Thursday 20th of August 2026
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president al capone: clowning for the american circus....

 

The reported $2.2 billion in profits involving Donald Trump and his family during his first year back in office has prompted scrutiny of the president’s financial interests. The Democrats should make the scale of the gains more tangible and push for greater scrutiny of presidential conflicts of interest.

To House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer – your responses on 1 July 2026 to the reporting of the $2.2 billion profit personally reaped by President Donald Trump, while allegedly a public servant in 2025, were not specific enough.

Jeffries (NY) wrote on his social media account: “Donald Trump made more than $2 billion during his first year as President. Republicans are enriching themselves while making your life more expensive. We must crush the culture of corruption.”

Schumer (NY) wrote on his: “$2.2 BILLION for the Trump family. Higher costs for the American people.”

You should have described his huge loot as $1.1 million an hour. That’s right, $1.1 million an hour based on a 40-hour work week over one year. (And remember, Trump spends a lot of his time on his vengeance missions, his golf game, and napping – so a 40-hour work week is a generous estimate.)

You should have then compared that enormous sum per hour with the Trump-GOP supported federal minimum wage, frozen at $7.25 per hour. This would have given you the perfect occasion to highlight the case for a much higher federal minimum wage, helping tens of millions of American workers.

You also omitted his unlawful agreement with the Internal Revenue Service to give him a free ride on tax abuses.

Such profiteering from his public office at $1.1 million an hour is staggering, especially when you detail where it came from. This would have resonated with a huge portion of the voting public, including Republicans. Instead, Democrats lost the opportunity to make that stunningly understandable communication. But it is not too late to revive and make more concrete his boastful misuse of the office of the presidency. You can compare it with past presidents’ sense of self-restraint. You can ask for widespread feedback from the American people and make it part of his widely discernible profiteering persona of greed and lawless power.

One further response to this mountain of greed by Donald Trump should be joint shadow hearings between the House and Senate Democrats during this August recess. This would bring this appalling engagement by Trump in his various investment arrangements to a wider audience and highlight recommendations of reforms to prevent such massive and dubious self-enrichment by a president of the United States. There will be many competent legal and other experts to testify at your hearings, which no doubt will reveal more information and reach a large audience during the August recess.

These hearings would provide the Capitol press corps with much-needed information to fulfil their professional responsibility to provide the people with their right to know the fuller details of what has yet not been reported.

Another way to put it is, you don’t make $1.1 million an hour by pushing a button. There is a lot of personal hidden back-and-forth by many people and many conflicts of interest to make that rich haul a reality.

Contact your Democratic members of Congress and demand shadow hearings. Ask for their written response. Do your part to help make it happen. The Congressional switchboard number is 202-224-3121.

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/trump-1-1-million-an-hour

 

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         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

         RABID ATHEIST.

         WELCOME TO THIS INSANE WORLD….

more threats....

US President Donald Trump has warned any country that supports Iran of economic consequences as war soon approaches its sixth month with no resolution in sight. 

Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday that "ANY country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran will itself face TREMENDOUS economic consequences."

The US leader described his move as "economic warfare" and "isolation" on an unprecedented scale as he stepped up an economic pressure campaign on Iran.

"Today, I am announcing the MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY!" he said, referring to the Islamic Republic in the superlatives-embellished post.

Trump said that nobody other than him had given Tehran what he called "a greater opportunity to make a deal".

"TRAGICALLY, for them, they have failed to take it," he said.

Trump said that Washington needed the support of all its allies to isolate Iran and counter the threat posed by the country.

He compared his plan to an "ECONOMIC D-DAY".

There were no details of what Trump’s economic steps against nations supporting Iran would look like, Trump also did not mention any country by name, other than Iran.

Iran media reacts to Trump’s "economic warfare" warning

Iran’s Fars news agency on Thursday called Trump’s latest economic threat the usual "psychological warfare and propaganda campaign,"

The country’s Tasnim news agency said the US presidents' announcement was "not a new development, as the United States has been trying for years to block any financial and economic ties with Iran."

Tehran has "learned how to circumvent these restrictions and has become very skilled at doing so," Tasnim said on Telegram.

https://www.dw.com/en/middle-east-updates-trump-warns-economic-consequences-for-nations-helping-iran/live-78438056

 

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UAE Reportedly Released Iran’s Frozen Assets Worth Billions of Dollars, Bitcoin Rebounds

Varinder Singh

  • The UAE reportedly released Iran's frozen assets worth billions of dollars, including gold.

  • Boeing 737-7KK (A6-RJA) operated by UAE Royal Jet flew from Abu Dhabi to Iranian airport.

  • Bitcoin price rebound 1% as oil prices plunge on assets transfer reports.

Oil prices fell on Thursday after reports that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) released Iran's frozen assets held in Emirati banks, including gold valued at roughly $200-283 million. As a result, Bitcoin and the broader crypto market witnessed a much-needed rebound.

The UAE Transfers Frozen Cash and Gold to Iran

The UAE has released several billion dollars of Iran's frozen assets held in UAE banks, including 1.5 tonnes of gold, according to The Hormuz Letter and other sources on X.

The reports claim the reason behind the transfers is that Iran spares the UAE from future attacks, according to multiple senior sources in Tehran with knowledge of the transfers.

The assets were transported to Iran aboard a Boeing 737-7KK (A6-RJA) operated by UAE Royal Jet, from Abu Dhabi to Tehran's Mehrabad Airport and Payam Airport in Karaj on August 11 and 12. Each flight reportedly stayed under an hour before returning.

This is described by some sources as the third such transfer. Earlier claims in Reuters' June report suggested the UAE had agreed to unlock $10-20 billion, with more than $3 billion already delivered amid the US-Iran war.

However, the UAE Foreign Ministry denied reports of transfers at the time, stating "no frozen Iranian funds have been released, transferred, or facilitated through the UAE." US officials also rejected claims of any side deals or releases without Iran's denuclearization.

The latest reports also remain unverified by the UAE or the US as of August 13. However, Iran can get its frozen assets and reparations by auctioning off attack exemptions to Gulf states, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Qatar.

Bitcoin Jumps as Oil Price Declines

Oil prices fell towards $82 per barrel today, snapping a five-day advance as investors hope for a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and the latest transfers of Iran's frozen assets by the UAE.

However, the Trump administration is also moving toward imposing greater economic pressure on Iran. The measures include expanding economic sanctions and a naval blockade.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin price also jumped 1% within hours as oil prices dropped sharply. The price is currently trading near $63,900, with 24-hour lows and highs of $63,267 and $64,329, respectively.

Bitcoin trading volume has increased by almost 6% over the last 24 hours, indicating traders remain interested. This comes as US CPI inflation slowed for a second consecutive month to 3.4%.

Polymarket data revealed 26% odds of Bitcoin dipping below $60,000 in August, while no is at 76%. Notably, Bitcoin has dropped to its 'Cost of Production' zone, a level historically associated with bear-market bottoms.

https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/crypto/articles/uae-reportedly-released-iran-frozen-061729626.html

 

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PLEASE VISIT:

YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT — SINCE 2005.

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

         RABID ATHEIST.

         WELCOME TO THIS INSANE WORLD….