"It's a good thang"
Woke this morning with a Paul Revere and the Raiders tune in my head, which morphed into our present situation.
Most notably, the flip/flopping of the pundits, press, and powers that be regarding Bidens fitness as a candidate for four more years as a tenant of the White House. Perhaps if a memory care facility is built in the basement, he could reside there and walk shuffle the halls during the day with a caregiver following with a slobber rag. That would be apropos in that his administration held Assange in a dungeon basement for his whole term in office.
So there is precedence.
Obama has put out the word "He is fit for office!" and don't you forget it. Suddenly, everyone is falling in line.
Everyone except the American people, who are waking up to a debacle being created before their very eyes. Polls show a certain percent(33%) have had software installed in their brains that blocks recognition of debacles being seen.
The rest of the populous know and are watching in real time.
Panic is in the air.
"It's a good thang, baby."
The Supreme Court ruled in Trumps favor re: immunity and went even further by calling into question the legitimacy of the Prosecutor's Office itself. It is becoming apparent the Conservative side of the court is siding with Trump in at least two cases and is eventually going to see a challenge in his financial crime case already decided against him.
He may beat all the cases against him. And the weaponization of lawfare in politics is open for all the American people to see.
The panic is growing more intense.
"It's a good, good, good, good, thang!"
The F-16s promised to 404 don't have a place to land because the Russians have destroyed every pristine airstrip in western Ukraine, and the hanger queens cannot use less that that to land on.
So plan B is to launch them from Poland and create a no fly zone over western 404. But they forget Russia is capable of creating a no fly zone over all of Europe.
I am seriously starting to believe TPTB are in worse condition than Biden himself.
The panic is shi**ing your pants strong.
That's not a good thang.
Thread is open, wadda ya think?
Comments
With regards to...
Biden's "fitness as a candidate": With the Democratic stars aligning after flipping, it's obvious to me that he's done, he's out. That's how modern political spin works.
As for the presidential immunity thing, here's the Democratic party spin from Joy Reid, MSNBC talking head:
Notice the facial expressions and mannerisms? She's a Rachael Maddow clone.
Even with the use of her hands
she can't hide the angst.
I see a "when you've lost Walter Cronkite" moment approaching.
Have a good day, JtC.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
I caught maybe 4 minutes of
Joy Reid. Darn it, the phone kept ringing, interrupting me, I couldn't finish it, darn it!
But Trump is really bad, so we must vote for Biden is where she was headed, methinks.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
your title brought this one to mind
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thanks for the OT E1!
Thanks for the tune
The good thing has already been messed up.
How do we fix it?
We could start by cutting up all our credit cards that have a logo from the Too Big To Fail banks on it, which would be a shot through the bow. Yep, it would sink them.
Fat chance though.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
This is a really good idea.
I've done this, after years of scrimping and extra work: I paid off, and have now chopped up, all of our cards. Except for one, which has no annual fee and a zero balance from my local credit union.
No more debt, especially to the TBTF banks. It nay not be much, but at least it is something.
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
It wouldn't even take all of us
to do this and it would still collapse the banks. And we would still have the Credit Unions to continue our banking services.
CUs are the way to go, rather than the Post Office idea floated a few years ago.
They closely resemble the local banks of yore that served the local farmers, ranchers, and city center businesses (think Bank of Tombstone, etc.) that lent money to those community members that wanted it and was a safe place to store their money.
And the bank President there answered to the community (rope meet tree).
Thanks for the post.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Set Up
this whole thing has been scripted
everybody had The Talking Points
handed to them before the ‘debate’
Somebody needs him out or
to take the fall, maybe both
check the rear view ‘cause
This is a set up-he’s been brain dead
since at least 2018-and the Jabs
ain’t helping did they give him the real
ones? Too ironic
Ya got to be a Spirit, cain't be no Ghost. . .
Explain Bldg #7. . . still waiting. . .
If you’ve ever wondered whether you would have complied in 1930’s Germany,
Now you know. . .
sign at protest march
I actually think there were two scripts
Script A was if Trump bombed himself (which he actually did in that he was devoid of any substance) and Biden reacted well to the stimulants and appeared alive.
And script B where Biden bombed and Trump skated under the radar.
Script C was still in committee (bomb Russia, bomb China, unleash the bird flu kraken, engineer fatal Trump accident).
Or capitulate and let Trump have it...........Nawwww, just messin' with ya.
Thanks for stopping by my neck of the woods.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
I guess they're going to wait --
until he loses the election. Kamala Harris will be Prez for the lame duck period.
If they want to replace him they have less than three weeks. Remember they're nominating July 21 and holding the convention later.
It's no wonder there was no audience for the debate. If Biden had pooped his pants that would have gotten a reaction.
You have to wonder about the decision to show the really bad Biden parts. Something is clearly going on behind the curtain. There's a donor revolt now.
“When there's no fight over programme, the election becomes a casting exercise. Trump's win is the unstoppable consequence of this situation.” - Jean-Luc Melanchon
Filled with firsts
First time w/no audience.
First time held before the convention.
First time with mutable microphones.
First time hosted by CNN.
First time allowing two drug/medicinal breaks.
First debate where both candidates suck to high heaven.
First debate resulting in a golf challenge instead of a dual with pistols.
First debate that facial expressions revealed more than candidates words.
America is recent-soon to be ancient history.
Who will snatch the trademark on the flag?
Getty?
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Dunno about that
July 21 Dem date or its importance if any vote takes place then, assuming Ds are foolish enough to do that. The DP is master of its own house and can customize, revise and alter their rules and proceedings at just about any point prior to the end of August when many states have ballot deadlines. Politically it would be unwise to have any pre-convention early vote, as it would only focus more attention on Biden's shaky mental and political situation.
Dem delegates are also not completely obliged to vote for Biden even if pledged. But that's not likely to happen unless a major delegate groundswell of nervousness and discontent w Biden manifests and momentum is clearly in favor of replacing him. The DNC governing board could also replace B after the convention if necessary.
I have long felt Ds do stupid things, and mostly are meek cowards, but I'm less certain they have a collective political death wish, as they would if they all went ridin' with Biden. I expect him to be pressured to step aside sometime in the next 6 weeks.
What militates for a Biden nomination
1) The iron-fisted rule of Team Biden over the party. They like it just fine this way.
2) Sunk cost fallacy. They've put so much energy into Biden, they can't let go.
3) The 21st date is real. They want to avoid problems with Ohio.
4) There are just too many problems with a switcheroo, the main one being "who?" They've intimidated everyone into silence about this, and the obvious choice is Kamala Harris, garden-variety idiot.
5) The Powers That Be have written off the election. They've spent far too much time pretending Joe Biden is okay, when he's obviously not, and the resultant trust issues will carry over into November no matter what they do, so they're preparing for 2028.
“When there's no fight over programme, the election becomes a casting exercise. Trump's win is the unstoppable consequence of this situation.” - Jean-Luc Melanchon
One must also acknowledge
the other elephant in the room: the dems have long known that losing is more profitable. I think that they have indeed written off the election, with some glee.
I think that the dem party's plan overall is now back to the same as it has been for at least a decade: to lose elections narrowly, so that their paid-staff/consultant/grifter class can go back to the donors (again) and say "Missed it by that much! Just give us even more money, and we'll win it- next time for sure!”. Power is nice, sure, but nearly infinite money has its own attractions.
The problem is that the dem party has invested so heavily for so long in losing. Losing guarantees that they don't even have to try and govern, and they can't be held responsible for anything. All they can do is bitch and moan and complain endlessly, about how they can't do anything because of the Mean Old Republicans. Which will certainly bring in even more donations from the many wealthy people who are also heavy into bitching and moaning, but doesn't do jack shit to actually, you know, help manage any situation beyond fleecing their donors. So once again, we'll hear lots of bitching and moaning about how they can't do anything, since we didn't give them a supermajority/the White House/cause du jour. And nothing good will happen. They are good at it.
Losing elections is profitable as hell, once you have the scam in place. The dem paid-staff/consultant/grifter class is making bank! Why would they actually try to avoid losing when it pays them elephant-choking bales of untraceable donated cash? They just want to feed from that self-refilling (and self-fulfilling) trough for as long as possible. Just don't look to them for anything resembling leadership, or actual support of the population at large. That's not what they are there for in this modern era, after all. There are pockets to be lined, and Momma Needz Nu Shooz.
Not a fan.
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
I liked this phrase
“When there's no fight over programme, the election becomes a casting exercise. Trump's win is the unstoppable consequence of this situation.” - Jean-Luc Melanchon
Responding
to your points:
1) True, until the "iron-fist" becomes a plastic-wrap fist bc of another B mental meltdown or just a growing overwhelming groundswell among the D elite and grassroots for Joe to go.
2) Sunk cost in Joe: The DP, not entirely and always stupid, will, in a very reasonable scenario wise up and realize the costs of toughing it out with a senile Joe are in political terms far greater (lost congress, lost presidency) than the costs heretofore expended. This might be giving them too much credit, but again I don't think the DP is always stupid and I don't think it has a death wish.
3) Ohio 21st date: No, that peculiar state recently passed a law changing their ballot certification to the end of August, so enough time for the D nominee coming out of their convention to qualify. Not that the D nominee is likely to win OH anyway ...
4) Feasibility of a switcheroo: Entirely doable, see this good overview by ex-Obama legal counsel Greg Craig: https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/07/02/biden-replacement-0016.... Re Kamala: the way to deal with this potential delicate IDPol matter of a pol even more unpopular than Joe is for the D convention to arrange to put her name in contention along with the usual 4-5 others (Newsom, Whitmer, Gov Josh Shapiro, Pritzker, the MD gov forget his name, young guy). Predict, in that scenario, she would struggle to come in 3d in the balloting. Why replace one sure loser with another even more certain to lose?
5) Writing off election already: Seems like quite an abrupt El Foldo by TPTB, esp as they have been telling everyone for the past year that it will mean the End of Democracy if DJT gets elected. If they believe that, then there's no point planning for 2028. There will be no real elections, only a continuation of Donald for a 3d term or a hand-off to Donnie Jr. In that case, there's no choice for TPTB but to snap out of it about covering for Biden and get going on a replacement. I am obviously rooting for this scenario as, among other things, it will mean boffo ratings for the DP Chicago confab.
Appreciate your thoughts on these matters.
Okay
1) The elites "know" that the Ds will step in line when push comes to shove. Now, the Ds could actually revolt; but such a revolt would be unprecedented. The donors have already revolted, and the elites are at this time acting like they don't care. For the record, I am in favor of unprecedented.
2) Remember that the Democrats have followed the sunk cost fallacy to their doom before, in 2016. And they got a portion of the government back in 2018. So it's all good, right?
3) As far as I know the Party has not reneged on the 21st date.
4) The plan discussed in the article you cited depends upon Biden withdrawing, and doing it soon. So we'll see soon enough.
5) The party elites have known for quite some time that their strategy -- running Biden and hoping Trump would destroy his own chances -- was unlikely to work twice. Sure, it worked in 2020, but in 2020 the focus was upon Trump. Today the focus is on Biden. So, arguably, they have known all along that their strategy AT THE VERY LEAST deserved a serious conversation as to its merits, and that this conversation should have begun AT THE LATEST some time in the summer of last year. But the party elites acted to shut down that conversation. So, yes, they have been opting to lose all this time. And, no, they don't think more of The Donald will be the end of democracy. That's just something for the gullible masses.
At any rate, democracy in the US at the Federal level has been toast for quite some time now. Ending it publicly (as opposed to privately) would enrage a lot of people, which would be a good thing.
“When there's no fight over programme, the election becomes a casting exercise. Trump's win is the unstoppable consequence of this situation.” - Jean-Luc Melanchon
Exactly.
Read: just another cynical gaslighting/money-raising scheme- and people fall for it. After all, who wouldn’t give every dime they have to Preserve Our Democracy? And save it from the Bad Orange Man?
Well, me, for one. Any money anyone gives them just feeds the professional scammer/consultant class. Every 4 years they roll out the same tired old bullshit about the next one being The Most Critical Election EVAH!!1!!$!
No. No, it isn’t. I’m disgusted as hell with this completely predictable money-laundering scheme, and no longer care to play.
Attributed variously to Emma Goldman, Mark Twain, Dorothy Parker, and probably 20 others: “If voting changed anything, they’d make it illegal.” Words to live by.
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
This is no doubt what so moves them today.
At this point they are confronted with 2024 being the least critical election ever. The likes of Jaime Harrison have been pretending for a year now that there's no problem with Biden. So I guess they think there's no problem with a second Trump term, either.
“When there's no fight over programme, the election becomes a casting exercise. Trump's win is the unstoppable consequence of this situation.” - Jean-Luc Melanchon
Final comments
re yours above:
1) Reminder that this election in a 50-50 country is still likely to be decided on the margins and in the 6 or so swing states. So the thinking shouldn't be just about how Ds will react to Biden's dire deteriorating mental situation, but how the indy type voters will react in Nov if Joe stays on. Joe needs enough Indies and mod Rs to come over to his side to get elected. That's where this election will be decided, and currently the polls show a drift away from Biden by these people.
2) Quite a difference between someone who looked to be a sure winner in 2016, anointed and promoted (over Joe) to carry on the Obama legacy as against someone who looks to be a sure loser in 2024. All the money elites in the party have experience with the occasional loser investment -- and most know to just get out and take the losses and do a better job next time with the next pick.
3) Afaik, that date has not been settled on by the DNC, it was just an idea and remains so. Cite please if you know differently. Again, if it were to be implemented, it would be a bad political look for the party, showing their utter desperation to lock in a nominee a full month before their actual convention where the nomination process usually happens. It would be a further factor in splitting the party, which usually the DNC tries to avoid, particularly with conventions held in late August in Chicago.
4) It's a very good overview of how the replacement process works, highly rec. Of course everything hinges on Joe dropping out. Trying to force out a sitting incumbent seeking re-elect at the convention is beyond unprecedented. The resulting division and chaos would make Chicago '68 look like a love-in party family picnic.
5) I can't claim to know enough party insiders and elites to be able to get into their collective head, but Shirley they weren't entirely unreasonable last year in thinking Grandpa Joe, who beat Donald by 7m votes last time, was at least good enough to go for a slimmer margin in 2024. But like us mere mortals, they too, many of them, were gaslit about the true state of Joe's mental health. That's not on them but on the Biden family, Jill mostly, and the robotically loyal aides who've worked overtime to shield him from close scrutiny. And on the robotically loyal corp media of course.
Meanwhile more and more elected Ds are coming out to call for Joe to step aside and/or otherwise express reservations about him running again. News is moving fast. The groundswell of opposition to Joe is developing. I suspect he will be forced to withdraw in the next week -- as much a hope as anything actually. And I'm reminded that Nixon dug in his heels for weeks/months in '74 before finally getting the visit and resigning. These things don't happen as fast as we would like. Can we at least celebrate the 50th anniversary of Nixon's resignation on Aug 9?
Enjoyed the exchange. Off to other things ...
Good afternoon, earthling1. It was 67 this morning around 8 am,
worked in the yard until 11:00, but didn't heck temp, ran out to 105 degree territory to do errands and just got back. Backyard is 99 degrees right now, so hiding indoors. Sooo glad we decided to get a heat pump installed over the winter.
Joy Reid is right, Biden is now King, empowered by the supreme court to do whatever he wants, as opposed to the earlier part of his Presidency when he couldn't do things like declare war, commit acts of war, order deliveries of weapons to be gifted to assorted warring states that can't pay for them, order US troops and spooks to get engaged in foreign wars as technicians, assassins or whatever. A new scarier Biden is now empowered to do all of those things.
Be well and have a good one.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Your fresh snark is noted
Do you have any seasoning for topping?
Over 80 here today, heading for low hundreds for the holiday and weekend. We will be on the river as much as possible.
Got the watering system up and adjusted just right, time to kick back with a Mai tai or maybe Margarita.
Cheers.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Well, 3 O'clock is the magik hour here, today, in
honor of the high temps, a nice crisp sauvignon blanc, appropriately cool but not so cold as to kill the flavor and aroma. Enjoy your beverage of choice.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Good afternoon, E1!
The river and lake here are every bit as hot as the high and dry spots. No escaping this heat unless we drive 2 or 3 states away.
I never thought I would see as clearly that the US is doomed to 2nd/3rd world status in very short order as what I saw in the debate. If those ignorant, power hungry men are the best possible leaders we have to offer, we will lose the life we have known.
I believe in starving the credit mobsters, but believe a large and planned stay-at-home, don't-go-to-work would make a huge difference and the banksters would have heart attacks, as would our politicians. We could starve them into submission in a week or two or three.
Enjoy your river time holiday! We are staying home, depriving the gulf condos our hard earned $.
Thanks for the OT, and putting that song in my head, friend!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Good on the heat pump, El.
My utility bill has decreased by at least 50% per month, sometimes 60%.
It is 98deg. during the heat of the day this week. The "real feel" is 105. In July. August will literally kill outdoor workers who have bosses that do not give the necessary water breaks.
Those murderous bosses are everywhere around here.
Enjoy your perfectly chilled wine, friend!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Good evening otc. The main thing right now is that the heat
pump keeps the house cool. Dunno what the net effect on out utility bills will be. We never had AC before except a small window mounted unit in one particular room. Now we cool the whole house. The catch is that we're grid tied solar. it used to be that we generated enough to cover our electricity use and get a bit of a credit toward our gas bill. We're now using more electricity, so our surplus will be less, if any, but the heat pump also replaces the furnaces most of the time and is more efficient, so the net effect is anybody's guess.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
We have to jump through impossibly unattainable
hoops to get solar credits here. We pay to play. Period.
Tax credits are impossible to qualify for, as the parts required for all the solar panels and wiring and connections and voltages boxes/what was fuse boxes that we can get are not approved. 100% approval is impossible.
One tiny screw, one tiny piece of metal, one short piece of wire, disqualifies the many thousands of dollars you spend, believing you will get a tax credit, and utility company credit.
That's why I walked away from the $52,000 quote for installation. At $100 savings per month, I would not live long enough to break even on the installation costs.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
If you have the room
a geo thermal system is cheaper than Solar.
Through a heat exchanger it will remove heat from your home in the summer and add heat in the winter by using the near constant temperature underground.
My 1700 square ft home uses a 200 ft ditch 6 ft deep to bury 400 ft of piping to transfer the heat back and forth at a savings of 60% on my HVAC bill.
!0 years ago it cost me $18k to install, but with the $7500 tax credit it ended up costing $10.5K.
Best investment I ever made.
It's an option.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
I will make sure
Dear One reads this and does the research.
Much appreciated.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
We got solar about or possibly at least 19 years ago.
The credits I referred to are like debits and credits. We have an annual true-up where we pay PG&E for any amount of electricity we consume in excess of what we produce. Conversely, they pay us for any excess we produce over what we consume. We have previously over-produced but instead of a cash payment, they just offset our overproduction against our gas bill.
we anticipate that we will have less overproduction due to our use of electricity to run the heat pump, so less of an offset, if any. OTOH, we use less gas because the heat pump also does most of our heating now. We'll find out come next true-up.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --