Somehow the media wants this election to be ‘nuanced’ with layers of decision points and issues. It’s not. It’s negative/devisive/authoritarianism/evil vs positive/unifying/democracy/redemption. All the rest is fru-fru.
First what were Russell Brand (Subject of His Majesty) and Jordan Peterson (Canadian) doing at a Make America Great Again rally? Brand has gone from crack pot to potty on crack.
In regard to foreign policy. The greatest difference is that until the fall of the Soviet Union we had a unified bipartisan foreign policy. The parties disagreed and debated about how best to apply that policy but everyone agreed on the bottom line of that policy.
Since then foreign policy has become just another partisan football along with all the others and I really doubt that average American voters either understand or deeply care about it at least insofar as being a concern above others and generally each party choosing to oppose whatever the other party wants to do.
Don't know where all the others are hiding, but Jeff Flake did endorse Kamala yesterday. Maybe one person's toe in the water can show others it doesn't automatically lead to an undertow? But then again, he's put the party in the RVM, while they're still waiting for the party to come to its senses.
Someone should tell them what they remember is never coming back as they remember it. Their reluctance is not 'saving' anything. But what they CAN help to save is our democracy. Start by boarding the only train that's actually running. And open your mouth to speak.
Two things regarding the "foreign policy election" argument.
First, I think it's true that this will end up being a foreign policy election. The more I see, the more I am struck by the parallels to 1956: Russia trying to pull a wayward "satellite" (as it perceives things) back into its embrace; and Israel launching a campaign of aggression for dubious reasons. I hope that Biden will be more aggressive than Ike and Dulles on the former, and equally firm with Bibi on the latter.
Second, I believe Bush's speech writes itself, to wit: “I said I was retired from presidential politics and would not make an endorsement. And I meant it. But I've spent a lot of time thinking these past few days, after listening to Trump’s nativism, racism, and appeals to violence in the debate and over this past weekend, and Vance’s even worse rhetoric during his debate with Governor Walz {yes, this is a prediction, but I think a safe one}; thinking about my philosophy of compassionate conservatism and my dad’s view of American society as reflecting a thousand points of light fighting the darkness; and thinking about how both Dad and I -- and the Republican Party generally -- have stood for freedom at home and abroad, and for making the world a better place through overseas initiatives like PEPFAR and through good governance like the Americans with Disabilities Act at home. All this has made me realize that despite my strong preference to stay retired, I have to come out of retirement and speak my mind.”
I hope W does it, but does it at a time and in a manner of maximum impact. Too early and it will be forgotten as Trump floods the zone with excrement; too late and it won't have the needed impact. But I hope he has remembered his dad, made his choice, and is now just dealing with tactics and logistics.
I agree with Bill that it's time for the GOP "old heads" to get off the bench and speak the truth.
I had a thought about George W: if he truly feels somehow "compelled" not to weigh in on presidencies he could at LEAST come out and speak to his own local representation and oppose Ted Cruz by backing Colin Allred. In theory this would allow him to stand up for democracy and oppose the most craven GOP icon in his own back yard.
However, the more I thought of it, once he did so it would seem almost sillier that he couldn't say the same about Trump/Kamala. So I come back to the idea that they should all follow Liz, who is being honest without compromise her positions or values.
Not saying I disagree or that I like the guy, but I'll take any ally we can get to defeat Trump. And if his status as a Texas legend could help defeat Ted Cruz, even better.
Actually, the number is at 99. About half of that number is in North Carolina, and there are plenty of spots in the rural northwestern counties that authorities cannot get to at the moment because roads have been washed out.
. There are dozens of small communities in the valleys out there, and the majority of people in that part of the state live in the country, and they get power off of trunk lines and not main lines--up there, in Wilkes County for example, the majority of power lines are underground. After Hugo, Duke Energy and Blue Ridge Power thought it prudent to bury the power lines.
Once you get out of town, water up there tends to be well water, and if there is no electricity, then well pumps are not working. In Wilkes, I know that the majority of the population tends to be elderly OR not in good health generally OR both. If the pumps are not working, then not only do they not have power to run fans or air conditioners, but they also cannot get water from the faucets. A couple members of my family there got power late yesterday afternoon because they live on main lines, but some of the older at risk ones are on trunk lines and still are out and that may be the case through the end of the week depending on how roadbeds held up to the flooding.
I forgot something...why isn't that vicious old hag Virginia Foxx not on Fox Channel speaking up for her constituents? Wilkes...Caldwell...Yadkin--these counties are her people, and I am not seeing Nasty Grandma's face on any TV screen.
Not much to say today other than how does the press simply not say that what t***p is saying is lies.
I was born and raised in Ashe County, NC it is one of the worst hit areas from Helene and no that is not where Asheville is. You are not hearing much about them because there are no cities there it is mostly rural, a lot of small farms. I am not there and cannot get there and I have family and friends I haven't heard from. But what I have heard shows me it is still a place where real America lives with neighbors who lost a lot helping neighbors who lost more, with everyone pulling together to help everyone else. I know they will get through this but please pray for them.
I wanted to add something here from a woman in another community that was mostly destroyed, Swannanoa just east of Asheville. A man cooking his whole winter supply of beef to give to his neighbors.
“He lost everything, but he’s giving anything he’s got,” she said. “That is the beauty of the people in the mountains.”
I’m so sorry that you’re not able to be with or even hear from your family and friends. I hope and pray for their health and safety. And what a beautiful sentiment:
“But what I have heard shows me it is still a place where real America lives with neighbors who lost a lot helping neighbors who lost more, with everyone pulling together to help everyone else.”
That was my take, too. I thought the ethos here was not to partake in the media's obsession with both-sidesism. There is absolutely no cause for creating any symmetry between Kamala and Don. Because none exists. Unless you call throwing paper towels at hurricane survivors relief help, to recall DT's effort in Puerto Rico. That was his grand gesture to those desperate folks. Where is the suggestion of spirit or heart we'd now suddenly be expecting in Georgia? Do better, indeed.
GOP have so many "good" talking points that would resonate with less informed moderates and independents. Economy, immigration, new wars in Europe and Middle East, sexual identity issues, etc. Yet the race is still theirs to lose. Remarkable how their attachment to Trump is making this a close race, when almost any other GOP candidate would be running away with the race.
Please, oh please, keep this guy ranting and raving till Election Day.
Excellent Evan Osnos, Jane Mayer (New Yorker) podcast with pollster Celinda Lake about the “gender gap on steroids” they’re seeing.
One interesting finding is when women fill out their ballots at home with their husbands they sometimes compromise to his Trump vote. In the privacy of the voting booth, they vote for democrats. They tend to vote what’s best for their family and community, not just for themselves.
People are often all too willing to believe either that:
1) Our side is weak while the other side is strong; or
2) Our side is strong, while the other side is weak.
We suffer from 1, the Russians from 2... except the Russians know that they are not as strong as the US and so have to bluster a LOT, to help us keep thinking 1.
When people talk all the time about how great their stuff is and how strong they are, they are probably not... and the stuff probably either isn't great or it is not really operational.
But analysts usually have only an academic understanding of a lot of this stuff (rather than real-world experience) and prefer to fail in a conservative direction (because overestimating the enemy is safer than underestimating). Which is the crux of the whole thing. The Russians/Chinese say X, so we give them credit for X and grant them a level of competency that is greater than actually exists.
The Russians serverely overestimated thir capability and severely underestimated the willingness of UKR to fight... or the willingness of NATO to assist them.
The reality is that NO ONE wants to actually fight the United States because we have repeatedly demonstrated our ability to actually destroy countries and kill mass quantities of people--while taking minimal casualties ourselves... and doing it in a rather half-assed fashion.
Nobody (currently) does it better... and the reality is we don't have to be good, we just have to be better than the people we fight.
Tom Clancy said it best, I think. His analogy is that the US was a mean junkyard dog on a leash. It is safe and fun to stand outside the reach of the dog's leash and do all kinds of things. Just don't step inside the reach of the leash.
The Russian military has been notoriously bad in times of peace, moreso even than the US. Venal, corrupt, unprepared, often arrogant. They have remained true to form. While our system is corrupt, theirs is even more corrupt.
At least Trump isn't using incendiary language about what will happen to America is Harris is elected because that may incite someone to commit violence against her
I gather he had his Eerie PA weekend rally mob chanting "lock her up". Mixed in with the notion for police to act with all force necessary for one epic day. His act has really gotten tired, recycling lines from 2016. He does tend to get people confused lately.
Heck, he's already saying that Harris and Biden were letting in millions of illegals who will kill you in your home and raping you and burning down cities. Violence will come courtesy of Trump and his Pets.
Somehow the media wants this election to be ‘nuanced’ with layers of decision points and issues. It’s not. It’s negative/devisive/authoritarianism/evil vs positive/unifying/democracy/redemption. All the rest is fru-fru.
First what were Russell Brand (Subject of His Majesty) and Jordan Peterson (Canadian) doing at a Make America Great Again rally? Brand has gone from crack pot to potty on crack.
In regard to foreign policy. The greatest difference is that until the fall of the Soviet Union we had a unified bipartisan foreign policy. The parties disagreed and debated about how best to apply that policy but everyone agreed on the bottom line of that policy.
Since then foreign policy has become just another partisan football along with all the others and I really doubt that average American voters either understand or deeply care about it at least insofar as being a concern above others and generally each party choosing to oppose whatever the other party wants to do.
“Trump heading to Georgia to help with relief”
No, all Trump did was lie and said that the Federal Government was not providing assistance. A bald faced lie.
I am so despondent that my brother is going to vote for these awful people again. I wish I knew some way to get through to him.
Don't know where all the others are hiding, but Jeff Flake did endorse Kamala yesterday. Maybe one person's toe in the water can show others it doesn't automatically lead to an undertow? But then again, he's put the party in the RVM, while they're still waiting for the party to come to its senses.
Someone should tell them what they remember is never coming back as they remember it. Their reluctance is not 'saving' anything. But what they CAN help to save is our democracy. Start by boarding the only train that's actually running. And open your mouth to speak.
Two things regarding the "foreign policy election" argument.
First, I think it's true that this will end up being a foreign policy election. The more I see, the more I am struck by the parallels to 1956: Russia trying to pull a wayward "satellite" (as it perceives things) back into its embrace; and Israel launching a campaign of aggression for dubious reasons. I hope that Biden will be more aggressive than Ike and Dulles on the former, and equally firm with Bibi on the latter.
Second, I believe Bush's speech writes itself, to wit: “I said I was retired from presidential politics and would not make an endorsement. And I meant it. But I've spent a lot of time thinking these past few days, after listening to Trump’s nativism, racism, and appeals to violence in the debate and over this past weekend, and Vance’s even worse rhetoric during his debate with Governor Walz {yes, this is a prediction, but I think a safe one}; thinking about my philosophy of compassionate conservatism and my dad’s view of American society as reflecting a thousand points of light fighting the darkness; and thinking about how both Dad and I -- and the Republican Party generally -- have stood for freedom at home and abroad, and for making the world a better place through overseas initiatives like PEPFAR and through good governance like the Americans with Disabilities Act at home. All this has made me realize that despite my strong preference to stay retired, I have to come out of retirement and speak my mind.”
I hope W does it, but does it at a time and in a manner of maximum impact. Too early and it will be forgotten as Trump floods the zone with excrement; too late and it won't have the needed impact. But I hope he has remembered his dad, made his choice, and is now just dealing with tactics and logistics.
I agree with Bill that it's time for the GOP "old heads" to get off the bench and speak the truth.
I had a thought about George W: if he truly feels somehow "compelled" not to weigh in on presidencies he could at LEAST come out and speak to his own local representation and oppose Ted Cruz by backing Colin Allred. In theory this would allow him to stand up for democracy and oppose the most craven GOP icon in his own back yard.
However, the more I thought of it, once he did so it would seem almost sillier that he couldn't say the same about Trump/Kamala. So I come back to the idea that they should all follow Liz, who is being honest without compromise her positions or values.
Bush was the worst president of our lifetimes until the Dumpster came along.
Not saying I disagree or that I like the guy, but I'll take any ally we can get to defeat Trump. And if his status as a Texas legend could help defeat Ted Cruz, even better.
Then he get back to painting.
Actually, the number is at 99. About half of that number is in North Carolina, and there are plenty of spots in the rural northwestern counties that authorities cannot get to at the moment because roads have been washed out.
. There are dozens of small communities in the valleys out there, and the majority of people in that part of the state live in the country, and they get power off of trunk lines and not main lines--up there, in Wilkes County for example, the majority of power lines are underground. After Hugo, Duke Energy and Blue Ridge Power thought it prudent to bury the power lines.
Once you get out of town, water up there tends to be well water, and if there is no electricity, then well pumps are not working. In Wilkes, I know that the majority of the population tends to be elderly OR not in good health generally OR both. If the pumps are not working, then not only do they not have power to run fans or air conditioners, but they also cannot get water from the faucets. A couple members of my family there got power late yesterday afternoon because they live on main lines, but some of the older at risk ones are on trunk lines and still are out and that may be the case through the end of the week depending on how roadbeds held up to the flooding.
I forgot something...why isn't that vicious old hag Virginia Foxx not on Fox Channel speaking up for her constituents? Wilkes...Caldwell...Yadkin--these counties are her people, and I am not seeing Nasty Grandma's face on any TV screen.
Not much to say today other than how does the press simply not say that what t***p is saying is lies.
I was born and raised in Ashe County, NC it is one of the worst hit areas from Helene and no that is not where Asheville is. You are not hearing much about them because there are no cities there it is mostly rural, a lot of small farms. I am not there and cannot get there and I have family and friends I haven't heard from. But what I have heard shows me it is still a place where real America lives with neighbors who lost a lot helping neighbors who lost more, with everyone pulling together to help everyone else. I know they will get through this but please pray for them.
I wanted to add something here from a woman in another community that was mostly destroyed, Swannanoa just east of Asheville. A man cooking his whole winter supply of beef to give to his neighbors.
“He lost everything, but he’s giving anything he’s got,” she said. “That is the beauty of the people in the mountains.”
I’m so sorry that you’re not able to be with or even hear from your family and friends. I hope and pray for their health and safety. And what a beautiful sentiment:
“But what I have heard shows me it is still a place where real America lives with neighbors who lost a lot helping neighbors who lost more, with everyone pulling together to help everyone else.”
"Trump heading to Georgia to help with relief" WTF?, guys. Do better.
That was my take, too. I thought the ethos here was not to partake in the media's obsession with both-sidesism. There is absolutely no cause for creating any symmetry between Kamala and Don. Because none exists. Unless you call throwing paper towels at hurricane survivors relief help, to recall DT's effort in Puerto Rico. That was his grand gesture to those desperate folks. Where is the suggestion of spirit or heart we'd now suddenly be expecting in Georgia? Do better, indeed.
Quick question: How exactly is Trump going to “help with relief” from Hurricane Helene? More paper towels?
Another link re trump in Georgia .
His campaign claims he’s partnering withChristian humanitarian aid organization Samaritan’s Purse to bring supplies. I’d like verification of that.
Trump makes false claims about federal response as he campaigns in area ravaged by Hurricane Helene | Fox 59
https://fox59.com/news/politics/ap-politics/ap-harris-trump-shift-plans-after-hurricane-helenes-destruction/
He’s campaigning, which helps everyone!🙄
Trump visits Valdosta amid devastation from Hurricane Helene
https://www.news4jax.com/news/georgia/2024/09/30/trump-to-visit-valdosta-amid-devastation-from-hurricane-helene/
GOP have so many "good" talking points that would resonate with less informed moderates and independents. Economy, immigration, new wars in Europe and Middle East, sexual identity issues, etc. Yet the race is still theirs to lose. Remarkable how their attachment to Trump is making this a close race, when almost any other GOP candidate would be running away with the race.
Please, oh please, keep this guy ranting and raving till Election Day.
Excellent Evan Osnos, Jane Mayer (New Yorker) podcast with pollster Celinda Lake about the “gender gap on steroids” they’re seeing.
One interesting finding is when women fill out their ballots at home with their husbands they sometimes compromise to his Trump vote. In the privacy of the voting booth, they vote for democrats. They tend to vote what’s best for their family and community, not just for themselves.
A great response to the America First crowd and their leader,
“America doesn’t have bone spurs.”
WRT UKR analysis failure:
People are often all too willing to believe either that:
1) Our side is weak while the other side is strong; or
2) Our side is strong, while the other side is weak.
We suffer from 1, the Russians from 2... except the Russians know that they are not as strong as the US and so have to bluster a LOT, to help us keep thinking 1.
When people talk all the time about how great their stuff is and how strong they are, they are probably not... and the stuff probably either isn't great or it is not really operational.
But analysts usually have only an academic understanding of a lot of this stuff (rather than real-world experience) and prefer to fail in a conservative direction (because overestimating the enemy is safer than underestimating). Which is the crux of the whole thing. The Russians/Chinese say X, so we give them credit for X and grant them a level of competency that is greater than actually exists.
The Russians serverely overestimated thir capability and severely underestimated the willingness of UKR to fight... or the willingness of NATO to assist them.
The reality is that NO ONE wants to actually fight the United States because we have repeatedly demonstrated our ability to actually destroy countries and kill mass quantities of people--while taking minimal casualties ourselves... and doing it in a rather half-assed fashion.
Nobody (currently) does it better... and the reality is we don't have to be good, we just have to be better than the people we fight.
Tom Clancy said it best, I think. His analogy is that the US was a mean junkyard dog on a leash. It is safe and fun to stand outside the reach of the dog's leash and do all kinds of things. Just don't step inside the reach of the leash.
The Russian military has been notoriously bad in times of peace, moreso even than the US. Venal, corrupt, unprepared, often arrogant. They have remained true to form. While our system is corrupt, theirs is even more corrupt.
At least Trump isn't using incendiary language about what will happen to America is Harris is elected because that may incite someone to commit violence against her
I gather he had his Eerie PA weekend rally mob chanting "lock her up". Mixed in with the notion for police to act with all force necessary for one epic day. His act has really gotten tired, recycling lines from 2016. He does tend to get people confused lately.
Heck, he's already saying that Harris and Biden were letting in millions of illegals who will kill you in your home and raping you and burning down cities. Violence will come courtesy of Trump and his Pets.