Weekend Open Thread
[guest post by Dana]
Let’s go!
First news item
More drama in the Red Sea as U.S. and British militaries respond to attacks by the Houthis:
The U.S. and British militaries bombed more than a dozen sites used by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen on Thursday, in a massive retaliatory strike using warship- and submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles and fighter jets, U.S. officials said. The military targets included logistical hubs, air defense systems and weapons storage and launching locations, they said.
. . .
“These strikes are in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea — including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history,” Biden said in a statement. He noted the attacks endangered U.S. personnel, civilian mariners and jeopardized trade, and he added, “I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary.”
There has been commentary about the seeming delay in our response to the attacks. Consider:
…ingress & egress routes, airspace coordination, dozens of targets, approval of govts. Just maybe it’s tough to ensure success, hit key targets, and prevent expansion of conflict to major players.
But perhaps I’m wrong.
— MarkHertling (@MarkHertling) January 12, 2024
President Biden is receiving pushback from Democrats about the action. For example, this from Rep. Ro Khanna:
The President needs to come to Congress before launching a strike against the Houthis in Yemen and involving us in another middle east conflict. That is Article I of the Constitution. I will stand up for that regardless of whether a Democrat or Republican is in the White House.
Second news item
An outrage that she was arrested in the first place:
An Ohio woman who faced a felony charge after she miscarried at home will not be charged, a grand jury decided Thursday.
Brittany Watts, 34, had been charged with abuse of a corpse after she miscarried into a toilet on Sept. 22 at her home in Warren, 60 miles south of Cleveland.
The young woman did precisely what millions of women do when they miscarry at home. There is nothing abusive about it. And given the trauma of experiencing a miscarriage and the intensity of emotions when the miscarriage is happening in one’s home, flushing the remains is the typical response. But let’s see how the application of Ohio’s law lead to the decision to arrest Ms. Watts:
Watts, who is Black, was charged under a section of Ohio law that penalizes treatment of a human corpse in a “way that the person knows would outrage reasonable family sensibilities” or “community sensibilities.”
The charge is a fifth-degree felony, and, had she been convicted, Watts would have faced up to a year in prison and a $2,500 fine.
I suspect that anyone whose sensibilities might have been offended by Ms. Watts’ actions has not experienced the awfulness of such a personal and jarring event, nor the difficult aftermath.
Third news item
The border crisis isn’t skipping a beat. Border states like Texas and Arizona, taking the biggest hits of uncontrolled immigration at the Southern border, are sending undocumented migrants to New York City, (the state that has received the most), Chicago, Washington D.C., Philadelphia and Denver. Those cities, overwhelmed by the sudden influx, are struggling with the increased number of migrants.
Because of a massive winter storm, New York City officials made a decision to move 500 migrant families from their shelter tents at an airfield to a public high school auditorium. As a result, parents were notified that classes were being canceled the next day and remote learning would take place:
About 2,000 people were evacuated on Tuesday evening from their tent shelter at a remote former airplane runway in Brooklyn to James Madison High School. Families with children piled onto the floor and into auditorium seats to sleep. By 2 a.m., several families said they were asked to prepare to return to the tents.
The evacuation led officials to call a remote day of classes for the more than 3,400 students enrolled at the high school, sparking immediate backlash from politicians and parents that echoed on a national stage.
The report notes that the school was inundated with phone calls from angry parents. At the very end of the report, readers are informed that it wasn’t just Republicans that were upset about the decision:
In a letter to school leaders, the city’s principals’ union wrote that “while we recognize the safety concerns brought on by the storm,” schools “should never be used to temporarily house non-student populations.”
“We urged the city to consider more viable alternatives,” union officials said, adding that some migrant students from Floyd Bennett Field would be likely to need “additional support in the coming days as they navigate through this unsettling experience.”
Polling continues to show that immigration is bad news for President Biden, whom the governors hold responsible for the lack of control at the border:
[T]here’s immigration, a subject in which Biden is down by 40 points, with 30 percent of respondents approving of his handling of the issue compared to 70 percent who disapprove.
That’s a four-point swing in the wrong direction for Biden on this issue since CBS News and YouGov last asked about it in November, but more saliently a 12-point tumble for Biden’s overall immigration performance since their May poll (when 36 percent approved of the job Biden was doing at the border compared to 64 percent who disapproved), conducted days after the end of Title 42.
So why do I think that there isn’t a cohort of the electorate pining for higher immigration levels that Biden is failing to deliver? Because in a separate question, respondents were asked: “Do you approve or disapprove of the way Joe Biden is handling matters concerning the U.S.-Mexico border?”
The results were nearly identical, with 68 percent of those polled disapproving of the job that Biden is doing at the Southwest border, compared to 32 percent who approved.
Fourth news item
Word from Liz Cheney when she made an appearance on The View this week:
There are some conservatives who are trying to make this claim that somehow Biden is a bigger risk than Trump. My view is, I disagree with a lot of Joe Biden’s policies. We can survive bad policies. We can not survive torching the constitution. It’s not even the same level.
Fifth news item
Via JVW, this blistering rebuke at the singular standard by which the European community judges Israel is from 2014, yet remains applicable today:
Caroline Glick for the win!
🇮🇱❤️🇮🇱
This is the best thing you’ll see today. pic.twitter.com/ATil8POJyR
— Rabbi Shmuel Reichman (@ShmuelReichman) January 11, 2024
Sixth news item
The Eternal Victim just couldn’t keep his yap shut in the courtroom. As expected, Trump went on a tear. Some of his reported comments:
“The facts are: The financial statements are perfect, there are no witnesses against us. The banks got all their money paid back. They were great loans.”
“The banks got all their money. They’re as happy as can be.”
“This was a political witch hunt. … We should receive damages.”
“We have a situation where I’m an innocent man, I’ve been persecuted by somebody running for office, and I think you have to go outside the bounds.”
“She hates Trump and uses Trump to get elected,” he said of James.
“What’s happened here, sir, is a fraud on me. They want to make sure that I don’t win again, and this is partially election interference.”
“I know this is boring to you.”
“You have your own agenda,” Trump sneered at Engoron, before the judge shut him down and at which point Trump turned and walked out of the courtroom.
Because Trump was allowed to rant and rave, he cannot whine to MAGAland that he was illegally silenced! in a courtroom by a corrupt judge! .
Seventh news item
South Africa accuses Israel of genocide at The Hague:
South Africa accused Israel on Thursday of carrying out genocide in Gaza and demanded that the U.N.’s top court order an emergency suspension of Israel’s devastating military campaign in the Palestinian enclave…”The intent to destroy Gaza has been nurtured at the highest level of state,” Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, advocate of the High Court of South Africa, told the court. He said Israel’s political and military leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, were among “the genocidal inciters”.
“That is evident from the way in which this military attack is being conducted,” he said.
South Africa did not condemn Hamas, nor did they accuse the terror group of genocide, nor recognize the horrors of Oct. 7 and the hostages that have been been released, killed, or remain in captivity.
The U.S. responded to the accusation leveled by South Africa:
The White House declined to comment on how it might respond if the court determines Israel committed genocide. But National Security Council spokesman John Kirby called the allegations “unfounded.”
“That’s not a word that ought to be thrown around lightly, and we certainly don’t believe that it applies here,” Kirby said.
Not all South Africans are in agreement with the accusations:
The South African government is silent on other global atrocities, and conveniently ignores that it is Hamas that has declared genocide against Israel and her people. pic.twitter.com/uE7wSGYplg
— South African Friends of Israel (@MZANSIISRAEL) January 11, 2024
Have a good weekend.
–Dana
Hello.
Dana (8e902f) — 1/12/2024 @ 10:12 amIt saddens me to contemplate the gross dysfunction that South Africa has slipped into in the post-Mandela era as the ANC has become a bloated and corrupt vehicle for enriching the political elite. With any luck, this will be the year that South Africa finally gives them the boot.
JVW (1ad43e) — 1/12/2024 @ 10:45 amFirst news item : It’s bipartisan!:
The only way Congress can enforce the War Powers Act is by denying funding for military operations or through impeachment. Both are highly unlikely.
Rip Murdock (215bb7) — 1/12/2024 @ 10:59 amI suspect that anyone whose sensibilities might have been offended by Ms. Watts’ actions has not experienced the awfulness of such a personal and jarring event, nor the difficult aftermath.
In some states, she would be denied an emergency D&C afterwards as well.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/12/2024 @ 11:01 amSouth Africa began to fall apart long before that.
Rip Murdock (af7d08) — 1/12/2024 @ 11:01 amFourth news item continued:
BuDuh (e8d73a) — 1/12/2024 @ 11:05 amMore:
BuDuh (e8d73a) — 1/12/2024 @ 11:06 am“The President must come to Congress for permission before going to war,” she said on X, formerly Twitter. “Biden can not solely decide to bomb Yemen.”
She is wrong on this, too.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Powers_Resolution
It’s also worth noting that Democrat Presidents have tended to ignore the resolution (e.g. Clinton in Kosovo and Obama in Libya), while Republican Presidents tend to follow it to a fault.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/12/2024 @ 11:07 amAnd finally:
https://realclearwire.com/articles/2024/01/11/liz_cheney_vs_stefan_passantino_the_jan_6_committee_fraud_1004191.html
BuDuh (e8d73a) — 1/12/2024 @ 11:07 amBecause Trump was allowed to rant and rave, he cannot whine to MAGAland that he was illegally silenced! in a courtroom by a corrupt judge!
And yet…
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/12/2024 @ 11:11 am“I came here to be serious about solving problems, not to produce clickbait.”
LOL!
Rip Murdock (af7d08) — 1/12/2024 @ 11:13 amMy problem with Liz Cheney was her pushing a revision of the Electoral Count Act which would have allowed a majority of the House of Representatives to toss out electoral votes for any candidate (or by any elector) that they deemed subject to the 3rd clause of the 14th Amendment. This in defense of the integrity of the Electoral College.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/12/2024 @ 11:14 amAs I noted above, the War Powers Act is unenforceable (and unconstitutional).
Rip Murdock (215bb7) — 1/12/2024 @ 11:16 amCompletely off-topic:
There’s a wonderful scene in the (new) 4th season of the alt-history masterpiece “For All Mankind” where we see a character coming out of the “Spiro T Agnew High School”
If you’ve ever wondered how history might have changed if the Space Race hadn’t been such a lopsided win, this show is just chockablock with irony, strong characters and plenty of great television. I liked the bit about Gore winning the 2000 election narrowly (over President Wilson’s* VP GHWB) by winning Florida.
——-
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/12/2024 @ 11:20 am*no, not that Wilson
Completely off-topic:
Nothing is off-topic in the Weekend Open Thread.
JVW (1ad43e) — 1/12/2024 @ 11:49 am*no, not that Wilson
Former Kansas City Royals outfielder Willie Wilson? He probably would have made a good President.
JVW (1ad43e) — 1/12/2024 @ 11:50 amNo, Ellen Wilson, former astronaut, hero of Apollo 24, and Republican protegee of President Ronald Reagan (1976-1983).
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/12/2024 @ 11:56 amGallup: Independent Party ID Tied for High; Democratic ID at New Low
A pox on both your houses.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/12/2024 @ 12:01 pmIMHO, “For All Mankind” is the best TV series since “The Americans”
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/12/2024 @ 12:02 pmSo Willie Wilson was secretary of Health and Human Affairs or something?
I’ll have to read about Ellen Wilson. I wasn’t familiar with her life story.
JVW (1ad43e) — 1/12/2024 @ 12:06 pmThere is another side to what is presented in BuDuh’s article, layed out in a most partisan manner here:
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23696643-ethics-complaint-against-stefan-passantino
Passantino’s own complaint is here:
https://justthenews.com/sites/default/files/2024-01/Passantino%20v.%20US%20Complaint_0.pdf
My question — and I rely on the lawyers on this — is Cheney, as a Congresswoman co-chairng an investigative committee, bound by the same set of ethical standards as a prosecutor? It seems that Passantino’s complaint is asserting something like that.
Appalled (03f53c) — 1/12/2024 @ 12:08 pmI’ll have to read about Ellen Wilson. I wasn’t familiar with her life story.
It’s fiction, of course.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/12/2024 @ 12:13 pmCongresswoman … bound by … ethical standards
It answers itself
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/12/2024 @ 12:15 pmRegarding the third news item, there was a great Twitter stream last night from Bill Melguin, the outstanding Fox News reporter whose work is quite often cited at this blog. Last night he reported that the Texas National Guard, mobilized by Governor Greg Abbott, has seized control of a local park in Eagle Pass, which is a notorious border entry for illegal immigrants. The National Guard is not allowing Border Patrol to access the park, citing the fact that the Biden Administration had ordered the BP officers to remove barriers and razor wire which had been placed there to impede illegal crossings. The Border Patrol officer’s union has praised the Abbott Administration for this action, stating that they did not appreciate the Biden Administration’s demands that they help facilitate illegal crossings. The Biden Administration is naturally taking this matter to the federal courts, where they will likely find a friendly judge to issue an injunction against the state. But good for Governor Abbott for escalating this matter and showing pretty definitively that the Biden Administration does not prioritize securing the borders.
Read the whole story from Bill Melguin’s Twitter feed. He’s doing great work in reporting these matters.
JVW (1ad43e) — 1/12/2024 @ 12:31 pmI don’t know how many things deserve the term genocide, but the South African government and others are silent about the number of people who have lost their lives in Yemen, or Ethiopia or Syria in recent years
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/11/us/politics/us-houthi-missile-strikes.html
There was opposition in Congress toward Saudi Arabia’s airstrikes, and it did stop eventually.
The New York Times notes how (all of a sudden) concern gets elevated when a situation involves Israel:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/11/health/gaza-israel-hunger-starvation.html
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 1/12/2024 @ 12:44 pmPeople are now coming from west Africa because it is easier to get into the United States than Europe – which is a compliment to the United States.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 1/12/2024 @ 12:45 pmThe NYT had a big headline about Yemen, but if you read further you see that President Biden is anxious here, like everywhere, to avoid escalation (into World War III?) – that’s why he avoided killing the guilty people (Iranians in Yemen) concentrating on equipment and foot soldiers.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/11/us/politics/us-houthi-missile-strikes.html
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 1/12/2024 @ 12:51 pmHow so? It proved that Trump did not expect a riot. Because he wanted to go there.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 1/12/2024 @ 12:54 pmI suggest critics read Cassidy Hutchinson’s book Enough to learn what she actually said and did, and why. It’s not what you think.
Dana (8e902f) — 1/12/2024 @ 12:55 pmYes, the testimony changed, but only to make it more dramatic.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 1/12/2024 @ 12:55 pmhe NY State AG claims they got lower interest rates and maybe were only able to pay it back because of that.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 1/12/2024 @ 12:57 pmKnesset member ofer cassif faces expulsion for supporting south africa investigation into genocide claims. If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear I keep being told. Today on DU from democracy now. Thats the best I can do JVM.
asset (f39390) — 1/12/2024 @ 1:00 pmJVW (1ad43e) — 1/12/2024 @ 10:45 am
It’s not post-Mandela. It’s post Botha. But Mandela’s immediate successor was worse. And most of them have had issues. That’s because they never were interested in a functioning democracy – just in not losing the white people.
They need white people to stay for that – and the Afrikaner white people know their place maybe.
There are glimmerings of a competitive political system.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 1/12/2024 @ 1:01 pmIsrael put retired Supreme Court Jjustice Aharan BArak as its member on the court.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 1/12/2024 @ 1:03 pmDemocrats keeping it real:
NY Congresswoman Clarke (D) saying the quiet part out loud about the border:
“I need more people in my district just for redistricting purposes.”
Full quote:
“I’m from Brooklyn, New York. We have a diaspora that can absorb a significant number of these migrants,” said Clarke. “When I hear colleagues talk about, you know, the doors of the inn being closed — ah, no room at the inn — I’m saying I need more people in my district just for redistricting purposes.”
lloyd (d58c01) — 1/12/2024 @ 1:04 pm@35 How is AOC going to become president otherwise? Latinx, African Americans and Asians are democratic parties future everybody knows that. The left of the part openly supports that.
asset (f39390) — 1/12/2024 @ 1:25 pmhttps://dailycaller.com/2024/01/11/tom-cotton-dei-hiring-practices-diversity-quotas-letter/
This type of racism has been permitted for my entire life. Hopefully they will finally crack down on this formerly legalized racism
NJRob (7ce982) — 1/12/2024 @ 1:56 pmHow so? It proved that Trump did not expect a riot. Because he wanted to go there.
You may be the only person on this blog who thinks those two things connect like that. I’m pretty sure he wante3d to go there to exhort his minions.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/12/2024 @ 2:03 pmWhen they hear “connect the dots”, some people take two points and draw a parabola.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/12/2024 @ 2:06 pmI
The fraud statute (New York Executive Law § 63(12)) doesn’t require the NY Attorney General to prove that a party suffered any financial injury or that Trump received any benefit from the fraud:
Rip Murdock (20561e) — 1/12/2024 @ 2:21 pm
The word “fraud” or “fraudulent” as used herein shall include any device, scheme or artifice to defraud and any deception, misrepresentation, concealment, suppression, false pretense, false promise or unconscionable contractual provisions. …………
I’m sure there’s an exception for political campaigns.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/12/2024 @ 2:39 pmWho are you talking about here?
Dana (8fe006) — 1/12/2024 @ 2:50 pmWhy vote for someone like Trump when you can vote for the real Trump?
Rip Murdock (20561e) — 1/12/2024 @ 3:18 pm@21
Nope.
All congress critters are ultimately covered by the Speech & Debate clause. IF any at all, she could be sanctioned by the Ethics Committee, but I doubt it.
whembly (5f7596) — 1/12/2024 @ 3:19 pm@40
Which is really an obnoxious piece of law that is ripe for political persecution.
Suing someone where there’s no harmed individual is banana republic stuff.
whembly (5f7596) — 1/12/2024 @ 3:21 pmOf course political campaigns are subject to other fraud laws, just ask George Santos.
Rip Murdock (20561e) — 1/12/2024 @ 3:22 pmIt’s been well litigated over the past 68 years; see pp. 23-26 here for some of the case law. It’s the cost of doing business in New York.
Rip Murdock (20561e) — 1/12/2024 @ 3:33 pmDeSantis certainly can come out of Wednesday’s debate feeling good that his opponent sounded like a malfunctioning robot, programmed to mention “DeSantisLies.com” every two minutes.
I hope that Haley spent the day firing the morons who chose that strategy.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/12/2024 @ 3:56 pmIf any at all, she could be sanctioned by the Ethics Committee, but I doubt it.
Especially as she’s a former member and they have no power over her now.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/12/2024 @ 3:58 pmIt’s been well litigated over the past 68 years
It would seem no one has standing.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/12/2024 @ 3:58 pmIt’s been well litigated over the past 68 years; see pp. 23-26 here for some of the case law. It’s the cost of doing business in New York.
And lawyers wonder why their profession is so disliked.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/12/2024 @ 4:30 pmInteresting article in the WSJ talking about the change in industry practices that has had no fatal U.S. airline accidents since 2009.
Flying in America Has Actually Never Been Safer
But read the whole thing
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/12/2024 @ 4:37 pmWhat part of the airline industry is still operating on the old CYA principles? Boeing.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/12/2024 @ 4:38 pmAnyone sued by the NY Attorney General would have standing.
Rip Murdock (20561e) — 1/12/2024 @ 4:43 pmI wonder what insight Nikki can provide……..
Rip Murdock (20561e) — 1/12/2024 @ 4:46 pmNew York City may be a nasty place, but Trump is one of the people who made it nasty. A double-talking, double-dealing, double-crossing Fifth Avenue pile of rat feces. Say what you want about James and Engoron, they knew exactly who and what they were dealing with. Trump’s victim act was not going to fool them the little least bit.
nk (654bb3) — 1/12/2024 @ 5:01 pmThat’s just too bad.
Rip Murdock (20561e) — 1/12/2024 @ 5:04 pmSince the Biden administration failed to consult with Congress and get their pre-approval, I expect it to be included in any impeachment proceedings.
Rip Murdock (20561e) — 1/12/2024 @ 5:41 pmSince the Biden administration failed to consult with Congress and get their pre-approval, I expect it to be included in any impeachment proceedings.
Why is he required to do that? Obama ran an entire war against Khadaffi without Congressional approval. Bill Clinton LOST* an AUMF vote regarding Kosovo, but did it anyway.
——
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/12/2024 @ 6:01 pm* A tie is a loss
Wow, Caroline Glick.
Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 1/12/2024 @ 7:04 pmOn a related note, Kevin Wiliamson. Also, this.
Two days ago:
Hunter Biden’s visit to Capitol Hill is part of a more aggressive, forward-leaning legal strategy
Today:
Hunter Biden reverses course, would sit for closed-door deposition with new subpoena
There aren’t enough laughing emojis.
lloyd (c0844e) — 1/12/2024 @ 7:13 pmIllinois Governor Asks Texas To Halt Sending Migrants Amid Winter Storm
Illinois seems to be only a fair weather sanctuary state.
lloyd (c0844e) — 1/12/2024 @ 7:27 pmImpeachment is the only remedy for members of Congress that are so offended at not being consulted about or voting on involvement in the current military operations.
Since the Republicans are intent on impeaching Biden anyway, they might as well include it as one of the 50 impeachment articles. They might even get some of the Democrat leftists to vote with them. 😉
Rip Murdock (20561e) — 1/12/2024 @ 7:30 pmA small number of moderate democrats say they will support speaker mike johnson if far right conservatives try to oust him over budget deal. (nbc news wash. bureau) DU
asset (9c0a2b) — 1/12/2024 @ 8:26 pmAt what price?
Rip Murdock (20561e) — 1/12/2024 @ 9:42 pmI am not a moderate ;but according to DU they don’t want the government shutdown sh*t show again! Its not the whole democrat party just a small number of dino corporate establishment stooges of the donor class who don’t want govt. shutdown. With two vote majority you don’t need many dinos.
asset (9c0a2b) — 1/12/2024 @ 9:58 pmIt takes an extraordinary degree of depravity to ship homeless people from Texas to Chicago in below zero temperatures.
nk (654bb3) — 1/13/2024 @ 4:58 amThey have homes… in other nations.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 1/13/2024 @ 5:49 amhttps://redstate.com/bonchie/2024/01/05/the-washington-post-is-in-big-trouble-n2168357
Having a billionaire sugar daddy has helped mask some of the issues plaguing the Post, but the tide can only be held back so long. To lose over 50 percent of its online viewership is catastrophic for an outlet with such high overhead costs. Subscriber numbers have also nosedived throughout the Biden administration.
That last fact is interesting because the trend was originally blamed on Donald Trump no longer being in the news. The former president has been firmly back in the headlines the last year, though, and the Post has continued its downward spiral. If Trump being charged with multiple felonies isn’t enough to save the once-storied paper, it’s hard to imagine what could.
As to the reasons behind this precipitous fall, I think they are fairly obvious. Nothing the Post produces is worthwhile. Their columnists are boring parrots who all say the same thing, levying the same boring attacks they were levying nearly a decade ago. Even a dyed-in-the-wool liberal can only take so many Jennifer Rubin columns claiming the end is nigh for the nation because Republicans get to vote.
People are waking up and not buying the lying slant the WaPo is selling.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 1/13/2024 @ 6:35 am@68 Chicago has more than enough schools to house them.
lloyd (c0844e) — 1/13/2024 @ 7:31 am@68
nk…these illegal immigrants WANT to go to these states.
They’re not loaded up in railcars under a gun, ala the Nazi did to the German Jews.
whembly (a43e5a) — 1/13/2024 @ 7:34 am@64
I think the administration only needed to give notice to Congress within 24/48 hours under current statute.
whembly (a43e5a) — 1/13/2024 @ 7:36 amI think I am agreeing with Kevin on this: “Because Trump was allowed to rant and rave, he cannot whine to MAGAland that he was illegally silenced! in a courtroom by a corrupt judge!”
Sure he can, and probably will. (I wish Dana is proved right, and me wrong, in our predictions.)
Jim Miller (1de306) — 1/13/2024 @ 8:06 amOpportunity costs, again: Let me remind all of you that the endless discussions of the Loser’s psychiatric problems distracts us from thinking — seriously — about our nation’s problems.
For example: We tend to lump all immigrants together, legal or illegal. We should, at the very least, separate those two, and separate, in both categories, refugees from economic immigrants. (Of course, a person can be both.)
Right now, for example, there are about a half million Venezuelans in the US. Most, so far as I can tell, are fleeing a corrupt, hostile, leftist state.
Moreover, we should recognize that American practices have contributed to problems in our neighboring countries to the south. Bluntly, we could help many of our neighbors by cutting back on our illegal drug use.
Jim Miller (1de306) — 1/13/2024 @ 8:16 amHere’s the list of the WAshington Post’s opinion columnists:
Danielle Allen
Karen Attiah
Rana Ayyub
Perry Bacon Jr.
Matt Bai
Max Boot
Brian Broome
Paul Butler
Jonathan Capehart
Kate Cohen
E.J. Dionne Jr.
Jim Geraghty
Shadi Hamid
Hugh Hewitt
Lee Hockstader
James Hohmann
David Ignatius
Theodore R. Johnson
Robert Kagan
Vladimir Kara-Murza
Colbert I. King
León Krauze
Charles Lane
Adam Lashinsky
Heather Long
Christy E. Lopez
Sebastian Mallaby
Ruth Marcus
Micheline Maynard
Megan McArdle
Dana Milbank
Michele L. Norris
Kathleen Parker
Sergio Peçanha
Alexandra Petri
Ramesh Ponnuru
Eduardo Porter
Catherine Rampell
Rick Reilly
Jason Rezaian
Keith B. Richburg
Amanda Ripley
Molly Roberts
Eugene Robinson
Josh Rogin
Alyssa Rosenberg
Jennifer Rubin
Natasha Sarin
Lawrence H. Summers
Ruy Teixera
Marc A. Thiessen
Karen Tumulty
Josh Tyrangiel
Bina Venkataraman
David Von Drehle
Erik Wemple
Leana S. Wen
George F. Will
Jason Willick
Fareed Zakaria
(My favorite is Mitch Daniels, by a narrow margin over Megan McArdle.)
You can decide for yourself if that group can be described, accurately, as “boring parrots who all say the same thing”.
Jim Miller (1de306) — 1/13/2024 @ 8:23 am8:06 AM: Discussions of the Loser’s psychiatric problems.
8:10 AM: A reminder that “endless discussions of the Loser’s psychiatric problems distracts us from thinking — seriously — about our nation’s problems.”
Very compelling.
BuDuh (4214e4) — 1/13/2024 @ 8:46 amCorrection. 8:16 AM was the call to reason.
BuDuh (4214e4) — 1/13/2024 @ 8:48 amMitch Daniels is not on that list, but regularly does “guest” opinions.
Jim Miller (1de306) — 1/13/2024 @ 8:52 am@79, I thought my alphabet skills were failing me.
The extreme right and left both abuse language to try and build their tribe and further radicalize it. We need to work on finding ways to build common purpose. Simply re-yelling “destroying the country” gets boring. The challenge is that social media and partisan media continue to condition us. Just as they concluded in War Games, maybe the only winning move is not to play.
AJ_Liberty (ebe333) — 1/13/2024 @ 9:09 amListen to the experts.
Our Covid expert under oath:
The experts thought funding risky experiments in Wuhan with little or no oversight was a good idea. The experts lied about it for years, ridiculed those who questioned the narrative (see Rand Paul), and their allies in the press and social media aided and abetted. The experts are still lying. The experts, it’s becoming increasingly clear, killed millions.
lloyd (288088) — 1/13/2024 @ 9:17 amIt takes an extraordinary degree of depravity to ship homeless people from Texas to Chicago in below zero temperatures.
Perhaps, but it takes an extraordinary degree of assh0litry to expect Texas to shoulder the influx by themselves, and they were denouncing Texas long before this weather and they will be denouncing Texas long afterwards.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/13/2024 @ 10:04 amAs far as Trump’s “persecution” is concerned, he was given mercy by the Senate in 2021, but he refused to yield after they let him off. Now, he is getting the opposite of mercy. Choices have consequences.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/13/2024 @ 10:11 amWas Fauci asked about the comparison of the unvaccinated to drunk drivers?
BuDuh (4214e4) — 1/13/2024 @ 10:16 amWas Fauci asked about the effect of masks, social distancing, and lockdowns on finding “some fresh stuff” to participate in bisexual orgies?
nk (af98e3) — 1/13/2024 @ 10:26 amDid Fauci send out the FBI to find and seize caches of PPE and ventilators, and then ship them to China in order for his wife to preserve her trademarks for her Uighur slave labor made schlock?
nk (af98e3) — 1/13/2024 @ 10:29 amWhen temperatures in Texas exceed 115F in the shade this summer, I’m sure Pritzker will be pleading Texas to send them north and Illinois will foot the bill. Because he’s not depraved.
lloyd (4bcc9f) — 1/13/2024 @ 10:29 amWas Fauci asked about the comparison of the unvaccinated to drunk drivers?
I’d still make that comparison. People died and the unvaccinated were the majority of vectors.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/13/2024 @ 10:30 amBut the drunks still defend their driving.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/13/2024 @ 10:30 amOne of the more interesting recent Megan McArdle columns was one in which she described a research paper showing that increases in the minimum wage led to increases in homelessness.
The logic is straightforward: Some workers are not worth much per hour. If you price them out of the job market, they can no longer afford even minimum housing. And so, become homeless. This would explain, for example, why homelessness is so high in California. And why our big cities no longer have many “flophouses”. Or even trailer parks.
(To her credit, McArdle said that she read the research carefully, recognizing that her libertarian tendencies made her vulnerable to such arguments.)
Years ago, Roger Miller provided an example supporting that argument in his song, “King of the Road”.
Jim Miller (1de306) — 1/13/2024 @ 10:44 amNews item:
Laura Looner knows why:
HAARP is the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program, which studies the ionosphere, and is the subject of many conspiracy theories.
Rip Murdock (c7ebb2) — 1/13/2024 @ 10:50 amThis would explain, for example, why homelessness is so high in California.
The minimum wage in New Mexico is about the same as in California, but a quality apartment in a decent area can be had for $1000/month. The crappiest apartment in the worst neighborhood in Los Angeles is more than that.
Having trouble making ends meet in Los Angeles? Move.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/13/2024 @ 10:54 am@91: Having no clue about how things work leads inevitably to seeing conspiracies. Much like Bernie does with economics.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/13/2024 @ 10:57 amAm I the only one who spots the sleight of hand in this phrasing?
The correct word to use, with respect to “drunk” is “infected,” or “exposed” (if you prefer). Because neither the vaccinated nor unvaccinated can become vectors until after exposure. Only fools thought that vaccination was a guarantee against becoming a vector, or that being asymptomatic was proof of not being a vector. It was known, before covid, that vaccinated persons could still shed the virus from which they are protected (e.g. Polio).
felipe (546e7a) — 1/13/2024 @ 11:10 amFrom a Science interview with Fauci:
Then further
https://www.science.org/content/article/anthony-fauci-becoming-devil-and-warning-his-successor
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 1/13/2024 @ 11:52 amCitation required.
The vaccinated were vectors that were told they couldn’t spread the virus which was a lie.
NJRob (fbf57e) — 1/13/2024 @ 12:26 pm@95 The question Fauci was responding to:
“The debate about the origin of the pandemic doesn’t necessarily involve the far right. There are people all over the political spectrum who accuse you of having covered up and lied about your own institution funding gain-of-function research that made bat coronaviruses more dangerous and started the pandemic. [NIAID funded the EcoHealth Alliance, which subcontracted work to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) that some lab-leak proponents contend sparked the pandemic.]”
It’s in Fauci interests, and his shameless defenders’ interests, to paint it as right wing nuts versus reasonable moderates and progressives. It was the thrust used in his much hyped and now discredited Proximal Origin letter, who’s co-authors branded the lab leak hypothesis as a “crackpot theory.” Ad hominem is now his, and their, only argument.
Jeffrey Sachs, chair of The Lancet’s Covid-19 Comission, and no right wing nut by any stretch:
“Fauci behaved very badly,” Sachs said, “NIH behaved very badly, a small group of very vocal scientists that were part of that group have behaved very badly. And while we still don’t know definitively what happened, we do know definitively that a narrative was concocted in the first few days that was phony.”
Fauci knew about gain-of-function back before covid became a pandemic. He lied about it in sworn testimony. Those continually defending his conduct are in on the lie.
lloyd (4bcc9f) — 1/13/2024 @ 12:41 pmOf course, Mike Huckabee (2008); Rick Santorum (2012); and Ted Cruz (2016) didn’t nearly have the political support and polling numbers that Trump has had for the last six months.
Rip Murdock (c7ebb2) — 1/13/2024 @ 12:58 pmCan someone post a link to the transcript (or video) of Fauci’s testimony? Thanks.
Rip Murdock (c7ebb2) — 1/13/2024 @ 1:13 pmI won’t be lamenting the death of Gonzalo Lira, the Chilean-born American who went to Ukraine and served as a propagandist for Putin.
Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 1/13/2024 @ 1:18 pmNews outside the bubble. Mississippi which has no state minimum wage refuses child food program from federal government. (DU) Bill o’reilly upset that floriduh schools ban his books under pornography law he championed! (DU)
asset (7abaaa) — 1/13/2024 @ 1:19 pm@98, Professor Sachs is an economist, not a virologist. Ecohealth takes him to task in the article below
https://www.ecohealthalliance.org/2023/03/ecohealth-alliance-statement-correcting-inaccuracies-in-written-testimony-by-professor-jeffrey-sachs
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 1/13/2024 @ 1:43 pmhttps://www.foxnews.com/world/biden-stresses-us-does-not-support-independence-taiwan-world-leaders-react-election-win
Here’s Biden for ya. Supports the Communist regime’s dominance over Taiwan.
NJRob (fbf57e) — 1/13/2024 @ 1:50 pm@103 “Professor Sachs is an economist, not a virologist. Ecohealth takes him to task in the article below”
Daszak has been trying to discredit Sachs and his commission for years. Sachs booted him. But he’s a virologist. which would be relevant if his views were motivated by the science of virology instead of self interest. He’s a virologist with a conflict of interest a mile wide.
From the NYmag article I linked earlier:
In the link you provided, Daszak plays the same semantics games as Fauci, and the claim about oversight is comical given what Fauci admitted in his testimony and the Science interview you also linked. Maybe they need to agree on what to lie about.
lloyd (4bcc9f) — 1/13/2024 @ 2:24 pmWhat is all this in aid of? Affirmation of hydroxychloroquine or exorcism for incubi?
nk (b8c949) — 1/13/2024 @ 2:57 pmI am no expert on the subject, but this — which I read years ago — may explain some of the Houthi attitudes toward Jews. The Jews in Yemen, before Israel’s founding, were subject to many terrible forms of persecution, including, as I understand it, this one: A Yemenese tribe might own a Jewish tribe. If they were in a good mood, the Yemenese tribe might defend their Jewish tribe against other Yemenese tribes.
So the Houthis may be missing their former slaves.
Jim Miller (af1ef3) — 1/13/2024 @ 3:34 pmRIP Pulitzer Prize winning TV critic for the Washington Post Tom Shales (79).
Rip Murdock (c7ebb2) — 1/13/2024 @ 4:57 pmThe Egyptians know how to build a border wall, but they only have a 12-mile long border with Gaza.
Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 1/13/2024 @ 5:18 pm“The Egyptians know how to build a border wall”
It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you don’t have an EPA.
lloyd (0cd88e) — 1/13/2024 @ 6:01 pmThe vaccinated were vectors that were told they couldn’t spread the virus which was a lie.
Treat yourself to a math book.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/13/2024 @ 6:05 pmOnly fools thought that vaccination was a guarantee against becoming a vector
But only immumerates and idiots think the unvaccinated pose an equal or lesser risk, or that the unvaccinated are less at risk from the disease.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/13/2024 @ 6:08 pmCitation required.
No matter what I would cite, you’d just deny it or say it was a conspiracy.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/13/2024 @ 6:09 pmHaley-DeSantis Food Fight Validates Trump’s Debate Boycott Strategy
Because Trump brings sanity and composure to any debate?
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/13/2024 @ 6:11 pmThe Egyptians know how to build a border wall, but they only have a 12-mile long border with Gaza.
Which is why is say “conquer everything down to Panama, and then build the wall”
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/13/2024 @ 6:12 pmWe’d already have a moat.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/13/2024 @ 6:12 pmRefresher on Covid deaths by vaccination status, along with a primer for the statistically-declined.
https://ourworldindata.org/covid-deaths-by-vaccination
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/13/2024 @ 6:19 pm@102: Citing DU as a source is like me citing Gateway Pundit.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/13/2024 @ 6:21 pmNo, because by skipping the debates Trump left the Lilliputians to fight among themselves.
Rip Murdock (c7ebb2) — 1/13/2024 @ 6:38 pmNo fan or his words or actions, but he was jailed for speaking pro-Russian propaganda then died in prison. You don’t have a problem with that?
NJRob (eb56c3) — 1/13/2024 @ 6:48 pmDo you have any point? Or are you subtly trying to admit the government lied… again.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 1/13/2024 @ 6:48 pmSo it works in direct contradiction to your drunk driving metaphor that you doubled down on?
NJRob (eb56c3) — 1/13/2024 @ 6:50 pmWhy did/does Africa have drastically lower death rates from COVID?
NJRob (eb56c3) — 1/13/2024 @ 6:54 pmNews outside the bubble gov.gregg abbot R-turdas says he can’t shoot migrant women and children wading across the rio grande because Biden would have him arrested for murder! ABC nightly news and CBS nightly news. jvm demands I show sources and links the best I can. @125 Africa much warmer weather seems to affect covid and they have less sealed up buildings and homes maybe reason.
asset (019d59) — 1/13/2024 @ 8:20 pmI would also guess that public health statistics from underdeveloped countries are not as reliable as those from developed countries. They don’t have the resources to develop sophisticated health monitoring systems.
Rip Murdock (c7ebb2) — 1/13/2024 @ 8:48 pmFalse, Rob.
Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 1/13/2024 @ 8:56 pmHe was jailed for filming the location of Ukrainian troops in Kharkiv, and then he skipped bail. He became an enemy of the Ukrainian state, in support of the Russian enemy, while living in Ukraine. Ask yourself why a pro-Putin hack like Tucker is defending him.
Average age of the populations are much younger is SSA, implying much fewer people above 65yrs. For instance, Uganda’s average age is less than 18. Canada’s is more than 40.
AJ_Liberty (bf2a34) — 1/13/2024 @ 9:05 pmhttps://www.foxnews.com/world/biden-stresses-us-does-not-support-independence-taiwan-world-leaders-react-election-win
Here’s Biden for ya. Supports the Communist regime’s dominance over Taiwan.
NJRob (fbf57e) — 1/13/2024 @ 1:50 pm
Here’s every President since Nixon for ya. Since the Shanghai Communique in 1972, no U.S. administration has supported independence for Taiwan.
norcal (f2bf33) — 1/13/2024 @ 9:19 pmSo it works in direct contradiction to your drunk driving metaphor that you doubled down on?
Where did you get that? What it shows is that unvaccinated people died in droves — huge death numbers — then the survivors had immunity almost as good as being vaccinated. And communicability is proportional to disease.
Yes, vaccinated people can get sick; I did — 2 years after onset — when I thought it would be a good idea to go to a convention and not wear a mask. 2000 people, enclosed space, no masks, what could go wrong? But it took a lot of carelessness on my part.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/13/2024 @ 10:17 pmAs I said though, the drunks keep saying they’re the good drivers.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/13/2024 @ 10:19 pmAsk yourself why a pro-Putin hack like Tucker is defending him.
Because Tucker is for FREEDOM!!!1!!
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/13/2024 @ 10:20 pm@133 work makes you frei.
asset (02f718) — 1/14/2024 @ 2:10 amRandom guy on twitter vs experienced journalist. Got it.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 1/14/2024 @ 4:34 amKevin M (ed969f) — 1/13/2024 @ 6:08 pm
You seem married to the word “unvaccinated.” If you would use “exposed” instead, you will find that we agree on all points, because the stupidity of making enemies between classes would fall away like scales from eyes.
felipe (546e7a) — 1/14/2024 @ 5:36 amThank you for the nonsensical response.
Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 1/14/2024 @ 5:58 amSo a beverage manufacturer made an agreement with AA to come up with a drink to help people stay sober. Many took to the beverage with great consolation, but were dismayed when they found out that some of their number preferred not to drink it saying “we can be sober without recourse to this concoction.” And it seemed some could remain sober by way of careful praxis.
This naturally angered both AA and their partner who stood to lose both prestige on the one hand, and revenue on the other. So a declaration was made by way of ubiquitous adverts: Any who dare to abstain from this most necessary beverage must forthwith be anathema!
This stern decree you’ll understand
caused great dismay throughout the land
for young and old and shy and bold
were equally affected.
But I am right and you are right and we are right
and all is quite correct!
And behold, Twins were set one against another. The elder by mere chance, having been born before the other, entered boldly into a bar. And he feared not, because he imbibed the miraculous drink.
The younger stayed at home carefully avoiding the mob, because he was much hated for practicing what he preached, which was “sobriety by his own counsel.” The younger succeeded in remaining sober as a result of vigilance.
The elder became drunk for having exposed himself in his reckless abandon, but his foolishness was passed over and he was held blameless because he had been given the sign of the imbiber.
And all was well in the world.
felipe (546e7a) — 1/14/2024 @ 6:11 amIn their current forms, debates are tending to be more annoying than enlightening. It’s not that questions are bad or that responses aren’t telling us anything about the candidates (though much seems scripted and rehearsed), it’s just that a lot of what gets discussed doesn’t have much to do with what a President actually does…or should do. We aren’t electing a king that is supposed to take care or us from cradle to grave…or to takeover matters that should be local concerns or concerns for the individual to manage.
Let’s stop pretending that a President has magic powers and that much that we ask really has to cook its way through Congress or should be addressed by state legislatures. Being governor and addressing the issues of a single state is different than what is required of the President. The DeSantis-Haley debate seemed to get lost in the distinctions.
Do I want to see Trump debate Haley now that she appears on the precipice of being the last candidate standing…and at least within shouting distance in NH? Trump never tells the truth….and through mockery diminishes much of the value of a debate. It might help Haley to have him say the usual ludicrous things that might give some voters pause, but it also gives him a stage to perform for his hyenas. However, I doubt that team Trump would want to risk the legal exposure of having him on the record yet one more time saying goofy things about J6 “hostages”, stolen elections, prosecutors, judges, and general goofiness about E. Jean Carroll, Milley, “poisoning the blood”, and being a dictator for a day.
AJ_Liberty (bf2a34) — 1/14/2024 @ 6:21 amMy apologies to Gilbert and with thanks for his words from the Mikado.
felipe (546e7a) — 1/14/2024 @ 6:33 amAJ_Liberty (bf2a34) — 1/14/2024 @ 6:21 am
Good comment, AJ.
felipe (546e7a) — 1/14/2024 @ 6:35 amKevin, I apologize for mocking you. It was wrong of me, and I repent of it.
felipe (546e7a) — 1/14/2024 @ 6:51 amLOL! How big does he think the Larry Hogan wing of the Republican Party is-it’s already backing Haley. The Trump wing (the vast majority of Republican voters, with Trump +48 over Haley) has already made up their minds.
Rip Murdock (c7ebb2) — 1/14/2024 @ 7:45 amhttps://twitter.com/Wid_Lyman/status/1746324311332249863?
Just some peaceful protestors breaking down the fence to the White House. Not like those horrific insurrectionists on Jan 6th so no arrests were made.
NJRob (ff684d) — 1/14/2024 @ 9:23 amfelipe (546e7a) — 1/14/2024 @ 6:11 am
There is actually an old drug called “antabuse” that purports to help people stay sober, primarily by making consumption of alcohol an intestinal disaster.
And while AA has no opinion on that, or any other external issue, many in AA view it as decidedly stupid. Although not as bad as the denatured alcohol that was sold during Prohibition, which attempted to deter consumption by threat of blindness. Alcoholics in search of their drug are not easily deterred.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/14/2024 @ 10:08 amIn their current forms, debates are tending to be more annoying than enlightening.
I think that is mostly the fault of the participants. Sure, the format allows one debater to ruin the opportunity to enlighten by dragging everyone down into a morass of vituperation (Vivek and DeSantis this time, Trump last time), but the format itself is not causing it.
I also think that Haley made a terrible mistake taking DeSantis’ bait in the last go-around. SHe had an opportunity to stick to issues and diss him with “There you go again” when he started up with the attacks. Her shtick is being the adult in the room and she went seriously off-message by joining the food fight. Instead, she could have done the Presidential thing and allowed DeSantis to look like a spoiled child.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/14/2024 @ 10:16 amJust some peaceful protestors breaking down the fence to the White House.
I guarantee you that if they went over the fence in droves and assaulted the Secret Service, there would have been serious repercussions. If they had managed to get inside the building, there would have been a lot of company for Ashli Babbitt.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/14/2024 @ 10:21 amSeventh News Item:
Rip Murdock (978f8c) — 1/14/2024 @ 10:28 amIt is really hard to look at Israeli policies in the West Bank, particularly the settlements and the unequal application of the Law there, and not see similarities with Apartheid and its Bantustans.
That doesn’t mean that Stopping settlements will lead to peace, of course — they removed all the previous settlements in Gaza, and look what happened. But they are not helpful.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/14/2024 @ 10:40 amOTOH, a lot of Republicans support what Biden is doing in Ukraine and Israel. That does not mean they will vote for him because of that. They may end up doing that, but not for that reason.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/14/2024 @ 10:42 amFinal NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Caucus Poll
Rip Murdock (978f8c) — 1/14/2024 @ 11:07 am“I also think that Haley made a terrible mistake taking DeSantis’ bait in the last go-around.”
She was in a tough position. If you do not answer the charges you look like you cede the point, like you are unwilling to confront a bully (weak), like you are evasive (what else are you hiding).
There’s nothing wrong with calling out an opponent’s desperation, but she should have used more humor to dull the sharp edges and prickliness. She obviously went to DesantisLies.com way too often and did not choose to redirect the conversation in a more positive direction. I agree she let him get under her skin and made it so that nobody looked especially good.
But I’m not sure it’s terrible. Certainly some people support Haley because she is likable and this worked against it.
But my point was broader than did the debate help or hurt my preferred candidate. The debates are too repetitive. They really should focus on the 2 or 3 policies where there are clear ideological or philosophical differences and probe those issues more deeply. What do these candidates actually know and how do they think on their feet? Memorizing opposition research is a pretty low bar as it goes now. Yes, there needs to be some vision statement and some connection between your resume and why you are well qualified. I’m still at a loss why Ramaswamy believes he’s well qualified and how GOP voters have been fooled to believe he is.
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 1/14/2024 @ 11:20 amThe GOP primary needed to quickly consolidate to a two-person race. Iowa will likely get it there. After that point, people will either stick with Trump or start suffering remorse and want a new path. Some people were confident that Christie would last up to NH. He didn’t. Some people were sure that DeSantis would finish 2nd in Iowa. He may not after spending how many 10’s of millions of dollars and getting the Governor’s endorsement. People who view Trump as unfit for office should get behind Haley to beat him. If Trump is in fact a terrible candidate, then the choice will become really clear really soon.
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 1/14/2024 @ 11:36 amThe reason the debates have focused on the trivial is that there are really no deep ideological or philosophical differences between Trump, DeSantis, or Haley, only matters of degree.
Ramaswamy feels he is as qualified to be President as Donald Trump was in 2016.
Rip Murdock (978f8c) — 1/14/2024 @ 11:40 amTrump hasn’t been a terrible candidate, based on his political performance to date. In fact, he’s been extremely successful, even while avoiding debates and despite his indictments.
Rip Murdock (978f8c) — 1/14/2024 @ 11:46 amThe problem is that the vast majority of Republican voters don’t view Trump as unfit for office.
Rip Murdock (978f8c) — 1/14/2024 @ 11:49 amBoth DeSantis and Haley have adopted Trump-like policies, so there is no reason for Trump voters to abandon him when they can vote for the real thing.
Rip Murdock (978f8c) — 1/14/2024 @ 11:52 amI feel betrayed.
Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 1/14/2024 @ 12:15 pmKalen de Boer spends just two years at the UW and then replaces Nick Saban. F-ck him.
I’m still at a loss why Ramaswamy believes he’s well qualified and how GOP voters have been fooled to believe he is.
Don’t know about the first part, but his appeal is to naive cynics — the people who think that everything is rigged against them, especially those things that they don’t understand, like science or economics.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/14/2024 @ 12:19 pmThe problem is that the vast majority of Republican voters don’t view Trump as unfit for office.
Or don’t care.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/14/2024 @ 12:21 pmBoth DeSantis and Haley have adopted Trump-like policies
You conflate DeSantis and Haley when they have quite different platforms. But then you only know that you don’t like Haley.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/14/2024 @ 12:22 pmTrump hasn’t been a terrible candidate
In the primary, where his base matters, his appeal is much different than in the general election where his base is a distinct minority.
Preaching to the choir is easy.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/14/2024 @ 12:24 pm@153: We are in violent agreement.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/14/2024 @ 12:24 pmthere are really no deep ideological or philosophical differences between Trump, DeSantis, or Haley
I find this surprising. Show your work. Start with foreign policy.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/14/2024 @ 12:30 pmThat Sauron person was sure amazing, controlling Middle Earth with one eye.
Just one of his ring wraiths could take out Dan Gable just by standing too close.
P.S. For those who don’t know, Dan Gable is an Iowa wrestling legend, but Trump is so enamored with dictators and gangsters that he put Gable on the wrong end of a hypothetical match with Capone, which is akin to Trump being in Boston and dissing Larry Bird.
Here’s one reason why Trump may have trouble hiring new staff if he somehow wins. Please GOP, Nikki is a more than acceptable alternative for the nomination, and she has a better chance at beating Biden than Trump does.
Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 1/14/2024 @ 12:51 pm“The problem is that the vast majority of Republican voters don’t view Trump as unfit for office.”
Or they don’t really understand what that means. Their ecosystem is keeping them ignorant. Somehow honesty, honor, and character no longer matters. There’s a reason why Haley beats Biden by +17pts and Trump wins within the margin of error. Trump does not win enough independents and moderates.
“there are really no deep ideological or philosophical differences between Trump, DeSantis, or Haley”
Ukraine is a very big difference between Haley and the others. There’s not even a small waffle in her position. The same with the importance of NATO. I would further stipulate that Trump is eying pulling us out of S. Korea which would be another big difference. Trump accommodates Putin. Haley won’t.
I think ultimately Haley and Trump would work illegal immigration differently. I think Trump will go to far. Haley has emphasized compassion even though she did say even long-term resident illegals would be shipped back.
But the big one will be what is done to the Dept of Justice. Trump will light it on fire. Haley won’t. Trump will amnesty the J6 rioters; I don’t think Haley will. Trump will go too far on sanctuary cities; Haley won’t.
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 1/14/2024 @ 1:09 pmTexas natinoal guardsmen forcibly stop border patrol officers from going to the aid of a mother and her two children trying to cross rio grande river and forced to watch them drown (CBS news.) A day after gov. abbot (r-turdas) say biden wont let him get away with shooting migrants. CBS nightly news ABC nightly news.
asset (f0090c) — 1/14/2024 @ 1:49 pm“Even if you die voting for me, it will be worth it.”
Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 1/14/2024 @ 1:51 pm–Donald J. Trump, leader of Death Cult Trump, today
Never mind who says that. We know who says that. The insane. The question is what kind of mindless morons hear that and still keep on supporting him. (And we’ll be hearing from a couple or three of them here soon I imagine.)
nk (b8c949) — 1/14/2024 @ 2:30 pmTrump palled around with Rosatti of the Colombo crime family, and so did Judge Cannon’s husband.
It’s a connection worth investigating. So is this.
Ms. Harris is “allegedly the Trump aide employed by Trump®️ Save America PAC who scanned/uploaded documents to laptop/thumb drive after working @WhiteHouse45”.
Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 1/14/2024 @ 3:01 pmClassified files and laptops are not supposed to be in the same place.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/14/2024 @ 3:17 pmasset, there is a LINK button above the comment box. Learn to work it.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/14/2024 @ 3:17 pmI wonder how polls, responded to in the warmth of one’s own home, compare with a caucus somewhere else at 20 below. Trump’s cult may willingly throw themselves on the snow for Trump to trod warm and dry, or they may stay home and watch football or the Emmys. Hard to say.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/14/2024 @ 3:22 pmThe race card, of course:
Atlanta DA Defends Hiring of Special Prosecutor in Trump Case
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/14/2024 @ 3:26 pmThat’s exactly correct.
Rip Murdock (62a41d) — 1/14/2024 @ 3:37 pmThe other problem is that the vast majority of Democrat voters doesn’t view Biden as unfit for office. Or don’t care.
Meanwhile “Independent” leads “Republican” and “Democrat” by double digits.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/14/2024 @ 3:40 pmI’m certain foreign policy, including Ukraine, isn’t a top issue among rank and file voters. Their top issues are the economy, immigration, and crime.
Rip Murdock (62a41d) — 1/14/2024 @ 3:45 pmThat’s the spirit!
Rip Murdock (62a41d) — 1/14/2024 @ 3:48 pmTheir top issues are the economy, immigration, and crime.
Economy: Doing great. Inflation down, employment up, stock market at record levels.
Immigration: The biggest domestic issue
Crime: Most of this is local.
Even on domestic issue, you leave out important things where they mostly differ: trade, energy, “climate change”, pandemic response, Medicare & Social Security, entitlements in general, taxes, etc.
And whether or not we stay in NATO or toss Ukraine to the
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/14/2024 @ 4:29 pmSovietsRussians matters a great deal.Haven’t seen any polling on NATO, among Republican voters Ukraine doesn’t really matter. According to the December 2023 Quinnipiac University poll, support among all voters for aid to Ukraine is at 55-24; while Republicans reject aid 41-52.
Just because we (those who post here) think it’s important doesn’t mean Republican voters feel the same way.
Rip Murdock (62a41d) — 1/14/2024 @ 5:26 pmI’m sure you get a lot of argument from Republican voters about how great economy is whether crime is an important issue or not. It’s not about facts, it’s about how voters perceive the issues.
Rip Murdock (62a41d) — 1/14/2024 @ 5:41 pmSeveral years ago I was convinced that getting through a pandemic would be our common purpose, with the same goal in mind. I was soon disabused of that foolish naïveté.
Dana (8e902f) — 1/14/2024 @ 5:43 pmI don’t think this follows in cities where the cost of housing is astronomical. Looking at you, So. Cal. A person making the newly increased minimum wage would’ve been able to afford a decent starter home (2/1, small lots). However, those builds are not popular any longer as they sell for so little (relatively sneaking). Also, when you’re referring to “pricing them out of the job market,” I assume you mean something like replacing them with automated service or thinning out staffs as a result of higher wages??
Dana (8e902f) — 1/14/2024 @ 5:51 pmI was speaking of voter issues in general; I don’t think foreign policy (or Ukraine) is an issue Republican voters are worried about, outside of support for Israel.
Maybe DeSantis and Haley should have mentioned their differences on other issues during the debates in more than just sound bites. Perhaps an Oxford style debate on each issue?
Rip Murdock (62a41d) — 1/14/2024 @ 5:51 pmDon’t forget the one issue they agree on-pardoning Donald Trump.
Rip Murdock (62a41d) — 1/14/2024 @ 5:58 pm“support among all voters for aid to Ukraine is at 55-24; while Republicans reject aid 41-52.”
Ukraine illustrates the the US’s commitment to our alliances, here NATO. If we cut our financial support and hide out at our southern border, the Chinese will have no problem reading what that means relative to Taiwan. We will be tested over Taiwan. From Bloomberg
One of the most important tasks at hand is to pressure China in every conceivable way to not make a move on Taiwan. One of the pillars of that pressure is to remain resolute against Putin’s Ukraine aggression. Haley made the case in the last debate…maybe some here missed it.
Again, the infotainment arm of right-wing media is occupied with tracking Hunter Biden, villifying Anthony Fauci, impeaching Alejandro Mayorkas, and wrestling with the crisis of J6 “hostages”. It’s not serious and few at influential papers, magazines, or blogs are trying to hold it to account. This isn’t Nikki Haley’s fault but a systemic breakdown.
Responsible people should do everything in their power to stop Trump…not clear his path…
AJ_Liberty (cbec6b) — 1/14/2024 @ 6:50 pm@172 I don’t see any button. ABC news 1/14/2023 Texas official spokes person The guard looked for their bodies in the river after they drowned ;but they washed ashore on the mexican side. Why did you stop border patrol from rescuing the women and children? Take it up with the guard.
asset (355a26) — 1/14/2024 @ 6:52 pmHaven’t seen any polling on NATO, among Republican voters Ukraine doesn’t really matter. According to the December 2023 Quinnipiac University poll, support among all voters for aid to Ukraine is at 55-24; while Republicans reject aid 41-52.
But the CANDIDATES have very different views, while you said they’re all the same. 41-52 is not “indifferent.” Trump and Haley would take the country in wildly different directions on this and a number of other issues.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/14/2024 @ 7:10 pmDon’t forget the one issue they agree on-pardoning Donald Trump.
Haley will “consider” it. It sure would help if she had Trump’s full support in the election.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/14/2024 @ 7:12 pmI was soon disabused of that foolish naïveté.
Who knew that millions would view the vaccine as a trap? It’s almost as if their opinion of the sky’s color depended on who won the election.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/14/2024 @ 7:14 pmRip, just admit there are deep differences between the candidates and move on. You have a real problem admitting when you’re wrong.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/14/2024 @ 7:15 pmHowever, those builds are not popular any longer as they sell for so little (relatively sneaking).
When the LOT costs close to $2 million, and the cost of building includes years of wrangling with NIMBYs and city officials, and new prevailing wage laws, it’s amazing anything can be built. But certainly no one goes through that for a few thousand dollars profit. Having to cover a 7% interest nut for the duration of the project means you won’t be getting anything cheap.
Bought a new construction 2700sf house in ABQ for under $350K (“free” in a So Cal sense) in 2018. Had my pick, and there were alternatives for substantially less. Of course, here, the politicians don’t obstruct.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/14/2024 @ 7:26 pm“Ukraine illustrates the the US’s commitment to our alliances, here NATO. If we cut our financial support and hide out at our southern border, the Chinese will have no problem reading what that means relative to Taiwan.”
It’s too bad we have a president who will cut off Ukraine aid in order to keep his open borders policies. Those policies send a message to China and other bad actors, and they appear to be listening.
lloyd (0bffd6) — 1/14/2024 @ 8:27 pmFine, there are deep policy differences between Haley and DeSantis (not that it will matter much for the primaries), but DeSantis and Trump are closer to the views of the Republican electorate than Haley on Ukraine, for example.
Rip Murdock (62a41d) — 1/14/2024 @ 8:49 pmHaley made a more definite promise to pardon Trump less than a couple of weeks ago:
Rip Murdock (62a41d) — 1/14/2024 @ 9:01 pmSource for quote in post 195. Paragraph breaks also added.
Rip Murdock (7d5060) — 1/14/2024 @ 9:05 pmLOL! Trump would never support anyone who “betrayed” him; in Haley’s case by running against him after she said she wouldn’t. And do you think Trump would forgive any of the anti-Trump comments (such as they were) by Haley during the primaries?
If in unlikely circumstance Trump isn’t the Republican nominee I would expect him to run as an independent.
Rip Murdock (62a41d) — 1/14/2024 @ 9:19 pm@187 “Why did you stop border patrol from rescuing the women and children?”
The Texas National Guard says the Biden administration story is inaccurate. Given what the administration said about horse whips used against Haitians, they’ve shown they will lie for political advantage.
lloyd (0bffd6) — 1/14/2024 @ 10:35 pm@198 inaccurate is not a defense its an excuse. Did guard stop border patrol from rescuing the mother and her children from the river? Abbot denies any wrong doing,says ask guard. Guard says we are under order from abbot. ABC news, CBS news, AP news, US news. Border Patrol denied entrance to get to river to rescue drowning woman and children by guard.
asset (355a26) — 1/15/2024 @ 12:00 amhttps://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/14/us/migrants-drown-texas-dispute.html
nk (4a79d4) — 1/15/2024 @ 3:55 amI will believe what the Border Patrol agents themselves have to say about the incident. Homeland Security under this administration has zero credibility. The agents who were put on leave in the horse whip nonsense still have not been reinstated, though they were cleared. This administration will lie at the drop of a hat and ruin hard working LEOs careers and lives without thinking twice.
I wish the migrants could’ve been saved. They are human beings seeking a better life, and they must’ve been under the impression it was easy to cross, get processed and get in. We’re at this stage of national psychosis where border patrol is expected to assist border crossers, when that is not their job. That doesn’t mean they let people drown. That means we blame the people responsible.
lloyd (04f091) — 1/15/2024 @ 6:08 am@127
Thats a lot of bs there.
Africa has seen governments and a ton of NGO (UN, WHO, etc) develop statistics to monitor diseases like Yellow Fever, Cholera, Ebola, etc…
whembly (5f7596) — 1/15/2024 @ 6:25 am@160
I don’t care.
Democrat policies is worst than another 4 years of Trump. Claims of “Democracy would die”, or “Trump will turn into a dictator” are nothing more than hyperventilating nonsense.
whembly (5f7596) — 1/15/2024 @ 6:30 am@174
Notice something missing?
Not one word to defend or denounce her relationship with Wade.
Not one word to defend or denounce her getting “kick backs” from Wade via fancy trips.
Also, Wade was held in contempt of court last year as well.
How does anyone think this RICO case can stand, when there’s obvious PARTISAN and PERSONAL conflict of interests here?
whembly (5f7596) — 1/15/2024 @ 6:34 amOH! MY! GAWD!!!
The actual video of this sordid affair should not be watched by the faint of funny-bone.
“MeidasTouch” is an incredible resource, Paul. Great find.
BuDuh (060a99) — 1/15/2024 @ 6:46 amIt’s an op-ed, but author gives credibility to defense attorney Marchant:
whembly (5f7596) — 1/15/2024 @ 6:47 amhttps://www.removepaywall.com/https:/www.ajc.com/opinion/columnists/opinion-da-willis-and-merchant-fought-in-court-years-ago-the-replays-a-doozy/PF2LT3CJWFAEPGECJEPQ3K7IFQ
On MLK day, I am saddened to say that, since the passage of the civil rights laws, we have regressed, mostly because people on the left have been trying to move us back to what political machines — in the north and south — often did: passing out goodies on the basis of how much the different tribes supported the organizations.
I am happy to say that most voters — when given a choice — reject those old ways of doing things. And am happy that Washington state voters agree with me.
So far.
Jim Miller (3b785f) — 1/15/2024 @ 7:45 amWhembly,
She was speaking at a black church. Hardly the place to defend yourself from a charge of adultery. She says she will respond in court filings — I am willing to wait to see what she says there. It probably needs to be done soon, or she will lose control of events.
Appalled (72bfcc) — 1/15/2024 @ 7:50 amOn this day, it is appropriate to honor one of our great first ladies, Lou Henry Hoover.
Fo example: “On Wednesday, June 5, 1929, Jessie De Priest received a handwritten invitation requesting her attendance at a traditional tea hosted by First Lady Lou Hoover for the spouses of Congressmen. The tea was scheduled for 4 p.m. the following Wednesday.[3] Hoover chose to deliver the invitation to De Priest in secrecy so close to the event date to avoid boycotting of the four earlier scheduled Congressional teas by Southerners angry with the presence of a Black woman in the White House.[9] The event and guest list were carefully planned to avoid embarrassment of the Hoovers or the De Priests during the tea and to avoid political fallout from citizens and representatives holding beliefs of white superiority.”
(De Priest’s husband, Oscar, a Republican representing a Chicago district, had a remarkable life.)
Jim Miller (3b785f) — 1/15/2024 @ 7:57 am204.
whembly (5f7596) — 1/15/2024 @ 6:34 am
Oh, it can stand, but it also might be dismissed if a judge rules that the case is the result of or involves prosecutorial misconduct (that outrages the conscience, I think)
I think minor figures (who might have been included to make a bigger, (and more lucrative) case have a better chance of obtaining a dismissal.
Dismissals in this grounds are more likely after conviction.
This is all just my general impression.
Sammy Finkelman (b434ee) — 1/15/2024 @ 7:59 am@208
Of course, this is a calculated attempt to rehabilitate herself.
But, nothing stopping her, outside of church, of mounting a vigorous defense. The non-defense is extremely loud.
whembly (5f7596) — 1/15/2024 @ 8:05 am@199
You need to vet your sources and not let your partisan leanings bend you out of shape.
The Border Patrol requested access AFTER the bodies were found:
whembly (5f7596) — 1/15/2024 @ 8:12 amFor those who’s worried about a potential 2nd Trump term foreign policy wise…
Is Biden better?
I think not:
whembly (5f7596) — 1/15/2024 @ 8:13 amhttps://hotair.com/jazz-shaw/2024/01/15/biden-begins-to-cave-on-israel-support-n605044
lloyd (04f091) — 1/15/2024 @ 6:08
They were mostly correct, until Texas Governor Greg Abbott put obstacles in the river
I think the Administrationn claims that these obstacles also prevented rescue (they were drowning on the Mexican side of the river|) which may or may not be correct. And if correct may be only because they were issued orders not to go past the barrier, but they have in reality.
The psychosis is that maybe they should not. contrary to all humanitarian principles.
It wasn’t the kjob of the Carpathia to assist survivirs from the Titanic.
Why not? Don’t they want to deter people from illegally crossing the border? If you want to make i+ more dangerous, isn’t there going to be a transition period during which people actually die. That’s what Europe does. ttps://apnews.com/article/charity-rescue-impounded-italy-antimigrant-0039d1268bdafb6f6a2c78c7eb0414c9
Sammy Finkelman (b434ee) — 1/15/2024 @ 8:15 amPlease free my post 214. Thanks.
Rip Murdock (62a41d) — 1/15/2024 @ 8:16 amhttps://apnews.com/article/charity-rescue-impounded-italy-antimigrant-0039d1268bdafb6f6a2c78c7eb0414c9
Some of the traffic has been diverted to the United States as a resut of the planned drownings, even though it’s more expensivve and time consuming for the migrants.
Sammy Finkelman (b434ee) — 1/15/2024 @ 8:18 amKevin M (ed969f) — 1/14/2024 @ 3:26 pm
Well, of course. trying to subsume him with the others. (there are 3 specially hired prosecutors)
It’s clear the bigger the case, and the larger the number of defendants, the better the justification she has for hiring them.
Sammy Finkelman (b434ee) — 1/15/2024 @ 8:21 amActuaally, it’s a potential Democratic substitute for Biden whos more likely to cave ion Israel. Biden already broke off personal contacvt with Netanyahu after a December 23 call in which Netanyahu refused to release oney to the Palestinian Authoority (more or less on the grounds that its siding financially with Hamas
There’s unity for now, on getting Hamas to give up power in Gaza. However the USA only wants to pursue the top leadership and find he hostages.
Of course, Iraan could leave any \American president with virtually no choice, and Iran may try to push its luck.
Sammy Finkelman (b434ee) — 1/15/2024 @ 8:26 amwhembly (5f7596) — 1/15/2024 @ 8:12 am
Yes, I didn’t check, and you’re right, statements by the White House Pres Secretary cannot be trusted. To be the whole truth at any rate.
Sammy Finkelman (b434ee) — 1/15/2024 @ 8:28 amGreat article about the Trump’s Immunity case.
tl;dr: We really need to consider the tradeoffs, and Andy breaks it down really well.
whembly (5f7596) — 1/15/2024 @ 8:29 amhttps://www.nationalreview.com/2024/01/what-might-give-trumps-immunity-claim-traction/
If in unlikely circumstance Trump isn’t the Republican nominee I would expect him to run as an independent.
“All but three states—Connecticut, Iowa, and New York—had some form of sore loser law as of August 2014”
The last candidate who tried to challenge the law lost in court.
https://ballotpedia.org/When_states_adopted_sore_loser_laws
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/15/2024 @ 8:34 amLOL! Trump would never support anyone who “betrayed” him
Then he can whistle for that pardon.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/15/2024 @ 8:35 amShe was speaking at a black church. Hardly the place to defend yourself from a charge of adultery.
Still, she said that he (and she) were being singled out due to their race, when the complaint focused on their behavior. When someone plays the race card, I assume that’s the best they got.
Besides, the defense attorney has no gain in a racial attack.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/15/2024 @ 8:42 amJim Miller (af1ef3) — 1/13/2024 @ 3:34 pm
The alves in the Arab world were invariably dark skinned – certainly in the last 500-1,000 years. The Jews used to free their slaves Slavery came to be based on religion. Jews redeemed their captives. Thee way slavery became limited only to blacks is that Moslems did not convert their black African slaves or maybe they considered them different enough so that they could be slaves even though Muslim.
Prince Bandar bin Sultan, (born 1949) the former Saudi AMbassador to the United States, who probably murdered Vincent Foster in 1993 and in 2012, planned later the killing of the U.S.AMbassador to Libya, is half black.
His mother was a slave whom King Faisel,I think, or maybe it was the previous king, forced his brother to free and marry.
Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 1/15/2024 @ 9:06 amIf a state can adopt a sore loser law, it can also disqualify a previous president who ran for re-election and lost.
What it cannot do is decide a 14th amendment issue, although it could do so based upon an opinion by some authorized person or persons that he was disqualified from holding office based on Section 3 of the 14th amendment.
At the same time, it may be that they cannot stop Electors from voting for whomever they want – but I think courts have ruled that they can make a law that says that by voting for someone else other than whom they are pledged to effectively resign as electors.
I expect that, if Biden wins, Trump will challenge the election results like he did in 2020. And if Trump wins, Democrats will try to disqualify Trump based on the 14th amendment. (they now need 20% of each House of Congress to make an objection, but if there is a serious effort, they could get it, although it would be much harder to in that vote – and besides how could they challenge the Electors?)
It won’t do them much good if they don’t find something wrong with the VP too – otherwise say, Elise Stefanik will serve as Acting President with Trump occupying a back office in the White House and talking with foreign leaders etc. Although the effect would probably be to tame Trump and things would operate much like in the first Trump Administration.
The best route t a peaceful and accepted transition is if the election is thrown into the House of Representatives. Most or all state by state results won’t be challenged then, and campaigns will concentrate on trying to win the House and Senate votes.
Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 1/15/2024 @ 9:26 amWhat about at the time they noticed. And requested access from whom?
Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 1/15/2024 @ 9:30 amNow that is election interference.
Rip Murdock (62a41d) — 1/15/2024 @ 9:54 amooooooooof…
Biden’s current Presidential approval rating has a delta of 17.5%.
https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/approval/joe-biden/approval-rating
Trump’s worst Presidential approval rating, right before the end of his term, has a delta of %18.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_trump_job_approval-6179.html
Great job America.
whembly (5f7596) — 1/15/2024 @ 9:57 am: slow clap :
Now that is election interference.
Why? It’s federalism. You got a problem with federalism?
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/15/2024 @ 11:49 amAnd if DeSantis or Trump won’t get cross-over votes, that demonstrates their weakness in the general election. It should be a measure of how far the Democrat Party has moved left (and the GOP base has moved fascist) that a center-right candidate attracts people in the center.
Do you think polarization is a good thing that needs to be amplified?
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/15/2024 @ 11:52 amBiden has the disapproval of all Americans when it comes to his supporting the invasion at our southern border. Yet McConnell and his team of backstabbers want to double down on Biden’s failed policies and reward him with more green cards, higher numbers of invaders and so for for absolutely nothing that will benefit Americans.
NJRob (3d52e4) — 1/15/2024 @ 12:07 pmKevin,
leftists would vote for Haley in the primary because she’s the weaker candidate. They are leftists that will support Biden, Obama or Mao Se Tung if they are on the Democrat ballot.
NJRob (3d52e4) — 1/15/2024 @ 12:09 pmNikki Haley is the stronger candidate in a general election, by a few percentage points. That’s what we see in all polls.
In the primary, among (self-identified?) Republicans she is strong (relatively speaking) among voters who graduated from college, and even more among voters who had postgraduate degrees (which could be various things – teachers but not most nurses; professionals but not accountants for example – but she is extremely weak among Republicans with no college. Nationally, she is at 28% among Republicans who graduated from college (to Trump’s 39%) and beats but 3% among those without (even a 2-year degree) to Trump’s 76%
Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 1/15/2024 @ 12:36 pmHow does Haley do among voters broken by partisanship?
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 1/15/2024 @ 12:39 pmand beats Trump in NH among college graduates by 12 points, and by 16 boints 41-25) among thosen who had completed some ppostgraduate work(CNN poll in NH)
Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 1/15/2024 @ 12:40 pmhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PISB5fN2N9M
Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 1/15/2024 @ 12:48 pmSammy,
should Israel be forced to follow the same open border policies you believe America must?
NJRob (3d52e4) — 1/15/2024 @ 1:13 pmHappy MLK day. I remember how we got it. Little movement from white america on MLK day until younger african americans started wanting a Malcolm X day instead.
asset (fa359c) — 1/15/2024 @ 1:21 pmhttps://www.megynkelly.com/2024/01/15/nikki-haley-can-a-man-become-a-woman-iowa/
The kind of guts you want in a leader. Hahahaha.
NJRob (3d52e4) — 1/15/2024 @ 1:40 pmMore
walk-backsexpert testimony on Covid:– Dr. Collins agreed with Dr. Fauci that the “6 feet apart” social distancing recommendation promoted by federal health officials was likely not based on any science or data.
lloyd (8c6f0b) — 1/15/2024 @ 1:49 pm– Dr. Collins reaffirmed his previous statements attacking the Great Barrington Declaration — a publication that encouraged protection of the vulnerable and limited restriction on young and healthy Americans.
In an email to Dr. Fauci in 2020, Dr. Collins stated that a “quick and devastating published takedown” of the Great Barrington Declaration was necessary.
– Dr. Collins minced words over the definition of gain-of-function research in an effort to hide the NIH’s involvement in funding the dangerous research in Wuhan.
This wordplay mimics Dr. Fauci’s profuse defense of his previous Congressional testimony where he claimed the NIH did not fund gain-of-function research in Wuhan.
– Dr. Collins agreed with Dr. Fauci’s concession that the COVID-19 lab leak hypothesis is not a conspiracy theory.
– Dr. Collins acknowledged that Dr. Fauci invited him to attend the infamous February 1, 2020 conference call that prompted the “Proximal Origin” publication.
This testimony directly contradicts Dr. Fauci’s previous statements and raises further concerns about the U.S. government’s role in suppressing and vilifying the lab-leak hypothesis.
I heard that Ray Epps personally took the gain of function from Anthony Fauci’s basement laboratory and delivered it to HAARP so Nikki Haley could change the weather in Iowa during the caucuses.
nk (4a79d4) — 1/15/2024 @ 2:39 pmnk (4a79d4) — 1/15/2024 @ 2:39 pm
On further thought, I think that I had better clarify that that was mockery and sarcasm and that I did not hear any such thing.
nk (4a79d4) — 1/15/2024 @ 3:01 pmI’m guessing nk is from Thuringia or somewhere around there.
lloyd (8c6f0b) — 1/15/2024 @ 3:12 pm#242 A wise precaution, nk.
Jim Miller (53074b) — 1/15/2024 @ 3:12 pmCongratulations to the new Miss America.
Jim Miller (53074b) — 1/15/2024 @ 3:13 pmIt’s not even federalism-party participation rules are generally enforced by state parties, not state laws (though it varies by state).
I just don’t think the Republican nominee for president should be decided by non-Republicans.
Rip Murdock (62a41d) — 1/15/2024 @ 3:16 pmThe Loser is fibbing again, this time about terrorist attacks.
I suppose I should have said, “as usual”. The Loser really does think most of us are, to use a technical term, suckers.
Jim Miller (53074b) — 1/15/2024 @ 3:18 pmGood point-some here don’t know or understand sarcasm or mockery and would have taken offense.
Rip Murdock (62a41d) — 1/15/2024 @ 3:20 pmWith Fauci retired for over a year and all federal Covid mandates ended, the only point of the Rear View Mirror Committee is to stir up recriminations and resentments, because that’s the octane in the fuel that MAGA runs on.
nk (4a79d4) — 1/15/2024 @ 3:26 pm“With Fauci retired for over a year and all federal Covid mandates ended”
And, with the millions dead no longer being dead, I suppose.
lloyd (8c6f0b) — 1/15/2024 @ 3:28 pmBased on the polling there are far more Republican voters without a college degree than with one, otherwise Haley would be closer to Trump in the national polling averages (Trump +51 over Haley and DeSantis).
Rip Murdock (62a41d) — 1/15/2024 @ 3:29 pmHard sell:
Rip Murdock (62a41d) — 1/15/2024 @ 3:37 pmI doubt Democrats who caucus for Haley (or vote for her in NH) are making that kind of political calculus. They are just screwing with the Republican primary process because they can.
Rip Murdock (62a41d) — 1/15/2024 @ 3:45 pmAll right! If that’s the history you want to write, that’s the history we will write:
We never had a 45th President.
We had a figurehead President In Name Only who gave speeches at rallies, played golf, went to dinners, and watched TV (when he wasn’t taking naps).
He let unelected bureaucrats and incompetent appointees set the policies and run the government.
But that’s hindsight. What constructive thing, emphasis on constructive, can we do going forward?
I can think of only one thing: DO NOT ELECT THIS GUY TO THE PRESIDENCY AGAIN! You see? It’s easy if you do the analysis.
nk (4a79d4) — 1/15/2024 @ 4:09 pmThat’s the problem with popular democracy. The near left of the Bell Curve forces us to take a bad joke of a human being like Trump seriously.
nk (4a79d4) — 1/15/2024 @ 4:21 pmCongratulations to the new Miss America.
Why do they always look like Glinda?
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/15/2024 @ 4:43 pmNikki Haley is the stronger candidate in a general election, by a few percentage points. That’s what we see in all polls.
The real question is how the Republican candidates will do if the economy is noticeably better and a few more things go right for Biden. Right now a lot of Trump’s supporters, argue that Biden has made a mess of everything. Suppose that wasn’t as widespread a belief?
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/15/2024 @ 4:48 pmThat’s the problem with popular democracy.
The problem with a two-party, first-past-the-post system is that the results are nowhere near the center of the Bell curve. There’s a peak on the Left, and a peak on the Right and a null in the middle.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/15/2024 @ 4:50 pm“With Fauci retired for over a year and all federal Covid mandates ended”
And, with the millions dead no longer being dead, I suppose.
So, wait. You blame the deaths on the mandates and not on the hundreds of millions who got sick? What the F is the color of the sky in your world?
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/15/2024 @ 4:52 pm“So, wait. You blame the deaths on the mandates and not on the hundreds of millions who got sick?”
Way to let a thread go over your head.
lloyd (a7de82) — 1/15/2024 @ 5:12 pmhttps://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12966279/Joe-Biden-hits-RECORD-LOW-approval-rating-33-percent-devastating-poll.html
More disasterous polling for Joe Biden. He’s harming the nation so badly that no amount of favorable media can cover for him. Yet some still call for him to win relelection, or worse will support his eventual replacement from Michelle Obama or Kamala Harris.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 1/15/2024 @ 5:46 pmDid you feel the same about the 9/11 Commission? China developed a virus that killed millions. How did that happen? Who was involved? Was there a cover up?
NJRob (eb56c3) — 1/15/2024 @ 5:50 pm@NJRob What do you want to see happen?
Nic (896fdf) — 1/15/2024 @ 6:10 pmI want to see the Niners win the Super Bowl. The Rangers win the Stanley Cup. I want to see us colonize other worlds. I want to see people accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
These are all things I want to see happen.
What was your question in reference to?
NJRob (eb56c3) — 1/15/2024 @ 6:34 pmI felt a lot of things about the 9/11 Commission, but never that it was a sloppy kiss by a bunch of self-serving crapweasels on the orange butt of a loon trying to con his way back into the White House.
nk (bb1548) — 1/15/2024 @ 6:47 pm@NJRob@266 Fauci and the Covid situation you’ve posted about several times in this thread.
Nic (896fdf) — 1/15/2024 @ 6:51 pmWe can’t investigate the origins of Covid and whether taxpayer funding of WIV had something to do with it, because MAGA might score a point. That’s some serious right end of the bell curve thinking.
lloyd (6eb178) — 1/15/2024 @ 6:53 pmSeems to me like we can’t further investigate the origins of Covid because the ChiComs have stonewalled any attempts, which does speak in a way to their culpability.
Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 1/15/2024 @ 7:09 pmNic,
it’s important to have the truth. Period.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 1/15/2024 @ 7:11 pmThe lack of negative ads against Trump by his opponents really paid off…
TBF, the biggest critic of Trump, Christie, withdrew the week before. The cult is too strong.
Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 1/15/2024 @ 7:20 pmI say again, the cult is too strong.
Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 1/15/2024 @ 7:36 pmChristie was there to sell books, nothing more. His target audience is NeverTrump who will eat it up and he’ll make $$$.
https://www.amazon.com/What-Would-Reagan-Do-President/dp/1982160667?ref=d6k_applink_bb_dls&dplnkId=2e734ecf-7cbe-4c42-8b4e-1e9d518fb6ed
NJRob (eb56c3) — 1/15/2024 @ 7:42 pmNeverTrump is a small audience, Rob, too small.
Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 1/15/2024 @ 7:49 pmThe real money in your conservative echo chamber is sucking up to Chief Orange. Just ask Charlie Kirk and a host of others.
Correction: …
Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 1/15/2024 @ 7:50 pmconservativeright-wing echo chamber…Did you feel the same about the 9/11 Commission?
There was a blatant coverup there, too, with Bill Clinton’s handwritten reasons for not killing bin Laden destroyed by Sandy Berger.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/15/2024 @ 8:30 pmI want to see us colonize other worlds
Can’t use the “C” word any more.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/15/2024 @ 8:31 pmCorrection: …conservative right-wing echo chamber…
Correction: Fascist echo chamber. Nothing conservative or “right-wing” about it (except maybe in the MSM perversion of that word).
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/15/2024 @ 8:32 pmUnsurprisingly, Iowa sucks. One step closer to a felon in chief. Bravo, let the beclowning continue.
AJ_Liberty (307a3c) — 1/15/2024 @ 8:42 pmAI_ Bourgeoisie has spoken.
“Fvck Iowa and their peasants”
BuDuh (060a99) — 1/15/2024 @ 8:59 pmIowa tonight desatan in his speech sounded like a serial killer under interrogation and looked like alferd e newman. What me worry! Nikki haley I will be available when the deep state “deals” with trump so I have to play nice. Trump dead man walking.
asset (337a06) — 1/15/2024 @ 9:42 pmUnsurprisingly, Iowa sucks. One step closer to a felon in chief. Bravo, let the beclowning continue.
The only way forward is a combined Haley-DeSantis (or, less likely, DeSantis-Haley) ticket. Yes, it’s grasping at straws, but I’m not yet ready to bow down to the fascists.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/15/2024 @ 10:14 pm“Fvck Iowa and their peasants”
Iowa is pure — rural, high school education, fly-over country. Even Trump flew over, seldom stopping there. It’s not America, or at least not all of it.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/15/2024 @ 10:16 pm@283 do you really think the deep state will allow trump a second term. They have to much to lose.
asset (337a06) — 1/16/2024 @ 12:28 amBut do most MAGA people know that Fauci has retired? If they don’t, they are not going to learn it from the accusations?
Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 1/16/2024 @ 3:40 amThat’s not important to them, Sammy. They only want someone to hate. Anyone will do. Fauci is only the convenient scapegoat.
nk (efe02c) — 1/16/2024 @ 5:09 amRegarding the Iowa couscouses, let’s not discount the power of subliminal appeal. Iowa consistently ranks as the top pork (and consequently lard) producing state in the US. To many Iowans, Trump evokes, deep down below conscious thought, a blue ribbon at the state fair.
nk (efe02c) — 1/16/2024 @ 5:57 amFor all the doomerism here…
Just know that Trump leads the fray in the delegates race by a whopping eleven delegates.
IN 2016, Ted Cruz won Iowa.
I wouldn’t throw in the towel yet.
whembly (5f7596) — 1/16/2024 @ 6:15 amI didn’t know there was an “I’m retired” out for lying in sworn testimony. WIV was cast as a MAGA scapegoat years ago. That’s how we ended up with a lab leak theory news blackout and its proponents banned from social media. Nothing has changed. Meanwhile, we’re still funding EcoHealth.
lloyd (3634c5) — 1/16/2024 @ 6:17 am“That’s not important to them, Sammy. They only want someone to hate. Anyone will do. Fauci is only the convenient scapegoat.”
You offered zero content regarding this topic other than puerile MAGA hatred, so quit projecting.
lloyd (3634c5) — 1/16/2024 @ 6:59 amMore doomerism:
DeSantis’s polling in New Hampshire (-37) and South Carolina (-43) is even farther behind Trump than he was in Iowa, so it’s going to take a lot of hope for him to even win any delegates in those states.
And with Ramaswamy’s support probably going to Trump (4.7% and 3% respectively) it will make it that much harder.
Rip Murdock (62a41d) — 1/16/2024 @ 7:07 amYou offered zero content regarding this topic
Sorry. I have no pictures of Fauci getting oral sex from prostitutes, and MTG has already shown you the ones she has of Hunter.
nk (efe02c) — 1/16/2024 @ 7:10 amDoubling down on puerile is the right move, nk
lloyd (3634c5) — 1/16/2024 @ 7:15 amPretty apt description of where we’re at…innit?
whembly (5f7596) — 1/16/2024 @ 7:21 amhttps://www.nationalreview.com/the-morning-jolt/its-trumps-world-were-just-living-in-it/
#295
A lot of us here believe that to support Trump is to support evil and the likely end of the Republic.
That kind of drowns out issues, even important ones that are not being addressed like immigration.
#289
I don’t see selling my feelings in a Republican primary. I think the best argument for peruadable Republicans is the “Trump sews chaos and he will lose and bring down the GOP with him.” As Rip constantly reminds us with his polling, Biden loses thsese head on head polls with Trump, so that’s not compelling. Telling folks that they support evil and need remedial civics classes is kind of a loser too.
The only way MAGA learns is to lose. And if they lose by just a bit, they don’t learn much, becaue there is always the stolen election fantasy to go back to.
Putting Trump in jail after a fair trial from a jury of his peers over real charges (e.g., not anything happening in New York) might jolt some people into something resembling sanity. Trump’s affinity for slandering people, especially when replicated by news sources, might also put a dent in some of this. But it hasn’t happened yet.
So I get pessimistic some days.
Do note. Though Trump led in a “blow out” in Iowa, he only got 51%. Out of Republicans.
Appalled (100f1b) — 1/16/2024 @ 8:03 am@296
Care to elaborate on the following?
-Please provide examples why you think “to support Trump is to support evil”?
-If Trump is back for 2nd term, why would it be “likely the end of the Republic”?
Because, right now, all I see is hyperventilating angsts…
whembly (5f7596) — 1/16/2024 @ 8:16 am@296
I don’t think you should minimize this “blow out” in quotation, as if it’s suspect whether or not it truly was a blow out.
The most impressive stat, imo, is that he won 98 of 99 Iowan district. And the losing district, he lost by ONE.
That’s… impressive.
I doubt that’ll carry over to other states or GE, but right now, I hesitate to bet against it.
whembly (5f7596) — 1/16/2024 @ 8:23 amwhembly,
After all this time, and after the networks call the race for him well before the caucuses concluded, if Trump can only win over 51% of GOP voters, that shows a certain amount of weakness. That’s why blow out was in quotes. I’m not calling the results suspect.
As for your other, I know you weight Biden’s immigration policies as more important than Trump’s “I am your vengeance”, “I’ll be a dictator for one day”, “January 6 people are hostages”, and his prediction of “bedlam” if the courts do not rule in his favor are things that lay behind my perception of Trump and his vision as evil and the end of the Republic. Your mileage does vary from mine. Wish it didn’t.
Appalled (100f1b) — 1/16/2024 @ 8:40 am@296, I endorse this comment.
This is the rational conclusion to our current state. Things may change but likely Trump gets very close to sowing up the nomination prior to any trials gaining steam. Outlets like The Dispatch and Bulwark have little to no sway over Republicans supporting Trump. National Review is not an effective voice in countering Trumpism. Fox is an enabler. Talk Radio promotes the bad habits that sustain Trumpism. The tail is wagging the dog in the Evangelical community. Religious people irrationally fear existential irrelevance more than they fear the chaos of Trump. There’s no candidate that can break through the misinformation and cult of personality. There’s no magic strategy when supporters take criticism of Trump so personally.
Biden makes the possibility of a blowout victory for Democrats a long shot. He’s not popular and he’s too proud to do the right thing and drop out or at least cut anchor on Harris. Third-party candidates are an even longer shot to win and may pose unknowable and unwanted consequences on the anti-Trump vote. The Right must be split without attracting too much Democrat support. Team Trump may get desperate if they see that they will likely lose. things more horrible than J6 are looking possible.
Pessimism is well warranted. The GOP needs an overhaul, but all we see is good people being driven out and Trump wannabees coming out of the woodwork. The William Safire’s and William F. Buckley’s of previous generations have been replaced by Tucker Carlson and Joe Rogan podcasts. Experts are derided. Conspiracy is elevated to fact. Hyper-partisan raging is the norm. False equivalency reigns. We can’t get to discussions about policy because we can’t agree on reality and basic facts. Good faith is dead. We are inevitably heading for something breaking…most likely financial but I would not discount an international crisis or another natural crisis where incompetent leadership costs us dearly. That’s the only thing that might snap the drunkeness we see on social media and in our politics. It’s a sad conclusion but if you play with fire….
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 1/16/2024 @ 8:41 amWhich is a record for the Iowa caucus, the first time someone won more than 50% of the vote and the largest winning margin (29.8 points, more than double the 12.8-percentage-point win by Bob Dole in 1988).
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/16/2024 @ 8:43 am@299
Trump’s a boorish, bombastic New Yorker who says a lot of…outlandish things.
ALWAYS HAS. Stop expecting him to not be.
But that he’s “evil”? Like one of Stalin/Hitler/Mao’s evil?
Seriously, please expound.
And you keep bring the “end of the Republic”. What is that? Do you see a Civil War?
whembly (5f7596) — 1/16/2024 @ 8:44 amUhh, no. It was a crushing win.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/16/2024 @ 8:44 amNo polls have shown any such thing. It will be as close as the 2020 election no matter who the Democrats run.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/16/2024 @ 8:47 amTo win over 50% of the vote among four candidates is pretty impressive, not a sign of weakness.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/16/2024 @ 8:50 amRip —
Trump is essentially an incumbent, given that he was President before. Incumbents that score only half of their party’s vote do suggest a possible quest for “someone else”.
His vote is less impressive than you think — this isn’t 2000, 2012 or 2016.
That said, I think Trump’s the nominee. (Note — pessimism)
Appalled (100f1b) — 1/16/2024 @ 8:59 am#302 —
I expect Trump to attempt to be a dictator and try to arrest people who get in his way. (Not what I would expect from your guy DeSantis, or “Darling Nikki”) I don’t see Civil War, but I do see secession as possible if the reason Trump wins is an Electoral College hiccup.
What do you expect? Normal GOP politics? Status quo stalemate?
Appalled (100f1b) — 1/16/2024 @ 9:04 amIF Trump becomes POTUS again, I guarantee that his every move will be seen as an attempt to be dictator. What used to be “the bully pulpit of the Presidency” will be characterized as “the throne of the dictator.”
If anyone gets arrested, it will be said that it was Trump who ordered it, and not any process of justice.
No. It will not be the end of the Republic – it won’t even be the end of the opposition. Another four years of Trump will only be a pause in the current madness punctuated by the shrieks and convulsions of Gollum with a tattered, loose, cord about his neck. “It burns us! It freezes us!”
And we weep for him.
felipe (4480c4) — 1/16/2024 @ 9:51 amStill, in a field of four candidates, 51% is pretty impressive, and as I said, record setting (certainly in the context of the record-setting caucus weather too).
Trump won every category of Iowa voters:
Ron DeSantis came in third in all the categories. Where is the weakness?
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/16/2024 @ 9:55 amLet me clarify:
felipe (4480c4) — 1/16/2024 @ 9:55 amHm, Trump does remind me of Gollum, though “my precious” is his rally crowds rather than a ring.
Appalled (72bfcc) — 1/16/2024 @ 9:58 amThat last apparently didn’t matter to Iowa voters.
Rip Murdock (62a41d) — 1/16/2024 @ 10:03 amRip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/16/2024 @ 8:44 am
It was as good for Trump as you could expect. He cracked 50%. Haley came in third.
Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 1/16/2024 @ 10:21 am“If anyone gets arrested, it will be said that it was Trump who ordered it, and not any process of justice.”
Do you believe that Trump will have a “normal” acting attorney general? Or will it be a true believer like Jeffrey Clark. Would an acting attorney general act to indict someone like General Milley or General Kelly? How does “the system” protect against rogue prosecutions attempting to settle political scores? You might see resignations at DoJ, but will the administration care? Will they just use the opportunity to get more loyalists in place? Can there be impeachment proceedings? Maybe, but what Senate Republicans left in office seem up for removing Trump? Will Fox, Tucker, and Talk Radio turn against Trump because of Milley or will they help make the case that what Milley did was IN FACT treason….like they’ve done for J6 and everything else.
The fact that CNN, WaPo, and NYT will be against Trump doesn’t mean anything substantive to his supporters as those organizations ARE the enemy….and Trump would be doing something wrong if those organizations weren’t against him. So it’s not clear based on what Trump is saying at his pep rallies, who exactly will check him. Almost everyone in the GOP who tried to oppose Trump has either retired or has been beaten in a primary. You got people in Iowa saying they’d be ok with Trump as a dictator because Biden is one now. How can you argue with that logic.
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 1/16/2024 @ 11:21 am“Trump is essentially an incumbent, given that he was President before. Incumbents that score only half of their party’s vote do suggest a possible quest for “someone else”.”
Exactly. Even an unpopular Carter got 59% of the vote in Iowa in 1980 (doesn’t it show that his party was disappointed and doesn’t it foreshadow a big loss in the general to Reagan?). An incumbent has a built-in edge, so comparing it against an open-field election seems intentionally deceptive. I’m not going to argue that Trump is not in a strong position, but with half of the voters preferring someone else has to indicate that a historically big swath of the general public does not want to see him run again (along with Biden). I mean he does have huge negatives and even if he loses only 15% of the GOP, he will have a very hard time winning in November. The assumption that a historic trial with primarily Republican witnesses will not dampen his support…especially among moderates and independents….seems unrealistic.
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 1/16/2024 @ 11:31 amFani’s strategy of waiting to respond to charges has some bad consequences:
https://www.ajc.com/politics/analysis-lack-of-willis-response-lets-critics-make-hay-in-trump-probe/QYJKP4PDOZFOTCBOUH7FFRW66Q/
If she’s guilty of an affair, she needs to face the music now. Preferably by responding to the court filing that generated the storm.
Appalled (100f1b) — 1/16/2024 @ 11:31 amTrump’s domination of the Iowa caucus, by the numbers.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/16/2024 @ 11:34 amToo bad it wasn’t the general public voting, but only Republicans.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/16/2024 @ 11:35 am@307
I expect much the same as the 1st Trump term.
Lots of Whitehouse chaos…
The other two branches slowing down Trump’s agenda.
Succession leads to Civil War.
whembly (5f7596) — 1/16/2024 @ 11:40 am“Do you believe that Trump will have a “normal” acting attorney general?”
Even the most rabid MAGA AG can’t change the makeup of a DC jury pool. Sussmann couldn’t even get convicted. Clinesmith got off with probation and is back practicing law.
Democrats and their fellow travelers aren’t worried about prosecutions run amok. They’re only worried the prosecutions they’ve run amok might take a hiatus for four years.
lloyd (a7de82) — 1/16/2024 @ 11:45 am@314
Yes. It’ll be someone who’s serious about the job.
Again, Trump’s a braggadocios arse hole who says one thing, and does another.
How soon we forget, “Lock her up!” chants…
Tell me, was Hillary Clinton locked up?
Holy batman.
Meet Pot…
Meet Kettle…
Good. If people don’t like their leadership, resign.
Look up who has executive authority.
Everyone…and I mean everyone in the executive branch is subordinate to the President, and it’s the President’s own delegated authority that gives their job any authority whatsoever.
The idea that the President get’s his people to help him run his office is not a… unique concept.
Absolutely.
Well… Milley will get his day in court too.
That’s what the J6 defendants got. Right?
They’re his harshest critics… yes. That’s part and parcel of the political environment. A hypothetical 2nd Trump administration is going to have to navigate the hostile media and maybe THAT will help mitigate any extreme position/acts Trump may have been inclinded to do. Too bad we don’t have this “hostile media” working to check the Biden administration.
Saying that “you got people in Iowa saying they’d be ok with Trump as a dictator ” is a massive projection on your part.
I think it’s your animus towards Trump is enabling this hyperventilating projection.
Take the emotions out of this calculus, and answer yourself this (you don’t have to share with the class):
whembly (5f7596) — 1/16/2024 @ 11:53 amAre you better in your place in society under 2nd Biden term or under a 2nd Trump term?
@317
Is there any doubt that she isn’t guilty of the tryst?
The judge is waiting for Willis to respond in court filing before scheduling a hearing on this. The longer she waits… is not going to be good for her. I’m wondering if there’s a lot of ‘back room’ dealings in trying to right this ship before responding.
How long would this judge wait?
whembly (5f7596) — 1/16/2024 @ 11:57 amwhembly —
Part of what I intensely dislike about a second Trump term is the predictable uncertainty, punctuated by vitupertation and slander of the poor schmucks who get in the way. I said Trump would try to be a dictator. Obviously, there will be pushback and I have no idea how it works out. His plans for the executive branch (involving the firing of multitudes of civil service employees) have an authoritarian feel. I assume he intends to go forwrd without congressional approval.
I also believe that a California or gneral west coast withdrawal movement will gather steam if Trump gets an electoral college but not a popular majority. (I don’t see Trump winning the popular vote because he’s never done it, but I have been wrong before)
Appalled (100f1b) — 1/16/2024 @ 11:58 amAJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 1/16/2024 @ 11:21 am
AJ, you might be surprised by the questions that go through the minds of anyone who hopes/fears a call/offer from Trump. Minds possessing greater political acumen than both of us combined, with plans, carefully laid and hedged. What we think matters little to them – and I dare say, even less than what we think matters to each other.
In that, you and I are in good company.
felipe (4480c4) — 1/16/2024 @ 11:59 amAppalled (72bfcc) — 1/16/2024 @ 9:58 am
Quite right, appalled, quite right. This really is the state of things where all fall short of honor.
felipe (4480c4) — 1/16/2024 @ 12:02 pmNo more debates:
That last statement from Haley is a hoot! 🤣
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/16/2024 @ 12:02 pm#323
There is no proof. There are allegations in court filings unsupported by evidence because reasons. One of the features in the 21st century world of scandalmongering is people claiming sealed documents or classified documents say things that they really don’t say. Adam Schiff does that a lot. So does James Comer. Since people affiliated with Trump have a history of slandering enemies, I do not believe them without supporting evidence.
On th other hand, Fani’s race card play on Sunday is the move of a person who has been caught out.
So, knowing that there has to be a response to this filing, I wait for it. Fani is under an obligation not to lie in the filing. I assume that she will not.
Appalled (100f1b) — 1/16/2024 @ 12:06 pmJust know that Trump leads the fray in the delegates race by a whopping eleven delegates.
He has only 20 out of 37, so he leads “other” by only 3.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/16/2024 @ 12:09 pmIndeed. When the wise and the foolish argue, it is difficult to tell them apart.
felipe (4480c4) — 1/16/2024 @ 12:09 pm@324
I dislike that too. Very much so, as I’m a DeSantis voter.
I think this is such a silly declaration if you’ve only paid attention to his 1st term.
You can state that you don’t like the guy and won’t vote for him for ‘xyz’ reasons.
You don’t need to channel your inner Dan Rather’s fabulist takes on these things.
Congress can check him in multitude of ways.
The courts can check him. Do you not remember all this nation-wide injunction from mainly Hawaii??
He doesn’t need congressional approval. The civil service employees must be wrangled in a way that supports the President’s agenda. The civil service staff does not, and should not, enjoy a status that is this “fourth branch” of government unaccountable to no one.
So? These people are crybabies who doesn’t understand the electoral college.
The popular vote was never MEANT to be used for the Presidency. For good reasons.
Anyone who complains about the popular votes in the president election deserves to be laughed at for being such morons.
whembly (5f7596) — 1/16/2024 @ 12:13 pm“Too bad it wasn’t the general public voting, but only Republicans.”
Still, 48% of those voters said, yeah, maybe someone else. How can that mean nothing?
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 1/16/2024 @ 12:16 pm“I can safely say tonight Iowa made this Republican primary a two-person race,” Haley said.
This will be clearer after NH. DeSantis put every dime of his money and all his time into Iowa. For Haley it was an afterthought after she’d gotten NH wired. DeSantis has no future in the race and he ought to consider being someone’s VP. I don’t know if being Trump’s VP is attractive, when he can be the FL governor instead.
As for Trump: Iowa was probably his best early state. He will do less well most places. He should have gotten more than 51%, but apparently there are Iowans who don’t like Kool-Aid.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/16/2024 @ 12:19 pm@328
The proof, alleged by the defense attorney, is under seal in Wade’s divorce case.
The proof, is the non-denials and silence from Willis, where she had ample opportunities to express.
The proof, is that defense attorney seems like a successful attorney, who was very deliberate in her allegations and seems to be right over the mark. I find it hard to believe, after seeing the likes of Trump’s own “Stop the Steal” lawyers get taken to the woodshed in the same courts, that she’d make all of this up.
The proof, is that the lead prosecutor has never tried a felony case, but was interesting tapped to lead this very complicated RICO case.
The proof, is we have literal receipts that Wade billed many, many hours that really straddle the lines of overbilling…much more so than his two other lawyers on his staff.
The proof, is that Wade took Willis to many, many luxurious vacations using money that Wade “earned” during his special counsel income.
The proof, is that we have literal receipt that Wade when to see the Biden Whitehouse Counsel staff in DC prior to indictment.
There’s a lot of proof in the pudding here… so, please spare the indignations these allegations are “unsupported by evidence because reasons. “
whembly (5f7596) — 1/16/2024 @ 12:21 pmI don’t see Trump winning the popular vote because he’s never done it, but I have been wrong before
Who cares? The system isn’t designed to make candidates strive for the popular vote. In places like CA, outnumbered voters just stay home. If some blue states refuse to let Trump on the ballot the popular vote will lose even residual meaning.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/16/2024 @ 12:22 pm“How does “the system” protect against rogue prosecutions attempting to settle political scores?
Holy batman.
Meet Pot…
Meet Kettle…”
Sorry whmbley, I’m stopping there. If you see nothing criminal about J6 or the classified document hide-and-seek or the Georgia interference, then we’re not operating from a similar reality. You say you dislike Trump, but you sure do liberally use his excuses and rhetoric. Just be ready to accept the consequences when he lets you down.
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 1/16/2024 @ 12:22 pm@332
You mean, like just about how every early caucus/primary starts until there’s a point where there’s this “preference cascade” later?
I’m not sure that means much.
whembly (5f7596) — 1/16/2024 @ 12:24 pm“Saying that “you got people in Iowa saying they’d be ok with Trump as a dictator ” is a massive projection on your part.”
Reporter: “Would you rather have Donald Trump as a dictator for four years or reelect Joe Biden for four years?”
Trump Supporter: “I would rather have Donald Trump—I’d like to see them repeal the Roosevelt law so that he can be president for a lot more than four years. But we—this country needs a dictator. I hate to say that, but it’s the truth.”
https://www.mediaite.com/news/this-country-needs-a-dictator-trump-fans-at-iowa-rally-say-absolutely-they-want-dictator-trump-over-biden/
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 1/16/2024 @ 12:27 pmIf the presidential election was by popular vote, it could not longer be conducted under state rules as those rules — particularly registration — influence turnout. But that would mean that local elections, held at the same time, would ALSO be under federal control.
If the feds were not involved, deep red or blue states would do things to get higher turnout, often at the cost of ballot integrity. There is nothing that California can do to increase it’s influence at the electoral college — 51% is the same as 89%. But in a popular vote system, they’d probably mail everyone a ballot and tax people who don’t vote.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/16/2024 @ 12:28 pm@338:
I am reasonably sure you could find some Trump (or Biden) supporter who would say just about anything. You could get “Hitler was right” just on Ivy League campuses.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/16/2024 @ 12:31 pm@336
I’ve always said that these who destroyed property or assualted the offices should get the book thrown at them… but I do believe that those who tresspaassed were overcharged.
There’s a ton of issues in that case that I don’t think is a slam dunk (but do think it’s the strongest for Smith).
or the Georgia interference
That RICO case is pure bs. It’s not illegal to petition/twist arms politically to demand Georgia to ‘do something’. Sure, it’s unethical as f**k but stretching it into a RICO violation smacks of political persecution, that “the other side” can use in the toolbox.
Please, climb down from your high horse… I can hear a word you’re saying now.
Because I recognize that politics isn’t your toddler’s bean bag game. I just want folks to have the eye’s wide open that whatever tactic/justification you use to “get Trump” will be applied to “other side” and you won’t have a defense.
He’s already let me down by running for office.
whembly (5f7596) — 1/16/2024 @ 12:32 pm@338
So this Trump supporter speaks for all?
Is that what you’re saying?
whembly (5f7596) — 1/16/2024 @ 12:34 pmGiven the fact that the 51% was a record for a any candidate in the Iowa caucus, as was Trump’s winning margin (nearly 30 points over DeSantis), yeah it pretty much means nothing.
Rip Murdock (62a41d) — 1/16/2024 @ 12:34 pm@340, did you follow the link, a number of voters expressed similar views. One said we already had a dictator so what would be the big deal. It’s increasingly how people on the far right think. It’s why Trump chooses that rhetoric. It’s power and owning the libs. You can excuse it…if you want.
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 1/16/2024 @ 12:35 pmJust for Rip:
https://americanresearchgroup.com/pres2024/rep/nhrep.html
New Hampshire overall, 40% to 40%
Preference by likely to vote:
Likely Republican Primary Voters
Definite Probably
Total 91% 7%
Christie – –
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/16/2024 @ 12:37 pmDeSantis 4% 4%
Haley 39% 51%
Hutchinson 1% 1%
Ramaswamy 4% 1%
Trump 41% 26%
Other 2% 6%
Undecided 9% 11%
It would be nice if there was a CODE block button
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/16/2024 @ 12:38 pmAs I’ve said before, ARG polls are extreme outliers. No other polling shows the race this close in NH.
Rip Murdock (62a41d) — 1/16/2024 @ 12:40 pmTrue. Which means we can’t see if it is proof or more allegations. People lie about stuff they can’t show you, or play lawyerly tricks about what it shows.
While that’s not admissable in evidence, your honor, it is unfortunately suggestive.
Consider it the Trump effect. There may be more money in MAGA business than there are in DUIs. It’s been 10 or so years since she was winning awards.
May mean they are friends, rather than lovers. People trust their friends and this is a case where trust among the staff is important.
Where’s that proof? I haven’t seen it. Nor, I expect, have you. That’s an allegation
That’s neither criminal or unethical. It’s possible there are records held by the Executive Branch that are relevant to her inquiry.
You mistake inference for evidence.
Appalled (100f1b) — 1/16/2024 @ 12:43 pmAs of today in NH, the 538 average has Trump +13 over Haley and + 38 over DeSantis. That’s a lotta ground to make up in one week.
Rip Murdock (62a41d) — 1/16/2024 @ 12:46 pmMy problem is that I do understand the electoral college and that my vote is worth less than the vote of someone in Idaho because of it. I don’t want it torn down, I want it fixed so that all of our votes count the same. (OH NOES, PEOPLE IN POPULOUS STATES WILL GET MORE ELECTORAL VOTES!! Yeah, that’s how representation is supposed to work.) In conjunction I also think the House needs to be fixed. I realize that means that there would be a lot more congress people, but right now it is 1. inequitable and 2. they each represent too many people. 3. They each have too much power on an individual basis and it needs to be diluted. If I can put 1000 students in the gym, surely the US government is capable of building a room for 2000 or so representatives.
Nic (896fdf) — 1/16/2024 @ 12:48 pm@350
Increasing the seats in the House (ie, more congressional districts) and/or changing the Electoral College isn’t practical, likely in our lifetime.
Here’s a happy-medium that may alleviate your concerns that “may” be constitutional that can survive scrutiny, (unlike the National Vote Compact): Instead of awarding winner takes all delegates per State popular vote… award them per popular vote within congressional district. (I think Maine/NE does this now).
Had such system been in place in last several elections, Mitt Romney would’ve won over Obama, but the winner would stay the same. (unfortunately, Trump would’ve still won under that system the 1st term).
whembly (5f7596) — 1/16/2024 @ 1:05 pm@289 Really? Haley says she will only debate trump not desatan. (DU) Desatan is now blaming the media especially fox for his loss instead of himself for being to slimy. Nikki ready if something (deep state) happens to trump. Germany canada worried yahoo news and DU.
asset (3b6757) — 1/16/2024 @ 1:07 pmwhembly (5f7596) — 1/16/2024 @ 1:05 pm
There are also to extra votes for the Senators. he district system may possibly give the “wrong” result more often. Remember candidates campaign according to the current system. Furthermore, there is gerrymandering,
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 1/16/2024 @ 1:15 pmNic (896fdf) — 1/16/2024 @ 12:48 pm
It’s the one system that gives everyone an unfair advantage. (with the general ticket)
California votes so lopsided so that even with the lost Republican votes, it undercounts the Democratic vote because the Democratic vote is really concentrated.
The power of each individual House member is too small, and the size of the constituency is too big for there to be many competitive elections.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 1/16/2024 @ 1:24 pmOf that 48%, 28% went to “Trump like” candidates (DeSantis and Ramaswamy), so the “maybe someone else” vote was really only Haley’s 20%.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/16/2024 @ 1:33 pm18% of the population in 26 states control 52 senators similar to electoral collage (msDNC)
asset (3b6757) — 1/16/2024 @ 1:34 pmDeSantis is not Trump. He’s not under indictment and does not talk about abolishing the Constitution or being a dictator. I might disagree with him about Ukraine and some culture war propositions, but he is inside the Overton Window of what has been a traditional Republican.
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 1/16/2024 @ 1:37 pmasset (3b6757) — 1/16/2024 @ 1:34 pm
But politically they are effectively random, and small states have more competitive elections for the United States Senate. Not New York Senate even though we have an nonentity like Kirsten Gillebrand as a Senator..
And a Republican can carry the state. Or some fusion candidate.
Sammy Finkelman (c5132f) — 1/16/2024 @ 1:48 pmHaley was more like definitely someone else. Nikki Haley said so herself last night (more or less)
Sammy Finkelman (c5132f) — 1/16/2024 @ 1:50 pm@Whembly@351 It’s perfectly practical, it just isn’t likely. Though if places like Wyoming and Montana keep getting California outflow and it effects the party of their representatives it may become more likely.
@asset@356 That was the point of the Senate being configured the way it was to begin with.
Nic (896fdf) — 1/16/2024 @ 2:24 pmABC’s New Hampshire debate canceled after Haley skips out
Rip Murdock (62a41d) — 1/16/2024 @ 2:50 pmThe California residents moving to Idaho and Montana aren’t going to change the political culture of those states. They are mostly retired fire fighters and cops.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/16/2024 @ 3:01 pmWay too little, way too late:
Again, Haley is depending on non-Republican votes in the primary. Who wants outsiders to pick the Republican nominee?
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/16/2024 @ 3:08 pm@363, Are you working for Biden to ensure Trump is the nominee? Haley is also in the Overton Window…has not been indicted, does not use terms like “poisoning the blood”, and does not want to be a dictator. She’s an infinitely better choice than Trump.
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 1/16/2024 @ 3:28 pmABC’s New Hampshire debate canceled after Haley skips out
I see no reason for her to give DeSantis another chance to help Trump.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/16/2024 @ 3:43 pmher offensive exposes her to significant risk — not only in the primary, where she is polling double digits behind Trump
Strange you should be unaware that she’s currently polling even, and ahead if you look at “likely” voters.
As I’ve said before, ARG polls are extreme outliers. No other polling shows the race this close in NH.
All the polls I see on RCP have Christie still in the race. Unless you think that some of Christie’s support is going to go to Trump the race is really quite close.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/16/2024 @ 3:48 pmThen again, Vivek’s support will go to Trump, or to RFK Jr, or to a few more bong hits, so it’s hard to say.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/16/2024 @ 3:50 pmBut Trump enters New Hampshire in a dominant position, having crushed his competition by roughly 30 percentage points in Iowa.
No, he crushed his competition by TWO percentage points.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/16/2024 @ 3:51 pm“It’s a crazy fine line she has to walk to not lose the small amount of Republican voters she has currently, but continue to drive out independent voters,” said Mike Dennehy, a veteran New Hampshire GOP strategist who is unaffiliated in the primary. “She cannot go nuclear on Donald Trump because she will lose any Republican support she currently has if she does so.”
For MAGA values of “Republican.” What a shill.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/16/2024 @ 3:53 pmNikki Haley has been underestimated this whole campaign, Trump has been overestimated, and the same people are doing so still. It’s gonna hurt when he loses NH to a girl.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/16/2024 @ 4:31 pmKevin M (ed969f) — 1/16/2024 @ 3:48 pm
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 1/16/2024 @ 4:32 pmKevin M (ed969f) — 1/16/2024 @ 3:43 pm
There’s an argument that his being in the race helps her, (because more of his voters will go to Trump than Haley.)
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 1/16/2024 @ 4:34 pmTrump got the most votes of any candidate in 98 of 99 counties, and in one county he lost by one vote: (at least initially, but it is not likely to change)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-narrowly-denied-clean-sweep-iowas-99-counties-1-vote
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 1/16/2024 @ 4:38 pmRip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/16/2024 @ 3:08 pm
Peole who don’t feel close to any party.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-yorks-voter-suppression-primary-registration-president-gop-2024-b934aeed
It used to be before the previous November election, which in practice meant some date in October.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 1/16/2024 @ 4:42 pmI saw on TV: Trump: 39% Haley: 32%
And Christie 12%.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/16/2024 @ 4:43 pmIf you will recall, Hillary kept her family fed for 16 years on the “inevitability” that she would one day be President.
The odds are very good that regardless of what happens this elections season, on November 6 Haley will be the “frontrunner”. Unlike the Trump-Kushner crime family, this in not her last hurrah. She is still hitting her stride. She does not need to be strident or impatient.
nk (856cf2) — 1/16/2024 @ 4:44 pmThere’s an argument that his being in the race helps her
But another debate with him and his poo-flinging won’t.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/16/2024 @ 4:44 pmWho wants outsiders to pick the Republican nominee?
I don’t care who pick the nominee, so long as it isn’t Trump. Frankly, the MAGA forces that have corrupted the GOP don’t deserve my deference.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/16/2024 @ 4:45 pmnk–
It tool Maggie Thatcher a long time to overcome the Boys Club.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/16/2024 @ 4:47 pmI agree that Haley is better than Trump, but the polls say what the polls say. Nothing I (or anyone else) post here will change that. Posters here overestimate the influence of this forum. It doesn’t have the power to change the future.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/16/2024 @ 5:33 pm538 has removed Christie from their polling average; and it still shows Trump +13 over Haley (and includes the ARG poll). The Emerson College poll (conducted Jan. 8-10; the ARG poll was conducted Jan. 12-15) shows Trump +16 over Haley.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/16/2024 @ 5:42 pmRepublican voters are ensuring that Trump is the nominee, not me.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/16/2024 @ 5:43 pmMore Important than votes:
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/16/2024 @ 5:48 pmDemeaning comment aside, I’ll take that bet.
Rip Murdock (62a41d) — 1/16/2024 @ 8:02 pmI don’t think you can consider 110,000 Iowans (less than 15% of all Iowa voters) a representative enough sample to draw any conclusions about Trump’s popularity. It was one of the lowest turnouts in more than a decade.
Rip Murdock (62a41d) — 1/16/2024 @ 8:17 pmDemocrat tom keen defeats anti choice republican district in central floriduh. Democrat ran on abortion which will be on the ballot in 2024 (orlando sentinal)
asset (eff731) — 1/16/2024 @ 8:43 pmOn chris hayes show tonight (msDNC) They showed the concerned republicans about voter fraud, voting at the Iowa caucus. Running ballot around in bags and popcorn tubs and when running out of ballots using school note book paper for people to vote on and allowing them to stuff their ballots in bags. No concern about ballot stuffing from trumpsters because voters are white. It looked like a white out.
asset (eff731) — 1/16/2024 @ 10:31 pmI don’t think you can consider 110,000 Iowans (less than 15% of all Iowa voters) a representative enough sample to draw any conclusions about Trump’s popularity. It was one of the lowest turnouts in more than a decade.
Wait, just a bit ago I heard that this caucus says “game over” now it’s “not representative”?
Pick one.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/16/2024 @ 11:08 pmDemeaning comment aside, I’ll take that bet.
Struck a nerve I wasn’t even aiming at.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/16/2024 @ 11:09 pmIt looked like a white out.
It’s IOWA. It’s as diverse as DC.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/16/2024 @ 11:10 pmhttps://twitter.com/SNFonNBC/status/1746336083799925089
vs https://twitter.com/MlVideos27/status/1746330833659613388
NBC edits glory to Jesus Christ out of their video. Can’t have praise of our Lord and Savior on their evil network.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 1/17/2024 @ 4:15 amhttps://twitter.com/IAPolls2022/status/1747299413221835210?
Here’s some Presidential polling for you.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 1/17/2024 @ 4:26 am@392
Meh…
I mean, that’s a really optimistic poll for Trump.
But, the media and Democrats (BIRM) hasn’t unleashed their attacks ads yet.
whembly (5f7596) — 1/17/2024 @ 7:26 amI never said Iowa was “game over.” The Iowa results were entirely predictable based on the polling over the last six months. The South Carolina primary will be “game over” for some candidates.
Those who said that 48% of those that voted for other candidates in Iowa somehow represented a yearning for someone other than Trump were wrong-winning 51% in the caucus and by 30 points had never been done before. If any candidate has momentum coming out of Iowa it’s Trump, it’s certainly not DeSantis or Haley.
You can’t draw conclusions about how Republicans really feel about a Trump candidacy based on one of the lowest caucus participation rates in recent history, and caucus participation is frequently far less than states with voting elections. We’ll find out how much Republicans want Trump in Nevada, South Carolina, and on Super Tuesday.
And we’ll see in less than a week if Trump “loses NH to a girl.”
Rip Murdock (8929de) — 1/17/2024 @ 7:32 amTrump beat Biden by nearly 9 points in Iowa in 2020 so that poll isn’t a big deal.
Rip Murdock (8929de) — 1/17/2024 @ 7:35 amhttps://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2024/01/perjury-in-a-j6-trial.php
NJRob (215b9a) — 1/17/2024 @ 8:44 amReally? Jim Crow laws, restrictive housing covenants, Chinese Exclusion Act, “separate but equal”, reservation system, Dawes Act, Southern state Black Codes, anti-miscegenation laws, California Anti-Coolie Act, Indian Removal Act, oh, yeah, and slavery.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/17/2024 @ 9:07 amOuch!
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/17/2024 @ 9:14 amIf any candidate has momentum coming out of Iowa it’s Trump, it’s certainly not DeSantis or Haley.
I see it as a wash for all of them. Trump got a majority in deep-Trump country. Meh. DeSantis got 20% after spending every dime he had. Haley did well, given her lesser focus, but she still came in third.
None of them succeeded, none of them failed. NH will be a better test, and if Haley doesn’t win or tie, she’s in serious trouble. I don’t really see much going forward for DeSantis — his NH game is minimal at best. I think his move is to join with Haley as a team going into SC, akin to the Cruz-Fiorina attempt in 2016.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/17/2024 @ 9:37 amReally?
Yes, really. There’s a reason those things you list no longer exist. America, as a nation, overcame the momentary interests which gave rise to them and maintained her ideals.
nk (bc7011) — 1/17/2024 @ 9:46 amI think that Nikki is philosophically correct, and her answer reflects thought and intelligence.
But it was politically wrong, and a blunder.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/17/2024 @ 9:59 amWorth reading and watching: This story on the sad life and death of Levi Evanson.
The narrator, Eric Johnson, makes it clear that there is blame to go around for her death. And that multiple governments failed her.
As the death toll from opiods, especially fentanyl, soars, we need to think seriously about how to tackle this problem. I have seen very little serious discussion of it — and none from the three or four candidates most likely to win the presidency in November.
Let me repeat, none.
Jim Miller (bbe3be) — 1/17/2024 @ 10:00 amLook… if Trump’s the nominee… I’m 99% convinced he’ll lose.
The amount of negative onslaught from media and Democrats (BIRM) will be something we’ve haven’t experienced before. ESPECIALLY if he’s convicted in one of the 4 active cases.
But, in a “what if” scenario on Earth 2 that Trump wins, here something that should mitigate you concerns at bit:
https://san.com/cc/advocacy-groups-preparing-litigation-in-case-of-trump-reelection/
That judge in Hawaii is going to be busy… 😀
Jim Geraghty is sounding an alarm for Biden:
https://www.nationalreview.com/the-morning-jolt/biden-and-the-democrats-have-good-reasons-to-be-nervous/
I’m not quite convinced. Neither the media or Democrats unleashed their opposition contents.
Democrat voters are really good “coming home” to vote in the General. Just see the former Sanders voters pulling for Biden in 2020.
I think what it’ll come down to are the nominally new/Independent voters:
-Will they be affected by all the negative Trump ads and vote against Trump, despite Biden’s horrible policies?
-Or, will they stick to the “kitchen table issues” that things were better under Trump and rationalize all the Trump negatives?
I think the former is much more likely than the latter…
God… I hate this. Just wished it was DeSantis or Haley.
whembly (5f7596) — 1/17/2024 @ 11:06 amApple Changes Its App Store Policy. Critics Call the Moves ‘Outrageous.’
New Google motto: “Don’t be Apple”
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/17/2024 @ 12:22 pmChina caught in further COVID lie:
Chinese Lab Mapped Deadly Coronavirus Two Weeks Before Beijing Told the World, Documents Show
OTOH, the US government had the information but didn’t know it.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/17/2024 @ 12:25 pm@400 Alan Colmes wrote a book: Thank the liberals. This country has always been in a fight between good liberals and evil conservatives. Here is the difference liberals are good people with not always good ideas like defund the police. Conservatives are bad people with sometimes good ideas like don’t defund the police.
asset (5ca115) — 1/17/2024 @ 12:34 pm@403 If trump wins AOC will become president sooner! So its not all bad.
asset (5ca115) — 1/17/2024 @ 12:38 pmHaley said America was never</em> a racist country. History has proved her wrong.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/17/2024 @ 12:45 pmHaley said that America was never a racist country. History has proved her wrong. Sher also probably offended a lot of the limo liberals who intended to vote for her.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/17/2024 @ 12:47 pmIf Trump wins AOC will be one of the first to be arrested as an enemy of the people.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/17/2024 @ 12:49 pmDeSantis concedes New Hampshire:
DeSantis might as well concede South Carolina too. While he is going after Haley (+13 over DeSantis) in her home state, he really has no momentum to speak of….and neither does Haley in SC. According to the current 538 average, Trump leads DeSantis by +42 and Haley by +30.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/17/2024 @ 1:05 pmIf trump wins, the Democrats will try to find some way to disqualify him on the basis of the 14th amendment, and if they succeed, which they are not likely to do, he will take an office in a backroom of the White House and act through his mostly loyal vice president.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 1/17/2024 @ 1:06 pmThe only reason they want a 2-person race is that , even though a convention is designed to exactly do this, since 1972 votes have not been combined on a compromise choice.
The race for the Republican nomination is almost certain to be over after Super Tuesday. They don’t even fantasize about anyone else but Trump winning the bulk of the delegates then.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 1/17/2024 @ 1:09 pmIt will depend on what the Supreme Court says about Section 3.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/17/2024 @ 1:11 pm1600 Pennsylvania Avenue was swatted the other day. (with a report of a fire),
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/01/15/nation/dc-fire-responds-false-911-swatting-call-targeting-white-house
https://www.wral.com/story/white-house-targeted-by-swatting-call-latest-in-nationwide-trend/21237517
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 1/17/2024 @ 1:13 pmOuch!
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/17/2024 @ 1:28 pmPoll crosstabs.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/17/2024 @ 1:36 pmHaley said America was never a racist country. History has proved her wrong.
“History” is a fable, and not always agreed:
nk (bc7011) — 1/17/2024 @ 1:39 pmAnyway, if nothing else, she knows she’s running in the Party of Abraham Lincoln.
nk (bc7011) — 1/17/2024 @ 1:42 pmSpeaker Johnson is effectively on Putin’s side, the side of evil and war crimes and terrorism.
Paul Montagu (3f4f61) — 1/17/2024 @ 2:08 pmI hate my party’s leaders even more than I hate my party.
“Haley said that America was never a racist country. History has proved her wrong. Sher also probably offended a lot of the limo liberals who intended to vote for her.”
Certainly it’s an unneeded own goal. Weirdly, being a person of color, her SC experience must have really affected how she feels comfortable talking about racial issues. The question of whether the GOP is racist and anything about the civil war should be easily parried away. This is an unwanted side issue distraction while the GOP house burns with Trump unabashedly playing to white supremacists and those wanting to end the Hispanic poisoning of our blood.
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 1/17/2024 @ 2:16 pm“Donald Trump continues to hold a commanding lead in New Hampshire”
Evil is winning. Sad.
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 1/17/2024 @ 2:42 pmI think the laws I listed pretty much disproved Haley’s comment that America was “never” a racist country.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/17/2024 @ 2:53 pmOr do you disagree that the laws were racist?
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/17/2024 @ 2:54 pmMomentary interests.
nk (bc7011) — 1/17/2024 @ 2:56 pmRip has never been anti-Haley, he just reports the news.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/17/2024 @ 3:01 pmSpeaker Johnson is effectively on Putin’s side, the side of evil and war crimes and terrorism.
I hate my party’s leaders even more than I hate my party.
The Democrats can force it by shutting down the government. Johnson needs their votes to pass any bill.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/17/2024 @ 3:03 pmTrump unabashedly playing to white supremacists and those wanting to end the Hispanic poisoning of our blood.
Purity of Essence!
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/17/2024 @ 3:04 pm@422
Why so sad.
Hitler is in office, doncha know?
whembly (5f7596) — 1/17/2024 @ 3:37 pm@425
nk… this is politics.
You can hold an understanding that Nikki isn’t discounting history and may have, flubbed this a bit.
Politics will parse out statements and try to *twist* it as unfavorable as possible.
Like, when media said Trump included white supremacist when he said “there’s good people on both sides” of the issue.
What we should hold Nikki to account, is for her be this sloppy to give her opponents this layup.
whembly (5f7596) — 1/17/2024 @ 3:40 pmSo says the Haley whisperer.
I would have made the same point if DeSantis, Trump, or any other candidate made such an idiotic statement. This more than parsing a statement, she flat out said that America was never a racist country. You can’t get more explicit than that.
This is on par when Ramaswamy said that the US Constitution is “what won us the American Revolution.”
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/17/2024 @ 3:51 pmCombined with Haley’s past comments on the Civil War (“tradition v. change”), this is not “sloppiness.” It’s either what she was taught or believes. Given her defense of secession and the Confederate flag, I think it reflects her beliefs.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/17/2024 @ 3:57 pm@410 Jamie Dimon who calls himself a sometimes democrat says democrats (and I will add never trumpers) have gone to far in their attacks on trump who was basically right on most thing (I will add only somethings.) Attacking trump’s supporters as racists ( I add like joy reid) Is counter productive. Many maga’s support trump for what he tried to do and are not a personality cult. (I will add both are ex democrat populists) CNN, CNBC and others. This is thinking outside the bubble or rats leaving the sinking ship which ever you prefer.
asset (87352e) — 1/17/2024 @ 4:06 pm@419 in 1964 the republican party traded Abraham Lincoln for strom thurmond. In 1980 reagan after nomination went down to phildelphia mississippi where the three civil rights workers were murdered and welcomed the klansmen into the republican party.
asset (87352e) — 1/17/2024 @ 4:12 pmThere was racist exploitation of the masses by plutocrats for as long as they profited from growing cotton, building the railroads, grabbing the Indians’ land, and pillaging the country’s natural resources; and also by politicians and would-be politicians including generals looking to grab their piece of the action by way of the government; but America herself was their co-victim and not their co-perpetrator.
nk (bc7011) — 1/17/2024 @ 4:13 pmRIP Joyce Randolph (99). She played Trixie, the wife of Ed Norton (Art Carney) on The Honeymooners. She was the last surviving member of the original cast.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/17/2024 @ 5:45 pm@419 in 1964 the republican party traded Abraham Lincoln for strom thurmond. In 1980 reagan after nomination went down to phildelphia mississippi where the three civil rights workers were murdered and welcomed the klansmen into the republican party.
And they say that schools don’t teach history any more.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/17/2024 @ 7:05 pmRon DeSantis has abandoned his campaign in NH
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/17/2024 @ 7:21 pmAs for Halley’s comment, two groups are upset: Democrats who would never vote for any Republican, and those Republicans who would never vote for Haley anyway.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/17/2024 @ 7:23 pmAnd, really, Haley may be trying to interest those Republicans who don’t think everything is about race.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/17/2024 @ 7:25 pmThirty years ago today.
Rip Murdock (8929de) — 1/17/2024 @ 7:33 pmHaley’s comments (and her campaign’s defense) sure prove that. No wonder she doesn’t want to debate or interact with the public. She’s hiding.
Rip Murdock (8929de) — 1/17/2024 @ 7:37 pmIn 2024, the King of Denmark changed took the name Frederik X, and there are hardly any African-American in Denmark at all. Where will it all end?
nk (6a5f2b) — 1/17/2024 @ 7:48 pmYou can make that point without a verifiably false statement like America has “never” been racist. It certainly has been at certain points in its history.
Rip Murdock (7d5060) — 1/17/2024 @ 7:49 pmWhatever the “history”, this is the most I have liked Nikki Haley. There’s a Greek saying, “If you don’t praise your house, it will fall on you and crush you”. Giving the finger to the race hustlers and the wokes, even if only in their own minds, is something I applaud.
nk (6a5f2b) — 1/17/2024 @ 7:52 pmverifiably false statement like America has “never” been racist.
You keep asserting this. Have you tried ALL CAPS?
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/17/2024 @ 10:50 pmNetworks like nbc 1/17/2023 are now admitting electric cars have serious charging problem when temperature drops below 20 degrees. Nbc showed charging stations down too. Since Biden adm. is based on electric cars as the future as well as state democratic parties this is a serious problem that trump and gop will use and also make people even more reluctant to buy electric cars.
asset (859518) — 1/17/2024 @ 11:33 pmHeh! Good one.
felipe (5e2a04) — 1/18/2024 @ 3:55 amThen give them the finger. I’ll join you. But don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Rewriting history to piss people off is no way to go through life. The Constitution winked at slavery. Sorry but that’s racism, albeit not the indictment the race-baiters would have us believe.
Don’t get me wrong. Legalized slavery followed by Jim Crow is probably the darkest stain on our national patrimony, but viewing it through the freak-show lens of presentism is as silly as claiming it wasn’t racist at all. God knows which beliefs and behaviors I’m fine with today that will make me look like a monster a hundred years from now, but something will.
By any plausible definition, Lincoln was a racist. I’d be extremely critical of anyone today expressing his views on race, yet I’m confident he was a better person than I am. The same reasoning applies to the country as a whole. Don’t fight the history, just the presentism.
lurker (cd7cd4) — 1/18/2024 @ 6:06 amIs a country racist or are select people in that country racist…at whatever moment of history you choose?
There’s a bit of define your terms here, and there’s more than a bit of leftist narrative going on in the background. There is a race industry in this country that sells systemic racism. Some of their arguments contain complicated truths, others seemed geared at a systematic shakedown. Racial quotas and reparations are things. They divide the country and enflame the rhetoric.
One could certainly argue that the ideals of the country as manifested in its founding documents argue against it being racist. The implementation was imperfect, so much so that it resulted in a costly Civil War. Humans are by design imperfect. We hold onto our prejudices and instinctively stick to our tribes and blame our woes on other tribes. Is humanity racist?!
Amusingly, Haley was not even asked whether the country was racist, but whether the GOP itself was racist. Maybe that was a shrewd sidestep. Though her answer does interestingly match answers by Tim Scott and Kamala Harris. But it’s a complicated answer. Not really one meant for the campaign trail or for the average voter not conditioned for nuance.
It’s an own goal except that everyone is now talking about Haley. This is a play out of Trump’s playbook of grabbing attention. Maybe in a jiu jitsu way it’s masterful. Haley does not have a lot of moves left to pick off persuadable Trump leaners. Becoming a target of the Left and race hustlers has some genius to it.
The GOP house continues to burn….Trump the arsonist must be stopped….Haley still is the best alternative.
AJ_Liberty (9737a4) — 1/18/2024 @ 6:58 amIt’s not an assertion, “never” is a direct quote from Haley and her campaign. There is no need to put it in caps.
You can watch her say it at the link. I’m sure her quote will overshadow everything else at the CNN town hall tonight.
Rip Murdock (1fe61e) — 1/18/2024 @ 7:17 amAs AJ pointed out, she wasn’t asked (by Brian Kilmeade, a friendly Fox commentator) about whether America was racist. She volunteered her denial, but wouldn’t say if the Republican Party was racist.
Rip Murdock (1fe61e) — 1/18/2024 @ 7:21 amhttps://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2024/01/17/doj-hunters-laptop-is-real-spectacular-and-so-was-the-cocaine-on-his-holster-n605553
This was obvious. Our government meddled in our last election.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 1/18/2024 @ 7:36 am@453
Undeniably a true election interference by the government (Trump’s own FBI).
But, there will never be any accountability.
I think that’s part of the reason why Trump is “a thing”, as some Trump voters that I know believes that voting for Trump again is the only accountability the people can do to these people.
I disagree, as I told them DeSantis is your warrior if you want accountability.
whembly (5f7596) — 1/18/2024 @ 7:48 amSome people in this country have always been racist. The numbers have been large at times, and in times and places they have had the majority. But the Country isn’t just the political actors of its time.
The Constitution never suggested that race, per se, was a modifier of rights, or citizenship. The slavery clauses were developed as a compromise between racist slave owners and people who opposed slavery — notably the 3/5ths rule and the sun-setting of the slave trade in 1808. Even then the opposition to slavery was manifest.
That Justice Taney, a racist, wrote race into the Constitution does not mean it was actually there, and his decision was a dead letter almost immediately.
Later, the Radical Republicans (pbut) expunged those clauses and added other ones to make things much clearer. Sadly, subsequent politicians whittled those down, or ignored them, but again that is not “the country”, that is individuals, groups and political majorities momentarily ascendant.
The Declaration of Independence was the heart of the Founding, stating the goals of the nation. It still is, and in many places outside the US it provides inspiration to those still oppressed. It has ever been opposed to those who would crush the individual under the heel of the state, with whatever excuse. It is not racist, even though a slave-owner wrote it (on one of his better days).
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/18/2024 @ 8:35 amLook at this another way:
Tammany Hall
Nixon
Hoover’s FBI
Daley’s Chicago
The Train
Donald Trump
Endless examples of dishonesty and corruption. Do they mean that the Country has always been dishonest and corrupt, or only that some of its people are?
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/18/2024 @ 8:43 amHaley’s limousine liberal, wine and cheese voters in New Hampshire will still vote for her as the anti-Trump candidate; her comments were directed to the beer drinking, pick up driving good ol’ boys in South Carolina. But she can’t out dog whistle the expert in dog whistles.
Do I think Haley is a racist? No, because the only thing she believes in is what will get her elected.
I think America has made far more progress against de jure racism than corruption. Hardly a year goes by when government officials (most recently George Santos and the Menendezes), aren’t accused of corruption. Unfortunately, a lot of “corruption” is constitutionally protected (campaign contributions and gifts to public officials).
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/18/2024 @ 9:34 amI’m sure in the right context Haley would say “America has never been corrupt.”
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/18/2024 @ 9:35 amI’m sure in the right context Haley would say “America has never been corrupt.”
As a nation it never has been. Corruption has always been criminalized.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/18/2024 @ 10:08 amhttps://freebeacon.com/columns/delusional-in-davos/
Biden administration continues to act like Israel is the primary impediment to peace in the Middle East. They ignore Iran and pretend that “Palestinians ” can be a functional nation.
NJRob (6e2947) — 1/18/2024 @ 10:21 amI agree wholeheartedly.
NJRob (6e2947) — 1/18/2024 @ 10:22 amNo one in the Middle East is interested in giving anything up for “peace.” Oh, they’ll take it if it comes, but they’ll toss it aside in a moment if there is a great enough advantage for doing so. Even Israel.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/18/2024 @ 10:29 amMeanwhile, the Fulton County Trump prosecution has morphed (for a couple weeks) into a high-stakes episode of Divorce Court:
https://www.ajc.com/politics/fulton-trump-judge-schedules-february-hearing-on-willis-allegations/VCDYL4JFGNE4VKPNDYR26POXQU/
It seems fitting that Fani has a deadline of February 2 to file an answer the charges. In the meantime, FW keeps not answering the question on the relationship with her assistant. Her response to the divorce subpoena feels very lawyered.
Appalled (03f53c) — 1/18/2024 @ 11:55 amI will note that, except for some date typos, fw’s filing in the divorce case is interesting. It is here:
https://www.ajc.com/politics/fulton-trump-judge-schedules-february-hearing-on-willis-allegations/VCDYL4JFGNE4VKPNDYR26POXQU/
She argues:
This suggests that the divorce attorney for Jocelyn Wade has been coordinating with the attorney for Michael Roman. I have no idea if that is legal or just “sharp practice”, but it does keep me skeptical about this operation.
Also noteworthy. The bombshell allegation that Roman’s attorney was just doing some research and suddenly the divorce records were sealed (how nefarious!) sounds more like garbage:
It wouldn’t surprise me if the attorneys have just been passing notes about possible evidence. This is what Willis claims. She also claims that issues regarding this divorce ended long ago.
I will note — Willis doesn’t deny a romantic relationship anywhere in this filing. She has until February 2 to either fess up or deliver a resounding denial.
Appalled (03f53c) — 1/18/2024 @ 12:35 pm“Am I the only one who hears the screams?
lloyd (526c34) — 1/18/2024 @ 1:00 pmAnd the strangled cries of lawyers in love”
Meanwhile, in the real world, Democrats haven’t stopped being pr1cks about the border.
“Excuse me, I’m asking the questions“
Democrats don’t want increased funding for interdiction and law enforcement. They want it to process border crossers more quickly.
lloyd (526c34) — 1/18/2024 @ 1:05 pmIn Beverly Hills, no kitchen remodels or pool grottoes as judge orders building moratorium over lack of affordable housing (link may not work for non-subscribers)
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/18/2024 @ 1:25 pmI think that Fani Willis’s only out is political machinations, and that will depend on how influential she is in, and how dependent the judge is on, local party politics. She already took it to the streets with the race card, and she must be scrabbling furiously to line up support and exert pressure behind the scenes.
nk (748cdd) — 1/18/2024 @ 2:50 pmAccording to NHK World, Japan just bought 400 Tomahawk missiles from the US. They probably meant “ordered”, rather than “bought”, but it is still a significant sale.
Especially when you combine that with the fact that Japan could make nuclear bombs within less than a year, perhaps within less than six months. (They have a failry large stock of plutonium.)
“King” Kim, “Czar” Putin, and “Emperor” Xi are edging us closer to nuclear war. I hope I am wrong in that dismal conclusion.
Jim Miller (65cd23) — 1/18/2024 @ 4:03 pmIt’s a complicated plot and North Korea may go first, (or really second, depending upon how it goes with Iran, and how the United States reacts to their use of a nuclear weapon, but Iran may be embroiled in a war with Pakistan before that)
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 1/18/2024 @ 4:07 pmThe first moment it looks like NK will use a nuke, a number of portions of NK will be gone. Really, the whole non-proliferation regime hinges on NK being put in its place. Should have happened 30 years ago when they cheated the first time.
(not our nk)
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/18/2024 @ 4:44 pmGreat column by Peggy Noonan today:
This Isn’t Only a Trump Election
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/18/2024 @ 5:13 pm@453 how about the 2016 election?
asset (9cbd9d) — 1/18/2024 @ 6:43 pm@472 Most democrats disagree. In bubble breaking news. Jamie Dimon at davos says he and his company will do just fine who ever is president. (CNBC) I will add because he owns biden and the corporate democrats and republicans. Trump wants to be owned by the wealthy see: 2017 tax cuts for rich. In other news 200 spokane wa. churches were asked to open their doors to get homeless out of the freezing weather only 4 agreed. (DU) The rest were to busy running the money changers out of the temple. How many hundreds of thousands did evangelist bob vanderplaatz make off of ron desatan in Iowa?
asset (9cbd9d) — 1/18/2024 @ 7:00 pmInfinite Crimes.
Trump wants total immunity even for “events that cross the line”.
Accountability.
It’s why we shouldn’t elect a man-child to the most important office in the land. We confuse shamelessness for strength…and bombast for wisdom. We want a troll instead of someone who can harmonize our differences, inspire, and build consensus. In what other position would we willingly want a sociopath in our lives? And trust that others will constrain him? It’s reckless, yet here we are.
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 1/19/2024 @ 4:56 amIn what other position would we willingly want a sociopath in our lives?
To be exact, a sociopath child.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/19/2024 @ 6:50 amSome will say, sociopath child vs senile man….but Biden is not senile….yet. He is lucid and can clearly articulate policy, though maybe a little slower and sometimes mumbly. He’s certainly not optimal, but I fear him less. He won’t start a war because he’s mad at some judge or commentator.
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 1/19/2024 @ 8:42 amhttps://notthebee.com/article/denvers-major-public-hospital-is-absolutely-hemorrhaging-money-as-illegal-immigrants-flood-the-city
The invasion is bankrupting the nation at an ever increasing rate.
NJRob (e87afd) — 1/19/2024 @ 9:11 amBiden has started several wars due to his weakness and inability to lead.
His policies are disasterous and bankrupting the nation at a rapidly accelerating rate.
Carry on.
NJRob (e87afd) — 1/19/2024 @ 9:17 am