So who exactly is using the taxpayer funded helipad at Mar-a-Lago?

Courtesy of the Palm Beach Daily News:

On Dec. 22, 2017, the Friday before Christmas, the new helipad at Mar-a-Lago was used for only the second time. A private business helicopter with the corporate Trump logo landed and took off from there a few hours before President Trump’s arrival in the area via Air Force One. The only other time the new helipad has been used was on April 8, 2017. In that instance it was also a private business helicopter with the corporate Trump logo that landed and took off. 

Helicopter takeoff and landing in the town of Palm Beach is strictly regulated, as one might expect. Essentially, it is limited to only emergency helicopters such as Trauma Hawk. 

So when President Trump moved to have the federal government build a helipad at Mar-a-Lago for him, he had to seek a waiver from normal town rules to allow for helicopter take off and landing. The issue was taken up at the Jan. 10, 2017, Town of Palm Beach Town Council meeting. Under the advisement of long-serving Town of Palm Beach legal counsel John “Skip” C. Randolph, the Town Council voted 5-0 to grant the waiver with the caveat that it only be for government, not personal or private sector, use. Specifically, it designated Mar-a-Lago for the “take-off and landing of helicopters pursuant to the provisions of Section 14-34 of the Town Code of Ordinances during the term(s) of office of the President-elect Donald J. Trump for business related to the Presidency only.” 

Given that both times the helipad has been used a private business helicopter with the corporate Trump logo landed and took off, it would seem to violate the waiver allowing “for business related to the Presidency only.” This is not an issue of politics and has nothing to do with whether one does or does not agree with President Trump’s policies. This is an issue of the rule of law and no one — not even the President of the United States and not even in Palm Beach — should or can be above it.

Apparently the local officials have no idea who is using this helipad, and for what purpose.

Courtesy of the Palm Beach Post: 

“I wish I could answer that,” said Palm Beach Mayor Gail Coniglio about who was using the helicopter and why. “If that’s the case and it’s being used for official business, so be it.” 

Even Battalion Chief Sean Baker, spokesman for Palm Beach Fire-Rescue, said he has “no clue” who is using the helicopter, adding that Fire Rescue is “called to Mar-a-Lago when the Secret Service needs us.” 

The local residents are kind of fed up.

Neighbors and residents complained that the council had not given enough public notice before agreeing to modify the aircraft ban and build a helipad. 

“It is one thing to bring in Marine One with the president on it. It is another thing to bring in helicopters with the president not on it, or private helicopters,” Jesse Diner, attorney for Palm Beach resident Nancy deMoss, said at a February Landmarks Preservation Commission meeting. “So there needs to be a restriction on use as far as that goes to only Marine One when the president is on it.” 

Their concern: noise, downdraft, personal use of the helipad by friends, family and Mar-a-Lago members and setting a precedent for other residents to seek their own helipads.

So to be clear taxpayer money paid for a helicopter landing pad that has only been used twice, and most likely not for any government related business.

And really is this a surprise to anybody?

Donald Trump claims that he turned down the offer to be Time's Man of the Year. Time Magazine says "Wait, what?"

Time Magazine called to say that I was PROBABLY going to be named “Man (Person) of the Year,” like last year, but I would have to agree to an interview and a major photo shoot. I said probably is no good and took a pass. Thanks anyway!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 24, 2017

No idea what compelled Trump to send this out today.

After all he was Time Magazine's Man of the Year last year.

Donald Trump is TIME's Person of the Year 2016 #TIMEPOY https://t.co/5pTGOksevE pic.twitter.com/N8BtqTu9Nl

— TIME (@TIME) December 7, 2016

However the magazine was quick to refute Trump's suggestion that he was asked and turned this year's offer down.

The President is incorrect about how we choose Person of the Year. TIME does not comment on our choice until publication, which is December 6.

— TIME (@TIME) November 25, 2017

This is crazy, even by Donald Trump standards.

But then you have to remember that Trump has a weird history with Time Magazine.

You know, like the time he had a fake cover with his face on it put up in Mar a Lago.

Fake Time Magazine, cover, right, hung on Mar-a-Lago wall near entrance. @TB_Times @realDonaldTrump @TIMEMagUSA pic.twitter.com/xwMs6kisYH

— Scott Keeler (@SKeelerTimes) June 27, 2017

Just a reminder that we could have had a sane person in the White House.

But no. 

P.S. You can actually vote on who will ultimately win by clicking here.

A Russian oligarch's yacht is anchored less than ten miles away from Mar-a-Lago right before Doanld Trump arrives for Thanksgiving. Coincidence?

Roman Abramovich

Courtesy of The Hill:

A prominent Russian oligarch with ties to President Vladimir Putin has docked his 500-foot yacht in the Port of Palm Beach just days before President Trump makes his way to Mar-a-Lago. 

Roman Abramovich docked his yacht, which is estimated to be worth between $400 and $500 million, at the port on Friday afternoon, and is expected to stay until Dec. 5, according to The Palm Beach Post. 

Abramovich's arrival comes days before Trump is set to arrive at his Florida resort, dubbed the Winter White House, for the Thanksgiving holiday. There have not been reports or signs that the two are meeting. 

Abramovich owns London’s Chelsea Football Club and is the largest shareholder of Russia's second largest steel company. He is reportedly close with the Russian president. 

First daughter Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have met with Abramovich and his wife before. 

I don't know about reporters in Florida, but if that were MY beat you can bet your ass I would be camped out at that port for the entire holiday weekend just waiting for the meeting that we just know is certainly going to take place.

You know one of the things that is so galling about all of this is how careless these people have been, and yet they are still afforded the benefit of the doubt by some folks in the media, and of course by virtually all conservatives.

Let's face it at this point they are just rubbing our faces in their obvious collusion.

This story about Donald Trump refusing to help a dying man at Mar a Lago essentially sums up his presidency.

Trump was afraid to help a dying man at Mar-a-Lago because he was bleeding https://t.co/3SXrwziabU pic.twitter.com/jxgesI2FJz

— Justin Miller (@justinjm1) September 28, 2017

There you go.

Why would Trump care about a protester being killed in Charlottesville?

About people being denied health care in this country?

Or about American citizens dying in Puerto Rico?

He simply doesn't care.

And if he is so heartless that he can even turn away when somebody is dying right in front of him.

Then how can any American really believe he would care about them?

(Here is the original article.)

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington are pissed at getting the runaround from Trump.

Here's more courtesy of Bloomberg: 

A government transparency group vowed on Friday to continue a court battle to open up visitor logs at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, after the administration provided only the names of Japanese staff who attended a February visit from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. 

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, one of three government transparency groups that sued the Department of Homeland Security for the information, obtained and released the records on Friday. 

The Justice Department said in a letter to CREW that the records were responsive to the group’s request under the Freedom of Information Act. “The government seriously misrepresented their intentions to both us and the court,” CREW Executive Director Noah Bookbinder said in a statement. “This was spitting in the eye of transparency. We will be fighting this in court.” 

CREW and other ethics specialists have criticized Trump for not divesting from his business holdings -- including Mar-a-Lago and other properties he visits -- saying they provide an avenue for those seeking influence to curry the president’s favor.

This kind of arrogance on the part of Trump and his businesses will ultimately only bring more heat in their direction.

And that last part is becoming a real issue now that we are learning just how much Trump himself is benefiting financially from using Mar-a-Lago as his "winter White House."

Courtesy of WaPo: 

On a weekend in early March, during one of seven trips by Trump and his White House entourage to the posh Palm Beach property since the inauguration, the government paid the Trump-owned club to reserve at least one bedroom for two nights. 

The charge, according to a newly disclosed receipt reviewed by The Washington Post, was $1,092. 

The amount was based on a per-night price of $546, which, according to the bill, was Mar-a-Lago’s “rack rate,” the hotel industry term for a standard, non-discounted price. 

The receipt, which was obtained in recent days by the transparency advocacy group Property of the People and verified by The Post, offers one of the first concrete signs that Trump’s use of Mar-a-Lago as the “Winter White House” has resulted in taxpayer funds flowing directly into the coffers of his private business.

I am very hopeful that these groups really turn the screws on Trump and bring transparency to what is now perhaps the most secretive administration since Richard Nixon's.

Don't feel outraged enough? Well this rundown of Trump family expenses compiled by Newsweek should remedy that.

Who needs to repair roads and build infrastructure when we can spend taxpayer money on these assholes?

Courtesy of Newsweek:  

President Trump's trips to Mar-A-Lago 

Total cost for security in Palm Beach: $3.7 million 
Roundtrip flights from Joint Base Andrews, Maryland to West Palm, Florida: $700,000 
Overtime for local law enforcement during Trump’s trips: $60,000/day 
Total golf cart rentals ordered by the Secret Service "for POTUS visit": $35,185 
Loss to business due to airport closure: -$30,000/weekend 

Keeping the first family in Trump Towers 

Request for additional Secret Service funding to secure Trump Towers: $60 million 
New York Police Department security costs: $127,000-$146,000/day 
"Elevator services" ordered by the Secret Service: $64,000 
Air Force One flights to New York City: $180,000/hour 

The Trump children's trips around the world with Secret Service 

Eric Trump’s hotel costs in Uruguay: $97,830 
Eric Trump’s hotel costs in the U.K. this week: $11,261 
Eric Trump’s limousine services in Dublin: $4,029.85 
Rental ski equipment and clothing for secret service during Ivanka Trump's trip to Aspen: $12,208 
Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Tiffany Trump’s hotel costs in Vancouver: $53,155 
Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump’s hotel costs in Dubai: $16,738 

The provided costs don't even include airfare rates for Secret Service agents taking each trek with the Trumps, nor does it include the data on those agents’ salaries and other expenditures taxpayers may be footing the bill for. 

I think we all know that this is really only a fraction of what is being spent on this gold plated white trash family.

So not only is this the worst presidency in American history, by far.

It is also the most expensive presidency in American history, by far. 

I'm confused. Was the "Make America Great Again" slogan supposed to actually be interpreted as "Make America Bankrupt Again?"

Just asking.

7 charities so far have bailed on Mar-a-Lago.

Courtesy of The Hill:

Another charity has canceled an event planned at President Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, marking the seventh group to scrap fundraising events at the luxury Palm beach, Fla., club. 

The Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach said on Facebook Saturday that it had pulled its annual dinner dance from Trump’s Palm Beach estate. 

“Given the current environment surrounding Mar-a-Lago, we have made the decision to move our annual dinner dance,” the group wrote. 

The local nonprofit is “dedicated to protecting and celebrating the unique architectural and cultural heritage of Palm Beach,” the organization said in the statement. 

The local charity follows other major nonprofits such as The American Friends of Magen David, the American Cancer Society and the Cleveland Clinic in pulling out from the location. 

The groups’ announcements all come as Trump faces massive backlash for saying “both sides” were to blame for violence at the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville.

The thing that Trump cares the most about is his businesses.

I have to imagine that once Trump realizes that his stint in the White House is forever damaging his brand and his ability to make money that he will seriously consider trying to find some way to get the hell out.

Which by the way is the same prediction that Trump's ghostwriter on the "Art of the Deal" came up with as well: 

"The circle is closing at blinding speed," Tony Schwartz, who CNN reports spent more than a year with Trump writing his 1987 memoir, tweeted August 16. "Trump is going to resign and declare victory before Mueller and congress leave him no choice."

Sadly that still leads us with a President Mike Pence.

But hey, at least the planet will no longer be in danger of exploding. 

The president who promised to "put Americans back to work" is hiring dozens of foreign nationals to work at his private clubs.

This interview by the way took place in July of last year, but if anybody thought Trump was going to change tactics once he became president they simply don't know Donald Trump.

Courtesy of NPR: 

The Trump Organization is asking the federal government for special visas to hire scores of foreign workers for two of President Trump's private clubs in Florida — the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach and the Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter. 

The requests for H-2B visas, posted on the Department of Labor website, are for 26 cooks, nearly 50 waiters and waitresses, plus housekeepers, a hostess and a bartender. The jobs range in pay from just under $12 to less than $14 an hour. Mar-a-Lago and the Jupiter club have relied on foreign workers in past years for staffing during their peak seasons, which run October through May.

This year, the request for foreign workers comes in the middle of "Made in America" week at the White House. 

Trump, who has had his own line of ties manufactured overseas, says he wants U.S. companies to focus this week on ways to create more opportunities for American labor. The Trump Organization hasn't responded to questions about the visa requests.

The thing that gets me about this is that it will MAKE NO DIFFERENCE.

The Trumpsters are unable to accept the reality of any negative information about Trump period, the rest of us are so exhausted from the overwhelming amount of hypocrisy that is coming from the White House that we can barely muster any more outrage.  

It is like our ethical nerve endings have been numbed down to the point of abject indifference.

And that is fucking dangerous, because it is EXACTLY what Trump and his administration are counting on.

As suspected Donald Trump is using the presidency to gain more wealth.

Yesterday Trump's 2017 financial disclosure was released.

I started to read through it in order to write an in depth analysis, before realizing that I don't know shit about finances and going to the movies instead.

However there are others who did not sleep through their economics classes, and THEY have made some discoveries.

For instance The Atlantic discovered that Trump is using his office to make his properties more profitable:   

President Trump says he’s received tens of millions of dollars in income from the golf courses and resorts whose profile he boosted during frequent visits since taking office, according to filings released Friday by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. 

The 98 pages of financial disclosures offer a partial snapshot of Trump’s income and assets from January 2016 to April this year, as well as indications he’s reaped at least a partial windfall since his most recent filing with the Federal Election Commission last year. The filings offer less detailed information about his precise financial situation than would be obtained from his tax returns. Trump broke with modern precedents by refusing to release those returns on the campaign trail or during his presidency.

Properties that Trump frequently visited as president saw the largest boost in income. Trump claimed more than $37 million in income from Mar-a-Lago, the Palm Beach County resort in Florida he described as his “Winter White House,” as well as $20 million in income from the nearby golf club he owns in Jupiter, Florida. His claimed Mar-a-Lago income rose rapidly since his last two financial disclosures with the FEC: Trump reported more than $15 million in income from the resort in the 2015 report, followed by $29 million in the 2016 version.

So apparently while we were all criticizing Trump for constantly visiting golf clubs and resorts instead of working, he was in fact using his office to draw attention to them and make them more profitable.

Which, in my opinion, is actually much worse.

Here is a president who may be slow to respond to national disasters because he is too busy doing free advertising for one of his many commercial properties.

However the report is not all good news for Trump's finances, because we also learned that he owes hundreds of millions of dollars and may not be nearly as wealthy as he claims.

Courtesy of Raw Story:  

President Donald Trump had personal liabilities of at least $315.6 million to German, U.S. and other lenders as of mid-2017, according to a federal financial disclosure form released late on Friday by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. 

Trump reported income of at least $594 million for 2016 and early 2017 and assets worth at least $1.4 billion. 

Only 1.4 billion in assets huh?

Now I'm sure that Trump would dispute this and claim that it only shows a portion of his "vast wealth," but until we see his tax returns this is really all we have to go on.

And having over 300 million in liabilities certainly does not speak well of his money management skills either.

Using the White House to make money, while lying about his wealth, and owing creditors over 300 millions dollars.

THAT is who the Russians, and of course deplorables, thought should run this country.

Yeah, that impeachment thing really cannot happen soon enough in my opinion.

Here is a breakdown of what it has cost the American taxpayers so far to have Donald Trump as our president.

Courtesy of Yahoo News:  

President Trump's trips to Mar-A-Lago 

Total cost for security in Palm Beach: $3.7 million 

Roundtrip flights from Joint Base Andrews, Mayland to West Palm, Florida: $700,000 

Overtime for local law enforcement during Trump’s trips: $60,000/day 

Total golf cart rentals ordered by the Secret Service "for POTUS visit": $35,185 

Loss to business due to airport closure: -$30,000/weekend 

Keeping the first family in Trump Towers 

Request for additional Secret Service funding to secure Trump Towers: $60 million 

New York Police Department security costs: $127,000-$146,000/day 

"Elevator services" ordered by the Secret Service: $64,000 

Air Force One flights to New York City: $180,000/hour 

The Trump children's trips around the world with Secret Service 

Eric Trump’s hotel costs in Uruguay: $97,830 

Eric Trump’s hotel costs in the U.K. this week: $11,261 

Eric Trump’s limousine services in Dublin: $4,029.85 

Rental ski equipment and clothing for secret service during Ivanka Trump's trip to Aspen: $12,208 

Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Tiffany Trump’s hotel costs in Vancouver: $53,155 

Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump’s hotel costs in $16,738 

The provided costs don't even include airfare rates for Secret Service agents taking each trek with the Trumps, nor does it include the data on those agents’ salaries and other expenditures taxpayers may be footing the bill for. The budget was expected to naturally increase based on the size of the Trump family as compared to the size of his predecessors, but critics are concerned the billionaire first family hasn’t acknowledged that it's not him paying for his trips, it's the American people.

It is estimated that Trump's trips to Mar-a-Lago alone will cost more than President Obama's entire yearly travel expenses before his first 100 days. 

So I guess this is what Trump was talking about when he said he wanted to Make America Great Again.

Apparently that just meant for him and his family.

Apparently Trump is using that brand new helipad the taxpayers bought him in Mar-a-Lago to land his private choppers.

Trump-branded private helicopter lands on new Mar-a-Lago helipad built for Marine One https://t.co/ZaIIkGIR8I pic.twitter.com/pV8NvAYjqs

— The Hill (@thehill) April 9, 2017

Courtesy of The Hill: 

A Trump-branded private helicopter was spotted at President Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday, landing on a helipad that was built last month. 

 The blue and white chopper with "Trump" in bold red letters landed on the newly completed helipad on Trump's private resort, the Palm Beach Daily News reported. 

The pad was built to allow the president to travel on Marine One from Palm Beach International Airport to his resort without blocking traffic — though the new travel plan will not change Secret Service-mandated closures surrounding Mar-a-Lago. 

President Trump was not in the helicopter when it landed Saturday, and has not yet used the new helipad for his weekend travel, according to the Palm Beach newspaper.

So wait, Trump is not even using the helipad to go back and forth from Washington to Florida, but it IS being used by his private helicopters to shuttle others to his resort?

Fuck this asshole who treats the presidency like he is the monarch of all he surveys!

Secret Service on verge of collapse under strain of protecting the First Family.

Courtesy of The Independent:  

Protecting Donald Trump's family is putting a major strain on Secret Service agents, a senator from the US leader's Republican Party has claimed. 

"They are flat worn out," Jason Chaffetz told The New York Times, adding that more staff were needed to keep up with the demands. 

The agency has seen staff levels drop to approximately 250 agents and 350 administrative and technical staff, but it currently has around 40 per cent more people under its protection than in previous non-campaign years. 

Mr Trump's wife Melania and son Barron are currently living in New York's Trump Tower and agents have also been required to guard his four adult children and their families. 

The US leader has also requested protection detail for aides like Reince Priebus and Kellyanne Conway. 

As a result, dozens of agents have been temporarily pulled off criminal investigations to serve two-week stints protecting members of the first family.

So the Secret Service cannot conduct in depth criminal investigations because they have to split their forces between Washington, Florida, and New York and also protect the likes of Kellyanne Conway? 

Is this what the deplorables voted for?

You know perhaps the first thing that Donald Trump could do to attack the deficit is to insist that his wife and son join him in the White House, like EVERY OTHER PRESIDENT BEFORE HIM!

But instead he guts the EPA and takes 9.2 billions from education.

This is how Trump makes America great again. 

Donald Trump lashes out at his staff over the Sessions' recusal and then stomps off to Mar a Lago to pout.

Courtesy of the Daily Mail: 

Donald Trump erupted into a 'ballistic' Oval Office tirade against his senior staff for failing to fight off Sessions' recusal amid Russia links and told Priebus and Bannon they weren't flying on Air Force One to Florida, before storming out, reports have claimed. 

The president was seemingly expecting a celebratory week following his praised speech to Congress on Tuesday but after a fresh round of Russia allegations, Trump was furious over the 'mini disaster' according to multiple accounts. 

He was allegedly especially upset over Attorney General Jeff Sessions' decision to recuse himself from all FBI investigations regarding Russia on Thursday and took it out on his senior staff the next day. 

In his 'ballistic' rant, Trump gave his aides a verbal lashing and told chief of staff Reince Priebus and chief strategist Stephen Bannon they wouldn't be accompanying him on Air Force One to Florida, before storming out on Friday. 

In less than 24 hours after his blow out with staff, Trump released a series of tweets that accused Obama of authorizing a wiretapping on Trump Tower right before the election and called it 'McCarthyism'. 

Ah, now that puts Trump's Twitter tantrum in perspective.

He got his fee fees hurt and lashed out. 

Okay this is now my feel good story of the weekend. 

I knew that the pressure would make Cheeto Hitler lose his orange tinted shit.

The Trump presidency costliest in history.

Courtesy of Politico:  

In a letter to New York City's members of Congress, New York Police Department Commissioner James O’Neill said the “unique and unparalleled” challenge of having police and fire officials protect President Donald Trump’s family, home and office for the 75 days between Election Day and Inauguration Day comes to a cost of $25.7 million, down from an earlier estimate of $35 million. 

Going forward, O’Neill said he expects the NYPD to spend between $127,000 and $146,000 per day protecting First Lady Melania Trump and her son, Barron, while they reside in Manhattan, on top of an additional $4.5 million in expenses annually for the Fire Department of New York going forward.

Those costs, O’Neill said in the letter dated Feb. 21, will “increase significantly” whenever the president is in New York City. Trump has not visited New York City since moving into the White House on Jan. 20.

New York is not the only place feeling the burden of financing Trump's expensive presidency.

Courtesy of Pop Sugar: 

During his first month as president, Trump has spent three weekends at what he has dubbed "The Southern White House" — also known as the golf club he owns, Mar-a-Lago. The Washington Post estimates those three trips have cost the federal treasury approximately $10 million — which doesn't include West Palm Beach's municipal costs that the county plans to request federal reimbursement for. 

Comparatively, conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch reported that Obama's administration spent an average of $12.1 million a year for travel. If Trump continues to spend weekends at Mar-a-Lago, he will spend taxpayer's money at a rate exponentially higher than Obama did. On top of the cost to protect Trump while he is in Florida, the federal government also has to foot the bill for protecting him and his family in New York City. 

According to The Guardian, securing Trump Tower has cost the city nearly $500,000 a day — which would total nearly $183 million a year. The Defense Department and Secret Service have also reportedly attempted to rent space in Trump Tower, meaning that taxpayer money might actually line Trump's pockets. Trump's time in New York City could be viewed as a personal trip and compounds the already high expense it costs to protect the president. The Washington Post also reported that Eric Trump's recent business trip to Uruguay cost the government $100,000 in hotel fees. 

And let's not forget that Trump used to constantly complain about how much the Obama presidency was costing the taxpayers.

We pay for Obama's travel so he can fundraise millions so Democrats can run on lies. Then we pay for his golf.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 14, 2014

Hypocrisy much?

I do not think it is in any way an exaggeration to suggest that this will be the most expensive presidency in history, and in fact might remain so for decades to come.

And it is simply NOT necessary.

If Trump wanted to he could save the country multiple millions of dollars simply by moving his family to the White House and taking his little excursions to Camp David like just about every president before him.

But he won't. He is used to a certain lifestyle and he has no intentions of changing it.

And let's face it who in his administration would have the guts to call him out over it?