Donald Trump

[Selene]

Is there art in Trump's architecture or only Trump?

--Brant

Both, or, neither, the finished product is what counts and the fact that it is built to me.

That "Watermelon Slice" vs. "Sail" view, was instructive to me because I hadn't "framed" any opinion yet, however, I was astounded by the base of the structure and thinking what "architectural critics" said about the Flat Iron building in downtown Manhattan.

A...

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

This speaks for itself:

 

On the cover of @TIME Magazine—a great honor! pic.twitter.com/zlEHp49oPs

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)

August 20, 2015

 

 

Drip... drip... drip...

 

 

Michael

[Selene]

His press conferences are real examples of Dagny's press conferences over the John Galt line...

The way he took apart that "journalist" over the Anchor Baby "question" that was not a question was perfect and was the way I always handled the press in that specific situation.

Also, for any youthful OLers, or, visitors...get used to hearing about the Silent Majority because you are about to hear from it's voice and it is going to be very loud and very uncompromising and long overdue for an eruption.

A...

[Brant Gaede]

Is there art in Trump's architecture or only Trump?

--Brant

Both, or, neither, the finished product is what counts and the fact that it is built to me.

That "Watermelon Slice" vs. "Sail" view, was instructive to me because I hadn't "framed" any opinion yet, however, I was astounded by the base of the structure and thinking what "architectural critics" said about the Flat Iron building in downtown Manhattan.

A...

I've always liked the Flat Iron building. It's so perfect for it's location. My fav skyscaper has always been the Empire State then the Chrysler then the main bldg in the Rockefeller complex (of which I was once a tourist on top of just like Ayn and Frank had been before in that wonderful late 1940s photo). I didn't like the twin towers until, like so very many others, they had been built then humanized by the famous tightrope walk. Here is one main way my mind has always worked in a kind of natural default--also, in contradistinction, I admit I've yet to develop a true entrepreneurial mind set as that is not something that comes naturally to me: When I saw the first drawings of the buildings to be on the front page of The Daily News--it must have been not later than the mid 1960s--I thought, oh, oh. What if a big airplane accidentally flies into one of them? How will they fight the fire? (I was thinking of the B-25 that collided with the Empire State bldg in 1943 or 44.) I considered a solution: they ought to put a big swimming pool on top of each with duct work draining each pool down to any floor a fire might be on and flood it out.

After 9/11 I found the most likely cause of the collapse was that during construction the use of asbestos in building construction was banned by the City Council of New York, so they stopped using asbestos in the insulation coating the Towers' structural steel. This left an inferior substitute that was inadequate and the steel bent. An engineer wrote a letter to the Times--published after the ordinance was passed--who claimed that the result would be that any serious fire would cause a complete structural collapse. Now, there was asbestos consideration to workers doing the cleanup after 9/11. That's because each tower had some asbestos already on the steel, one significantly higher up than the other. just both below the airplanes' points of impact.

To dog leg this, the towers should never have been built in the first place by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. It was a government creation of a glut of unneeded office space distorting and pushing aside private enterprise in the area for office construction. It was part and parcel of the Rockefeller big government building era capitalized by all the buildings they put up in Albany to house all the corrupt politicians infesting the state government who infest it still and have made themselves politically invulnerable to be turned out of office by the voters. The alternative is death or debility or a prosecutor bringing credible charges. (They recently nailed a big one.) When the Democrats get a hold of governance in a way they can't be gotten rid of, massive corruption and incompetence follow. New York City is at risk, New York State is gone, Illinois is at risk, Chicago is gone. Detroit is way gone; Baltimore is probably a goner. Washington, DC's only hope is the Federalies taking over. Puerto Rico is gone, at least for now. California is way gone. Massachusetts is two-party going to be gone but it still needs to get going. Oregon is gone in an urban screw the rural orgy of liberal righteousness.

--Brant

[Peter]

"A lot of people don't know economics," said Trump on August 17 on CNBC in Michigan. "I went to the Wharton School of Finance. I was really good at this stuff."
end quote

Adam wrote: Also, for any youthful OLers, or, visitors...get used to hearing about the Silent Majority because you are about to hear from it's voice and it is going to be very loud and very uncompromising and long overdue for an eruption.
end quote

I wish. I worry that Trump will be the crony capitalist that he appears to be. Who would I trust the most to not be a sap? Right now, Ted Cruz.

Brant wrote: When the Democrats get a hold of governance in a way they can't be gotten rid of, massive corruption and incompetence follow.
end quote

Is Trump going to be any better? What will he do with his business interests? Will he profit from his time as President? Hell yes. Will he let his crony's profit? Hell yes. And I base this on my summation of his ethics, personality, and sheer gall.

I will be interested in anyone’s rebuttal.
Peter

Notes: FCPA Professor, Thursday, September 30th, 2010, A Double Standard? Part III: A government official sets up a foundation to aid local organizations. It is funded by business entities that often turn to the government official for help – and usually succeed in getting such help. Over a six week period, a company sends at least $45,000 in donations to four charitable programs founded by government officials – just as the companies were seeking approval of favorable legislation. Another company supports a fundraiser for the scholarship fund of a government official. Another company sponsors a sport competition to help the favorite food bank of a government official. Another company subsidizes a spa outing in a popular tourist destination to aid the charity of a government official. Another company helps sponsor a golf tournament benefiting the foundation of a government official. Another company acknowledges that it participates in government officials’ charitable events to get access to the officials to push the company’s agenda.
end quote

Trump Slams FCPA Law, Killing American Business By Martin Gould | Tuesday, 15 May 2012 10:25 AM
Donald Trump attacked the law that bans American companies bribing foreign officials on Tuesday, saying the United States has no business being the “policeman of the world.” Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Trump said U.S. authorities shouldn’t be prosecuting Americans who adopt the customs and practices of the countries in which they are trying to do business. “This country is absolutely crazy,” Trump said. “They prosecute people for going over to China and Mexico and other countries and getting business and creating jobs in this country.”

Trump was speaking specifically about the scandal that has enveloped Wal-Mart, which has been accused of paying millions of dollars to Mexican officials as it expands into that country. The company is being investigated under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

The FCPA, which was signed into law by President Jimmy Carter, makes it illegal for American businesses to make bribes to foreign officials, unless the laws of the country specifically allow such payments. Speculation has grown in recent weeks that Rupert Murdoch’s News Group could also be hit under the act for paying off British officials in return for leaking newspaper stories.
But Trump called for the act to be overturned. “Let Mexico or let China or let these other countries prosecute,” he said. “Why are we prosecuting to keep China honest? “Every other country goes into these places and they do what they have to do,” Trump pointed out. “It’s a horrible law and it should be changed. We are like the policeman for the world. It’s ridiculous.”

Staples founder Tom Stemberg, who was on the show with Trump, agreed. But he said companies should include overseas bribes in their financial statements. “Disclose it,” Stemberg said. “Make people put it in a proxy that we spent $227 million making payments to foreign officials, so it’s out there. “Donald’s right,” said Stemberg. “And for those do-gooders who say this shouldn’t happen, disclose it. “The slippery slope is already there. You either do business or you don’t.”

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

The lovely ladies keep getting better and better:

 

 

 

They bring up a point I have seen talked about by several blacks: when a black American commits a crime, he goes to jail. When an illegal immigrant commits a crime, people want to give him amnesty.

 

I easily see The Donald getting the majority of the black vote once he is nominated.

 

Michael

[Jonathan]

Klum versus Trump:

Heidi Klum Takes Down Donald Trump Again, And It's Even Better Than Round 1"Every woman is a 10."

Over the weekend, Donald Trump decided it was necessary to tell the New York Times how he felt about Heidi Klum's looks.
“Heidi Klum. Sadly, she’s no longer a 10," he told the newspaper.

On Monday, Klum went ahead and posted a genius video response to The Donald's ridiculous comment (which was ridiculous on multiple levels -- 1) she's gorgeous, and 2) how she looks is none of his GD business) on Facebook.

But just to rub his ignorance in his face a little more (will he even notice?), the supermodel spoke to Access Hollywood about the situation, explaining just how rude the comments are.

"Personally, I have no idea what I have to do with the election," she said while speaking of some of the candidates. "But really, the whole entire situation about women is not really funny, you know to put a number on a woman, especially women."

She continued, "We juggle so many things and I feel that, you know, women who support their families, who have children, who make their lunches, drive them all over the place, work at the same time, I mean, we do so many things, so in my book, every woman is a 10."

Truer words have never been spoken. Thank you Heidi, for putting Trump in his place. Now if only he'd get the hint.

So, let me see if I have this straight.

Heidi Klum, who has made her entire living off of her good looks, and has done very, very well for herself, is now upset about the idea of looks being judged and rated?

In Klum's opinion, every woman is a 10? Hmmm. Has she brought that same attitude to casting and selecting the models for Project Runway? Or has she judged the women applicants in the same way that Trump judged her? Or perhaps even more selectively than Trump did? I've seen the show, and its regular models all look the same: tall, thin, size 2, beautiful, runway-perfect -- in other words, what the fashion industry considered to be 10s.

On the show, there are regular models who return each week, and, about once per season, there will be a special episode in which "plus size" women get to temporarily step in as the models -- it's viewed as kind of a special challenge for the designers (who sometimes bully and embarrass the larger women because they don't conform to the designers' notions of physically ideal women). Anyway, if all women are 10s, why do Klum and her associates on the show call certain women "plus size"? It sounds as if they believe that there is a proper size -- Klum's size, and the size of the regular models that she selects for the show? -- and that women who are larger than that size are freaks or in some way abnormal, and anything but perfect 10s.

And why is it that Tim Gunn, a man, is the person pushing for an entire season of "plus size" models? If all women are 10s in Klum's eyes, why hasn't she, from the first show onward, just randomly select women applicants of all shapes and sizes, sight unseen, by drawing their names out of a hat?

Is Klum a misogynist for having used the same rating system that Trumps uses, and for having earned her wealth from it? Perhaps she's worse than Trump because he doesn't hire women based only on their looks conforming to very rigid standards, where Klum has? Is her method of selecting models for Project Runway an "attack on all women"? Is she guilty of waging a "war on women"?

J

[Selene]

Of course Klum is not and will float the false argument that she has "no power to be a misogynist."

She is just "complying" with the misogynistic perception of women.

It is the same careless argument made about racism.

Those Philadelphia could not be racists because they had no power to be...I guess the batons and other items being brandished were not power.

[Brant Gaede]

Klum versus Trump:

Heidi Klum Takes Down Donald Trump Again, And It's Even Better Than Round 1"Every woman is a 10."

Over the weekend, Donald Trump decided it was necessary to tell the New York Times how he felt about Heidi Klum's looks.

“Heidi Klum. Sadly, she’s no longer a 10," he told the newspaper.

On Monday, Klum went ahead and posted a genius video response to The Donald's ridiculous comment (which was ridiculous on multiple levels -- 1) she's gorgeous, and 2) how she looks is none of his GD business) on Facebook.

But just to rub his ignorance in his face a little more (will he even notice?), the supermodel spoke to Access Hollywood about the situation, explaining just how rude the comments are.

"Personally, I have no idea what I have to do with the election," she said while speaking of some of the candidates. "But really, the whole entire situation about women is not really funny, you know to put a number on a woman, especially women."

She continued, "We juggle so many things and I feel that, you know, women who support their families, who have children, who make their lunches, drive them all over the place, work at the same time, I mean, we do so many things, so in my book, every woman is a 10."

Truer words have never been spoken. Thank you Heidi, for putting Trump in his place. Now if only he'd get the hint.

So, let me see if I have this straight.

Heidi Klum, who has made her entire living off of her good looks, and has done very, very well for herself, is now upset about the idea of looks being judged and rated?

In Klum's opinion, every woman is a 10? Hmmm. Has she brought that same attitude to casting and selecting the models for Project Runway? Or has she judged the women applicants in the same way that Trump judged her? Or perhaps even more selectively than Trump did? I've seen the show, and its regular models all look the same: tall, thin, size 2, beautiful, runway-perfect -- in other words, what the fashion industry considered to be 10s.

On the show, there are regular models who return each week, and, about once per season, there will be a special episode in which "plus size" women get to temporarily step in as the models -- it's viewed as kind of a special challenge for the designers (who sometimes bully and embarrass the larger women because they don't conform to the designers' notions of physically ideal women). Anyway, if all women are 10s, why do Klum and her associates on the show call certain women "plus size"? It sounds as if they believe that there is a proper size -- Klum's size, and the size of the regular models that she selects for the show? -- and that women who are larger than that size are freaks or in some way abnormal, and anything but perfect 10s.

And why is it that Tim Gunn, a man, is the person pushing for an entire season of "plus size" models? If all women are 10s in Klum's eyes, why hasn't she, from the first show onward, just randomly select women applicants of all shapes and sizes, sight unseen, by drawing their names out of a hat?

Is Klum a misogynist for having used the same rating system that Trumps uses, and for having earned her wealth from it? Perhaps she's worse than Trump because he doesn't hire women based only on their looks conforming to very rigid standards, where Klum has? Is her method of selecting models for Project Runway an "attack on all women"? Is she guilty of waging a "war on women"?

J

Gee. Until now I didn't think there was anything wrong with using a double standard--that we should embrace hypocrisy and stupidity, not just honesty and intelligence and mix everything up like I do. So I thought.

Bummer.

--Brant

a wasted life

I wonder what would be my dress size if I were to have a sex change operation? (I have a coupon in the mail from yesterday--good for a month or so--from a snip clinic in Kingman, AZ with a very good reputation)

[Marc]

This speaks for itself:

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Drip... drip... drip...

Michael

Not trying to bug anyone here about stock market stuff again but the old adage is to short Time magazine . Bubble . pin . poof . bye-bye

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Not trying to bug anyone here about stock market stuff again but the old adage is to short Time magazine . Bubble . pin . poof . bye-bye

My God!

Did I just smell the sizzle of roast crow?

(looking around innocently)

Where did that come from?

Michael

[Reidy]

Donald Trump and Paris Hilton share an occupation: publicity whore. Paris Hilton is better at it.

This is my last post to OL. I cannot respect anyone who takes Trump seriously.

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

This is my last post to OL. I cannot respect anyone who takes Trump seriously.

I admit, I don't have much respect for ideologues who talk like this.

Be well, Pete.

You are always welcome here should your silly control freak phase pass.

If it's suddenly us against them, I am definitely not in your game.

Michael

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Come to think of it, I know O-Land quite well by now.

The issue is not that this person doesn't respect someone who supports Trump.

So long as Trump is losing, there is plenty of respect. And a pat on the head with a tsk, tsk, tsk, poor foolish Michal for supporting the blowhard as icing.

The problem arises when Trump starts winning and he does not fit a media caricature. And then when people interested in Objectivism start agreeing and actually looking into the issues Trump raises.

That is a huge problem for control freaks.

This problem is not a principle thing. It is a social thing where a principle should be.

I see it all the time in O-Land.

This kind of attitude is the antithesis of what OL is about.

I mean it when I say if a person stays, that is good for OL. If a person goes, that is good for OL.

Nobody, and that means nobody, including me, will dictate on this forum what candidate others have to vote for and promote.

We have a member I love who actively supported Obama, both times if I recall correctly. I hold intense dislike of Obama, that's no secret, but I highly respect and love this person. I respect his right to his views. And he expressed his views at his own will without any restrictions whatsoever.

That is OL.

Those who don't like this kind of freedom and independence don't do well here.

Michael

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Meanwhile, back to Trump:

 

 

This is what I respect.

 

 

Michael

 

 

EDIT: Here is an excellent commentary on Trump blasting mind-control through PC language to smithereens.

 

 

Forget O-Land sore-losers. The key word being "lose." Now Trump even has Jeb Bush coming around.

 

Read it, watch it, and weep, to those who this applies.

[Brant Gaede]

After Mom gives birth just deport her and her baby (or put it up for adoption) and let it have citizenship for starters on dealing with illegals. It is already policy that a US citizen child has to be 21 to petition for members of his family to legally immigrate into this country.

tothepointnews.com ($)

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Trump's approach to political propaganda:

 

>

>

It does matter!

Posted by Donald J. Trump on Tuesday, August 18, 2015

 

Short, sweet and one-message simple for the viewer, meme-heavy and stings for the target.

 

Having studied this stuff, I see how much skill goes into crafting something like this. On the surface, it's kinda ugly and unpolished. Impact-wise, it works and works well.

 

It's funny, but Ayn Rand knew how to do this stuff when she created fiction. For some reason she stopped when she went into nonfiction. That's probably one of the reasons her fiction sells oodles more than her nonfiction.

 

Michael

[Marc]

Come to think of it, I know O-Land quite well by now.

The issue is not that this person doesn't respect someone who supports Trump.

So long as Trump is losing, there is plenty of respect. And a pat on the head with a tsk, tsk, tsk, poor foolish Michal for supporting the blowhard as icing.

The problem arises when Trump starts winning and he does not fit a media caricature. And then when people interested in Objectivism start agreeing and actually looking into the issues Trump raises.

That is a huge problem for control freaks.

This problem is not a principle thing. It is a social thing where a principle should be.

I see it all the time in O-Land.

This kind of attitude is the antithesis of what OL is about.

I mean it when I say if a person stays, that is good for OL. If a person goes, that is good for OL.

Nobody, and that means nobody, including me, will dictate on this forum what candidate others have to vote for and promote.

We have a member I love who actively supported Obama, both times if I recall correctly. I hold intense dislike of Obama, that's no secret, but I highly respect and love this person. I respect his right to his views. And he expressed his views at his own will without any restrictions whatsoever.

That is OL.

Those who don't like this kind of freedom and independence don't do well here.

Michael

Excellent post my man !

I mean , I love you like a brother but damn - sometimes my brother is wrong ( not you , my real brother ) . The beautiful thing about your very serious belief that Trump will win ( and you were probably second on the bandwagon after the big man DT himself is this .

When Trump bows out of the race and a) goes to start a 3rd party b) supports Rubio or whoever he realizes will be the winner or c ) simply bows out .........

In 2020 , 2024 , 2028 , 2032 , 2036 , 2040 , 2044 , 2048 , 2052 , 2056 , 2060 ( my last official comment on OL as come on , I will be 98 by then and just sick of talking about " back in the day when MSK called for Trump .

So for this and the next 11 elections , when MSK says so and so will win , I can simply say " Mike , should I bring up the coldest summer in history - The summer of 2015 " ?

But on a more serious note , Mr Reidy ????? Could you please expound on your view for cease and desisting your posts simply because folks obviously take trump seriously . I mean Time magazine does ! Will you not read that publication ? IF CNN OR FOX talks about Trump winning Iowa ( ain't gonna happen but as an example ) does that mean you cancel your cable ?

If Trump wins POTUS ( again , no chance ) , do you come live with me in Canada ??

Just curious my man

[Selene]

It's funny, but Ayn Rand knew how to do this stuff when she created fiction. For some reason she stopped when she went into nonfiction. That's probably one of the reasons her fiction sells oodles more than her nonfiction.

Michael

I called that the John Galt Speech wall in Atlas.

Since I was around 15 years old when I first read the book, I barely skimmed the speech.

A...

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

If Trump wins POTUS...

Marc,

Ahhh...

The sweetness of the English language...

That's how the crack in the dam starts...

Michael

[Selene]

“Show me someone without an ego, and I'll show you a loser.”

Donald Trump

[Selene]

I am waiting for this type of onslaught soon...

Donald Trump: Randian archtype?

Posted on 8/11/2015, 11:04:11 AM by Truthsearcher

Had a discussion with a friend who is a big Ayn Rand fan who proposed the idea that Donald Trump as the archtype Randian hero who is the amalgamation of Howard Roark and Hank Rearden. Like Roark he builds skyscrapers in NY, like Rearden he's a very wealthy businessman. And his popularity has been mostly build on a perceived uncompromising style, like those 2 characters.

Now while I quite appreciate Rand's anti-collectivist views and her contempt for progressives, I cannot call myself a fan due to her aggressive atheism and hence no means to ground her own moral outlook.

But I thought it was interesting take on the whole Trump phenomenon.

[Brant Gaede]

“Show me someone without an ego, and I'll show you a loser.”

Donald Trump

Dorothy Parker (paraphrase): If you want to know what God thinks of money, look at who he gives it to.

--Brant

[Selene]

Fascinating!

Trump and the ‘Ayn Rand fan’ candidates (Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Herman Cain, John Culberson, Ted Poe, etc.) share an American dream that is a nightmare for most. In it, we have nothing to learn from other countries or science. Only powerful business leaders have important knowledge. If politicians have foreign-sounding names, consider themselves part of the rest of the world, or if they compare the wisdom of US policies to the wisdom of policies in other countries, then they are anti-American.

Xenophobia, racism, and fascism can be laughable, but while we are laughing, political-corporate partnerships are demonizing the very immigrant laborers they employ. Immigrants work harder, are taxed more heavily, and receive far fewer benefits than the richest Americans, like Trump. Since slavery, white supremacists have blamed immigrants, the poor, and non-whites for society’s problems.

To Marx, the ownership-class exploits workers. The Ayn Rand fans and Trump have crafted their sophisticated response: It is the workers who are exploiting the poor owners! They wrap up their immigrant bashing in US flags and ‘freedom,’ and many voters seem to be buying it.

The other times in history when the masses craved anti-immigrant candidates were when ‘freedom’ had lost all meaning.

http://www.freepresshouston.com/trump-and-the-ayn-rand-fans-laugh-or-cry/

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

I am waiting for this type of onslaught soon...

Donald Trump: Randian archtype?

Posted on 8/11/2015, 11:04:11 AM by Truthsearcher

Had a discussion with a friend who is a big Ayn Rand fan who proposed the idea that Donald Trump as the archtype Randian hero who is the amalgamation of Howard Roark and Hank Rearden. Like Roark he builds skyscrapers in NY, like Rearden he's a very wealthy businessman. And his popularity has been mostly build on a perceived uncompromising style, like those 2 characters.

Now while I quite appreciate Rand's anti-collectivist views and her contempt for progressives, I cannot call myself a fan due to her aggressive atheism and hence no means to ground her own moral outlook.

But I thought it was interesting take on the whole Trump phenomenon.

Adam,

I am waiting, too. Unlike what some people think, that's not a bug to Trump's core supporter. That's a feature.

Productive doers are the majority of those who love Trump. This is the one demographic/psychographic you will not see measured by pollsters.

Instead, they scratch their head wondering why Trump appeals across all demographics, why he is so hard to pin down.

To me, it's a no-brainer. It's because there are productive doers in all demographics. Those are the ones who are migrating to Trump.

One of my favorite parts is that he is an elitist-killer. A snob who's snoot is starting to smell the roar of the crowd (the crowd he feels so very superior to) is suddenly getting his very self-image attacked. Inside himself.

It's almost like an apostate thing. Trump is one of the elite--he's supposed to be one of them. Yet he identifies with the average working person. The elites are going crazy with this and, just like with any cult, they hate the apostate more than they hate their avowed enemy.

Think about O-Land. How many narrow-view Objectivists hate the Brandens (even till today) more than they ever could hate a bloody dictator? They would never admit it, but look at what they do and who they spit their venom at.

I psychologize, but I think it goes like this. The average productive doer knows he is superior to the elites in many areas, but doesn't have time to dwell on it. He's too busy working. The snooty elite keeps telling itself it is totally superior to the unwashed masses, but knows underneath it isn't.

Then along comes Trump, who should be one of the elite, calling the average productive doer a good guy and the elitist a moron.

Talk about stinging. These poor twisted souls will never forgive him for that. Never.

Michael