Readers’ Column for the week of January 10, 2021

You may call the Owego Pennysaver Readers’ Column at (607) 687-2378 24-hours a day, or email comments to readerscolumn@stny.rr.com. We reserve the right to revise or reject any message. 

 

Thank you to the couple that delivered The Pennysaver on Sunday on McMaster Street. They really do a great job!

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The Red Kettle Drive of 2020 would like to thank Price Chopper, Tops, The Owego Diner, Owego Agway, Katie’s Kreations, and The Owego Pharmacy for supporting this year’s Red Kettle Drive. Even though they lost volunteers this year due to COVID-19, they gained new volunteers and would like to thank all that rang this year, and all of those that generously donated.

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So, this is a big one to start the New Year with. If we are going to lose our rights to the recyclable plant out on Route 17C, they say it’s going to close down after we’ve paid for this damn thing to be revised and buckets supplied and all this crap, then would you please put a piece in your Pennysaver and tell us exactly what we can take out there, and what exactly is considered recyclable or not. Specify please. We waste more money. 

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I’m just wondering if the big box stores that gave their employees Thanksgiving and Christmas Day off made them all charge their vacation time for it.

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In my opinion, the Owego / Candor area really needs some middle-income apartments. We like stainless steel, we like modern. It’s either low income or way too expensive for middle-income folks. Just my opinion

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Us New Yorkers are really very fortunate. We have Governor Cuomo, who we are guaranteed will always make the wrong decision. If you ever have a question before you and don’t know what to do, just ask yourself, what would Cuomo do? Then do just the opposite and you will be fine.

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If I were God, I would send that COVID Virus to the pit of hell where it belongs. Satan and his demons can have it.

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Many, many thanks to the angel who pulled all the snow off my porch roof plus other shoveling while I was gone that day. That was a big job! Barb, Newark Valley.

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Now that hopefully in 2021 this pandemic will wane and we will get back to normal. We have another problem on our hands. What has been going on with all of the used gloves, masks, and sanitizer bottles that we have been using over the past year or so? Are they ending up in the landfill, being burned, or what is the story with them? I hope we don’t cause an environmental problem with them as we’ve used about a million more of them this past year than any other given year. 

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On the night of the big snowstorm just prior to Christmas, early in the evening before there was even six inches of snow, up on Gardner Road in Apalachin there was a house fire which none of the emergency personnel could access until a plow came up. I sure hope that this gives the Town of Owego a little heads up that because our roads are not maintained, it’s causing problems. That person could have very easily lost their lives in that fire because of this. I’ve been on them for two years to explain to them that something needs to be done with our road, but they won’t do it because it’s considered a secondary road. Maybe this will give them a little insight into where their shortcomings end up. 

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Myself and many other Richford residents would like to extend a sincere thanks to Taylor’s and their crew for many years of dedicated service through heat, rain, sleet, snow, hazardous road and traffic conditions. You will be missed. 

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I see King Cuomo is still abusing his power. Why is he giving the decision on who gets the COVID vaccine first? In his eyes it is going to the drug rehabilitated people, which makes no sense to me, before he distributes it to nursing homes. You want to bet Matilda has already gotten hers? Of course she did. You’d be a fool to think she hasn’t.

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There are three school districts that made the decision not to have in person instruction until Jan. 19. This is what all districts should be doing knowing the seriousness of the COVID infection after the holidays.

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I agree with the person who said you should stop posting the political views in this column. It’s the same old garbage all the time. I think you should dispense with that part.

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I’m sorry to hear someone wants to stop the political views in this column. They write that they don’t care. Well, they should care! When Biden and Harris get in your world will change like you’ve never known and you are going to be very unhappy. I do care about politics and I enjoy reading people’s comments and concerns. So please Pennysaver, I hope you don’t stop posting political views in this column. It makes this column very interesting.

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We live in the Ross Corners area and are looking for someone to shovel snow off our little driveway and our stairs. My husband is 92, I’m 84, and we can’t do it anymore. I’d like to see if somebody here in Ross Corners shovels snow or not. Call 748-2942.

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A certain garbage collector in Tioga County is charging $84 a year for recycling pickup. I dug out the 2020 tax bill from last year and only $46 a year was taken out for recycling. That is a HUGE jump in the money.

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I would just like to know if there is anywhere a Tioga County resident can drop off their recyclables if we can’t afford to have it picked up?

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There’s a life insurance ad on television all the time that is not true. They are one of the biggest life insurance companies. They say your premiums won’t change and no medical exam needed. Those are true, but the other night they said your benefits will never decrease. I purchased this same insurance back in 2016 for a certain price. Now, 2021, for the same insurance purchased, each unit decreased $250 per unit purchased. So be careful seniors.

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I wonder if it would be cheaper to hire out a lot of this municipal work in the villages and towns. It seems like when the snow is not flying and the sun is shining in the summertime, there’s a lot of hanging out. I realize that employees are very expensive. I was just wondering if a lot of this work would be better contracted out to private companies.

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How rude and inconsiderate can a couple be? They had been exposed to COVID 19 and had been tested. They even had mild symptoms but went to church services anyway and participated in activities exposing others. The very next day their test results came back positive. How selfish of you. No regard for others and you call yourselves Christians. Yes, this was in Tioga County, N.Y. 

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It’s sad to think there are people who are more concerned about who’s sitting in the White House than getting control over this COVID and human life. 

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I’m calling about COVID vaccines. I would like to see a drive thru vaccination clinic in Tioga County since we do not have a hospital located here. Maybe the county could deputize retired nurses and doctors and have them help in doing the immunizations. I would like to see that as soon as possible. 

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Last year I paid $65 on my Tioga County tax bill for weekly curbside recycling. This year I am paying $10 a month, or $120 a year for two-times a month pickup. This is a 100 percent increase. Time to vote out the Tioga County Legislators in November 2021.

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Saw numerous flocks of geese in mid-December. That’s about the latest I have ever witnessed this. Found this on a website: “Canada geese fly at an average speed of about 40 miles per hour when migrating, but may increase their speed to 70 miles per hour if they catch a strong tailwind. Migrations can be as long as 2,000 to 3,000 miles, and the geese are capable of flying up to 1,500 miles in a single day if the weather is good. During their long migrations, Canada geese typically fly at an altitude of 2,000 to 8,000 feet, although pilots have reported sightings of Canada geese at altitudes of up to 9,000 feet.” Can you imagine having a goose fly by you at 70 mph?

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I live a couple of miles up Montrose Turnpike from the highway. After the big snowstorm of Dec. 16 and 17, it took me a couple of days to find someone to clear the enormous bank left at the end of my driveway by the snow plow. As you well know, pickup trucks were unable to deal with the large amounts of snow in many cases. I eventually made contact with a neighbor who has a small tractor with a bucket loader. On Saturday afternoon, while I was waiting for my neighbor to come and dig me out, someone in a large six-wheeled tractor with a plow came by and cleared out that snow bank in about five minutes. I tried to hail the driver, but he just waved and drove off. I haven’t been able to find out who that was, so I’m writing this comment in hopes that the driver or someone who knows the driver will read it and pass along my thanks.

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Does anyone know what we are supposed to do with our outdated red recycling bins? They say “Property of Tioga County” and we paid $5 for these bins. Taylor is supplying their own much larger, very nice, recycling bins. So what do we do with the old bins? You would think the county would supply some information.

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Will all the people crabbing on social media that the roads haven’t been plowed instantly; theirs first, please GROW UP!

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I received my 2021 Town and County taxes. The Recycle line has been removed but the Tax bill still increased by 2%. Add in the so-called reduced cost of recycling paid directly to the garbage service provider and it is a 5% increase for taxes and recycling this year. At least when recycling was included in Town and County taxes it could be tax deductible. This was nothing more than an accounting gimmick to increase our taxes by more than 2%.

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If there is a shortage of healthcare providers to give COVID vaccine injections, then maybe retired providers could help give injections after getting a COVID vaccine. The vaccine rollout has been hampered by snow and holidays and I sure hope that the pace picks up soon. Real soon.

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It has been weeks since the snowstorm, and our municipal servants seem to have abandoned the residents of the Northern third of the Village of Owego. Is it a cultural or social decision to deny folks living on North Avenue, the Flats, and Longmeadow Apartments safe and convenient foot access to life’s basic needs since Thompson’s Grocery has closed? I hope not. Walking to the Kwik Fill for milk seems dangerous. Which Agency is responsible for cleaning the sidewalks of the Norfolk Southern underpass? (Note from the Editor: Some of the areas have been cleared since the time this comment was recorded.)

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Believe it or not, on Monday night, Jan. 4, I was shocked and astonished to see a mail carrier delivering mail to my house in the Halsted development at about 7 p.m. The carrier had a light attached to his forehead and was trudging through the snow. I never thought that something like this would happen. GOD BLESS the mail carriers.  

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Thank you, St. Rita, for interceding for the healing of our friend Brenda! 

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According to the Waverly Police Department, although the boundary markers are very clear it is okay to cut down your neighbor’s tree for firewood if it is “close to the line”. Then burn the leaves against New York State law because “the fire is almost out”. The Waverly Police have become part of the problem in our village, unfortunately.

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Happy New Year, 2021! I took a bold step to return to Owego after 41 “away” years. This column always fascinates me because 98% of people I encounter “LOVE Owego, wouldn’t live anywhere else, and can’t wait until the next visit.” I’m fascinated that only 2% write into this column and THEY are always haranguing about something! Okay, a squeaky wheel gets the grease. But is this the best place to address your issue? I plan to use 2021 to spotlight the GOOD, the KINDNESS, and the POSITIVE things AND PEOPLE in Owego. FIRST UP- Jim French and David Woodburn for clearing my sidewalks and driveway of 40-inches of snow. You guys ROCK. I don’t even know how to use a snow blower! Thanks for your much needed help and assistance!

 

National Political Viewpoints

At noon on Jan. 20, 2021, a class action lawsuit should, MUST be filed against Donald J. Trump for negligence and dereliction on behalf of duty of more than 300,000 dead Americans and for knowingly perpetrating negligence in the sickening of over one million Americans. At the LEAST he should pay damages to families for the value of those lives lost or sickened, paid from his claimed billionaire fortune. He must be prosecuted. Of course, one does not / cannot sue for homicide, which I believe he had a part in, but can for the other. Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rumsfield, Rove, etc., and others got off scot free for causing the deaths of over 4,000 Americans in their Iraq fiasco and thousands were sickened and debilitated. Now George Bush sits home painting cat pictures. This should not happen again. Also, the Catholic Diocese of Rochester and Syracuse and New York, and all Catholics and other persons of faith must call for the excommunication of William Barr for his support and approval of the death penalty and allowing executions.

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Remember when this virus first started and all these states were having problems getting masks and gowns and personal protection equipment, and this and that? Trump said all 50 states are on their own. It’s their problem. Anyways, I see he’s pulling the same number now; 50 states are having problems getting their vaccines! Trump says the same thing to all the states, it is their problem not mine. Why in the hell do we need Trump?

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Congratulations to President Trump on being the most admired man of the year in the most recent Gallup poll. Biden got six percent of that vote but somehow managed to get 80 million votes in the presidential election. Somebody needs to help me figure that out.

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Everyone knows that Biden and his Marxist cohorts stole the last election. President Trump has just been voted the most respected man in the U.S., displacing Obama. But hey, Biden got six percent! 

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Our President, Trump, is trying to get a stimulus check from $600 to $2,000 for people. He always thinks of the little people, not the rich people, the people that need the money. He is no longer our president. We have that other guy in, you’re going to learn there’s going to be some bad things happening. So I hope he gets it passed and helps my family, your families and God Bless America!

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The newscaster says 2020 is a year many of us wish never happened. I have to agree with her. She must not realize Biden will be our next president with Kamala Harris as Vice President. What a joke! Everyone says things will get better in 2021. When Biden enters with Harris, there goes all hope. We are in a very bad spot.

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Dear Mitch, you had no trouble voting for the tax cut bill, which was a true gift to the wealthy and very little to the working man. There you are characterizing the stimulus money, which will go to millions of workers as a gift to the wealthy. Perhaps you should open up your dictionary and learn the difference.

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This is getting to the point where enough is enough. All you republicans that are screwing around with the election need to knock it off and my opinion about the whole thing, if there was a problem at the top of the ballot then all those republicans that just got elected that haven’t been sworn in yet should not be sworn in because their elections were fraudulent. If it’s fraudulent at the top it was fraudulent at the bottom. And oh yea, as a piece of advice, if the democrats were trying to steal the election away, we would have stolen every single seat that was up for election. I’m not sure how it can be a problem at the top of the ballot and not be a problem at the bottom of the ballot; so you guys need to get your heads out of your derrières and just knock this stuff off and just move on. Biden is the president!

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, also known as turtle, would not bring a $2,000 COVID stimulus package to the floor for a vote yet it was okay for him to approve Amazon for $139 million in the stimulus package. The poor people like me could use the $2,000 stimulus. They were more interested in helping big money companies than helping the poor of our country. Politicians always do this.

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Newsflash! Talk about the useful idiot democrat communists. Now don’t worry about the Bidens. They have $5 million gifted by their Chinese handlers. Biden squints so he can read his teleprompter and no one will miss his press conferences, because he won’t be having many. Fake news may ask his favorite desserts or what he will wear at the next conference. Meanwhile Obama will be pulling Joe’s strings. Resist for four more years!

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I don’t understand. Are people in Owego really that dumb about Pence and Trump? They should not let the hatred go for the person that Trump is, but Biden and Kamala, they are full term abortionists, they are for socialism. They’re making everybody not open their businesses so they can lose it and then the government can take over their property, and then it will be only low-income people and the rich. I wish you guys would do your studies in history on what socialism is. In my day and age, you would get kicked out and not be able to run for office if you were a socialist. 

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Trump lies while we die.

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To the person who complained that Trump played golf 300 plus times when he should have been doing business – No, no, no, when he’s playing golf he’s not doing any harm. We need to have more of our congress and senators playing golf more often too so they can stop doing harm.

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For you people who are looking forward to a $600 or a $1,000 check from the government, it’s not from the government – it’s from you. The government takes your money, plays with it for other things and gives you a nickel back and says we’ve given it back to you. That was your money in the first place. They just gave it back to you. 

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How does a congressman, a senator, or cabinet member get by on $150,000 a year and then retire with $11 million in the bank? What’s going on here? Under the table? A lot of stuff is going under the table. They get a campaign donation in order for them to vote for or against a bill. There’s a lot of crooked stuff in Washington!

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If the newspapers or the police did a little more investigation of senators and congressmen and what they really do with our money and what they really do with their time, I think we could put most of them in prison. Hopefully for a long time! It’s got to start somewhere, let’s get this started.

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Is there an open season on Trump supporters? When the “Code Pink” crowd invaded the congress, the Capitol police politely escorted them out. But the Capitol police shot an unarmed Trump supporter to death. She did not attack the police, she did not beat up anybody, and she did not vandalize, loot or burn anything. No apparent reason to kill her except that she had a Trump banner.

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As a registered Independent I have to ask, are you proud of the actions of our fellow citizens in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021. Our way of governing has been attacked based on lies from our supposed leader, Donald Trump. What is it going to take to bring this country back together; there are millions of our citizens living in an alternate reality that is tearing this country apart. The two primary political parties refuse to work together for the betterment of the citizens they represent and instead vote party lines instead of doing what is best for the people they represent. We must stop putting the same career politicians in office and expect to get changes, think, when scientists conduct experiments and keep getting the same results they change something.

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Having witnessed something I never thought I would witness on Wednesday, I feel every single person that stormed the Capital should be arrested and charged with treason. That includes the malignant Narcissist Donald J. Trump. It is time for all of those supporters out there hanging flags to make a decision, either take Trump down or take the American flag down. You people cannot choose both. You cannot be an insurrectionist and a patriot at the same time. To those enablers in our government, we know your names and I for one will NEVER vote for you as I am sure most of America will not. You have ruined your chances by believing the false accusations of election fraud and ballot rigging. You also deserve to be arrested and thrown into prison right next to Trump. Trump should resign immediately and let our country begin healing. The immediacy of his leaving office is paramount as he still has the power of the Presidency and has abused that power.

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“If we nominate Trump we will get destroyed – and we will deserve It.” (Lindsey Graham, 2016.) What you said back in 2016 was good advice. Too bad you and other Republicans didn’t listen. The Republican Party hasn’t been destroyed, but it is demoralized and in disarray. We are still at risk of someone like Trump coming along who isn’t so erratic and self-destructive. How many of us ever thought that we would be referring to Georgia as a purple state?

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Any Trumpster that claims that violence, rioting and looting is an Antifa and BLM thing is gone out the window now.

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What a hoot! Joe Biden, Adam Schiff, Jerry Nadler, Nancy Pelosi, and many others worked hard at making the four years of the Trump Presidency nasty for Republicans of all stripes. Joe Biden now wants to play nice, have unity, etc. I think not. Some old sayings come to mind, “You made your bed, now lie in it,” “What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander,” “Turnabout is fair play.” Joe Biden may weasel his way into the White House, but he needs to face exactly the same atmosphere he helped create! His “administration” needs to face the same from every corner.

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“But since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the reason that brought forth U.S. global supremacy has ceased to exist. There was an original argument for the United States shouldering the immense burdens of global military dominance: Without it, totalitarian powers would conquer much of the Earth. That would be terrible for the world, the thinking went, and it could be bad for the United States. The problem, though, is the pursuit of military dominance since then has created a lot of enemies of the U.S. that didn’t need to be enemies of the U.S. We’ve engaged in bad behavior ourselves and stimulated it in others. I worry that — in a world where the foremost threats to the American people are pandemic disease and climate change — America will continue to define its biggest threats in military terms, even if they aren’t.” “How Military Superiority Made America Less Safe.” (Interview with Stephen Wertheim. Vox. 29 December 2020.)

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Georgia completed its audit of the absentee ballot signatures. Sampled 15,118 ballots. No fraud. None. Zero. Found two that needed verification and they were verified as legitimate.

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I cannot believe there is so much hatred for a man who has done us so much good, and they just want to not see any good. And Pence is probably the nicest person that we’ve ever had in government. All the years that Biden was in government he accomplished nothing, just inside China’s government and not for the U.S. I cannot believe that people are that dumb.

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It has to be obvious to anyone with an ounce of common sense that 75 million votes cast by American voters have been made inconsequential by the fraud and illegalities of the Socialist Democrats. This has to be stopped in its tracks, NOW! How long has this been going on; all because some politicians want desperately to hold on to power, and it appears to fall heavily on the Socialist Democrat side of the “fence”.

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By last count, Donald Trump owns 15 different golf courses, which includes two in Scotland and one in Ireland. Since 2000 they have reportedly lost $315 million. The coronavirus is costing him more than $1 million in losses daily. That includes the bed-bug infected Trump Doral Resort that was purchased in 2012 for $150 million and since then has had losses of $162 million with $213 million in upkeep expenses. He has tried to recover some of the losses by diverting business to his holdings. For example, as reported last year, he diverted more that 40 Air National Guard flights going to and from the Middle East with a stopovers in Ramstein, Germany or Rota, Spain where there is free air crew housing and cheaper refueling, to layovers in Scotland so the air crews would stay at his Trump Turnberry resort. Last year he tried to get a G7 meeting at Doral, saying that it was the best of all the choices. The Secret Service is charged as much as $650 for a room at his Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, or $17,000 per month for a cottage at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, while protecting Trump at his properties.
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It has been reported that Trump has outstanding loans of over $900 million that are coming due in the next four years. Trump is looking at a life of massive debt, potential criminal charges, and a brand that will be damaged beyond repair by his one-term presidency. He needs income, and has sought donations to fight what he says was voting corruption, as well as hints of a 2024 run for office again. So far he has raised $495 million. While the donations were collected to help his fight with lawsuits associated with having lost both the popular vote and the Electoral College vote, he is free to spend it any way he wants. I cannot wait until he is out of office.