A thread for Democrats Only
POSTED BY: THGRRI
UPDATED: Sunday, September 6, 2026 15:36
VIEWED: 755368
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The Pentagon is paying Trump to stay at his resort, which was losing money until the Pentagon sent aircrews there. No, Trump cannot be stealing $millions from American taxpayers. That would be unthinkable!
In early Spring of this year, an Air National Guard crew made a routine trip from the U.S. to Kuwait to deliver supplies.
What wasn’t routine was where the crew stopped along the way: President Donald Trump’s Turnberry resort, about 50 miles outside Glasgow, Scotland.
Since April, the House Oversight Committee has been investigating why the crew on the C-17 military transport plane made the unusual stay — both en route to the Middle East and on the way back — at the luxury waterside resort, according to several people familiar with the incident. But they have yet to receive any answers from the Pentagon.
The inquiry is part of a broader, previously unreported probe into U.S. military expenditures at and around the Trump property in Scotland. According to a letter the panel sent to the Pentagon in June, the military has spent $11 million on fuel at the Prestwick Airport — the closest airport to Trump Turnberry — since October 2017, fuel that would be cheaper if purchased at a U.S. military base. The letter also cites a Guardian report that the airport provided cut-rate rooms and free rounds of golf at Turnberry for U.S. military members.
Taken together, the incidents raise the possibility that the military has helped keep Trump’s Turnberry resort afloat — the property lost $4.5 million in 2017, but revenue went up $3 million in 2018.
“The Defense Department has not produced a single document in this investigation,” said a senior Democratic aide on the oversight panel. “The committee will be forced to consider alternative steps if the Pentagon does not begin complying voluntarily in the coming days.”
More at www.politico.com/story/2019/09/06/air-force-trump-scottish-retreat-148
4337
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
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Quote:
Originally posted by second:
The Pentagon is paying Trump to stay at his resort, which was losing money until the Pentagon sent aircrews there. No, Trump cannot be stealing $millions from American taxpayers. That would be unthinkable!
In early Spring of this year, an Air National Guard crew made a routine trip from the U.S. to Kuwait to deliver supplies.
What wasn’t routine was where the crew stopped along the way: President Donald Trump’s Turnberry resort, about 50 miles outside Glasgow, Scotland.
Since April, the House Oversight Committee has been investigating why the crew on the C-17 military transport plane made the unusual stay — both en route to the Middle East and on the way back — at the luxury waterside resort, according to several people familiar with the incident. But they have yet to receive any answers from the Pentagon.
The inquiry is part of a broader, previously unreported probe into U.S. military expenditures at and around the Trump property in Scotland. According to a letter the panel sent to the Pentagon in June, the military has spent $11 million on fuel at the Prestwick Airport — the closest airport to Trump Turnberry — since October 2017, fuel that would be cheaper if purchased at a U.S. military base. The letter also cites a Guardian report that the airport provided cut-rate rooms and free rounds of golf at Turnberry for U.S. military members.
Taken together, the incidents raise the possibility that the military has helped keep Trump’s Turnberry resort afloat — the property lost $4.5 million in 2017, but revenue went up $3 million in 2018.
“The Defense Department has not produced a single document in this investigation,” said a senior Democratic aide on the oversight panel. “The committee will be forced to consider alternative steps if the Pentagon does not begin complying voluntarily in the coming days.”
More at www.politico.com/story/2019/09/06/air-force-trump-scottish-retreat-148
4337
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
The biggest grifter ever. He puts Bernie Madoff to shame.
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Jonathan Franzen has pissed off a lot of people by writing in the New Yorker that we should just admit the obvious: we’ve lost the war on climate change. He says that the conditions for success are simply unacceptable for most people, but more among Republicans than Democrats.
The first condition is that every one of the world’s major polluting countries institute draconian conservation measures, shut down much of its energy and transportation infrastructure, and completely retool its economy. . . . The actions taken by these countries must also be the right ones. Vast sums of government money must be spent without wasting it and without lining the wrong pockets . . . . Finally, overwhelming numbers of human beings, including millions of government-hating Americans, need to accept high taxes and severe curtailment of their familiar life styles without revolting.
“There is infinite hope,” Kafka tells us, “only not for us.” This is a fittingly mystical epigram from a writer whose characters strive for ostensibly reachable goals and, tragically or amusingly, never manage to get any closer to them.
More at What If We Stopped Pretending? www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/what-if-we-stopped-pretendi
ng
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
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Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Jonathan Franzen has pissed off a lot of people by writing in the New Yorker that we should just admit the obvious: we’ve lost the war on climate change. He says that the conditions for success are simply unacceptable for most people, but more among Republicans than Democrats.
The first condition is that every one of the world’s major polluting countries institute draconian conservation measures, shut down much of its energy and transportation infrastructure, and completely retool its economy. . . . The actions taken by these countries must also be the right ones. Vast sums of government money must be spent without wasting it and without lining the wrong pockets . . . . Finally, overwhelming numbers of human beings, including millions of government-hating Americans, need to accept high taxes and severe curtailment of their familiar life styles without revolting.
“There is infinite hope,” Kafka tells us, “only not for us.” This is a fittingly mystical epigram from a writer whose characters strive for ostensibly reachable goals and, tragically or amusingly, never manage to get any closer to them.
More at What If We Stopped Pretending? www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/what-if-we-stopped-pretendi
ng
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
Very interesting take. I have to agree with his view that looking around I don't see many people "getting on board" with what we'd need to do (according to experts) to slow real serious climate change the disasters that will come with it. But neither do I see his solution working either - same sweater, different color:
"All-out war on climate change made sense only as long as it was winnable. Once you accept that we’ve lost it, other kinds of action take on greater meaning. Preparing for fires and floods and refugees is a directly pertinent example. But the impending catastrophe heightens the urgency of almost any world-improving action. In times of increasing chaos, people seek protection in tribalism and armed force, rather than in the rule of law, and our best defense against this kind of dystopia is to maintain functioning democracies, functioning legal systems, functioning communities. In this respect, any movement toward a more just and civil society can now be considered a meaningful climate action. Securing fair elections is a climate action. Combatting extreme wealth inequality is a climate action. Shutting down the hate machines on social media is a climate action. Instituting humane immigration policy, advocating for racial and gender equality, promoting respect for laws and their enforcement, supporting a free and independent press, ridding the country of assault weapons—these are all meaningful climate actions. To survive rising temperatures, every system, whether of the natural world or of the human world, will need to be as strong and healthy as we can make it."
^susceptible to the same meh attitude and denial that faces us now.
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Quote:I see no Trump lovers getting on board, but that is one of many reasons they love Trump -- he tells them there is nothing to get on board with, that it is all a Democratic Party hoax.
Originally posted by captaincrunch:
Very interesting take. I have to agree with his view that looking around I don't see many people "getting on board" with what we'd need to do (according to experts) to slow real serious climate change the disasters that will come with it.
Kevin Drum thinks solutions are possible, but he is not a Trump lover:
Success is still possible, even if it’s hardly certain. However, Franzen’s assessment of human nature is something to be taken seriously and it should illuminate the way we approach climate change. Working with human nature is far more likely to produce results than fighting it, and that means finding new ways to make green energy cheap and plentiful instead of fruitlessly pleading with people to use less of it.
In the meantime, it makes a lot of sense to also put a lot of work into growing our use of wind and solar, two technologies we have already. It’s not enough, but it will reduce the amount we have to do when we finally do come up with real solutions. That’s well worth it.
www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2019/09/jonathan-franzen-isnt-quite-rig
ht-but-he-has-a-point/
Trump is definitely a fan of coal. He is not a fan of wind and solar. I think he actually hates wind energy . . . he says it causes cancer. What a nut he is. Trump Says Wind Turbines Cause Cancer https://time.com/5649313/trump-wind-cancer-iowa/
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
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Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Working with human nature is far more likely to produce results than fighting it, and that means finding new ways to make green energy cheap and plentiful instead of fruitlessly pleading with people to use less of it.
Absolutely definitely agree with the "go with human nature, don't fight it" approach. I have used the example of our city providing us (for a tiny fee) recycling containers that are easy to use and store. They go out on trash day so you are already out there. They have made recycling too easy to ignore.
I would also appeal to Greed. Tax savings for doing X. People will do almost anything for money.
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Quote:
Originally posted by captaincrunch:Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Working with human nature is far more likely to produce results than fighting it, and that means finding new ways to make green energy cheap and plentiful instead of fruitlessly pleading with people to use less of it.
Absolutely definitely agree with the "go with human nature, don't fight it" approach. I have used the example of our city providing us (for a tiny fee) recycling containers that are easy to use and store. They go out on trash day so you are already out there. They have made recycling too easy to ignore.
I would also appeal to Greed. Tax savings for doing X. People will do almost anything for money.
First on my list would be rewarding people through tax incentives to NOT have kids.
The ass backward reward system we have in place today breeds countless idiots on a daily basis.
How big is your carbon footprint?
Now multiply that exponentially for every kid you have.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
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Quote:A political party which promotes your plan is working against human nature. Humans want more people like themselves (didn't you know?) and they want their enemies to die off (shouldn't you expect that, just from the history of all wars?).
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
First on my list would be rewarding people through tax incentives to NOT have kids.
The ass backward reward system we have in place today breeds countless idiots on a daily basis.
How big is your carbon footprint?
Now multiply that exponentially for every kid you have.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
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Trump supporters are not going to hear very much that’s critical of Trump. But these people know what they care about and they do really live their lives in certain kinds of jobs, middle-class jobs for the most part. They attend certain kinds of churches, where their social life and moral beliefs are anchored. And they’re angry about the changing generational and ethnic dynamics of the country and feel threatened by them. So they’re not being irrational, and there’s a tendency on the left, I think, to treat people as somehow irrational because they don’t believe what we think they ought to believe economically. Well, that’s just not the way politics works. Politics — a lot of politics — is about “who we are” and “who they are.” And these people know who they are, and they know who their enemies are.
From "The Tea Party Got What It Wanted"
www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/09/the-tea-party-got-what-it-wanted/
Ten years later, it’s clear what the movement was all about: race, immigration, and welfare chauvinism.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
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lol
Do Right, Be Right. :)
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