The Biden Presidency - 2020

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

So now Republicans who begged for the Special Counsel are unhappy because its the same guy who made the plea deal with Hunter

Oh, it's worse:

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) does not think much of the appointment of U.S. Attorney David Weiss as special counsel for the Justice Department’s investigation into Hunter Biden, the president’s son.

Attorney General Merrick Garland “knows Weiss will protect Hunter,” Blackburn scoffed in a social media post on Saturday.

But Weiss’ appointment is exactly what she and other congressional Republicans requested. Special counsel is the same designation Garland gave Jack Smith, currently prosecuting former President Donald Trump.

Last September, a group of 31 Senate Republicans, including Blackburn, asked specifically for Weiss to be appointed to oversee the probe to “provide additional assurances to the American people that the Hunter Biden investigation is free from political influence.” Weiss had already led the investigation into his business dealings, which began under President Donald Trump.

Republicans on the House side sent a similar letter in April 2022, although they did not name Weiss specifically. Blackburn and two other Republican senators reiterated their request for a special counsel two months ago.

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Josh Marshall has a good thread on how the legal system is tilted towards GOP expectations. On the one hand a Dem admin investigates and will take Hunter to trial. On the other, everyone just assumes Trump will end all investigations if he wins.

Republican Presidents destroy the economy. Democratic Presidents build it back up.

Republican Presidents run up debt. Democratic Presidents bring the budget deficit down.

Republican Presidents piss off allies across the world. Democratic Presidents diplomatically bring them back into the fold.

Republican politicians, and specifically Republican Presidents, are nothing but a problem for this country.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

Oh, it's worse:

"fake news, fake news!" even though a copy of the letter is out there.

[Edward64]

Joe, the good news is recession is off the table.

Fed economists are in fact no longer projecting a recession, according to the minutes, which Fed Chair Jerome Powell divulged in his post-meeting news conference last month.

The bad news is because the economy is so strong (projected 3Q annualized GDP is 5.8%) that Fed may be hesitant to take the brakes off the inflation fight. Meaning, rates/beatings will continue until inflation/morale improves.

A tad worried for Joe right now. The Fed was projected to start decreasing rates in early 2024. If not, the economy/inflation may become a big issue next year.

[Thomkal]

I'm sure House Republicans will want to impeach Powell now

[RainMaker]

New York Dems at it again.


She Disagrees With Roe v. Wade. Brooklyn Dems Just Picked Her for Supreme Court. - THE CITY

[Edward64]

This article surprised me. I assume the focus group was conducted fairly as it was by a "liberal-leaning polling firm" HIT Strategies.

Personally, I think Joe has been okay on the economy and certainly not "pathetic". (It can become pathetic if inflation/markets don't get under control but I'm not there yet)

'Pathetic': Voters of color slam Biden's performance on the economy - POLITICO

In a focus group last week, eight men of color who voted for President Joe Biden in 2020 were asked to describe their feelings about the economy.

The answers were bleak.

“Discouraged,” one said. “Pathetic,” complained another. “Pessimistic,” said a third.

The signs of dissatisfaction with Democrats didn’t end there. Respondents were also asked about the rise in crime and border issues. Democrats got zeros across the board. Perhaps most troubling of all, some respondents indicated that they preferred the economy under former President Donald Trump.

“Our economy is the lowest it’s been in god knows how long,” said a Hispanic respondent who lives in New Jersey. “We keep [sending] money to Ukraine and other countries rather than helping ourselves.”

The responses underscored a harsh reality for the Biden campaign as it braces for what is expected to be a bruising reelection bid. The president has to sell his record on the economy — in which he has a credible case to make — and it simply isn’t resonating with voters of color who supported him in the first place. In fact, they don’t see much progress as having been made at all.

[GrantDawg]

New campaign phrase for 2024, "It's the grocery store, stupid." When prices on everyday items are inflated so much over just three years ago working people feel that pain the hardest.

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[PilotMan]

You mean the capitalists aren't liking capitalism when it affects them?

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

New campaign phrase for 2024, "It's the grocery store, stupid." When prices on everyday items are inflated so much over just three years ago working people feel that pain the hardest.

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

I like it. You've got a future as a strategic campaign advisor ... or a marketing strategist, I hear InBev has a couple openings in the US.

[RainMaker]

Biden has been pretty bad and the polls show it. One of the few good things he did was get us out of Afghanistan.

Lets be honest, his campaign (and Dems in general) is just that the other guy is worse. It's been working and probably will work as long as Trump is the face of the Republicans. But doing anything above that would go against their donors and just not going to happen.

[Edward64]

Nice move Biden. But am a little confused on our alliances in APAC.

From what I understand, South Korea wants to join the Quad but its the US that is hesitant. Maybe this paves the way to SK joining the Asian NATO with Japan, Australia, India & US. I think India is likely the weak/hesitant link and SK will be more aligned with our interests.

At Camp David, Biden hails ‘new era of partnership’ between U.S., South Korea and Japan - POLITICO

President Joe Biden on Friday signed historic agreements with the leaders of South Korea and Japan, bridging the fraught history between the two countries with promises of strengthening each nation’s economic and national security interests.

In what was a clear message to China, Biden welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for the first trilateral meeting between the three countries that wasn’t held on the sidelines of an international gathering.

And while we're at it, Philippines should be next to join the party. They were aligning more with China under Duterte, but BongBong Marcos now seems to understand the China threat and has invited US back.

[Edward64]

Good step in the right direction. Much more to do but have to start somewhere. Pharma, Providers and Payers all need to be worked on.

(I'm still waiting for a easy to find, fully transparent and upfront pricing (best estimate, range etc. is appropriate) for all hospital procedures and doctor's services)

Merck, Amgen, AbbVie products among first 10 drugs selected for Medicare price negotiations - MarketWatch

Medicare on Tuesday announced the first 10 drugs selected for price negotiations, launching a historic and highly contentious process with big implications for pharmaceutical companies, taxpayers and patients.

None of below drugs applies to me but good to see Diabetes and Insulin is the list. I assume these are heavily prescribed drugs.

The selected drugs are the Bristol Myers Squibb Co. BMY, -0.71% blood thinner Eliquis, Boehringer Ingelheim’s heart failure drug Jardiance, Johnson and Johnson JNJ, -1.18% blood thinner Xarelto, Merck & Co. Inc. MRK, -1.16% diabetes drug Januvia, AstraZeneca AZN, +0.57% heart failure drug Farxiga, Novartis AG NVS, +0.55% heart failure drug Entresto, Amgen Inc. AMGN, +0.07% rheumatoid arthritis drug Enbrel, AbbVie Inc. ABBV, +0.50% blood cancer drug Imbruvica, Johnson and Johnson psoriasis treatment Stelara, and Novo Nordisk NVO, +0.57% insulin Fiasp.

Lawsuits are inevitable.

The manufacturers of the selected drugs have until Oct. 1 to sign agreements to participate in the program ... is the subject of at least eight lawsuits filed by drugmakers and industry groups.

Every little bit helps, and before you know it, we've got $500B in savings.

The federal government is expected to save nearly $100 billion over 10 years through the negotiation program, which will broaden to include additional drugs in future years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. That’s helping to pay for an overhaul of the Medicare prescription-drug benefit that will slash costs at the pharmacy counter for many enrollees, policy experts say.

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Biden has been pretty bad and the polls show it. One of the few good things he did was get us out of Afghanistan.

Lets be honest, his campaign (and Dems in general) is just that the other guy is worse. It's been working and probably will work as long as Trump is the face of the Republicans. But doing anything above that would go against their donors and just not going to happen.

This is assuming, of course, that enough voters are influenced by TV and social media enough to believe that the higher costs of living, inflation, chaotic immigration, and the exodus of corporations and people from high tax states to lower taxes states over the last couple of years was all instrumented by the GOP.

I think the Dems hade positioned their strategy very well to pull that off.

[Ghost Econ]

To the surprise of no one, the GOP have decided a shutdown is OK. I'm sure Edward64 will have some illuminating take on how Dems are to blame while trying to appear neutral, but this is literally the GOP's best play as we push towards 2024. Their base will eat it up and undecideds will only remember how the government shut down under Biden and anything negative associated with it is his fault. Like how prices keep rising because Conservative business owners finalized realized they can get away with it because the President will be blamed. They get the bonus of record profits and hurting their political opponents.

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[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Ghost Econ

To the surprise of no one, the GOP have decided a shutdown is OK. I'm sure Edward64 will have some illuminating take on how Dems are to blame while trying to appear neutral, but this is literally the GOP's best play as we push towards 2024. Their base will eat it up and undecideds will only remember how the government shut down under Biden and anything negative associated with it is his fault. Like how prices keep rising because Conservative business owners finalized realized they can get away with it because the President will be blamed. They get the bonus of record profits and hurting their political opponents.

Access to this page has been denied

Not at all about blame, and yes about neutral (I'm a moderate independent, I see fault on both sides). Just another one of those reading comprehension handicaps, making assumptions that makes you a ...

Source:

Front Office Football Central - View Single Post - The Biden Presidency - 2020

Front Office Football Central - View Single Post - The Biden Presidency - 2020

And the previous one ...

The Biden Presidency - 2020 - Page 142 - Front Office Football Central

[SirFozzie]

Following up on the Jacksonville shooting and DeSantis being booed and the 942nd push for "Surely this will allow for a meaningful conversation on gun control" (to fail like the previous 941), just had a thought.

Saw an article that talked about how the United Kingdom's Prime Minister was issuing a crackdown on "Zombie Knives" (ie, very large knives up to machetes, stuff you would see in a Zombie Movie.

And before you go "libruls wokemindvirus.." this is no Left-Wing fantasy. This is the leader of the Conservative party, who are fighting culture wars all over the place, doing this.

Now, here's my thought. This is two different worlds, when it comes to weaponry. In the UK, a right-wing party is proposing a crackdown on big knives, where here in the US, people are pushing "Hey, I want to carry my AK-47 into a crowded store, and you can't stop me" policies.

Just... two different worldviews.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Just... two different worldviews.

I saw below article on a UK machete attack (they didn't call it zombie knife though). I'll be honest, the first thing that came to mind was ... it would be good to have a concealed carry right then ...

Moment knife thugs armed with huge machetes brawl in street in front of crowds of revellers at Notting Hill carnival - with final day 'marred by violence' as eight are stabbed and police officer is sexually assaulted | Daily Mail Online

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Following up on the Jacksonville shooting and DeSantis being booed and the 942nd push for "Surely this will allow for a meaningful conversation on gun control" (to fail like the previous 941), just had a thought.

Saw an article that talked about how the United Kingdom's Prime Minister was issuing a crackdown on "Zombie Knives" (ie, very large knives up to machetes, stuff you would see in a Zombie Movie.

And before you go "libruls wokemindvirus.." this is no Left-Wing fantasy. This is the leader of the Conservative party, who are fighting culture wars all over the place, doing this.

Now, here's my thought. This is two different worlds, when it comes to weaponry. In the UK, a right-wing party is proposing a crackdown on big knives, where here in the US, people are pushing "Hey, I want to carry my AK-47 into a crowded store, and you can't stop me" policies.

Just... two different worldviews.

My wifes sister born and raised in the US. Met a guy in England and got married. Has lived there for about 15 years and now has 2 daughters Said they were thinking of moving to the US since he doesn't have much family there but between Dobbs, the MAGA right and the gun violence said no way they would ever move back.

[NobodyHere]

McConnell appears to freeze again during news conference

You know, if your McConnell keeps on freezing up again and again it might be time to just reformat it. I hope they saved the product key.

[Ksyrup]

It's on a ... what predated the 5.25" floppy?

[Ghost Econ]

Punch card

[Flasch186]

I’m sure those on the right are all over my Facebook wall about how this is elder abuse and there should be a cap on age to serve…..




Hmmmm


My Facebook must be broken


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[albionmoonlight]

I realize that these people all bring it on themselves by hanging on too long.

But watching McConnell, Feinstein, etc. publicly humiliate themselves like this is so sad.

They should be retired and sitting in a garden surrounded by grandkids.

[Ghost Econ]

The sad thing is we almost need McConnell to hang on for eternity because his replacement is almost certainly going to be massive shitbag who will just try to fuck things up worse.

The question being about re-election almost makes this seem like an Onion video.

BREAKING NEWS: Sen. Mitch McConnell appearing to have another scary episode in the media gaggle in Covington today. Aides had to step in to help him out and repeat questions. He was eventually lead away. We'll have the full video on @WLWT pic.twitter.com/q9ex5MHxLV

— Hannah Thomas (@HannahPThomas) August 30, 2023

[Ksyrup]

This was just McConnell pretending to be as bad off as Biden mentally to avoid a question he didn't want to answer. Brilliant!

[thesloppy]

He's strokin'! That's what he be doing.

[RainMaker]

Really cool that the country is run by people who would be in a nursing home if they were anyone else.

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

He's strokin'! That's what he be doing.

Mitch McConnell Mitch McConnell Mitch McConnell Mitch McConnell OOOO SHIT Mitch McConnell


/thinks wistfully of Fritz

[cuervo72]

Damn, I mean it's a pretty good thread post if I remember it 20 years later.

[Edward64]

Sanjay Gupta thinks stroke or seizure is less likely (able to walk away), see about 5 min mark.

He said long list of possibilities but offered up like "parkinsonian and meds were wearing off". He had a good insight. He said his aides didn't seem surprised by it implying this may be happening more than just the past 2 episodes.

IMO time to give McConnell & Feinstein the gold watch retirement party.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CN39Ukn3788

[Edward64]

Cleared for duty

Capitol physician medically clears McConnell after health scares prompt new questions over his leadership position | CNN Politics

“I have consulted with Leader McConnell and conferred with his neurology team. After evaluating yesterday’s incident, I have informed Leader McConnell that he is medically clear to continue with his schedule as planned,” Dr. Brian Monahan, the attending doctor for the Capitol, said in a statement released through McConnell’s office.

“Occasional lightheadedness is not uncommon in concussion recovery and can also be expected as a result of dehydration,” added Monahan. McConnell’s office has previously said that his freezes were due to lightheadedness and dehydration.

McConnell, who has served for 16 years as the GOP leader, the longest of any Senate leader in history, has repeatedly made clear he’s staying in his job until the end of next year when the 118th Congress ends – something his confidantes say hasn’t changed even after his recent health scares.

[Lathum]

Dude is legit gonna die in the chamber...

[Edward64]

I'm assume the Capitol Dr. and his Drs. are legit. You'd think they should recommend him sit down for any press conferences though.

[JPhillips]

There's no reason to think that overall McConnell isn't in control. Any calls for staff or family to step in are silly because it seems clear that McConnell doesn't want to resign or change his duties and until that changes he's going to stay where he's at.

[NobodyHere]

So why did Nikola Motors, which scammed investors out of billions of dollars recently, is now getting millions in dollars of government grants?

NIKOLA SECURES $41.9 MILLION GRANT, ACCELERATING ZERO-EMISSIONS INFRASTRUCTURE FOR HEAVY-DUTY HYDROGEN FUEL CELL ELECTRIC TRUCKS IN CALIFORNIA

Thanks Dark Brandon.

[molson]

The $10k student loan forgiveness shot down by the Supreme Court got a ton of attention but what's going on right now seems to be flying under the radar and is even more impactful for hundreds of thousands of borrowers.

The rules about who qualifies for loan forgiveness changed, to where the main qualifier seems to be months you owed (whether you paid or not), and what kind of payment plan you were on (though I'm still unclear on that one). Thousands and thousands of people are having six figures of debt wiped out overnight. A bunch of people I know got the "golden email" (as they're calling it on reddit), and then, a few weeks later, poof, all gone.

I still have about $40k left, haven't gotten a golden email, am unclear on the rules, but I think I'm not eligible because I've never been on a income-based or standard repayment plan. At least my interest rates are still low. I started over 6 figures of debt after law school and was able to get some public service-based grant forgiveness grants here and there.

Still though, after this recent flurry of new forgiveness, the Biden administration says the total will be 3.4 million borrowers got some kind of forgiveness, $116.6 billion in total forgiven.

This is all something that would a have a very mixed reaction if it was emphasized more by the administration as an accomplishment, a lot of people aren't a fan of it obviously, but, shit, Obama talked so much about student loans but Biden acted and changed a lot of peoples' lives.

[Lathum]

None of Bidens accomplishments are ever highlighted by the media because it doesn't generate clicks. Just the infrastructure bill alone should have him miles ahead of Trump who never passed anything even close.

The reality is every media mogul wants Trump to win. It is good for business because he provides a 24-7 news cycle. So instead of highlighting things like infrastructure, record job growth, CHIPS act, climate bills, et...they highlight things he can't control like inflation, high gas prices due to corporate greed, his age, etc...

[Atocep]

The praying Bremerton coach here that sued to get his job back and won at the Supreme Court resigned after 1 game.

It wasn't about the job. It was about being a right wing celebrity and landing speaking engagements that pay him far more than the coaching job does.

[Brian Swartz]

When was the last Presidential election in which something like the infrastructure bill was a major determining factor?

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

When was the last Presidential election in which something like the infrastructure bill was a major determining factor?

I would say Obama-care helped Obama in his re-election.

[Brian Swartz]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

So why did Nikola Motors, which scammed investors out of billions of dollars recently, is now getting millions in dollars of government grants?

The criteria for TCEP are:

Freight System Factors – Throughput, Velocity, and Reliability;
Transportation System Factors – Safety, Congestion Reduction/Mitigation, Key Transportation Bottleneck Relief, Multi-Modal Strategy, Interregional Benefits, and Advanced Technology;
Community Impact Factors – Air Quality Impact, Community Impact Mitigation, and Economic/Jobs Growth;
The overall need, benefits, and cost of the project
Project Readiness – ability to complete the project in a timely manner;
Demonstration of the required 30% matching funds;
The leveraging and coordination of funds from multiple sources; and
Jointly nominated and/or jointly funded.

Nowhere in there is 'investors like them' or 'positive influence on public ethics' or 'being nice to their mother'. It appears the program is focused on the economic impact.

[Brian Swartz]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

I would say Obama-care helped Obama in his re-election.

I would agree. I would also say that's not an analogous situation. Nothing in the infrastructure bill has/had anything approaching the same impact on any aspect of people's lives that's nearly as important to them.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

I would agree. I would also say that's not an analogous situation. Nothing in the infrastructure bill has/had anything approaching the same impact on any aspect of people's lives that's nearly as important to them.

People don't care about jobs? Between this and CHIP's, that is a lot of jobs that have been brought home. I know this state is seeing a huge number of them.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

I would agree. I would also say that's not an analogous situation. Nothing in the infrastructure bill has/had anything approaching the same impact on any aspect of people's lives that's nearly as important to them.

Right. Not many voters use roads and bridges.

[Brian Swartz]

The total number of jobs created/saved by those programs combined is estimated, at the high end, to be nearly a million a year. That's perhaps a hair over one half of a percent of US employment. How is that comparable to health care, which has been and continues to be a topic of tense debate for decades and which is an issue of major concern for a significant numer of people? Then you factor in inflation, which impacts everyone and highly impacts generally the same people who are highly impacted by rising health care costs.

The impact of inflation alone dwarfs the impact of those programs by orders of magnitude. I'm not saying that's a fair assessment of Biden's job performance. I'm saying it's a political reality.

Originally Posted by Lathum

Right. Not many voters use roads and bridges.

Of course they do. That's not the point. Virtually no voters for President vote for the candidate who will do the best job on roads and bridges though. Whether they should or not is beside the point. Taxes, health care as mentioned, Social Security, scandals, abortion/gay marriage/etc., general economic conditions, other culture war stuff, foreign policy at certain times ... these drive narratives and debate. Infrastructure does not, and the last time it even arguably did is probably Eisenhower.

[Lathum]

Which was my exact point. Media focuses on the negatives Biden can't control instead of the positives he made happen.

[Brian Swartz]

I was more responding to GrantDawg, but I would say that's not a 'media' thing but a 'voter' thing. It's not the media's job to laud Biden's accomplishments. Voters and other media consumers could focus on those issues, and the media would follow suit. But they don't.

Edit to add: Many, Presidents have been elected for positives they don't control, and not elected for negatives they don't. That's just ... the nature of a mostly democratic system.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

The total number of jobs created/saved by those programs combined is estimated, at the high end, to be nearly a million a year. That's perhaps a hair over one half of a percent of US employment. How is that comparable to health care, which has been and continues to be a topic of tense debate for decades and which is an issue of major concern for a significant numer of people? Then you factor in inflation, which impacts everyone and highly impacts generally the same people who are highly impacted by rising health care costs.

The impact of inflation alone dwarfs the impact of those programs by orders of magnitude. I'm not saying that's a fair assessment of Biden's job performance. I'm saying it's a political reality.

I see this many times in assessing what voters actually look at things. Jobs good. Inflation bad. They will blame him for inflation, but give him credit for the jobs. Just like they will ignore the fact inflation is a global problem and we have actually had it better than most of the world, they won't recognize that it ia minor up tick in the number of jobs because they see the huge projects and big factories being built around them.
Most people don't read the news or think deeply about these things. The may at best read headlines, at least unless the article is about Joe Jonas' divorce. But they do see big factories being built, large bridges going up, and road improvements. What they see versus what they hear. What they feel versus what the reason.

[Brian Swartz]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Just like they will ignore the fact inflation is a global problem and we have actually had it better than most of the world, they won't recognize that it ia minor up tick in the number of jobs because they see the huge projects and big factories being built around them.

This is probably true in areas where those things are concentrated, but that's not most places. You can't have factories and bridges going up everywhere with the number of jobs being discussed (and a lot of the jobs aren't even of that type). I can't tell you a single thing that's happened anywhere near me as a result of those programs. That doesn't mean it isn't happening in some places, I know it is. It does mean that this visceral, visual/experiential impact is not the one most people will have.

I can't find anything indicating a better than break-even assessment on Biden even when the jobs issue is isolated and it's not about the broader economy (where it's sharply negative).