At the Washington Post today, we learn that Melania is monetizing bits of her clothing.
Mark Lasswell writes:
Melania Trump apparently didn’t get the memo from that noted artist Hunter Biden: You’re supposed to cash in on your presidential family ties while the guy is still in office. She might be late to the party, but the former first lady is monetizing with a gusto worthy of, oh, brewmaster Billy Carter.
“On Tuesday,” Helaine Olen writes, “Melania Trump announced she would sell to the highest bidder the widely admired hat she wore when French President Emmanuel Macron” — he of the potty-bouche — “visited the White House in 2018.” Trump is also flogging both a watercolor of herself wearing the hat and a non-fungible token by the same artist. (If the watercolorist is one H. Biden, fetch my bidding paddle.)
Here’s the catch … it’s the Trumps, there’s always a catch: Transactions will be “conducted not in dollars but in cryptocurrency — specifically SOL, the currency of the blockchain platform Solana,” Olen writes.
Given that “the blockchain is where no small amount of the get-rich-quick of the past year is residing,” and given that “taking advantage of the rubes has long been a Trump family specialty,” Trump’s post-White House crypto avidity could be interpreted as a cynical SOL-grab. They thought of that. Trump’s announcement included the heartwarming aside that “a portion” of the proceeds — Olen notesthat bidding begins at the crypto equivalent of $250,000 — will go to computer science and technology scholarships for individuals who have been in foster care.
How much is that “portion”? Maybe this is the moment to wonder when Trump is going to put that “I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U?” jacket up for auction.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
It’s such an unrepentant grift. How could anyone check to see if a foster kid got this money?
Read the fine print. No money to foster kids. But maybe they will get a “scholarship” to attend some online university that is as great as Trump U.
Is she selling the jacket that said, “I REALLY DON’T CARE. DO U?” which she wore to visit immigrant children in cages? because if she’s selling that jacket for crypto, I really don’t care. Do you?
And… it was a fascist slogan. The jacket should be bought and shredded in public.
Sorry, Diane, I jumped the gun and commented on the title before I read the post. I see now that you already caught the jacket.
I am sure that just as much of the proceeds will go to “charity” or scholarships as the money raised by the Trump Foundation did.
Grifters gonna grift. No doubt it’s some marketing scam by a cryptocurrency company.
I hope all of the Trump supporters donate their money to Melania’s “good causes”. Maybe it will pay for a lovely portrait of her to be commissioned so that individuals who need scholarships can gaze on it and be inspired to work harder to get one.
I’ll admit to being quite ignorant about cryptocurrencies (scam-o-currencies) but, you know, we already have a government backed currency, dollars and cents. Why would I invest in something backed by who knows what. It’s an insane concept with opportunities galore for fraud and deception, which describes Trump, his wife and whole family.
Reprehensible but unfortunately typical behavior from a Trump. Thought this story was encouraging – about several former Trump staff meeting next week to discuss ways to challenge/stop him https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/06/politics/stephanie-grisham-trump-officials-meeting-cnntv/index.html
SOL?
Seriously?
The colloquial meaning of SOL is “shit outta luck”
But I guess that would be appropriate for anyone who bought something from a Trump.
Actually hilarious!
On Fri, Jan 7, 2022 at 11:01 AM Diane Ravitch’s blog wrote:
> dianeravitch posted: ” At the Washington Post today, we learn that Melania > is monetizing bits of her clothing. Mark Lasswell writes: Melania Trump > apparently didn’t get the memo from that noted artist Hunter Biden: You’re > supposed to cash in on your presidential family ” >
Despite the shenanigans of the MAGA clan, they do shine a light on a persistent problem with the foster care system. While I doubt any of former first family’s money will actually be used for a worthy cause, it is very difficult for former foster care youth to survive when they have no support, and they age out of out foster care. They lack access to guidance and a safety net that most families provide to some degree. We should help them get some type of job training so they do not turn to crime because they are stuck in low paying jobs.https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125729965
Amen to this!
I doubt that they will see real money from Melania for the foster care kids. The Trumps are not known for their generosity.
Ha! LOL!
Don’t be surprised if Empress MAGA (Trump’s grifter trophy wife) has thousands of those hats made in China stored in a warehouse for poverty-wage paid illegal immigrant workers/slaves to mail out to everyone that wins the bidding war and that means everyone wins.
Because every bidder is going to win the bidding war and end up with a hat that may have sat on Empress MAGA’s head … or not. She’ll probably keep the hat she did wear that day.
Beat the rush! Get your non-fungible token of this painting of Melania’s left elbow!
What’s the big deal? She’s been cashing in on selling her stuff for her entire adult life.
I wasn’t going to go there but admit to thinking this.
What an utter load of Trump!
Same Trump, different day
Bat-trump crazy
A total pile of Trump
Up Trump-creek without a paddle
Trump happens
Trump outta luck
A real Trump show
Trump faced
Trump or get off the pot
Shower, Trump and shave
No Trump, Sherlock
You gotta be Trumping me
Does a bear Trump in the woods?
That was some really good Trump, man
Eat Trump and die
Send lawyers guns and money, the Trump has hit the fan
That was a real Trump hole country
Trump for brains
In lesser important news, hundreds of thousands, likely millions, of students have not been in school since the New Year, and it’s not clear when they’ll be back. This is almost two years after schools shut down.
A site to better education for all.
The usual suspects may now mock me and this comment.
^^^You will see from the reply below that this teenager – who wants schools to remain open — has more insight and understanding of the complexities than certain adults who prefer to rail that other adults won’t discuss a topic that he himself refuses to discuss.
Flerp
“There you go again ” All you are asking is to discuss the issue and then when the issue is discussed.
“I Am a New York City Public High School Student. The Situation is Beyond Control.”
You fail to discus the issue and go into your grievance rant.
2642 died yesterday of course eventually this flavor will burn through the unvaccinated(and less so vaccinated) population probably just in time for the next variant. But lets play number fun 900k +a year.
Do you still think that requiring children to wear mask even outdoors is child abuse ?
flerp,
Is this student “mocking” you?
You keep posting about facts we already know.
You seem to be waiting for someone else to come up with a solution so you can attack them.
What is YOUR solution? You think the situation that is described above by a real student is better?
You think maybe we should do what you have demanded in the past and end mask mandates and just let everyone bring COVID back to their families?
You aren’t a public school parent anymore, so I doubt you even read what I do — the facebook comments by parents who are seriously worried about COVID coming back to their families.
What is YOUR solution? More sympathy for the anti-vaxxers who have helped make this pandemic 10000x worse?
I’m far beyond trying to convince anyone here of anything. My only hope is that people here will give this continuing catastrophe at least as much as consideration as they give to what Melanie Trump is doing. Ideally, people would discuss the topic here on their own without my having to raise it. After all, this is a blog to discuss better education for all.
Spend less time and effort talking about what I think and more about what’s happening to children. Good night.
flerp,
All I see is you acting as you usually do: you post a comment that restates the obvious – in this case that some schools have had to close because of the exponentially huge rise in COVID cases — and then you lecture everyone here from your position of superiority for not discussing what you yourself refuse to discuss.
I posted a relevant link from a public high school student about how difficult this is. You didn’t want to discuss it, of course.
You clearly understand how difficult managing a once in a lifetime pandemic is because you don’t actually want to discuss this. You haven’t offered any solution except to ban mask mandates and force everyone into in-person school.
You criticize the rest of us for not discussing a subject that you yourself have no interest in discussing. What is wrong with you?
Do you really think spending your time posting links to right wing twitter feeds demonizing dedicated educators as horrible and dangerous people so other right wing people will threaten their lives makes you superior to people replying to a post about Melania?
You had a chance to discuss this topic, and you passed. What is wrong with you?
You could have discussed that reddit post by a public high school student. You did not want to discuss that. You just want to criticize others for not discussing it.
^^And it is sad that the teenager who wrote this reddit post – who ALSO wants schools open – has more understanding of the difficulties of keeping schools open than a grown adult with years more education.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/historians-warn-of-coup-unfolding-in-real-time/vi-AASxRxR?ocid=msedgntp
Historians Doris Keans Goodwin and Timothy Synder: A coup is unfolding in real time
Kearns
I think that this conversation is the most important I have seen in a long, long time. Let’s be clear about what is happening right now.
Diane’s funniest title ever
Your fetish for the Trump family is really something. Like the royal family or something. Meanwhile you defend Democratic gifts like Hunter Biden’s job and Nancy Pelosi’s insider trading. How odd, it’s almost like it’s a partisan thing.
Projecting much?
Dienne, did you forget that Trump was President? President of the United States.
If there’s a history major out there considering pursuing a PhD, I’ve got an idea for you. Despite the billions of pages that have been written about Germany between 1918-1939, and more specifically, after 1933, little-to-nothing to my knowledge (I may well be wrong) has been written or studied about the thousands, perhaps millions, of Germans who considered themselves to be of the far left during Weimar and later became some of the most devoted followers of Naziism. I think it’s an incredibly important topic to study and if I could do it all over again, I might be tempted to pursue it myself. For a current perspective, may I introduce you to the author of the post above? Some things don’t change.
fascinating
Who, here, has posted a fervent paean to Hunter Biden’s cashing in on the family name or of Pelosi’s insider trading? Or the insider trading of other Congress members (this seems to be their main job).
No one.
NO ONE.
Bob,
I think she is saying that since I didn’t criticize Hunter Biden or Nancy Pelosi, it’s unfair to criticize Melania.
Here’s the thing. I post whatever interests me. Hunter’s unethical decisions have gotten lots of attention in the media. I’m unaware of any scandals attached to Nancy Pelosi. I think it’s hilarious that Melania is auctioning off her personal clothing. I post what I want.
Ah, thanks for the translation from Putinese, Diane!
NB: All statistics in this essay are from Pew Research unless otherwise noted.
Republicans face an existential crisis.
First, young people don’t share their ideologies. Let’s have a look at Millennials. Only 12 percent describe themselves as “Mostly conservative” or “Consistently conservative.” Only 29 percent say that “belief in God is necessary to be moral.” 67 percent (two-thirds) support government health care coverage for all. 77 percent think that the way to achieve peace is through “good diplomacy.” 68 percent say that the country should make changes to achieve racial equality. 79 percent say that immigrants strengthen the country. 73 percent support gay marriage. 62 percent say that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. 81 percent say that there is solid evidence of global warming. Only 32 percent say that they are “Republican” or “Lean Republican.” Only 27 percent of approved of Trump’s job performance. In recent midterms, only 29 percent supported Republican candidates.
Second, the demographics of the country are changing in ways that do not favor Republicans. Even though Trump has often claimed, in his racist way, that “The Blacks love Trump,” only 19 percent of Black men and 9 percent of Black women voted for Trump. Overall, according to Roper, 87 percent of Blacks voted for Biden, 65 percent of Hispanics, 61 percent of Asian Americans, and 55 percent of people of other nonwhite racial groups.
And, of course, these two facts are related. Younger cohorts tend are more racially and ethnically diverse. The percentage of whites in the U.S. is declining. According to the Brookings Institution, the decline in percentage of the white population was just shy, by a fraction of a percentage point, of 20 percent since 1980. 79 percent of Silent Generation Americans were white, 72 percent of the Boomers, 61 percent of Gen X, and 56 of Millennials.
Furthermore, with quite minor exceptions, these gains for progressives and losses for Conservatives have held consistent, as trends, in every case, over DECADES.
Now, you might be thinking that, well, of course young people are progressives, but as they grow older, they become more conservative. That’s the conventional wisdom. But as is often the case with received ideas, that’s wrong. Political scientists have done many studies of this question. Political leanings tend to persist over the lifespan. (You might be surprised to find that for most of the Vietnam War, most young people in the U.S. approved of it, and most older people opposed it. So, the emergence of Reaganism wasn’t that surprising after all.)
But, back to the current situation. The complex of idiocy and reaction that is Repugnicanism is dying. So, what’s a fire-breathing Repugnican to do? How does the GOP, the Greying Old Party, keep from going the way of the Know-Nothings?
Well, the do-or-die moment is coming. Thanks to gerrymandering and other manipulations, Republicans have an opportunity, in 2022, to increase their percentage in the Senate and to retake the House. Then, if they take the Presidency in 2024, they will control it all. And they can even, with a simple majority vote, expand the Supreme Court into an ultra-right-wing nationalist Extreme Court, pass a version of the German Enabling Act to be rubber stamped by that court, and dramatically restrict voting rights.
And that’s how a minority party regains and retains power. But rising from its ashes as a Fascist state. The Fascists love iconography. Perhaps they should adopt a Phoenix symbol for this; The Party, rising from THE ASHES OF DEMOCRACY.
cx: BY rising from its ashes as a Fascist state.
The Repugnicans have no notion how impossible it will be for them to establish an autocratic, nationalist, fundamentalist state here. Most people are light years beyond them, already in another galaxy far, far, away.
Don’t be too quick to stand on the aircraft carrier and announce, “Mission Accomplished” in 2025, Pugs.