Tag: Corruption
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The Trump Loyalty Question
More than 140 years after the Pendleton Act began dismantling the spoils system, nurses and firefighters applying for federal jobs are facing “loyalty tests,” being asked how they will help advance the president’ priorities. On Friday, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to stop asking applicants for federal jobs a question that has so…
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“Integrated Military” Ballroom
Donald Trump appears to be building against a court’s schedule. His term ends at noon on January 20, 2029. One may well watch the construction and wonder: which deadline does he think is real? The president now calls his $400 million ballroom a “military/ballroom complex.” On Friday, Chief Justice John Roberts allowed construction of the…
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Trump Nepo Government
Would-be kings assemble royal courts and hand out titles to family and friends. On Monday, Donald Trump signed an executive order creating the President’s Military Spouse Commission and naming Jennifer Hegseth, wife of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as its chair. Christie Mullin, wife of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, also serves on it. Add them…
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Trump Confession
A government that funds its friends and defunds its opponents is using public money as an instrument of loyalty. This week, Trump administration lawyers admitted in a federal court filing that the Department of Energy canceled 284 grants “based solely on the political identity of the grant recipient’s state.” In plain terms: a state voted…
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Trump Foreign Election Fund
Where the United States used to try to export the ideals of democracy, now it has put right wing influence on a grant schedule. On Monday, July 13, the State Department published a grant offer aimed at Europe. Nearly five million dollars, split among two or three winners, including funding for research on mass migration’s…
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Trump Sells Wall Street Faster Access
The president is selling a subscription service to milliseconds of access. On Thursday, Trump Media and Technology Group announced a product they are calling “Truth API.” It will sell the fastest access for trading firms to posts from Truth Social’s ten highest-ranking accounts. The company’s list includes Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and…
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Trump Coin
Today a coin celebrating our independence carries the face of the man in power. Today, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled a one-dollar gold coin bearing the face of Donald Trump. The United States Mint will begin making it this year to mark America 250. Until now, the tradition has been that living leaders do not…
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Trump Plane
Our nation celebrates its birthday this week while the president flies in a gift from a royal court. Yesterday on July 1, Donald Trump took the first flight on his brand new Air Force One, a $400 million Boeing 747 given to the United States by the royal family of Qatar. The Air Force has…
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UFC White House Fight
These are the things we will look back on and try to explain — how the country’s treasured spaces were taken, one by one, by a single man to mark his birthday. In two weeks, on June 14th, a UFC match will be held on the South Lawn of the White House. Since 1777, June…
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The Slush Fund
This system is being constructed before our eyes. This week, Donald Trump’s Justice Department settled a lawsuit against plaintiff Donald Trump. The price: 1.776 billion taxpayer dollars, a formal apology, and a memo declaring the IRS can never audit his old tax returns. The 1776 million is now a fund the Justice Department is calling…
Notes To My Future Self 