June 21, 2017

Trump seeks sharp cuts to housing aid, except for program that brings him millions

Source: Washington Post

President Trump’s budget calls for sharply reducing funding for programs that shelter the poor and combat homelessness — with a notable exception: It leaves intact a type of federal housing subsidy that is paid directly to private landlords.

One of those landlords is Trump himself, who earns millions of dollars each year as a part-owner of Starrett City, the nation’s largest subsidized housing complex. Trump’s 4 percent stake in the Brooklyn complex earned him at least $5 million between January of last year and April 15, according to his recent financial disclosure.

Trump’s business empire intersects with government in countless ways, from taxation to permitting to the issuing of patents, but the housing subsidy is one of the clearest examples of the conflicts experts have predicted. While there is no indication that Trump himself was involved in the decision, it is nonetheless a stark illustration of how his financial interests can directly rise or fall on the policies of his administration.

The federal government has paid the partnership that owns Starrett City more than $490 million in rent subsidies since May 2013, according to figures provided by a spokesman for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Nearly $38 million of that has come since Trump took office in January.



Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/trump-seeks-sharp-cuts-to-housing-aid-except-for-program-that-brings-him-millions/2017/06/20/bf1fb2b8-5531-11e7-ba90-f5875b7d1876_story.html?tid=ss_tw&utm_term=.1c36a0a1451b

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Trump has bragged in the past that he could financially profit from the presidency. He never tried to hide that, and he's not bothering to hide it now.

June 11, 2017

"James Comey, is this man bothering you?"

(Apologies for possibly violating the 4 paragraph rule, but it's impossible to get the flavor of this if you count the individual remarks as paragraphs)

(begin excerpt)Here is a look at the texts that I am sure passed between Attorney General Jeff Sessions and then-FBI Director James B. Comey.

Comey: hey do you have a second
Sessions: why certainly sir

Comey: so I just
he keeps being WEIRD

Sessions: weird how

Comey: I am keeping memos
but I just thought
can we set up a system where I don’t have to be alone with him
(snip)
Comey: so for instance I thought of a good one the other day
if I try to hide in the curtains

Sessions: what

Comey: like physically camouflage myself in the curtains

Sessions: I don’t understand
like Scarlett O’Hara?
Washington Post Blogs

June 2, 2017

150 mayors and ten governors so far

have denounced Dump's decision to withdraw from the Paris Accord:

(Begin quote)On Thursday, the group of mayors that call themselves the Mayors National Climate Action Agenda took their commitment to the planet a step further by adopting the historic agreement of their own accord.

"As 150 mayors representing 47 million Americans, we will adopt, honor, and uphold the commitments to the goals enshrined in the Paris Agreement," the so-called "climate mayors" announced in a statement. "We will intensify efforts to meet each of our cities’ current climate goals, push for new action to meet the 1.5 degrees Celsius target, and work together to create a 21st-century clean energy economy.&quot end quote)

The list is here I have written to my governor Larry Hogan to step up and join them. He's a Republican who's generally okay but he's been weasly about criticizing Dump so far.