I’m on the road again, and was happily writing away on a couple of interesting stories tonight when I saw my laptop battery was almost gone. Went to plug it in, and realized I did not pack my charger. Tonight, therefore, is an emergency picture. It’s miserable for this to happen mid-draft, but the good news is that there is no news that isn’t part of a much longer story, so nothing is breaking (and yes, I’m saying that even though I have read the entire 388-page report about President Biden’s handling of classified documents— that’s where the battery went).
I read this and strange, HCR's need for a battery brought to my mind this: "A horse, A horse, My kingdom for a horse." It is Heather's Richard III moment.
Thanks, reading the New York Times and comments from their writers was awful and the whole judgement of Biden, asking if he is to old or losing it, and not mention anything about that senile lunatic Trump , not to mention the GOP!
I'm going to take this opportunity to report that that "Hur report" claiming that Biden's mind is going is Bullsh!t. Two eminent gerontologists have suggested the opposite--that he's a super ager. Here's the article from Medpage, and the link at the end
It's no secret that at 81, President Biden is the oldest sitting president in U.S. history. And whether the current frontrunners for either party win the election later this year, Biden or Donald Trump would be the oldest president on record. Many people have raised concerns about the candidates' ages and whether they are too old to run for president.
However, a recent op-ed published in The Hill weighed in on whether President Biden is actually a super-ager -- someone generally older than 80 who has cognitive and physical function higher than their peers, more akin to people decades younger -- and argued that framing Biden in particular as "too old" is both ageist and politically motivated.
Two of the op-ed authors, S. Jay Olshansky, PhD, of the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Bradley Willcox, MD, MSc, of the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, were among the panel of gerontologists who assessed the health of Biden and Trump leading up to the 2020 election. That report noted that "Biden is expected to outlive Trump, even though he is 3 years older" because of Biden's "exceptional health profile for a man his age."
Olshansky, Willcox, and the third co-author, former Texas politician Ben Barnes, wrote that Biden "exhibits characteristics consistent with super-ager status," and all evidence "evaluated by experts in medicine and aging science" points to Biden being in good health for his age. In response, several media outlets have reported on how Biden may be a super-ager and some claimed he's "aging backwards."
To gain insight on whether Biden is indeed a super-ager, MedPage Today spoke with Nir Barzilai, MD, director of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine's Institute for Aging Research in New York City and scientific director of the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR), who also was on the team that analyzed the candidates' health in 2020. While there isn't a universal definition for "super-ager," he explained that the unifying factors are older age with relatively higher cognitive and physical function.
"There is a chronological age and a biological age, and I think all of us intuitively know that those are not the same," Barzilai said. He noted that while genes play a role in aging, so do exercise, diet, sleep, and social connectivity. These four "are much more important things than a specific test," he added, and Biden scores well on those traits, except for potentially sleep.
Having a parent with exceptional age is also a major clue that someone could be a super-ager, he said. Biden and Trump's parents lived well into their 80s or to their early 90s.
But, ultimately, Barzilai said he can't definitively affirm that Biden is aging backwards -- or that Trump is, for that matter -- because he doesn't know their full medical histories. Specifically, he would be interested to know their HbA1c and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels.
As president, a lot (but not all) of Biden's health data are transparent and released by the government. Meanwhile, Barzilai said he's dubious about much of the information on Trump's health. Thus, critiquing the wealth of data on Biden while having little available on Trump could easily be weaponized for political means.
"I don't want to say [Biden's] younger or older ... and I urge everybody to say that age is a number, not a quality," he said.
Much of Barzilai's past research has focused on biomarkers of aging, including through the Longevity Genes Project, which analyzed the genetics of healthy people older than 95 and their families. One of his studies from 2016 found that super-agers had a compression of morbidity, meaning that many died without diseases and those who were sick at the end were sick for shorter periods of time than most people. In other words, "health span and lifespan went together," he noted.
Currently, AFAR is working on a study of super-agers and actively recruiting people 95 and older and their families to look into longevity genes. Other studies from the past year have found that super-agers had significantly larger entorhinal cortex neurons than their peers, as well as sharper memories -- and researchers still have much to explore.
"As scientists, we're trying to figure out what is this biology and can we extend health span and lifespan for everyone else," Barzilai said.
Correction: This article was updated to reflect that Biden and Trump each had a parent who lived until their early 90s.
Thank you. 81 years of wisdom and experience packed into a good hearted, quietly hardworking & super-smart Super Ager. What more could we ask at a time like this? Will share.
Yes Lynn ! I plainly did not come out and say it, but all of Joe's next reactions, should be his sense of humor, which I know he certainly has ! An all defensive reaction is a bad look; alas, I don't get paid to advise him, but I wish so much that I could lend a hand.
It was a gaff, imo, but it also reminded me that he is human like the rest of us, and maybe the bullies on the other side will see he can get mean, too. That's a language they understand.
You may disagree with this Mary, but I think Joe, was just being 'Joe.' I've watched him and been a huge fan of his, and his entirely, beautiful, very 'human' family for as long as I can remember him on the public stage. He just 'is' what he 'is' and leads with his intentions to my view; and his intentions, judging from his actions, are entirely good. I think about where he came from, and all he's overcome; At the same time, can you or anyone herein recall any speech / talk / reveal, wherein he p_ssed and moaned about how heavy his load is / was, etc. ? I cannot. It seems he just rolls up his sleeves and dives into whatever is in front of him amicably and though it's the 'only' thing to do, with singleness of mind, and then the next thing, which his life illustrates has never or seldom about himself; He toils for something far greater than himself in my view. The contrast between him and tfg / OiD could not be clearer who's favorite word - 'beautiful' word, is "I". Joe's 'right hand' human, Dr. Jill; grace and humility; Do you think you'll ever, in a million years see her wear any passive aggressive message or sign by her intent, to convey a message like "I don't care" ? Never...! I could go on and on, but as you've read from small i before, this is our Dr.'s page, not mine. Onward...
“The entorhinal cortex (EC) is a critical element of the hippocampal formation located within the medial temporal lobe (MTL) in primates. The EC has historically received attention for being the primary mediator of cortical information going into and coming from the hippocampus proper.”
Thanks! I'm 86 and still, I think!, cooking on at least most of my burners... most think I'm a lot younger than I am. I, too, see Joe Biden and being on top of his game and think it's funny that so many think they're ahead of him, when they're not!
I'm with you on MTL and hippocampal formation... but EC is a new one. Thanks for the info.
Next step is some muscle type selling EC strengthener, right? 🙄
Kudos to Camilla for introducing Pubmed, Natl.Center for Biotechnical Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health. This is a compendium of scientific information belonging to us, not Pharma or pseudo pharma, without advertising, readable and reliable.
How marvelous ! Thank you so much for your service Sandee - with the utmost sincerity ! My two children are medical professionals, ER to be a tad more specific. Did you specialize, if you don't mind ?
Oral surgery. As a senior officer, most of my time was spent teaching juniors, also surgeons, things they hadn't learned in their Ivy League schools. I also spent a lot of time making sure the rest of the command was prepared in advance of deployment.
If you're on Windows, hit the Windows key plus the period key... an emoji window pops up. Easy peasy. I also like using Bitmoji's... though I sometimes have to open a window in Chrome to copy the Bitmoji I want.
That's reasonable. It's reasonable that we should question. But we need to remember that Biden was probably blindsided by Hur, the latter's having been sent by the attorney General Biden had appointed. I wouldn't be surprised if Hur said stuff that was meant to provoke Biden. It's an obvious hit job.
And I would remind anyone that Biden so outnegotiated Kevin McCarthy on the debt ceiling last spring that the Republicans were quite PO'd with McCarthy, and he also outnegotiated Mike Johnson the this past fall. He made two trips to Israel in 10 days, which is a 9 hour flight across as many time zones, and a total of 36 hours in the air. He got NATO lined up behind Ukraine a couple of years ago. And on the same trip in which he negotiated closer relations with the Chinese, he visited around eight other countries, a bunch of different time zones, and managed to stay sane and compos mentis.
Thank you! I thought it was disgusting how the media jumped on him. I then realized that probably none of them (at least the ones I watched for a few questions) were around in the 80's when Ronald Reagan had to be coached for his answers many times by wife Nancy standing next to him. The assault on Biden was disgusting, rude, and unprofessional. It's almost as if some of those reporters had been planted there...
More...I rewatched the clip of reporters questioning Biden and discovered that the tall guy with the reddish hair was from Fox News with a last name Doucy, so related to Steve Doucy probably (I'm not a Fox News viewer so had no idea who he was). His last name explains his behaviour, but it's not acceptable media etiquette when you're addressing the President of the United States. Did anyone watch NBC with Lester Holt? If so, how was it handled there? I was watching David Muir on ABC (I switch back and for the between he and Lester on NBC).
I have a great interest in history and try to watch WWII veterans being interviewed. There are a few like Lucky Luckadoo are still sharp as ever. He's 100 years old. Start at 11 minutes if you want to skip the talk before Lucky. https://www.c-span.org/video/?524192-5/bloody-100th-john-lucky-luckadoo
Thanks Susan- I just watched the video- and Mr. Luckadoo is a remarkably powerful speaker not just for his age but regardless of age. It is also one of the most vivid descriptions of what his generation of soldiers and pilots went through. A sample- of the 40 fellow graduates in pilot training school -all of whom were sent to England immediately after getting their wings-only four survived the war. His comment - he was not just lucky- he was damn lucky.
There are the gaffes of getting older and then dementia and then illness induced memory issues. Everything gets lumped together. The doc report mention of Biden state of mind was unethical and needs to be called out. Unfortunately the MSM chose to lead with that and it can’t be unsaid. I would call that political weaponry. So much for the appearance of fairness.
I couldn't stop watching the whole interview, despite having to prepare for an appointment. I've been at a few interviews with Veterans over 100 (one retired before Pearl Harbor, but came back immediately).
Wow Jim ! Thanks for that link ! How plainly powerful.. Now I've got an 'earworm' ! Among the many takeaways, this one plays over and over; At about the 6 minute mark Ben states his guiding statement and coda, "to substitute the rule of law for the rule of force."
“ I, Edith Ceccarelli, also known as ‘Edie’ by her family and a multitude of friends, would like to keep on dancing,” she wrote in 2012. “Dancing keeps your limbs strong. What is nicer than holding a lovely lady in your arms and dancing a beautiful waltz or two-step together?”
“Try it, you will like it,” she added, along with her phone number. She was 104 at the time.
Thank the authors for speaking quickly about Biden's memory and mental status (and you for sharing). I thought the government's report probably hurt worse than a finding that he took the papers deliberately. Shame on them.
Thanks for the research, although I can't remember when a scientific consensus had much immediate effect on politics. And since we've already agreed on this comment board that we'd vote for Biden even if he was just a head on a stick, I don't think we're the ones who need convincing. 'Tis a long way to November.
BTW, I'm 86 and also still cooking on all burners. As low-key-appearing as Biden is, he's pretty much on top of everything, juggling multiple balls in the air at all times. I imagine, when he was talking to "muddled" Hur, he may have had other things on his mind... that is, people like Putin, Chi and the idiots trying to destroy the U.S. from within.
I'm 72 years old and must confess to more memory lapses than I had when younger. However, when it comes to current events I'm much more alert and conversant than I was as a young man, probably because I don't have as many distractions as I did before. Alison Gill reported on her podcast that Biden could have had the part about his memory redacted from the report but he chose not to. I think we all know what Trump and Barr would have done.
AND, as a grief counsellor of over 40 years I have met way too many people who have lost family members way younger and very healthy ... we don't know when any of us will die and we do what we can while we can be meaningfully engaged and of service. If the country has to move on after a president dies in office, like Kennedy or anyone, it will. Be glad to have a good president with good people working around him or her!
At 70, I'm lucky enough to have not lost any extended family members before their time, although my mother's stroke at 76, which made it very difficult for her to communicate, was extremely difficult, and her death, 9 months later, was a relief. Had she not had the MS, her afib that brought the stroke on would probably have been diagnosed, or maybe she wouldn't have had it, and based on some of the longevity in her family, and her own youthfulness despite the MS, she might have made it to 100. And I lost one of my best friends when he was only 72--I was 62--and he would have lasted a lot longer if he hadn't had the Parkinson's.
I think that's just an expression for people who do particularly well as they age. But they don't drink juice (too much sugar!), and they avoid saturated fats, and they eat a wide variety of plant based foods--nuts, whole grains, vegetables, leafy greens, beans, etc, as well as the really healthy fish like salmon. They also made sure they were born with good genes. My mother had a cousin who lived to 104, although another cousin, who left one of the family names--Hornbein, the Hornbein Couloir--close to the top of Everest recently died at 92 (googling Hornbein will get him before any other Hornbeins). My mother's sister lived to 90 despite the fact that she was a couch potato with a terrible but fun diet. My mother might have made it to 100 had she not had the MS.
Sincere condolences on the loss of your sister, Jeri. For those we lost due to Covid, let’s take a moment to remember who mismanaged it and send him away.
She had a pacemaker put in and an artery was nicked. Things went down from there. It wasn't just Covid, she had had vaccines. Yes, sibs are a loss, and she will surely be missed. My best Dem sis that understood our situation.
Indeed, my parents raised four frisky girls who had good sense. Two were married to republicans, but both were appalled by what W/Dickie did, and Chump was a bridge too far for anybody with a brain cell.
Sorry for your loss, Jeri, Very hard to lose a sibling, as who else knows our history? Point in case I was making to my husband about that, and I spontaneously rang up my sister and put her on speaker so he could hear this exchange: I said "ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum, BAM!! ba-dum ba-dum ba-dum ba-dum BAM!! --what is that?"
She cracked up. We grew up in at high 3rd floor top apartment bldg. My folks moved in when pregnant with me, the landlord strongly balking at renting a 2 bedroom apartment to a lower class family with 4 kids. (My Dad lied and said we'd only be there 6 months--we lived there 10 years after the addition of me)
Crabby "old people" (which I would be now! LOL) yelled as us kids as we'd run down the stairs, making just that quoted noise. Up and down and up and down and up and down all day. We drove them nuts. A door would open and some woman would scream WALK! at us.
I lost my brother to COVID on January 13, 2022. He had dementia, sadly. No history of this in our family. He had aphasia and spent a year isolated in his assisted living facility due to COVID, and I am entirely sure that the isolation exacerbated his condition. I blame Trump for his death.
So many sad stories, My husband died in 2022 after 15 years with Alzheimers. No family history as well. True, sibs are the only ones who have known us from the git go. So grateful that we stayed close and appreciated our flawed but loving parents. Hard when those who loved us and are gone outnumber the ones who are still with us.
I’ll be 90 in three months, so can give you a version of “aging backwards.” For me it’s remembering “second childhood,” so understanding physical changes as “regression” and moving forward from the understanding. I do Pilates for my brain, carry my cane just in case, eat carefully remembering what a pediatrician once said to me about my small daughter (“If she eats in three days what you’re told she should eat in one, she’ll be fine”) and eating greens, yellows, nuts, accordingly. Having moved constantly both physically and household and having spent 10 years on a houseboat in France (68-78) moving from lock to lock all summer and spending short winters doing whatever turned up, wherever, having marched against the Vietnam War and most recently (long) with the SEIU, somewhat diminished by Covid, I began writing GOTV postcards in 2018, wrote 1000 twice for Warnock in 2020, don’t remember how many in ‘22 and am on my roughly 700th this year, ignoring osteoarthritis as much as possible. PS I’m a musician. (If anyone remembers the hilarious fake Ann Landers column from years ago, you’ll know why I saved the best ‘til last.)
Yes, I’ve been lucky. As a miserable teenager and always curious, I hoped to be older and wiser. Both parents contributed in interesting ways and here I am. Had fun last night talking to a couple of really interesting thirty somethings. As I become more liberal as I get older, felt closer to them than the ageists who surround me.
I'm twenty years behind you and I've gotten more and more progressive as I've become more educated. I always was a liberal, thanks to my parents. In first grade I was a strong supporter of JFK haha. I asked my teacher who she supported and she sniffed and said Nixon. Nixon founded the EPA that the MAGATs want to eliminate. It's shocking to me just how awful everything has become since the optimistic future we envisioned, at least here in the Bay Area in the 60s and 70s. It's heartbreaking. The damage to the planet and nonhuman residents hurts the most because they are innocent. We came along with our big brains and language and opposable thumbs and our greed and have managed to cause so much harm. And the eternal wars...
When I first heard the personal opinion comments made by and in the special counsel report on the Biden classified documents issue, I said to my partner, why did Attorney General Garland and/or staff allow these personal opinions to be published if it had reviewed before release? What ever happened to “just the facts, ma’am, just the facts”? [… and yes, I realize that that was the FBI and on a television series!] Does this special counselor have psychological and/or medical training along with his legal training to offer these personal opinion comments? These were intentional politically-leaning comments that should had no right to have been in this report - unless they were under a heading of personal observations - if at all!
The repubs never miss a chance to vilify, denigrate, and destroy any semblance of fairness in any discussion, whatsoever. Chump’s lunacy is on full display for all to see, but it is skewed, spun, massaged, and altered in ways that make one’s head spin. Has been so from day one. And not just Rupert. It’s almost like the Repub establishment had been waiting for the tin god, and anointed him king. Putin saw the promise as well, only much earlier. Find a Repub with integrity and use a microscope. Liz may be the only one left.
Yes, I appreciate them, but the other repubs seem to reject their good sense. At least the ones I know. But then, this is Texas, the place where logic goes to die.
Love this comment! I’m turning 78 today and my husband is 83. We both are very active with our family and community and really resent the culture that assumes Biden is losing it. This Country needs to get a grip on how blessed we are to have this man who has devoted his life and now wisdom to the USA, its people and his family.
In contrast we have the wannabe dictator, nipping with open jaws at our nations Democracy in total aggrandizement of his selfish narcissistic desires!
It is why I have lost a lot of respect for the press. They set a mindset for readers that harms Biden, just like it harmed Hillary in the last months of that election. How they write matters, and has consequences. To be fair Biden and Trump show signs of an aging mind - but the press only focuses that concern on Biden.
Let's be clear here -and I do not see any coverage about this, one of the greatest skill sets of a President is how he or she successfully surrounds him or herself with the finest talent. Lincoln's "Team of Rovals" comes to mind. Biden's team is top notched. Many of Trump's team has been indicted, convicted, fired, or if sane, quit in protest. Team matters. This must be reported. Bush Junior got elected in part because Joe Citizen said, "I could have a beer with that guy"... and look at where the concept of the single leader got us with that thinking!
I think we need to create some social rules around gaggle type interviews. The feeding frenzy that reporters display when they try to get their questions answered is ineffective. Not only can't we hear through the wall of sound the variety of questions neither can the person they are trying to question. Perhaps prior to the gaggle, a lottery can be drawn to assure everyone gets a fair chance to ask a question(s). Then the list of lottery winners are allowed to ask their questions through a random draw of their names at time of interview. The current method is unfair to everyone, the interviewee, the reporter, and the public. What would the community suggest?
You don’t need to ask if Biden is too old; he tells you. But it doesn’t matter, because he doesn’t run the empire.
“And it is indeed getting worse. During a press conference in which Biden was ostensibly meant to reassure the world that his brain is working fine in light of the big news, the president referred to the president of Egypt as the president of Mexico and froze mid-speech when he unsuccessfully tried to remember where his son got the rosary he carries from. Just this week Biden has mistakenly referred to dead European leaders as still being in office, not once but twice.
If you were still laboring under the delusion that it matters who the US president is, the fact that an actual, literal dementia patient has held that office for three years now should dispel that notion once and for all. The US empire has been marching along in exactly the same way it was before Biden took office, completely unhindered by the fact that the person who’s supposedly calling the shots is in a state of degenerative neurological free-fall.
Literally anyone could hold that office and it would make no meaningful difference in the way the US empire is run. A coma patient could be president. A jar of kalamata olives could be president. The position which Americans hold elections over in the belief that it could bring positive changes to their country and their world is nothing but a figurehead.
Which is a bit of a problem for Americans who would like to change certain aspects of their government’s behavior, like for example the backing of an active genocide in Gaza. Whose conscience do they work to appeal to if the person they were told is in charge actually isn’t? Who do they vote for if the people who really call the shots aren’t even on the ballot?”
Tom, you're making my point about reelecting Biden. Biden is a master delegator and negotiator, plus he has surrounded himself with an amazing cast of cabinet members and advisors.
On the other hand, your buddy Trump has a fit if anyone in the WH got an ounce of credit for anything they accomplished during his term. Ergo, either they did nothing of value or Trump made the decisions for things he knew nothing about. Plus, TFFG promised us he would surround himself with the best people. Munchkin one of your corporate monsters, kicked elderly people out of their homes for being late on one single payment. Zinke was drummed out for taking bribes, Pruitt used his office for public gain and to roll back regulations put in place under Nixon, DeVos is a Trustifarian who admitted never going into a public school. Ross slept through the entire Trump Presidency. Tillerson was never allowed to do his job because he stood up to Trump on dealing with Putin. The list goes on, but most of them were rich and none would dare say a negative thing about him.
Reagan had Alzheimer's his entire 2nd term while Woodrow Wilson's wife became President after he had a heart attack. And yet the country survived just fine.
I was never a big fan of Jerry Brown the first time he was governor, but I admit, he surrounded himself with amazing people (including Linda Robstadt but I digress). And he had to undo many things Reagan did in CA just like Biden has with Trump.
Gary, the first paragraph of your comment is absurd analysis in the extreme. You did make a point with your ‘the country survived just fine’ insanity, though. Sounds like you’re making the case for Trump.
“+ Biden on Trump’s calls for a debate: “If I were him, I would want to debate me, too.” True, but a very strange thing to admit.
+ Who is running Biden’s campaign and why in the world are they letting him make so many unscripted public statements? Each appearance generates a new gaffe. Trump spews nonstop nonsense as well, of course, but his howlers excite his base, while Biden’s embarrass and alienate his. It almost qualifies as elder abuse. Biden is being sent out every day to make statements so politically antiquated, it’s as if he didn’t want to say something that might spoil his lunch date in the Senate cafeteria with Strom Thurmond.
+ Imagine a Democratic Party leadership that fought as hard for single-payer health care as it has for funding wars in Ukraine and Gaza. No, I can’t either.”
Actually, Biden always wins at Scrabble and routinely finishes the New York Times crossword puzzle in under half an hour. Plays a mean game of Boggle, too.
I have eyes and ears. And experience dealing with cognitive decline in my extended family.
Couple that with a refusal to allow tribal political BS to influence my thinking, and looking at Biden’s public utterances throughout his political history, it’s clear he has no business seeking a second term. If one can look at Trump’s narcissistic personality disorder, or Mitch McConnell’s brain freezes in the past year, and talk about their respective lack of fitness to hold office, no reason Biden shouldn’t be held to a similar standard as far as question age and his ability to handle a continually stressful job.
But hey, as Johnstone notes, the president is merely a placeholder for empire; it ain’t like you need mental fitness when you have no control over the real levers of power, right?
Why do you never criticize anyone but Biden? Are you working for Trump's campaign?
And you never responded about Hamas raping and killing children on October 7th. I guess your "eyes and ears" missed that news story that was reported in every major news publication. Either that or you are also a misogynist besides being a MAGANAZI.
Gary, you’re nothing but a propagandized fool. Your hysterical depiction of 10/7 as a deflection from genocide proves it. You lap up discredited mainstream media accounts like candy.
Trump is an asshole. I criticize Biden because he, like every Democratic president since Kennedy, has betrayed FDR’s allegiance to workers ahead of monied interests.
I will suggest that the Demublicans, together with the Republicrats, worship together at the altar of "Free Trade," with the World Trade Organization being their Sacred Cow. If you ship all the factories to China, then no more industrial workers or pesky labor unions.
No country has ever industrialized by following "free trade," but it's a taboo to say that as part of a political campaign. Instead we get neo-imperialistic Vampire Liberalism.
In February of 2022, Putin attacked Ukraine targeting Kyiv and other cities in Ukraine. Trump called Putin brilliant for doing so as you may recall.
So Ukraine has responded by killing over 350,000 Russians most of whom were conscripted to be in Ukraine. So you're saying this is also genocide committed by Ukraine and by proxy Biden?
And what about Afghanistan? Did the US also commit genocide there? What a stupid war that was started by W based on lies. Again, genocide by your definition.
The US has been guilty of genocide since before we were a country killing off native Americans as well as torturing and killing black people.
Your comment about MSM and candy is laughable. This is from the United Nations -- not what I would call MSM, but hey I'm the fool.
In Israel, the October 7 attack killed some 1,200 people, including many women and at least 33 children. UN Women is alarmed by the numerous accounts of gender-based atrocities and sexual violence during those attacks, and since. In addition, some 250 people, including approximately 65 women, were abducted.
The corporatocracy has betrayed workers way more than any Democratic President. Congress created H-1B visas they said because US corporations couldn't find Engineers, Programmers and other technicians. This is BS. The corporatocracy wanted to maximize profits by bringing in cheap Indian, Chinese and Russian technicians even though research had shown there was no shortage of STEM workers in the US. This is according to Wikipedia (again not the MSM). I've worked with a few hundred Indians and Russians here on H-1B visas. They are usually paid better than they would be in their home country but 1/2 to 1/3 as much as American programmers. Why? Because corporations do what they can to screw the workers.
To hate Biden because of the Israeli's responding to a brutal attack which itself could have been labeled genocide is rather twisted logic.
The differences, from the macro level, are negligible. We still have government controlled by monied interests, endless war, and an inability to seriously address the issues most affecting the lives of American citizens; health care, housing, a rapacious financial sector, poverty, income/wealth inequality, and most pressing, climate.
No one who ever wishes to seriously address these issues will ever be allowed to sit in the Oval Office. The corporate coup is complete.
His supporters are really supporting Vice President Harris. The president will not be able to beat Trump as they will continue to attack his age issues. We need to get behind Bobby to beat Trump.
RFK’s Zionist sycophancy towards genocidal Israel is even worse than Biden’s.
You beat Trump, and his cult, by exposing the fraud of his populist appeal. The Democratic Party had the opportunity to deal with the age issue for Biden via contested primaries and debates, but it preferred a coronation to actual democracy, just as was the case in 2016. And now they risk losing to the fascist boob again because of it.
Why do people/press not marvel at the job this 80+ person is doing: traveling all over the world, meeting with world leaders, negotiating deals in Congress with crazy people, etc. I think everyone should be exclaiming how “incredible” Joe Biden is!!
Can anyone tell me why today’s supreme court ballot case, as important as it is, was argued on the Colorado side by an attorney who was before the court for the first time and not someone like Neil Katyal, who has argued before the supreme court 50 times? Listening today was painful and I was aware of the attorney’s youth and inexperience in his attempts to answer the justices’ questions.
Jason Murray represented Respondents (plural) in DJT vs Anderson, et al. Case No: 23-719. Norma Anderson is a lifelong CO Republican who was one of several Plaintiff citizens in COLORADO. Jason can be reached via jmurray@olsengrimsley.com.
NEAL KATYAL is of course the top appellate Attorney in the Nation Neal's victorious 51st argument at SCOTUS was the best oral argument I have ever heard. Neal's comments today on the case were summarized at the end of my live blog of the hearing today elsewhere on the LFAA platform I annotated my blog with the at the end with Neal's take.
My Live Blog was my first & likely my last. I commented to Neal via LFAA today that I tried my best to do his analysis right. One of Neal's major points is that no one spoke or asked questions about the risks, serious risks, involved of NOT sustaining Colorado's DQ.
I didn't get to hear the arguments but wonder if anyone brought up the possibility that the authors of that amendment couldn't conceive of an American president being party to an insurrection.
Yes, Justice Jackson blew up DJT's "insurrection" oral argument that even a "chaotic" insurrection such as "kill Mike Pence" would qualify. It seemed no one wanted get into the meaning "insurrection". probably because of the 'before" & 'during' of the Josh Hawleys of Congress speeding to the Exit are still to raw.
Hey, Bryan. One of the justices, I can't remember who, seemed to be concerned more about the fallout if they were to rule in Colorado's favor which I thought was contrary to adhering to the law.
My unqualified take was that it was not so much the insurrection issue that was disturbing the justices, but the idea that any one state could make that decision thus disturbing the “fair” election process. I think it would have to be an all or nothing question and decision: does this prohibit anyone from being on all the states’ ballots because of insurrection.
And how many presidents do we have elected by the antiquated electoral college instead of we the people. So many of extreme courts statements defied logic
He was not prepared for what they asked him in court and often did not answer the questions directly. I have no doubt he is intelligent but the lack of experience was glaringly obvious.
Strange that the “justices’ cannot fathom “blocking” someone from being on the ballot when the same man and his cretins try to block all Dem votes, in every way that repubs can imagine, including insurrection. Watch the video folks, it tells the tale.
388 pages for the fact that no charges are to be pressed on Biden.? None. Zero.
And yet the far-right Supreme Court is worried about Colorado being out of step with the other states -- when the Supreme Court has it in its bailiwick to order all 50 to follow the Constitution and not allow on any ballot someone who in view of all the world led an insurrection?
Even most gray of old establishment press loves sensationalism, Annie?
No charges. That's the fact.
Why do so many want now to indulge gossip, hypotheticals, theory? They never learned any of the great fiction, real art fantasy from our great novelists? They have no idea, dehumanized as most now are, how we actually hunger for decent arts, great fictions -- with standards, built on the edifice of precedent, predecessors, of detecting and honoring the best human rhyme, reverberation?
Irrespective of the repulsive ‘horse-race’ mentality of our mainstream media, I found this conversation on messaging by the Democrats, and political messaging in general, to be of interest to anyone concerned about election outcome. Just an FYI.
The older woman on the right side of the screen speaks wonk too much, Tom.
Too much abstracted diction. And, typical of those who learn theory, or wonk, zero humanities, not at all in touch with all those hurt by big money, dark money, and all the other predators, lobbyists, and Congress critters doing their bidding.
Writing 388 pages as a coda for a nolle prosequi finding by an appointed special counsel is a prime example of unctious showing-off. A lawyer who conducts an investigation to determine whether the target of his investigation acted with criminal intent doesn't need a reamsworth of copy paper to come to a conclusion that documents bearing national security classification markings, where the events in question occurred decades ago and where items of government property that were overlooked at a time when Mr. Biden, then a senator occupying a leadership position in government, was vacating his office in order to become the nation's vice president.
That was in 2009. In all likelihood, the task of sifting through archived materials then in storage would ordinarily be delegated to subordinates or to other governmental employees to gather up those classified documents and transmit them to the National Archives and Records Administration. All this shows me is a breakdown of administrative processing aimed at conducting a search for classified materials and taking custody of same. I worked in government, state and federal, for fifteen years, and I know how cumbersome recordkeeping can be.
All that needed to be done was write a short, suscinct summary and chronology, and a listing of national security materials recovered, and where found.
A short, suscinct narrative descibing the president's awareness that he might have classified materials in his possession, and listing steps he took to facilitate their discovery and recovery. A maximum of fifty pages would be more than sufficient. The man who wrote this monstrosity was obviously making a monument to himself instead of what should have been the size snd scope of a medallion.
Rest & don’t worry-/ the relentless surge of fume & fury will be there tomorrow…& the next day & the next.. Recharge your own batteries & leave the mechanical one for another day! 💞
I must admit I giggled at your mishap, glad to know I’m not the only one to sometimes forget important items… but I sure don’t have the excuses you have! Thank you for sharing your vulnerability as well as your usual amazing knowledge! We are all thankful for you.
I found this information about the report informative ~ Hur, a former U.S. Attorney in the Trump administration, was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland as special counsel in January 2023 following an initial discovery by Biden staff of classified records in Washington office space.
I bet Biden is pissed at Garland tonight. Parts of Hur's "report" read like a political hatchet job. Why even ask what year Biden's son died. Hur seemed to stress things which were outside his remit.
I think so, yet why do we labor to be seen as unbiased when it is a good thing to be always and everywhere biased against traitors, insurrectionists, would-be tyrants, and those who do their bidding?
And yes, Barbara Keating, it reminds me of Comey’s huge lie, which led us here.
Always up for the reminder that you are a real human person amongst us.
That was my first thought too, Laura. I love the comments too, so the education/enlightenment continues.
HCR, thank you and so much more. Enjoy some rest. We’ll be here.
I read this and strange, HCR's need for a battery brought to my mind this: "A horse, A horse, My kingdom for a horse." It is Heather's Richard III moment.
Thanks, reading the New York Times and comments from their writers was awful and the whole judgement of Biden, asking if he is to old or losing it, and not mention anything about that senile lunatic Trump , not to mention the GOP!
Do get some rest but the sh#%€t never stops!
I'm going to take this opportunity to report that that "Hur report" claiming that Biden's mind is going is Bullsh!t. Two eminent gerontologists have suggested the opposite--that he's a super ager. Here's the article from Medpage, and the link at the end
It's no secret that at 81, President Biden is the oldest sitting president in U.S. history. And whether the current frontrunners for either party win the election later this year, Biden or Donald Trump would be the oldest president on record. Many people have raised concerns about the candidates' ages and whether they are too old to run for president.
However, a recent op-ed published in The Hill weighed in on whether President Biden is actually a super-ager -- someone generally older than 80 who has cognitive and physical function higher than their peers, more akin to people decades younger -- and argued that framing Biden in particular as "too old" is both ageist and politically motivated.
Two of the op-ed authors, S. Jay Olshansky, PhD, of the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Bradley Willcox, MD, MSc, of the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, were among the panel of gerontologists who assessed the health of Biden and Trump leading up to the 2020 election. That report noted that "Biden is expected to outlive Trump, even though he is 3 years older" because of Biden's "exceptional health profile for a man his age."
Olshansky, Willcox, and the third co-author, former Texas politician Ben Barnes, wrote that Biden "exhibits characteristics consistent with super-ager status," and all evidence "evaluated by experts in medicine and aging science" points to Biden being in good health for his age. In response, several media outlets have reported on how Biden may be a super-ager and some claimed he's "aging backwards."
To gain insight on whether Biden is indeed a super-ager, MedPage Today spoke with Nir Barzilai, MD, director of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine's Institute for Aging Research in New York City and scientific director of the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR), who also was on the team that analyzed the candidates' health in 2020. While there isn't a universal definition for "super-ager," he explained that the unifying factors are older age with relatively higher cognitive and physical function.
"There is a chronological age and a biological age, and I think all of us intuitively know that those are not the same," Barzilai said. He noted that while genes play a role in aging, so do exercise, diet, sleep, and social connectivity. These four "are much more important things than a specific test," he added, and Biden scores well on those traits, except for potentially sleep.
Having a parent with exceptional age is also a major clue that someone could be a super-ager, he said. Biden and Trump's parents lived well into their 80s or to their early 90s.
But, ultimately, Barzilai said he can't definitively affirm that Biden is aging backwards -- or that Trump is, for that matter -- because he doesn't know their full medical histories. Specifically, he would be interested to know their HbA1c and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels.
As president, a lot (but not all) of Biden's health data are transparent and released by the government. Meanwhile, Barzilai said he's dubious about much of the information on Trump's health. Thus, critiquing the wealth of data on Biden while having little available on Trump could easily be weaponized for political means.
"I don't want to say [Biden's] younger or older ... and I urge everybody to say that age is a number, not a quality," he said.
Much of Barzilai's past research has focused on biomarkers of aging, including through the Longevity Genes Project, which analyzed the genetics of healthy people older than 95 and their families. One of his studies from 2016 found that super-agers had a compression of morbidity, meaning that many died without diseases and those who were sick at the end were sick for shorter periods of time than most people. In other words, "health span and lifespan went together," he noted.
Currently, AFAR is working on a study of super-agers and actively recruiting people 95 and older and their families to look into longevity genes. Other studies from the past year have found that super-agers had significantly larger entorhinal cortex neurons than their peers, as well as sharper memories -- and researchers still have much to explore.
"As scientists, we're trying to figure out what is this biology and can we extend health span and lifespan for everyone else," Barzilai said.
Correction: This article was updated to reflect that Biden and Trump each had a parent who lived until their early 90s.
https://www.medpagetoday.com/popmedicine/cultureclinic/108213?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2024-01-10&eun=g1964106d0r
Thank you. 81 years of wisdom and experience packed into a good hearted, quietly hardworking & super-smart Super Ager. What more could we ask at a time like this? Will share.
Well said Joan!
Thanks for sharing!!!
*Best new meme idea David ! ""Vote Biden - He has the largest - Huge, entorhinal cortex neuronsopens"" Can we sell it David ?
Now that’s something I’d love to hear TFG try to pronounce as he claims HE has the most beautiful and “Huge, entorhinal cortex neuronsopens”.
Yes Lynn ! I plainly did not come out and say it, but all of Joe's next reactions, should be his sense of humor, which I know he certainly has ! An all defensive reaction is a bad look; alas, I don't get paid to advise him, but I wish so much that I could lend a hand.
It was a gaff, imo, but it also reminded me that he is human like the rest of us, and maybe the bullies on the other side will see he can get mean, too. That's a language they understand.
You may disagree with this Mary, but I think Joe, was just being 'Joe.' I've watched him and been a huge fan of his, and his entirely, beautiful, very 'human' family for as long as I can remember him on the public stage. He just 'is' what he 'is' and leads with his intentions to my view; and his intentions, judging from his actions, are entirely good. I think about where he came from, and all he's overcome; At the same time, can you or anyone herein recall any speech / talk / reveal, wherein he p_ssed and moaned about how heavy his load is / was, etc. ? I cannot. It seems he just rolls up his sleeves and dives into whatever is in front of him amicably and though it's the 'only' thing to do, with singleness of mind, and then the next thing, which his life illustrates has never or seldom about himself; He toils for something far greater than himself in my view. The contrast between him and tfg / OiD could not be clearer who's favorite word - 'beautiful' word, is "I". Joe's 'right hand' human, Dr. Jill; grace and humility; Do you think you'll ever, in a million years see her wear any passive aggressive message or sign by her intent, to convey a message like "I don't care" ? Never...! I could go on and on, but as you've read from small i before, this is our Dr.'s page, not mine. Onward...
Entohinal cortex neuronsopens - say that 10 times fast
How about one time?
Thanks for bringing that to my attention. There were more of those, but I've deleted them all. I'll try to find something else for us to sell.
So appreciate this share even with the additions of the . . .opens to another tab. So encouraging to read science not opinion.
I'm a retired surgeon and "entorhinal?" That's a new one one me.
“The entorhinal cortex (EC) is a critical element of the hippocampal formation located within the medial temporal lobe (MTL) in primates. The EC has historically received attention for being the primary mediator of cortical information going into and coming from the hippocampus proper.”
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32580662/
😉👍🏻
Thanks! I'm 86 and still, I think!, cooking on at least most of my burners... most think I'm a lot younger than I am. I, too, see Joe Biden and being on top of his game and think it's funny that so many think they're ahead of him, when they're not!
I'm with you on MTL and hippocampal formation... but EC is a new one. Thanks for the info.
Next step is some muscle type selling EC strengthener, right? 🙄
Kudos to Camilla for introducing Pubmed, Natl.Center for Biotechnical Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health. This is a compendium of scientific information belonging to us, not Pharma or pseudo pharma, without advertising, readable and reliable.
How marvelous ! Thank you so much for your service Sandee - with the utmost sincerity ! My two children are medical professionals, ER to be a tad more specific. Did you specialize, if you don't mind ?
Oral surgery. As a senior officer, most of my time was spent teaching juniors, also surgeons, things they hadn't learned in their Ivy League schools. I also spent a lot of time making sure the rest of the command was prepared in advance of deployment.
Make it "entorhinal cortex neurons" (without the "opens"), and it might work.
Something kept screwing up. I thought I deleted all the "opens", but I guess I didn't.
😂
I would have hit the laugh emoji but I couldn't find it!
😉 Isn't it 'just right' humbling to discover your only 'human.' 😉
Once again I would have hit the laugh emoji! Where IS the darned thing?!!!
😂
If you're on Windows, hit the Windows key plus the period key... an emoji window pops up. Easy peasy. I also like using Bitmoji's... though I sometimes have to open a window in Chrome to copy the Bitmoji I want.
I think even the most ardent Biden fans would say:"Huh?"
That's reasonable. It's reasonable that we should question. But we need to remember that Biden was probably blindsided by Hur, the latter's having been sent by the attorney General Biden had appointed. I wouldn't be surprised if Hur said stuff that was meant to provoke Biden. It's an obvious hit job.
And I would remind anyone that Biden so outnegotiated Kevin McCarthy on the debt ceiling last spring that the Republicans were quite PO'd with McCarthy, and he also outnegotiated Mike Johnson the this past fall. He made two trips to Israel in 10 days, which is a 9 hour flight across as many time zones, and a total of 36 hours in the air. He got NATO lined up behind Ukraine a couple of years ago. And on the same trip in which he negotiated closer relations with the Chinese, he visited around eight other countries, a bunch of different time zones, and managed to stay sane and compos mentis.
I don't know how he does it! But he does.
Thank you! I thought it was disgusting how the media jumped on him. I then realized that probably none of them (at least the ones I watched for a few questions) were around in the 80's when Ronald Reagan had to be coached for his answers many times by wife Nancy standing next to him. The assault on Biden was disgusting, rude, and unprofessional. It's almost as if some of those reporters had been planted there...
Between the extreme court & the special council, I wanted to retrieve every bad lawyer joke I know!
Correct! And Biden took it and answered them with grace and strength.
More...I rewatched the clip of reporters questioning Biden and discovered that the tall guy with the reddish hair was from Fox News with a last name Doucy, so related to Steve Doucy probably (I'm not a Fox News viewer so had no idea who he was). His last name explains his behaviour, but it's not acceptable media etiquette when you're addressing the President of the United States. Did anyone watch NBC with Lester Holt? If so, how was it handled there? I was watching David Muir on ABC (I switch back and for the between he and Lester on NBC).
I have a great interest in history and try to watch WWII veterans being interviewed. There are a few like Lucky Luckadoo are still sharp as ever. He's 100 years old. Start at 11 minutes if you want to skip the talk before Lucky. https://www.c-span.org/video/?524192-5/bloody-100th-john-lucky-luckadoo
Did you hear the 91 year old Coloradan in front of the Supreme Court yesterday? She’s got a big one too.
She's certainly a super whippersnapper.
lol "whippersnapper" that's before my grandmother's time, heard it as a kid regularly.
Thanks Susan- I just watched the video- and Mr. Luckadoo is a remarkably powerful speaker not just for his age but regardless of age. It is also one of the most vivid descriptions of what his generation of soldiers and pilots went through. A sample- of the 40 fellow graduates in pilot training school -all of whom were sent to England immediately after getting their wings-only four survived the war. His comment - he was not just lucky- he was damn lucky.
There are the gaffes of getting older and then dementia and then illness induced memory issues. Everything gets lumped together. The doc report mention of Biden state of mind was unethical and needs to be called out. Unfortunately the MSM chose to lead with that and it can’t be unsaid. I would call that political weaponry. So much for the appearance of fairness.
I couldn't stop watching the whole interview, despite having to prepare for an appointment. I've been at a few interviews with Veterans over 100 (one retired before Pearl Harbor, but came back immediately).
My hero who made it to 103 is Benjamin Ferenzc, still sharp as a tack in my favorite interview in 2016 when he was 96. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJTUEJxDmcc
Ferenzc was a good man, and fully deserves our admiration.
Wow Jim ! Thanks for that link ! How plainly powerful.. Now I've got an 'earworm' ! Among the many takeaways, this one plays over and over; At about the 6 minute mark Ben states his guiding statement and coda, "to substitute the rule of law for the rule of force."
Ben is something else. What a life.
Ruth Ben-Ghiat today called it information warfare.
“ I, Edith Ceccarelli, also known as ‘Edie’ by her family and a multitude of friends, would like to keep on dancing,” she wrote in 2012. “Dancing keeps your limbs strong. What is nicer than holding a lovely lady in your arms and dancing a beautiful waltz or two-step together?”
“Try it, you will like it,” she added, along with her phone number. She was 104 at the time.
💃
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/07/us/edith-ceccarelli-116-years-willits-california.html?unlocked_article_code=1.UE0.n8cn.-1-l464h6RS7&smid=url-share
Thank the authors for speaking quickly about Biden's memory and mental status (and you for sharing). I thought the government's report probably hurt worse than a finding that he took the papers deliberately. Shame on them.
I agree with you. It stinks.
Thank you for posting this.
You're most welcome. I kind of felt it was my duty to spread it around as much as possible.
Thank you, but truth chases lies and rarely catches up. Until the rubber meets the road.
Damn Jeri; I'm writing that one down.
I shared this, too. However, I’m preaching to the choir. The congregation of MAGAts can’t, won’t, hear it.
Thanks for the research, although I can't remember when a scientific consensus had much immediate effect on politics. And since we've already agreed on this comment board that we'd vote for Biden even if he was just a head on a stick, I don't think we're the ones who need convincing. 'Tis a long way to November.
“A head on a stick.” Quite a visual! But it made me laugh and I needed to laugh.
Yes Dirk; and "Twas only a 'flesh wound...." (lol.)
BTW, I'm 86 and also still cooking on all burners. As low-key-appearing as Biden is, he's pretty much on top of everything, juggling multiple balls in the air at all times. I imagine, when he was talking to "muddled" Hur, he may have had other things on his mind... that is, people like Putin, Chi and the idiots trying to destroy the U.S. from within.
I'm 72 years old and must confess to more memory lapses than I had when younger. However, when it comes to current events I'm much more alert and conversant than I was as a young man, probably because I don't have as many distractions as I did before. Alison Gill reported on her podcast that Biden could have had the part about his memory redacted from the report but he chose not to. I think we all know what Trump and Barr would have done.
Exactly Dave; Joe, is what he is, and I like that.
David, I emphatically concur.
AND, as a grief counsellor of over 40 years I have met way too many people who have lost family members way younger and very healthy ... we don't know when any of us will die and we do what we can while we can be meaningfully engaged and of service. If the country has to move on after a president dies in office, like Kennedy or anyone, it will. Be glad to have a good president with good people working around him or her!
At 70, I'm lucky enough to have not lost any extended family members before their time, although my mother's stroke at 76, which made it very difficult for her to communicate, was extremely difficult, and her death, 9 months later, was a relief. Had she not had the MS, her afib that brought the stroke on would probably have been diagnosed, or maybe she wouldn't have had it, and based on some of the longevity in her family, and her own youthfulness despite the MS, she might have made it to 100. And I lost one of my best friends when he was only 72--I was 62--and he would have lasted a lot longer if he hadn't had the Parkinson's.
There is hope for all of us who are not old, but are getting older
How does aging backwards work?
I think that's just an expression for people who do particularly well as they age. But they don't drink juice (too much sugar!), and they avoid saturated fats, and they eat a wide variety of plant based foods--nuts, whole grains, vegetables, leafy greens, beans, etc, as well as the really healthy fish like salmon. They also made sure they were born with good genes. My mother had a cousin who lived to 104, although another cousin, who left one of the family names--Hornbein, the Hornbein Couloir--close to the top of Everest recently died at 92 (googling Hornbein will get him before any other Hornbeins). My mother's sister lived to 90 despite the fact that she was a couch potato with a terrible but fun diet. My mother might have made it to 100 had she not had the MS.
My sister just died at 90 and was sharp as a bell until Covid got her. Sadly, a Dem vote
Sincere condolences on the loss of your sister, Jeri. For those we lost due to Covid, let’s take a moment to remember who mismanaged it and send him away.
i have never forgotten, not for a nanosecond. Thank you. I hope I can be as frisky as she was til the day Covid came to call.
I'm sorry your sister succumbed to Covid, Jeri.
She had a pacemaker put in and an artery was nicked. Things went down from there. It wasn't just Covid, she had had vaccines. Yes, sibs are a loss, and she will surely be missed. My best Dem sis that understood our situation.
Oh no, that is so sad.
Indeed, my parents raised four frisky girls who had good sense. Two were married to republicans, but both were appalled by what W/Dickie did, and Chump was a bridge too far for anybody with a brain cell.
Sorry for your loss, Jeri, Very hard to lose a sibling, as who else knows our history? Point in case I was making to my husband about that, and I spontaneously rang up my sister and put her on speaker so he could hear this exchange: I said "ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum, BAM!! ba-dum ba-dum ba-dum ba-dum BAM!! --what is that?"
She cracked up. We grew up in at high 3rd floor top apartment bldg. My folks moved in when pregnant with me, the landlord strongly balking at renting a 2 bedroom apartment to a lower class family with 4 kids. (My Dad lied and said we'd only be there 6 months--we lived there 10 years after the addition of me)
Crabby "old people" (which I would be now! LOL) yelled as us kids as we'd run down the stairs, making just that quoted noise. Up and down and up and down and up and down all day. We drove them nuts. A door would open and some woman would scream WALK! at us.
I lost my brother to COVID on January 13, 2022. He had dementia, sadly. No history of this in our family. He had aphasia and spent a year isolated in his assisted living facility due to COVID, and I am entirely sure that the isolation exacerbated his condition. I blame Trump for his death.
So many sad stories, My husband died in 2022 after 15 years with Alzheimers. No family history as well. True, sibs are the only ones who have known us from the git go. So grateful that we stayed close and appreciated our flawed but loving parents. Hard when those who loved us and are gone outnumber the ones who are still with us.
Did you see this one David ? > https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/02/02/edie-recagno-oldest-person-in-us/72379267007/
Someone else showed me another article on this same woman. She's amazing!
Well I made sure my greatgran lived to 96 lol. Hopefully I have her genes.
When my mother turned 90, she said "I can eat whatever I want now".
I’ll be 90 in three months, so can give you a version of “aging backwards.” For me it’s remembering “second childhood,” so understanding physical changes as “regression” and moving forward from the understanding. I do Pilates for my brain, carry my cane just in case, eat carefully remembering what a pediatrician once said to me about my small daughter (“If she eats in three days what you’re told she should eat in one, she’ll be fine”) and eating greens, yellows, nuts, accordingly. Having moved constantly both physically and household and having spent 10 years on a houseboat in France (68-78) moving from lock to lock all summer and spending short winters doing whatever turned up, wherever, having marched against the Vietnam War and most recently (long) with the SEIU, somewhat diminished by Covid, I began writing GOTV postcards in 2018, wrote 1000 twice for Warnock in 2020, don’t remember how many in ‘22 and am on my roughly 700th this year, ignoring osteoarthritis as much as possible. PS I’m a musician. (If anyone remembers the hilarious fake Ann Landers column from years ago, you’ll know why I saved the best ‘til last.)
Remarkable. You go, girl!!
Well, I'd say you've been both lucky and wise. Here's to many more! And thanks for all those postcards!!
Yes, I’ve been lucky. As a miserable teenager and always curious, I hoped to be older and wiser. Both parents contributed in interesting ways and here I am. Had fun last night talking to a couple of really interesting thirty somethings. As I become more liberal as I get older, felt closer to them than the ageists who surround me.
I'm twenty years behind you and I've gotten more and more progressive as I've become more educated. I always was a liberal, thanks to my parents. In first grade I was a strong supporter of JFK haha. I asked my teacher who she supported and she sniffed and said Nixon. Nixon founded the EPA that the MAGATs want to eliminate. It's shocking to me just how awful everything has become since the optimistic future we envisioned, at least here in the Bay Area in the 60s and 70s. It's heartbreaking. The damage to the planet and nonhuman residents hurts the most because they are innocent. We came along with our big brains and language and opposable thumbs and our greed and have managed to cause so much harm. And the eternal wars...
When I first heard the personal opinion comments made by and in the special counsel report on the Biden classified documents issue, I said to my partner, why did Attorney General Garland and/or staff allow these personal opinions to be published if it had reviewed before release? What ever happened to “just the facts, ma’am, just the facts”? [… and yes, I realize that that was the FBI and on a television series!] Does this special counselor have psychological and/or medical training along with his legal training to offer these personal opinion comments? These were intentional politically-leaning comments that should had no right to have been in this report - unless they were under a heading of personal observations - if at all!
I had wondered that too.
Just heard on MSNBC that likely leak was likely Garland’s reasoning. There are still “moles” in Justice.
The repubs never miss a chance to vilify, denigrate, and destroy any semblance of fairness in any discussion, whatsoever. Chump’s lunacy is on full display for all to see, but it is skewed, spun, massaged, and altered in ways that make one’s head spin. Has been so from day one. And not just Rupert. It’s almost like the Repub establishment had been waiting for the tin god, and anointed him king. Putin saw the promise as well, only much earlier. Find a Repub with integrity and use a microscope. Liz may be the only one left.
Michael Steele is another and there are Lincoln Project people who make a lot of good noise on MSNBC. They will likely vote Democratic.
Yes, I appreciate them, but the other repubs seem to reject their good sense. At least the ones I know. But then, this is Texas, the place where logic goes to die.
Google Aesop, "The Frogs Who Wanted a King." A fable for our times.
So many warnings, heed all ye who can still process a fable. I have always known to be careful what one wishes for. You just might get it.
Love this comment! I’m turning 78 today and my husband is 83. We both are very active with our family and community and really resent the culture that assumes Biden is losing it. This Country needs to get a grip on how blessed we are to have this man who has devoted his life and now wisdom to the USA, its people and his family.
In contrast we have the wannabe dictator, nipping with open jaws at our nations Democracy in total aggrandizement of his selfish narcissistic desires!
Why does it seem like everywhere I look someone or some institution aggressively wants to protect tfg??
Follow the money. The tax giveaways. The vise grip on wages and health benefits. The oligarchy that bleeds us with healthcare corruption....
The list is long. But ultimately, they want money and more of it. TFG is their ticket to the money machines.
I can't for the life of me understand this.
Have you heard a word from his nasty boy jr? What rock is he hiding under?
Chris,
It is why I have lost a lot of respect for the press. They set a mindset for readers that harms Biden, just like it harmed Hillary in the last months of that election. How they write matters, and has consequences. To be fair Biden and Trump show signs of an aging mind - but the press only focuses that concern on Biden.
Let's be clear here -and I do not see any coverage about this, one of the greatest skill sets of a President is how he or she successfully surrounds him or herself with the finest talent. Lincoln's "Team of Rovals" comes to mind. Biden's team is top notched. Many of Trump's team has been indicted, convicted, fired, or if sane, quit in protest. Team matters. This must be reported. Bush Junior got elected in part because Joe Citizen said, "I could have a beer with that guy"... and look at where the concept of the single leader got us with that thinking!
I think we need to create some social rules around gaggle type interviews. The feeding frenzy that reporters display when they try to get their questions answered is ineffective. Not only can't we hear through the wall of sound the variety of questions neither can the person they are trying to question. Perhaps prior to the gaggle, a lottery can be drawn to assure everyone gets a fair chance to ask a question(s). Then the list of lottery winners are allowed to ask their questions through a random draw of their names at time of interview. The current method is unfair to everyone, the interviewee, the reporter, and the public. What would the community suggest?
You don’t need to ask if Biden is too old; he tells you. But it doesn’t matter, because he doesn’t run the empire.
“And it is indeed getting worse. During a press conference in which Biden was ostensibly meant to reassure the world that his brain is working fine in light of the big news, the president referred to the president of Egypt as the president of Mexico and froze mid-speech when he unsuccessfully tried to remember where his son got the rosary he carries from. Just this week Biden has mistakenly referred to dead European leaders as still being in office, not once but twice.
If you were still laboring under the delusion that it matters who the US president is, the fact that an actual, literal dementia patient has held that office for three years now should dispel that notion once and for all. The US empire has been marching along in exactly the same way it was before Biden took office, completely unhindered by the fact that the person who’s supposedly calling the shots is in a state of degenerative neurological free-fall.
Literally anyone could hold that office and it would make no meaningful difference in the way the US empire is run. A coma patient could be president. A jar of kalamata olives could be president. The position which Americans hold elections over in the belief that it could bring positive changes to their country and their world is nothing but a figurehead.
Which is a bit of a problem for Americans who would like to change certain aspects of their government’s behavior, like for example the backing of an active genocide in Gaza. Whose conscience do they work to appeal to if the person they were told is in charge actually isn’t? Who do they vote for if the people who really call the shots aren’t even on the ballot?”
https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/a-dementia-patient-is-president-because?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=82124&post_id=141514885&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=eov1&utm_medium=email
Tom, you're making my point about reelecting Biden. Biden is a master delegator and negotiator, plus he has surrounded himself with an amazing cast of cabinet members and advisors.
On the other hand, your buddy Trump has a fit if anyone in the WH got an ounce of credit for anything they accomplished during his term. Ergo, either they did nothing of value or Trump made the decisions for things he knew nothing about. Plus, TFFG promised us he would surround himself with the best people. Munchkin one of your corporate monsters, kicked elderly people out of their homes for being late on one single payment. Zinke was drummed out for taking bribes, Pruitt used his office for public gain and to roll back regulations put in place under Nixon, DeVos is a Trustifarian who admitted never going into a public school. Ross slept through the entire Trump Presidency. Tillerson was never allowed to do his job because he stood up to Trump on dealing with Putin. The list goes on, but most of them were rich and none would dare say a negative thing about him.
Reagan had Alzheimer's his entire 2nd term while Woodrow Wilson's wife became President after he had a heart attack. And yet the country survived just fine.
I was never a big fan of Jerry Brown the first time he was governor, but I admit, he surrounded himself with amazing people (including Linda Robstadt but I digress). And he had to undo many things Reagan did in CA just like Biden has with Trump.
Gary, the first paragraph of your comment is absurd analysis in the extreme. You did make a point with your ‘the country survived just fine’ insanity, though. Sounds like you’re making the case for Trump.
Read it and weep. - https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/02/09/roaming-charges-110/
“+ Biden on Trump’s calls for a debate: “If I were him, I would want to debate me, too.” True, but a very strange thing to admit.
+ Who is running Biden’s campaign and why in the world are they letting him make so many unscripted public statements? Each appearance generates a new gaffe. Trump spews nonstop nonsense as well, of course, but his howlers excite his base, while Biden’s embarrass and alienate his. It almost qualifies as elder abuse. Biden is being sent out every day to make statements so politically antiquated, it’s as if he didn’t want to say something that might spoil his lunch date in the Senate cafeteria with Strom Thurmond.
+ Imagine a Democratic Party leadership that fought as hard for single-payer health care as it has for funding wars in Ukraine and Gaza. No, I can’t either.”
Actually, Biden always wins at Scrabble and routinely finishes the New York Times crossword puzzle in under half an hour. Plays a mean game of Boggle, too.
Amazing, isn’t it? Hard to explain why it doesn’t translate to geopolitical chess proficiency. Must be the Corn Pop effect.
Definitely the corn pop effect, gets the remaining synapses vibrating
Just asking what your own medical qualifications are.
I have eyes and ears. And experience dealing with cognitive decline in my extended family.
Couple that with a refusal to allow tribal political BS to influence my thinking, and looking at Biden’s public utterances throughout his political history, it’s clear he has no business seeking a second term. If one can look at Trump’s narcissistic personality disorder, or Mitch McConnell’s brain freezes in the past year, and talk about their respective lack of fitness to hold office, no reason Biden shouldn’t be held to a similar standard as far as question age and his ability to handle a continually stressful job.
But hey, as Johnstone notes, the president is merely a placeholder for empire; it ain’t like you need mental fitness when you have no control over the real levers of power, right?
Why do you never criticize anyone but Biden? Are you working for Trump's campaign?
And you never responded about Hamas raping and killing children on October 7th. I guess your "eyes and ears" missed that news story that was reported in every major news publication. Either that or you are also a misogynist besides being a MAGANAZI.
Gary, you’re nothing but a propagandized fool. Your hysterical depiction of 10/7 as a deflection from genocide proves it. You lap up discredited mainstream media accounts like candy.
Trump is an asshole. I criticize Biden because he, like every Democratic president since Kennedy, has betrayed FDR’s allegiance to workers ahead of monied interests.
I will suggest that the Demublicans, together with the Republicrats, worship together at the altar of "Free Trade," with the World Trade Organization being their Sacred Cow. If you ship all the factories to China, then no more industrial workers or pesky labor unions.
No country has ever industrialized by following "free trade," but it's a taboo to say that as part of a political campaign. Instead we get neo-imperialistic Vampire Liberalism.
In February of 2022, Putin attacked Ukraine targeting Kyiv and other cities in Ukraine. Trump called Putin brilliant for doing so as you may recall.
So Ukraine has responded by killing over 350,000 Russians most of whom were conscripted to be in Ukraine. So you're saying this is also genocide committed by Ukraine and by proxy Biden?
And what about Afghanistan? Did the US also commit genocide there? What a stupid war that was started by W based on lies. Again, genocide by your definition.
The US has been guilty of genocide since before we were a country killing off native Americans as well as torturing and killing black people.
Your comment about MSM and candy is laughable. This is from the United Nations -- not what I would call MSM, but hey I'm the fool.
In Israel, the October 7 attack killed some 1,200 people, including many women and at least 33 children. UN Women is alarmed by the numerous accounts of gender-based atrocities and sexual violence during those attacks, and since. In addition, some 250 people, including approximately 65 women, were abducted.
The corporatocracy has betrayed workers way more than any Democratic President. Congress created H-1B visas they said because US corporations couldn't find Engineers, Programmers and other technicians. This is BS. The corporatocracy wanted to maximize profits by bringing in cheap Indian, Chinese and Russian technicians even though research had shown there was no shortage of STEM workers in the US. This is according to Wikipedia (again not the MSM). I've worked with a few hundred Indians and Russians here on H-1B visas. They are usually paid better than they would be in their home country but 1/2 to 1/3 as much as American programmers. Why? Because corporations do what they can to screw the workers.
To hate Biden because of the Israeli's responding to a brutal attack which itself could have been labeled genocide is rather twisted logic.
If that is true, then why have there been differences between Trump's and Biden's presidencies, like what gets done and what doesn't?
The differences, from the macro level, are negligible. We still have government controlled by monied interests, endless war, and an inability to seriously address the issues most affecting the lives of American citizens; health care, housing, a rapacious financial sector, poverty, income/wealth inequality, and most pressing, climate.
No one who ever wishes to seriously address these issues will ever be allowed to sit in the Oval Office. The corporate coup is complete.
So what’s your point?
As have I.
His supporters are really supporting Vice President Harris. The president will not be able to beat Trump as they will continue to attack his age issues. We need to get behind Bobby to beat Trump.
Bobby is no Bobby
John, that is ridiculous!
You will think so when Biden loses
Third party candidates like RFK Jr have never come close to winning. That is a fact, and facts are stubborn things.
You are saying that is the solution to beating Trump. Get real.
RFK’s Zionist sycophancy towards genocidal Israel is even worse than Biden’s.
You beat Trump, and his cult, by exposing the fraud of his populist appeal. The Democratic Party had the opportunity to deal with the age issue for Biden via contested primaries and debates, but it preferred a coronation to actual democracy, just as was the case in 2016. And now they risk losing to the fascist boob again because of it.
"Bobby"?
Why do people/press not marvel at the job this 80+ person is doing: traveling all over the world, meeting with world leaders, negotiating deals in Congress with crazy people, etc. I think everyone should be exclaiming how “incredible” Joe Biden is!!
HCR’s night off not withstanding …
Can anyone tell me why today’s supreme court ballot case, as important as it is, was argued on the Colorado side by an attorney who was before the court for the first time and not someone like Neil Katyal, who has argued before the supreme court 50 times? Listening today was painful and I was aware of the attorney’s youth and inexperience in his attempts to answer the justices’ questions.
Jason Murray represented Respondents (plural) in DJT vs Anderson, et al. Case No: 23-719. Norma Anderson is a lifelong CO Republican who was one of several Plaintiff citizens in COLORADO. Jason can be reached via jmurray@olsengrimsley.com.
NEAL KATYAL is of course the top appellate Attorney in the Nation Neal's victorious 51st argument at SCOTUS was the best oral argument I have ever heard. Neal's comments today on the case were summarized at the end of my live blog of the hearing today elsewhere on the LFAA platform I annotated my blog with the at the end with Neal's take.
My Live Blog was my first & likely my last. I commented to Neal via LFAA today that I tried my best to do his analysis right. One of Neal's major points is that no one spoke or asked questions about the risks, serious risks, involved of NOT sustaining Colorado's DQ.
I didn't get to hear the arguments but wonder if anyone brought up the possibility that the authors of that amendment couldn't conceive of an American president being party to an insurrection.
Yes, Justice Jackson blew up DJT's "insurrection" oral argument that even a "chaotic" insurrection such as "kill Mike Pence" would qualify. It seemed no one wanted get into the meaning "insurrection". probably because of the 'before" & 'during' of the Josh Hawleys of Congress speeding to the Exit are still to raw.
So true, even after the horror of the war.
Great point; jmho Bryan. I've been wondering exactly 'how' they're going to kick this down the road.
I cannot recall whose apt metaphor but, it was something more like going over the Tax Code looking for a Loophole.
Hey, Bryan. One of the justices, I can't remember who, seemed to be concerned more about the fallout if they were to rule in Colorado's favor which I thought was contrary to adhering to the law.
Lynell you're on target🎯.
At least 5:were not concerned about ROE nor the full spectrum of women's lives & health,
My unqualified take was that it was not so much the insurrection issue that was disturbing the justices, but the idea that any one state could make that decision thus disturbing the “fair” election process. I think it would have to be an all or nothing question and decision: does this prohibit anyone from being on all the states’ ballots because of insurrection.
And how many presidents do we have elected by the antiquated electoral college instead of we the people. So many of extreme courts statements defied logic
He sure sounded good on MSNBC speaking to Rachel today! I didn’t hear a lot of the actual presentation to the court.
He was not prepared for what they asked him in court and often did not answer the questions directly. I have no doubt he is intelligent but the lack of experience was glaringly obvious.
It must be a nerve-wracking experience.
Mock Oral arguments are a must.
My point is that this was too important to leave in the hands of a novice advocate.
Strange that the “justices’ cannot fathom “blocking” someone from being on the ballot when the same man and his cretins try to block all Dem votes, in every way that repubs can imagine, including insurrection. Watch the video folks, it tells the tale.
It’s about levels of authority I think. Interesting that both sides were questioning similarly.
So what is the 14 amendment for anyway. Is it all just a bad joke.
Noticed the same about Colorado’s attorney & wondered the same. Sad, really.
Yes I absolutely agree with you.
Your laptop was sending you a message: “We both need a night off!”
Yep; and you beat me to that observation Claudia; Well done mam.
388 pages for the fact that no charges are to be pressed on Biden.? None. Zero.
And yet the far-right Supreme Court is worried about Colorado being out of step with the other states -- when the Supreme Court has it in its bailiwick to order all 50 to follow the Constitution and not allow on any ballot someone who in view of all the world led an insurrection?
And all those nasty barbs towards the President of course are being reported by the NYT and others. Its a huge power struggle/game.
Even most gray of old establishment press loves sensationalism, Annie?
No charges. That's the fact.
Why do so many want now to indulge gossip, hypotheticals, theory? They never learned any of the great fiction, real art fantasy from our great novelists? They have no idea, dehumanized as most now are, how we actually hunger for decent arts, great fictions -- with standards, built on the edifice of precedent, predecessors, of detecting and honoring the best human rhyme, reverberation?
Irrespective of the repulsive ‘horse-race’ mentality of our mainstream media, I found this conversation on messaging by the Democrats, and political messaging in general, to be of interest to anyone concerned about election outcome. Just an FYI.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUy2lGPUgY8&t=32s
Thanks for that link, Tom. I only have time for about 30 minutes now, but I’ll try to watch the rest later. Excellent clarity of thought.
The older woman on the right side of the screen speaks wonk too much, Tom.
Too much abstracted diction. And, typical of those who learn theory, or wonk, zero humanities, not at all in touch with all those hurt by big money, dark money, and all the other predators, lobbyists, and Congress critters doing their bidding.
With the game fixed. Oops, it stopped being a game decades ago.
You captured Florida’s best quality, which even DeSantis can’t take away. A good night’s sleep on all the news likely means fresh perspective.
Writing 388 pages as a coda for a nolle prosequi finding by an appointed special counsel is a prime example of unctious showing-off. A lawyer who conducts an investigation to determine whether the target of his investigation acted with criminal intent doesn't need a reamsworth of copy paper to come to a conclusion that documents bearing national security classification markings, where the events in question occurred decades ago and where items of government property that were overlooked at a time when Mr. Biden, then a senator occupying a leadership position in government, was vacating his office in order to become the nation's vice president.
That was in 2009. In all likelihood, the task of sifting through archived materials then in storage would ordinarily be delegated to subordinates or to other governmental employees to gather up those classified documents and transmit them to the National Archives and Records Administration. All this shows me is a breakdown of administrative processing aimed at conducting a search for classified materials and taking custody of same. I worked in government, state and federal, for fifteen years, and I know how cumbersome recordkeeping can be.
All that needed to be done was write a short, suscinct summary and chronology, and a listing of national security materials recovered, and where found.
A short, suscinct narrative descibing the president's awareness that he might have classified materials in his possession, and listing steps he took to facilitate their discovery and recovery. A maximum of fifty pages would be more than sufficient. The man who wrote this monstrosity was obviously making a monument to himself instead of what should have been the size snd scope of a medallion.
Thank you, he was making a political statement.
Hope the weight of 388 pg sinks his reputation
You deserve a much-needed respite, Heather! Thanks for letters.
And the trolls need a night off. I dream
Rest & don’t worry-/ the relentless surge of fume & fury will be there tomorrow…& the next day & the next.. Recharge your own batteries & leave the mechanical one for another day! 💞
This is just what we all need tonight. A picture of peace and beauty. It’s been a draining week. Sleep well all.
Fabulous picture, Heather! Please, take the time for yourself this evening. We will see you tomorrow.
HCR, thank you for letting us know. Sweet dreams.
You never need to apologize for being human. Thank you for these incredibly informative letters!
I must admit I giggled at your mishap, glad to know I’m not the only one to sometimes forget important items… but I sure don’t have the excuses you have! Thank you for sharing your vulnerability as well as your usual amazing knowledge! We are all thankful for you.
I found this information about the report informative ~ Hur, a former U.S. Attorney in the Trump administration, was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland as special counsel in January 2023 following an initial discovery by Biden staff of classified records in Washington office space.
I bet Biden is pissed at Garland tonight. Parts of Hur's "report" read like a political hatchet job. Why even ask what year Biden's son died. Hur seemed to stress things which were outside his remit.
So will a “Comey-Hur hatchet job” become a meme? Hur way overstepped his bounds IMHO.
Was that really a part of his investigation?? Of what relevance us such a question?
My “like” is really a “dislike”!
More often than not.
I don't trust Garland.
Appoint a cretin from the chump camp. Duh
Was it meant to be an appearance of “even-handedness”?
I think so, yet why do we labor to be seen as unbiased when it is a good thing to be always and everywhere biased against traitors, insurrectionists, would-be tyrants, and those who do their bidding?
And yes, Barbara Keating, it reminds me of Comey’s huge lie, which led us here.
Exactly
It wasn’t just a remembrance! The minute I read it I said it was a definite reenactment. (“Said”is a polite term.