On Thursday, September 19, the day after the Federal Reserve began to lower interest rates two and a half years after it began to raise them to get inflation under control, President Joe Biden spoke to the Economic Club of Washington, D.C., a nonprofit, nonpartisan forum where leaders from around the world can speak to larger questions about the global economy.
But will non-MAGA Republicans and undecided voters get it now and vote accordingly?
Unfortunately, the people who most need to hear this message are not hearing it! Instead, they are hearing lies from the mainstream (corporate) press!☹️
So Kamala and Tim need to get the message out there that she was part of these great policies that benefit ordinary Americans and will continue them!
MAGAt's won't get this message. Google “Biden Economic Club speech" and you get only results from videos like YouTube until result # 17: the New York Post with the headline, “Biden admits economic recovery still needs ‘work,’ forgets meeting Fed chair in error-laden speech”
At # 24, the NY Times has an article that starts with a paragraph that includes, “It was an attempt to call a turning point in what has been a politically damaging chapter of economic policymaking for Mr. Biden…”
The Washington Post comes in at #52 but it’s an article from 2019.
Thanks for doing the research that any of us could have done if we'd made the effort. This highlights the (unfortunate) fact that the Democratic Party and the Harris/Walz campaign cannot get the word out alone. The Press, now controlled by oligarchs who prefer that government works for them and no one else, refuse to report news fairly and without bias. This is one reason I've transferred my WaPo subscription investment to HCR.
You're right, the Harris-Walz campaign can't get the message out alone. They need our help, and (metaphorically speaking) we need some lethal ammunition. Biden is correct. He is a capitalist. What he didn't say is that Republican policies are irrefutable evidence that there is not a single person in that party in a position of influence that knows the first thing about the concept. The first thing everyone must to know about capitalism is its foundation, and its foundation is implicit in the name of Adam Smith's book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759).
A Manhattan skyscraper is built on a foundation, and that foundation is bedrock. Guess what would have happen if it was built on sand.
Likewise, capitalism is built on a moral foundation. Anything immoral is not capitalism. Morality is treating others the way you would want to be treated if the shoe was on the other foot. We don't have to guess what would happen if someone tries to build an economic system on an immoral foundation. All we have to do is know a little bit of history, which we get by reading HCR's newsletter.
The only capitalist party in this this election is the Democratic party. The Republican party represents the thing that everyone coming to America is trying to get away from, which is people in positions of power with an "I'm right, you're wrong, and this conversation is over" attitude.
Republicans are CAPINOs (capitalists in name only). Don't get me started on CHRINOs (Christians in name only), SCINOs (scientists in name only), and FRINOs (freedom in name only). Same immoral crap, different pile.
Yes James - same immoral crap but different pile. I would add that the color and consistency is grossly and patentably different, but they all smell putridly the same.
You hit the nail on the head. I know so many people, even in my own family, that supported Trump and still refuse to acknowledge how incompetent he is. They just can't admit that they made a mistake. They love bullies. They are so stuck that they can't see anything good even though they are better off under Biden and Harris.
The people that run this country have ruined the lives of many millions of Americans. The list of gains under Joe from HCR are good, but they will take years to effect the lower wage people. Trump started his "coup" by blaming the migrants. Blaming the other. It is being done all over the world. The regular Dems and Rs have just been part of the rip off. Big money is making trillions at the expense of the lower tax payers.
Ron, why can't people bring themselves to admit they have an addiction problem? The answer is they haven't hit rock bottom yet. Ukraine hit rock bottom on February 24, 2022, and they no longer have this particular issue.
MAGA will recognize they have a problem when they hit rock bottom. The only question is how many innocent victims have to die.
Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller, rest in peace.
You make a great point James; it however reminds me of what Obama said about the Tea Party folks while, I believe, running for his second term: "they all love their guns and religion" (paraphrasing) or something to that extent. We have to solve the gun problem and get religion out of government. To start with, I would like to see the "prayer breakfast" done away with. In MHO, it is the biggest waste of government time imposed on those who serve in the House and Senate. That does not mean that they don't have a right to pray; prayer is no one's business but the one who indulges in it. That's OK with me. The solution? When in their own offices or chambers, let them take a few minutes individually to pray on their own. When in the prayer breakfast, it's not so much about prayer as much as it is about the "look at me" attitude to prove to everyone that they are believers in "God." Woe be unto them who divulges their true intent as an atheist while in Congress. There goes their job next election cycle even though they may well have served the people well.
Ron Boyd, I agree with your sentiment “𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼’𝑣𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛’𝑡 𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑡 𝐷𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑑 𝑇𝑟𝑢𝑚𝑝 𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑠𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑦 𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑑𝑚𝑖𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑎 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒." But our victory will be to keep sending the message without blame to those who feel they made a mistake but can’t admit it to remind them, their vote is private and that admission of a mistake can be reflected in voting for democracy and an all blue ticket and no one will ever know. And that should give them the catharsis they need to forgive themselves for being so duped by trump and all his sycophants up close and personal with him right now pushing for the total destruction of our democracy and the institution of fascist authoritarianism.
I believe there is a second reason that Republican voters cannot move away from Trump: Tribalism. "I am a loyal Republican. I will vote for the nominee of my party, no matter how disgustingly awful he is."
Mitch McConnell, Jeff Flake, Glenn Youngkin, Lindsey Graham...on and on and on...all these people have at one time or another have had terrible opinions of Trump and still....on they go. They have no honor as Liz Cheney has asserted.
Hatred is an addiction like cocaine but it can be shared which increases its effect. So when a group of people all hate together it is reinforcing. You hear "They hate the same people he does". It is the hatred which keeps them bound to Trump. I can't find my source for this but she is on Threads
And you NEVER hear the corollary: "he likes the people they like". For a reason? He likes Putin, Xi, Kim, Orbán - how many Americans of any stripe "like" those guys?
People like to think of themselves as loyal, and they fail to recognize that by supporting the washed-up has-been Felon45, they are being disloyal to America. Also, yes, the sunk-cost fallacy, and their fear of being seen as, or having to think of themselves as, failures as a consequence of having backed the wrong horse. So they choose the lesser loyalty over the greater.
Part of the reason is that most Republican members of the House and Senate cannot bring themselves to denounce Trump for fear of losing their own seats which they hold onto with all their might! How many want to lose $174K of salary, 'free' benefits, and the shortest 'work' year in the USA? Congress is one of the best places for one to become a millionaire!
Thank you for documenting the failure of main stream media to report the news fairly. What’s in it for them? Many of us have canceled our subscriptions.
$300 a year for the New York Times. Plus Cooking @ $65. ,….money can go for no adds Youtube which has excellent minds Just watched our girl Heather. And, Michael Luttig, who I fell in love with after Jan 6.
American voters won’t get the message until corporate media gets the message. It’s pretty simple. Look at your nyt or WaPo. Neither paper is interested in getting this message out so I have stopped expecting it. I’ve canceled the NYT, which will stop in a few days. And I send endless messages to WaPo editorial board and writers. No change whatsoever. I keep wondering what these papers will do if Trump gets in and we then must watch project 2025 take place. Photos and stories of mass deportation? And who will they blame for all that? It’s pathetic.
I have wondered the same thing. Who will MAGA blame if trump wins and takes the country into chaos? But I think we already know the answer. They will blame anyone and everyone except themselves.
People in polling believe the economy was better under tRump. Why? Because people believe what they need to in order to rationalize their support for someone they know is not liked but represents revenge against all they fear and hate. His base is immovable. Likewise, the base of Dems is unmovable. And all those who are "uncommitted," undecided, ill-informed, and misinformed, it is they who decide presidential elections. And who do they vote for? The candidate they like more. How can I say that? Having observed presidential elections since Truman v Dewey, the likable candidate has won every time, and that explains how the Republicans have won with policies that are not favored by the majority. (Nixon's wins are the exception to the rule due to the backlash to the war demonstrators.) And this election will be won by a landslide, 5%+. Trump is finished. And hopefully, he will be imprisoned.
Okay, it's good that Harris is gaining, but how can 4 in 10 Americans still think Trump would be better for the economy? We're all blinded by the miasma of propaganda...
The way good people have always countered propoganda … one verifiable fact at a time posted one or more times, sometimes by venturing into media where we are not always comfortable. One successful tactic progressives have made headway this election cycle is train in on the undecided voter by sharing one or two verifiable facts, neighbor to neighbor, friend to friend, niece to great uncle.
No because his argument, tho correct, is not clear enough to mobilize voters. He brings erudition to a knife feat. Plus the media and the legal system seem incapable of pushing back against evil but powerful forces.
Alas, too many in America’s oligarchy do not want a powerful federal system that facilitates equitable economic growth and distribution. They want concentrated economic and political power that is rigged to favor them.
The Republican coalition is reactionary. It is a big tent that promises those that join that they will be taken care of and the “others” will be stripped of power, economically disadvantaged, shunned and (at the extremes) rounded up and deported.
Why did Biden have to give this speech?
Why are these self-evident truths not headlined above the fold of every newspaper, the topic of conversation on every television, radio and social media discussion?
Why is the success not preached from every alter?
Why is a literal con man the nominee of one of our major parties and allowed to lie, cheat and steal?
The general population lacks general literacy in basic economics and civics and this gap gets filled with paranoia, fake news, and the inability to think critically on one's own. Self-evident truths no longer seem self-evident and unfortunately what gets preached from so many alters is scarry stuff. People are not taught to search for and evaluate evidence which makes a lot of room in people's minds for conspiracy theories and fantasies. It is great feeding ground for the grifters.
Very well put, pm. Few people actually study the news these days. Instead, the listen to cuckoo commentary packed full of misinformation. I remember my parents explaining to us kids that they vote for people, not policies. They voted against Nixon because they did not trust him. They did, however, vote for Reagan, who swiftly erased Jimmy Carter's "Malaise" and pumped up the spirit of America. Unfortunately, his economic policies created an enormous wealth gap among classes. His own director of the Office of Management and Budget called them, "voodoo economics." Biden was lauding his own administration's success in the face of a teetering economy when he entered office. Trump would reinstate the voodoo. It's funny because most Republicans feel he is the much better steward of the economy while it's clear he is not. My parents are turning in their graves as voters support the person who lacks character, integrity and the ability to tell the truth. For this I blame US.
I agree that the MAGA folks are not at all interested in the value of one’s character. Look at the critters in the GOP Congress…weak, spineless, mostly men (forgive me good guys!) without integrity themselves. So many of them are an embarrassment to humanity and don’t deserve, never mind earn, their paychecks! I am slapped by disgust every single day!!
One poll released this week found Harris within TWO POINTS of TFG on the question of who is better qualified to run the economy! I’d say Democrats are making some solid headway on this issue.
Agree PM, "literacy" is where it's at (>poor english). You have simply nailed it: Basic economics and civics? Missing in action! I just deleted a rant I was hammering out regarding 'home-schooling' for fear that I would be bigly misunderstood. My basic push was to make our public school system second to none. That would entail our Dept of Ed to set some clear standards which every State in these United States must adhere to.., all religion(s) aside. No, not a simple task when considering disabilities, but we are a compassionate people and that's all part of the picture. Literacy is a broad enough term to start with.
Mad Russian, It is OK to rant against home schooling which also often includes religious indoctrination. Then there are the wealthy parents who can afford to get together and hire music and art teachers, for example. They are also the same people who take their children to museums, etc. which is good, but not always possible when the parents are scratching to make ends meet. I have known best two families who home schooled. The first have admitted their mistake, but their three daughter have struggled mightily in different ways. In the other instance, one of the sons and his girlfriend brutally murdered the parents.
Scruffy immigrants came into NYC and got teachers who couldn’t get jobs elsewhere: women and Jews. They had a chance for the best literacy, among other things.. Now, who are the teachers?
I think it's one aspect of literacy and journalists seem to lack it also: connecting the dots. A factoid, even if understood literally, sits in isolation from its context and, therefore, its meaning and effect.
pm, so many people believe what they see on the internet and they do not understand that they need to evaluate sites. Heck, it's in print, so to speak, so it must be true. I had a student years ago when the internet was just beginning and he heaped scorn on me when I pointed out that he needed to assess what he had found which often did not make any sense.
"People are not taught to search for and evaluate evidence"
In my experience it is not a lack of teaching, but a lack of understanding or application. So much of what we were "taught" fell into the "I don't see any use for this" or "application of this is too political" in the classroom.
It's so unbelievable to me that, given all these positive facts about the Biden/Harris administration, MAGAs ONLY focus on the border, denying health care to women with pregnancy complications, and pets being cooked and eaten..
I have tried many times to remind Trump supporters about all these accomplishments. They refuse to accept anything as truth unless it comes from Donald Trump's lying mouth..
Yes, Pam, keep reminding those Trump voters about the accomplishments of the past four years. I would also emphasize that those accomplishments were ACCOMPLISHED solely (pretty much) without Republican effort. Plus, Democrats are working on the Border Issue and a few Republicans are willing to help, but not enough of them.
We have had a One-Sided Recovery NOT BECAUSE the other side hasn’t been asked to join in, but because they have REFUSED to join in as True Americans. Please, Republicans! Please! Join our effort to Keep America Mighty And Lastingly Amazing - or KAMALA, for short!
Eisenhower I presume... I loved how under his admin they took down McCarthyism during the communist scares emanating from communist successes in Russian/Eastern Europe, and Asia.
Pretty simple to me Pam. They.., "they" consider you and me just as stupid as you and I view them. Trouble is, the "they", prior to MAGA-mania were just others on-the-street soda-speak, to you and me. Today though, "they" have found camaraderie (support) amongst their easily identifiable nutbrains (MAGA hats). So "they" feel even more empowered to publicly insult you and me grouping all of us together as libtards/democrats/whale-shidt. And the press trolls the heck out of us. So, that's who "they" are and that's why they're all collectively out to the moon - ignorance being the bliss they are living within. Actually, it's a sepsis condition headed for septic. Whewwww.. flush hard, it's still a ways to go to get to mar-a-lahgo.
They cannot accept the truth, true. It's because their commitment to their racist, misogynistic, homophobic and xenophobic feelings trump everything else. Nothing else matters. (The Anger Games: Who Voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 Election, and Why?" Google it.
That's just "dirty politics" Pam. Their savvy economists, including the ones that work for Maga supporting corporations, know better, as with most other things, eg Climate Change, which is a creeping catastrophe
Why? Ignorance!! "What we have is what you want" , a man told me once in a bike shop during the pandemic, when parts availability was a fact of life. Turns out, he was absolutely right. Comprehension of information we are exposed to is vastly important. Separating fact from fiction is a vastly important job for our brains to conduct. Drawing on our own experiential learning, we possess a capacity for logic, for reason. MAGA inclined folks, not so much, if any at all. I'm reading Timothy Snyder's newest book, On Freedom, wow, and more wows! I've been helped along enormously throughout life by mentors, and by "womentors" as I call them, as well. Dr. Snyder is an engaging, page turner natural in his approach to his very live description of how he sees freedom. It is the same style Joe Biden, and soon to be President Kamala Harris have built for all Americans, including those who just don't get it. It is far easier to be spoon fed from their bloviating, lying , weak and deflating wind bag weirdo Tromp! PS, why does he always wear that long red flag around his neck? Paging Dr. Freud!
So true, but how many MAGAts read Snyder. Having spent years around rabid repubs, they are too busy buying Bill O’Riley, and other idiots and giving such tripe as gifts so he and others can be on best seller lists. Check it out. Repubs write books with the “message” equal to or more than the truth tellers like Snyder, Maddow, Woodward, etc. it was sickening to watch DeSousa being lauded by people who had a higher IQ than I did. Well, probably.
The biological units , or our bodies that we inhabit thru our lifespan,have survived and thrived on this planet have developed a brain that is capable of contrary thought. Choice. This ability has enabled us to survive, at least half of us anyway. This idea is reflected in the political decisions the people of this country make. 50/50. Half choose one way, the other half contrary. If one half makes the wrong choice and gets devoured buy a pack of lions or another tribe ,the other half can survive and continue to breed. Communism and Socialism arrests this situation by the "you will" action. We still have freedom of choice. People of Maga are as committed as progressives and moderates ,they were just born and raised that way. I believe people all want the same thing, they just can't agree on the way to achieve it. The real problem that has not been addressed enough is what is making people so anxious, and how to quell the global enease. Sorry for the preaching . I recently had some relationships sour over these issues and have to keep reminding myself that most people are just different. It does not keep me from relaying my opinion and trying to get people to vote . I just have to always put differences of thought in perspective.
Thanks Jim, if you want to get a good look at Ukraine/Russia, just take in his online Yale? lectures of several years ago, and if you want a grim reaper taste of history out of eastern Europe / Russian in the 20s and 30s, try Bloodlands, not for the faint of heart. Notice how much he's showing up on MSNBC? likely elsewhere too i trust.
Thanks for the reminder about Timothy Snyder's book. It was in my list of wanna-reads and then I spaced it. Between Drs Richardson and Snyder, I am managing to remain sane when all about me is chaos.
Paul Corrigan, I feel like a broken record, but there is no logic to tffg's hardcore supporters thinking. They hate Democrats and will never support any. Democrats for over a 100 years have been successfully, almost unconsciously at this point, linked to the evils of "socialism, communism, fascism," that the definition of those terms is irrelevant. Democrats will ruin our country. I'm hoping younger generations are less indoctrinated and will not fall for this propaganda. 32 million new voters since 2016!
let us hope indeed on "32 million new voters" at least a good majority, will make a real difference in November. You are so right about the anti-communist fear-mongering in USA. We got it in spades from the likes of Billy Graham in Canada during his hell bent on wheels crusades of the 50s and later. It wasn't just the "right", it was broadly cased, since communist states (esp Russian/China) were in out and out attack/revolutionary overthrow mode against the evils of capitalism, with some justice, but won't get into that. I just remember "godless Communism" from the church pews, and that too was with more than some justice. Long history tale there.
The answer is MONEY! Until Citizen's United is overturned, the Electoral College is eliminated, the Fairness doctrine to be updated and passed is brought back and consequences enforced for people in leadership that lie, we will see no changes. Another tRump will be installed shortly.
MSM likes click bait and bad news, so often we do not hear about the good things that the Biden administration does. Locally, the ads for the incumbent R in Oregon's 5th district make it sound like she hasn't supported death star and the R agenda. There is a group putting on ads against her which is not her opponent's campaign. Then there is raging Joe Kent in Washington's 3rd and his ads just tell us that he was in the military while the opposing ads show how dangerous he is. Our garden helper likes Harris, but still disses Biden. So I would say that Harris running has helped with voters like her who would vote third party and do not understand how that undermines what they stand for.
Will the MAGA/KKK members get it? No, they won't. I apologize to some for what I'm about to say here. In some cases, we are so invested in something being so that it is virtually impossible to apply critical thinking to the process. Religion is one of those areas. All life on earth (plants, animals, insects) are descended from LUCA (Last Universal Common Ancestor) which existed 3.5 billion years ago and which is the source of all DNA among all living things. A banana and I share some of the same DNA. Same with a mosquito. For billions of people on this planet, such facts can't be processed in their minds. And, from what I've read ("What's the Matter with Kansas?, "The Anger Games . . . .", "Why We Believe Weird Things" by Michael Shermer and HCR's book, "How the South Won the Civil War,") the racism, misogyny, xenophobia and homophobia among the MAGA/KKK crowd is so intense that they cannot rationally process the information about the economy, the whys and why-nots, who gets the credit and why.
The skill of critical thinking has to be learned and early on in life. The child has to be exposed to adults who are critical thinkers, thoughtful, reflective, not reactive and who can acknowledge what they don't know as well as what they do. Once the window for learning this is passed, it's almost impossible for a person to learn how to do this. Add to this parents and adults who totally accept religiosity and are afraid of anything, or anyone who is different, and the American education system, that doesn't help kids learn critical thinking skills, and the child is most likely never going to become a person who can think in more sophisticated ways, and may continue to accept the delusion of whatever god cult his/her parents modeled for them.
I hate it when people say “I am a lifelong (fill in the blank)”. To me, that means they can’t have an open, enquiring mind and weigh facts and alternatives.
This stance prevents us from learning anything new. It prevents us having the experience of being surprised, not only by a new piece of information, but also at being humbled by all that we don't know and at our own hubris for assuming we did know it all!
You're right but I'd estimate those crackposts constitute only small vocal core of MAGA support. Peer pressure to conform. Individually, when we get a chance to speak to them, most want to keep their government benefits.
Some of those bigots are highly conflicted. Some of the worst racist comments I got when I used to text to blue wall states came from people with Slavic last names. During the Sept. 10 debate Trump twice refused to say whether he wanted Ukraine to win the war against Russia. He suggested, "Negotiate a deal," which Harris countered by saying if Trump had been president during the invasion, "Putin would be sitting in Kyiv with his eyes on the rest of Europe."
Vance has been anti Ukraine. Over a million Ukrainians in Pa. Approximately 784,000 Polish Americans in Michigan, 758,000 in Pennsylvania, and 481,000 in Wisconsin. Latvians, Estonians, Litvaks, Fins, etc know that if Ukraine falls, they are next.
Last week, the DNC organized a national call with Polish American supporters. The goal was to rally local networks to host events and spread the campaign's message. This strategic move is aimed at mobilizing Polish American voters who could be crucial in tight races.
Tsunami? FT 6 sent 2 million texts the last 2 days to unregistered people who trend Democratic . FT 6's new short term goal is to raise another million dollars to reach out to 15 million people, and deliver 4.5 million new voters to swing states and districts!
When we read about our recent past and then take time to “remember” those very recent accomplishments, it is truly amazing. Sadly many died yet we’ve come out on the other side of that deadly pandemic. We should take time to thank our very senior and experienced President Joe Biden who sheparded that recovery! And our next President was a willing and able VP getting a crash course on leadership! Joseph Biden will be remembered as a great leader along with others throughout our history but this was during our lifetime!
Sadly, trumpers will not listen or believe much of anything except his lies and hatred. The Republicans are winning the war against education, and the apparent ignorance of almost half of our citizens is painfully evident.
You forgot to mention there was a tampon shortage in the spring of 2022. Plane loads of tampons were being flown in from overseas. I know this because I wrote a song about it titled; “There’s a Tampon Shortage.” Enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc8uqBvXU7c
Many Americans judge the economy solely on the price of eggs, gas and vegetables while complaining about immigrants who could provide the inexpensive labor
Even with huge economic recovery, remember swathes of billionaire America continue to pump $$$ into the Maga/Trump campaign, almost like there's no tomorrow. Every battleground district or state draws $ in by the millions. (Not that Dem billionaires aren't putting in their "two cents" worth. Ironically, extra taxation is likely as much or more than made up for in broad economy performance, and better wages across the board make for greater demand in retail, at all levels. Been a while since the American economy has looked so bright, and after all, it is abt 1/4 the size of global economy activity. And, as Heather rightly pointed out, foreign investment into the American national/global business system, is reliably ongoing.
Ellen - answer is no for the MAGGOT's, and maybe for undecideds. More and more, I am convinced that a majority of Americans are low-information voters who look no further than their own kitchen table and their own garage. Instead of watching news, they are watching reality TV or sports or anything other than news. I was previously convinced that there is something wrong with too many Americans - be it racism or hyper-religiousity, or just greed. Oh yes there is plenty of that, but IMO it doesn't explain the dead heat we are in right now. What better explains it is basically decent people just are not paying attention, and are going to vote for Trump because under the Democrats prices are too high. They don't know what PRoject 2025 is nor do they want to know. They do not see or hear of the dystopian lunatic word vomit that comes from Trump and the MAGGOT's. They have no understanding what so ever of what Heather just explained in superb detail, why. And what is being done to help. This is a big problem.
You can help get the message out. Speak to your friends and families, and tell them to spread the word to everyone they know. Write letters to the editor if you still have a local paper. Call talk shows. Volunteer for the campaign.
Jon, I have friends and family who are hard core MAGA. Some want Texit, with Texas seceding from the Union. They've drunk the Kool-Aid down to the dregs. They rely on common sense, which is far superior to academic attainment and objective analysis. I am moving back to Texas this coming week to be close to my three remaining siblings (94, 90 and 81.) But, when asked why by some for the move from Florida to Texas, I reply, "Florida is not red enough for me." Yep, out of the frying pay into the fire, but I have already made contact with the Democratic Party organization where I am moving.
There are local chapters of Nextdoor.com everywhere. In my area of SW FL the Magats are very active and much of what I post gets taken down as they hate facts, but I put out info anyway. I also write letters to the editor and she always makes room for them.
The Economic Club is unlikely to get it so why expect Kamala and Tim to keep repeating ad nauseum what was done to save this country after Trump ran us into the ground. Remember, the Economic Club is the same group that clapped (yes, clapped) after Trump gave his nonsensical answer about childcare and the use of “tariffs”. Anyone with half a brain listened to that childcare answer and shook our heads in disbelief. it sounded like an answer given by a 4th grader OR someone undergoing a serious mental breakdown. I’ll go with the latter as a smart 4th grader probably would have given a better answer by far. Corporate media is NOT doing its job.
Well it is very likely they will. That is the exactly what is happening at the top of the non-maga leadership now (and sadly did not during the last election - Cheney's supported Trump in 2020 -even though he was a louse and stupid and impeached- only because he had an R after his name - although it astounds me they didn't seem to get, see, notice the Heritage Foundation's true agenda - but they have always missed the enemy from within). They are deciding and deciding for reasons they won't admit to ....they are doing Very Well in this Biden economy (like they did in Clinton's) and this time they are also voting for democracy because they won't do very well without it. Their carefully curated Supremes also failed then by going rogue in Roe. What an interesting time to be alive. Can't wait for the next chapter. Turn the page, we won't go back!
So many of us citizens have felt so left out and screwed for so long that it will take time for us to feel the improved economy adequately enough to make the connection to Biden and the Democratic Party. One of the reasons I was so worried about Biden losing or dropping out was because we needed his plans to have more time. Getting Kamala/Walz in office is so absolutely necessary. We are all worried, so we must do more than ever to get them elected and to defeat the unbelievably corrupt Republicans.
One of the reason that the economy slows down during Republican governments is that they just do not know how to run governments. Worse than that, they don't want governments to work. The pain and suffering that results under Republican control is both predictable and documented. It happens in myriad areas. Just one is that children eat less and their health and education suffers. Ironically, Republicans vote against the legislation that visibly improves their districts, then they take credit for the improvements. In many cases previous bad government caused the problems in the first place. Like bad water in Flint, MI. No wonder US politics is so screwed up.
Very sorry but I must take exception to both Ford and H. W. Bush.
Ford made a colossal mistake in pardoning Nixon. I think that might be one source of the horrible idea that presidents are above the law. The country needed to see justice done.
And HW was far worse. He is the one who negotiated with the Iranians to keep the American hostages until Reagan was sworn in in 1981, thus keeping the kudos from Jimmy Carter, a truly devilish campaign trick, that also kept those Americans in the duress of captivity longer.
And, if I remember correctly, Bush senior could have signed legislation that would have started moving us away from fossil fuels, but didn't because of pressure from the oil lobby.. Important time wasted.
I've got to agree with pilgrim here, Ford's pardon of Nixon exacerbated the ongoing notion that presidents were above the law. Worse it created the suspicion that there was somehow a deal in place when Nixon resigned (altho from a historical viewpoint I no longer believe that). I think the country would have been well served by airing the entire Watergate scandal including Nixon through official channels even though ultimately I would probably have agreed that Nixon should just be left to rot in history and not necessarily in a jail cell. I generally feel the same way about Trump. I don't expect him to serve a prison sentence (even if he might deserve it) but definitely believe he needs to be set aside for the rest of his life.
In most other countries a president like Nixon would have been jailed as he tried to board that plane. Ford was a fool. This set in motion the idea of excusing criminal behavior based on some sort of nonsense about calming a divided public or whatever. The "public" was screaming for justice.
Ford, an otherwise decent guy is near the bottom of my presidential list. And putting him ahead of Jimmy Carter or Biden? Good grief.
At a minimum, Trump should be confined forever to his oceanside mansion - allow him a bedroom, the empty ballroom and the bathroom where he stored the STOLEN TOP SECRETS. Only greasy cheeseburgers but no ketchup for throwing against the walls. No internet. Just TVs permanently tuned to CSpan and MSNBC.
Also, lots of cats and a sound system that just plays Taylor Swift.
Nae, nae. He should be confined in his version of Hell: in New York, in Trump Tower with absolutely no golf and the same sort of limitations on communications as are imposed on other federal prisoners.
For me, the big distinction between President Nixon and candidate Trump is that the former had enough respect for the rule-of-law to hand over the damning evidence. Candidate Trump instigated the Capitol riot.
EDIT: Candidate Trump should go to prison. AND rot in history.
I use the term 'candidate' to avoid saying President Trump. I also used that term to emulate its use by Special Counsel Smith in his revised case for 06jan21 case. Special Counsel Smith used the term candidate to differentiate candidate Trumps actions as unofficial acts eligible for indictment.
I worry about confining innocent — they’re just doing their jobs — Secret Service personnel to jail, even for just a few hours at a time. Sounds silly?? It doesn’t seem that silly to them, or to their friends and family, I bet.
When I learned of it, I was disappointed that Ford didn't make public his belief that a pardon carries an imputation of guilt and the acceptance of one is a confession of guilt. This opinion was issued by the SCOTUS in 1915; Ford kept a pull quote from the decision in his wallet until he died. https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/236/79/
Indeed Ford felt that way but Nixon did not. His interviews with David Frost made it clear that he saw the pardon as an endorsement of his acts which he still felt were justified and intended to help the nation, not him.
True. I do wonder how it would have been if Ford hadn't talked about putting the "long national nightmare behind us" but instead had said, "Nixon's acceptance of this pardon is an admission of his guilt. It's forever a stain on him and his presidency. The country is left shaken by his perfidy but we can take pride in the fact that we didn't turn away from the facts. It is my belief that the nation must move forward and thus I've issued and the former president has accepted this pardon." (Well, a girl can dream, can't she ;-)
I expect he went to his grave still feeling that HE was the aggrieved party, not the public or the country. It's not uncommon among criminals who mostly seem to feel that their problems are not so much caused by what they have done but rather by the fact that they got caught.
It seems to me that Biden’s successful administration followed by his extraordinary and singularly selfless decision to withdraw from the campaign puts him on the top of the list.
Agree all the way. Truly an act of greatness. Candidate Trump and Senator Vance are screaming intra-party rigging to lay the ground-work for contesting defeat in November and out of a sobering realization that candidate Trump is not the one who is too old; no more cloud cover.
It seems those lists change depending on the criteria. Are you looking at people policy, foreign policy, rule of law supporter, economic growth? And don't forget...the President can do nothing/very little without a cooperative Congress and an honest Supreme Court. Theses last two year, I hope, taught us something.
For example, the Supreme Court just undid settled law that will tie up federal regulatory agencies for years as now all illegal activity/pollution/trades/safety violations, etc., have to be decided in a court of law, not by the experts at the agencies. Making a large part of our government unable to do it's job, efficiently.
Oh my, Kamala will have her work cut out for her. And she must have a blue Congress.
Very good point. A personal list shaped by the time in my life these figures came along and what I esteem most in Presidents. Of course, I like President L.B. Johnson for all his faults and that ghastly war in Viêt Nam.
As someone who turned 18 just as LBJ left office and feared being drafted, I sadly think Vietnam so overshadows all the great things LBJ did that there is no way I can put him in a top 10 list. Nixon on the other hand got me my 297 draft number in the lottery and for that I may owe him my (so far) long life. So as always with most presidents is a mixed bag. Trump is the one president I've lived through where the bag is all bad.
Thanks for posting this Ned. It's really hard to weigh the pluses and minuses of each administration even if it's narrowed down to "my life-time."
The economy under Eisenhower expanded more than under any President and it wasn't done through M&A or by buying a company and selling off it's assets.
And LBJ was able to get more legislation during his 6 years as President than any otherr President including Medicare and the voting rights act. But he also escalated the war in Vietnam stealing 2-4 years of hundreds of thousands of American youth.
Eisenhower turned out well, transitioning from General to Commander-in-Chief (federal highways, urges against a "military industrial complex"). My dad came home from WWII to the GI bill (for white veterans) to finish college and VA loans for buying a home. Direct investment in the future of the middle class, until...trickle down, tax cuts for the wealthiest (Socialism?), and the ensuing massive gap between the rich and the poor. I hope we continue the Biden administration's efforts to invest in all the people of America. Question: has crime gone down because the lives of more Americans are getting better due to gainful employment, infrastructure improvements, childcare, access to wifi...? Let's not go back.
President Eisenhower might be number-1 but I was only two years old when he left office. So I exclude him. Any list like this one is probably better not shared by the individual making it but it is worth compiling for oneself because it makes one sit down and think through what (s)he looks for most for in a President.
Though many here will disagree, the choice in 1976 (my first election voting), was not repeated again until 2008. I felt that, win or lose, I knew a good President would be in the White House the next year. That is only l. Presidents Carter and Ford were similar to me: one foot on each side of the divide though President Ford was definitely leaning quite right and President Carter more left.
And, yes, my Republican and midwestern family liked President Johnson and the Great Society. My parents backed that ghastly war in Viêt Nam as did I as a kid. L.B.J. was like a proxy grand-dad for me when l lived overseas in the mid-1960s.
My only concern with a President Harris is that expectations will be too high for her and that, given the constraints of the office and the dereliction of duty to compromise by the nattering nabobs of narcissism and other obstructionist Republicans, she will disappoint people and be deemed not very good . . . unfairly.
Arguably, this was the fate suffered by President Obama. Unimpeachable character and integrity but never really given a chance to show his greatness. That is why the Affordable Care Act -- as messed up in some ways as it is -- is an amazing accomplishment. Like Vice President Harris, President Obama is African-American; sadly that had something to do with the unnecessary wind resistance.
My first Presidential election was in 1976 as well. Ford came to Iowa State and I heard him speak. I voted for him and of course, he lost. And I voted for Reagan in 1980 and that's the last time I voted for the winner until 2008. So 4 times I've voted for the winner. In 1980, I was driving home from work a few hours before the polls closed in California (I was living in Sacramento at the time) Jimmy Carter conceded to Reagan. I never understood why he didn't wait until the polls closed on the west coast at least even if HI and AK were still open. Now that I think about it I have voted for President in seven different states.
I recall that when Ford pardoned Nixon, he said that "our long national nightmare is over." I am certain that he thought that Watergate was one of the more significant crises our country had ever been through. From the perspective of 2024, Watergate was a small news story on page 15. The past 9 years have left us fighting for the life of our democracy with hope, but no certainty, that this much longer national nightmare will end on or about November 5. The difference between then and now? In the 1970's, there were still Republican politicians who had enough integrity to tell Nixon that the party would no longer support him once his involvement in Watergate and the effort to cover it up became clear. Nixon, whatever his many faults, understood reality and resigned. Not so Trump and the many people who believe it is in their interest to support him.
Very perceptive, Linda. There were no Senators Goldwater and Scott or Representatives Hogan and Railsback in 2020; at least those in a position to speak for the Party. Thank you. I still remember 1974; I was seventeen. I could not conceive of anyone being as vile as President Nixon, let alone worse, in the future.
With the prospect of President Nixon standing trial, I think many people really feared for fighting in the streets. I looked at Watergate as a one-off. Within eighteen months, I had softened on President Nixon, not to excuse his crimes but to see him more as a tragic figure with a tragic flaw. No such feeling extends toward candidate Trump.
If candidate Trump goes to trial and then to prison, as i hope he does, there will likely be fighting in the streets. This time, I am prepared to fight to defend the Republic.
Lol yup, the day I realized how bad the Trump presidency had become was the day I woke up drenched in sweat and realized I had dreamed that we would all be better off with Nixon back in the White house. Holy crap!
Thank you for making me chuckle. As a Snoopy-&-Woodstock meem (on a rollie coaster) reads, "Always find a reason to laugh. It may not add years to your life but will surely add life to your years."
Just watched “Carterland”. Everyone should watch it! I know he is a good man, but his accomplishments rank him in the upper echelon of presidents. Anwar Sadat proclaimed that the Camp David Accords should be called the “Jimmy Carter Accords”.
Thank goodness you didn't put Reagan on your list. But Ford, not a bad president, gave a pardon to a man that should have been at least tried in a court of law as an example of not even the president is above the law and GHWB didn't do much of anything except pardon the Iran-Contra seven, and let's not forget the Keating Five and the savings and loan failure. LBJ changed America via civil rights legislation and Obama gave health care and dignity to millions ...I'd have put Nixon (created the EPA and other environmental and work place protections) on the list before any Bush made my list of greats - but of course Nixon would not have made my list either. Carter was an interesting choice. Was it because he put missles in Europe which effectively began the dismantling of the USSR?
I was not aware of the missiles in Europe by President Carter. I put President Carter on that list for:
> pardoning the draft dodgers to put Viêt Nam behind us;
> facilitating the Camp David agreements;
> promoting environmentalism aggressively;
> placing human rights firmly in the center of foreign policy; and, most of all,
> remaining steadfast in bringing home those fifty-two Americans home alive.
President Carter could have bombed the crap out of Iran and looked strong; he had the humility to step back and do the right thing at the expense of his public standing. When I was an intern out of college on Capitol Hill in 1982 (for the Republicans; fish out of water), the staff director of the non-standing Committee on Indian Affairs asked me which President had done the most for Native Americans.
I said President Lincoln. NOPE. 🤔
I said President Roosevelt (either edition). NOPE. 😳
I said -- for sure -- President Johnson. NOPE. 😯
It was President Nixon. 😱
That was a curve-ball for my callow, if not yet calloussed, brain.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.)
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.
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.
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. We’ve been fortunate as a nation to have good leadership at crisis times in our history.
He was the right leader for a time when America teetered on collapse. When I look at history, I’m 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. “No Ordinary Time” by Doris Kearns Goodwin was a wonderful book.
Why don’t 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.
“This” didn’t 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 won’t let me.
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.
It wasn’t 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.
But no Palestinian group has ever committed to the idea that Israel has a right to exist either. No, I don’t fully agree with the US’s 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 won’t care if the Palestinian people are wiped from this earth! The choice is clear, IMO.
This round of stupid violence started with that raid. But the point I make holds for no matter when you want to count from, doesn’t it? Why isn’t 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 isn’t Netanyahu in jail for his well documented past corruption? One could make the argument that all of Netanyahu’s 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 Netanyahu’s 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, wouldn’t 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, “Kill all Jews” 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 doesn’t matter whether you agree with me or not, it’s going to happen, and those people living in the deserts of the world already are among the ones who will suffer the most, first.
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.
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.
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. It’s only the craziest of old men who choose death over their grandchildren’s future. Those craziest of old men shouldn’t be making decisions that impact every person.
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.
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 “security” 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Biden’s control, he and others were cowed by Thomas’ “high-tech lynching” 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.
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.
I’ve said it before that there is a direct relationship between increased employment and decreased crime. But there is so much more. Jobs make home ownership a possibility and affordable housing further increases that possibility. The sense of pride that comes with having a good job is infectious. Neighborhoods start to feel more vibrant and welcoming. I could go all night but mostly I want to say; thank you Joe, job well done!
And yet, President Biden and Vice President Harris need to address the broken systems that are catastrophically failing us. A contractor is working at our house after resigning from the U.S. Forest Service where he was an experienced professional, because paychecks were delayed and he was very underpaid.
Here’s a gifted WaPo article about that unfolding catastrophe. This kind of thing makes hardworking people cynical of big government and opens the door to shameless populism.
Our medical system is also melting down, losing staff while some struggle to keep up. Access to specialist care is delayed by months. This also holds true for first responders. EMT’s in our area start at less than $22/hour. We are one hospital short. Private equity is hollowing out hospitals and clinics. Police officers in WA state are underpaid and understaffed. Teachers and educators are underpaid and understaffed. Homeless people beg in supermarket parking lots with their children in tow because we don’t commit to provide services and minimal housing. Democrats need to speak loudly and in detail about what it takes to fund services that are pillars of a civilized country.
Trump is not the answer, but people relate to his American carnage description and the promise to forcibly take charge, and many are too exhausted in the struggle to stay afloat to question the right wing media juggernaut that reflects how they feel. Democrats’ touting of economic achievements is tone deaf without providing a clear vision of how to fix what’s still broken in the eyes of the working class. We need to reach those voters to shut down the MAGA movement. Kamala is making a start, but I think she is appropriately criticized for lack of more specifics that might capture more MSM coverage.
Kamala needs to call them out on it, just as she’s doing with abortion and reproductive healthcare. It needs an umbrella topic like restoring the services that have been gutted by Republicans. Reagan’s savvy communication staff promoted a message of the day to control the narrative.
“Last year, 35 percent of wildland firefighting jobs in California were vacant, according to ProPublica.”
“…we spent nights sleeping in apocalyptic fields of ash. We spent countless hours choking on smoke. Poison oak blistered our skin. The compensation for me, as an entry-level firefighter, was around $13.45 an hour… Of the 20 members of that crew, only five are left four years later.
Damn, it’s hard to get on the priority list of all the things that repubs have destroyed nor made worse. You could start with unions, but the list is long and the blame is limited to the last one in power.
Part (most?) of the blame in the health care industry is selling out to investment firms that are dollar oriented rather than patient care oriented. Covid burnout is another.
Private equity is not regulated to prevent their acquiring an essential company, putting it in debt, selling off profitable parts of the company, closing down parts that aren’t profitable, reducing head count until essential workers like nurses can barely keep up, burn out and quit. The private equity execs steal millions by destroying essential services and institutions, and we let them get away with it. This must stop, and if Harris is elected without a governing trifecta, she needs to use the bully pulpit to call out the corrupt actors who are lining their pockets and destroying our country.
Thank you for listing and putting into perspective how much the Biden-Harris administration has accomplished in the last 3-1/2 years. When laid out in this way, these achievements seem astounding. The current administration deserves more credit, but in typical Biden style, he sought to focus attention on continuing the momentum to build a stronger future. What a class act!
My favorite is the number of GOP congresscritters and senators who cry "horrors" at the achievements of the Biden administration and then go to their constituents and claim credit for all the good things that have happened in their districts and states. The height of hypocrisy.
Jack Bergman in Michigan has shamelessly taken credit for the expansion of the soo locks, a critical need for iron mining/steel industry on which our nation’s defense rests. He voted against it, actually lives in Louisiana, and is former military. Doesn’t get much worse.
This clear report will be forwared to my right leaning business major grandson. He is starting his sophomore year at UW, Madison, after a summer internship at BMO Bank in Chicago. If he is learning anything at all in school, perhaps this might make him consider not voting fot Trump. A sizable part of this generation is in the "I'm going to get mine" mood after the devasttion of Covid.
Good luck with that, Ransom (not snark). We do have to reach them. UW-Madison is a pretty good school, which suggests your c. 20-year-old grandson is a pretty smart kid. Your grandson was probably something like 5 when the last major recession hit, so he probably doesn't actually remember much about it. Let's hope he gets to study about it in school and gets a chance to evaluate what worked and what didn't about our response. The mood of Gen-Z is entirely understandable, and there's nothing at all wrong about working for a bank. More power to your grandson (as long as he doesn't choose to become a vulture capitalist) :-)
I recommend you give/send him a copy of the book "Wealth Supremacy" by Marjorie Kelly. here is a link: https://marjoriekelly.org/wealthsupremacy/ ISBN 10: 1523004770 ISBN 13: 9781523004775 Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2023
Though it is written in a very readable style, and I'm only about 1/3 of the way through, I keep having to put it down and think hard about what I've just read. I will never view capital, or the way we 'manage' it, the same way again.
Thanks for this book reference. In the summary I have read Kelly outlines a political structural solution to our present day global self destructive iniquitous capitalism. Sounds intriguing 🐈⬛💙
For a while I shared a house with a lawyer who said that the surest way to lose a client was failure to let the client know what was going on. Our elected representatives can do a better job than I think they do of laying out what they actually do on our behalf, with solid documentation. Few would read it all, but it's there to reference. Not (just) "concepts" of a plan, but "blueprints" and progress reports. Like a lawyer (and many are lawyers) we hire these people as fiduciaries for the furtherance of our interests. We (and I include myself) need to give them more attention and feedback to how they conduct that.
In our present schema, reality leans left. Not that reality confirms every liberal fancy, but manipulators of any persuasion are selling snakeoil. Galileo found a way to clock the acceleration of gravity but that rained on the parade of those with investments in a different narrative. Someone is making bad choices where the "enemy" is truth.
Remember when the Silicon Valley entrepreneurs were preaching 'disruption'? It became very popular to try to create value by tearing down old structures and building new instead. Most attempts failed, but select ones succeeded and made people rich, some of them extremely rich. These billionaires now think the same goes for everything they can get their hands on, even politics. What they all forget is that the 'system' was what protected them and allowed them to get rich. Most of them never learned about gratitude, paying back to society and respect for others, humbleness.
Kind of reminds me of the time Michael Jordan decided to play baseball. One of the best basketball players of all time was only a so-so baseball player. The skills just weren't there. Also there is a concept called "survivor bias" in which we tend to focus on the very few successful individuals and not on the thousands of those who failed. For every Michael Jordan, there are several thousand kids who were not good enough for the NBA. For every Zuckerberg, there are thousands of other nerds who tried to disrupt/innovate something and lost thousands - or even millions, of their own and other people's money.
"create value by tearing down old structures and building new instead" Never heard this definition of disruption with respect to Silicon Valley. At least originally, it referred to remarkable technological breakthroughs.
I used to think that the Gates couple had the influence, guess I was stuck in the way back past. I really thought Thiel was so asinine that nobody would pay him any attention. But buying politicians has it’s reward…
That why I become apoplectic when I hear idiots like Bret Stephen’s (on Bill Maher recently) blather about how people are making a mistake saying that our democracy is in danger. Somebody with his head in the sand and his arse blowing in the wind. Chump would just be a bad president, that’s all. I was in danger of blowing a gasket.
Clayton M. Christensen, business theory. Comprehending Christensen's business model, which takes the disruptive vector from the idea borne from the mind of the innovator to a marketable product, is central to understanding how novel technology facilitates the rapid destruction of established technologies and markets by the disruptor.
The COVID Plague, was completely mismanaged by DJT, and his Team of 'The Very Best People'... There was over 1,000,000 American Deaths in the First Wave... An extremely painful Shutdown was the chosen Method to limit its spread... This affected the normal functioning of Society... $$$ had to be injected to support Households, and local, State Gov'ts, etc... That begat Inflation.. Social Bonds were severed.... That begat Loneliness, and Crime... The Humiliation was that the USA had to beg China, where the Plague began, for PPE... The Dark Siths had hollowed-out American Industry in name of Out-Sourcing, and Greed... It is Incredulous that DJT's Minions believe that DJT's Reality Show Chaotic Administration were the 'Good Ole Days'....
When people are asked are you better off now than they were 4 years ago it is interesting they seem to think 2020 was a better time. It was chaos in this country with one of the worst Covid responses in the world.
I have a lot of MAGAts post that. The responses I make (basically, "well, we were storing corpses in refrigerated trucks and CostCo was rationing toilet paper, if they could get it" get taken down.
I was barely able to get triple hernia surgery done in February 2020 as Loma Linda started severe access restrictions to health facilities (pretty much essential surgeries only). They were very strict in requiring real masks as there was also such a shortage of N95 masks that the healthcare workers needed (and were basically told the states to find and compete for in a wild west supply chain as described at:
The discouraging of wearing any masks made matters much worse. We got by with the best homemade masks we could for the few times we had to go out and some N95 masks I had left over from painting aircraft. One of our ancestors was the first person lost to Covid in Maine on March 25th, and my Barber at Loma Linda was lost March 26th at the early stages where so many of us followed early advice that China, South Korea, and Vietnam followed to best protect from airborne viruses before vaccines were available.
Besides the refrigerated trucks to hold the bodies, I remember the people that could only look at their sick and dying family members through the windows that 1st Spring.
We made it all the way through the Pandemic by moving to a county in Maine that had the highest compliance with masking and social distancing, and vaccinations we knew of, only catching mild cases 4 days after they declared the pandemic over (when there was a huge drop in people we saw still masking up.
The most heart wrenching losses were among the healthcare workers who took the risks to themselves and their families to care for as many of us as they could
If chump had acted responsibility early on, and shut down for a month or two, the worst could have been averted. But he pussy-footed around trying to save his hide and sacrificed so many others. He should be tarred and feathered. Or if Karma were a thing, he would have died of COVID. But Karma is often a day late and a dollar short.
All of that is true, and even if one could argue with a point here and there, there is no question that Biden revived the ideals of FDR and bolstered the belief that the purpose of government is to better the lives of its citizens. He's done a remarkable job doing just that.
More than half of Americans disagree. They would have voted against him and for the candidate who promised chaos and dictatorship. Those Americans have no idea what Biden has done. Our friends and neighbors live in a cloud of half-truths and Intellectual bankruptcy, and nobody has figured out how to bring them back to earth. If a tree falls in the forest and nobody hears, did it fall? If half the country doesn't notice that Biden and his crew saved us from a mammoth step backward, did it really happen?
Like Ed, I think Harding may well be a more accurate comparison. Hoover was of a conservative bent of mind; Harding was a grifter and thief. Teapot Dome, anyone?
Be careful with the analogies. Hoover was not a grifter. He may not have been a good president, but he was still an honorable human being. Hoover was called upon by both Truman and Eisenhower to help with U.S. humanitarian efforts after WW2.
Hoover was a good man. He just believed that if you did nothing, the markets would sort everything out. FDR said, “Screw that! Throw everything but the kitchen sink at it. We’ll deal with the other stuff later “.
Compare Trimp's address and discussion with the Economic Club of two weeks ago to Biden's.
Joe outlined his actions and the reasoning behind them on how he righted the ship after discovering Donald's administration had been operating without any direction or plan whatsoever.
Before that same distinguished group, Donny cast blame and rambled on at length, including that now infamous statement, "Well, I would do that and we're sitting down, you know, I was, somebody, we had Marco Rubio and my daughter, Ivanka… But I think when you talk about the kind of numbers that I'm talking about that because the child care is, child care couldn't, you know, there's something you have to have it in this country, you have to have it... I want to stay with child care… So we'll take care of it."
The notion of returning to Donald's patented mix of personal enrichment, laissez faire, and Tinkle Down economics shouuld give everyone the screaming meemies. As a personal request, I ask everyone here to loudly challenge anybody who claims that the economy was better during the Trimp years. When someone says something that dumb they should have to defend it.
Those two speeches before the Economic Club could not be more different—one of this world, one floating around in outer space, or perhaps another unknown dimension. I was so pleased to read the words "screaming meemies" as they are a favorite of mine. Heck, little did I realize it, but every time I'm exposed to the latest outrage from Donald, that perfectly encapsulates what goes on, at least in my mind, and at times out loud. Screaming meemies for the win! May it end and return us to practical, sober, analytical and intelligent speech by someone that matches those descriptors. I want and need Madam President to carry on for us!
Particularly if they hold or aspire to critical levels of responsibility. Biden muffed a few lines and look what happened. Literal "word salad" is a bad sign.
''He [Biden] told the audience at the Economic Club that we have such a dynamic system, and foreign companies are willing to invest here, because of the stability provided in the U.S. by the rule of law. Indeed, it is the rule of law that protects investments and capital, as evidenced by the fact that autocrats stash their money not in their own countries or other dictatorships, but in liberal democracies where investments cannot be taken away or legal protections changed on a dictator’s whim.''
Thank you for reporting in detail on this speech. Sadly I know I would have been unlikely to hear/read anything about it elsewhere.
I’m afraid there are still a lot of folks who’ve been encouraged by propagandists and a disinterested media to become disillusioned about politics and government in general, people whose attention is very much on the challenges of work and family. They’ve missed whatever tiny bits of media reporting have ever been allocated to reporting on what government is doing—their actual jobs.
I know the Democratic campaign stump speeches have talked about accomplishments and policies that will continue under Harris/Walz. But disinterested, disillusioned folk don’t watch/listen to/read about campaign speeches either. *sigh* i feel like we need to keep talking/reflecting about what Americans endured under Trump and how things were actually changed so dramatically and fruitfully after Biden/Harris took office. All the reasons “we are not going back!” We need to become so familiar with those details that we can educate others when an opportunity shows up.
Thank you, as always, for making the present situation clear. Give credit where credit is due. Joe Biden has outperformed expectations, and deserves much better accolades.
TRUMP BETTER THAN HARRIS (BIDEN) FOR AMERICAN ECONOMY? HA HA!
I am gobsmacked that virtually every poll reports that a majority of Americans favor Trump over Harris (Biden) to manage the American economy.
Heather’s reporting on President Biden’s comments at the Economic Club of Washington describes a remarkable American economic recovery, after Biden inherited a pandemic-dominated economic disaster from Trump.
At 90 I have witnessed dramatic economic ups and downs in America and the world. In the 1970s I was responsible for rating the credit of companies and countries worldwide after the 1973 Middle East War, the oil crisis, and successive recessions. This was when the term ‘Rust Belt’ became commonplace.
I remember the stagflation of the late 1970s and early 1980s, when inflation topped 12%, unemployment was double digits, and people wondered whether America’s best years were behind us.
The major recession in 2008/2009 that President Obama inherited from the younger Bush president was another downer.
I was too young to appreciate the full thrust of the Great Depression. For me, the Covid-induced, supply-side economic tailspin of 2020, followed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, was the worst prolonged American economic situation that I have experienced.
The ineptness of the Trump administration to handle this was obvious to virtually all observers. His response to the Covid pandemic probably cost the lives of an additional hundreds of thousands of Americans. When our economy hit the skids, Trump seemed paralyzed.
President Biden inherited a badly listing, directionless ship of state. His administration acted decisively to get moving in a positive direction. The response on Covid was ‘Fauci professional.’ In our paralyzed economy, government funds were provided to keep Americans fed during a massive employment plunge. State and local governments, as well as diverse companies, were funded to keep America’s economic wheels rolling.
Moreover, with no Republican support, the Biden administration initiated a series of massive physical and social infrastructure programs to better position ourselves for coming decades.
I remember how critical Republicans were, when the Biden administration implemented drastic emergency measures. Predictions of run away inflation and worse were a constant media dialogue. When the Fed took bold action to curb short-term inflation, the naysayers predicted doom.
Reflecting on the Biden years, I am amazed at what has been accomplished under most difficult circumstances. Compared to other post-industrial countries, America’s recovery has been the global ‘poster boy.’
Trump, whose presidency has been ranked by professionals as the ‘worst in American history,’ is once again throwing bizarre economic ‘solutions’ against the wall, hoping that some may stick.
Once again he is calling for ‘supply-side’ tax cuts that would benefit fat cats and corporations, while deep sixing the great majority of Americans.
His magical thinking that massive tariffs would improve our economy and benefit working class Americans is perhaps his most wrong-headed proposal.
He is desperately suggesting tax cuts for diverse populations while pandering to suburbanites and urbanites by promising to remove the SALT tax provisions that he had initiated in his 2017 tax giveaway.
Harris (Biden) have cohesive economic plans that include continuation of what has been successful in recent years as well as additional initiatives designed to enhance our infrastructure and provide opportunities to the American people.
Trump has proposed nothing that would enhance the American economy for non-fat-cats.
As I previously mentioned, I am gobsmacked that polls indicate that the American public favors Trump over Harris (Biden) in dealing with the American economy.
Keith, I always look forward to your comments. This assessment is fabulous. The only thing I would add to your litany is that there was NO TRANSITION TEAM in place when Biden took office. No briefings, no information share, no note, no nothing. When Biden went to the Oval Office to work on the afternoon of January 20,2021 he HAD to.
Thank you, Joe. History will remember.
But will non-MAGA Republicans and undecided voters get it now and vote accordingly?
Unfortunately, the people who most need to hear this message are not hearing it! Instead, they are hearing lies from the mainstream (corporate) press!☹️
So Kamala and Tim need to get the message out there that she was part of these great policies that benefit ordinary Americans and will continue them!
And also that they must be continued, or the ensuing disaster will be rapid.
Still time to make a blue tsunami.
https://www.fieldteam6.org/
MAGAt's won't get this message. Google “Biden Economic Club speech" and you get only results from videos like YouTube until result # 17: the New York Post with the headline, “Biden admits economic recovery still needs ‘work,’ forgets meeting Fed chair in error-laden speech”
At # 24, the NY Times has an article that starts with a paragraph that includes, “It was an attempt to call a turning point in what has been a politically damaging chapter of economic policymaking for Mr. Biden…”
The Washington Post comes in at #52 but it’s an article from 2019.
Thanks for doing the research that any of us could have done if we'd made the effort. This highlights the (unfortunate) fact that the Democratic Party and the Harris/Walz campaign cannot get the word out alone. The Press, now controlled by oligarchs who prefer that government works for them and no one else, refuse to report news fairly and without bias. This is one reason I've transferred my WaPo subscription investment to HCR.
You're right, the Harris-Walz campaign can't get the message out alone. They need our help, and (metaphorically speaking) we need some lethal ammunition. Biden is correct. He is a capitalist. What he didn't say is that Republican policies are irrefutable evidence that there is not a single person in that party in a position of influence that knows the first thing about the concept. The first thing everyone must to know about capitalism is its foundation, and its foundation is implicit in the name of Adam Smith's book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759).
A Manhattan skyscraper is built on a foundation, and that foundation is bedrock. Guess what would have happen if it was built on sand.
Likewise, capitalism is built on a moral foundation. Anything immoral is not capitalism. Morality is treating others the way you would want to be treated if the shoe was on the other foot. We don't have to guess what would happen if someone tries to build an economic system on an immoral foundation. All we have to do is know a little bit of history, which we get by reading HCR's newsletter.
The only capitalist party in this this election is the Democratic party. The Republican party represents the thing that everyone coming to America is trying to get away from, which is people in positions of power with an "I'm right, you're wrong, and this conversation is over" attitude.
Republicans are CAPINOs (capitalists in name only). Don't get me started on CHRINOs (Christians in name only), SCINOs (scientists in name only), and FRINOs (freedom in name only). Same immoral crap, different pile.
I love this a lot -- CHRINOS. Most of the people who are in love with "Christian nationalism" haven't been to a church in years.
Absolutely terrific comment!!!
Good post. Thanks.
Yes James - same immoral crap but different pile. I would add that the color and consistency is grossly and patentably different, but they all smell putridly the same.
Jeff Carpenter - "MAGAt's won't get this message."
"𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑔𝑢𝑦?
𝑇ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑝𝑖𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑, 𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑠 𝑎𝑢𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑑, 𝑑𝑜𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑑, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑝-𝑒𝑑𝑠 𝑝𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑑, 𝑜𝑛 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑤𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑜, 𝑜𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑠𝑡 ℎ𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑡—𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑖𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛.
𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑤𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑠𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔, '𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒? 𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑤𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚?'
𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼’𝑣𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛’𝑡 𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑡 𝐷𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑑 𝑇𝑟𝑢𝑚𝑝 𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑠𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑦 𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑑𝑚𝑖𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑎 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒."
https://johnpavlovitz.substack.com/p/the-one-reason-so-many-people-cant?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=2037902&post_id=149207795&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=3zw8i&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
You hit the nail on the head. I know so many people, even in my own family, that supported Trump and still refuse to acknowledge how incompetent he is. They just can't admit that they made a mistake. They love bullies. They are so stuck that they can't see anything good even though they are better off under Biden and Harris.
The people that run this country have ruined the lives of many millions of Americans. The list of gains under Joe from HCR are good, but they will take years to effect the lower wage people. Trump started his "coup" by blaming the migrants. Blaming the other. It is being done all over the world. The regular Dems and Rs have just been part of the rip off. Big money is making trillions at the expense of the lower tax payers.
Even though he’s falling apart right before their eyes.
Ron, why can't people bring themselves to admit they have an addiction problem? The answer is they haven't hit rock bottom yet. Ukraine hit rock bottom on February 24, 2022, and they no longer have this particular issue.
MAGA will recognize they have a problem when they hit rock bottom. The only question is how many innocent victims have to die.
Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller, rest in peace.
You make a great point James; it however reminds me of what Obama said about the Tea Party folks while, I believe, running for his second term: "they all love their guns and religion" (paraphrasing) or something to that extent. We have to solve the gun problem and get religion out of government. To start with, I would like to see the "prayer breakfast" done away with. In MHO, it is the biggest waste of government time imposed on those who serve in the House and Senate. That does not mean that they don't have a right to pray; prayer is no one's business but the one who indulges in it. That's OK with me. The solution? When in their own offices or chambers, let them take a few minutes individually to pray on their own. When in the prayer breakfast, it's not so much about prayer as much as it is about the "look at me" attitude to prove to everyone that they are believers in "God." Woe be unto them who divulges their true intent as an atheist while in Congress. There goes their job next election cycle even though they may well have served the people well.
Ron Boyd, I agree with your sentiment “𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼’𝑣𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛’𝑡 𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑡 𝐷𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑑 𝑇𝑟𝑢𝑚𝑝 𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑠𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑦 𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑑𝑚𝑖𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑎 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒." But our victory will be to keep sending the message without blame to those who feel they made a mistake but can’t admit it to remind them, their vote is private and that admission of a mistake can be reflected in voting for democracy and an all blue ticket and no one will ever know. And that should give them the catharsis they need to forgive themselves for being so duped by trump and all his sycophants up close and personal with him right now pushing for the total destruction of our democracy and the institution of fascist authoritarianism.
I believe there is a second reason that Republican voters cannot move away from Trump: Tribalism. "I am a loyal Republican. I will vote for the nominee of my party, no matter how disgustingly awful he is."
Mitch McConnell, Jeff Flake, Glenn Youngkin, Lindsey Graham...on and on and on...all these people have at one time or another have had terrible opinions of Trump and still....on they go. They have no honor as Liz Cheney has asserted.
That certainly seems to be true. There's no logical reason.
….being a Republican is their identity.
The Sunk Cost Fallacy.
Hatred is an addiction like cocaine but it can be shared which increases its effect. So when a group of people all hate together it is reinforcing. You hear "They hate the same people he does". It is the hatred which keeps them bound to Trump. I can't find my source for this but she is on Threads
And you NEVER hear the corollary: "he likes the people they like". For a reason? He likes Putin, Xi, Kim, Orbán - how many Americans of any stripe "like" those guys?
People like to think of themselves as loyal, and they fail to recognize that by supporting the washed-up has-been Felon45, they are being disloyal to America. Also, yes, the sunk-cost fallacy, and their fear of being seen as, or having to think of themselves as, failures as a consequence of having backed the wrong horse. So they choose the lesser loyalty over the greater.
It has been proven that, when people choose an extreme side, they are more likely to stick with it if it fails than if it succeeds.
I can attest to this in my own life in that the worse my college football team does, the more loyally I stand by them.
It gives you a nice warm feeling.
Part of the reason is that most Republican members of the House and Senate cannot bring themselves to denounce Trump for fear of losing their own seats which they hold onto with all their might! How many want to lose $174K of salary, 'free' benefits, and the shortest 'work' year in the USA? Congress is one of the best places for one to become a millionaire!
Thank you for documenting the failure of main stream media to report the news fairly. What’s in it for them? Many of us have canceled our subscriptions.
$300 a year for the New York Times. Plus Cooking @ $65. ,….money can go for no adds Youtube which has excellent minds Just watched our girl Heather. And, Michael Luttig, who I fell in love with after Jan 6.
American voters won’t get the message until corporate media gets the message. It’s pretty simple. Look at your nyt or WaPo. Neither paper is interested in getting this message out so I have stopped expecting it. I’ve canceled the NYT, which will stop in a few days. And I send endless messages to WaPo editorial board and writers. No change whatsoever. I keep wondering what these papers will do if Trump gets in and we then must watch project 2025 take place. Photos and stories of mass deportation? And who will they blame for all that? It’s pathetic.
I have wondered the same thing. Who will MAGA blame if trump wins and takes the country into chaos? But I think we already know the answer. They will blame anyone and everyone except themselves.
They are taking names. They are nuts with guns.
Shameful. Thanks, Jeff.
Morning, Lynell!
Agreed. I now refer to the "Corporate Media" rather than "mainstream".
Much better description, Ally!
People in polling believe the economy was better under tRump. Why? Because people believe what they need to in order to rationalize their support for someone they know is not liked but represents revenge against all they fear and hate. His base is immovable. Likewise, the base of Dems is unmovable. And all those who are "uncommitted," undecided, ill-informed, and misinformed, it is they who decide presidential elections. And who do they vote for? The candidate they like more. How can I say that? Having observed presidential elections since Truman v Dewey, the likable candidate has won every time, and that explains how the Republicans have won with policies that are not favored by the majority. (Nixon's wins are the exception to the rule due to the backlash to the war demonstrators.) And this election will be won by a landslide, 5%+. Trump is finished. And hopefully, he will be imprisoned.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/ap-norc-poll-shows-voters-are-split-on-whether-harris-or-trump-would-do-a-better-job-on-the-economy
Okay, it's good that Harris is gaining, but how can 4 in 10 Americans still think Trump would be better for the economy? We're all blinded by the miasma of propaganda...
The way good people have always countered propoganda … one verifiable fact at a time posted one or more times, sometimes by venturing into media where we are not always comfortable. One successful tactic progressives have made headway this election cycle is train in on the undecided voter by sharing one or two verifiable facts, neighbor to neighbor, friend to friend, niece to great uncle.
Just canceled online Washington Post. Working on dumping The New York Times. After 50+ years…it’s hard.
No because his argument, tho correct, is not clear enough to mobilize voters. He brings erudition to a knife feat. Plus the media and the legal system seem incapable of pushing back against evil but powerful forces.
Alas, too many in America’s oligarchy do not want a powerful federal system that facilitates equitable economic growth and distribution. They want concentrated economic and political power that is rigged to favor them.
The Republican coalition is reactionary. It is a big tent that promises those that join that they will be taken care of and the “others” will be stripped of power, economically disadvantaged, shunned and (at the extremes) rounded up and deported.
Why did Biden have to give this speech?
Why are these self-evident truths not headlined above the fold of every newspaper, the topic of conversation on every television, radio and social media discussion?
Why is the success not preached from every alter?
Why is a literal con man the nominee of one of our major parties and allowed to lie, cheat and steal?
The general population lacks general literacy in basic economics and civics and this gap gets filled with paranoia, fake news, and the inability to think critically on one's own. Self-evident truths no longer seem self-evident and unfortunately what gets preached from so many alters is scarry stuff. People are not taught to search for and evaluate evidence which makes a lot of room in people's minds for conspiracy theories and fantasies. It is great feeding ground for the grifters.
Very well put, pm. Few people actually study the news these days. Instead, the listen to cuckoo commentary packed full of misinformation. I remember my parents explaining to us kids that they vote for people, not policies. They voted against Nixon because they did not trust him. They did, however, vote for Reagan, who swiftly erased Jimmy Carter's "Malaise" and pumped up the spirit of America. Unfortunately, his economic policies created an enormous wealth gap among classes. His own director of the Office of Management and Budget called them, "voodoo economics." Biden was lauding his own administration's success in the face of a teetering economy when he entered office. Trump would reinstate the voodoo. It's funny because most Republicans feel he is the much better steward of the economy while it's clear he is not. My parents are turning in their graves as voters support the person who lacks character, integrity and the ability to tell the truth. For this I blame US.
I agree that the MAGA folks are not at all interested in the value of one’s character. Look at the critters in the GOP Congress…weak, spineless, mostly men (forgive me good guys!) without integrity themselves. So many of them are an embarrassment to humanity and don’t deserve, never mind earn, their paychecks! I am slapped by disgust every single day!!
One poll released this week found Harris within TWO POINTS of TFG on the question of who is better qualified to run the economy! I’d say Democrats are making some solid headway on this issue.
Agree PM, "literacy" is where it's at (>poor english). You have simply nailed it: Basic economics and civics? Missing in action! I just deleted a rant I was hammering out regarding 'home-schooling' for fear that I would be bigly misunderstood. My basic push was to make our public school system second to none. That would entail our Dept of Ed to set some clear standards which every State in these United States must adhere to.., all religion(s) aside. No, not a simple task when considering disabilities, but we are a compassionate people and that's all part of the picture. Literacy is a broad enough term to start with.
It's difficult to stay in school when you don't have a permanent home.
Mad Russian, It is OK to rant against home schooling which also often includes religious indoctrination. Then there are the wealthy parents who can afford to get together and hire music and art teachers, for example. They are also the same people who take their children to museums, etc. which is good, but not always possible when the parents are scratching to make ends meet. I have known best two families who home schooled. The first have admitted their mistake, but their three daughter have struggled mightily in different ways. In the other instance, one of the sons and his girlfriend brutally murdered the parents.
Scruffy immigrants came into NYC and got teachers who couldn’t get jobs elsewhere: women and Jews. They had a chance for the best literacy, among other things.. Now, who are the teachers?
I think it's one aspect of literacy and journalists seem to lack it also: connecting the dots. A factoid, even if understood literally, sits in isolation from its context and, therefore, its meaning and effect.
pm, so many people believe what they see on the internet and they do not understand that they need to evaluate sites. Heck, it's in print, so to speak, so it must be true. I had a student years ago when the internet was just beginning and he heaped scorn on me when I pointed out that he needed to assess what he had found which often did not make any sense.
We’ll said, pm.
"People are not taught to search for and evaluate evidence"
In my experience it is not a lack of teaching, but a lack of understanding or application. So much of what we were "taught" fell into the "I don't see any use for this" or "application of this is too political" in the classroom.
It's so unbelievable to me that, given all these positive facts about the Biden/Harris administration, MAGAs ONLY focus on the border, denying health care to women with pregnancy complications, and pets being cooked and eaten..
I have tried many times to remind Trump supporters about all these accomplishments. They refuse to accept anything as truth unless it comes from Donald Trump's lying mouth..
Yes, Pam, keep reminding those Trump voters about the accomplishments of the past four years. I would also emphasize that those accomplishments were ACCOMPLISHED solely (pretty much) without Republican effort. Plus, Democrats are working on the Border Issue and a few Republicans are willing to help, but not enough of them.
We have had a One-Sided Recovery NOT BECAUSE the other side hasn’t been asked to join in, but because they have REFUSED to join in as True Americans. Please, Republicans! Please! Join our effort to Keep America Mighty And Lastingly Amazing - or KAMALA, for short!
Cults are in a prison of their own making. Only they or their idol have the key. Unless Ike is in the neighborhood.
"Cults are in a prison of the own making".
Excellent!!! This is a perfect description of the Make America White Again crowd.
Eisenhower I presume... I loved how under his admin they took down McCarthyism during the communist scares emanating from communist successes in Russian/Eastern Europe, and Asia.
It's crazy, Pam, and speaks to the deteriorating soul of our country.
“…deteriorating soul of our country…” how perfectly described!
Pretty simple to me Pam. They.., "they" consider you and me just as stupid as you and I view them. Trouble is, the "they", prior to MAGA-mania were just others on-the-street soda-speak, to you and me. Today though, "they" have found camaraderie (support) amongst their easily identifiable nutbrains (MAGA hats). So "they" feel even more empowered to publicly insult you and me grouping all of us together as libtards/democrats/whale-shidt. And the press trolls the heck out of us. So, that's who "they" are and that's why they're all collectively out to the moon - ignorance being the bliss they are living within. Actually, it's a sepsis condition headed for septic. Whewwww.. flush hard, it's still a ways to go to get to mar-a-lahgo.
They cannot accept the truth, true. It's because their commitment to their racist, misogynistic, homophobic and xenophobic feelings trump everything else. Nothing else matters. (The Anger Games: Who Voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 Election, and Why?" Google it.
That's just "dirty politics" Pam. Their savvy economists, including the ones that work for Maga supporting corporations, know better, as with most other things, eg Climate Change, which is a creeping catastrophe
Why? Ignorance!! "What we have is what you want" , a man told me once in a bike shop during the pandemic, when parts availability was a fact of life. Turns out, he was absolutely right. Comprehension of information we are exposed to is vastly important. Separating fact from fiction is a vastly important job for our brains to conduct. Drawing on our own experiential learning, we possess a capacity for logic, for reason. MAGA inclined folks, not so much, if any at all. I'm reading Timothy Snyder's newest book, On Freedom, wow, and more wows! I've been helped along enormously throughout life by mentors, and by "womentors" as I call them, as well. Dr. Snyder is an engaging, page turner natural in his approach to his very live description of how he sees freedom. It is the same style Joe Biden, and soon to be President Kamala Harris have built for all Americans, including those who just don't get it. It is far easier to be spoon fed from their bloviating, lying , weak and deflating wind bag weirdo Tromp! PS, why does he always wear that long red flag around his neck? Paging Dr. Freud!
So true, but how many MAGAts read Snyder. Having spent years around rabid repubs, they are too busy buying Bill O’Riley, and other idiots and giving such tripe as gifts so he and others can be on best seller lists. Check it out. Repubs write books with the “message” equal to or more than the truth tellers like Snyder, Maddow, Woodward, etc. it was sickening to watch DeSousa being lauded by people who had a higher IQ than I did. Well, probably.
The biological units , or our bodies that we inhabit thru our lifespan,have survived and thrived on this planet have developed a brain that is capable of contrary thought. Choice. This ability has enabled us to survive, at least half of us anyway. This idea is reflected in the political decisions the people of this country make. 50/50. Half choose one way, the other half contrary. If one half makes the wrong choice and gets devoured buy a pack of lions or another tribe ,the other half can survive and continue to breed. Communism and Socialism arrests this situation by the "you will" action. We still have freedom of choice. People of Maga are as committed as progressives and moderates ,they were just born and raised that way. I believe people all want the same thing, they just can't agree on the way to achieve it. The real problem that has not been addressed enough is what is making people so anxious, and how to quell the global enease. Sorry for the preaching . I recently had some relationships sour over these issues and have to keep reminding myself that most people are just different. It does not keep me from relaying my opinion and trying to get people to vote . I just have to always put differences of thought in perspective.
I must say it IS refreshing when a MAGA white walker admits they were wrong.
Thanks Jim, if you want to get a good look at Ukraine/Russia, just take in his online Yale? lectures of several years ago, and if you want a grim reaper taste of history out of eastern Europe / Russian in the 20s and 30s, try Bloodlands, not for the faint of heart. Notice how much he's showing up on MSNBC? likely elsewhere too i trust.
Thank you Frank. Dr Snyder is a one off, yes!
Jim,
Thanks for the reminder about Timothy Snyder's book. It was in my list of wanna-reads and then I spaced it. Between Drs Richardson and Snyder, I am managing to remain sane when all about me is chaos.
Reading now!
Paul Corrigan, I feel like a broken record, but there is no logic to tffg's hardcore supporters thinking. They hate Democrats and will never support any. Democrats for over a 100 years have been successfully, almost unconsciously at this point, linked to the evils of "socialism, communism, fascism," that the definition of those terms is irrelevant. Democrats will ruin our country. I'm hoping younger generations are less indoctrinated and will not fall for this propaganda. 32 million new voters since 2016!
let us hope indeed on "32 million new voters" at least a good majority, will make a real difference in November. You are so right about the anti-communist fear-mongering in USA. We got it in spades from the likes of Billy Graham in Canada during his hell bent on wheels crusades of the 50s and later. It wasn't just the "right", it was broadly cased, since communist states (esp Russian/China) were in out and out attack/revolutionary overthrow mode against the evils of capitalism, with some justice, but won't get into that. I just remember "godless Communism" from the church pews, and that too was with more than some justice. Long history tale there.
The answer is MONEY! Until Citizen's United is overturned, the Electoral College is eliminated, the Fairness doctrine to be updated and passed is brought back and consequences enforced for people in leadership that lie, we will see no changes. Another tRump will be installed shortly.
Eadie- Shouldn't elimination of lobbyists be on your list as well.
1000 of us complaining here about X can be over ridden over lunch with a Senator or Congresscritter meeting with one lobbyist.
YES!
MSM likes click bait and bad news, so often we do not hear about the good things that the Biden administration does. Locally, the ads for the incumbent R in Oregon's 5th district make it sound like she hasn't supported death star and the R agenda. There is a group putting on ads against her which is not her opponent's campaign. Then there is raging Joe Kent in Washington's 3rd and his ads just tell us that he was in the military while the opposing ads show how dangerous he is. Our garden helper likes Harris, but still disses Biden. So I would say that Harris running has helped with voters like her who would vote third party and do not understand how that undermines what they stand for.
Absolutely agree, Paul.
@JBR They understand WE'RE NUMBER !!
USA.
Will the MAGA/KKK members get it? No, they won't. I apologize to some for what I'm about to say here. In some cases, we are so invested in something being so that it is virtually impossible to apply critical thinking to the process. Religion is one of those areas. All life on earth (plants, animals, insects) are descended from LUCA (Last Universal Common Ancestor) which existed 3.5 billion years ago and which is the source of all DNA among all living things. A banana and I share some of the same DNA. Same with a mosquito. For billions of people on this planet, such facts can't be processed in their minds. And, from what I've read ("What's the Matter with Kansas?, "The Anger Games . . . .", "Why We Believe Weird Things" by Michael Shermer and HCR's book, "How the South Won the Civil War,") the racism, misogyny, xenophobia and homophobia among the MAGA/KKK crowd is so intense that they cannot rationally process the information about the economy, the whys and why-nots, who gets the credit and why.
The skill of critical thinking has to be learned and early on in life. The child has to be exposed to adults who are critical thinkers, thoughtful, reflective, not reactive and who can acknowledge what they don't know as well as what they do. Once the window for learning this is passed, it's almost impossible for a person to learn how to do this. Add to this parents and adults who totally accept religiosity and are afraid of anything, or anyone who is different, and the American education system, that doesn't help kids learn critical thinking skills, and the child is most likely never going to become a person who can think in more sophisticated ways, and may continue to accept the delusion of whatever god cult his/her parents modeled for them.
I hate it when people say “I am a lifelong (fill in the blank)”. To me, that means they can’t have an open, enquiring mind and weigh facts and alternatives.
This stance prevents us from learning anything new. It prevents us having the experience of being surprised, not only by a new piece of information, but also at being humbled by all that we don't know and at our own hubris for assuming we did know it all!
Very well said J Nol!
You're right but I'd estimate those crackposts constitute only small vocal core of MAGA support. Peer pressure to conform. Individually, when we get a chance to speak to them, most want to keep their government benefits.
Some of those bigots are highly conflicted. Some of the worst racist comments I got when I used to text to blue wall states came from people with Slavic last names. During the Sept. 10 debate Trump twice refused to say whether he wanted Ukraine to win the war against Russia. He suggested, "Negotiate a deal," which Harris countered by saying if Trump had been president during the invasion, "Putin would be sitting in Kyiv with his eyes on the rest of Europe."
Vance has been anti Ukraine. Over a million Ukrainians in Pa. Approximately 784,000 Polish Americans in Michigan, 758,000 in Pennsylvania, and 481,000 in Wisconsin. Latvians, Estonians, Litvaks, Fins, etc know that if Ukraine falls, they are next.
Last week, the DNC organized a national call with Polish American supporters. The goal was to rally local networks to host events and spread the campaign's message. This strategic move is aimed at mobilizing Polish American voters who could be crucial in tight races.
Take a moment and look at the tsunami of Republicans supporting Harris.
Tsunami? FT 6 sent 2 million texts the last 2 days to unregistered people who trend Democratic . FT 6's new short term goal is to raise another million dollars to reach out to 15 million people, and deliver 4.5 million new voters to swing states and districts!
https://www.fieldteam6.org/fund-the-mission
Time for FT 6 to reach out to Republicans.
Not really. Other organizations do that. https://rvat.org/
Hook up with Swifties?
Done!
When we read about our recent past and then take time to “remember” those very recent accomplishments, it is truly amazing. Sadly many died yet we’ve come out on the other side of that deadly pandemic. We should take time to thank our very senior and experienced President Joe Biden who sheparded that recovery! And our next President was a willing and able VP getting a crash course on leadership! Joseph Biden will be remembered as a great leader along with others throughout our history but this was during our lifetime!
Sadly, trumpers will not listen or believe much of anything except his lies and hatred. The Republicans are winning the war against education, and the apparent ignorance of almost half of our citizens is painfully evident.
You forgot to mention there was a tampon shortage in the spring of 2022. Plane loads of tampons were being flown in from overseas. I know this because I wrote a song about it titled; “There’s a Tampon Shortage.” Enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc8uqBvXU7c
Oh and everyone loves posted comments.
I did! Thanks.
Many Americans judge the economy solely on the price of eggs, gas and vegetables while complaining about immigrants who could provide the inexpensive labor
Even with huge economic recovery, remember swathes of billionaire America continue to pump $$$ into the Maga/Trump campaign, almost like there's no tomorrow. Every battleground district or state draws $ in by the millions. (Not that Dem billionaires aren't putting in their "two cents" worth. Ironically, extra taxation is likely as much or more than made up for in broad economy performance, and better wages across the board make for greater demand in retail, at all levels. Been a while since the American economy has looked so bright, and after all, it is abt 1/4 the size of global economy activity. And, as Heather rightly pointed out, foreign investment into the American national/global business system, is reliably ongoing.
Ellen - answer is no for the MAGGOT's, and maybe for undecideds. More and more, I am convinced that a majority of Americans are low-information voters who look no further than their own kitchen table and their own garage. Instead of watching news, they are watching reality TV or sports or anything other than news. I was previously convinced that there is something wrong with too many Americans - be it racism or hyper-religiousity, or just greed. Oh yes there is plenty of that, but IMO it doesn't explain the dead heat we are in right now. What better explains it is basically decent people just are not paying attention, and are going to vote for Trump because under the Democrats prices are too high. They don't know what PRoject 2025 is nor do they want to know. They do not see or hear of the dystopian lunatic word vomit that comes from Trump and the MAGGOT's. They have no understanding what so ever of what Heather just explained in superb detail, why. And what is being done to help. This is a big problem.
You can help get the message out. Speak to your friends and families, and tell them to spread the word to everyone they know. Write letters to the editor if you still have a local paper. Call talk shows. Volunteer for the campaign.
Jon, I have friends and family who are hard core MAGA. Some want Texit, with Texas seceding from the Union. They've drunk the Kool-Aid down to the dregs. They rely on common sense, which is far superior to academic attainment and objective analysis. I am moving back to Texas this coming week to be close to my three remaining siblings (94, 90 and 81.) But, when asked why by some for the move from Florida to Texas, I reply, "Florida is not red enough for me." Yep, out of the frying pay into the fire, but I have already made contact with the Democratic Party organization where I am moving.
There are local chapters of Nextdoor.com everywhere. In my area of SW FL the Magats are very active and much of what I post gets taken down as they hate facts, but I put out info anyway. I also write letters to the editor and she always makes room for them.
Such messages fly over the heads of too many, unfortunately. We are a nation of soundbites without an interest in facts.
The Economic Club is unlikely to get it so why expect Kamala and Tim to keep repeating ad nauseum what was done to save this country after Trump ran us into the ground. Remember, the Economic Club is the same group that clapped (yes, clapped) after Trump gave his nonsensical answer about childcare and the use of “tariffs”. Anyone with half a brain listened to that childcare answer and shook our heads in disbelief. it sounded like an answer given by a 4th grader OR someone undergoing a serious mental breakdown. I’ll go with the latter as a smart 4th grader probably would have given a better answer by far. Corporate media is NOT doing its job.
Well it is very likely they will. That is the exactly what is happening at the top of the non-maga leadership now (and sadly did not during the last election - Cheney's supported Trump in 2020 -even though he was a louse and stupid and impeached- only because he had an R after his name - although it astounds me they didn't seem to get, see, notice the Heritage Foundation's true agenda - but they have always missed the enemy from within). They are deciding and deciding for reasons they won't admit to ....they are doing Very Well in this Biden economy (like they did in Clinton's) and this time they are also voting for democracy because they won't do very well without it. Their carefully curated Supremes also failed then by going rogue in Roe. What an interesting time to be alive. Can't wait for the next chapter. Turn the page, we won't go back!
So many of us citizens have felt so left out and screwed for so long that it will take time for us to feel the improved economy adequately enough to make the connection to Biden and the Democratic Party. One of the reasons I was so worried about Biden losing or dropping out was because we needed his plans to have more time. Getting Kamala/Walz in office is so absolutely necessary. We are all worried, so we must do more than ever to get them elected and to defeat the unbelievably corrupt Republicans.
One of the reason that the economy slows down during Republican governments is that they just do not know how to run governments. Worse than that, they don't want governments to work. The pain and suffering that results under Republican control is both predictable and documented. It happens in myriad areas. Just one is that children eat less and their health and education suffers. Ironically, Republicans vote against the legislation that visibly improves their districts, then they take credit for the improvements. In many cases previous bad government caused the problems in the first place. Like bad water in Flint, MI. No wonder US politics is so screwed up.
But will Rupert and his ilk, not a snowball’s chance in hell.
Within *the top four presidents of my life-time:
1st, President Ford;
2nd, President Carter;
Tied 2nd, President Biden; and,
4th, President G.H.W. Bush.
Very sorry but I must take exception to both Ford and H. W. Bush.
Ford made a colossal mistake in pardoning Nixon. I think that might be one source of the horrible idea that presidents are above the law. The country needed to see justice done.
And HW was far worse. He is the one who negotiated with the Iranians to keep the American hostages until Reagan was sworn in in 1981, thus keeping the kudos from Jimmy Carter, a truly devilish campaign trick, that also kept those Americans in the duress of captivity longer.
And, if I remember correctly, Bush senior could have signed legislation that would have started moving us away from fossil fuels, but didn't because of pressure from the oil lobby.. Important time wasted.
GHSB was an oil guy for >15 years.
Yes. He did have an intelligent and compassionate side. But too little attention is paid to his oil factor. And too little is said about this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Bush,_House_of_Saud
Ah, yes, the bin Laden connection. Hands dirtied by oil.
I've got to agree with pilgrim here, Ford's pardon of Nixon exacerbated the ongoing notion that presidents were above the law. Worse it created the suspicion that there was somehow a deal in place when Nixon resigned (altho from a historical viewpoint I no longer believe that). I think the country would have been well served by airing the entire Watergate scandal including Nixon through official channels even though ultimately I would probably have agreed that Nixon should just be left to rot in history and not necessarily in a jail cell. I generally feel the same way about Trump. I don't expect him to serve a prison sentence (even if he might deserve it) but definitely believe he needs to be set aside for the rest of his life.
He deserves prison and we need to have him in prison.
No one is above the law.
In most other countries a president like Nixon would have been jailed as he tried to board that plane. Ford was a fool. This set in motion the idea of excusing criminal behavior based on some sort of nonsense about calming a divided public or whatever. The "public" was screaming for justice.
Ford, an otherwise decent guy is near the bottom of my presidential list. And putting him ahead of Jimmy Carter or Biden? Good grief.
At a minimum, Trump should be confined forever to his oceanside mansion - allow him a bedroom, the empty ballroom and the bathroom where he stored the STOLEN TOP SECRETS. Only greasy cheeseburgers but no ketchup for throwing against the walls. No internet. Just TVs permanently tuned to CSpan and MSNBC.
Also, lots of cats and a sound system that just plays Taylor Swift.
I hereby award you First Place in prison design.
😊
…no cats.
😊
Nae, nae. He should be confined in his version of Hell: in New York, in Trump Tower with absolutely no golf and the same sort of limitations on communications as are imposed on other federal prisoners.
Ford’s pardon of Nixon was the camel’s nose of what’s now become the existential threat to democracy we face today.
For me, the big distinction between President Nixon and candidate Trump is that the former had enough respect for the rule-of-law to hand over the damning evidence. Candidate Trump instigated the Capitol riot.
EDIT: Candidate Trump should go to prison. AND rot in history.
There should NOT be a Candidate Trump.
I use the term 'candidate' to avoid saying President Trump. I also used that term to emulate its use by Special Counsel Smith in his revised case for 06jan21 case. Special Counsel Smith used the term candidate to differentiate candidate Trumps actions as unofficial acts eligible for indictment.
https://www.npr.org/2024/08/27/nx-s1-5090925/trump-indictment-jan6
As always, Jon, a balanced and well thought out opinion. Many thanks.
agree with you. No need to have presidents serve prison sentences. Let history be their eternal prison.
Presidents who commit crimes, like insurrection, election interference, bribery, and stealing classified documents need to be in a prison cell.
I worry about confining innocent — they’re just doing their jobs — Secret Service personnel to jail, even for just a few hours at a time. Sounds silly?? It doesn’t seem that silly to them, or to their friends and family, I bet.
On of the challenges here is how slowly the wheels of justice turn.
Yes this one does but it won’t happen.
When I learned of it, I was disappointed that Ford didn't make public his belief that a pardon carries an imputation of guilt and the acceptance of one is a confession of guilt. This opinion was issued by the SCOTUS in 1915; Ford kept a pull quote from the decision in his wallet until he died. https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/236/79/
Indeed Ford felt that way but Nixon did not. His interviews with David Frost made it clear that he saw the pardon as an endorsement of his acts which he still felt were justified and intended to help the nation, not him.
True. I do wonder how it would have been if Ford hadn't talked about putting the "long national nightmare behind us" but instead had said, "Nixon's acceptance of this pardon is an admission of his guilt. It's forever a stain on him and his presidency. The country is left shaken by his perfidy but we can take pride in the fact that we didn't turn away from the facts. It is my belief that the nation must move forward and thus I've issued and the former president has accepted this pardon." (Well, a girl can dream, can't she ;-)
I expect he went to his grave still feeling that HE was the aggrieved party, not the public or the country. It's not uncommon among criminals who mostly seem to feel that their problems are not so much caused by what they have done but rather by the fact that they got caught.
and do not forget the Barr initiated pardons that covered HW's involvement.
That is disturbing.
I have heard that but have yet to see the evidence. Casey was in Madrid; that is about all I know.
1. Washington
2. FDR
3. Lincoln
4. Biden
To make it crystal clear, I think Biden is in the top few all time rather than just top few in out any of our lifetimes.
PS: I could reverse Lincoln and FDR.
It seems to me that Biden’s successful administration followed by his extraordinary and singularly selfless decision to withdraw from the campaign puts him on the top of the list.
Agree all the way. Truly an act of greatness. Candidate Trump and Senator Vance are screaming intra-party rigging to lay the ground-work for contesting defeat in November and out of a sobering realization that candidate Trump is not the one who is too old; no more cloud cover.
It seems those lists change depending on the criteria. Are you looking at people policy, foreign policy, rule of law supporter, economic growth? And don't forget...the President can do nothing/very little without a cooperative Congress and an honest Supreme Court. Theses last two year, I hope, taught us something.
For example, the Supreme Court just undid settled law that will tie up federal regulatory agencies for years as now all illegal activity/pollution/trades/safety violations, etc., have to be decided in a court of law, not by the experts at the agencies. Making a large part of our government unable to do it's job, efficiently.
Oh my, Kamala will have her work cut out for her. And she must have a blue Congress.
Very good point. A personal list shaped by the time in my life these figures came along and what I esteem most in Presidents. Of course, I like President L.B. Johnson for all his faults and that ghastly war in Viêt Nam.
As someone who turned 18 just as LBJ left office and feared being drafted, I sadly think Vietnam so overshadows all the great things LBJ did that there is no way I can put him in a top 10 list. Nixon on the other hand got me my 297 draft number in the lottery and for that I may owe him my (so far) long life. So as always with most presidents is a mixed bag. Trump is the one president I've lived through where the bag is all bad.
Thanks for posting this Ned. It's really hard to weigh the pluses and minuses of each administration even if it's narrowed down to "my life-time."
The economy under Eisenhower expanded more than under any President and it wasn't done through M&A or by buying a company and selling off it's assets.
And LBJ was able to get more legislation during his 6 years as President than any otherr President including Medicare and the voting rights act. But he also escalated the war in Vietnam stealing 2-4 years of hundreds of thousands of American youth.
Tough call Ned, but thanks for the list.
Eisenhower turned out well, transitioning from General to Commander-in-Chief (federal highways, urges against a "military industrial complex"). My dad came home from WWII to the GI bill (for white veterans) to finish college and VA loans for buying a home. Direct investment in the future of the middle class, until...trickle down, tax cuts for the wealthiest (Socialism?), and the ensuing massive gap between the rich and the poor. I hope we continue the Biden administration's efforts to invest in all the people of America. Question: has crime gone down because the lives of more Americans are getting better due to gainful employment, infrastructure improvements, childcare, access to wifi...? Let's not go back.
Agree 111%, Lasley.
You sure like 111%, don't you Ned!
Thank you, Gary, for a gracious comment.
President Eisenhower might be number-1 but I was only two years old when he left office. So I exclude him. Any list like this one is probably better not shared by the individual making it but it is worth compiling for oneself because it makes one sit down and think through what (s)he looks for most for in a President.
Though many here will disagree, the choice in 1976 (my first election voting), was not repeated again until 2008. I felt that, win or lose, I knew a good President would be in the White House the next year. That is only l. Presidents Carter and Ford were similar to me: one foot on each side of the divide though President Ford was definitely leaning quite right and President Carter more left.
And, yes, my Republican and midwestern family liked President Johnson and the Great Society. My parents backed that ghastly war in Viêt Nam as did I as a kid. L.B.J. was like a proxy grand-dad for me when l lived overseas in the mid-1960s.
My only concern with a President Harris is that expectations will be too high for her and that, given the constraints of the office and the dereliction of duty to compromise by the nattering nabobs of narcissism and other obstructionist Republicans, she will disappoint people and be deemed not very good . . . unfairly.
Arguably, this was the fate suffered by President Obama. Unimpeachable character and integrity but never really given a chance to show his greatness. That is why the Affordable Care Act -- as messed up in some ways as it is -- is an amazing accomplishment. Like Vice President Harris, President Obama is African-American; sadly that had something to do with the unnecessary wind resistance.
Thank you, again, for a gracious comment, Gary.
My first Presidential election was in 1976 as well. Ford came to Iowa State and I heard him speak. I voted for him and of course, he lost. And I voted for Reagan in 1980 and that's the last time I voted for the winner until 2008. So 4 times I've voted for the winner. In 1980, I was driving home from work a few hours before the polls closed in California (I was living in Sacramento at the time) Jimmy Carter conceded to Reagan. I never understood why he didn't wait until the polls closed on the west coast at least even if HI and AK were still open. Now that I think about it I have voted for President in seven different states.
I recall that when Ford pardoned Nixon, he said that "our long national nightmare is over." I am certain that he thought that Watergate was one of the more significant crises our country had ever been through. From the perspective of 2024, Watergate was a small news story on page 15. The past 9 years have left us fighting for the life of our democracy with hope, but no certainty, that this much longer national nightmare will end on or about November 5. The difference between then and now? In the 1970's, there were still Republican politicians who had enough integrity to tell Nixon that the party would no longer support him once his involvement in Watergate and the effort to cover it up became clear. Nixon, whatever his many faults, understood reality and resigned. Not so Trump and the many people who believe it is in their interest to support him.
Very perceptive, Linda. There were no Senators Goldwater and Scott or Representatives Hogan and Railsback in 2020; at least those in a position to speak for the Party. Thank you. I still remember 1974; I was seventeen. I could not conceive of anyone being as vile as President Nixon, let alone worse, in the future.
With the prospect of President Nixon standing trial, I think many people really feared for fighting in the streets. I looked at Watergate as a one-off. Within eighteen months, I had softened on President Nixon, not to excuse his crimes but to see him more as a tragic figure with a tragic flaw. No such feeling extends toward candidate Trump.
If candidate Trump goes to trial and then to prison, as i hope he does, there will likely be fighting in the streets. This time, I am prepared to fight to defend the Republic.
Lol yup, the day I realized how bad the Trump presidency had become was the day I woke up drenched in sweat and realized I had dreamed that we would all be better off with Nixon back in the White house. Holy crap!
Thank you for making me chuckle. As a Snoopy-&-Woodstock meem (on a rollie coaster) reads, "Always find a reason to laugh. It may not add years to your life but will surely add life to your years."
Just watched “Carterland”. Everyone should watch it! I know he is a good man, but his accomplishments rank him in the upper echelon of presidents. Anwar Sadat proclaimed that the Camp David Accords should be called the “Jimmy Carter Accords”.
Thank goodness you didn't put Reagan on your list. But Ford, not a bad president, gave a pardon to a man that should have been at least tried in a court of law as an example of not even the president is above the law and GHWB didn't do much of anything except pardon the Iran-Contra seven, and let's not forget the Keating Five and the savings and loan failure. LBJ changed America via civil rights legislation and Obama gave health care and dignity to millions ...I'd have put Nixon (created the EPA and other environmental and work place protections) on the list before any Bush made my list of greats - but of course Nixon would not have made my list either. Carter was an interesting choice. Was it because he put missles in Europe which effectively began the dismantling of the USSR?
I was not aware of the missiles in Europe by President Carter. I put President Carter on that list for:
> pardoning the draft dodgers to put Viêt Nam behind us;
> facilitating the Camp David agreements;
> promoting environmentalism aggressively;
> placing human rights firmly in the center of foreign policy; and, most of all,
> remaining steadfast in bringing home those fifty-two Americans home alive.
President Carter could have bombed the crap out of Iran and looked strong; he had the humility to step back and do the right thing at the expense of his public standing. When I was an intern out of college on Capitol Hill in 1982 (for the Republicans; fish out of water), the staff director of the non-standing Committee on Indian Affairs asked me which President had done the most for Native Americans.
I said President Lincoln. NOPE. 🤔
I said President Roosevelt (either edition). NOPE. 😳
I said -- for sure -- President Johnson. NOPE. 😯
It was President Nixon. 😱
That was a curve-ball for my callow, if not yet calloussed, brain.
And this is why I say Biden is the best president in my lifetime and my 90-year-old mother does too.
Me too, and I'm nearly 92. Although I'd have a hard time picking between Franklin Roosevelt and Joe Biden.
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.
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.
But he did listen to Eleanor, a plus in anybody’s book. Well, most
She was another amazing First Lady. Behind almost every great President is a very wise woman (and oftentimes their kids as well).
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.
FDR is still #1 in my book.
He was a man of his time, like we all are.
Well…I would argue I’m a woman of my time. My husband would too. 😄
As am I, and I remember when women were restricted to the extent that repubs want to send us back to.
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?
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.)
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.
Thanks for this.
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.
Abe Lincoln 1st FDR 2nd. Well, let's not forget Washington.
Let's not forget LBJ either. He dragged us into the 20th century on civil rights.
Twin winners
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. We’ve been fortunate as a nation to have good leadership at crisis times in our history.
FDR was like a God to my family
He was the right leader for a time when America teetered on collapse. When I look at history, I’m 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. “No Ordinary Time” by Doris Kearns Goodwin was a wonderful book.
Palestinians would disagree.
Why don’t 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.
“This” didn’t 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 won’t let me.
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.
It wasn’t 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.
But no Palestinian group has ever committed to the idea that Israel has a right to exist either. No, I don’t fully agree with the US’s 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 won’t care if the Palestinian people are wiped from this earth! The choice is clear, IMO.
This round of stupid violence started with that raid. But the point I make holds for no matter when you want to count from, doesn’t it? Why isn’t 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 isn’t Netanyahu in jail for his well documented past corruption? One could make the argument that all of Netanyahu’s 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 Netanyahu’s 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, wouldn’t 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, “Kill all Jews” 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 doesn’t matter whether you agree with me or not, it’s going to happen, and those people living in the deserts of the world already are among the ones who will suffer the most, first.
Why Oct 8, are you dismissing Oct 7.
Tried to edit my original post to correct the date but it won’t let me.
I can’t even correct my post of 2 minutes ago saying I would.
Thank you for clarification
Fat finger typo that I didn’t catch
Will edit now
Edit not working
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.
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.
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. It’s only the craziest of old men who choose death over their grandchildren’s future. Those craziest of old men shouldn’t be making decisions that impact every person.
Misplaced blame is why the war rages on.
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.
More reasons than the number of lies he tells.
Bravo
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 “security” 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.
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.
Thank you.
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.
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.
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.
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.
They have limited knowledge to base their opinion and failings in their own system.
I think Carter is the best president since Eisenhower and possibly including Eisenhower because he was still a Republican.
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.
Hm. Despite everything, I really liked Clinton. I liked Obama better. But Joe is the GOAT. (I'm 69. I don't remember FDR.)
Even though he tossed Anita Hill under the bus?
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 Biden’s control, he and others were cowed by Thomas’ “high-tech lynching” 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.
Are you without a mistake?
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.
He certainly is way more effective than I gave him credit for being before he was elected. I'm very happy to be wrong.
AGREE!!
Thank you, PRESIDENT Biden 💞
Yep. Me too.
I’ve said it before that there is a direct relationship between increased employment and decreased crime. But there is so much more. Jobs make home ownership a possibility and affordable housing further increases that possibility. The sense of pride that comes with having a good job is infectious. Neighborhoods start to feel more vibrant and welcoming. I could go all night but mostly I want to say; thank you Joe, job well done!
And yet, President Biden and Vice President Harris need to address the broken systems that are catastrophically failing us. A contractor is working at our house after resigning from the U.S. Forest Service where he was an experienced professional, because paychecks were delayed and he was very underpaid.
Here’s a gifted WaPo article about that unfolding catastrophe. This kind of thing makes hardworking people cynical of big government and opens the door to shameless populism.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/21/opinion/california-wildfires-west-forest-service.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Mk4.VbVU.zVfd7WfU55Ld&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb
Our medical system is also melting down, losing staff while some struggle to keep up. Access to specialist care is delayed by months. This also holds true for first responders. EMT’s in our area start at less than $22/hour. We are one hospital short. Private equity is hollowing out hospitals and clinics. Police officers in WA state are underpaid and understaffed. Teachers and educators are underpaid and understaffed. Homeless people beg in supermarket parking lots with their children in tow because we don’t commit to provide services and minimal housing. Democrats need to speak loudly and in detail about what it takes to fund services that are pillars of a civilized country.
Trump is not the answer, but people relate to his American carnage description and the promise to forcibly take charge, and many are too exhausted in the struggle to stay afloat to question the right wing media juggernaut that reflects how they feel. Democrats’ touting of economic achievements is tone deaf without providing a clear vision of how to fix what’s still broken in the eyes of the working class. We need to reach those voters to shut down the MAGA movement. Kamala is making a start, but I think she is appropriately criticized for lack of more specifics that might capture more MSM coverage.
All of this and I mean ALL of this is the policies of the republican/conservative/libertarian leaders. ALL OF IT.
Kamala needs to call them out on it, just as she’s doing with abortion and reproductive healthcare. It needs an umbrella topic like restoring the services that have been gutted by Republicans. Reagan’s savvy communication staff promoted a message of the day to control the narrative.
Thanks for this article.
“Last year, 35 percent of wildland firefighting jobs in California were vacant, according to ProPublica.”
“…we spent nights sleeping in apocalyptic fields of ash. We spent countless hours choking on smoke. Poison oak blistered our skin. The compensation for me, as an entry-level firefighter, was around $13.45 an hour… Of the 20 members of that crew, only five are left four years later.
Absolutely criminal.
Wow!
Who benefits society more? Fire fighters or hedge fund managers? To which do "We the People" owe gratitude?
Damn, it’s hard to get on the priority list of all the things that repubs have destroyed nor made worse. You could start with unions, but the list is long and the blame is limited to the last one in power.
There’s more to do, to be sure.
Always.
Part (most?) of the blame in the health care industry is selling out to investment firms that are dollar oriented rather than patient care oriented. Covid burnout is another.
Private equity is not regulated to prevent their acquiring an essential company, putting it in debt, selling off profitable parts of the company, closing down parts that aren’t profitable, reducing head count until essential workers like nurses can barely keep up, burn out and quit. The private equity execs steal millions by destroying essential services and institutions, and we let them get away with it. This must stop, and if Harris is elected without a governing trifecta, she needs to use the bully pulpit to call out the corrupt actors who are lining their pockets and destroying our country.
That's a big deal. There was a long article in our newspaper about how that has eroded patient care. Not that anything has been done to stop it.
Thank you for listing and putting into perspective how much the Biden-Harris administration has accomplished in the last 3-1/2 years. When laid out in this way, these achievements seem astounding. The current administration deserves more credit, but in typical Biden style, he sought to focus attention on continuing the momentum to build a stronger future. What a class act!
And no thanks to that other party.
My favorite is the number of GOP congresscritters and senators who cry "horrors" at the achievements of the Biden administration and then go to their constituents and claim credit for all the good things that have happened in their districts and states. The height of hypocrisy.
They do that in Texas, they lie so much they should look like The Portrait of Dorian Gray
You need a very strong stomach to glance at their souls.
Jack Bergman in Michigan has shamelessly taken credit for the expansion of the soo locks, a critical need for iron mining/steel industry on which our nation’s defense rests. He voted against it, actually lives in Louisiana, and is former military. Doesn’t get much worse.
Sad state of affairs for Michiganders.
The lack of the encumbrance of any trace of decency is their superpower. Also their Achilles' Heel.
Yup I've got one of those in my District.
This clear report will be forwared to my right leaning business major grandson. He is starting his sophomore year at UW, Madison, after a summer internship at BMO Bank in Chicago. If he is learning anything at all in school, perhaps this might make him consider not voting fot Trump. A sizable part of this generation is in the "I'm going to get mine" mood after the devasttion of Covid.
We have to reach them.
Good luck with that, Ransom (not snark). We do have to reach them. UW-Madison is a pretty good school, which suggests your c. 20-year-old grandson is a pretty smart kid. Your grandson was probably something like 5 when the last major recession hit, so he probably doesn't actually remember much about it. Let's hope he gets to study about it in school and gets a chance to evaluate what worked and what didn't about our response. The mood of Gen-Z is entirely understandable, and there's nothing at all wrong about working for a bank. More power to your grandson (as long as he doesn't choose to become a vulture capitalist) :-)
I recommend you give/send him a copy of the book "Wealth Supremacy" by Marjorie Kelly. here is a link: https://marjoriekelly.org/wealthsupremacy/ ISBN 10: 1523004770 ISBN 13: 9781523004775 Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2023
Though it is written in a very readable style, and I'm only about 1/3 of the way through, I keep having to put it down and think hard about what I've just read. I will never view capital, or the way we 'manage' it, the same way again.
Thanks for this book reference. In the summary I have read Kelly outlines a political structural solution to our present day global self destructive iniquitous capitalism. Sounds intriguing 🐈⬛💙
Love your signature. Gonna adapt it:
🐈🐈⬛🌊
Thanks - yours is wonderful 🐈⬛💙
Thanks for the book recommendation Steve - just bought it for my next read :)
Unless he is a Young Republican and watches Fox all day, he will hear dissent with Trump in Madison.
Got a great nephew there, he is likely left leaning since my niece is one of my political heroes. May they pass in the night
Thank you, Professor, for this news about what President Biden has been up to lately; as hardly a word is written about him elsewhere.
Lynell, I am a free subscriber (wish I could afford to be a paid one ☹️) of the SubStack “What Did Joe Biden Do Today”—it covers much of what the news does not. Check out the latest post: https://whatdidbidendotoday.substack.com/p/what-did-joe-biden-do-today-c87?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=954002&post_id=149189921&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=6wq7j&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
Thanks for this source, Barbara. I wonder if a President Harris will need to have a news source like this once she takes office?
For a while I shared a house with a lawyer who said that the surest way to lose a client was failure to let the client know what was going on. Our elected representatives can do a better job than I think they do of laying out what they actually do on our behalf, with solid documentation. Few would read it all, but it's there to reference. Not (just) "concepts" of a plan, but "blueprints" and progress reports. Like a lawyer (and many are lawyers) we hire these people as fiduciaries for the furtherance of our interests. We (and I include myself) need to give them more attention and feedback to how they conduct that.
This speech will get little coverage. If he could package this into a reality tv show 🙃
Well said, Lynell!
In our present schema, reality leans left. Not that reality confirms every liberal fancy, but manipulators of any persuasion are selling snakeoil. Galileo found a way to clock the acceleration of gravity but that rained on the parade of those with investments in a different narrative. Someone is making bad choices where the "enemy" is truth.
Remember when the Silicon Valley entrepreneurs were preaching 'disruption'? It became very popular to try to create value by tearing down old structures and building new instead. Most attempts failed, but select ones succeeded and made people rich, some of them extremely rich. These billionaires now think the same goes for everything they can get their hands on, even politics. What they all forget is that the 'system' was what protected them and allowed them to get rich. Most of them never learned about gratitude, paying back to society and respect for others, humbleness.
Kind of reminds me of the time Michael Jordan decided to play baseball. One of the best basketball players of all time was only a so-so baseball player. The skills just weren't there. Also there is a concept called "survivor bias" in which we tend to focus on the very few successful individuals and not on the thousands of those who failed. For every Michael Jordan, there are several thousand kids who were not good enough for the NBA. For every Zuckerberg, there are thousands of other nerds who tried to disrupt/innovate something and lost thousands - or even millions, of their own and other people's money.
But every MAGAt thinks they have hit the jackpot, or soon will…
"create value by tearing down old structures and building new instead" Never heard this definition of disruption with respect to Silicon Valley. At least originally, it referred to remarkable technological breakthroughs.
Remember the Zuck motto - move fast and break things. Not much social conscience or compassion there.
Sounds like chump. What he has done with lies non stop.
Motto of bull in china shop?
I used to think that the Gates couple had the influence, guess I was stuck in the way back past. I really thought Thiel was so asinine that nobody would pay him any attention. But buying politicians has it’s reward…
“The Making of the Vice-President 2024” underwritten by the Peter Thiel, Let’s Screw Democracy Foundation.
Exactly.
My goal should I ever win one if those Billion dollar lotteries. ( The only time I buy those, in fact. I have enough in life.)
When you can buy the politicians who make buying politicians perfectly legal, THAT'S purchasing power.
That why I become apoplectic when I hear idiots like Bret Stephen’s (on Bill Maher recently) blather about how people are making a mistake saying that our democracy is in danger. Somebody with his head in the sand and his arse blowing in the wind. Chump would just be a bad president, that’s all. I was in danger of blowing a gasket.
Clayton M. Christensen, business theory. Comprehending Christensen's business model, which takes the disruptive vector from the idea borne from the mind of the innovator to a marketable product, is central to understanding how novel technology facilitates the rapid destruction of established technologies and markets by the disruptor.
Tell that to Netscape.
Rose Kennedy did that for her crowd, probably most of these had mothers like Neil Gorsuch has.
The COVID Plague, was completely mismanaged by DJT, and his Team of 'The Very Best People'... There was over 1,000,000 American Deaths in the First Wave... An extremely painful Shutdown was the chosen Method to limit its spread... This affected the normal functioning of Society... $$$ had to be injected to support Households, and local, State Gov'ts, etc... That begat Inflation.. Social Bonds were severed.... That begat Loneliness, and Crime... The Humiliation was that the USA had to beg China, where the Plague began, for PPE... The Dark Siths had hollowed-out American Industry in name of Out-Sourcing, and Greed... It is Incredulous that DJT's Minions believe that DJT's Reality Show Chaotic Administration were the 'Good Ole Days'....
When people are asked are you better off now than they were 4 years ago it is interesting they seem to think 2020 was a better time. It was chaos in this country with one of the worst Covid responses in the world.
Apparently hindsight is 20/400.
Rupert made it so
I have a lot of MAGAts post that. The responses I make (basically, "well, we were storing corpses in refrigerated trucks and CostCo was rationing toilet paper, if they could get it" get taken down.
I was barely able to get triple hernia surgery done in February 2020 as Loma Linda started severe access restrictions to health facilities (pretty much essential surgeries only). They were very strict in requiring real masks as there was also such a shortage of N95 masks that the healthcare workers needed (and were basically told the states to find and compete for in a wild west supply chain as described at:
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-admin-seizing-ppe/
(Deemed Mostly True)
The discouraging of wearing any masks made matters much worse. We got by with the best homemade masks we could for the few times we had to go out and some N95 masks I had left over from painting aircraft. One of our ancestors was the first person lost to Covid in Maine on March 25th, and my Barber at Loma Linda was lost March 26th at the early stages where so many of us followed early advice that China, South Korea, and Vietnam followed to best protect from airborne viruses before vaccines were available.
Besides the refrigerated trucks to hold the bodies, I remember the people that could only look at their sick and dying family members through the windows that 1st Spring.
We made it all the way through the Pandemic by moving to a county in Maine that had the highest compliance with masking and social distancing, and vaccinations we knew of, only catching mild cases 4 days after they declared the pandemic over (when there was a huge drop in people we saw still masking up.
The most heart wrenching losses were among the healthcare workers who took the risks to themselves and their families to care for as many of us as they could
If chump had acted responsibility early on, and shut down for a month or two, the worst could have been averted. But he pussy-footed around trying to save his hide and sacrificed so many others. He should be tarred and feathered. Or if Karma were a thing, he would have died of COVID. But Karma is often a day late and a dollar short.
I’m hoping that, for Trump, Karma is pronounced Kamala!
We won't let big, bad Kamala debate our widdle boy.
lol!
Oh, but remember Karma has no deadline!!!
Though the evil that men do lives after them.
The insipid orange turd was an unmitigated disaster and if our nation re-elects him will bring more of the same 🤬
Kudos to the Biden Administration for showing what leadership looks like. And thank you Professor ⭐ for elucidating their efforts.
All of that is true, and even if one could argue with a point here and there, there is no question that Biden revived the ideals of FDR and bolstered the belief that the purpose of government is to better the lives of its citizens. He's done a remarkable job doing just that.
More than half of Americans disagree. They would have voted against him and for the candidate who promised chaos and dictatorship. Those Americans have no idea what Biden has done. Our friends and neighbors live in a cloud of half-truths and Intellectual bankruptcy, and nobody has figured out how to bring them back to earth. If a tree falls in the forest and nobody hears, did it fall? If half the country doesn't notice that Biden and his crew saved us from a mammoth step backward, did it really happen?
Right, alternative ‘facts’/ alternative reality. It seems so hard for a large chunk of Americans to put the last ~8 years in perspective.
A good piece on this topic in The Guardian today….https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/sep/22/trump-vance-create-fake-stories-lies-election?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Foxaganda strikes deep...
"bolstered the belief that the purpose of government is to better the lives of its citizens. "
He must have been reading the Constitution.
Joe Biden will be known as the 21st Century FDR! Thank you, Joe!
And former President Trump will be equated with Herbert Hoover, who also did NOTHING. And looked what happened to him !
He got a really great dam named after him.
🤣
Dam!
Stops everything and gets in the way. That's the secret message I think behind the naming of a dam.
A combination of Hoover and Harding.
Like Ed, I think Harding may well be a more accurate comparison. Hoover was of a conservative bent of mind; Harding was a grifter and thief. Teapot Dome, anyone?
Be careful with the analogies. Hoover was not a grifter. He may not have been a good president, but he was still an honorable human being. Hoover was called upon by both Truman and Eisenhower to help with U.S. humanitarian efforts after WW2.
Hoover was a good man. He just believed that if you did nothing, the markets would sort everything out. FDR said, “Screw that! Throw everything but the kitchen sink at it. We’ll deal with the other stuff later “.
That’s exactly what Biden did. Kudos!
Compare Trimp's address and discussion with the Economic Club of two weeks ago to Biden's.
Joe outlined his actions and the reasoning behind them on how he righted the ship after discovering Donald's administration had been operating without any direction or plan whatsoever.
Before that same distinguished group, Donny cast blame and rambled on at length, including that now infamous statement, "Well, I would do that and we're sitting down, you know, I was, somebody, we had Marco Rubio and my daughter, Ivanka… But I think when you talk about the kind of numbers that I'm talking about that because the child care is, child care couldn't, you know, there's something you have to have it in this country, you have to have it... I want to stay with child care… So we'll take care of it."
The notion of returning to Donald's patented mix of personal enrichment, laissez faire, and Tinkle Down economics shouuld give everyone the screaming meemies. As a personal request, I ask everyone here to loudly challenge anybody who claims that the economy was better during the Trimp years. When someone says something that dumb they should have to defend it.
Those two speeches before the Economic Club could not be more different—one of this world, one floating around in outer space, or perhaps another unknown dimension. I was so pleased to read the words "screaming meemies" as they are a favorite of mine. Heck, little did I realize it, but every time I'm exposed to the latest outrage from Donald, that perfectly encapsulates what goes on, at least in my mind, and at times out loud. Screaming meemies for the win! May it end and return us to practical, sober, analytical and intelligent speech by someone that matches those descriptors. I want and need Madam President to carry on for us!
Gary Mengel- thanks for this reminder.
Particularly if they hold or aspire to critical levels of responsibility. Biden muffed a few lines and look what happened. Literal "word salad" is a bad sign.
- Pulled Quote -
''He [Biden] told the audience at the Economic Club that we have such a dynamic system, and foreign companies are willing to invest here, because of the stability provided in the U.S. by the rule of law. Indeed, it is the rule of law that protects investments and capital, as evidenced by the fact that autocrats stash their money not in their own countries or other dictatorships, but in liberal democracies where investments cannot be taken away or legal protections changed on a dictator’s whim.''
November 5: Democracy or Dictatorship?
Choose wisely.
Thank you for reporting in detail on this speech. Sadly I know I would have been unlikely to hear/read anything about it elsewhere.
I’m afraid there are still a lot of folks who’ve been encouraged by propagandists and a disinterested media to become disillusioned about politics and government in general, people whose attention is very much on the challenges of work and family. They’ve missed whatever tiny bits of media reporting have ever been allocated to reporting on what government is doing—their actual jobs.
I know the Democratic campaign stump speeches have talked about accomplishments and policies that will continue under Harris/Walz. But disinterested, disillusioned folk don’t watch/listen to/read about campaign speeches either. *sigh* i feel like we need to keep talking/reflecting about what Americans endured under Trump and how things were actually changed so dramatically and fruitfully after Biden/Harris took office. All the reasons “we are not going back!” We need to become so familiar with those details that we can educate others when an opportunity shows up.
Thank you, as always, for making the present situation clear. Give credit where credit is due. Joe Biden has outperformed expectations, and deserves much better accolades.
TRUMP BETTER THAN HARRIS (BIDEN) FOR AMERICAN ECONOMY? HA HA!
I am gobsmacked that virtually every poll reports that a majority of Americans favor Trump over Harris (Biden) to manage the American economy.
Heather’s reporting on President Biden’s comments at the Economic Club of Washington describes a remarkable American economic recovery, after Biden inherited a pandemic-dominated economic disaster from Trump.
At 90 I have witnessed dramatic economic ups and downs in America and the world. In the 1970s I was responsible for rating the credit of companies and countries worldwide after the 1973 Middle East War, the oil crisis, and successive recessions. This was when the term ‘Rust Belt’ became commonplace.
I remember the stagflation of the late 1970s and early 1980s, when inflation topped 12%, unemployment was double digits, and people wondered whether America’s best years were behind us.
The major recession in 2008/2009 that President Obama inherited from the younger Bush president was another downer.
I was too young to appreciate the full thrust of the Great Depression. For me, the Covid-induced, supply-side economic tailspin of 2020, followed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, was the worst prolonged American economic situation that I have experienced.
The ineptness of the Trump administration to handle this was obvious to virtually all observers. His response to the Covid pandemic probably cost the lives of an additional hundreds of thousands of Americans. When our economy hit the skids, Trump seemed paralyzed.
President Biden inherited a badly listing, directionless ship of state. His administration acted decisively to get moving in a positive direction. The response on Covid was ‘Fauci professional.’ In our paralyzed economy, government funds were provided to keep Americans fed during a massive employment plunge. State and local governments, as well as diverse companies, were funded to keep America’s economic wheels rolling.
Moreover, with no Republican support, the Biden administration initiated a series of massive physical and social infrastructure programs to better position ourselves for coming decades.
I remember how critical Republicans were, when the Biden administration implemented drastic emergency measures. Predictions of run away inflation and worse were a constant media dialogue. When the Fed took bold action to curb short-term inflation, the naysayers predicted doom.
Reflecting on the Biden years, I am amazed at what has been accomplished under most difficult circumstances. Compared to other post-industrial countries, America’s recovery has been the global ‘poster boy.’
Trump, whose presidency has been ranked by professionals as the ‘worst in American history,’ is once again throwing bizarre economic ‘solutions’ against the wall, hoping that some may stick.
Once again he is calling for ‘supply-side’ tax cuts that would benefit fat cats and corporations, while deep sixing the great majority of Americans.
His magical thinking that massive tariffs would improve our economy and benefit working class Americans is perhaps his most wrong-headed proposal.
He is desperately suggesting tax cuts for diverse populations while pandering to suburbanites and urbanites by promising to remove the SALT tax provisions that he had initiated in his 2017 tax giveaway.
Harris (Biden) have cohesive economic plans that include continuation of what has been successful in recent years as well as additional initiatives designed to enhance our infrastructure and provide opportunities to the American people.
Trump has proposed nothing that would enhance the American economy for non-fat-cats.
As I previously mentioned, I am gobsmacked that polls indicate that the American public favors Trump over Harris (Biden) in dealing with the American economy.
Damn, you remember it like it was. You must not have Fox on your tv favs
JD I may be foxy, but not from fraudulent Fox News.
That is so obvious. I did see a lot of it years ago when I visited bff, but the crap meter was constantly sounding…
Keith, I always look forward to your comments. This assessment is fabulous. The only thing I would add to your litany is that there was NO TRANSITION TEAM in place when Biden took office. No briefings, no information share, no note, no nothing. When Biden went to the Oval Office to work on the afternoon of January 20,2021 he HAD to.
Thank you Keith Wheelock
Spot on Keith 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻💥