A report card on the Biden administration

[Sandy Shanks]

One would think that Senators would be interested in the ransacking of our capitol by far right extremists. But today's Republican Senators are more concerned about protecting their asses, and they ensured the Jan. 6 bipartisan commission did not happen.

This gives some insight into the intelligence level of most Republican Senators. By covering up the role of the Republican President and the roles of certain Republican lawmakers in the invasion of our capitol, the Senators are doing more harm than good. It would be better for their careers if they acknowledged what happened then move on to the elections. A cover-up will not be forgotten. The Democrats will make sure of that.

The abject stupidity of the Trump-led Republican Party has now become apparent.

The Post reports, "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Monday introduced legislation that would create a select committee to probe the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob, with an aide suggesting the speaker may include a Republican among her appointees.

"The House Rules Committee considered the legislation Monday night. The House will hold a procedural vote on the measure Tuesday, and a vote on the legislation itself is expected Wednesday."

“The speaker is seriously considering including a Republican among her eight appointments to the Select Committee,” a Pelosi aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

The Post continued, "According to the legislation, Pelosi would have the power to appoint eight members to the panel, while five members would be selected “after consultation with” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

"The panel will investigate the facts and causes of the assault that left five dead and nearly 140 officers attacked as they faced rioters armed with ax handles, bats, metal batons, wooden poles, hockey sticks and other weapons, authorities said. The riot led to the impeachment of President Donald Trump on a charge of “incitement of insurrection.”

The bipartisan Jan. 6 commission would not have consisted of members of Congress, and had an expiration date of Dec.31. Senate Republicans killed it.

Pelosi's select committee will have 13 House members, eight chosen by her, and she will have the luxury of dragging this out deep into 2022. The final report will most likely come out just in time for the November elections.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

You know, it suddenly occurred to me. What are today's Republicans for? What do they support? They only tell us what they are against.

They are against our President. They say he is senile. I am being polite. They have other characterizations of our President which I just as soon not repeat. They use vicious labels and name calling to show their feelings about President Biden.

For weeks, today's Republicans labored on the trivial matter of our vice-president going to the southern border. They acted as if Harris going to the southern border would solve the decades old problems, and her failure to do so was unconscionable. They have names and labels for our our vice-president, too, which I just as soon not mention.

When they aren't targeting Biden and Harris, they bring up the most trivial of matters. They enjoy talking about the past because, I suspect, the present and future are disagreeable ... as my thread attests.

They also enjoy discussing theoretical issues, but avoid reality. Theoretically, Trump was a great President for several reasons, they say, but they never mention the reasons. That's because the reasons would be reality, and, after all, Trump was a great President, theoretically.

That is, if they talk about Trump at all. Today's Republicans avoid Trump, just as they avoid their own party. They can't tell us what issues they support because Republican leaders in Congress do not tell us what they support. Their only objective is to stop our President from accomplishing anything. Don't believe me? Give a listen to Mitch McConnell.

The traditional Republican Party is gone, replaced by the Trump Republican Party which is completely negative and believes in fantasies. Several members of Congress believe Trump's "Big Lie" and over 50% of Republicans believe the election was stolen from Trump.

"On Jan. 6, right after the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, 147 Republican lawmakers voted to overturn [Trump's] election loss," (Reuters).

Today's Republicans do not want talk about what they support because they don't want to look like idiots.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The traditional Republican Party is gone, replaced by the Trump Republican Party which is completely negative and believes in fantasies. Several members of Congress believe Trump's "Big Lie" and over 50% of Republicans believe the election was stolen from Trump.

Donald Trump is the titular head of the Republican Party, and Republican members of Congress are reluctant to cross him. Millions of grassroots Republicans mysteriously believe in Trump, and a Republican nominee without Trump's endorsement will go nowhere in the primary.

In the last election, Trump received over 74 million votes. As this thread attests, the Republican Party is in the grips of silent, intelligence challenged, uninformed Trump followers, the vast majority of whom believe in the conspiracy that the election was stolen from Trump.

They know there is no evidence of this conspiracy -- which is one reason today's Republicans are largely silent about their party -- and their entire argument consists of various versions of "we'll see."

In addition, they support the opinion that Trump did not instigate the Jan. 6 insurrection. That opinion defies logic, common sense, and incomprehension of the English language.

Put a different way, against a preponderance of evidence showing clearly there was no significant election fraud and the fact that Trump urged the attack on our government on Jan. 6, today's Republicans' entire belief system is based on "we'll see."

Little wonder as to why they don't talk.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Put a different way, against a preponderance of evidence showing clearly there was no significant election fraud and the fact that Trump urged the attack on our government on Jan. 6, today's Republicans' entire belief system is based on "we'll see."

The more intelligent Republicans know there was no significant election fraud, but they profess the "Big Lie" anyway.

Why? Because professing the lie has become an end onto itself. Professing the lie is the accomplishment, not finding proof of non-existent election fraud.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Pelosi's select committee will have 13 House members, eight chosen by her, and she will have the luxury of dragging this out deep into 2022. The final report will most likely come out just in time for the November elections.

NBC reports, "The House voted Wednesday to establish a select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol, the only step needed to formalize the panel's creation.

"The House voted 222 to 190, with two Republicans joining all present Democrats in authorizing the committee.

"Reps. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and Liz Cheney of Wyoming were the only Republicans to vote in favor of the committee.

"It's not my favored option," Kinzinger told Chicago-based television station Fox 32. "But the point is, we can't keep pretending like Jan. 6 didn't happen. We need full accounting for it and then we can move on."

Kinzinger added that he preferred the bipartisan commission, then he acknowledged that his own party killed the bipartisan option, leaving only the Democratic House version totally controlled by Speaker Pelosi.

NBC continued, "The select committee will have 13 House members, five of whom will be chosen by Pelosi in consultation with Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Pelosi will have the authority to select its chair. The committee will also have the power to subpoena witnesses and documents."

McCarthy has remained totally silent on the issue. It's what Republicans do best.

Republicans, of course, will be critical of the House select committee even though they caused its formation.

“These investigations have been done and are ongoing," said Rep. Michelle Fishbach, R-Minn. “It appears that this select committee is being done for purely political purposes."

Fishbach expressed a common theme among Republicans. What she said is a half-truth. There has been no investigation into the causes and the underlying factors of this insurrection.

The conclusions of this report coming sometime late into 2022 will be based on the evidence. The summary will be based on testimony, documents, videos, and other forms of the evidence.

There are only facts. There is no such thing as Democratic facts or Republican facts, only fact facts, and they will become known to the American people just in time for the election, courtesy of Senate Republicans following Trump's lead.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The Times reports, "Donald J. Trump’s long-serving chief financial officer, Allen H. Weisselberg, surrendered on Thursday to the Manhattan district attorney’s office as he and the Trump Organization prepared to face charges in connection with a tax investigation, people with knowledge of the matter said.

"The exact charges were not yet known. Prosecutors were expected to unseal an indictment later in the day against Mr. Weisselberg and the Trump Organization."

 

[Sandy Shanks]

It has been a rough couple of days for Trump and the Republican Party.

The good news -- it will only get worse.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday named members of the select committee that will investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, including Republican Rep. Liz Cheney.

The panel was created in a mostly party-line vote on Wednesday. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., will get to weigh in on the other five representatives on the committee.

Maybe.

McCarthy has a problem. House Republicans do not want to be on the committee. CNN reports, "House Republicans don't want to touch the select committee on January 6 with a 10-foot pole. As Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy mulls whom to tap for a congressional investigation into the deadly US Capitol riot -- and whether to appoint people at all -- Republicans from across the conference are racing to show they have no interest in taking on a politically fraught assignment, particularly lawmakers in difficult reelection races."

That holds true for the ten Republicans who voted to impeach Trump. The former President's role in provoking the insurrection based on his absurd claim that the election was stolen from him is a no-win situation for Republicans.

And Trump himself.

That is only the beginning of Trump's woes and that of Republicans. For the foreseeable future the media will be carrying these horrible stories concerning the fact that the Trump Organization and it 's CFO have been charged with felonies. Donald Trump is the CEO of the Trump Organization, and he pays attention to every dime spent.

NPR reports, "Former President Donald Trump's family business and its longtime chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, have been charged by the Manhattan district attorney's office in a case involving an array of alleged tax-related crimes.

"In an indictment unsealed Thursday, prosecutors allege that starting from as early as 2005 and up until last month, the Trump Organization and Weisselberg have committed tax fraud and falsified business records."

The media showed a handcuffed Weisselberg walking towards the courtroom -- not a good image for Republicans.

The media is filled with stories about the possibility of an indicted Weisselberg turning state's evidence against his boss, the CEO -- not a good image for Trump.

"The political Witch Hunt by the Radical Left Democrats, with New York now taking over the assignment, continues. It is dividing our Country like never before!" Trump said.

For the past eight months, without a shred of substance, Trump has been attacking the very basis of American democracy --free and unfettered elections. The transference of evil is palpable.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The Washington Examiner, an American conservative news website and weekly magazine, reported, "Former President Donald Trump is rejecting pleas from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to postpone a campaign-style rally this weekend some 200 miles from the Miami suburb where an international search-and-rescue mission is excavating bodies from the site of a collapsed seaside condominium.

"DeSantis’s office has "made a direct plea” to the former president’s team, calling on it to postpone the Saturday event in Sarasota. One Florida Republican bluntly said Trump and his team need to “read the room."

For now, the Trump camp is holding firm. “Nobody wants to cancel,” a source close to Trump told the Washington Examiner.

Florida is Trump country. They really like him there. My question is, in terms of this thread and others like it, where are they?

 

[Sandy Shanks]

USA Today reports, "American military troops have left Bagram Airfield and handed the base over to Afghan security forces, effectively ending the U.S. combat role after nearly 20 years of war.

"Pentagon press secretary John Kirby confirmed the handover on Friday and said the U.S. troops remaining in Afghanistan will focus on protecting American diplomats, securing the international airport in Kabul, advising Afghan forces and supporting counter-terrorism efforts.

"At the White House, spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the full U.S. withdrawal will not be complete until the end of August, though a senior U.S. official has said it will be largely done by July 4. As many as 650 U.S. troops will stay in Afghanistan indefinitely to protect the U.S. embassy in Kabul.

"NATO agreed to withdraw its roughly 7,000 forces from Afghanistan in April, after President Joe Biden’s announced his decision to pull all American troops from the country by Sept. 11 – the 20-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks that triggered America's longest war. Most European troops have pulled out of Afghanistan in recent days, quietly withdrawing months before the U.S.-led mission officially ended.

Biden's national security advisers have emphasized that U.S. will continue to support Afghanistan with humanitarian and economic assistance.

"We're going to stick with you," Biden said in a June 25 meeting with Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani and other officials.

The commander of the U.S.-led mission in Afghanistan, Gen. Austin Miller, recently offered a stark public assessment of Afghanistan's future.

“Civil war is certainly a path that can be visualized if it continues on the trajectory it’s on,” Miller told reporters during a June 29 news conference in Afghanistan. “That should be a concern for the world.”

The tradition continues. Afghanistan -- the graveyard of empires.

 

[Tahuyaman]

President Joe R. Biden, how refreshing that sounds. What a refreshing day. Our divisive, erratic, foolish, conspiratorial, narcissistic President is gone, replaced by a President who deeply wants to unite us. Barring ill-advised preconceived notions about President Biden, his task should be easy. We are all Americans.

That said, although I voted for Biden for obvious reasons, not unlike 81 million Americans who did the same, I am a conservative Independent. That's official. In CA, we have to declare our political posture. Until I was driven out by Trump, for over a quarter of a century I was a declared Republican. I voted for Biden, but I have some reservations concerning him, mostly having to do with taxation and spending.

I said all that because I want to be honest with readers. I want them to know where I am coming from.

Whether or not Biden will be a good President is obviously an open question, but I think he is a good man. He will do his best to unite us and adopt policies that benefit all Americans, while removing those policies that do us harm. He wants the United States to rejoin the community of nations, and the days of isolation and making unitary decisions that involve other nations, in particular our traditional allies, are over.

The European Union's top politician, Ursula von der Leyen, said it best. "After four long years, Europe has a friend in the White House."

For the first time in four years, there is optimism in America created by a popular President. 59% of Americans approve of Biden.

On day one, Trump's approval rating was 40%, and, although it went lower than that, it never got much higher. Thus the reason for American optimism.

Biden's standing with the American people is in a gradual decline. Of course this was expected because people didn't vote for him as much as they voted against Trump.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

“Civil war is certainly a path that can be visualized if it continues on the trajectory it’s on,” Miller told reporters during a June 29 news conference in Afghanistan. “That should be a concern for the world.”

The tradition continues. Afghanistan -- the graveyard of empires.

President Biden wanted to stress happy thoughts.

The White House press corps had other things in mind -- like Afghanistan.

“I want to talk about happy things, man,” Biden told reporters at an event ostensibly organized to celebrate Friday's buoyant monthly jobs report. “Look, it’s Fourth of July. I'm concerned that you're asking me questions that I will answer next week, but it's the holiday weekend. I'm going to celebrate it. There’s great things happening.”

At one point Biden said he’d answer journalists’ "negative questions" at a later point. He caught himself immediately and amended his characterization to “your legitimate questions.”

20 years of failure and the difficult problems associated with the 20,000 Afghans who helped the American military are a tough pill to swallow for our President.

"It does not depend on us. It is the responsibility of the Afghans to take care of their own security. We are leaving. We are leaving, period," Vice-president Joe Biden, 2012.

Afghans live in a different world. 20 years of frustration makes that fact self-evident. 20 years of American persuasion didn't change a thing.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

USA Today reports, "American military troops have left Bagram Airfield and handed the base over to Afghan security forces, effectively ending the U.S. combat role after nearly 20 years of war.

Are we withdrawing from the embassy, too?

CNN reports, "US officials are actively updating emergency evacuation plans for the US embassy in Kabul, as concerns grow about the potential for escalating violence in the country while US troops near a complete withdrawal from Afghanistan, according to a US official.

"In addition to bolstering the physical embassy security with US marines and contractors on the ground, there are now assets and troops in the region -- including at the airport in Kabul and in nearby countries like Qatar -- that are ready to assist if there is a need for an evacuation, the sources said."

The Wall Street Journal first reported on the stepped up evacuation planning.

Yes, the State Department is talking about planning. However, it is significant that this report is being released to the media. Why tell us about the possible evacuation of our embassy in Kabul?

Preparing the American public as well as others?

Turkey is awaiting a decision from the U.S. and NATO to take control of Afghanistan's airport in its capital Kabul.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Friday negotiations were taking place with the U.S. over the country's proposal to secure Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport following the total departure of U.S. troops and NATO forces from Afghanistan, according to the Associated Press.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Trump can sure pick 'em.

Former President Donald Trump is holding a campaign-style Fourth of July rally – his second political rally following his departure from the White House – in Sarasota, Florida, across the state from emergency crews still searching for survivors in the wake of a building collapse north of Miami.

Governor Ron DeSantis – a staunch Trump ally – is not attending the rally, and aides have allegedly asked the former president to postpone the event as the tragedy unfolds. At least 24 people are dead and crews are searching for at at least 121 people at the site of the Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside.

Tropical Storm Elsa is bearing down on Florida and will make landfall in a day or two.

On Wednesday the House approved a select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection in which Trump played a part.

On Thursday Speaker Pelosi announced her eight picks for the committee. One of the eight is a Republican. Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has not made up his mind yet as to what he is going to do.

Also on Thursday the Trump Organization, Trump being the CEO, and it 's CFO were charged with felonies. The longtime CFO, Allen Weisselberg, evaded paying taxes on nearly two million dollars for 15 years. The sweeping 25-page document charged the defendants with 15 felonies including scheme to defraud, conspiracy, grand larceny, tax fraud, and falsifying business records.

Obviously, the case includes some potentially dangerous legal implications for the former President.

In this environment Trump holds a political rally. Thousands of his admirers will be in attendance.

Go figure!

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The Biden administration has officially missed its target of getting 70% of all adults at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine.

The lead White House COVID-19 response coordinator acknowledged Sunday that younger Americans feel less vulnerable to COVID-19, making them less likely to get vaccinated.

"Younger people, particularly those in their 20s, have felt less vulnerable to the disease and, therefore, less eager to get shots," Jeff Zients told ABC "This Week" Co-anchor Martha Raddatz.

The Republican governor of West Virginia agrees. He, too, conveniently blames younger Americans.

"At the end of the day, the young people -- we're having a hard time getting them across the finish line and getting them vaccinated," West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said,

Both Justice and Zients are overlooking the elephant in the room, a rather obvious fact.

Take a close look at this image. The states with the lightest color depict under-performing states.

Please note: Every one of the under-performing states are run by Republicans, every single one!

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Please note: Every one of the under-performing states are run by Republicans, every single one!

The Post reports, "More than 600,000 people have died in the United States from covid-19, with nearly 34 million cases reported.

"The government’s effort to vaccinate as many Americans as possible continues to face hurdles, including resistance among people who identify as Republicans, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.The poll shows that while there is room for growth in vaccinations, going well beyond the 70 percent target could prove difficult.

"The differences between Republicans and Democrats on the issue of vaccinations are stark, just as they were about reopening the economy during the worst of the pandemic. The survey finds that 86 percent of Democrats have received at least one shot of a vaccine, compared with 45 percent of Republicans.

"While 6 percent of Democrats say they aren’t likely to get vaccinated, 47 percent of Republicans fall into that category.

"Asked about the accuracy of the warnings about the delta variant, there is a sharp partisan divide, with 57 percent of Republicans saying officials are exaggerating the delta variant’s risk, compared with 39 percent of independents and 12 percent of Democrats.

"There is also an educational divide, with 59 percent of those with college degrees calling the warnings accurate, compared with 38 percent of those who do not have degrees."

The reverse of the last reveals that 62% of those without a college degree think the delta variant which ravaged India is bogus.

Read full results and how the poll was conducted

 

[Sandy Shanks]

More than 600,000 people have died in the United States from covid-19, with nearly 34 million cases reported.

The government’s effort to vaccinate as many Americans as possible continues to face hurdles, including resistance among people who identify as Republicans, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Vaccine-hesitant Americans -- the majority in the Republican South -- overwhelmingly reject the reported risks of the coronavirus delta variant.

Three in 10 adults in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll say they have not gotten a coronavirus vaccine and definitely or probably will not get one. In this group, a broad 73% say U.S. officials are exaggerating the risk of the delta variant -- and 79% think they have little or no risk of getting sick from the coronavirus.

About 99.2% of recent COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. involved un-vaccinated people, a "tragic" situation that could easily be remedied, a top infectious disease expert told NBC.

Former President Trump spoke in Sarasota, Florida, on Saturday. There was a massive crowd of patriots ready to Save America!

Go figure!

 

[Sandy Shanks]

More than 600,000 people have died in the United States from covid-19, with nearly 34 million cases reported.

"The government’s effort to vaccinate as many Americans as possible continues to face hurdles, including resistance among people who identify as Republicans, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.

"There is also an educational divide, with 59 percent of those with college degrees calling the warnings accurate, compared with 38 percent of those who do not have degrees."

The reverse of the last reveals that 62% of those without a college degree think the delta variant which ravaged India is bogus.

About 99.2% of recent COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. involved un-vaccinated people

Former President Trump spoke in Sarasota, Florida, on Saturday. There was a massive crowd of patriots ready to Save America!

As shown, a huge number of Republicans do not have enough sense to protect themselves from a killer virus.

What is the significance of all this?

These people are in control of the Republican Party.

 

[trouble13]

President Joe R. Biden, how refreshing that sounds. What a refreshing day. Our divisive, erratic, foolish, conspiratorial, narcissistic President is gone, replaced by a President who deeply wants to unite us. Barring ill-advised preconceived notions about President Biden, his task should be easy. We are all Americans.

That said, although I voted for Biden for obvious reasons, not unlike 81 million Americans who did the same, I am a conservative Independent. That's official. In CA, we have to declare our political posture. Until I was driven out by Trump, for over a quarter of a century I was a declared Republican. I voted for Biden, but I have some reservations concerning him, mostly having to do with taxation and spending.

I said all that because I want to be honest with readers. I want them to know where I am coming from.

Whether or not Biden will be a good President is obviously an open question, but I think he is a good man. He will do his best to unite us and adopt policies that benefit all Americans, while removing those policies that do us harm. He wants the United States to rejoin the community of nations, and the days of isolation and making unitary decisions that involve other nations, in particular our traditional allies, are over.

The European Union's top politician, Ursula von der Leyen, said it best. "After four long years, Europe has a friend in the White House."

For the first time in four years, there is optimism in America created by a popular President. 59% of Americans approve of Biden.

On day one, Trump's approval rating was 40%, and, although it went lower than that, it never got much higher. Thus the reason for American optimism.

Even in a thread that you made about Biden you rant about Trump. LOL and you wonder why we call it TDS

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The House voted to establish a select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol

Republicans no longer declare the Jan. 6 insurrection was caused by antifa. They no longer say it was a peaceful protest. They no longer say the intruders of our capitol were tourists who "stayed between the ropes."

In fact, they don't say anything about the insurrection that resulted in five deaths and over a hundred capitol defenders were injured.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is tasked with selecting five Republicans for the committee. He has failed to do so and has remained silent about the House committee.

Why are Republicans leaders silent about Jan. 6? Their lives were at risk on that day, and all we get from them is silence? That doesn't make sense.

Maybe this does.

In December President Trump, for all practical purposes, circled the date. The Times reports, "For weeks, President Trump and his supporters had been proclaiming Jan. 6, 2021, as a day of reckoning. A day to gather in Washington to “save America” and “stop the steal.”

“Big protest in D.C. on January 6th,” Trump tweeted on Dec. 19, just one of several of his tweets promoting the day. “Be there, will be wild!”

Then we come to Jan. 6.

“We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong.”

“When you catch somebody in a fraud, you are allowed to go by very different rules."

“We fight like hell and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”

"Now it is up to Congress to confront this egregious assault on our democracy. And after this, we’re going to walk down, and I’ll be there with you. We are going to try and give them the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country.”
******************************************************************************************************************************Donald J. Trump

Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, chimed in.

“If they ran such a clean election, they’d have you come in and look at the paper ballots. Who hides evidence? Criminals hide evidence. Not honest people. Over the next 10 days, we get to see the machines that are crooked, the ballots that are fraudulent, and if we’re wrong, we will be made fools of. But if we’re right, a lot of them will go to jail. Let’s have trial by combat.”

Little wonder as to why Republican leaders wish to remain silent on the subject.

In the meantime, Trump remains beloved by the members of his cult, grassroots Republicans. That is a dilemma for the Republican Party.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Republicans no longer declare the Jan. 6 insurrection was caused by antifa. They no longer say it was a peaceful protest. They no longer say the intruders of our capitol were tourists who "stayed between the ropes."

In fact, they don't say anything about the insurrection that resulted in five deaths and over a hundred capitol defenders were injured.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is tasked with selecting five Republicans for the committee. He has failed to do so and has remained silent about the House committee.

The situation regarding McCarthy changed today. He finally realized he had to do something.

The minority leader finally decided he would appoint five Republicans to the Democratic-led select committee on the Jan. 6 insurrection, but he has a problem. He has a choice when it comes to the Democrat-led investigation of the Capitol riot: Get serious or go scorched-earth.

Politico reports, "The House Republicans most eager to serve on the Jan. 6 panel are the party’s firebrands, more practiced at crafting viral clips of verbal attacks than they are at making a sustained, credible case against top Democratic oversight practitioners."

Firebrands like Marjorie Taylor Greene. She made another Nazi-era comparison Tuesday as she railed against the Biden administration’s ramped-up efforts to encourage Americans to get free vaccinations against Covid-19. “People have a choice, they don’t need your medical brown shirts showing up at their door ordering vaccinations. You can’t force people to be part of the human experiment.”

I keep wondering how this woman got elected to Congress by Georgians, but it is safe to say McCarthy won't pick this fool to be on the committee.

Politico adds, "That leaves McCarthy with the tricky task of tapping the right mix of select committee appointments — and the Republicans he picks must be prepared to go toe to toe with one of their own, savvy conservative Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.)."

Meanwhile, more serious House Republicans are not particularly interested. As Politico puts it, “many are reluctant to take on a time-consuming probe they fear will cut into their time to shape legislation.”

Trump remains beloved by the members of his cult, meaning grassroots Republicans. That is a dilemma for the Republican Party.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The leader of the Republican Party, Donald J. Trump, "on Wednesday sued three tech giants — Facebook, Twitter and Google — and the firms’ chief executives after the platforms took various steps to ban him or block him from posting," according to the Times.

the Times continued, "Mr. Trump, speaking from his Bedminster, N.J., golf club, announced that he would serve as the lead plaintiff in the class-action lawsuit, arguing that he has been censored wrongfully by the tech companies. Speaking about “freedom of speech” and the First Amendment — which applies to the government, not to private-sector companies — Mr. Trump called his lawsuit a “very beautiful development.”

Almost immediately, Trump made several thousand dollars off the poor suckers who believe him.

CNN reports, "Less than an hour after the event, Trump's team began sending out fundraising appeals related to the lawsuits. The website recruiting participants for the proposed class action suits also featured a link to donate, and the Republican National Committee sent out a fundraising appeal invoking the suit as well.

Maybe Trump forgot he was no longer President. We know he hasn't got over his huge loss in November. On the other hand, he thinks he will be reinstated in August.

Potentially, Trump's lawsuit could provide more information regarding his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection than Pelosi's House committee. Unfortunately, the moment Big Tech asks for depositions from Trump, the lawsuits will be dropped.

This is just another big con. Trump's followers never learn. They don't want to learn.

 

[HangLow]

The leader of the Republican Party, Donald J. Trump, "on Wednesday sued three tech giants — Facebook, Twitter and Google — and the firms’ chief executives after the platforms took various steps to ban him or block him from posting," according to the Times.

the Times continued, "Mr. Trump, speaking from his Bedminster, N.J., golf club, announced that he would serve as the lead plaintiff in the class-action lawsuit, arguing that he has been censored wrongfully by the tech companies. Speaking about “freedom of speech” and the First Amendment — which applies to the government, not to private-sector companies — Mr. Trump called his lawsuit a “very beautiful development.”

Almost immediately, Trump made several thousand dollars off the poor suckers who believe him.

CNN reports, "Less than an hour after the event, Trump's team began sending out fundraising appeals related to the lawsuits. The website recruiting participants for the proposed class action suits also featured a link to donate, and the Republican National Committee sent out a fundraising appeal invoking the suit as well.

Maybe Trump forgot he was no longer President. We know he hasn't got over his huge loss in November. On the other hand, he thinks he will be reinstated in August.

Potentially, Trump's lawsuit could provide more information regarding his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection than Pelosi's House committee. Unfortunately, the moment Big Tech asks for depositions from Trump, the lawsuits will be dropped.

This is just another big con. Trump's followers never learn. They don't want to learn.

​

 

[Sandy Shanks]

For two decades Biden has been a skeptic of the Afghan war.

The Times reports, "President Biden made an impassioned case on Thursday that the United States could no longer afford the human cost or strategic distraction of fighting the war in Afghanistan, arguing that the United States had achieved its initial objective — routing Al Qaeda from the country and hunting down Osama bin Laden — and that Afghanistan’s government and forces must be responsible for their own future.

"In a half-hour long talk, Mr. Biden was by turns defensive about his decision to leave the country and angry at his critics, at one point asking whether they would send their sons and daughters to fight in what has devolved into a civil war. He said all American combat troops would be out of the country by Aug. 31, and made the case that the American drawdown “is proceeding in a secure and orderly way prioritizing the safety of our troops as they depart.'”

“We did not go to Afghanistan to nation-build,” Mr. Biden said from the East Room of the White House. “And it’s the right and the responsibility of Afghan people alone to decide their future and how they want to run their country.”

For those who disagree with Biden, consider this. Measure the threat posed by the Taliban to our way of life to the threats posed by Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea. Should not our Commander-in-Chief concentrate his efforts on the greater threat?

 

[Sandy Shanks]

A huge number of Republicans do not have enough sense to protect themselves from a killer virus.

What is the significance of all this?

These people are in control of the Republican Party.

Someone explain to me why Republicans are so stupid.

ABC reports "President Joe Biden's push to enlist volunteers, including local doctors and pastors, to go "literally knocking on doors" to encourage vaccinations in some states sparked an outcry this week among Republicans, who mischaracterized the effort as the deployment of government agents to strong-arm reluctant Americans."

The White House responded by explaining any door-knocking efforts will be locally led by community volunteers, not government agents. That was clear in Biden's message. All Republicans had to do was listen to it.

“People have a choice, they don’t need your medical brown shirts showing up at their door ordering vaccinations. You can’t force people to be part of the human experiment,” Marjorie Taylor Green, House Republican from Georgia.

"How about don’t knock on my door," tweeted Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Texas Republican. "You’re not my parents. You’re the government. Make the vaccine available, and let people be free to choose. Why is that concept so hard for the left?"

Crenshaw and Greene do not understand this simple concept. Americans are free to be stupid, free to refuse a cure for a deadly virus. They are free to be hospitalized, even die.

But they are not free to spread this deadly disease to their children, close relatives, and friends. They are not free to remove the freedoms of others -- the freedom to be free of the deadly virus.

Why is that concept so hard for the right?

One possible answer is, the right is stupid. Are there any other possible explanations?

 

[Sandy Shanks]

On June 16, President Biden said he warned his Russian counterpart that the U.S. would use offensive cyber operations in the future unless the Kremlin clamps down on cyber strikes against the U.S., including ransomware attacks and election interference.

"He knows there are consequences," Biden told reporters in Geneva following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "He knows I will take action.”

For three weeks we have heard the same theme from Biden. The U.S. will respond to ransomware attacks originating from Russia, and the Russian government's involvement was not a factor. The ransomware attacks must stop Biden told Putin or there will be consequences, so said Biden in various press conferences.

Today, Biden warned Putin again. He spoke to Putin by phone. In the call on Friday, Biden told Putin “about the ongoing ransomware attacks by criminals based in Russia that have impacted the United States and other countries around the world,” according to a readout provided by the White House.

As Biden pointed out to Putin, the ransomware attacks have continued with no abatement. How much longer will Biden be telling us the U.S. will respond without any response?