Don't Believe Joe Biden's Low Approval Ratings

 

For some reason the U.S. media has reacted to Joe Biden's presidency with the negativity of a pre-planned disposition that he can't possibly be a good president. Much of it is Trump supporters and some of it could be an incompetence within the Biden administration of getting the word out. Because, if you look at the facts, President Biden is doing a great job and here are prime examples...

• He passed a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package -
• Then the administration passed The $1.9 trillion COVID relief deal -
• He supported transgender service members
• Reduced unemployment -

There's more and you can read it here. The background...

"In December, the national unemployment rate dropped to 3.9 percent while jobless claims sunk to their lowest levels since 1969. When Biden took office, the unemployment rate stood at 6.3 percent.

"Despite the growing inflation, wages paid by private businesses also saw an increase of 2.4 percent from January through October last year, while disposable income rose by 3 percent."

Biden on first year in office...

These are facts that cannot be disputed. Then, Nobel winner in economics, Paul Krugman, adds his expert opinion...

“'Real wages rose last year,' Krugman explains. “On a two-year basis, they’re probably down, but not by a lot. At the same time, we’ve had stellar job growth — and as I said, the combination of modestly declining real wages with a strong job market has actually been a winner for past presidents."

But not a winner for Joe Biden, and when you consider all the above, you have to wonder where all the negativity is coming from. Krugman asks the same question. Here's how he explains it...

"As many of us have noted, Americans are very down on the national economy, but relatively upbeat about their own personal financial situation…. That is, their personal experience is pretty good, but they’ve heard that things are terrible for other people.”

Bingo! "They’ve heard that things are terrible for other people." And where have they heard it from? A Republican cartel of propagandists like Fox News, Breitbart, and undercover groups like Charles Koch's. But, then, there's inflation, which cannot be denied. It did happen on Biden's watch and as Harry Truman said, 'The Buck Stops Here.' But the corporate world isn't helping with escalating prices in oil plus food and more. 

And then there's the Russian invasion of Ukraine where the president had to juggle

that with the Covid pandemic and his new SCOTUS nomination. The New York Times reports the administration was in a quandary with his State of the Union speech coming up, which is today. Here's the scenario...

"All presidents are confronted by episodes that are out of their control, forced to react to the world around them more often than they are able to shape it. But the dizzying events of the past week have for now pushed to the sidelines the congressional squabbling over Mr. Biden’s domestic agenda, and are already redefining the arc of his presidency."

So how popular is President Joe Biden today? One of the most credible polling organizations, FiveThirtyEight. has Biden's approval at 40.7%, a disapproval of 53.6%. Compared to Trump's first year of just 38.8% approval, a disapproval of 54.3%. Something's not right and it smells like the radical right again.

 

UK's Boris Johnson Placed Animals Over People

 

Great Britain's Prime Minister may have done some dumb things in England for which his position is barely surviving, but he did something thousands of miles away that will endear him to animal lovers all over the world. Here's the scenario...

"Sifting through the rubble of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, they [his enemies] allege that he facilitated the airlift of 150 sheltered animals during the evacuation of Kabul, filling a plane intended to ferry refugees to safety with dogs, cats, and donkeys."

Everyone agrees, of course, that refugees should also be taken to safety, but in today's world animals are important too. The Boston Globe's Alex Beam feels that "There is plenty of evidence that animals are just as worthy of rescue as human beings." I could not agree more and will add that, in my opinion, animals are much more worthy of rescue than some human beings. To carry this a bit further, I know some people who prefer the company of animals over people.

I did a blog post back in 2021, "Animals to Humans: All we want is to live." To date, that post has had 1,676 readers, indicating some modicum of agreement with this premise. Yet, we still see animal cruelty on a regular basis. Only a coward would pick on an animal, many who can't defend themselves and won't fight back. Ezra Klein in the New York Times said, "We Will Look Back on This Age of Cruelty to Animals in Horror." Many will, unfortunately, many won't.

Have you ever read "All Creatures Great and Small," by James Herriot? I haven't and it will be my next read on my Kindle. Herriot wrote...

“If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.”

China is doing its part and animal advocates are becoming frustrated with "official failure to ban animal cruelty." Xiaoyang was shocked as were many other dog owners over a series of animal-cruelty incidents and...

"he has been tracking a fierce national debate about whether dogs should be guaranteed better protection in law. (Cats and other companion animals, too, he acknowledges when asked.)"

Watch this and you'll never abandon your pet...

This Washington Post article by Christian Shepherd and Alicia Chen reports on the state of pets in China...

"But legislating to prohibit animal cruelty is an oddly controversial topic in China. While there are tens of millions of dog and cat lovers, their calls for change are often drowned out by a relatively small but vocal crowd of conservative thinkers who believe caring for animals is elitist, undermines China’s development and infringes upon the traditions of those few Chinese who still eat dog meat."

Peter Li, a China policy specialist at Humane Society International and an associate professor of East Asian politics at the University of Houston, says the animal welfare problem in China comes off mostly as a "Civil War." Here's a shocker, Chinese conservatives undermine what they consider an elitist issue, plus they feel it "infringes upon the traditions of those few Chinese who still eat dog meat." Here's the scenario...

"These sentiments, combined with concerns from farmers and slaughterhouses about welfare provisions undermining profit and city governments’ fears of areas being overrun by pets, have thwarted progress on an animal protection law that was drafted in 2009 but has never made it onto the legislative agenda."

Back to the U.S. and a subject that explores how states around the country stack up

in their legislation protecting animals. The Animal Legal Defense Fund has a nationwide ranking for "The Best And Worst States For Animal Protection Laws" that should interest animal lovers. Number one is Maine, number 50 is New Mexico. Take a look at your state and see how it fares after which you can decide if you need to work on laws at home. 

And finally, a "California lawmaker proposes 'Dog and Cat Bill of Rights' for family pets. Here's what it involves...

• The bill would provide the following rights to dogs and cats in California:
• The right to freedom from exploitation, cruelty, neglect and abuse
• The right to a life of comfort, free of fear and anxiety
• The right to daily mental stimulation and appropriate exercise
• The right to nutritious food, sanitary water and shelter in an appropriate and safe environment
• The right to preventive and therapeutic health care
• The right to proper identification through tags, microchips or other humane means
• The right to spaying and neutering to prevent unwanted litter

This is only in California and isn't even law there yet, but hopes are high and it's a good sign that should be considered nationwide.

The Agony of Stupidity - Ron DeSantis is Killing Florida

 

The Florida House passed a bill designed to allow parents to sue schools if staff speak to students about gender identity or sexuality. What we have here, courtesy of the state's governor, the demented Ron DeSantis, is a case of open white supremacy that is beginning to mirror Donald Trump's reign in the White House. The Parental Rights in Education bill, it's called, "is about defending the most awesome responsibility a person can have: being a parent."

This, from the moron Florida legislator, Rep. Joe Harding, is pretty actionable...

The legislation, which advocates call a "Don't Say Gay" bill, says parents can take legal action against a school district if Florida teachers speak about LGBTQ topics like identity and sexuality that do not fall under "age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate" guidelines for students.

Pathetic but READ MORE... 

Can Florida's data on Covid-19 deaths be trusted? The report for cases seems to

be in the ballpark but not deaths. As an example, for the week of February 14, 2022, the state reported only 10 deaths. As an example, California, although with 17 million more residents registered 501 deaths. That's a telling difference and what it says is Ron DeSantis is a liar. READ MORE...

The Washington Post's Jennifer Rubin says, "Ron DeSantis is following Trump’s white supremacy playbook." Yes, we seem to have a clone, although the two could be head-to-head for the Republican nomination in 2024. The only thing that comes close to being the worst president ever is if the deranged DeSantis went to the White House. Trump repeatedly showed his colors on white supremacy protecting Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke in 2016 and in 2017 the neo-Nazis in Charlottesville. But here's her take on DeSantis...

"Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who apparently longs to inherit the mantle of MAGA leader, has paid attention. In his state, images of a Nazi flag-waving group shouting antisemitic slurs in Orlando flooded news coverage over the weekend. The governor’s press secretary tweeted (and soon deleted) a bizarre suggestion: “Do we even know they’re Nazis?”"

'Bulls**t': Don Lemon fires back at Ron DeSantis' masks comment...

 

READ MORE... 

But DeSantis' lackadaisical attitude toward the Orlando Nazi organizers was not overlooked by the Miami Herald. Here's their proposal to the governor...

“Denounce the Nazi demonstrators in Orlando, Gov. Ron DeSantis," the board wrote. "It’s that simple. Say they are abhorrent. Say they are despicable. Say they have no part in this society or this state. But no.”

The paper also called out his railing against Democrats while the Nazis protested. He called the Dems "jackasses" but completely failed to chastise the radicals. To cap it off, the governor's press secretary, Christina Pushaw, released a tweeted statement on Sunday night suggesting Democrats might have been involved in the planning of the Nazi demonstration in Orlando. DeSantis is beginning to spread lies like Trump. READ MORE...

Thank Newt Gingrich for the Republicanism of Today

 

Think back to 1995 when Newt Gingrich took over a Republican House as the new Speaker. You might remember that he was the architect and co-author of the "Contract with America," introduced six weeks before the 1994 Congressional election. Republicans gained 54 House and 9 U.S. Senate seats, flipping both chambers. The "contract" represented significant changes to policy...

"They mainly included a balanced budget requirement, tax cuts for small businesses, families and seniors, term limits for legislators, social security reform, tort reform, and welfare reform."

So much for GOP intentions but at least there were some actual goals in Gingrich's lunacy. Well, he's back and is dealing with a wanna-be Speaker, Kevin McCarthy. The big problem is the Republican Party has no agenda, and apparently Gingrich was sought out to create one, or at least something that would pass for a new plan. Dana Milbank of the Washington Post says...

"the choice is perfect, in a way unintended by the upwardly failing McCarthy. Gingrich, leader of the Republican Revolution of 1994, bears a singular responsibility for precipitating the ruin of the American political system. So it’s appropriate that he is returning for what might be American democracy’s final act." 

This is how Milbank sees Newt Gingrich's tenure as Speaker...

"Before and during his four-year reign as speaker of the House, Gingrich pioneered much of the savagery we see today: treating opponents as criminals, un-American and subhuman; using shocking language; perpetrating a grinding attack on the press; and sabotaging government operations and institutions."

In his new role Gingrich started with a warning to the House lawmakers on the Jan. 6 investigative committee accusing them for the "kind of laws they are breaking" and threatening jail time. Paul Waldman, also of WaPo, says the new "contract" will end up a "Myth" just like the old one where Gingrich claimed people voted for Republicans which resulted in a sweep of Congress. And the myth endures...

"when Republicans decide they need an agenda, it means trotting out some new version of the “Contract With America.”

Here with another WaPo vewpoint, Jeff Stein and Laura Meckler, the GOP claims it

does have an agenda, albeit coming from two morons like Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise...

"Republicans are expected to focus their new platform on education policies aimed at tapping into parental discontent; countering the rise of China with new economic measures; and “oversight” of the Biden administration. They are also looking at invoking other traditional GOP goals such as cutting taxes, restricting immigration, criticizing Silicon Valley and repealing environmental rules."

It is no doubt likely the American public can count on “oversight” of the Biden administration, cutting taxes and restricting immigration, mixed with the typical Republican lies and corruption. But absolutely nothing constructive. Hopefully the well-informed voter will see through all this bullshit and save us from the radical right carnage of our country.

 

  

The Epitome of Republican Wrongdoing...Using Children for political gain

 

In the movies or on television, if you want ratings you use animals. In today's political competition you can grab the heartstrings, and the attention of voters, by using children. Remember J.D. Vance, "Hillbilly Elegy?" This dufus is in the 2022 Ohio Senate race using this idiot argument, according to Alex Henderson of AlterNet...

"that 'childless Democrats' and 'the childless left' shouldn’t hold public office because they haven’t had the experience of being a parent."

This provokes a huge round of laughter until you realize this idiot is using children to conduct a political campaign that is certain to be fraught with more absurdity and the usual Republican ration of lies. But Wajahat Ali took him down with his liberal piece in The Daily Beast...

"He argues that it is Republicans, in fact, who pose a major threat to the safety and wellbeing of children.

"Far-right Republicans, Ali stresses, are seriously flawed in their thinking when they believe that 'critical race theory' and books they don’t like pose a greater danger in schools than COVID-19."

The GOP is in a race for votes in 2022, and 2024, and are capitalizing on white supremacy, while using the youth of America to make their point. Donald Trump opened the door with his racist comments and actions during the four-years of his administration. The bigots immediately came out of the woodwork with his blessings as well as others around him. The following illustrates this madness...

“Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who has already banned ‘divisive concepts’ from being taught in schools as part of the right’s disingenuous ‘critical race theory’ panic, is now just one vote away from the Virginia Senate adding an amendment to ban mask mandates in Virginia schools,” Ali observes. “North Carolina Republicans are set to file a bill in the House to ban schools from mask mandates…. Schools, and our children in particular, have become the unfortunate but effective political pawns for a right-wing movement seeking to convert parents’ pandemic frustrations, fears and anxiety into 2022 midterm votes.”

GOP Governors Endanger Children By Playing Politics With COVID-19

Getting to the parents who vote through their children. Republicans have no qualms about who or what they use to reach their goal of power. Ali chastises Republicans who "believe that 'critical race theory' and books they don’t like pose a greater danger in schools than COVID-19." Here's a tweet from his Twitter site...

"During Black History Month, Republican leaders are more comfortable with our kids getting COVID than reading a book written by a Black author talking about white supremacy and diversity."

It goes without saying that the GOP has done everything it possibly can to expose children to the coronavirus by opposing all the CDC protocols for protection. Over 12.3 million children have tested positive for COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic out of a total 80,068,996 cases in the U.S. One can only wonder how many of these kids could have been saved the agony of the virus had Republican states like Florida and Texas observed the rules of science.

And, of course, these millions of childrens' cases had to lead to some deaths as reported by Newsweek...

"According to available data as of December 15, a breakdown of 677,393 coronavirus deaths showed 1,005 persons between the ages of 0 and 17. Among those, 319 children between the ages of 0 and 4 had died from the disease."

So, not only has the Republican Party been instrumental in the deaths of over 1,000

children from a virus where, with the correct precautions, no doubt, a large number could have been saved, they also want to use them now in the upcoming elections to sell an agenda of lies and corruption.

The old saying comes to mind...'Do you have no honor?' I guess not when it comes to Republicans.

MUST READ PRIORITY

 

"The Dark Century," an opinion by David Brooks in the New York Times. Brooks asks, "Why is Liberalism in Decline?" It is a contemporary look at the past, starting with the Founding Fathers and the slow progression into today's oligarchy and loss of democracy. The documentation literally confirms Brooks' statement.

The Agony of Stupidity and the Outrageous...Anti-Vaxxers on the Move

 

A Washington State Patrol officer refused to take the coronavirus vaccine mandated by the state. Trooper Robert LaMay, 51, in his refusal, told Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee to “kiss my a–.” Unfortunately, Inslee didn't have a chance to take LeMay up on his offer. The anti-vaxxing officer died from Covid-19. READ MORE...

A 31-year-old father of two was denied a heart transplant by a Boston hospital, "because he hasn't been vaccinated against the coronavirus." Since, "the COVID-19 vaccine is one of several immunizations required by most U.S. transplant programs, you have to either be an anti-vaxxer or just use your commonsense and...live. READ MORE...

This is a story of Ivermectin and a right-wing journalist named Ben Bergquam

who became seriously ill with COVID-19. With a 105-degree fever, Bergquam found a quack willing to prescribe the drug deemed useless for coronavirus, Ivermectin. The long and the short is this crackpot not only used Ivermectin but promoted it through a video. I urge you to read this article...

This Iowa-licensed physician is staging “'jailbreaks' that involve pulling patients out of hospitals against the medical advice of other doctors." She's appeared on Lindell TV contradicting the federal government’s advice on mitigation and treatment, a fact she readily acknowledges. On the show she recommended having ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine in your medicine cabinet before you get sick. READ MORE...

"Anti-vaxx 'expert' claims vaccines will turn people into ‘transhumanist cyborgs' controlled by 5G" Perhaps the lowest mentality of anti-vaxxers, this moron's misinformation sounds more valid since she is a doctor. This proves that the medical profession is not policing its physicians. READ MORE...

Tennessee Right-Wing Pastor Greg Locke Organizes 'Massive' Book Burning of, get this, Harry Potter and Twilight books. This nutcase had a congregation fully supporting "burning service" where he also called Ouija boards a "portal to hell," because they were associated with "witchcraft." His Facebook post declared...

"the burning would be part of a "continued series on deliverance from demons."

"We have stuff coming in from all over that we will be burning. We're not playing games. Witchcraft and accursed things must go."

READ MORE... 

Noted physician Abdul El-Sayed, an epidemiologist and former health director for the city of Detroit says, "Canadian trucker protests are the latest example of Covid-19 absurdity." Another quote from the CNN piece, "We've officially hit peak Covid absurdism." Just as Covid-19 does seem to be coming to a head with relief in sight, we have these idiots and their trucks making a spectacle of a larger-than-life gang of morons. El-Sayed exclaims the pandemic carried with it more than a virus, it also spawned a foolishness starting with Donald Trump's original proclamation that it was just a hoax. READ MORE...