Trump’s $25 Billion Wall needs a Math Reality Check! $200 billion is more realistic!

Captain Rick: Trump’s $25 billion Wall needs a Math Reality Check! $200 billion is more realistic! Trump wants to build a ‘big beautiful’ 2000 mile border wall between the US and Mexico for $25 billion (about $12.5 million per mile). What a JOKE!

Arizona is in process of building the South Mountain Freeway, bypassing Phoenix to the south. Its cost is nearly $2 billion for a 22 mile stretch of freeway (almost $200 million per mile).

Trumps estimate of $25 billion to build a ‘big beautiful’ wall is only about 1/8 the cost of what it takes to build a freeway per mile. I think Trump’s estimate of $25 billion is far short of reality. $200 billion ($.2 trillion) would be more realistic. I suggest Trump had better take a flash course in Math 101 before he trades away amnesty for millions of dreamers for a wall that can never be afforded.

Captain Rick’s Research
I have invested many hours over recent years studying illegal drug and immigration smuggling routes into Arizona, America’s most porous border with Mexico. I have viewed every foot of the border using Google & Bing satellite view using the closest zoom. Most of the border has no fence of any kind. Walls and fences are situated only near cities and major highways. The balance is wide open desert and mountain terrain.

America’s Most Porous Border for Illegal Drugs and Immigration is Arizona
The most porous section of the U.S.-Mexico border lies across the 75 mile southern boundary of the Tohono O’Odham Nation Reservation, which occupies a huge section of southern Arizona south of I-8 / I-10, between Sasabe (west of Nogales) and Sonoyta (Hwy 8 heading to Rocky Point). Viewing a satellite view of the area we can easily see a large geological scar … a canyon with a dry river bed / raging river during a monsoon …that runs from I-8, about 30 miles west of the I-8 / I-10 split, south past Ventana and Pisiemo and on into Mexico just east of Ali Chuk. It is the #1 illegal immigrant and drug smuggling super-route between the U.S. and Mexico. A big reason is because the entire route is virtually off limits to the U.S. border patrol due to U.S. / Nation treaties / laws. A large number of Nation Members receive payouts from the smugglers in exchange food, safe haven and lookout reports. In essence, they work for the smuggling cartels to protect this smuggling super-route from Mexico almost to the southern boundary of Phoenix. I suspect it is the most popular occupation in the Tohono O’Odham Nation, where unemployment, drug and alcohol abuse and consumption of welfare and Medicaid handouts is enormous.

Options for a Border Wall
If a border wall were built everywhere across the Mexico border, except this Arizona canyon, it would be of little benefit because a large number of the smugglers are using this super-route. The only kind of wall that would work would be dam, far more expensive than a wall, or even a section of freeway. The cost of a dam could run into the billions, eating up a big chunk of Trump’s $25 billion ‘piggy bank’ wall account. Several more problems exist. The dam across this canyon would create a lake that would flood major portions of the reservation. The U.S. government would have to strike a deal to compensate Tohono O’Odham Nation due to tribal treaties and laws. How many billions would that cost? To make the situation worse, this canyon is only one of many on the reservation, not to mention the large number elsewhere along the U.S. border. Building a dam across all of the canyons would run into the trillions and would be fiscally unaffordable and profoundly stupid.

Building a ‘Virtual Wall’ is an option, but based on data I have seen, they are a miserable failure. Unless America wants to employ military strike jets to respond, the smugglers are long gone before the ‘virtual technology’ enables the border patrol to respond, sometimes taking hours … and is almost impossible on the Tohono O’Odham Nation Reservation.

This is a story that few Americans understand … perhaps even President Trump
I urge readers to comment with thoughts and ideas to expand this post. I will revise/add to it as comments are received. I will also add new tags so that everyone in the world can search and find it via the WordPress, Google, Bing and other search engines. Together, perhaps we can help make America better.

Captain Rick: What do you think of Trump’s Wall?

SDI: Defense against a Lunatic in N. Korea ? … Does Trump have it backwards ?

Captain Rick: I am pleased to announce that Thomas C. Patterson, past Arizona state legislator and guest journalist on Atridim News Journal since 2013, will present a series of reports on subjects of great importance to America and our world. The first in the series is about the Strategic Defense Initiative and the explosive situation in North Korea.  

I asked Tom why he is presenting his voice on ANJ. His reply: “I write it because I don’t want to be part of the generation that let liberty die out on our watch or at least I want to know that I did what I could to prevent it. I would like some of the good things about America to be there for my grand-children. I always love it when you carry my stuff. Let me know if I can be of further help in your efforts to promote the good and the true.”

ATRIDIM NEWS JOURNAL

Guest Commentary

by

Thomas C. Patterson

ABOUT: Thomas C. Patterson is a graduate of Yale University and the University of Nebraska. He was elected to the Arizona State Senate in 1989, serving as minority leader from 1991 to 1992 and majority leader from 1993 to 1996. Patterson was the author of legislation creating Arizona’s charter school system and welfare reform program. Until 1998, he was a practicing physician and president of Emergency Physicians, Inc.. Patterson also served as president of the Arizona chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians. In 2000 he became chairman of the Goldwater Institute. In 2013 he became a guest journalist on Atridim News Journal. Thomas is a resident of Chandler, Arizona.

SDI: Defense against a Lunatic in N. Korea ? …
Does Trump have it backwards ?

Americans are finally finding out what it takes for the Left to support antimissile defense in a nuclearized world. The answer: an immediate existential danger from a crazed dictator with nothing to lose from terrorizing us.

Now we’re faced with a lunatic who has the capability of obliterating parts of our mainland, an achievement which has made him a player on the world stage. The current crisis has been predictable for a long time. As nuclear capability gradually became within the technical reach of rogue states and terrorists everywhere, our leaders studiously ignored the signs of danger.

The first antimissile defense was the Strategic Defense Initiative, conceptualized by President Reagan and ridiculed as "Star Wars" by his political adversaries. Even when it proved effective in halting the end of the Cold War, opponents still followed a strategy of repeatedly under funding and undermining the technology, then complaining about the lack of progress achieved.

Barack Obama was a prominent opposition leader, helping to stall the program and then as president pronouncing it “unproven”. He canceled previously negotiated antimissile installations in Poland and Czech Republic. Later he was caught on a hot mic telling a Soviet official that he would later be "flexible with Vladimir" with respect to missile defense.

We are now in a dangerously vulnerable situation. Experts say it would take up to three years to implement a system that would fully protect us from North Korea and eliminate China’s first-strike capability.

Still, our inability to protect ourselves wouldn’t be such a big deal now if not for the weak diplomatic efforts that failed to contain the North Korean menace. After North Korea first begin developing nuclear capability, President Clinton in 1994 struck a deal in which North Korea agreed to come clean and pursue only nonmilitary uses of nuclear power.

But the Commies negotiated harder and smarter than we did, preserving multiple loopholes and avoiding effective compliance checks. The treaty probably did more to facilitate North Korea’s missile program than to hobble it.

Unfortunately, George W. Bush did nothing to end the dithering and confront reality. Obama, for his part, raised appeasement to an art form around the world. He complained about wasting money "making some version of this Cold War daydream into reality" as one pundit put it. In the end, Obama finally had a change of heart when his truculence had put our country in obvious danger and only then authorized anti-missile bases in the West.

The lessons of history are clear. Diplomacy only succeeds when practiced from a position of strength. Appeasement doesn’t stop aggressors. When tyrants show you who they are, believe them. Unfortunately, our leaders have kicked the can down the road until there’s no more road, as Charles Krauthammer said.

Now that our mortal enemies have well-developed nuclear capabilities, our options are limited. Israeli forces in 1981 attacked the Iranian nuclear base Dosirak and were able to inflict telling damage but most observers agree that approach today would produce unacceptable consequences.

Russia and especially China, North Korea’s main patron and trading partner, should both be urged in the strongest terms to help convince North Korea to stand down. The hard truth is that a nuclear North Korea, hostile to the US, is in the strategic interests of both, so it’s unlikely we can win them over.

Teddy Roosevelt’s foreign-policy advice was to "speak softly and carry a big stick". President Trump seems to have it backwards, issuing bellicose threats, like he has so often, without seeming to realize that he must be willing and able to carry out the threats for them to have effect.

That leaves missile defense, the best of the bad options out there. We need to bear down and pour all the resources we can into this national emergency. Fortunately, missile-defense doesn’t have to be perfect to be effective as we found in the Cold War. Just the credible prospect of an anti-missile strike degrades the value of the enemy’s nuclear arsenal and greatly reduces the possibility of a first strike.

But we never would have come to this perilous point if our leaders had put America’s security interests above politics.

Tom’s previous reports in ANJ Guest Commentary

U.S. Economy Slides during Trump’s First Quarter as President … GDP Growth Rate Falls to 0.7% … Weakest Since 2014

Captain Rick: U.S. economic growth fell to a snail’s pace during Trump’s first quarter as president. GDP grew at an annualized rate of 0.7% in the first quarter of 2017, down from 2.1% growth in the fourth quarter of 2016.

The deceleration in real GDP in the first quarter was mostly a result of weak personal consumption due to lower auto sales and home-heating bills and a downturn in private inventory investment and in state and local government spending. An upturn in oil drilling and exports and accelerations in both nonresidential and residential fixed investment helped limit the overall GDP deceleration.

GDP Growth Rate in the United States averaged 3.21 percent from 1947 until 2017, reaching an all time high of 16.90 percent in the first quarter of 1950 and a record low of -10 percent in the first quarter of 1958.

GDP…What is it?

‘GDP’ represents ‘Gross Domestic Product’…a market value of all officially recognized final goods and services produced within a country in a year. GDP performance (increases and decreases) present a broad-based picture of the health of a country’s economy. High GDP growth is typical of a healthy economy. Low GDP growth (below 3%) is typical of an unhealthy economy. Negative growth is typical of an economy in recession.

GDP Details for Q1 of 2017:

Personal consumption expenditure (PCE) contributed 0.23 percentage points to growth (2.40 percent in the previous quarter) and rose 0.3 percent (3.5 percent in the previous quarter). Spending fell for durable goods (-2.5 percent from 11.4 percent in Q4 2016) and slowed for both nondurable goods (1.5 percent from 3.3 percent) and services (0.4 percent from 2.4 percent).

Fixed investment added 0.69 percentage points to growth (1.47 percentage points in the previous quarter) and increased 4.3 percent, compared to a 9.4 percent expansion in the previous period. By contrast, private inventories subtracted 0.93 percentage points to growth, after contributing 1.01 percentage points in the previous period. Government spending and investment subtracted 0.30 percentage points to growth (0.03 percent in the previous period) and contracted 1.7 percent (0.2 percent in Q4).

Meanwhile, exports jumped 5.8 percent, reversing a 4.5 percent drop in the previous quarter and imports increased at a slower 4.1 percent (9 percent in Q4), bringing the impact from trade to 0.07 percent (-1.82 percent in the previous quarter).

Economy Update for second quarter of 2017: The US economy grew at an upgraded annual rate of 3.1 percent in the second quarter of 2017, the fastest pace in more than two years.

 

U.S. Strike on Syria

Captain Rick: President Trump made an ignorant choice when he recently attacked Shayrat air base in Syria with 59 Tomahawk E Cruise Missiles. He was obviously buckling to FAKE NEWS, the corrupted US Intelligence Machine and the warmongering minds of the U.S. Military. I am reblogging this outstanding journalism by fellow WordPresser Josep Goded. It presents a realistic view of the U.S. Strike on Syria that refutes the tons of FAKE NEWS that has been spread by Mainstream Media.

Josep Goded

On Thursday night, Donald Trump directed a strike against a Syrian military airbase, which targeted fighter planes, ammunition bunkers, radars, and petroleum storage. The Syrian regime said that the attack killed 7 soldiers and wounded 3.

In a brief press conference, Trump assured the American public that the strike was in retaliation for the last chemical attack against innocent civilians in Khan Sheikhoun in north-western Syria, which caused as many as 80 casualties, including many children.

Despite the fact that the UN could not reliably determine the accountability of the Syrian regime over the chemical attack, the U.S. government and the mainstream media launched a campaign to accuse them.

Ignoring the resolution of the UN, the NATO and other allies expressed their support for the strike and said that it was proportional. On the other hand, the Russian government condemned the attack and said that the U.S. is helping terrorists…

View original post 443 more words

Russian President Vladimir Putin & U.S. SoS Rex Tillerson meet about airstrike of Syria

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson held more than two hours of frank conversation Wednesday in the Kremlin amid tensions over a U.S. airstrike against a Syria air base blamed for last week’s deadly chemical attack. The unscheduled talks between Putin and the secretary came as Moscow warned against the U.S. repeating its missile strike on a Syrian air base.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at left … Russian President Vladimir Putin right

In an interview broadcast Wednesday before the meeting with Tillerson, Putin said relations with the U.S. have worsened in the first few months of Trump’s presidency.

“It can be said that the level of trust at the working level, especially at the military level, has not become better but most likely has degraded,” he told state broadcaster Mir TV.

Putin also charged that the U.S. broke international law by striking the air base without providing evidence that the Syrian government used chemical weapons.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met

The meeting lasted for almost two hours to see if they could rescue relations between the world’s mightiest military powers. Russia’s alleged meddling in the U.S. presidential election also hovered over the first face-to-face encounter between Putin and a Trump administration Cabinet member.

It was not the first meeting between the two men. Tillerson, as CEO of ExxonMobil, forged a close relationship with the Russian leader over business dealings in the past. In 2013, Putin personally awarded Tillerson the Russian Order of Friendship when the two met to negotiate ExxonMobil’s $50 billion deal for Russian oil and gas rights.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov  and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met and spoke to the press after the Putin-Tillerson meeting

Tillerson and Lavrov spoke to the press after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in an extended display of US-Russian disagreements over the chemical attack that left more than 80 dead; the role of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the country’s future; US actions in the Middle East; and Russian involvement in the US election.

Still, the two diplomats hinted that they could find common ground on this issue. Tillerson said that the US wouldn’t dictate how Assad’s departure takes place, saying, "We leave that to the process going forward," and added that it’s important his departure "is done in an orderly way" and that it will "take a pace of its own."

Lavrov, meanwhile, said that Russia is "not staking everything on a personality … we are simply insisting that everybody sits around the table and talks about it."

Lavrov also announced that Putin has agreed to reinstate a military "deconfliction" channel to ensure there are no unintended clashes in the skies above Syria. And Tillerson said that the two sides had agreed to establish a working group that would address smaller frictions and aim to make progress on larger differences.

The news conference came after Lavrov issued a warning to Tillerson Wednesday against any further US strikes on the Syrian regime. Russia is Syria’s most powerful ally.

Russia has rejected the US conclusion that Damascus was responsible for last week’s chemical attack, which killed 89 people and prompted the US to carry out its first strike against the Syrian regime in the six-year conflict, taking out aircraft and infrastructure at a Syrian military air base.

"The facts we have are conclusive" that the attack was planned and carried by Syrian government forces, Tillerson said, adding that the US was "quite confident of that" and describing it as "just the latest in a series of uses of chemical weapons by the Assad regime."

Lavrov countered, "It is perfectly obvious the subject is one we diverge on." He floated an alternate theory that "some of these stockpiles are being controlled by extremists," and added, "Russia is insisting on an objective investigation" and will protest if it does not take place.

Tillerson said he told the Russian leader that current relations between the two countries are at a "low point" … "There is a low level of trust between our two countries" … "The world’s two foremost nuclear owners cannot have this kind of relationship."

Lavrov said that the U.S. and Russia have agreed on the need for a United Nations probe of the Syrian chemical attack … an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the chemical attack and the U.S. response to "try and identify the culprits" … a step that could dial down the rhetoric between the two nations for now.

The two sides expressed their agreement over the need to defeat the Islamic State in the region. Lavrov said defeating the terrorist group is a more important priority than Assad remaining in power. Lavrov also that Putin could restore a military hotline with the U.S. if Washington focuses on fighting the Islamic State and other extremist groups.

Both officials addressed the question of allegations of Russian interference in the U.S. elections. Tillerson said there was no talk of additional sanctions in the wake of U.S. charges over the issue, but noted that it was an issue raised by Congress. "We are mindful of the seriousness of that particular interference in our elections and I am sure that Russia is mindful of it as well." Lavrov, echoing past denials of any Russian hacking or other interference in the electoral process, said Moscow hasn’t seen “a single fact, or even a hint at facts” proving the U.S. allegations of Russian interference.

President Trump launched 59 Tomahawk Cruise Missiles on Syria … Russian Warship arrives along Israel Coast … Is this the beginning of WW 3 ?

President Trump launched 59 Tomahawk E Cruise Missiles on Syria causing severe damage to Shayrat air base in Syria, southeast of Homs. Russia also uses this base and has invested heavily in it. U.S. intelligence believes that a deadly gas attack on Syrian civilians was carried out by government aircraft from the Shayrat air base.

Two U.S. destroyers, the USS Ross and USS Porter, launched the Tomahawk cruise missiles south of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and hit their targets at at 3:45 a.m. local time in Syria. Each destroyer carries about 35 Tomahawks. U.S. officials said there were up to 100 Russian military personnel present at the base when the missiles hit. The Russians were warned about an hour before the missiles hit the base, defense officials said.

The Tomahawk “E” or Echo version is the latest model and has two-way satellite communication allowing the missile to be reprogrammed in flight if needed. The missiles can carry 1,000-pound warheads.

The U.S. launched the cruise missiles in response to a chemical weapons attack that killed dozens of civilians, the first direct assault on Syria since the beginning of that country’s bloody civil war in 2011.

The U.S. began launching airstrikes in Syria in September 2014 under President Barack Obama as part of its coalition campaign against ISIS, but has only targeted the terrorist group and not Syrian government forces … until today under President Trump.

Russia’s Response: Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the US airstrikes on Syria, describing it as "an act of aggression against a sovereign state" that "dealt a serious blow to Russia-US relations," according to a Kremlin statement. Russia said it believed Syria had destroyed all of its chemical weapons and the US strikes were based on a "trumped-up pretext." The risk of a direct collision between the US and Russia in Syria had "significantly increased" since the US missile strike, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Peskov added that it was "indisputable" that the US airstrike on Syria "was carried out for the benefit of ISIS and other terrorist organizations."

A Russian warship, likely loaded with the newest Russian Cruise Missiles, has entered the eastern Mediterranean. Its destination and target is unclear. 

Captain Rick: I wonder if this is the beginning of World War 3?  I think President Trump made a poor choice, buckling in to FAKE NEWS and the US Intelligence Machine, all of which I think are very corrupt. In the process President Trump is blowing a big chance to gain a friendship with a very intelligent person … President Vladimir Putin of Russia … a person I consider to be one of the most intelligent leaders of our world. As a huge supporter of President Trump, I am saddened by his actions, which cast him into the same war monger group that contains both U.S. Presidents Bush.  I hope that President Trump will recapture his own mind, like he presented during campaign season and stop bowing into FAKE NEWS and question the info he is receiving from the very corrupt U.S. Intelligence Machine.  

70 Dead in Syria from Chemical Poisoning … FAKE NEWS blames Russia and Syria’s Assad … how will President Trump respond?

ANJ Breaking News … At least 70 people, including many children, died Tuesday after suffering symptoms of chemical poisoning, including foaming at the mouth and suffocation.

Russia’s defense ministry is blaming a Syrian airstrike on a "terrorist" ammunition depot for the deaths of dozens of people in what has been described as a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria’s Idlib province.
According to a statement posted Wednesday on the Russian ministry’s Facebook page, the strike hit "workshops, which produced chemical warfare munitions" in the eastern outskirts of the Khan Sheikhun town.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s military denied using chemical weapons and blamed rebels for the carnage.

President Donald Trump, speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, said the suspected chemical attack against Syrian civilians "crossed a lot of lines for me" and changed the way he views Syria and its leader Bashar al-Assad.
He blamed the attack in part on what he described as "a great opportunity missed" on the part of former President Obama.

Captain Rick: I urge all, including President Trump, to exercise caution on drawing judgment. FAKE NEWS is blaming Russia. That is a travesty. FAKE NEWS is also blaming Assad and seems to want Assad out of power.
I caution that thought might cause another ‘rush to judgment’ similar to Saddam Hussein being removed from power in Iraq, which proved to be a monumental mistake … one of the biggest of modern history. It left a quagmire from which ISIS grew from within. 

“North Korea has got to be stopped.” — U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis Says

A great report on North Korea with words from U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, compiled by a fellow WordPress blogger!

Trump is challenging the whole CIA-media nexus

Captain Rick reblogs this outstanding journalism about President Trump taking on the CIA and Main Stream Media written by fellow WordPress blogger Jon Rappoport. Follow Atridim News Journal for journalism excellence!

Captain Rick of Atridim News Journal …among the first journalists to project Donald Trump as President of the U.S.

Captain Rick: It was shortly after Donald Trump announced his run for president that I knew in my heart he was going to go all the way. I sensed the strong movement among Americans who longed to ‘Make America Great Again’ way back when FAKE NEWS and the GOP were fast asleep, content with the political cancer in DC.

Unlike todays FAKE NEWS journalists who mostly communicate via social media … Captain Rick, a REAL NEWS journalist actually walked the streets and trails to talk face-to-face with real people to find out how they were thinking and feeling. That is why Captain Rick knew that a revolution was brewing in America. That revolution thrust Trump into the White House and shocked FAKE NEWS and the GOP. It is time for the GOP to learn from its mistakes and promote the election of candidates who support the Trump movement towards Making America Great Again.

This Atridim News Journal blog on WordPress is accompanied by its companion Atridim News Journal blog on Facebook. It was there in early 2016 that Captain Rick began publishing weekly projections of how the large field of presidential candidates ranked. Looking back, Captain Rick called all of the rankings with perfection, while FAKE NEWS got it all so wrong, week after week. Its all on record for the world to review on ANJ on Facebook. A window is provided in the left column that shows ANJ blog posts on Facebook. Helpful info links are presented below.

Who is the journalist Captain Rick Atridim?

Follow Captain Rick Atridim on Facebook

Follow Atridim News Journal on Facebook

Follow Captain Rick’s World Think Tank group on Facebook

Follow Captain Rick’s Chandler-Gilbert Think Tank on Facebook

Press the button to Follow Atridim News Journal on WordPress

Your comments are greatly appreciated.

Seething U.S. Journalists Angered About Taking Commercial Flights To Cover Secretary Tillerson in Asia…

Source: Seething U.S. Journalists Angered About Taking Commercial Flights To Cover Secretary Tillerson in Asia…

Melania Trump . . . America’s new First Lady

Melania Trump is the kind of First Lady that America has been deprived of for far too long. Despite being married to the most controversial presidential candidate in American history, Melania Trump remains an enigma. Although the famous former model seems to have it all, Melania’s testimony tells the story of someone who’s struggled against all odds – and overcame.

Melania Trump has graced the covers of the most prestigious fashion industry magazines. But like many Americans today, Melania’s success was the result of a courageous work ethic and humble beginnings.

Melanija Knavs was born on April 26, 1970 in the small Slovenian railroad town of Sevnica – long before she changed the spelling of her name to pursue a modeling career. Despite the struggles many Slovenians faced during the country’s Communist times, the Knavses worked extremely hard to give their children a positive upbringing.

Melania’s mother, Amalija Ulcnik, worked developing patterns at a factory that manufactured children’s clothing. She had met Viktor Knavs in 1966 who worked as a chauffeur for a nearby town’s mayor. They instilled Melania and her sister with conservative values such as putting family first and having exceptional work ethic. "I love my childhood. It was a beautiful childhood," Melania said. Her son, Barron (10), speaks Slovenian fluently and uses it to speak with his grandparents, who now live near the Trumps in New York at Trump Tower.
Melania’s father left his job as a chauffeur to become a salesman at a state-owned car company in Ljubljana, Slovenia and found his family an apartment there – all to provide his children with exceptional education opportunities with their new prestigious address.

Amalija’s career as a seamstress had a profound impact on Melania. Once Melania learned to draw, she would sketch her own designs, and her mother or sister, Ines, would sew them. Melania also made her own jewelry.
Amalija spent evenings after work sewing clothing for herself and her two daughters. Instead of wearing clothes from the store, the Knavses designed and sewed every thing they wore. Melania’s childhood friends remember her always being dressed elegantly and carrying herself with confidence – there was always something striking about her.

Melania’s modeling career began when she was 16-years-old at a modeling contest when she attracted the attention of photographer Stane Jerko, whose test photos of the breathtaking teenager resulted in her signing with a modeling agency in Milan.

Despite her success as a model, Melania’s goal was to become a designer. So she applied to the School of Architecture at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia, becoming one of the few to pass the school’s notoriously difficult entrance exams.

While pursuing her degree in design and architecture, Melania remained focused in school. She didn’t drink, or party, nor did she smoke. Even with the temptations surrounding her as a college student and successful model, Melania lived a quiet homebound life. "She kept to herself, she was a loner. After a shoot or a catwalk, she went home, not out. She didn’t want to waste time partying," Jerko remembers.

After obtaining a degree in design and architecture at the University of Ljubljana, Melania was jetting between photo shoots in Paris and Milan – but Melania had even bigger dreams. Melania knew that if she wanted to achieve her goals she would have to move to America.

Melania finally made it to New York in 1996 after landing an American modeling contract – but nothing could prepare for the struggles that were down the road.

Shortly after she began pursuing her modeling dreams in America, Melania struggled to find work because she was considered "too old." The modeling industry isn’t friendly to models once they hit their later twenties, and at just 26-years-old, Melania was worried her best days were already behind her.

Melania went to castings every day, but photographers continued picking someone else over her, and often someone younger. She was having a difficult time supporting herself, and endured the challenging season while being overseas, away from her tight-knit family back in Slovenia.

Eventually, Melania got her "big break" and it wasn’t long before she graced the magazines covers of Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, British GQ, In Style, New York Magazine, the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, Allure, Self, Glamour, Vanity Fair, and Elle. But nothing could prepare her for the life-changing experience she would eventually encounter during her thriving modeling career…

While at a party during the New York Fashion Week in the fall of 1998, Melania met Donald Trump. She was a tall, shy brunette at just 28-years-old – while Trump was a brash 52-year-old real estate mogul.
"I didn’t know much about Donald Trump," she says of their first encounter. "I had my life, I had my world. I didn’t follow Donald Trump and what kind of life he had."

Although Trump attended the party with a date, he was instinctively drawn to Melania. When Trump’s date went to the bathroom, he seized the opportunity to chat for a few minutes with the Slovenian model he’d noticed.
Unlike the women who swooned every time the famous billionaire approached them, Melania remained unimpressed. When Trump asked for her number, she refused and instead asked for his contact information – she didn’t want to be just another woman he called, and she waited an entire week before calling him. Melania was curious to see if Trump would submit a business number. "I wanted to see what his intention is," she explains. "It tells you a lot from the man what kind of number he gives you. He gave me all of his numbers."

Melania’s confidence and shocking reaction to the wealthy playboy made Trump even more attracted to her. Trump could tell Melania was beautiful AND intelligent, and he was willing to do whatever it took to win the woman of his dreams. "I’m not starstruck," she explains. "We had a great connection, we had great chemistry, but I was not starstruck. And maybe he noticed that."

Many are quick to criticize Donald and Melania’s marriage due to their age difference, but after learning more about Melania – it’s easy to understand that these two were made for each other. Melania’s reserved personality and traditional values balance Trump’s assertive personality and controversial behavior.

Melania’s traditional values can be seen in her absence from Trump’s campaign trail. Instead of being on the road with her husband, Melania chose to be at home in New York City to raise their 10-year-old son, Barron.
Despite the Trumps’ luxurious lifestyle, Melania refuses to let their son be raised by a nanny. "It’s my choice not to be there [on the campaign trail]," Melania said. "I support my husband 100 percent, but … we have a 10-year-old son together, Barron, and I’m raising him." "This is the age he needs a parent at home," she added.

When Donald Trump told his wife he wanted to run for president, Melania said they discussed it in depth and she encouraged him to run. "I encouraged him because I know what he will do and what he can do for America," she said. "He loves the American people and he wants to help them."

Although she’s not out on the campaign trail, Melania stays involved in her husband’s campaign behind-the-scenes. "She’s told me a couple of times during the debate, she was very happy with my performances, if you would want to call them a performance," Donald Trump said. "But she said, ‘You could tone it down a little bit on occasion,’ which I understand."

Melania revealed the biggest untruth about her husband is the perception that he’s "nasty." "He’s not," Melania said. "He has a big heart and a very warm heart. You see who he is on the campaign trail all the time and on television, and I think – you know America needs a strong leader and a tough leader and he knows what he’s doing." "He is who he is," she says. "Even if you give him advice, he will maybe take it in, but then he will do it the way he wants to do it. You cannot change a person. Let them be. Let them be the way they are."

Melania’s passion for philanthropy are just a glimpse of the difference she could make as our First Lady. Some of the philanthropic causes she’s been involved with include the Martha Graham Dance Company, the Police Athletic League, the Boys Club of New York, The American Red Cross and Love Our Children USA.

Though she may not have experience in politics, Melania Trump is equipped to help her husband out on the diplomatic front: in addition to her native Slovenian, Melania speaks four other languages: English, French, Serbian and German. "She’s an incredible mother, she loves her son, Barron, so much. And I have to say, she will make an unbelievable First Lady," Donald Trump said.

Melania Trump’s life story is a vivid illustration of the American dream. Her humble roots, exceptional work ethic, and devotion to family clearly sets her apart.

Did alternative media really help Trump win?

Captain Rick: Historic US Election Upset. Trump wins by a landslide, when MSM (Main Stream Media) and US polls predicted the opposite. US Polls and News Media were SO WRONG! Their credibility has sunken to ZERO!
The following report is authored by a fellow WordPress journalist based in the UK.