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It is a good thing to remember how incompetent the previous administration really was. (Paul Krugman has an essay in a similar vein about the 2017 tax cuts in the OpEd page of today's NY Times.)

There really are things, very necessary things, only government can do. Dealing with a national pandemic probably tops the list.

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Yes: and deplorable that the Biden Transition Team was blocked from information to plan, target and speed his fledgling administration's efforts.

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I had forgotten about that cruel and stupid policy. There was so much about those terrible years that was cruel and stupid that details get forgotten.

Thank you for the reminder.

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Not just a cruel and stupid policy, but also underlying desperation that the chaotic, ineffective, destructive (and sometimes completely absent) тАЬgovernmentтАЭ under the previous occupant of the WH would be discovered. And eventually it was.

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More to come, no doubt, re incompetence and cruelty of the last administration. I consoled two children along the way imploring them to stay the course at Dept of State and DOJ. As I explained, we need good people in place to recover from the atrocities committed.

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Yes, horrific incompetence. I knew I was forgetting an adjective. I agree.

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I imagine that as a difficult challenge. Thank you! Without good and effective worker bees holding up Justice and Diplomacy how can we ever hold the crooks accountable or right the ship? ЁЯЩП

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They stayed and I am immensely proud of both of them!

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Are you speaking of young adults? Who possibly had responsible jobs at the agencies you are bringing up?

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Well, my prosecutor son is 40 and my FSO daughter 37. Does that make them "young" adults? Some would say yes. I would say they are in the prime of their career!

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And yet in 2024 a Trump sycophant will make a formidable opponent for Biden. Too many states are tilting the table to favor a Republican victory.

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This is why I keep rattling the cage re Floriduh's 2022 Governor's race. Ron DeSantis is an iDJT sycophant if there ever was one. He must be defeated and replaced with Democrat to turn Florida around. We'll need much support from around the country to make this happen.

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We need to do everything we can to get rid of DeSantis, Rubio and Rick Scott. DeSantis has screwed up this state even more than when he assumed office. And he recently received his COVID shot without any publicity. It would have gone a long way to encourage his followers to do so as well, but instead he covers his eyes and says everything is fine. And, while we are at it, we have to somehow get rid of the Republican state legislators. They are about to pass that hideous bill which makes protesting in public (group more than 3) subject to arrest.

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"That hideous bill which makes protesting in public (group more than 3) subject to arrest".

And why not reduce the group to 1 like Putin's zombie Duma? Like Lukashenko... Like Hitler, like Stalin, like Mao, come to think of it...

Then set the goons on any single human who's foolish enough to stand out of line to batter the brains out of him.

Have you no means to deal with common gangsters who've gotten themselves into positions of authority?

While there's still time...

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ThatтАЩs why IтАЩm calling every day this week. STOP these FASCISTS NOW!

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Shades of 60 years of dictator Salazar in Portugalunyil the Carnation Revolution of 1974!

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Can it be done? Who is Florida's Stacey Abrams?

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Kelly, weтАЩve got your back!

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Thanks for making my day!

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Yes, we do!

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Perhaps. A lot can happen between now and 2024, most importantly HR 1 and major infrastructure legislation. To me, the mid-term 2022 election is the very big deal. If the pandemic has been tamed and the above legislation has been enacted, I think the Democrats have a better than even chance of keeping their congressional majorities. That would be immense.

Right now the public face of the Republican Party is Matt Gaetz.

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With the filibuster staying in its current form, see Manchin, HR1 is going nowhere.

Six months from now it will be тАЬMatt who?тАЭ

As this article points out, we, as a nation, are known for our short memory.

I wish I could think of solid reasons why the Dems will hold the House in midterms, but I canтАЩt. Trump has a stranglehold on his followers.

If the House is lost, the first order of business will to impeach Biden. Not once, but twice; just like Trump was impeached twice. Revenge politics at its worst.

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For heaven's sake, is your country so incapable of dealing with major criminals?

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I know nothing of the law in your country, but in the US, no matter how serious the allegations may be, the accused is given the presumption of innocence. See the current Chauvin trial.

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The presumption of innocence is not in question.

What is in question is a regime so constipated that seditious conspirators can continue their activities without let or hindrance.

Suchlike have gotten away with plenty in my country too... likewise because our constitutional arrangements are no longer adequate to protect us from mountebanks and worse.

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At this point, it appears at least 40% approve of lies and thievery. I donтАЩt see how anyone can argue with that point?

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40% of who? By the way who took the poll matters.

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In bad economic times, evil gets an easy foothold. Desperate people will take risks. The mafias are always there just under the surface.

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I know. Don't we all? But I used the word "major" for individuals like those who've brought the "Cupola" under the cupola of the Capitol.

Those who'll bring discredit to normal "business" of that order.

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No, we send them to Mar A Lago for training. The only trouble is that the trainers are incompetent who lie, cheat and steal.

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Just a note: his followers are a vocal minority. They lost the Presidency, the House and the Senate. Not a good !

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A minority only 74 million strong and unfortunately we havenтАЩt yet figured out a way to feed people the truth for breakfast, lunch and dinner

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All this travesty will be forgotten, and the repubs will find something more to lie about. The Dems need to keep reminding: Republicans Lying, Americans Dying (and they continue to do worse than that)...

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Right now that pubic face is self destructing. Challenging Cheney on her own home turf will end up with both RтАЩs and DтАЩSouza burying him for his peckerdilloes.

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But we will have some Josh Hawley type sycophant stepping up to take 45тАЩs place on the podium. Might even be Marjorie Taylor Greene.

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but the day is young.... a few months from now, when the high marks for Biden will keep rolling in... 'they' will see....the economy will heal, slowly at first, but then it will become bigger and better, ...the infrastructure boom will roll out... jobs reports will look better and better...the new dawn will just keep rising, and I don't think they will have a leg to stand on...

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This will certainly be true so long as we continue to blame Trump for the next four years for any failure to meet the urgent needs of the poor.

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Krugman's column not only aims at those tax cuts, but attacks the real problem, legal "tax avoidance."

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Jacob to which column do you refer?

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Paul Krugman had two opinion pieces in the NYT on April 9. One dealt with the looming defeat of democracy here because of State voter repression laws and the other, a reprint from his 'newsletter' dealt with taxes. I referred to the latter. BetsyC refers to that column below.

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WaPo had a Krugman "wonkish" OP ed column yesterday.

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His influence will last more than 4 years. It will eventually fade into the smoke of history.

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AbsolutelyтАФ if there was ever a problem that needed federal leadership it is and was this pandemic. We are most fortunate to have a president who understands this and is forging ahead.

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