March 2010 April 2010 May 2010 June 2010 July 2010
August 2010
September 2010 October 2010
November 2010
December 2010
January 2011
February 2011 March 2011 April 2011 May 2011 June 2011 July 2011 August 2011 September 2011 October 2011 November 2011 December 2011 January 2012 February 2012 March 2012 April 2012 May 2012 June 2012 July 2012 August 2012 September 2012 October 2012 November 2012 December 2012 January 2013 February 2013 March 2013 April 2013 May 2013 June 2013 July 2013 August 2013 September 2013 October 2013 November 2013 December 2013 January 2014 February 2014 March 2014 April 2014 May 2014 June 2014 July 2014 August 2014 September 2014 October 2014 November 2014 December 2014 January 2015 February 2015 March 2015 April 2015 May 2015 June 2015 July 2015 August 2015 September 2015 October 2015 November 2015 December 2015 January 2016 February 2016 March 2016 April 2016 May 2016 June 2016 July 2016 August 2016 September 2016 October 2016 November 2016 December 2016 January 2017 February 2017 March 2017 April 2017 May 2017 June 2017 July 2017 August 2017 September 2017 October 2017 November 2017 December 2017 January 2018 February 2018 March 2018 April 2018 May 2018 June 2018 July 2018 August 2018 September 2018 October 2018 November 2018 December 2018 January 2019 February 2019 March 2019 April 2019 May 2019 June 2019 July 2019 August 2019 September 2019 October 2019 November 2019 December 2019 January 2020 February 2020 March 2020 April 2020 May 2020 June 2020 July 2020 August 2020 September 2020 October 2020 November 2020 December 2020 January 2021 February 2021 March 2021 April 2021 May 2021 June 2021 July 2021 August 2021 September 2021 October 2021 November 2021 December 2021 January 2022 February 2022 March 2022 April 2022 May 2022 June 2022 July 2022 August 2022 September 2022 October 2022 November 2022 December 2022 January 2023 February 2023 March 2023 April 2023 May 2023 June 2023 July 2023 August 2023 September 2023 October 2023 November 2023 December 2023 January 2024 February 2024 March 2024
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
30
31
News Every Day |

Scams Large and Small

A couple of decades ago, there was a knock on the door of my third-floor apartment in an Upper West Side townhouse. Opening it, I encountered a skinny guy, around 20, who said he was staying downstairs in the apartment of my landlady, a friend of mine to whom he referred respectfully by surname prefaced with “Mrs.” He spoke fast, had gotten locked out of her apartment, needed a small cash loan to pay a car service or something; he’d tested HIV-positive, now might have full-blown AIDS, he said with rising panic. I gave him $20, feeling smug at assisting this hapless stranger, and wrote down the phone number he offered; he rushed off.

A minute or two later, my suspicion stirring, I dialed the number; it was non-working. My landlady and I later pieced together that this guy had gotten both our last names from the townhouse’s intercom directory and bluffed his way into the locked building by telling her he knew me. We both felt stupid. Also perplexed: was this something he did all day, bamboozling duos of townhouse residents one after another, for small gains each time? But it had worked.

We live in an era of pervasive scams. Phone calls, emails and text messages offer urgent tech support to remedy undetected computer viruses; warn of impending action by law enforcement or creditors; tell you to click here or your package will be returned to its sender; announce your legal eligibility for previously unknown funds or real estate parcels; or otherwise play on your fears and hopes to elicit a response that short-circuits rational analysis. On social media, you can argue about things that never happened, with people who don’t exist.

Donald Trump has been the perfect president for this age, a career con artist and deadbeat, whose talents for self-aggrandizing publicity and shadowy financial manipulation have enabled him to escalate his scamming onto a world-historical stage. In this, he was vastly aided by the intellectual and ethical deterioration of the Republican Party and conservative movement, decay that both preceded and was accelerated by his career as a right-wing politician.

A major advantage that con artists have in their depredations is their victims’ reluctance to admit they’ve been scammed, to others or themselves. Even now, long after I was hoodwinked in Manhattan, I recall it with embarrassment, making sure people see I was only taken for a small sum, fooled for a limited time. The New York Times’ revelations about Trump’s taxes—his extreme deductions, massive losses, looming debts to entities unknown—may dent Trump’s support, being contrary to its founding myths of a patriotic, successful businessman. But it can also lead to doubling down, as with professed admiration of his tax avoidance acumen.

Among Trump voters, there are many who recognize his dishonesty but see greater purposes at stake: conservative judges, low taxes, limited government, party loyalty, defiance of the “woke” left. Such supporters might shrug off further evidence of his con artistry as a distraction from their priorities. But separating the corrupt president from his party and movement is not so straightforward. Undermining the rule of law is a high price to pay for a conservative judiciary. Massive deficits are a steep cost of tax cuts. Limited government has gone by the wayside, with intervention taking on an extortionist quality. Party loyalty, as such, makes no sense when the party shows incapacity for independence from the president, even disclaiming having a platform stating positions that might not mirror his agenda. As for the left, as long as it can point to Trump as its nemesis, it’ll gain adherents who wouldn’t gravitate there otherwise.

I recently read Michael Cohen’s Disloyal: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump. It’s worth reading, with many telling anecdotes. Trump’s onetime “fixer” clearly has genuine regret about that role, particularly regarding its impact on Cohen’s family. Then again, Cohen’s penitence came only after he was caught and prosecuted. I read with a guarded attitude: What might he not be telling us? If there’s any substantial deception in Cohen’s confessional, I just don’t want to fall for it.

—Kenneth Silber is author of In DeWitt’s Footsteps: Seeing History on the Erie Canal and is on Twitter: @kennethsilber

 

Новости 24 часа

Удалось спасти: Москва не потеряла в больницах ни одного человека после теракта, сообщил Собянин

Top 10 Love Affair Movies of the 2000s and 2010s

Top 10 Emmanuelle Seigner Movies

I was diagnosed with cancer aged 39… you are never too rich, too famous or too young, says Dr Philippa Kaye

The 10 Intense New Action Movies on Netflix That Left Me on the Edge of My Seat!

Ria.city






Read also

George Gilbey cops arrest man after Gogglebox star fell to his death at warehouse aged just 40

US congressional delegation reaffirms defense support for Taiwan

Christian woman says she was fired from Starbucks over conservative values: 'Against my faith to lie'

News, articles, comments, with a minute-by-minute update, now on Today24.pro

News Every Day

The 10 Intense New Action Movies on Netflix That Left Me on the Edge of My Seat!

Today24.pro — latest news 24/7. You can add your news instantly now — here


News Every Day

Top 10 Emmanuelle Seigner Movies



Sports today


Новости тенниса
Дарья Касаткина

«Бомж» Дарья передает всем привет»: Касаткина ответила на слова Винер



Спорт в России и мире
Москва

Актера Свиридова госпитализировали из-за инфицирования после операции в Москве



All sports news today





Sports in Russia today

Москва

Федерация бокса России на ВДНХ


Новости России

Game News

Пробный запуск God Wars: Cross Worlds — idle-RPG с богами и путешествиями во времени


Russian.city


Москва

Татьяна Марчук выпустила альбом «Экопесенки» на лейбле Riki Music


Губернаторы России
Желдорреммаш

На ЧЭРЗ приступили к реорганизации производственной площадки


Московская область - Изготовление металлических навесов

Бизнесвумен Оксана Самойлова опубликовала фото своей гардеробной

Заказать недорогой ремонт кухонной мебели в районе в Москве и Московской области

Пассажир рейса Москва — Пермь попал в реанимацию


На ЧЭРЗ приступили к реорганизации производственной площадки

Музыкант Устьянцев: Сергей Шнуров — профессионал, а Жуков — «балалаечка»

В Москве суд отклонил требование общественника Морозова закрыть YouTube-канал Егора Крида

Певица Диана Арбенина призналась, что улетела из России ради матери


Янник Синнер поделился впечатлениями от общения с игроками сборной Италии по футболу

Александрова обыграла первую ракетку мира на турнире WTA

Теннисистка Касаткина отреагировала на высказывания Винер о россиянах

Теннисист Медведев вышел в полуфинал турнира в Майами, обыграв Харри



Топливному компромиссу между Украиной и Азербайджаном пришел конец?

Рынок вторичной недвижимости Крыма: цены растут, а спрос?

Шапки женские вязаные на Wildberries, 2024 — новый цвет от 392 руб. (модель 466)

Заказать недорогой ремонт кухонной мебели в районе в Москве и Московской области


Миллиарды Абрамовича не помогли: либерал глумился над ЧП в "Крокусе"

Фестиваль оперы имени Лхасарана Линховоина открылся оперой «Князь Игорь»

Югра – победитель Зимних Игр Паралимпийцев «Мы вместе. Спорт» по следж-хоккею

Удалось спасти: Москва не потеряла в больницах ни одного человека после теракта, сообщил Собянин


«Авангард» победил «Локомотив» со счетом 3:2 и сравнял счет в серии плей-офф КХЛ

В Турции снимут ремейк «Холопа» со звездой сериала «Постучись в мою дверь»

В Госдепе заявили, что США неоднократно предупреждали Россию об угрозе теракта

Турист из Красноярска впал в кому на борту самолета в аэропорту Бангкока



Путин в России и мире






Персональные новости Russian.city
Сергей Рахманинов

Скульптура Сергея Рахманинова украсит музыкальную школу в Кисловодске



News Every Day

Top 10 Love Affair Movies of the 2000s and 2010s




Friends of Today24

Музыкальные новости

Персональные новости