On Monday, Hillary Clinton accused Donald Trump of giving “aid and comfort” to Islamic terrorists, and that terrorists use his rhetoric to recruit fighters.
On fighting terrorism, she chastised Trump “I Know How to Do This“.
“I’m the only candidate in this race who’s been part of the hard decisions to take terrorists off the battlefield. I have sat at that table in the Situation Room,” said Clinton.
Here’s my counterclaim: Hillary Clinton not only sponsors terrorism, she is a terrorist.
I sent this as an Op-Ed to the New York Times. Rejected as expected.
Irony of the Year
The irony of the day, week, month and year is Hillary’s statement “I Know How to Do This“.
- Hillary supported Bush’s inane war in Iraq.
- Hillary supported Bush’s inane war in Afghanistan.
- Hillary was the mastermind of US failed strategy in Libya.
- Hillary is the single person most responsible for Benghazi.
- Hillary supports president Obama’s drone policy.
- There has never been a war Hillary did not support.
The most surefire way to make a terrorist out of a non-terrorist is to kill an innocent child or bomb an innocent person’s home. Doing so is sure to radicalize friends and family.
String of US Terrorism
There is nothing more un-American or unconstitutional than bombing other countries indiscriminately with no declaration of war, and with little or no regard to the lives of innocent victims.
Hillary Clinton supported those policies as Secretary of State. Hillary Clinton, like George Bush, like Dick Cheney, and like president Obama are all guilty of terrorism.
If you disagree, please put yourself in the shoes of a mother whose 4-year old daughter was “accidentally” killed by a US drone. Envision your neighbor’s house “accidentally” blown to smithereens by drones.
Is it not terrorism because it’s an accident? What practical difference does it make?
In the eyes of the families of innocent victims, no words better describe such actions than “US terrorism“. I guarantee that is precisely how you would feel if it was your son or daughter killed, or it was your house blown up.
On April 23, 2015 the New York Times reported Drone Strikes Reveal Uncomfortable Truth: U.S. Is Often Unsure About Who Will Die.
“Mr. Obama and his top aides have repeatedly promised greater openness about the drone program but have never really delivered on it,” said the Times, quoting Rachel Stohl, of the Stimson Center, a Washington research institute.
On October 20, 2015, the Huffington Post reported Nearly 90 Percent Of People Killed In Recent Drone Strikes Were Not The Target.
“U.S. drone strikes have killed scores of civilians in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia,” said the article, emphasis mine.
US Policy Radicalizes Terrorists
How many terrorists did the US radicalize in the process?
How many innocent civilians died? How much compensation did the US pay? Sorry, that’s classified information.
Given US drone policy, it’s a wonder there has not been more terrorists incidents in the US. One surefire way to have more incidents in the US is to accept Obama’s plan to take in 65,000 Syrian refugees.
Hillary Promises More of the Same
Hillary’s refugee policies would ensure we would have more terrorist attacks in the US.
Globally, her statements prove she will continue the disastrous, counterproductive, and illegal policies of the Bush and Obama administration.
Logically speaking, Hillary Clinton is the biggest threat to world peace and the most dangerous person on the planet.
That’s what I will take with me to the election booth on November 8. What about you?
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
You’re quite correct on each and every point Mish.
It’s as simple and as basic as that.
Totally Wrong. Trump is the most dangerous person on the planet. If he doesn’t start a nuclear war, he’ll surely destroy the earth’s climate, which he doesn’t believe is warming. Before that, he’ll destroy every American job, just like he fired my cousin and replaced him with a temporary worker from Eastern Europe that he could treat like a slave.
If Hillary wins, maybe your cousin can go to work for a new government program Hillary starts that panders to minorities and provides benefits in such a way they stay dependent on such programs and the politicians who provide them. Or, he can join the Army and go to war somewhere. Hillary will see he has lots to do if she wins. She will have the Fed print money to cover the bills and let interest rates go negative to support massive government deficits, all monetized by the Fed. She’ll see that we go full Draghi here, but spend the money on welfare and wars, instead of daily expenses of government like in Europe.
Hillary Clinton
She’s not Politically Correct
She’s Stupidly Correct
And a War Monger
If Trump starts a war, well, so what? Hillary will do the same but for gratuitous purposes. If Trump starts one, it will be for a defined objective and to win. Hillary will do it as a profit center for donors. Trump wants to be President of the US. Hillary wants to run the world.
I don’t believe anything you just said. I think you are a liar.
Meant for Art Anderson. Go back to doing accounting for Enron.
“If I call you a nappy-headed h*e, ain’t nothing to it, gangsta rap made me do it”. Ice Cube
Maybe you shouldn’t call people liars because everyone has their own opinion on this. If you believe in Hillary winning you vote for her. You believe Trump should win vote for him… why is there so many dang arguments over such dumb stuff. Its like your kids arguing over the front seat maybe you should grow up and act your age.
Art is a cass sunstein (aka the Democrats Goebbels) troll!
“Totally Wrong.”
Yes you are, Art.
I know I am, but what are you?
Just out of curiosity: What does “destroying the climate”, with reference to warming really mean? Even the most alarmist scientists(or pseudo so) are talking about a few degrees over a century. Does that mean “the climate” is “destroyed” if the average temperature in some spot on the globe, should, for whatever reason, rise to a few degrees above where it was the day Al Gore invented the internet or something?
Bombing a house with a family inside it, really does destroy something. And for those whose family did happen to be inside it, attempting to equate that with cleanly (as in, producing CO2 and water, rather than other nastiness) burning some stuff laying around in the ground, is just adding even more insult to injury.
I’m no Trump supporter at all. He’s just another halfwit cut loose on his own. But while a halfwit may cause damage due to not knowing better, he is a lot less scary than some born again Evil Incarnate, who has made it an explicit point to champion, and profit from, the most atrocious policies of one of the most atrocious regimes to ever disgrace the planet with it’s presence.
Good one! The left ignores that Gore stood to make billions from the Carbon Climate Exchange (aka Chicago Carbon Exchange).
He was backed by Goldman Sacks and later Bill and Hillary joined the party along with O-No’s radical Marxist-Socialist friends at the Tides Foundation.
This is perhaps the very best discussion on Climate Fraud. It is long but well worth it because it show just a deep the fraud runs.
Now, now, don’t worry, what’s wrong with contaminating our drinking water for fracking profits? After all, global warming is a big farce, right? It’s not like we have our children’s futures to be concerned about.
I believe it was Gov Tom McCall of Oregon, way back when they wanted to use Oregon for a nuclear waste dumping ground and he said “Oh no, you are not ruining our beautiful places and spaces”. BTW: Oregon is a very conservative state, believe it or not, and yet I have found that even the most diehard conservatives are different than most in the US in that they want to know where their food comes from ; i.e. franken food, and don’t want to ruin the groundwater with fracking. I think the majestic beauty of this place keeps people on track with what is REALLY important in this lifetime.
Art you are the one that is wrong. Who is trying to get along with Putin and who is constantly comparing him to a third world despot? If Hillary get the office then we will be in a war with Russia within 6 months, maybe sooner.
While I’m not a fan of the drone program, laying Iraq and Afghanistan at Hillary’s feet is lobotomized revisionist history in the extreme. And Trump has signaled he would do worse than killing innocents in collateral damage. Furthermore, Benghazi has been proven to be more the fault of Republican lawmakers who refused to fund security for foreign missions. You can’t defend let alone direct a diplomatic mission with a blackberry from Foggy Bottom.
God bless you Mish. There is no more truthful analysis of the “witch” to be found.
You have nailed it Mish. Well done. I cannot think of an acclimation that is strong enough to support your view of the ill advised US foreign of the last few years. If the New York Times refuses your op-ed it says a lot about where their funding/priorities lie and it is not with the well being of humanity. “Kia Kaha”, as we say in New Zealand or go forward with strength.
Not even a bullet point for her outrageous role in Ukraine, or for her rabid dog of war, the very picture of nastiness, Victoria Nuland?
Wow, you really did nail it, seemingly without even trying.
NYT gets 100s of op-ed submissions a day, so long odds especially when up against big names. Hillary and Dem/GOP War Party all secretly want more terrorists to further their agendas, though of course they cannot openly say it. Think about it, Dem Senate after Orlando did a big production about expanding Police State by linking TSA no-fly lists to gun buying databases. That is what they are about, taking these big databases and expanding the Powers of the Police State. Power is the mother’s milk of politics. Robert Caro got that correct in his bios of Robert Moses and LBJ. Make people pay tribute or do homage, if they want to do something; want an exemption from the laws or regulation, donate to the politician, etc. In other words, more regulations and a tighter police state mean more power for those at the top (White House, State Dept, Clinton Foundation).
More Terrorists = Stronger Police State = More Political Power.
Her statement shows she thinks that her actions and actions of the USA in the middle east are a big success, which by any measure is a complete disaster.
Middle eastern countries used to be okay places to live. Granted freedom, education, etc. aren’t the perfect or as good as the USA. Now these countries are devastated and people are dying in cities or trying to escape.
Terrorism in western countries have only risen albeit on a smaller scale than 911.
With HRC in power the world can only expect to see more of the same and with greater devastation.
You left out the Coup in the Ukraine, mucking around in Yemen and the biggie – Syria.
Oh and what of the toppling of the Egyptian President in favor of the Muslim Brotherhood?
What else was she mucking around in? Then there is the tens of millions her Shakedown and Kickback Foundation took from the gulf dictators…the same one not take a single refugee but are helping them be export to the West…for???
Soros backing? Open Borders? Media Matters fraud? The list of her crimes and criminal backers is long.
Actually, the Foundation should be call The Shakedown, Kickback and Money Laundering Foundation.
Soros’s and Hillary’s minion at Media Matter is just a chip of the same block when it comes to money laundering. (And the banks and IRS crack down on the rest of us while these crimes go on in plain sight!!!)
But with Lynch at DoJ the “Foundation” and the maze of 501c3’s used to launder money will be ignored… Maybe Bill will have to pay her another runway visit to make sure all the ducks remain in aligned. I am sure the law firm Lynch jumps to will get lots “Foundation” business – like fighting the Haitians claims to the “Foundation’s” stole billions in relief money.
There are several discussions on the “Foundation” (the new Mafia) by financial investigator Charles Ortel – well worth people listening to…here is one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b0EZPjUvBc
In short, Clinton is not only dangerous for her Neocon mucking and murdering…she is an organized crime boss who puts the mob to shame…and if she gets elected – don’t be surprised if Mish somehow disappears….
Trump is the modern day equivalent of Adolph Hitler. Sieg Heil, Mein Fuhrer
It’s past funny and on to pathetic, how Hitlery critics have facts and events to support their position, as her defenders have mostly third-grade level name calling. I am extremely concerned for the score of America’s (possibly last) critical intelligence test, aka the Election.
Wow what a profound use of non-factual ad homenin. Childishly presented.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-09-23/russia-views-hillary-clinton-existential-threat-peace
Art Anderson, paid Soros troll.
“Trump is the modern day equivalent of Adolph Hitler.”
Art, it is Hillary that wants to eliminate guns.
Good Point Ron J.
Art, how much does Soros pay you trolls?
Do trolls like being trolls?
I think everyone should just agree with what Mish says and not even try to wrap our heads around a different way to look at things. It’s black and white, got it?
Speaking of Mish possibly disappearing by the “Foundation”, did you see that Dilbert’s creator, Scott Adams, backs Hillary in order to stop the death threats he had been receiving by Hillary’s unhinged leftist followers if he dared to poke at her in his comics and because if Trump does win, the odds of his being audited by the IRS, or somehow disappearing (which could be in the form of no media outlet will carry his work) are not a threat as they clearly would be if Hitlery gets elected while he remained so vocally against her during the election.
Support Hillary and the death threats magically disappear. Wow. How far we have come.
Mr. Adams can always find work at Charlie Hebdo, …um, I think.
Can Dilbert speak French? In any event, my guess is Scott Adams’ IRS Form 1040 may be on the desk of Doris Lerner right now, even as we speak.
I see more signs on people’s front lawn’s for a contractor who seals driveways than for Hillary as President.
Without disagreeing with Mish, my chief consideration would be to avoid nuclear confrontation — which is much closer no than at anytime during the cold war — only the media are not on the ball.
“Here’s my counterclaim: Hillary Clinton not only sponsors terrorism, she is a terrorist.”
Nailed it!
…and don’t forget some other well known terrorists, to wir…
George Soros
Benjamin Nuttyyahoo
Alan Greenspan
Ben Bernanke
Janet Yellen
Stanley Fischer
Bill Dudley
Charles Plosser
Jeff Lacker
…(((See a pattern)))?
Hi Mish, I agree. Hillary’s {an extraordinary schemer and grifter} election would be the greatest con job in history easily eclipsing Hitlers takeover in the 1930’s. Her money grubbing scams and other scandals have been publicized heavily so voters know her history. So how does she even get to be a serious candidate given all the trash in her CV. Its beyond my power to comprehend. Alldebest………………BBurdick
“con job in history easily eclipsing Hitlers takeover in the 1930’s.”
Hardly a “con job”
You may want to research the Treaty of Versailles and the impact that it had on Germany’s finances, unemployment, etc….naturally the Treat of V was crafted by the same clowns that are causing mayhem today…America, France, Britain, et. al.
Hillary as a grifter. Obvious, yet I never made the connection even though the foundation has elements of a scam. Palin, yes. Hillary, not until now. Thanks. Maybe she has so much bad going on it was hard to break her down to the simplest parts.
Hlllary Clinton
She’s Not Politically Correct
She’s Stupidly Correct
And A War Monger
And A Grifter
It needs work, but I think I’ll figure it out.
the only reason i can figure that the socialists are not lining up to smash you here on Billary is they are too busy clogging up Krauthammer’s site.
they’ve memorized everything on MSNBC for so long they cannot even think for themselves.
Wait, i figured it out……. they don’t get up this early.
You got to admit: Mish’s title here really chumming the water.
Will he need a bigger boat??
Two of my high school classmates’ kids died in the collapse of the Towers on 9/11. Tell me how I feel about them **and their sponsors**.
Sorry to hear about that Peter.
This will sicken you then.
“Washington (AFP) – Barack Obama will on Friday veto legislation allowing 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia, risking public outrage and the first congressional override of his presidency.
The White House confirmed Thursday that Obama would veto the legislation — unanimously passed by Congress — allowing 9/11 families to launch civil suits against Riyadh.”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/obama-set-veto-9-11-victims-bid-sue-235643811.html
I don’t think Mish is showing any support for the perpetrators of 911. I think he is showing opposition to the killing of hundreds of thousands of innocent people.
“Hillary supported Bush’s inane war in Iraq.”
Very few members of Congress – including HRC – couldn’t be bothered to read a 90 page report before sending US to war. No Excuse.
…
WASHINGTON (CNN) — A new biography of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has once again raised the issue of whether members of Congress read a key intelligence report before the 2002 vote to authorize war in Iraq.
Clinton did not read the 90-page, classified National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq, according to “Her Way: The Hopes and Ambitions of Hillary Rodham Clinton.”
For members of Congress to read the report, they had to go to a secure location on Capitol Hill. The Washington Post reported in 2004 that no more than six senators and a handful of House members were logged as reading the document.
The Clinton biography, written by New York Times reporters Jeff Gerth and Don Van Natta Jr., summarizes the intelligence estimate, which combined reports of U.S. intelligence agencies about Iraq.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/05/28/clinton.iraq/index.html
Long time reader from far away Tasmania; your post today drove me to comment for the first time.
Making a stand publicly as you have done is the most important thing any of us can do at a personal level. Bravo Mish, bravo.
Best wishes.
O/T – driverless cars.
What could possibly go wrong?
“Sure, they lead with the safety argument, but what you’re going to wind up with is something like this:
Didn’t pay taxes? “Driving disabled. Would you like to pay overdue taxes, penalties, fees and interest now?”
Didn’t pay parking fine? “Driving disabled. Would you like to pay your fine now?”
Children not vaccinated? “Limited destinations. Would you like me to drive you to your child’s health care provider/vaccination center?”
Overdue library books? “Limited destinations. Would you like me to drive you to the library? Yes. Let’s confirm that you have the overdue materials…”
http://www.cryptogon.com/?p=49586
Trump will do the same only “hugher”. He has repeatedly said he will bomb the hell out of them. If you think it should stop vote for Johnson or Stein.
Gary Johnson believes in open borders and giving amnesty to all “illegals”, which he prefers to call “undocumented” immigrants.
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/294109-gary-johnson-has-serious-problems-with-term-illegal
Trump will not “do the same”. He wants to promote business, not war. What Trump means by “bomb the hell out of them” is to do what Russia, Syria and Iran are actually accomplishing – taking out ISIS.
The strongest military country in the world, the U.S., can’t take out ISIS? That’s because the U.S. has only been “pretending” to fight ISIS, all the while they’re funding, arming and training them. They want Assad gone so that they can install a gas pipeline from Qatar up through Syria and Turkey, and they’re using ISIS to get this done. Of course, they can’t come right out and say this. The U.S. has been “pretending” to take out Assad over humanitarian reasons, but their real motive is that gas pipeline.
Hillary, on the other hand, is a proven warmonger. She doesn’t care whether she levels a country. When there’s a pipeline to get through for her foundation donors – er, her allies – she will massacre any country that gets in the way.
If Trump gets elected, he will send ISIS back to the Stone Age, Assad will again be the sovereign leader of his country, the fighting will stop and the refugees can go home. Read this excellent article by Robert F. Kennedy to find out what’s really going on. It’s all about the oil.
http://www.ecowatch.com/syria-another-pipeline-war-1882180532.html
If there was one mainstream investigative journalist left in the country who wrote as honestly as you did in this Hillary blog the publisher would have to add another shift in the print shop to keep up with consumer demand, Mish.
If there is one honest investigative reporter left in the mainstream media I’m not aware of it.
God I miss the Woodward/Bernstein era of news reporting.
I’m afraid those days are gone forever at a point in history when we need them the most.
“If you disagree, please put yourself in the shoes of a mother whose 4-year old daughter was “accidentally” killed by a US drone. Envision your neighbor’s house “accidentally” blown to smithereens by drones.”
Trump has supported carpet bombing Arab nations. How come no one’s 4 year old daughter has ever been accidently killed by carpet bombing?
The guy in NJ who just tried to pipe bomb a bunch of places did have a kid when he was in High School….but the kid is alive and well and has never been harmed by a drone. How about the husband and wife shooters in CA? Their newborn wasn’t harmed by a drone?
In fact, why don’t you name a single terrorist who has struck the US or Europe in the last 20 years who has lost his daughter to a drone strike or any type of military war for that matter?
“Trump has supported carpet bombing Arab nations.”
False.
Factcheck.org debunked that claim.
Joe Biden made that claim by misrepresenting what DT had said.
Trump, of course, is immune to fact checking as he takes all possible positions almost at the same time.
http://www.factcheck.org/2016/08/trumps-terrorism-speech/
He supported the Iraq War, but also later opposed it but then later asserted we should not have pulled out as soon as we did, but also asserted we should have pulled out before we pulled out.
Since he supported the war, that includes non-drone based bombing (ok perhaps ‘carpet bombing’ wasn’t used in the Iraq War so I’ll back off the ‘carpet’ word).
This returns to my question, how come no one’s 4 year old accidently got killed in traditional non-drone bombing?
Ohhh here’s Trump proposing we bomb Iraq’s oil fields so they couldn’t fall into ISIS’s hands
http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/10/politics/donald-trump-fact-check-bomb-oil-fields-iraq/
Again, I’ll ask, how come no one’s kids would accidently get killed bombing oil fields? Are there no village or small towns near oil fields and facilities?
Brian – as usual – you try to change the course of the discussion when I’ve busted you for being wrong.
Stay focused on the point(s) debated.
Trump was not privy to all of the information that people like Hillary were. He was getting what we were being told by the bought-and-paid-for media (the propaganda pushers like the New York Times), that Iraq had WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION! “Watch out, everyone, duck and cover!”
Once he is elected president and does have the correct information, that the wars are being brought about not because we in the West are worried about Middle East crazed dictators (let’s face it, they’ve all been puppets of the U.S. at one point, as in Saddam Hussein, Gaddafi, Assad even – that is, until these leaders had had enough), once he realizes that this is all about securing oil for our oil companies, Trump can stop the wars and start securing some business deals. You know, the type of deals that makes both sides a winner, not just the West.
Joe Biden has no problem at all telling lies like that, he doesn’t have a clue what the truth is.
“It’s just like back when the stock market crashed and we were in The Great Depression. President Roosevelt had to come on TV and be a calm leader for the American people… ”
~ Vice President Joe Biden
LMAO!! This assclown has always played fast and loose with the facts. as he is so secure in knowing he will never be held accountable. Still, it’s kind of fun to listen to Crazy Uncle Joe.
– The stock market crashed in October 1929
– Roosevelt became US president in March 1933*
– Television gained widespread consumer availability in the 1940s
* = assumes Biden was referring to FDR, not Theodore Roosevelt. Remember, this is Biden we’re talking about!
“Trump has supported carpet bombing Arab nations”
Well of course…flying carpets after all are their air force.
Yes, and Trump was referring to bombing ISIS, not innocent civilians.
I’ll take that and more with me into the election booth on November 8 when I pull the lever for Trump on November 8. I’ve watched corrupt and greedy Hillary Clinton in action since 1992. I checked out the Clinton Foundation IRS 990 forms long before it was a topic of conversation, and the greediness is so apparent, it’s disgusting. A charity? Ummm, no. They just need to take their millions, retire and go away (a girl can dream).
People are finally saying what needs to be said. America has been taken over by neo conservatives teaming up with liberal globalists for the last twenty years. A candidate has come along with the courage to say the unsayable. Trump will only last a few years I just hope Americans and our politicians follow his lead after he is gone. The trend will have to be global for it to be fully effective.
Trump will cause less damage, if for no either reason than he will be ring-fenced just like Carter was – unless there’s sweeping turnover in Congress too.
Mish. Great example of the mental gymnastics required to con yourself into supporting Trump. No man with a history of racial discrimination, securities fraud, and both illegal campaign contributions and illegal lobbying is qualified to hold any public office. He’s already using his campaign to illegally benefit himself. We have no reason to expect him to change if we are all damned by his election.
And you support Hillary who is worse?
I’m starting to think that perhaps you a are b/c you are letting your emotions rule your good judgment, I had to give you the Motor City smackdown, but it is for your own good, and you know it
Trump Flies With Gold-Plated Bathroom Fixtures, And You’re Paying Millions For It
Secret Service payments to fly on his luxury 757 made up nearly 80 percent of the flight costs this summer.
09/24/2016 08:02 pm ET
8.4k
S.V. Date
Senior Political Correspondent, The Huffington Post
ASSOCIATED PRESS
GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump insists on flying aboard his luxury jet, rather than a more practical airplane. The cost to taxpayers: millions of dollars.
WASHINGTON – Taxpayers are now picking up most of Donald Trump’s air travel costs, unnecessarily spending millions of dollars because he insists on flying aboard his luxury 757 instead of a practical plane.
And because the GOP presidential nominee owns both the company that owns the jetliner and the one that operates it, some percentage of that taxpayer money is likely winding up as profit in Trump’s personal bank account.
The bombastic businessman has often bragged about the comforts of his ride, with its full bedroom, shower and 24-karat gold-plated bathroom fixtures. But because it seats so few passengers, Trump’s Secret Service agents appear to make up more than half of the plane’s flight manifests. And that means taxpayers are now legally required to pick up the majority of its staggering running costs.
Over the first three months of this year, after Trump asked for and received Secret Service protection, the agency’s payments to his campaign accounted for 48 percent of the $1.7 million that it paid Tag Air Inc., the candidate’s company that operates the aging jet.
Over June, July and August, as Trump became the GOP nominee and his security detail grew, the agency’s payments to the campaign made up 78 percent of the $1.3 million that it paid to Tag Air, according to The Huffington Post’s review of Federal Election Commission filings.
Politico, which first reported these payments, put the total the Secret Service paid to the Trump campaign at $1.6 million. But a closer look at campaign finance filings shows that the U.S. Secret Service covered more than $2.3 million of the $3.8 million Trump’s campaign has paid Tag Air in 2016.
That figure is on pace to top $3 million by Election Day on Nov. 8 – a total that would be nearly double what taxpayers spent to fly Secret Service agents around with 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney.
The difference: Romney did what every other non-incumbent presidential candidate has done in recent history and chartered an airliner on which staff, Secret Service and the traveling press corps all flew together, thereby driving down the cost for everyone.
“It’s eye-opening, I guess,” said Bob Biersack, who spent three decades at the FEC before joining the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. “Part of the Trump phenomenon.”
This is a public perception thing. At some point, people will begin to say, ‘Wait a minute: this is ridiculous.’
Bob Biersack, Center for Responsive Politics
Biersack said the payments do not appear to be illegal and that the former reality TV show host was not likely to care about appearances. He pointed to the many tax breaks Trump’s businesses have aggressively sought over the years. “This is not the first time he’s used government assets to his own advantage, right?” he added.
Both the Secret Service and the FEC said election regulations do not allow any leeway for how the agency is to reimburse campaigns for travel. Trump’s campaign did not respond to queries from HuffPost about the matter.
The $2.3 million the Secret Service spent to fly with Trump is only slightly less than the $2.6 million the agency has paid to the campaign of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton ― even though she has had the agency’s protection for twice as long as her Republican opponent.
Clinton, as the spouse of a former president, has had Secret Service protection since the start of her campaign in April 2015, whereas Trump asked for and received protection late last year. What’s more, some of the agency’s payments to the former secretary of state’s campaign cover travel with former President Bill Clinton when he has been on the campaign trail.
The Democratic candidate chartered a 737 that carries Clinton, her traveling staff, Secret Service detail and the traveling press corps in the past month, which should hold down the agency’s travel costs with her for the final two months of the campaign.
The last Republican candidate did the same thing in the final months of 2012. Romney’s chartered McDonnell-Douglas MD-83 was only seven feet shorter than Trump’s Boeing 757, but was configured essentially like a standard airliner and could carry some 150 passengers, even with a more spacious first-class section for Romney and his top staff.
In contrast, Trump’s 757, which he purchased from Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2011, boasts a lounge with a 57-inch television and home theater sound, a master bedroom appointed with silk wall coverings and a guest room with a mohair couch that converts to a bed. It can, however, only seat 43 people and it appears not to carry even that many on the campaign trail, based on the number aboard recent flights.
On a brief flight this month on which Trump invited a small group of reporters aboard, there were only about 20 passengers, not counting the crew. Nearly half appeared to be Secret Service agents.
FEC rules require that Secret Service agents pay a “pro-rata share of the travel” to the campaign. So if agents on any given leg make up three quarters of the passengers, the U.S. Government is required to pay three quarters of the cost to fly Trump’s luxury liner.
What that figure is precisely for a given amount of time is known by the Trump campaign, but cannot be determined through the few public documents on file that describe Tag Air.
However, a 757-200 similar to Trump’s can be chartered for about $13,000 per hour. Based on fuel consumption rates for that plane, as much as $8,000 of that is burned each hour in the air, more if the trip is a series of short hops. Maintenance, food, landing fees and crew salaries add many hundreds of dollars more per hour.
How much the plane generates in profit for Trump after subtracting these costs might be deduced from his tax returns, but he has refused to release those. Trump said he is under IRS audit and that his lawyers have told him it would be unwise to release the returns until this is finished.
And as pricey as his plane is to fly, he makes his travel even more expensive by insisting on returning to New York City at the end of each day so he can sleep in his own bed in Trump Tower’s penthouse. Flying home, rather than overnighting in the next city on the campaign schedule, typically adds three to four hours of flying time per day, translating to $27,000 to $36,000 per day in higher flight costs.
Those higher costs, though, are being borne in large measure by taxpayers, particularly since the expansion of Trump’s Secret Service detail upon his officially winning the nomination.
How much the plane generates in profit for Trump after subtracting these costs might be deduced from his tax returns, but Trump has refused to release those.
Trump paid Tag Air $2.1 million to fly his plane around to campaign events in 2015. The money came from the checks he was writing to fund his campaign, as well as from the sale of “Make America Great Again” hats and other campaign souvenirs. Not a dime came from taxpayers.
This year has been a completely different story, first with the availability of Secret Service payments to defray his travel costs, and then with a flood of donor money following his signing of a joint fundraising deal with the Republican National Committee in May.
Trump’s use of Republican donors’ money at his own businesses since he signed that deal has been previously documented by news outlets including HuffPost. He sent his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach a check for $423,000 the very day the fundraising agreement was signed. In all, some $600,000 flowed from the Trump campaign to Trump properties that day.
He also increased the rent that his campaign pays at Trump Tower by a factor of five after signing the RNC deal, from $35,458 in April to $169,758 by July. That higher rent translates to a per-square-foot cost several times higher than what the Clinton campaign pays for its headquarters in Brooklyn.
This lavish spending, though, came at the expense of donors who willingly gave money to Trump. The Secret Service payments to fly on Trump’s glitzy but inefficient plane hit taxpayers, potentially creating problems for him if public anger translates into a drop in support, the Center for Responsive Politics’ Biersack said.
“The issue is that he’s chosen that particular plane,” Biersack said, adding that FEC commissioners likely never contemplated that a candidate would choose such an extravagant mode of transportation. Nor did anyone guess that taxpayers could wind up on the hook if it did happen, Biersack added. “It was never anticipated that the proportion of campaign travelers would be so heavily tilted toward federal officials.”
“This is a public perception thing,” he continued. “At some point, people will begin to say, ‘Wait a minute: this is ridiculous.’”
Trump is simply revolting!
So vote for the serial lying criminal who got her ambassador killed and 3 others after 13 hours of pleads for help.
So for it and rot hell with her.
I cannot with good conscience punch the ticket for Clinton or Trump. We are in serious trouble either way. We elected Clinton knowing he was unethical. We elected Bush 2 knowing he was unethical and tied to oil. We elected Obama knowing he didn’t know what he was doing internationally and knowing he got to where he was not because of what he accomplished. We need to stop this cycle. Clinton is a criminal. Trump is a greasy child.
Agreed. The two most dangerous memes are carried by Clinton (neo-conservatism) and Trump (climate denialism). Johnson or Stein, not sure which one yet.
Yes, Donald would probably allow a scientific debate to take place regarding the Great Climate Scam. Oh, the horror!
The debates happen everyday with every experiment performed. Jump into them at your leisure.
Oh no Jon, I’m not going there, it’s too dangerous.
https://www.google.com/webhp#q=climate+change+deniers+should+be+shot
I’ll just pretend to go along with the administration’s “the science is settled”. Besides there is nothing I can do about it, either way. Even the Climate Scammers admit all their economic destruction will have a barely measurable effect on the climate.
The dirty secret is that the only economic destruction is to the purveyors of carbon based fuels. The rest of us would live much better and cheaper. Unfortunately they have concentrated funding sources for their propaganda. The rest of us don’t.
“…climate denialism…”
Use of the term ‘denier’ or ‘denial’ or ‘denialism’ in scientific discourse about climate or anything else is ANTI-SCIENCE. The purpose of its use is to INTIMIDATE scientists and others into SHUTTING UP via ridicule, threat of ostracization, loss of job and, even criminal punishment which has actually been threatened by some with political power.
Small wonder that reports say so many scientists ‘agree’ on climate change. Many scientists may be afraid to say in public what they say, or think, in private. It’s like Copernicus, who didn’t dare publish his heliocentric theory of the solar system/universe before his death. Galileo tried it and faced an inquisition. Darwin wanted to delay publishing his theory of evolution and natural selection until after his death because he feared criticism from theologians who might call him a ‘denier’ as many still do today. Fortunately, Alfred Russell Wallace’s similar theory hastened Darwin’s publication.
Scientific theories, unlike mathematical theorems, are NEVER actually proven. They become generally accepted but are always subject to question. Before the Renaissance, medieval scholars were actually a lot smarter than most people believe. They knew the earth was round long before Columbus. But, they also ‘knew’ that the universe was geocentric. They never bothered to check what they ‘knew’ to be true. It wasn’t allowed. But in the 20th century, the Davson-Danielli model for cell membranes was accepted for 50 years before (real) scientific evidence discredited it in favor of the fluid mosaic model.
The term ‘denier’, (of climate change or other things) is an accusatory and derogatory term and its mere use in the context of science is dangerous to modern science especially as the term is appearing in mainstream publications and being uttered by those with political power. In fact, use of the term ‘climate science denial’ is downright anti-science and represents a return to medieval scholasticism, i.e., DOGMA. Jon Sellars and his anti-science buddies should go back to the Middle Ages where they belong. There, they can have fun burning ‘deniers’ like Giordano Bruno at the stake.
Sadly the FSA gets bigger with every iteration of Libtard feelgood nonsense while the number of taxpayers who actually give a shit about the future shrinks at the same rate.
Hence we get headlines like this from the Clinton News Network.
Republican pollster Whit Ayres: White voters aren’t enough to win
By Jedd Rosche, CNN
The destruction of western civilization is almost complete. Coffin meet final nail – Hillary Clinton
Everyone, read this one article: “Syria: Another Pipeline War”. It lays out what is causing the problems in the Middle East.
The U.S., Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey all want a pipeline to be installed from Qatar to Turkey. Syria stands in the way; therefore, these countries are using ISIS as a proxy to take out Assad. They’re funding, arming and training ISIS.
Iran, Syria and Lebanon want a pipeline to be installed from Iran. Assad, who got elected with a higher popular vote than did Obama, is fighting for his very life, just as Gaddafi did before he was brutally murdered. Russia, Iran and Syria are trying to stop ISIS, but it’s a little hard to do when the other side keeps recruiting new members, then training, arming and funding them.
This is about oil.
http://www.ecowatch.com/syria-another-pipeline-war-1882180532.html
“This is about oil.”
I have read this pipeline theory many times and it’s BS. Even if oil prices hadn’t tumbled (and will keep tumbling), a pipeline could easily have been built through Iraq rather than Syria. It might be a longer route but it could have picked up some Iraqi oil as well as from the Gulf states. Moreover, Syria wouldn’t have gone to war to stop a pipeline being built through its territory and Russia would not have prevented it either. The US government wants to get rid of Assad because he’s a decent guy who makes US leaders look bad by comparison. That’s why they have vilified him.
Killing innocent civilians is awful!! But, it would have been helpful to go beyond merely criticizing drone strikes by offering a solution to combating terrorists (who will kill our children if given the opportunity) who hide among civilian populations (many of whom support terrorism). Maybe it is the terrorists who hide among civilian populations who are to blame for drone strikes that kill innocents. Maybe the civilians should demand that their government root out the terrorists. And if their government refuses, maybe we should change regimes that support terrorism? Oh wait, you’re against that too. So, I ask again, what is your proposal to combat terrorists (who strive to detonate a weapon of mass destruction — chemical, biological, or nuclear — in the U.S.) who hide among civilian populations? Criticism is easy – problem solving is not.
Stay out of the mess
We would not have ever needed drones, nor would there have been a 911 if we minded our own business like New Zealand
You may be right (though I do not concede the point). However, that is not our current situation. We ARE involved, so what should we do now? Completely disengage from the Middle East and promise to mind our own business going forward? Do you think the terrorists will then leave us alone indefinitely? If they gain power, will they eventually threaten to attack us if we do not abide by Sharia law? And what if they DO attack us while hiding among civilian populations. Then what?
Michael Willner – you need to seriously read this article: “Syria: Another Pipeline War”
http://www.ecowatch.com/syria-another-pipeline-war-1882180532.html
ISIS would not survive for a week without funding. Where do you think they’re getting it from? They’re selling stolen oil at the moment in order to get cash to buy more weapons with. Who is buying the oil? The West is. Guess who is NOT bombing these truck convoys filled with oil. That’s right, the U.S. is NOT bombing these convoys. Why not? Russia is bombing the convoys, though. The U.S. is dropping flyers down on the trucks, warning them that they are about to be bombed by Russia. They’re warning them!
The U.S. is supposed to be fighting ISIS, and yet the fighter jets are coming back with 3/4 of their payloads. They’re not bombing them at all. That’s because they created ISIS in order to take out Assad. They can’t come right out and say that they’re doing this, because it’s kind of against international law to remove a sovereign leader, so they get around it by using ISIS to perform this duty.
I would say you are about halfway informed. Go the rest of the way and start reading, not the New York Times or the Washington Post propaganda pieces, but some good investigative journalist sites, like Consortium News, for instance. These guys actually report on BOTH sides of an issue so that you get the whole picture.
I don’t know. Ask Pence’s buddy cheney why he cashed out his airline stocks in August. I know, I know, you just can’t handle the truth.
How dare you!
Don’t you know KIllary Clinton loves you and everything she does is for da childern???
And besides, it’s her turn! You get eight years of her then 8 years of Jebbie! Then 8 years of Chelsea.
So shut yer yap, vote for Hill and pay yer taxes!
And remember, yer rulers love you, especially George Sorrows who wants to send a bunch of new friends for you to your country!
But then Mish can be on the Apprentice. I wonder if he will be as enamored of Trump when Trump tells him “You’re fired”
Mish,
You have turned your blog from an acceptable economic forum into a cheap Breitbart imitation.
So….an improvement
He does seem a bit desperate, doesn’t he? He just needs his “Yes Men” around. It’s called external validation
You nailed it Mish! Hillary is the Grim Reaper packaged in a frail old lady’s body; an evil, nasty witch.
“frail old lady’s body”
Hillary probably has a bigger dick than most men…God knows she is a bigger dick than most.
Clinton: Saudi (i.e. source of radical Islam) good, Russia bad
Trump: Saudi bad, Russia good
You decide.
Sorry doowop, I prefer not to decide based on BS. Donald does not say Russia good, he says he can negotiate peaceful relations with Putin. Are you against that?
Not at all. Point was Trump’s ideas on foreign policy are far less dangerous than Clinton’s.
This guy would be #2 behind her.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-09-22/who-behind-riots-charlotte-police-says-70-arrested-protesters-had-out-state-ids
These are frame captures from the associated rally videos. I checked and these are not photoshopped. The problem occurs when she looks to her right. This is a clear indications of adult strabismus, in her case most likely lingering brain issues from the concussion she took six months to recover from three years ago.
Monday, Sep 19, 2016 at Temple University:
http://16004-presscdn-0-50.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/hillary-eyes-crazy.jpg
BTW, there are over 37,000 students at Temple. Only 300 made it to the event.
A few bloggers noticed her eye issues. Her Tuesday fund raising appearances were then cancelled with no explanation.
Wednesday, Sep 21, 2016 in Orlando, FL:
http://16004-presscdn-0-50.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/hillary-crosseyed-orlando-.jpg
A woman in a blue dress accompanied her as she walked from the 9/11 ceremony to the van. She performed a neurological “look to the right and squeeze my fingers” test prior to the arrival of the van and Clinton’s collapse… due to “dehydration” or “pneumonia.”
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CsHGIYQVMAA0tCM.jpg
Eyesight Symptoms After Concussion or Other Brain Injury
http://www.braininjuries.org/
Besides strabismus, the list of symptoms include sensitivity to light and glare sensitivity. She is so often photegraphed wearing sunglasses when no one else is. Is this because of light sensitivity, to hide the strabismus on a particularly bad day, or both? You can see her wearing sunglasses when NO ONE else is in many photos. From the 9/11 event:
http://www.bostonherald.com/sites/default/files/styles/gallery/public/media/ap/04b79a640a914cc296382e31b6e9f705.jpg
Gosh, isn’t it absolutely amazing how such a visibly OBVIOUS disorder which often results from lingering injury to the brain from a concussion somehow isn’t mentioned anywhere in her medical records?
Julian Assange released many of Hillary’s emails on Benghazi and was surprised at how little reporting it got especially on emails by Hillary’s staff where they released laying claim to toppling Khadafi (leading to her infamous redux on the dictator Julius Ceasar “We came. We saw. He died.”
Some of the emails apparently were also about several generals warning of the consequences of becoming a terror state afterwards and the flood of refugees into Europe. (Gee tough call given Libya’s eastern desert region – around Benghazi – supplied the largest percentage of al Qaeda fighters into Iraq. So of course send an unprotected ambassador there – what difference could it make?)
Well now we see this out of the UK Parliament.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-09-22/british-parliament-confirms-libya-war-was-based-lies-…-turned-nation-“shit-show”-…-s
I guess the whole Libyan mess could be re-dubbed “Hillary’s Shit Show.”
Thanks nord, I sent that article to some liberal Hillarite friends. For some reason they never respond to things like that, but they don’t change their minds either.
“Liberalism is a Mental Disorder”
~ title of a book by M. Savage
Any US politicians funded by the elite are dangerous. Consequently Hillary Clinton has the potential to be the most dangerous person on the planet if she is elected president.
I Totally agree with your comment on bombing innocent civilians. And the consequences…………….
In my opinion, if Trump gets into the White House he will soon come under the influence of much of the same crew that surrounded George W. Bush. He has no experience of government and so must necessarily rely on others, which is true of all presidents and will prove especially true of Trump. So I’m not counting on those drones staying on the ground anytime soon.
Obviously, Frosty, your opinion is merely conjecture. We know for sure Hitlary will love picking out drone targets. As for Donald, we do not know. Given the fact that one or the other is the next pres, I’ll go with the “not so much war” policy stated by Donald.
Voting for Trump because he’s not Hillary doesn’t work for me. I’d rather express my disgust with both parties by voting for a third candidate.
Coming from NYC I’m familiar enough with Trump’s bull to be highly skeptical of a Trump presidency. I prefer to register my disgust with both parties by voting for a third candidate (still to be decided).
I won’t be going to the voting booth this time around. this society is decaying. I belive both Hilary and trump are evil. I hate war. I find taking 30minutes each day to pray to G-d more worthwhile than this sort of exchange. how any of you can support either of them is beyond me.
It is very simple beth: I’m voting against the warmonger.
You do not need to explain why Hitlary is evil, but I am curious as to why you consider Donald to be evil.
If we have to explain it to you, then there just is no point. Your common sense has evidently been deactivated
Thank you Van, I am overwhelmed by your carefully considered reasoning. Guess I’ll just have to vote for the warmonger now.
I don’t want you to vote for a warmonger, but Pence is a warmonger, and Trump is a trust fund pariah and on and on. He is not fiscally responsible, he goes bankrupt all the time. His fake university defrauded people. He is disrespectful and racist. I could go on and on. Let’s all take a chill pill and realize that at the end of the day, they are all intermingled with one another, are friends, golf partners, etc. and they are all in the power elite club and we are the fu**ing peasants
Long live the Clinton/Bush crime dynasties!
Oh, but they are sneaking in the back door with Pence, cheneys #1 cheerleader! Now, don’t be a hypocrite, you must like Clinton/Bush if you like Pence, a very unpopular gov in a state with a lot of problems, but they are social problems, land all we care about is money, right?
Well you had better cross your fingers, Mish, that Pence doesn’t become president b/c he LOVES dick cheney. I thought you were the ‘realest nig*a on this blog? Why do you block out any information that conflicts with your world view? I am no Hillary lover, but by Goddess, she is better than some trust fund reality show sham artist! You have no concept of what it is to be, other than you. I suggest you get out more and out of your comfort zone; and not just Napa, either
http://www.salvationandsurvival.com/2016/09/taking-another-look-at-veils-of-our.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+salvationandsurvival%2FBhMK+%28Salvation+And+Survival%29
The only reason Hillary Clinton kept Bill around the house is because she knew she needed him to get a shot at the White House. So she lived with the humiliation for a chance at the legacy of being the 1st estrogen dominant President. My guess is that she hates Bill with a passion. The resentment must be incredible. If they wind up back in the WH Congress is going to have to appropriate a separate WH budget for glass vase replacements and ice packs. The problem is Hillary’s resentment will carry over to the job. She’s going to be a b*tch gone wild. Being assigned the WH will probably be disciplinary duty for any Secret Service Agent. Other than Bill, Tim Kaine would be her whipping post. I don’t think the guy knows what he signed up for.
Reblogged this on John Barleycorn and commented:
I agree.
Reblogged this on Wolfessblog — Guillotine mediocrity in all its forms! and commented:
Not only do we terrorize most countries on this planet, we also terrorize our fellow uh-merikkkans by using the police to do the ‘dirty work’, and by staging false flag events whenever our elected terrorists get a wild hair!
You left out the most important reason why she is the most dangerous person on the planet today: her insanely extreme Russophobia. Inflaming terrorism is awful as you point out–but risking a nuclear holocaust by continually provoking a country whose conventional forces pose zero threat to the U.S. homeland is psychotic. Hillary has that rare combination of massive arrogance and total incompetence to end up destroying the human race while trying to prove how “tough” she is.
In this context, her “deplorables” comment is most telling–she views anyone who disagrees with her as unworthy of life, kind of like another megalomaniacal world “leader” who rose to power in the 1930s.
HRC would try not to kill innocents, but would. Very bad, true. Trump would try to kill innocents. Infinitely worse.
Said Trump, “It’s a horrible thing. They’re using them as shields. But we’re fighting a very politically correct war. And the other thing is with the terrorists, you have to take out their families,’ he explained. ‘They, they care about their lives. Don’t kid yourself. But they say they don’t care about their lives. You have to take out their families.” (http://www.politico.com/story/2015/12/trump-kill-isil-families-216343 (last visited Sep. 24, 2016).)
After retired Gen. Michael Hayden (former CIA director; former NSA director ) responded that military commanders would refuse to act (http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/271061-ex-cia-chief-armed-forces-would-have-to-disobey-trump), Trump said, “I’m a leader. I’m a leader. I’ve always been a leader. I’ve never had any problem leading people. If I say do it, they’re going to do it. That’s what leadership is all about.” (http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/melanie-hunter/trump-us-military-wont-refuse-carry-out-orders-kill-terrorists-families (last visited Sep. 24, 2016.)
So, HRC can be expected to kill innocents under a justification of defense of others. I generally reject this because I don’t believe that the targets (usually of drone attacks) pose a sufficiently immediate threat to the lives of others. But at least HRC has a moral theory – defense of others – to arguably justify the harm she would inflict on innocent persons in the kill zone, and the wrongful death she would inflict on the targets themselves who are innocent, misidentified, as well as the excessive punishment that she would inflict upon targets who could be detained rather than killed.
In contrast, Trump, has no colorable justification for the killings he advocated. He has calculated that the terrorists value the lives of their children, spouses, siblings, parents, and so, even if they are willing to martyr themselves, they will reconsider if they believe their actions will cost the lives of those whom they love. “They care about their lives, don’t kid yourself. When they say they don’t care about their lives, you have to take out their families.” ( http://www.nationalreview.com/article/428719/kill-terrorists-families-gangsta-trump (last visited Sep. 24, 2016).) Now, that is a proposition to commit premeditated murder. Compare that to HRC. She does not intend to kill non-terrorists, and she takes steps to prevent that from happening. So, what she proposes, although a counterproductive and cruel policy, is, for want of an evil mental state, not murder. With the heart of murderer, Trump is far more dangerous than HRC. Trump treats innocent individuals from disfavored groups as without rights, here, without even the right to life.
Reblogged this on Centinel2012 and commented:
I agree with Mish 100%!