Tom S is a troll with his absurd reasons not to vote for Biden.
I know your responses to his reasons were excellent, but 15, 18, 19, 23. 24 & 25 are beyond insane.
In regard to # 15, T**** was going over the weekend about putting a dome over the entire country & claiming other countries were already doing that. Now while there's a possibility he was confusing Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system with an actual dome, that alone is a case for him having dementia!
18 & 19 are obviously referring to the bizarre case of Paul Whelan who Russia is holding as a spy & refuses to trade, because their demands are far too high for this guy. The right wing keeps calling him a former Marine, but leaves out that he was court-martialed & given a dishonorable discharge from the Marines.
23 is a pathetic joke as T**** makes up vile names for everyone he hates.
24, Gee Tom, have you forgotten that T**** charged the Secret Service the full rates to stay at his overpriced golf clubs & then the Secret Service had to rent golf carts from him, again at full price, making a profit off of the government while serving as president? Appalling thievery!
25, the entire world has higher inflation than the US & Biden is bringing back chip production to this country & every month the employment numbers are up & up!
You're right on the mark! There is something else that doesn't often enough get talked about. Tom S. talks about Biden vulnerabilities. It can't be taken seriously, coming from MAGA. But do you ever notice the lack of support for Trump, even from MAGAs? They try to defend him primarily by knocking Biden. There are ten months until the election. Why does the next person in the White House necessarily need to be either one of them? I could live with an alternative to Biden. My primary aim is NO TRUMP! He is a disaster. His personal character is as bad as it could be. His mental capacity is no better than what MAGAs claim about Biden. His foreign policies were disastrous and other leaders laughed at him- except for those like Putin and Kim. His domestic policies shouldn't need explaining. So if we move on from Biden, so be it. Just avoid Trump like the plague- and we could argue over which is worse.
Well, I certainly don't hope you mean you would accept right wing loons like Haley, DeSatan or Ramaswamadingdong, all of whom are as nuts as T****. And remember, while Chris Christie, now hates T****, he is a vile man that loves to get revenge on his political opponents, as in Bridgegate.
I would love to see either Gavin Newsom or even our own JB Pritzker running for president. I saw some are pushing Steve Beshear the governor of Kentucky, but I have no idea of most of his positions.
As for his mental capacity, he was never intelligent, no matter how many times he claims to have inherited brains from his uncle, who worked at MIT's Radiation Lab in WWII on radar systems for the military.
What he has are that strange con man smarts, the ability to suss out suckers & rip them off.
I can't argue with anything you said. There are decent Republicans out there. But none of them are running. They were disowned by their own kind. I often wonder how much the leading Republicans actually believe of the garbage they spew and how much of it is for their deluded followers. I live in a MAGA area and you wouldn't believe the defenses they use for both Burger Boy and his policies. Haley, Governor Mussolini, and the unpronounceable may feel they have no choice being so far behind Burger Boy in the polls. It makes me wish they could be administered a truth serum and asked how much of their garbage they actually believe such as whether or not slavery was a main cause of the Civil War.
I'd just like to see a Biden vs T**** contest on Jeopardy. My guess is Biden would end up with over $25,000 & T**** would never get to Final Jeopardy, as he would be into negative $20,000!
I agree with Greasy Thumb. What an uneducated troll. And btw who uses the term “woke?” I should have stopped reading after number 1. What a racist, ignorant, blow hard.
I noticed that 13 of your 25 "comments" on Biden basically say: Yeah, but the Republicans/Trump are no better. I agree. The swamp goes beyond party lines. Made it easy for me to write in a candidate in the last two presidential elections. In Illinois, presidential votes are meaningless...
Must disagree with you on two of your responses. 1. BLM riots were mostly peaceful? Your report states "fewer than 220 were "violent demonstrations"". I chuckle at the "fewer than". Was it 219, 218? Once again, I prefer hard numbers to percentages. 19-25 dead. Over $2B in damages. The highest recorded damage from civil disorder in US history.
2. Hunter Biden influence peddling is a "nothingburger". I know the President has not been directly linked to receiving any money, but most people in their 80’s and worth over $10mm are trying to find ways to pass money to their children. The Bidens are no exception.
I think I said that… “the president has not been directly linked to receiving any money.”
My point is these “fight for the average American” politicians are hypocrites, at best. Clintons, Obama’s, Gores now centi-millionaires. Not trying to pick on democrats. See Trump and McConnell in posts above. Nikki Haley… Whether through foundations, speaking fees, selling your company to Al Jazeera, putting people in your hotels, or sitting on corporate boards... Influence peddling is a very profitable business. I think most of McConnell's net worth was an inheritance from his mother in law, but I'm too lazy to do the research.
Also disagree with the BLM response. There are both immediate and long-term impacts to assess. A few weeks after the Chicago riots, on a Sunday morning at 117th & Western Ave., shots were fired into a restaurant. 6 people shot, 1 fatally. The reason? Gangs were fighting over loot from the riots. Perhaps events on certain days can be called "mostly peaceful", yet we should include the long-term violent damage due to statements made by activists, such as "That is reparations. Anything they wanted to take, they can take it because these businesses have insurance".
"Engaged in insurrection" does seem like the tricky part. I agree it doesn't need to be convicted - but at the same time, who's to say what 'engaged' is? (That references those without common sense) It certainly will come down to a legal decision. SCOTUS will kick down - whether it goes to state or congress, I'm not sure
Congrats on the big win by Michigan Football. The football team FINALLY caught up with the UM Men's Trampoline team, winning two NCAA championships since 1950. Boing-Boing!!
Which reminds one of the old joke What's the difference between a trampoline and a MAGA hat? Answer, you take your shoes and socks off before jumping on a trampoline.
Liked all of the visual ToTWs this week. I selected the leading contender, but it had a run for its money from the crab Rangoon and "fake Christians" tweets.
So my New Year’s resolution is to be more optimistic, I am trying to change my grumpy old man image.
There in an article from the Hill it states “Congress has approved legislation that would prevent any president from withdrawing the United States from NATO without approval from the Senate or Act of Congress.”
How cool is that…looks like a guardrail against potential future presidents from trying to leave NATO.
Nice to see some concrete action on limiting some of Trump’s threats, not a game changer, but reason for some optimism.
Memo to the anti-Biden comment based on abiding worry over foreign threats: BULLETIN: Those Commie nasties you cited as if a new threat to fear, have been with us at least since the 1917 Russian Revolution ushering in doctrinaire Communism; or the late '30's when Mao bounced Chiang Kai Shek out of China in favor of said Communism, if not soon thereafter with Sen. Joe McCarthy crusading against mostly imagined Commies in the 1950's as a political publicity stunt. Beware of would-be emperors posing as national saviors. And most miracle cures are bogus.
So citing Communist threats today is Johnny-come-lately at best, and in no way diminishes Biden or the good job he and our Defense Department are doing. Communist nations are not on the verge of abandoning their quest for global supremacy, nor are they gathering momentum. But in truth they are stymied by Western resoluteness. They possess nuclear arms as does the West, in what we trust is a forever stand-off, never to be used, for fear of destroying Earth. Hello, peaceful coexistence!
As always, "The price of liberty is eternal vigilance." To which might be added Ronald Reagan's byword: "Trust, but verify." Having missiles pre-aimed, just in case ("Mutually Assured Destruction"), is part of that eternal vigilance. Human intelligence cannot be separated from human frailty, miscalculation & unpredictability. We shall forever be both more and less than we humans see ourselves as being.
The so-called wisdom of Moses eludes us all. Ever since Ghengis Khan, would-be conquerors must be restrained. Such is the value of fear. Instilling it is the price of peace. Pearl Harbor taught us that indelible lesson. So did Hitler's bad judgment. We have been on alert ever since. Our spy satellites monitor all efforts to violate that Pax Americana; not that an American madman might not become such a villain. The world is the better for said vigilance. Since we cannot trust each other, we must watch each other. Which is better than fighting each other.
Biden is the experienced cool head America needs at this strange juncture. Unlike his predecessor, he is trusted by our allies and respected by our enemies. We deserve and need his style of leadership, which has presided over a "Goldilocks" economy (not too hot, not too cool, no disturbing inflation, no threat of deflation; negligible unemployment; no market volatility); no foreign entanglements; no shooting war; no stymieing or disrupting of the nation's economy; abiding respect overseas.
Under-controlled illegal immigration at our southern border is objectionable, but has not upended life in the USA. We tend to forget that under Eisenhower, under Reagan and under Trump, illegals in their thousands have challenged our ability to control it. Google its history. Calamity has not followed.
But many places did gain Mexican restaurants which they lacked previously, and are glad to patronize.
Most in need of being challenged is our apparent "permanent underclass" that has persisted across presidencies of both parties. Homegrown idlers. This includes the unhoused, many of whom long to do better, but are ill-equipped to do so. New ways of curing this forever situation are needed, although most every society has failed to devise cures, and the social malady persists. A work in progress.
Perfection is elusive indeed. Not yet tried: Rounding up the social outcasts as if drafting them into the military, and requiring them to learn self-supporting skills. Not an easy answer given the prevalence of social and personality shortcomings of the group in question, including mental problems and life-adjustment inabilities compared to what society sees as acceptable. Making race horses out of mules remains a daunting prospect. Even some of those gainfully part of society secretly indulge in chemical escape from psychological maladjustments. Societal perfection is unattainable. Every wine has dregs, most of which can be strained out, but not 100%. But no president should be held responsible for that reality; anymore than for plagues, pestilence, draught and wars in other jurisdictions; except for failure to mount defenses and encourage remedies. Fate is the unseen partner in overarching challenges and outcomes. Mankind is both powerful and puny, else life's drawbacks would have been fixed by now. This is not a confession of inability, but a confrontation with reality.
Thank you for running Tom B.'s list. I found it helpful to hear what goes on in places I don't frequent. I dismiss most of his reasons as empty soundbites. But I do want to respond to: "Biden’s vice president, Kamala Harris, was simply a diversity pick. Same with Biden’s Supreme Court Justice pick Ketanji Brown Jackson." I have found Justice Jackson's opinions to be filled with wisdom, replete with insights that completely escape many of her senior colleagues. If we want to talk about token justices, let's begin with Kavanaugh, whose limited, sophomoric mind is clearly a token sop to conservative white men. But Justice Jackson is demonstrating a powerful intellect. Anyone dismissing her as a token is full of ****. Like recognizes like. Those who don't recognize intelligence when it sparkles in front of them don't have it themselves. I'm sorry to be so harsh, but I refuse to brook the wanton denigration of a supremely gifted black woman. As for Vice President Harris, I haven't noticed anything about her. Haven't bothered looking. But, anyone who voted (and millions did) for the vacuous Quayle, the sinister Cheney, or the lapdog Pence can't refuse to vote for Biden because of Harris. This line of argument is a smokescreen.
I’m so glad that you got to enjoy the football game with your father. My Dad was a Cub fan all his life. In 1945 he was 17 years old and watched a World Series game at Wrigley Field. He always used to tell us kids that, when the Cubs won the pennant, he would take us to the World Series. He died October 18, 2016, before the Cubs won the National League pennant, a week before the Cubs played their first World Series game since 1945. (I was the black sheep of the family because I became a White Sox fan.) As to favorite books, I am currently reading The Rosy Crucifixion trilogy by Henry Miller: Sexus, Plexus, and Nexus. For some reason Miller’s passages of stream of consciousness usually make sense to me without footnotes. I have always liked Miller’s writing which is largely about his approach to life, and the power and meaning of creativity.
As to the whole “reasons not to vote for” thing, I am deeply disturbed by the large percentage of my fellow citizens who have become (and maybe always were) essentially, authoritarians/fascists/nazis, whatever you want to call them. I think anyone willing to vote for Trump, after all we’ve seen and experienced from him, may be fairly characterized as an authoritarian willing to trash our system of law, equality of opportunity, and democracy to follow a “Leader” who will “restore our national greatness by ridding our country of the vermin,” etc. Sometimes I wonder if, from a social perspective, living in the United States today is like living in Germany was in the mid-1930s. You know, 30 to 40 percent of the people you see at the grocery store are authoritarians and want that kind of a country and society. It’s really freaky to me. Like a dystopian novel.
My take on the cult of Trump is that Trump speaks to people's fears. When people are afraid they are much more open giving power to a "strong man" who they think will protect them.
True, but that's been the Republican playbook for years, ever since 9/11. Trump takes fear-mongering to the next level, embellishing with threats and lies.
Trump is an outlier. Politicians from both parties invoke fear at times to generate support, but mainly their agendas are backed by a philosophy of how government should work. Trump is a populist, and his policy ideas are not consistent with either traditional Republican or Democratic philosophies. He asserts we have much to fear from the "deep state", and yet he proposes that a federal agency should be in charge of certifying public school teachers. He is a trade protectionist, which has historically been more of a Democratic position to appease labor unions than a Republican one (although Dubya imposed tariffs on steel imports to product the US industry, and Clinton was a free trade advocate).
As for 9/11, my recollection is that there was bipartisan support to go to war with Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan; I think it would have been the same if Al Gore had been president.
I was moved by Eric’s comments about watching Michigan football with his dad. Recently I’ve come to realize how important watching such games can be in maintaining bonds with loved ones— particularly for males who struggle with emotional expression—so I’ve returned to watching sports regularly with my now-adult sons after years of encouraging them to play, rather than watch those sports. I do ask that you consider some perspective in Michigan fandom (or the NY Yankees, or the North Carolina Tar Heels, etc.). When I shared the White Sox’ World Series win in 2005 with my 70-year-old father, or the Cubs in 2016 but he hated them, we wept the happy tears of perennial losers who had finally done something most folks had never never seen in their lifetimes. My rabid Michigan buddies (or those from Ohio State, to be fair) have been able to harbor realistic championship expectations pretty much every year they’ve been alive— and they’re happy to share that optimism with gusto! So I say hurrah for the Blue, but spare a kind thought for those of us who are lifelong fans of teams whose championship dreams are just that every year. And Go ‘Cats!
So glad to be allowed back. I think I actually heard the lamentations of my family in Washington before they posted in the group chat. Apparently Penix had a bad game (insert sophomoric giggle upon seeing this name; I neither watch nor follow football).
Thanks for printing my comments about Alden. I need to add a few things. If I don't like a restaurant, I find another one. Obviously, it's loss is not good for employees that lose their jobs but it doesn't compare with losing a newspaper. There are areas all over the country that are losing important connections to the knowledege needed to be informed citizens. Tell Hitler, Putin and North Korea that free access to information is not important. I suppose those that constantly harp about the "fake media" would say so what.,that news access is all over the Internet. But what kind of access? Anyone wiht the internet can find the slant they want somwehere. That doesn't mean they are learning what they need to hear. The Tribune is already half the newspaper it used to be. But what's left is still needed. My local newspaper just announced they will have one printed version per week. They already take Fridays and Sundays off. They depend a lot on remote reporting by people running events, which cuts the need for actual reporters and saves money. I suspect they will soon go the way of many small town newspapers and disappear. This is good neither for informed citizenship nor journalism in general.
Tom S is a troll with his absurd reasons not to vote for Biden.
I know your responses to his reasons were excellent, but 15, 18, 19, 23. 24 & 25 are beyond insane.
In regard to # 15, T**** was going over the weekend about putting a dome over the entire country & claiming other countries were already doing that. Now while there's a possibility he was confusing Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system with an actual dome, that alone is a case for him having dementia!
18 & 19 are obviously referring to the bizarre case of Paul Whelan who Russia is holding as a spy & refuses to trade, because their demands are far too high for this guy. The right wing keeps calling him a former Marine, but leaves out that he was court-martialed & given a dishonorable discharge from the Marines.
23 is a pathetic joke as T**** makes up vile names for everyone he hates.
24, Gee Tom, have you forgotten that T**** charged the Secret Service the full rates to stay at his overpriced golf clubs & then the Secret Service had to rent golf carts from him, again at full price, making a profit off of the government while serving as president? Appalling thievery!
25, the entire world has higher inflation than the US & Biden is bringing back chip production to this country & every month the employment numbers are up & up!
You're right on the mark! There is something else that doesn't often enough get talked about. Tom S. talks about Biden vulnerabilities. It can't be taken seriously, coming from MAGA. But do you ever notice the lack of support for Trump, even from MAGAs? They try to defend him primarily by knocking Biden. There are ten months until the election. Why does the next person in the White House necessarily need to be either one of them? I could live with an alternative to Biden. My primary aim is NO TRUMP! He is a disaster. His personal character is as bad as it could be. His mental capacity is no better than what MAGAs claim about Biden. His foreign policies were disastrous and other leaders laughed at him- except for those like Putin and Kim. His domestic policies shouldn't need explaining. So if we move on from Biden, so be it. Just avoid Trump like the plague- and we could argue over which is worse.
Well, I certainly don't hope you mean you would accept right wing loons like Haley, DeSatan or Ramaswamadingdong, all of whom are as nuts as T****. And remember, while Chris Christie, now hates T****, he is a vile man that loves to get revenge on his political opponents, as in Bridgegate.
I would love to see either Gavin Newsom or even our own JB Pritzker running for president. I saw some are pushing Steve Beshear the governor of Kentucky, but I have no idea of most of his positions.
As for his mental capacity, he was never intelligent, no matter how many times he claims to have inherited brains from his uncle, who worked at MIT's Radiation Lab in WWII on radar systems for the military.
What he has are that strange con man smarts, the ability to suss out suckers & rip them off.
I can't argue with anything you said. There are decent Republicans out there. But none of them are running. They were disowned by their own kind. I often wonder how much the leading Republicans actually believe of the garbage they spew and how much of it is for their deluded followers. I live in a MAGA area and you wouldn't believe the defenses they use for both Burger Boy and his policies. Haley, Governor Mussolini, and the unpronounceable may feel they have no choice being so far behind Burger Boy in the polls. It makes me wish they could be administered a truth serum and asked how much of their garbage they actually believe such as whether or not slavery was a main cause of the Civil War.
"I would be heartily in favor of mandatory cognitive testing for all candidates for federal office."
Sounds good. But consider the potential for unintended consequences. It reminds me of the now discredited idea of literacy tests for voters.
So maybe standarsize the test? Hmm... There has been some fierce debate on standardized tests too...
I'd just like to see a Biden vs T**** contest on Jeopardy. My guess is Biden would end up with over $25,000 & T**** would never get to Final Jeopardy, as he would be into negative $20,000!
The only people scoring lower than Trump in cognative testing are his cult followers.
I agree with Greasy Thumb. What an uneducated troll. And btw who uses the term “woke?” I should have stopped reading after number 1. What a racist, ignorant, blow hard.
I noticed that 13 of your 25 "comments" on Biden basically say: Yeah, but the Republicans/Trump are no better. I agree. The swamp goes beyond party lines. Made it easy for me to write in a candidate in the last two presidential elections. In Illinois, presidential votes are meaningless...
Must disagree with you on two of your responses. 1. BLM riots were mostly peaceful? Your report states "fewer than 220 were "violent demonstrations"". I chuckle at the "fewer than". Was it 219, 218? Once again, I prefer hard numbers to percentages. 19-25 dead. Over $2B in damages. The highest recorded damage from civil disorder in US history.
2. Hunter Biden influence peddling is a "nothingburger". I know the President has not been directly linked to receiving any money, but most people in their 80’s and worth over $10mm are trying to find ways to pass money to their children. The Bidens are no exception.
I thought the issue was whether money was passing from Hunter to Joe. No evidence of that of course.
I think I said that… “the president has not been directly linked to receiving any money.”
My point is these “fight for the average American” politicians are hypocrites, at best. Clintons, Obama’s, Gores now centi-millionaires. Not trying to pick on democrats. See Trump and McConnell in posts above. Nikki Haley… Whether through foundations, speaking fees, selling your company to Al Jazeera, putting people in your hotels, or sitting on corporate boards... Influence peddling is a very profitable business. I think most of McConnell's net worth was an inheritance from his mother in law, but I'm too lazy to do the research.
Also disagree with the BLM response. There are both immediate and long-term impacts to assess. A few weeks after the Chicago riots, on a Sunday morning at 117th & Western Ave., shots were fired into a restaurant. 6 people shot, 1 fatally. The reason? Gangs were fighting over loot from the riots. Perhaps events on certain days can be called "mostly peaceful", yet we should include the long-term violent damage due to statements made by activists, such as "That is reparations. Anything they wanted to take, they can take it because these businesses have insurance".
"Engaged in insurrection" does seem like the tricky part. I agree it doesn't need to be convicted - but at the same time, who's to say what 'engaged' is? (That references those without common sense) It certainly will come down to a legal decision. SCOTUS will kick down - whether it goes to state or congress, I'm not sure
Congrats on the big win by Michigan Football. The football team FINALLY caught up with the UM Men's Trampoline team, winning two NCAA championships since 1950. Boing-Boing!!
Leon, I imagine the UM Men’s Trampoline team has had its ups and downs throughout its history.
Oooh sorry, that was a bad joke on so many levels.
Very punny!
Which reminds one of the old joke What's the difference between a trampoline and a MAGA hat? Answer, you take your shoes and socks off before jumping on a trampoline.
Liked all of the visual ToTWs this week. I selected the leading contender, but it had a run for its money from the crab Rangoon and "fake Christians" tweets.
I had to go with crab Rangoon. I've seen WTF and the fake Christians at least a dozen times in other media.
So my New Year’s resolution is to be more optimistic, I am trying to change my grumpy old man image.
There in an article from the Hill it states “Congress has approved legislation that would prevent any president from withdrawing the United States from NATO without approval from the Senate or Act of Congress.”
How cool is that…looks like a guardrail against potential future presidents from trying to leave NATO.
Nice to see some concrete action on limiting some of Trump’s threats, not a game changer, but reason for some optimism.
Memo to the anti-Biden comment based on abiding worry over foreign threats: BULLETIN: Those Commie nasties you cited as if a new threat to fear, have been with us at least since the 1917 Russian Revolution ushering in doctrinaire Communism; or the late '30's when Mao bounced Chiang Kai Shek out of China in favor of said Communism, if not soon thereafter with Sen. Joe McCarthy crusading against mostly imagined Commies in the 1950's as a political publicity stunt. Beware of would-be emperors posing as national saviors. And most miracle cures are bogus.
So citing Communist threats today is Johnny-come-lately at best, and in no way diminishes Biden or the good job he and our Defense Department are doing. Communist nations are not on the verge of abandoning their quest for global supremacy, nor are they gathering momentum. But in truth they are stymied by Western resoluteness. They possess nuclear arms as does the West, in what we trust is a forever stand-off, never to be used, for fear of destroying Earth. Hello, peaceful coexistence!
As always, "The price of liberty is eternal vigilance." To which might be added Ronald Reagan's byword: "Trust, but verify." Having missiles pre-aimed, just in case ("Mutually Assured Destruction"), is part of that eternal vigilance. Human intelligence cannot be separated from human frailty, miscalculation & unpredictability. We shall forever be both more and less than we humans see ourselves as being.
The so-called wisdom of Moses eludes us all. Ever since Ghengis Khan, would-be conquerors must be restrained. Such is the value of fear. Instilling it is the price of peace. Pearl Harbor taught us that indelible lesson. So did Hitler's bad judgment. We have been on alert ever since. Our spy satellites monitor all efforts to violate that Pax Americana; not that an American madman might not become such a villain. The world is the better for said vigilance. Since we cannot trust each other, we must watch each other. Which is better than fighting each other.
Biden is the experienced cool head America needs at this strange juncture. Unlike his predecessor, he is trusted by our allies and respected by our enemies. We deserve and need his style of leadership, which has presided over a "Goldilocks" economy (not too hot, not too cool, no disturbing inflation, no threat of deflation; negligible unemployment; no market volatility); no foreign entanglements; no shooting war; no stymieing or disrupting of the nation's economy; abiding respect overseas.
Under-controlled illegal immigration at our southern border is objectionable, but has not upended life in the USA. We tend to forget that under Eisenhower, under Reagan and under Trump, illegals in their thousands have challenged our ability to control it. Google its history. Calamity has not followed.
But many places did gain Mexican restaurants which they lacked previously, and are glad to patronize.
Most in need of being challenged is our apparent "permanent underclass" that has persisted across presidencies of both parties. Homegrown idlers. This includes the unhoused, many of whom long to do better, but are ill-equipped to do so. New ways of curing this forever situation are needed, although most every society has failed to devise cures, and the social malady persists. A work in progress.
Perfection is elusive indeed. Not yet tried: Rounding up the social outcasts as if drafting them into the military, and requiring them to learn self-supporting skills. Not an easy answer given the prevalence of social and personality shortcomings of the group in question, including mental problems and life-adjustment inabilities compared to what society sees as acceptable. Making race horses out of mules remains a daunting prospect. Even some of those gainfully part of society secretly indulge in chemical escape from psychological maladjustments. Societal perfection is unattainable. Every wine has dregs, most of which can be strained out, but not 100%. But no president should be held responsible for that reality; anymore than for plagues, pestilence, draught and wars in other jurisdictions; except for failure to mount defenses and encourage remedies. Fate is the unseen partner in overarching challenges and outcomes. Mankind is both powerful and puny, else life's drawbacks would have been fixed by now. This is not a confession of inability, but a confrontation with reality.
Best book in 2023: toss-up between Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver and Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir.
A second of Demon Copperhead. I don't typically read recent fiction, but it was excellent.
Neither of those were published in 2023, to the best of my recollection.
Eric's call out was for "the best book you read in 2023", not "published".
My bad.
Thank you for running Tom B.'s list. I found it helpful to hear what goes on in places I don't frequent. I dismiss most of his reasons as empty soundbites. But I do want to respond to: "Biden’s vice president, Kamala Harris, was simply a diversity pick. Same with Biden’s Supreme Court Justice pick Ketanji Brown Jackson." I have found Justice Jackson's opinions to be filled with wisdom, replete with insights that completely escape many of her senior colleagues. If we want to talk about token justices, let's begin with Kavanaugh, whose limited, sophomoric mind is clearly a token sop to conservative white men. But Justice Jackson is demonstrating a powerful intellect. Anyone dismissing her as a token is full of ****. Like recognizes like. Those who don't recognize intelligence when it sparkles in front of them don't have it themselves. I'm sorry to be so harsh, but I refuse to brook the wanton denigration of a supremely gifted black woman. As for Vice President Harris, I haven't noticed anything about her. Haven't bothered looking. But, anyone who voted (and millions did) for the vacuous Quayle, the sinister Cheney, or the lapdog Pence can't refuse to vote for Biden because of Harris. This line of argument is a smokescreen.
I’m so glad that you got to enjoy the football game with your father. My Dad was a Cub fan all his life. In 1945 he was 17 years old and watched a World Series game at Wrigley Field. He always used to tell us kids that, when the Cubs won the pennant, he would take us to the World Series. He died October 18, 2016, before the Cubs won the National League pennant, a week before the Cubs played their first World Series game since 1945. (I was the black sheep of the family because I became a White Sox fan.) As to favorite books, I am currently reading The Rosy Crucifixion trilogy by Henry Miller: Sexus, Plexus, and Nexus. For some reason Miller’s passages of stream of consciousness usually make sense to me without footnotes. I have always liked Miller’s writing which is largely about his approach to life, and the power and meaning of creativity.
As to the whole “reasons not to vote for” thing, I am deeply disturbed by the large percentage of my fellow citizens who have become (and maybe always were) essentially, authoritarians/fascists/nazis, whatever you want to call them. I think anyone willing to vote for Trump, after all we’ve seen and experienced from him, may be fairly characterized as an authoritarian willing to trash our system of law, equality of opportunity, and democracy to follow a “Leader” who will “restore our national greatness by ridding our country of the vermin,” etc. Sometimes I wonder if, from a social perspective, living in the United States today is like living in Germany was in the mid-1930s. You know, 30 to 40 percent of the people you see at the grocery store are authoritarians and want that kind of a country and society. It’s really freaky to me. Like a dystopian novel.
My take on the cult of Trump is that Trump speaks to people's fears. When people are afraid they are much more open giving power to a "strong man" who they think will protect them.
True, but that's been the Republican playbook for years, ever since 9/11. Trump takes fear-mongering to the next level, embellishing with threats and lies.
Trump is an outlier. Politicians from both parties invoke fear at times to generate support, but mainly their agendas are backed by a philosophy of how government should work. Trump is a populist, and his policy ideas are not consistent with either traditional Republican or Democratic philosophies. He asserts we have much to fear from the "deep state", and yet he proposes that a federal agency should be in charge of certifying public school teachers. He is a trade protectionist, which has historically been more of a Democratic position to appease labor unions than a Republican one (although Dubya imposed tariffs on steel imports to product the US industry, and Clinton was a free trade advocate).
As for 9/11, my recollection is that there was bipartisan support to go to war with Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan; I think it would have been the same if Al Gore had been president.
I was moved by Eric’s comments about watching Michigan football with his dad. Recently I’ve come to realize how important watching such games can be in maintaining bonds with loved ones— particularly for males who struggle with emotional expression—so I’ve returned to watching sports regularly with my now-adult sons after years of encouraging them to play, rather than watch those sports. I do ask that you consider some perspective in Michigan fandom (or the NY Yankees, or the North Carolina Tar Heels, etc.). When I shared the White Sox’ World Series win in 2005 with my 70-year-old father, or the Cubs in 2016 but he hated them, we wept the happy tears of perennial losers who had finally done something most folks had never never seen in their lifetimes. My rabid Michigan buddies (or those from Ohio State, to be fair) have been able to harbor realistic championship expectations pretty much every year they’ve been alive— and they’re happy to share that optimism with gusto! So I say hurrah for the Blue, but spare a kind thought for those of us who are lifelong fans of teams whose championship dreams are just that every year. And Go ‘Cats!
So glad to be allowed back. I think I actually heard the lamentations of my family in Washington before they posted in the group chat. Apparently Penix had a bad game (insert sophomoric giggle upon seeing this name; I neither watch nor follow football).
"Penix" does sound like an A.I. prosthetic designed by Elon Musk.
Thanks for printing my comments about Alden. I need to add a few things. If I don't like a restaurant, I find another one. Obviously, it's loss is not good for employees that lose their jobs but it doesn't compare with losing a newspaper. There are areas all over the country that are losing important connections to the knowledege needed to be informed citizens. Tell Hitler, Putin and North Korea that free access to information is not important. I suppose those that constantly harp about the "fake media" would say so what.,that news access is all over the Internet. But what kind of access? Anyone wiht the internet can find the slant they want somwehere. That doesn't mean they are learning what they need to hear. The Tribune is already half the newspaper it used to be. But what's left is still needed. My local newspaper just announced they will have one printed version per week. They already take Fridays and Sundays off. They depend a lot on remote reporting by people running events, which cuts the need for actual reporters and saves money. I suspect they will soon go the way of many small town newspapers and disappear. This is good neither for informed citizenship nor journalism in general.