Also what's with rich people getting things made out of absurdly valuable, highly figured hardwood and then having it covered with one of those thick, high loss finishes that makes i look like the fake wood paneling on a low end SUV? 150 years ago it would have taken a lot of effort to make something look like that, but these days it's just some extra machine buffing and most modern finishes look like plastic anyhow (because they are).

Not that anyone cares, it just kills me to see wood like that essentially wasted.

Assuming it's even real, solid wood.

Shit, the whole color scheme of this thing looks like when I barfed three slices of pizza and a big bowl of vanilla ice cream after a friend's birthday party in 4th grade.

Past a certain net wealth, you become a crow and worship shiny things.

Or maybe you have to be a crow and worship shiny things to get to this point in the first place (unless you're born into it) because most people have the sense to spend their time and energy on better things.

>> Or maybe you have to be a crow and worship shiny things to get to this point in the first place (unless you're born into it) because most people have the sense to spend their time and energy on better things.

Donald was born into it. He's not a very good businessman, and if it weren't for government bailouts and his casino, he'd be a homeless pauper right now.

Don't forget gullible morons who pay huge fees to use his name on their projects, and are required to remove said name if the project hits financial problems.

even his casino really doing that well for quite a while

*wasn't

He did make money with some scams, and exploiting legal loopholes.

Hello Trump fans. I have heard you like coveting luxury. So we put some luxury in his luxury, so you can covet while you covet.

So if it was possible right now to swap Trump with Kim Jong Un, do you think the citizens of North Korea would be better or worse off in a year?

Serious question. I'm honestly not sure.

Not meant to be a reply, oops.

Also I'm not talking about a realistic scenario, I'm talking about some kind of Freaky Friday situation where Trump was put in charge but was treated just like Kim Jong Il is right now. Given that status and power, what would he do?

He would die quickly.

The power dynamics would be totally alien to him, not knowing how to preassure the right people, his concept of terror not working pn the locals. One of his brothers would kill him and take power.

I actually don't know much about his background and assumed he started out upper middle class simply because he's too entitled t have ever been really poor but he has the taste of a tech startup millionaire.


Although now that I think about it I should have known he never really had to earn anything, because most of his business ventures have been failures haven't they?

>> Although now that I think about it I should have known he never really had to earn anything, because most of his business ventures have been failures haven't they?

Yes, they have. I've spoken about this before, but he's declared bankruptcy numerous times.

His dad was a bonafide titan of the business world; growing up the son of an immigrant restaurant owner, and amassing an empire worth nearly 0 million by the time of his death (he'd be a multi-billionaire in today's money). Donald inherited his money, and his empire, from his dad.

Another thing I've mentioned before: Trump is not taken seriously in the world of high capital. Your insight is spot-on, OZ; he's seen as a tasteless boor, even a bit of a joke. What Trump is good at is *acting*. He's very charismatic, he looks the part, he talks the part, and he can BS on camera all night long, cutting promos like a main card pro-wrestler. He's not so much a billionaire, as a man who plays the role of a billionaire on TV.

The worst part is, he's really not that bad a guy! The Trump everyone knows from TV is not necessarily the "real" Trump, just the Trump he, and his friends in the American media establishment, want to present to the public. He's smarter than people give him credit for - just not as good at business - and he's a master of networking, having cultivated friendships in all corners - as mentioned previously, he's a close and personal friend of the Clintons, of all people, and has been so for years. Few people, either his haters or his supporters, seem to understand this about him, which I guess is why he's so well-suited for a career in politics.

You and I have very different ideas of what it takes to be a "bad guy," EH.

Well, he doesn't rape children, he hasn't murdered anyone that I know of, and he's not caused a war (yet). The things that people hate about him are usually petty grievances - the stupid hair, the lack of taste, the money - or kayfabe stuff that's part of his contrived gimmick - the loudmouthed bullying, the supposed conservatism, the ruthless business sense. I'm not saying that Trump is some kind of saint or that he'd make a good President, just that his balance of karma is less awful than people might be led to believe.

These are for Miss Henson's 6th grade class' comment.

But I love how EH is not absolutely terrified of the possibility of Trump becoming president, in part BECAUSE he's a good dissembler (and like 5 other fear-inducing features for a potential president).

EH is one of my favorite characters on this site.
Who writes him?

I'm convinced he's IBMs Watson, they're fine turning his pedant subroutines

Why would I be terrified? Trump is a team player, a moderate Democrat with lots of friends, who'll wind up doing the exact same things any of the other major party presidential candidates would do if they got into office. Think of Trump as an older, flabbier John Cena. He's great on the mike, crap in the ring, and - this is key - a completely dependable company man behind the scenes.

I'm not *happy* with that, for the same reasons that I'm not happy with ANY of the bipartisan candidates who've been vetted for our consideration - I'd love for you guys to vote a Libertarian or a Green into office for a change! But the flipside of that is, I'm not particularly scared of him, either. Worse comes to worst, he'll be Hillary Clinton, just with the added bonus of having five of the six American media corporations demonizing him and criticizing his every move - as well they should.

Plus, Ivanka is my dad's former advisee, and if Mr Trump gets into office, *I* certainly won't see anything out of it, but my alma mater will probably get a new math department or athletics field. So no worries!

I guess what I meant is "overconfident plutocrat fucktard eccentric" isn't what I'd hope for in a president.

EH, you're describing what Trump was...but it's anybody's guess what he is since he realized he can get lots of the attention he craves spouting far-right opinions to adoring audience. He doesn't strike anybody as either a man of deep convictions or a particularly stable personality. If you want to believe that there's a stable core below all the bluster, fine. But I wouldn't take that bet.

Trump: 'You ain't up on this."

To be fair, it's bit better than having your jet engines stamped with the same manufacturer as a refrigerator.

I believe it's an allusion to their automobiles; Rolls-Royce is a highly respected, upmarket luxury brand, and provides cars to many of the world's wealthiest people (Mr Trump included).

You make a good point re: Rolls-Royce jet engines being common place, Mr BAC, but I believe the point here is "appearances". Trump flies this jet to important meetings with important people; the sort of people who would see a Rolls-Royce logo on a jet and think, "Ah, yes, here is another rich person, another 1%er who knows how to play the game." As I mentioned above, Trump is an actor, and this jet, a stage in his own travelling theater. It doesn't have to make sense, it just has to dazzle long enough for him to tell whatever story he needs to.

i mean yeah but even rolls-royce automobiles aren't as nice as theyt used to be. british luxury coachcraft in general has really begun to go downhill in the past ten years (much like apple, transitioning from makers of solid hardware etc. to status symbols with absolutely no quantitative advantage.

i'm just continually astounded by the ability of celebrities/nouveaux riches to "dazzle" (perfect term) the populace (and now the electorate!) with what amounts to a gumball machine in terms of actual wealth.

i'd be pumped to display my general electric engines! they sponsored the mcglaughlin group throughout my formative years!