"Ubi Est Mea?" to replace "E Pluribus Unum"

Many years ago, the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Mike Royko had some fun with the City of Chicago's official motto, "Urbs in Horto" which translates to "City In A Garden". He suggested that a more accurate and useful motto should be "Ubi Est Mea?" which translates to "Where's Mine?" He wrote, "It is the watchword of the new Chicago, the cry of the money brigade, the chant of the City of the Big Wallet." He also suggested the city's flag depict an outstretched palm-up hand.

The brazen culture of corruption that characterized the Daley days in Chicago (and still does) has found its equivalent at the Federal level here in DC. The effort to 'Drain The Swamp' has evolved to make it the biggest and very, very best swamp, terrific, really. It is readily apparent that President Trump and his family's business continue to benefit financially from his Presidency.

Our Executive Branch has been accused of letting the foxes guard the henhouses. Is it a kleptocracy? Are we becoming a banana republic? Is this administration following the example of Napoleon's foreign minister, Talleyrand, who set out to make "an immense fortune" from the Empire, and did?

To help us better understand the nuances and blunt truth of what constitutes a kleptocracy, let's turn to the remarkable badass, Sarah Chayes (a reporter who was embedded in early-conflict-Afghanistan and chose to stay on, by herself,  for years, to help villagers there) on how countries become kleptocracies:

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-05-22/trump-and-the-path-toward-kleptocracy

OK. Now we've heard over and over about how Donald Trump is second to none when it comes to being a philanthropist. He gives millions to the needy and afflicted. He's told us so!! If you're looking for a reason, any reason, why the white working class went for him as a champion of The Little Guy, this might be it. I can't find any track record of Donald Trump helping The Little Guy in any other way, beyond his self-promotional philanthropic rhetoric.

Oh, but what's this? There seems to be some dispute about how much Donald Trump actually gave to any particular charity. Here is a wonderful display that portrays the work of Pulitzer winner David Fahrenthold. It should put to rest any notion that this man has given away any amount of his own money:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/2016-election/trump-charity-donations/

Wow, what a schmuck!

Yes, it appears our President has not been truthful about this subject. Oh, the vapors! But wait! There's so much more!  Just the other day, news broke about how The President had directed his son to siphon charity money - heading to help kids with cancer - to his Trump Organization. Here's a link to that blockbuster story (not from the original Forbes website source, which keeps crashing):

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/06/trump-organization-charged-eric-trumps-cancer-charity-golf-events.html

$1.2 million paid to the Trump Organization piggybank instead of helping the kids at the Eric Trump Foundation. $100,000 diverted to the Donald Trump Foundation for who knows what. And this kicker:

"while donors to the Eric Trump Foundation were told their money was going to help sick kids, more than $500,000 was re-donated to other charities, many of which were connected to Trump family members or interests, including at least four groups that subsequently paid to hold golf tournaments at Trump courses."

Again, it was David Fahrenthold who asked Eric about this last year. Claims of Mucho Dinero being donated by Daddy Trump turned up $0. The distinction is that the DJT Foundation will sometimes make a donation to a charity,  but not DJT himself. He does NOT give his own foundation ANY money, certainly not since 2008.  It comes from his friends and sycophants.

And, unlike other Presidents, Trump has no Blind Trust in place. This creates innumerable conflicts of interest. Trump and his family benefit from his position and their business. Mar-a-Lago membership fees. Trump Hotels filled with friendly business and international groups competing for available revenue generating space. Donald Jr and Eric flying around the world with beefed-up secret service protection, all staying at Trump properties. Ivanka's China sweatshops. The Kushner family selling US visa applications to Chinese at $500K a pop.  But this is all kids-stuff.

For an incredible and kinda mind-boggling look at all the revenue-generating conflicts of interest Trump now commands, check out this recent Atlantic article. It starts with the Saudis and ends with the Phillipines' Duterte, with seemingly the entire world in-between. This deserves much attention and praise.

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/06/donald-trump-conflicts-of-interests/508382/

If you finished reading that and feel like this, it's completely understandable:

Finally, it's back to one of my heroes here, David Fahrenthold, for his comprehensive look at Donald Trump's track record of charitable donations:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-boasts-of-his-philanthropy-but-his-giving-falls-short-of-his-words/2016/10/29/b3c03106-9ac7-11e6-a0ed-ab0774c1eaa5_story.html?utm_term=.6061824334d0

In it, he describes an event that Trump crashed in 1996. He takes a seat away from a hard-working donor, Steve Fisher, just as the ceremony begins. Everyone on the podium is astonished at this Brass Balls Quest For Unwarranted Publicity:

Afterward, Disney and Buchenholz recalled, Trump left without offering an explanation. Or a donation. Fisher was stuck in the audience. The charity spent months trying to repair its relationship with him.

“I mean, what’s wrong with you, man?” Disney recalled thinking of Trump, when it was over.

Just another day in the life of our future Grifter-in-Chief. Got his name and face on the news, helping poor AIDS kids - not. What a great guy. And in closing, here are some words regarding our Republican party as they continue to cover for this colossal crud: