Showing posts with label Education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Education. Show all posts

Melania, Trump Wife # 3. Oh how we love those grimacing scowls!

Melania, 

Trump Wife # 3

Another patented "TRUMPinfoDUMP" from the 

cut biographical chapter of the upcoming

"Scams from the Great Beyond --The Presidential Edition."




                Melania, is, of course, Donald Trump’s third and current wife. Of all the things about living under the Trump administration, watching Melania interact with her husband is my favorite. Melania is, of course, a former model from Eastern Europe who knowingly married a self-absorbed millionaire who she had to know had cheated on his two previous wives and divorced them with as much publicity as possible. She knew this. Put everything she does in that context.



                I know it’s evil, I know it’s wrong, and I promise I do feel guilty about it, but watching her is one of my favorite things about having Trump in the White House now. Those “don’t touch me” hand slaps in front of the airplane ramps, those “I hate being here and I hate this man too” expressions at public events when he’s not looking, the alleged plagiarism of Michelle Obama, a woman her husband can’t stand, in her 2016 speech,[1] and the same suspicion a few months later that she plagiarized Marla Maples, Trump’s second wife and another woman he can’t stand, in a later speech.[2]  And those choices, like choosing cyber bullying awareness and prevention as her cause she would promote when first lady despite her husband being a notorious cyber bully himself. Or the 2020 Republican National Convention where spoke about how America deserves an honest president and the importance of understanding our history in order to achieve racial harmony, two statements that made many listeners wonder which convention they were listening to and which presidential candidate she was really advocating for. Or those clothing choices. The “I don’t care. Do you?” jacket. The amazing “green screen” dress at the convention that enabled meme making in such an amazing way.[3]   



                The fact is that their marriage had troubles long before he won the presidency,[4] and I know she lies and doesn’t really speak all those languages she claims to, [5] or those weird claims she made about bathing Barron in caviar, [6] but that really seemed designed to promote a line of skin care products she was going to sell on QVC and did promote on The Apprentice. [7] I mean, she did wait six months to move into the White House which kind of hints at something going, (some argue she was renegotiating the pre-nuptial agreement before doing so), but, regardless, she’s there now, and, well, like I said I know it’s wrong, but it’s just so much fun to watch.    



                Melania, an immigrant in the family of our most anti-immigrant president, is from Slovenia in the former Yugoslavia. She gained the right to live in the USA through an EB-1 or “Einstein Visa” for people who show talent in a special field. If you’re wondering, she began the application process in 2000, when she was dating Donald Trump. Part of the process for applying for this is to demonstrate or show evidence of extraordinary talent in a field. Many have wondered how Melania demonstrated “extraordinary” talent as a model. Lacking demonstrable evidence of extraordinariness, this was probably done through endorsement letters from people in the modelling field. It is likely that her then boyfriend, now notoriously hard on immigration president, Donald Trump, a man with many connections and contacts in that field, pulled some strings and asked for some favors to get her such letters. [8]   She, like Ivana, is claimed to have done modelling work, working illegally in the USA, on the wrong visa, but, in fact, it appears that Melania did more of it while here on a tourist visa in 1996. Which, it has to be said, is a bit ironic considering that she’s the second wife of America’s most anti-immigrant, anti-undocumented illegal foreign worker president to, in fact, be an immigrant who worked here illegally. [9] And, as for that “chain migration” thing, well, she brought her parents here using it. [10]



                Melania and Donald Trump had a big fancy wedding with many celebrity guests. The guest list included Bill and Hillary Clinton, Chris Christie, politicians, billionaires, and countless celebrities including several of the Liberal Trump despising actors, actresses, and musical performers that now publicly criticize Trump. Some have commented that a large segment of the swamp he promised to drain has attended his three weddings over the years. [11]


Finally, my books . . . 

Yeah, I've written books. Please check them out and see if they interest you.



  


[1] “Melania Trump and Michelle Obama side-by-side comparison,” uploaded on July 18, 2016 by CNN

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcbiGsDMmCM

“Comparing Melania Trump’s Speech With Michelle Obama’s | The New York Times,” uploaded on July 19, 2016 by The New York Times

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz375GoHaMk&list=LLPeXKAAiecwg3uHOU2a6Uvg&index=656

[2] “Melania Trump leaves the media scratching its head — again,” by Callum Borchers. November 3, 2016. The Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/11/03/melania-trump-leaves-the-media-scratching-its-head-again/

[3] “Melania Trump's Green Dress At The RNC Became An Instant Meme -"Melania's fashion choices always send a message," by Stephanie K. Baer. August 28, 2020. BuzzFeed News.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/skbaer/melania-trump-green-screen-dress-rnc
“Melania Trump's Bright Green Dress On Final RNC Night Screams Meme,” by Andrew Limbong. NPR
https://www.npr.org/2020/08/28/906986560/melania-trumps-bright-green-dress-on-final-rnc-night-screams-meme
“HaHA! Melania Trumps Green Dress gets green screen madeover - Seeall the styles Trump RNC Convention,” uploaded on August 27, 2020 by Tony Dortie - 24/7 Eyes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCs6S7uWn2k

[4] “What's Really Going On With Donald Trump's Marriage,” uploaded on May 24, 2017 by Nicki Swift

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbUMTF8X3E8

[5] “Is Melania Trump really fluent in five languages?” uploaded on August 3, 2017 by John Aravosis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxbeaFgDS_o

[6]  

“Donald Trump's 7-Year-Old Son, Barron, Uses Caviar Moisturizer Every Night” April 11, 2013, Updated January 20, 2017. Huffington Post.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trumps-son-barron-caviar-moisturizer_n_3063299

[7] “The Real Story of Melania Trump's Defunct Skincare Line,” by Karen Bennett. May 1, 2018. The CheatSheet.

https://www.cheatsheet.com/money-career/the-real-story-of-melania-trumps-defunct-skincare-line.html/

[8] “What is the Einstein visa? And how did Melania Trump get one?” by Joel Gunter. March 2, 2018. 

BBC News
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43256318

[9] “Melania Trump modeled in US prior to getting work visa,” by Alicia A. Caldwell. November 4, 2016 AP News

https://apnews.com/37dc7aef0ce44077930b7436be7bfd0d/Melania-Trump-modeled-in-US-prior-to-getting-work-visa
“The huge questions about Melania Trump’s immigration history nobody will answer,” by Aaron Blake. February 21, 2018  The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2018/02/21/the-huge-questions-about-melania-trumps-immigration-history-nobody-will-answer/

[10] “Melania Trump’s Parents Become U.S. Citizens, Using ‘Chain Migration’ Trump Hates,” by Annie Correal and Emily Cochrane August 9, 2018 The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/09/nyregion/melania-trumps-parents-become-us-citizens.html

[11] “Trump's wedding to Melania was 15 years ago. It explains so much about our cultural moment,” by Steve Krakauer January 22, 2020. NBC News.

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/trump-s-wedding-melania-was-15-years-ago-it-explains-ncna1120236

 

at No comments:
Labels: , , , , ,

Marla Maples, Donald Trump Wife # 2 -- Scams from the Great Beyond -The Presidential Edition





 

 Another patented "TRUMPinfoDUMP" from the cut parts of "Scams from the Great Beyond -The Presidential Edition." 

 

Marla Maples, Donald Trump Wife # 2


                Trump met his next wife Marla Maples and they began dating in 1989, which is kind of a shame as he was still married to his first wife, Ivana, mother of three of his children, at the time. The relationship, the affair, the scandal, the divorce was all astonishingly public, in part because Donald liked giving interviews to the press about it. To me, the most interesting thing about this relationship was the way the tabloids covered it.[1] According to Wikipedia, the scandal made the front page cover of The New York Post eight days in a row. [2] I urge you to follow the links below and check out some of these covers. Once you see these, you will learn why the phrase "President Donald Trump" is tough to take seriously for most people in his home state.[3]                       


                The couple got married three months after Tiffany was born. Their wedding was, like most Trump functions, attended by several celebrities, including strangely enough, Rosie O’Donnell, the comedian who he has publicly insulted.[4]

 


               They had one daughter named Tiffany, reportedly named after “Tiffany’s,” a famous, upscale  Manhattan jewelry store [5]  where Trump bought Marla a very expensive ring, apparently getting a discount if he promised he would mention the store each change he got, and then Trump spoke of buying. 

           Which kind of explains why I am really curious to know why Trump's second son is named "Eric." I confess, I still have no idea. 

     


                They divorced about six years later amidst issues involving Marla Maples and her bodyguard being discovered alone together under a lifeguard stand. They have both denied having an affair. Apparently, they both just wanted to climb under a lifeguard stand at the same time. [6]

 


Finally, my books . . . 

Yeah, I've written books. Please check them out and see if they interest you.



  




[1] “A complete collection of the best Donald Trump New York Post covers,” by By Emil Lendof  January 20, 2017 The New York Post.
https://nypost.com/2017/01/20/donald-trump-in-new-york-post-covers/  

[3] “Donald Trump’s Very 1990s Tabloid Scandal -The storyline is the same, but the technology changes,” by Adrienne LaFrance. January 18, 2018. The Atlantic.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/01/donald-trumps-very-retro-tabloid-scandal/550754/
“Tabloid covers from the '90s show the insanity of Trump's divorce from ex-wife Ivana,” by Sarah Jacobs Oct 10, 2017. Business Insider.
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-ivana-divorce-tabloid-covers-2017-10#billion-dollar-blowup-she-wants-the-plaza-hell-take-manhattan-americas-gaudiest-couple-square-off-in-an-old-fashioned-battle-over-babes-and-bucks-direct-from-aspen-palm-beach-and-new-york-city-heres-the-latest-dish-4

[4] “Marla Maples.” Accessed on September 13, 2020.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marla_Maples

[5]  Personal communication. Ian Randall Strock, author of several books on the presidents and their families.

[6] “Marla Maples.” Accessed on September 13, 2020.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marla_Maples

at No comments:
Labels: , , , , ,

Trump's Marriage to Ivana, Wife #1 ---Scams from the Great Beyond -The Presidential Edition

 Donald Trump's Marriage to Ivana, 

the first of three wives.  


I write in mid-September, 2020.  I am furiously working on a book called "Scams from the Great Beyond --The Presidential Edition," a sequel to my two other "Scams from the Great Beyond" books (available at Amazon and elsewhere). Consider it my small and quixotic contribution to the effort to save America and perhaps the planet from our current president. Now in the editing stage, the editor advised to simply remove the biographical chapter as it was growing equal in length to half the book. 

Excerpts are now offered as blog essays. My loss becomes your gain. Here we share a brief history of Trump's relationship with Ivana, his first of the three wives. He cheated on all three of them. 

  



Trump’s first wife, Ivana was an immigrant, as, of course, is his third wife. His second wife, Marla Maples, was from Georgia, which although a part of the USA, to people from New York City seems distinctly foreign and exotic, making her kind of sort of an immigrant.               
                Ivana and Donald met In 1977. For years she was a partner in several of his business projects. They had three children. There are two stories that are shared about how they met. The first, most widely believed story involves Trump introducing himself to her while in a line to enter Maxwell’s Plum, a trendy and expensive singles bar located on Manhattan’s East Side where Ivana and friends were also waiting in line. He wound up paying for the night’s drinks for her and her friends and sent her a dozen roses the next day. [1]

                The second story, the one Trump prefers and shares in “The Art of the Deal,” is that they met at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games. Trump likes to include Ivana’s love and ability as a downhill skier in this story, mentioning that she was an alternate for the Czech skiing team at the 1972 Sapporo Japan Winter Olympics.[2] She was, he said, expert in slalom and downhill. Nevertheless, Ivana has repeated and told it herself as well.[3] However, Czechoslovakia had no Olympic ski team that year, [4] and in 1989, 1989, Petr Pomezný, Secretary General of the Czechoslovak Olympic Committee, told Spy magazine that they could find no record of Ivana having any connection with the Czechoslovakian ski team under any of her names. [5]

                Like so many others in Trump’s family, Ivana is an immigrant, and since her ex-husband has been using issues of immigration and immigration fraud as such a campaign issue, we should look at how she came to be standing in line waiting to enter a trendy singles bar in Manhattan in the late 1970s anyway. It seems that she had been working as a model in Canada and was in Manhattan that evening working at a show to promote Canadian furs, probably without proper American work papers. Which raises several questions.

First, how did she leave Communist Czechoslovakia, not an easy thing to do? She did this by marrying an Austrian ski instructor named Alfred Winklmayr. This allowed her to obtain an Austrian passport and leave Czechoslovakia. The marriage was a sham, never consummated, they both say, and done strictly for immigration fraud. When Winklmayr moved to California where he became a ski instructor, he did not bring Ivana. She then obtained a divorce on the grounds that he had allegedly abandoned her.[6] 

Ivana herself says in her autobiography that they stayed married for two years to “fool the government and divorced in 1973 as soon as it was safe to do so.”

When her boyfriend, a well-known Czech playwright, died in a car accident in 1973, she moved to Montreal and Canada where she lived with George (Jiři) Syrovatka, a many she’d dated off and on since 1967. There’s a great deal of mixed statements regarding Ivana’s relationship with Syrovatka. They both seem to have stated they were married at one time or another and both then later denied it. One source reports Syrovatka was the one who arranged her sham visa marriage to Winkalmayr.[7] Another source describes him as her “former fiancé,” and they have stayed together for years.[8] No record of any marriage was found by journalists who have looked.[9]

Which is all quite interesting because it raises questions as to what sort of visa she was using to live and work in Canada. There is no record of her ever becoming a Canadian citizen, so this is quite important. Even more interesting is the question as to whether or not her Canadian visa, no matter how it was obtained, allowed her to work as a model in a fashion show that weekend in Manhattan? It looks unlikely and if she did not have a visa that enabled her to work in the USA then that means she was an illegal undocumented foreign worker stealing American jobs. Really. [10]

                Soon after marriage, Donald put his wife Ivana in charge of managing several important aspects of his businesses, apparently feeling that as a model and downhill skier she had the appropriate transferable skills to manage a business and workforce. While reports are that she was not good at managing employees and had several weaknesses, she did design uniforms for the doormen at Trump Towers which included large busbees, you know, those tall furry hats, s as well as the cheerleaders for the New Jersey Generals, Trump’s USFL football team. [11]

                Donald and Ivana’s wedding was officiated by Norman Vincent Peale, author of   “The Power of Positive Thinking” and Dutch Reformed Minister. [12] Peale and his self-confidence developing, self-help strategies and techniques is widely credited as a major influence on Trump who attended Peale’s church in Manhattan with his parents while growing up. [13]

                They had three children, Donald Jr., obviously named after his father, and Ivanka, named after her mother, (“Ivanka” is reportedly the diminutive of “ivana”)[14]  They have a third son, named Eric, and despite extensive effort, I have not been able to learn where his name came from. My guess is that it is interesting.

Finally, my books . . . 

Yeah, I've written books. Please check them out and see if they interest you.



  



[2] Pages 18-19, Schwartz, Tony and Trump, Donald. “Art of the Deal.” ( 1987, Warner Books, New York )

[3] Page 78-79, Kranish, Michael and Fisher, Marc. “Trump Revealed -The Definitive Biography of the 45th President.” ( 2016, Scribner, New York)

[4] “Ivana Trump,” Wikipedia, accessed August 29, 2020, and confirmed in several other sources as well. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivana_Trump

[6] “Ivanka Trump says her mother immigrated legally—that may not be true,” by David Gilmour, August 3, 2018.

https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/ivanka-trump-ivana-legal-immigrant/

[7] “6 Things You Need to Know About Donald Trump's First Wife, Ivana,” by Prachi Gupta, March 16, 2017
https://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/a56426/ivana-trump-donald-trump-first-wife/

[8]  “Just friends? Ivana Trump models a series of short floral frocks as she steps out with her first love during a trip to Prague,” by Erica Tempesta. June 21, 2017. DAILYMAIL.COM

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4626348/Ivana-Trump-steps-love-Prague.html

[10]  For more on Ivana Trump, one interesting source is an old article in Spy magazine, a New York City based publication that in the 1980s took great fun poking at Donald Trump. See, van Meter, Johnathan (May 1989). "That's Why the Lady is a Trump". Spy. Sussex Publishers, LLC. ISSN 0890-1759 – via Google Books at

https://books.google.com/books?id=xaCC4gI-zJkC&lpg=PA98&q=trump%20master%27s%20degree&pg=PA86&v=onepage#v=onepage&q=trump%20master's%20degree&f=true

[12] Page 81. Kranish, Michael and Fisher, Marc. “Trump Revealed -The Definitive Biography of the 45th President.” ( 2016, Scribner, New York)

[13] For instance, see “How Norman Vincent Peale Taught Donald Trump to Worship Himself, The magnate’s biographer explains the spiritual guide behind his relentless self-confidence,” by Gwenda Blair. October 06, 2015. Politico.
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/10/donald-trump-2016-norman-vincent-peale-213220 


at 1 comment:
Labels: , , , , ,

Donald Trump at Business School --Scams from the Great Beyond --The Presidential Edition

 Greetings. It's been a while since I've posted here. Frustrated by the current, sad state of this nation, and the poor, divisive, destructive leadership of our current President Donald Trump, I've thrown myself into quickly writing a book about his life and style of leadership. A sequel to my earlier "Scams from the Great Beyond" books, this one will be called "Scams from the Great Beyond --The Presidential Edition." Please stick around. Follow the project. I expect to be giving away the e-book for free. And whatever else you do, show your love for this nation, by voting this creep out in November.

 

 


                “Perhaps the most important thing I learned at Wharton was not to be overly impressed by academic credentials. It didn’t take me long to realize that there was nothing particularly awesome or exceptional about my classmates, and I could compete with them just fine. The other important thing I got from Wharton was a Wharton degree. In my opinion, that degree doesn’t prove very much, but a lot of people I do business with take it very seriously, and it’s considered very prestigious. So all things considered, I am very glad I went to Wharton.”[1] 

 

                Trump has mentioned his education many times. According to a 2018 article in The Daily Pennsylvanian, the University of Pennsylvania university newspaper: “From June 16, 2015 to Jan. 11, 2018 where he mentioned Wharton in his interview with the Wall Street Journal, Trump has said “Wharton” 52 times. Over the same time period, he has noted that he went to an Ivy League school 12 times, and referred to himself as a “good student” (or some variant like “great” or “excellent”) 27 times. “[2] (Interestingly, according to the same article, while on the campaign trail and during the same time period, Trump spoke of his education frequently on the east coast and much less so in western or mid-western states.) [3]

 

                However, there are many questions about Trump’s grades and academic achievements while at Wharton. Former Trump adviser, Steve Bannon, according to Michael Wolf, author of controversial and at times not always accurate books on Trump, has allegedly gone so far as to joke that Putin is using Trump’s college transcripts to blackmail and control him.[4]  Wharton has never invited Trump to give a commencement speech and is close lipped about this famous alumni of their school. Time and time again, attempts to speak to his classmates about their memories of Trump during his time there, reveal that few remember him. Michael Cohen, his attorney of many years (who like many Trump associates has since been charged with crimes in connection with Trump, convicted, and disavowed the President) sent a threatening legal letter to Wharton, along with other schools Trump has attended, advising them not to release his grades and to be careful of what they say about him or face legal reprisals. Furthermore, while Trump has bragged about being first in his class, and in a now retracted article long before his entry into politics, The New York Times reported this claim as true, records from the school showing the names of top graduates reveal this to be entirely untrue. Some have commented on Trump’s twin obsessions of hiding his own grades while trying to expose those of President Barack Obama.  It’s also been noted that Trump’s obsession with his college grades, both hiding and exaggerating them, is particularly troubling as few can deny that whatever else he may be, Donald Trump, first person to become President of the United States without government or public service experience, is undoubtedly an over-achiever.  [5]

                And while some would argue that grades are not nearly as important as learning, there are indicators that Trump did not actually learn much at Wharton. Aside from his own statements in the ghost-written book, “Art of the Deal,” that he got little from his time there except a degree that impressed people, David Cay Johnston in his well-researched book, “The Making of Donald Trump,” gives examples of surprising gaps in Trump’s understanding and knowledge of basic business principles. He reports how Trump was called to testify at a lawsuit that he, Trump, filed against Timothy L. O’Brien, a journalist who Trump asserted had understated Trump’s wealth. O’Brien’s lawyer questioned Trump on basic business principles, as it became increasingly obvious that Trump had given widely varying numbers for his own wealth over the years. One question concerned Trump’s understanding of “Net Present Value,” a basic concept used to determine the desirability of an investment.[6] This is something any business student would be expected to know. Trump’s answer was nonsensical gibberish that showed a lack of understanding of the concept.[7] When asked about Generally Accepted Accounting Principles or GAAP, another basic business principle, another extremely fundamental concept in business or investment,[8] Trump responded that he was not an accountant. In fact, the concept should be known by anyone who is having accountants handle their money. [9]

                In this context, one has to ask what Trump learned in business school.



Finally, my books . . . 

Yeah, I've written books. Please check them out and see if they interest you.



  




[1] Page 77. Trump, Donald and Schwartz, Tony. “The Art of the Deal.” (1987, Time Warner Books, New York.)

[3]

“How many times has Trump mentioned his Wharton education? We crunched the numbers,” by By Alex Graves, The Daily Pennsylvanian, January 17, 2018.

https://www.thedp.com/article/2018/01/trump-penn-wharton-data-education-times-ivy-league-business-finance-philadelphia-campaign

[4] “Fact-Checking All of the Mysteries Surrounding Donald Trump and Penn,” by JONATHAN VALANIA in City Life·  September 14, 2019.

https://www.phillymag.com/news/2019/09/14/donald-trump-at-wharton-university-of-pennsylvania/

[5] “Fact-Checking All of the Mysteries Surrounding Donald Trump and Penn,” by JONATHAN VALANIA in City Life·  September 14, 2019.

https://www.phillymag.com/news/2019/09/14/donald-trump-at-wharton-university-of-pennsylvania/

 

Here's Why Donald Trump Doesn't Want Anyone To Know His Grades Or SAT Scores,” by Christopher Rim, February 28, 2019. Forbes.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherrim/2019/02/28/heres-why-donald-trump-doesnt-want-anyone-to-know-his-grades-or-sat-scores/#25f3163d3764

 

“Trump Overstated Academic Record, Report Says,” by Andrew Kreighbaum. July 9, 2019. Inside Higher Ed.

https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2019/07/09/trump-overstated-academic-record-report-says

[6]

Pages 78-79. Johnston, David Cay. “The Making of Donald Trump.” (2016, 2017. Melville House, Brooklyn)

“A Refresher on Net Present Value,” by Amy Gallo. November 19, 2014. Harvard Business Review.

https://hbr.org/2014/11/a-refresher-on-net-present-value

[7] If you would like to read his attempt at a definition, you may read it in Johnston’s excellent book or in several news and magazine articles. One place where you can find it without a pay-wall is

 

“What Trump Doesn’t Know About Money, You’ll Pay for His Tariffs-for-the-Wall Scheme,” by David Cay Johnston.

August 22, 2020.  DCReport.org

https://www.dcreport.org/2017/01/31/what-trump-doesnt-know-about-money/

[8]

“Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)” By Alicia Tuovila, Reviewed By David Kindness, 

 Updated Apr 20, 2020. Investopedia.

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/gaap.asp

[9]

Pages 18-19. Johnston, David Cay. “The Making of Donald Trump.” (2016, 2017. Melville House, Brooklyn)

at No comments:
Labels: , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Trump and Musk -What is motivating them? What is their end goal? Partial thoughts First

Trump and Musk -What is motivating them? What is their end goal? Partial thoughts First . . . what the heck is going on here? What are Donal...