I say YES. YOU say NO....Numero Tre! Enjoy!
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I am a whole lot more cheerful and content after last night and State of the Union. I know I mentioned before that while I'm usually hopeful and forward looking, hearing the Reps. talking points everyday becomes wearing on a person and I for one do find myself from time to time feeling nervous and feeling doubts trying to sneak in. Likely already having a little depressed energy from something else I start to wonder if we will survive and arrive where we need to be.
I think at one point (maybe it was Michael Steele) talking about the 'old' boy having so much life left in him. He does and I do think when push comes to shove those who may have been dragging their feet will acknowledge that.
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Sen. Britt's voice is a classic "fundie baby voice". This lady has great commentary on why it exists, and what it's intended to project.
https://www.tiktok.com/@jesspipermo/video/7344065650144480558
And her previous video that she mentions in her more recent one:
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miriandra, yes, exactly! The Duggars are Baptist Fundamentalists, i.e. “fundies”, and the mother, Michelle, is infamous for using that cringe-worthy baby voice, as the one video clip showed. I love that you posted these links. I’ve not heard of Jess Piper before but I googled her and see she has a website; I’ll definitely be checking that out when I have more time. And ew, I’d never seen Mike Johnson’s wife but not surprised she’s what she is. Sen. Britt actually reminded me of SC Justice Amy Coney Barrett which, along with “Mrs. Johnson” gives me Stepford Wives vibes that this is the “acceptable” look and behavior for Republican women. Good god, if Republicans could manufacture women robots like in the movie, I have no doubt they would!
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Here’s a good article about Biden from the Washington Post. It’s kind of long but very readable so I’m pasting the whole thing.
Two of President Biden’s top advisers this past December were seeking his sign-off on a potentially explosive deal with Venezuelan President Nicolàs Maduro: Biden would grant clemency to a Maduro ally in exchange for Venezuela’s release of 30 prisoners, including 10 Americans.In the Oval Office, Biden intently grilled Jeff Zients, his chief of staff, and Jon Finer, his deputy national security adviser. Were they sure Maduro would honor the deal? Were Venezuelan opposition leaders on board? Did Secretary of State Antony Blinken back the plan? Zients and Finer repeatedly sought to reassure Biden, but the president wanted more.
“Before I make a final decision here, I want to get a read from the Hill,” he told his aides.
White House staffers got Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), a friend of Biden’s and graduate of Yale Divinity School, on the phone. “Chris, it’s Joe,” the president said. “I need you to put your divinity school hat on for a minute and just tell me — do you think this is the right thing? Should we go ahead?”
After being briefed on the plan by Finer, Coons said, “As I understand it, Mr. President, I would proceed.”
Six days later, Biden announced the deal.
That moment, as detailed by two people familiar with the meeting who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private conversation, illustrates a crucial truth at the heart of Biden’s decision-making: There is no one he trusts like a fellow politician. Biden’s staffers have immense experience and expertise, but when he is faced with a complex or volatile decision, Biden is unwilling to take the final leap until he has talked to someone who intimately knows, and is accountable to, the American voter.
And so, Biden will often interject during policy conversations with a simple question, “What about the political support for this?”
Biden’s life has been shaped by campaigning. He first ran for office in 1970 at age 27, winning a seat on Delaware’s New Castle County Council by a few thousand votes. Since then, he has mounted more than 10 races over 50 years. That gives him an instinctive trust in others who, like him, have had to convince voters, placate crowds, debate opponents and face the consequences of bad decisions.
“He understands and respects that one of the most fundamental principles of a democracy is that you have to stand up in front of your constituents, explain your votes, explain your actions — and then be held accountable at the ballot box,” Coons said. “So he listens to people who have stood for election and who understand the difference between abstract policy and what happens in the real world.”
As Biden prepares to ask voters for a second term, The Washington Post is exploring three pillars of his presidential leadership. An earlier article scrutinized how Biden absorbs information, and a forthcoming piece will look at how he communicates with Americans. Between the two is the responsibility at the core of the presidency: making some of the hardest, highest-impact decisions in the world.***
‘You’ve never run for office’Faced with a decision, Biden first presses his staffers for information at a granular level, probing for specific costs and timelines — seemingly driven, associates say, by a suspicion that aides are hiding something from him, or not giving him all of his options. Biden, aides say, often behaves like the senator he once was, wading into small matters they fear are not worth his time. He will insist on reviewing routine statements released in his name, for example, or demand a personal sign-off on mid-level campaign hires.
The decisions that reach the Oval Office are, by design, the most complicated facing the country. Biden has said as much, telling aides, “Look, all these decisions are hard.”
For all the memos and briefings, presidents are profoundly alone in making these decisions, and in that moment of truth, they rely on those whom life has taught them to trust. For Biden, that means people who have braved the campaign trail.
He brought several into the White House — including former Rep. Cedric L. Richmond (D-La.) and former New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu — and appointed many to his cabinet. He has often relied on them for matters outside their official portfolios, calling them into meetings they might otherwise not attend.
When nonpolitical aides offer political advice, in contrast, Biden is quick to remind them, “Hold on, you’ve never run for office.” Then he will often turn to someone who has or pick up the phone to find someone — Democrat or Republican, incumbent or retired, urban or rural. Most times, the president catches lawmakers unexpectedly, sometimes leaving them scrambling to find a quiet place to talk.
One afternoon in January, former senator Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), who served as Obama’s secretary of defense, saw a call coming into his cellphone with no caller ID. When he answered, he heard the president’s voice, “Chuck, this is Joe.” After asking his former colleague about his Christmas, Biden launched into a 30-minute conversation seeking counsel about the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
“Well, you and I haven’t always agreed on everything,” Hagel said. Biden, in Hagel’s account, laughed and said, “Well, you’ve never been bashful about that.”
The two then had a “pretty direct conversation” about the foreign policy decisions confronting Biden, Hagel said, declining to share more detail from the private talk. “I’m a Republican, he’s a Democrat,” Hagel said. “But that never made any difference.”
Hagel’s impromptu conversation came after an unexpected visit to the White House a month earlier. Hagel had lunch plans with John Kirby, a White House spokesman who had worked with Hagel at the Pentagon. When Kirby casually mentioned the lunch plans to Biden, the president told Hagel to stop by the White House after the meal at the Hay-Adams hotel.
Hagel ended up spending two hours in an impromptu meeting with Biden, during which they discussed a range of foreign policy issues. “He likes to take the pulse,” Hagel said. “It’s now more important than ever for him, because he’s a captive. He’s a prisoner of the White House. He can’t do what he used to do. He doesn’t have the same freedoms that he once had. I think it’s more important for him today as president to understand what’s going on out there.”
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After serving in Washington for nearly five decades, Biden has repeatedly seen presidents embrace an idea crafted meticulously by some of the smartest experts in the country, only to see it blow up when it meets political reality.
Bill Clinton’s complex health reform looked good to scholars, but it withered under Republican attacks. George W. Bush sought to revamp Social Security along lines recommended by conservative think tanks, but voters rebelled. Donald Trump’s immigration plans met a fierce backlash from the public. And Obama, when Biden was vice president, backed a sweeping energy bill to cap carbon emissions that died a quick and ignominious death in the Senate.
“He likes to take the pulse. It’s now more important than ever for him, because he’s a captive. He’s a prisoner of the White House. He can’t do what he used to do. He doesn’t have the same freedoms that he once had. I think it’s more important for him today as president to understand what’s going on out there.” Former senator Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.)
Biden reacted by leaning heavily on members of Congress in pushing through his own legislative agenda.
During negotiations over the Inflation Reduction Act, a sweeping bill to address health costs and climate change, White House officials were struggling to cut the overall price tag. In an Oval Office meeting, an aide promised Biden that liberal lawmakers would remain supportive as long as funding for the bill’s “green bank” for clean energy projects stayed above $20 billion, even though that was less than they wanted.
A skeptical Biden immediately halted the meeting and called Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a leading climate advocate. “Ed, I’m here with my team. We’re just talking about this and wanted to get your read on it,” Biden said. Markey reassured him that the aide was right that he and other liberals would settle for $20 billion: “Get the deal that you can, Mr. President.”
Politicians have a unique feel for how ordinary Americans will react to big events, Hagel said. “If you’ve run for office before, you have that sense,” he said. “You wouldn’t have been elected and reelected if you didn’t try to understand what the people are thinking, what do the people want, what are the people’s attitudes.”
Some of Biden’s critics say the president goes too far in relying on longtime politicians, especially because the ones he tends to consult are, like him, older White men who have spent years in the Senate and are likely to reinforce his worldview. Liberal activists in particular complain that Biden is so focused on what seems politically possible that he fails to take the bold steps they say are necessary to confront urgent crises such as racial inequity and climate change.
That criticism has been especially notable recently on the Israel-Gaza war, as Biden has declined to call for a permanent cease-fire despite a growing push among Democrats and younger voters. Biden has consulted individuals such as Hagel about the conflict, but he has spoken far more rarely, if at all, with younger lawmakers who are sharply critical of Israel.
“I’ve always been told by my family that Democrats take a stand for the poor, that we uplift diversity and inclusion, that we listen to young voices and those that are most marginalized,” Rep. Delia C. Ramirez (D-Ill.) said. “Unfortunately, it’s very difficult for me to defend that when the president and the administration seems to leave key constituents out of decision-making that will directly impact their everyday life. And when I say that, as it pertains to immigration, as it pertains to a cease-fire, it’s difficult.”
As these practices suggest, Biden’s presidency is notable for how much he retains the habits of the Senate, his political home for more than three decades. Of the 17 presidents who spent time in the Senate, Biden holds the record with 36 years, far outpacing Lyndon B. Johnson, who spent 12 years as a senator — the second most behind Biden.
Biden has conceded that the transition has not always been easy.
“I do think that has been made clear to me — speaking of polling — is the public doesn’t want me to be the president-senator,” Biden said at a news conference in January 2022. “They want me to be the president, and let senators be senators. And so, if I’ve made — and I’ve made many mistakes, I’m sure. If I made a mistake, I’m used to negotiating to get things done, and I’ve been, in the past, relatively successful at it in the United States Senate, even as vice president. But I think that role as president is — is a different role.”
Despite that declaration, Biden clearly is much more attentive to members of Congress and other elected officials than his recent predecessors. Obama famously had frosty relationships with Congress, often dispatching Biden, his vice president, to Capitol Hill during tense negotiations.
Indeed, a gap has often yawned between the White House and the Capitol. Trump, the political newcomer; Bush, whose sole previous office was Texas governor; Clinton, the young Arkansan; Ronald Reagan, the actor turned politician; Jimmy Carter, the post-Watergate reformer — all had testy relations with Congress and sought wisdom elsewhere.
Biden does not. He ignited an uproar during the 2020 campaign by wistfully recalling how he got along with segregationist senators in the 1970s, even though they “didn’t agree on much of anything.”
The president also regularly lavishes praise on mayors and other local or state officeholders in ways that go beyond ordinary pleasantries.
“Now, some of you know I started my career as a county councilman. I ran for the United States Senate because serving as a local official was too hard,” Biden joked in February at the National Association of Counties Legislative Conference. He added, “That’s almost true. When folks have a problem, they know where you live, they come knocking on your door.”
Biden often tells the story of a constituent calling him when he was on the county council to insist that a dead animal be removed from her street, and how he had to do it himself. “You know, there’s no way to walk into the corner drugstore without being accosted immediately as to what’s going on. Right?” he said to laughter when addressing a group of mayors early in his presidency. “Well, so you know what it means to solve real problems, to be held accountable for the people you serve.”
Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Biden still has that itch to ensure his legislation is solving problems. “These elected officials are very valuable resources — intellectually and emotionally — to him,” she said. “He knows why we’re passing legislation, and he wants to know it’s hitting home, that it is doing what it is intended to do.”
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As a manager, Biden has earned fierce loyalty from his aides, and most of his closest advisers have worked for him for decades. That loyalty often extends both ways, with the president averse to firing staffers, even when he threatens to do so or allies think he should. But that does not mean he trusts them fully when it comes to making decisions.
“I’ve been there with every president from Gerald Ford to Joe Biden, and some presidents would make the flattering calls, and that’s always nice, but others made real calls and were asking your opinion and thoughts. I always felt that anytime President Biden called, he really wanted your opinion.”Former senator Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.)
In late 2022, ahead of the first anniversary of the passage of Biden’s signature infrastructure law, he started to grow frustrated with his team implementing the $1.2 trillion program. He was hearing from governors and mayors about problems and delays, but in meetings in the Oval Office, staffers were assuring him the program was running well, talking in broad strokes about how much money was being disbursed.
Biden demanded detailed information on specifically which projects were being funded and which faced delays. He wanted names and places. His staffers did not have the answers, but they promised to get them.
Biden snapped at the aides, “I want this by the end of the week, or I’m going to fire somebody.”
He did not fire anyone. But the episode was another reminder of his distrust of broad assurances, sometimes even when they come from his closest advisers.
Former senator Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), a longtime Biden friend who served with him in the Senate, said the president’s reliance on fellow politicians comes in part from his long experience representing a tiny state, where political blowback is never far away.
“You can’t be removed from the opinions of everyday people,” said Dodd, whose home state, like Delaware, is one of the smallest in the union. “They think that he knows them. And they’re very sure they know him.”
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Here’s a fun video to watch, President Biden chats with celebrities who’ve played the President of the United States:
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Not sure if this video will play if you don’t have an Instagram account. (I got one years ago tho I never use it but apparently it’s good enough to watch videos). It’s a commical parody of Katie Britt’s rebuttal speech last night.
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I graduated from Rhodes College, the same college that Coney Barrett completed her undergraduate degree. When I went there, the president of the college was a conservative capitalist douche-bag that the student body absolutely hated. I'm pleased to see how much more open and progressive the administration has become, though. When CB was installed, they reached out to Rhodes for a comment on how excited they were to have an alumna get place in SCOTUS. Their reply was a very restrained, "Yes, she graduated from our institution, and we are pleased at the successes of all our graduates." No comments about how her shoehorning into the highest court will bring 'great changes to the nation' or how she will 'shine in her new position'. Just a simple, "Yeah, she went here."
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Loved the rebuttal tape. It was cute though she did not use the "fundie baby voice".
Thought the Duggars were the most aberrant family on this great green earth and look at how their children have rebelled against those religious constraints. Glad that some supreme being finally shut down Michelle's uterus.
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I found tis a bit ago. As mentioned before, Dh and I could not get all the way through the rebuttal and finally put it on mute. I'm not sure just why but having read this piece I'm putting in I now know why I was more bothered to the point of doing something about it.
While you could say the event she brought up was true, for me it might as well now have been since the intention was to make Pres. Biden look bad — with a very stale, very old event.
Katie Britt's SOTU Rebuttal Exposed As A Cynical Fraudulent LieSen. Katie Britt's SOTU rebuttal wasn't just bad, but her blaming of Biden for sex trafficking was a lie.
MAR 9
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Katie Britt’s Big Lie
Much of the attention surrounding Sen. Katie Britt’s State Of The Union rebuttal has been focused on her jarring and off-putting delivery, but for the sake of our democracy and country, something else really big was missed.
The centerpiece of Britt’s rebuttal was a lie.
Britt said:
When I first took office, I did something different. I traveled to the Del Rio sector of Texas, where I spoke to a woman who shared her story with me. She had been sex trafficked by the cartels starting at age 12. She told me not just that she was raped every day, but how many times a day she was raped.
The cartels put her on a mattress in a shoebox of a room, and they sent men through that door, over and over again, for hours and hours on end.
We wouldn’t be OK with this happening in a third-world country. This is the United States of America, and it’s past time we start acting like it.
Britt took office in January 2023, so she heavily implies that the sex trafficking story she told happened during the Biden administration.
It did not.
Did it happen during the Trump administration?
No.
It had to have been the Obama administration, right?
Keep going.
It happened during the George W. Bush administration.
Independent journalist and author Jonathan M. Katz did all the research and heavy lifting. To reward his work, I strongly encourage you to watch it at its original source.
The horrific sex trafficking story is true. It happened to Karla Jacinto Romero in Mexico from 2004-2008.
Romero is an activist, so it is very possible that she told the story to Britt but not in the timeframe that Britt implied.
Sen. Britt has been running around telling this story for more than a year, and it is revealing that she left out specifics and details.
The Alabama senator implies that the story happened during the Biden administration in the United States today, but it didn’t.
Britt’s office claimed that the story she told was 100% true, but her spokesman provided no details and would not answer if the person she met was Romero. Britt’s office responded with a classic non-denial denial.
The fact that it took an independent journalist and not one of the highly paid celebrity journalists at The New York Times or Washington Post to uncover this is an indictment of big media itself, but let’s dig deeper into why Britt and her party are using this tactic below...
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Betrayal I am with you on the Duggars. I think there is a lot of their story that has gone un-told. I'm also not surprised there has been along with the rebellions, the other issues. I don't think anyone could birth that many 'personalities' in one family w/o some real issues turning up.
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Love the Biden & the Presidents video. I think it serves him well when he shows his sense of humor.
Katie, Katie.....I am getting ready to watch SNL right now.
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Ruth, loved the memes and the laughter they provided.
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"The only person I can try to be better than is the person I was yesterday."
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Me too Ruth. I am hysterical with them. It does appear Ms. Britt has incurred much ire and tons of it from her own party who see it as the poorest representation ever for a SOTU rebuttal. Boy, you can say that again. Each time I see some other reference I realize that my palpable distaste of her performance was right on.
She totally erased who she truly was in order to show up Pres. Biden and frankly, she only helped him in a glaring fashion. We should indeed hope for more and we are getting plenty by the way from ole' Orange making mistake after mistake, and unable to recognize and pronounce simple words that a 6th. grader could handle. At this rate he is going to be totally non-viable possibly well before election-time.
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This “Alabama Mom” gives a well thought out response to Katie Britt’s rebuttal:
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I would like to shake this woman's hand for expressing what many of us feel are currently the real issues that need to be addressed. Katie Britt is entitled to her beliefs but she doesn't speak for today's woman unless she her sold her soul to the WASP Repugnicans. I hope she has pissed off her base enough that she is not re-elected and that someday she sees that she was manipulated by a bunch of old fogies who are fearful of today's woman who possesses both a backbone and a voice that demands to be heard.
This well spoken woman made my day and I thank her for speaking out.
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I could not access the Instagram as Dh does not sub to it on his computer, but I trust your wisdom and judgement in this regard, Betrayal. I did indeed get the "rotten" sick indication listening to that woman who I do believe (heavily coached and just as heavily practiced as she was) didn't get that she was being used. If she truly believes those things so be it — but that doesn't make her less used. I too hope some day she may see that.
Interesting day as I did read quite a bit on here about the Loon. He seems to feel since he has posted bond on E. Jean Carroll that it somehow releases him so he can opine away to his heart's content. I think he will continue on with that as well as trying to hang most of his troubles on Pres. Biden. I mean according to him Pres. Biden stole 2020 — so he is just going to keep it up. The big lie will be around just as ugly as big as the man who breathed life into it. This man is going to keep talk weeks after he is dead — he just can't shut the heck up.
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Do we need to make a special effort to enjoy the beauty of the blue sky?
Do we have to practice to be able to enjoy it? No, we just enjoy it.
Each second, each minute of our lives can be like this.
Wherever we are, any time, we have the capacity to enjoy the sunshine,
the presence of each other, even the sensation of our breathing.
We don't need to go to China to enjoy the blue sky.
We don't have to travel into the future to enjoy our breathing.
We can be in touch with these things right now.
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Glad that the weekend is done. I do think interesting times are coming. It seems the Loon is having 'trouble' with every speech he attempts to give now. Mispronouncing, and slurring and sometimes just mixing it all up with things that are far apart. At some point now it would seem the media is going to have to START seeing what they are trying to keep under wraps. If you are pretending to try and campaign for president, you have to get out in from of people and get yourself heard.
Getting yourself heard seems to lead to Jimmie Kimmel being able to ask if its past your jail time. That was sure a walk straight into a perfect come-back line. Hmmm, what's the Loons handlers to do?
Also, as mentioned, the Loon did and does seem to think he now has license to say what he wants since a bond has been posted. I think if what I read is correct E. Jean Carroll could ask for the bond to be denied or even for a bigger one now. Proof that the Loon can't think past his desire to free himself of criticism and blame. He has always tried all the harder to disclaim the "truth" and make himself the party that is in the right. A sickness with him. That is what will make this all interesting.
More than ever I'm thinking — who will the Reps. come up with at the last minute? How long will they actually bow down? Sure has sounded to me like despite what a lot of the media would have you believe that many in the Reps. party want almost anyone but the Loon. Too bad they all passed up the many chances to rid themselves of him. Sweet old Moscow Mitch who refused to impeach the Loon twice. He is still being a rah-rah Reps. even now as he will vote for the Loon if he wins the primary. Going to be a long list of names of those who brought the Reps. party to a bitter end and Mitch's name will be there.
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Perfect meme for out group, Ruth.
I have some good news. I expect some time Wednesday to have a working/functioning computer hooked up at my desk on Wednesday. I have been w/o my computer now over a month. Checked at the computer shop and Tony said the motherboard finally arrived on the slow boat from China. Unfortunately, it had at some point gotten wet and would not of course then work. He ordered another but it is on back-order. Told me how difficult it is to get parts for older computers. I didn't think mine was that old — it is a windows 10.
Well to make a long story short, Dh just bought the new Windows 11 I'm using about a month ago and does not like it. Nothing wrong with the computer, mind you. It is fine. What he is un-happy about is that it is an all in one so he can't close thee roll-top on his desk. He told me I could have this computer and he would have Tony empty it of his programs and Tony can take my old hard drive and copy it here. So that happens on Wednesday. I should be back with all the memes I like to share so Ruth, and whomever else — your competition is coming back.
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A month is a long time without a computer, Jackie! Glad there’s finally a light at the end of the tunnel!
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Agreed. Cable was out for several hours today and being offline and no TV for that short period made me searching for alternatives. DH has an old over the air TV that we resurrect at times like this but screen is very small. Your plan sounds like a win-win.
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Agreed. He needs to stop invading our lives.
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