A report card on the Biden administration

[Sandy Shanks]

Our President and the former Republican President and the Republican nominee for President both had Easter messages.

President Biden wrote,“Jill and I send our warmest wishes to Christians around the world celebrating Easter Sunday. Easter reminds us of the power of hope and the promise of Christ’s Resurrection.

“As we gather with loved ones, we remember Jesus’s sacrifice. We pray for one another and cherish the blessing of the dawn of new possibilities,” he continued. “And with wars and conflict taking a toll on innocent lives around the world, we renew our commitment to work for peace, security, and dignity for all people.”

Trump wrote in caps:

“HAPPY EASTER TO ALL, INCLUDING CROOKED AND CORRUPT PROSECUTORS AND JUDGES THAT ARE DOING EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO INTERFERE WITH THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 2024, AND PUT ME IN PRISON.

“INCLUDING THOSE MANY PEOPLE THAT I COMPLETELY & TOTALLY DESPISE BECAUSE THEY WANT TO DESTROY AMERICA, A NOW FAILING NATION.”

“HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!”

Who do you want as our next President?

Of course, Republicans are not talking.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

"Suspected Israeli warplanes bombed Iran's embassy in Syria on Monday, a marked escalation in a war pitting Israel against its regional adversaries, and Tehran said the strike killed seven military advisers including three senior commanders," Reuters.

CNN reports, "Iran promised a "decisive" response after a deadly strike on its consulate in Damascus, Syria, that it blamed on Israel.

Iranian ambassador in Damascus, Hossein Akbari, accused Israel of the attacks, alleging that the building “was targeted with six missiles from Israeli F-35 warplanes.” Syrian state media Syrian Arab News Agency also reported that “an Israeli act of aggression targeted on Monday afternoon a building in Mezzeh neighborhood in Damascus,” causing “massive destruction.” CNN cannot independently verify the claims.

Akbari said Israel's attack was "against all international laws" and Iran "will be decisive in our response."

It will be interesting to see Iran's reaction to this attack.

If any?

 

[Sandy Shanks]

I don't understand what is happening. Is Trump able to deceive Wall Street?

CNN reports, "Shares of Truth Social owner Trump Media & Technology Group plunged Monday after the company disclosed that it lost more than $58 million and generated very little revenue in 2023. Former President Donald Trump is the company’s majority shareholder, and his net worth tumbled by more than $1 billion Monday as a result.

"The figures underscore why some experts warn Trump Media’s multibillion-dollar valuation defies logic.

"In a regulatory filing on Monday, Trump Media said it lost $58.2 million in 2023, compared with a profit of $50.5 million in 2022.

"Not only that, but revenue tumbled 39% year-over-year in the fourth quarter to just $751,500. That’s not what investors want to see from any start-up, especially one valued at these levels.

"Former President Donald Trump owns a commanding stake of 78.8 million shares in the newly public company. At Monday afternoon’s prices, that stake is now worth approximately about $3.8 billion. This represents a massive boost to Trump’s net worth, though it is down significantly from a peak of about $6.3 billion just last week.

"The losses disclosed Monday are so severe that Trump Media’s accountants warned at the time they “raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern,”

"Even though Trump Media is losing money and generating scant revenue, Wall Street has valued the company by as much as $11 billion based on the stock’s closing price Friday, according to Renaissance Capital. By Monday afternoon, that valuation tumbled to about $8.8 billion.

Yeah, I know it's complicated, but it sure sounds like Trump Media is a losing proposition, and that Trump conned Wall Street.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Breaking News!

NBC reports, "The judge presiding over Donald Trump's impending New York criminal trial expanded a partial gag order Monday night following the former president's online attacks against his daughter.

"Judge Juan Merchan said that Trump is barred from attacking his family members and those of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, in addition to the witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and their relatives who he was directed to "refrain" from talking about in a previous gag order issued last week.

Trump's "pattern of attacking family members of presiding jurists and attorneys assigned to his cases serves no legitimate purpose. It merely injects fear in those assigned or called to participate in the proceedings, that not only they, but their family members as well, are 'fair game' for Defendant's vitriol," Merchan said on Monday. "It is no longer just a mere possibility or a reasonable likelihood that there exists a threat to the integrity of the judicial proceedings. The threat is very real."

 

[Sandy Shanks]

I wonder how Republican women in Florida and elsewhere feel about having their rights taken away from them by Republicans who want to force their religious views onto others.

The Post reports, "More than 80,000 women get an abortion in Florida in a typical year — accounting for about 1 in 12 abortions in the country.

"Now, those women will need to find somewhere else to go. Some place where the state does not control the health of pregnant women.

"With the Florida Supreme Court’s decision Monday night allowing a strict new six-week ban to take effect in 30 days, the court has cut off nearly all abortion access across the South, where all other states have either implemented similar bans or outlawed abortion entirely since Roe v. Wade was overturned.

"The closest clinic where abortion will now be legal after the six-week mark for someone living at Florida’s southernmost tip will be a 14-hour drive away in Charlotte. Patients whose pregnancies have progressed beyond 12 weeks, the point at which North Carolina bans abortion, will have to drive 17 hours, to southern Virginia."

Unfortunately, Republicans are unable to form a sentence. The women will suffer in silence.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

NBC reports, "Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday issued a demonstrative call for head-to-head debates with President Joe Biden, placing an empty lectern on the stage before a rally here to represent where Biden could stand."

“This is for Joe Biden. I am trying to get him to debate,” Trump said, referring to the empty podium. “Trying to get Crooked Joe to debate. Anytime, anyplace.”

Our President has everything to lose and nothing to gain by debating a man like Trump.

How do you debate a prolific liar? How do you debate a prolific name caller ("Crooked Joe" instead of President Biden). How do you debate a person who has no respect for others, such as our President? How do you debate a person who consistently invents his own reality?

You don't!

 

[uptower]

Biden did fine in the last debates against Trump. He'll do so again.

Trump is just feeding the internet narrative that it's Biden who is afraid of debating - then when debate season rolls around later this year and Trump is the one who backs out, he's hoping his followers continue to push his narrative instead. He knows they'll only remember what they want to believe.

He's the conman, they're the mark. As always. Now anyone got space on the bookshelf for a spare Bible?

 

[Sandy Shanks]

One wonders how Republican women in Florida and elsewhere feel about having their rights taken away from them by Republicans who want to force their religious views onto others.

CNN reports, "One-term presidents who fail to win a second term are usually doomed by their failures. So it would be ironic if Donald Trump’s bid is derailed by what is likely to be his most enduring policy achievement.

"The former president succeeded in constructing an unassailable conservative majority on the Supreme Court, which overturned the constitutional right to an abortion two years ago and set off an extraordinary cascade of consequences that now threatens his 2024 campaign to win a non-consecutive second term.

"Trump is yet to come up with a coherent policy on abortion as conservative states enthusiastically try to dismantle those rights. His equivocating shows that he knows restrictive abortion policies are deeply unpopular and could weaken his already fragile appeal to suburban and women voters. But he can’t quite disown his big win in becoming the Republican president who sent Roe v. Wade crashing down.

"The ex-president’s dilemma is back in the spotlight after Florida’s Supreme Court on Monday delivered a ruling that will mean that a six-week abortion ban – one of the most restrictive in the nation – will come into force next month. Trump originally blasted the six-week cut-off as a “terrible mistake.” On Tuesday, Trump declined to answer questions on the matter, promising instead to make a “statement” next week."

 

[Sandy Shanks]

An unusual instruction from U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon — one that veteran national security lawyers and former judges have said badly misinterprets the Presidential Records Act and laws related to classified documents.

The special counsel repeatedly said that he probably would appeal such a ruling, potentially delaying the classified documents trial well beyond November’s presidential election.

So, if Judge Cannon does not reverse her distortion of the Presidential Records Act which does not allow a former President to consider classified documents as personal property, she will have accomplished her objective -- delay the trial way past the November elections ... maybe never.

Federal judges continue to assist an accused felon who has been charged with 91 felonies in four criminal indictments!

There is, at least, one honest judge in the Trump fiasco of multiple felony charges and four criminal indictments.

CNN reports, "The judge presiding over former President Donald Trump’s upcoming New York criminal trial denied his motion to delay its start until after the US Supreme Court rules on Trump’s presidential immunity claim.

"Judge Juan Merchan denied the motion Wednesday calling it untimely and noting Trump’s lawyers had months to file a motion over the issue.

“This Court finds that Defendant had myriad opportunities to raise the claim of presidential immunity well before March 7, 2024,” the order says. “After all, Defendant had already briefed the same issue in federal court and he was in possession of, and aware that, the People intended to offer the relevant evidence at trial that entire time. The circumstances, viewed as a whole, test this Court’s credulity.”

"The criminal trial related to hush money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to adult film star Stormy Daniels is scheduled to begin with jury selection on April 15. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges."

Strangely enough and defying all logic, Trump is leading in all the battleground states.

I have asked Republicans why they prefer an accused felon as their President. They don't say a thing. They defend their very odd loyalty with complete silence.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

House Republicans are amid chaos again with Crazy M.J. Greene. She doesn't know that it was Republicans who rejected the border security bill.

The Hill reports, "Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) doubled down on her attacks on Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Monday, accusing the House leader of caving to Democrats on border security at the expense of public safety.

"Greene has been up in arms that Johnson recently endorsed a massive spending deal with President Biden to fund the government through September — a package that excluded the tougher border security measures many conservatives had demanded."

Greene, along with a number of House Republicans, side with Russia in the Ukraine war.

The Hill added, "Heading into another explosive debate, this one over military funding for Ukraine, Greene is amplifying both her opposition to that aid package and the pressure on Johnson to keep it off the floor. Unmentioned but hanging over that imminent debate is Greene’s threat to remove Johnson from power if he contravenes her stipulations.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

I have asked Republicans why they prefer an accused felon as their President. They don't say a thing. They defend their very odd loyalty with complete silence.

Trump has openly threatened Judge Merchan's daughter. If she is harmed by a Trump loyalist -- that is Trump's purpose -- will Trump followers still support him?

Yes, they will.

I have to answer for them because, knowing the shame for doing so, they do not respond.

That says a lot about Trump's followers!

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Republicans are really getting desperate. Our President ended America's longest war. There were thirteen casualties in the operation.

By any measure, that is a resounding successful operation.

House Republicans are investigating the operation looking for grievous errors of judgement.

CNN reports, "Hours of closed-door testimony from three top State Department officials shed new light on the “unprecedented” situation in the final days of the US presence in Afghanistan as the officials were rushed to the country with virtually no time to prepare and no established emergency evacuation plan in place when they arrived.

"The transcripts of their interviews with the House Foreign Affairs Committee, obtained exclusively by CNN, are the latest tranche of more than a dozen interviews conducted by the committee as a key part of Republican Chairman Michael McCaul’s ongoing investigation into the 2021 evacuation that involved the deaths of 13 US service members.

"The new details paint a picture of the chaos outside the Kabul airport and the ad-hoc nature of the evacuation, something that top US military generals suggested could have been mitigated if the State Department had called sooner for a “noncombatant evacuation operation” – known as a NEO – for remaining US citizens in Afghanistan."

In war, regardless of the success of the operation, things could have gone better, but Republicans are frantic.

122,000 people were evacuated during the operation.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

CNN reports, "Former President Donald Trump continues to make false claims about the New York civil fraud case he lost – including a wildly inaccurate declaration on Tuesday that an appeals court previously said that he had “won the case.”

Trump suffers from extreme narcissism. He needs attention constantly from the media.

How does he get it? By consistently telling outrageous lies and creating his own reality. He wants to be our next President, and his loyal followers avoid reality and believe nearly everything he says.

The media should ignore his outrageous lies and fantasies. Don't report them like CNN just did.

Then lets see what he has to say.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The Biden economy is on fire!

Beats me what some Americans are complaining about. Truth is, they don't know, either. They can't explain their reasons for giving our President poor marks on the economy.

ABC reports, "America’s employers delivered another outpouring of jobs in March, adding a sizzling 303,000 workers to their payrolls and bolstering hopes that the economy can vanquish inflation without succumbing to a recession in the face of high interest rates.

"Last month’s job growth was up from a revised 270,000 in February and was far above the 200,000 jobs that economists had forecast. By any measure, it amounted to a major burst of hiring, and it reflected the economy’s ability to withstand the pressure of high borrowing costs resulting from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes. With the nation’s consumers continuing to spend, many employers have kept hiring to meet steady customer demand.

"Friday’s report from the Labor Department also showed that the unemployment rate dipped from 3.9% to 3.8%. The jobless rate has now remained below 4% for 26 straight months, the longest such streak since the 1960s.

"The economy is sure to weigh on Americans’ minds as the November presidential vote nears and they assess President Joe Biden’s re-election bid. Many people still feel squeezed by the inflation surge that erupted in the spring of 2021. Eleven rate hikes by the Fed have helped send inflation tumbling from its peak. But average prices are still about 18% higher than they were in February 2021."

Inflation is a by-product of prosperity. Essentially full employment plus robust spending equals inflation. It is economic law.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The Biden economy is on fire!

Inflation is a by-product of prosperity. Essentially full employment plus robust spending equals inflation. It is economic law.

Americans with poor memories think Trump is better at handling the economy than President Biden.

During his stay at the White House, Trump lost 2.5 million jobs and our economy sank into a recession. The unemployment rate to 6.3%.

President Biden inherited a recession from the Trump administration. 15 million jobs have been created during his term of office. The jobless rate has now remained below 4% for 26 straight months, the longest such streak since the 1960s.

Our President is taken a hit because he is the President. By way of a comparison, Trump's average approval rating during his Presidency was 41%.

When things don't go their way, Americans always blame the President.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Although surrounded by its enemies, it is unlikely that Israel will be attacked. Iran would be overmatched.

I could be wrong. Maybe the White House is right.

CNN reports, "The US is on high alert and actively preparing for a “significant” attack that could come as soon as within the next week by Iran targeting Israeli or American assets in the region in response to Monday’s Israeli strike in Damascus that killed top Iranian commanders, a senior administration official tells CNN.

"Senior US officials currently believe that an attack by Iran is “inevitable” – a view shared by their Israeli counterparts, that official said. The two governments are furiously working to get in position ahead of what is to come, as they anticipate that Iran’s attack could unfold in a number of different ways – and that both US and Israeli assets and personnel are at risk of being targeted.

"A forthcoming Iranian attack was a major topic of discussion on President Joe Biden’s phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday.

"As of Friday, the two governments did not know when or how Iran planned to strike back, the official said."

Senior Iranian officials don't know, either.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Politico reports, "Polls show former President Donald Trump is ascendant with the youngest bloc of the electorate, even leading President Joe Biden in some surveys, as less-engaged young voters spurn Biden."

That is interesting inasmuch as younger Democrats loyal to Sen. Sanders helped elect Trump in 2016. https://www.newsweek.com/bernie-sanders-trump-2016-election-654320

Are they going to do it again?

Funny how those supporting Trump don't say a thing in the face of enormous criticism of the Republican candidate.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Although surrounded by its enemies, it is unlikely that Israel will be attacked. Iran would be overmatched.

A top Iranian military adviser has warned Israel that none of its embassies are safe following a strike in Damascus last week which killed 12 people including two elite Iranian generals.

The embassies are a part of Israel. Iran knows that.

Iran is all talk.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Trump always wants it both ways. He often contradicts himself regarding previous statements. He often contradicts himself in the same speech, same paragraph, even the same sentence.

He is responsible for Roe vs. Wade being overturned and the resulting harsh laws regarding abortion in Republican states. Previously, he supported a national abortion law restricting abortions after fifteen weeks. Now he says it is a state matter, and, besides, he doesn't want to talk about abortions. He recommends other Republicans do the same.

Indeed, abortion is a losing proposition for Republicans, and Trump created the problem.

The Times reports, "After months of mixed signals, Donald Trump said that whatever states decide “must be the law of the land,” adding that he was “strongly in favor of exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother.

"Former President Donald J. Trump said in a video statement on Monday that abortion rights should be left up to the states, remarks that came after months of mixed signals on an issue that he and his advisers have worried could cost him dearly in the election.

"Mr. Trump said his view was that the states should decide through legislation, and that “whatever they decide must be the law of the land, and in this case, the law of the state.” But he added that he was “strongly in favor of exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother.”

“Many states will be different, many will have a different number of weeks or some will have more conservative than others, and that’s what they will be,” Mr. Trump said.

In other words, mass confusion among the states on abortion, and Trump thinks this is a good idea.

No wonder Trump's followers avoid discussing him or defending his weird positions. They have learned, if you don't like his position, stay tuned, he will change it in a day or two.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Trump always wants it both ways. He often contradicts himself regarding previous statements. He often contradicts himself in the same speech, same paragraph, even the same sentence.

The AP reports, "Donald Trump still says he’s proud that the Supreme Court justices he nominated overturned Roe v. Wade. Yet he again on Monday avoided tough questions about abortion, including whether he would support a national abortion ban should he return to the White House.

"The presumptive Republican presidential nominee tried to put to rest an issue widely seen as a general election liability. Instead, his video statement exposed the tough road ahead and inflamed leaders on both sides of the issue.

"Religious conservatives said they were deeply disappointed. Progressives said he was lying. And there’s every indication that abortion will define the 2024 election no matter what Trump does or says — in large part because Republicans in Congress and in statehouses across the country continue to fight for new restrictions."

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Trump will be tried in criminal court in seven days!

CNN reports, "A New York appeals court has denied Donald Trump’s petition to change the venue of his upcoming hush money trial.

"The former president’s attorneys on Monday had urged the court to postpone the trial so it could consider whether to change the venue, arguing that Trump cannot get a fair jury in New York.

"But Associate Justice Lizbeth González quickly denied the motion to stop the trial after hearing arguments Monday, and there is no further argument on the motion to change the venue.

"Trump’s attorneys had filed the petition in the state appellate court earlier in the day, one week before his trial is set to begin."

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Trump will be tried in criminal court in seven days!

Trump always wants it both ways. He often contradicts himself regarding previous statements. He often contradicts himself in the same speech, same paragraph, even the same sentence.

Republicans in Congress and in statehouses across the country continue to fight for new abortion restrictions

It is just not a very good day for the former Republican President.

ABC reports, "To try to prove their criminal hush money case against former President Donald Trump, prosecutors in New York are expected to rely on several witnesses who are or were part of Trump's inner circle, including his longtime assistant, Rhona Graff, his former director of Oval Office operations, Madeleine Westerhout, and longtime trusted aide, Hope Hicks, sources familiar with the case told ABC News.

"The sources said prosecutors with the Manhattan district attorney's office are also expected to call Deborah Tarasoff, who worked in the Trump Organization's accounting department, and Jeffrey McConney, the Trump Organization's former controller, as well as Trump's former attorney and so-called "fixer," Michael Cohen. McConney is also expected to testify in Trump’s defense, sources said."

The Hill is reporting, "Republican strategist Karl Rove urged Democrats to “go hard” at former President Trump’s rhetoric surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, calling the former president’s pledge to free imprisoned rioters a “critical mistake.”

“If they were smart, they’d take the Jan. 6 and go hard at it. And they would say, ‘He wants to pardon these people who attacked our Capitol,'” Rove said told MSNBC’s Ari Melber.

Trump and his followers are out to destroy the Republican Party! They avoid the reality of responsible news, and believe everything Trump says.

Most do not know who Karl Rove is.

Trump's followers do not say a thing. They lack the education and experience to explain why they support Trump. Yet, they want to pick our next President.

That makes no sense. This does, and it explains a lot.

"President Trump famously declared during his 2016 campaign that he loved the “poorly educated” because voters with lower levels of schooling delivered an overwhelming share of votes to him," the conservative Washington Times."

 

[Sandy Shanks]

It is just not a very good day for the former Republican President.

I have been saying for months that House Republicans loyal to Trump are supporting Russian aggression by not allowing the U.S. to help defend democracy in Ukraine.

Now two prominent Republicans are saying the same thing!

USA Today reports, "A Republican congressman said some of his GOP colleagues are echoing Russian propaganda in opposing additional U.S. military aid to Ukraine.

"We see directly coming from Russia attempts to mask communications that are anti-Ukraine and pro-Russia messages – some of which we even hear being uttered on the House floor," said Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, speaking Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."

"Turner said he agreed with Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Tex., who told Puck News last week that Russian propaganda has "infected a good chunk of my party's base."

"Neither Turner nor McCall named any names, but opponents have long criticized 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump over his relationship with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

"A growing number of Republican lawmakers have publicly opposed sending additional U.S. aid to Ukraine. Many of Trump's supporters in Congress, such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., have balked at giving more support to Ukraine, saying the conflict with Russia could suck the United States into a world war."

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Donald Trump still says he’s proud that the Supreme Court justices he nominated overturned Roe v. Wade

CNN reports, "In a historic decision Tuesday, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled the state must adhere to a 160-year-old law barring all abortions except in cases when “it is necessary to save” a pregnant person’s life – a significant ruling that will make a Civil War-era abortion law enforceable in the state.

"The law can be traced back to as early as 1864 – before Arizona became a state. It carries a prison sentence of two to five years for abortion providers – and it puts Arizona among the [Republican] states with the strictest abortion laws in the country, alongside Texas, Alabama and Mississippi, where bans exist with almost no exceptions."

I would love to ask Republican women how they feel about having their rights taken away by the state courtesy of Republicans. Pregnant women in Arizona have lost control of their health. Thanks to Republicans, the state now controls the health of a pregnant woman. The woman's doctor has no say.

How do Republican women in Arizona feel about that?

We will never know.

Republican women are like Republican men in that respect. They will not talk about their party. They will not defend their party's actions. The same holds true for the leader of their party.

That begs a question. If Republicans will not discuss their party, why in the world should the rest of us vote them into power? Why should we place their man -- the one they don't want to talk about -- in the White House?

The forum's Republicans will not answer. They can't. One cannot argue with reality.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

During her campaign, Republican Kari Lake, running for the Senate in AZ, said she supported the 1864 abortion law. Now she is backtracking, but that is not the point.

Knowing how Lake really feels about abortion, will Republican women in AZ vote for Lake? Or will they vote for her opponent and women's rights?

Will they vote for Trump, who opened the door to the supreme court decision and the removal of their rights?

We will never know.