Well........

https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/28/politics/deutsche-bank-trump-fraud-trial-testimony/index.html

 

I wrote about this a month or two ago, and look, pretty much what I said.

The bank Trump is accused of defrauding not only made a profit on the "fraudulent" loans, not only was happy with the result of the transaction, but also did their own evaluation of Trumps estimates and revised them to a point where the bank was happy and chose to write the loans.

 

At this point, if Trump is convicted of fraud there's no question in my mind that it is a political hit job and should be overturned as soon as it can get before an appeals court.

 

I'm not quite a sure about this as I am about the Fraud thing, but after seeing the J6 footage that had been, hidden,  and seen the body cam footage, I'm not sure that the narrative of J6 is quite as cut and dried as the powers that be insist that it is. 

 

 

More fun with Hamas, recent reports edition...

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-775725

Because why would we expect the UN and Hamas to tell the Truth on something like this.  

 

 https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/article-771102

Ahhhhhh, the religion of peace.  It's perfectly normal to eat people's skulls, drink people's blood, and assert that Hitler didn't go far enough.  

 

 https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/ampr/date/2023-11-28/segment/01

 

In a CNN interview Hendricks doesn't seem to quite be able to single out Hamas as perpetrating violence against women.   Just more of the false equivalency swill Dan spews.  

GOLODRYGA: Is there a reason, though, Sarah, that you can't specifically call out Hamas and the mounting evidence now over seven weeks that Israeli

investigators have collected that we've shown our viewers about the atrocities they committed specifically on October 7th? Because I think

that's the crux of the issue here. It's not just condemning sexual violence against women and in any war in general, it's specifically what occurred on

October 7th, perpetrated by Hamas?

HENDRIKS: Indeed. U.N. Women always supports impartial, independent investigations into any serious allegations of gender-based or sexual

violence. And within the U.N. family, these investigations are led by the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights.

And just to provide a little bit of context in terms of U.N. Women's role, U.N. Women specifically provides and has extensive knowledge on gender-

based violence, and provides and supports investigations as we do with all U.N. investigations.

And so consequently, in this context, and within the U.N. system, it is the Independent International Commission of Inquiry, which for us has the

mandate to investigate all alleged violations. It is absolutely important for the rights, for the needs, for the protection, for the dignity for the

survivors of violence to be supported throughout a process. And that's why we work through these globally mandated mechanisms.

That notwithstanding, we understand certainly we encourage and support national level efforts. The ones that you've heard about today, the Civil

Commission in Israel, which has brought together women's organizations to document gender-based atrocities impartially. Our work will be on the back

side of the Independent International Commission. And so, I hope that clarity is helpful (ph).

 

 

 https://www.nationalreview.com/news/not-a-single-cent-germany-joins-european-union-in-pulling-funding-for-u-n-palestinian-aid-group/

 

It looks like Germany and other European countries are reconsidering their aid to UN Palestinian aid group due to their distribution of antisemitic material, and had members who engaged in terrorism.    Seems like giving aid the this group deserves a careful review.  

 

 https://twitter.com/Deanik_k/status/1729485982544630211

Because this is appropriate behavior.  

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-775777

Because the UN should be paying teachers who hold hostages in their attic, and because some doctors can just ignore that whole Hippocratic oath thingy. 

Are the "Greens" the modern day Simon Legree?

https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/drc-mining-industry-child-labor-and-formalization-small-scale-mining

 

 https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251800/congo-cobalt-mines-china-child-labor

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/02/01/1152893248/red-cobalt-congo-drc-mining-siddharth-kara

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/01/child-labour-behind-smart-phone-and-electric-car-batteries/

 

One of the key components of the "green" energy future which is allegedly "carbon free" is rechargeable batteries.   Without rechargeable batteries, solar and wind power become relatively useless on a large scale.  Without rechargeable batteries, electric vehicles become useless for more than one trip.   Unfortunately, those batteries need Cobalt, and much of the Cobalt mining in the world is controlled by Chinese companies (the CCP), and these countries use slave labor.   

There is ample evidence that within China, slave labor is used regularly.   Above we see evidence that China uses slave labor in it's African mining operations, including child labor.  

Apparently, as long as this slave labor is kept out of sight in Africa, then it's just the price some people are willing to pay for "green" energy, new iPhones, laptops, Apple Watches, and all sorts of things that make life better.  

It looks like we have a grand total of one Cobalt mine in the US (where our laws would prevent slave labor and other nasty things), and it looks like it'll be the only one here for the foreseeable future.  Obviously Cobalt from this mine in Idaho will be more expensive than that from the Congo.   The production costs will be higher because the US pays it's workers more than slaves make, actually has requirements to protect the environment, and the ore needs to be transported to Brazil to be refined.    The question becomes how much more will the "greens" be willing to pay for batteries for their electric future?  

Finally, the fact that the future of "clean energy" rests almost entirely on petroleum is ignored.   

 But as long as y'all can feel superior driving your electric cars and promoting inefficient wind and solar, more power to you.

 

 

FYI,   the last time I replaced my cell phone I did some extensive research on the existence of phones that are are not the product of slave labor.   At that time, 2019 ish, there were virtually no options that were slave labor free.   Since I'm not one of the iPhone groupies that runs out and stands in line for the new one every time they come out, it'll likely be a couple of years before I replace mine.  When I do, I'll do the research again before I buy.  

Cochise

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/29/us/politics/arizona-election-indictment-cochise-county.html 

This story is interesting.  Cochise Co AZ indicted two Supervisors for delaying certification of the 2022 election.   This particular race had the closest margin of victory in the race for Atty General in the state.  There were also indications of possible fraud.   Ultimately it'll be interesting to see how this case comes out, because the validity of the indications of fraud will be integral to the defense and will have to be explored in court.   While the standard of proof should be whether or not they had a reasonable suspicion of fraud, it'll likely dig into any actual fraud that may or may not have occurred.   

What's disturbing about this case, is that delaying election certification is apparently something that actually has a process when it is necessary.     If delaying election certification is something that is legal and is done correctly, it seems abhorrent to see people indicted for doing something legal according to the procedure established.   Right now, it looks like one more example of a DFL body of government, persecuting their political opponents. 

Offensive

Last Sunday a child went to see the Chiefs play a game at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.   This young fan decided to go all in and do the face paint and headdress.   Shockingly enough, the child makes it on TV and a do gooder "journalist" takes this outrage and runs with it.  The picture showed a child with their face painted black (not brown as if trying to match the skin tone of an African American or a Native American, but black).   We're talking a black that matches the skin tone of absolutely no one on planet earth.   But despite that the outrage is on.   Then we get some more information, we see a picture that shows the whole story (not the one intentionally used to sell a narrative), and learn that the other half was red (team colors ish).    Well the social justice types were in a tizzy and jumped all over the Chiefs for allowing this outrage.   But wait, the Chiefs have already banned the headdress at the stadium they actually play in and control, the question should be why the Raiders allowed this outrage.    But wait, it gets better.   The headdress was actually authentic because the child in question was a Native American who's father was a tribal leader.   

Remember, when you are a journalist, NEVER EVER let all of the facts get away of a story that advances a left wing narrative.   NEVER bother to do research before you splash your "scoop" all over social media.  

I hope that this family sues the crap out of this idiot and his employer.

BVMLTT!!!!!!

https://www.newsweek.com/black-lives-matter-leader-endorses-trump-everybody-else-sucks-1842100

 

I've wondered for a few years why any demographic group would repeatedly support a political philosophy that promises so much and delivers so little.   While I don't particularly agree with a political philosophy predicated on "You vote for us and we'll give you lots of stuff.", that has been the bargain that many demographic groups have made with the DFL.   I'm guessing that the contrast between the last two administrations has really hit home, and it's causing folx to question the Faustian bargain they'd made.  Obviously, we'll see what happens during the actual election. I'm not going to get my hopes up but eventually I'd think that folx would either change their votes, or stop voting at all.  

https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/11/there-is-no-trans-genocide/

Here's a Name...

https://www.timesofisrael.com/families-of-hostages-still-in-gaza-during-lull-in-fighting-face-enduring-nightmare/ 

Kfir, Kfir, here's a name y'all could and should be chanting loud and clear.   An innocent 10 month old girl held hostage while her family suffers.    

The fact that Hamas is still holding her hostage is unconscionable.  The fact the we hear virtually no calls from the pro "palestine" side of things in the US or the west is simply vile. 

Random Hamas Tidbits

https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-interrogation-video-hamas-terrorists-confirm-groups-hideout-under-gaza-hospital/

Obviously the IDF should never have searched the Al Shifa hospital, because heaven forbid that we inconvenience sick children to rescue children held hostage.   

https://nypost.com/2023/10/13/hamas-seen-holding-kidnapped-israeli-children-babies-in-footage/

Of course all to many on the political left will buy this bullshit.  

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/hamas-attempt-to-separate-mothers-from-children-delays-hostages-release-461135

Because Israel is the bad guy here.

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/hamas-attempt-to-separate-mothers-from-children-delays-hostages-release-461135

So, let me get this straight.  Hamas brutally and barbarically engages in an unprovoked attack on innocent Israeli citizens.  During this attack, they kidnap innocent women and children.  They then exchange these innocent women and children for a violent terrorist who detonated a car bomb in a neighborhood full of innocent women and children.    Hamas just won.  

https://www.jns.org/released-palestinian-prisoner-investigated-for-inciting-more-terror/

Biden pressured Israel into releasing this woman in exchange for innocent women and children?   What in the hell was he thinking?   Oh, never mind....

 

Speaking of Biden....

 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTngjnPqi-I

How many US prisoners were released as part of this "cease fire" agreement?   Why is Biden content to allow US hostages to remain in captivity?  

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-62785404

Apparently this is what passes for due process with Hamas.   

https://twitter.com/buttonslives/status/1728206681547629040

I can't even find the words.  

Meanwhile back in the US.

https://nypost.com/2023/11/25/metro/jewish-teacher-hides-in-queens-high-school-as-students-riot/

https://abc7.com/brentwood-pro-palestinian-protest-jewish-family/14100225/

https://www.israelhayom.com/2021/12/15/93-of-east-jerusalem-arabs-prefer-israeli-rule-poll-shows/

But wait, Israel oppresses Arabs...

https://nypost.com/2023/10/17/king-abdullah-ii-opposes-allowing-palestinians-into-jordan-egypt/

Why won't Jordan and Egypt allow those in Gaza to exercise their innate human rights?   Why doesn't this bother leftists when non US countries do this?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/25/israel-hamas-rape-sexual-violence/

Despite video evidence to the contrary, a Hamas spokesman says that women and children weren't targeted.   Also says that it's all Israel's fault.    Seriously, this is what y'all are supporting. 

Voter Fraud

https://sos.ga.gov/news/state-election-board-refers-voter-fraud-cases-prosecution-0

 

 https://apnews.com/article/mishandled-ballots-bridgeport-connecticut-election-security-70f95f347dfa1e581a6955027d64ae2

https://www.heritage.org/voterfraud/search?state=CT

As my earlier post made clear, election security is not a partisan issue with me.   The fact that these two recent cases are DFL supporters is not the point.  

What is the point is that we see these cases of election fraud, and how many of them involve things that could be eliminated by minimizing/controlling absentee voting and identifying voters, that it seems stupid to conclude that these are two areas that should be improved.  

I know that some folx will say that it's only a few instances and that it's not worth doing much about.   The reality is that if it's this easy to do on a "small" scale, then why wouldn't these folx do it on a larger scale.  Further, it doesn't take many votes in a few precincts to make significant swings in the statewide results.   

But, it's not a big deal, right?

https://apnews.com/article/voting-machines-georgia-lawsuit-cybersecurity-d8a4653211bf19c21d3b9dc2d59a7a6

https://www.mediaite.com/news/is-there-a-conspiracy-theory-you-dont-believe-bill-maher-shocked-with-oliver-stone-question-about-2020-election/

It's amazing how quickly the APL will dump someone who they've previously idolized when that person doesn't blindly accept the narrative.

Cruel and Unusual?

 As we all know Derek Chauvin was stabbed last week in prison.  Reports to the contrary, it seems as though he will survive.    Given the refusal of the Dept of Corrections (apparently) to segregate him from the general population, doesn't it logically follow that his attack is a result of the Dept of Correction?   Obviously, it could be argued that his own actions are what is ultimately responsible which isn't incorrect.  But the reality is that the Dept of Corrections should have a responsibility to keep prisoners safe in prison. shouldn't they?   Especially when there is one like Chauvin who would logically be a target for retaliation in prison.  

Thanksgiving

 Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends!   

I may or may not have the opportunity to maintain moderated comments between now and Monday. 

A Good Narrative.

"I have been to the Al Shifa hospital several times as a reporter during the #Israel #Gaza war in 2014 and also afterwards. It is a vast complex. I have personally seen #Hamas fighters there. Everyone in #Gaza including #UN staff knows about dual use of these facilities."

 Jan Franke

 

So, it appears that it's been well known since 2014 that Hamas has had a significant presence under that AL Shifta hospital in Gaza.  It also appears that all to many people have chosen to ignore, or minimize this knowledge and to blame the IDF not Hamas for casualties to any "patients" in the hospital.   

 Despite the narrative, the IDF allowed or facilitated to movement of premature babies to Egypt for continued treatment.   But hey, why let a good narrative be spoiled by the facts.     

Hamas Wins.

 According to recent reports there is a cease fire plan close to being approved.   In this plan Hamas gives back some of the hostages it took on 10/7, and nothing else.  While Israel gives Hamas a cease fire, and returns around 100 Hamas terrorists captured while engaging in attacks against Israel.    Since that US is involved in this, I can't help but suspect that Biden has pushed this unbalanced agreement through because he desperately needs a "win" to satiate his political base.  It'll likely be portrayed in the MSM as a huge victory for Biden and that he's "made peace" between Israel and Hamas.    Further, I suspect that when Israel resumes it's justified response for 10/7 and it's righteous attempt to recover the rest of the hostages held by Hamas, they will be portrayed as breaking or violating the cease fire.  I can only imagine what pressure and threats Biden used against Israel to get them to agree to this absurd, imbalanced, deal.

For all y'all who've been demanding a cease fire without the return of all the hostages, or who support this cease fire, you're officially supporting Hamas winning.   You now support Hamas continuing to hold hostages and to use them to achieve the goals it had when it launched the 10/7 attacks.   Congratulations you're on the side of terrorists holding hostages in order to keep it's guilty from being punished and freeing terrorists to fight again. 

Ethnic Cleansing

 Jewish Population 1948 v. 2023

Egypt-----  between 63-80,000 v 500 or less

Syria------ 40,000 v. 1,000 or less

Iran------ 100,000 v. 8500 or less

Iraq------ 50,000 v. 5

Saudi Arabia, no exact numbers but Saudi had a thriving Jewish community when Muhammad lived, which has dwindled to virtually zero today.  

Arabs in Israel   156,000 v. 2,100,000

I could go on, with other Muslim countries, but I think the point is made.  Suffice it to say that under Sharia law it is illegal for Jews and Christians to worship or practice their faith in public. 

But hey, Iran holds the chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights, while Iran and other Muslim nations are some of the worst countries when it comes to basic human rights. 

Election Security Revisited

https://apnews.com/article/mishandled-ballots-bridgeport-connecticut-election-security-70f95f347dfa1e581a6955027d64ae2

 

I wrote about this earlier, and wanted to do a quick update.    When I first wrote about this there were some skeptical comments and we now see that the original story was accurate.  Now, is this evidence that the 2020 election was flawed, no.   But it seems reasonable to conclude that if a local democrat party hack would go to such lengths to rig a relatively meaningless local election, that they just might do the same in other elections.  

I want to reiterate that my stance on elections is non partisan.  I highly value the right to vote that our founders gave us, and believe that the right of eligible citizens to cast their vote must be protected.  I am not complaining about wins or losses, I am championing the protection of everyone's votes.  

To that end, I would propose the following.  Borrowed from Vivek Ramaswamy and edited. 

• Election Day as a National Holiday: The majority of Americans are not entitled to time off on federal holidays and, currently, only 29 states and Washington, D.C. require employers to give employees time off to vote in general elections. Only 23 of those states require that time off to be paid. 
• Single-Day Voting: I recognize that there should be some means for people to vote who are truly not able to go to the polls on election day, and have no problem accommodating those people.  However, the right to vote is precious and having to put forth some effort to vote is not necessarily a bad thing.  I would also be fine with voting on two consecutive days as well.
  
• Voting on Paper Ballots Only: The majority of states have already transitioned to paper ballots. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, 93% of the ballots cast in 2020 had a paper record.
• Government-issued voter ID matched to the voter file: In 2020, nearly 29 million voting-age U.S. citizens did not have a valid driver’s license, the most common form of photo ID used to fulfill voting requirements. 

I would also suggest some limits on reporting of the vote.  I believe that the media does have the power to influence voting by how they report the early returns in the Atlantic and Central time zones.  I'm not sure how this would look, but it's something to consider.  Maybe requiring states not to report any figures publicly until 90% of the votes are in.    I would also suggest that any precinct that reports more votes than registered voters, should automatically be  audited by an outside auditor.  

Double Standard Brazilly edition.

https://themessenger.com/politics/bill-maher-donna-brazile-vivek-ramaswamy-racism

 

Frequently, in the debates about immigration, we hear people say that the immigrants who have come to the US without following the legal process should go home or go back where they came from.  We are frequently told that when conservatives do this, or even ask where someone is from or what their background is, that this is explicitly racist behavior and cannot be allowed.   We are also told repeatedly that black people cannot be racist.   

This is quite a conundrum as Donna Brazille clearly is telling Vivek R to go back "home", despite the fact that he is a native born US citizen.  The fact that she further chooses to repeatedly mispronounce his name and plays her "mistakes" for laughs is just icing on the cake.  She is clearly engaging in behavior that is objectively racist (as we've been told), yet seems to be getting a pass on it.

Innocent?

https://x.com/marionawfal/status/1726317211541704799?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

 

 https://www.memri.org/tv/palestinians-gaza-west-bank-celebrate-october-seven-massacre-hand-out-sweets-fire-guns

It's videos like these which make me seriously doubt the narrative of "innocent" civilians in Gaza.   It's easy to diminish the tens/hundreds of millions of Muslims/Arabs who actively engage in terrorist activities, but it's hard to argue that those "innocent" civilians who loudly celebrate terrorist attacks aren't part of the problem.  

https://x.com/johnrwoodjr/status/1725905733777232235?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

Or if we didn't see so many videos like this where "peaceful" Muslims argue for more attacks like 10/7.  

https://x.com/foxnews/status/1725629327763456357?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

What?!???!?!?!?!?!?!?    A riot that was scarier than J6, no it's simply not possible. 

Well?

https://winteryknight.com/2023/11/20/fbi-halted-investigation-of-pedophile-to-target-republican-voters/ 

As we watch hours of footage previously kept hidden by the J6 committee, and see that the vast majority of the J6 protesters were peaceful and that the Capitol Police were not acting as if the protesters were a threat, one has to wonder about the whole thing.

Then we see the story linked above, and have to ask if the FBI is unable to continue it's investigation of a pedophile, while being used for political purposes.

I stay consistent in saying that anyone engaged in rioting should be punished.  But it's looking more and more like many of the J6 protesters got screwed by the justice system.

We're Right!!

"For centuries, traditionalist/conservative folks in the Christian tradition have tried to define the "Gospel of Jesus" as fairly exclusively being a theology that defines "good news" as "the good news that most of humanity is going to be condemned to an eternity of torment by a 'loving god' who rejects most of humanity as unworthy of God's grace..." etc and MANY folks in other Christ-ian traditions have rejected that vision of "evangelism" and "good news" as being representative of Jesus' teachings. But rather than just releasing "good news," "gospel" and "evangelism" as words that conservatives own and can define, WE use those words in ways that we believe to be more faithful to Jesus' actual teachings."

 

Instead of dealing with the the actual text of the Geneva Conventions and how they demonstrate that the IDF is not engaging in war crimes, or with the actual text of the Hamas charter, Dan has chose to attack me.  He's chosen to do so by asserting that I am trying to tell Muslims what they should believe.  That I am imposing my interpretation of scripture on others and insisting that I can dictate the correct meaning that should be believed.  

The obvious place to start is by noting that Dan has absolutely zero evidence to prove his claims.  No quotes of me saying what he claims I've said, no links to these quotes, nothing.  Just Dan insisting that I am engaging in these practices that he's falsely accused me of.  

But, then I see the gen above.   Dan is literally placing his own personal hunches about how scripture should be interpreted and what everyone should believe over "centuries" of "Christian tradition".  He's pronounced that "WE" are "more faithful to Jesus actual teachings" than everyone else.   Ignore the royal we, we al know he means himself and maybe a few people he personally knows, not some huge movement.   Let's focus on his claims that "WE" know "Jesus' actual teachings", to the exclusion of everyone else.   Let's focus on his argument that the existence of some groups who believe something different automatically invalidate the beliefs held for "centuries" by orthodox Christianity.  

 What I'm reading here sound like a modern offshoot of the Gnostic heresy.   Sounds like someone demanding that either everyone must believe "Jesus' actual teachings" as divined by Dan, or that it's a theological free for all with everyone's beliefs all being equally correct.

Unionize

Historically in the US the labor and public employee unions have supported and been supported by the DFL.  The DFL is the party of the American political left.   Also on the far left of the American political spectrum is Starbucks, the Seattle based coffee chain.    Today the employees of Starbucks are planning to stage a one day walkout because Starbucks corporate has refused to allow them to vote to unionize.   Also historically, the APL/DFL has claimed to be the party that represented the "working"  people of the US.  They have championed things like minimum wage increases, and membership in unions for decades.  Yet, somehow, Starbucks which (as a company) leans to the left and supports many leftist and woke positions has come to the conclusion that allowing it's employees to unionize would be bad for the corporation.   It sure seems hypocritical that a left leaning corporation has chosen not to provide their employees with a pay/benefits package that would prevent them from wanting to unionize, while also preventing them from even voting to unionize.   It seems like a betrayal of some cherished dogma of the APL, as well as being hypocritical.   I seriously doubt that the rest of the APL will go after Starbucks for their position, ignoring the hypocrisy.   I also seriously doubt if Starbucks will cave to their employees without being forced to.   What I take from this is that all to many folx on the left will support all sorts of things, up until the point when they have to put their money where their moths are.  At that point, they'll opt for what's better for themselves (the rich, white, old, white, corporate leaders) and tell their employees to screw off.  

 

Hypocrites.  

The A in Zillow Stands for Accuracy

 As I've been idly following the Trump trial, I've realized a few things that convince me that this trial is more of a political stunt than anything else.

As I understand the issues, the state's biggest claim is that Trump inflated the values of real estate he used for collateral for loans.   I'll point out a few problems with this.

1.  Real estate value isn't static.  It changes regularly.

2.  Everyone who's ever taken out a mortgage hopes that the appraiser "over values" the property.   There are things that can be done to influence the appraiser (in a legal and ethical way) to value the property higher rather than lower.  In this case, it sounds like the Trump folks listed values that were higher than the state believes are accurate.  

3.  The only accurate way to establish a value on a piece of real estate is to sell it.  A piece of real estate is only worth what someone will pay for it.   Zillow lost huge amounts of money because they failed miserably at accurately valuing real estate.   Any other valuation of real estate, a CMA or an appraisal, is an estimate.  

4.  If the lender was concerned about the valuation that the Trump folks put on the buildings, they had every right to hire an appraiser to give their opinion on a more correct valuation.

5.  Finally, and most importantly, Trump paid of the loans.   When a lender loans money, their primary goal is that the loan plus the interest are paid in full at or before the end of the loan term.   Nothing else matters.   In this case, regardless of the value of the property in question, the loans were paid.  The only potential problem could have been if the loans went into default and the collateral buildings would have needed to be sold to pay off the loans.    But even if the buildings sold for less than the estimated value when the loans were written that's still not fraud, it's the reality of the real estate market.

6.  For the last 50 years, real estate, has appreciated at roughly 4%/year.  Even after the crash of 2006-8, real estate was back on (actually briefly above) that 4%/year trend.   Therefore even if the real estate was "over valued" at the time of the origination of the loan, it's likely that normal appreciation would have taken care of ant discrepancy during the term of the loan.  

7.  At this level of real estate investing and lending, personal relationships are key.  It's likely that the lenders had a track record of business with Trump and weighed that more heavily than anything else.  

8.  Oh, yeah.  The loans were paid off. 

The I'm going out of town and wanted to post all of this stuff post.

https://news.yahoo.com/hamas-member-says-repeat-attacks-065643206.html

 Tell us what you really think.

 

 https://abc7.com/westlake-village-elderly-jewish-man-dies-pro-palestine-rally-demonstrators/14019727/

Just a coincidence, nothing to see here, move along now.  

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/21/world/middleeast/yemen-famine-children.html

"More than 85,000 Yemini children died under the nose of Muslims. That's 21 times more than what's happened in Gaza. 30,000 children were killed in the Syrian conflict, that's nearly 8 times more than what's happened in Gaza. Nobody came out for these children in London, Paris, New York, Sydney, Toronto. None of these Muslim influencers started any trend like #StopGenocideInYemen or #StopGenocideInSyria. They don't care about Muslim lives, it's all about their religion and politics."

 

Apparently, much like black lives, only some dead children matter to the left.   

 

 https://twitter.com/StopAntisemites/status/1721193930551623760

Again, ignore the antisemitism on American streets from the American left.   It's not really a thing.  

 

 

https://twitter.com/arifaajakia/status/1721394754338873361

This is what concern for innocent children looks like, apparently.

 

 

https://twitter.com/thecjpearson/status/1721323163811004761

This is really what black democrats think of black voters.   Or at least one black democrat.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/bill-maher-slams-critics-west-183938331.htm

More wisdom from Maher.  One wonders why Dan can't be this reasonable?

News

 The Quds News Network posted a picture of a wrecked ambulance and claimed that it was targeted by an Israeli airstrike.   

Unfortunately, the picture shows a virtually intact ambulance that ran over a horse and is apparently an old picture to boot.

Of course Quds News Network is not really a news network as most would consider one.  Instead it's purpose is "According to QNN journalist Ahmed Yousef, "the ultimate mission of Quds News is not about business or journalism but to promote the Palestinian fight against Israel.".    So why anyone would re post or use QNN as a source for anything factual is beyond me. 

The Truth Hurts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yysKhJ1U-vM

Let's not kid ourselves, Bill Maher is without question a liberal.  He's outspoken about his politics and his liberal worldview.   That's what makes this video even more compelling.  It's not some right wing wacko ranting, it's a popular left wing TV host making intelligent and cogent points.    

I'll be honest, I probably disagree with Bill Maher on 90% of things, but I have a massive amount of respect for him as being one of the few on the left who's willing to look at what is happening on his side of the aisle and to call it out publicly.  

?!??!??!?!?!?!?Nooooooooooooooooooooo?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?

 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0265407518779139

" The current study sought to describe the demographic characteristics of individuals who are willing to consider a transgender individual as a potential dating partner. Participants (N = 958) from a larger study on relationship decision-making processes were asked to select all potential genders that they would consider dating if ever seeking a future romantic partner. The options provided included cisgender men, cisgender women, trans men, trans women, and genderqueer individuals. Across a sample of heterosexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and trans individuals, 87.5% indicated that they would not consider dating a trans person, with cisgender heterosexual men and women being most likely to exclude trans persons from their potential dating pool."

 

????????!!!!??????What?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!???????? 

How can this possibly be????????????????

Heterosexual men and women don't want to date "trans" people, the very notion that a heterosexual man would want to date another man (with male body parts), who identifies as a woman is insane.   

What ever happened to people being able to date other people who they find attractive without being shamed and ridiculed to the "trans" lobby?

Cease Fire

 One of my pastor friends posted on social media today all upset about what is happening in Gaza, and calling for an immediate cease fire.   What a strange position.  Hamas still holds numerous hostages, many of them women and children.    Hamas has months worth of necessities, but refuses to provide them to the people of Gaza.   Hamas hides it's high value targets in places where civilians will be killed, knowing that the deaths of these civilians will spark outrage.   Israel warns these human shields that they should leave, and Hamas makes sure they don't leave.  It's like PR is more important than the people they allegedly govern.   In short, it's absurd to even consider a cease fire until Hamas, at a minimum, surrenders all of the hostages they currently hold.   To do so would be a win for Hamas, and their tactic of using the people they allegedly govern as cannon fodder.  

What are the leaders of Hamas saying, from their homes outside of Gaza?

"We need the blood of women, children, and the elderly of Gaza... so as to awaken our revolutionary spirit."

Ismail Haniyleh

"We will repeat the October 7 attack time and again until Israel is annihilated: we are victims- everything we do is justified."

Ghazi Hamad

Why would any civilized person reward Hamas for sacrificing the women, children and elderly of Gaza, engaging in barbarous behavior, and taking innocent women and children hostage?   

When a street thug tries to mug someone and gets their ass kicked, or worse,  the street thug is responsible for whatever happens to them.

When an armed robber tries to rob a store and gets their ass kicked, or worse,  the armed robber is responsible for whatever happens to them.

When someone breaks into a home to rob or murder the occupants and gets their ass kicked, or worse,  the criminal is responsible for whatever happens to them.  

When Hamas engages in a surprise attack, barbarously kills innocent civilians, kidnaps women and children, then hides behind "civilians", somehow any negative consequences are all the fault of the victim of the unprovoked attack.