself

July 3, 2019

Updates: Trump's 4th of July Salute to Himself

Tomorrow, on July 4, 2019, Great Leader Donald J. Trump will personally harangue adoring red-hatted throngs from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The National Park Service has diverted at least $2.5 million meant to fund park repairs and maintenance to partially-cover expenses for these last-minute White House directives. Free tickets to this political but publicly-financed event have been gifted to GOP donors , Trump 2020 campaign staff, and Republican officials. The Commander-in-Chief has bidden the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, the U.S. Army Band, the Armed Forces Chorus, and the Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon to entertain him, and demanded that US military chiefs stand next to him. And there will be tanks. A flyover by military jets and Air Force One will ground flights at Reagan National Airport for over an hour. Also grounded: the diaper-clad Trump Baby Balloon.

More:

“Trump plans ticketed-access area for VIPs, friends and family at July 4 celebration,” Peter Hermann, Michael E. Ruane and Juliet Eilperin, Washington Post

“RNC Receives VIP Tickets to Trump’s Fourth of July Celebration; DNC Does Not,” Maggie More, NBC4 Washington

“Trump Is Packing the July 4 Fireworks Because He’s Afraid of Getting Booed,” Jonathan Chait, New York Magazine

“How Trump’s 4th of July Hijacking Could Violate the Hatch Act,” Walter Shaub, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)

“Proud Boys and Allies to Rally in D.C. to Capitalize on ‘Trumpstravaganza,’” Will Sommer, Daily Beast

“This Fourth of July, Trump will star in a movie of his own making,” Lloyd Green, The Guardian

“Trump’s July 4 Event Shaping Up To Be A Salute To Himself,” Josh Kovensky, TPM Muckraker

“‘They started this too late’: Trump officials and allies anxious about July 4 fest,” Nancy Cook, Politico

“Pentagon tells troops to say ‘I am proud of my job and my vehicle/tank’ during Trump July 4 event: report,” Marina Pitofsky, The Hill

“Trump says his generals are ‘thrilled’ with his Fourth of July salute. Their silence suggests otherwise.” Greg Jaffee, Washington Post

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Image (“4th of July: Cult of Personality”) by Mike Licht. Download copies here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com.

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

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4th of July: National Salute to Great Leader

July 1, 2019

4th of July: National Salute to Great Leader

Great Leader Donald J. Trump has proclaimed July 4, 2019 a national holiday honoring himself. The President will personally harangue adoring red-hatted throngs from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in a ticketed event. Tickets to this political but publicly-financed event are said to be free but apparently will be gifted to VIPs in secret since the White House and NPS websites have no information about them. July 4th prices at DC’s Trump Hotel have been raised. The Commander-in-Chief has commanded the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, the U.S. Army Band, the Armed Forces Chorus, and the Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon to entertain him. A flyover by military jets and Air Force One will ground flights at Reagan National Airport for over an hour. Also possibly grounded: the diaper-clad Trump Baby Balloon.

More:

“Trump plans ticketed-access area for VIPs, friends and family at July 4 celebration,” Peter Hermann, Michael E. Ruane and Juliet Eilperin, Washington Post

“How Lincoln’s disdain for demagogues pricks Trump’s Fourth of July pomposity,” Sidney Blumenthal, The  Guardian

“Frederick Douglass would be outraged at Trump’s Fourth of July self-celebration,” Colbert I. King, Washington Post

Updates:

“Park Service diverts $2.5 million in fees for Trump’s July Fourth extravaganza,” By Juliet Eilperin ,
Josh Dawsey, and Dan Lamothe, Washington Post

“RNC Receives VIP Tickets to Trump’s Fourth of July Celebration; DNC Does Not,” Maggie More, NBC4 Washington

“Trump Is Packing the July 4 Fireworks Because He’s Afraid of Getting Booed,” Jonathan Chait, New York Magazine

“How Trump’s 4th of July Hijacking Could Violate the Hatch Act,” Walter Shaub, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)

“Proud Boys and Allies to Rally in D.C. to Capitalize on ‘Trumpstravaganza,’” Will Sommer, Daily Beast

“Here Are All the Military Planes Flying at Trump’s 4th of July Military Parade,” Oriana Pawlyk, Military.com

“Two tanks in DC as Trump calls for military hardware in July 4 parade,” Rachel Frazen, The Hill

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Image (“4th of July: Cult of Personality”) by Mike Licht. Download copies here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com.

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

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New National Holiday. Mark Your Calendar.

June 14, 2019

New National Holiday. Mark Your Calendar.

Every year the Office of Personnel Management prints a list of all official national holidays. Washington’s birthday, for example, is really February 22nd, but this year the Federal Government observed it on February 18th. Likewise, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday is actually January 15th, but the government observed it on January 21st.

The official 2019 federal calendar omitted a holiday, probably because OPM’s Acting Director Margaret Weichert is so busy directing OPM while also deputy-directing the Office of Management and Budget and everything. Luckily, a White House tweet corrected the record, so mark your calendar. Although Donald Trump’s birthday is June 14th, the nation will observe it on the 4th of July. Who knows, there might be a big crowd!

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Image (“Trump’s Birthday, Observed”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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Here Comes Donald Trump’s Personal Military Parade

July 20, 2018

Here Comes Donald Trump's Personal Military Parade

Since impeachment proceedings have not yet commenced, a Joint Chiefs of Staff team is finally getting around to planning President Trump’s personal vanity military parade, now scheduled for Saturday, November 10th. It will be executed by the U.S. Military District of Washington, the Army command in charge of state funerals for former presidents, who are no doubt rolling in their graves.

November 10th is not quite Veteran’s Day, perhaps because Mr. Trump is not quite a veteran. He is a former New York Military Academy High School Cadet Captain, though he was removed from actual command duties due to shirking. Anyway, he wants a military parade, just like his best bud Kim Jong-un. There are still bone spurs snags remaining, since expenses like Secret Service and police overtime and risers, stands and barriers cannot be paid through the military budget, and the White House hasn’t made provision for them. As a money-saving measure, perhaps the reviewing stand can be limited to a single seat, since only one person wants this parade. 89 percent of Military Times readers think it’s a waste of time and money.

More:

“Planning for Trump’s military parade finally getting underway,” Courtney Kube, NBC News

“Trump’s military parade expected to cost nearly as much as ‘tremendously expensive’ canceled war games,” Ryan Browne, CNN

“For the cost of Trump’s military parade, we could get eight months of Mueller’s probe,” Philip Bump, Washington Post

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Top image (after Cadet Capt. Trump’s high school picture) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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El Caudillo Trump Demands Loyalty

May 12, 2017

El Caudillo Trump Demands Loyalty
President Donald Trump invited FBI Director James Comey to dinner in January and asked for his loyalty. Mr. Comey, a career law enforcement official, promised him honesty. Honesty clearly has no place in a Trump administration, so Comey was sacked, then threatened.

As former FBI agent Clint Watts, a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, observes,  “Trump’s loyalty pledge tactic comes straight from the worst aspects of authoritarians and mob bosses who see their rule above the rule of law.”

More:

“Trump Asked Comey for Loyalty a Day After He Was Warned About Flynn: Report,”  Margaret Hartmann, New York Magazine

“Trump said he was thinking of Russia controversy when he decided to fire Comey,” Devlin Barrett and Philip Rucker, Washington Post

“Trump Threatens Fired FBI Director Comey With ‘Tapes,'” John T. Bennett, Roll Call

“The Threat in President Trump’s Interview with Lester Holt,” Amy Davidson, The New Yorker

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Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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iSteve

January 6, 2012

iSteve
A Steve Jobs action figure! Only $99, from InIcons. Isn’t that the coolest Steve Jobs memorial ever?

Not to the folks at Apple:

“Apple says it owns rights to Jobs’s likeness, and its letter reportedly states that it’s a criminal offense for any toy to feature Apple’s trademarks, logo, or products, as well as the appearance or name of its late co-founder.”

— “Report: Apple Goes After Latest Steve Jobs Action Figure,” Leslie Horn, PC Magazine

— “Apple ‘threatens legal action’ over Steve Jobs action doll,” Amy Willis, The Telegraph

The result of the legal threat: those InIcon action figures are fetching $135 on eBay.

In 2010, Apple stopped sales of an earlier “SJ Action Figure” that was more of an affectionate caricature. Shame, really. It was smaller, and would have looked great on the dashboard of your Prius.

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