Another piece in which the "four paragraph rule" doesn't fully express what's going on here. If you want to get to the core of the "Trump Administration" mindset, do yourself a favor, go to the link, and read the entire article.



The scary ghost of Ayn Rand looms over the Trump cabinet

KALI HOLLOWAY, ALTERNET
15 DEC 2016 AT 00:23 ET



http://www.rawstory.com/2016/12/the-scary-ghost-of-ayn-rand-looms-over-the-trump-cabinet/

Ayn Rand was a terrible person who wove a philosophy of selfishness and greed out of the threads of her own psychopathy. Rand’s writings and speeches should be recognized as rantings suited for an audience of a well-trained therapist, instead of inflicted upon millions of English students.

Rand, who declared “altruism” a national disease, wrote admiringly of child-murderer William Edward Hickman’s callous indifference toward others and his “immense, explicit egotism.” Her contempt for the poor and middle-class are pronounced by anti-Robin Hoods who brag about stealing from “the thieving poor” to give to “the productive rich.” Rand defended Native American genocide and murderous white supremacy, once stating “any white person who brought the elements of civilization had the right to take over this continent.” Objectivism, Rand’s refutation of basic human decency in favor of pathological self-interest and ruthless capitalism, was correctly identified as “perfect in its immorality” by Gore Vidal more than half a century ago. Today it’s the prevailing ethos of the GOP, embraced by Republicans going back to Ronald Reagan and especially beloved among the incoming Trump administration.

As James Hohmann of the Washington Post notes, Trump pledged his affection to Rand in an interview earlier this year with Kirsten Powers. Trump, who proudly admits he doesn’t read—neither books nor intelligence briefings that might slow his roll toward starting a nuclear war—told Powers he relates to Howard Roark, the architect protagonist of The Fountainhead. Roark espouses the warped belief that selfishness is a virtue (“Man’s first duty is to himself”) and commits a violent sexual assault. Without specifics, it’s hard to know precisely where Trump thinks the resemblance begins and ends.

Hohmann writes that Trump’s labor secretary pick Andy Puzder “is the CEO of CKE Restaurants, which is owned by Roark Capital Group, a private equity fund named after Howard Roark.” When the New York Times asked for a few personal insights about Puzder from one of his business cohorts, the fast-food titan was described only as an “avid reader who loves Ayn Rand.” Puzder recently told the Wall Street Journal’s Jennifer Grossman that he’s advised all six of his kids to read The Fountainhead, in the hope they’ll “lead the kind of lives of achievement, integrity and independence that Ayn Rand celebrated in her novels.”

Trump’s Inaugural Committee offered ‘diplomatic posts’ to bookers able to land A-list talent

http://www.rawstory.com/2016/12/trumps-inaugural-committee-offered-diplomatic-posts-to-bookers-able-to-land-a-list-talent/

Two talent bookers, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, told the Wrap members of Trump’s Presidential Inaugural Committee contacted them “with offers of cash or even plush diplomatic posts in exchange for locking in singers.”

One of the bookers said he “almost dropped the phone” when he heard the team member’s proposal. “Never in a million years have I heard something so crazy,” he said.

And he’s not the only one. According to the Wrap, a second insider was offered “an ambassadorship” if he could land a big-name celebrity for the inaugural line-up. The second booker told the Wrap he knows at least two more people were offered government posts in exchange for finding big name talent for the ceremony.

“They said they were in the process of ‘figuring out posts, ambassadorships and commissions’ if that was of any interest,” the manager said.

How Obama Handled the Conflict-of-Interest Issue Trump Now Faces

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/12/how-obama-handled-conflict-of-interest-issue-trump-faces



"Well, not to get too personal, but our home back in Chicago—not the White House, which, as I said, that's a rental—our home back in Chicago, my mortgage interest rate, I would probably benefit from refinancing right now, I would save some money," Obama said. "When you're President, you have to be a little careful about these transactions, so we haven't refinanced."

Be careful—by that, Obama meant he did not want to get close to a conflict of interest by negotiating a deal with any bank. And that entailed a personal sacrifice.

Obama's mortgage, which he took out in 2005, carries a 5.62 percent interest rate—significantly higher than the current rates that are around 4 percent for a 30-year mortgage. In 2015, USA Today estimated that Obama could save almost $2,100 a month by refinancing. But though he was not prevented from taking advantage of the lower rates, he chose not to do so. He had learned his lesson. Years earlier, when he first entered office, his 5.62 percent mortgage was heavily scrutinized, with the question being whether he had received a below-market rate as an act of favoritism. A Federal Election Commission investigation determined that Obama had obtained a discounted rate but that it was legal because it was within the range offered by Obama's bank to customers who may provide the bank with additional business.

Before entering the White House, Obama sold his stock portfolio and invested all his personal assets in Treasury notes with some smaller investments in broadly held mutual funds. Once again, he was not compelled to do this by any law—federal conflict-of-interest laws and rules do not apply to the president—but he took this step to remove any taint of possible conflict.

Key factors that led to Trump winning, according to my calculations:

30% -- the media's coverage of the campaign, and idiotic focus on Hillary's emails and neglect of issues of substance (e.g. climate change, jobs plans, healthcare). This part includes Comey's late breaking announcement on her emails (October surprise).

20% -- related to hacking by Russia, wikileaks, creating chaos and confusion about the Democrats

20% -- the historical situation of conservatives pissed off after 8 years of Obama and not wanting 4 more years of a "liberal" president (threats of gun control, keeping abortion legal, gay marriage, etc)

10% -- Trump's ability to game media coverage, lie effortlessly and demagogue like a champion

10% -- voter suppression efforts by the GOP

10%-- missteps by Hillary's campaign and her flaws as a candidate

The MAIN POINT is that in a close election, as this last one was, any of these factors could tip it one way or the other. Russian hacking definitely played a role.

Treachery killed USSR, Russia's Gorbachev tells BBC
13 December 2016 Last updated at 03:01 GMT

Ex-Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev says the dissolution of the USSR in 1991 was "a crime and a coup".

In a rare interview marking 25 years since the demise of the Soviet Union, he told the BBC's Steve Rosenberg he resigned to avoid a bloody civil war.

But today the West was "provoking Russia" and trying to undermine President Vladimir Putin, he said.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38294498

Donald Trump is continuing to pursue a lawsuit against a famed chef who refused to open a restaurant in his Washington, D.C. hotel after controversial comments the president-elect said about Mexicans and other minorities during the kickoff of his presidential campaign. Meanwhile, as Trump prepares for a deposition set just weeks before he assumes the Oval Office on Inauguration Day, the next First Lady Melania Trump is fighting her own legal battles from along the campaign trail.

Trump filed a $10 million lawsuit against the Topo Atrio restaurant in the District of Columbia, which celebrity chef Jose Andres would have operated in the real estate mogul’s newly opened luxury hotel. His lawyers demanded the upcoming deposition take place inside of Trump Towers rather than the previously agreed upon location of Washington, D.C. in a filing last week, citing security concerns, as well as a limit on the amount of time Trump can be questioned from seven hours to two.

Meanwhile, Trump’s wife appeared in a Maryland court Monday for a defamation lawsuit she filed against The Daily Mail Online and a writer. "Mrs. Trump was not required to attend the court conference, but chose to do so, to meet the Judge, meet opposing counsel, and show her commitment to the case," her attorney’s office said in a statement. "Mrs. Trump looks forward to seeing the case to a successful conclusion."

These aren’t the only cases the Trumps will continue to battle after becoming the first family: the president-elect has at least 75 pending lawsuits pending, each extending after he takes office Jan. 20. Recently, the president-elect paid $25 million to settle fraud lawsuits over Trump University, a for-profit education company he established in 2005 and closed in 2010.

http://www.rawstory.com/2016/12/the-trumps-pursue-lawsuits-as-transition-continues/