Friday Talking Points -- A Wrinkle In Time
Something rather astonishing happened on Capitol Hill this week. The Senate passed a bill by unanimous consent, acting with such blinding speed that some senators weren't even aware of what was happening. Contrast this to the Senate's usual modus operandi, which is for things to move so slowly that a glacier would be seen as zipping along by comparison. Arcane parliamentary procedures are routinely used to gum up the legislative works, which often leads to nothing at all happening -- after spending enormous amounts of time and energy in the attempt.
This Tuesday, however, Senator Marco Rubio offered up a bill just after everyone got back from lunch, and the bill speedily passed when no senator objected to moving it along by unanimous consent. To say this was surprising is an understatement. Especially because the bill is not some arcane piece of legislation that only affects a select few, but instead will permanently shift America's time to Daylight Saving Time while jettisoning standard time altogether. In the near future, we'd all spring forward an hour (as we just did last weekend) one last time and then never change our clocks again. That affects virtually everyone, obviously.
Politico summed up just how stunning this was: "The quick and consequential move happened so fast that several senators said afterward they were unaware of what had just happened." The Washington Post added a few amusing quotes:
The Senate legislation passed so quickly that some senators had no idea that they had consented to let it get approved without a roll-call vote.
Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), whose job is to count votes as minority whip, learned the legislation had passed from reporters.
"Whose bill is it?" Thune asked, somewhat incredulously. "It passed?"
Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), the majority whip, also learned from the media that legislation to make the "spring forward" permanent had passed the chamber.
"Made what permanent?" he asked.
The bill was a bipartisan effort, but had only managed to get 18 co-sponsors, so it wasn't all that widespread a movement. But the tactic worked. So Rubio's Sunshine Protection Act now moves to the House, where (ironically enough) they will most likely soberly debate and examine the pros and cons of making this permanent move (no doubt while considering the alternate possible reform: moving to standard time permanently, so we'd all live all year on "winter time" rather than "summer time"). Experts have lined up on both sides of this choice, and they've already been heard in one House committee hearing. Sooner or later this debate will spread to the wider public, but it is still astonishing that the Senate moved so fast that even some senators had no idea of what they unanimously approved. Again, to say this was a rare event actually vastly understates how surprising it was.
But while ending biannual clock-changing will affect the whole country, it was in no way the most serious issue addressed in Washington this week, obviously. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's address to Congress was not only serious, but deadly serious. He has been addressing the governments of many Western nations this week (Canada, the U.K., and Germany as well as the U.S.), and he has brilliantly tailored his message for each audience. Speaking to Parliament, Zelenskyy quoted Winston Churchill. He brought up the Berlin Wall when addressing the Germans. And in his short speech to Congress (which, even with a video in the middle, lasted less than 20 minutes), Zelenskyy brought up Mt. Rushmore, Pearl Harbor, 9/11, and Martin Luther King Junior. Zelenskyy made his case in both brutal and emotional terms, asking Americans to remember what being attacked from the sky was like in Pearl Harbor and on 9/11, pointing out that this was now Ukraine's reality all the time: "Our country experienced the same every day, right now, at this moment, every night for three weeks now."
Zelenskyy's message was aimed at both Congress and President Joe Biden. He asked for support, including two things that Biden has so far refused to do: institute and enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine, or send them Soviet-era fighter planes from NATO countries like Poland. Zelenskyy also pleaded for more sanctions on Russia and for more advanced weapons systems to shoot down Russian warplanes. Biden responded with another $800 million in military aid, which will include anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles as well as plenty of other supplies for Ukraine's valiant fight. Negotiations on specific weapons systems Zelenskyy requested, such as Russian-made S-300 anti-aircraft missiles, have begun with other countries (who have such systems and are offering them, if the U.S. will "backfill" by providing our own advanced Patriot missiles to replace them).
Biden is constrained by the fact that this is and has to remain a proxy war between NATO and Russia's Vladimir Putin. Ukraine is not a member of NATO, and any involvement which could be considered offensive (in the military sense of the word) cannot be allowed, lest it draw the alliance into a much wider conflict -- "World War III," as Biden keeps pointing out. Policing a no-fly zone means American pilots shooting down Russian planes, plain and simple. Even sending MiG-29s from Poland would be seen differently than supplying them with anti-aircraft missiles, in Biden's mind.
Because Biden is showing American leadership to the world, Republicans are annoyed. However, they are not in agreement in their complaints, to put it mildly. Some Republicans are complaining about Biden acting too slowly in providing military equipment to Ukraine, while they somehow complete ignoring the glaring contradiction of Donald Trump doing the same thing as a threat to try to extort Zelenskyy into digging up dirt on Joe Biden during the presidential campaign. That circle can't really be squared, obviously, but that hasn't stopped some in the GOP from trying.
Of course, there also exists a "Putin wing" of the Republican Party, whose basic stance is "whatever Putin tells us it should be." No, seriously. Tucker Carlson, the most influential voice on Fox News, has been so blatantly pro-Putin that Russia's propaganda machine instructed their state media to highlight Carlson clips "as much as possible." He's now being mocked on Twitter as "Tuckyo Rose," which seems about right. Representative Madison Cawthorn is also being shown on Russian television, saying: "Remember that Zelenskyy is a thug. Remember that the Ukrainian government is incredibly corrupt and is incredibly evil." Both have tried to walk back such outrageous stances to some extent, but the damage has already been done.
Meanwhile, Marjorie Taylor Greene has the answer -- stop sending Ukraine weapons because there's just no way they're going to win. No, seriously, that's what she actually said this week:
If we truly care about suffering and death on our television screens, we cannot fund more of it by sending money and weaponry to Ukraine to fight a war they cannot possibly win.... I don't know about you, but I don't want to be responsible for creating even more refugees and orphans in an already traumatized and dysfunctional world.... It's not our responsibility to give [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people false hope about a war they cannot win.
Talk about giving aid and comfort to the enemy! Conservatives are confused, obviously, because their own Dear Leader's position on Ukraine is just as incomprehensible as his position on everything else. Republicans are trying to rewrite history to build Trump up into some macho Rambo-style character whose toughness was so apparent that Putin never would have invaded Ukraine if Trump were still president. This is just laughable, as none other than John Bolton pointed out (emphasis in original):
[John] Bolton has now said repeatedly that this simply isn't how it went down. And he's made quite the opposite case: that [Vladimir] Putin didn't do stuff like this during [Donald] Trump's presidency because Trump was already doing the work for him -- specifically, by undermining NATO. And it's a case that tracks with plenty of what we already knew, even as few Trump allies-turned-critics have seen fit to weigh in publicly of late.
In late February, Bolton appeared on Trump-friendly Newsmax and told a host who was pushing the Trump line that it was "just not accurate to say that Trump's behavior somehow deterred the Russians."
"In almost every case, the sanctions were imposed with Trump complaining about it, saying we were being too hard," Bolton retorted when the host suggested that it was unthinkable that Trump would've handled the situation worse than President Biden has. Bolton added that Trump "barely knew where Ukraine was."
He would add later that Trump only cared about Ukraine insofar as it impacted him politically. (That's a statement that certainly tracks with Trump's attempts to withhold aid and a White House meeting from Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to try to get Ukraine to launch a politically expeditious -- for Trump -- investigation of Hunter Biden. Republicans have pointed out that Trump ultimately released the aid, but he only did so when the gambit became untenable.)
. . .
Asked whether we should believe this wouldn't have happened on Trump's watch, Bolton said, "Certainly not." Bolton added that, in a second term unencumbered by future electoral considerations, Trump would've been even more freed up to potentially take the United States out of NATO.
"And so Putin would've gotten what he wanted in Ukraine for a lot lower price than he's paying now," Bolton said.
Then Bolton added, in perhaps his most unvarnished comment to date: "The Leninist phrase is 'useful idiot,' and they haven't forgotten that in Moscow."
In the meantime, the war drags on. Russia has not advanced in any noticeable way, but neither have they retreated from anywhere in Ukraine. Indiscriminate shelling and bombing is killing Ukrainian civilians in multiple cities, and it shows no signs of abating any time soon. President Biden even called Putin a "war criminal" this week, which is pretty obvious when you see all the scenes of destruction he has ordered. The number of refugees streaming out of Ukraine has hit three million and will likely continue to climb.
So far, the U.S. and NATO supply lines into Ukraine continue to provide the Ukrainians with weapons and ammunition. This is crucial for the Ukrainian military's survival. If the Russian troops weren't so bogged down elsewhere in the country, they might be attacking these supply lines to cut off the arms flow to the Ukrainians, but they have been far too busy to do so in any major way, at least for now.
Negotiations continue between Russia and Ukraine, but no breakthroughs have been announced. Progress towards an agreement does seem to be happening, but they started so far apart in their demands that this effort is likely to take quite a while before any cease-fire happens. Until then, more and more people are dying on both sides of the battlefield as the fighting rages on. This is sadly likely to remain the case for the short term, at least.
For now, we'll end this weekly review with two brilliant reactions to the news that Russia will be sanctioning a handful of Democrats (no Republicans made the list, of course). When asked about these sanctions, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki first noted that the Russians had forgotten the "Junior" in Biden's name, so they were actually sanctioning his deceased father, Joseph Robinette Biden (Senior). But then she gave a classic answer which showed how little leverage Russia had in this realm: "None of us are planning tourist trips to Russia and none of us have bank accounts we won't be able to access, so we will forge ahead."
The reaction of Hillary Clinton, who was also mysteriously included on the list even though she holds no current public office, was even funnier:
"I want to thank the Russian Academy for this Lifetime Achievement Award."
We have to admit that this week we have more non-Democrats who deserve some positive accolades than Democrats.
First would obviously be Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose speech to Congress (and his brutal but highly-effective video) was nothing short of masterful. Zelenskyy has been winning the "war of words" in the West, as he has rallied the free world to his side in the crisis. We wrote of how he has risen to the occasion when greatness was thrust upon him earlier in the week, in fact.
Next up for an award-worthy performance would have to be Arnold Schwarzenegger, who put out the best video on the war we have yet seen. The video -- complete with subtitles in Russian -- runs over nine minutes, and it is well worth watching for anyone who hasn't seen it yet.
In his message Arnold tells stories from his childhood, including relating how fighting Russians in the Nazi army "broke" his father. He speaks of his own ties to the Russian people and sympathizes with the population there -- clearly not placing blame on ordinary Russians for the war, but instead blaming their leaders. It is a heartfelt and moving performance, and as we said we can't think of anyone else who has taken the time to speak directly to average Russians about what their government is doing in their name and how they are being lied to on a daily basis. interestingly enough, Schwarzenegger is one of the few dozen people that Vladimir Putin actually follows on social media, so maybe he'll even get to see the message. One can only hope.
Marco Rubio deserves some sort of recognition for zipping his Daylight Saving Time bill through the Senate so fast they didn't even know what hit them. Whether you agree with the solution or not, you certainly do have to admire the tactical victory Rubio scored in a legislative body normally known for endless delays and inaction.
In terms of Democrats, though, Joe Biden deserves at least an Honorable Mention for releasing $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine this week. Let's hope those missiles and other weapons systems get to the Ukrainian soldiers as fast as possible.
But it wasn't a week for Democrats to really occupy center stage in politics, so we are going to hand out our Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week in total tongue-in-cheek fashion this week.
Because Stacy Abrams of Georgia rose not only to lead this country, but to assume the mantle of President of United Earth. Well, fictionally, but even so, it was pretty impressive. Here's the story:
On Thursday, Abrams made a cameo in the final minutes of the Season 4 finale of Star Trek: Discovery. In the episode, she walks off a spaceship, cape over her shoulders, and is greeted as "Madam President." Abrams, president of a planetary state known as United Earth, agrees to rejoin an interstellar alliance that United Earth had previously broken away from. The episode ends with Abrams telling the show's protagonist, Capt. Michael Burnham: "There's a lot of work to do. Are you ready for that?"
"I am," Burnham responds. "Let’s get to it."
Abrams has long been a Star Trek fan. As Sarah Lyall of the New York Times wrote in March 2019, Abrams has "seen every iteration of Star Trek and can recite with picayune detail the obscure plot points from incidents buried deep in the canon." In her book Lead From The Outside, Abrams uses Star Trek scenes to illustrate how she solves problems. And she told the Times she had stayed up late binge-watching Discovery in the middle of her last bid for Georgia governor, in 2018.
So Abrams happily agreed to play the part when the show's creators approached her in 2021, Michelle Paradise, the show's executive producer, told Variety. Abrams's one condition was that the creators not spoil the show for her and give her only the directions necessary to complete her scene, Paradise said.
"She was very specific about that," Paradise told Variety. "She wanted to be able to just watch it and enjoy when the show finally came out. So, yeah, we avoided all the spoilers."
That's pretty classy -- she would only appear if they didn't spoil the surprises for her. One might call that the mark of a true fan, even.
So with tongue firmly planted in cheek, we hereby award "Madam United Earth President Stacy Abrams" this week's Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week. What could be more impressive than "planetary leader," after all?
[Stacy Abrams is a private citizen and we're not really serious about this award anyway, so we decided not to provide her contact information, sorry.]
Let's see, there was Nancy Pelosi reading a three-limerick poem from Bono for Saint Patrick's Day, but it really wasn't Pelosi who was disappointing, it was Bono. Especially since he used, in one line, the phrase "the Ukraine," which is what Russia would prefer everyone call it (to designate it as merely a region, not a country).
Celebrity kidding aside, we do have two (Dis-)Honorable Mention awards to hand out, the first of which goes to Joe Manchin for singlehandedly tanking one of Joe Biden's nominees to the Federal Reserve Board. The nominee had made comments in the past Manchin interpreted as being against fossil fuels, which led to his thumbs-down. All the other Democrats were on board, once again -- it was just Joe who stood in the way.
And a top Maryland Democratic Party official had to step down for a recent email she sent. Here's the story:
A top Maryland Democratic Party official who questioned whether voters would elect a Black candidate for governor stepped down on Monday as calls for her departure escalated.
Barbara Goldberg Goldman, a prolific donor who was the party's deputy treasurer, resigned on Monday. She also publicly apologized for the comments.
. . .
Her remarks, which surfaced Sunday in a report from Axios, were made in a December email to party insiders about endorsing former Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez in the state's gubernatorial primary. Goldberg Goldman wrote: "Consider this: Three African American males have run statewide for Governor and have lost. Maryland is not a Blue state. It's a purple one. This is a fact we must not ignore."
But our Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week award goes to Andrew Cuomo. And if his brother Chris were a politician, he'd get one too.
Andrew, after being forced to resign as governor of New York in disgrace (with the threat of impending impeachment hanging over him if he hadn't), has now apparently decided that the voters really want him back. He is considering making a run for his old office against Kathy Hochul, who served under Cuomo as lieutenant governor and then stepped into the main job when Cuomo exited.
We would hope that New York voters are smart enough not to bring the bullying serial-sexual-harasser back to power, but who knows what his chances would be? But to us, even the news that Cuomo is considering another run was disappointing in the extreme.
His brother Chris, who used to host a show on CNN before he was let go in the fallout from his brother's scandal, is now suing the network for $125 million. That's just as disappointing, but at least he's not actually in public service.
We are reminded of the amusingly titled country song: "How Can I Miss You When You Won't Go Away?" The return of the brothers Cuomo on the scene is beyond depressing, in fact. Which is why Andrew Cuomo is the winner of this week's Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week.
[Again, Andrew Cuomo is now (thankfully) a private citizen who does not hold office, and our blanket policy is not to provide contact information for such persons.]
Volume 655 (3/18/22)
Today's talking points (with the exception of the final one) could be considered an opening salvo to the midterm campaign. If Democrats are going to have any chance of retaining control of Congress, they've got to do a much better job of drawing clear lines between what their party stands for and what the opposition stands for. This is Politics 101, really. Define yourself, and define your opponent. Fortunately, that's pretty easy to do, these days.
Russian war propaganda
Call it what it is.
"Far too many radical rightwing media personalities and members of the Republican Party have been carrying Vladimir Putin's ideological water in the midst of an unprovoked and brutal invasion of a neighboring country. I find this disgusting, personally. People like Tucker Carlson and Madison Cawthorn are being prominently featured in Russian propaganda beamed to the Russian people, because they are so sympathetic to Putin and his gang of thugs. Marjorie Taylor Greene is telling the Ukrainians to essentially give up and stop fighting because she thinks they are fighting, in her words, 'a war they cannot possibly win.' Senator Dick Durban called out Carlson on the Senate floor, saying: 'There are no excuses. Not acceptable. Mr. Carlson should be ashamed of himself.' I strongly agree with Durbin. There is no excuse for spewing Russian lies and handing them war propaganda victories. I would strongly urge each and every Republican alive today to ask themselves 'WWRRD?' What would former president Ronald Reagan do in this situation? Would he tell the Ukrainians their fight was hopeless? Would he parrot Russian propaganda and lies? Or would he stand with Ukraine and against Russia? I think every single one of them knows the answer to that question."
Speaking of lies...
This needs some major pushback, because the media (so far) has fallen down on their job of calling such falsehoods out (once again).
"Nobody likes high gas prices. But Republican attempts to lay it all at the Democrats' feet have gotten so wildly divorced from reality that it's really time to lay out some basic facts for the American people. First, the Biden administration has not reduced domestic production, as the Republicans constantly claim. According to the New York Times, America 'became a net exporter of petroleum in 2020, the first time since at least 1949. That remained the case in 2021. It became a net exporter of natural gas in 2018 and remains so today, with exports reaching record levels in 2021.' Furthermore, the Biden administration approved 34 percent more oil lease permits in its first year than the Trump administration did. Republicans are claiming Biden is somehow waging some sort of war on energy production, but this is just flat-out not true. So let's talk about what can be done about gas prices, but let's keep to the facts while we do, ok?"
GOP wants to raise taxes on the poor by $1 trillion
One note about these next two items. Republicans will complain that not many of them have come out in support of Rick Scott's 11-point plan, therefore it is unfair to smear all of them with the elements of this plan. This might be a fair and valid point, except for the fact that Republicans routinely do this with Democrats, pretty much all the time. How many Democrats actually supported the Green New Deal? It didn't matter to Republicans, they were happy to smear all Democrats with all sorts of outlandish claims about it. So this would merely be returning the favor.
"Most Republicans are terrified to let the public know what their real agenda is. Not Senator Rick Scott, who is in charge of getting more Republicans elected to the Senate. He's told everyone exactly what the party intends doing if it ever regains power. His plan is chock-full of odious agenda items, but the worst of the worst, hands down, is his plan to raise taxes by a cool trillion dollars on the poorest Americans. Under his plan, taxes would go up for 60 percent of Americans. He doesn't want the wealthy or corporations to pay more, he wants minimum wage workers to pony up a trillion bucks over ten years. You can't make this stuff up, folks. Scott wants everyone to 'have some skin in the game,' which translates into making those who can least afford it pay more taxes. Listen to Republicans when they tell you who they truly are! They've moved on from just cutting taxes on the ultra-wealthy to now actually raising taxes on the poor. That is what Republicans want to do if they get Congress back, and the only way to stop them from doing so is to elect more Democrats instead."
Republicans would end Social Security and Medicare after five years
This is the secondmost-egregiously-stupid idea in Scott's plan (again, there are a whole lot more to choose from, these are just the worst two).
"Republicans also want to pass a law that says that every single federal law on the books would 'sunset' after five years, unless Congress voted to renew them. Sunset means 'sink slowly in the west and disappear,' in case you were confused. The biggest change to most Americans would be to see Social Security disappear, after Republicans refused to renew it the first chance they got. Republicans have hated Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid ever since they were all passed, and they've been trying to gut all three ever since. This would allow them to kill all three off cleanly, in five years' time. Who in their right mind would force Congress to renew every single federal law every five years? If this happened, Congress would be so consumed with renewing everything all the time that it wouldn't have time to do anything else. Which is exactly what Republicans would like to see. This is insanity, plain and simple, and I trust the voters to see right through it. Republicans want to kill Social Security and Medicare, and Democrats will do everything possible to make sure that never happens, period."
Who is on your side?
Draw a strong dichotomy between the parties. This is important.
"The difference between Republicans and Democrats is pretty obvious. The Democratic Party stands for solving problems and getting things done. The Republican Party stands for chaos and division and not getting anything else done at all. Democrats brought back jobs and saved the economy. Republicans refused to help. Democrats had to clean up the mess the Republicans left -- once again -- and are on the side of democracy. Republicans stand with the January 6th insurrectionists who attacked American democracy. Republicans want the country to default on its debt, leaving Democrats the only sane ones who keep us from defaulting, time and time again. Democrats stand for the right of every American to vote while Republicans keep dreaming up new ways to make it harder and harder to cast a ballot. Democrats stand for lowering prices on prescription drugs, while Republicans fight for Big Pharma. Republicans want people to be able to sue teachers and schools and librarians, while Democrats just want to see kids get a decent education that tells them the truth about history. On issue after issue, Democrats come up with solutions while Republicans insist that nothing ever change. One party is interested in getting some things done and helping out average Americans, while the other fights every effort to do so tooth and nail. As I said, the difference between the parties is pretty plain to see."
Republicans fight to divide us
Republicans play this game so well mostly because Democrats always fail to call them on it.
"Look at every issue Republicans are running on in this election. Pretty much every single one has one thing in common -- Republicans want to divide the American public even more. They want to wage endless culture wars by fearmongering to the voters about all sorts of things for one big reason. They just have no answers about anything other than their pet wedge issues. When's the last time you heard a Republican proposal to do anything about any subject that would improve ordinary people's lives? When was the last time a Republican put forth an idea to bring America together? I can't even remember such a time, personally. All they are for is having all Americans at each other's throats all the time, period. Maybe it's not that they don't care about all the problems the country faces (although that is sadly a possibility), but it's just that they have no answers at all about any of it. All they stand for is division. That's it, really."
Worth 1,000 words
Finally, this isn't really a Democratic talking point -- it's not even domestic politics, in fact. But we had to feature it because it is so powerful. It's not even a talking point, it's even simpler -- it's just an image. We were unsure if it was a copyrighted image, so we couldn't post it here, but we think you'll agree it's well worth the trouble of following this link.
"Count me among the philatelists worldwide who are lining up to buy a few copies of the newly-announced Ukrainian stamp showing a brave Ukrainian soldier expressing exactly how he feels about a Russian warship about to attack him. In fact, I hope they sell so many of these stamps to people all over the planet that it funds their entire war effort. Everyone should be eager to contribute to the cause by buying some, as soon as they are publicly available. I don't think I've ever seen such a beautiful wartime sentiment, and I'm sure pretty much everybody will agree."
-- Chris Weigant
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
Cross-posted at: Democratic Underground
CORRECT ME if I'm wrong, CW:
When doing FTPs I imagine you have to balance having enough background/context with appealing to the emotions while being as short and punchy as possible. A heavy lift, to my mind.
IMO, you hit that sweet spot in today's column better than any other time I can recall. Bravo!
(*puffing noise in the background* eh, Countri-Cali?)
It's hard to decide which is worse, CW or the morons that buy his bullshit.
Neither. What's worse are the morons who buy your bullshit. Luckily they seem to be few and far between. 4 supporters down from 10? What did you do to drive them all away? Answer: nothing. Nothing at all...
Talking Point #1.
Trevor Noah put together a side-by-side comparison of what comes from Russian propaganda and ends up coming out of the mouths of Tucker Carlson and the like:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/daily-show-right-tucker-carlson-russia_n_62342a7be4b0d39357c5e73d
In other words, they aren't just sympathetic to Putin, they're letting the Russians write their scripts for them.
Talking Point #5
One great way for Democrats to show they're on the voters' side that would resonate strongly with people across the country: introduce a bill that would create free tax-creation software, or simply have the government compute your tax and send you a bill. Almost everyone who pays taxes resents having to pay Turbo Tax (or some other outfit) for the right to pay their taxes.
Talking Points #3 and #4
Silence is complicity. Have Republicans all up and down the line come out clearly to say that Scott's ideas are an outrage? If not, smearing them is 100% fair. If Republicans in general have offered no platform but Scott has put forth a platform that has not drawn general rebuke, then his platform, for the time being, really is the Republican platform by default.
Because Biden is showing American leadership to the world, Republicans are annoyed.
They needn't be. But, because Republicans in this day and age have no inkling of what real American leadership is, maybe they are.
As for Biden, real leadership would have been demonstrated by making an effort to prevent this war in the first place. By not ignoring long-standing Russian concerns about NATO expansion and foolishly taking Ukrainian membership in NATO off the negotiating table.
By redoubling diplomatic efforts once the war began.
And, instead of chastising China and threatening severe consequences for actions in support of Russia that the PRC probably has no intention of taking, rather cooperating with China to jump start negotiations to reach a sustainable political settlement.
All of this USED to be in Biden's wheelhouse. But, now, I'm left wondering ... did he get tired or did he just get lazy? ... to paraphrase a favourite Eagles tune.
I think he may simply be WAY past his prime and no longer capable of seizing opportunities. Which is a dangerous place to be for an American president, especially when Europe may be on the precipice of a widening war.
Make a real argument addressing why One Demand is bullshit or go away.
If you insist...
1. you are running it. Remind us, when was the that last time you did anything other than post in comment sections?
2. you were hacked or more likely your DNS was hijacked. Twice. Same thing really, all search engines have nuked you in to oblivion. Google is warming back up. Uh, maybe lukewarm. Lets just call it not as cold. Bing has you blacklisted.
3. Even knowing OD is difficult to find you still to this day refuse to fix your name link in this comments section. I get it you are embarrassed at the poor dilapidated website and really don't want anyone to visit.
4. Your poor dilapidated website. So 2015. No really. It's your business card. The thing you direct them to and it's the equivalent ink bleeding scrawl on a wet cocktail napkin.
5. Your posting history. All your childish name calling and other hilarious shenanigans are ever immortalized here and linked to your name and organization for all eternity. Or at least until CW closes shop and the internet archive forgets you. Do you really think any serious political organization is not going to do a quick search and be horrified at what they find?
And that's the structural stuff. Lets move on to the actual idea behind OD:
6. Your parameters are so narrow for candidates you will never find one to back. Ever. Please prove me wrong on this! Narrator: he didn't.
7. There is no enforcement mechanism. What is to stop anyone from cheating? Once you find out, they are already in office.
8. What proof do you have or argument can you make as to why low rent candidates will make better decisions then high rent candidates?
9 How do you plan to stop money corrupting on the back side rather then the front? If campaign donations at your proposed level became popular whats to stop politicians from taking the payout in cushy boardrooms and lobbying outfits?
10 How do you plan to track, verify and categorize payments to PAC's and other dark money? Do you have limits on total donations that are not directly given to the official campaign?
11 How do I find candidates that meet your parameters?
12 You state that big money corrupts and all legislation is tainted. Can you give examples of specific legislation and demonstrate how campaign contributions determined the outcome? Bonus points for the day light saving change bill as recently passed by the Senate. I mean, if all bills are tainted by big money, lets see you put your money (or at least theirs) where your mouth is.
[9]
As for Biden, real leadership would have been demonstrated by making an effort to prevent this war in the first place. By not ignoring long-standing Russian concerns about NATO expansion and foolishly taking Ukrainian membership in NATO off the negotiating table.
My Gawd, Elizabeth Miller, you keep saying ignorant stuff like this. If I am wrong about anything I wrote -- which your comments make clear you believe -- why not share with us what I'm wrong about?
Forget about ignoring me, worse is that you're ignoring the facts on the ground. C'mon, Gurl, help me out here! And I don't play any of that juvenile silence means agreement malarkey.
[10]
Yikes, Bashi!
These last two or three years I've also put, well, too much effort into dissecting OD only to experience Fredo's latest Lucy yanking away the football episode.
This is the best summary yet of the problems with OD.
Okay, Don Harris! I agree with the man and he speaks for me.
Now's your chance -- Homeboy even numbered these questions for you! Kindly address each question in order if you dare!
BWAHAHAHAHA!
Ya know, Michale, I can see the appeal of a well timed BWAHAHAHAHA! You are not a good influence on me, good Sir.
DOES ANYONE ELSE see parallels between Putin's invasion and the 1938-39 Russo-Finnish War aka The Winter War? The include:
Stalin officer purges v. Putin's cocoon of yes-men, both resulting in prioritizing loyalty over ability.
Overconfidence in their own military and it's will to fight. Inefficiencies and corruption in both the Soviet system and today's Russia are manifesting in poor performance in logistics, equipment, tactics -- you name it.
Underestimating the opposition's military along with it's will to fight.
Horrendous casualties for little gain.
World condemnation of naked aggression. Alas, this is already hurting today's Russia far more than back in the late 30s.
Pushing the target countries firmly into the Nazi/NATO camp along with other border states (Then: Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria and Now: Ukraine, Finland, Sweden etc.)
Hmmm...I say, hmmm.
I also say, Stalin survived his blunder. Putin will not be so lucky because the consequences for Russia will be too severe.
All Ukraine has to do is to keep fighting with or without the support of the Elizabeth Millers of the world. I know you mean well, Dear, but a bad peace is no peace at all -- its just a timeout.
Russ,
As for Hunter Biden’s laptop… the information came from a laptop dropped off and left by someone claiming to be Hunter Biden. Of course, the shop has no video evidence to support this claim, and the employee who received the laptop and is the only witness just happens to be legally blind. And how convenient for Hunter to drop off his laptop and then just refuse to go back to retrieve it when the shop notified him that it was ready! What perfect timing — right when Trump is needing a big crisis for the Biden’s to help his failing campaign! The info might be from Hunter’s laptop… but hard drives can easily be cloned. President Biden’s daughter’s personal diary was stolen and dropped off with a right-wing news group. Republicans will do anything to stay in power.
That's a nice fairy tale, Russ.. :D
But it ignores one simple fact..
DOZENS of people mentioned in the emails on the laptop corroborated the content and the factual nature of the emails. Videos and pictures on the laptop confirm that it was Hunter Biden's laptop.
Look, I get it.. It's hard for Lefties to accept that, once again, they tried a huge cover-up of huge criminal activities and it blew up in their faces.. AGAIN..
Lefties tried to pass this thing off as Russia Disinformation and it blew up in their faces.. I get what you would be pissed about that.. Just like ya'all were pissed when Durham found out the facts about Hillary's Russia Collusion Delusion...
But the facts are the facts.. :D
Bashi,
Trump is president and Putin gets his two day invasion handed to him on a silver platter. Back up: Bolton. Sure I don't him but he is more likely to be "factual" than Trump or you...
I asked for logical and rational alternatives...
You have NO FACTS or even a rational flight of fancy that supports your alternative..
I, on the other hand, do have logical and rational extrapolation to support my "what if"...
That being the case... :D
I have always found this extremely hilarious about ya'all?? :D
Ya'all attack and vilify and demonize someone incessantly... Right up to the point that they say what ya'all want to hear....
THEN, their words are gospel and ya'all fall to yer knees hailing them like the 2nd coming..
Bolton was Mark Pellegrino Incarnate when he was on President Trump's side.. He could do no good and ya'all attacked him unmercifully...
NOW that Bolton is attacking President Trump incessantly, NOW Bolton is ya'all's BFF.. :D
There hasn't been such a huge 180 since Democrats bent the knee and kissed Dick 'Darth Vader' Cheney's ring.. :D
I find that HILARIOUS... :D The inherent hypocrisy of politics, eh? :D
Because Stacy Abrams of Georgia rose not only to lead this country, but to assume the mantle of President of United Earth. Well, fictionally, but even so, it was pretty impressive. Here's the story:
HAY!!!!!!!!!!!
*******SPOILERS!!!!!!!*************
Little warning next time, eh???
A top Maryland Democratic Party official who questioned whether voters would elect a Black candidate for governor stepped down on Monday as calls for her departure escalated.
Barbara Goldberg Goldman, a prolific donor who was the party's deputy treasurer, resigned on Monday. She also publicly apologized for the comments.
Well, I have always said and this simply confirms it..
The Democrat Party has not fallen far from it's racist roots...
His brother Chris, who used to host a show on CNN before he was let go in the fallout from his brother's scandal, is now suing the network for $125 million. That's just as disappointing, but at least he's not actually in public service.
Glad ta see that CNN is not considered a public service.. :D
At least we can agree on that.. :D
andygaus
One great way for Democrats to show they're on the voters' side that would resonate strongly with people across the country: introduce a bill that would create free tax-creation software, or simply have the government compute your tax and send you a bill. Almost everyone who pays taxes resents having to pay Turbo Tax (or some other outfit) for the right to pay their taxes.
Yer kidding, right??
There are, literally, HUNDREDS of free tax software packages out there.. Online and offline...
There are some websites that you can even file back taxes from the year 2000 forward... And it's ALL free...
If yer actually PAYING for your tax software, it's only because you want to..
andygaus,
Silence is complicity.
Ex-squeeze me.... Baking powder....
Did you REALLY just say that??!??
SILENCE GIVES ASSENT
Ya'all see???
SILENCE GIVES ASSENT **IS** in fact, the Democrat Party way... :D
Liz,
They needn't be. But, because Republicans in this day and age have no inkling of what real American leadership is, maybe they are.
Except that the LAST time the Republicans ran the government things were SOOOOO much better than they are today.. This is documented fact.
By not ignoring long-standing Russian concerns about NATO expansion and foolishly taking Ukrainian membership in NATO off the negotiating table.
No one was "ignoring" Russia's concerns.. The US was simply putting them in their proper place..
Put another way.. If it's a choice between an enemy's concerns and an allies freedoms??
The enemy's concerns take a back seat..
All of this USED to be in Biden's wheelhouse. But, now, I'm left wondering ... did he get tired or did he just get lazy? ... to paraphrase a favourite Eagles tune.
Probably a little of both.. Biden's brain is going.. He is being handled.. THOSE are the people whose actions you have a beef with..
I think he may simply be WAY past his prime and no longer capable of seizing opportunities. Which is a dangerous place to be for an American president, especially when Europe may be on the precipice of a widening war.
Agreed...
MC,
but a bad peace is no peace at all -- its just a timeout.
Well said..
Peace at any cost is not true peace. It's nothing but slavery with a nice cover sheet..
Bill Maher rips cancel culture 'lumping' Russians with Putin: If they weren't White, we'd call that 'racism'
The HBO star says 'it's not fair,' insisting many Russian people 'don't know what's going on'
https://www.foxnews.com/media/bill-maher-cancel-culture-russians-putin-racism
As usual, Maher makes a good point...
Lawyer for mother of Hunter Biden’s child says he expects president’s son to be indicted
Attorney Clint Lancaster made the stunning prediction while confirming in an interview with CNBC that his client Lunden Roberts recently testified in Delaware before a federal grand jury in the criminal investigation into the 52-year-old presidential scion.
“I expect him to be indicted,” Lancaster told the outlet, referring to Hunter Biden. “Just based on what I saw in his financial records, I would be surprised if he’s not indicted.”
Lancaster said Roberts, the 31-year-old mother of Hunter Biden’s young daughter, handed over “a significant amount of Hunter’s financial records” to federal prosecutors after being subpoenaed last month.
https://nypost.com/2022/03/17/lawyer-for-mother-of-hunter-bidens-child-lunden-roberts-says-he-expects-presidents-son-to-be-indicted/
Which simply materially supports all the crimes documented in Hunter Biden's laptop and the crimes documented in the FBI affidavits...
Hunter Biden is going to jail.. How long will depend on if he is able to (or ALLOWED TO) roll over on higher ups..
Just in time for the coming mid-terms.. :D
Retiring Dem Rep Decries Party’s Radical Turn
Murphy announced in December she would not seek reelection. In her interview, she issued a parting shot against Democrats who have pressed for unpopular policies despite their narrow advantage in the House and Senate.
"I can't tell you the number of times I said, ‘You can't keep promising rainbows and unicorns when your political reality is such narrow margins in the House and a dead-even Senate,'" Murphy said. "They took the difference between rainbows and unicorns and political reality—which is anger and disappointment—and turned that anger and disappointment against their own members."
https://freebeacon.com/democrats/retiring-dem-rep-decries-partys-radical-turn/
Democrats are their own worst enemies these days...
The Party has let the Hysterical Wing take over and try to ramrod thru un-American legislation as if they had unstoppable majorities in the House and Senate..
Of course, such efforts lead to complete and utter failure, which is why Democrats are facing a slaughter in November...
If Democrats want to retain ANY semblance of leadership and do not want to be totally decimated as a viable political Party, they need to reign in the Progressives tail that is wagging the Democrat Party dog...
The alternative is to be relegated to the Minority Party wilderness for at least the rest of my lifetime...
And now, for one of my favorite pieces of Democrat stoopidity and utterly moronic moves.. :D The 6 Jan Committee... :D
Jan. 6 committee faces a thorny challenge: Persuading the public to care
The House Jan. 6 committee has tried to recruit high-profile journalists to write its report about the attack on the Capitol, hoping to build a narrative thriller that compels audiences and is a departure from government reports of yore.
Their challenge: Making the public care deeply — and read hundreds of pages more — about an event that happened more than a year ago, and that many Americans feel they already understand.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/jan-6-committee-faces-a-thorny-challenge-convincing-the-public-to-care/ar-AAVegdY
6 Jan was merely a Right Wing protest that got out of hand... Just like 22+ years (collectively) of Democrat BLM and AntiFa violent protests that got out of hand..
The only difference between 6 Jan and the 22+ years is that 6 Jan was a SINGLE violent riot in a SINGLE building at a SINGLE location over the span of a few hours...
Democrats had 22+ years (collectively) of violent attacks on HUNDREDS of government buildings all over the country.. Violent attacks where MANY were killed including at least 8 LEOs... Hundreds of thousands injured.. BILLIONS in damages...
Did Democrats form a SINGLE committee to study THOSE 22+ years of violent riots??
Of course not.. They were Democrat BLM and AntiFa riots.. So, no committee was formed..
But a SINGLE RIGHT WING riot in a SINGLE building at a SINGLE location over a few hours??
THAT must have a House Committee... :^/
The politics is as blatant and obvious as it is nauseating..
The 6 Jan Committee is a joke.. A blatant and obvious Political Maneuver that has NOTHING to do with justice and EVERYTHING to do with a single goal..
Tie'ing President Trump to the riot so he can't run again in 2024... Democrats *KNOW* that they can't beat President Trump in a FAIR election..
So, they are trying this end run to prevent President Trump from even running..
And, like the Democrats' Russia Collusion Delusion.... Like the Democrats' attempt to cover up the Hunter Biden Laptop...
Like ALL of that and so much more..
The Democrats' efforts will end in failure...
It's all Democrats know how to do these days.. FAIL...
"Failed.. Failed.. IMPRESSIVELY failed..."
-NASA Doctor, ARMAGEDDON
That's today's Democrat Party...
An impressive failure...
An interesting notion from Real Clear Investigations..
Investigative Issues: Now That the NYT Has Granted Legitimacy to Hunter's Laptop, Will It Stop Being a Biden Lapdog?
Those emails were obtained by The New York Times from a cache of files that appears to have come from a laptop abandoned by Mr. Biden in a Delaware repair shop. The email and others in the cache were authenticated by people familiar with them and with the investigation.
This, of course, is the same laptop – filled with explosive allegations of sketchy deals with foreign governments and suggestions of payoffs to Joe Biden – that the Times and other mainstream outlets ignored or dismissed as “Russian disinformation” after the New York Post first reported on it in October 2020. Twitter and Facebook banned the Post from sharing its reporting.
https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2022/03/17/investigative_issues_now_that_the_nyt_has_granted_legitimacy_to_hunters_laptop_will_it_stop_being_a_biden_lapdog_822319.html
As with most nefarious political acts..
It's not the actual criminality that is the main point here..
It's the cover-up...
Hunter Biden was neck-deep in dirty and crooked shit.. This is documented fact.. The FBI has a trove of sworn affidavits that attest to the facts.. And Joe Biden, AKA "The Big Guy" was getting his 10%...
If the facts had all come out, as they SHOULD have, then we would be 1+ years into President Trump's second term and things would be AWESOME...
But Democrats, Big Tech and Leftist Media all conspired to hide the facts under the bullshit guise of "Russia Disinformation.."
And now the FACTS are coming out that the claims of "Russia disinformation" were indeed bullshit..
And yunno what's so hilarious???
EVEN WITH the unholy trinity of Big Tech, Big Media and the Democrats.....
Democrats **STILL** needed to cheat to win!!! :D
I mean, that's some funny shit right there.. Even with all these forces aligned and hiding all the facts from the American people, Democrats STILL needed to flood the vote counters with pristine ballots after they sent all the poll watchers home...
Democrats ain't going to get away with that again.. THAT is for sure...
OK, let's hear from an actual DEMOCRAT site...
Unpacking Biden’s Vulnerabilities
President Biden and the Democrats have paid a terrible toll in public opinion over the last 13 months. And his political ledger still drips with red ink, despite the misplaced optimism coming from some Democrats.
On “being a strong leader,” he was minus 16 points, on handling the economy minus 20 points, on fighting crime even worse at -23, and on securing the border worse still at -24. But the worst was handling inflation and rising costs, which found him 29 points underwater.
Then things started getting ugly. On handling the economic recovery, 41 percent approved to 58 percent who disapproved. On crime: 40 percent approved, 58 percent disapproved. On immigration: 39 percent approved, 59 percent disapproved. On inflation: 29 percent approved, 70 percent disapproved. On gas prices: 28 percent approved, 70 percent disapproved.
It was folly to think that Biden or anyone else under these circumstances could carry off such an agenda. That is not a messaging problem; that is a flawed decision-making process.
https://www.cookpolitical.com/analysis/national/national-politics/unpacking-bidens-vulnerabilities
I hate to be the bearer of bad news... Awww, who am I kidding?? I love it!! :D
But things aren't looking too good for Democrats..
Oh, but there maybe some sunshine coming???
Unlikely.. The war in Ukraine is going to get a LOT worse before it gets better..
Biden is NOT going to take any meaningful steps to put the US back on the road to energy independence, so gas prices are going to continue to climb..
ALL the experts agree that inflation will be with us for at LEAST another year and it's MANY MONTHS away from actually finding the bottom...
I say this with all magnanimity and amity that our current Weigantia calls for..
Ya'all really need to prepare yerselves for the Democrat Party slaughter that is about to occur...
Hunter Biden being in the news again could simply NOT have come at a worse time for the Democrats...
Because it not only puts a spotlight on Joe Biden's shady dealings as Odumbo's VP..
It also indicts Democrats, Big Tech and Leftist Media in their complicity in the cover-up..
I mean, let's face reality here, people.. The unholy triad's credibility is in the toilet to begin with..
Now that shitty credibility has taken ANOTHER huge shot...
How Dem officials, the media and Big Tech worked in concert to bury the Hunter Biden story
Everlasting, undying, soul-rending shame be upon you, Facebook and Twitter and Politico and all the others who covered up, denied and suppressed this newspaper’s true and accurate reporting about Hunter Biden’s laptop in 2020. You should be hurling yourselves at the feet of the American people, begging forgiveness. You should be renting billboards saying, “WE LIED.”
But most importantly, you should be hauled before Congress to answer humiliating questions.
These and other information purveyors owe us — not just this paper, but this country — restitution for what now looks like the most egregious and willful fake-news scam of our time. This paper’s scoops on Hunter Biden’s laptop in 2020 were labeled “Russian misinformation” (Politico), a “hoax” (Steven Brill of “fact-check” site NewsGuard), discredited by “many, many red flags” (NPR) and a “hack and leak” operation that had to be throttled (Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg).
It was infamously snuffed out on Twitter, as was The Post’s Twitter account, because of a policy about hacked materials that only seemed to apply to this one case.
https://nypost.com/2022/03/18/how-big-tech-media-and-dems-killed-the-hunter-biden-story/
So much for the claim that the laptop in question was NOT Hunter Biden's.. :D
Hell Team Joe Biden never even bothered to DENY that it was Hunter Biden's laptop.. All the emails and all the porn and all the personal pictures would PROVE that such a denial is utterly ludicrous..
So Joe Biden didn't even bother to deny the facts..
Putin may be losing the information war, but Zelensky's NATO concession suggests Ukraine may be losing on the battlefield. The West must not fool itself into thinking otherwise, writes military expert BILL ROGGIO
As Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine grinds on into its fourth week, the physical war rages in the cities and countryside, while an information war is waged over the airwaves and on the internet and social media.
On the actual battlefield, the Russian offensive has undoubtedly slowed over the past week. But what is being described as a 'stalled' takeover may be the result of the Russians taking time to reorganize their forces and improve their logistics.
On the Western side of the information war, we were told from the opening days of the conflict that the Russian military would break due to high casualties and defections, loss of tanks, armored vehicles, artillery and aircraft, and domestic opposition.
Videos of Russian battlefield setbacks abound in the media, and strangely there is little reporting on Ukrainian losses.
And yet, over three weeks into the war, Vladimir Putin remains president and the Russian war machine has not collapsed but in fact continues its plodding, imperfect, and messy advance.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10629003/Putin-losing-information-war-Ukraine-losing-battlefield-BILL-ROGGIO.html
Simply by cede'ing to Putin Ukraine's freedom to join whatever alliance Ukraine chooses to join, Zelensky has already lost the war..
As Liz says.. That means all the horror, all the bloodshed, all the death and destruction??
It was all in vain..
Those people died for nothing..
If it is factually accurate that Zelensky has conceded that...
Then Ukraine has de-facto surrendered and further fighting is pointless..
Ukraine has lost...
First, Do Some Harm
While we are finally starting to win the fight for our children’s minds, we are losing the battle for control of their bodies.
First, the good news. Recent legal wins over woke schools in Florida have the education industrial complex reeling. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis successfully banned his state’s education lunatics from “injecting,” as he likes to say with a twinkle in his eye, depraved gender poison into the state’s Kindergarten-through-3rd grade curriculum. This is the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” Act, which produced some hilarious meta-content, like braindead woke celebrities screeching “Gay!” repeatedly on social media.
https://americanmind.org/salvo/first-do-some-harm/
It's very gratifying to see that Democrat indoctrination programs in our children's schools across the nation are failing....
Let our kids be KIDS fer christ's sake!!!
NO WHERE on ANY planet in the known universe is it necessary or proper for K thru 3rd grade to learn about sex or gender dysphoria or anything like that..
Let kids be kids...
Don, you did not disappoint. You could not have been more dodgy driving a dodge to a dodge ball game.
You asked why One Demand is bullshit. 1 - 4 are verifiability true and demonstrate why OD as a functioning organization is bullshit. No dodge there...
5 - you should read your posts some time...
6 & 11 - the answer should be One Demand. That it is not proves that One Demand is bullshit.
8 - If there is decades of proof, then why can't you come up with any examples? Your 80% is limited in scope and not a coverall. There are many other democracies in the world that do relatively low cost elections. Couldn't you study one of those to find out if the decision making is better?
9 - Seems a bit rosey. Got anything to back that up?
10 - Again, why is the answer not One Demand? Does One Demand have any point what so ever?
12 - not needed or just beyond your abilities?
SC’s Tim Scott says Supreme Court vote on Judge Jackson won’t be based on skin color
https://www.thestate.com/news/politics-government/article259547289.html
Unlike the selection process that was TOTALLY, COMPLETELY and UTTERLY based on skin color...
Liz, the hearings for this Affirmative Action hire will start on Monday..
Wanna watch it with me??
“I’m not going to make a judgment based on the color of her skin; I’m going to make a judgment based on the record before me. Certainly historic nominees are wonderful and perhaps a landmark, but they are not the determining factor. We must make sure our court functions without politics, not based on race, but based on the basic principles, the most powerful principles that govern this great country.”
-Senator Tim Scott
Unfortunately the process has already been tainted by Joe Biden selecting the nominee SOLELY based on the color of her skin..
And limiting the nominee to just 2% of the available pool...
So, Jackson is the TOP pick of just 2% of the available jurists..
Big woop... :^/
Putin uses deadly hypersonic missiles for first time ever as Ukraine war takes dark turn
The deadly conflict in Ukraine has taken a sinister turn as Russia's leader Vladimir Putin has decided to unleash hypersonic missiles for the first time as he continues his invasion
https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/breaking-putin-uses-deadly-hypersonic-26506222
If what is being reported is factually accurate.. If Zelensky has already surrendered NATO membership to Putin..
Then all of this is soo pointless...
Well, THIS is some heartening news..
Zelensky ready to take NATO Membership off the table may not be as factual as some news sources make it out to be..
It turns out that NATO Membership is part and parcel of Ukraine's National Constitution.. It was voted in as an amendment in 2019 with a super-majority of Ukraine's government..
So, simply taking it off the table will not be all that easy for Zelensky to do..
That is, indeed, some good news..
The New York Times Admits That 'America Has a Free Speech Problem'
"Many on the left refuse to acknowledge that cancel culture exists at all," laments the paper.
The New York Times published a terrific editorial on Friday that takes note of "America's free speech problem" and points to both right-wing legislation and cancel culture—enforced by an uncompromising strain of progressivism—as culprits.
"For all the tolerance and enlightenment that modern society claims, Americans are losing hold of a fundamental right as citizens of a free country: the right to speak their minds and voice their opinions in public without fear of being shamed or shunned," wrote The Times.
https://reason.com/2022/03/18/new-york-times-america-free-speech-problem/
Right or Left..
It's hard to tell who the fascists are without a play-bill...
Michale,
Good job on the copy-paste-boldify-long-right-wing-text front. I read through all your comments because of it. Remember, more Michale and less right-wing crap to scroll through is what wins hearts and minds!
Speaking of winning hearts and minds, please answer my questions that you missed in the last comments section:
1- why should we still care about Hunter Biden? What law did he break?
2- Ivanka got a bunch of Chinese patents and the Saudis bailed Jared out with a massive loan. I'm sure Trump being President had nothing to do with it, right? The kids didn't break the law and until proven otherwise neither did Hunter. So why do you want to even bring up the subject?
3- As Trump paid off Stormy and the Playmate right before the 2016 election why bring up the subject of cover ups?
MC,
Good job on the copy-paste-boldify-long-right-wing-text front. I read through all your comments because of it. Remember, more Michale and less right-wing crap to scroll through is what wins hearts and minds!
Com'on.. Be fair.. If this had been prior to the Great Weigantian Awakening, I would have gotten at least a dozen posts out of EVERY SINGLE article quoted..
So, yer looking at 14 comments instead of 168 comments..
I mean, if you WANT me to go back to the old way (shorter comments, but more of them) just say the word.. I'm there for ya, buddy.. :D
1- why should we still care about Hunter Biden? What law did he break?
I have already explained it... If Hunter Biden had been fully investigated with the same zeal ya'all are hysterical over 6 Jan, Ukraine would be intact.. I would think you WOULD care about that..
As to what laws he broke??
Plenty... Do you really care??
2- Ivanka got a bunch of Chinese patents and the Saudis bailed Jared out with a massive loan.
Facts to support?? And, in doing so, was it covered up?? And, if covered up, did that help President Trump win the 2016 election??
If your answer is no to the last two questions, then your claim has no relevance to the current situation..
As Trump paid off Stormy and the Playmate right before the 2016 election why bring up the subject of cover ups?
A-Because paying off a Playmate is not illegal. And B- The facts were well known and it had no bearing on President Trump winning the election..
You have yet to address this one fact..
If Hunter Biden's and Joe Biden's illegal activities had NOT been covered up.. If they had been investigated with equal zeal as ya'all investigate ya'all's phantom Russia Collusion Delusion, then Joe Biden would not be President today.. And Ukraine would not be decimated and all but destroyed..
So, the question is..
Do you hate President Trump more than you love Ukraine??
MC,
Put another way..
Pretend that Hunter Biden is Donald Trump Jr and he was involved in tax fraud and corruption schemes with foreign entities both allied and enemy, that gave his dad, "the big guy" 10% of the take and that all of it was covered up in such a way that allowed President Trump to win in 2016..
THEN ask me why you should care about Hunter Biden's crimes..
I mean, hell.. You people went all hysterical over FICTIONAL "crimes" that you CLAIMED handed President Trump the 2016 election..
Now we have DOCUMENTED FACTS of Hunter Biden's and Joe Biden's crimes and you ACTUALLY ask me why you should care??? :D
SERIOUSLY??? :D
I mean, the simple fact that if Joe Biden had lost, as he was obviously meant to, then Ukraine would be whole in all it's beautiful yet corrupt and racist splendor..
THAT ALONE should explain PERFECTLY why you should "care"...
Michale,
It is beyond silly for you to think that Trump had any influence over Putin's ambition.
Can we get off of the Hunter Biden nonsense and focus on what really matters?
Biden and Xi had a call yesterday and the official US readout of the substance of it left a lot to be desired.
The Global Times, "a rather hawkish media outlet closely aligned with the Chinese Communist Party" analyzed the call and the US and China postions quite clearly.
Not sure what this means but, I couldn't find one thing in the piece to argue with.
In fact, this GT piece reads spot on to me!
What do you think?
Xi urges US, NATO to talk with Russia, opposes indiscriminate sanctions
Michale, in your response to MC,
Com'on.. Be fair.. If this had been prior to the Great Weigantian Awakening, I would have gotten at least a dozen posts out of EVERY SINGLE article quoted..
I think you misread what MC was saying ... he was actually complimenting you on your commenting etiquette!
"Great Weigantia Awakening" ... hmmm ... I LOVE it!
Michale [15][26]
In [15] you stated
DOZENS of people mentioned in the emails on the laptop corroborated the content and the factual nature of the emails. Videos and pictures on the laptop confirm that it was Hunter Biden's laptop.
Look, I get it.. It's hard for Lefties to accept that, once again, they tried a huge cover-up of huge criminal activities and it blew up in their faces.. AGAIN..(Emphasis mine)
Mind explaining how photos and video files being found on a laptop hard drive proves that laptop MUST belong to person who took the videos and photos? Unless those pictures and videos were shot using the laptop as the camera, those files originated somewhere else. I am shocked that someone who claims to be so tech savvy does not already know this.
Then in [26] you say:
It's not the actual criminality that is the main point here..
It's the cover-up...
Of course you have to say that “It's not the actual criminality that is the main point here..”, because there was no actual criminality committed by Biden. I love how you fail to remember that all this occurred while Trump controlled the DOJ, and even they couldn’t pretend that this desperate act by Giuliani (and I would guess he was assisted by the “good folks” at Project Veritas based on how idiotic this whole story is) was worth investigating.
I am offended for you at how stupid Trump’s people must believe that you are to attempt to pass this crap off as being real! You are too smart to push something this ridiculous.
[48]
Thank you, Liz. That's exactly what I was trying to do.
Be back later guys and gals, to respond...
Liz,
It is beyond silly for you to think that Trump had any influence over Putin's ambition.
And yet, the FACTS are clear..
Putin attacked Ukraine and took the Crimea by force under Odumbo...
Putin was absolutely quiet and non-froggy under President Trump...
Then, Putin went to finish the job in Ukraine under Biden...
The facts are clear..
Can we get off of the Hunter Biden nonsense and focus on what really matters?
Sure.. Once ya'all drop the 6 Jan "nonsense".. :D
What do you think?
Xi is looking out for Xi's and China's interests..
It's in Xi's and China's interests to keep the US/NATO occupied in Ukraine with Putin..
Xi will help Putin keep the US/NATO busy in Ukraine until such time as Xi is ready to strike Taiwan..
I think you misread what MC was saying ... he was actually complimenting you on your commenting etiquette!
Ahhh... Hokay.. Well, in that case..
MC, my apologies.. I misread what you wrote...
Thank you.. :D
"Great Weigantia Awakening" ... hmmm ... I LOVE it!
It DOES have a catchy ring to it, eh? :D
Mind explaining how photos and video files being found on a laptop hard drive proves that laptop MUST belong to person who took the videos and photos?
That, coupled with all the personal emails and such..
It's also a fact that MACBOOKS have ID markers that link them to a specific individual..
There is no doubt in ANYONE's mind that the MAC in question was Hunter Biden's.. Even Hunter himself stated as much..
Joe Biden hasn't denied that the laptop belongs to Hunter..
You are the only one who is making that claim.. But you have an ulterior motive.. :D
Of course you have to say that “It's not the actual criminality that is the main point here..”, because there was no actual criminality committed by Biden.
And yet, Hunter Biden is being investigated for a PLETHORA of crimes.. :D Not the least of which is federal tax fraud...
Hunter Biden subpoena seeks info on Burisma, more than two dozen other entities in tax investigation
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/12/15/fact-check-hunter-biden-under-federal-investigation-over-taxes/3907142001/
But go ahead... Continue to deny the facts.. :D It's funny..
I am offended for you at how stupid Trump’s people must believe that you are to attempt to pass this crap off as being real! You are too smart to push something this ridiculous.
And yet, it's the NY Grime that is pushing this "crap" as real.. :D
Don't tell me, let me guess.. In your opinion the NY Grime is one of "Trump's people".. :D
Dood.. The FACTS are completely and utterly against you on this one..
You are making arguments that not even Hunter or Joe Biden are making... :D THEY are not making these arguments because even THEY know how silly those arguments are... :D
MC,
Good job on the copy-paste-boldify-long-right-wing-text front. I read through all your comments because of it. Remember, more Michale and less right-wing crap to scroll through is what wins hearts and minds!
OK When I read this originally, I took your comment as sarcasm.. Reading it again without that context, I see the sincerity in your words..
Please forgive me.. This buddy thing is hard... :D hehehehe
[54]
No worries, Dawg! Kumbaya and all that back at you hehe hehe
Russ,
Let me put it this way..
If you had THESE kinds of facts that implicated President Trump thru his son, facts such as verbatim EMAILS and sworn affidavits and Donald Trump Jr stating that yes, the laptop could be his....
If you had THOSE kinds of facts to take down President Trump??
I would concede that you do, indeed, have a case..
But you have NOTHING even REMOTELY close to these kinds of facts or evidence against President Trump..
NOTHING... REMOTELY... CLOSE...
DH,
Rome wasn't built in a day.. :D
It's been my experience that ya got to give a little to get a little.. :D
I am re-reading a World War III novel..
2034
by Elliot Ackerman and James Stavridis
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08BKSH9TF/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
It's a good read.. It's more frightening this time because a lot of things happening in the novel are happening in real life..
Not exact places and the players are jumbled.. In the novel, it's the Chinese who are the aggressors and it's the Russians who are stepping in for their piece of the pie..
In real life, it's the Russians who are the aggressors and it's the Chinese who are planning their own campaign..
But it's pretty un-nerving..
It might be detailing our near future..
Okay, everyone, I may have promised to never do this again and I certainly wouldn't if I thought Chris would mind.
But, this piece is just too noteworthy and germane to our little discussions not to post it, here, in its entirety. And, since there is no CW post on a Saturday, I figure this is a good day for it. Well, that and the fact that there is simply no link for it - you have to be fortunate enough to be on the email list! :)
So, without futher ado, here is the latest piece from William Bradley. Please put your thoughts on it in the comments below!
-----------------------------------------------
WILLIAM BRADLEY
Political Analyst
former presidential campaign advisor and special advisor to the [California] governor [Brown]
— “Let there be light.”
Biden: War and Peace
3/19/2022 2:00 pm ET
Actually, I’ve always found Tolstoy rather tedious. Not having been a lit or philosophy major.
It’s unknown what President Joe Biden’s view of ‘War and Peace’ is, but his views of war and peace are coming into much sharper focus.
They look like the views of a decades-long NATO expansionist. After voting to authorize the fateful US/UK invasion of Iraq, Biden’s view of our utterly failed occupation of Afghanistan did evolve, but that may be more the outlier than not in an old geopolitical toolbox. And it may all be of a piece with a presidency that looks like it jumped the tracks not long after passage of the American Rescue Plan just over a year ago.
As a result of Biden’s bull-headedness in refusing to discuss Russia’s 30-year long opposition to NATO in Ukraine and, obviously, Vladimir Putin’s brutal ruthlessness in invading Ukraine, what should have been a manageable sideshow crisis in a world facing — or, more accurately, not facing — far more important matters is now very much an increasingly havoc-strewn center-stage mess.
What I described in January as Biden’s paradigm-stick, rather than paradigm-shift, mentality seems to apply in the present crisis. He long ago decided that his misty watercolor memory of a bipartisan America that was not was his political North Star. It’s increasingly apparent that he long ago decided that it didn’t matter that Russians of all stripes, pro-Americans as well as anti-Americans, would never accept NATO, de jure or de facto, in a big country a couple hundred miles from Moscow.
So Biden in the past few days has acted to push aside peace talks between Ukraine and Russia mediated by Israel. A big article splashed last night atop the Washington Post front page expressed the alarm of the Beltway-centered foreign policy establishment (nicknamed “the Blob” by the Obama crew) over Volodymyr Zelensky’s seeming eagerness to negotiate a peace deal with Russia. (An eagerness which if anything increased overnight, which we’ll get to.) Wait, that’s not the narrative! First the Israelis, now the world’s new folk hero.
Biden decided to threaten China with unspecified consequences should it act further in support of Russia, with weapons or finance. Their potential alliance of recent years actually blossomed in the run-up to this foolish war. So much for the precept that you don’t act to bring the second and third most powerful countries together in opposition to you. You’re supposed to do the opposite. Or so folks like Bismarck and Kissinger say.
Now, with extreme sanctions — including the unprecedented seizing of hundreds of billions of dollars belonging to another nation (don’t imagine that genteel bank heist won’t trigger moves away from the US-dominated international financial system) — having failed to deter Russia, several elements of Russian military operations are showing signs of success. Let’s get to those in a few moments. Perhaps the pervasive government/media focus on seizing big cities as the supposed measure of success, which as I’ve repeatedly noted would be idiotic on Russia’s part, is, well, just a little bit misplaced.
As are hopes for a war-related turn-around in Biden and Democratic fortunes.
For all his dramatic moves, President Biden has received only a proverbial dead cat bounce in polls. Aside from an NPR poll putting his job approval at 47 percent, Biden is just above or below 40 percent in job approval. In contrast, Donald Trump, for all his embarrassingly shambolic if sometimes shrewd moves, is just under 50 percent in retrospective job approval.
As long warned here, Biden and his party lost control of the crime and immigration issues early on and are now losing control of education. Also as predicted, his decision to separate the easy, conventional parts of infrastructure from the rest of his big economic package doomed the elements that were real generational difference-makers. And, naturally, he gets little credit for the bipartisan infrastructure bill (BIB). Then there is Covid-19. Plummeting testing as soon as Trump, who constantly whined about having to preside over so much testing, left office and a bungled test regime ever since. Bad management and messaging on masking. Bad management and messaging on vaccines. And of course premature declarations of victory.
If a politician doesn’t understand America, why would he understand other countries?
And let’s not even talk about the New York Times, in the course of reporting on the First Son’s deep legal woes, finally acknowledging a few days ago that the notorious “Hunter Biden laptop” is all too real. Contrary to the overtly censoring chorus from Democrats and most of the media that revelations of poor Hunter’s provocative messages about highly lucrative consulting ventures in Ukraine and other nations was just “Russian disinformation.”
Still, many Democrats — staring into the long predicted abyss of electoral disaster this November — had high hopes that a tough stance against the vastly unsympathetic Russians and for the plucky Ukrainians, and especially their clearly victimized civilians, would pay major political dividends. “A presidency transformed,” proclaimed an agenda-setting morning Politico newsletter. “Zelensky Democrats vs. Putin Republicans,” exclaimed the Democratic congressional campaign chief, with visions of signs and bumper stickers dancing in his head like so many sugar plums.
After all, who wouldn’t condemn Russia’s brutal invasion of its neighbor?
Well, actually, the answer to that question is nations representing most of the population of the world. Over 50 of them, including the two biggest, China and India (the latter a longtime Russian friend we had been relying on as part of a coalition to block Chinese ambitions in what Washington now awkwardly calls “the Indo-Pacific”), who refused to vote for an easy UN resolution condemning Russia’s obvious aggression. Even though it was nothing more than virtue-signaling requiring no action whatsoever. Throw in Brazil and South Africa, whose president just blamed NATO for causing the war, and you have not only BRICS but also most of the global south washing their hands of a fight between two jousting power mongers.
The world’s dispossessed may have disliked Trump, but they don’t buy the return of the conventional liberal establishment, either.
Let’s run through some seemingly dizzying developments of the past few days.
After Biden requested a Friday morning video conference call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, evidently to pressure the PRC, China very pointedly sailed an aircraft carrier through Taiwan Strait a few hours hours beforehand.
Before that call, the Chinese said media reports of US intelligence about planned PRC military aid to Russia are disinformation. Notably, it took the US government three-and-a-half hours to issue an official readout of the call. The Chinese had theirs immediately available.
In that call, Xi told Biden to acknowledge Russia’s security concerns and that they should work together to end the war. Biden told Xi not to help Russia with weapons or finance, or else serious unspecified consequences.
They seemed to be talking at cross-purposes.
Meanwhile, a “senior Defense official” at the Pentagon briefing on Thursday said that the Russians have plenty of weapons and haven’t made any move to dip into their own large stores.
Facilitated by Israel along with some others, including NATO member Turkey, Ukraine and Russia on Wednesday reported some progress in negotiating on the points articulated some weeks ago by Moscow.
Zelensky, who belatedly floated neutral status for Ukraine between Russia and NATO just before the Russians invaded, agreed to neutral status.
There was no agreement yet on the faits accompli in Crimea and eastern Ukraine. And the Ukrainians were fencing on the ban on foreign military bases, saying they’re already banned. Potato, potahto is pronounced in Ukrainian as Yavoriv, as in the big base smashed by Russian bombers less than a week ago. Yavoriv, the International Center for Peacekeeping and Security, at which a NATO Partnership for Peace mission and a US Army unit were headquartered, looks very much like a functionally NATO base inside Ukraine until last month.
On Wednesday, Biden tossed a rhetorical hand grenade into the negotiations by declaring Putin “a war criminal.” Such a well-timed comment in the midst of sensitive peace talks. Perhaps one of those notorious Biden gaffes? Nope. After first responding to questioning by saying the brutal Russian leader is not a war criminal, the president reversed himself 30 seconds later to say that he is. Naturally, the Russians responded by citing America’s checkered record around the world.
To be clear, Putin is a war criminal. But as previously discussed that won’t be easy to prove legally, especially in the pertinent forum, the International Criminal Court that America itself refuses to recognize. For Biden to declare him a war criminal, something since doubled down upon by the administration and the likes of Britain’s troubled prime minister, makes it all but impossible for Biden to engage in diplomacy to settle this mess.
Zelensky’s big walk-back from NATO was splashed all over the front pages of Wednesday’s big newspapers in Britain.
But it did not appear on the front pages of the New York Times, WashPost, Wall Street Journal. Perhaps because those outlets back NATO expansion, de jure or de facto.
Meanwhile, the very strategic city of Mariupol is well into the usually gruesome terminal phase of urban combat, with Russian troops and tanks roaming all over the city.
Russian troops entered the city center of Mariupol just over a day ago. It’s a city that, unlike most, Russia actually does seem to need to capture, more for its pivotal role in Russia’s land war aims than its status as a major port city. It’s hard to get publicly confirmable information about the Mariupol situation, especially with Western journos reporting from big cities hundreds of miles away.
Not at all incidentally, the Russian army seems to be moving to envelop Joint Forces Operation, described by some British and Israeli military and intelligence experts as the center of gravity of the Ukrainian army.
This is happening in the eastern part of Ukraine, where this assemblage of superior Ukrainian brigades has been facing the separatist “people’s republics.”
Media attention has focused very heavily on the eastern siege of the big city of Kharkiv, but the proverbial “senior Defense official” at the Pentagon said in the Thursday briefing that the Russians were using some units to pin down the Kharkiv defenders with artillery and rocket fire while sending other units — along with still more units arriving from other directions — in a race to cut off the major Ukrainian force. Those comments mirrored some assessments from British and Israeli sources earlier in the week.
Four days ago, Zelensky fired the general commanding Joint Forces Operation, replacing him with a general presumably more skilled in maneuver warfare.
It may be that you have to pay attention to the entire map and not just the drama around Kyiv and a few other big cities. Speaking of which, a Pentagon source said the Russians are digging in their positions on the outskirts of Kiev.
Perhaps the Russians will end up not being so stupid as to smash into Kyiv and other big cities.
Meanwhile, though it’s been constantly denied — especially by the ubiquitous Facebook posts from Ukrainian government organs which a certain neoconservative Beltway policy shop operating as a dispassionate institute keeps info-washing into the narratives of big Western media outlets (a matter for another time) — Russia holds air superiority if not air supremacy in the skies over Ukraine. The latest actual Pentagon data has Russia flying 20 times as many sorties as the Ukrainians.
Then there is the Russian naval blockade of all of Ukraine’s ports, which has gotten little coverage, in part because it doesn’t yield pictures.
And the Russians have just deployed hypersonic weapons to smash a major storehouse of just arrived missiles, drones, and other such equipment.
What is Biden’s awareness? Hard to say.
New West Notes
HuffPost
Politics from the inside/outside…
And yet, Hunter Biden is being investigated for a PLETHORA of crimes.. :D Not the least of which is federal tax fraud...
Hunter Biden subpoena seeks info on Burisma, more than two dozen other entities in tax investigation
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/12/15/fact-check-hunter-biden-under-federal-investigation-over-taxes/3907142001/
But go ahead... Continue to deny the facts.. :D It's funny..
That article was from December 15, 2020. Hunter Biden had been under investigation regarding his tax returns since 2018. Again, if Trump’s DOJ couldn’t find ANYTHING to charge Hunter Biden with, there is obviously nothing to this story.
Let me put it this way..
If you had THESE kinds of facts that implicated President Trump thru his son, facts such as verbatim EMAILS and sworn affidavits and Donald Trump Jr stating that yes, the laptop could be his....
If you had THOSE kinds of facts to take down President Trump??
I would concede that you do, indeed, have a case..
Verbatim EMAILS? Sooooo…in other words, a COPY? You seem amazed that someone could have a laptop that has copies of files on it that aren’t theirs!
But while the story regarding the reporting of this story by The NY Times just broke… the FBI and DOJ knew the truth from the beginning. AG Barr’s DOJ was investigating the Biden laptop story — as a possible Russian misinformation cyberattack. If there was anything to this laughable story, it would not have taken this long for us to discover it.
@russ,
i don't think that's necessarily the case. there are plenty of biased, partisan hit-jobs that turn out later to have been completely accurate. watergate comes to mind...
JL
@liz,
who are you and what have you done with the liz who loves joe biden and trusts his judgment on foreign policy?
JL
Joshua,
Heh. I can understand why that might be a question. Guess I'm not a 'yes girl' ... :)
As you may recall, I got into US politics in 1987 as I was glued to the TV screen watching the Iran-Contra hearings, especially Oliver North's testimony. Around the same time Biden was running for president and I started watching a lot of Senate Foreign Relation Committe hearings with Biden as chairman or ranking member.
So, I ended up learning a lot about foreign policy, just listening to his operatic arias (thanks David Brooks!) and reading his writings on various subjects.
And, the thrill of seeing him elected president is something I will never ever forget!
So, there's that.
But, over the years, I have learned a lot more about geopolitics, in general and US foreign policy, in particular, from a variety of sources. And, this certainly isn't the first time I have disagreed with Biden, not by a long shot!
Assuming you read Bradley's latest piece above, I'd be surprised if you found anything to vehemently disagree with.
I still love Senator Biden, though ... guess I always will.
Don,
So your plan is to provide no work beyond badgering bloggers to launch an organization that provides no information in order to achieve your goal that no one has yet shown interest in?
Gosh, I just can't figure out why they are not banging on your door to cover OD. Stumped. A true mystery...
I have the perfect song for tomorrow night - can't wait to play it! :)
I'll be ready for some serious fun by then ...
JL,
You are telling me that after searching everywhere for almost 4 years for anything that they could turn into a huge Hunter Biden scandal story, the answer that they had sought suddenly just drops into Rudy’s hands months before the 2020 election and that seems plausible to you?
Ignore that the only person who could identify the person claiming to be Hunter Biden dropping off his laptop for repairs just happened to be the blind computer repair shop owner. Never mind that Hunter apparently failed to answer any of the repair shops attempts to pick up his “broken” laptop… because the number they called was not associated with Hunter at all.
I am not saying that the info on the harddrive could not have originated from Hunter Biden; I am simply pointing out that the only investigations that Bill Barr’s DOJ felt this story warranted was whether or not this was part of a Russian misinformation campaign. That 12/15/2020 article Michale shared pointed out that the IRS’s investigations into Hunter Biden’s taxes had nothing to do with this laptop. Ya know who else has been under investigation by the IRS for years…Donald Jessica Trump! (Gasping and clutching pearls!)
This story shows the media failure to display any journalistic integrity; but it does not show any criminal wrongdoing on Biden’s part.
Russ,
That article was from December 15, 2020. Hunter Biden had been under investigation regarding his tax returns since 2018. Again, if Trump’s DOJ couldn’t find ANYTHING to charge Hunter Biden with, there is obviously nothing to this story.
OK..
And since Democrats have been investigating President Donald Trump since Jun of 2015 and couldn't find ANYTHING to find President Trump guilty of, there is obviously NOTHING to ya'all's story..
Is THAT what you are saying, Russ??
Verbatim EMAILS? Sooooo…in other words, a COPY? You seem amazed that someone could have a laptop that has copies of files on it that aren’t theirs!
You don't really understand how emails work, do you??
:D
The emails on the laptop were NOT "copies".. They were the actual emails.. Authenticated by the very people who were CC'ed in those same emails..
But while the story regarding the reporting of this story by The NY Times just broke… the FBI and DOJ knew the truth from the beginning. AG Barr’s DOJ was investigating the Biden laptop story — as a possible Russian misinformation cyberattack.
And found NOTHING to substantiate the claim that the laptop was Russian disinformation.
The "Russia Disinformation" was a cover-up created by Democrats, Big Media and Big Tech to protect Hunter Biden..
The NY GRIME proves this as fact..
If there was anything to this laughable story, it would not have taken this long for us to discover it.
Again, refer back to President Trump.. Ya'all have had SIX YEARS to get something on President Trump..
By your reasoning, ALL of your accusations are "laughable" because ya'all STILL haven't found anything..
Again, I get it.. Another one of Democrats' laughable attempts to hide the facts from the American people has been exposed.. I understand completely why you are so hysterical about pooh-poohing it as a "nothing burger"..
Everyone thought Watergate was a "nothing burger"....
Until it wasn't..
The facts are going to come out, Russ.. Just like the facts are going to come out over Democrats conspiracy to create "Russia Collusion" out of nothing..
And ALL of the facts of ALL the criminality of the Democrats will come out with the backdrop of the November mid-terms.. :D
Do ya HONESTLY believe that this is going to be GOOD for the Democrats?? :D
JL
i don't think that's necessarily the case. there are plenty of biased, partisan hit-jobs that turn out later to have been completely accurate. watergate comes to mind...
Exactly.. As I said to Russ above..
Watergate was a big "nothing burger"... Until it wasn't...
The fact that Democrats conspired to lie about so-called Russia Collusion was a big "nothing burger".. Until Durham's FINDING OF FACT filing with the courts proved it wasn't...
All of these facts are going to come out.. Then we will see what is and is not a nothing-burger..
Russ,
You are telling me that after searching everywhere for almost 4 years for anything that they could turn into a huge Hunter Biden scandal story, the answer that they had sought suddenly just drops into Rudy’s hands months before the 2020 election and that seems plausible to you?
Just as plausible as ya'all's Russia Collusion delusion..
Ignore that the only person who could identify the person claiming to be Hunter Biden dropping off his laptop for repairs just happened to be the blind computer repair shop owner.
Do you have any cites for this?? I am sincerely curious..
Never mind that Hunter apparently failed to answer any of the repair shops attempts to pick up his “broken” laptop… because the number they called was not associated with Hunter at all.
That's not so unusual.. People put down wrong numbers all the time..
And given what we know about Hunter Biden's drug usage, his brain is fried..
Him leaving a laptop for repair, putting down a wrong number and then forgetting about it is extremely plausible..
I am not saying that the info on the harddrive could not have originated from Hunter Biden; I am simply pointing out that the only investigations that Bill Barr’s DOJ felt this story warranted was whether or not this was part of a Russian misinformation campaign.
Because THAT's the story that Democrats, Big Media and Big Tech planted..
You find it difficult to believe that there were people in President Trump's DOJ that were Trump/America haters???
Why do you find that so difficult to believe??
This story shows the media failure to display any journalistic integrity; but it does not show any criminal wrongdoing on Biden’s part.
Because the media failed to display "any journalistic integrity" and INVESTIGATE Hunter Biden's laptop..
THAT'S THE POINT...
Big Media conspired with Democrats and Big Tech to STOP any investigation of Hunter Biden's laptop..
Until now..
THAT'S the whole point.. The lack of journalistic integrity on the part of Big Media..
I haven't perused the news feeds yet. So I am sure there is a lot more out there that we can discuss...
But I'll say it again.
If you had anything close to these kinds of facts to support ANY of ya'all's accusations against President Trump, then I would be very VERY worried...
But ya'all don't so I am not.. :D
From Liz's article.. It's an actual article so it's bolded.. Apologies, MC.. :D
For all his dramatic moves, President Biden has received only a proverbial dead cat bounce in polls. Aside from an NPR poll putting his job approval at 47 percent, Biden is just above or below 40 percent in job approval. In contrast, Donald Trump, for all his embarrassingly shambolic if sometimes shrewd moves, is just under 50 percent in retrospective job approval.
Oh... SNAP.. That's just GOTTA hurt!! :D
As long warned here, Biden and his party lost control of the crime and immigration issues early on and are now losing control of education. Also as predicted, his decision to separate the easy, conventional parts of infrastructure from the rest of his big economic package doomed the elements that were real generational difference-makers. And, naturally, he gets little credit for the bipartisan infrastructure bill (BIB). Then there is Covid-19. Plummeting testing as soon as Trump, who constantly whined about having to preside over so much testing, left office and a bungled test regime ever since. Bad management and messaging on masking. Bad management and messaging on vaccines. And of course premature declarations of victory.
Liz... This guy is a DEMOCRAT?? :D
And let’s not even talk about the New York Times, in the course of reporting on the First Son’s deep legal woes, finally acknowledging a few days ago that the notorious “Hunter Biden laptop” is all too real. Contrary to the overtly censoring chorus from Democrats and most of the media that revelations of poor Hunter’s provocative messages about highly lucrative consulting ventures in Ukraine and other nations was just “Russian disinformation.”
Yep Yep Yep... As I said above, all of these chickens are coming home to roost at the WORST possible time for Democrats..
Meanwhile, though it’s been constantly denied — especially by the ubiquitous Facebook posts from Ukrainian government organs which a certain neoconservative Beltway policy shop operating as a dispassionate institute keeps info-washing into the narratives of big Western media outlets (a matter for another time) — Russia holds air superiority if not air supremacy in the skies over Ukraine. The latest actual Pentagon data has Russia flying 20 times as many sorties as the Ukrainians.
Then there is the Russian naval blockade of all of Ukraine’s ports, which has gotten little coverage, in part because it doesn’t yield pictures.
And the Russians have just deployed hypersonic weapons to smash a major storehouse of just arrived missiles, drones, and other such equipment.
As I have long suspected.. The war is going much better for Russia than the Media has let on...
I knew that Russia, while bad and horrible is not THAT bad at prosecuting war...
Russia is simply proving the old military maxim..
NO BATTLE PLAN SURVIVES CONTACT WITH THE ENEMY..
And, once again, I must point out.. ALL of this, the Ukraine Russia War, the Hunter Biden Laptop and the John Durham investigation.... It's all being played out with one eye on Tues, 8 Nov 2022..
How do ya'all think it's going to look for Democrats?
Again, apologies for the excessive bold.. But Liz's comment deserved special attention..
And then we have Biden's Affirmative Action pick for the SCOTUS being embroiled in a sentencing scandal where Judge Jackson gave very light sentence to child sex offenders and worked to reduce sentencing guidelines for child sex offenders..
Of course, the White House fired back...
"Josh Hawley’s desperate conspiracy theory has been conclusively debunked by multiple fact checks in the press, including the Washington Post, the AP and CNN."
-White Houe spokesperson Andrew Bates
Yea???
Hunter Biden's laptop was "conclusively debunked" by those same "fact" checkers...
We now know that those same "fact" checkers were full of kaa-kaa then..
So how can we now believe ANYTHING they say???
We also know that Judge Jackson has firmly opposed notifying communities when sex offenders are released in the communities..
"Community notification subjects exconvicts to stigmatization and ostracism, and puts them at the mercy of a public that is outraged by sex crimes. Civil commitment sacrifices a fundamental right – freedom – indefinitely, based solely upon unreliable assessments of the convict’s predilection to commit future sex crimes."
-Judge Jackson
This person has NO BUSINESS being on the Supreme Court....
Reality bytes: Hunter Biden’s laptop repairman harassed, nearly bankrupt
https://nypost.com/2022/03/12/hunter-bidens-laptop-repairman-harassed-nearly-bankrupt/
Nothing in there about the laptop repairman being "blind"..
You can't work on laptops if yer blind, Russ.. :^/
https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/hunter-biden-laptop-3.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=856
Yer right, Russ.. Maybe the laptop belonged to someone who LOOKED like Hunter Biden.. And had a clone of Hunter Biden's phone.. :^/
The laptop was Hunter Biden's laptop. This has been, in the words of the NY GRIME... "Authenticated"....
Those emails were obtained by The New York Times from a cache of files that appears to have come from a laptop abandoned by Mr. Biden in a Delaware repair shop. The email and others in the cache were authenticated by people familiar with them and with the investigation.
-NY TIMES Story
You can argue, "Well, what crimes did Hunter Biden commit??", Russ....
But you can't argue that the laptop wasn't Hunter Biden's..
This has been established as fact by the NY TIMES..
Liz,
But, this piece is just too noteworthy and germane to our little discussions not to post it, here, in its entirety. And, since there is no CW post on a Saturday, I figure this is a good day for it. Well, that and the fact that there is simply no link for it - you have to be fortunate enough to be on the email list! :)
So, without futher ado, here is the latest piece from William Bradley. Please put your thoughts on it in the comments below!
Welcome to the Dark Side.. :D
Instead of 'bold' you could use 'italics', ya know. :)
elcome to the Dark Side.. :D
Been there for a while. It's not that I haven't left you a clue, now and again ...
Michale,
This guy is a DEMOCRAT??
I don't think you can put a label on him. He has voted both D and R and would readily vote another way, if warranted.
In other words, he ain't no political hack! He is a real rarity in politics - someone with deep insight from personal experience and knows politics from the inside/outside.
Instead of 'bold' you could use 'italics', ya know. :)
That would confuse people as italics is used to quote other commenters..
I probably could be persuaded to use the BOX thingy if someone would deign to show me how... :D
Been there for a while. It's not that I haven't left you a clue, now and again ...
I CAN be clueless at times.. :D
In other words, he ain't no political hack! He is a real rarity in politics - someone with deep insight from personal experience and knows politics from the inside/outside.
Hokay... Someone worth listening to, then eh??
I caught on to that with the quoted comments.. :D How do I get on that mailing list?? :D
THIS IS HOW YOU PUT TEXT IN A BOX
Did it work?? :D
Nope.. :(
Try again..
THIS IS HOW YOU PUT TEXT IN A BOX
Did THIS work..
Damn...
Let's try this...
THIS IS HOW YOU PUT TEXT IN A BOX
Michale,
How do I get on that mailing list??
One way was to have been a member when his blog, New West Notes was up and running. That was a fun place that I still miss after so many years.
He alos blogged at the Huffington Post when Chris was there, too.
Beyond that, I'm not sure ... do me a favour and try finding out where his columns are being posted online, if they actually are.
Many of the articles I link to here are ones he has alerted me to ... a wealth of good information, to say the least!
You'll have to ask Kick about that box thingy. :)
FRAK....
One last try then I dig up old Weigantian comments..
THIS IS HOW YOU PUT TEXT IN A BOX
OK Fine.. Grrrr....
THERE....
So, how did you do that?
WOOT!!!!! :D
OK.. I will use the Box w/o bold to quote articles..
Once again. A peaceful resolution to a thorny problem.. :D
I love it!
Use the attribute {BLOCKQUOTE} and then close it with {/BLOCKQUOTE}..
Of course, use the LESS THAN GREATER THAN symbols instead of the '{}'...
I might give that a try sometime ... when no one's looking. Heh.
Gotta run ... to work! Be back later tonight to wind down...
Let's test this puppy out.. :D
I'll use BOLD for just the headlines and then the rest in regular text...
I think this will be more aesthetically pleasing for Weigantians... They can then concentrate on the content and not how the content is delivered.. :D
OK I like it!!! :D
A testament to the stupidity of Democrats in government..
OK.. So, let's identify the problem..
According to Democrats in Philly, the problem is too many minority drivers are being stopped over PC tickets.. PC being PROOF OF COMPLIANCE.. AKA FixIt ticket.. You get a ticket, you fix the problem, you show the problem is fixed and the ticket disappears..
Now, if you have a problem with LEOs pulling over too many minority drivers for PC tickets.... The LOGICAL and RATIONAL solution is to institute programs that targets minority drivers and tells them to fix their damn cars!!
But that is too logical and rational for Democrats.. INSTEAD, THEY choose to reign in the cops and forbid cops from pulling over vehicles for PC stuff..
What's next??? Excusing other more serious crimes because the majority of criminals are minorities??
Democrat "logic" at work..
Let's see some results of Philly's bonehead move..
If only the Philly LEO could have pulled over that SUV **BEFORE** it killed 3 little kids.. :^/
Just another unsolved homicide statistic....
PC stops (in THIS case, PC = Probable Cause) are an integral part of police work that has resulted in THOUSANDS of real hardened violent criminals being taken off the streets..
The Democrats in Philly have put blinders on their cops... This will result in increase in crime and vehicle accidents and a drop in arrests...
Democrat Party "logic".. :^/
And in the BEING BORN UNDER AN UNLUCKY SIGN department..
Seems that a Tom Brady fan bought at auction what was ostensibly Brady's last TD Football for $516,000+....
A few weeks later Brady announced "JUST KIDDING!! I'm not retiring..."
Which made the football just one of 624 TD Footballs out there.. :D
On the one hand, ya really gotta feel sorry for the guy...
On the other hand.. Can you REALLY feel sorry for a guy who spent over a half a million dollars on a FOOTBALL!!???
The Hunter Biden Saga continues..
More facts to substantiate the validity of Hunter Biden's laptop..
This has been going on since before President Trump was in the Oval Office..
No wonder Democrats and Big Media and Big Tech conspired to had the factual nature of Hunter Biden's laptop..
If Democrats, Big Tech and Big Media hadn't conspired on the Hunter Biden laptop, President Trump would still be in office..
What a different world we would be living in if Democrats had just owned up to the facts.
There would be no war.. Gas would be $1.23 p/gallon and America would be at the top of her game...
Instead.... We have... this world.. :(
“Via @nytimes colleagues, a deep dive into the Hunter Biden investigation, including that the emails released in late 2020, and characterized as possible Russian disinformation by some, were authentic.”
-NY TIMES Superstar & Pulitzer Prize Recipient Maggie Haberman
From the mouth of Lucifer herself..
Don,
Is "coward" your version of the new dynamic/Great Awakening? Cause' it kind of looks like you are putting the same effort in as you do OD...
Don,
Don't forget the disinformation coming from One Demand. Oh, wait, that's no information. Sorry, never mind...
Don,
Not agreeing with you and not heaping praise on your your big crusade has nothing to do with trolling...
Now, "coward" as an insult has to be the weakest of weak sauce to ever be spurted on the internet. Good to know you are as consistent with not working on insults as you are not working on OD...
DH,
The point you are missing is that either way we would end up with worthless scum that works for the big money interests as president.
I disagree. It's a documented and demonstrable FACT that President Trump did great things for this country..
If that is an example of "big money interests"?? Then I say we need more big money interests!! :D
Thanks for digging up
.
Now, let's see whether that worked. Nothing else for now.
Russia delenda est
ok, massive non-sequitur, i'm a little annoyed that CW referenced one of the giants in young-adult fiction without a nod to the author. i loved l'engle's work as a kid, and i'd be curious to know how it stands up among today's middle schoolers.
Who is L'Engle?? :D
Michale,
Here’s a great article regarding the reason that no one touched the laptop story.
Madison Cawthorn doesn't have a leg to stand on regarding his diatribe of falsehoods concerning Ukraine...
Un-woke that pleasing joke, Neanderthal GQP putineskas.
My thoughts after Sunday dinner, once organized.
LL&P
I see no GOOD reasons why Democrats falsely tried to question the laptop..
The emails and the pictures proved the owner of the laptop was Hunter Biden..
The emails especially were authenticated by the other people in the email chain...
The ONLY reason that the Hunter laptop was ignored was to protect Joe Biden's campaign..
These are the facts..
And there were NO FACTS, not even relevant supposition to support the claim that the laptop was not genuine..
There is your problem right there, Russ.
There were NO FACTS to support ANY other explanation..
In short...
There were, AND are, OOODLES (it's an industry term) of real and tangible and DOCUMENTED facts that PROVE the legitimacy of Hunter Biden's laptop..
And there were AND are, ZERO facts to support ANY of that Russian Disinformation bullshit that Democrats, Big Media and Big Tech tried to cover up the laptop with..
JL..
Have you caught up on Picard yet???
Russ...
I frakin' HATE that Paramount won't stream the entire season all at once!!!
Michale,
I see no GOOD reasons why Democrats falsely tried to question the laptop..
The emails and the pictures proved the owner of the laptop was Hunter Biden..
The emails especially were authenticated by the other people in the email chain...
You will NEVER see anything with your eyes closed. I would think that someone with your law enforcement background would understand how the chain of evidence works. Even FoxNews refused to run this story because it appeared so shady.
The hard drives that the press have investigated are all cloned copies. How else did Steve Bannon, Giuliani, and the NYPost all claim to possess the info on the hard drives when the FBI was in possession of them?
It’s funny that you do not even try to hide that this is all about creating a smear campaign against Joe Biden. The emails weren’t proof of any criminal activity by Hunter Biden which is why the DOJ did not pursue investigating Hunter. Heck, Trump told Zelenski that he did not need to actually conduct an investigation; he simply needed to tell the world that Biden was being investigated — Republicans in Congress would handle the rest!
And a Happy Birthday to Q.... :D
John DeLancie is 74 today...
Russ,
#121...
ANY facts to support ANY of those claims??
Because you claimed that the MAC Computer Repair Guy was BLIND... Which is LUDICROUS on the face of it because you CAN'T repair laptops if you are blind..
So, I call BULLSHIT on ALL of 121 unless you have some DOCUMENTED factual basis for the claims..
The emails weren’t proof of any criminal activity by Hunter Biden which is why the DOJ did not pursue investigating Hunter.
And yet, those VERY SAME EMAILS are NOW factual evidence in the CRIMINAL investigation of Hunter Biden..
So how can those SAME EMAILS be factual evidence in a criminal investigation NOW, but NOT be factual evidence back in 2020???
Yer fighting a losing battle here, Russ.. Just like the one you fought when you supported the Democrats Russia Collusion delusion.. :D
DH,
While Trump may have done some things that actually were good the vast majority of what he did wasn't
For example.....?????
It may be your opinion that Trump did good things or even more good than bad- but it is not a fact.
No, it is fact..
Under President Trump, the lowest unemployment in over 5 decades...
Under President Trump the lowest black American unemployment EVER..
Under President Trump, the lowest hispanic American unemployment EVER..
Under President Trump the biggest criminal justice reform to help black Americans EVER...
Under President Trump, the biggest overhaul of native American assistance EVER...
Building the strongest U.S. economy in my lifetime through historic business and personal tax cuts, resulting in millions of jobs created and record-low unemployment
Cutting federal government regulations that had a stranglehold on American business innovators and entrepreneurs
Confronting China’s trade abuses and negotiating fair trade deals with Canada, Mexico, South Korea, and Japan
Eliminating the Obamacare individual mandate
Rebuilding our military through investments in our defense capabilities as well as securing the largest military pay raise in a decade
Nominating and confirming more solid conservative circuit court judges than any other first-term administration
Nominating and fighting for the confirmation of two originalists, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, to the Supreme Court and then nominating Amy Coney Barrett to fill the vacancy left by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and then brokering the Abraham Accords peace deal between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain
Consistently fighting Democrats to build the wall to secure our southern border, reinforcing and repairing hundreds of miles, with more construction on the way
ALL GOOD.. All FACT...
Nader is soooo 2000.....
K, Michale et al. I'm sitting in the restaurant drinking Sacramental Potion (beer -- especially from the Isles of Guiness) and Sitting Shiva over the temporary conclusion of Our One-True Church of [Murican] Football.
As such, I shall give you and Brother Don Harris the respect that you knuckleheads deserve (duh-oh! I did NOT just say that!) um, to pick up our thread tomorrow.
Michale, I appreciate your efforts reflected in the (above) quote boxed comments. They're so much easier on my eyes* that I didn't mind reading them through. Good deal.
PSA -- People! The box quote and proper link formatting info are right here.*smh
*FOR THE RECORD, I'm one of those big stretch-4 power forward Manbun-Libtard-who-acknowledges-and-honors-his-feminine-side types. As such, I can't help but notice the ascetics.
Oh. At 63, without the manbun.
Michale, as you're clearly here to win hearts and minds I hope my suggestion(s) prove helpful.
Mañana de la mañana, bitches!
Oh. Unless I choose to participate in this evenings canceled Sunday Night Canadian Music Appreciation Festival and Dance Party My Pearl.
Elizabeth I challenge you to play a better Prism song than Automatic Man's offering, above. #CanuckRockSux
It's canceled? What ... who canceled it?
You're SUCH a fair-weather friend, MtnCaddy. :(
I think I'll take the night off then, and just chill with my cds. God knows I need it. Aloha!
Just this minute got hit by the equivalent of a ton of bricks. So, I'm officially going to have to take a break away from this place for a while to regroup, financially speaking.
Wish me luck! I think I'm gonna need it. :)
Michale,
Because you claimed that the MAC Computer Repair Guy was BLIND... Which is LUDICROUS on the face of it because you CAN'T repair laptops if you are blind..
So, I call BULLSHIT on ALL of 121 unless you have some DOCUMENTED factual basis for the claims..
From the WAPO article I posted above:
On April 12, the laptops were dropped off at Mac Isaac’s repair shop. Mac Isaac is legally blind and was not able to identify Hunter Biden by sight.
Yeah, Hunter just happened to drop off these laptops with the ONE computer repair shop in the state that is owned and operated by a legally blind person who could not identify him! NOW can you see why no one gave this story the time of day?
And then there was the NYPost’s refusing to share any of the info with other news sources for them to be able to verify. When they did release it:
When the Post first reported on its possession of material from Hunter Biden’s laptop, it shared a PDF of an email included in that material. That PDF carried metadata indicating that it was created on Oct. 10, 2019, meaning that either it was created on a machine that had the wrong date set or that it was created after the laptop came into Mac Isaac’s possession.
So yeah, this story is a hard pill to swallow.
Just this minute got hit by the equivalent of a ton of bricks. So, I'm officially going to have to take a break away from this place for a while to regroup, financially speaking.
Wish me luck! I think I'm gonna need it. :)
Whaddup, Em?
Russ,
From the WAPO article I posted above:
On April 12, the laptops were dropped off at Mac Isaac’s repair shop. Mac Isaac is legally blind and was not able to identify Hunter Biden by sight.
Does WaPo offer any facts to support that claim??
Because you'll have to explain to me how a legally blind person can work on MAC laptops..
I suggest you buy an old Mac book from a pawn shop or something and then try and take it apart.. Hell, even a fully sighted person has trouble with it..
I call BS on the blind computer repairman claim..
So yeah, this story is a hard pill to swallow.
And yet, the NY GRIME "authenticated" the laptop as authentic...
Can you explain that??
Let's face reality, Russ.. You don't WANT to believe it...
Just this minute got hit by the equivalent of a ton of bricks. So, I'm officially going to have to take a break away from this place for a while to regroup, financially speaking.
Wish me luck! I think I'm gonna need it. :)
Wait!! Whaa????
One really has to wonder why the NY GRIME, of all places, would step up NOW to authentic Hunter Biden's laptop..
I mean, the Grime is the Water Carrier Of Water Carriers for Joe Biden and the Democrats..
Why go to such trouble to say, "YES.. The Hunter Biden laptop was factual and all the crap contained within has been authenticated"
It's a very interesting turn of events..
Conventional wisdom suggests that the power brokers that are propping Biden up are deciding to cut their losses...
Maybe after the utter devastation of Democrats in November will cause Joe Biden to "have a stroke" and he will be 25th'ed...
I dunno... But the timing of the NY Grime authenticating the Hunter Biden laptop information is extremely interesting..
It's funny, in a sad and pathetic way, to hear comments from Democrats hoping that the confirmation hearings of Judge Brown Jackson are civil and respectful..
Tell ya what, Dems..
The GOP will make the confirmation hearings of Brown Jackson as "civil" and "respectful" as Democrats made the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings.
Howz dat?? :^/
Anyone know of a good source for information on how the war is actually going? Wikipedia used to have a section in the box on its page on the war, listing alleged equipment losses for each side. It discontinued that. There are people on YouTube alleging that lots of Russian planes have been shot down, or whatever, and then when you watch the video there's nothing there. NY Times doesn't seem to have much either.
Russia delenda est
dsws,
There is virtually no good credible information on how things are going..
The best we can do is to take the American reports and take the Russian reports and take the Ukraine Reports and meet somewhere in the middle..
In my estimation, using that formula, yes the Russian campaign is not going as well as Putin had hoped..
But reports of massive protests and malingering and morale problems on the part of the Russians are likely wishful thinking..
The conventional wisdom that Russians hate Putin and hate the war do not take into account the massive nationalist pride that Russians take in their country...
Think of the most fervent patriotic red neck and then multiply that by 100 and you get a sense of how patriotic Russians feel about their country..
Add to that the huge shame that Russians feel about being relegated down from Superpower status??
That's a mix that would negate the idea that Russians are turning against Putin en masse..
They see Putin as a vehicle to return Russia to USSR Superpower status..
No, you can bet that the vast majority of Russians are fully and completely behind Putin..
DH,
I'm sure the confirmation hearings will be just as civil and respectful as this comments section. :D
That good, eh?? :D
So... Anyone gonna watch the Brown Jackson hearings with me this morning?? :D
Interesting to note..
Russian oligarch Yelena Baturina paid 3.5 million to Hunter Biden and David Archer. Archer has been convicted of Fraud in a scheme to bilk a native American tribe..
Funny thing..
Baturina was NOT amongst the Putin allied Russians who were sanctioned by the Biden Administration..
One has to wonder why this is...
A wrinkle in time is one of the most read young adult novels of the 20th century.
A wrinkle in time is one of the most read young adult novels of the 20th century.
Ahhhhh OK I get it.. I tried to read it when I was a kid..
But it was more fantasy than sci-fi so I never got into it..
I know.. I know.. I am culturally depraved... er.. deprived.. :D
Michale,
Yeah, I'll have at least one ear on the hearing today as it's my day off but, have a bunch of other things to do as well, so ... look forward to a discussion about it later. :)
MtnCaddy,
Thanks for wishing me luck.
Yeah, I'll have at least one ear on the hearing today as it's my day off but, have a bunch of other things to do as well, so ... look forward to a discussion about it later. :)
As do I...
I am hoping she is not confirmed..
The LAST thing the SCOTUS needs is an Affirmative Action hire who is nothing but a progressive activist.. The best possible candidate of 2% of the available jurists... :^/
But I am resigned to the very likely possibility that she will be confirmed...
Well, not surprisingly, I am hoping she is confirmed. We'll have lots to chat about!
The best possible candidate of 2% of the available jurists... :^/
You know what else is possible? That the best possible canidate of the 2% turns out to be the best of the 100%, too!
Prepare to be impressed, my friend!
It would serve Democrats right if Republicans Kavanaugh'ed Brown Jackson over her affinity for child porn defendants..
haarrruummpphhh....
That is a dangerous course for the Republicans.
Probably..
But that didn't stop Democrats..
What's good for the goose is good for the gander, no??
You know what else is possible? That the best possible canidate of the 2% turns out to be the best of the 100%, too!
That's a statistical near impossibility...
We're likely getting an Affirmative Action hire.. A token..
No more..
That right there - the goose/gander thing - is the very problem I always wish to avoid, whenever possible. :)
I'm going dark ...
At the end of the day, Brown Jackson was selected SOLELY because she is black and a woman..
Those are her top two parameters...
Yes.. Remind Democrats how utterly contemptible they were during the Kavanaugh hearings..
Does anyone here dispute how contemptible Democrats were during the Kavanaugh hearings??
The only relevant question for Brown Jackson..
"How do you feel about being selected SOLELY on the basis of your race and gender??"
Her answer to that would be very telling...
Go Lindsay Graham!!!! :D
Democrats should be ashamed...
If Brown Jackson cannot condemn court packing, she doesn't belong on the SCOTUS...
Brown Jackson checks the most important boxes..
Black
Female
Progressive
Whitehouse is a moron..
Brown Jackson is nominated for 2 reasons and 2 reasons only..
Black... Female...
That's it...
That's what the hearing has proven so far...
Maybe you could wait to hear her speak? ;)
Ted Cruz is KILLING it!!!! :D
Maybe you could wait to hear her speak? ;)
Her nomination was based on her race and sex..
Is this or is this not factual...
Given that fact, what she has to say has a lot less relevance..
But I'll give her her due... But given that she is part of only 2% of the qualified candidates.. I don't expect much..
I do have to say..
Republicans are a LOT more dignified and reasonable and rational than Democrats were with Kavanaugh..
This is an undeniable FACT...
That's great!
She didn't speak ... so, I didn't watch any of it.
When I first started watching these hearings, I watched gavel to gavel. That was a very, very, very long time ago.
When I first started watching these hearings, I watched gavel to gavel. That was a very, very, very long time ago.
Yea, the Q&A will be tomorrow.. Today was just Democrats bloviating and GOP'ers laying out how reprehensible Democrats were with Kavanaugh and Comey-Barrett... :D
Just another day in the swamp...
I want 4 questions answered..
1. How does Brown Jackson feel about being nothing but an Affirmative Action hire.. A token..
2. Does Brown Jackson support Court Packing..
3. Why is Brown Jackson so lenient when sentencing child pornographers..
4. Why does she want to be lenient towards convicted sexual predators..
Brown Jackson needs to answer those questions..
Well, I guess someone will have to ask them first.
I'm working tomorrow and won't be home til late. Ditto for Wednesday and Thursday. Not sure when I'll be able to watch the Q&A ... just to let you know ...
From the Daily Beast:
Here’s a question for you. You live in Los Angeles. You have a laptop that’s acting up; needs some work. Do you:
A) Find a computer repair shop in your neighborhood via Google or whatever and take it there; B) Send it back to the manufacturer; C) Say to yourself, “Oh, I know, I think I’ll go to Wilmington, Delaware, and take it to a legally blind computer repairman, because like, obviously, who wouldn’t do that?”
Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani, not yet indicted, and Steve Bannon, already indicted for allegedly scamming loyal Trumpies no less, want you to believe that Hunter Biden chose option C.
Gotta love that British snark! There are plenty of other articles that mention the reason that the shop owner could not say whether the person who said he was Hunter Biden was actually Hunter Biden… he’s legally blind and never saw the guy’s face!
If someone hacked your Apple account, from a new MacBook Pro they could create an email from your account and send it to your friends pretending to be you and you might never know it. They will attest to receiving the email from your account… but did YOU send it to them?
As for the Apple repairman, he is legally blind after slowly losing his eyesight over the years. He was not born blind. I can only imagine that his work glasses were so thick that anyone else using them would be able to see into the future.
Now…the important stuff… WARNING TO ALL - Star Trek Picard spoilers ahead!
Frickin’ have LOVED PICARD season 2, thus far. Borg Queen is an even badder BADASS than before! I am guessing that the Watcher they are supposed to find is gonna be…Guinan. It makes sense since her people can live extremely long lives (if not, potentially, forever). And she will trust Picard since she had already met him back when she was hanging with Mark Twain.
Did you give Discovery a 2nd chance? I won’t say anything more in case you haven’t… but I think this was the best season so far…and the season finale was incredible! They didn’t make it a cliffhanger, and that made it hugely more satisfying for this viewer! Definitely suggest watching it!
Also, THE ADAM PROJECT on Netflix is the movie that I did not know that my soul needed me to see! It is Ryan Reynolds’ at his best. A sci-fi movie focused on the complexities of time travel…and make sure you have tissue ready or you will be “ugly crying” with nothing to wipe away the snot bubbles except the family cat. Highly recommend to anyone who has children or that has/had parents!!!
Russ,
Gotta love that British snark! There are plenty of other articles that mention the reason that the shop owner could not say whether the person who said he was Hunter Biden was actually Hunter Biden… he’s legally blind and never saw the guy’s face!
You still have yet to offer ANY facts that prove the laptop repairman is blind..
The simple fact that he IS a laptop repairman would PROVE to any rational person that he is not blind..
And the fact that Hunter LIVED in Delaware would support that he took the laptop to a repairman in Delaware..
I mean.. DUH...
As for the Apple repairman, he is legally blind after slowly losing his eyesight over the years. He was not born blind. I can only imagine that his work glasses were so thick that anyone else using them would be able to see into the future.
ANY facts to support???
ANY at all???
Nope.. None.. Zero.. Zilch... NADA...
Frickin’ have LOVED PICARD season 2, thus far. Borg Queen is an even badder BADASS than before!
Recognize her??
Renee from the 24 series...
At first I thought she was Adrianne Barbeau from MAUDE fame.. But SHE is way too old..
But I agree.. Total bad ass..
If you haven't, read the STAR TREK VOYAGER novels that dealt with HOMECOMING.. :D Pretty awesome..
Guinan. It makes sense since her people can live extremely long lives (if not, potentially, forever). And she will trust Picard since she had already met him back when she was hanging with Mark Twain.
I USED to like Guinan.. But now she is just fat and obnoxious Whoopie...
Did you give Discovery a 2nd chance? I won’t say anything more in case you haven’t… but I think this was the best season so far…and the season finale was incredible! They didn’t make it a cliffhanger, and that made it hugely more satisfying for this viewer! Definitely suggest watching it!
OK.. I'll give it a shot... Just because it's you.. :D
Also, THE ADAM PROJECT on Netflix is the movie that I did not know that my soul needed me to see! It is Ryan Reynolds’ at his best. A sci-fi movie focused on the complexities of time travel…and make sure you have tissue ready or you will be “ugly crying” with nothing to wipe away the snot bubbles except the family cat. Highly recommend to anyone who has children or that has/had parents!!!
I know, right!!!
I am man enough to admit.. I am a cry'er... I tear up at most ANY happy ending... :D
While I tear'ed up a bit for ADAM PROJECT, the waterworks were flowing for DOG....
Being a former K-9 handler that tug'ed at me more than anything...
Michale,
Multiple news sites have cited the fact that the man is “legally blind” — which explains why he could not testify that he identified Hunter Biden as the man who dropped off the laptops. I am pretty sure they would get called out for claiming he was blind when he wasn’t. If you want sworn affidavits from his doctors, you are on your own to get that.
As WebMD points out:
If you're legally blind, your vision is 20/200 or less in your better eye or your field of vision is less than 20 degrees. That means if an object is 200 feet away, you have to stand 20 feet from it in order to see it clearly. But a person with normal vision can stand 200 feet away and see that object perfectly.
He can still see small items with proper magnification. That’s it.