Demographer William H. Frey of Brookings looks at how America’s growing minority population might vote in the 2016 presidential election and beyond.
Look here for more.
________________________
Short link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-oGL
Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.
Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine
Donald Trump paid no personal income taxes for 18 years by deducting the $916,000,000 he lost in 1995, reported the New York Times in a story based on leaked information from state tax returns. To do this Mr. Trump had to forgo the depreciation deductions on his properties, which included his Atlantic City casinos. Donald Trump formed a public corporation and funded his casinos with securities he sold to ordinary investors impressed with his celebrity and a promise of 14 percent interest who were unaware of the tax burden The Donald had imposed on the properties by taking personal deductions on them. As the company collapsed and the bond value plummeted 70 percent, the CEO paid himself a $5 million bonus and bought a private jet. So much for Mr. Trump’s sense of “fiduciary duty.”
As Drew Harwell explained in the Washington Post:
“Many of those who lost money were Main Street shareholders who believed in the Trump brand, such as Sebastian Pignatello, a retired private investor in Queens. By the time of the 2004 bankruptcy, Pignatello’s 150,000 shares were worth pennies on the dollar.
‘He had been pillaging the company all along,’ said Pignatello, who joined shareholders in a lawsuit against Trump that has since been settled. ‘Even his business allies, they were all fair game. He has no qualms about screwing anybody. That’s what he does.’”
Before the GOP Convention, Donald Trump claimed Ted Cruz’s father killed JFK, and that Mrs. Cruz is a crook. Senator Cruz called Trump a “pathological liar,” a “braggadocious, arrogant buffoon,” a “serial philanderer” and “sniveling coward” who is “utterly amoral” and unfit to be president.
In July, at the GOP Convention, Ted Cruz told delegates “Vote your conscience.” But, as we learned back in 2013 when he shut down the government, Mr. Cruz has no conscience himself. He confirmed that judgement by endorsing Donald Trump for president two weeks ago.
No surprises here. At least Ted taught Mr. Trump a 4-syllable word, “braggadocious.”
More:
“Ted Cruz Continues to Eat Crow In Public After Trump Endorsement,” Stephen Young, Dallas Observer
“9 times Ted Cruz insulted Donald Trump before endorsing him,” Madeline Conway, Politico
“Why even people who agree with him hate Ted Cruz,” Michael Brendan Dougherty, The Week
___________________
Short link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-ox8
Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy 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.
Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine
Reality TV star, mob associate, scam artist, and tax evader Donald Trump touts his business acumen as his chief qualification for the presidency of the United States. Examination of Mr. Trump’s activities finds his business plan involved a clever strategy — just not paying his bills. Small business owners who support the Republican candidate should talk to the many small business owners he has stiffed over the past 3 decades.
More:
“Hundreds allege Donald Trump doesn’t pay his bills,” Steve Reilly, USA Today
“Trump’s art of the deal – Dispute your bills,” Emily Flitter, Reuters
“Donald Trump Has a History of Not Paying His Bills. That Offers Some Insights Into His Personality.” Jesse Singal, New York Magazine
“Scourge, Not Saviour: What Small Business Owners Might Wish to Know About Donald Trump, The Economist (paywall)
“‘Little guy’ contractors still angry at Trump Taj bankruptcy,” Bernard Condon, Associated Press
Republican Newt Gingrich, disgraced former Speaker of the House and noted animal lover, spoke with CBN’s David Brody about next month’s GOP National Convention in Cleveland:
“We have no idea what a Donald Trump convention will be like. I would not be shocked to see him ride in on Thursday night on an elephant. Who knows?”
More:
“Gingrich wouldn’t be surprised to see Trump enter convention on elephant,” Rebecca Savransky, The Hill
____________
Short link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-nY2
Top image (“Trump Triumphant in Cleveland, after an 1885 Varanasi painting”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy 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.
Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine
Last Wednesday night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel goaded tax cheat, mob associate, and GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump into agreeing to debate the issues with Democratic contender Bernie Sanders. Trump later specified a condition: a $10 million contribution to charity. His bluff was called by Cenk Uygur of Young Turks and tech CEO Richie Hecker, who offered to donate the cash.
So much for “promises kept.” Trump reneged.
In a voluminous press release of 116 whole words — several of them over 2 syllables long — Mr. Trump declined to debate Senator Sanders, saying he won’t debate a loser.
More:
“Donald Trump Says He Won’t Debate Bernie Sanders,” Janet Hook, Wall Street Journal
“Trump says he’s no longer open to debating Bernie Sanders,” Sean Sullivan, Washington Post
____________
Short link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-nVO
Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy 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.
Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine
When Beyoncé sang “got hot sauce in my bag, swag” white people asked black folks “is this a thing?” It is. When Hillary Clinton revealed the bottle of hot sauce in her own handbag, she was accused of pandering for the black vote. She wasn’t. She’s carried hot sauce around for years, and had 100 different brands in the White House when she was First Lady. What brand is she packin’ these days? Ninja Squirrel Hot Sauce, from Whole Foods.
____________
Short link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-nBz
Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy 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.
Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine
Ohio Governor John Kasich (this guy) has suspended his secret campaign for the Republican Presidential candidacy. Mr. Kasich ran on a platform of being more nondescript and less hated than the other guys.
More:
“The Long, Weird Kasich Campaign Gives In To Reality,” Harry Enten, FiveThirtyEight
Kasich for America website. Click, before it melts.
___________________
Short Link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-nLf
Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy 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.
Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine
The city of Cleveland is looking forward to hosting the 2016 Republican National Convention in July. The Cleveland Division of Police is buying snappy new uniforms, riot-control suits that look like samurai armor. Officers will wave hello to visitors with new 26-inch expandable steel batons with weighted tips, and 300 bicycle-riding armored cops will entertain the sidewalk throngs. Cleveland police will also decorate the streetscape with miles of interlocking steel crowd-control barriers.
Congress gave Cleveland $30 million for event security, so the Ohio town is really gearing up to greet the 50,000 visiting GOP conventioneers, including Donald Trump’s legion of goons, bikers, and KKK followers. Suburban law enforcement will lend officers to bring the Cleveland force up to 5,000, but maybe Governor Kasich can have his confetti bomber on call for emergency crowd immobilization, just in case.
Ben Carson MD addressed the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) this weekend, formally announcing that his presidential campaign is definitely deceased, passed on, is no more, has ceased to be, has expired, is bereft of life, has kicked the bucket and shuffled off this mortal coil, has run down the curtain and joined the choir invisible.
Dr. Carson has accepted a job as chairman of a new group practice, the Christian Catatonic Conservative Congregation, and will urge inert evangelicals to go out and vote. And buy his books.
NotionsCapital 