The Atlantic Has A Question...Has Ron DeSantis Reached His Peak?

 

Specifically the magazine said, "Is Ron DeSantis Flaming Out Already?" It is more to the point that this guy is arrogant, is on a hate trip with blacks and the LGBTQ community, and did a rotten job with the handling of the Covid pandemic in Florida, in spite of the fact that he claims he did a great job controlling the virus. FACT: The state was number 3 in coronavirus cases and deaths. All because DeSantis and his lunatic surgeon general, Joseph Ladapo claimed vaccines didn't work.

The Atlantic piece by David Frum starts with...

"The Florida governor has a plan to win the Fox News primary—and lose everything else."

To me this translates into the fact that DeSantis is above all an ego maniac who craves attention and demands loyalty. We've been down this road before with Donald Trump and see where that led us. Straight into fascism, building an autocricy that was tumbled but remains in the background of the Republican Party, ready to leap forward again and demolish democracy. DeSantis has his own methods but he has picked up in the residuals of the Trump failed campaign.

DeSantis, like Trump, is not prepared on the issues that confront this country. Like the Russian invasion...

"When a reporter for The Times of London pressed the governor [on the Ukrainian war with Russia], DeSantis scolded him: 'Perhaps you should cover some other ground? I think I’ve said enough.'”

The fact is he had not said anything of substance about the issue. In trying to turn

this around, "DeSantis delivered a more definitive answer on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show..."

"DeSantis’s statement on Ukraine was everything that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his admirers could have wished for from a presumptive candidate for president. Vladimir Putin and his admirers could have wished for from a presumptive candidate for president. The governor began by listing America’s 'vital interests' in a way that explicitly excluded NATO and the defense of Europe. He accepted the present Russian line that Putin’s occupation of Ukraine is a mere 'territorial dispute.' He endorsed 'peace' as the objective without regard to the terms of that peace, another pro-Russian talking point. He conceded the Russian argument that American aid to Ukraine amounts to direct involvement in the conflict. He endorsed and propagated the fantasy—routinely advanced by pro-Putin guests on Fox talk shows—that the Biden administration is somehow plotting 'regime change' in Moscow."

Someone in his gang of minions has convinced DeSantis that this tough guy approach is what the American public wants, but several polls so far reveal that only Republicans are buying in. You don't win elections without contingencies from your opposition and the Independent vote. Frum says Republicans have built themselves a one-stage rocket...

|"one that achieves liftoff but never reaches escape velocity?"

Here are some good reason why DeSantis may be on the way to flaming out...

Florida Republicans will soon pass—and DeSantis pledged he would sign—a law banning abortion after six weeks. That bill is opposed by 57 percent of those surveyed even inside Florida. Another poll found that 75 percent of Floridians oppose the ban. It also showed that 77 percent oppose permitless concealed carry, which DeSantis supports, and that 61 percent disapprove of his call to ban the teaching of critical race theory as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion policies on college campuses. As the political strategist Simon Rosenberg noted: “Imagine how these play outside FL.”

With all these numbers against him, the Florida dictator looks like his candidacy will take the low road that does not lead to the White House. You can read the full story at MSN.com. 

 

 

First There Was Long Covid - Now There Is Long Covidiocy

 

The Republican Party has shared with us a gang of certified idiots since even before taking the majority in the House. There is Matt Gaetz, Josh Hawley, Paul Gosar, Andy Biggs, Lauren Boebert and the primo-moron, Marjorie Taylor Greene. I recently said we should just ignore Greene but I find it more productive to talk about her asinine antics and big mouth stupidity. It is endless. And Dana Milbank has captured much of MTG and the others in his Washington Post piece...

"There ain’t no cure for long covidiocy," which features a lineup where "House Republicans presented with a textbook case of the ailment this week."

The graphic that came with the article displays a picture of Marjorie Taylor Greene on Capitol Hill ready to do more damage to U.S. democracy. Here's the scenario...

"The newly formed select subcommittee on the coronavirus pandemic met for the first time for what its chairman, Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), said would be some “Monday-morning quarterbacking.” It instead became a Tuesday afternoon of false starts and illegal blocks."

There's more...

"Republicans on the panel, some of them medical doctors and others just playing one on TV, offered their predictable assessments. Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.) kicked off with the unsupported allegation that “covid was intentionally released” from a Chinese lab because 'it would be impossible for the virus to be accidentally leaked.'”

Republican War On Covid Science with Florida a leader in denial…

Lesko is an Arizona wacky Republican radical whose past is known for "bankruptcies, multiple aliases, an arrest warrant and multiple lawsuits for unpaid bills," according to AZCentral. This should give you an idea of what the Arizona Republican legislature is like. And here is a lunatic opinion from another rightist, this time from Georgia...

"Rep. Richard McCormick (R-Ga.) advanced the ball by informing the panel that coronavirus booster shots 'do more harm than good.'”

You have to wonder just how many constituents of this moron could have died or become seriously ill by not getting a Covid booster. But this is the epitome from the biggest imbecile that has ever been elected to the U.S. Congress, Marjorie Taylor Greene, also from Georgia...

“Researchers found that the vaccinated are at least twice as likely to be infected with covid as the unvaccinated and those with natural immunity.”

The subcommittee goes on to present...

"three scientists who arguably did more than all others to champion a herd-immunity approach to covid. Two of them were co-authors of the 'Great Barrington Declaration,' put out by a Koch-backed group, which argued in 2020 for letting the virus run wild through the population while somehow segregating the old and vulnerable."

My opinion is you cannot trust anything supported by a Koch-backed group and

you can see my posts on this divisive gang of goons here. It has been proven that the herd immunity approach could have killed "hundreds of thousands more Americans." This is Republican radicalism at its best, best known as the killing machine. But here is the closer from Marty Makary, a Johns Hopkins surgeon and Fox News regular...

“'It’s a no-brainer that it came from a lab,' he declared. What’s more, 'at this point it’s impossible to acquire any more information, and if you did it would only be in the affirmative.' He even suggested that two of the nation’s top virologists knew this but 'changed their tunes' because they were bribed with grant money by Anthony Fauci."

This is why the American public is so confused about what they should do about Covid. I urge you to read this WaPo article.

 

Fox News A "Dishonest Organization"

 

CNN continues from the above headline in its analysis to determine Fox is "terrified of its own audience." And rightfully they should be since it is a congregation of morons who let dimwits like Tucker Carlson poison their minds. And urge them to vote for maniacs like Donald Trump, continuing to support his 2020 election into 2022. There's a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit by Dominion against Fox and as I said earlier on Twitter and Facebook...

'Maybe it will put them (Fox) out of business and eliminate a gargantuan source of misinformation..

Here's the scenario from CNN...

"A trove of newly-released text messages and emails have laid bare how the right-wing media giant operated with little regard for fact in the weeks and months following the 2020 presidential election. The correspondence reveals that the network’s senior-most executives and highest-profile hosts chose not to disclose what they believed to be the truth of the election out of fear that that the facts would alienate Fox News’ audience and throw the highly profitable business into ruin."

This video exposes what we thought we knew: Expert on Dominion v. Fox $1.6 billion defamation suit...

Here is confirmation of that from a piece in a RawStory headline: "Fox News got election fraud info from woman who claims she got it through 'time travel."' It's in the Dominion lawsuit against Fox in a segment,,,

"highlighted between pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell and Fox News host Maria Bartiromo, who was communicating with her and amplifying her message on her program."

The Daily Beast says...

An unsealed brief as part of Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation suit showed Fox News bigwigs criticizing Donald Trump’s Big Lie, all while advancing his B.S. “stolen election” conspiracy theory on air (and simultaneously trying to punish a Fox News fact checker for reporting the truth).

RawStory reports...

"a former high-ranking Department of Justice official claimed the conservative network can expect to lose big in the lawsuit filed against it by Dominion Voting Systems."

What is worse, a legal analyst for MSNBC says, "the network won't have a leg to stand on as they attempt to fend off the billion-dollar lawsuit." With all the problems Fox News has caused in the Covid pandemic and their gross misinformation in the 2020 election denial, their downfall can't come soon enough.

Read more: "‘BS,’ ‘Insane,’ ‘Crazy,’ ‘Nuts,’ ‘Reckless,’: Fox News legal bomb goes off"

"Fox News Knew Trump’s Big Lie Was BS the Whole Time"

Clips From Nasty Jack Buzz: Gun Violence

 

The night of Nov. 13, 2022, three people were shot and killed on the campus of the University of Virginia. Two others were injured. The three dead were football players. The shooter, Christopher Darnell Jones, is in custody. Yahoo!News says...

"A former student athlete accused of fatally shooting three University of Virginia football players was able to legally buy two guns after failing a background check last year and trying to get a handgun while underage four years ago, according to the gun shop that sold him the firearms."

And then only hours later, four University of Idaho students were found dead in an

off-campus house. CNN reports...

Moscow [Idaho] police said they are investigating the deaths as homicides, but did not provide any other information about what happened. As of midday Monday, no suspect was in custody. Anyone with information about the case has been asked to contact police.

Two gun violence murder scenes so close together, it was hard for the media to decide which to concentrate on. It is no doubt the Idaho killings that will receive the most focus until the shooter is caught. Authorities called it senseless killings but did not get into the basics that lead to this kind of brutality resulting in unlimited bloodshed. I looked at the Gun Violence Archive and this is the gun violence activity in only the last 72 hours. The list is almost endless with 10 pages.

The hard numbers are 39,005 gun violence deaths so far this year. There were 34,706 injuries from gun violence. Of these 285 children (age 0-11) were killed, 627 injured. Added to this teens (age 12-17), 1,194 dead, 3,354 injured. There are 390 million guns out on U.S. streets with a population of 329 million people. America rules the world as the Czar of guns and gun violence. This is not a reputation most citizens of this country want, but are comatose when it comes to action. 

I have selected a few posts done on gun violence, as follows:

This one actually came to pass in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection of the U.S. Capitol, "Gun violence bloodshed threatened if 2020 goes to Democrats." Here's an excerpt...

You would expect no less from Fox News and other conservative news outlets than to suggest gun violence bloodshed should the Democrats win big in 2020. It's looking likely that they will so these anarchistic terrorists are "threatening mass violence and a bloody people’s revolt in the streets."

And turning back to 2018, "American Medical Association asks for ban on assault weapons." It's about time the people who witness gun violence firsthand get in the act. Here's a startling clip...

The ban of assault weapons in the U.S. today should be a given based on the number of school children killed by one of these weapons in 2018 alone. Kids all over the country are expressing their fear of going to school because they are afraid they will be the next victim. Just a couple of years ago some youngsters were scared to face the school bully. That bully has now decided to arm himself and wipe out as many as 44 students.

Are COVID-19 deaths more relevant than gun deaths? Comparing gun deaths

to Covid deaths, I cite Donald Trump, then in the Oval Office, because of his reluctance to acknowledge the pandemic, as leading the American public into a state of apathy similar to the gun violence problem. Here's a selection from that post...

And here we go again says Charlie Warzel in the New York Times...

"The coronavirus scenario I can’t stop thinking about is the one where we simply get used to all the dying."

And therein rests the problem. The American public was tricked into indifference over the deaths from gun violence by Wayne LaPierre, the NRA head, and his minions. and once again when Donald Trump refused to address the coronavirus pandemic. Unfortunately both gun violence and the Covid virus continue to spread. 

Here are all my gun violence posts to read...

 

 

2022 Election Republican Extremists

 

The nation's focus is on Arizona because the experts say that if the radical slate of extremist candidates win, democracy is lost in the state. The concern is over a select five including Kari Lake, running for governor, Mark Finchem for Sec. State, Blake Masters, U.S. Senate and incumbent House members Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs. All 2020 election deniers. Gosar's family even says do not vote for him. There are more not on the current active list which I will cover later.

What can I say about Kari Lake?...She's a misinformation lunatic and possibly the next train wreck to hit Arizona unless she is stopped. If you go to "Search," above, and type in her name, there are numerous posts that express the need to defeat her. One of my favorites is "Kari Lake, Potentially Most Dangerous Politician in America," It recounts one of her latest lies saying she has won the election...

"Lake boasted that recent polls showed her up 11 points and 9 points just before Fox News flashed a graphic of the latest New York Times/Siena College poll showing the race tied at 48 to 48 percent." 

You cannot believe Kari Lake so why would anyone but an idiot want her for the next governor of Arizona? VOTE FOR KATIE HOBBS (D) TOMORROW!

Mark Finchem is a devout 2020 election denier, but his most serious downside is the fact that he has said, if elected, he wants to do away with 'vote by mail' in Arizona and will make changes to the state's voting system that will make it harder to go to the polls in the future. In a debate this whacko admitted 'the big lie" is a fraud. Duties of the Arizona Secretary of State include serving as the state's chief election officer. So, VOTE FOR ADRIAN FONTES (D) TOMORROW!

Blake Masters, another avid believer that the 2020 election was won by Donald Trump, not Joe Biden. Masters is not alone...

"Election deniers will be on the ballot in 48 of 50 states and make up more than half of all Republicans running for congressional and state offices in the midterm elections. Nearly 300 Republicans seeking those offices this November have denied or questioned the outcome of the last presidential election, according to a Washington Post analysis."

This is unconscionable as is Masters' position in Arizona. VOTE FOR INCUMBENT SENATOR MARK KELLY TOMORROW! 

Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar, two Arizona House members that should have been voted out years ago. My blog on February 9, of this year, following the Republican insurrection of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, "ARIZONA: Home of Insurrectionists." pretty much labels Biggs and Gosar the anarchists they are. Added to that...

Leading Phoenix columnist E.J. Montini says it all in his headline, "Arizona's Jan. 6 insurrectionists should be barred from holding office."

The same should apply, of course, to the other 2020 deniers mentioned above. But it all comes down to the 14th Amendment; here is Section 3...

No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

And the other non-active Arizona election participants are Karen Fann, Kelli

Ward and Wendy Rogers. Fann, as Arizona Senate Pres. ordered an audit of the election results in Maricopa County, hiring a firm that was founded by a pro-Trump conspiracy theorist who promoted false claims of fraud. And Ward, after losing three Arizona elections, was chosen as chair of the Arizona Republican Party and who filed lawsuits seeking to nullify the state's (AZ) 2020 election results.

Finally, Wendy Rogers, the Arizona state Senator who was the focus of an ethics investigation by her own party for a comment on the Buffalo gun massacre...

“Of course I condemn the violence in Buffalo, who doesn’t?” Rogers tweeted on Monday morning – two days after suggesting it was a false flag attack by a federal agent.

 Could it get any hotter? Many political pundits are exclaiming, 'so goes Arizona, so goes the rest of the U.S. The local newspaper, The Arizona Republic, a conservative publication said this...

"Don't sit out this election. The stakes are too high"

VOTE TOMORROW AND MAKE THIS A BLUE TSUNAMI! 

Kari Lake, Potentially Most Dangerous Politician in America

 

What else do we expect from a Trump worshipper? More lies, of course. Here's the definition of a lie: "a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth." Precisely what Lake has been doing the entire campaign for governor with Katie Hobbs, her Democrat opponent. Here's the scenario from MEDIAite...

"Republican nominee for governor of Arizona, Kari Lake, joined Fox News’s America’s Newsroom on Tuesday and declared “it’s pretty much game over for Katie Hobbs” – her Democratic opponent. Lake boasted that recent polls showed her up 11 points and 9 points just before Fox News flashed a graphic of the latest New York Times/Siena College poll showing the race tied at 48 to 48 percent."

Former President Obama, whom Lake supported in 2016, is coming to town

and, hopefully, will help Katie Hobbs improve her place in the polls. Lake says Obama's trip is no big deal, then rages on about Hobbs refusing to debate her. This is how Hobbs reacted to this claim...

"How do you debate someone who refuses to accept the truth, who doesn’t live in facts? Oh, she’s going to do a shout. Shout over me, interrupt me and spew lies."

Any well-balanced, fair-minded Arizonan would agree with Hobbs' statement, probably adding, Lake is a certified lunatic. It is obvious she was trying to jump on the bandwagon with Barack Obama, then six years later she has found a faster train with Donald Trump. She has no issues other than...Trump. There is no substance in her speeches and even less in the crowd she attracts. And, working for Fox News for 30 years was an excellent training ground for Lake's persistent lies.

Yahoo!News asks, "Is Arizona's Kari Lake the most 'dangerous' politician in America?" The article quotes from Atlantic Magazine and The Washington Post exclaiming the fact that Lake bets all her chips on Donald Trump and the 2020 election denial. But the article gets scary when top Democratic strategists "now believe Lake has the 'potential to soar to a vice presidential spot or a post-Trump presidential candidacy.'”

That isn't just scary, it is downright terrifying! VOTE KATIE HOBBS FOR ARIZONA GOVERNOR!

 

 

The All-Female KKK of Arizona Politics

 

Karen Fann, radical conservative Republican, who ordered an audit of the election results in Maricopa County, hiring a firm that was founded by a pro-Trump conspiracy theorist who promoted false claims of fraud. It cost Arizona residents $5.7 million. Fann made a false allegation, later amplified by Trump that Maricopa County election officials deleted the voter database after the election. Another lie by Fann confirmed by Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, a Republican who oversees elections. Fann is not running for reelection.

Kelli Ward, after losing three Arizona elections, was chosen as chair of the Arizona Republican Party in 2019. Following the 2020 United States presidential election, in which incumbent President Donald Trump lost in 25 states, including Arizona, she filed lawsuits seeking to nullify the state's (AZ) election results. She had no evidence of wrongdoing in the election and by December 9, federal and state judges had dismissed all challenges against President-elect Joe Biden's victory in Arizona. She was also involved in the state's fake electors scheme. Once endorsed by Steve Bannon, she continued to support the Trump lie, in defiance of Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey.

Kari Lake, the armpit candidate and a not so good TV news anchor at a no-news Fox TV station. She turned politician in 2021, when Arizona welcomed its newest lunatic politician. Republican, of course. I did a recent post, "Kari Lake Invites Jesus Christ to Arizona," where I pointed out the fact that 'Kari Lake compared herself to Jesus." Earlier I did posts on Twitter and FB of how Lake accused her opponent in the governor's race, Katie Hobbs, of a vote on legislation, completely false, because Lake can't read a bill. She is, of course, an ardent Trump supporter.

 Okay, this isn't a hanging but it is clear that these three totalitarians are doing their best to assassinate our democracy. Arizona is a hotbed of this kind of stupidity, as is Florida and Texas, with the GOP determined to take 2022 and 2024 elections and maneuver America to an eventual catastrophe. VOTE DEMOCRAT IN NOVEMBER AND AGAIN IN 2024!

 

Radical Information Can Destroy a Democracy...Here's how

 

Over thirty-five years in the junk mail industry, information was my crown jewel. Information about mailing lists, information about people (demographics); information about geography (demography). Without all this I could never have progressed as a data broker. It was plentiful and it was expensive but cost even more when collected and refined, then sold to a client for their mailings. I do not know the number of peoples' names I sold but it was in the multi-millions.

This was several years ago and the business has changed significantly since then. What hasn't changed is still the fact that nothing moves without information. In Salon recently, Chauncey Devega spoke with Stephanie Foggett, who is director of global communications at the Soufan Group, a global intelligence and security consulting firm. Foggett specializes in monitoring white supremacist, neo-Nazi and other right-wing extremist groups.

With the Covid pandemic in a slight decline, we now have monkeypox to deal with. And there is a constant reminder from Bernie Sanders and other Progressives that inequality is still raging in this country. Devega reminds us...

"Here in the U.S., Donald Trump's political cult and a Republican Party dominated by fascists are attempting to end multiracial democracy. This is a revolutionary struggle whose goal is to create a new American society, that in practical terms will be an apartheid Christian fascist plutocracy ruled without challenge or accountability by a small number of rich white men."

 The Pro-Putin Wing Of The GOP Echoes Kremlin Disinformation...

In Devega's exchange with Foggett, she...

"shares her views on how "malign actors" are using this moment of global disruption to expand their power by undermining liberalism and Western-style democracy, both internationally and in the United States."

Of special concern is the use of the Internet and conservative media by "the global far-right and their allies, along with the Republican Party and its agents." Including Fox News and conspiracy cults like QAnon. Foggett even predicts that military conflict between states is now a reality, in keeping with recent forecasts of another Civil War. But, it takes time she says, because more than ever today, we must know why we are doing what we are doing.

It is here where Foggett addresses "How the far right is winning the information war." With Republican disinformation of course, made popular during the Donald Trump administration...

"Every issue is being muddled with disinformation and half-truths and narratives that paralyze action by creating confusion and doubt. This makes it hard to chart a shared path forward."

In this "confusion," it is...

"very difficult to even have discussions about politics and current events when there is less of a shared understanding of reality, the truth and facts. Every issue is being muddled with disinformation and half-truths and narratives that paralyze action by just creating confusion and doubt."

And therein lies the problem. Republican disinformation creating a confusion because the GOP has no agenda other than to block anything the Democrats want to do. It sure isn't the Grand Old Party anymore.

The Agony of Unbelievable News

 

Here's a shocker...

Jon Stewart believes a certain subset of the right has long viewed Putin as “an ideological brother,” noting that “for years, it’s been pretty clear that they would much rather do a deal” with Vladimir Putin than Nancy Pelosi."

He's talking about Donald Trump and Fox News' Tucker Carlson, the name a couple. Stewart calls Carlson a “dishonest propagandist,” which really is an understatement considering the subject.   READ MORE...

Jimmy Kimmel called out two “congressdemons” for their boorish behavior during President Joe Biden’s first State of the Union speech earlier this week. 0They were, of course, Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene who interrupted Biden's address. Kimmel added...

“As irritating as their behavior was, we do have freedom of speech in this country,” Kimmel conceded. “Which means I can remind you that Lauren Boebert is married to a guy who went to jail for showing his penis to a teenager in a bowling alley.”   READ MORE...

White Supremacist propaganda is not only growing, it is becoming

increasingly coordinated, NPR reports...

"The distribution of white supremacist propaganda around the country remained high last year, with nearly 5,000 incidents reported, or an average of 13 per day," the Anti-Defamation League says.

The ADL's Oren Segal, vice president says...

"It's disturbing that white supremacists and anti-Semites can mobilize supporters quickly to target neighborhoods in multiple states."

It is beyond "disturbing" how the United States has just decided to live with its racism dilemma since its supposed settlement with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and again in 1991. I did a post in my blog recently, "Recollections of U.S Racism" with both a national glimpse of the issue with added commentary from my years living in the South. Believe me, it ain't pretty.   READ MORE,,,

Climate Change is now working its disaster faster that scientists can act. It might already be too late a UN report speculates...

"The dangers of climate change are mounting so rapidly that they could soon overwhelm the ability of both nature and humanity to adapt unless greenhouse gas emissions are quickly reduced, according to a major new scientific report released on Monday."

Here are the ten main greenhouse gases...

• Water vapor (H. 2O)
• Carbon dioxide (CO. ...
• Methane (CH. ...
• Nitrous oxide (N. 2O)
• Ozone (O. ...
• Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs and HCFCs)
• Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
• Perfluorocarbons (CF. 4, C. 2F. 6, etc.), SF. 6, and NF.

The New York Times says, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a body

of experts convened by the United Nations, so we are assured of credibility. The report...

"concludes that nations aren’t doing nearly enough to protect cities, farms and coastlines from the hazards that climate change has unleashed so far, such as record droughts and rising seas, let alone from the even greater disasters in store as the planet continues to warm."

I am 89 but am still trying to save the planet for the young people. Maybe it is time for sanctions for those countries who refuse to address climate change. It's working for Biden against Ukraine. Unfortunately, the U.S. will be the first country sanctioned.   READ MORE...

I have done a series of articles on climate change you can see here.

SUPPORT UKRAINE
 

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.

 

"TV Wasteland" is Fox News and Tucker Carlson?

 

The tvtech site reports, "On May 9, 1961, then newly appointed FCC Chairman Newton Minow called television a 'vast wasteland,' criticizing the medium for its violence, inanity and impact on children." I was working in television in those days and considered it an extremely creative and glamorous business. I still do, except for at least two exceptions, Fox News and Tucker Carlson. Is it possible that Minow could see in the future with the latter in mind when making that statement?

Why do I bring this up? Because of the absurdities Carlson claims on his show; plus the fact, this moron actually admits he lies when cornered. In late January...

Tucker Carlson claimed that the political violence the United States has been suffering is coming from the left, not the right — insisting that the right, unlike the left, has remained “peaceful.”

This is beyond unbelievable since we recently went through four years of the ex-White House maniac, Donald Trump, in his quest to stir up violence almost on a    daily basis. The Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection on the U.S, Capitol is an excellent example of GOP led violence. Carlson, of course, is a lunatic, but it is his statements and and a trove if misinformation that is so indicative of Minow's "wasteland." 

It has been 60 years since Newton Minow's "Vast Wasteland" remark, and I do think television has made some very positive strides. As an example, in my day, TV news and weather was something offered by local stations as sort of a public service, much of it unsponsored. Today, news departments have huge budgets and most strive to provide comprehensive, in-depth news. Admittedly, there are some that slant the news, and, of course, those who completely misrepresent it.

MUST SEE: Still a ‘Vast Wasteland’? Newton Minow on the State of TV...

I have heard the opinion, 'Really...nobody could be that stupid,' referring to Tucker Carlson. Well, he certainly looks the part, but if any of you readers have any insight into this please email me. I have given considerable attention to Fox News in this blog over time because the network stands for everything class journalism isn't, and they are so easy to make fun of and criticize with the largest number of buffoons to ever hit the American airwaves.

The AlterNet's Alex Henderson leads us through a number of radical right wing violence incidents that have happened in recent years completely ignored by Carlson...

"from the January 6, 2021 insurrection to an alleged plot to kidnap and possibly murder Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to White nationalist terrorist massacres in El Paso and Pittsburgh in 2019. Pro-Trump groups like QAnon and the Proud Boys openly advocate violence, and the leader of the far-right Oath Keepers, Stewart Rhodes, is facing seditious conspiracy charges for his alleged role in the Capitol insurrection."

Back to Newton Minow's observations testifying to Congress...

“When television is good, nothing—not the theater, not the magazines or newspapers—nothing is better,” he told Congress. “But when television is bad, nothing is worse. I invite each of you to sit down in front of your television set when your station goes on the air and stay there, for a day, without a book, without a magazine, without a newspaper, without a profit and loss sheet or a rating book to distract you. Keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off. I can assure you that what you will observe is a vast wasteland.”

But this was 60 years ago when Congress was populated with at least a modicum

of statesmen as compared to today's gang of inept politicians whose only goals are to amass power, line their pockets and get reelected, no matter what it takes. Minow recently updated his views of television while adding social media and “fake news.” Here's what he said...

“I think the issues for the next generation are the government’s role in social media,” Minow said, adding that he was proud of the strides television has made in educational TV but that local stations needed to remain diligent in ensuring unbiased coverage to their viewers. He also supports reinstating the FCC’s “Fairness Doctrine,” which was repealed in the 1980’s.

"Unbiased coverage," two words neither Fox News nor Tucker Carlson are familiar with. 

The Agony of the Outrageous

Donald Trump falsely claimed that Democratic politicians say that "babies can be killed even after birth." This was in Arizona, folks, so anything goes. The double-digit Republicans here will believe anything the former White House maniac says. After all, we have an ex-ice cream salesman for governor and a former Fox News purveyor of misinformation running for governor to replace Ducey.

 This is a comment from Trump in Florence, a suburb of Phoenix...

"We're done taking lectures on science from a party that tells us men and women, women are men, and the babies… and this is a fact, the babies can be killed even after birth."

 The Insider reports...

"Trump was likely referring to disproved allegations that then-Governor of Virginia Ralph Northam promoted infanticide in an interview in 2019."

Doctors say a Tik Tok trend of cooking chicken in cold medicine is dangerous.

On the outset any person with any brains at all would know not to do this. But apparently Tik Tok does not attract rocket scientists, rather a group of young people who will attempt just about anything suggested by their peers. Here's the scenario...

In one satirical video in which a man claims he's making a cold remedy for his sick wife, he pours bright green decongestant over the chicken and advises letting it sit there for "5 to 30 minutes" as the medicine marinates in the chicken.

"Make sure you're constantly flipping over the chicken. You don't want to give one side more attention than the other," he tells the camera. "Sometimes the steam really makes you sleepy."

Cheers!  

Ron DeSantis Opens Antibody Centers That Are Useless Against Omicron. In case you are not in the loop, Omicron has surpassed Delta in its transmissibility and its coverage, thus, the virus we are fighting now. But, this is something the demented governor of Florida would do for two reasons...

ONE: His top donor invested millions in the COVID-19 antibody treatment the Florida governor is touting. TWO: DeSantis is so stupid he probably doesn't know what an anti-body is anyway.

 Here's what the Daily Beast says...

If Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis were a responsible leader dedicated to the well-being of his constituents, he would have made clear that the Regeneron monoclonal antibody being administered at his five new treatment sites is all but useless in the current COVID-19 surge.

But DeSantis is DeSantis, and therefore his own top priority. He is happy to offer false hope in the middle of a pandemic—as his state breaks infection records week after week—if he believes it is to his political advantage.

Ron DeSantis obviously cares absolutely nothing for his Florida constituents since he has blatantly allowed 5,289,959 Covid-19 cases and 63,569, many preventable, deaths with his reckless handling of the pandemic.

 Peace!

42% of Republicans Lie About Fake News

 

There is no doubt when you mention fake news, the first thing that comes to mind is the Fox Network. Blabbermouths like Tucker Carlson who even admitted recently that he lied and spewed misinformation. But Fox isn't the only culprit and Politico proclaims One Group of Americans Who Are Most Likely to Spread Fake News is low-conscientiousness conservatives. The research of two Duke U. professors says we oversimplify blame, generally placing it all on republicans.

In this case Politico is zeroing in on this profile saying...

"it’s not conservatives in general who tend to promote false information, but rather a smaller subset of them who also share two psychological traits: low levels of conscientiousness and an appetite for chaos. Importantly, we found that several other factors we tested for — including support for former President Donald Trump — did not reliably predict an inclination to share misinformation."

If not primarily Donald Trump supporters, who? The piece says "researchers, social media platforms, politicians and members of the media to focus their efforts on low-conscientiousness conservatives (LCCs for short) in particular." On the other hand, you can't beat these conservatives over the head with the fact they are using fake news. And here's why...

"To be clear, existing research has found that conservatives have a greater tendency toward misinformation than liberals do. For example, during the 2016 election, individuals who leaned conservative were more likely to engage with and share disinformation on Twitter and Facebook. Likewise, in the early months of the pandemic, conservatives were more likely to believe Covid-19 was a hoax, and to downplay the virus’" severity.

Nearly Half Of Republicans Admit To Lying About Fake News...

In other words, Republican conservatives are more gullible than liberals, which would indicate to me a higher level if intelligence in the latter. Here's the authors' definition of low-conscientiousness conservatives...

"the tendency to regulate one’s own behavior by being less impulsive and more orderly, diligent and prudent."

What this means to me is that this gang of anti-Americans are able to ignore their principles, that is, if they have any, and discipline themselves to complete a cause, no matter how bizarre or illegal it might be. Highly conscientious conservatives and their liberal counterparts are much less likely to succumb. So what does drive LCCs to spread misinformation? The researchers...

"asked participants to report their leanings on a range of potential influences: level of support for Trump, time spent on social media, distrust of the mainstream media, and endorsement of conservative social and economic values. To our surprise, none of these factors was a reliable predictor of LCCs’ elevated tendency to share false news stories."

Through a statistical analysis it was found that this bunch simply wanted chaos.

That sound familiar from Moscow Mitch McConnell and the fellow GOP not producing any agenda on the right, rather creating discord throughout the country to thwart anything the Democrats do? This is the tragedy of why the United States is in such great trouble with the Covid-19 pandemic, voting rights, racism, inequality and more.

You can blame it on Joe Biden all you want to but this research proves exactly where the buck has stopped.

I urge you to read this article because I have only touched on the surface of low-conscientiousness conservatives.

UPDATE: Joe Manchin: LIAR...HYPOCRITE...DESERTER...CORRUPTER

 

LATEST: Manchin received 36 donations from corporations in the last two months after announcing he would not support Build Back Better, and raised close to $260,000 in that time period.

Joe Manchin, the Senator from West Virginia is all of those and more, looking more like Donald Trump every day. Taking them one by one, LIAR: He told Pres. Biden he would back the Build Back Better bill, then backed out. On Fox News. HYPOCRITE: Acting like a Democrat, voting like a Republican. DESERTER; from the Democratic Party, most of all his constituents at home. CORRUPTER: Shares this with daughter, Heather Bresch. 

On Sunday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki issued a statement re. Manchin's bail out on the bill designed to benefit Americans in a number of ways, one of the most important decreasing the cost of your medical prescriptions. Of course Manchin would oppose this because of the fiasco with his daughter's pharmaceutical company, Mylan, Inc. which donated at least $200,000 to her father's campaign during five election cycles. Here's the scenario...

"Manchin’s daughter, Heather Bresch, was the president and chief executive officer of Mylan Inc., a pharmaceutical company that specialized in generic drugs. The company raised the price of a two-pack of EpiPen from around $124 dollars in 2009 to $609 in 2016. Bresch left the company in 2020 after Mylan merged with Upjohn, Pfizer’s generic division, in November 2020, to form Viatris Inc. Bresch began working at the company in 1992, and became CEO in 2012."

I did a post back in June asking the question, "Is Joe Manchin a Senate plant

serving Chas. Koch's conservative group?" The answer, an unequivocal YES! The White House is bending over backwards to work with Manchin, a Democrat that should understand the value of Build Back Better to the American public, particularly West Virginia needy. Apparently he doesn't, prompting this from Jen Psaki...

"In the meantime, Senator Manchin will have to explain to those families paying $1,000 a month for insulin why they need to keep paying that, instead of $35 for that vital medicine. He will have to explain to the nearly two million women who would get the affordable day care they need to return to work why he opposes a plan to get them the help they need. Maybe Senator Manchin can explain to the millions of children who have been lifted out of poverty, in part due to the Child Tax Credit, why he wants to end a program that is helping achieve this milestone—we cannot."

The fact is, he doesn't care about his constituents, or he would be supporting BBB. West Virginians are desperately in need of what this bill offers. Let's take a look: $400B Pre-school for all 3 and 4-year olds; $200B Child tax credits; $200B 4 weeks of paid family and medical leave; $165 billion on healthcare spending;  $150 billion to expand affordable home care; $150 billion for affordable housing; $555 billion to fight climate change.

Yes, a lot of money, but is there anything you see in the above that is not justified by the needs in this country? And how is it paid for...

"Democrats say the spending package will be paid for by tax increases on high earners and corporations, but the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found on Thursday that this will only raise around $1.5 trillion over 10 years—just short of the $1.75 trillion in 10-year spending.

"The CBO findings are at odds with the White House’s pledge to fully pay for the Build Back Better bill, which is now expected to increase the federal budget deficit by $160 billion over the next 10 years."

 A pathetic Joe Manchin Says He Won’t Vote For Biden’s Build Back Better Bill...

Like White House Press Sec. Jen Psaki asks in her statement, how will Joe Manchin explain to his West Virginia constituents that he voted down these benefits: child welfare, medical leave and healthcare spending, affordable home care and housing, and a fight against climate change that could save even more lives. The answer, another resounding YES, Democrats are spending but on the right things that will help homelessness, those in poverty and a general shot to the economy.

Contrary to what Manchin says, some aspects of BBB could counter current inflation as reported by NBC...

"The White House and Democratic leaders have rebranded the legislation as an antidote to widespread price hikes, arguing that it would lower the cost of prescription drugs, childcare and overall expenses related to raising families."

 Republicans are harping on increased inflation and consumer prices did jump 6.2% last month. Biden and Chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, as well as Treasury Sec. Janet Yellen, are working on the problem. But thanks to the fact that Joe Manchin blew off the Build Back Better bill, Goldman Sachs has issued a gloomy prediction for the economy. Surprise. It always seems to be traced back to the blockhead senator from West Virginia.

And, because of the latter, Manchin has the country on edge, allowing Republicans to plunder our democracy. It is so fragile that this kind of chaos, added to the Covid-19 pandemic, could soon bring on a GOP autocracy, all thanks to Joe Manchin and cohort Krysten Sinema.

More Joe Manchin below...

WATCH Bernie Sanders put Manchin in his place.

WaPo's Jennifer Rubin's take on Joe Manchin.

Manchin bottom feeder ‘refused’ a call from W.H. before killing BBB

Coal miners want Joe Manchin to reverse opposition to Build Back Better

The Agony of Stupidity: Is our Democracy Finally going Up in Flames?

 

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) based in Stockholm thinks so. According to The Daily Beast they have warned about...

a “visible deterioration” in US democracy that it says began in 2019 and rapidly accelerated after Trump refused to concede the 2020 election.

And democracy loses out for the fifth straight year to authoritarianism with "only 98 democracies around the world—the lowest number in years." So what the hell is going on? Well, to start with...Donald Trump. Then you compound that with a slew of wingnut Republicans riding on T-rump's coattails and you have the perfect formula for disaster. On top of all this there is conservative media like Fox News and maniac news hosts like Tucker Carlson spreading misinformation.

With all this you have to wonder if there is any hope for a return to democratic normalcy and, personally, I don't see that happening any time soon. And based on a recent poll from Harvard University's Kennedy School, we may be losing the younger generation. NBC News reports "There was not a lot of youthful optimism in the data...

"Only a quarter of those who were polled believe democracy in the U.S. is working as well as it should, and only one-third believe democracy is 'healthy' or 'somewhat functioning.' Considering that this group of people includes the country's next set of leaders, those are somewhat concerning findings."

There's more...

"Yes, younger people tend to see flaws in the status quo and are often the 

spark behind change, but when more than half of 18- to 29-year-olds believe U.S. democracy is 'failed' or 'in trouble,' it raises questions about how the next generation sees the future."

The obvious question here is 'don't they see what is going on?' And the answer is,

yes, they do, but there are mixed feelings. This could come from the fact that the left has not asserted much clout over the last few years, allowing the GOP to make strides that currently put them in a position of power in state legislatures, which may lead to taking back Congress in 2022, perhaps the White House in 2024. if you are a lefty, it is frightening.

The idiot Kyle Rittenhouse talks to fellow idiot Tucker Carlson...

And nothing illustrates better how fragile out democracy is than the Kyle Rittenhouse incident...

"The acquittal and subsequent adulation of shooter Kyle Rittenhouse—who says he supports the BLM movement and showed it by bringing an AR-15 to a protest and killing two of its supporters—surely isn’t an auspicious sign for the future of our democracy. It is springtime, however, for violent vigilantes and gun enthusiasts who no longer have to wear their hoods in public or abide by laws and election results they don’t like. Republicans in the House are publicly competing to make Rittenhouse their Congressional intern, while Marjorie Taylor Greene has a bill to give him a gold medal."

There is so much more in these posts from The Daily Beast and NBC that you should read. Maybe this kind of coverage will shock us into the reality that the Republican Party is hell-bent on destroying the democratic system this country has taken so many years to build.