The Biden Presidency - 2020

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

I saw a comment that if it was LeBron he'd already be out. Probably true, but what if it was Allen Iverson?

It's definitely true or the Rooskies would have let it pass at the airport (for some selfies etc.).

Unfortunately, where Lebron is at a 10, she is at a 4 and doesn't get that special treatment. But hey, you and me are probably at a 1 or 2.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Edward64

It's definitely true or the Rooskies would have let it pass at the airport (for some selfies etc.).

Unfortunately, where Lebron is at a 10, she is at a 4 and doesn't get that special treatment. But hey, you and me are probably at a 1 or 2.

We would be, "oh, yeah. They have this guy to somewhere." But then, we also are not important enough to hold, and a simple bribe could possibly get us sprung.

[Edward64]

I was wrong. I guess he really doesn't have more important things to do. Kamala would have been a good compromise but Biden also getting personally involved in a 4/10 ....

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke by phone Wednesday with Cherelle Griner, the wife of WNBA star Brittney Griner, who is detained in a Russian prison, according to the White House.

Biden has also written a letter in response to Brittney Griner's handwritten letter, which he shared with her wife during the call.

"The President called Cherelle to reassure her that he is working to secure Brittney's release as soon as possible, as well as the release of Paul Whelan and other US nationals who are wrongfully detained or held hostage in Russia and around the world. He also read her a draft of the letter the President is sending to Brittney Griner today," the White House said.

And here are the 1s and 2s.

A coalition of families of US hostages and detainees who wrote a joint letter to Biden requesting to meet with him have yet to receive a reply, their spokesperson said Wednesday. The statement about the lack of response to the "Bring Our Families Home Campaign" came just ahead of the news that Biden and Harris spoke with Cherelle Griner.

In mid-June, the "Bring Our Families Home Campaign" wrote a letter to Biden formally asking that he meet with the campaign's leadership team, stating that it "has become clear to us that without your direct involvement, other issues will continue to overshadow the release of our innocent family members."

In the days following that letter, Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with families of Americans held hostage and wrongfully detained abroad. He did not promise a meeting with Biden, but sought to assure them that the administration is making every effort to bring their loved ones home.

[PilotMan]

Chances that Newsom primaries Biden in '24?

He's beginning to build some momentum and going on the offensive by going straight to trump's social media platform to post. Sounds like he's looking at the national stage for sure. It's all about when?

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

Chances that Newsom primaries Biden in '24?

He's beginning to build some momentum and going on the offensive by going straight to trump's social media platform to post. Sounds like he's looking at the national stage for sure. It's all about when?

It probably needs to happen since someone like Sherrod Brown does not seem interested. If we get a Newsome/DeSantis matchup though, not sure I like his chances.

I really wish Larry Hogan would run and somehow get the GOP nod. It is going to be an uphill battle for any Dem, at this point at least, and I could certainly live with Hogan, who i think is an excellent Governor.

[Swaggs]

Am I in the minority in not realizing until recently that Gavin Newsome was married to Kimberly Guilfoyle like 20-years ago. What kind of ridiculousness will ensue if it ends up being Trump vs Newsome in 2024?

[NobodyHere]

I can't imagine Sherrod Brown running for president with that voice of his.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

I really wish Larry Hogan would run and somehow get the GOP nod. It is going to be an uphill battle for any Dem, at this point at least, and I could certainly live with Hogan, who i think is an excellent Governor.

I agree with you. But the number of GOP primary voters who would support Larry Hogan probably couldn't fill a basketball arena at this point.

Hogan Republicans are Democrats now.

[RainMaker]

Does anyone know what's going on with Boris Johnson? Why do they all want him to resign?

[GrantDawg]

They did really poorly in a bi-election. The Tories are losing support, and feel they need a change in leadership.

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[GrantDawg]

Btw, Boris reportedly is saying that if the rules are changed so they can have another "no confidence" vote and remove him, hewill refuse to step down. That will "activate the Queen." My wife's comment on that: "You have be careful if she is activated. She can move in any direction."

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[PilotMan]

bravo {clapclapclap}

[BYU 14]

[GrantDawg]

Boris is expected to resign today. Politics in the UK is interesting. It seems like if you ever see "blood in the water" so to speak that a PM is in trouble, they don't tend to last very long.

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[Edward64]

Wonder if the Queen came into play here.

[GrantDawg]

Idk. From what I read ot looks like hus whole cabinet was about to walk outwit no one willing to take their positions. He really didn't have much of a choice.
Also, I didn't know there was another scandal that started last week that precipitated this. A minister he reported had to resign for groping two women at a party. Afterward it came out that this guy was a serial groper. Johnson denied ever being told about the past allegations, until a person went on record saying he personally had briefed him before the guy was put into his position.

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[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Does anyone know what's going on with Boris Johnson? Why do they all want him to resign?

The simplest answer is he has just had too many scandals and was not politically skilled enough to ride them out.

Here is a pretty good explainer of the latest scandal. It is a blueprint of how Johnson has handle all the other scandals.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...incher-resign/

If the above is paywalled, here is the basic version. Johnson brought Chris Pincher back into government in February despite Pincher having multiple sexual misconduct accusations against him. Pincher then had to resign last week because he allegedly groped multiple men at a private club. Normal political stuff so far. I am sure we can think of ways to navigate this scandal pretty easily.

Johnson's problem was that he told everyone he could that he did not know anything about the previous accusations. Based on that, other members of the party defended him and parroted the same thing. After that, it came out Johnson was told about the accusations. Johnson then said he did not remember being told. After more information came out making it very clear that he was told and possibly on multiple occasions, Johnson finally came around and said he was told about the accusations thus embarrassing everyone in his party who defended him.

He has to resign. After getting Brexit through, he had nothing else to offer politically for the party to keep suffering through all the scandals he brought on himself and them.

[JPhillips]

It doesn't help that he's the face of Brexit and that has been a clear net negative for most. I think the Tories would love to put the blame on Boris and pretend like the issue has been dealt with.

[miami_fan]

I am not sure those that voted to leave believe that Brexit is a net negative. I think they believe that it would have and will work once there are clear plans to execute it properly in place.

[JPhillips]

I think we're saying basically the same thing. Polling has gone from +1 Should leave in May 2021 to +14 Shouldn't leave now. Even taking everything related to these Boris scandals out of the mix, there's still a big weight on the Tories from the dissatisfaction around Brexit.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

I am not sure those that voted to leave believe that Brexit is a net negative. I think they believe that it would have and will work once there are clear plans to execute it properly in place.

Politics everywhere. "It is not that the policy is a failure, it that we need to double down."

[GrantDawg]

Gas prices have declined 21 days in a row, which means Fox News is about to discover a migrant caravan in about 10 hours.

— Keith Edwards (@keithedwards) July 7, 2022

[Atocep]

Fox News is busy blaming marijuana for mass shootings.

[albionmoonlight]

Right wing populist buffoon gets elected.

Manages to pass controversial right-wing policy.

Keeps embarrassing his party because he is a buffoon.

His party decides that they got the policy they wanted and that he's an embarrassment, so they force him off the stage.

It really is as easy as that. When the GOP says that they "can't" get rid of Trump, do not believe them. They can get rid of him at the expense of an embarrassing news cycle or two. They don't want to get rid of Trump.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

I think we're saying basically the same thing. Polling has gone from +1 Should leave in May 2021 to +14 Shouldn't leave now. Even taking everything related to these Boris scandals out of the mix, there's still a big weight on the Tories from the dissatisfaction around Brexit.

There is a belief that the higher support for Brexit in Spring 2021 was tied to the COVID vaccine rollout in the UK compared to EU countries at that time. It was the best and maybe the only example so far that not being a part of the EU was beneficial to the UK.

I don't think he was hurt by being the face of Brexit. I think he hung on as long as he did because he was the face of Brexit. Many of the pitfalls of Brexit had already begun to show when the Tories made significant gains in the 2021 local elections. The scandals came one after another since then. In the 2022 elections, the Tories had significant losses. That is why I am making the distinction. I believe there was a willingness to continue to support Boris even with the Brexit execution issues because eventually the people who supported Brexit believed he would figure it out in the same way he figured out how to get Brexit done. Getting it done was the most important part for them.

The one thing he was good at was campaigning and getting voters to the polls to support him. The scandals took away his ability to do that. Once he lost that, there was no need for the Tories to keep him around.

[Edward64]

FWIW I'll take DeSantis over Trump any day. We'll see if he can knock Trump off his perch in the GOP.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by Edward64

FWIW I'll take DeSantis over Trump any day. We'll see if he can knock Trump off his perch in the GOP.

If you're into that whole autocracy thing you really don't have much to lose with either one of them. Who needs pesky voting?

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

If you're into that whole autocracy thing you really don't have much to lose with either one of them. Who needs pesky voting?

Lesser of 2 evils. Trump is a 10. DeSantis ... haven't quite figured it out yet but I know he's not a 10 compared to Trump.

[Flasch186]

Well what he’s doing with the “don’t say gay” bill, the faux outrage over ctr in schools, the way he handled making in the state, and now there bullshit with Disneys cdd he’s perfect in regards to yay capitalism and freedom until it’s I’m going to take away your freedom and tell businesses what to do… typical modern day gop


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[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Flasch186

Well what he’s doing with the “don’t say gay” bill, the faux outrage over ctr in schools, the way he handled making in the state, and now there bullshit with Disneys cdd he’s perfect in regards to yay capitalism and freedom until it’s I’m going to take away your freedom and tell businesses what to do… typical modern day gop

FWIW, as a parent, I am okay with the "don't say gay" bill which really isn't "don't say gay".

Maybe there is a nuance I don't understand, but it seems pretty simple to me. Don't get into these type of discussions in public schools for those kids under 3rd grade. I'm not sure what age is appropriate but say maybe middle school.

Public school teachers in Florida are banned from holding classroom instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity after Florida's Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, signed the controversial "Parental Rights in Education" bill.

The bill, which some opponents have called "Don't Say Gay," was signed by DeSantis on Monday. It reads, "Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards."

[Lathum]

I have news for you. The state sets the curriculum. No where in That curriculum do they currently teach those things. So why need the law?

Not to mention what happens when Jonny brings up in class he has two moms and some of the kids have questions.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I have news for you. The state sets the curriculum. No where in That curriculum do they currently teach those things. So why need the law?

I'm going to assume because there are situations where these discussions are brought up by teachers. But let's say these are not brought up and there is no curriculum to teach it, then what's the harm if it doesn't happen anyway?

Not to mention what happens when Jonny brings up in class he has two moms and some of the kids have questions.

I do not know what teachers are supposed to say when this comes up. But how I would respond to the effect "thanks Jonny for letting us know. Class, if you have any questions, can you please ask your mom & dad (or any combination thereof)"

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Edward64

I'm going to assume because there are situations where these discussions are brought up by teachers. But let's say these are not brought up and there is no curriculum to teach it, then what's the harm if it doesn't happen anyway?



I do not know what teachers are supposed to say when this comes up.

Neither do they, the bill is purposely vague and thats the problem. What if thy have a day where a kid does a presentation about their family in front of the class?

As far as I know there have been zero complaints or reports of teachers bringing this up in class. Should they also pass a law that bans teaching against the Flying Spaghetti Monster?

It is a flat out attack on the LGBTQ community because he knows it plays to his bigoted base of shit for brains constituents. It is a culture war, nothing more.

It is the same thing as CRT. Literally creating a solution for a problem that does not exist. Thats not how you govern.

[RainMaker]

It's just a law so they can kick gay teachers out of school. Just like the CRT ones are there to kick black teachers out of school.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Neither do they, the bill is purposely vague and thats the problem. What if thy have a day where a kid does a presentation about their family in front of the class?

There are bound to be situations like that. Let it play out and there'll be lawsuits and policies created.

The bottom line to me is there are situations/topics that should be deferred to parents when dealing with young kids.

As far as I know there have been zero complaints or reports of teachers bringing this up in class. Should they also pass a law that bans teaching against the Flying Spaghetti Monster?

My guess is there is concern about wokeness (right or wrong) and this was to head it off. I did try googling on why DeSantis thought this was necessary (e.g. was there an incident) but was not successful.

It is a flat out attack on the LGBTQ community because he knows it plays to his bigoted base of shit for brains constituents. It is a culture war, nothing more.

It may be an attack on LGBTQ community because it's coming from DeSantis. But it is also true that parents should have a say on some topics when dealing with younger kids.

In this situation, I'll err on the side of parents/younger kids knowing that 4th+ grader can have more indepth discussions in a year or two.

It is the same thing as CRT. Literally creating a solution for a problem that does not exist. Thats not how you govern.

Before I get into this, I know there are differing definitions of CRT. Please provide a definition/quote/use case(s) and I'll see if I agree or not.

[GrantDawg]

The fact that no one on the Right can define CRT is part of the point. They created a completely fictional boogeyman, then legislate against it. But the affect was that any teaching of the history of slavery or racial injustice is completely white-washed. It is white supremacy in code word.

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[cuervo72]

Just like "Antifa."

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Edward64

There are bound to be situations like that. Let it play out and there'll be lawsuits and policies created.




.

THATS NOT HOW IT FUCKING WORKS!!!

You don't pass a law then say "oh yeah, lets now see what happens"

You pass a law to address problems in society, not to react when the law you passed creates unforeseen problems.

and I will not define CRT for you because thats the problem with these laws. Lack of definitive language.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

The fact that no one on the Right can define CRT is part of the point. They created a completely fictional boogeyman, then legislate against it. But the affect was that any teaching of the history of slavery or racial injustice is completely white-washed. It is white supremacy in code word.

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Can you give a quote by some leader on what CRT is as defined by the Left? I google and see many things but I'm not really sure what is "official".

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Lathum

THATS NOT HOW IT FUCKING WORKS!!!

You don't pass a law then say "oh yeah, lets now see what happens"

You pass a law to address problems in society, not to react when the law you passed creates unforeseen problems.

Er, as I stated, I assume this law came to be because DeSantis & supporters are anticipating the growing "problem in society" of wokeness.

You may disagree, but they obviously see it as a problem (but don't see the Flying Spaghetti Monster as a real problem).

and I will not define CRT for you because thats the problem with these laws. Lack of definitive language.

Okay, I'll ignore discussing it then with you. I'll see if GD can come up with something.

[GrantDawg]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crit...cial%20justice.

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[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Can you give a quote by some leader on what CRT is as defined by the Left? I google and see many things but I'm not really sure what is "official".

CRT is not part of any curriculum below College and as a theory, is not part of required curriculum, though some are pushing to implement varying amounts of it as required learning.

It has become a big scary boogeyman that many are using as a scare tactic to suppress, or eliminate the teaching of American history that happens top touch on the uncomfortable topics of racism that has occurred in this country and is part of American history, whether they want to erase it or not.

All history has evil, corruption, destruction and disasters, that have brought suffering and pain to untold multitudes over the course of time. Teaching history is not just cherry picking a shout out to George Washington Carver for inventing Peanut Butter (which isn't even true BTW, but it was taught). None of it should be excluded, while critical race theory, in it's intended form, is a completely different animal.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Critical race theory - Wikipedia.

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Thanks.

I also found below 538 article that talks about all the ongoing anti-CRT bills in numerous states. It says they really aren't consistent, vague and not well defined, and that teachers have been punished under the anti-CRT bills even though they weren't teaching CRT etc.

I'll read up on it (I honestly don't have an opinion on it) but do want to finish the discussion on "Don't say Gay" bill until it comes to a natural conclusion (e.g. agree to disagree with likely some name calling & dripping sarcasm). Glad to do a deeper dive with you then if you are still willing.

How Anti-Critical Race Theory Bills Are Taking Aim At Teachers | FiveThirtyEight

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

CRT is not part of any curriculum below College and as a theory, is not part of required curriculum, though some are pushing to implement varying amounts of it as required learning.

FWIW, if it's only being taught in college, definitely no problem with it.

I suspect there are probably some examples of it being taught in K-12 which are blown out of proportion and hence the overreaction of supposed wokeness.

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

There is a belief that the higher support for Brexit in Spring 2021 was tied to the COVID vaccine rollout in the UK compared to EU countries at that time. It was the best and maybe the only example so far that not being a part of the EU was beneficial to the UK.

I don't think he was hurt by being the face of Brexit. I think he hung on as long as he did because he was the face of Brexit. Many of the pitfalls of Brexit had already begun to show when the Tories made significant gains in the 2021 local elections. The scandals came one after another since then. In the 2022 elections, the Tories had significant losses. That is why I am making the distinction. I believe there was a willingness to continue to support Boris even with the Brexit execution issues because eventually the people who supported Brexit believed he would figure it out in the same way he figured out how to get Brexit done. Getting it done was the most important part for them.

The one thing he was good at was campaigning and getting voters to the polls to support him. The scandals took away his ability to do that. Once he lost that, there was no need for the Tories to keep him around.

I don't think the Tories sacked him over Brexit, but I do think they'll be happy to blame all the problems on Boris and hope it works.

[JPhillips]

Christopher Rufo made up the CRT panic because he thought it was good politically. He's been proven right, but there is no reason to worry about CRT in classrooms.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by Edward64

FWIW, as a parent, I am okay with the "don't say gay" bill which really isn't "don't say gay".

Maybe there is a nuance I don't understand, but it seems pretty simple to me. Don't get into these type of discussions in public schools for those kids under 3rd grade. I'm not sure what age is appropriate but say maybe middle school.

IIRC, your wife is a teacher correct?

If you walked into her classroom to volunteer one day, how does she tell the children who you are?

More than likely, she is going to say something like "He is my husband. You call him Mr. Edwward64."

That is a statement of sexual orientation and gender identity which coming from a teacher can be considered classroom instruction.

Why is it wrong to have that discussion?

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

IIRC, your wife is a teacher correct?

If you walked into her classroom to volunteer one day, how does she tell the children who you are?

More than likely, she is going to say something like "He is my husband. You call him Mr. Edwward64."

That is a statement of sexual orientation and gender identity which coming from a teacher can be considered classroom instruction.

Why is it wrong to have that discussion?

My wife is a teacher but special ed so she doesn't have to worry much about "don't say gay" or CRT. But let's use your example.

From what I understand, the FL "don't say gay" bill doesn't say my wife can't introduce me as her husband to 3rd graders. From what I understand it is "instruction" of.

Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.

I can easily concede the bill is not detailed enough or factors in all the possibilities but there's is a sense of "reasonableness" where no school board is going to fire my wife because she introduced me as such. And BTW, I sure as heck hope they do, because I'll call Morgan & Morgan (or like) and pretty sure we'll win a nice lawsuit and set us up for life.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Edward64

FWIW, if it's only being taught in college, definitely no problem with it.

I suspect there are probably some examples of it being taught in K-12 which are blown out of proportion and hence the overreaction of supposed wokeness.

Quite honestly, outside of a random opinion potentially offered by a teacher, anyone saying it is part of curriculum is lying. I know probably a couple of dozen teachers through coaching, and they either laugh or shake their heads at the notion it is being actively taught. Again, just a way to keep people scared or outraged.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by Edward64

My wife is a teacher but special ed so she doesn't have to worry much about "don't say gay" or CRT. But let's use your example.

From what I understand, the FL "don't say gay" bill doesn't say my wife can't introduce me as her husband to 3rd graders. From what I understand it is "instruction" of.
I can easily concede the bill is not detailed enough or factors in all the possibilities but there's is a sense of "reasonableness" where no school board is going to fire my wife because she introduced me as such. And BTW, I sure as heck hope they do, because I'll call Morgan & Morgan (or like) and pretty sure we'll win a nice lawsuit and set us up for life.

The fact that you put instruction in quotes says it all doesn't it? Anything a teacher says in the classroom can be deemed instruction. The lack of detail allows that to be so.

Also, this is not a school board call. This is up to me as a parent. If I decide that a human being who identifies as a woman can't describe her heterosexual relationship to a human being who identifies as a man using the term husband in front of the third graders. I can report that in the same way another parent may decide that another teacher who is identifies as a man can't identify their homosexual relationship with a human being who identifies as a man using the term husband.

If this was about the sense of "reasonableness", the bill would never have been written much less passed. We have been having discussion with 3rd graders about sexual orientation and gender identity since school was created. 3rd graders and younger know husbands and wives, boyfriends and girlfriends (I am sure my son wasn't the only one who the teacher said had "a little girlfriend" when they were in kindergarten. What was that all about?), men and women, moms and dad, boys and girls and GASP! THE
PRONOUNS. Why have those things suddenly become "woke"?