Saturday, August 6, 2016

Donald's Dust: Asbestos, the World Trade Center and The Dangerously Wrong Opinions of Trump

by Nomad

Trump's love for the cancer-causing material asbestos goes back for decades. Trump has boasted of its effectiveness and safety before the Senate. Tell that to the firefighters, cleanup crews, and first responders who were exposed to the 400 tons of asbestos that blanketed the streets of Manhattan on September 11. 



The Conspiracy Theory that Trump Doesn't Talk About

For a man who enjoys his conspiracy theories, Donald Trump seems pretty ignorant of some of the most interesting ones. One 9/11 conspiracy theory that made the rounds involved the suspicion of an inside job and billion dollar insurance fraud. 

For what it's worth, the theory runs something like this:
Six months prior to the attack, the WTC was privatized and, after drawn-out negotiations, finally leased to a private developer. On July 24, 2001, just six weeks before 911, that $3.2 billion bid by the Silverstein Group- made up of property developer Larry Silverstein and investors Lloyd Goldman and Joseph Cayre- was accepted.
A noteworthy milestone. It was the first time in the building's 31-year history that the complex had changed management, the first time it had been leased to a private entity.

According to the theory, the WTC wasn't exactly the prize catch that the developer had been lead to believe. on the other hand, the problem was not exactly a secret.
The Port Authority, according to some sources, considered the WTC a headache. The city had attempted on several occasions to get permits to demolish the Twin Towers but was turned down due the known asbestos problem.

The conspiracy theorists will tell you that
it was well-known the only reason the building was still standing until 9/11 was because it was too costly to disassemble the twin towers floor by floor since the Port Authority was prohibited legally from demolishing the buildings.
The owners of the towers were looking at a hefty bill ($200 million) for mandated "renovations and improvements, most of which related to removal and replacement of building materials declared to be health hazards in the years since the towers were built." 
We are talking primarily about asbestos. 
That figure for clean up would have reportedly represented an entire year's worth of revenue from the WTC.

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Mr. Pence, We Need to Talk about Donald

by Nomad

Trump's VP Mike PenceFormer Indiana Governor Mike Pence probably thought it was an honor to be asked to be Trump's VP choice. It's turned out to be just the opposite.


From the moment he   said "yeah, sure" to the offer, Donald Trump' running mate, Mike Pence, has found himself in series of ridiculous situations. 

There's no question that Trump didn't really want a running mate. Sharing the limelight isn't one of Trump's attributes. Selecting a VP was a mere politically-correct formality. Nothing Trump took too seriously.

By agreeing to become Trump's running mate, surrendering his post as governor of Indiana, Pence effectively destroyed his own political career in the pursuit of illusionary higher power. 
Pence ought to have known better.
After all, Trump didn't suddenly become the egomaniacal monster he is at this moment. It took a lifetime.
Obviously, Mr. Pence. your ambition superseded your common sense, There will be a price to pay. That price will be your continual humiliation before the entire nation.