“In 1949, when leaders of 12 countries, including President Truman, came together in this very room, history was watching,” President Joe Biden said yesterday evening at the opening of the 2024 NATO Summit, being held from July 9 through July 12, in Washington, D.C.
“All the Allies knew that before this war, Putin thought NATO would break,” Biden said. “Today, NATO is stronger than it’s ever been in its history.” Biden noted that the world is in a pivotal moment, and reminded his listeners: “The fact that NATO remains the bulwark of global security did not happen by accident. It wasn’t inevitable. Again and again, at critical moments, we chose unity over disunion, progress over retreat, freedom over tyranny, and hope over fear."
Isn't Biden the guy who supposedly can't put two words together?
NATO is stronger, and Orban needs to be kicked out if he is working against NATO, just like brava AOC for taking on corrupt to the core SCOTUS justices Thomas and Alito with impeachment proceedings. Corruption should be rooted out.
Corruption destroys good governance. We have been far too tolerant of it's growth for far too long. SCOTUS and TFG are just the most salient examples. Integrity? "Decency"? Conflict's of interest? "Sacred" honor?
The simple story is that it met the criteria at the time to be let into NATO first in 1999, so 10 years after it became "democratic". It was admitted to NATO being viewed at the time as committed to its democratic future, and as part of the security needs of the group. It was then let into the EU in 2004, so that it is tied together with countries who are part of the EU and NATO, and is supposed to be helping to secure our security. It is hard to get rid of allies, because if we do it too easily they can get rid of us as well when we do things they don't like. I think Hungary is being given chances, but I think NATO and the EU should think of ways to neutralize it because it is for the good of our collective securities.
Seems to me if a NATO member country fails to live by and up to NATO principles, there should be a mechanism for expelling them as difficult as that would be. With politics being what they are, this would be quite a task
Agreed. I think where Hungary is located it would be better if they could keep it included, so I think that sending mailings to their people that let them know that if they do not vote someone else in their nice lifestyle as members of the EU will end and they can go and live the miserable lives of most Russians since that is the alliance they are choosing. Then, if they keep him, BYE-BYE!
I'm not too sure about having to protect Hungary if it seems to be allied with Russia. Don't they know Russia can't be trusted. They promised no violence at the Ukraine border. They also signed a non-aggression treaty with Germany in WWII
In 1956 the people of Hungary staged a revolution against Russia. Many people left and Russian tanks crushed it after 12 days. Orban is a menace and must be shunned from the democratic community. One wonders how many classified documents the OrangeCultTraitor has supplied to the Hungarian turncoat.
where did I read about that lately? hmmmm, it was in English and it was a big convention about 2 years ago in TX and there was a lot of Clapping, and many children had just been massacred but the clapping was still going on....
The Orange Cult is the textbook case of a sick ,sadistic, demoniicly controlled group of psycopathic, bullies, morons,... proud diaper wearing imbiciles and championing a child rapist and sexual abuser.............they laugh at the slaughter of innocent children.
No proceedings yet, BUT she drew up Articles of Impeachment against Alito and Thomas. which I've been asking my Congressman to do since last September. The Artidles will not be taken up until January 2025 when the new House of Representatives is called into order. Hopefully without the maggot infestation.
I sent her a donation and used a dummy address so I could email her to keep up the good work on this. I also wrote my senators to support her, since one of my state senators should be the one leading this since he chairs the senate judiciary committee. I have been writing him regularly asking him to take this on and stand on the right side of history.
When Biden talks from a teleprompter, he can. He isn't totally unhinged. But when he is talking extemporaneously, he struggles putting coherent sentences together and sometimes misses words, says the wrong words, or identified people and places incorrectly. I know, because I do it and I am only 73. This isn't necessarily a terrible thing. But then again, I am not trying to run the country or the free world. I just spend time at home on the computer reading Heather and other stack and making comments. No one is actually worried about the words or sentences I say.
Obviously there are a LOT of us who are very worried about what Biden says.
You are completely wrong, as Lawrence O’Donnell proved during last nigh’s show… by playing the video of Biden’s visit yesterday to the Washington DC office of the AFLCIO. O’Donnell purposefully showed the entirety of Biden’s unscripted comments because (he said) he knows there are many people claiming Biden is not capable of doing so. Here’s the video of the segment. You may want to fast forward to that part but I recommend you watch it all, because O’Donnell spends the entire segment on the “Biden should get out” topic!
Thank you for this, Steve, and Biden's age is an issue, but after exchanges with two high school buddies yesterday, it is clear that facts mean absolutely nothing. It doesn't matter that Trump is a convicted felon, a known liar, a bad businessman with bankruptcies or that he stole money from his charity or defrauded students or that he violates women's privacy or that he insults or defames them or takes credit for depriving them of essential rights over their own bodies, it doesn't matter because they are blinded by their own racism, misogyny, xenophobia and homophobia. We Dems could be running the brightest most articulate candidate ever and it wouldn't matter. So, we've got to outvote them and the issue is the survival of democracy here. That has to be our message: democracy and female rights versus Trump dictatorship.
Exactly, Richard, and the Democrats and the Democratic party are playing right into their hands by initiating our circular firing squad, and or wanting a unicorn instead of a workhorse...
I know several people who want Biden to step aside and are considering not voting in Nov and it makes me worried about the election. But if Joe Biden is at the top of the ticket in November in a wheelchair drooling, I’ll vote for him to stop Trump from destroying our country. Everyone has to vote no matter who is the top D on the ticket.
I’m hearing similar comments in my small universe. Friends/family are saying they can’t vote for either candidate and are seriously thinking about not voting at all which is not the answer.
I blame the media and I’m not referring to Fox News but the NYT, WP, for the daily focus on Biden’s age and burying Trump storyline. Why isn’t Project 2025 and Trump’s implementation of this plan on the front page on the NYT and WP like Watergate? Why isn’t Trump’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein on the front page of the NYT and WP like Nixon’s relationship with the “Watergate Plumbers”? Yes, I did ask the editorial board this question in my divorce email to them last month.
History remembers everything. And should Trump win in November, history will tell who helped him and his ban of felons destroy democracy.
Not voting when it really matters is an irresponsible act. It is not just you that could be hurt by the outcome. It's the fate of a society, perhaps even our own species at stake. It is irresponsible to pretend otherwise.
A lot of Bernie supporters either sat out the 2016 election, or voted for Jill Stein. We all know how that turned out. If the top of the Democrat ticket was a rock, I would vote for it over Trump.
That's too bad. Why would Biden be in a wheel chair drooling? I think people don't know how offensive their ageist comments sound. I have several people in my life in their 90s, some are pretty fit mentally, and vital physically even if vision goes. Everyone I know is sticking with Biden. They did not watch the debate they just know what he has done and stands for. I hope that at some point people know enough about project 2025 that they get over themselves wishing for some young person who is not going to happen so they can worship their youth. We do not need to worship our presidents, we need to probably understand the demands of the job better. As far as I can see the biggest effect is knowledge and connections. Unless you belong to Christian Nationlists you are going to end up punishing yourself more than Biden if he does not win. Here is the Substack called How Project 2025 Will Ruin Your Life. Please share this with those friends. https://project2025istheocracy.substack.com/
Ask them if it's ok that convicted felon Donald Trump lied 602 times during the debate -- 4 times in the first three sentences of his ramblings?
Or
Have them name 4 things CFDT did in the four years as President that made America great?
You may end up conceding one or two points to them (because I can only think of one thing he did), but this forces them to justify their dissonance and it gives you something tangible to argue against.
What was the one thing? I can't think of what it was! All I remember is the hate and him campaigning the next week after he took office! I thought what the hell I had never seen that before.
Exactly! That could apply to most Presidents - well, except one!!
To be honest - I'm freaking fed-up with the ageism routine! From ALL of the, well, actually, "social influencers" because THAT is what our former news media has morphed into. Possibly it also has to do with the fact that I'm older & expected to be "less" because of that. To put it crudely, it really pisses me off! To the point where I have stopped listening to the monologues of late night hosts that I used to like & respect.
older people (of whom I am also one). No one is worrying about Bernie Sanders losing his capacity, or Nancy Pelosi, who is even older. No one worried about RBG’s capacity, only that fact that she might die, given her various cancer bouts. Which she did, and now we have a Supreme Court majority recreating absolutist monarchism under our noses.
Richard, amen. They support death star because he is exactly like him. He has given them carte blanche to be their worst selves and by god, they are not going to give that up. And then there are the women who support death star. Funny, Ginni Thomas just came into my mind. I do worry about the perceptions of Biden's age and the constant MSM harping on it.
My comment somewhere the other day was that we could run God and Jesus Christ and it would not matter one whit to those hell-bent on destroying us from the inside. The felon and all his imps(the supreme court 6)have weaponized our Constitution and Congress is so wound up in itself over whether or not the man who was doing so well June 1 has now lost his marbles. But heaven forbid that felonious Trump be criticized for anything.
We need a candidate that is bright enough and articulate enough, but yes the alternative of Trump is truly monstrous and the public is missing the stink in the overwhelming stench. It time we stop, hey what's that sound? Everybody look what's going down.
The uploader has not made this video available in your country"
However, moving right along: what is this obsession with using a teleprompter? How else do you give a speech nowadays? You're still allowed to read a speech, no? use a microphone? a teleprompter goes one better and allows the speaker to see the text whilst addressing the audience. To the left, to the right, to the center.
MLMinET makes a good point here. Any responsible president needing to give an important speech or send an important message will want to think it through carefully in advance, write out a draft and have advisors review it. I find Biden's ability to do that well much more indicative of his ability to lead the country than his ability to give clever snappy answers on the spot to an ignorant lying bully.
That's the crux of the issue: Biden has the characteristics and values we admire and seek to support in everyone because they're key to social cohesion, to survival.
I regret you live in a country that does not have access to MSNBC’s YouTube channel. I hope you have another way of watching The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell where you live… a show that’s very much worth watching whatever it takes for a person such as you to do so.
We can't view it in the EU, if that's what you mean by "living in a country that does not have access to MSNBC's YouTube channel." I couldn't watch Alex Baldwin's impersonation of Trump when I was living here in 2016 either. The EU protects its residents from internet invasions of privacy. But "people such as [us]" get by, and don't "regret" living here--no need to feel sorry for us! Glad to hear that Biden managed the visit to his lifelong allies at the AFLCIO, and happy of course that he numbers them among his allies.
You are so right Steve! He is great! There are many a night I would rather go to bed and when someone else comes on in his place....I turn it off and go to bed...because I know the hours will be the same crap that I have alread heard most of the day! Geeeee
What the EU protects you against isn't the content but whatever may be in the platform's associated cookies and spyware, so getting it on another platform is often a good solution.
I heard Biden's speech at the AFL/CIO live yesterday. He was the same ol' Joe from 2020 I thought. But I heard it and didn't watch it.
CFDT thinks team is spelled - IIII. He doesn't have the brains God gave lettuce.
I read part of the debate transcript yesterday when someone asked me to list one of Trump's lies. It took me less than 30 seconds to cut and paste the first 4 lies he told in the first three sentences he spoke.
It must have been that troll whose initials are J and A. he demanded that he be given ONE proven lie from Trump's debate performance. I laugh/spit most of my coffee out on the desk. What universe do these trolls LIVE in???? I've told him on other occasions he's not worth the time it takes to even bother refuting his everlasting bullschittery.
"Biden was key to rebuilding the NATO alliance after Trump weakened it, and the leaders at the NATO summit told foreign policy journalist for The Daily Beast David Rothkopf that they were “not concerned with Biden’s ability to play a leading role in NATO during his second term.” They “express confidence in his judgment” and “have a great deal of confidence in the foreign policy team around him.” But they worry about Trump."
What the leaders of 32 countries say is way more important than any broadcasters or reporters because they understand the complexities of the job and the process involved to deal with it all -- they know it's not just a contest.
Grateful for this pointer. Biden does so well talking with AFL-CIO (in about 14 minutes). Even when he got words mixed up he straightened them out. He's in his comfort zone. So time of day is super-important for him, it seems.
It would really be nice if the mass media would commit journalism for at least a moment and cover the President’s speeches and actions in the truly newsworthy NATO summit, rather than yet another whiny loser crying about Biden needs to step out (to hand the election to a senile convicted felon conman).
Thank you, Steve, for the link https://youtu.be/fERNPp4G2Sw showing Biden's unscripted speech to the AFLCIO shortly before he had to address the NATO summit. I wish all voters would watch this demonstration of what he is actually capable of doing.
Thank you for this link! I no longer watch television, and have reduced my reading of the MSM news since it all seems so biased. I mostly get my news here at Substack and even that's been depressing to read because of what so many are saying about President Biden. I believe all candidates should be examined equally for mental and physical competency, and seeing this video makes it clear that he is just fine as I had hoped. I cannot even look at photos of TFG without feeling sick; he is so completely unbalanced, neurotic, psychotic, and evil.
Somehow Biden is delivering an admirable result seemingly most of the time. I would make no similar claim of the Trump years. How much of that is Biden himself and how much is his team? And does it matter? We may get stuck with an autocratic king because I think that in some ways we still want to have a king; a messiah. But presidents are just people,even when they are extraordinary. They all depend on a lot of help to make things work, from their team to their constituents. If it's to be governance of , by and for the people, then there is no alternative to teamwork. Few beneficial outcomes "happen by accident." Again and again, we choose "unity over disunion, progress over retreat, freedom over tyranny, and hope over fear." A free society is an engaged society. Rescue by Superman or Wonder Woman is just wishful thinking.
I'd rather have a coherent and significant speech read to me than a word salad of lies and irrelevancies told to me extemporaneously. Why shouldn't big national speeches be thought through, written, and edited for clarity and elegance before presentation?
Isn't it the press secretary's job to field questions on the fly?
I'm sorry Biden isn't as good at shooting from the hip as he used to be, but I also think governing is very different from speechifying, and I don't think either is a realistic qualifying exam for the other.
That's one of the first huge differences - Trump had to have an applauding audience all the time, Biden's government works quickly, cohesively and effectively, without waiting to see if people are admiring them.
I have always been under the impression that our Presidents use speechwriters, do they not? I know Kennedy and Obama did, FDR, too. Mind you, I don't think the writers did the entire job but started with the president's talking points, etc., and the speech passed back and forth between both, continually edited until the President was satisfied.
Yes, obviously between Biden and Trump, there is no doubt who is the better man, president and candidate.
The question is - are a sufficient numbers of American voters, especially in the swing states, persuaded of that? The swing voters will decide this election. Is Biden the right candidate for them? He was in 2020. Is he still ? What of those who are tempted just to stay home because neither candidate inspires them? How will you get them out to vote for Biden?
All of your points are great, Sophie. I don't know the answers to any of them, especially how to get the vote out. My completely unprofessional opinion is that the best way to inspire the unenthusiastic is to pound on Project 2025 wholly owned by the felon. If we do that, I believe whomever tops the blue ticket will win in a walk. Fear is a terrific motivator, and just about everyone is scared of P25. I know I could be wrong, and losing would be a disaster.
If that’s the case, it must reach beyond MSNBC and the democratic mediasphere (like this one). It must reach centrists and people who are uncomfortable both with Trump because of his character and Biden because of his age (I know and you know that they are not similar, but as long as Biden stumbles and makes mistakes in pressers or ‘performs badly’, it will have a negative effect in a country where appearances matter so much. So to counter that, the fight must be all the more powerful and wide-ranging). Perhaps fear will work, if enough people are afraid. It worked in France, despite the sustained rise of the far right.
Everyone here completely misses the point. Sure, speeches are better prepared. "Biden isn't as good shooting from the hip". So at least you agree he has lost a few steps. That's a good start. The problem is, you and I and all the rest of the talking heads here on Heather's stack are NOT going to decide this election. And like it or not APPEARANCES MATTER. The people who will decide this election whether we like it or not do not CARE that he is "qualified". They saw the debate and they are done. They will not vote for him. Those people aren't reading his or even the NYT, let alone lisstening to Lawrence on MSNBC. They watch Fox and they believe their eyes and their eyes told them two weeks ago that Biden is done and should be turned out to pasture. And that's not ALL of America. Biden will still almost certainly win the popular vote AGAIN maybe even by MORE votes. But all of those votes will come from California and New York and New England and maybe Illinois. The votes that COUNT will come from Michigan and Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and as in 2016, they will this year (unlike 2020) go for Trump. And he will win this election. Mark my words.
We need to get off of our high horses and recognize that this is a fight for democracy and the only way we can win it is to get Biden to sit down.
Even his best friends (George Clooney) are saying it. They aren't making it up. If you don't like it, that's fine, but it is still the sad sad truth. It isn't going to change.
I am tired now, too tired to keep responding to all this inbred nonsense because almost no one on this blog seems to be able to be objective anymore. And that is sad, because this is the time we need objectivity more than ever. I wish it weren't so, but it clearly is.
I'm not on a high horse, Jon, my only point was that it doesn't matter if a speech is read, memorized, or improvised. The whole freak out about how important it is for Biden to look and sound energetic is off point.
The only important issue is to defeat the felon. Of course the electoral votes you cite are what will make the difference. Here's what I propose:
Everyone's top issue is the economy. We don't need to tell the swing voters that factually we have the best econ in the world. They're struggling to pay their bills. We need to scare the shit out of them. We need to run ads of white families living in their cars and soccer moms lining up for gov't soup kitchens that can only serve 10% of the people in line. We need to show shuttered pawn shops and closed hospitals with signs across their doors that say "TOut of money. Good luck." We need to pin that dystopic future on MAGA and Project 2025.
It doesn't matter who's name is on either side of the ballot. I personally care most deeply about keeping Project 2025 from ever rolling out. My second biggie is SCOTUS turning our country into a fundamentalist theocracy. Well any kind of theocracy, really. I believe that we must shift the narrative to how disastrous Trump 2.0 will certainly be. Is that objective enough for you?
Hi, good post, thank you for those comments. We still disagree, but at least it is not mudslinging stuff. I hope you get a chance to read Nicholas Kristof's NYT editorial today. He points out that one of the BIG issues in the UK and French elections was "change" and that is probably a key issue here too. Biden v Trump is "same old same old" and people want change. So the only change they can have is Trump (again). Many elected Macron people stepped aside in France in the second election so that people could vote for "change" but NOT for the National Front which would have elected Le Pen (which would have been as much a disaster as Trump). And it worked. Sure, Macron now has a tougher job, but at least the left combined with the center can control the country instead of leaving it to the right-wing.
Sigh, we need to be intelligent and not stuck in the mud. I wish Biden were still a viable candidate but I fear he is not anymore and we have to get off this horse before it goes over the cliff.
Good point about change, Jon. I don't subscribe to the NYT anymore, so no Kristof for me. I think we have more digging out of post-pandemic economy to do before we seriously re-evaluate our politics in general.
I'm not married to Biden the candidate, I just think it's more critical to get out of a defensive crouch and go on the offensive about the MAGA agenda which would still be a hideously toxic threat even if they pulled Trump off the ballot, which of course they won't.
Project 2025 is their Achilles Heel, and we shouldn't let up on it. That's the path to victory for the Dems, and I think, but don't predict, it's a winning strategy even with Biden. Data suggest it would be a better bet with Harris for a number of reasons, and I like the framing of 'prosecutor goes after criminal' as a campaign theme. I mostly think we're all wasting time on the infighting. Let Biden make his final decision and then play the hand we've been dealt.
I keep watching Lawrence O'Donnell explain in great detail why the idea that Biden must step down makes no sense and I keep watching pundits, including those on MSNBC, studiously ignore those very legitimate concerns. Why? Is it because they've made a prejudicial conclusion, and they don't want to think about evidence and logic that might cause them to change their minds.
The people of Russia overwhelmingly support Putin, not because they should, but because they don't want to think about evidence and logic that might cause them to change their minds. So, it does happen.
Is it simply that O'Donnell is correct and everyone else is wrong? I don't know, but the fact that those who think Biden should step down so studiously ignore what sound to me like very legitimate concerns makes me very suspicious of their conclusion.
Besides, if one candidate has good intent and the other has bad intent, it's a no-brainer, vote for the candidate with good intent. The more competent the candidate with good intent is, the more good will be done, and the more competent the candidate with bad intent is, the more harm will be done.
Trump’s only reasons for running are dictatorship and revenge. Neither are in the best interest of the United States. He also made it fairly clear he wanted to support only those who voted for him.
Very succinctly stated….he has no agenda for the well-being of the country. His demented brain is stuck on revenge mode and will act only that way if elected….something I fear greatly for all of us….the word garbage he spews has poisoned some good people’s thinking to the point where they no longer are rational….the only thing important now is the preservation of our democracy and the good intentions of an honest, intelligent and experienced President….we must mobilize and get out to vote Blue!
“The people of Russia overwhelmingly support Putin”…. Really? Russia is a completely hopeless place, over 50% alcoholism. Corruption is rampant. A one party state. Elections are predetermined. The one party state owns and controls all media. People do speak out, and they are jailed, if they don’t fall in line, it’s a trip to the gulag or the grave or both.
“It happens like this always. When dictatorships fall, people look back and they say, ‘Well, how didn’t we see that at the time? This is so obvious.’” —Vladimir Kara-Murza (Russian activist)
The people of the Republican party overwhelmingly support Trump. Really? He'll turn America into a completely hopeless place. Corruption will be rampant. A one party state. Elections will be predetermined. The state will control all media. People who speak out have already been threatened with jail and even execution because they didn't fall in line. It will be a trip to an American version of the gulag or the grave or both. And yet, all people have to do is vote Democrat, but Trump is still leading in the polls.
Some day, Republicans will say "Well, how didn’t we see that at the time? This is so obvious." We can always hope that day will be before November.
What I see in my circle is that they want, with all their hearts, the promise of white, male, Christian, heteronormative, cisgendered based society, and all of the population that are BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and independent women restored to their proper places in the masters house, closet, or kitchen.
Yes, Ally. When Biden became a civil rights attorney back in the day, it was to bring America together. How must he feel at our lack of appreciation for his broad, sustained vision.
and Mikheil Saakashvili, former President of Georgia when he tried to align with the EU and the west. Putin sucks.
What will be the fate Zelinski and all the leaders of Ukraine if Trump wins? See below. We can not let that happen. What country would ever trust the US again?
Lawrence is to the point, every time. On the side, a number of political analysts, including Heather, that dumping a candidate at this point, leads to a surefire loss in November.
People of Russia support him because they see what happens when they protest. Living there is like the beating will continue until morale improves. Just like the current republican party. Tim Snyder pointed out that the democrats can make these statements of concern because they do not fear for their safety unlike those that are members of the other party.
I just read her "Why is the pundit class so desperate to push Biden out of the race?" article. I recommend it to others. My take is that she agrees with me, which is that mental decline is much more of an issue in the pundit class than it is for the president.
James, I agree with all you said except that the people of Russia overwhelmingly accept Putin because they don’t want to think about evidence and logic. They cannot vocalize otherwise or they end up in a gulag or dead like their hopeful hero,Nevalny. There is no democracy there in voting, people drop their vote for Putin to stay alive.
How much of that is polish, and how much is incoherence? The press regularly called Ronald Reagan "The Great Communicator", but he was pretty seriously confused at certain moments, and his economic theories failed to deliver what they promised, though they have made the rich a lot richer. But Reagan was a trained actor. Is that what we think it takes?
It is true that Reagan was showing signs of Alzheimer’s during his second campaign and second term in office. Helen Caldecott and Lesley Stahl both recalled incidents that tipped them off.
Better actor than I gave him credit for. Should have gotten an Oscar for those first years. Best con ever. But give Peggy Noonan and Michael Deaver credit for speech writing and PR. WERE OLIGARCH’s already pulling the strings, you betcha…
Having worked as an actor briefly, but having worked with actors for over 30 years, I can assure you that is not what I think it takes to successfully run this country.
I think you’re correct in asking if we want a trained actor over a person of experience in the difficult field of politics. I’ve been wondering that myself for a long time. Form over substance.
Biden has NEVER been a good speaker, and he's been in government since he was, what, 29? Actions speak louder than words. I would far rather be led by a gaffe machine who totally knows how to negotiate and get things done than a smooth-talking sociopath of either party.
My mom did not have that struggle until she was 87. She is now 90. We have great conversations, she just does not remember much now, post her stroke at 87. She was in less good shape then Biden, with no wife to take care of her. Her mom was really lucid and great to talk to until she was 98. I visited her at 93 and we had a great time. Neither of them run nations, but they did what they did well. Biden has a lifetime of experience in politics and he is using it fully, which no one else can, because they just are not there. I am glad that Harris gets each day of mentoring that she gets from him. She is brilliant too and is as always, a back up if needed, and hopefully some day president in her own right.
Sounded coherent yesterday! I struggle finding words also, I’m 68 but pretty sure most public figures use notes and teleprompters. Winston Churchill was probably half drunk most of the the time but still knew what was going on. President Biden has surrounded himself with great people and is willing to listen. Look at what he’s been able to accomplish not how he speaks.
Jon, your comment that Biden cannot speak coherently without a teleprompter is completely inaccurate. He spoke clearly to George Stephanopoulos. Yes, Biden speaks and moves slowly and had one terrible debate showing. That doesn't mean he has dementia or some other terrible or degenerative disease. Like you, I'm also a septuagenarian. Although I speak and move less quickly than I used to, I understand politics more than I ever have.
Although Trump and MAGA plan to destroy democracy, and Biden and the Democrats aim to preserve and strengthen it and Biden and his team have done transformative work the last 3.5 years, the press is giving Trump a pass and relentlessly beating Biden up like they did Hillary with her emails. There is no way to replace Biden without committing political suicide. Regardless of who the Democratic presidential candidate is, the press will continue to soft pedal Trump and beat up on the Democratic candidate--because the media businesses think they will profit less by paying more taxes under a Democrat.
Let's stop embracing fear, and instead focus on what we agree on. We love our country and want to preserve our democracy. Voting for Biden is voting for a team and an inclusive Democratic perspective that can help the entire country to thrive. Let's get to work and pull together.
Well-said….and to the point! A vote for Biden includes a team that is knowledgeable,experienced, and well-positioned to continue with his agenda….the other guy has only one plan….revenge….and the Heritage foundation consists of old, white conservatives who want to take the country back 100 years so they can rule….and they won’t be including him in their decisions because he doesn’t care and doesn’t even understand them…..
The "team" can make a world of difference. I don't think the plutocrats want to go back 100 years, they want to go back as far as feudal lords and absolute monarchs. That's been the agenda since Reagan.
That's just nonsense and I have to say so. If you really believe that (that no one else can run) you need to do a little more political learning.
Biden is done, this race is over. Either Trump will win (if Biden stays in) or we MIGHT have a chance with a different candidate. Look at what just happened in France, when the smart candidates in the center stepped aside so that the RIGHT WING NATIONA FRONT didn't win a sweep. France is at least still floating.
The US will not be floating in November if Trump wins, which he will if Biden doesn't step aside.
When a stutterer sings a song, there’s little stuttering — sometimes they can read better than speak extemporaneously. We need to make a distinction between neurological glitches and cognition — they’re all part of the nervous system, but they’re not all part of the intellect.
But saying to Stephanopoulos's question, about how he'd feel if he didn't step aside and then Trump beat him, that well, he'd have given it his best shot "and that's what this is all about, right?" was not the remark of an intellect (or a moral compass) in excellent shape.
NOT ME. I worry about what the trash talking friend of Jeffrey Epstein would do if returned to office…first day. Why don’t a LOT of you tell us what YOU think of THAT ?
I am worried about winning an election. It is pretty clear that the people who will decide this election (the 150,000 voters or so in the 6 or 7 swing states) will be VERY concerned about speech patterns. We can HOPE they will look at "results" (assuming you mean PAST results) but the reality is most likely not so much. Biden needs to face the facts that his path to winning 2024 is almost non-existent. More and more people are asking Biden to step down. He needs to listen.
Reality is that you are assuming people will react like you. You state “reality” as if it is your reality that defines reality
The fact is, Biden has beaten him once, is still very capable of beating him again There is NO one at this date that will do better. As you tell him what he has to do, You need to be less fearful
No, I am looking at FACTS, not making up my own assumptions based on no supportable facts. What Biden did four years ago is meaningless in the context of our current situation. The past is pretty meaningless in political elections. Your "statement" that there is "NO" one who will do better is such total nonsense. Even BIDEN admitted that there were FIFTY people who could beat Trump (that is on video as he leaves a press conference).
We can come back here in 118 days and I can assure you if Biden is still running, we will have lost the election.
Jon, please read what I wrote for comprehension. Your reality is based on how your interpret current events, its your opinion, you can’t call that a fact. “The past is pretty meaningless in an election”. ???? Really? My statement that no one will do better than Joe is a lot different than Joe saying that there are other democrats that could beat trump. You’ve identified none. Why is that? Afraid that facts might intrude on your reality?
What I am not worrried about is his moral compass, his policies, and most important the greatest collection of talent on his leadership team in at least the last 50 years. They make the most consequential decisions, decisions he then accepts or rejects (which goes back to his policies and ethics).
I have been saying that Biden is talking personally with world leaders and has their respect. I am sure he has their sympathy too because of Trump. Except for Orban, NATO members do not want to see Trump back in power. I am so glad that the EU has not been able to fit Orban into the schedule as he plays his little man, big man role as 6 month president of the Council of the EU. He is considered a president going rogue, and I hope his presidency is ended before it fully gets started. Hungarians should either vote someone who fits with EU values or be kicked out. They have all come here though because we are leaders of NATO under Biden.
There is mounting opposition against Orban in Hungary. It is led by a young (42 years old) able and well spoken man named Peter Magyar and the Tisza Party he formed recently. Please read about him (online) and other opposition news at the independent Magyar Hang (Hungarian Voice).
Jim, indeed SO! And good presidential speechwriters generally work hand in glove with the one giving their speeches. Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin details much about this process in some really successful pairings between her husband, Dick Goodwin (and Ted Sorenson) and JFK, then LBJ then Robert Kennedy (definitely NOT RFK Jr) in her latest book An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s (also available in audio form). [ https://www.amazon.com/dp/1982108665/ref=nosim?tag=booksorderlis-20 ]
I think of that alot as Biden uses the teleprompter, which is why I appreciate seeing him appear without one in various settings -- I'm hoping for more of that asap.
I think some could, but would at least want an editor. So long a president means whatever is said, I am not concerned about assistance. Once the president chooses to say it, they own it.
"I meant what I said and I said what I meant"- Horton
I don't think we should even be giving "telepompter/speech writer" the remotest wiggle room for detractors bringing these up. God. Latest is the msm is bloodhound on Biden. I did see tho that NYT's latest editorial is a Dump Trump. That almost lines up with Philadelphia Inquirer's last week editorial. They should keep that one up! Trump is criminal, Biden is geriatric, who ya gonna vote for ?
Um...nah, that's that other, convicted felon guy, who can't get an entire coherent sentence out; who can't even offer a speech without having it be all about him and his grievances; who cannot even make a speech about himself and his own grievances without veering off into inanities, completely unrelated asides and really bizarre mini-rants.
He can put words together when written by speech writers, using a teleprompter and before 8pm. This does not reassure me and does not change the fact that he is warmonger.
But he used a teleprompter, he should be that eloquent just off the top of his head, as is true of people who play presidents on TV. Do other leaders use teleprompters? Oh, well, mostly. Modi of India appears as a hologram, not even physically present when he gives speeches.
"Churchill wrote every word of his many speeches — he said he spent an hour working on every minute of a speech he made." (NPR) Churchill would have enjoyed a teleprompter.
Putin told Trump to wreck NATO. Simple as that. Putin has leverage on Trump. And Putin was instrumental in Trump's win in 2016. "Found" Clinton's emails and had Comey make them a last minute thing.
Ironically, Americans are going to have to live by Trump’s own words: “You’re going to have to fight like hell, or you’re not going to have a country anymore.” Correct. If Trump is reelected, America will be gone. And so will NATO, American democracy, and the peace in Europe.
Exactly, which is why I use far right, hard right, right-wing authoritarian, nativist, nationalist or supremacist, or any combination of those, instead of fascist (depending on country context). Marine Le Pen and Nigel Farage are nativist nationalists. Trump is a supremacist nationalist authoritarian (like Putin and Erdogan). Orban is a nativist nationalist authoritarian. Etc.
Well, I disagree. I worked pretty fracking hard on my physics PhD. And it taught me math that I am now using with a lot of further thought over the last 20 years.
Humor, Matt. A joke we older Ph.D's all learned but bitterly to enjoy.
Except you.
We enjoyed it because we understand perfectly how academe got perverted to dark money.
Too many went into obedience silos.
Too many perfectly accepted how ALEC killed state funding for higher ed. Effectively killed -- perverted -- tenure. Killed humanities. Employed tens of thousands of idealistic newbies to do the undergrad teaching -- all under "contingent labor" contracts, which meant nothing long-term, no health benefits, work overloads, and zero job security.
Banks prospered as the tens of millions of students sank into the largest debt in U.S. history. Admin prospered as its neutered and dehumanized from law and biz ed all fattened on succoring the banks in their predations.
Well put. I am sharing you comment with several of my friends. Will Bunch has a book which just came out in paperback (and was updated) on how education especially higher education has been undermined by capitalism. “The Fall of Ivory Tower “
Project 2025 wants to do away with higher education under the guise that corporations are to blame for requiring degrees for jobs. There are things that start out sounding sane and thoughtful but as you keep reading you inevitably stumble upon the religious context that the whole thing is shrouded in and quickly realize that it’s just another way for the dictatorship to control everything.
The first scientific principle is the idea that science "involves careful observation, applying rigorous skepticism about what is observed, given that cognitive assumptions can distort how one interprets the observation." The quote is from Wikipedia's article on the scientific method.
There are way too many people with science degrees who are not willing to be skeptical, let alone rigorously skeptical, of their own conclusions. I quoted that principle to a Ph.D. (who granted bachelors degrees) only to be told that it can be safely ignored. If I wanted to know what science is, all I had to do was listen to him because it's so complicated, and I wasn't an expert like him and not capable of understanding its subtleties. And there I was thinking I could expect a better understanding of science from a child in elementary school.
So, we agree about science, but we disagree about religion.
There are two, and only two, Christian principles. The first is that an individual must listen to the individual's heart and mind, and not follow one or the other when they disagree, but instead resolve the conflict. The second is that an individual must listen to the individual's neighbor, and not choose between following one or the other when they disagree, but instead resolve the conflict.
Ref: Matthew 7:12 & 22:34-40, Mark 12:28-31, Luke 6:31 & 10:25-37, John 14:12 & 15:12.
Translation: Christianity "involves careful observation, applying rigorous skepticism about what is observed, given that cognitive assumptions can distort how one interprets the observation."
So-called scientists are as capable of ignoring the scientific principle, thereby unwisely turning what was science into a fundamentalist ideology, as Christians are of ignoring the Christian principle, thereby unwisely turning what was Christianity into a fundamentalist ideology. The same can be said of any other legitimate wisdom practice, like Islam, democracy, etc. Go wisdom.
I agree with your interpretation of the Great Commandment, though many who tacitly claim to follow it would not. Science, by it's own parameters, can only track what is measurable. It can illuminate our priorities but not, ultimately, make them, It can tell you why you experience honey as sweet, but not covey the sentient experience of tasting it. Einstein said that you could describe a symphony as variations in wave pressure. "but it would make no sense".
On the other hand, my local newspaper quoted part of a "Christian School" textbook that claimed that God is disrespected by resource conversation efforts because it reveals distrust of God's unlimited providence. That's not at all consistent with what we know from science, and obviously not every religious person would claim this, but it is part of the reason people want separation between church. which is an individual choice, and the state that affects everyone.
Jeri, It seems a bit too easy for some to interpret the last half of your quote as fact – as the quote is written above, at least. I. therefore, suggest a slight edit: “…religion [thinks] it has the last word on everything.” Is that more reflective of what you intended to say?
That seems to be the claim. Have faith, don’t question. I cringed every time I had to pretend to believe it all, starting with the Nicean Creed. None of that at my UU church. I do have faith, but not in man’s rewrite of history.
In 1970 when I was in a graduate level course on research psychology, the professor who was well published was engaging us with how to develop an experiment to determine how much homosexual behavior was occurring in a men’s college dorm ( remember this was 1970). He offered this design. He would put a device under each mattress in a college dorm room and if the device measured that the weight on the bed was more than the body weight of one average college student, Voila! Gay, Gay! There were several of us in this class who were undergraduates and who actually lived in a dormitory. And a few of us pointed out that it is typical for several guys to gather in one room to socialize and the only place to sit was on the two beds in the room. And it was not at All unusual to have 3 or 4 guys on one bed to bs or play cards. I also remember that there were no grad students who spoke up to correct professor. Perhaps in fear of running afoul of some professor wh could sabotage your getting your PhD?
I couldn’t find a peep in The NY Times about Biden’s powerful NATO speech, just stories and OpEds calling for him to step down, and a powderpuff story on Trump rejoicing about something or other.
Snopes.com says NY Times’ CEO isn’t a Trump cash doner, but it sure seems the “newspaper of record” (hah!) has definitely picked sides in the next election.
David Pecker and chump knew that hiding some stories, promoting other stories and making up “news” was a way to decide for voters what was important. It’s called tabloid media. NYT has crossed the rubicon
Ralph, I finally cancelled my subscription to the NYT yesterday. I'd hemmed and hawed about doing so, as I enjoy more than just the news -- NYT Cooking (love it), NYT Games, etc. but I've had enough of there distorted l, unbalanced coverage, and told them so. The customer service rep, when asked, told me I was the first person he knows of who complained and cancelled. Yeah, right -- I'm sure those calls are monitored. Good, let more hear it.
Ralph, my understanding is that when the new guy took over (publishing? or Editor-in-Chiefing) at the NY Times, Biden turned down a request for an exclusive interview to which he reacted with a vow to make Biden sorry he had not deferred to his specialness at the Times. Any credibility to this gossip?
Right now I would believe anything and nothing. However, I would hope that the editor of The NY Times wouldn’t throw the nation into the MAGA maw purely out of spite.
Not necessarily. But they do think this is “ politics as usual- just a game. And their arrogance leads them to believe that they will not be affected by the Republican takeover.
See the interview with the NYT Executive Editor in today's "Daily" New Yorker. You are correct that the owner is not (far from it) a Trump donor, but more relevantly neither is the Executive Editor, who makes no political donations at all, whether or not they are to non-profits, because of his profession.
Okay, so why the constant negativity re Joe Biden? The only time I see anything about the very real positive accomplishments of the Biden Administration is HCR's letters.
And why the treating of Trump with kid gloves? If Biden is unqualified, Trump is orders of magnitude more so.
Also, as the editorial board at the NY Times is publicly calling for Biden to step down, they need to just as publicly promote the individual they want to step up into his place, or stay the hell out of the discussion altogether. I feel the same for anyone who isn't backing Biden; name your alternative candidate that you're ready today to get behind 100%.
Ralph, I agree. I just commented above that I finally, reluctantly cancelled my NYT subscription yesterday -- I'm sick of the unbalanced coverage, and told them so. I don't recall them asking for Biden's opponent, the convicted felon, to withdraw.
But what did it for me was the "BREAKING NEWS: Parkinson Specialist Visited the White House Eight Times in Eight Months" story. Only after reading several paragraphs did it mention he may have been there for purposes other than evaluating the President.
Jeri, Ralph, I do not love the NYT! I subscribed for a while after the 2016 Trump election, but cancelled when their approach to Biden seemed biased--toward clickbait--and their coverage of cliamate issues very slim. They're under new leadership now about which I know almost nothing, except the interview I suggested. It was wrong to publish so immediate an editorial, though many people I respect share the view it expresses. My own changes every other day--I'm having a hard time with the goofy narcissism of B's answer to Stephanopoulos re: the possibility that Democrats could lose against Trump et al. if he stays on the ticket--see Alexandra Petri's clear and sober set of equivalent (fictional) exchanges in her (normally hilarious) colum at WaPo). On the other hand see Rebecca Solnit in the Guardian last weekend, at her most eloquent.
So I'm putting my head down and getting on with GOTV work, currently more concerned with registering voters than reading rants re: the top of the ticket. When you get people interested in voting for a state or local person--where the issues are concrete, it's easier to know the context, and it's possible even to meet the candidates--they're more likely to register and vote up the ballot as well as for that person lower down. But I see a lot of emotion (even insult and abuse at times) in Comments lately, here and on Bob Reich's substack newsletter. So I thought it might be useful to suggest the New Yorker's long interview with the NYT's Executive Editor. No need for anyone to change their minds, but if you haven't read it, protesting points he doesn't make is a waste of the important energy of concerned, engaged, intelligent citizens like yourselves.
As TC in LA says “if you pissed your drawers and crapped your pants…just do your job.” Or something like that. My constant state as I watch the carnival circus…
We is gunna vote blue. The problem is presidents are not elected on issues and facts, etc. What decides elections is not candidate's bases but who Joe blue collar can relate to. That is the problem. If that were not so this election would be a slam-dunk.
Somehow, Democrats have lost their understanding of what leadership looks like. President Biden has led us from the brink of disaster back to safety at home and abroad, and all anyone can talk about is how an old man is old. Wake up people. Rediscover critical thinking.
Lawrence O’Donnell proved during last nigh’s show… by playing the complete video of Joe Biden’s visit yesterday to the Washington DC office of the AFLCIO… that Biden is completely capable of speaking without a teleprompter for an extended period of time. O’Donnell purposefully showed the entirety of Biden’s unscripted comments because (he said) he knows there are many people claiming Biden is not actually capable of doing so.
Here’s the video of the segment. You may want to fast forward to that part but I recommend you watch it all, because O’Donnell spends the entire segment on the “Biden should get out” topic… making the case for why those calling on Biden to get out are the problem not the solution. I was personally disgusted to see Nancy Pelosi giving a statement of non-support support on the Morning Joe Show. In my opinion, she owes Joe Biden an apology … and the American people too! This was a huge “WTF, Nancy?” moment to me!
Steve. Please take a look at Madame Speaker's talk about President Biden and her rebuttal to the New York Times report of what she said. She did not pull her support from President Biden and boy was she mad at the Times.
I quit believing anything the media says. I check for myself by watching the video or reading about it in Hubbell, Vance, Richardson, Rosenberg and others on Substack.
After much thought I finally cancelled my subscription to NYT and told them it was because of their mounting negative articles and op-eds against President Biden. I no longer trust what they are reporting. There are other sources to get my news from.
I did too. It runs out this month, so I am bugging them on my way out the door. I believe zero of what the main-stream media says. Although today the New York Times has a huge Editorial declaring trump unfit for Office.
There has always been some version of an underground press. Substack writers, The Independant, Meidas Touch and others now fill that need. The Resistance began after trump was elected and has gotten huge over the years.
It’s about time ….and thank you Barbara..that paper wrote about t’s threat to be even a street sweeper. Finally finally. They may be hurting financially as it’s probably been losing subscribers, hopefully in droves.
I got whacked out as I tried to piggyback on your post, Steve. Sorry if it turns up elsewhere.
I wanted folks to hear what John Kirby had to say about Biden and his impression of NATO leaders' opinions about him, too. Start at about minute 9:20 and listen the rest of the way through:
To a transactional bully like the convicted felon, the concept of alliance is opaque. He might understand mutually assured destruction, but mutually assured security is just beyond his ken. He lives in a dog eat dog world, and his goal is to be the biggest baddest junkyard dog in it. Never gonna happen - he's a whiney little bitch.
Lauren, with narcissists there IS NO understanding, let alone recognition, of mutual anything, be it assured destruction or security. Narcissists have no capacity to process mutuality as their defenses work entirely against the notion of a mutual interaction. They are all about "Are you for me or against me?"
My advice to the Biden team is to cancel the second debate, or maybe offer to change the rules such that it will be a debate with presidential and VP candidates. If Trump refuses, then so be it. The Biden Administration is clearly spot on regarding NATO! But it makes no sense to risk another debate where Biden looks bad because of verbal difficulties while Trump is not fact checked.
" a debate with presidential and VP candidates" - David has put this thought forward elsewhere, I think it's the way to go. Better still, not a debate, but a split-screen presentation, with candidates and their proposed VPs together on each side. Moderator asks leading question, and the pairs discuss, in turn, unable to be heard by the opposition. It wouldn't be a debate, but a demonstration of how the two sides work.
I continue to be frustrated by use of the term "debate" when we have seen over decades how these events are nothing like a real debate. No matter how the format is tinkered with, they always end up looking like personality reveals (in snapshot form) rather than anything with real depth. They remind me of TV game shows.
Well by then Trump should be in jail, so I'm all for it. But more seriously, I think debates are no good for Joe, and should be avoided unless terms are met.
Article 5 was the most critical NATO article. It committed all NATO members to respond, were a member attacked. This was considered vital during the Cold War and again as Putin tests his Greater Russian aggression in Ukraine and elsewhere.
So far the only time that Article 5 was applied was after September 11, when the other NATO nations rallied behind the United States.
And Trump would be inclined to trash our NATO commitment.
Were I Mr. Biden, I’d strongly consider denying Mr. Or a landing permit on US soil without an invitation from the US Government. If Mr Orban wants to visit as a private citizen he can book a flight on a commercial carrier, obtain an entry visa and enter without a state security detail.
Amen “Just Sayin!” Orban should be denied entry to our country as being a, “persona non grata!” Not very charitable…but he represents a Cancer on the World of Freedom loving peoples.
Not to mention the fact that if Bernie had been elected like so many screamers were having hissy fits over, he would be a year older than Biden is now.
There isn't a single instance in which the incumbent was replaced on a ticket late in the game (or possibly at all) in which that ticket was successful. Not one. Nada.
Agreed. Take the bus that gets you closest to where you want to go, don't wait for the unicorn (you know, the imaginary, perfect in all things, dreamboat of a candidate).
I hope everyone here watched Biden's comments at the AFL-CIO headquarters tonight as Lawrence O'Donnell played them last night. Focused, intelligent, and on point.
Orbán is a troublemaker, has been for years now. He lost the EU elections, even if he claims to have won (he lost 11 percentage points). Very soon, hopefully, the EU leaders will not only condemn his attempt to become famous by posing as an unofficial EU foreign affairs representative. Hungary will be sanctioned for his actions, and that will add to the growing domestic dissatisfaction with Orbán.
It's not long since his last visit to Mar-a-Lago. A matter of weeks? We thought at the time he must be bringing financial support from Putin to enable 45 to pay some of the bail money.
Anne-Louise, reading about Orban’s visit, yet again, to Mar a Lago, I wondered how the Logan Act (passed in 1799) might be relevant to TFFFG’s “entertaining” of foreign leaders/dignitaries & not for the first time. Apparently no one has been prosecuted under the act, tho there were charges brought once.
“All the Allies knew that before this war, Putin thought NATO would break,” Biden said. “Today, NATO is stronger than it’s ever been in its history.” Biden noted that the world is in a pivotal moment, and reminded his listeners: “The fact that NATO remains the bulwark of global security did not happen by accident. It wasn’t inevitable. Again and again, at critical moments, we chose unity over disunion, progress over retreat, freedom over tyranny, and hope over fear."
Isn't Biden the guy who supposedly can't put two words together?
NATO is stronger, and Orban needs to be kicked out if he is working against NATO, just like brava AOC for taking on corrupt to the core SCOTUS justices Thomas and Alito with impeachment proceedings. Corruption should be rooted out.
Corruption destroys good governance. We have been far too tolerant of it's growth for far too long. SCOTUS and TFG are just the most salient examples. Integrity? "Decency"? Conflict's of interest? "Sacred" honor?
Why exactly is Hungary part of NATO?
The simple story is that it met the criteria at the time to be let into NATO first in 1999, so 10 years after it became "democratic". It was admitted to NATO being viewed at the time as committed to its democratic future, and as part of the security needs of the group. It was then let into the EU in 2004, so that it is tied together with countries who are part of the EU and NATO, and is supposed to be helping to secure our security. It is hard to get rid of allies, because if we do it too easily they can get rid of us as well when we do things they don't like. I think Hungary is being given chances, but I think NATO and the EU should think of ways to neutralize it because it is for the good of our collective securities.
Seems to me if a NATO member country fails to live by and up to NATO principles, there should be a mechanism for expelling them as difficult as that would be. With politics being what they are, this would be quite a task
Agreed. I think where Hungary is located it would be better if they could keep it included, so I think that sending mailings to their people that let them know that if they do not vote someone else in their nice lifestyle as members of the EU will end and they can go and live the miserable lives of most Russians since that is the alliance they are choosing. Then, if they keep him, BYE-BYE!
I'm not too sure about having to protect Hungary if it seems to be allied with Russia. Don't they know Russia can't be trusted. They promised no violence at the Ukraine border. They also signed a non-aggression treaty with Germany in WWII
It's like having Trump represent us in NATO. He was also alligned with Putin. Still is...
Because they used to be a valid country which was occupied by the Nazis during WW2. Then they elected Orban
In 1956 the people of Hungary staged a revolution against Russia. Many people left and Russian tanks crushed it after 12 days. Orban is a menace and must be shunned from the democratic community. One wonders how many classified documents the OrangeCultTraitor has supplied to the Hungarian turncoat.
is this like that democratic woman who ran on democratic platform. As soon as she was elected, she became republican: against abortion etc.
Kyrsten Sinema, Democrate senator or Arizona is who you are talking about I think.
Yeas, sort of like
Orban made a mockery of democracy. Once he got in power he dismantled it piece by piece until now Hungary is a type of totalitarian state.
where did I read about that lately? hmmmm, it was in English and it was a big convention about 2 years ago in TX and there was a lot of Clapping, and many children had just been massacred but the clapping was still going on....
The Orange Cult is the textbook case of a sick ,sadistic, demoniicly controlled group of psycopathic, bullies, morons,... proud diaper wearing imbiciles and championing a child rapist and sexual abuser.............they laugh at the slaughter of innocent children.
No proceedings yet, BUT she drew up Articles of Impeachment against Alito and Thomas. which I've been asking my Congressman to do since last September. The Artidles will not be taken up until January 2025 when the new House of Representatives is called into order. Hopefully without the maggot infestation.
I sent her a donation and used a dummy address so I could email her to keep up the good work on this. I also wrote my senators to support her, since one of my state senators should be the one leading this since he chairs the senate judiciary committee. I have been writing him regularly asking him to take this on and stand on the right side of history.
Good for you Linda, that is what is needed.
She got the donation that Dick Durbin did not.
Amen!!!!!
sadly, Organ and Marie LePen (sp?) have formed a Right Wing (fascist) coalition in the EU governing body.
The fight for justice and is wack-a-mole, forever. Teach your children
Also, with 16-year-olds allowed to vote, the right wing just used tiktok to target those voters with simplistic promises.
I have been thinking that Victor Orban is what is l called a TRAITOR.
When Biden talks from a teleprompter, he can. He isn't totally unhinged. But when he is talking extemporaneously, he struggles putting coherent sentences together and sometimes misses words, says the wrong words, or identified people and places incorrectly. I know, because I do it and I am only 73. This isn't necessarily a terrible thing. But then again, I am not trying to run the country or the free world. I just spend time at home on the computer reading Heather and other stack and making comments. No one is actually worried about the words or sentences I say.
Obviously there are a LOT of us who are very worried about what Biden says.
You are completely wrong, as Lawrence O’Donnell proved during last nigh’s show… by playing the video of Biden’s visit yesterday to the Washington DC office of the AFLCIO. O’Donnell purposefully showed the entirety of Biden’s unscripted comments because (he said) he knows there are many people claiming Biden is not capable of doing so. Here’s the video of the segment. You may want to fast forward to that part but I recommend you watch it all, because O’Donnell spends the entire segment on the “Biden should get out” topic!
https://youtu.be/fERNPp4G2Sw
Thank you for this, Steve, and Biden's age is an issue, but after exchanges with two high school buddies yesterday, it is clear that facts mean absolutely nothing. It doesn't matter that Trump is a convicted felon, a known liar, a bad businessman with bankruptcies or that he stole money from his charity or defrauded students or that he violates women's privacy or that he insults or defames them or takes credit for depriving them of essential rights over their own bodies, it doesn't matter because they are blinded by their own racism, misogyny, xenophobia and homophobia. We Dems could be running the brightest most articulate candidate ever and it wouldn't matter. So, we've got to outvote them and the issue is the survival of democracy here. That has to be our message: democracy and female rights versus Trump dictatorship.
Exactly, Richard, and the Democrats and the Democratic party are playing right into their hands by initiating our circular firing squad, and or wanting a unicorn instead of a workhorse...
I know several people who want Biden to step aside and are considering not voting in Nov and it makes me worried about the election. But if Joe Biden is at the top of the ticket in November in a wheelchair drooling, I’ll vote for him to stop Trump from destroying our country. Everyone has to vote no matter who is the top D on the ticket.
I’m hearing similar comments in my small universe. Friends/family are saying they can’t vote for either candidate and are seriously thinking about not voting at all which is not the answer.
I blame the media and I’m not referring to Fox News but the NYT, WP, for the daily focus on Biden’s age and burying Trump storyline. Why isn’t Project 2025 and Trump’s implementation of this plan on the front page on the NYT and WP like Watergate? Why isn’t Trump’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein on the front page of the NYT and WP like Nixon’s relationship with the “Watergate Plumbers”? Yes, I did ask the editorial board this question in my divorce email to them last month.
History remembers everything. And should Trump win in November, history will tell who helped him and his ban of felons destroy democracy.
Not voting when it really matters is an irresponsible act. It is not just you that could be hurt by the outcome. It's the fate of a society, perhaps even our own species at stake. It is irresponsible to pretend otherwise.
One of my greatest concerns also- disillusioned people not voting, not realizing the gravity of the election.
A lot of Bernie supporters either sat out the 2016 election, or voted for Jill Stein. We all know how that turned out. If the top of the Democrat ticket was a rock, I would vote for it over Trump.
That's too bad. Why would Biden be in a wheel chair drooling? I think people don't know how offensive their ageist comments sound. I have several people in my life in their 90s, some are pretty fit mentally, and vital physically even if vision goes. Everyone I know is sticking with Biden. They did not watch the debate they just know what he has done and stands for. I hope that at some point people know enough about project 2025 that they get over themselves wishing for some young person who is not going to happen so they can worship their youth. We do not need to worship our presidents, we need to probably understand the demands of the job better. As far as I can see the biggest effect is knowledge and connections. Unless you belong to Christian Nationlists you are going to end up punishing yourself more than Biden if he does not win. Here is the Substack called How Project 2025 Will Ruin Your Life. Please share this with those friends. https://project2025istheocracy.substack.com/
Richard, it's cognitive dissonance.
Ask them if it's ok that convicted felon Donald Trump lied 602 times during the debate -- 4 times in the first three sentences of his ramblings?
Or
Have them name 4 things CFDT did in the four years as President that made America great?
You may end up conceding one or two points to them (because I can only think of one thing he did), but this forces them to justify their dissonance and it gives you something tangible to argue against.
What was the one thing? I can't think of what it was! All I remember is the hate and him campaigning the next week after he took office! I thought what the hell I had never seen that before.
Someone mentioned the crime bill.
Moving on…
Joe does really well when he's rested. Good man. Knows the facts. The perfect behind the scenes advisor.
Exactly! That could apply to most Presidents - well, except one!!
To be honest - I'm freaking fed-up with the ageism routine! From ALL of the, well, actually, "social influencers" because THAT is what our former news media has morphed into. Possibly it also has to do with the fact that I'm older & expected to be "less" because of that. To put it crudely, it really pisses me off! To the point where I have stopped listening to the monologues of late night hosts that I used to like & respect.
In a TV over-saturated age, to we value presentation over outcome? we certainly did with Reagan, and it warped our future, and still does.
This is not about all
older people (of whom I am also one). No one is worrying about Bernie Sanders losing his capacity, or Nancy Pelosi, who is even older. No one worried about RBG’s capacity, only that fact that she might die, given her various cancer bouts. Which she did, and now we have a Supreme Court majority recreating absolutist monarchism under our noses.
.... Or did you mean "leader" ?
Could be leader. He really had to fix a bunch of stuff that Trump screwed up. But as an advisor if he is pressured to step down as the lead.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👍👍🙏
Richard, amen. They support death star because he is exactly like him. He has given them carte blanche to be their worst selves and by god, they are not going to give that up. And then there are the women who support death star. Funny, Ginni Thomas just came into my mind. I do worry about the perceptions of Biden's age and the constant MSM harping on it.
Thank you. All I see is stupid selfish people
My comment somewhere the other day was that we could run God and Jesus Christ and it would not matter one whit to those hell-bent on destroying us from the inside. The felon and all his imps(the supreme court 6)have weaponized our Constitution and Congress is so wound up in itself over whether or not the man who was doing so well June 1 has now lost his marbles. But heaven forbid that felonious Trump be criticized for anything.
We need a candidate that is bright enough and articulate enough, but yes the alternative of Trump is truly monstrous and the public is missing the stink in the overwhelming stench. It time we stop, hey what's that sound? Everybody look what's going down.
Richard, bravo!
"Video unavailable
The uploader has not made this video available in your country"
However, moving right along: what is this obsession with using a teleprompter? How else do you give a speech nowadays? You're still allowed to read a speech, no? use a microphone? a teleprompter goes one better and allows the speaker to see the text whilst addressing the audience. To the left, to the right, to the center.
Had anyone heard tfg without a teleprompter? I did. Talk about meandering word salad! In fact, he can’t always read, or pronounce, WITH one.
MLMinET makes a good point here. Any responsible president needing to give an important speech or send an important message will want to think it through carefully in advance, write out a draft and have advisors review it. I find Biden's ability to do that well much more indicative of his ability to lead the country than his ability to give clever snappy answers on the spot to an ignorant lying bully.
There should not be a comparison made between good and evil.
That's the crux of the issue: Biden has the characteristics and values we admire and seek to support in everyone because they're key to social cohesion, to survival.
He has ranted many times about the teleprompter not working properly during his rallies.
He has ranted and ranted and ranted. It's the only trick he knows.
If you always give the same speech you don't need a teleprompter.
I regret you live in a country that does not have access to MSNBC’s YouTube channel. I hope you have another way of watching The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell where you live… a show that’s very much worth watching whatever it takes for a person such as you to do so.
We can't view it in the EU, if that's what you mean by "living in a country that does not have access to MSNBC's YouTube channel." I couldn't watch Alex Baldwin's impersonation of Trump when I was living here in 2016 either. The EU protects its residents from internet invasions of privacy. But "people such as [us]" get by, and don't "regret" living here--no need to feel sorry for us! Glad to hear that Biden managed the visit to his lifelong allies at the AFLCIO, and happy of course that he numbers them among his allies.
America is the place people feel sorry for now. Sad to say.
I believe it's envy, not pity.
Where there's a will - yep, I ended up listening to and watching the whole thing.
I think O'Donnell's ending is brilliant.
You are so right Steve! He is great! There are many a night I would rather go to bed and when someone else comes on in his place....I turn it off and go to bed...because I know the hours will be the same crap that I have alread heard most of the day! Geeeee
The teleprompter thing is just another attack-point on Biden's "decrepitude". https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-truth-about-presidents-and-teleprompters/
They used to use it against Obama - to prove his insincerity.
"they" meaning Republicans, right?
I am in Germany, am able to see it.
I travelled around YouTube a bit and finally got it!
What the EU protects you against isn't the content but whatever may be in the platform's associated cookies and spyware, so getting it on another platform is often a good solution.
just clicked on it and it played.
Anne. Demosthenes approves
I thought they were de rigueur these days.
TV newsreaders have been using them for over 35 years to my knowledge.
Churches do too, well, one I know of these days.
I saw this quote posted on another substack-
"Maybe it's time the New York Times should step aside for a younger, fitter, more coherent newspaper."
I agree and would add "The Washington Post."
Love that.
I heard Biden's speech at the AFL/CIO live yesterday. He was the same ol' Joe from 2020 I thought. But I heard it and didn't watch it.
CFDT thinks team is spelled - IIII. He doesn't have the brains God gave lettuce.
I read part of the debate transcript yesterday when someone asked me to list one of Trump's lies. It took me less than 30 seconds to cut and paste the first 4 lies he told in the first three sentences he spoke.
It must have been that troll whose initials are J and A. he demanded that he be given ONE proven lie from Trump's debate performance. I laugh/spit most of my coffee out on the desk. What universe do these trolls LIVE in???? I've told him on other occasions he's not worth the time it takes to even bother refuting his everlasting bullschittery.
I would imagine you can watch on Lawrence at Youtube.com 7/10/2024 show. MSNBC 10pm est
His show last night is must watching.
He is the most cogent, helpful commenter on MSNBC.
These days, "preacher Lawrence" is my man...
"Biden was key to rebuilding the NATO alliance after Trump weakened it, and the leaders at the NATO summit told foreign policy journalist for The Daily Beast David Rothkopf that they were “not concerned with Biden’s ability to play a leading role in NATO during his second term.” They “express confidence in his judgment” and “have a great deal of confidence in the foreign policy team around him.” But they worry about Trump."
What the leaders of 32 countries say is way more important than any broadcasters or reporters because they understand the complexities of the job and the process involved to deal with it all -- they know it's not just a contest.
Grateful for this pointer. Biden does so well talking with AFL-CIO (in about 14 minutes). Even when he got words mixed up he straightened them out. He's in his comfort zone. So time of day is super-important for him, it seems.
Thank you, Steve, for this link from O'Donnell.
Listen, also, to what John Kirby had to say the night before to Lawrence O'Donnell.
You can start listening at minute 9:18, and listen through to the end:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDfj7wjMCM0
Morning, Lynell, and thanks for the link!
Morning, Ally! Hope all is well in your neck of the woods? Wife OK?
All is well. She had a good pain management appointment today, and got some good instructions for strengthening. No surgery !
Thank you.
It would really be nice if the mass media would commit journalism for at least a moment and cover the President’s speeches and actions in the truly newsworthy NATO summit, rather than yet another whiny loser crying about Biden needs to step out (to hand the election to a senile convicted felon conman).
Thanks for posting this! It’s excellent.
It was a great segment
Thank you, Steve, for the link https://youtu.be/fERNPp4G2Sw showing Biden's unscripted speech to the AFLCIO shortly before he had to address the NATO summit. I wish all voters would watch this demonstration of what he is actually capable of doing.
Steve, what I like about Substack is folks like you sharing what you share
Thank you for this link! I no longer watch television, and have reduced my reading of the MSM news since it all seems so biased. I mostly get my news here at Substack and even that's been depressing to read because of what so many are saying about President Biden. I believe all candidates should be examined equally for mental and physical competency, and seeing this video makes it clear that he is just fine as I had hoped. I cannot even look at photos of TFG without feeling sick; he is so completely unbalanced, neurotic, psychotic, and evil.
Come to think of it, didn’t Abraham Lincoln use prepared remarks often ?
Somehow Biden is delivering an admirable result seemingly most of the time. I would make no similar claim of the Trump years. How much of that is Biden himself and how much is his team? And does it matter? We may get stuck with an autocratic king because I think that in some ways we still want to have a king; a messiah. But presidents are just people,even when they are extraordinary. They all depend on a lot of help to make things work, from their team to their constituents. If it's to be governance of , by and for the people, then there is no alternative to teamwork. Few beneficial outcomes "happen by accident." Again and again, we choose "unity over disunion, progress over retreat, freedom over tyranny, and hope over fear." A free society is an engaged society. Rescue by Superman or Wonder Woman is just wishful thinking.
I'd rather have a coherent and significant speech read to me than a word salad of lies and irrelevancies told to me extemporaneously. Why shouldn't big national speeches be thought through, written, and edited for clarity and elegance before presentation?
Isn't it the press secretary's job to field questions on the fly?
I'm sorry Biden isn't as good at shooting from the hip as he used to be, but I also think governing is very different from speechifying, and I don't think either is a realistic qualifying exam for the other.
That's one of the first huge differences - Trump had to have an applauding audience all the time, Biden's government works quickly, cohesively and effectively, without waiting to see if people are admiring them.
Trump is full of word salad, mispronunciation and lies.
Yes, yes indeed Laureen, Ann -Louise, & Kathy re the rump:
“…a tale told by an idiot full of sound and fury signifying nothing.” Macbeth, Wm Shakespeare
I have always been under the impression that our Presidents use speechwriters, do they not? I know Kennedy and Obama did, FDR, too. Mind you, I don't think the writers did the entire job but started with the president's talking points, etc., and the speech passed back and forth between both, continually edited until the President was satisfied.
Yes. If Thomas Jefferson was judged solely on his ability to make a speech, he would not have been elected.
Yes, obviously between Biden and Trump, there is no doubt who is the better man, president and candidate.
The question is - are a sufficient numbers of American voters, especially in the swing states, persuaded of that? The swing voters will decide this election. Is Biden the right candidate for them? He was in 2020. Is he still ? What of those who are tempted just to stay home because neither candidate inspires them? How will you get them out to vote for Biden?
All of your points are great, Sophie. I don't know the answers to any of them, especially how to get the vote out. My completely unprofessional opinion is that the best way to inspire the unenthusiastic is to pound on Project 2025 wholly owned by the felon. If we do that, I believe whomever tops the blue ticket will win in a walk. Fear is a terrific motivator, and just about everyone is scared of P25. I know I could be wrong, and losing would be a disaster.
If that’s the case, it must reach beyond MSNBC and the democratic mediasphere (like this one). It must reach centrists and people who are uncomfortable both with Trump because of his character and Biden because of his age (I know and you know that they are not similar, but as long as Biden stumbles and makes mistakes in pressers or ‘performs badly’, it will have a negative effect in a country where appearances matter so much. So to counter that, the fight must be all the more powerful and wide-ranging). Perhaps fear will work, if enough people are afraid. It worked in France, despite the sustained rise of the far right.
Oui, ma capitaine.
Everyone here completely misses the point. Sure, speeches are better prepared. "Biden isn't as good shooting from the hip". So at least you agree he has lost a few steps. That's a good start. The problem is, you and I and all the rest of the talking heads here on Heather's stack are NOT going to decide this election. And like it or not APPEARANCES MATTER. The people who will decide this election whether we like it or not do not CARE that he is "qualified". They saw the debate and they are done. They will not vote for him. Those people aren't reading his or even the NYT, let alone lisstening to Lawrence on MSNBC. They watch Fox and they believe their eyes and their eyes told them two weeks ago that Biden is done and should be turned out to pasture. And that's not ALL of America. Biden will still almost certainly win the popular vote AGAIN maybe even by MORE votes. But all of those votes will come from California and New York and New England and maybe Illinois. The votes that COUNT will come from Michigan and Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and as in 2016, they will this year (unlike 2020) go for Trump. And he will win this election. Mark my words.
We need to get off of our high horses and recognize that this is a fight for democracy and the only way we can win it is to get Biden to sit down.
Even his best friends (George Clooney) are saying it. They aren't making it up. If you don't like it, that's fine, but it is still the sad sad truth. It isn't going to change.
I am tired now, too tired to keep responding to all this inbred nonsense because almost no one on this blog seems to be able to be objective anymore. And that is sad, because this is the time we need objectivity more than ever. I wish it weren't so, but it clearly is.
I'm not on a high horse, Jon, my only point was that it doesn't matter if a speech is read, memorized, or improvised. The whole freak out about how important it is for Biden to look and sound energetic is off point.
The only important issue is to defeat the felon. Of course the electoral votes you cite are what will make the difference. Here's what I propose:
Everyone's top issue is the economy. We don't need to tell the swing voters that factually we have the best econ in the world. They're struggling to pay their bills. We need to scare the shit out of them. We need to run ads of white families living in their cars and soccer moms lining up for gov't soup kitchens that can only serve 10% of the people in line. We need to show shuttered pawn shops and closed hospitals with signs across their doors that say "TOut of money. Good luck." We need to pin that dystopic future on MAGA and Project 2025.
It doesn't matter who's name is on either side of the ballot. I personally care most deeply about keeping Project 2025 from ever rolling out. My second biggie is SCOTUS turning our country into a fundamentalist theocracy. Well any kind of theocracy, really. I believe that we must shift the narrative to how disastrous Trump 2.0 will certainly be. Is that objective enough for you?
Hi, good post, thank you for those comments. We still disagree, but at least it is not mudslinging stuff. I hope you get a chance to read Nicholas Kristof's NYT editorial today. He points out that one of the BIG issues in the UK and French elections was "change" and that is probably a key issue here too. Biden v Trump is "same old same old" and people want change. So the only change they can have is Trump (again). Many elected Macron people stepped aside in France in the second election so that people could vote for "change" but NOT for the National Front which would have elected Le Pen (which would have been as much a disaster as Trump). And it worked. Sure, Macron now has a tougher job, but at least the left combined with the center can control the country instead of leaving it to the right-wing.
Sigh, we need to be intelligent and not stuck in the mud. I wish Biden were still a viable candidate but I fear he is not anymore and we have to get off this horse before it goes over the cliff.
Good point about change, Jon. I don't subscribe to the NYT anymore, so no Kristof for me. I think we have more digging out of post-pandemic economy to do before we seriously re-evaluate our politics in general.
I'm not married to Biden the candidate, I just think it's more critical to get out of a defensive crouch and go on the offensive about the MAGA agenda which would still be a hideously toxic threat even if they pulled Trump off the ballot, which of course they won't.
Project 2025 is their Achilles Heel, and we shouldn't let up on it. That's the path to victory for the Dems, and I think, but don't predict, it's a winning strategy even with Biden. Data suggest it would be a better bet with Harris for a number of reasons, and I like the framing of 'prosecutor goes after criminal' as a campaign theme. I mostly think we're all wasting time on the infighting. Let Biden make his final decision and then play the hand we've been dealt.
Amen!!!
I keep watching Lawrence O'Donnell explain in great detail why the idea that Biden must step down makes no sense and I keep watching pundits, including those on MSNBC, studiously ignore those very legitimate concerns. Why? Is it because they've made a prejudicial conclusion, and they don't want to think about evidence and logic that might cause them to change their minds.
The people of Russia overwhelmingly support Putin, not because they should, but because they don't want to think about evidence and logic that might cause them to change their minds. So, it does happen.
Is it simply that O'Donnell is correct and everyone else is wrong? I don't know, but the fact that those who think Biden should step down so studiously ignore what sound to me like very legitimate concerns makes me very suspicious of their conclusion.
Besides, if one candidate has good intent and the other has bad intent, it's a no-brainer, vote for the candidate with good intent. The more competent the candidate with good intent is, the more good will be done, and the more competent the candidate with bad intent is, the more harm will be done.
Trump’s only reasons for running are dictatorship and revenge. Neither are in the best interest of the United States. He also made it fairly clear he wanted to support only those who voted for him.
Don’t forget his main motivation: he sees the presidency as a get out of jail free card.
One would think that would be a no-brainer
Very succinctly stated….he has no agenda for the well-being of the country. His demented brain is stuck on revenge mode and will act only that way if elected….something I fear greatly for all of us….the word garbage he spews has poisoned some good people’s thinking to the point where they no longer are rational….the only thing important now is the preservation of our democracy and the good intentions of an honest, intelligent and experienced President….we must mobilize and get out to vote Blue!
"That would be a no-brainer". Except it is NOT, it TAKES a brain and that is something most of the Trump supporters do not have.
“The people of Russia overwhelmingly support Putin”…. Really? Russia is a completely hopeless place, over 50% alcoholism. Corruption is rampant. A one party state. Elections are predetermined. The one party state owns and controls all media. People do speak out, and they are jailed, if they don’t fall in line, it’s a trip to the gulag or the grave or both.
“It happens like this always. When dictatorships fall, people look back and they say, ‘Well, how didn’t we see that at the time? This is so obvious.’” —Vladimir Kara-Murza (Russian activist)
The people of the Republican party overwhelmingly support Trump. Really? He'll turn America into a completely hopeless place. Corruption will be rampant. A one party state. Elections will be predetermined. The state will control all media. People who speak out have already been threatened with jail and even execution because they didn't fall in line. It will be a trip to an American version of the gulag or the grave or both. And yet, all people have to do is vote Democrat, but Trump is still leading in the polls.
Some day, Republicans will say "Well, how didn’t we see that at the time? This is so obvious." We can always hope that day will be before November.
What I see in my circle is that they want, with all their hearts, the promise of white, male, Christian, heteronormative, cisgendered based society, and all of the population that are BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and independent women restored to their proper places in the masters house, closet, or kitchen.
How do you tolerate your circle? I am done pretending. I find myself intolerant at best.
Yes, Ally. When Biden became a civil rights attorney back in the day, it was to bring America together. How must he feel at our lack of appreciation for his broad, sustained vision.
You just described our future . . . if Trump wins in November.
I often think of Kara-Murza, twice poisoned, now perhaps dying in jail.
and Mikheil Saakashvili, former President of Georgia when he tried to align with the EU and the west. Putin sucks.
What will be the fate Zelinski and all the leaders of Ukraine if Trump wins? See below. We can not let that happen. What country would ever trust the US again?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikheil_Saakashvili#:~:text=In%202021%20he%20began%20serving,an%20opposition%20lawmaker%20Valery%20Gelashvili.&text=Saakashvili%20entered%20Georgian%20politics%20in%201995.
https://apnews.com/article/georgia-mikheil-saakashvili-prison-health-4aacbf4c56f177dab43967a5a7202e59
Lawrence is to the point, every time. On the side, a number of political analysts, including Heather, that dumping a candidate at this point, leads to a surefire loss in November.
People of Russia support him because they see what happens when they protest. Living there is like the beating will continue until morale improves. Just like the current republican party. Tim Snyder pointed out that the democrats can make these statements of concern because they do not fear for their safety unlike those that are members of the other party.
Any for those who say Biden should step down, I ask “in favor of whom?”
Yup. Lots of Monday morning arm chair quarterbacking.
Joyce Vance has a great article today...solutions.
https://joycevance.substack.com/p/the-most-important-things-about-project?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=607357&post_id=146475658&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=g2ipj&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
There are pundits on the other side of the question. See Rebecca Solnit in the Guardian (from last weekend) for the most resounding statement.
Jaime Harrison was on Morning Joe this morning and gave a totally unambiguous endorsement of Joe Biden.
And John Fugelsang - same, on Progress radio.
And they are both very well spoken and unambiguous.
Good to hear!
I just read her "Why is the pundit class so desperate to push Biden out of the race?" article. I recommend it to others. My take is that she agrees with me, which is that mental decline is much more of an issue in the pundit class than it is for the president.
Thanks for this tip. I love her writing!
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/jul/06/biden-trump-race-rebecca-solnit
James, I agree with all you said except that the people of Russia overwhelmingly accept Putin because they don’t want to think about evidence and logic. They cannot vocalize otherwise or they end up in a gulag or dead like their hopeful hero,Nevalny. There is no democracy there in voting, people drop their vote for Putin to stay alive.
How much of that is polish, and how much is incoherence? The press regularly called Ronald Reagan "The Great Communicator", but he was pretty seriously confused at certain moments, and his economic theories failed to deliver what they promised, though they have made the rich a lot richer. But Reagan was a trained actor. Is that what we think it takes?
In his second term Reagan was senile! Surely you know that. That was the entire defense against the Contra rebels fiasco.
And Nancy was using psychics to help sway decisions!
I didn't know about that, but please do tell :-). I was only 10 or 12.
Just look up Joan Quigly.
It is true that Reagan was showing signs of Alzheimer’s during his second campaign and second term in office. Helen Caldecott and Lesley Stahl both recalled incidents that tipped them off.
R showed signs when he was governor...he was a very good actor
Better actor than I gave him credit for. Should have gotten an Oscar for those first years. Best con ever. But give Peggy Noonan and Michael Deaver credit for speech writing and PR. WERE OLIGARCH’s already pulling the strings, you betcha…
I remember a whole lot of Reagan saying he could not recall one thing or the other. Sort of like Trump (and gangsters) pleading the Fifth.
Reagan was an actor, and experienced with reading text. Biden is an experienced political expert, but not an actor.
God forbid. Image is not substance. People get confused. Duh
Having worked as an actor briefly, but having worked with actors for over 30 years, I can assure you that is not what I think it takes to successfully run this country.
Ronald Reagan should never have been reelected. He had Alzheimer’s.
I think you’re correct in asking if we want a trained actor over a person of experience in the difficult field of politics. I’ve been wondering that myself for a long time. Form over substance.
Trump is (very) hazardous waste.
That's a good one. Thanks for making me smile!
Biden has NEVER been a good speaker, and he's been in government since he was, what, 29? Actions speak louder than words. I would far rather be led by a gaffe machine who totally knows how to negotiate and get things done than a smooth-talking sociopath of either party.
Chump has the gift of mouth diarrhea that all sociopaths apparently have. I hate to call it charm since it nauseates me, but some fall for it
Jeri, how about calling it “smarm”??
That’s it. Puky smarm.
Yes. Oily, sleazy, insincere and selfish.
And smelly.
Shamelessness mistaken for courage and competence.
Yes, and double Yes, Abby!
Amen
My mom did not have that struggle until she was 87. She is now 90. We have great conversations, she just does not remember much now, post her stroke at 87. She was in less good shape then Biden, with no wife to take care of her. Her mom was really lucid and great to talk to until she was 98. I visited her at 93 and we had a great time. Neither of them run nations, but they did what they did well. Biden has a lifetime of experience in politics and he is using it fully, which no one else can, because they just are not there. I am glad that Harris gets each day of mentoring that she gets from him. She is brilliant too and is as always, a back up if needed, and hopefully some day president in her own right.
Do you have any idea how much practice it takes to use a teleprompter effectively? 🤦🏼♀️
I'm sure they don't.
No. I hadn't even thought of that. Good call.
Sounded coherent yesterday! I struggle finding words also, I’m 68 but pretty sure most public figures use notes and teleprompters. Winston Churchill was probably half drunk most of the the time but still knew what was going on. President Biden has surrounded himself with great people and is willing to listen. Look at what he’s been able to accomplish not how he speaks.
Jon, your comment that Biden cannot speak coherently without a teleprompter is completely inaccurate. He spoke clearly to George Stephanopoulos. Yes, Biden speaks and moves slowly and had one terrible debate showing. That doesn't mean he has dementia or some other terrible or degenerative disease. Like you, I'm also a septuagenarian. Although I speak and move less quickly than I used to, I understand politics more than I ever have.
Although Trump and MAGA plan to destroy democracy, and Biden and the Democrats aim to preserve and strengthen it and Biden and his team have done transformative work the last 3.5 years, the press is giving Trump a pass and relentlessly beating Biden up like they did Hillary with her emails. There is no way to replace Biden without committing political suicide. Regardless of who the Democratic presidential candidate is, the press will continue to soft pedal Trump and beat up on the Democratic candidate--because the media businesses think they will profit less by paying more taxes under a Democrat.
Let's stop embracing fear, and instead focus on what we agree on. We love our country and want to preserve our democracy. Voting for Biden is voting for a team and an inclusive Democratic perspective that can help the entire country to thrive. Let's get to work and pull together.
Well-said….and to the point! A vote for Biden includes a team that is knowledgeable,experienced, and well-positioned to continue with his agenda….the other guy has only one plan….revenge….and the Heritage foundation consists of old, white conservatives who want to take the country back 100 years so they can rule….and they won’t be including him in their decisions because he doesn’t care and doesn’t even understand them…..
The "team" can make a world of difference. I don't think the plutocrats want to go back 100 years, they want to go back as far as feudal lords and absolute monarchs. That's been the agenda since Reagan.
That's just nonsense and I have to say so. If you really believe that (that no one else can run) you need to do a little more political learning.
Biden is done, this race is over. Either Trump will win (if Biden stays in) or we MIGHT have a chance with a different candidate. Look at what just happened in France, when the smart candidates in the center stepped aside so that the RIGHT WING NATIONA FRONT didn't win a sweep. France is at least still floating.
The US will not be floating in November if Trump wins, which he will if Biden doesn't step aside.
Sorry, I speak my truth.
Do you stutter?
When a stutterer sings a song, there’s little stuttering — sometimes they can read better than speak extemporaneously. We need to make a distinction between neurological glitches and cognition — they’re all part of the nervous system, but they’re not all part of the intellect.
True point Pat, and worth making!
But saying to Stephanopoulos's question, about how he'd feel if he didn't step aside and then Trump beat him, that well, he'd have given it his best shot "and that's what this is all about, right?" was not the remark of an intellect (or a moral compass) in excellent shape.
NOT ME. I worry about what the trash talking friend of Jeffrey Epstein would do if returned to office…first day. Why don’t a LOT of you tell us what YOU think of THAT ?
Jon, if you are worried about speech patterns instead of results, I’d say you’re worrying about the wrong issue
I am worried about winning an election. It is pretty clear that the people who will decide this election (the 150,000 voters or so in the 6 or 7 swing states) will be VERY concerned about speech patterns. We can HOPE they will look at "results" (assuming you mean PAST results) but the reality is most likely not so much. Biden needs to face the facts that his path to winning 2024 is almost non-existent. More and more people are asking Biden to step down. He needs to listen.
Reality is that you are assuming people will react like you. You state “reality” as if it is your reality that defines reality
The fact is, Biden has beaten him once, is still very capable of beating him again There is NO one at this date that will do better. As you tell him what he has to do, You need to be less fearful
No, I am looking at FACTS, not making up my own assumptions based on no supportable facts. What Biden did four years ago is meaningless in the context of our current situation. The past is pretty meaningless in political elections. Your "statement" that there is "NO" one who will do better is such total nonsense. Even BIDEN admitted that there were FIFTY people who could beat Trump (that is on video as he leaves a press conference).
We can come back here in 118 days and I can assure you if Biden is still running, we will have lost the election.
Jon, please read what I wrote for comprehension. Your reality is based on how your interpret current events, its your opinion, you can’t call that a fact. “The past is pretty meaningless in an election”. ???? Really? My statement that no one will do better than Joe is a lot different than Joe saying that there are other democrats that could beat trump. You’ve identified none. Why is that? Afraid that facts might intrude on your reality?
Are you referring to his stutter? We’ve known about that for his entire political career!
What I am not worrried about is his moral compass, his policies, and most important the greatest collection of talent on his leadership team in at least the last 50 years. They make the most consequential decisions, decisions he then accepts or rejects (which goes back to his policies and ethics).
I just listen to a CNN talking head explaining the Biden issues. Guess what? She stumble in the process of explaining President Biden’s problems
What Biden can’t do is put together an unending stream of lies, he has an innate concern for the truth and how it sets us free.
I agree, with this caveat: I wish he'd set himself free by personally apologizing to Anita Hill.
I have been saying that Biden is talking personally with world leaders and has their respect. I am sure he has their sympathy too because of Trump. Except for Orban, NATO members do not want to see Trump back in power. I am so glad that the EU has not been able to fit Orban into the schedule as he plays his little man, big man role as 6 month president of the Council of the EU. He is considered a president going rogue, and I hope his presidency is ended before it fully gets started. Hungarians should either vote someone who fits with EU values or be kicked out. They have all come here though because we are leaders of NATO under Biden.
There is mounting opposition against Orban in Hungary. It is led by a young (42 years old) able and well spoken man named Peter Magyar and the Tisza Party he formed recently. Please read about him (online) and other opposition news at the independent Magyar Hang (Hungarian Voice).
Finally!
That is good news. I will check this out. Thank you.
Presidents have speech writers.
Jim, indeed SO! And good presidential speechwriters generally work hand in glove with the one giving their speeches. Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin details much about this process in some really successful pairings between her husband, Dick Goodwin (and Ted Sorenson) and JFK, then LBJ then Robert Kennedy (definitely NOT RFK Jr) in her latest book An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s (also available in audio form). [ https://www.amazon.com/dp/1982108665/ref=nosim?tag=booksorderlis-20 ]
I think of that alot as Biden uses the teleprompter, which is why I appreciate seeing him appear without one in various settings -- I'm hoping for more of that asap.
Indeed, and speech writers are no crime either, to whatever extend Biden may have used one. No president can do without them.
I think some could, but would at least want an editor. So long a president means whatever is said, I am not concerned about assistance. Once the president chooses to say it, they own it.
"I meant what I said and I said what I meant"- Horton
I don't think we should even be giving "telepompter/speech writer" the remotest wiggle room for detractors bringing these up. God. Latest is the msm is bloodhound on Biden. I did see tho that NYT's latest editorial is a Dump Trump. That almost lines up with Philadelphia Inquirer's last week editorial. They should keep that one up! Trump is criminal, Biden is geriatric, who ya gonna vote for ?
Um...nah, that's that other, convicted felon guy, who can't get an entire coherent sentence out; who can't even offer a speech without having it be all about him and his grievances; who cannot even make a speech about himself and his own grievances without veering off into inanities, completely unrelated asides and really bizarre mini-rants.
He can put words together when written by speech writers, using a teleprompter and before 8pm. This does not reassure me and does not change the fact that he is warmonger.
But he used a teleprompter, he should be that eloquent just off the top of his head, as is true of people who play presidents on TV. Do other leaders use teleprompters? Oh, well, mostly. Modi of India appears as a hologram, not even physically present when he gives speeches.
"Churchill wrote every word of his many speeches — he said he spent an hour working on every minute of a speech he made." (NPR) Churchill would have enjoyed a teleprompter.
Putin told Trump to wreck NATO. Simple as that. Putin has leverage on Trump. And Putin was instrumental in Trump's win in 2016. "Found" Clinton's emails and had Comey make them a last minute thing.
I think the media apparently is blind and causing a whole lot of division and doubts that have no place in our society....today concerning Biden!
Was he speaking from a teleprompter?
Ironically, Americans are going to have to live by Trump’s own words: “You’re going to have to fight like hell, or you’re not going to have a country anymore.” Correct. If Trump is reelected, America will be gone. And so will NATO, American democracy, and the peace in Europe.
Keep fighting against fascism, America!
Yes indeed, Mike. We now have the Supreme Court 6-3 in favor of fascism. We have to win this election and then take further action. Else all is lost!
Exactly so!
One problem is that a lot of trumpers don't know what fascism is. Even trump says he wants to get rid of fascists. Please keep that promise lol.
I hope he does! Personally I wouldn't mind if Trump would deport (or shoot) himself...
Exactly, which is why I use far right, hard right, right-wing authoritarian, nativist, nationalist or supremacist, or any combination of those, instead of fascist (depending on country context). Marine Le Pen and Nigel Farage are nativist nationalists. Trump is a supremacist nationalist authoritarian (like Putin and Erdogan). Orban is a nativist nationalist authoritarian. Etc.
Keep fighting against fascism NATO
“I didn’t even know what the hell NATO was too much before, but it didn’t take me long to figure it out, like about two minutes,”
Clearly Trump in a deep thinker; piled high and deep.
It's "higher and deeper," J L.
The degree called a bachelor of science: B.S. = bull shit.
The one called a master's of science: M.S. = more shit.
And the doctorate in philosophy: Ph.D. = Piled Higher and Deeper.
Well, I disagree. I worked pretty fracking hard on my physics PhD. And it taught me math that I am now using with a lot of further thought over the last 20 years.
Humor, Matt. A joke we older Ph.D's all learned but bitterly to enjoy.
Except you.
We enjoyed it because we understand perfectly how academe got perverted to dark money.
Too many went into obedience silos.
Too many perfectly accepted how ALEC killed state funding for higher ed. Effectively killed -- perverted -- tenure. Killed humanities. Employed tens of thousands of idealistic newbies to do the undergrad teaching -- all under "contingent labor" contracts, which meant nothing long-term, no health benefits, work overloads, and zero job security.
Banks prospered as the tens of millions of students sank into the largest debt in U.S. history. Admin prospered as its neutered and dehumanized from law and biz ed all fattened on succoring the banks in their predations.
You see, Matt, a giant joke.
Well put. I am sharing you comment with several of my friends. Will Bunch has a book which just came out in paperback (and was updated) on how education especially higher education has been undermined by capitalism. “The Fall of Ivory Tower “
Project 2025 wants to do away with higher education under the guise that corporations are to blame for requiring degrees for jobs. There are things that start out sounding sane and thoughtful but as you keep reading you inevitably stumble upon the religious context that the whole thing is shrouded in and quickly realize that it’s just another way for the dictatorship to control everything.
Some people claim education at reputable business colleges and know squat. Some like you give legitimacy to degrees
The first scientific principle is the idea that science "involves careful observation, applying rigorous skepticism about what is observed, given that cognitive assumptions can distort how one interprets the observation." The quote is from Wikipedia's article on the scientific method.
There are way too many people with science degrees who are not willing to be skeptical, let alone rigorously skeptical, of their own conclusions. I quoted that principle to a Ph.D. (who granted bachelors degrees) only to be told that it can be safely ignored. If I wanted to know what science is, all I had to do was listen to him because it's so complicated, and I wasn't an expert like him and not capable of understanding its subtleties. And there I was thinking I could expect a better understanding of science from a child in elementary school.
I sort of like the idea behind this. “Science has the last word on nothing, religion has the last word on everything.” Go Science
Science is always a work in progress.
I think that is the point. Science invites questions. Religion surely does not.
Thus it progresses,
So, we agree about science, but we disagree about religion.
There are two, and only two, Christian principles. The first is that an individual must listen to the individual's heart and mind, and not follow one or the other when they disagree, but instead resolve the conflict. The second is that an individual must listen to the individual's neighbor, and not choose between following one or the other when they disagree, but instead resolve the conflict.
Ref: Matthew 7:12 & 22:34-40, Mark 12:28-31, Luke 6:31 & 10:25-37, John 14:12 & 15:12.
Translation: Christianity "involves careful observation, applying rigorous skepticism about what is observed, given that cognitive assumptions can distort how one interprets the observation."
So-called scientists are as capable of ignoring the scientific principle, thereby unwisely turning what was science into a fundamentalist ideology, as Christians are of ignoring the Christian principle, thereby unwisely turning what was Christianity into a fundamentalist ideology. The same can be said of any other legitimate wisdom practice, like Islam, democracy, etc. Go wisdom.
I agree with your interpretation of the Great Commandment, though many who tacitly claim to follow it would not. Science, by it's own parameters, can only track what is measurable. It can illuminate our priorities but not, ultimately, make them, It can tell you why you experience honey as sweet, but not covey the sentient experience of tasting it. Einstein said that you could describe a symphony as variations in wave pressure. "but it would make no sense".
On the other hand, my local newspaper quoted part of a "Christian School" textbook that claimed that God is disrespected by resource conversation efforts because it reveals distrust of God's unlimited providence. That's not at all consistent with what we know from science, and obviously not every religious person would claim this, but it is part of the reason people want separation between church. which is an individual choice, and the state that affects everyone.
Have you heard any televangelist lately, or ever. Science rarely claims to have all the answers.
Don’t confuse televangelists with Christians. Not even close.
Jeri, It seems a bit too easy for some to interpret the last half of your quote as fact – as the quote is written above, at least. I. therefore, suggest a slight edit: “…religion [thinks] it has the last word on everything.” Is that more reflective of what you intended to say?
That seems to be the claim. Have faith, don’t question. I cringed every time I had to pretend to believe it all, starting with the Nicean Creed. None of that at my UU church. I do have faith, but not in man’s rewrite of history.
In 1970 when I was in a graduate level course on research psychology, the professor who was well published was engaging us with how to develop an experiment to determine how much homosexual behavior was occurring in a men’s college dorm ( remember this was 1970). He offered this design. He would put a device under each mattress in a college dorm room and if the device measured that the weight on the bed was more than the body weight of one average college student, Voila! Gay, Gay! There were several of us in this class who were undergraduates and who actually lived in a dormitory. And a few of us pointed out that it is typical for several guys to gather in one room to socialize and the only place to sit was on the two beds in the room. And it was not at All unusual to have 3 or 4 guys on one bed to bs or play cards. I also remember that there were no grad students who spoke up to correct professor. Perhaps in fear of running afoul of some professor wh could sabotage your getting your PhD?
Yes, that was the pile I was thinking of.
I didn't realize you were so ignorant
What do they call religious believers?
That remark by Trump is disqualifying. His supporters - half the country - are too stupid to realize it. We are in deep trouble. Have been forever.
That’s what you get when you have shit for brains. 🤷♂️
My thoughts exactly
I couldn’t find a peep in The NY Times about Biden’s powerful NATO speech, just stories and OpEds calling for him to step down, and a powderpuff story on Trump rejoicing about something or other.
Snopes.com says NY Times’ CEO isn’t a Trump cash doner, but it sure seems the “newspaper of record” (hah!) has definitely picked sides in the next election.
David Pecker and chump knew that hiding some stories, promoting other stories and making up “news” was a way to decide for voters what was important. It’s called tabloid media. NYT has crossed the rubicon
Reportedly it’s because Biden hasn’t given the editor the sit down interview with Biden the editor wants.
Ralph, I finally cancelled my subscription to the NYT yesterday. I'd hemmed and hawed about doing so, as I enjoy more than just the news -- NYT Cooking (love it), NYT Games, etc. but I've had enough of there distorted l, unbalanced coverage, and told them so. The customer service rep, when asked, told me I was the first person he knows of who complained and cancelled. Yeah, right -- I'm sure those calls are monitored. Good, let more hear it.
That sounds eerily like the British post office… did you see that recent movie?
That was a great movie with Toby Jones. There is a companion piece documentary that is even better.
No, I didn't.
Ralph, my understanding is that when the new guy took over (publishing? or Editor-in-Chiefing) at the NY Times, Biden turned down a request for an exclusive interview to which he reacted with a vow to make Biden sorry he had not deferred to his specialness at the Times. Any credibility to this gossip?
Right now I would believe anything and nothing. However, I would hope that the editor of The NY Times wouldn’t throw the nation into the MAGA maw purely out of spite.
Not necessarily. But they do think this is “ politics as usual- just a game. And their arrogance leads them to believe that they will not be affected by the Republican takeover.
See the interview with the NYT Executive Editor in today's "Daily" New Yorker. You are correct that the owner is not (far from it) a Trump donor, but more relevantly neither is the Executive Editor, who makes no political donations at all, whether or not they are to non-profits, because of his profession.
Okay, so why the constant negativity re Joe Biden? The only time I see anything about the very real positive accomplishments of the Biden Administration is HCR's letters.
And why the treating of Trump with kid gloves? If Biden is unqualified, Trump is orders of magnitude more so.
Also, as the editorial board at the NY Times is publicly calling for Biden to step down, they need to just as publicly promote the individual they want to step up into his place, or stay the hell out of the discussion altogether. I feel the same for anyone who isn't backing Biden; name your alternative candidate that you're ready today to get behind 100%.
Ralph, I agree. I just commented above that I finally, reluctantly cancelled my NYT subscription yesterday -- I'm sick of the unbalanced coverage, and told them so. I don't recall them asking for Biden's opponent, the convicted felon, to withdraw.
But what did it for me was the "BREAKING NEWS: Parkinson Specialist Visited the White House Eight Times in Eight Months" story. Only after reading several paragraphs did it mention he may have been there for purposes other than evaluating the President.
There are other ways to influence peddle.
Jeri, Ralph, I do not love the NYT! I subscribed for a while after the 2016 Trump election, but cancelled when their approach to Biden seemed biased--toward clickbait--and their coverage of cliamate issues very slim. They're under new leadership now about which I know almost nothing, except the interview I suggested. It was wrong to publish so immediate an editorial, though many people I respect share the view it expresses. My own changes every other day--I'm having a hard time with the goofy narcissism of B's answer to Stephanopoulos re: the possibility that Democrats could lose against Trump et al. if he stays on the ticket--see Alexandra Petri's clear and sober set of equivalent (fictional) exchanges in her (normally hilarious) colum at WaPo). On the other hand see Rebecca Solnit in the Guardian last weekend, at her most eloquent.
So I'm putting my head down and getting on with GOTV work, currently more concerned with registering voters than reading rants re: the top of the ticket. When you get people interested in voting for a state or local person--where the issues are concrete, it's easier to know the context, and it's possible even to meet the candidates--they're more likely to register and vote up the ballot as well as for that person lower down. But I see a lot of emotion (even insult and abuse at times) in Comments lately, here and on Bob Reich's substack newsletter. So I thought it might be useful to suggest the New Yorker's long interview with the NYT's Executive Editor. No need for anyone to change their minds, but if you haven't read it, protesting points he doesn't make is a waste of the important energy of concerned, engaged, intelligent citizens like yourselves.
As TC in LA says “if you pissed your drawers and crapped your pants…just do your job.” Or something like that. My constant state as I watch the carnival circus…
The NYT editorial board just declared that CF45 is 'unfit to serve'.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/11/new-york-times-trump-unfit?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
Doug, amazing! Hopefully this will influence the Independents and voters not staying home.
About time.
We expect Biden to be superhuman while Trump is allowed to be moronic with amusement.
Spot on.
We is gunna vote blue. The problem is presidents are not elected on issues and facts, etc. What decides elections is not candidate's bases but who Joe blue collar can relate to. That is the problem. If that were not so this election would be a slam-dunk.
Somehow, Democrats have lost their understanding of what leadership looks like. President Biden has led us from the brink of disaster back to safety at home and abroad, and all anyone can talk about is how an old man is old. Wake up people. Rediscover critical thinking.
You can thank the NYT, WP and CNN in their pursuit of $$ for Being in the bag for Trump. All are owned or controlled by right-wingers
Lawrence O’Donnell proved during last nigh’s show… by playing the complete video of Joe Biden’s visit yesterday to the Washington DC office of the AFLCIO… that Biden is completely capable of speaking without a teleprompter for an extended period of time. O’Donnell purposefully showed the entirety of Biden’s unscripted comments because (he said) he knows there are many people claiming Biden is not actually capable of doing so.
Here’s the video of the segment. You may want to fast forward to that part but I recommend you watch it all, because O’Donnell spends the entire segment on the “Biden should get out” topic… making the case for why those calling on Biden to get out are the problem not the solution. I was personally disgusted to see Nancy Pelosi giving a statement of non-support support on the Morning Joe Show. In my opinion, she owes Joe Biden an apology … and the American people too! This was a huge “WTF, Nancy?” moment to me!
https://youtu.be/fERNPp4G2Sw
Steve. Please take a look at Madame Speaker's talk about President Biden and her rebuttal to the New York Times report of what she said. She did not pull her support from President Biden and boy was she mad at the Times.
I quit believing anything the media says. I check for myself by watching the video or reading about it in Hubbell, Vance, Richardson, Rosenberg and others on Substack.
Hope this helps.
After much thought I finally cancelled my subscription to NYT and told them it was because of their mounting negative articles and op-eds against President Biden. I no longer trust what they are reporting. There are other sources to get my news from.
I did too. It runs out this month, so I am bugging them on my way out the door. I believe zero of what the main-stream media says. Although today the New York Times has a huge Editorial declaring trump unfit for Office.
There has always been some version of an underground press. Substack writers, The Independant, Meidas Touch and others now fill that need. The Resistance began after trump was elected and has gotten huge over the years.
We will prevail.
It’s about time ….and thank you Barbara..that paper wrote about t’s threat to be even a street sweeper. Finally finally. They may be hurting financially as it’s probably been losing subscribers, hopefully in droves.
I cancelled my NYT subscription too. We all deserve better.
I want to find that talk of Pelosi's!
Raw Story
184.2K Followers
'They make up news': Nancy Pelosi lashes out at NY Times' report on her Biden comments
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/they-make-up-news-nancy-pelosi-lashes-out-at-ny-times-report-on-her-biden-comments/ar-BB1pL7P6?ocid=BingNewsSerp#:~:text=%27They%20make%20up%20news%27%3A%20Nancy%20Pelosi%20lashes%20out%20at%20NY%20Times%27%20report%20on%20her%20Biden%20comments
Thanks!
Any time.
Here it is on the Last Word: Listen at approx. minute 5:52:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fERNPp4G2Sw
It is posted below.
I got whacked out as I tried to piggyback on your post, Steve. Sorry if it turns up elsewhere.
I wanted folks to hear what John Kirby had to say about Biden and his impression of NATO leaders' opinions about him, too. Start at about minute 9:20 and listen the rest of the way through:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDfj7wjMCM0
To a transactional bully like the convicted felon, the concept of alliance is opaque. He might understand mutually assured destruction, but mutually assured security is just beyond his ken. He lives in a dog eat dog world, and his goal is to be the biggest baddest junkyard dog in it. Never gonna happen - he's a whiney little bitch.
NATO forever/MAGA jamais.
Lauren, with narcissists there IS NO understanding, let alone recognition, of mutual anything, be it assured destruction or security. Narcissists have no capacity to process mutuality as their defenses work entirely against the notion of a mutual interaction. They are all about "Are you for me or against me?"
Eggzackly, John.
My advice to the Biden team is to cancel the second debate, or maybe offer to change the rules such that it will be a debate with presidential and VP candidates. If Trump refuses, then so be it. The Biden Administration is clearly spot on regarding NATO! But it makes no sense to risk another debate where Biden looks bad because of verbal difficulties while Trump is not fact checked.
" a debate with presidential and VP candidates" - David has put this thought forward elsewhere, I think it's the way to go. Better still, not a debate, but a split-screen presentation, with candidates and their proposed VPs together on each side. Moderator asks leading question, and the pairs discuss, in turn, unable to be heard by the opposition. It wouldn't be a debate, but a demonstration of how the two sides work.
I continue to be frustrated by use of the term "debate" when we have seen over decades how these events are nothing like a real debate. No matter how the format is tinkered with, they always end up looking like personality reveals (in snapshot form) rather than anything with real depth. They remind me of TV game shows.
Or beauty pageants.
Well by then Trump should be in jail, so I'm all for it. But more seriously, I think debates are no good for Joe, and should be avoided unless terms are met.
A debate with a lie detector microphone that shuts off immediately when the candidate lies. Quiet night on the Republican front.
No one gives Pres Biden any credit for participating in the ‘debate’ though ill.
What happens if kamala hits it out of the park on the 23d? Or if she pulls a Biden?
So I been talking to a couple friends.
Both who said they don't like either candidate.
One told me that after talking to her she had changed her mind about voting.
The day before she left for vacation, I told her to look up project 2025, which she said she would.
She said she realized that not voting is giving her vote away.
Next week, I'm meeting with the other lady.
Hoping her son (who according to her, loves the donvict) is there so I can ask what he will do if his two young sons lose their Medicaid coverage?
Because even before the donvict, repubs have been wanting to get rid of what they call entitlements.
I'm voting for the party who wants to help everyone.
Not voting for the party who's leader is a convicted felon.
Easy choice.
Thank you for your efforts, Beth! The power of one .. and one more .. and one more .. etc….
Thank You For Your Service!
Article 5 was the most critical NATO article. It committed all NATO members to respond, were a member attacked. This was considered vital during the Cold War and again as Putin tests his Greater Russian aggression in Ukraine and elsewhere.
So far the only time that Article 5 was applied was after September 11, when the other NATO nations rallied behind the United States.
And Trump would be inclined to trash our NATO commitment.
What Putin wants, Putin gets, from chump
Jeri Might Trump be Putin’s puppy?
The pic I have from their meeting looked like the puppeteer with his idiot puppet
That seems quite telling to me, Keith. And we pissed it away in our 20 years of money-making for Cheney, Price/DeVoss, etc.
Were I Mr. Biden, I’d strongly consider denying Mr. Or a landing permit on US soil without an invitation from the US Government. If Mr Orban wants to visit as a private citizen he can book a flight on a commercial carrier, obtain an entry visa and enter without a state security detail.
He’s the head of state of an allied nation. Until Hungary is kicked out of NATO, you’re stuck with him, just as the EU is.
Yes, certainly this is a national security concern as great as any other suspicious activity.
Amen “Just Sayin!” Orban should be denied entry to our country as being a, “persona non grata!” Not very charitable…but he represents a Cancer on the World of Freedom loving peoples.
To everyone saying that they think Biden needs to step down: https://stephaniejones2.substack.com/p/the-biggest-non-scoop-of-the-day?publication_id=2212963&post_id=146415616&isFreemail=true&r=69gp2&triedRedirect=true
Not to mention the fact that if Bernie had been elected like so many screamers were having hissy fits over, he would be a year older than Biden is now.
There isn't a single instance in which the incumbent was replaced on a ticket late in the game (or possibly at all) in which that ticket was successful. Not one. Nada.
So please, just stop the pearl clutching.
Agreed. Take the bus that gets you closest to where you want to go, don't wait for the unicorn (you know, the imaginary, perfect in all things, dreamboat of a candidate).
In today's (or possibly last night's) Stephanie Jones substack, she calls it "magical sparkle pony". 😄
🤣🤣🤣
I love that!!!
"Democracy or fascism", "Felon or Old Man" is the EASIEST final exam one can have. ~Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
Loved my gov on Colbert last night!
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/tJLbwLd2gq3F7dCy/?mibextid=D5vuiz
I hope everyone here watched Biden's comments at the AFL-CIO headquarters tonight as Lawrence O'Donnell played them last night. Focused, intelligent, and on point.
O'Donnell was terrific last night!! And our Governor Gretchen Whitmer went from there to Steve Colbert - what a hoot! And HOPE!
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/tJLbwLd2gq3F7dCy/?mibextid=D5vuiz
Orbán is a troublemaker, has been for years now. He lost the EU elections, even if he claims to have won (he lost 11 percentage points). Very soon, hopefully, the EU leaders will not only condemn his attempt to become famous by posing as an unofficial EU foreign affairs representative. Hungary will be sanctioned for his actions, and that will add to the growing domestic dissatisfaction with Orbán.
It's not long since his last visit to Mar-a-Lago. A matter of weeks? We thought at the time he must be bringing financial support from Putin to enable 45 to pay some of the bail money.
Anne-Louise, reading about Orban’s visit, yet again, to Mar a Lago, I wondered how the Logan Act (passed in 1799) might be relevant to TFFFG’s “entertaining” of foreign leaders/dignitaries & not for the first time. Apparently no one has been prosecuted under the act, tho there were charges brought once.
Someone should check it out
The Supreme Court would allow it, even with tangible proof that it's a serious prosecutable offence.
They would, chump can do no wrong for his bought court
Yes, speaking of rubles...