The featured photo was taken at a bar in Nagold, BW, Germany. Maybe it would have been a good solution for the Secret Service to have a row of toilets in the woods.

Having to eliminate human waste is a universal experience. Everybody poops. Everybody pees. Sometimes, we need to vomit. It’s just a fact of life. I would think that even people like Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner would understand that when you gotta go, you gotta go. But according to a report shared by the Washington Post, Jared and Ivanka have been less than empathetic toward their Secret Service detail regarding their need for a place to rest.

Although much ado was made about how Donald Trump supposedly donated his presidential salary of $400,000, it’s no secret that he’s made a lot of money off of U.S. taxpayers. And, thanks to his daughter’s unwillingness to dedicate one of the 6.5 bathrooms in her rented Kalorama home for the use of the Secret Service, taxpayers also paid $3000 a month for a rented studio basement apartment across the street. When the lease on the apartment expires in September 2021, taxpayers will have paid $144,000 to a homeowner in Washington, DC. Why? So that members of the Secret Service could take a piss without inconveniencing the Kushners, the neighbors, or using the facilities in restaurants.

I read about this situation last night and, frankly, it really *pissed* me off. I shared the post with the comment that I hate the Trumps. That’s no lie. I do pretty much hate them, although I have tried not to say it out loud. For four years, I’ve watched that family treat other human beings with gross indignity and contempt as they’ve lied repeatedly and done all they can to stay in power against the will of the people. As I’ve mentioned before, one of the things I’ve repeatedly heard from Trump’s champions is that he is just “like them” and speaks like them. But really, he’s not like them at all. He is a tacky, vulgar, inhumane, jackass, who doesn’t care about anyone but himself, and it appears that his daughter and son-in-law are much like Trump is… with no regard for other people and their most basic of needs.

Most people I know who work for a living and lead a “simple” lifestyle are basically decent and kind. If someone needed to go to the bathroom, they wouldn’t deny them. If someone was obviously hungry or thirsty or needed medical assistance, they’d do what they could to help. Trump doesn’t have that basic regard for others. He never has. The proof has been documented for many decades, and it appears that the shit has rolled downhill into Ivanka’s generation. To me, the Trumps have always had an elitist attitude, and yet they are extremely tacky people with no class. And this article in the Washington Post, while admittedly a bit biased, seemed to really highlight that attitude. And yes, even if the article was a bit salacious and I “fell for it”, God help me, I do think that forcing taxpayers to pay $3000 a month for an apartment so the Secret Service can do their business is totally tacky and not a good look.

I was pretty surprised when someone claimed that the article I shared was “click bait” and consisted of sloppy reporting. This person seemed to feel that the lack of restroom facilities for the Secret Service was much ado about nothing. According to the Post’s article, White House spokesperson Judd Deere claimed that the Kushners had nothing but the greatest respect for the Secret Service men and women who are tasked with protecting them. Supposedly, their home was wide open to the Secret Service if there was a need– or, at least that’s what Deere claims.

And yet, even though the Kushners supposedly have great respect for the Secret Service, U.S. taxpayers still had to pay $3000 a month for them to have access to a bathroom when the Kushners’ home already has over half a dozen bathrooms in it. This happened, even though Republicans often crow about how the government needs to control its spending and not pass unnecessary expenses to taxpayers. In other words, a lot of money was being pissed away so that the Secret Service members could take a piss in peace.

The Secret Service had attempted to remedy the lack of a potty situation by erecting a portable toilet near the Trump/Kushner abode. Naturally, the port-a-let was not well received in the tony neighborhood, so that solution was short lived. I can’t say I blame the neighbors for not liking the porta-potty in their neighborhood, although personally, I would prefer to see that over someone taking a piss in the woods. In Germany, that’s a pretty common sight, especially during traffic jams or at rest stops that charge 70 cents to use the facilities.

Next, the Secret Service used a toilet in a garage at former President Obama’s residence, which was nearby. The Obama family’s security detail had managed to set up a break area on site, since the Obamas had an out building they weren’t using. However, apparently, one of the Secret Service people from the Kushner family’s detail left a mess that they neglected to clean up. So that made them unwelcome to use the toilet at the Obama family’s house.

Then, they started using a toilet a mile away at Mike Pence’s residence at the Naval Observatory, where there was a guardhouse with a toilet in it. Or, they would visit restaurants and use the facilities there. The ultimate solution finally came when a homeowner in the Kushners’ neighborhood offered up the basement in a house near the Kushners’ home that she had already rented out. The tenant in that house agreed to let the basement be sectioned off for the Secret Service’s use if the rent was reduced. It was– and the homeowner, who says she’s “happy to have been able to have helped” pocketed another $3000 a month for the use of her 820 square foot apartment.

Now… don’t get me wrong. I can certainly understand why the Kushners wouldn’t want the Secret Service in their personal space. I wouldn’t like that, either. However, government positions are supposed to be about service to the American people. I do think it’s ridiculous that $144,000 of taxpayer money was spent simply so that the Secret Service could have a place to do their very necessary business, especially when the Kushners have more bathrooms than family members. Seems to me they could have either moved to a home that was better set up for the necessary Secret Service detail, or they could have made arrangements to accommodate them in a way that didn’t burden taxpayers. But, like everything else in the Trump administration, it seems that little thought was given to the American people or just plain being humane to people working for the Trump family.

I might not have been so *pissed* about this situation if the Trump family hadn’t, all along, been all about enriching themselves at taxpayer expense. I think about all of the trips to Trump owned properties that taxpayers have paid for, as well as the less than gracious way Trump has behaved regarding his election loss, and it just disgusts me. I’ve heard about how the Trumps would “make America great again”, but all I’ve seen from them is vulgarity and a complete disconnect from understanding people’s most basic needs. Using the bathroom is definitely a basic need, and I think Trump and Kushner should have done more to see that the people working for them were taken care of in a more dignified and humane and less expensive way.

Personally, I didn’t think there was anything wrong with the way the story was written, although I suppose an argument could be made that the reporting was, perhaps, a bit biased. On the other hand, news stories are written by human beings, and almost all human beings have thoughts and emotions. I also think that a lot of us are just fed up with the Trump family, and exhausted by the COVID-19 life in general. I know I am. I’m just tired of it all right now, and I don’t even have it that bad. Maybe it’s my fault for putting my thoughts out there, though, since people are always going to chime in.

Perhaps a more fact based article from The Washington Post, devoid of any shades of the reporters’ personal opinions, would have been technically better. Given the events of the past couple of months, I guess I’m more prepared to give reporters a pass for not just strictly “reporting the facts, Ma’am”. I also think that even if the article hadn’t been written the way it was, I would have come to the same conclusion that I did. I don’t necessarily want or need to hear that something I’m legitimately upset about is “silly” or that I’ve fallen for “click bait”. No one likes to have their opinions discounted, particularly in a public forum, and especially on their own space.

Anyway, the person’s parting shot was, “personally, I’d rather read your blog.” Maybe I’m oversensitive. I’ll own that. But I do think it’s disrespectful to be snarky toward a so-called friend who is clearly upset about something, especially on their space. I didn’t take that comment as a compliment and would prefer that this person not do me any favors.

Things are tough all over and they don’t seem to be getting any better. I should probably just hang out with dogs.