Registered Trademarks & the Emoluments Clause

Registered trademarks are a great way to make money.  If you have a well-known name, like President 45, you can make millions by trademarking your own name.  Last month, the government of China gave preliminary approval to one registered trademark by President 45, and it pretty much sailed by unnoticed.  That trademark was for construction services businesses.  Two days ago, China announced the preliminary approval of 38 new trademark registrations for the circus peanut, which raised quite a few eyebrows.  These trademark applications were made in April of 2016, when the US Presidential election was running hot and heavy.
   The newest approved trademarks cover a wide variety of businesses: spa and massage services; golf clubs; hotels, which include escort services; insurance companies; financial companies; real estate companies; restaurants; bars; and a trademark classification that includes bodyguards, concierge services, and social escorts.  Three of the approvals use the name Scion, which is the name of the President's sons line of hotels.
   All thirty-nine trademarks were granted to a company registered in Delaware as DTTM Operations LLC.  Unless someone objects to the trademarks in letters addressed to China's government within 90 days of the preliminary approval, the trademarks are automatically registered as law.
   Maryland's Ben Cardin said, "For a decade prior to his election as President, DT sought, with no success, to have lucrative and valuable trademarks granted in the world's biggest market (China).  He was turned down each and every time.  The floodgates now appear to be open."  Cardin called on the federal Departments of Justice, State, and Commerce to "brief Congress, immediately, on these matters and on the potential constitutional dangers that they present."
    Ben Cardin is concerned about violations of the Emoluments Clause of the US Constitution, which bars elected leaders from taking anything of value from foreign countries, unless approved by Congress.  Dianne Feinstein of California said the trademark approvals are "exactly what the Constitution's Emoluments Clause was designed to prevent, and the President is blatantly defying it."
    Kathleen Clark, a government ethics professor at Washington University in St. Louis, told National Public Radio last month that by giving the circus peanut valuable name rights, Chinese officials may hope that they can influence policy decisions.  And that represents a breach of the Emoluments Clause, she believes.

Wacka-Wacka

Oh me, oh my.... Things are getting crazier by the day.  Michael Flynn, the ex-National Security Director for the tiny-handed tangerine tyrant, registered himself, retro-actively, as a "foreign agent" for the government of Turkey.  While working for the campaign to elect "45" he was on the payroll of Erdogan; he was on the Turkish payroll while he was included in US national security briefings after the 2016 election.  What the heck is going on?
  Today, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has told all 46 assistant AGs, who were all appointed by Obama, to resign, and to be out of their offices by the end of today.  Where the heck is this administration going to find 46 qualified assistant AGs over the weekend?  All cases that those who were forced to resign will have to be taken over by... someone...
   For the White House news briefing today, Sean Sphincter appeared wearing his US flag lapel pin upside down.  This is only done to show distress or a crisis.  When asked about it, he laughed and turned the flag right side up.
   Pruitt, the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency, stated that carbon dioxide does not contribute to climate change or global warming.
   The new executive order known as the "travel ban" dropped one of seven countries from the list.  The state of Hawaii has already filed suit against the government, and more are joining the contest.
   This administration is a "See no evil; speak no evil; and hear no evil" group when it comes to their own appointees, and current members.  But they certainly see evil-doers everywhere; the spew hatred constantly; and they hear (and make up) evil things happening in our country.   They scare the hell out of me.

Bits and Pieces

Bits and pieces today...  
At a meeting last night, a new water park was approved for Chincoteague Island.  KOA bought the Maddox Campgrounds last year - off the traffic circle on the way to Assateague.  Now they will turn a marsh area into a water park.  I'm sorry - but Chincoteague and Assateague are islands.  You can swim in the Atlantic Ocean on the east side of Assateague, at the National Seashore; you can swim in Tom's Cove on the west side of Assateague if you don't want to worry about waves.  There are a couple of spots on the Assateague Channel, between Chincoteague and Assateague, where you can beach your small craft (or drop anchor) and have a picnic on the shore and swim in the Channel.  There are places you can enter the water and swim on Chincoteague, and out-lying islets.  Most motels, hotels, and condominiums have their own fresh water pools.  Why the heck do we need to have a crazy water park?
    At the moment, there are twenty-two horses that have 10 or more qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby. They are (in no particular order) (1) McCracken, (2) Gunnevera, (3) Mastery, (4) American Anthem, (5) Gormley, (6) Classic Empire, (7) One Liner, (8) Girvin, (9) Tapwrit, (10) J Boys Echo, (11) Practical Joke, (12) Untrapped, (13) El Areeb, (14) Guest Suite, (15) Lookin At Lee, (16) Uncontested, (17) Mo Town, (18) Irish War Cry, (19) Royal Mo, (20) Zakeroff, (21) Local Hero, and (22) Three Rules.
   How do Presidential vacations compare in number of days and costs?  A couple of my Republican cousins scoff at the numbers recently reported, so I checked with snopes.com, Politico, and the Nationalist, a paper that keeps tabs on Presidential spending....  The President who took the most "vacation days" in history so far is George W. Bush; Frankiln Delano Roosevelt came in second with 958 days of "vacation."  Of course, a President is never really on vacation... they are always "on call" in case of a crisis.  Here's how the past two Presidents, and the current one, stand in number of days "off" and in the cost to the tax-payer.
     George W Bush:  The 43rd President was in office for 2,922 days; during that time, he made 77 trips to his ranch in Texas, and 11 trips to the Bush family compound in Kennebunk, Maine.  Each of the 77 trips to Texas cost the tax-payers of America more than $20 million.  Seventy-seven  trips at $20 million even adds up to $1.54 billion.  That doesn't count his trips to Maine, or  every-day security details for his family (3 people).  Bush logged in 1,020 days being "on vacation" - that is 34.91% of his entire time in office.
      Barack Obama:  The 44th President was also in office for 2,922 days.  During his tenure, the President took 29 vacations, mostly visiting Hawaii, where he grew up.  The cost of all of Obama's vacations was $97 million.  That, too, does not count the cost of  every-day security details for his family (4 people).  Obama took, or used, 228 days of "vacation" - or 7.8% of his entire time in office.
     President # 45:  Today is this man's 47th day in office.  Each time he visits "the Winter White House", the Mar-a-Largo (Big Beach) Golf Resort which he owns, the cost of a Friday noon through Sunday afternoon trip is more than $3 million.  So far, in 47 days, his "vacation" have cost American tax-payers over $12 million.  This, too, does not include the every-day costs for his family's security details (12 people).  "45" has spent 14 of his 47 days in office "on vacation," which is 29.79%.  And this is the man who said that President 44 spent too much time on the golf course, and that (August 2015) if he were President, he wouldn't be taking very many vacations because he'd be too busy running the country.    -  What happened there?  Total disconnect?

Rosie - and the 45th

Well, Rosie had a very bad day yesterday - she had a bout of diarrhea that woke her owners up around 4 yesterday morning - and the mess was spread all over her bed, the master bathroom,the walk-in closet, the master bedroom, the entrance to the stairs, and the stairs themselves.  Her folks were exhausted from caring from her and doing their regular jobs; she awoke them, barking on the stair landing.  They didn't finish getting her cleaned up, and cleaning as well as they could until it was 8:30 yesterday morning.  I took her for a walk at my sister's as usual, and then went back yesterday afternoon so one of the owners could take a nap.  I got her up and down the steps, and supported her to use the bathroom, but she couldn't stand on her own at all.
   I went over this morning, expecting the worst - but she was very happy to see me, shaking with excitement, as she's done for the last year.  Got her in the car, and over to my sister's back yard as usual.  I supported her hindquarters most of the way across the yard, until I got near where we usually sit in the sun; then I let go of her rear support handle.  I was amazed, and extremely happy, when she remained standing by herself for a few minutes, and then walked over to the spruce trees  and began to "play safari."  She poked and nosed under the low growing branches for about ten minutes, then walked back to me, gave a sigh, and laid down.  The last time she did that was around Thanksgiving. I reported that when I took her home this morning, and we all watched, amazed again, as she walked out into the den, drank some water, and then wandered through the kitchen.  I left while she was still standing - astounded by her resilience....
   Apparently "45" stuck pretty much to his teleprompter last night when addressing our joint Congress.  But I was greatly saddened by his use of the widow, and horrified by his following crass remark about how long the applause was.  The man continues to prove he's an uncaring, unthinking idiot.  Following his teleprompter, he actually spoke in complete sentences.  My only question is:  where is he going to get the money to do all of the things he's proposing?  He wants to increase military spending by $54 billion per year.  Hes says he'll get the money by stripping the State Department, Foreign Aid, and shutting down Environmental Protection Agency programs.  Maybe, if he totally closed all of those departments and agencies, he could save that amount.  Then there's his "great, great wall" along the Mexican border; that's supposed to cost $20 to 30 billion - where will that money come from?  He's going to deregulate industry and banking, and give them a 30% tax cut.
Where will the revenue for all of his expenditures come from?  He states he's going to rebuild the nation's infrastructure - with what?  How is he going to pay for 15,000 more border guards? - And what about the Canadian border?  Will we get more guards for the northern border as well?  What about Alaska's border along Canada?  Having lost more than 48% of our manufacturing capabilities over the past 30 years, along with almost 60% of those people trained to do those jobs, how is the circus peanut going to jump-start manufacturing inside the United States again?
   I am just wondering how he's going to pull a miracle out of his.....

Under the Heel of "45" and Pruitt - The EPA

Yesterday, by a four vote margin, Scott Pruitt was confirmed as the new administrator of the United States Protection Agency.  He was sworn in yesterday afternoon.  During his election campaign, the tiny-handed tangerine tyrant, aka 45, vowed "to gut the EPA."  Congress has just given that power to 45's hand-picked butcher. Scott Pruitt, has always been highly critical of the Environmental Protection Agency, and now wields the power to to totally reshape the 15,000 employees work place and work standards.
   As the Attorney General of the state of Oklahoma, Pruitt sued the EPA at least 14 times - often in lockstep with the fossil fuel industry - to try to overturn the agency's clean air and clean water regulations.  He has questioned the role humans play in climate change, and argues that much of the agency's authority should in the the states' hands.  Now, Pruitt's actions - and the new executive orders that 45 plans to sign regarding the EPA - could have repercussions for decades, if not centuries. "Most of the business community is looking to Pruitt to make changes that will be enduring - not do things that can easily be undone by the next administration, but really sensible things," said Jeffrey Holmstead, who was an EPA official during George W. Bush's administration, and who is now employed by Bracewell LLP.
    I have personally heard of an executive order in the works that will allow mines almost no restrictions on the waste (toxic and otherwise), sludge, and sediment run-offs that will flow into streams,creeks and rivers.  No more wading in the creeks, or fishing, or anything fun - just rescuing poisoned creatures in the poisoned waters and along stream, creek and river banks...
     I have drawn heavily upon Politico.com as a resource for the following information.  The five items of vital interest to the American public regarding this administration and the United States Environmental Protection Agency are:
1.  Climate Change -   "45" and Pruitt have vowed to dramatically shift course on the Obama Administration's landmark climate change efforts.  The president has threatened to pull out of the 2015 Paris climate deal, in which the US and nearly 200 other nations agreed to make sharp cuts in their greenhouse gas output. The EPA's Clean Power Plan, which requires cuts in the power industry's carbon dioxide emissions,has a target on its back.
2.  Water Protections -  After years of legal confusion about which streams and wetlands deserve protection under the Clean Water Act, the Obama administration issued a landmark regulation in 2015 to cover head-water streams and some wetlands and ponds. Called the Waters of the US rule, or WOTUS, the regulation sparked a fierce backlash from home builders, farmers, and the oil and gas industries, which say it gives the federal government vast power over everything from stock ponds to puddles.  This President has vowed to kill WOTUS as soon as possible.
3.  Executive Orders - Cheeto-cheeks is widely expected to sign one or more executive orders shortly after Pruitt takes the helm at the agency, setting the priorities and tone for his EPA.  Top targets for the orders could include the agency's climate change work, its broad enforcement powers, or its overall approach to regulation.  Of course, executive orders are tied to the president who signs them, and the next administration can quickly undo them.  But EOs can also be used to set in motion a broader set of changes that aren't as easily erased. For instance, industry groups have long urged the EPA to change the way it measures the costs of new regulations, something that could significantly alter the regulatory review process for years.
4.  Personnel - One early "45" adviser, EPA critic Myron Ebell, had a clear recommendation for reining in the EPA: "Slash the workforce."  His call to cut the EPA's staff by two-thirds got a lot of media attention, but would be virtually impossible to accomplish.  Still, attrition can pack a punch, especially when the number of employees nearing retirement age and the promise of an unfriendly leader has sent morale plunging.
5.  Legislation - Truly lasting changes in the country's approach to environmental regulation will require action by Congress.  And after eight years of having their efforts met with veto threats from the White House, Republicans on Capitol Hill now see an opening.  But any such legislation will face a 60 vote threshold in the Senate, so a wholesale revamp that many in the GOP want to see is likely to remain out of reach.  Key Republican leaders have said that they plan to take a rifle-shot approach to the Clean Air Act, and they may try again to influence the reach of the Clean Water Act. However, it's not clear whether they will be able to raise the 60 votes needed...