A report card on the Biden administration

[Sandy Shanks]

Breaking: Biden's approval rating already below 50%, Obama's was in the 60's at this point.

FiveThirtyEight, an average of the major polls, has Biden at 52.7%. Still, 50%is higher than Trump's ever was.

 

[BULLDOG]

President Joe R. Biden, how refreshing that sounds. What a refreshing day. Our divisive, erratic, foolish, conspiratorial, narcissistic President is gone, replaced by a President who deeply wants to unite us. Barring ill-advised preconceived notions about President Biden, his task should be easy. We are all Americans.

That said, although I voted for Biden for obvious reasons, not unlike 81 million Americans who did the same, I am a conservative Independent. That's official. In CA, we have to declare our political posture. Until I was driven out by Trump, for over a quarter of a century I was a declared Republican. I voted for Biden, but I have some reservations concerning him, mostly having to do with taxation and spending.

I said all that because I want to be honest with readers. I want them to know where I am coming from.

Whether or not Biden will be a good President is obviously an open question, but I think he is a good man. He will do his best to unite us and adopt policies that benefit all Americans, while removing those policies that do us harm. He wants the United States to rejoin the community of nations, and the days of isolation and making unitary decisions that involve other nations, in particular our traditional allies, are over.

The European Union's top politician, Ursula von der Leyen, said it best. "After four long years, Europe has a friend in the White House."

For the first time in four years, there is optimism in America created by a popular President. 59% of Americans approve of Biden.

On day one, Trump's approval rating was 40%, and, although it went lower than that, it never got much higher. Thus the reason for American optimism.

He's only been president for less than 8 hours, so it might be a little early for his first report card, but he hasn't grabbed anybody by the pussy or given Russians top secret information in an unannounced oval office meeting, or pissed off all our top allies, so I'll give him a little while before I start judging his presidency. He could have shook his dick at the troops from the capitol steps and still been more suitable to be president than that pig that just left.

Biden actually DID grab someone by the pussy! Trump only SAID he did it! How long do you think it will be before Joe the Perv is shaking his dick at female Secret Service agents again? Or has the Secret Service given him an all male protective detail because they already know about his "problem" with exposing himself?

Credible link?

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Credible link?

Me? I wrote it. There is no link.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

This is what happens when one supports a liar.

CNN reports, "A voting technology company swept up in baseless conspiracy theories about the 2020 election filed a monster $2.7 billion lawsuit on Thursday against Fox News, some of the network's star hosts, and pro-Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, alleging the parties worked in concert to wage a "disinformation campaign" that has jeopardized its very survival."

"We have no choice," Antonio Mugica, the chief executive and founder of Smartmatic, told CNN Business in an interview about the company's decision to file the lawsuit. "The disinformation campaign that was launched against us is an obliterating one. For us, this is existential, and we have to take action."

"The lawsuit, filed in New York state court, accused Fox, Giuliani, Powell and hosts Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo, and Jeanine Pirro of intentionally lying about Smartmatic in an effort to mislead the public into the false belief that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from former President Donald Trump."

"The defense brief argues that Trump’s speech before a group of supporters, some of whom later sacked the Capitol, was protected under the First Amendment. "It is denied he threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a coequal branch Government," the brief said."

Shouldn't Trump's lawyers face recriminations for lying? Obviously, what they are saying is false.

The silence from Trump's supporters concerning the issues continues. They don't know a damn thing, and they don't want to know. It's an intelligence issue.

 

[BULLDOG]

Credible link?

Me? I wrote it. There is no link.

So, in other words, it's a lie that you pulled out of your ass.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Rep. Liz Cheney survived to fight another battle but on a raucous and defining day, the appeasement of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene by House Republicans sent their party lurching further down the road to extremism.

The moral crisis in the GOP after Donald Trump's exit from Washington was epitomized by a showdown that saw Cheney, a lifelong ideological conservative, forced to fight off a challenge to her leadership post after she voted to impeach a President who sparked a violent coup attempt.

At the same time, Greene, a belligerent conspiracy theorist who thinks the GOP's problem is that it lost the presidential election too gracefully, got a pass from colleagues despite promoting a sick stew of QAnon lies and fantasies.

The struggle for the future direction of the party exploded in a manic meeting of the House Republican Conference that ended when Cheney prevailed comfortably in a secret ballot -- after she refused to apologize to angry acolytes of the ex-President after choosing the Constitution over Trump.

The fact that Cheney has faced more criticism from her colleagues than Greene in recent days reflects how the GOP's traditional values are under siege and the vast power that extremists and conspiracy theories welcomed into the party by Trump are accumulating.

For weeks, and especially following the insurrection incited by Trump on January 6, the Republican Party has been locked in a prolonged duel between those swearing loyalty to their leader in exile, and others who want to move on from his anti-democratic tenure.

A wild day that defined the Republican Party

Rep. Liz Cheney survived to fight another battle but on a raucous and defining day, the appeasement of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene by House Republicans sent their party lurching further down the road to extremism.

www.cnn.com

Putin could not be happier. When helping Trump get elected, he knows he made a wise choice.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

So, in other words, it's a lie that you pulled out of your ass.

What lie exactly?

 

[BULLDOG]

So, in other words, it's a lie that you pulled out of your ass.

What lie exactly?

As you can see, I was originally responding to Oldestyle's post in #160, until you took credit for his remark.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

As you can see, I was originally responding to Oldestyle's post in #160, until you took credit for his remark.

Took credit for his remark? I said nothing about his stupid post. End of this discussion.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

"President Joe Biden announced "America is back" on Thursday and declared that "diplomacy is back at the center" of US foreign policy as he said the US will end all support for Saudi Arabia's offensive operations in Yemen, one of several changes he announced in his first major foreign-policy speech since taking office," CNN.

Biden froze troop redeployments from Germany.

He increased the number of refugees admitted into the United States after years of historical lows under the Trump administration.

Biden put particular emphasis on the need to rebuild America's moral standing after four years of a President who rebuffed traditional alliances and increasingly scorned democratic norms.

Biden hailed Wednesday's agreement to extend the New START Treaty with Russia, to preserve the only remaining nuclear arms agreement between them. At the same time he took a hard line with Putin on a number of issues.

On China he said the US will confront Beijing's "economic abuses, counter its aggressive, coercive action to push back on China's attack on human rights, intellectual property, and global governance."

Biden made it clear to everyone there is a new sheriff in town.

 

[marvin martian]

“When you catch somebody in a fraud, you are allowed to go by very different rules."

“We fight like hell and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”

After watching the mob he had incited attack our capitol Trump declared on video, "This was a fraudulent election but we can't play into the hands of these people. We have to have peace. We love you. You're very special. You see the way others are treated that are so bad and so evil but go home and go home in peace."

The AP reports, "The Department of Homeland Security issued a national terrorism bulletin Wednesday warning of the lingering potential for violence from people motivated by anti-government sentiment after President Joe Biden’s election, suggesting the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol may embolden extremists and set the stage for additional attacks."

"Acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman called Thursday for major upgrades to security at the Capitol complex, including the installation of "permanent fencing" following that unprecedented breach that occurred during the Jan. 6 riot," Fox News.

Vladimir Putin has got to be loving this. From his standpoint he made a wise choice when he decided to help Trump get elected in 2016. America hasn't been this divided since the Civil War, and Republicans like Kevin McCarthy, Jim Jordan, and Matt Gaetz are sucking up to Trump, hoping for his support in 2022.

It only gets better for Putin. The Republican Party is expected to vindicate Trump for inciting the insurrection, ensuring more violence in the future. Putin could not be happier.

Amidst all this Biden is trying to unite the nation. Good luck with that.

Obviously, things are going GREAT for Putin right now. He's got his whole team in the White House:

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The A.P. reports, "House Democrats on Thursday asked Donald Trump to testify under oath for his Senate impeachment trial, challenging him to respond to their charge that he incited a violent mob to storm the Capitol."

Trump adviser Jason Miller dismissed the trial as “an unconstitutional proceeding.”

There is absolutely nothing in the Constitution that forbids this impeachment and trial. Presidents are responsible for what they do from their first day in office to their last day in office. They don't get a mulligan for their last January in office.

Republicans didn't know that?

Trump’s lawyers denounced the request as a “public relations stunt.”

Asking the accused to appear before a jury to defend himself is a “public relations stunt?”

Have Republicans lost their minds?

Little wonder why Trump's supporters are staying silent. This is idiocy.

 

[BULLDOG]

The A.P. reports, "House Democrats on Thursday asked Donald Trump to testify under oath for his Senate impeachment trial, challenging him to respond to their charge that he incited a violent mob to storm the Capitol."

Trump adviser Jason Miller dismissed the trial as “an unconstitutional proceeding.”

There is absolutely nothing in the Constitution that forbids this impeachment and trial. Presidents are responsible for what they do from their first day in office to their last day in office. They don't get a mulligan for their last January in office.

Republicans didn't know that?

Trump’s lawyers denounced the request as a “public relations stunt.”

Asking the accused to appear before a jury to defend himself is a “public relations stunt?”

Have Republicans lost their minds?

Little wonder why Trump's supporters are staying silent. This is idiocy.

I'm not sure if repubs have lost their minds. It appears that they never had a functioning mind to lose, at least for the last few decades.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The Times reports, "The House on Thursday took the extraordinary step of ousting a lawmaker from two congressional committees, exiling Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia."

199 Republicans voted their opposition to stripping Greene of her committee assignments.

This was done because the Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy was afraid to make that decision.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga has promoted QAnon, the debunked conspiracy theory that imagines former President Trump is leading a fight against a government controlled by a global deep state cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles. On social media, YouTube videos and elsewhere, she has said Muslims don’t belong in government, suggested the 2018 Parkland, Fla., school shooting and others were staged, and repeatedly endorsed executing Democratic leaders."

Her apology speech today was far too late, self-serving, attempted to blame the media, and was disingenuous. Put a different way, she made a complete fool of herself and her lack of intellectual abilities were obvious.

On January 6, 138 House Republican supported Trump's insurrection and the claim that the election was stolen from him.

Today 199 House Republicans voted their support for a person who had threatened the lives of House members.

It seems readily apparent the Republican Party has a problem ... a very serious problem.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The A.P. reports, "House Democrats on Thursday asked Donald Trump to testify under oath for his Senate impeachment trial, challenging him to respond to their charge that he incited a violent mob to storm the Capitol."

Trump adviser Jason Miller dismissed the trial as “an unconstitutional proceeding.”

There is absolutely nothing in the Constitution that forbids this impeachment and trial. Presidents are responsible for what they do from their first day in office to their last day in office. They don't get a mulligan for their last January in office.

Republicans didn't know that?

Trump’s lawyers denounced the request as a “public relations stunt.”

Asking the accused to appear before a jury to defend himself is a “public relations stunt?”

Have Republicans lost their minds?

Little wonder why Trump's supporters are staying silent. This is idiocy.

I'm not sure if repubs have lost their minds. It appears that they never had a functioning mind to lose, at least for the last few decades.

You have a point.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

When it comes Congress, it gets complicated. I will allow CBS to explain it.

"The Senate passed a budget resolution very early Friday morning, a key step for the Democratic-controlled Congress to pass President Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief proposal without any Republican votes. The 51-50 vote, with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking the tie, came after an all-night marathon "vote-a-arama."

"The "vote-a-rama" included 41 votes with dozens of amendments considered. Harris cast her first tie-breaking votes as vice president, allowing the resolution to finally pass shortly before 6 a.m. with support from all 50 Democratic senators.

"The Senate voted to reject a major component of the Biden plan — raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. In a voice vote, senators narrowly approved an amendment from Iowa Republican Joni Ernst that would ban the increase during a pandemic. However, the increase could be restored when the final measure is hashed out.

"Passing a budget resolution is part of a process known as reconciliation, which allows legislation to pass in the Senate with only a simple majority instead of the typical 60-vote threshold, meaning Democrats would be able to green-light it without any Republican votes.

"The House passed the Senate-approved budget resolution later on Friday. Now that both houses of Congress have approved the resolution, which serves as the vehicle for the legislation, committees can begin formulating a reconciliation bill itself. The final reconciliation bill will receive 20 hours of debate, and then another "vote-a-rama" before a vote in both chambers."

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The A.P. reports, "House Democrats on Thursday asked Donald Trump to testify under oath for his Senate impeachment trial, challenging him to respond to their charge that he incited a violent mob to storm the Capitol."

The Times reports, "In a letter to Mr. Trump, Representative Jamie Raskin, the lead House impeachment prosecutor, said the former president’s response this week to the House’s charge that he incited an insurrection on Jan. 6 had disputed crucial facts about his actions, and demanded further explanation."

“Two days ago, you filed an answer in which you denied many factual allegations set forth in the article of impeachment,” wrote Mr. Raskin, Democrat of Maryland. “You have thus attempted to put critical facts at issue notwithstanding the clear and overwhelming evidence of your constitutional offense.”

The Times continued, "But Mr. Trump’s lawyers, Bruce L. Castor Jr. and David Schoen, wasted little time in swatting away the invitation. They said that Mr. Trump wanted no part of a proceeding they insisted was “unconstitutional” because he is no longer in office, and called Mr. Raskin’s request a “public relations stunt.'"

Asking the acussed to testify on his behalf is a “public relations stunt?" What law school did these two attend? Is this the best Trump could get?

Or, are Trump's lawyers having a difficult time defending a guilty man?

In any case, Senate Republicans bent on acquitting Trump breathed a sign of relief. Testimony from a famously impolitic Trump who continues to insist falsely that he won the election risks jeopardizing his defense.

Their logic as witnesses to the sacrilege done to our capitol and knowing Trump is guilty is absurd. Republican Senators know perfectly well Trump would incriminate himself. So, they are relieved he won't testify. They will vote to free a guilty man.

The Democrats benefit more from Trump's refusal. They quickly claimed — despite the defense’s protests — that his refusal established an “adverse inference supporting his guilt,” meaning that they would cite his silence as further proof that their allegations are true.

We know Republicans will acquit, but the interesting factor is how Americans will vote in the court of public opinion.

No doubt Trump's followers will remain silent on this issue. Can anyone blame them? Their support for Trump continues to be a mystery.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Facing potential censure by Nebraska’s Republican Party, Sen. Ben Sasse is fighting back.

Fox News reports, "The conservative senator and vocal critic of former President Trump – who was overwhelmingly reelected in November to a second term in the Senate – charges that the moves by the Nebraska GOP are because he refuses to bend "the knee" and "worship" Trump, who remains very popular and influential with Republican voters."

Why Trump remains "very popular and influential with Republican voters" is anyone's guess, and they aren't talking. Embarrassed? Under Trump's stewardship the Republican Party lost the House, the Senate, and the White House. Go figure. It's more of a religious cult than a political movement.

And Trump is their savior?!?

Fox continued, "Sasse, who’s been censured by the state party in the past for not supporting Trump, is facing disciplinary action again for attacking Trump’s unsuccessful efforts to overturn his defeat in the presidential election at the hands of Joe Biden. They are also targeting him for decrying Trump’s encouragement of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by right wing extremists and other Trump supporters who attempted to derail the congressional certification of Biden’s Electoral College victory. Five people, including a Capitol Police officer, were killed during the insurrection."

Sasse deserves an award, not censure. Have Republicans lost their minds?

His comments come as the Republican Party at large grapples with warring factions at odds over whether to continue the party in Trump's likeness or forge a new path veering from the former President's legacy.

"January 6th is going to leave a scar," Sasse said. "For 220 years, one of the most beautiful things about America has been our peaceful transfer of power. But what Americans saw three weeks ago was ugly, shameful mob violence to disrupt a constitutionally mandated meeting of Congress to affirm that peaceful transfer of power."

"You are welcome to censure me again, but let's be clear about why this is happening: It's because I still believe -- as you used to -- that politics isn't about the weird worship of one dude. The party could purge Trump skeptics, but I'd like to convince you that not only is this 'civic cancer' for the nation, it's also terrible for our party," Sasse added.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

It's about freaking time. Why this network allowed the promotion of outright lies for years is a mystery. Now they pay.

NBC News reports, "Fox News Media has cancelled Lou Dobbs' show, benching its business network’s highest-rated host and a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump as both Dobbs and Fox face a billion-dollar lawsuit over false claims about the integrity of the 2020 election.

"The move, which was first reported by the Los Angeles Times and confirmed by a Fox News spokesperson Friday, came one day after Fox and Dobbs were named in the $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit brought by Smartmatic, a voting software company that was the subject of several false claims made on Fox News and Fox Business.

"The cancellation brings an end to Dobbs' decade-long run on the network, where he was a staunch advocate for Trump and many of his most conspiratorial views.

"The Smartmatic suit alleges that Fox News, three of its hosts — Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro — and Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell defamed the company by falsely claiming that Smartmatic was used to rig the 2020 election."

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The pro-Trump state Republican Party in Oregon declared the Jan. 6 assault on our capital a "false flag" event.

On January 6, 138 House Republicans supported Trump's insurrection and the claim that the election was stolen from him.

On Feb. 4, 199 House Republicans voted their support for Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga who has promoted QAnon, the debunked conspiracy theory that imagines Trump was leading a fight against a government controlled by a global deep state cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles. Also, Greene has said school shootings were staged, and repeatedly endorsed executing Democratic leaders.

Sen. Ben Sasse is facing potential censure by Nebraska’s Republican Party because of his criticism of Trump. "You are welcome to censure me again, but let's be clear about why this is happening: It's because I still believe -- as you used to -- that politics isn't about the weird worship of one dude," Sasse said.

The A.P. reports, "The Wyoming Republican Party voted overwhelmingly Saturday to censure U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney for voting to impeach former President Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol."

The Republican Party is in real trouble and its rational leaders know it. These leaders know that the American people will be the final judge, not the Senate and not Congress as a whole. They have already proven it by removing the House, Senate, and White House from GOP control.

With the exception of Greene -- who isn't the brightest bulb -- notice how quiet those Republicans are who support extremism. Not a word.