So I guess 2016 claimed its biggest victim yet - America

Can someone find a reputable source for the number I saw somewhere on Reddit today where the cost to secure Trump Tower was more than the cut to the arts endowments?

Maybe they’re talking about this one.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/trump-familys-elaborate-lifestyle-a-logistical-nightmare--at-taxpayer-expense/2017/02/16/763cce8e-f2ce-11e6-a9b0-ecee7ce475fc_story.html

In New York, the city is paying $500,000 a day to guard Trump Tower, according to police officials’ estimates, an amount that could reach $183 million a year.

This was written last month. They also estimate that it has cost the tax payers $10 million for his 3 trips (at the time of writing) to Mar-a-Lago.

If you’re a serious birder*, the Lower Rio Grande Valley is a mecca because there are many species of birds that can’t be seen anywhere else in the United States. When my friends and I went down in May we eschewed one of the traditional stopping points where you get harassed by border patrol as you bushwhack along the river and instead spent a very enjoyable morning leisurely driving a golf cart around the Max A Mandel Municipal Golf course. Here’s what Mexico looks like from the 6th green**:

http://imgur.com/CNC1iBu

That bank is not as high as it looks. There were (Mexican) cattle standing ankle deep in the river. Much of the Rio Grande is like this. There is no fucking way they can cover the entire thing with a wall. But if they do, they have to seize at least one golf course to do it.

Sorry for the tangent. Reminiscing about the Rio Grande was a welcome break from considering the sociopathy evident in Trump’s budget.

*I can’t be the only one on these boards, can I? I can? Okay then, subculture education time!

**Where you can see Red-eyed Pigeons, White-collared Seed-eaters, Clay Colored Robins, Olive Sparrows and Green Jays, among other rarities

Maybe he’ll give up and mine the border instead. Plus, that will mean more money to defense contractors so everyone wins!

Yes, UNLESS those states are “endangering the public morals” by allowing trans teenagers to use the “wrong” bathroom, of course. Or acknowledging that anthropogenic climate change is a thing.

Or not allowing racial discrimination.

I do not support cutting the budget at all, but to be fair meals on wheels could “fail” by feeding people who don’t need their services, spend the money poorly compared to other services that feed the elderly, failing to identify/reach the people who need their services the most, or cause negative side effects such as expose their clients to predatory volunteers/employees. So I’d disagree that the only thing they could do wrong is let the people they’re currently feeding starve. I’m guessing it’s actually a lot harder than it looks to do it right, even if the typical and day to day mission of making/getting food and bringing it to old people is pretty straightforward.

They were mean to me, so fuck em. Also my family lives there 24/7, so… fuck them too.

Budget director: We must eliminate the Corporation for Public Broadcasting because it is immoral to ask coal miners or single moms to pay for Public Broadcasting

White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney says Trump administration officials focused on areas of the budget where they felt they could not ask taxpayers to foot the bill, specifically citing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).

"When you start looking at the places that will reduce spending, one of the questions we asked was ‘Can we really continue to ask a coal miner in West Virginia or a single mom in Detroit to pay for these programs?’ And the answer was no,”

(Click to see the entire thread, the two minutes is worth it)

That’s assuming they aren’t half way through a separation.

Still waiting on that apology to Obama for the obviously fabricated felony allegations.

Politifact seems to think the $150 million figure being tossed around is exaggerated. I like their reasoning, as they’ve based it on the actual cost numbers NYC submitted to the Feds for protecting Trump Tower during the time between the election and the inauguration. That daily cost was significantly higher than the cost per day now, when it’s just Melania and Barron. Therefore, while it is still an extra expense to protect Trump Tower as long as they live there, it’s not equal to or exceeding the annual budget for the Arts Endowment.

http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2017/feb/08/social-media/does-melania-trumps-security-detail-cost-more-fede/

On the other hand, when you then add the costs of protecting Trump and family on their frequent trips to Mar-A-Lago to the costs of protecting Trump Tower…the statement of “Does it really cost more to protect the first family outside the White House than the entire National Endowment for the Arts annual budget?” becomes absolutely TRUE.

This is great.

Brilliant. NYC is the #1 terror target in the country, and Trump wants to cut funding to the organization primarily responsible for protecting the city. How is that not considered “defense budget” money? Oh yeah, because billionaire defense contractors don’t get a cut of that money, it just goes to pay for silly stuff like training, overtime, and more police officers and equipment for NYPD. Wasteful!

That was a fun read.

[quote]
All schoolchildren will be taught by an F-35 wearing a Make America Great Again hat. They will also have new school choice options including the choice not to afford any school at all, because at school you are taught things like grammar and pronouns and spelling and history, and these are all potentially inimical to future we are trying to build.[/quote]

Aw. The author was doing so well, but then she dropped “inimical” in there, which obviously would never come out of a Trump surrogate.

Even better:

https://twitter.com/MrAusnadian/status/842768049476317185

I love (I actually hate) how the President and his team only read headlines. It’s so easy to bait them.

A laptop computer containing floor plans for Trump Tower, details on the criminal investigation of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server and other national security information was stolen from a Secret Service agent’s vehicle in New York City on Thursday, law enforcement sources tell ABC News.

Why are those two things on one laptop? Why are “details on the criminal investigation of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server” on a Secret Service laptop at all?

I want to create a Twitter account, tweet to Trump that I have definite proof that Obama ordered illegal write taps, and then be named National Surveillance Advisor.