You need to pull your head out dude, this is an example of a republican led e******n board contracting someone that is delaying the timely mail in b****t process which benefits trump, not democrats. This attack on mail in b****ts is a trump thing. Republicans will try to challenge the e******n results based on critically delayed mail in process.

And what happens when someone applying for mail in b****t goes to v**e in person because of the way their b****t has been jerked around? They get a provisional of course, and republicans say looky here, this person tried to v**e twice...except of course they never had a chance to use their mail in b****t because it didn't arrive in time. Then of course the provisional b****ts are rejected because of this duplicitous intentional mismanagement.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/donald-trump-has-turned-the-white-house-into-a-bribe-factory/ar-BB1a0KCz?ocid=msedgdhp

For years now it has been clear that Donald Trump is the most corrupt president in American history. No previous president has continued to operate a vast personal business empire while in office — creating more than 3,000 identifiable conflicts of interest. As I predicted three days before he was inaugurated, he has constantly jammed taxpayer money into his own pockets, corruptly bullied foreign powers into doing him political favors, and turned the Department of Justice into an arm of his campaign.

The White House.© Illustrated | iStock The White House.
Now that The New York Times has gotten access to many years of Trump's tax returns, we have new confirmed details about one particular aspect of his corruption — getting paid for political favors. In essence, he has turned the American executive branch into a giant bribery scheme. Wealthy people with business before the state stuff money into Trump's pockets through his many properties, and in return he gives them the contracts or policy concessions they want.

Here's how the bribery machine works: an interested party spends tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars at one of Trump's hotels, or golf resorts, or at Mar-a-Lago. That gets them in front of Trump — as he has spent nearly 400 days as president at those locations — and in his good graces, because he is exceptionally greedy. Then he is easily convinced to help them on some matter of policy.

Just 60 customers with interests at stake before the Trump administration brought his family business nearly $12 million during the first two years of his presidency, The Times found. Almost all saw their interests advanced, in some fashion, by Mr. Trump or his government. [New York Times]

AAR Corp., a government contractor fighting off a rival in court, held two retreats at the Trump National Doral resort, paying the president $120,746. It kept its contract and got new ones. The GEO Group, a private prison contractor, hired Trump's personal lobbyist, paid at least $32,100 to Mar-a-Lago, and saw its government contracting rise from $500 million per year to $900 million. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University spent $75,000 at the Trump International Hotel in Washington and got a bill passed removing restrictions on land it owns. And those are just three of over 100 companies that spent bigly at Trump's various properties.


Various right-wing religious groups paid six-figure sums to Trump through his properties, and received "an array of favorable policies from the administration, including appointments of anti-a******n judges and measures exempting religious groups from anti-discrimination laws." He also offered five members of his clubs ambassadorships.

Ironically, Trump is such an inept businessman that it appears he is not even making enough money off all these bribes to make his businesses profitable. The Times' overall coverage of his tax returns show that he experienced a steep decline in income after 2014 or so, in part because his newly toxic political reputation k**led off most of his brand deals. Massive loans that he personally secured are due for repayment in the next few years, and Trump may well be bankrupted if he loses his race for re-e******n. Anyone who wasn't a complete dolt could rake in way more than that by leveraging the power of the American presidency. If nothing else, he could just write himself a $100 billion check — Senate Republicans have already made clear they will not remove him from office no matter what he does.

But whether Trump is competent at turning the government into a shakedown machine has nothing to do with whether doing so is right or wrong, or violates the law. For instance, 18 U.S. Code § 201 stipulates that any public official who "corruptly demands, seeks, receives, accepts, or agrees to receive or accept anything of value personally … in return for … being influenced in the performance of any official act" can be punished by up to 15 years in prison.

Indeed, we would need to examine all of Trump's tax and business records to have a good idea of the total take here. Should Joe Biden be elected along with a Democratic Congress, one of the first orders of business should be a thorough investigation of the Trump regime's gargantuan corruption — from soliciting bribes, to l**ting the state, to sending out illegal payments to v**ers, to accepting unconstitutional payments from foreign governments, to wh**ever else might be found. Trump's suspiciously gigantic golf course losses, for example, give off a distinct whiff of money laundering. He might be in much better shape money-wise than he appears to be on paper.

But wh**ever we may find, it is now known for a fact that Trump is abusing his power for personal profit, yet again. Like practically everything else he has done in office, it is a grotesque betrayal of the foundational values of a democratic republic. Another four years of this man in office will be another four years of chintzy schemes to line his own pockets, while he lies about "draining the swamp."

Just curious, I have had opinions and observations through the years starting with the catholic priest making personal visits on Saturdays to badger my parents about not paying a full ten percent. That arrogant AH would want to see my dad's pay stubs and go through their budget, I heard him telling them perhaps the house they had bought was over their means. My dad was a union jet mechanic at Delta airlines making $8 an hour, raising five kids, my mom did not work. The house was a budget tract home in Milpitas, which was considered to be a low rent modest neighborhood.

The bottom line is that this priest would badger them into writing a check for a balance of what they had left to get them through the pay period, to where they would be cutting back on the way we were eating. And then there was still the plate being passed at church, and people feeling like they have to put something in the plate.

I think people form their own opinions about what they "owe" to their church, otherwise billed as "giving to god". Wealthier people I'm sure form their own opinions about whether ten percent is too much, those that are god fearing and always invoking god as reasons for the way they are, but don't actually go to church, say they don't need to go to church to be christians, pretty much might toss a few bucks in the plate on one of their rare visits for spiritual connection.

I've also known Mormons, and they take this stuff seriously, they want to see tax returns and W-2's, full tithing is at the core of what they are. I had a mormon group working for me back in the 80's and had a chance to talk to some of them, some were saying that their tithe comes before a car payment. I found that out from someone who had asked me for an advance to make their car payment, Knowing how important it was to them I asked had they made their tithe, thinking they would need more than just the car payment. They said oh no, the tithe comes first.

Many of the hard right wingers I know invoke god a lot, but they are not so devout that they either go to church or contribute to their higher being, otherwise part of being a f**e or alt christian.

Just curious how many people will speak up about where they stand on this.

US should check its reckless ambition
CHINADAILY

These are difficult times for China-US relations. And chances are things will continue to deteriorate, even plunge the world's two largest economies into a rivalry that is mutually diminishing, if no serious attempts are made to stem the free fall.

Washington's blame game targeting Beijing has gone way beyond the initial trade spat, especially after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered his aggressive anti-China speech at the Henry Nixon P**********l Library and Museum, and President Donald Trump began openly calling the novel c****av***s the "Chinese v***s". The latest developments this week surrounding the troubled relationship are worrying signs that the situation may keep worsening in the run-up to Nov 3, and possibly beyond.

On Wednesday, the US administration appointed an assistant secretary of state as special coordinator for Tibetan issues. While on the face of it this is not extraordinary, because in a sense they're just filling a State Department position that has been left vacant since the beginning of the present administration. But put into the context of Washington's provocative moves over the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, the appointment hints at a turn in the US' China policies that bodes ill.

Pompeo's claim that the "coordinator" will "promote dialogue" between Beijing and the Dalai Lama, "protect the unique religious, cultural, and linguistic identity of Tibetans", and "press for their human rights to be respected" is disingenuous at best, as Washington clearly intends to use the Tibet issue to increase the pressure on Beijing.

To check what it views as a rival which may challenge the country's preeminence, the US administration climbs from one step of ambition to another in its attempts to injure it.

More egregious to Beijing has been Washington's constant envelope-pushing regarding Taiwan. Following its recent moves of sending incumbent ranking officials to the island, Washington is clearly doubling down on driving a wedge between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits.

Along with reports about multiple arms sales proposals in the pipeline, which are meant to substantially boost Taiwan's military capabilities should there be any armed conflict with the Chinese mainland, the increasing US military presence in the air and waters over and off the island is clearly escalating not only cross-Straits tensions, but those between Washington and Beijing as well.

Although the US Navy described Wednesday's passage of the destroyer USS Barry through the Taiwan Straits as a "routine t***sit", the message is clearly provocative to Beijing, and instigative to those on the other side of the Straits who seek the island's separation from the motherland.

Such new developments are dangerous in that they are in clear disregard of the three joint communiqués that both Beijing and Washington have long considered the foundation of their relations.

The increasing disregard of Beijing's core interests and concerns by politicians in Washington has devastating potential should it break Beijing's bottom line. They should not be deceived by a false show of advantage, and so desire what would be ruinous.

Well the President of the United States has said he cannot waste his time answering to american People at a town hall event where v**ers get to ask Trump a question. But that’s Trump he is losing and answering to AMERICAN v**ers is not one of his stronge points. Especially if the v**er gets to ask a follow up question. So while Biden stands in front of the AMERICAN people and answers there questions Trump will sit on his fat ass in the White Eating McDonalds and tweet tweet tweet tweet tweet tweet tweet tweet tweet tweet tweet and more tweets and more tweets and more tweets. Donald Trump is a coward.

Trump is on drugs he has to show for that debate

Okay I have a question why is it when Trump got C****av***s he did not drink a glass of bleach or sniff some Lysol

You haven't a clue of the desires of God, especially the long term view. What having Trump has done sitting in the White house, has shown us all of our weaknesses in our constitution, it has shown us the corruption, it has shown us the r****m that still exists in this country. It has shown us the changes that need to be made. So yes God has acted divinely and his work is still not done, we may have to go through some very dark times before we emerge as a better country for its people, and four more years would do just that.

I already made clear why I care~~ when you falsely accuse me you better be able to back it up because I will call you out on it every time...

Suffice it to say once again we will allow our posts to speak for themselves. I made an offer to you and you refused it which was expected. But at least it was there.

We are here in anonymity as you say, yet it is our word that defines our character and which people use to measure the worth of the persons reasoning and integrity too..
It is a forum, after all, and we decide the credit worthiness of what a person is saying by what they share and express in opinion or fact... If there is no credibility then there is nothing...

A good way to end this post~~”All we are on here are voices, with avatar names, or not, with fictitious pictures or not..”

I complained about that money spent just like I complain about the waisted tax money on golf which this president plays on his own golf courses. He does charge the American public to house his team of Secret Service. Obama played 333 rounds of golf in 8 years 98% on military golf courses where the Secret Service stayed at military accommodations. Trump has spent 266 days in 3 years where airplane trips to his Mar-a-Lago Club and residence in Florida, from which he has often taken a motorcade ride to a nearby golf course he owns, have required far more air travel than Obama's once-a-year Hawaii vacations did through this point in the term.

The New York Times
Sarah Kliff
,President Donald Trump spent three days in the hospital. He arrived and left by helicopter. And he received multiple c****av***s tests, oxygen, steroids and an experimental antibody treatment.

For someone who isn’t president, that would cost more than $100,000 in the American health system. Patients could face significant surprise bills and medical debt even after health insurance paid its share.

The biggest financial risks would come not from the hospital stay but from the services provided elsewhere, including helicopter t***sit and repeated c****av***s testing.

Trump has praised the high quality of care he received at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and has played down the risk of the v***s. “Don’t be afraid of C***d,” Trump tweeted on Monday, before returning to the White House. “Don’t let it dominate your life.”

Across the country, patients have struggled with both the long-term health and financial effects of contracting c****av***s. Nearly half a million have been hospitalized. Routine tests can result in thousands of dollars in uncovered charges; hospitalized patients have received bills upward of $400,000.

Trump did not have to worry about the costs of his care, which are covered by the federal government. Most Americans, including many who carry health coverage, do worry about receiving medical care they cannot afford.

For some Americans, the bills could start mounting with frequent tests. Insurers are generally required to pay for those tests when physicians order them, but not when employers do.

The Trump administration made that clear in June, when it issued guidance stating that insurers do not have to pay for “testing conducted to screen for general workplace health and safety.” Instead, patients need to pay for that type of testing themselves. Some might be able to get free tests at public sites, and some employers may voluntarily cover the costs. Others could face significant medical debt from tests delivered at hospitals or urgent care centers.

C***D tests can be expensive. Although they typically cost $100, one emergency room in Texas has charged as much as $6,408 for a drive-through test. About 2.4% of c****av***s tests billed to insurers leave the patient responsible for some portion of payment, according to the health data firm Castlight. With 108 million tests performed in the United States, that could amount to millions of tests that leave patients responsible for some share of the cost.

Marta Bartan, who works as a hair colorist in New York City, needed a c****av***s test to return to her job this summer. She received a $1,394 bill from the hospital running the drive-through site where she was tested.

“I was so confused,” said Bartan, who is contesting the bill. “You go in to get a C***D test expecting it to be free. What could they have possibly charged me $1,400 for?”

The bills for the typical American would continue at the hospital, with the routine monitoring that any patient would receive and the drugs provided in the course of care.

Remdesivir, a new c****av***s treatment created by Gilead, costs $3,120 when purchased by private insurers and $2,340 with public programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

Trump also received an experimental antibody treatment from Regeneron. It’s currently available to clinical trial participants or to those granted a “compassionate use” exemption. In either situation, the drug would typically be provided to the patient at no charge. This will most likely change, however, when the treatment finishes trials and hits the commercial market. These types of drugs are hard to manufacture, and other monoclonal antibodies cost thousands of dollars.

Health economists are only starting to understand the full costs of c****av***s treatment, just as scientists are mapping out how the disease works and spreads. They do have some early estimates: The median charge for a c****av***s hospitalization for a patient over 60 is $61,912, according to a claims database, FAIR Health

That figure includes any medical care during the hospital stay, such as an emergency room visit that led to admission or drugs provided by the hospital.

For insured patients, that price would typically be negotiated lower by their health plan. FAIR Health estimates that the median amount paid is $31,575. That amount, like most things in American health care, varies significantly from one patient to another.

In the FAIR Health data on c****av***s patients over 60, one-quarter face charges less than $26,821 for their hospital stay. Another quarter face charges higher than $193,149, in part because of longer stays.

Many, but not all, health insurers have said they will not apply copayments or deductibles to patients’ c****av***s hospital stays, which could help shield patients from large bills.

Uninsured patients, however, could be stuck with the entire hospital charges and not receive any discounts. While the Trump administration did set up a fund to cover c****av***s testing and treatment costs for the uninsured, The New York Times has reported that some Americans without health insurance have received large bills for their hospital stays.

The biggest billing risk for a patient receiving treatment similar to Trump’s would probably come from helicopter rides to the hospital.

Air ambulances are expensive and often not in major health insurance plans’ networks. The median charge for an air ambulance is $38,770, according to a study in the journal Health Affairs published this year. When the helicopter trip is out of network — as about three-quarters of them are — patients are left with a median charge of $21,698 after the insurance payout.

Taking two helicopter rides, as Trump did, could plausibly result in more than $40,000 in medical debt for patients without access to their own aircraft (though of course most people do not leave the hospital by helicopter).

The financial consequences of a c****av***s hospitalization could be long-lasting, if a new Supreme Court challenge to the Affordable Care Act is successful. That case argues that all of Obamacare is unconstitutional, including the health law’s protections for preexisting conditions. The administration filed a brief in June supporting the challenge.

The Supreme Court hears that case on Nov. 10. If the challenge succeeds, C****-** could join a long list of preexisting conditions that would leave patients facing higher premiums or denials of coverage. In that case, c****av***s survivors could face a future in which their hospital stays increase their health costs for years to come.