Grifters gotta grift: the Trump swamp (updated)

Why has this crook not already resigned, or been fired? Oh that’s right, he works for America’s premier grifter, Donald Trump.

Dan Alexander at Forbes reports on Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross robbing his clients blind to build his fortune. New Details About Wilbur Ross’ Business Point To Pattern Of Grifting:

A multimillion-dollar lawsuit has been quietly making its way through the New York State court system over the last three years, pitting a private equity manager named David Storper against his former boss: Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. The pair worked side by side for more than a decade, eventually at the firm, WL Ross & Co.—where, Storper later alleged, Ross stole his interests in a private equity fund, transferred them to himself, then tried to cover it up with bogus paperwork. Two weeks ago, just before the start of a trial with $4 million on the line, Ross and Storper agreed to a confidential settlement, whose existence has never been reported and whose terms remain secret.

* * *

There are bigger allegations. Over several months, in speaking with 21 people who know Ross, Forbes uncovered a pattern: Many of those who worked directly with him claim that Ross wrongly siphoned or outright stole a few million here and a few million there, huge amounts for most but not necessarily for the commerce secretary. At least if you consider them individually. But all told, these allegations—which sparked lawsuits, reimbursements and an SEC fine—come to more than $120 million. If even half of the accusations are legitimate, the current United States secretary of commerce could rank among the biggest grifters in American history.

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Who is winning the ‘money race’ so far in Arizona’s congressional and senate races?

Successful campaigns take lots of money.  The candidate with the most money does not always win (several self-funded millionaires readily come to mind),  but a candidate who cannot raise substantial sums of money cannot win. Period.

So let’s take a look at who is winning the “money race” so far in Arizona’s congressional and senate races, as of  June 30 from the FEC candidate finance portal.

District 1

Democratic incumbent Rep. Tom O’Halleran is comfortably ahead in the money race in his district, with a substantial cash reserve for the general election. Rep. O’Halleran should be able to defend his seat this November.

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Donkey Feed, August 8, 2018

By Michael Bryan

Welcome back to the Donkey Feed. Those who feel I’m too verbose will be glad to see I have just 7 Arizona stories, 8 national stories, and 5 world stories for you to enjoy today.

But first, I found some cool tools this episode: Native-Land.ca has fantastic interactive maps of the native peoples, territories, and languages of the native peoples of North America and Australia, which I found fascinating and informative; Also interesting is this illuminating (and infuriating) comparison of income inequality in the United States vs. western Europe (this is not “natural” market forces at work, these charts are the result of political choices we have made):

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(Updated) SWAG List of Arizona Federal Candidates in 2018

 The candidate petition challenges are now completed, and write-in candidates who qualified for the primary election have been added by the Secretary of State.

Early voting for the August 28 primary is currently underway. “No Party Preference” voters, so-called “independents,” who tend not to vote in primary elections must request a ballot for the party primary in which you want to vote (you cannot vote across party primaries). Vote!

The primary election is Tuesday, August 28, 20i8.

U.S. Senate (open)

Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D)
Deedra Abboud (D)
Rep. Martha E. McSally (R)
Joe Arpaio (R)
Kelli Ward (R)
Nicholas Glenn (R) Write-in Candidate
William Gonzales (R) Write-in Candidate
Angela Green (GRN) Write-in Candidate
Adam Kokesh (LIB) Write-in Candidate

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(Updated) SWAG List of Arizona State Candidates in 2018

 The candidate petition challenges are now completed, and write-in candidates who qualified for the primary election have been added by the Secretary of State.

Early voting for the August 28 primary is currently underway. “No Party Preference” voters, so-called “independents,” who tend not to vote in primary elections must request a ballot for the party primary in which you want to vote (you cannot vote across party primaries). Vote!

The primary election is Tuesday, August 28, 20i8.

Arizona Legislature

District 1

Jo Craycraft (D) Senate (CCE)
Karen Fann (R) Senate
Ed Gogek (D) House (CCE)
Jan Manolis (D) House (CCE)
Noel Campbell (R) House
Jodi Rooney (R) House
David Stringer (R) House

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