Trump II

[Alan Goldhammer]

Your figures are wrong.  The vouchers are not equal to but are less than the public school cost so the difference is a saving to the global school system.  And it is a union issue because money that goes to charter schools and their non-union teachers doesn't go to union teachers and union officials.  Also, union dues are less overall because there are less union teachers so that's another reason unions object to charter schools.

If you read my post carefully you would have observed that I was talking about Charter Schools in the first instance and that this was how Washington DC allocates budget money.  Perhaps you have mixed up vouchers for private schools with charter schools which are public.  Vouchers are a separate issue and for many low income people they won't work.  I believe I posted that private schools in the Washington DC area have tuition of $20-25K per year.  Say the voucher is $10K, there is very little possibility that the family can come up with an additional $10K (or more if the family has more than one child who wants to go to a private school).  Catholic schools have a lower tuition as the church underwrites part of the cost.  However, in DC a number of Catholic schools have closed because of lack of attendance.  I doubt the courts would permit public money to be used for voucher to attend a parochial school.

[Alan Goldhammer]

He will implode long before that. His hubris will get the better of him and he will do something to get impeached. Another Nixon?

I think it won't come to that.  He will continue to see his businesses being imperiled and if he ever releases his tax returns that will be the final straw.  Once the nature of the foreign bank loans to the Trump Organization are known it will pretty much be all over and he's going to resign.  He is already seeing Ivanka's business suffering because of boycotts that are leading to very low sales volume.  He Tweeted out against Nordstrom yesterday but the blunt fact is that her clothing line wasn't selling very well.  Taxpayer paying for the Trump sons' security on foreign business trips is going to be another tripwire if Congress ever investigates this (with the Republican's in power this might never happen).

[Robert Roaldi]

Is it just me. Why isn't your entire country in an uproar over the President tweeting about a company's relationship with his wife's business? Isn't this offensive to anyone?

Is the US a banana republic now?

[Alan Goldhammer]

Is it just me. Why isn't your entire country in an uproar over the President tweeting about a company's relationship with his wife's business? Isn't this offensive to anyone?

Is the US a banana republic now?

I own Nordstrom stock and was happy to see him Tweet as the price rose about 6% yesterday.  Keep up the Tweets and I'll get rich!!!!  Humor aside, a lot of us think that this is juvenile behavior of the worst kind, something a 12 year old would do but not the President of the US.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Is it just me. Why isn't your entire country in an uproar over the President tweeting about a company's relationship with his wife's business? Isn't this offensive to anyone?

Is the US a banana republic now?

It is daughter. And political.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

...Taxpayer paying for the Trump sons' security on foreign business trips is going to be another tripwire if Congress ever investigates this...

You mean Secret Service didn't provide security for Malia Obama's trip to Bolivia last year?

[HSakols]

Good morning!  I'm getting my lesson plans together for the day.  Thanks to the new administration I can expand what I teach to include alternative facts.  I'm choosing lessons from this source as a replacement for science.

The Flying Pasta Monster

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

I own Nordstrom stock and was happy to see him Tweet as the price rose about 6% yesterday.  Keep up the Tweets and I'll get rich!!!!  Humor aside, a lot of us think that this is juvenile behavior of the worst kind, something a 12 year old would do but not the President of the US.

While not strictly illegal, such a tweet is not unexpected from someone who deliberately didn't disclose his tax records, and didn't really distance himself from his own commercial activities other than letting his family run the business. What's even more troubling is that he tweeted those remarks while 'involved' in a security meeting.

And of course, the private tweet (retweeted on the official account and made worse by Sean Spicer) was another lie, because according to a Nordstrom spokesperson the decision to stop selling the fashion line, due to a disappointing sales trend, was communicated to his daughter in early January already. So no personal attack on his daughter, but disappointing sales, and probably a good business decision.

When a person like that is given the free reigns, it will only get worse...

Cheers,
Bart

P.S. Some more background info and opinions on the matter, here.

[JNB_Rare]

I'm choosing lessons from this source as a replacement for science.

The Flying Pasta Monster

I remember when a friend and his brother (almost) convinced his sister (who was in College!!) that spaghetti grew on trees, like moss. It was harvested, straightened, and dried before packaging. There were huge tracts of spaghetti trees in Italy, they said. She was taken in because her teasing siblings remained convincing and sincere, and because she'd never ever thought about it before. Their father put an end to the nonsense, of course.

Critical thinking is one of the most important things that a teacher can encourage in his/her students.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

... Thanks to the new administration I can expand what I teach to include alternative facts..

As you should. It is a real shame that a teacher falls for the currently-popular, yet erroneous interpretation of alternative facts as lies. Alternative facts is a legitimate concept, so educate yourself first.

[Alan Goldhammer]

You mean Secret Service didn't provide security for Malia Obama's trip to Bolivia last year?

I'm not talking about vacations.  I have no problems with that at all nor the fact that it cost $7M for the Trump Thanksgiving at Mar-a-Lago when he was just President elect.  I don't think US taxpayers should be on the hook for protection on business trips.  This should be paid to the US government and then the Trump Organization should expense it on their tax returns as a normal cost of doing business which it is.  Isn't that rational policy?  Do you as an American taxpayer want to pay for the Trump Organization business expenses?  Not to mention that this might also violate the emolument clause of the Constitution.

Of course we won't have any Congressional hearings on this and other things related to the Trump Organization because the Republicans are afraid of the Prez.

[Alan Goldhammer]

As you should. It is a real shame that a teacher falls for the currently-popular, yet erroneous interpretation of alternative facts as lies. Alternative facts is a legitimate concept, so educate yourself first.

I quite agree.  We need to change the medical school curricula to encourage the use of homeopathic remedies as opposed to dangerous pharmaceuticals.  Think of all the lives that will be saved.  More research money needs to spent on commercializing cold fusion so we are truly free of the pesky middle-eastern petroleum states and their OPEC price fixing cartel.  Their are truly endless possibilities here!  I'm actually thinking of going back to graduate school and getting another PhD in the Science of Alternative Facts that I can add to my PhD in Chemistry.  Now I just have to find a university that offers such a degree.  Perhaps those paragons of higher education Bob Jones University or Liberty University offer such degree programs!

[scyth]

I'm not talking about vacations...  I don't think US taxpayers should be on the hook for protection on business trips.

OK, how about clintonbill or magicone or whoever going somewhere to give a paid speech ? it is a business trip  to make money ...

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

I'm not talking about vacations...

Same difference. Why would American taxpayers pay for someone's vacation?

The above was a rhetorical question. I am not advocating that presidents' children should not have protection when traveling, business or pleasure.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

I quite agree...

Yet another example of a high-educated, yet low-information voter.

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

As you should. It is a real shame that a teacher falls for the currently-popular, yet erroneous interpretation of alternative facts as lies. Alternative facts is a legitimate concept, so educate yourself first.

Not sure what you are suggesting here. Do you mean lies as untruth (as in newspeak), or do you mean lies as falsehoods, or incomplete information which might lead to the wrong conclusion, or...?

You are probably aware that there are companies in Russia that have the production of "Alternative facts" as their sole activity? Employees are supposed to produce some 80 hard to check falsehoods per working day and participate in discussions by posting in discussion fora, and there are 2 or 3 shifts to provide a constant stream around the 24 hour clock. Those falsehoods (known to be not the truth) are presented as alternative explanations why e.g. a passenger plane gets shot out of the air, and these employees are also using that information they created themselves to disrupt discussions on fora to confuse the participants as to what "truth" is really true. When a lie is told often enough, there will be people who start believing it.

Sofar, Trumps seems to be lying a lot and a lot of people are buying in on those lies, or at least defending them.

Cheers,
Bart

[scyth]

You are probably aware that there are companies in Russia that have the production of "Alternative facts" as their sole activity?

those efforts pale vs such propaganda masterpieces as "WMD in Iraq" or "Gulf of Tonkin" you did not bother to check how many people died because of just these 2 vs "their sole activity", did you ? too busy reading UNIAN probably ..

[HSakols]

Alternative Fact is an oxymoron!

Now the definition of fact has changed!

[Otto Phocus]

Alternative Fact is an oxymoron!

Now the definition of fact has changed!

True, what is actually happening is an alternative interpretation of facts. But that does not have the same comic effect as alternate facts.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Alternative Fact is an oxymoron!

Nope.