Scott Swank

It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it. -- Upton Sinclair

[Scott Swank @EugeneVClemens]

“His” money

[Scott Swank @EugeneVClemens]

The State Dept just gave $1.25B to a Trump board with no oversight. That’s effectively him money to spend or invest in any way he wants.

This would be the defining corruption of any other presidency in US history.

[Lorraine E-Van-Off @LorraineEvanoff]

Fucking outrageous. And highly illegal.

"Trump has grifted his entire life. Now he’s just taking it.

The State Department transferred $1.25 billion in foreign aid to Trump’s Board of Peace, pulling $1 billion from international disaster assistance, $200 million from peacekeeping operations, and $50 million from international organizations.

Money that Congress authorized for hurricanes and refugees, moved without a congressional vote, into a fund that Trump created by executive order and controls personally. When reporters asked the State Department about it, a spokesperson said they had nothing to announce at this time.

The Board of Peace has one defining characteristic. Trump controls it forever. He named himself chairman for life. No audits. No transparency requirements. No conflict of interest rules.

Countries pay $1 billion into a fund he runs to get a seat at the table. It has transferred nothing to Gaza, disclosed nothing about its spending, and received $1.25 billion of your disaster relief money without a word of explanation.

When he leaves the White House he keeps the fund. That is not a loophole. That is the design."

He’s Not Grifting Anymore. He’s Just Taking It. https://t.co/eYb5g4g9bR

[Scott Swank @EugeneVClemens]

@Noahpinion You’re confusing the action of posting online (by activists) with the action of deciding policy and casting votes in state and federal legislatures. It’s the latter that matters, not the former.

[Bill Kristol @BillKristol]

Take a look at this video. And tell me that ICE as it now exists and operates is consistent with living in a free country.

[Justin Wolfers @JustinWolfers]

Total growth in non-farm payrolls, by year:
2016: +2.3m
2017: +2.1m
2018: +2.3m
2019: +2.0m
2020: -9.2m (covid)
2021: +7.2m (covid recovery)
2022: +4.6m
2023: +2.6m
2024: +2.0m
2025: +0.6m

[derek guy @dieworkwear]

american craftsmanship is declining. 20 years ago, if you wanted to manufacture a reason for a war, you had to make a map and do a little presentation at the UN. now you just say anything.

[Scott Swank @EugeneVClemens]

This is so on-brand.

[Nevada Independent @TheNVIndy]

Michele Fiore had solicited donations to honor officers killed in duty, promising that the contributions would be used to fund a memorial statue. However, the funds never paid for a statue.

@tabitha_mueller reports: https://t.co/XyBRQ3PKAS

[Scott Swank @EugeneVClemens]

@EsotericCD @Political_Beats Green Onions by Booker T & The MGs, and Pick Up The Pieces by Average White Band.

[Scott Swank @EugeneVClemens]

@jacobsolisnv @MichelleRindels “He brings a wealth of knowledge about the ins and outs of government relations.” Tell me more

[Scott Swank @EugeneVClemens]

@RalstonReports I too support on-the-job learning for driving a snow plow in a blizzard.

[Scott Swank @EugeneVClemens]

@tsegerblom @reviewjournal Well. That's post-modern architecture for you.

[Scott Swank @EugeneVClemens]

@keribla Kevin Drum has done yoeman's work showing that quite a bit of this is driven by political affiliation. Specifically, Fox News constantly depicts urban (Black!) areas as lawless wastelands.

[Scott Swank @EugeneVClemens]

@farley_pattie Nobody does a better job of telling you what you want to hear than Jeremy Aguero.

[Scott Swank @EugeneVClemens]

@Drawmark The Notorious Byrd Brothers. That's a 60s album.

[Scott Swank @EugeneVClemens]

@Drawmark Blue by Joni Mitchell ... nope 1971. Okay then Who's Next ... also 1971. I'm not very good at this.

[ProPublica @propublica]

The Colorado River’s reservoirs cratered last year. As officials weigh paying California farmers to use less water, @MyDesert and ProPublica sought to understand who was using the water and what they did with it. Here’s what we found. https://t.co/qGwFlUwS2n

[Scott Swank @EugeneVClemens]

Inflation was largely driven by: 1. food shortages (e.g., avian flu), 2. substantial household savings, and 3. the Ukraine war. Every other G8 nation has seen equivalent inflation, or more commonly worse inflation. But sure. Biden did it.

[Jeff Blehar is *BOX OFFICE POISON* @EsotericCD]

This is precisely what the voters will not stand for: "we completely blew it in exactly the way you said we would, but hey: the damage is done now and going back would be worse for the global economy, so let's just move on and remember to vote Democrat again."

[Chris Stirewalt @ChrisStirewalt]

H.L. Mencken has thoughts: "The men the American people admire most are the most daring liars; the men they detest most are those who try to tell them the truth. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will get their heart’s desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."

[Judd Legum @JuddLegum]

1. On Sept 26, Target announced it was closing nine stores "because theft and organized retail crime are…contributing to unsustainable business performance."

The release generated a flood of credulous media coverage

But now, @Target's the story is falling apart

🧵