Do you remember last April, when the president of South Korea (formally the Republic of Korea, or ROK), Yoon Suk Yeol, sang “American Pie” at the U.S. state dinner held in his country’s honor? That was part of a historic shift in global, and U.S., foreign policy.
Can we please start a meme to counter all the negative stuff about Biden? Like he’s actually one of the greatest presidents, meeting the dire challenges of this moment on climate, geopolitics, defense of democracy at home and abroad, defense of working class dignity, a smooth hand with economics, and Yoda-like restraint while running the gauntlet of spitting haters?
William weir wrote this on Quora. He consistently backs Biden' accomplishments. This answer was written to rank 5he presidents of the last 55 years.
In only 2–1/2 years, Biden has already set a record for the most jobs ever created in a single presidential term. We have the lowest peacetime unemployment since before the Great Depression, and workforce participation is rising for the first time since Clinton was President. His Rescue Plan launched the fastest economic recovery in history, and the “Biden Boom” led to record consumer spending, record corporate profits, rising home values, record low childhood poverty, the best GDP growth in forty years, and a banner year for the Dow. Despite deliberate sabotage by his predecessor, he brought an end to America’s longest war with a near-record low number of American casualties. He has already cut the record deficit he inherited by half, making record cuts his first two years, and is on track to become only the second President to reduce the deficit every year of his administration. He passed a historic investment in our infrastructure that was budget neutral and that is projected to create as many as 19 million new jobs. Domestic oil production is at a record high and is expected to increase again next year. He brought microchip manufacturing to the US, cut prescription drug prices for seniors, capped insulin prices, and signed a bill to protect our elections from future coup attempts. The biggest challenges in his Presidency so far have been global inflation exacerbated domestically in part by record economic growth on the heels of crippled supply lines due to his predecessor’s failure to address the pandemic and his ill-advised trade war. All of this occurred during the heavy drubbing by a Republican Party that actively tries to sabotage good government.
So if Biden’s Presidency ended today, based on what he’s done so far, it would be hard not to place him in the number one or number two spot.
Astounding. Love this! And I’m grateful that he’s dedicating the last good years of his health and life to this country’s success. He could be off playing golf, or bitterly depressed about all the tragedy in his life. Instead he’s about the most heroic public figure out there right now.
And let us remember Joe Biden’s credentials: Won the Delaware senate seat at age 30 and served from January 3, 1973 to January 15, 2009. He was re-elected six (6) times. Then he served as Vice President for eight (8) years. This adds up to 44 years serving our country. What did Trunp have as credentials to be POTUS? A TV host of The Apprentice and a scandal -ridden con for Trump University. It hurts too much to think how stupid people are believing this creature selling snake oil. Somone please correct me if I’m wrong: Something I heard recently about getting MAGAs to send campaign money but using it for attorney fees and lawsuits?
The ccult mentality. They feel like part of a club as he mocks them, speaks down to them, and ignites their fears. The disposable consumer culture lead by greed
Of course DJT is using campaign contributions to pay his legal fees. You didn't think he-d let something like the law stand in his way and the suckers keep on falling for it..
Linda, you heard correct. Every time he’s been indicted, he’s blanketed his supporters with email, phone calls (robo calls), text messages, begging for money fir his campaign AND to pay his attorney fees. On the first indictment, he collected over 2 Billion dollars! Second and third indictment up in the millions on each.
He’s having all contributions put into his campaign fund, then moved to a special PAC he had set up to pay his attorney fees. Out of every dollar donated, $.90 of it goes to the attorney fee PAC. His campaign is almost broke, and he’s bled the money out of that PAC until it’s almost broke too, so I’ve heard reported.
yep. and there is what I call a go fund me for legal fees for trump. This man is reportedly a billionaire and can't afford to pay his own bills. he has been known (even in his early years) to stiff people. before they got caught, the requests for donations had an automatic pay monthly. Boy were donors surprised when their checking or saving accounts were bare.
I know! I would think his age and slower demeanor would temper some of the hostility. It’s like trashing someone’s grandfather, and the senile/conniving hypocrisy is breathtaking
Yet, Biden can run, cycle, live, circles around Frumpy. Something else Biden can do Frumpy can’t. He can run a country through thick and thin. Biden is a dedicated servant to all the people in this country, and he care more about the people than just about any president I can remember in my lifetime.
One other thing, Biden isn’t a con artist. He’s not been inducted 4 times. He’s not been civilly sued by a woman for raping her, and lost. He’s not attempted to overthrow an election, and he’s damn sure not attempted to take over Congress, destroy our Democracy or our Constitution.
Biden seems to forge relations with countries instead of making us a laughing stock. ( video of Macron, Trudeau, Markel, and Johnson all laughing at him.)
I agree, Biden has rebuilt our foreign relations, rebuilt our agreements and relations with all of our allies, gotten us back in good standing with NATO, and other world groups TFG had withdrawn us from, rebuilt trade agreements with all our foreign nations. PLUS everything he’s accomplished for all the American people in the process, all within two years.
Just imagine what he’d been able to accomplish if we left him with a majority in the House, or better yet, a Super-majority in the House and Senate this two years.
People would be thinking “this old man had got to stay in office two more years to finish straightening out this country”, instead of what they’re saying now. But then again, 42% of the country is stuck blindly in his cult! They only see what he wants and tells them to see, say, do. All they are is his puppets. Blind sheep!
Americans have tended toward the importance of youth over the wisdom that comes with age and I suspect that MAGA are playing to that. Trump and the MAGA must have been infuriated by the Gen Z win over climate in the red state, fossil fuel of Montana. I was surprised by the outcome, but there have been flickers of light lately. His favorability rating, on average, is only about 40%. With independents, he's in the 30s in the latest polling.
Trump has had a repelling effect with independent voters, who lean toward one party or the other and often decide the outcome of elections.
But how can Biden be senile but a crime kingpin at the same time? The Republicans are stupid as you know what. Trump is only 3 years younger than Biden, is obese and does nothing to take care of himself.
The previous president made the pandemic worse. How monumentally stupid was tfg to talk about ingesting bleach? Bleach, for crying out loud!!!! So many millions suffered needlessly during the tRump administration. Rick Wilson summed it up perfectly, "Everything Trump touches dies."
Yes, including having all of the massive amounts of PPE that President Obama had had stored in Washington in case such a pandemic occurred. The orange putrescence is a monster who must be contained.
You know what happens when you sleep with a dog that has fleas?
You wake up with fleas!
Trump slept with China and Russia for 4 years, and had us completely alone to the rest of the world. He did away with every trade agreement we had with every country. Frumpy managed to withdraw us from NATO, and every other peacekeeping group our nation was a member of. This left us completely vulnerable to attack, without any allies to help.
He screwed us for 4 years. Then after losing the election, to replaced every department head with one of his MAGA lackeys, and had all records in their respective departments destroyed. He also firbud them to communicate with the Biden transition team.
When President Biden took office on January 20, 2021, he had nothing to go by what needed to be done, what had been done, or anything about any major department, like USDA, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Education, Department of Defense, the Pentagon, to name a few.
Yes, death star did make it worse. Instead of following the plans laid out for such an occasion by Obama, he dismantled that and then made all sorts of absurd claims while people were needlessly dying. He did nothing on a national level to help and instead stirred the pot. And this continues on. Recently a friend lost her husband to long COVID and pneumonia. And even here we have had one person who advocated no masks and no vaccines.
and he got it so bad he had to be hospitalized even though he didn't want to go-wanted to expose them. I am sure the doctor lied about the seriousness of his condition. At one point he did get a shot and told the audience they should get this great wonderful vaccine. His followers booed him. heck, they even wanted to have the WH Christmas during the pandemic. It was like the mayorin Jaws telling everyone to get in the water.
Barbara I AM CONVINCED THAT BIDEN, A GENERATION HENCE, WILL BE IN THE PANTHEON OF GREAT/NEAR GREAT AMERICAN PRESIDENTS.
I have lived under a number of American presidents, starting with FDR for nearly 12 years. I have also, as history professor, taught our presidents for 23 years. C-Span has been helpful in having history and political science professors rank presidents every few years.
The American public has no historical sense of American presidents. Often, in polls, they have no remembrance of all but a few presidents. In my lifetime, two presidents, Truman and Eisenhower, have risen sharply in C-Span rankings. President pundits profess that it takes 20-30 years before presidential rankings become ‘seasoned.’
At an 89-year-old former history professor, I agree with C-Span that Trump is the worst president in American history AND that this will be re-enforced as years pass.
Regarding President Biden, many may say that it is too early to make any determination as to where he will fall in the Pantheon of American Presidents. My hunch is that he will be judged at least among the ‘near greats.’
He took command of a sinking ship of state. Trump’s foreign policy was a decathlon of dreadful missteps. Domestically, he favored the wealthy over the great majority, polarized the country, badly handled America’s most extensive pandemic, and sought to violate the Constitution and engaged in an insidious conspiracy that was on a coup course.
President Biden has swiftly brought the American ship of state back on a highly positive course in foreign affairs and in our ravaged economy. He has also fought for the soul of America against MAGATS who represent all that is destructive in American society.
President Biden is up for re-election in 2024. Were he to win, the American tradition is that American presidents do quite badly in their second terms. Whatever, I am convinced that history will treat President Biden well.
I wholly agree. Biden has been transformative...for the better. It takes far more time to build than to destroy. I believe that is why so many fail to see the transformation from the quickly destructive forces unleashed by Trump and his Republican predecessors, which created the many civic problems we now experience.
Biden took over the equivalent of a major bombing of the White House and the federal government. This destruction was completely intentional and guided by people like Stephen Miller and Steve Bannon. Miller's own relatives said he was seriously dangerous and hated him.
I am sure glad to read this post if yours, Keith. I’m 71, and I too remember a lot if Presidents we’ve had. I would rank President Biden in the top two, or maybe three, right now. But there’s no doubt where I rank Frumpy.
Is there a rank above 💩💩💩💩? Frumpy doesn’t even rank above that!
and quit improving new pipe lines and exporting our oil out of Houston WTF? Stop the gouging corporate raider and raise their tax to boot. I guess we just have too many lame democrats to get things done i.e. Manchin and that gal from Arizona among others. Joe Biden can't do all the heavy lifting democrat representative and senators.
I know. But they do not acknowledge climate change because of fear and/or ignorance. They want to bring more children to starve in a climate change world. It’s both sad and appalling. We need better income distribution so that everyone can feel safe and face the problems climate change is bringing. That might inspire the lost middle class to take part in taking part in a restoration of caring for one’s neighbor, once a hallmark of our country.
I copied it into a separate notes file that I keep for future reference. (And future postings like this one!). That why I didn't post the link. However, Mr. Weir consistently repeats his talking points. Simply follow him on Quora and you will start to see his answers in your feed. Or you can search his answers on his profile page.
Thanks for this. Weir is new to me. A "conservative minister" who seems to eloquently describe the facts? On the Quora page he is absolutely devastating to the liars and conspiracy nuts. Thanks for this! Nice way to enjoy my coffee :)
Again, IMHO, the opposition is so margin-driven that they miss the opportunity to celebrate with Biden in these historic moments. The Spirit of Camp David is well stated in HRC's last paragraph. On our home front his presidency is shoring up a stronger economy, steadily extending the benefits of our economic democracy, and on the world stage, building alliance with other nations based upon shared interests, a place at the table, and use of our economic and scientific resources in place of military commitment to pursue like democratic goals. Such a normal approach to governance and use of America's real power; modeling our values and leading through the energy of our achievements on the world and domestic stages. No balloons or circus acts or posturing or flamboyance or bilious glitter or slogan spewing required.
Thank you, Barbara, for posting this analysis. It’s a keeper and should be published broadly and often to remind Americans how very fortunate we are. There is no one better than Biden for what we’re experiencing today.
Agreed...that's why I kept it in my notes! I have a steadily increasing number of similar keepers on topics that interest me. Heather Cox Richardson and some of her comment writers are another big source!
And Biden continues to spur on the global trend of de-dollarization of international trade, with his reckless and wasteful support of Ukraine's oppressive, undemocratic far-right thug regime.
It's definitely not a Dutch name, I can assure you; it's more likely German or maybe of Jewish descent. But to me he always seems like Sméagol who turned into a creature that lived in a cave under the Misty Mountains and was constantly repeating itself with his signature sound "gollum, gollum"... Everytime someone mentions Ukraine or Zelensky, he immediately comes crawling out of his cave stating that HCR spouts "baseless propaganda" and Biden is supporting "the right wing thug regime" in Kyiv... His postings echo standard pro-Putin talking points and are more than tiresome...
I don’t think he’s particularly bright. He goes to a topic most people don’t know much about and spouts nonsense like credit card debt is a sure sign of…whatever. Kind of a clever idiot. But not smart.
I suspect that John is a very orthodox leftist. So only Bernie is sufficiently within the acceptable window, as it were. Remember - "the perfect is the enemy of the good" Which means while we may object, we have to be grateful that we are not having to deal with Repub "wind back the clock"
Actually, I'm an old-school FDR/JFK Democrat. The Apollo Program acted as a "science driver" for the economy, returning far beyond what we invested in it.
(Among other things, it spurred the development of the personal computer, leading to the internet economy.)
FDR -- my grandmother's fourth cousin -- was passionately anti-colonialist. He forced the British to give up their empire, in exchange for help against the Nazis.
Putin, in Ukraine, is reclaiming "Novorossiya," the multi-ethnic, Russian-speaking half of Ukraine that was stapled together with little Ukraine by the new Soviet regime in 1921.
As a result of the Biden administration's approach to the Russia/Ukraine mess, the global trend toward de-dollarization -- threatening financial chaos in the USA -- has been accelerating:
It was Reagan, and every Republican elected after that, who began the slow process of wrecking the dollar (which Biden has begun to rebuild).
Reagan took Jimmy Carter's balanced budget; in fact, Carter continued to paydown WWII and Vietnam debt (like all Presidents since WW II) while sponsoring a healthy economy. Debt was reduced under every post WWII president until Reagan.
Reagan, upon his election based on a vacuous, puffy red face and fake smiles, immediately cut taxes on the wealthy and massively ramped up government spending on his big military contractor donors.
At the end of Reagan's disastrous Presidency (in terms of the budget and the economy) the US had added no less than 6 Trillion dollars in debt (today's dollars), suffered through TWO recessions in 8 years, and had lost the respect of most of the world except for Great Britain where another nut, Margaret Thatcher was also running amok trying to destroy Britain's influence in the world (she successfully did, nobody pays any attention to anything that happens in Britain unless the Queen treats some black woman poorly, which, she did).
The seeds were planted for the dollar's reversal as the world's reserve currency during Reagan's failed Presidency, and, with every Republican after that, debt has SOARED.
After the mess that Trump made of (everything) including adding more massive debt, the world looked at the US as if it was a banana republic with some seriously dumb white guys in charge. It frightened the world. I mean, Trump in charge of the nukes?
Fortunately, Biden won the election and beat long time loser Trump.
Biden is turning the American ship, but, it is hard to to turn a ship that Republicans have tried to sink for 40 years.
Surprisingly, Biden is doing it. Kudo's for Biden.
You Putin employees/trolls getting paid peanuts to hand out BS Russian propaganda?
You guys are sad. But, you are funny with that fake stuff you guys post. I guess some Americans believe that stuff.
But, John, not on this reflector. Here? You are just a joke.
Eastern Europe has always been a mix of languages and cultures and over time the borders shifted. But speaking russian or german or polish or whatever does not make a country. Russia aspired to a great empire but really could not hold it. Putin's attack was unjust. Frankly had his army succeeded then we would not have been able to do anything, but the "russian speaking" part of Ukraine hates Russia as much as the ukrainian part.
There are two separate issues here: How modern Ukraine came to be, and why Putin invaded.
Novorossiya ("New Russia") was conquered from the Tatar slave raiders in the 18th century. The area had been depopulated because of the threat of slave raiders, and Empress Catharine the Great invited people of all ethnic groups to settle in the new Russian territory, and of course the official language was Russian.
After Ukraine's Maidan Revolution in 2014, the Russia-friendly members of Ukraine’s parliament were terrorized into staying home, and the first law that the rump parliament passed was to ban the Russian language in government communication.
This was part of what led Crimea to embrace Russia, as well as helping bring on the civil war in the Donbass, which got "frozen" with the Minsk Agreements of 2014 and 2015, which were never implemented. (Zelensky initially moved toward doing that, but then he didn't. Long story there.)
Perhaps you will agree that it's worth knowing Putin's formal rationale for invading Ukraine, if only to refute it:
Putin said to the world that he was fulfilling a mutual defense treaty with the Donbass republics (because Ukraine was attacking).
BLS shows an upward trend in employment- recovering from pandemic low but an upward trend not seen in the past decade. Recovery is hard work. Just ask Trump- he never made advancements in the economy.
Schmeeckle the Pickle what is the matter with you? I do hope your Russian troll farm suspends your pay for proposing half-baked ideas. You are not very convincing. One might consider that the Ukrainian revolution of 2013 had outside influences. Maybe but all revolutions do. It’s not a far right thug regime. Ukrainians fighting for their existence. And you are correct that the eastern parts are Russian-speaking meaning culturally Russian. But most of them now repudiate their Russian culture in the face of total destruction of their people by Russian thugs. So put that in your little pipe and smoke it.
"Five years ago, Ukraine’s Maidan uprising ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, to the cheers and support of the West. Politicians and analysts in the United States and Europe not only celebrated the uprising as a triumph of democracy, but denied reports of Maidan’s ultranationalism, smearing those who warned about the dark side of the uprising as Moscow puppets and useful idiots. Freedom was on the march in Ukraine.
"Today, increasing reports of far-right violence, ultranationalism, and erosion of basic freedoms are giving the lie to the West’s initial euphoria. There are neo-Nazi pogroms against the Roma, rampant attacks on feminists and LGBT groups, book bans, and state-sponsored glorification of Nazi collaborators.
"These stories of Ukraine’s dark nationalism aren’t coming out of Moscow; they’re being filed by Western media, including US-funded Radio Free Europe (RFE); Jewish organizations such as the World Jewish Congress and the Simon Wiesenthal Center; and watchdogs like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Freedom House, which issued a joint report warning that Kiev is losing the monopoly on the use of force in the country as far-right gangs operate with impunity...."
I have presented the above quote around here repeatedly, and have met with a deafening silence, as if HCR's readers have been intimidated and/or morally corrupted.
I looked at the work participation chart you linked to and if you estimate the trend line from the time of Covid you will see a gradual increase in the participation rate, and if you start from Biden’s inauguration, there is a linear trend upward from 61.3% to 62.4%. It has not reached the level from just prior to Covid: 63.3%. The trend is upward and by my calculations approximately 55% of the loss in participation has been regained. As far I know there is no gold standard for economic recovery over time, but this seems like a positive trend.
I’m on a phone so don’t have access to analytic tools, but using a different source from yours: https://www.newyorkfed.org/microeconomics/hhdc you can see that the trend in upwards for both housing and non-housing debt from 2013 Q2 to 2022 Q4 with some to-early-to-tell signs that both trends are flattening somewhat. I’m pretty sure that this state of affairs would analytically struggle to point to Joe Biden as the cause.
I think there are a number of ways to analyze and discuss this so first let me say that you are correct that the labor participation rate has been flat since March. I also think it might be still too early to tell whether or not this is a change in the general trend since January 2021. I would suppose that if the current rate holds for X (some arbitrary) length of time then the general trend line would flatten and your point would have more confirmatory evidence.
However, in looking at The Bureau of Labor and Statistics site you can see that there are umpteen factors that can be analyzed and it is unclear to me (not being an economist) what factors meaningfully interact to give a ‘true’ picture of the economy. Also, no matter what statistics you apply, I don’t think that data alone can tell a meaningful story without having some theoretical framework to judge against.
With those grains of salt taken, I looked at the participation data from the start of Trump’s term until the appropriate quarter for comparison to Biden’s tenure thus far. The percentage change for Trump was 0.48% and for Biden it is currently 2.12%. This is obviously only a rough comparison that may not be the right one to make, but I still see no evidence that Biden’s policies are failing at this point.
The Troll has been staggering his disruptions for about a week now. The Troll is using his "links" to take Readers off the communications threads. The TROLL has established a new modus operand volume will increase, a form of platform disruption. IrRecommend accurate "reports" to Substack Inc.
I have a theory, it is someone in Gothenburg NE with at least 2 family generations going back per some data on Ancestry. Nothing wrong with the Midwest. Probate diagrams help some;
I'd say a middle age MALE maybe 52 who left the 'Moon OF Alabama' MoU) meme which did not go so well. Update: Edit per that Special Someone. ... Moon OF Alabama, got it.
I think you read the data incorrectly. Credit card debt is not necessarily “a sure sign of consumer distress”.
It might be optimism that they can afford to pay off the big expenditure.
I am so tired of armchair economists — or “real “ ones like Larry Summers, who couldn’t see a housing disaster bearing down on him like a Mack truck— throwing out Bs as if it were fact.
And don’t think you’re going to argue with me because I’m a woman. I’m an analytical chemist with a PhD in medicinal chemistry. Math doesn’t scare me.
If we wish to discuss Ukraine, the authority on this platform is Dr. Timothy Snyder whose Yale course on the history of Ukraine is available here. No one need engage the eagerly spouting propaganda of John Schmeekle.
As a retired accountant, I believe high credit card debt is a sign of poor financial education. I've had many clients who had mountains of credit card debt seemingly for one of two reasons. Either they did not control their spending (buying impulse items and wants rather than needs) or it never occurred to them that they could pay it off. I once had a client who got a new credit card and told me the best thing about it was that he was not allowed to carry a balance (it had to be paid in full each month). I replied that he could pay off all of his credit cards each month. He looked at me with such confusion... like the idea had never occurred to him. I think many people in this country think this way.
I have never paid a cent for interest on a credit which was the only card available when I had my business in the '70's and '80's...I did NOT want to pay for something I did not get. Or, be paying for something I had already used up. Now, I have a card for Amazon purchases which is paid automatically. And, several debit cards to get pesos at the Mexican ATMs.
A Frontline video from 2009 tells the tale of what a racket it is. Low income people pay way more in fines and interest than high income people.
I told the fellow who cleans and gardens here: do not buy anything on credit. It's a worse rip off in Mexico. The population is very uneducated, even worse than those in the USA. You don't need anything you have to put on a credit card. The only debt should be for a house or a car. Interest rates on houses is now 7%...that is nothing compared to credit cards charging 29%!
Exactly, the fantasy that Biden is anything but a warmonger poking both Russia and China and putting us in great danger of nuclear war is a PR game by the Biden administration. Sigh. .
You can afford to pretend and not care, betting that you will no longer be on Planet Earth when the combined follies of Republicans and Democrats over the decades wipe out Social Security and Medicare and pension investments of those who are a bit younger.
Bill, the Troll changed tactics & timing about a week ago.
If anyone really needs to be distracted to another Topic, a useful Topic, I recommend "The Atlantic" article just posted a 3 hours ago jointly by Lawrence Tribe & former Judge Michael J. Luttig titled
"The Constitution Prohibits Trump From Ever Being PresidentT Again" Tfg is barred from being President again by Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. We do NOT have to wait for a successful prosecution by Jack Smith or Fani Willis.
So I am not crazy ? Or alone In what I am seeing. I admire President Biden for his calm persistence while facing the whiny,cowardly thugs who are the “Republican “ party and the spineless and lazy verbal masturbating press.
I want to copy this post to my page on Facebook. People need to know and this may be a way to reach more folks. I hate seeing complaints in Indiana that the gas price is due to Biden. Actually it is because our Indiana gas tax is so high. This makes the Repubs look good because people do not realize what the Repubs do in Indianapolis!
Please do copy and post. Just give attribution somewhere to the original writer (William Weir, not me). I have a bunch of notes that I keep on my tablet on topics of interest that I can copy and pasted whenever I feel called to refute lies or buttress truth.
Barbara, I’ll add one more astounding factoid. According to Simon Rosenberg, 1.9 million jobs were created under Bushes I and II, and Trump. Under Clinton/Obama/Biden, 47 million jobs have been created. If you haven’t already seen that figure, let it sink in.
I have seen that bar chart. I don't seem to be able to post that chart for its visual impact, but it is true that trickle down economics is horrendous for job creation and the whole idea that only rich people create jobs with their tax "savings" has been proven false.
President Biden is the absolute best at Foreign Policy, Domestic Affairs, and governing. What I like best is he’s teaching Vice President Harris how this is done on a works level. And she’s taking part in all of these accomplishments while she’s learning. I’m so ghastly she was chosen by Biden 4 years ago to be his Vice President. She’s going to make an absolute great President when Biden finishes his term. We’ll have another 8 years of good governing as king as we can get the Congress and states straightened out by firing all these Republicans, and gain a “super-majority” in the House and Senate, and keep it that way.
We have got to do this, or Democracy , and our Constitution, is dead.
Daniel, Joe has been an excellent mentor for Kamala and she seems to be absorbing all she can from him and her experiences as VP; I am following her growth and progress and am increasingly impressed.
I’m from California and what absolutely blew me away about Kamala Harris when she ran for State Senator was how incredibly smart she is. I’m not sure why a lot of people view her as inauthentic. Anyone have some thoughts on this?
I have a gut feeling. My gut tells me that A. She’s a woman. B. She’s not a white American.
That’s just my thoughts on how these people that don’t like her, see her. These are the people that don’t believe any woman is qualified, smart enough, to be a Vice President, or President. Plus, these same people have a racist streak up their back a foot wide. If the candidate isn’t white, male, they will not vote fir them, no matter what!
"From its beginning, the Biden administration has sought to strengthen democracy at home and abroad, but promoting democracy without colonialism has always been a problem for the U.S."
The above statement by the Biden administration is powerful, reimaginative, surgical, and modern given that the first step towards a workable and universally acceptable foreign policy is to acknowledge the existential problems of the past global diplomatic policies. I must applaud President Joe Biden for his openness and integrative approach towards the world's allies and those with perceived little power. For a long time, US foreign policy has been a flop given that in the current era, states, regardless of their influence, consider themselves as powerful in their own jurisdiction and how they intend to make decisions. Presidents George W Bush, Obama, and Trump played that cards of power displays at the expense of the real, workable approach that would have safeguard them from forging better diplomatic relations with the rest of the world. Foreign policy intertwined with the concept of colonisation is repulsive in the modern and 21st century. Countries, even if they are developing, do not want to be imposed with rules and policies that they didn't participate in creating it.
"Biden and his advisors have apparently tried to square that circle by reconceiving of global affairs based on regional power, with the U.S. taking a seat at the table rather than dictating terms through military might."
And true to his novel approach, Joe Biden first withdrew US soldiers from Afghanistan despite a litany of criticisms that this one a wrong move. What most critics forgot was that the presence of the US army in Afghanistan was doing more damage than good. Dozens of US soldiers had been killed, alongside innocent civilians while there were fights between rebels and the government. Similarly, direct military involvement is costly and consumes resources of the American people that would have otherwise been directed to building the welfare of the people. Also, this approach attracts power show off which wreaks the peaceful diplomatic relations between countries. It should be in agreement that for every direct military involvement by the US, Russia and China will respond in equal measure. Thus, workable methods towards reconciliation are compromised.
The challenge now shifts to Africa who has in the recent past express disapproval with the way in which the Global North treats them. "We will not go and sit in front of one person and the best that we could get are pictures," President William Ruto said while address an AU summit in South Africa this year. He said that Africa must front a bargaining force and demand that they are treated equally. But, with President Joe Biden, I have a strong conviction that he will recognize the sovereignty of Africa and the direction that it intends to take to solve long-standing problems. In my next newsletter, I have delve into this issue with indepth analysis.
You are welcome to subscribe to my newsletter about Africa. It is free to be my subscriber. I only rely on donations to sustain it. Karibuni.
Well said, Edwin…I appreciate your viewpoint and feel that it contributes greatly to this forum by way of expanding what is often not in our immediate view.
Oh my goodness. "Absolute best at Foreign Policy?? Striking. Probably because we get our news from different sources. It does not disturb you that Biden was likely behind the Nordstream pipeline destruction, that Biden, Nuland, Sullivan and the other guy played coy in the face of well documented evidence of US's role in the 2014 coup removing a democratically elected Ukrainian President preparatory to goosing NATO to expand to the Russian border (I assume you're younger than I and didn't go through the Cuban missile crisis when the shoe was on the other foot) about which numerous well informed officials warned would be unwise, all this in-you-face-non-diplomacy with China whose military reach is what one (Horn of Africa) to the USA's 600 bases? USA's in 3 wars today: Yemen, Syria and Somalia. As for Harris - what evidence do you have that she's "absolute great" presidential material? She who as CA Atty Gen declined to nail Steve Mnuchin which hurt a lot of California mortgage holders ("declining to prosecute Steven Mnuchin’s OneWest Bank for foreclosure violations in 2013, but offered no explanation." (Theintercept.com)
Politico: "As the (Democratic) party grapples with fractures emerging in its coalition, the Intercept is a crowbar working those fractures apart, probing hard at fault lines like criminal justice reform, “Medicare for All,” the “Green New Deal,” racial justice and corporate funding of candidates like Kelly. The outlet has become a routine headache for the Democratic establishment and its leadership."
I absolutely support a free press, Selina, but do you really think this is a strategy for defeating the greatest threat to US democracy we've ever had?
Also not crazy about this:
"The Intercept is almost totally funded by a single billionaire backer, eBay founder Pierre Omidyar."
Kamala Harris was my senator in California and I admire and support her 100%. Her work reforming the criminal Justice system to prosecute sex traffickers and STOP laws allowing prosecution of the trafficked alone makes her a heroine.
Alexandra, yeah, I can usually tell via comments who might be an avid reader of the Intercept—I also read it (read a range of news opinions/editorials actually) ‘tho often disagree to varying levels on their “take” of national/world events.
Remember - "the perfect is the enemy of the good" Which means while we may object to some of the current Gov't actions, we have to be grateful that we are not having to deal with Repub "wind back the clock"
Progressive pushing on President Biden's centrist agenda is what moves that agenda to be better. There is a place for diversity of discussion, and a place to unify behind the best realistic candidate. What more people need to understand, is that as a society we can advance both at the same time.
Too many people have misguided ideas that elections are self-expression. For any election without ranked choice voting, it is critical to *choose* between the realistic leading candidates and vote accordingly.
Too many people, many of them writing in major news outlets, seem to think that everything primarily matters in terms of how it will affect the next election. Yes, we work always toward registering voters etc for the next election. No, that is not the only guide to what ideas to consider.
Selina, I don’t know what younger than you are consist of, but, yes, I remember the Cuban Missile Crisis very well. As a matter of fact, I was living in southeast Florida (Palm Beach County) when that was going on. To my recollection, President Biden wasn’t the president when that was going on. As for the pipeline incident you mention, I have no knowledge of that. Did that occur during his presidency? Did the replacing the leadership in Ukraine happen during his presidency?
I’m referring to his Foreign relations he’s created since his presidency began just three years ago. Before he took office, we had NO firefighter relations anywhere in this world. Not even with our allies. Frumpy, the 🍊 headed 🤡 had totally destroyed this nation’s relationship with every nation in this world. We were all alone. We had no trade agreements of any kind. Not any that helped the middle class Americans.
And, no, I’m nit huh f tj get into a back and forth debate with someone that is blaming President Biden fir everything that happened in other administrations years ago.
I get so tired of hearing negative comments about Pres. Biden, I get enough of that in emails i get every day. I think Biden is doing great myself. The emails i get are telling dreadful things like, ''Biden is behind in so and so polls, Biden didn't do this, that, and the other thing.'' I instantly delete emails that are so negative about Biden. TUMP did indeed destroy the nation's relationships with other nations, i especially got angry in his feuding with Canada, at our nation's northern border. I really like reading the good comments on here about Pres. Biden's accomplishments and he should be commended for those. Negativity isn't going to get us anywhere at all.... Those so-called polls i referred to are biased and very inaccurate. I disregard all of them, including that Nate Sliver's 538 poll. It isn't very accurate either.
Daniel, with respect to the Nord Stream pipeline bombing, it happened in September, 2022. The NY Times has this report as of March 2023, indicating that it was a pro-Ukrainian group not connected with either the legitimate government of Ukraine (i.e., NOT Putin or Russia) or president Zelenskyy or with the government of the United States or president Biden: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/07/us/politics/nord-stream-pipeline-sabotage-ukraine.html. That was the most recent report I could discover. Selina or her source seems to be arguing post hoc ergo propter hoc.
Biden is doing a great job in his efforts to both heal rifts caused by most of the recent prior administrations and to help save from destruction a friendly democratic country (and if Selina or anyone else can point to any country that has ever existed which has not had some kind of serious problem, from oppressing its own citizens to brutal takeovers of other towns/cities/countries, I'd LOVE to learn about them). There is an enormous amount of work still to do, and China, North Korea, Russia (and the outlaw Wagner Group and its ilk) are still out there acting as headwinds, trying to destabilize and damage others for the sake of their own money and its intangible ally power. Likewise here in the US, with the Qwing asserting power to the point of actually defying orders of the Supreme Court, and actually interfering with US-Mexico navigable waters, all of which takes time and distracts from Biden's ability to work on foreign relations. If the folks who are worried about Russia using nukes of any kind in its attempted takeover of Ukraine would stop their nonsense here at home over rainbows, and voter suppression, and forced-birth enslavement, and book-banning (I could go on), the US could concentrate more time and effort on preventing Russia from using them. FGS!
Lynn, you just made my day! I swear, if I wasn’t a lonely crippled up old man, I would hunt you down and propose to you!
I couldn’t have said this any more eloquently. As a matter of fact, I’d probably piss people off because I’m much more straight forward and blunt. Direct to the point.
Judith, that article leaves out mention of his breakthrough reporting right after 9/11 about the failure of the FBI-CIA intelligence on the suspects in the U.S, taking flying lessons, etc.
Selina, I am old enough to remember the Cuban missile crisis, and also capable of internet searches. The immediate cause was Soviet physical actions preparing to put nuclear missiles in Cuba. It was not the fact that Cuba was allied politically with Russia. In the case of Ukraine, in 1994 Ukraine agreed to and did give up all nuclear missiles on its territory, all of which were inherited from the Soviet Union in 1991, in exchange for security guarantees from Russia, the UK, and the US. You seem to be an anti-colonial progressive, correct me if that’s inaccurate. Whyever would you support Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine that is based on its ongoing colonial claims? Why would any history of US colonial attempts justify Russian colonialism? It’s all wrong.
How interesting the psychology of those - such as yourself - who read into another person's narrative one that simply does not exist. And are infuriated at the fiction that is a creation of their own mis-perception and proceed to condemn the "other" for it. Yes. anti-colonial progressive I am. Especially after living in then called Zaire to see the caustic fruits of probable CIA manipulation of another sovereign country's governance. Please point out to me the explicit words I wrote of which your translation produced in your perception my supposed "support of Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine". I would think if the quality of consciousness is important to you, responding would be of interest to you for yourself.
Your words that sparked my comments (interested yes, "infuriated" no) were these: "Biden, Nuland, Sullivan and the other guy played coy in the face of well documented evidence of US's role in the 2014 coup removing a democratically elected Ukrainian President preparatory to goosing NATO to expand to the Russian border (I assume you're younger than I and didn't go through the Cuban missile crisis when the shoe was on the other foot)".
With those words, you shifted agency in the 2014 Revolution of Dignity from the Ukrainians who took the risks and injuries, to the American government. You described Ukraine's tilt toward Europe as "goosing NATO to expand to the Russian border". By analogizing to the Cuban missile crisis, which strictly speaking is not accurate as I describe above, you portray Ukraine possibly joining NATO as a threat to Russia. These are exactly Putin's rhetorical and colonial justifications for his invasion: that Ukraine was threatening Russia militarily by enacting trade agreements with Europe; that Ukraine belongs in Russia's sphere of influence (as the US govt believed Cuba belonged in its control); that anything less than Russian domination of Ukraine is a NATO threat to Russia's existence; that Ukraine doesn't really exist so any thing it seems to do is really done by proxy by NATO. When you argue on behalf of Putin's excuses for his invasion, you certainly seem to be giving it your vocal support.
For a history of Ukraine and background to Russia's colonial wars upon it that is much better than anything I would write, I recommend Timothy Snyder's series of 23 lectures, originally a class for Yale undergraduates in the fall of 2022. They are available on Youtube and the usual podcast outlets. Prof. Snyder also has a substack newsletter.
Your words are "2014 coup removing a democratically elected Ukrainian President". The Ukrainian President removed by persistent popular opposition in 2014 was Yanukovych. By describing his removal as a coup, which is Russia's allegation, you convey opposition to that removal and support for the man removed.
2014 coup? Are you referring to the same events also called the Revolution of Dignity, when Ukrainians’ united nonviolent resistance drove Yanukovich to flee to Russia?
If you pride yourself on your open-mindedness, then this Jacobin essay will quickly dispatch some mis-perceptions (united nonviolent resistance) in your understanding - as it also clarified missing pieces in my own.
"It’s an overstatement to say, as some critics have charged, that Washington orchestrated the Maidan uprising. But there’s no doubt US officials backed and exploited it for their own ends.""In truth, the Maidan Revolution remains a messy event that isn’t easy to categorize but is far from what Western audiences have been led to believe. It’s a story of liberal, pro-Western protesters, driven by legitimate grievances but largely drawn from only one-half of a polarized country, entering a temporary marriage of convenience with the far right to carry out an insurrection against a corrupt, authoritarian president. The tragedy is that it served largely to empower literal neo-Nazis while enacting only the goals of the Western powers that opportunistically lent their support — among which was the geopolitical equivalent of a predatory payday loan." (See Jacobin.com "A US-Backed, Far Right–Led Revolution in Ukraine Helped Bring Us to the Brink of War" by Branko Marcetic)
Talk about messy. While some of the above, as far as I know, is true, the conclusion that "it served largely to empower literal neo-Nazis" and the implication that it virtually forced Russia to invade to remove the Nazis is both wildly false and consistent with Russian propaganda. Ever since Stalin - whose cooperation pact with Hitler literally set the stage for World War II - decided that a Nazi collaborator was not him but whoever was getting in his way, calling obstacles fascist has been an element of the Kremlin's toolkit.
Ryan, agree with you! Joe is a true public servant, stepping up to a very grueling job with experience and expertise and statesmanship. He does not do this for the accolades (tho’ they can feel good & lighten the load a bit), but sees the need and does it for the greater good. There is no puffery about him, only (as I see it) a humility to be given this task that he damn well will do his best to meet. He surrounds himself with the best, brightest and committed persons who also take public service seriously….he knows HE can’t do it all, so assembled a team of forward thinkers and go-getters to effect the changes/upgrades needed. Oh, and he has a large heart too.
That Obama and Biden considered each other as brothers speaks volumes, too! We talk about these leaders as if they are monoliths, but my vote and hopes are with the team that comes along with them. I vote for “administrations” like you mentioned, and Obama and Biden have consistently called up superstars. The opposite is true of Trump, who brought in people of low morality and dim ideas and greed as compasses… or left the crucial jobs cynically unfilled.
Ryan, yeah, anyone who exclaims “I alone can fix it” is automatically crossed off my list. Sheesh, TFFG’s guy’s ego has its own ego problem….hmmmm a “double ego”….isn’t that a coin? /s
I also cross off anyone who self-declares that they "are the expert" on anything, as I have always found the brightest minds are humble, and it takes others of high caliber to award that status.
Something that our busiest troll here doesn't seem to understand. Why people engaging with him is beyond me! Ignore him or report him, but replying to him must be like Viagra. There is no other explanation.
In Michelle Obama's book she speaks of her growing admiration for Biden throughout the double mandate, and particularly of her affection for Jill Biden.
“Team” -- Yes! “Administrations” -- same. We’re in a different century (have been...). Measure leaders, and would-be ones, by those they have with them.
One distinguishing characteristic of a person who will be an effective leader and worthy of support is that they openly and candidly hold themselves out as a member of a team, that they do not attempt to do it alone, whatever "it" is. Anyone intelligent enough to recognize that two heads are better than one is almost certainly better worth listening to than anyone stupid enough to declare openly that they alone can fix, or save, or improve, a situation alone.
“The primary responsibilities of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble, and control the interpretation and pacing of the music.”
absolutely. his cabinet team is outstanding! and the team that he has and will assemble is important to stress in the news now and in the upcoming elections. i only wish that so called progressive news channels would report on this
So opposite from chump. No braggadocio, religion is a personal choice, not a mandate, efficient government, government for the greater good, no bully bat. Damn, a breath of fresh air.
And in Biden's case, his religious beliefs and observances seem to be genuine, not, as in the case of January 6 Defendant 1078, just one more lying grift. I certainly don't agree with the Catholic Church on almost any policy position, but I have to think a person whose asserted beliefs align with his lifelong actions is far more worthy of believing about his other assertions than someone like the mango mussolini. And I truly respect the courageous position Biden has taken on abortion, because it does not align with that of the Church historically (although the current Pope seems to be less rabid about it). Biden is an American; I think he holds to the position that he cannot promote as American public policy one that is anti-American, even though it is the position of the leader of his faith group. Unlike certain federal judges we can all name.
I am a year younger than Biden, but I gotta say he has more guts, vision, and grasp of international reality than I do. I don't agree with everything he's done, like giving Baylor a pass on their non handling os LGBTQ+ sexual harassment, or the way the Afghan withdrawl was handled, but he's a damn sight better than any of the wannabe misfits who want to replace him.
I agree with most if what you have said here, Frank. But, I’d I may, can I make a slight correction. If you recall, the withdrawal of the troops in Afghanistan began, and was orchestrated, by TFG. That’s his pooch he screwed up. The plan had to be completed because in the last 6 months of TFG’s term, he was to busy ti oversee his handy work and his minions he had appointed to positions that had no clue what they were doing muffed everything up. The withdrawal was si screwed up when Biden took office, he tried to do all he could to figure out how ti get it straightened out she bring everyone out, but there was no way to for him to fix it. It was ti far into the implementation and needed to he completed before a lot of troops were captured and killed.
Thank you Daniel, for reminding everyone that it was Trump who set the deadline for withdrawing from Afghanistan. Trump made no plans, probably hoping his buddies Putin and Kim would haul his bottom out of the cesspool he was leaving behind.
You are so right, people forget how chump set the whole thing up. I have a pic of chump with the Taliban creep, smiling like the cat that ate the canary.
I see this (and tffg's disgusting snuggling up to Putin, gag!) as exactly akin to Reagan's secret agreement with Iran not to release the American hostages until after he was elected. And then the whole Iran-contra affair. Traitor; traitors all.
While HCR is a voice extolling Biden's work to improve the lives of Americans as he has created and strengthen alliances for the security of our allies, many Americans are not crediting him with these accomplishments, nor are they satisfied with how the country is functioning and not functioning.
Today, readers of The Washington Post have had to opportunity to read 'American democracy is cracking. These forces help explain why.'
'Behind the sense that the political system is broken lies a collision between forces both old and new'
'In a country where the search for common ground is increasingly elusive, many Americans can agree on this: They believe the political system is broken and that it fails to represent them.'
'They aren’t wrong.'
I thought subscribers of LFAA would benefit from reading this important analysis as well. At the end of the following excerpt, you will find a gifted link to the entire piece.
'Faced with big and challenging problems — climate, immigration, inequality, guns, debt and deficits — government and politicians seem incapable of achieving consensus. On each of those issues, the public is split, often bitterly. But on each, there are also areas of agreement. What’s broken is the will of those in power to see past the divisions enough to reach compromise.'
'The Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol is both an extreme emblem of what happens when democracy stops functioning as it should and the result of relentless attacks by former president Donald Trump on the legitimacy of the election process based on lies and distortions, a continuing threat to U.S. democracy.'
'In more routine ways, the political system feeds frustration and discontent with its incapacity to respond to the public’s needs. There is little on the horizon to suggest solutions.'
'The failure has multiple origins, including a collapse of trust in institutions. But one of the most significant is a collision between forces both old and new.'
'The old dates to the writing of the Constitution — debates and compromises that resulted in representation in the House based on population and in the Senate based on equal standing for the states; the odd system by which we elect presidents; and lifetime appointments for Supreme Court justices. In general, the founders often distrusted the masses and sought to create structural protections against them.'
'The newer element, which has gathered strength in recent decades, is the deepening polarization of the political system. Various factors have caused this: shifts within the two parties that have enlarged the ideological gap between them; geographic sorting that has widened the differences between red and blue states; a growing urban-rural divide; and greater hostility among individuals toward political opponents.'
'The result is that today, a minority of the population can exercise outsize influence on policies and leadership, leading many Americans increasingly to feel that the government is a captive of minority rule.'
'Twice in the past two decades, the president was elected while losing the popular vote — George W. Bush in 2000 and Trump in 2016. That had happened only three times in the previous 200-plus years. The dynamic extends beyond the presidency to the other two branches of government.'
'A new Washington Post analysis found that four of the nine current justices on the Supreme Court were confirmed by senators who represent a minority of the U.S. population. Since 1998, Republicans have had a majority in the Senate a total of 12 years but did not during that time represent more than half the nation’s population, The Post’s analysis of population data and Senate composition shows.' (WAPO) See entire analysis gifted below.
I have been saying this for at least a year now. Biden will be remembered as one of the greatest American Presidents of all time. Right up there with Washington, Lincoln, and FDR. I’m hoping that by this time next year this will be obvious to a exponentially greater number of people than it seems to be today. I say “seems to be” because I believe that the whole “ratings” thing is made up by the media to promote interest in their “horserace” political paradigm. It’s all part of the puppet show.
Biden's wisdom extends, most importantly, to the people he has surrounded himself with. It isn't a coincidence that the US economy has consistently outperformed "experts" expectations since Janet Yellen was named Treasury Secretary.
Beautifully stated. Completely agree with you. When people complain about Biden, we have to remind them how very fortunate we are to have him as our president. Who better than someone with decades of experience and a moral core?
Ryan, Yes, I think Pres Biden is doing an outstanding job and the media seems to be "educating the public" that Pres Biden does not have a high approval rating. I love that we have a FREE and "protected" Media in the US but it is not all good. The media of the last ?7-8 years is not within the same culture we grew up with based on the truth and integrity, like McNeil/ Lehrer, John Chancellor or Walter Cronkite. There is still good, honest journalism and reporting today but one has to be astute to what we hear. Some of our news, eg FOX, is so aligned with a dishonest Mr T that they infuse the public with lies and mistruths and it furthers the chaos and violence we are seeing in our country. It aims to capture a larger audience through addiction to bad news. With that said, we the people need to infuse into the public and educate all of the beneficial, uplifting and honorable work of President Biden. Talk about how Bidenomics is working, he is growing the middle out and bottom up, strengthening our economy, investing in green energy which is creating manufacturing jobs in the US and more Built in America products, lowering the cost of some drug prices and bringing more peace into our world through strong alliances with other democracies around the world. One thing I do is post "The Good News" about Pres Biden on my FB page for all my followers to see and share my thoughts when I talk to friends and cousins so they know that I support him and share the same with my Reps/ Senators in Congress so they know I support Pres Biden too and Why I support him and ask them to please openly talk about the positive accomplishments of Pres Biden and the Democratic Party!
Someone here pointed me to Hopium Chronicles as an antidote to the negative spin even NYT does all too often against Biden. I am finding it empowering. Simon Rosenberg, is the author. He is a political strategist, think tank leader and is leading us to something great. https://simonwdc.substack.com/p/welcome-to-my-new-home-hopium-chronicles
Sharing your sentiments with a reader over on Today's Edition who is trying to convince her college-age kids to vote for Biden in 2024. Hope you don't mind, Doc!
This is one of many steps toward creating the tie between domestic and foreign policy. We must not only continue down this path but also sell the concept to the right wing. TFG has no clue how this policy works and it’s up to us to get the vote out. He can’t return.
Exactly! Get the vote out! Not only tfg but many, not all but many, Rs should not be returned to Congress so as to continue the obstructionist methods finely honed by Mitch McConnell, et al.
Actually, I do believe ALL R’s need to be ejected from Congress. Not a single one defended democracy (aside from Cheney and Kinzinger, and they are gone). Silence is complicity. There’s not a one of them who stood for truth, decency, honesty, or our Constitution.
I hear you, but I respectfully disagree. Their silence on matters of consequence speaks volumes. At best, they are cowards. We need decent, stalwart, bold voices to defend democracy.
Nah. Sorry, but Romney has betrayed us (like he did all the companies he bought and stripped of any value), and Murkowski has no back bone. The Republican Party has lived a long life, but now is tragically infested with a terminal cancer.
Again, I want to be clear. I agree with you about Romney the businessman. I also agree the GOP as currently constituted as a Kool Aid drinking Party in thrall to the Seditionist Sociopath must be reconstituted, after some seriously tough love and cleansing.
Yet, it is of critical importance that we do not succumb to the tribalism of the MAGAites.
Romney is someone I would never vote for, but he has actual character and in these strange times, a certain courage. That is needed and to be respected.
Similarly, Murkowski directly took on the MAGAites and won, and while I wouldn't vote for her either due to her position on substantive issues (primarily her terrible environmental record), she clearly does have back bone and a soul, and a loyalty to constitutional governance.
And any entity that holds the purse strings for local libraries and librarians. NO banning books (or poems, FGS! Amanda Gorman's poem, "The Hill We Climb", has been banned from grades below 6th in one of the Miami-Dade County public schools, due to one complaint by one parent), NO closing/defunding libraries (Llano, Texas - where else?). Free public libraries are the greatest human invention ever, better than fire, better than antibiotics, and the best use of public funds in the modern world.
Weaving the fabric of Nations together is indeed a daunting task, but one that MUST happen if we are to live much longer on this planet. The alliances being set up now will determine if we will prosper or destroy ourselves and the planet. Inflection/Turning point indeed! These first important steps will be a litmus test for the viability of a future for the human race. It is so gratifying that we have a president with such vision and leadership abilities. I will be happy to dedicate myself to a world of people coming together to share a common destiny and embrace the future together.
You are so right, Lard Cheeto doesn't have a clue to anything. Except stirring up hate and division, and leading riots and insurrections. Lord Cheeto and Lard Cheeto are appropriate names for him.
I like that one too. Gives me an idea, how about Don the orange hippopotamus ?? I dislike insulting wild animals by comparing them to a nasty and hateful ''thing'' like Donald TUMP.
Bill, hmmmm I keep having visions of duct tape applied generously to TFFG’s mouth….know that’s mean, but I wish he’d shut up….oh, now that I think of it, we also need to tape his fingers together so he can’t do “truth social” posts…maybe that would help…????
The only benefit of leaving TFG with mouth screaming and fingers posting on Truth Social is he continues to incriminate himself as he feels more threatened thus putting him at risk for incarceration as a restraining force for the safety of all jurists and witnesses involved in cases ongoing.
If he can sell it to Japan and ROK, I'm sure he can breach the GOP wall. It will have to be done on a scale and in a way that they can understand, in a way that will allay their fear and make them see how they could actually enjoy working together, not against. Very, very difficult in the face of media pigheadedness, but I believe the President and his team are working quietly away at it.
No Republican can win the Presidency. We can’t allow Trump and all indicted (& I hope convicted and imprisoned by then) to be pardoned and foisted on American society again.
Heather, I wish you were in charge of whatever communication role is responsible for publicizing President Biden’s (and his administration’s) accomplishments so that the public (our sadly ignorant fellow citizens) would truly learn and understand them in a persuasive context. The media is not covering it with an adequate bullhorn and the White House isn’t either.
HCR has a Facebook page with replies and comments from others but as stated, this demographic is not the optimal one to reach. Recipes, games, not political discourse (guaranteed ignored or trolled). Many bots and trolls there supporting TFG and very menacing to posts from governance ie The White House, Kamala Harris, other reps. Any volunteers to take on TikTok or other sites that reach Gen Z and Millenials to SHARE HCR? 😉😉😉
tfg is sucking the oxygen out of News rooms...networks in particular don’t spend time reporting the truth as they are blinded by the profits brought in by incessant inane drama. Just arrest the sob and throw him in jail for continued witness tampering as a first step in controlling the situation.
Sigh, pretty much the ye ol’ news maxim “if it bleeds, it ledes”. He’s the train wreck everyone is rubbernecking & not paying attention to other, for real, worthy news.
Exactly! And local stations especially. Have even seen our Robert Reich (economist extraordinaire) post that Trump’s rally in SC had 50,000 attendees when not possible. We locals well aware no more than 5-15,000 and those were there to see the fireworks on July 4th. Did not matter that TFG was spouting lies from a platform; did I mention so bad dear (🤭) Lindsey Graham was in fact crying? Sorry, off topic. I do enjoy like minds.
It almost brings me to tears to read positive news of cooperation between our president and other world leaders. We are seeing the results of electing a man and woman who understand and prioritize foreign relations and their impact on domestic affairs. What a difference.
What is key to making a president so effective? The people he hires to execute his vision. Now compare Antony Blinken to Trump’s secretaries of state, Rex Tillerson and Mike Pompeo. Need I say more?
Blinker is working himself to a bone flying here and there and he is so professional!!! And it is such a relief. Look what he’s done in the last 2 years!!
Heather, thank you for spotlighting the many ways that Biden and Blinken are making us safer by arranging alliances with countries other than Russia. It’s too bad that the news isn’t celebrating the movement of US persons who have been moved from Iranian prisons to house arrest. Blinken has once again shown his negotiating chops by floating releasing Iranian monies not directly to Iran, but to Qatar to dole out for food and medicine for Iranian citizens.
Isn’t so very refreshing the last few years to have a President that once again is reaching out to other leaders in a respectful way. Listening to what they have to say. Never have I had to worry that he will make an ass of himself.no pushing others out of the way to be in front of the camera. A President I am very proud of.
“...(O)ur countries are stronger and the world is safer as we stand together.” President Biden’s words bring tears to my eyes. THIS is leadership. THIS is diplomacy. THIS is hope for the future. Thank you, Professor, for highlighting the international and national efforts of this administration against unending, relentless obstructionism, hatred, misinformation, and fascist longings that seek to murder everything we hold dear. Really, thank you.
President Biden is a visionary created by his many years experience in domestic and foreign negotiations and imagining brighter futures. I see so well how he wishes to finish the work he has begun in a second term. It takes his calm demeanor and strength of character to broaden these horizons and I am so very grateful for him, a truly patriotic and global president moving forward to create peace in a chaotic world.
Joe, Kamala & the admin are walking the talk and showing us “how it’s done right”. We are all SO lucky they came along when they did and that enough of us decided to put them at the helm to steady the ship of state.
And I really like how he’s including Vice President Harris in all of these meetings, and teaching her his diplomacy tactics, etc. She’s going to make a superb President when Biden gets done next term.
Joe Biden and Antony Blinken are an incredible team. I've come to realize that wisdom comes when knowledge, experience and removal of hubris finally intersect. We are so incredibly fortunate.
Can we please start a meme to counter all the negative stuff about Biden? Like he’s actually one of the greatest presidents, meeting the dire challenges of this moment on climate, geopolitics, defense of democracy at home and abroad, defense of working class dignity, a smooth hand with economics, and Yoda-like restraint while running the gauntlet of spitting haters?
He’s kind of awesome, really.
Old like history, and better for it.
William weir wrote this on Quora. He consistently backs Biden' accomplishments. This answer was written to rank 5he presidents of the last 55 years.
In only 2–1/2 years, Biden has already set a record for the most jobs ever created in a single presidential term. We have the lowest peacetime unemployment since before the Great Depression, and workforce participation is rising for the first time since Clinton was President. His Rescue Plan launched the fastest economic recovery in history, and the “Biden Boom” led to record consumer spending, record corporate profits, rising home values, record low childhood poverty, the best GDP growth in forty years, and a banner year for the Dow. Despite deliberate sabotage by his predecessor, he brought an end to America’s longest war with a near-record low number of American casualties. He has already cut the record deficit he inherited by half, making record cuts his first two years, and is on track to become only the second President to reduce the deficit every year of his administration. He passed a historic investment in our infrastructure that was budget neutral and that is projected to create as many as 19 million new jobs. Domestic oil production is at a record high and is expected to increase again next year. He brought microchip manufacturing to the US, cut prescription drug prices for seniors, capped insulin prices, and signed a bill to protect our elections from future coup attempts. The biggest challenges in his Presidency so far have been global inflation exacerbated domestically in part by record economic growth on the heels of crippled supply lines due to his predecessor’s failure to address the pandemic and his ill-advised trade war. All of this occurred during the heavy drubbing by a Republican Party that actively tries to sabotage good government.
So if Biden’s Presidency ended today, based on what he’s done so far, it would be hard not to place him in the number one or number two spot.
Astounding. Love this! And I’m grateful that he’s dedicating the last good years of his health and life to this country’s success. He could be off playing golf, or bitterly depressed about all the tragedy in his life. Instead he’s about the most heroic public figure out there right now.
And let us remember Joe Biden’s credentials: Won the Delaware senate seat at age 30 and served from January 3, 1973 to January 15, 2009. He was re-elected six (6) times. Then he served as Vice President for eight (8) years. This adds up to 44 years serving our country. What did Trunp have as credentials to be POTUS? A TV host of The Apprentice and a scandal -ridden con for Trump University. It hurts too much to think how stupid people are believing this creature selling snake oil. Somone please correct me if I’m wrong: Something I heard recently about getting MAGAs to send campaign money but using it for attorney fees and lawsuits?
It does hurt. Very good choice of terms.
Sorry to say....we have a lot of folks that are brainwashed and they have no idea!
The ccult mentality. They feel like part of a club as he mocks them, speaks down to them, and ignites their fears. The disposable consumer culture lead by greed
isn't this like the abused wife who keeps returning to the abusive husband?
Of course DJT is using campaign contributions to pay his legal fees. You didn't think he-d let something like the law stand in his way and the suckers keep on falling for it..
Linda, you heard correct. Every time he’s been indicted, he’s blanketed his supporters with email, phone calls (robo calls), text messages, begging for money fir his campaign AND to pay his attorney fees. On the first indictment, he collected over 2 Billion dollars! Second and third indictment up in the millions on each.
He’s having all contributions put into his campaign fund, then moved to a special PAC he had set up to pay his attorney fees. Out of every dollar donated, $.90 of it goes to the attorney fee PAC. His campaign is almost broke, and he’s bled the money out of that PAC until it’s almost broke too, so I’ve heard reported.
yep. and there is what I call a go fund me for legal fees for trump. This man is reportedly a billionaire and can't afford to pay his own bills. he has been known (even in his early years) to stiff people. before they got caught, the requests for donations had an automatic pay monthly. Boy were donors surprised when their checking or saving accounts were bare.
He is amazing! Joe is a good man!
What astounds me is how the Trump MAGA lie machine does a thorough job of portraying Biden as senile and conniving at the same time.
😆
I know! I would think his age and slower demeanor would temper some of the hostility. It’s like trashing someone’s grandfather, and the senile/conniving hypocrisy is breathtaking
Ryan, I wish you were my doctor!
I try not to talk politics in the office though! It's just getting so egregious that I've loosened up here as this heats up.
Yet, Biden can run, cycle, live, circles around Frumpy. Something else Biden can do Frumpy can’t. He can run a country through thick and thin. Biden is a dedicated servant to all the people in this country, and he care more about the people than just about any president I can remember in my lifetime.
One other thing, Biden isn’t a con artist. He’s not been inducted 4 times. He’s not been civilly sued by a woman for raping her, and lost. He’s not attempted to overthrow an election, and he’s damn sure not attempted to take over Congress, destroy our Democracy or our Constitution.
Biden seems to forge relations with countries instead of making us a laughing stock. ( video of Macron, Trudeau, Markel, and Johnson all laughing at him.)
I agree, Biden has rebuilt our foreign relations, rebuilt our agreements and relations with all of our allies, gotten us back in good standing with NATO, and other world groups TFG had withdrawn us from, rebuilt trade agreements with all our foreign nations. PLUS everything he’s accomplished for all the American people in the process, all within two years.
Just imagine what he’d been able to accomplish if we left him with a majority in the House, or better yet, a Super-majority in the House and Senate this two years.
People would be thinking “this old man had got to stay in office two more years to finish straightening out this country”, instead of what they’re saying now. But then again, 42% of the country is stuck blindly in his cult! They only see what he wants and tells them to see, say, do. All they are is his puppets. Blind sheep!
Americans have tended toward the importance of youth over the wisdom that comes with age and I suspect that MAGA are playing to that. Trump and the MAGA must have been infuriated by the Gen Z win over climate in the red state, fossil fuel of Montana. I was surprised by the outcome, but there have been flickers of light lately. His favorability rating, on average, is only about 40%. With independents, he's in the 30s in the latest polling.
Trump has had a repelling effect with independent voters, who lean toward one party or the other and often decide the outcome of elections.
But how can Biden be senile but a crime kingpin at the same time? The Republicans are stupid as you know what. Trump is only 3 years younger than Biden, is obese and does nothing to take care of himself.
Has mild heart issues and high cholesterol... trump that is.
All the while dealing with a failed coup, alienated allies, and a raging pandemic his predecessor had made no real plans to deal with.
The previous president made the pandemic worse. How monumentally stupid was tfg to talk about ingesting bleach? Bleach, for crying out loud!!!! So many millions suffered needlessly during the tRump administration. Rick Wilson summed it up perfectly, "Everything Trump touches dies."
Yes, including having all of the massive amounts of PPE that President Obama had had stored in Washington in case such a pandemic occurred. The orange putrescence is a monster who must be contained.
Trump sent 18 tons of PPE to China. Of all places. https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/apr/02/facebook-posts/yes-us-shipped-donated-personal-protective-equipme/
You know what happens when you sleep with a dog that has fleas?
You wake up with fleas!
Trump slept with China and Russia for 4 years, and had us completely alone to the rest of the world. He did away with every trade agreement we had with every country. Frumpy managed to withdraw us from NATO, and every other peacekeeping group our nation was a member of. This left us completely vulnerable to attack, without any allies to help.
He screwed us for 4 years. Then after losing the election, to replaced every department head with one of his MAGA lackeys, and had all records in their respective departments destroyed. He also firbud them to communicate with the Biden transition team.
When President Biden took office on January 20, 2021, he had nothing to go by what needed to be done, what had been done, or anything about any major department, like USDA, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Education, Department of Defense, the Pentagon, to name a few.
Yes, death star did make it worse. Instead of following the plans laid out for such an occasion by Obama, he dismantled that and then made all sorts of absurd claims while people were needlessly dying. He did nothing on a national level to help and instead stirred the pot. And this continues on. Recently a friend lost her husband to long COVID and pneumonia. And even here we have had one person who advocated no masks and no vaccines.
and he got it so bad he had to be hospitalized even though he didn't want to go-wanted to expose them. I am sure the doctor lied about the seriousness of his condition. At one point he did get a shot and told the audience they should get this great wonderful vaccine. His followers booed him. heck, they even wanted to have the WH Christmas during the pandemic. It was like the mayorin Jaws telling everyone to get in the water.
His WH doctor was and is a joke. I think he was sicker than we were told.
Not to mention that battering and destroying his presidency seems to be the only goal of the current GOP.
Actually, I think he delayed thinking maybe he would make some money off of the pandemic!
Jared even applied for aid at that time.
Creep!
Barbara I AM CONVINCED THAT BIDEN, A GENERATION HENCE, WILL BE IN THE PANTHEON OF GREAT/NEAR GREAT AMERICAN PRESIDENTS.
I have lived under a number of American presidents, starting with FDR for nearly 12 years. I have also, as history professor, taught our presidents for 23 years. C-Span has been helpful in having history and political science professors rank presidents every few years.
The American public has no historical sense of American presidents. Often, in polls, they have no remembrance of all but a few presidents. In my lifetime, two presidents, Truman and Eisenhower, have risen sharply in C-Span rankings. President pundits profess that it takes 20-30 years before presidential rankings become ‘seasoned.’
At an 89-year-old former history professor, I agree with C-Span that Trump is the worst president in American history AND that this will be re-enforced as years pass.
Regarding President Biden, many may say that it is too early to make any determination as to where he will fall in the Pantheon of American Presidents. My hunch is that he will be judged at least among the ‘near greats.’
He took command of a sinking ship of state. Trump’s foreign policy was a decathlon of dreadful missteps. Domestically, he favored the wealthy over the great majority, polarized the country, badly handled America’s most extensive pandemic, and sought to violate the Constitution and engaged in an insidious conspiracy that was on a coup course.
President Biden has swiftly brought the American ship of state back on a highly positive course in foreign affairs and in our ravaged economy. He has also fought for the soul of America against MAGATS who represent all that is destructive in American society.
President Biden is up for re-election in 2024. Were he to win, the American tradition is that American presidents do quite badly in their second terms. Whatever, I am convinced that history will treat President Biden well.
I wholly agree. Biden has been transformative...for the better. It takes far more time to build than to destroy. I believe that is why so many fail to see the transformation from the quickly destructive forces unleashed by Trump and his Republican predecessors, which created the many civic problems we now experience.
Biden took over the equivalent of a major bombing of the White House and the federal government. This destruction was completely intentional and guided by people like Stephen Miller and Steve Bannon. Miller's own relatives said he was seriously dangerous and hated him.
Patrick Dangerous and deranged!
I am sure glad to read this post if yours, Keith. I’m 71, and I too remember a lot if Presidents we’ve had. I would rank President Biden in the top two, or maybe three, right now. But there’s no doubt where I rank Frumpy.
Is there a rank above 💩💩💩💩? Frumpy doesn’t even rank above that!
Only one problem: increased oil production; better would be figures on clean energy. We need to think less and less about oil.
and quit improving new pipe lines and exporting our oil out of Houston WTF? Stop the gouging corporate raider and raise their tax to boot. I guess we just have too many lame democrats to get things done i.e. Manchin and that gal from Arizona among others. Joe Biden can't do all the heavy lifting democrat representative and senators.
Unfortunately that is what Magas all complain about: how oil production is down and we do not have enough.
I know. But they do not acknowledge climate change because of fear and/or ignorance. They want to bring more children to starve in a climate change world. It’s both sad and appalling. We need better income distribution so that everyone can feel safe and face the problems climate change is bringing. That might inspire the lost middle class to take part in taking part in a restoration of caring for one’s neighbor, once a hallmark of our country.
Would you please supply a link to this post? I can not find it. Thank you.
If you search Quora for William Weir -
https://www.quora.com/profile/William-Weir-75?q=William%20Weir
I did that but still don’t find the post you refer to.
Scroll down. It's currently the 19th post. Headline "Where do you rate Joe Biden" or something similar.
19th, WTH, Joe rates number 1
Found it!
Thank you
I found it but you have to go though 10 presidents to find this portion of the the post.
This is why I flipped Mr. Weir's essay and only cited the part about Biden.
I copied it into a separate notes file that I keep for future reference. (And future postings like this one!). That why I didn't post the link. However, Mr. Weir consistently repeats his talking points. Simply follow him on Quora and you will start to see his answers in your feed. Or you can search his answers on his profile page.
I found it, thanks.
Thanks for this. Weir is new to me. A "conservative minister" who seems to eloquently describe the facts? On the Quora page he is absolutely devastating to the liars and conspiracy nuts. Thanks for this! Nice way to enjoy my coffee :)
I think so too.
Again, IMHO, the opposition is so margin-driven that they miss the opportunity to celebrate with Biden in these historic moments. The Spirit of Camp David is well stated in HRC's last paragraph. On our home front his presidency is shoring up a stronger economy, steadily extending the benefits of our economic democracy, and on the world stage, building alliance with other nations based upon shared interests, a place at the table, and use of our economic and scientific resources in place of military commitment to pursue like democratic goals. Such a normal approach to governance and use of America's real power; modeling our values and leading through the energy of our achievements on the world and domestic stages. No balloons or circus acts or posturing or flamboyance or bilious glitter or slogan spewing required.
Thank you, Barbara, for posting this analysis. It’s a keeper and should be published broadly and often to remind Americans how very fortunate we are. There is no one better than Biden for what we’re experiencing today.
Agreed...that's why I kept it in my notes! I have a steadily increasing number of similar keepers on topics that interest me. Heather Cox Richardson and some of her comment writers are another big source!
"Lies, damn lies and statistics."
American credit card debt -- a sure sign of consumer stress -- is at an all-time high: https://www.lendingtree.com/credit-cards/credit-card-debt-statistics/
Workforce participation continues to be flat -- it has never recovered to its pre-covid level:
https://www.bls.gov/charts/employment-situation/civilian-labor-force-participation-rate.htm
And Biden continues to spur on the global trend of de-dollarization of international trade, with his reckless and wasteful support of Ukraine's oppressive, undemocratic far-right thug regime.
Unlike Russia's democratic invasion of Ukaine, I suppose.
John Sméagol is a pro-Putin trollski posting the same stuff over and over again. We’d best ignore him.
Dutch Mike, couldn't agree more. Best to ignore these trolls.
I blocked him, but I can still see his comments.
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/august-18-2023/comment/36764902
It's definitely not a Dutch name, I can assure you; it's more likely German or maybe of Jewish descent. But to me he always seems like Sméagol who turned into a creature that lived in a cave under the Misty Mountains and was constantly repeating itself with his signature sound "gollum, gollum"... Everytime someone mentions Ukraine or Zelensky, he immediately comes crawling out of his cave stating that HCR spouts "baseless propaganda" and Biden is supporting "the right wing thug regime" in Kyiv... His postings echo standard pro-Putin talking points and are more than tiresome...
I don’t think he’s particularly bright. He goes to a topic most people don’t know much about and spouts nonsense like credit card debt is a sure sign of…whatever. Kind of a clever idiot. But not smart.
I suspect that John is a very orthodox leftist. So only Bernie is sufficiently within the acceptable window, as it were. Remember - "the perfect is the enemy of the good" Which means while we may object, we have to be grateful that we are not having to deal with Repub "wind back the clock"
But remember - "Nature bats last".
Actually, I'm an old-school FDR/JFK Democrat. The Apollo Program acted as a "science driver" for the economy, returning far beyond what we invested in it.
(Among other things, it spurred the development of the personal computer, leading to the internet economy.)
FDR -- my grandmother's fourth cousin -- was passionately anti-colonialist. He forced the British to give up their empire, in exchange for help against the Nazis.
That’s nonsense. FDR did little or nothing to end British colonialism.
🤡
How come you don’t display your real name?
Putin, in Ukraine, is reclaiming "Novorossiya," the multi-ethnic, Russian-speaking half of Ukraine that was stapled together with little Ukraine by the new Soviet regime in 1921.
As a result of the Biden administration's approach to the Russia/Ukraine mess, the global trend toward de-dollarization -- threatening financial chaos in the USA -- has been accelerating:
https://money.usnews.com/investing/articles/de-dollarization-what-happens-if-the-dollar-loses-reserve-status
Keep up the good work, Joe; we're all going to pay for it.
Actually,
It was Reagan, and every Republican elected after that, who began the slow process of wrecking the dollar (which Biden has begun to rebuild).
Reagan took Jimmy Carter's balanced budget; in fact, Carter continued to paydown WWII and Vietnam debt (like all Presidents since WW II) while sponsoring a healthy economy. Debt was reduced under every post WWII president until Reagan.
Reagan, upon his election based on a vacuous, puffy red face and fake smiles, immediately cut taxes on the wealthy and massively ramped up government spending on his big military contractor donors.
At the end of Reagan's disastrous Presidency (in terms of the budget and the economy) the US had added no less than 6 Trillion dollars in debt (today's dollars), suffered through TWO recessions in 8 years, and had lost the respect of most of the world except for Great Britain where another nut, Margaret Thatcher was also running amok trying to destroy Britain's influence in the world (she successfully did, nobody pays any attention to anything that happens in Britain unless the Queen treats some black woman poorly, which, she did).
The seeds were planted for the dollar's reversal as the world's reserve currency during Reagan's failed Presidency, and, with every Republican after that, debt has SOARED.
After the mess that Trump made of (everything) including adding more massive debt, the world looked at the US as if it was a banana republic with some seriously dumb white guys in charge. It frightened the world. I mean, Trump in charge of the nukes?
Fortunately, Biden won the election and beat long time loser Trump.
Biden is turning the American ship, but, it is hard to to turn a ship that Republicans have tried to sink for 40 years.
Surprisingly, Biden is doing it. Kudo's for Biden.
You Putin employees/trolls getting paid peanuts to hand out BS Russian propaganda?
You guys are sad. But, you are funny with that fake stuff you guys post. I guess some Americans believe that stuff.
But, John, not on this reflector. Here? You are just a joke.
His claiming to be an old time Dem is the biggest joke yet
Thank you for this detailed retort.
You fantasize that the economy under Carter was "healthy," with oil-price shocks and stagflation.
The process of "wrecking the dollar" -- going back to Reagan, as you say -- can be measured by yearly increases in the national debt.
Obama was almost as bad as Trump and Biden (with Trump's final year distorted by the covid crisis):
https://www.statista.com/statistics/187867/public-debt-of-the-united-states-since-1990/
Your statement that Biden "has begun to rebuild" the dollar is a barefaced lie.
Eastern Europe has always been a mix of languages and cultures and over time the borders shifted. But speaking russian or german or polish or whatever does not make a country. Russia aspired to a great empire but really could not hold it. Putin's attack was unjust. Frankly had his army succeeded then we would not have been able to do anything, but the "russian speaking" part of Ukraine hates Russia as much as the ukrainian part.
Terry, you have been successfully trolled, been taken off Topic.
p.s. Perhaps you already know that Moscow was the daughter of Kyiv: Russians and Ukrainians were the same people.
Terry Mc Kenna,
There are two separate issues here: How modern Ukraine came to be, and why Putin invaded.
Novorossiya ("New Russia") was conquered from the Tatar slave raiders in the 18th century. The area had been depopulated because of the threat of slave raiders, and Empress Catharine the Great invited people of all ethnic groups to settle in the new Russian territory, and of course the official language was Russian.
After Ukraine's Maidan Revolution in 2014, the Russia-friendly members of Ukraine’s parliament were terrorized into staying home, and the first law that the rump parliament passed was to ban the Russian language in government communication.
This was part of what led Crimea to embrace Russia, as well as helping bring on the civil war in the Donbass, which got "frozen" with the Minsk Agreements of 2014 and 2015, which were never implemented. (Zelensky initially moved toward doing that, but then he didn't. Long story there.)
Perhaps you will agree that it's worth knowing Putin's formal rationale for invading Ukraine, if only to refute it:
Putin said to the world that he was fulfilling a mutual defense treaty with the Donbass republics (because Ukraine was attacking).
🤡
BLS shows an upward trend in employment- recovering from pandemic low but an upward trend not seen in the past decade. Recovery is hard work. Just ask Trump- he never made advancements in the economy.
Schmeeckle the Pickle what is the matter with you? I do hope your Russian troll farm suspends your pay for proposing half-baked ideas. You are not very convincing. One might consider that the Ukrainian revolution of 2013 had outside influences. Maybe but all revolutions do. It’s not a far right thug regime. Ukrainians fighting for their existence. And you are correct that the eastern parts are Russian-speaking meaning culturally Russian. But most of them now repudiate their Russian culture in the face of total destruction of their people by Russian thugs. So put that in your little pipe and smoke it.
"Neo-Nazis and the Far Right Are On the March in Ukraine"
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/neo-nazis-far-right-ukraine/
"Five years ago, Ukraine’s Maidan uprising ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, to the cheers and support of the West. Politicians and analysts in the United States and Europe not only celebrated the uprising as a triumph of democracy, but denied reports of Maidan’s ultranationalism, smearing those who warned about the dark side of the uprising as Moscow puppets and useful idiots. Freedom was on the march in Ukraine.
"Today, increasing reports of far-right violence, ultranationalism, and erosion of basic freedoms are giving the lie to the West’s initial euphoria. There are neo-Nazi pogroms against the Roma, rampant attacks on feminists and LGBT groups, book bans, and state-sponsored glorification of Nazi collaborators.
"These stories of Ukraine’s dark nationalism aren’t coming out of Moscow; they’re being filed by Western media, including US-funded Radio Free Europe (RFE); Jewish organizations such as the World Jewish Congress and the Simon Wiesenthal Center; and watchdogs like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Freedom House, which issued a joint report warning that Kiev is losing the monopoly on the use of force in the country as far-right gangs operate with impunity...."
I have presented the above quote around here repeatedly, and have met with a deafening silence, as if HCR's readers have been intimidated and/or morally corrupted.
I looked at the work participation chart you linked to and if you estimate the trend line from the time of Covid you will see a gradual increase in the participation rate, and if you start from Biden’s inauguration, there is a linear trend upward from 61.3% to 62.4%. It has not reached the level from just prior to Covid: 63.3%. The trend is upward and by my calculations approximately 55% of the loss in participation has been regained. As far I know there is no gold standard for economic recovery over time, but this seems like a positive trend.
I’m on a phone so don’t have access to analytic tools, but using a different source from yours: https://www.newyorkfed.org/microeconomics/hhdc you can see that the trend in upwards for both housing and non-housing debt from 2013 Q2 to 2022 Q4 with some to-early-to-tell signs that both trends are flattening somewhat. I’m pretty sure that this state of affairs would analytically struggle to point to Joe Biden as the cause.
Thank you for your response. The labor force participation rate has been flat since March: https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/labor-force-participation-rate
John,
I think there are a number of ways to analyze and discuss this so first let me say that you are correct that the labor participation rate has been flat since March. I also think it might be still too early to tell whether or not this is a change in the general trend since January 2021. I would suppose that if the current rate holds for X (some arbitrary) length of time then the general trend line would flatten and your point would have more confirmatory evidence.
However, in looking at The Bureau of Labor and Statistics site you can see that there are umpteen factors that can be analyzed and it is unclear to me (not being an economist) what factors meaningfully interact to give a ‘true’ picture of the economy. Also, no matter what statistics you apply, I don’t think that data alone can tell a meaningful story without having some theoretical framework to judge against.
With those grains of salt taken, I looked at the participation data from the start of Trump’s term until the appropriate quarter for comparison to Biden’s tenure thus far. The percentage change for Trump was 0.48% and for Biden it is currently 2.12%. This is obviously only a rough comparison that may not be the right one to make, but I still see no evidence that Biden’s policies are failing at this point.
The Troll has been staggering his disruptions for about a week now. The Troll is using his "links" to take Readers off the communications threads. The TROLL has established a new modus operand volume will increase, a form of platform disruption. IrRecommend accurate "reports" to Substack Inc.
I reported him several times. He carries on.
Who's the troll...
I have a theory, it is someone in Gothenburg NE with at least 2 family generations going back per some data on Ancestry. Nothing wrong with the Midwest. Probate diagrams help some;
I'd say a middle age MALE maybe 52 who left the 'Moon OF Alabama' MoU) meme which did not go so well. Update: Edit per that Special Someone. ... Moon OF Alabama, got it.
Bryan Sean McKown is a creepy cyber-stalker
Um, that's Moon OF Alabama:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=nbtEkZIvMAg&feature=share9
I think you read the data incorrectly. Credit card debt is not necessarily “a sure sign of consumer distress”.
It might be optimism that they can afford to pay off the big expenditure.
I am so tired of armchair economists — or “real “ ones like Larry Summers, who couldn’t see a housing disaster bearing down on him like a Mack truck— throwing out Bs as if it were fact.
And don’t think you’re going to argue with me because I’m a woman. I’m an analytical chemist with a PhD in medicinal chemistry. Math doesn’t scare me.
I think I phrased my earlier observation inaccurately.
The fact that we now have the highest level of credit card debt ever recorded is a sure sign of financial stress among people with little to spare.
Trollman still at it!
Now he’s got a partner, goal is to muddy the waters. Or pollute them.
Thank you Jeri, please post the initials of Co-Troll #1. Thx.
JS
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/august-18-2023/comment/36772435
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/august-18-2023/comment/36772435
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/august-18-2023/comment/36772435
If we wish to discuss Ukraine, the authority on this platform is Dr. Timothy Snyder whose Yale course on the history of Ukraine is available here. No one need engage the eagerly spouting propaganda of John Schmeekle.
Regarding the current war in Ukraine, Dr. Timothy Snyder is a shameless propagandist.
As a retired accountant, I believe high credit card debt is a sign of poor financial education. I've had many clients who had mountains of credit card debt seemingly for one of two reasons. Either they did not control their spending (buying impulse items and wants rather than needs) or it never occurred to them that they could pay it off. I once had a client who got a new credit card and told me the best thing about it was that he was not allowed to carry a balance (it had to be paid in full each month). I replied that he could pay off all of his credit cards each month. He looked at me with such confusion... like the idea had never occurred to him. I think many people in this country think this way.
I have never paid a cent for interest on a credit which was the only card available when I had my business in the '70's and '80's...I did NOT want to pay for something I did not get. Or, be paying for something I had already used up. Now, I have a card for Amazon purchases which is paid automatically. And, several debit cards to get pesos at the Mexican ATMs.
A Frontline video from 2009 tells the tale of what a racket it is. Low income people pay way more in fines and interest than high income people.
I told the fellow who cleans and gardens here: do not buy anything on credit. It's a worse rip off in Mexico. The population is very uneducated, even worse than those in the USA. You don't need anything you have to put on a credit card. The only debt should be for a house or a car. Interest rates on houses is now 7%...that is nothing compared to credit cards charging 29%!
Agree. I live debt free. And when I buy my next house, it will be with cash. I’m glad I can.
Exactly, the fantasy that Biden is anything but a warmonger poking both Russia and China and putting us in great danger of nuclear war is a PR game by the Biden administration. Sigh. .
Lies, damn lies and statistics? I’m surprised that you admit it.
You should try to stop wallowing in the darkness that you created John.
How's that for a non-response.
🤡
🤡
Not on planet earth, this John....
You can afford to pretend and not care, betting that you will no longer be on Planet Earth when the combined follies of Republicans and Democrats over the decades wipe out Social Security and Medicare and pension investments of those who are a bit younger.
🤡
Well you’re suddenly making a little sense but not by much.
Bill, the Troll changed tactics & timing about a week ago.
If anyone really needs to be distracted to another Topic, a useful Topic, I recommend "The Atlantic" article just posted a 3 hours ago jointly by Lawrence Tribe & former Judge Michael J. Luttig titled
"The Constitution Prohibits Trump From Ever Being PresidentT Again" Tfg is barred from being President again by Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. We do NOT have to wait for a successful prosecution by Jack Smith or Fani Willis.
Thanks for posting; I echo Sky 777's request for a link
So I am not crazy ? Or alone In what I am seeing. I admire President Biden for his calm persistence while facing the whiny,cowardly thugs who are the “Republican “ party and the spineless and lazy verbal masturbating press.
You are not crazy! Nor alone.
Thank you. Good company.
Thank you. Barbara S!
I want to copy this post to my page on Facebook. People need to know and this may be a way to reach more folks. I hate seeing complaints in Indiana that the gas price is due to Biden. Actually it is because our Indiana gas tax is so high. This makes the Repubs look good because people do not realize what the Repubs do in Indianapolis!
Please do copy and post. Just give attribution somewhere to the original writer (William Weir, not me). I have a bunch of notes that I keep on my tablet on topics of interest that I can copy and pasted whenever I feel called to refute lies or buttress truth.
Thank you, Barbara. I posted just what you shared with us. I have already had some readers. I hope they get to those that need to read it!
I shared this on the fb page.
I am so sick of the msm constancy touting drumpf, when this sort of real presidential action is happening.
Thanks for this.
Sadly almost half of American voters here a constant stream of lies suggesting that the country has gone down hill. So how are they reached?
Barbara, I’ll add one more astounding factoid. According to Simon Rosenberg, 1.9 million jobs were created under Bushes I and II, and Trump. Under Clinton/Obama/Biden, 47 million jobs have been created. If you haven’t already seen that figure, let it sink in.
I have seen that bar chart. I don't seem to be able to post that chart for its visual impact, but it is true that trickle down economics is horrendous for job creation and the whole idea that only rich people create jobs with their tax "savings" has been proven false.
President Biden is the absolute best at Foreign Policy, Domestic Affairs, and governing. What I like best is he’s teaching Vice President Harris how this is done on a works level. And she’s taking part in all of these accomplishments while she’s learning. I’m so ghastly she was chosen by Biden 4 years ago to be his Vice President. She’s going to make an absolute great President when Biden finishes his term. We’ll have another 8 years of good governing as king as we can get the Congress and states straightened out by firing all these Republicans, and gain a “super-majority” in the House and Senate, and keep it that way.
We have got to do this, or Democracy , and our Constitution, is dead.
Daniel, Joe has been an excellent mentor for Kamala and she seems to be absorbing all she can from him and her experiences as VP; I am following her growth and progress and am increasingly impressed.
I'm equally impressed but not surprised - I remember how she performed as a Senator.
As you, Barbara, I’m following her training, work, and the mentoring she is receiving. I agree, she’s absorbing every bit he’s teaching her.
I’m from California and what absolutely blew me away about Kamala Harris when she ran for State Senator was how incredibly smart she is. I’m not sure why a lot of people view her as inauthentic. Anyone have some thoughts on this?
I have a gut feeling. My gut tells me that A. She’s a woman. B. She’s not a white American.
That’s just my thoughts on how these people that don’t like her, see her. These are the people that don’t believe any woman is qualified, smart enough, to be a Vice President, or President. Plus, these same people have a racist streak up their back a foot wide. If the candidate isn’t white, male, they will not vote fir them, no matter what!
"From its beginning, the Biden administration has sought to strengthen democracy at home and abroad, but promoting democracy without colonialism has always been a problem for the U.S."
The above statement by the Biden administration is powerful, reimaginative, surgical, and modern given that the first step towards a workable and universally acceptable foreign policy is to acknowledge the existential problems of the past global diplomatic policies. I must applaud President Joe Biden for his openness and integrative approach towards the world's allies and those with perceived little power. For a long time, US foreign policy has been a flop given that in the current era, states, regardless of their influence, consider themselves as powerful in their own jurisdiction and how they intend to make decisions. Presidents George W Bush, Obama, and Trump played that cards of power displays at the expense of the real, workable approach that would have safeguard them from forging better diplomatic relations with the rest of the world. Foreign policy intertwined with the concept of colonisation is repulsive in the modern and 21st century. Countries, even if they are developing, do not want to be imposed with rules and policies that they didn't participate in creating it.
"Biden and his advisors have apparently tried to square that circle by reconceiving of global affairs based on regional power, with the U.S. taking a seat at the table rather than dictating terms through military might."
And true to his novel approach, Joe Biden first withdrew US soldiers from Afghanistan despite a litany of criticisms that this one a wrong move. What most critics forgot was that the presence of the US army in Afghanistan was doing more damage than good. Dozens of US soldiers had been killed, alongside innocent civilians while there were fights between rebels and the government. Similarly, direct military involvement is costly and consumes resources of the American people that would have otherwise been directed to building the welfare of the people. Also, this approach attracts power show off which wreaks the peaceful diplomatic relations between countries. It should be in agreement that for every direct military involvement by the US, Russia and China will respond in equal measure. Thus, workable methods towards reconciliation are compromised.
The challenge now shifts to Africa who has in the recent past express disapproval with the way in which the Global North treats them. "We will not go and sit in front of one person and the best that we could get are pictures," President William Ruto said while address an AU summit in South Africa this year. He said that Africa must front a bargaining force and demand that they are treated equally. But, with President Joe Biden, I have a strong conviction that he will recognize the sovereignty of Africa and the direction that it intends to take to solve long-standing problems. In my next newsletter, I have delve into this issue with indepth analysis.
You are welcome to subscribe to my newsletter about Africa. It is free to be my subscriber. I only rely on donations to sustain it. Karibuni.
Well said, Edwin…I appreciate your viewpoint and feel that it contributes greatly to this forum by way of expanding what is often not in our immediate view.
Thank you 👏
Even as an atheist, I say: Biden is a Gift From God.
Yes Daniel 🙌 spot on , brother!🫶
Oh my goodness. "Absolute best at Foreign Policy?? Striking. Probably because we get our news from different sources. It does not disturb you that Biden was likely behind the Nordstream pipeline destruction, that Biden, Nuland, Sullivan and the other guy played coy in the face of well documented evidence of US's role in the 2014 coup removing a democratically elected Ukrainian President preparatory to goosing NATO to expand to the Russian border (I assume you're younger than I and didn't go through the Cuban missile crisis when the shoe was on the other foot) about which numerous well informed officials warned would be unwise, all this in-you-face-non-diplomacy with China whose military reach is what one (Horn of Africa) to the USA's 600 bases? USA's in 3 wars today: Yemen, Syria and Somalia. As for Harris - what evidence do you have that she's "absolute great" presidential material? She who as CA Atty Gen declined to nail Steve Mnuchin which hurt a lot of California mortgage holders ("declining to prosecute Steven Mnuchin’s OneWest Bank for foreclosure violations in 2013, but offered no explanation." (Theintercept.com)
Politico: "As the (Democratic) party grapples with fractures emerging in its coalition, the Intercept is a crowbar working those fractures apart, probing hard at fault lines like criminal justice reform, “Medicare for All,” the “Green New Deal,” racial justice and corporate funding of candidates like Kelly. The outlet has become a routine headache for the Democratic establishment and its leadership."
I absolutely support a free press, Selina, but do you really think this is a strategy for defeating the greatest threat to US democracy we've ever had?
Also not crazy about this:
"The Intercept is almost totally funded by a single billionaire backer, eBay founder Pierre Omidyar."
Kamala Harris was my senator in California and I admire and support her 100%. Her work reforming the criminal Justice system to prosecute sex traffickers and STOP laws allowing prosecution of the trafficked alone makes her a heroine.
Alexandra, yeah, I can usually tell via comments who might be an avid reader of the Intercept—I also read it (read a range of news opinions/editorials actually) ‘tho often disagree to varying levels on their “take” of national/world events.
Remember - "the perfect is the enemy of the good" Which means while we may object to some of the current Gov't actions, we have to be grateful that we are not having to deal with Repub "wind back the clock"
But always remember - "Nature bats last".
Progressive pushing on President Biden's centrist agenda is what moves that agenda to be better. There is a place for diversity of discussion, and a place to unify behind the best realistic candidate. What more people need to understand, is that as a society we can advance both at the same time.
Too many people have misguided ideas that elections are self-expression. For any election without ranked choice voting, it is critical to *choose* between the realistic leading candidates and vote accordingly.
Too many people, many of them writing in major news outlets, seem to think that everything primarily matters in terms of how it will affect the next election. Yes, we work always toward registering voters etc for the next election. No, that is not the only guide to what ideas to consider.
Selina, I don’t know what younger than you are consist of, but, yes, I remember the Cuban Missile Crisis very well. As a matter of fact, I was living in southeast Florida (Palm Beach County) when that was going on. To my recollection, President Biden wasn’t the president when that was going on. As for the pipeline incident you mention, I have no knowledge of that. Did that occur during his presidency? Did the replacing the leadership in Ukraine happen during his presidency?
I’m referring to his Foreign relations he’s created since his presidency began just three years ago. Before he took office, we had NO firefighter relations anywhere in this world. Not even with our allies. Frumpy, the 🍊 headed 🤡 had totally destroyed this nation’s relationship with every nation in this world. We were all alone. We had no trade agreements of any kind. Not any that helped the middle class Americans.
And, no, I’m nit huh f tj get into a back and forth debate with someone that is blaming President Biden fir everything that happened in other administrations years ago.
I get so tired of hearing negative comments about Pres. Biden, I get enough of that in emails i get every day. I think Biden is doing great myself. The emails i get are telling dreadful things like, ''Biden is behind in so and so polls, Biden didn't do this, that, and the other thing.'' I instantly delete emails that are so negative about Biden. TUMP did indeed destroy the nation's relationships with other nations, i especially got angry in his feuding with Canada, at our nation's northern border. I really like reading the good comments on here about Pres. Biden's accomplishments and he should be commended for those. Negativity isn't going to get us anywhere at all.... Those so-called polls i referred to are biased and very inaccurate. I disregard all of them, including that Nate Sliver's 538 poll. It isn't very accurate either.
Daniel, with respect to the Nord Stream pipeline bombing, it happened in September, 2022. The NY Times has this report as of March 2023, indicating that it was a pro-Ukrainian group not connected with either the legitimate government of Ukraine (i.e., NOT Putin or Russia) or president Zelenskyy or with the government of the United States or president Biden: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/07/us/politics/nord-stream-pipeline-sabotage-ukraine.html. That was the most recent report I could discover. Selina or her source seems to be arguing post hoc ergo propter hoc.
Biden is doing a great job in his efforts to both heal rifts caused by most of the recent prior administrations and to help save from destruction a friendly democratic country (and if Selina or anyone else can point to any country that has ever existed which has not had some kind of serious problem, from oppressing its own citizens to brutal takeovers of other towns/cities/countries, I'd LOVE to learn about them). There is an enormous amount of work still to do, and China, North Korea, Russia (and the outlaw Wagner Group and its ilk) are still out there acting as headwinds, trying to destabilize and damage others for the sake of their own money and its intangible ally power. Likewise here in the US, with the Qwing asserting power to the point of actually defying orders of the Supreme Court, and actually interfering with US-Mexico navigable waters, all of which takes time and distracts from Biden's ability to work on foreign relations. If the folks who are worried about Russia using nukes of any kind in its attempted takeover of Ukraine would stop their nonsense here at home over rainbows, and voter suppression, and forced-birth enslavement, and book-banning (I could go on), the US could concentrate more time and effort on preventing Russia from using them. FGS!
Lynn, you just made my day! I swear, if I wasn’t a lonely crippled up old man, I would hunt you down and propose to you!
I couldn’t have said this any more eloquently. As a matter of fact, I’d probably piss people off because I’m much more straight forward and blunt. Direct to the point.
Well, I'm blushing!
Here's the story on the U.S. plot to take out the pipeline by Seymour Hersh, one of the top investigative journalists of the past 50 years:
https://seymourhersh.substack.com/p/how-america-took-out-the-nord-stream
Seymour Hersh and real clear politics. But you likely already know this ;-)
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/17/us/politics/real-clear-politics.html
MK, did you mean to post an article about a website being pro-Trump, an article that has no mention of Seymour Hersh…?
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/prize-winning-reporter-seymour-hersh-no-stranger-controversy-2023-02-09/
Judith, that article leaves out mention of his breakthrough reporting right after 9/11 about the failure of the FBI-CIA intelligence on the suspects in the U.S, taking flying lessons, etc.
Selina, I am old enough to remember the Cuban missile crisis, and also capable of internet searches. The immediate cause was Soviet physical actions preparing to put nuclear missiles in Cuba. It was not the fact that Cuba was allied politically with Russia. In the case of Ukraine, in 1994 Ukraine agreed to and did give up all nuclear missiles on its territory, all of which were inherited from the Soviet Union in 1991, in exchange for security guarantees from Russia, the UK, and the US. You seem to be an anti-colonial progressive, correct me if that’s inaccurate. Whyever would you support Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine that is based on its ongoing colonial claims? Why would any history of US colonial attempts justify Russian colonialism? It’s all wrong.
How interesting the psychology of those - such as yourself - who read into another person's narrative one that simply does not exist. And are infuriated at the fiction that is a creation of their own mis-perception and proceed to condemn the "other" for it. Yes. anti-colonial progressive I am. Especially after living in then called Zaire to see the caustic fruits of probable CIA manipulation of another sovereign country's governance. Please point out to me the explicit words I wrote of which your translation produced in your perception my supposed "support of Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine". I would think if the quality of consciousness is important to you, responding would be of interest to you for yourself.
Your words that sparked my comments (interested yes, "infuriated" no) were these: "Biden, Nuland, Sullivan and the other guy played coy in the face of well documented evidence of US's role in the 2014 coup removing a democratically elected Ukrainian President preparatory to goosing NATO to expand to the Russian border (I assume you're younger than I and didn't go through the Cuban missile crisis when the shoe was on the other foot)".
With those words, you shifted agency in the 2014 Revolution of Dignity from the Ukrainians who took the risks and injuries, to the American government. You described Ukraine's tilt toward Europe as "goosing NATO to expand to the Russian border". By analogizing to the Cuban missile crisis, which strictly speaking is not accurate as I describe above, you portray Ukraine possibly joining NATO as a threat to Russia. These are exactly Putin's rhetorical and colonial justifications for his invasion: that Ukraine was threatening Russia militarily by enacting trade agreements with Europe; that Ukraine belongs in Russia's sphere of influence (as the US govt believed Cuba belonged in its control); that anything less than Russian domination of Ukraine is a NATO threat to Russia's existence; that Ukraine doesn't really exist so any thing it seems to do is really done by proxy by NATO. When you argue on behalf of Putin's excuses for his invasion, you certainly seem to be giving it your vocal support.
For a history of Ukraine and background to Russia's colonial wars upon it that is much better than anything I would write, I recommend Timothy Snyder's series of 23 lectures, originally a class for Yale undergraduates in the fall of 2022. They are available on Youtube and the usual podcast outlets. Prof. Snyder also has a substack newsletter.
Thanks, Joan. You have saved me a lot of explaining to her. I greatly appreciate your response to her.
I remember the Cuban missile crisis. And you are supporting Yanukovych, really?
Do show me, please Jeri Chilcutt, by placing my words in quotation marks - that you translate into my supposed :"supporting Yanukovych." Thank you.
Your words are "2014 coup removing a democratically elected Ukrainian President". The Ukrainian President removed by persistent popular opposition in 2014 was Yanukovych. By describing his removal as a coup, which is Russia's allegation, you convey opposition to that removal and support for the man removed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolution_of_Dignity
2014 coup? Are you referring to the same events also called the Revolution of Dignity, when Ukrainians’ united nonviolent resistance drove Yanukovich to flee to Russia?
If you pride yourself on your open-mindedness, then this Jacobin essay will quickly dispatch some mis-perceptions (united nonviolent resistance) in your understanding - as it also clarified missing pieces in my own.
"It’s an overstatement to say, as some critics have charged, that Washington orchestrated the Maidan uprising. But there’s no doubt US officials backed and exploited it for their own ends.""In truth, the Maidan Revolution remains a messy event that isn’t easy to categorize but is far from what Western audiences have been led to believe. It’s a story of liberal, pro-Western protesters, driven by legitimate grievances but largely drawn from only one-half of a polarized country, entering a temporary marriage of convenience with the far right to carry out an insurrection against a corrupt, authoritarian president. The tragedy is that it served largely to empower literal neo-Nazis while enacting only the goals of the Western powers that opportunistically lent their support — among which was the geopolitical equivalent of a predatory payday loan." (See Jacobin.com "A US-Backed, Far Right–Led Revolution in Ukraine Helped Bring Us to the Brink of War" by Branko Marcetic)
Talk about messy. While some of the above, as far as I know, is true, the conclusion that "it served largely to empower literal neo-Nazis" and the implication that it virtually forced Russia to invade to remove the Nazis is both wildly false and consistent with Russian propaganda. Ever since Stalin - whose cooperation pact with Hitler literally set the stage for World War II - decided that a Nazi collaborator was not him but whoever was getting in his way, calling obstacles fascist has been an element of the Kremlin's toolkit.
Ooooo someone has a Russian whispering in their ear!
🤡
Mnuchin ... a bad man. With Blackstone? Knowingly made millions from his manufactured financial crash.
I remember about 40 years of Democratic House and Senate when Republican presidents were the only problem. (Reagan, etc.).
Ryan, agree with you! Joe is a true public servant, stepping up to a very grueling job with experience and expertise and statesmanship. He does not do this for the accolades (tho’ they can feel good & lighten the load a bit), but sees the need and does it for the greater good. There is no puffery about him, only (as I see it) a humility to be given this task that he damn well will do his best to meet. He surrounds himself with the best, brightest and committed persons who also take public service seriously….he knows HE can’t do it all, so assembled a team of forward thinkers and go-getters to effect the changes/upgrades needed. Oh, and he has a large heart too.
That Obama and Biden considered each other as brothers speaks volumes, too! We talk about these leaders as if they are monoliths, but my vote and hopes are with the team that comes along with them. I vote for “administrations” like you mentioned, and Obama and Biden have consistently called up superstars. The opposite is true of Trump, who brought in people of low morality and dim ideas and greed as compasses… or left the crucial jobs cynically unfilled.
Heart indeed
Ryan, yeah, anyone who exclaims “I alone can fix it” is automatically crossed off my list. Sheesh, TFFG’s guy’s ego has its own ego problem….hmmmm a “double ego”….isn’t that a coin? /s
I also cross off anyone who self-declares that they "are the expert" on anything, as I have always found the brightest minds are humble, and it takes others of high caliber to award that status.
Something that our busiest troll here doesn't seem to understand. Why people engaging with him is beyond me! Ignore him or report him, but replying to him must be like Viagra. There is no other explanation.
Hilarious, Barbara -- the word play! And double ego, wow, you coined a new word.
But...."he knows more than the generals!" (about ISIS) /s
My Mom would have washed his nasty, bullying mouth out with soap, preferably lye.
Jeri, the heck with the soap - just use straight lye. That'll teach 'im.
I thought he prescribed bleach to cure all ailments?
Double Eagle
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_eagle
In Michelle Obama's book she speaks of her growing admiration for Biden throughout the double mandate, and particularly of her affection for Jill Biden.
Read her first, reading her second slowly but surely 👍
“Team” -- Yes! “Administrations” -- same. We’re in a different century (have been...). Measure leaders, and would-be ones, by those they have with them.
One distinguishing characteristic of a person who will be an effective leader and worthy of support is that they openly and candidly hold themselves out as a member of a team, that they do not attempt to do it alone, whatever "it" is. Anyone intelligent enough to recognize that two heads are better than one is almost certainly better worth listening to than anyone stupid enough to declare openly that they alone can fix, or save, or improve, a situation alone.
“The primary responsibilities of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble, and control the interpretation and pacing of the music.”
I picture President Biden as a master conductor.
Is it too trite to respond "music to my ears"? Well, I'm saying it anyway. I like that analogy at least as well as the sports team captain analogy.
Not too trite at all- love it. And oh how handsome he would be in that attire! 🙂
absolutely. his cabinet team is outstanding! and the team that he has and will assemble is important to stress in the news now and in the upcoming elections. i only wish that so called progressive news channels would report on this
So opposite from chump. No braggadocio, religion is a personal choice, not a mandate, efficient government, government for the greater good, no bully bat. Damn, a breath of fresh air.
And in Biden's case, his religious beliefs and observances seem to be genuine, not, as in the case of January 6 Defendant 1078, just one more lying grift. I certainly don't agree with the Catholic Church on almost any policy position, but I have to think a person whose asserted beliefs align with his lifelong actions is far more worthy of believing about his other assertions than someone like the mango mussolini. And I truly respect the courageous position Biden has taken on abortion, because it does not align with that of the Church historically (although the current Pope seems to be less rabid about it). Biden is an American; I think he holds to the position that he cannot promote as American public policy one that is anti-American, even though it is the position of the leader of his faith group. Unlike certain federal judges we can all name.
100%, difference between real and phony
I'll bet he speaks to Obama often. Two good hearted American men; one with a lot more time in service.
I am a year younger than Biden, but I gotta say he has more guts, vision, and grasp of international reality than I do. I don't agree with everything he's done, like giving Baylor a pass on their non handling os LGBTQ+ sexual harassment, or the way the Afghan withdrawl was handled, but he's a damn sight better than any of the wannabe misfits who want to replace him.
I agree with most if what you have said here, Frank. But, I’d I may, can I make a slight correction. If you recall, the withdrawal of the troops in Afghanistan began, and was orchestrated, by TFG. That’s his pooch he screwed up. The plan had to be completed because in the last 6 months of TFG’s term, he was to busy ti oversee his handy work and his minions he had appointed to positions that had no clue what they were doing muffed everything up. The withdrawal was si screwed up when Biden took office, he tried to do all he could to figure out how ti get it straightened out she bring everyone out, but there was no way to for him to fix it. It was ti far into the implementation and needed to he completed before a lot of troops were captured and killed.
Thank you Daniel, for reminding everyone that it was Trump who set the deadline for withdrawing from Afghanistan. Trump made no plans, probably hoping his buddies Putin and Kim would haul his bottom out of the cesspool he was leaving behind.
You are so right, people forget how chump set the whole thing up. I have a pic of chump with the Taliban creep, smiling like the cat that ate the canary.
I see this (and tffg's disgusting snuggling up to Putin, gag!) as exactly akin to Reagan's secret agreement with Iran not to release the American hostages until after he was elected. And then the whole Iran-contra affair. Traitor; traitors all.
And repubs still worship him...
And this too is correctly mentioned (Afghanistan withdrawal) in the Quora reply.
Correct Daniel.
While HCR is a voice extolling Biden's work to improve the lives of Americans as he has created and strengthen alliances for the security of our allies, many Americans are not crediting him with these accomplishments, nor are they satisfied with how the country is functioning and not functioning.
Today, readers of The Washington Post have had to opportunity to read 'American democracy is cracking. These forces help explain why.'
'Behind the sense that the political system is broken lies a collision between forces both old and new'
'In a country where the search for common ground is increasingly elusive, many Americans can agree on this: They believe the political system is broken and that it fails to represent them.'
'They aren’t wrong.'
I thought subscribers of LFAA would benefit from reading this important analysis as well. At the end of the following excerpt, you will find a gifted link to the entire piece.
'Faced with big and challenging problems — climate, immigration, inequality, guns, debt and deficits — government and politicians seem incapable of achieving consensus. On each of those issues, the public is split, often bitterly. But on each, there are also areas of agreement. What’s broken is the will of those in power to see past the divisions enough to reach compromise.'
'The Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol is both an extreme emblem of what happens when democracy stops functioning as it should and the result of relentless attacks by former president Donald Trump on the legitimacy of the election process based on lies and distortions, a continuing threat to U.S. democracy.'
'In more routine ways, the political system feeds frustration and discontent with its incapacity to respond to the public’s needs. There is little on the horizon to suggest solutions.'
'The failure has multiple origins, including a collapse of trust in institutions. But one of the most significant is a collision between forces both old and new.'
'The old dates to the writing of the Constitution — debates and compromises that resulted in representation in the House based on population and in the Senate based on equal standing for the states; the odd system by which we elect presidents; and lifetime appointments for Supreme Court justices. In general, the founders often distrusted the masses and sought to create structural protections against them.'
'The newer element, which has gathered strength in recent decades, is the deepening polarization of the political system. Various factors have caused this: shifts within the two parties that have enlarged the ideological gap between them; geographic sorting that has widened the differences between red and blue states; a growing urban-rural divide; and greater hostility among individuals toward political opponents.'
'The result is that today, a minority of the population can exercise outsize influence on policies and leadership, leading many Americans increasingly to feel that the government is a captive of minority rule.'
'Twice in the past two decades, the president was elected while losing the popular vote — George W. Bush in 2000 and Trump in 2016. That had happened only three times in the previous 200-plus years. The dynamic extends beyond the presidency to the other two branches of government.'
'A new Washington Post analysis found that four of the nine current justices on the Supreme Court were confirmed by senators who represent a minority of the U.S. population. Since 1998, Republicans have had a majority in the Senate a total of 12 years but did not during that time represent more than half the nation’s population, The Post’s analysis of population data and Senate composition shows.' (WAPO) See entire analysis gifted below.
https://wapo.st/3qAR8Hy
I lay it squarely at the feet of Reagan, Murdoch, and the money behind the Repub greedy bastards.
How 'bout
Biden 2024 - Made America Great Again
Still Making America Great.
GPOP
Greatest Presidential Optimist Period
😎
I have been saying this for at least a year now. Biden will be remembered as one of the greatest American Presidents of all time. Right up there with Washington, Lincoln, and FDR. I’m hoping that by this time next year this will be obvious to a exponentially greater number of people than it seems to be today. I say “seems to be” because I believe that the whole “ratings” thing is made up by the media to promote interest in their “horserace” political paradigm. It’s all part of the puppet show.
Agree Heather!!
Biden's wisdom extends, most importantly, to the people he has surrounded himself with. It isn't a coincidence that the US economy has consistently outperformed "experts" expectations since Janet Yellen was named Treasury Secretary.
Interesting coincidence—or is it?—that the best presidents of the past 25 years share the same initials: JB. Joe Biden and Jed Bartlet.
🤩😆yes!
Beautifully stated. Completely agree with you. When people complain about Biden, we have to remind them how very fortunate we are to have him as our president. Who better than someone with decades of experience and a moral core?
I think he’s the best president in my lifetime and I reached the age of 80 the end of May.
Wow! I think we have a spokesperson, thank you!
Savvy, Seasoned and Sane!
Good bumper sticker material.
Ryan, Yes, I think Pres Biden is doing an outstanding job and the media seems to be "educating the public" that Pres Biden does not have a high approval rating. I love that we have a FREE and "protected" Media in the US but it is not all good. The media of the last ?7-8 years is not within the same culture we grew up with based on the truth and integrity, like McNeil/ Lehrer, John Chancellor or Walter Cronkite. There is still good, honest journalism and reporting today but one has to be astute to what we hear. Some of our news, eg FOX, is so aligned with a dishonest Mr T that they infuse the public with lies and mistruths and it furthers the chaos and violence we are seeing in our country. It aims to capture a larger audience through addiction to bad news. With that said, we the people need to infuse into the public and educate all of the beneficial, uplifting and honorable work of President Biden. Talk about how Bidenomics is working, he is growing the middle out and bottom up, strengthening our economy, investing in green energy which is creating manufacturing jobs in the US and more Built in America products, lowering the cost of some drug prices and bringing more peace into our world through strong alliances with other democracies around the world. One thing I do is post "The Good News" about Pres Biden on my FB page for all my followers to see and share my thoughts when I talk to friends and cousins so they know that I support him and share the same with my Reps/ Senators in Congress so they know I support Pres Biden too and Why I support him and ask them to please openly talk about the positive accomplishments of Pres Biden and the Democratic Party!
This is such a thoughtful and true comment, I think you should speak at the Democratic national convention!
Ryan, that is so kind of you!
Someone here pointed me to Hopium Chronicles as an antidote to the negative spin even NYT does all too often against Biden. I am finding it empowering. Simon Rosenberg, is the author. He is a political strategist, think tank leader and is leading us to something great. https://simonwdc.substack.com/p/welcome-to-my-new-home-hopium-chronicles
Sharing your sentiments with a reader over on Today's Edition who is trying to convince her college-age kids to vote for Biden in 2024. Hope you don't mind, Doc!
This is one of many steps toward creating the tie between domestic and foreign policy. We must not only continue down this path but also sell the concept to the right wing. TFG has no clue how this policy works and it’s up to us to get the vote out. He can’t return.
Exactly! Get the vote out! Not only tfg but many, not all but many, Rs should not be returned to Congress so as to continue the obstructionist methods finely honed by Mitch McConnell, et al.
Actually, I do believe ALL R’s need to be ejected from Congress. Not a single one defended democracy (aside from Cheney and Kinzinger, and they are gone). Silence is complicity. There’s not a one of them who stood for truth, decency, honesty, or our Constitution.
I would add Senators Romney and Murkowski to that small list of Republicans who still believe in American democracy and constitutional government
I hear you, but I respectfully disagree. Their silence on matters of consequence speaks volumes. At best, they are cowards. We need decent, stalwart, bold voices to defend democracy.
They still vote with the oligarchs
Just to be clear, the point was that they stand out within the GOP for refusing to go down the path o Trumpian ignorance and fascism.
Both voted to convict Trump as they should have.
Before Ro.ney was in the Senate, Murkowski voted against Kavanaugh, the only Republican to do so.
Nah
Nah. Sorry, but Romney has betrayed us (like he did all the companies he bought and stripped of any value), and Murkowski has no back bone. The Republican Party has lived a long life, but now is tragically infested with a terminal cancer.
Again, I want to be clear. I agree with you about Romney the businessman. I also agree the GOP as currently constituted as a Kool Aid drinking Party in thrall to the Seditionist Sociopath must be reconstituted, after some seriously tough love and cleansing.
Yet, it is of critical importance that we do not succumb to the tribalism of the MAGAites.
Romney is someone I would never vote for, but he has actual character and in these strange times, a certain courage. That is needed and to be respected.
Similarly, Murkowski directly took on the MAGAites and won, and while I wouldn't vote for her either due to her position on substantive issues (primarily her terrible environmental record), she clearly does have back bone and a soul, and a loyalty to constitutional governance.
Small steps perhaps, but sadly necessary
I agree to AGREE. Democracy first.
Barely.
They appear to be united in the will to destroy law and order. The intended result is called "freedom".
They also need to be voted out at the local snd state levels too. We mustn’t forget that!
Vote 🧢🧢🧢🧢across the board in ‘24, ‘26, ‘28, in between and beyond!
I’m 76 right now, and hope to vote out every last Republican for the rest of my life. Blue forever!
🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊
From your cartoon to God’s whim!
And don’t forget legislators, governors, and school boards.
And any entity that holds the purse strings for local libraries and librarians. NO banning books (or poems, FGS! Amanda Gorman's poem, "The Hill We Climb", has been banned from grades below 6th in one of the Miami-Dade County public schools, due to one complaint by one parent), NO closing/defunding libraries (Llano, Texas - where else?). Free public libraries are the greatest human invention ever, better than fire, better than antibiotics, and the best use of public funds in the modern world.
Oh hell yes! All if these clowns 🤡 have to go. Right Chen to the dog catcher!
Weaving the fabric of Nations together is indeed a daunting task, but one that MUST happen if we are to live much longer on this planet. The alliances being set up now will determine if we will prosper or destroy ourselves and the planet. Inflection/Turning point indeed! These first important steps will be a litmus test for the viability of a future for the human race. It is so gratifying that we have a president with such vision and leadership abilities. I will be happy to dedicate myself to a world of people coming together to share a common destiny and embrace the future together.
I don't think Lord Cheeto has a clue how much of anything works besides lying and grifting.
You are so right, Lard Cheeto doesn't have a clue to anything. Except stirring up hate and division, and leading riots and insurrections. Lord Cheeto and Lard Cheeto are appropriate names for him.
I have a friend who calls him Don the Pig.
I like that one too. Gives me an idea, how about Don the orange hippopotamus ?? I dislike insulting wild animals by comparing them to a nasty and hateful ''thing'' like Donald TUMP.
Bill, hmmmm I keep having visions of duct tape applied generously to TFFG’s mouth….know that’s mean, but I wish he’d shut up….oh, now that I think of it, we also need to tape his fingers together so he can’t do “truth social” posts…maybe that would help…????
I think that duct tape needs to cover his nose as well, but shame on me for saying that.
The only benefit of leaving TFG with mouth screaming and fingers posting on Truth Social is he continues to incriminate himself as he feels more threatened thus putting him at risk for incarceration as a restraining force for the safety of all jurists and witnesses involved in cases ongoing.
OMG!!! I’m LMAO!!!🤣😂🪨😂🤣😂
One can only hope, pray, wish... Can I supply the duct tape?
If he can sell it to Japan and ROK, I'm sure he can breach the GOP wall. It will have to be done on a scale and in a way that they can understand, in a way that will allay their fear and make them see how they could actually enjoy working together, not against. Very, very difficult in the face of media pigheadedness, but I believe the President and his team are working quietly away at it.
No Republican can win the Presidency. We can’t allow Trump and all indicted (& I hope convicted and imprisoned by then) to be pardoned and foisted on American society again.
Work with League of Women Voters and other groups educating teens on civics and signing them up to vote!
Heather, I wish you were in charge of whatever communication role is responsible for publicizing President Biden’s (and his administration’s) accomplishments so that the public (our sadly ignorant fellow citizens) would truly learn and understand them in a persuasive context. The media is not covering it with an adequate bullhorn and the White House isn’t either.
My sentiments exactly.
Me too!
Which is why I frequently share HCR and these comment on my FB page
HCR has a Facebook page with replies and comments from others but as stated, this demographic is not the optimal one to reach. Recipes, games, not political discourse (guaranteed ignored or trolled). Many bots and trolls there supporting TFG and very menacing to posts from governance ie The White House, Kamala Harris, other reps. Any volunteers to take on TikTok or other sites that reach Gen Z and Millenials to SHARE HCR? 😉😉😉
That’s great, and yet, probably not the audience that needs to be reached.
I am flummoxed by President Biden's sub 40 approval. Just stunning that voters can't see past the end of their provincial noses.
tfg is sucking the oxygen out of News rooms...networks in particular don’t spend time reporting the truth as they are blinded by the profits brought in by incessant inane drama. Just arrest the sob and throw him in jail for continued witness tampering as a first step in controlling the situation.
Sigh, pretty much the ye ol’ news maxim “if it bleeds, it ledes”. He’s the train wreck everyone is rubbernecking & not paying attention to other, for real, worthy news.
Exactly! And local stations especially. Have even seen our Robert Reich (economist extraordinaire) post that Trump’s rally in SC had 50,000 attendees when not possible. We locals well aware no more than 5-15,000 and those were there to see the fireworks on July 4th. Did not matter that TFG was spouting lies from a platform; did I mention so bad dear (🤭) Lindsey Graham was in fact crying? Sorry, off topic. I do enjoy like minds.
Poles are not votes.
If only. Talk about two tiered justice!
It almost brings me to tears to read positive news of cooperation between our president and other world leaders. We are seeing the results of electing a man and woman who understand and prioritize foreign relations and their impact on domestic affairs. What a difference.
This MUST NOT BE LOST in November 2024.
Anne-Louise, absolutely! 💙
What is key to making a president so effective? The people he hires to execute his vision. Now compare Antony Blinken to Trump’s secretaries of state, Rex Tillerson and Mike Pompeo. Need I say more?
Blinker is working himself to a bone flying here and there and he is so professional!!! And it is such a relief. Look what he’s done in the last 2 years!!
He has a thick skin and a positive focus on what he's doing. He's staying in forward gear in this storm.
Heather, thank you for spotlighting the many ways that Biden and Blinken are making us safer by arranging alliances with countries other than Russia. It’s too bad that the news isn’t celebrating the movement of US persons who have been moved from Iranian prisons to house arrest. Blinken has once again shown his negotiating chops by floating releasing Iranian monies not directly to Iran, but to Qatar to dole out for food and medicine for Iranian citizens.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/08/14/iran-us-prisoner-swap-deal-nuclear-negotiations-talks-sanctions-biden/
Isn’t so very refreshing the last few years to have a President that once again is reaching out to other leaders in a respectful way. Listening to what they have to say. Never have I had to worry that he will make an ass of himself.no pushing others out of the way to be in front of the camera. A President I am very proud of.
No comments, just a sincere “sigh of hopeful relief” in this time of so much chaos, confusion and uncertainty over true leadership
Right? Taking a few ground level breaths amid the smoke and ashes feels good.
“...(O)ur countries are stronger and the world is safer as we stand together.” President Biden’s words bring tears to my eyes. THIS is leadership. THIS is diplomacy. THIS is hope for the future. Thank you, Professor, for highlighting the international and national efforts of this administration against unending, relentless obstructionism, hatred, misinformation, and fascist longings that seek to murder everything we hold dear. Really, thank you.
President Biden is a visionary created by his many years experience in domestic and foreign negotiations and imagining brighter futures. I see so well how he wishes to finish the work he has begun in a second term. It takes his calm demeanor and strength of character to broaden these horizons and I am so very grateful for him, a truly patriotic and global president moving forward to create peace in a chaotic world.
Joe, Kamala & the admin are walking the talk and showing us “how it’s done right”. We are all SO lucky they came along when they did and that enough of us decided to put them at the helm to steady the ship of state.
You are sooo right, Barbara!
And I really like how he’s including Vice President Harris in all of these meetings, and teaching her his diplomacy tactics, etc. She’s going to make a superb President when Biden gets done next term.
He's laying out a blueprint for world leaders.
Heather Cox Richardson it's tremendous to see governance and diplomacy in productive action Professor ⭐
A rules based international order to ensure stability and peace in the world. What an ongoing achievement Biden and Sec. Blinken are marking.
This is absolutely brilliant. How lucky we are to have this admin station and you Heather!
Joe Biden and Antony Blinken are an incredible team. I've come to realize that wisdom comes when knowledge, experience and removal of hubris finally intersect. We are so incredibly fortunate.
And now we export wisdom, too!
You continue to work magic, HCR. And in this era, we must continue to vote for and support Democrats.