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And this is why I say Biden is the best president in my lifetime and my 90-year-old mother does too.

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Me too, and I'm nearly 92. Although I'd have a hard time picking between Franklin Roosevelt and Joe Biden.

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The reason we pick Biden is because he is helping not harming Native American people, and he has a multi-ethnic coalition. My family and friends have a range of skin colors and religions and nationalities.

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I agree that Biden has helped indigenous people of not only the US but of the entire Western Hemisphere. Also, he is the only President that has relied on the wisdom and tenacity of women and people of color in what traditionally have been positions only occupied by men. Look at his judicial nominations as well as his cabinet and advisors.

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But he did listen to Eleanor, a plus in anybodyтАЩs book. Well, most

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She was another amazing First Lady. Behind almost every great President is a very wise woman (and oftentimes their kids as well).

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Some have been a great asset, some a millstone and some invisible. But then, women were supposed to be invisible. The wise visible ones were very brave.

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FDR is still #1 in my book.

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He was a man of his time, like we all are.

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WellтАжI would argue IтАЩm a woman of my time. My husband would too. ЁЯШД

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As am I, and I remember when women were restricted to the extent that repubs want to send us back to.

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Teddy Roosevelt was a progressive Republican something that rarely exists in politics. My favorite Senator of all time -- George W. Norris came onto the Washington scene during Teddy's administration.

His most fatal flaw was saying on the night of his election in 1904 that he would not run again and then he didn't.

Who knows how many terms he might have served and what changes he would have made?

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Norris Dam, the first built in the TVA system, and located in a beautiful setting, is named for Senator Norris, who sponsored the legislation that enacted the TVA. TVA made a HUGE impact on a region by electrifying and controlling the flooding of the TN River. (Availability of abundant power was part of the reason for siting the Manhattan Project here in the 40s.)

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Senator Norris is responsible for Nebraska switching from a bi-cameral legislature to a unicameral body as you may be aware.

He traveled to all 93 counties in Nebraska drumming up support for the change and he succeeded.

It is pointless for many states to have 2 legislative bodies especially if both bodies have a supermajority of one of the parties. A state Senator in ME told me her goal is to get rid of the Senate in ME. Good idea I think.

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Thanks for this.

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He had an incredible team that enabled him to get so much of the credit, they made him far better than he could have been on his own, as he also made them better than they could have been on their own.

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Abe Lincoln 1st FDR 2nd. Well, let's not forget Washington.

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Let's not forget LBJ either. He dragged us into the 20th century on civil rights.

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Twin winners

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Linda Weide, I share your sentiment. I grew up in a family where FDR was demonized (his death preceded my birth by two years) as was JFK (my high school years). It took my early adulthood and observation to help me begin to understand the realities of the American political system. Though Joe Biden has made significant governance errors during his history (see Anita Hill and the Clarence Thomas Supreme Court hearings), he was the right individual to lead the country out of the pandemic. WeтАЩve been fortunate as a nation to have good leadership at crisis times in our history.

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FDR was like a God to my family

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He was the right leader for a time when America teetered on collapse. When I look at history, IтАЩm struck by the presence of a few great leaders at critical times amidst a general grouping of less stellar leaders. FDR is one of my favorites. тАЬNo Ordinary TimeтАЭ by Doris Kearns Goodwin was a wonderful book.

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Palestinians would disagree.

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Why donтАЩt Palestinians blame Sinwar and Netanyahu? If they want to blame Biden, the least they could do is mention the Ayatollah in the same breath and lay equal blame with the country supporting the aggressors who started this on October 8. This whole protest movement makes little sense, unless you factor in that it is safe to protest in the U.S., but in Israel, Palestine and Iran you run a much higher risk of being shot, or arrested and beaten to death later.

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тАЬThisтАЭ didnтАЩt start on Oct 8. I agree that Biden has been a fantastic president for the economy, but disastrous for the Middle East. Palestinians asked for a halt in sending bombs. Is that too much?

Trying to correct my typo from Oct 8 to correct date Oct 7, but it wonтАЩt let me.

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You're right, it surely did not start on October 8, nor with the awful terror on October 7. IMO the greatest Western failure with respect to Israeli relations has been to stand by idly as Israel - specifically Bibi's government - built up illegal settlements and fomented tense relations with its neighbors. This irresponsible diplomacy was partly foundational to today's catastrophe. But pulling out now would abandon the entire region to Iran's non-state actors, who are agents of chaos and friends of Russia. Very likely Israel would cease to exist and Palestinians would be doomed completely to government by violent extremist factions. Possibly a world war would ensue.

I deplore the Israeli government's actions. It is vile to try to stymie aid to the people of Gaza. I also despise the way Hamas inserts its military operations into the midst of civilian centers. But above all, I recognize that we are in a situation with no easy answers, and the folks who are making the decisions have way more information than we do. For now, I've chosen to trust their long game.

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It wasnтАЩt too much. No President is perfect. But US cannot control other countries. We shoukd have done more there (and for Ukraine) but think about how much worse it coujd have been in both places with Trump. Biden repaired US alliances, which were tattered and hanging by a thread.

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But no Palestinian group has ever committed to the idea that Israel has a right to exist either. No, I donтАЩt fully agree with the USтАЩs policies towards the Middle East. In my opinion, Netanyahu has committed war crimes. Innocents on all sides have been tortured, raped and otherwise brutalized and thousands of current day Palestinians have been treated as subhuman. But Hamas and the PLO before it, have never agreed to recognize Israel. And Israel has a right to exist - in safety and prosperity. Two state solution? Yes. Biden and Blinken are tireless. Netanyahu is hoping for Trump who wonтАЩt care if the Palestinian people are wiped from this earth! The choice is clear, IMO.

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This round of stupid violence started with that raid. But the point I make holds for no matter when you want to count from, doesnтАЩt it? Why isnтАЩt Sinwar in jail for his role as the mastermind of prior atrocities committed by Hamas? Why is Iran continuing to fund Hamas with so little international comment? Why isnтАЩt Netanyahu in jail for his well documented past corruption? One could make the argument that all of NetanyahuтАЩs egregious behavior since well before October is designed to increase the threat level to Israel enough that his strongman tactics keep him in office. Biden is supporting the right of the State of Israel to exist. He has publicly and continually tried to put the brakes on NetanyahuтАЩs violations of law and human rights, but for the U.S. to pull back now would just look like weird political expediency and cowardice of the worst sort, without an equal commitment from those supporting the terrorists to also pull out of the conflict, wouldnтАЩt it? I would believe the demonstrations in the U.S. come from spontaneous reaction if they at least mentioned Iranian leaders as well as Biden, but the way they run now, they look like one huge attempt to weaken Iranian opponents, rather than any honest effort to stop the slaughter in Palestine, Syria, Lebanon and Israel. Netanyahu is a mad dog, willing to start World War 3 to stay out of jail, and Iran, a proud country with a long history of creating modern civilization as we know it, needs to get a grip and remove dementd crazy religious fundamentalists from positions of power. Then the rich countries of the Arab world need to get a grip and get control of the rabid, тАЬKill all JewsтАЭ factions in their own ranks and start paying attention to the real problems besetting the world day. Climate change is happening at an accelerating rate, and famine and plague will follow in its wake, sooner than the current political leaders of the world can understand and adjust to. Soon it will not matter which God you pray to, a lot of human beings are going to starve to death in sweaty misery. People are not paying attention to the right things here. Sad and scary, and it doesnтАЩt matter whether you agree with me or not, itтАЩs going to happen, and those people living in the deserts of the world already are among the ones who will suffer the most, first.

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Why Oct 8, are you dismissing Oct 7.

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Tried to edit my original post to correct the date but it wonтАЩt let me.

I canтАЩt even correct my post of 2 minutes ago saying I would.

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Thank you for clarification

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Fat finger typo that I didnтАЩt catch

Will edit now

Edit not working

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Typo. Sorry. Read what I mean - the sudden attack by Hamas that killed how many Israeli civilians? We all know what we are talking about here- focus on the problem.

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I actually do not think Biden has been disastrous for the Middle East. Let us start with Trump tanking the nuclear deal with Iran that Obama set up. I would say Putin was disastrous for the ME too. For one, the US is very engaged in sustaining Ukraine, which we would not have to be if Putin had not marched in there. More energy for the situation. Now Hamas, has planned this action for a long time. However, I do not see Hamas as good leaders, or capable of being democratic. The US is moving away from supporting human rights around the world because frankly, it is impossible to do for everyone. However, we do support democracies, that is a difference. Israel is clearly a backsliding democracy, just as the US is. My friends today and I were discussing that Netanyahu is dragging the war out because he wants to get Trump back into power. That has been obvious from day one. He also wants to avoid going to prison. So, if our ally does not want to negotiate what can we do, except keep coming to the table. I would say Harris winning would make Netanyahu reconsider the support he can expect from the US because she is not going to just give him carte blanch the way Trump would. Trump and Netanyahu are buddies, and frankly if Trump were not running I think our policy might be different. The conservatives under his thumb force a different type of politic than if we did not have them. However, Biden has tried to get people to the table. The Gazans are in the same situation as Ukraine. If they abandon their country and just give it up they will have lost to their more powerful enemy of war. But, the Gazans do not have US backing. Perhaps if they had not marched on Israel and attacked, it would look different.

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People need to stop voting criminals into office as their leaders and then act helpless to remove those criminals. That goes for the countries of the Middle East, the countries of South America and our very own U.S. Every US Senator and Congressperson who signed the letter of intent to not certify the 2020 election in this country should be in jail right now, not continuing to gum up the works of government. Instead of letting Netanyahu and the right wing settlers, who think they deserve their neighbors land if they can steal it, run roughshod over existing agreements, Israelis need to take a long view and help Gazans establish a stable community so Hamas is no longer their only option. The majority of young men everywhere prefer a job, a home and a wife to mayhem, guns and sudden death, except when a job, a home and a wife appear to be completely beyond reach. ItтАЩs only the craziest of old men who choose death over their grandchildrenтАЩs future. Those craziest of old men shouldnтАЩt be making decisions that impact every person.

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Misplaced blame is why the war rages on.

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And bad decision made in history that are hard to undo, but not impossible. I see things being worked on on so many fronts. This situation alone is a 1000 times a reason why we should not let Trump back into power.

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More reasons than the number of lies he tells.

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Bravo

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Sinwar is despised by so many in Gaza for this war and devastation. Read articles by Amira Hass and others. Of course Arafat and the PLO recognized Israel a long time ago. Biden has been sucked in as so many have been by Israeli right wing arguments about тАЬsecurityтАЭ requiring more and more land grabs while in fact the opposite is true. Only peace can produce security. How many times does Nazralla have to say that the missiles will stop as soon as Israel stops attacking Gaza? Sadly Israel wants the wider war and Biden is too weak to stop them. He is undoing all the great things done here. So sad.

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Security is perception too. Netanyahu may be land grabbing and we have a lot of allies doing things I don't support, but I do support that idea that if you are allies you stay allied. A lot of people of Israel are not supporting Netanyahu. Still, in the area where do we have anything resembling a democracy? We are supposedly supporting democracy in the world, and sans Netanyaho Israel is that democracy, however imperfect it is. When it stops looking like a democracy at all, I hope we stop supporting them, just as the EU should be kicking out countries like Hungary and Slovenia who are also backsliding democracies. Do we want to lose all of our allies if Trump becomes president again, because we will not be a democracy? I honestly think we are providing our allies Ukraine and Israel with weapons to "defend" themselves, and not everyone agrees with either situation. However, I do see the MAGAs driving the Israel policy for reasons related to Christian Nationalist beliefs and because Trump is encouraging it. Backing off might lead to bigger problems here at home. Ultimately as our president Biden is responsible to us, not the citizens of Gaza.

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Thank you.

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So how did Sinwar get named as the new leader of Hamas after Netanyahu assassinated the last one? The whole thing is insane-criminals do not make good leaders.

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Sure, because they have no comparison. Biden is president, and our country is allied to Israel. Some might feel that Biden is sacrificing Palestinians to save our democracy, knowing if Kamala loses to Trump there is going to be no help for Palestine whatsoever. Not those in Palestine, or those in the USA, who would be expelled at best, and incarcerated at worst.

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I have long felt that Biden is damned no matter what he does, so he has to get on with doing what he feels is right.

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It is also his job to look out for us. To that end, we still have hostages to try to bring home. Israel is making that really unlikely, because Netanyahu is not trying for that.

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They have limited knowledge to base their opinion and failings in their own system.

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I think Carter is the best president since Eisenhower and possibly including Eisenhower because he was still a Republican.

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Carter did not have to undo what Ronald Reagan did to our economy, and our society, and Biden did! After 40+ years or Reagan HEL-! We finally got someone who is starting to undo that, and the tanking of our nation into third world status that it has wrought.

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Hm. Despite everything, I really liked Clinton. I liked Obama better. But Joe is the GOAT. (I'm 69. I don't remember FDR.)

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Even though he tossed Anita Hill under the bus?

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I ALWAYS believed Anita Hill and still do. The scene of her having to testify before white men on a raised platform above her has never been erased for me. However, while that tableau was to some degree under BidenтАЩs control, he and others were cowed by ThomasтАЩ тАЬhigh-tech lynchingтАЭ speech. Had Thomas not have been black, he might not have made it across the finish line. OTOH, Congress knew well the out-of-control frat-boy antics of Brent Kavanaugh and blessed him anyway. So they never learned.

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Are you without a mistake?

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At the time, I believed her, and was surprised that anyone believed him. In fact I did not think they believed him, but as White men, the Senators felt like they did not want to appear racist by tanking him when it was a case of he said, she said. His existence played on their worry of being seen as racist, and they did not seem to have any worry of being seen as sexist apparently. Those were different times. I recognize that. However, as my friends will tell you, I don't hold a grudge of someone changes. Biden has surprised me in the depth of his understanding of what needs to be done, and how he has grown with the times. The only area where I would disagree with the way he approached things, is that I think he should have gone for voting rights before Build-Back-Better, while he still has both part of Congress democratic. With what we understood back then about the people supporting Trump, which were more simplistic ideas, I think he felt that if people got to experience sane government and stability, and if the economy improved, they would see that they did not need to be in the Cult of Trump. But, the grievances these people have are that they are not relevant unless someone tells them they are. The rest of us just have more self respect. As my friends and I were discussing on the train, coming back from our Defend Democracy Americans Abroad rally in Hamburg, Germany this evening, we were discussing how we would all be much better off if JD Vance and Mark Robinson got therapy instead of emoting all their low self esteem on the rest of us. Anyway, we have these cultists, but the ones who are not under DTs thrall, are jumping ship like rats on the Titanic. That is letting the Republican Party turn into the MAGA party, although what my friend says it should be called is MACA--Make Everyone Christian Again. Of course that would not work with me, because I never was Christian.

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He certainly is way more effective than I gave him credit for being before he was elected. I'm very happy to be wrong.

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AGREE!!

Thank you, PRESIDENT Biden ЁЯТЮ

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Yep. Me too.

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