American Politics

[Spidy]

These are the prepared and rehearsed responses to "the issues" that Do Nothing Repub candidate Trump has been repeating for months on the campaign trail while President Joe Biden has been busy with a real job, producing and presiding over the best Dem Recovery, Economic Expansion, Jobs Creation, Wage Growth, Inflation Reduction, Crime and Murder Reduction, Global Democracy-Strengthening, No USA Wars, Effective National Security presidential terms in history:

Opinion: I watched a Trump rally so you dont have to. But you need to know what hes saying.
Feb. 22, 2024

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...on-nikki-haley

That is a MUST READ. LOL.

Meanwhile, after every Repub, Repub Voter, Pro Repub "Bothsider" and pro Repub Mainstream Media pundit and spinner has spent 4 years of free reign characterizing Joe Biden as an incoherent, brain-dead old codger incapable of rolling out of bed in the morning, as the Dem Nominee vs the Repub Nominee he will absolutely slaughter that Repub Numbskull on any and every presidential issue asked about by any unbiased moderator on any debate stage or televised interview Trump can't find a hiding place deep enough in his basement to avoid. LOL.

Another great article!

One thing there is more of than in the past, despite the kids in the audience: profanity. And more than ever, given the scores of criminal charges and mountain of legal penalties hes facing, there are his grievances. These arent rallies anymore. They're pity parties. ...

...Instead, Trumps supporters emit constant catcalls, boos and their own favorite profanities, in approving response to his nonstop caterwauling.

Yep, to no one's surprise, it was all about him, never about what he or the Repubs, are going to do for the American people. No doubt why supporters are walking out of his diatribe, half-way through.

Call it for what it is, "The Trump, (John Wick) Revenge Tour".

[EihTooms]

Man Facing 91 Felonies Vows To Bring 'Very Powerful Crime' To DC

https://crooksandliars.com/2024/02/m...ses-bring-very

"No, we're going to take over Washington, D.C., we're going to federalize, we're going to have very powerful crime, and you're going to be proud of it again," Donald vowed.

Surely, Fux News will devote an hour of primetime examining this demonstration of serious cognitive decline and impairment by the frontrunner candidate for a major Party presidential nomination.

Unless he really meant what he said, of course. In which case, shouldn't they still devote an hour of primetime to, you know, questioning why anyone would vote for such an outcome?

[EihTooms]

I hope Joe Biden wins another 4 years, you lot deserve him.

That is one of the sweetest, most generous and considerate sentiments anyone has expressed here in a long time. We all needed that!

Much appreciated.

And all good blessings are wished for you and yours, too!

[Wayne Roberts]

I hope Joe Biden wins another 4 years, you lot deserve him.

[Spidy]

I might be way off, but I have a hunch that DJT does not have the cash to put up for the appeal this case. I don't know if he can get a bond agency to represent him for this amount.

My reasoning is that most of his assets are illiquid that's why he asked for the 30 days extension, which has been denied. No one knows how much cash he has, but if it's under $300 million, he may get liquidated. We will all know in 30 days or so. 30-days starts when Judgement is signed off, which hasn't happened yet.

$450 Million in cash is no problem for Trump. Unless he was lying, of course. LOL

How Trump's 'I'm rich!' boasts are coming back to bite him in court.
Feb. 2, 2024

https://www.businessinsider.com/trum...erdicts-2024-2

I'm waiting to see if the winger billionaires (ie. Elon Musk, Paul Singer and co.), are gullible enough, to show up and pay his legal fees, as some have suggested...kkkk!

But strangely enough, Florida Repubs, attempted to push a $5 million dollar legislative bill, to pay Trump's legal bills...Ouch!!! That was until DeStantis put the kibosh on it!

Florida plan to have taxpayers pay Trumps legal bills...
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/0...bills-00136984

Yep, there's a sucker born every second, in Trump world!

PS: You can bet New Yorkers, are LMAO, at Floridians...kkkk! (Good riddance, you can have the mob boss and crime family)

[EihTooms]

These are the prepared and rehearsed responses to "the issues" that Do Nothing Repub candidate Trump has been repeating for months on the campaign trail while President Joe Biden has been busy with a real job, producing and presiding over the best Dem Recovery, Economic Expansion, Jobs Creation, Wage Growth, Inflation Reduction, Crime and Murder Reduction, Global Democracy-Strengthening, No USA Wars, Effective National Security presidential terms in history:

Opinion: I watched a Trump rally so you dont have to. But you need to know what hes saying.
Feb. 22, 2024

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...on-nikki-haley

That is a MUST READ. LOL.

Meanwhile, after every Repub, Repub Voter, Pro Repub "Bothsider" and pro Repub Mainstream Media pundit and spinner has spent 4 years of free reign characterizing Joe Biden as an incoherent, brain-dead old codger incapable of rolling out of bed in the morning, as the Dem Nominee vs the Repub Nominee he will absolutely slaughter that Repub Numbskull on any and every presidential issue asked about by any unbiased moderator on any debate stage or televised interview Trump can't find a hiding place deep enough in his basement to avoid. LOL.

[EihTooms]

I might be way off, but I have a hunch that DJT does not have the cash to put up for the appeal this case. I don't know if he can get a bond agency to represent him for this amount.

My reasoning is that most of his assets are illiquid that's why he asked for the 30 days extension, which has been denied. No one knows how much cash he has, but if it's under $300 million, he may get liquidated. We will all know in 30 days or so. 30-days starts when Judgement is signed off, which hasn't happened yet.

How Trump's 'I'm rich!' boasts are coming back to bite him in court.
Feb. 2, 2024

https://www.businessinsider.com/trum...erdicts-2024-2

Before its $83M verdict, the Carroll defamation jury watched Trump brag on tape about his wealth.

"We have a lot of cash," the jury watched Trump boast.
....
It was was as good as parading Trump before the jury with a "kick me" sign taped to his back.

"We have a lot of cash," Trump boasted in the clip that Carroll's jurors saw last Thursday morning.

"I believe we have substantially in excess of $400 million in cash, which is a lot for a developer," Trump bragged, leaning toward the camera from his seat at a conference table.

"Developers usually don't have cash," Trump eagerly went on. "We have, I believe, 400 plus, and going up very substantially every month."

[CheckMate1]

I might be way off, but I have a hunch that DJT does not have the cash to put up for the appeal this case. I don't know if he can get a bond agency to represent him for this amount.

My reasoning is that most of his assets are illiquid that's why he asked for the 30 days extension, which has been denied. No one knows how much cash he has, but if it's under $300 million, he may get liquidated. We will all know in 30 days or so. 30-days starts when Judgement is signed off, which hasn't happened yet.

[EihTooms]

"Man, are cult members of the MAGATea Party hopping mad about this:

Major Texas Newspaper Endorses Joe Biden.

https://www.newsweek.com/houston-chr...p-maga-1871423

By all means, do read on. LOL. ".

https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/bi...21/id/1154385/

LOL. From your link:

"Nikki Haley, who I like and who I have supported, does not look like she's going to make it," he said. "Trump is really kind of running the table.

So, Joe Biden, who on the demonstrably Winger-leaning RealClearPolitics sites' Poll of Polls / Consensus has Biden and Trump in a statistical tie, rarely more than 2 percentage points apart, while neither of them has been officially declared his Party's Nominee and while Biden has been busy with a real job and has not even begun to campaign in earnest while Trump has even less to do today than the nothing he did as so-called potus, is "done".

But Nikki Haley Nikki Haley Nikki Haley Nikki Haley or is it Nancy is practically 60 points behind Trump in the only race anyone is engaged in at the moment, the race for the Party Nomination, "does not look like she's going to make it. "

LOL. Wow. So perceptive. How did that numbskull become a billionaire? Win the lottery? It can't possibly have anything to do with basic math unless it is about which numbers to pick on his lottery tickets. LOL.

[Spidy]

I could not read all of it from the full endorsement because the "subscription required" pop-up kept appearing.

Yeah, I'm getting that a lot these days, as it's getting tougher to research and provide links with decent articles.

Anyways, couldn't get the ALL the info from your Newsweek link, so I used one that's actual from the paper's website pages: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opi...t-18670527.php

The are a multitude of excellent acknowledgements to President Joe Biden's accomplishments, w/r to his fine stewardship of the US economy & country, that is worth re-printing.

We endorse Joe Biden for President of the United States in the Democratic Primary (Opinion)
By The Editorial Board, Feb 19, 2024
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opi...t-18670527.php

The Houston Chronicles, then goes on to provide several examples of the President's accomplishments.

Unlike Trump's unfulfilled promised to bring back "coal" to rural American workers??? Houston Chronicles, highlights the Biden Infrastructure Bill targets projects in employment distressed counties around the country.

Anyone think Trump would have done the same for a "Dem distressed county", were Biden, won 78% of the vote?

Personally, I'm not yet sold on the "hydrogen solution", being more viable, than the ever growing battery technology space, in the long run...but I guess time will tell, for cleaner hydrogen and said applications, that will use hydrogen.

Well written and gives a fair but glowing account of President Biden's stewardship, well worthy of being the 14th Best President in History!

Yeah, I can't imagine any reputable and credible Real News print, cable / network media or internet source endorsing Trump over Biden for President of the United States of America this time around.

Good lord, based on what numbers, easily observable reality, historical and current data and results, demeanor, behavior or any other important factor?

I mean, what could they possibly cite as a decisive "positive" on Trump's side considering that as a Real News source they would have tracked all those factors throughout Biden's and Trump's entire public lives and can't pretend they didn't know that, on balance, Trump's were godawful for America while Biden's were clear net positives for America.

Yeah, on what earth, could they have come to any other conclusion and still call themselves journalists? I was just so surprised to see that it was a Texas based news source, I almost feel outta my chair.

[MarquisdeSade1]

"Man, are cult members of the MAGATea Party hopping mad about this:

Major Texas Newspaper Endorses Joe Biden.

https://www.newsweek.com/houston-chr...p-maga-1871423

By all means, do read on. LOL. ".

https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/bi...21/id/1154385/

[MarquisdeSade1]

"Trumps G. O. P. Is a Confederacy of Fakers.

https://dnyuz.com/2024/02/21/trumps-...acy-of-fakers/

And there is so much more worth reading in that NYT article you might have missed. ".

Ross on the other hand is easily the smartest man in the bldg.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/21/o...raine-war.html

OPINION.

ROSS DOUTHAT.

What the Ukraine Aid Debate Is Really About.

Feb. 21,2024.

Under a gray sky, a group of soldiers with helmets and guns walk through a field.

Taiwanese military personnel conducting a drill in January. Credit. Ritchie be. Tongo / EPA, via Shutterstock.

Share full article.

1. 1 K.

Ross Douthat.

By Ross Douthat.

Opinion Columnist.

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Want the latest stories related to China, Russia and Taiwan? Sign up for the newsletter Your Places: Global Update, and we'll send them to your inbox.

Over the weekend Senator J. The. Vance of Ohio went to the Munich Security Conference to play an unpopular part — a spokesman, at a gathering of the Western foreign policy establishment, for the populist critique of American support for Ukraine's war effort.

If you were to pluck a key phrase from his comments, it would be "world of scarcity," which Vance used five times to describe the American strategic situation: stretched by our global commitments, unable to support Ukraine while simultaneously maintaining our position in the Middle East and preparing for a war in East Asia and therefore forced to husband our resources and expect our allies in Europe to counter Russia's armaments and ambitions.

In my Saturday column I wrote about the tensions in the hawkish case for USA Spending on Ukraine, the tendency for the argument to veer from boosterism ("We've got Putin on the ropes! To doomsaying ("Putin's getting stronger every day! While describing the same strategic landscape.

The case Vance pressed in Munich is more consistent, and its premises — not isolationist but Asia-first, more concerned about the Taiwan Strait than the Donbas — have supplied the common ground for Republican critics of our Ukraine policy since early in the war. But consistency is not the same as correctness, and it's worth looking for a moment at why this kind of argument makes Ukraine hawks so frustrated.

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In part, there's a suspicion that some of the people making an Asia-first case don't fully believe it, that it's just a more respectable way of sloughing off American obligations and that if the conservative base or Donald Trump decided it wasn't worth fighting for Taiwan, many China-hawk Republicans would come up with some excuse to justify inaction.

But assuming good faith — and whatever the calculations of Republican politicians, many China hawks are entirely on the level — there's also the problem that this argument privileges hypothetical aggression over real aggression, a potential war over a current one, "contingencies in East Asia" (to quote Vance, again) over an actuality in Eastern Europe. We can't do everything to stop Vladimir Putin today because of something Beijing might conceivably do tomorrow is the fundamental claim, and you can see why people chafe at it.

Indeed, despite agreeing with the overall Asia-first assessment, I chafe at it myself — enough to think that the Biden administration made the right call backing Ukraine initially and that a sharp cutoff in aid would be a mistake even if we should be seeking an armistice.

But weighing contingencies against actuality is always part of what statesmen have to do. And the weighing that prioritizes Taiwan over Ukraine, danger in East Asia over actual war in Europe, depends on two presumptions that are worth making explicit and discussing.

The first is that China is serious not just about taking Taiwan but also about doing it soon. If you think China's military buildup and bellicosity are signaling potential annexation in some distant future, then there's no immediate trade-off between Europe and the Pacific. Instead, in that case it becomes reasonable to think that defeating Putin in the 2020's will give Beijing pause in the 2030's and that the long-term commitment to military production required to arm Ukraine for victory will also help deter China 10 years hence.

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But suppose that the peril is much closer, that Beijing's awareness of its long-term challenges makes it more likely to gamble while America is tied down by other crises, internally divided and potentially headed for four years of limited presidential capacity under either party's nominee. In that case our potential strengths in 10 years are irrelevant, and the fact that we're currently building anti-tank and antiaircraft missiles only to burn through them, adding more than $7 in new spending on Ukraine for every $1 dollar in spending related to our Asian and Australian allies and tethering military and diplomatic attention to a trench war in Eastern Europe, means that we're basically inviting the Chinese to make their move, and soon.

Which in turn brings us to the second presumption: that Taiwan falling to its imperial neighbor would change the world for the worse on a greater scale than Ukraine ceding territory or even facing outright defeat.

Listen to 'Matter of Opinion'.

Get more analysis from Ross Douthat and other Opinion writers in this new podcast from New York Times Opinion.

Opinion.

Michelle Cottle, Ross Douthat, Carlos Lozada and Lydia Polgreen.

Are We All Authoritarians at Heart?

Dec. 1, 2023.

If you see the two countries as essentially equivalent, both American clients but not formal NATO-style allies, both democracies vulnerable to authoritarian great-power neighbors, then there's a stronger case for doing everything for Ukraine when it's immediately threatened, regardless of the consequences for Taiwan.

But they are not equivalent. The American commitment to Taiwan goes back almost 70 years, and for all that we've cultivated ambiguity since the Nixon era, the island is still understood to be under the American umbrella in a way that's never been true of Ukraine. Taiwan is also a mature democracy in a way that Ukraine is not, which means its conquest would represent a much more stark form of rollback for the liberal democratic world. And Taiwan's semiconductor industry makes it a much greater economic prize than Ukraine, more likely to hurl the world into recession if the industry is destroyed in a war or grant Beijing newfound power if it's simply absorbed into China's industrial infrastructure.

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Just as important, China is not equivalent to Russia. The latter is a menace but one that — as Vance argues — should theoretically be containable and deterrable, even without American involvement, by a Europe whose G. The. P. Absolutely dwarfs Russia's.

By contrast, China's wealth and potential hard power dwarf all its Asian neighbors, and its conquest of Taiwan would enable a breakout for its naval strength, a much wider projection of authoritarian influence and a reshuffling of economic relationships in Asia and around the world.

For an in-depth argument about these kinds of consequences, I recommend "The Taiwan Catastrophe" by Andrew S. Erickson, Gabriel be. Collins and Matt Pottinger in Foreign Affairs. You don't have to be convinced by every piece of their analysis to grasp the potential stakes. If a Russian victory in Ukraine would feed authoritarian ambitions, a Chinese victory would supercharge them. If Ukraine's defeat would hurt American interests, Taiwan's fall would devastate them.

Which makes the first presumption the dispositive one. If you're seeking full victory in Ukraine, signing up for years of struggle in which Taiwan will be a secondary priority, your choice basically requires betting on China's aggressive intentions being a problem for much later — tomorrow's threat, not today's.

Unlike the Ukraine hawks, I would not take that bet. Unlike the doves, I would not simply cut off the Ukrainians. There is a plausible path between those options, in which aid keeps flowing while the United States pursues a settlement and pivot. But a great deal hangs on whether that narrow way can be traversed: not just for Ukraine or for Taiwan but also for the American imperium as we have known it, the world-bestriding power that we've taken for granted for too long.

[EihTooms]

I could not read all of it from the full endorsement because the "subscription required" pop-up kept appearing.

Yes, Yes, Yes! A Great Endorsement, A Great Houston Article... The are a multitude of excellent acknowledgements to President Joe Biden's accomplishments, w/r to his fine stewardship of the US economy & country, that is worth re-printing.

We endorse Joe Biden for President of the United States in the Democratic Primary (Opinion)
By The Editorial Board, Feb 19, 2024
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opi...t-18670527.php

The Houston Chronicles, then goes on to provide several examples of the President's accomplishments.

Unlike Trump's unfulfilled promised to bring back "coal" to rural American workers??? Houston Chronicles, highlights the Biden Infrastructure Bill targets projects in employment distressed counties around the country.

Anyone think Trump would have done the same for a "Dem distressed county", were Biden, won 78% of the vote?

Personally, I'm not yet sold on the "hydrogen solution", being more viable, than the ever growing battery technology space, in the long run...but I guess time will tell, for cleaner hydrogen and said applications, that will use hydrogen.

Well written and gives a fair but glowing account of President Biden's stewardship, well worthy of being the 14th Best President in History!

Yeah, I can't imagine any reputable and credible Real News print, cable / network media or internet source endorsing Trump over Biden for President of the United States of America this time around.

Good lord, based on what numbers, easily observable reality, historical and current data and results, demeanor, behavior or any other important factor?

I mean, what could they possibly cite as a decisive "positive" on Trump's side considering that as a Real News source they would have tracked all those factors throughout Biden's and Trump's entire public lives and can't pretend they didn't know that, on balance, Trump's were godawful for America while Biden's were clear net positives for America.

[Spidy]

Man, are cult members of the MAGATea Party hopping mad about this:

Major Texas Newspaper Endorses Joe Biden.

https://www.newsweek.com/houston-chr...p-maga-1871423

By all means, do read on. LOL.

This last quote from the Article, says it ALL, w/r to all you need to know about President Joe Biden vs. the other guy.

We are well aware of Bidens age, 81, (and Trumps, 77), as well as memory lapses that have prompted near-panic among many of the presidents fellow Democrats. Those of us who remember the energetic, garrulous, occasionally even eloquent Joe Biden of years past can see the difference a few years have made, even if he was always prone to gaffes. Accounts other than the report of Special Counsel Robert Hur suggest, however, that Biden remains focused, engaged and in command on the vital issues that occupy a president. Experience counts.

...Like Ronald Reagan, Lyndon Johnson and Franklin Roosevelt, Bidens deft management of his team has made him, arguably, the most productive president since LBJ in the early months of his administration.

He has, as they say, forgotten more than his presumed Republican rival will ever know. That's not saying much, and at the same time, it says it all.

President Joe Biden, is the 14th Best President in US History.

[Spidy]

Man, are cult members of the MAGATea Party hopping mad about this:

Major Texas Newspaper Endorses Joe Biden.

https://www.newsweek.com/houston-chr...p-maga-1871423

By all means, do read on. LOL.

The are a multitude of excellent acknowledgements to President Joe Biden's accomplishments, w/r to his fine stewardship of the US economy & country, that is worth re-printing.

We endorse Joe Biden for President of the United States in the Democratic Primary (Opinion)
By The Editorial Board, Feb 19, 2024
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opi...t-18670527.php

... Under the leadership of the oldest and arguably the most experienced president in American history, the team in the White House for the past three years has performed remarkably well, despite the rancor and divisiveness that have afflicted this nation for nearly a decade.

The accomplishments of an administration dedicated to governing, one that believes in the power of government to make life better for the American people, is a key reason we heartily endorse the reelection of President Joe Biden. The other reason, equally important, is to fend off the chaos, corruption and danger to the nation that would accompany the return of Donald Trump to the White House.

The Houston Chronicles, then goes on to provide several examples of the President's accomplishments.

... One of the clear advantages of a president as experienced as Biden is wisdom: in this case, the wisdom to get the heck out of the Fed's way as it masterfully applied the brakes to what could have been runaway inflation.

The economy has recovered from the perils of the pandemic and is now healthier than that of any other advanced nation. With unemployment approaching a 50-year low,... Inflation is trending downward, somehow, despite all dire prophecies of economists, without the bitter medicine of a recession or a period of high unemployment. Food prices are still high, and hard-working Americans are still wincing at grocery store receipts, but gas prices have fallen, as the U.S. produces more oil than any country in history, including Saudi Arabia. ... the administration is investing $7 billion in an ambitious solar-power project and is promoting other alternative energy projects, as well.

Infrastructure week became a punch line during the inept Trump administration, but the Biden administration in its first year managed to pass a bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that's expected to add an estimated 1.5 million jobs per year for the next 10 years.

Unlike Trump's unfulfilled promised to bring back "coal" to rural American workers??? Houston Chronicles, highlights the Biden Infrastructure Bill targets projects in employment distressed counties around the country.

One of the distressed areas to benefit is Wilbarger County, Texas, along the Red River northwest of Wichita Falls. A $4 billion private-sector venture is constructing a mega-scale green hydrogen plant that's expected to create 115 permanent jobs and more than 1,300 construction jobs in a county where population has declined almost every decade since 1940. Its worth noting that Wilbarger County in 2020 cast 21 percent of its votes for Biden, nearly 78 percent for Trump.

Anyone think Trump would have done the same for a "Dem distressed county", were Biden, won 78% of the vote?

Personally, I'm not yet sold on the "hydrogen solution", being more viable, than the ever growing battery technology space, in the long run...but I guess time will tell, for cleaner hydrogen and said applications, that will use hydrogen.

...the Affordable Care Act during this administration has made coverage more affordable and more accessible for millions of Americans...

The Biden White House also has given Medicare the power to directly negotiate with Big Pharma, thereby lowering drug prices and placing a $35-per-month cap on the cost of insulin for Medicare beneficiaries...

After decades of thoughts and prayers and little else in response to mass killings, the Biden White House managed to shepherd a bipartisan Safer Communities Act through a balky Congress...

Well written and gives a fair but glowing account of President Biden's stewardship, well worthy of being the 14th Best President in History!