A report card on the Biden administration

[Not a Monkeys Uncle]

President Joe R. Biden, how refreshing that sounds

Sure, if you find piss and shit refreshing.

Skyrocketing gas prices, rising food prices, inflation gone wild, Russia going into Ukraine, China going into Taiwan, more Covid deaths than ever, a straight string of losses in SCOTUS . . .

You call that refreshing? What would you call a swift kick in the nuts, a massage?

Go fuck off you retard.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

NBC News reports, "Justice Stephen Breyer will step down from the Supreme Court at the end of the current term, according to people familiar with his thinking.

"Breyer is one of the three remaining liberal justices, and his decision to retire after more than 27 years on the court allows President Joe Biden to appoint a successor who could serve for decades and, in the short term, maintain the current 6-3 split between conservative and liberal justices."

Now the only question remaining is, inasmuch as Sinema and Manchin are acting more like Republicans than Democrats, blocking everything the Democratic President is trying to do, will either one or both block Biden's appointment to the Supreme Court?

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The Republican Party is dominated by education challenged Trump cultists from the rural counties of America. In other words, farmers, ranchers, and rural shopkeepers with limited education. They hear what they want to hear from Fox News and far right sources, and they don't want to be bothered by reality.

A majority of Trump Republicans are so naive, gullible, and misinformed they are unaware that the Russian communist dictator, Vladimir Putin, is the enemy and our President is the good guy.

How else would you explain this?

That is not rhetorical question. I really would like to know.

A recent poll found that 62% of Republicans consider the Russian ruler more capable than our President.

Yahoo News reports, "With at least 100,000 Russian troops massing on the border of Ukraine, more than 6 in 10 Republicans and GOP-leaning independents (62 percent) now say Russian President Vladimir Putin is “a stronger leader” than Joe Biden, according to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll.

"Fewer than half as many Republicans (25 percent) decline to take sides, saying neither leader is stronger than the other.

"And just 4 percent of Republicans say Biden is stronger than Putin."

That is sad and pathetic. In recent years the Republican Party has changed drastically. On the grassroots level, Trump Republicans practically worship Donald Trump, and, against all evidence to the contrary, they really believe the election was stolen from their idol. In the upcoming mid-terms, many Republicans who are in the hunt support Trump's Big Lie.

But, at the very least, Trump Republicans were considered patriotic Americans.

That is now in serious question.

It is expected that the forum's Republicans will stay silent about all this. After all, what can they say? Best to let it blow over.

But will anyone reading this forget the misplaced loyalty and betrayal on the part of Republicans?

These same Republicans expect to win control of Congress in the November mid-terms.

Can we let that happen?

 

[Sandy Shanks]

"And just 4 percent of Republicans say Biden is stronger than Putin."

That is sad and pathetic. In recent years the Republican Party has changed drastically. On the grassroots level, Trump Republicans practically worship Donald Trump, and, against all evidence to the contrary, they really believe the election was stolen from their idol. In the upcoming mid-terms, many Republicans who are in the hunt support Trump's Big Lie.

President Biden isn't the only one having problems keeping his flock in line. Mitch is having problems of his own.

Chris Cillizza explains. "Mitch McConnell is a very careful politician. He rarely acts rashly or speaks without thinking first. Which means that when he does talk, it's usually worth paying very close attention to what he says.

"Which brings me to an interview CNN's Manu Raju and Alex Rogers conducted with McConnell, the Senate minority leader, about Republican prospects in the 2022 midterms -- and, in particular, former President Donald Trump's ongoing insistence that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him."

"It's important for candidates to remember we need to respect the results of our democratic process unless the court system demonstrates that some significant fraud occurred that would change the outcome," McConnell said.

"And McConnell is right that focusing on the idea of a stolen past election is the surest way to lose a future election. Elections are usually decided by a candidate's vision for what comes next, not by dwelling on what has already happened."

But are Republicans running for office listening? There are doubts.

"I need to say something that I get attacked by the media for saying this, I get attacked by my opponents for saying this, but I believe it very strongly and so I want to say it up here: I believe the election was stolen from Donald J. Trump," Josh Mandel, the Republican front-runner in the Ohio Senate race.

Eric Greitens, the current leader of a crowded Republican field in the Missouri Senate race, "We need to have audits across the country because we must get election integrity back," Greitens said.

Rep. Billy Long, who is running in that same Missouri GOP primary, recently released a new ad in which he says this: "Democrats rigged the election. Now we have Biden and the far-left crazies letting inflation rise faster than an auctioneer rattling off numbers," Long says. "I'm running for Senate to stop the insanity, stop the wokeness, and stop the Democrats from stealing another election."

Rep. Ted Budd, the Trump-endorsed candidate in the North Carolina Senate race, voted against certifying the Electoral College results on January 6, 2021. As did Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks, another Trump-backed candidate in the state's open Senate contest.

There is much more, but the reader gets the point.

 

[Lakhota]

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Now the only question remaining is, inasmuch as Sinema and Manchin are acting more like Republicans than Democrats, blocking everything the Democratic President is trying to do, will either one or both block Biden's appointment to the Supreme Court?

When Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer announced his impending retirement, Democrats rejoiced. Stepping down will ensure President Joe Biden will nominate a replacement who could maintain a seat on the bench for decades to come.

CNN reports, "On paper, it should be smooth sailing for Biden to get his nomination confirmed. Since Senate Republicans removed Supreme Court picks from the filibuster in 2017, the President only needs a simple majority to move through the confirmation process.

"But the reality is likely to be messier. With the midterms approaching, Senate Republicans are likely to oppose the nomination -- whoever it is -- and use it to rally the base.

"Biden should be able to ignore all of that -- if he has the support of Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. But this raises the question of whether the President will face a repeat of the Build Back Better battle, with just two Democrats tanking the party's ability to move forward and allowing the Republican minority to rule the roost."

We shouldn't underestimate the willingness of these two senators to go against the grain, having forged identities as the voices of "moderation, compromise, and bipartisanship."

But what if Republicans are not the least bit interested in moderation, compromise, and bipartisanship? Their only interest is to make sure Biden fails.

Manchin and Sinema have no answer to that question.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

CNN reports, "Recently, ex-President Donald Trump proudly declared, "What's happening with Russia and Ukraine would never have happened under the Trump administration. Not even a possibility!"

"That may actually be true. After all, just a couple of years ago, Trump was impeached for trying to use Ukraine to dig up dirt on his potential presidential rival Joe Biden. He tried to push Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to "do us a favor" and investigate Biden and his son, Hunter -- all while holding up almost $400 million in crucial military aid.

Beginning with 2016 election campaign, during which Vladimir Putin went all out to get Trump elected, it is safe to say Trump and Putin have been allies.

This is borne out by the events in Helsinki in 2018.

July 16, 2018, "Helsinki, Finland CNN US President Donald Trump, in a stunning rebuke of the US intelligence community, declined on Monday to endorse the US government’s assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election, saying he doesn’t “see any reason why” Russia would be responsible.

"Instead, Trump – standing alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin – touted Putin’s vigorous denial."

“I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today,” Trump said during a joint news conference after he spent about two hours in a room alone with Putin, save for a pair of interpreters.

No one knows what transpired during those two hours, not any of Trump's closest advisors, and certainly not the news media.

CNN added, "Given Trump's predilection to hug Russia it's probably a good bet that Russian President Vladimir Putin wouldn't be pulling these particular tricks right now. Trump was his guy. When Bill O'Reilly pointed out to Trump that Putin was a killer, he demurred. "There are a lot of killers," Trump said. " ... You think our country's so innocent?"

Many remember that comment. It was a remarkably stupid statement to make, particularly for an American President.

But Trump was just going with the flow as far as his devout followers were concerned. The majority of Republicans are no different in terms of their allegiance to Putin.

This is quite astounding.

A recent poll found that 62% of Republicans consider the Russian ruler more capable than our President.

Yahoo News reports, "With at least 100,000 Russian troops massing on the border of Ukraine, more than 6 in 10 Republicans and GOP-leaning independents (62 percent) now say Russian President Vladimir Putin is “a stronger leader” than Joe Biden, according to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll.

"And just 4 percent of Republicans say Biden is stronger than Putin."

So, yeah, Putin wouldn't be doing this if Trump and the Republicans were in charge. After all, why rock the boat?

Trump and the Republicans expect to gain control of Congress in the November mid-terms.

Just as they always do, the forum's Republicans will remain silent on the issues of this report.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

“I’ll be moving troops to Eastern Europe in the NATO countries in the near term,” Biden told reporters at Joint Base Andrews.

Biden said he will be sending troops to Easter Europe, not considering the move. There is quite a difference.

Is it an escalation of the crisis?

The Hill reports, "The Pentagon has put 8,500 troops on heightened alert for potential deployment to NATO countries in Eastern Europe,nand Biden’s comments seemed to signal definitively that at least some of those forces would deploy soon. Most of the troops are expected to join a NATO rapid response force in Eastern Europe.

"Biden’s comments are the latest sign that the White House believes a Russian invasion to be a strong possibility in the near future. Administration officials have said for more than a week a Russian invasion could be imminent, though U.S. officials have not judged that Russian President Vladimir Putin has made up his mind on invading Ukraine."

Double talk?

"Ukraine has disagreed, however, arguing that an invasion is not imminent and has taking issue with the heightened rhetoric of U.S. officials," The Hill.

I maintain that Russia will not invade, but all bets are off if Putin is provoked.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Throughout his Presidency, Trump yearned for attention. He had a habit of making provocative statements and starting a new conspiracy nearly every week. Any relationship between what he said and reality was purely coincidental.

Nothing has changed since he left office as he pursues his assault on American democracy.

He continues to be Vladimir Putin's prodigy.

CNN reports. "Former President Donald Trump conjured a vision of a second term that would function as a tool of personal vengeance, and become even more authoritarian than his first, when he vowed to pardon US Capitol insurrectionists if he runs for the White House again and wins.

"His pledge at a Texas rally Saturday was accompanied by a call for demonstrations if prosecutors in New York, who are probing Trump's business practices, and those in Georgia, looking into his attempts to reverse his election loss in the state, do anything that he defined as wrong or illegal. The comments underscore Trump's obsession with delusional lies that he won the 2020 election, and his determination to put that falsehood at the core of the Republican worldview. As was often the case during his four years in office, Trump still makes no distinction between his personal goals and the national interest or rule of law.

"As well as further threatening US democracy on Saturday night, Trump was preoccupied with his personal legal exposure. His concern with his own legal position comes at a moment when various criminal and congressional lines of investigation seem to be tightening around him. The House select committee probing the January 6, 2021, riot has now penetrated deep inside Trump's West Wing inner circle, and he lost a Supreme Court bid to keep key documents secret. The likelihood of a damning accounting from the committee, bristling with new details about Trump's attempt to destroy American democracy, is growing,"

And now we have learned that Marc Short, former Vice President Mike Pence's chief of staff, quietly testified before the House select committee investigating January 6. There is little doubt that Short has Pence's blessing.

The reader will recall that Trump's goons threatened Pence with death by hanging.

 

[SweetTea]

A majority of Trump Republicans are so naive, gullible, and misinformed they are unaware that the Russian communist dictator, Vladimir Putin, is the enemy and our President is the good guy.

The average Republican has been more informed than the average Democrat for years. That is still the case. Remember, much of the Democratic base are zit-faced kids and the poorest of the poor, neither of which are experts in anything.

Biden is being controlled by the Chinese. Virtually every move he has made is to our detriment. A blind squirrel finds a nut every once in while, but Biden NEVER gets it right, which means he is purposely getting it wrong.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

He continues to be Vladimir Putin's prodigy.

It is extremely troubling that Americans -- more specifically, grassroots Republicans -- support this man, and, as tensions rise in Ukraine, 62% of them say Vladimir Putin is a stronger leader than the American President.

Poll: As Ukraine tensions escalate, 62% of Republicans say Putin is a 'stronger leader' than Biden

With at least 100,000 Russian troops massing on the border of Ukraine, threatening an invasion, more than 6 in 10 Republicans and GOP-leaning independents say Russian President Vladimir Putin is a “stronger leader” than Joe Biden, according to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll.

news.yahoo.com

And now this. It comes from the former Republican President.

"If these radical, vicious, racist prosecutors do anything wrong or illegal, I hope we are going to have in this country the biggest protests we have ever had in Washington, D.C., in New York, in Atlanta and elsewhere because our country and our elections are corrupt."
*******************************************************************************Donald Trump

Trump and these very same Republicans expect to win control of Congress in November mid-terms!

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Trump Republicans think that Putin is a stronger leader than the American President.

There is a parallel here. These same Trump Republicans could argue that Adolf Hitler was a stronger leader than the American President, crippled Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Hitler wrought enormous damage to Germany as well as the entire world. He alone is responsible for the worst war in man's history on Earth. Millions died and the damage was incalculable.

America emerged from the war as the leader of the free world, and one of two superpowers. Since 1991 and the collapse of the Soviet Union, America became the lone superpower on Earth.

I guess Trump Republicans are limited in their scope of understanding power, militarily and economically. As an example, Putin's Russia has a GDP less then California's GDP.

Since the U.S. assumed leadership of the free world, the major powers have not clashed in war, the longest period of peace in man's history on Earth.

Biden played a role in all that. He was a U.S. Senator for over 35 years and a vice-president for eight years.

That, Trump followers, is power!

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Throughout his Presidency, Trump yearned for attention. He had a habit of making provocative statements and starting a new conspiracy nearly every week.

"Former President Donald Trump said he would ban transgender women from participating in women’s sports nationwide if he were re-elected president," NBC News.

Come on, now that's funny. Trump really is a joke.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

California’s GDP is larger than Russia’s.

There are serious doubts Russia will invade Ukraine. Wars are very costly, and Ukraine has a respectable, battle hardened military, and she will get military assistance from NATO. If she invades, the sanctions placed on Russia and Russian leaders by the NATO countries will likely be more costly than the war itself.

CNN reports, "Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that his government was studying the responses from the United States and NATO to his security demands related to Ukraine but that it was clear the Kremlin's main complaints "had been ignored."
For weeks, Putin had said little publicly about the crisis sparked by Russia's buildup of tens of thousands of troops near Ukraine's borders, which has raised fears of a possible invasion.

"But speaking at a Tuesday news conference following a five-hour meeting in Moscow with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Putin said: "It is already clear -- I informed the Prime Minister about this -- that the fundamental Russian concerns were ignored. We did not see an adequate consideration of our three key requirements."

There is nothing new here other than the fact that Putin finally said something.

Basically, Putin acknowledged that he wants to continue talking, not start a disastrous war -- disastrous for Russia, that is.

If he is going to attack, what is he waiting for? If he was going to attack, it would have been more advantageous to have attacked a month ago. Ukraine is far more prepared than she was a month ago as weapons and supplies keep pouring in as they have been for the past month.

No, Putin wanted to gain security agreements through threats of war. That is not going to work, as NATO is prepared for such an eventuality now, far better than a month ago. Now all Putin wants is a graceful way out of this mess.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Putin wanted to gain security agreements through threats of war. That is not going to work, as NATO is prepared for such an eventuality now, far better than a month ago. Now all Putin wants is a graceful way out of this mess.

According to ABC, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said at Monday's U.N. Security Council meeting there "is one more opportunity to find a diplomatic way out for the Russians."

ABC reports, "The U.S. and Russia are moving ahead with their diplomatic engagements over Russia menacing Ukraine, according to senior State Department officials, after the two countries' top diplomats spoke Tuesday.

"During a critical call Tuesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov "did agree that the ideas on both sides that have been exchanged did form the basis for the potential for serious discussion on a range of issues," said a senior State Department official.

"Those ideas include issues like arms control and greater transparency in military exercises, they added, expressing some hope that Russia's continued engagement could lay the groundwork for real negotiations."

It would appear Russia is more interesting in talking as opposed to shooting.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Last spring, congressional Republicans made two fateful decisions.

CNN reports, "First, in May, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell decided to come out forcefully against an independent commission to study the January 6, 2021 riot at the US Capitol, despite the fact that its creation had been part of a bipartisan deal in the House -- and 35 House Republicans had voted for it."

McConnell was in favor of the bipartisan commission for two excellent reasons. First, it would ensure all sides of the issue would be presented. Second, the commission's report would have been due in December 2021!

But Trump wanted none of that, and McConnell bowed to the party's leader.

The came the second critical error.

CNN continued, "Second, in July, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy decided to pull all Republican members he had nominated for the House committee investigating January 6, following House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's rejection of the presence of GOP Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Jim Banks of Indiana on the panel. (Two Republicans -- Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois -- are on the panel but were put there by Pelosi.)"

Pelosi rejected Jordan and Banks because they played a role in the January Six coup attempt. Indeed, it is quite likely that they both will be called as witnesses. "I have nothing to hide" Jordan has already been called to testify, but refused.

So, McCarthy pulled all Republicans from the House committee. He has never been accused of being the brightest bulb in the room.

So today, we have a partisan committee in the House, and its investigation began in July and will continue for most of 2122 to be completed just in time for the November mid-terms.

"With each passing week. however, those twin decisions look worse and worse for Republicans. Marc Short, former Vice President Mike Pence's chief of staff, recently testified before the committee, CNN exclusively reported.

"And former President Donald Trump lost his attempt to keep more than 700 White House documents pertaining to January 6 from the committee. The committee now has all of those documents," CNN

The decisions by the Republican leadership will prove disastrous as all this comes out a month or two before the mid-terms.

In addition, we have 62% of Republicans exhibiting more allegiance to the Russian ruler than our President.

Poll: As Ukraine tensions escalate, 62% of Republicans say Putin is a 'stronger leader' than Biden

With at least 100,000 Russian troops massing on the border of Ukraine, threatening an invasion, more than 6 in 10 Republicans and GOP-leaning independents say Russian President Vladimir Putin is a “stronger leader” than Joe Biden, according to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll.

news.yahoo.com

 

[Sandy Shanks]

California’s GDP is larger than Russia’s.

There are serious doubts Russia will invade Ukraine. Wars are very costly, and Ukraine has a respectable, battle hardened military, and she will get military assistance from NATO. If she invades, the sanctions placed on Russia and Russian leaders by the NATO countries will likely be more costly than the war itself.

The Times reports, "When he spoke about Ukraine on Tuesday for the first time in over a month, President Vladimir V. Putin’s signal that Russia was open to a diplomatic resolution to the crisis seemed to cool temperatures — at least for the moment.

"But so far this week, much of the focus has shifted to diplomacy, beginning with an explosive clash between U.S. and Russian diplomats at the United Nations Security Council. Those diplomatic efforts continued with a flurry of meetings on Tuesday in both Moscow and Kyiv: Mr. Putin talked with Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain visited President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine."

Our President is putting pressure on Putin as the Russian ruler is trying desperately to find a way out.

ABC News reports, "President Joe Biden has ordered U.S. troop deployments to reassure NATO allies amid the standoff with Russia over Ukraine.

"Pentagon press secretary John Kirby announced the imminent arrival of several thousand U.S. troops -- some already in Europe and some from the U.S. -- to NATO allies in eastern Europe at a Pentagon briefing Wednesday -- the first major movement of U.S. forces in response to concerns Russia will invade Ukraine."

"President Biden has been clear that the United States will respond to the growing threat to Europe's security and stability. Our commitment to NATO Article 5 and collective defense remains ironclad. As part of this commitment and to be prepared for a range of contingencies, the United States will soon move additional forces to Romania, Poland, and Germany," Kirby said.

The President is not sending American troops to Ukraine, only to our NATO partners. Ukraine is not a member of NATO.

The White House says it will no longer describe a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine as "imminent," CNN.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The circle is closing on Trump. Falsifying electors is a federal crime. Trump Republicans will say Trump did no such thing, thus continuing the practice of denying reality and acting stupid.

To preserve his hold on power, Trump has spent the weeks since Election Day promoting falsehoods about voting problems in Georgia and five other states, successfully persuading tens of millions of his supporters to believe a lie — that the election was stolen from him, and from them, the Washington Post, Dec. 20, 2020.

The Times reports, "The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack issued 14 subpoenas on Friday to people who falsely claimed to be electors for President Donald J. Trump in the 2020 election in states that were actually won by Joseph R. Biden Jr., digging deeper into Mr. Trump’s efforts to overturn the results.

"The subpoenas target individuals who met and submitted false Electoral College certificates in seven states won by President Biden: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, New Mexico, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

"The so-called alternate electors met on Dec. 14, 2020, in seven states that Mr. Trump lost and submitted bogus slates of Electoral-College votes for him, the committee said. They then sent the false Electoral College certificates to Congress, an action Mr. Trump’s allies used to try to justify delaying or blocking the final step in confirming the 2020 election results — a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, to formally count the electoral votes."

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The circle is closing on Trump. Falsifying electors is a federal crime. Trump Republicans will say Trump did no such thing, thus continuing the practice of denying reality and acting stupid.

“We will never give up. We will never concede. It doesn’t happen. You don’t concede when there’s theft involved. We won this election, and we won it by a landslide. This was not a close election,” President Trump, January Six, 2021.

CNN reports, "Former Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark and his attorneys met with the House select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection for nearly two hours on Wednesday, two months after the panel voted to hold him in contempt for his lack of cooperation."

Clark, at one point, virtually admitted that he had committed a crime.

"After voting to hold Clark in contempt in December, the committee paused on proceeding because Clark said he planned to plead the Fifth Amendment," CNN, meaning he did not want to incriminate himself.

"Clark is key to the panel's investigation as he was one of the officials within the Justice Department pushing to pursue unfounded claims of voter fraud in the weeks after the 2020 election, and, according to officials who interacted with him was in touch with then-President Donald Trump repeatedly," CNN added.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Reminiscent of the Osama bin Laden raid, as our President is dealing with provocations from Russia he ordered the leader of ISIS be taken out.

The Times reports, "President Biden said on Thursday that the leader of the Islamic State died during a raid by U.S. Special Operations commandos in a risky pre-dawn attack in northwest Syria. Rescue workers said women and children were among at least 13 people killed during the raid.

"The helicopter-borne assault was carried out by about two dozen American commandos, backed by helicopter gunships, armed Reaper drones and attack jets. The operation resembled the raid in October 2019 in which Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the previous leader of the Islamic State, died when he detonated a suicide vest as U.S. forces raided a hideout not far from where Thursday’s operation took place."

John F. Kirby, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman was "asked about the timing of the raid, which officials said was months in the planning. Mr. Kirby said multiple factors played a role: intelligence levels, certainty about the ISIS leader’s location, weather and operational conditions (it was a virtually a moonless night, ideal for night operations)."

"During the operation, one of the American helicopters suffered a mechanical problem, was forced to land and was later destroyed by American attack aircraft. After about three hours, the American commandos and their remaining helicopters flew off," the Times added.

"Mr. Biden said Mr. al-Qurayshi died when he exploded a bomb, killing himself and members of his family."