Update no.1158

 Update from the Sunland

No.1158

18.3.24 – 24.3.24

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

 

To all,

 

The follow-up news items:

-- In a court filing, [the person who shall no longer be named] claimed he was unable to produce the US$464M bond in his civil fraud case—New York v. Trump [NYSCEF Index No. 452564/2022] [1133]. He approached 30 insurance bond underwriters and none of them—not a one—would give him a US$464M bond for various reasons not least of which was the overvaluation of his proposed collateral properties. The filing means he will not be able to appeal since he has not fulfilled the district court’s order, and he is quite likely to face another court order to cease assets that have a net worth totaling the amount of the court order. He started whining that those “valuable” properties would be sold at fire sale prices if the government seized them and sold them.

Later in the week, Tiny publicly claimed he had US$500M in cash, but he chose not to spend this cash on a frivolous and false court judgment. If Tiny does not post the court-ordered US$464M bond tomorrow, he is quite likely to find out who has primacy in his business fraud court case. Stay tuned!

 

On Friday, gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons in advance of a concert at the 6,200-seat Crocus City Hall in Moscow. As of Sunday evening, 137 have been killed and 100+ wounded or injured in the attack. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Greater Khorsan (ISIL-K) immediately claimed credit for the attack. Yes, ISIL terror attacks continue although not at the frequency they once did. What makes this attack different is Putin’s determination to pin this attack on Ukraine, which has denied any involvement in the attack. Frankly, Ukraine is far more believable than Putin for a host of reasons. The Russians did not deserve at attack like this. They did not instigate the invasion of Ukraine. The United States provided intelligence of an imminent terror attack that the Russian government reportedly discounted as misinformation intended to provoke Russia. My sincere condolences go to the families and friends of the deceased and injured in the attack. May God bless them all. The four primary shooters were captured and arrested. I hope and trust the perpetrators feel the full weight of the justice they deserve.

 

Well, wonder of wonders, Congress finally passed the second half of a proper appropriations bill . . . six months late . . . but hey, better late than never. The bill—Making further consolidated appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, and for other purposes [PL 118-xxx; H.R.2882 Senate: 74-24-0-2(0); House: 350-58-0-22(5); 137 Stat. xxx]—has been presented to the president but not yet signed. This latest action is two weeks after the president signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 [1156]. Both funding bills were bipartisan efforts. Neither bill provides the necessary supplemental funding support for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan, and the Gaza Palestinians. They say that is to come. At the bottom line, at the least the federal government is properly funded until the end of September. Then, the process starts all over again this summer. And so it goes!

 

Of course, the so-called  “Freedom Caucus” was not pleased that “their” speaker” facilitated and agreed to a compromise that led to the appropriations bills noted above. Being upset as they as they are, they got their angry crazy white woman—Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia—file a motion to vacate the speaker’s position just as they had done with the previous speaker [1134]. The Freedom Caucus is not about conservatism, or the Constitution, or any other recognizable trait other than chaos, which, by the way, fits in perfectly with ihr Lieber Anführer. I laud Speaker Johnson, although I strongly disagree with many of his political positions; both appropriations bills were passed by substantial bipartisan margins. Whether Johnson can convince enough Democrats to stand with him to stop the motion to vacate is yet to be seen. One thing for certain, the last thing we need right now is chaos. We need order, stability, and calm. There are far too many on-going sh*t-shows in this country and the world for more chaos. Regardless, we shall endure and persevere.

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1157:

Comment to the Blog:

“How much profit is SpaceX making from the taxpayers?

“It’s nice that Boeing’s failings are finally catching up with them, but let’s not let that industry shrink to one manufacturer, Airbus. Everything about aerospace and/or the military-industrial complex needs re-thinking.

“Egregious failures of parenting, as in the Crumbley case, should result in criminal charges. However, we should be cautious about regulating ordinary parenting.

“Tiny knows exactly how to manipulate the MAGAts, although I suspect he’s losing a few. The rest of the electorate needs to listen to those threats. They’re more than hints.”

My response to the Blog:

I have no idea. SpaceX is one of the companies that are a vital support for the Artemis missions to produce a permanent settlement on the Moon and Mars, so I would imagine they have contractual or grant arrangements with the USG.

It was bound to happen. We were lucky more innocent people have not died by the foolish, myopic, incompetency of past and current management. Yes, absolutely, we do not need less competition. We need a strong Boeing. Unfortunately, that is not what we have today.

The Crumbley’s are not the first parents who have failed society. Like you, I do not want the government involved in parenting any more than I want bureaucrats involved in making our medical decisions. I think the societal message here is, there were public signs that Nathan was having trouble. Those signs were ignored. The parents are ultimately responsible.

Oh my, yes he does, and yes, absolutely, we need to listen and pay attention. Yes, they are more than just hints . . . just like “Stand down and stand by.” He likes to mask his meaning in ambiguous context, but his true believers know exactly what he means. He must be stopped before he does more serious damage to our once grand republic. We need a time to heal and build, but we will be unable to do so as long as Tiny is able to spew his vile worthless snake-oil elixir on prone citizens.

 . . . Round two:

“SpaceX will eventually stand as an example of the dangers of privatization via agency capture. Missions to colonize places beyond Earth are folly while Earth herself is in danger.

“Aerospace needs much better reforms than ‘a strong Boeing.’ I would joyfully watch Boeing go under if legitimate competition arose and regulation was imposed on the entire industry. Oligarchy and monopolies endanger the nation.

“‘Stand down and stand by’ is a military command and wouldn’t be directly understood as such by most Americans. ‘There will be a bloodbath’ is very clear. Whether his delusional followers could carry it out is another question, but the attempt would be a disaster in its own right.”

 . . . my response to round two:

Perhaps . . . only time will tell. So far, they are doing a bang-up job of development. They are safely and effectively launching multiple scientific, commercial, cargo, and personnel spacecraft at an increasing rate. I do not agree with your statement that space habitation programs are folly. I believe such endeavors are as necessary as the Lewis & Clark expedition and the westward migration efforts.

Replacing Boeing would not be easy and would likely take generations to accomplish, and the market may have irreparably shifted in that amount of time. Yes, oligarchies and monopolies do in fact endanger the nation in a variety of ways.

Yes, exactly. But, the context of his “coded” message was buried sufficiently to raise reasonable doubt. Once more, he will get away with a morally irresponsible statement. I suspect there are those out there who are planning and preparing for trigger activation at the appropriate time. Semper vigilantis!

 . . . Round three:

“We shall see about SpaceX. And I still think we’d better keep the planet we have livable rather than try to abandon it. It’s a priority thing.

“Setting up another company to replace Boeing wouldn’t address the systemic issues or the underlying monopolistic economy. Think more broadly. Aerospace is obvious because of the crashes, but most of our industries are consolidated and harmful to everyone but the wealthiest owners.

“Tiny’s recent message wasn’t coded at all. ‘If I’m not elected, there will be a bloodbath’ is a clear threat. I have no idea why he wasn’t charged with sedition.”

 . . . my response to round three:

Yes, indeed! We must take care of the planet we have, but that does not preclude exploration and habitation of other celestial bodies. We can walk and chew gum.

Point taken. Competition is essential to a viable capitalistic society. I am thinking beyond Boeing, which might not survive.

Wait now, you are putting me in the position of defending Tiny, and I do not like that position. You and I read it that way, but others will stand on context. He was indeed talk about foreign auto imports and the U.S. auto industry. Even in context, “bloodbath” is not a word any president and presidential candidate would ever use . . . except for Little Fingers. Taken either way, the statement was wrong. I condemn his statement in anyway he wants to cast it. It was wrong, period, full stop.

 . . . Round four:

“We have a budget deficit and ordinary taxpayers deserve a break. We can spend money on SpaceX and other ego projects or try to keep the planet we’re on habitable. If we want both of those, we need to find money elsewhere. I could go for a defense budget no more than twice as big as the second-largest other nation’s budget, but I know that’s not a popular position. We could try to pursue billionaires’ money, but they control the government.

“Tiny isn't a clear speaker. He’s a demagogue, and there’s no telling what is actually in his mind when he speaks. It’s possible he meant to talk about the auto industry, but you and I know his followers didn’t hear it that way.”

 . . . my response to round four:

“Ego projects” . . . I think not. I might accept that moniker for Virgin Galactic, but not SpaceX or Blue Origins. The latter two are development projects in direct support of the NASA Artemis program to send humans back to the Moon and onto Mars. Those are legitimate space exploration endeavors. Taxation is the power to destroy. As such, there must be balance between too much and not enough. Clearly, with all the deductions enabled and allowed by Congress over the years, many, if not most or all, pay a lower effective rate than you or me. Many of those deductions are for the wealthy not for common citizens. I would like to start at taxing the wealthy at least at the effective rate of most citizens. We can go from there.

Tiny has never been a good orator. He was talking about the foreign auto imports, but he chose the word “country” in his bloodbath statement; that is not the auto industry. He does not get a pass for his poor juvenile use of the English language. Yes, exactly, he speaks to his core followers and could not care less for the rest of us. But, it still comes down to who votes In November.  As of today, he is ahead of Biden and everyone else in the national polls for the Electoral College count.

 . . . Round five:

“I'll note that who votes in November can be influenced by the Democrats, but they'll have to offer ordinary Americans more than they have since Clinton (who didn't fulfill his promises).”

 . . . my response to round five,

I understand and appreciate the argument. At the end of the day, we deserve what comes. I can only say, no one is perfect. We are all flawed. As in the last two presidential elections, we have been faced with a choice between an anti-democracy authoritarian wannabe and an old school, give-and-take compromise. So, we are on course for a “three-peat.” If Biden wins, it will be his last term of office. If Tiny wins, he will strive mightily to extend his term of office or repeal the 22^nd Amendment. To me, we are faced with an obscene choice—peace & calm versus chaos. The choice is ours.

“That’s just my opinion, but I could be wrong.”

 

Another contribution:

“‘morning Cap-unfortunately this individual is still cluttering our news headlines and will. I fear, do so for some time.”

URL:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68577638?xtor=ES-208-[70786_BBCNews_USElectionUnspun_Cohort_008_200324]-20240321-[bbcnews_donaldtrumptrialsanthonyzurcher_newsus]

My reply:

Unfortunate indeed! His legal woes and maneuvering will occupy our Press for at least the next year or more depending upon his success in delaying trials. Add in political and other nonsense, he seeks to dominate the news as long as he possibly can. He has a major deadline this coming Monday. If he does not post bond by Monday, NY AG James can begin seizing his "assets." It is going to be a rough road ahead for all of us.

 . . . follow-up comment:

“Thanks Cap-could I ask please-the meaning of ‘post bond’?”

Yes, absolutely. "Post bond" is an alternative to placing the cash in escrow pending his appeals.  He does not have that amount of cash. So he must raise a bond, which means he obtains a guarantee, usually from a bond insurance company, for the full amount of the judgment. The insurance companies have said, no thanks, we do not believe your valuation of the assets offered, i.e., 30 different bond insurance companies declared Tiny could not meet the bond assurance requirements. It sounds rather convoluted, but it is actually straightforward. The other way to look at this kerfuffle is that Tiny is NOT worth what he says he is.

 

My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)