Distraction and diversion

Hi, Dirk

There is plenty of posturing and political theater from both sides of the aisle. However, with regard to your observation that Trump's association with Putin has been debunked by the left... earlier this year, Fareed Zakaria over at CNN said, "... You know, the dirty little secret about the Trump administration was that while Donald Trump clearly had a kind of soft spot for Putin, the Trump administration was pretty tough on the Russians. They armed Ukraine. They armed the Poles. They extended NATO operations and exercises in ways that even the Obama administration had not done. They maintained the sanctions."

And let's not forget Trump pulling out of the Iran nuke deal. I'm sure Vlad was real happy about that Trump policy.

Dirk: You can pay attention yourself, instead of relying on me, wasting my time feeding you. Watch a real news channel, like MSNBC, and not a falsehood spreader like Fox.

Unemployment under Trump 6.8% Biden 3.8%

Infrastructure Week Under Trump: Every Week Biden:$1.2 Trillion Bipartisan Deal

Biden - Reduced Child poverty by 45%

Biden - Highest number of Federal Judges appointed since Reagan

Biden - Halt on Federal Executions

Biden - Transgender People Allowed to Openly Serve in Military

Biden - 75% of Americans Fully Vaccinated

Biden - Student loans for fraudulent for profit colleges forgiven (Trump ran a fake for profit college)

craigwiesner: And we shouldn’t forget how President Biden has restored world respect and confidence, like President Obama did after the disastrous Republican administration before him.

Hi, Craig

Sorry I didn't get to your post yesterday... I've got a lot of irons in the fire. We sometimes disagree but not always. Here's where we do agree... whenever the action of our chief executive moves the needle in a positive way, we should be thankful. I read your list of Biden accomplishments and scratched my head a little... so, with respect to your list of Biden accomplishments, can you provide some context?

Unemployment... the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports shows Trump inherited a 4.7% unemployment rate. That number dropped to about 3.6% by the end of 2019... then COVID. It has now returned to about the same number we saw before the pandemic. How are you comparing the 6.8% and the 3.8% numbers on your list?

Federal judge appointments... has Biden really appointed the highest number of federal judges since Reagan? He has appointed about 69 federal judges according to Ballotpedia. Trump appointed 234 and Obama appointed 334. This item on your list needs some elaboration. Perhaps Biden has appointed the most federal judges during a president's first year in office since the Reagan years? However, Biden's appointment of women and persons of color to federal judge positions is noteworthy... maybe bringing greater diversity to the judiciary is Biden's greater accomplishment.

Child poverty... the 45% number on your list just doesn't look right. Maybe it's typo? In an article discussing good things Biden has done for all of us, the reduction in child poverty early in Biden's presidency is something amazingly positive, and all Americans should be thankful for that accomplishment. The increase in tax credits for children reduced child poverty from 15.9% to 11.9% almost overnight. That's a 25% decrease not 45%. We should be thankful for this accomplishment and be hopeful such reductions will continue. Which media outlet published an article about Biden accomplishments that concluded by saying Biden deserves credit for things he has done or will do that will benefit all Americans? Fox News.

Ray,

Good morning, I know that I didn’t see much from you in the DJ the past week and I see that you have been busy. I have been poked and pulled so many times the past week that I haven’t had time to join the activities either.

I just took a quick look and see that one of your assumptions is correct in regards to the Judges appointed. The highest number of Federal Judges since Reagan is for the first year time frame. The info I saw was from the Alliance for Justice and the Pew Research Center and they indicated that almost 75% of the Biden nominees were women and nearly 65% were people of color. Under Trump about 83% were white and only 25% were women.

On another subject, I guess Terence must be out of town. There have been a number of comments that have been about the orange conman and he hasn’t replied with his usual great president bunk. You don’t think he has turned over a new leaf and jumped ship like all the Republicans that are turning on DJT and testifying for the Jan. 6th committee do you?

Hey, Tafhdyd

Yes, I recall Terence saying he would be away for a while. There has not been as much back and forth for the past couple of weeks. I kinda thought the left was weary from being trounced in the DJ, but then Mark O and Michael O jump back into the fray. Sadly, my dance card will be full over the next couple of weeks, and I will not have a chance to make many comments in the DJ. (I guess that's not sad news for everyone.)

The Jan. 6 hearing... not really as bipartisan as Nancy would like us to believe. A lot of political theater... on both sides. Cassidy Hutchinson? C'mon, man! In my view, the hearings are just the DNC throwing something shiny on the ground hoping voters will be distracted from inflation, crime, the border, etc. on Nov. 8.

When Republicans take back the House later this year, I hope they won't be saying, "Turnabout is fair play," and cue up more political theater masquerading as an investigation into the Biden family business. If there is a legitimate reason to make an inquiry, do it and move on. Let's not trade the Schiff show for McCarthy's monologues.

There is too much real business to be done.

Ray,

Well I agree that we need to get on with business, but in MHO, part of the business is being sure the general public knows the extent of the Trump corruption and votes accordingly. You heard it here first, the Dems maintain control and even gain a little. At least that is what I hope.

Cassidy Hutchinson? C'mom man! She doesn't have a dog in that fight, why would she lie? It's not a distraction, it is information the public needs and will never see if the Repubs do win in November. BTW, if they do win I think it will be a short lived run. Their medieval ways will get them booted out in '24 and then we can get on to fixing their damage and look forward to an America as you and I remember.

Good morning, Tafhdyd

Wow... the comment you posted last night was liberally infused with Jorgian logic.

Is part of the business being sure the general public knows the extent of the DNC's corruption and votes accordingly? Controlling... actually concealing... information from voters about the Biden family business influenced the outcome of the 2020 election. The DNC's cover story... supported by the MSM, the big tech platforms and DNC operatives was that the story was Russian disinformation. Was it? No.

You believe the Dems will maintain control and even gain a little on November 8... at least that is your hope. I'm fairly confident you will be buying the adult beverages on November 9.

Cassidy Hutchinson... why would she lie? The better question is... why would Dems call on someone to provide hearsay testimony when actual witnesses are available? I'm curious. Exactly how would someone "lunge" at a steering wheel while seated in the passenger compartment of the presidential limousine?

If Republicans do win on November 8, you think it will be a short lived run. I feel that depends on two things: the Republicans' 2024 nominee* and the economy. However, if your scenario does play out and Dems bounce back in 2024, they'll get more chances to send inflation, gas prices, and crime even higher. However, border crossings may start decreasing... because everyone who wants to cross will have already done so. Dems can add that to their list of "accomplishments."

* I still like Nimrata Randhawa in 2024.

Ray,

I will clarify, or maybe cloud a few things in a reply to some of your comments.

First the important stuff. If I were to have to buy on the 9th, the one thing you can be sure of is that I would buy on the 9th. I wouldn’t tell the bartender I wasn’t going to pay him because I didn’t like the way he poured the drink. I wouldn’t tell him to sue me for the money. I wouldn’t file for bankruptcy when he brings the bill. If you noticed that those things are the way DJT runs his business, bingo, you are right. ( You know I can’t pass up an opportunity to trash Trump.)

Now for the hash. The Biden family business may indeed be an item to investigate. I will be happy to talk Biden when Trump and Ivanka and Donnie Jr. etc. release their financials so we can see the extent of their personal dealings with foreign operatives and governments which make him and his family a security risk. You remember that Donald had to over rule the security agencies because they would not clear his family for high level positions. The positions he wanted to put them in so they could follow in his grifter footsteps.

Why would the Dems call for hearsay testimony when actual witnesses are available. I know you are smarter than that. Most of the actual witnesses that know the meat and potatoes won’t appear to answer questions even when served subpoenas. Everyone would like to hear what they have to say. Your question should be directed at them. As for his “lunge” at the wheel. He was in the SUV not the limo and knowing his childish temper tantrums I would not be surprised at all if he did.

Nimrata is a reasonable possibility, at least in the top three. She would be WAY better than Trump or any of his bootlicking supporters that may run. DeSantis comes to mind in that category.

Tafhdyd...

Amigo... you are always good to your word. We will enjoy November 9 either way.

I can guarantee you the bartender won't have to sue us to collect on the tab... but... can you guarantee he won't start gathering drinks from the other tables and "redistribute" them to us? Hey! That would make them free... well, at least free to us. Maybe this progressive stuff isn't too bad after all!

You wrote, "Now for the hash. The Biden family business may indeed be an item to investigate. I will be happy to talk Biden when Trump and Ivanka and Donnie Jr. etc. release their financials..." That almost sounds like some guy who gets stopped for speeding then complains that other people are speeding, too. Dems have been after the Donald for more time than he was president. If the Republicans spend as much time on Biden... BTW I hope they don't... I don't think Joe survives the scrutiny.

Executive Order 12968 gives the president authority over the security clearance system. He or she may use their discretion in granting clearances and that includes granting clearances to family members. BTW... that executive order was signed by Bill Clinton more than 20 years before the Donald was elected.

So, you're saying hearsay testimony is better than calling actual witnesses? When I say "actual witnesses," I'm not referring to the Donald's WH staffers... they were not in the SUV. Get the USSS agents who were in the vehicle on the stand... they will respond to subpoenas. Still waiting to hear how a 74-year-old man who cannot do three pushups "lunges" from the backseat of a limo, SUV or any vehicle to wrestle the steering wheel away from extremely physically fit federal agents maybe half his age.

I agree... Nimrata is a reasonable possibility. Now it's your turn... who should the DNC select?

Ray,

Who should the DNC select? They should select me but I will turn them down. I have enough on the plate for next week and I will go a day at a time. If I am around in '24 I will make a choice then. I am finished for today, past my bedtime.

You wrote, "Perhaps I am asking too many inconvenient questions." Nope.

I paid off my student loans without any thought that someone else, i.e. the American taxpayer, would have to do so. Pie-in-the-sky progressives would like to wipe the student loan slate clean. I feel the only reason we won't see it is that most Americans don't go to college and a large number of them would not support the political party... the Democratic party... for sticking them with the tab. It gets even more ridiculous to hear the very left viewpoint that graduate school loans should be forgiven.

I'm OK with Dems touting what they feel are Biden accomplishments, but I'm not OK with them going silent on Biden's non-accomplishments.

Ray,

You want to hear from the left about Biden's non accomplishments. I have told you before that I thought he messed up in the beginning. I said that from day one the first thing out of the chute before the first turn he should have passed the infrastructure bill and start repairing bridges and roads. Get people back to work on projects they can see everyday in their cities and states. They will have less to complain about if their pot holes are fixed. That would show the general population that things promised in the campaign are getting done. After that go after the list of social issues. Trying to put everything the progressives wanted in the overly fatted cow was a mistake. Eat the elephant one bite at a time. Infrastructure projects are starting but too little too late in MHO.

Tafhdyd...

Hmmm... getting an infrastructure bill passed was going to be an uphill battle... especially with such a narrow majority in Congress. Biden signed it about a year after the 2020 election... I don't think it could have been signed a whole lot earlier.

But when it comes to the Biden administration's non-accomplishments... they really tip the scale away from what the DNC is touting as progress. And we're not talking about early in Biden's presidency... we're talking here and now. 2021 and half of 2022 are gone. Whiskey Tango Hotel?

Thanks for all your service and experience and I will try not to conflate you saying our country is a laughing stock with you bashing the country. I don't agree that we are effectively at war. We have no troops on the ground in Ukraine. Could President Biden have been more forceful, or taken different diplomatic steps to stop Russia from invading Ukraine? Perhaps. We could have said that we opposed Ukraine entering NATO and maybe that would have satisfied Putin. As far as me being indispensable, I know that is not true. Yet I watched as fantastic students in my classes were drummed out because they were suspected of being gay, especially women who were labeled lesbian by men that these women rebuffed. I lived through a witch hunt in Korea after one member of our unit came out, with our commander and officers terrorizing the rest of the unit, demanding that each person name at least one name or face court martial (no one named any names and in the end no one faced court martial). I was harassed by one security officer because he noticed that I never went to the bars and never took home any prostitutes. He warned me that at some point I would have to take a lie detector test (to keep my clearance) and my career would be destroyed. Better to just tell him the truth and get it over with. What happened to me happened to thousands of honorable men and women just trying to serve our country.