The double dipping Presidency

Politics and Social Issues
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I was looking for a place to park this story and went though pages worth of threads only to be surprised that nothing’s been started about this presidents embrace of conflict of interest with an utter disregard and contempt for standards or laws, and our oh so timid leaders seemingly impotent to do anything about it.
So it’s time to open up this slot I’m sure there will be plenty more stories coming up worth parking over here.

Trump Sons Forge Ahead Without Father, Expanding and Navigating Conflicts By ERIC LIPTON and SUSANNE CRAIGFEB. 12, 2017 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/12/us/politics/eric-trump-donald-trump-jr.html Critics say conflicts of interest are far from resolved, but Don Jr. and Eric press on with deals landing Trump-branded properties around the world. On Saturday, in fact, they will cut ribbon at their company’s newest branded property, billed as a “magnificent golf course" in the booming United Arab Emirates city of Dubai, before hundreds of Emirati power brokers. A week later they will head to Vancouver, British Columbia, for another opening celebration, of the latest Trump International Hotel and Tower, one of a dozen major international projects still underway, from the Dominican Republic to India. Back home in the United States, they are planning to open a new boutique hotel chain, Scion, in perhaps 30 cities. With the aggressive push forward, though, comes the persistent thrum of ethical qualm. Just last week, news that Eric had traveled to the Dominican Republic to restart a stalled project there prompted controversy, given the Trump Organization’s pledge of no new overseas deals. The Washington Post reported that when Eric visited Uruguay on business in January, the trip cost taxpayers nearly $100,000 in hotel bills for the required Secret Service agents and for embassy staff members. Also echoing through the office at Trump Tower was the dust-up over the decision by Nordstrom and several other retailers to stop selling their sister Ivanka’s clothing line. Don Jr. called that “disgusting," and both brothers said their father was right to take Nordstrom and other retailers to task publicly in Ivanka’s defense. “He’s Papa Bear," Eric said. Despite pressure to do so, President Trump has not sold any of his assets, which include a stake in a half-dozen office buildings, more than a dozen golf courses and at least 15 hotels that the company owns or manages. Instead, he has signed over control of day-to-day operations of his privately held company to the two sons and Allen Weisselberg, a trusted lieutenant at the Trump Organization, with an agreement not to discuss company business. The arrangement and the president’s decision to not release his taxes have brought widespread criticism from liberal groups and even the federal government’s top ethics watchdog, Walter M. Shaub Jr., the director of the Office of Government Ethics. President Trump has continued to frequent his commercial properties, including over the weekend in Florida, bringing them global media attention and potential new customers.
there's much more, check out the full article
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Isn’t this just exposing the weakness of the two-party system, and that it is a thinly veiled disguise for a one-party system? We have avoided it for a few decades because the balance has been shifting, but now that Pubs have House, Senate and Presidency, and almost SC, how do you enforce ethics? They’ve been winking and nodding at each other as they pass laws to benefit themselves, knowing the other team still enforce a sanction if you went too far, but now, you can’t even pretend to vote against something. The confirmations have been on strict party lines, and they have nothing to do with the campaign promises. It’s one thing when you can argue about 2% of the budget and make it look like you have ethics, all the while approving black boxes full of military equipment and neo-colonialism, but now a bill can slide straight through the system. The mask is off. There are no ethics, it’s just about power.
The only positive is, they seem to be desperate. They really don’t have complete control yet, but they aren’t talking as if they are against a Russian dictator or as if they care about education. They are giving Trump what he wants, so he will give them what they want. If they get it, we’ll be run like Russia or China for a while to come. If they don’t, it’s going to be very interesting to see what kind of candidates they put up next time. How are they going to talk about e-mail servers or family values or insiders or pay-for-play?

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I was looking for a place to park this story and went though pages worth of threads only to be surprised that nothing's been started about this presidents embrace of conflict of interest with an utter disregard and contempt for standards or laws, and our oh so timid leaders seemingly impotent to do anything about it. Republican leaders are not impotent to do anything about it. They could if they wanted to, but they are perfectly fine with it. They love a president who says, "You can't push ME around." It makes them happy to have a leader who refuses to play by the rules. He's a tough guy. He's doing it HIS way and Republicans fall all over themselves with admiration. It's like watching a John Wayne movie where the lone tough guy always wins. So it's time to open up this slot I'm sure there will be plenty more stories coming up worth parking over here.
Trump Sons Forge Ahead Without Father, Expanding and Navigating Conflicts By ERIC LIPTON and SUSANNE CRAIGFEB. 12, 2017 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/12/us/politics/eric-trump-donald-trump-jr.html Critics say conflicts of interest are far from resolved, but Don Jr. and Eric press on with deals landing Trump-branded properties around the world. On Saturday, in fact, they will cut ribbon at their company’s newest branded property, billed as a “magnificent golf course" in the booming United Arab Emirates city of Dubai, before hundreds of Emirati power brokers. A week later they will head to Vancouver, British Columbia, for another opening celebration, of the latest Trump International Hotel and Tower, one of a dozen major international projects still underway, from the Dominican Republic to India. Back home in the United States, they are planning to open a new boutique hotel chain, Scion, in perhaps 30 cities. With the aggressive push forward, though, comes the persistent thrum of ethical qualm. Just last week, news that Eric had traveled to the Dominican Republic to restart a stalled project there prompted controversy, given the Trump Organization’s pledge of no new overseas deals. The Washington Post reported that when Eric visited Uruguay on business in January, the trip cost taxpayers nearly $100,000 in hotel bills for the required Secret Service agents and for embassy staff members. Also echoing through the office at Trump Tower was the dust-up over the decision by Nordstrom and several other retailers to stop selling their sister Ivanka’s clothing line. Don Jr. called that “disgusting," and both brothers said their father was right to take Nordstrom and other retailers to task publicly in Ivanka’s defense. “He’s Papa Bear," Eric said. Despite pressure to do so, President Trump has not sold any of his assets, which include a stake in a half-dozen office buildings, more than a dozen golf courses and at least 15 hotels that the company owns or manages. Instead, he has signed over control of day-to-day operations of his privately held company to the two sons and Allen Weisselberg, a trusted lieutenant at the Trump Organization, with an agreement not to discuss company business. The arrangement and the president’s decision to not release his taxes have brought widespread criticism from liberal groups and even the federal government’s top ethics watchdog, Walter M. Shaub Jr., the director of the Office of Government Ethics. President Trump has continued to frequent his commercial properties, including over the weekend in Florida, bringing them global media attention and potential new customers.
there's much more, check out the full article