Bob needs to curate is comments section before the deluge of dirtbags that need to be waded through makes it completely unreadable. If he cannot or will not do this, it’s on him.
And Somerby keeps calling for Trump's mental health to be discussed when it is the Corby troll inhabiting his own comment section who is schizophrenic.
Yes, Somerby is an ass because he doesn't moderate his comments. You couldn't play bridge if your life depended on it. Annoying others is about your speed.
Kevin Drum sums up the good news about the economy in 2023:
"Finally, for what it's worth, here's the actual state of the economy in the final quarter of 2023 compared to 2022. I feel like I should hardly need to say this, but everything that should be adjusted for inflation has been.
Real GDP growth: 4.9% Unemployment rate: 3.7% Inflation (CPI): 3.2% [couldn't reproduce graph]
Inflation (CPI change from previous quarter): 2.8% Stock market (S&P 500): up 12.3% Consumer spending: up 2.3% New construction: up 8.0% Blue-collar hourly wages: up 1.1% All hourly wages: up 0.8% Productivity: up 2.4% Housing starts: up 2.1% Home sales are down compared to last year and manufacturing orders are slightly down. Those are literally the only major economic indicators that were even slightly negative at the end of 2023.
NOTE: There are a few economic indicators that still aren't available for December. For those, I used the Oct-Nov levels compared to last year."
Back in the day, in 2019, when the unemployment was 3.4%, the moonbat talking point was that on the chart it looks like a continuation of the pre-Trump (Obama's) trajectory.
And now, when the unemployment is higher, it is, nevertheless, the current Great Leader's great achievement.
It was 7.2% in 1984, and the media was treating it like Reagan had made the country great again, and should be gifted the 1984 Presidential election. What gives, indeed?
Are you saying that reducing the unemployment rate following covid to a rate comparable to pre-covid, is no big deal? You guys will say anything, up to and including pretending covid never happened. (That is the only way a pre-covid comparison makes any sense.)
And let's ignore all of the other positive stats listed above and focus on the one that is exceeded by a small amount by Trump, BEFORE covid.
Trying to make an argument that Trump was competent as president is a losing proposition. He was a huge screwup with only one accomplishment -- giving rich people a huge tax cut at the expense of everyone who is not rich. Oh, and he also managed to achieve hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths while killing more people by recommending quack treatments.
Don't come here with your lies about Trump's performance. He was a disaster confronted by another disaster that he couldn't cope with. And he has no excuse for his screwups and lies to the American people while it was happening.
As Kevin Drum describes, we had the best health system in the world and yet achieved the second highest excess deaths from covid, because of Trump:
Rich, professional people continued working from home. Even Stephen Colbert. It was the poor people and the working class (people in meat processing plants) who had to keep going to work. Those who were laid off were in service occupations because those in lockdown stopped going to restaurants or movies. States without lockdowns also had job problems. Partly that was due to so many people getting sick, not to mention the dead.
But the point is that Biden was in charge following covid, and Biden did the work to end covid and to recover from it. Not Trump. Not even Trump's convenient memory can put Trump in charge after covid. So Trump GETS NO CREDIT FOR JOBS AFTER COVID. He wasn't doing a thing to get people back to work while he was busy at Mar a Lago stealing classified documents and defending himself against prosecution for his many crimes (in and out of office). Ending lockdowns did not create Biden's strong economy. His economic expertise did that coupled with a functioning congress, before the Republicans fucked everything up after the midterms.
They don't go back to work if they are still working and continued to work throughout covid. You give too much weight to the lockdown. Places with strong lockdowns continued to function and their economies did as well as those without them.
All that free money was diverted to conservative cheaters. Ask MTG what she did with hers:
"Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene had $183,504 in PPP loans forgiven."
"They don't go back to work if they are still working and continued to work throughout covid. You give too much weight to the lockdown. "
Where were they still working? I seem to remember all the shopping malls, stores, restaurants closed. Except for Target, in the area where I was at the time.
I lived in CA, a lockdown state, and stores did not close (people need stuff to live) nor did malls. They limited how many people could go in at one time, and they required masks but they were staffed and open. Many stores developed curbside or delivery services (such as Instacart) or mail order.
"Of the 16.9 million people unemployed in July, 9.6 million (57 percent) were unable to work because their employer closed or lost business due to the pandemic."
If you look at chart 2, most of the jobs recovered by 2021 were in accommodation and food service, retail, and health occupations with more growth needed there.
States with lockdowns allowed essential workers to stay employed; “essential workers” was broadly applied.
In 2019 unemployment ranged from 4.0% to 3.5%, whereas for 2023 it ranged from 3.8-3.4%, therefore employment was better in 2023 than 2019.
Trump did nothing that contributed to lowering the unemployment rate, whereas Biden enacted various policies that did contribute to lowering the rate. Furthermore Trump bungled our response to the pandemic, contributing to an increase in the unemployment rate.
Wake me when a right winger offers a good faith argument, it never happens.
Dec 2019 unemployment rate: 3.6% Dec 2023 unemployment rate: 3.7%
Like I said: unemployment rate is higher now than it was in 2019. Let alone "following the trajectory started in 2009", which was the moonbat talking point during the Trump years. Like I said.
And if you don't understand that cutting corporate tax rate, introducing tariffs, renegotiating NAFTA -- and that's just off the top of my head -- create jobs, you're a moonbat idiot. And of course you are.
Jan 31, 2021 unemployment rate: 6.3% Jan 3, 2023 unemployment rate: 3.4%
A study published in fall 2019 in the Journal of Economic Perspectives found that by December 2018, Trump's tariffs resulted in a reduction in aggregate U.S. real income of $1.4 billion per month in deadweight losses, and cost U.S. consumers an additional $3.2 billion per month in added tax.
From Daily Kos: The Inconvenient Truth about Real Perverts
"In an era where political divisions are starkly etched into the social fabric, a critical narrative has emerged, challenging the long-held stereotypes and accusations predominantly propagated by conservative factions. A TikTok video featuring lawyer Kristen Browde illuminates a disturbing reality: those who vociferously label progressives as ‘perverts’ are often the ones guilty of heinous acts against children.
Browde, through meticulous research, has compiled a comprehensive database spanning all fifty states in the United States. Her objective was clear: to identify which demographic poses the most significant threat to children in terms of sexual offenses. The results are startling and upend the conventional narrative peddled by right-wing voices. These conservative groups have relentlessly cast aspersions on liberals and progressives, accusing them of moral corruption and endangering children through education and inclusive policies.
However, Browde’s findings paint a vastly different picture. The database reveals a disproportionate number of sexual crimes against children committed by individuals often associated with conservative and religious groups. A striking example of their moral decay is the former chairman of the Republican Party in Florida, now embroiled in sexual assault allegations. Such cases starkly contrast the moral superiority often claimed by conservative figures.
The data further challenges the vilification of marginalized groups like transgender individuals and drag queens, who have been baselessly accused of ‘grooming’ children. Browde’s research shows that out of 6,368 cases of sex crimes against children, a minuscule fraction (0.061%) involved transgender individuals, and not a single case implicated a drag queen. This statistic is a damning indictment of the fearmongering tactics used by certain political factions to demonize these communities.
Moreover, the states with the highest per capita incidents of child sex crimes, as per Browde’s database, are predominantly Republican-controlled. This fact raises critical questions about the effectiveness and focus of their policies concerning child safety. West Virginia, a state under complete Republican control, reported over 2,700 victims of child sex abuse in just one year, a startling figure that further challenges the narratives pushed by conservative groups.
Browde’s work is a clarion call for a reevaluation of who the real threats to children are. It exposes the hypocrisy of those who use their positions of power and influence to deflect attention from their misdeeds by casting aspersions on others. Her database, available at whoismakingnews.com, is a testament to the importance of data-driven analysis in debunking myths and false narratives."
No, you are an ass. Your mental illness causes you to see asses everywhere you look. Even when you look in the mirror. That leads to an understandable confusion about who is really the ass in your life. Stop bothering other people and go buy a jigsaw puzzle. It is a better use of your endless spare time.
From Daily Kos, an ongoing series detailing Biden's accomplishments. This is the kind of thing Somerby should be discussing if he doesn't want Trump to win. His failure to EVER mention any of Biden's accomplishments is why I do not believe he wants to defeat Trump.
"Almost 14 million jobs have been created since Joe Biden became president.
More growth than under any president. Ever.
How did he do this? Well one way is through the Good Jobs Initiative. His Department of labor embedded job quality and equity incentives into nearly $100 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds. And those investments help create good quality jobs that expand pathways to the middle class, particularly in communities that need them the most.
The availability of good jobs has been a part of Biden’s investing in America agenda which has created jobs through historic legislation he signed including the American Rescue Plan, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, CHIPS and Science Act, and Inflation Reduction Act. All of those had job creation embedded into them.
Experts agree:
Policies Boosted the Labor Market Recovery in 2021
Were President Biden’s policies the cause of this boom? This much is clear: The data show that his fiscal policies directly accelerated job growth, with the ARPA leading to the creation of 1 million to more than 4 million additional jobs since it went into effect.
The first year of Biden’s presidency was historic for job creation — the labor market added 6.7 million jobs in the first 12 months of his administration. No other president since World War II saw such strong growth in their first—or any—year in office
and this continued →
The U.S. economy added 4.5 million jobs in 2022, the second-strongest year for job growth in the past 40 years (after 2021), and a testament to the success of pandemic relief and recovery measures.
and continued -->
The economy created 2.7 million new jobs in 2023—a year when the unemployment rate was consistently below 4 percent—more jobs than during any year of the prior Administration.
Is there still more work to be done? 100%! Lots more work. But Biden did more than many people guessed could be done. And he deserves a lot of credit. AND he deserves to be re-elected.
What can you do to help?
Donate to re-elect Joe Biden!" Here: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/gnrprotectdemocracy
This is laughable propaganda with yet another base rate fallacy. The jobs were created after covid which is like claiming credit for rain after a drought. And the population is larger than any under any president. Ever.
If you fall for this kind of stuff it's your business would you have to remember it's easily debunked online by Trump supporters which makes Democrats look even worse.
The stats are better than Trump's even before covid. Bringing our economy back to this condition after something like covid is that much more of an accomplishment. Don't kid yourself that Trump could have done it. He couldn't even deal with covid itself competently, much less the economic impacts.
How about if you explain why Trump felt it was necessary to give the wealthy massive tax cuts while the debt was high. And also explain how Republicans shutting down the government will help our economy more than rolling back those tax cuts would do. Are you guys really proposing to balance the budget on the backs of those receiving social security or food stamps?
It isn't really propaganda to tout the accomplishments of a political candidate who you support. It is only propaganda when those accomplishments are not real, as when people describe Trump using lies.
It is called "campaigning" when you point out the good things your guy has done so that people who are less informed can make a better decision at the polls.
Somerby says he doesn' want Trump to win but he then turns around and says he think Trump will win, meanwhile he does nothing whatsoever to help Biden win. In fact, he leans over backwards to tell us that he thinks Biden is too old to run (never mind Trump's equally old age of 77) and Somerby never says anything positive about Biden's excellent recent speeches, his ongoing diplomacy in the Gaza War, his attempts to keep Iran in check, his strong effort to control immigration at the Southern border, and so on. Nor does Somerby point out Trump's increasing signs of dementia and confusion in his rallies, his decreasing attendance, his bad behavior in court, his money problems, his fraud convictions, or anything that would tend to make readers here detach from Trump and switch to Biden.
Somerby's behavior is inexplicable compared to his stated goals. That makes me think he holds different goals, that he has been lying about here while he tries to make Biden seem like a bad choice and Trump seem like a martyr (given that a liberal like Somerby is calling hm mentally ill).
In my experience, liberals tend to hold at least one or two liberal views. Where are Somerby's? Last week he defended Elise Stefanik. (Yes, I know it is odd for Somerby to defend a woman, but this one is a conservative and she was being attacked by a woman journalist, Wexler, so he apparently made an exception for her.)
Biden didn't lower the corporate tax and yet he still created lots of jobs. Go figure!
Trump lowered the corporate tax rate at a time (before covid) when the deficit was arguably a worse problem than unemployment. Note that he also did absolutely nothing to keep manufacturing jobs in the US, after promising to keep people's jobs here. So I wouldn't really say it worked well. It is almost as if Republicans blow up the deficit whenever they want to leave a problem for incoming Democratic presidents. Sort of like the way Trump tried to pull all overseas Troops out of their postings immediately before Biden took office, but his military leaders wouldn't let him do it.
It is still in place only because we have a Republican majority in the House and cannot change it.
Note that it is still contributing to our deficit, which you claim is growing worse by the minute and desperately needs to be fixed. Why not give Biden a chance to do so?
Priorities. Look at the list of what Biden did in his first two years, with Republican help too. Antagonizing Republicans by trying to repeat that tax cut when there were so many other things that were important and needed Republicans to get behind, would have been stupid. Recall that Manchin and Sinema were voting Republican.
12:20, I appreciate you defending Trump's HUGE tax break for corporations and the rich. I can tell you aren't a Right-winger, because you admitted the reality that Trump gave a HUGE tax break to corporations and the rich. Right-wingers would blame the HUGE tax break for corporations and the rich on Antifa, drag queens. or "the woke".
Anyway you look at it, Trump is going to defeat Biden and it's going to be ugly. Prepare yourselves for it.
One thing to understand is that manufacturing consent is a different game today than it was 30 years ago. It's a different game today than it was 10 years ago and even 5 years ago. Posts like the one here from the original commenter and articles trying to scare people into thinking Trump is going to send Navy Seals to assassinate his political rivals are attempts to manufacture consent from a different time, from 30 years ago. Doing it today, in this different time is actually detrimental to the cause of the Democrats and ends up helping Trump.
Yes, the original commenter is helping Trump get elected unwittingly. It's wild to watch.
Yes, 1:16, touting Biden’s factually positive results of his handling of the economy … helps Trump. No doubt, no doubt. On the other hand, touting Trump’s handling of the economy, as other commenters here did, helps … Trump. The one is “manufacturing consent” and the other is … lol.
1:16, They have no idea what Trump will do. Remember, back in 2016, when they said Trump was going to lard his Cabinet with grifters, and all he did was put grifters like Betsy DeVos, Wilbur Ross, and Sonny Purdue in his Cabinet. Or that Trump was going to put Right-wing activist judges on the Supreme Court , who would overturn Roe v Wade? What a bunch of clueless chicken littles. Trump showed them. He did no such thing. Instead, he put Right-wing activist judges on the Supreme Court , who overturned Roe v Wade. And don't even get me started about how those delusional bastards said Trump would give a HUGE tax break to the corporations and the rich? Ha ha ha. What a bunch of fools. There was no way Trump would ever do such a thing. After all, if he did, he's receive the wrath of all those economically anxious Republican voters, who aren't at all just a shit pile of bigots, turned on by Trump's bigotry (hat tip corporate-owned Right-wing media AKA the media). When will they ever learn?
1:49, Rest-assured, I am NOT one of the idiot-moonbats. I actually do my own research. That's why I 100% support Reparations for Slavery. All of us folks who do own research support it.
Sure, sure. But perhaps it would make more sense to get a job, instead? You know, in construction, for example. It might be fulfilling to actually do something useful.
Somerby seems to always come down on the side of those perpetrating violence, not those opposed to gun violence. For example, Somerby defended Kyle Rittenhouse and Ethan Crumbley because they were excitable youths, much as he defended Tucker Carlson. Somerby has never supported gun control here.
From Daily Kos:
"America’s political killings continue to surge as Trump’s violent hate speech intensifies
by Alan Austin Tuesday, January 16, 2024 at 7:24:07a MST
American children shot in 2023 reached an all-time high of 6,193. Chart: Chartgo/Independent Australia. Source: Gun Violence Archive.
Just over two weeks ago, on new year’s eve, 14-year-old Zykere Langley died from a bullet fired into his chest at close range in Greenville, North Carolina.
This young boy’s death took the total of American children shot in 2023 to 6,193, an all-time record. See yellow chart, above.
That appalling number – 6,193 children shot – was zero in most other developed countries last year.
Tragically, Donald Trump’s continuing violent rhetoric, amplified by Fox News and other Murdoch media outlets, made 2023 one of the worst years on record for firearms sales, political violence and gun deaths.
We do not know yet whether Zykere was a victim of politically-charged hatred. Police say it was a targeted shooting following an altercation on social media. So there is a fair chance. We will find out when the coroner eventually reports.
We do know Trump has ramped up calls for physical violence in recent months, labeling people he despises “vermin” – who, of course, must be exterminated. He has nicknamed prosecutor Fani Willis “Phony Fani”, called the New York judge hearing his business fraud case a “psycho”, and characterised special counsel Jack Smith as “deranged”. Trump routinely refers to President Biden as “Crooked Joe” who is “a communist, fascist and a tyrant”.
Violent rhetoric leads to deadly action
Thousands of Trump supporters were convicted last year of malicious hate crimes. These include the MAGA fanatic who broke into the home of former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and smashed her husband’s skull with a hammer.
More than 1,240 defendants have now been charged with offences committed on 6 January 2021 when Trump urged his followers to storm the Washington Capitol. Of those, 875 have pleaded or been found guilty, 763 have been sentenced, 592 to imprisonment. The others are still pending."
“The deportations will begin at noon, Inauguration Day.”
— Former Trump adviser Stephen Miller, on X.
What will this do to our economy? It didn't work out well for FL when they decided to eliminate immigration entirely.
Do you imagine they will be careful about who has papers and who doesn't when they start deporting anyone who looks like Bebe Rebozo, including professional baseball players, guys like Ted Cruz, and your gardeners, house cleaners, restaurant workers, and Melania's dad.
People on the right don't care that Trump listens to guys like Miller, who gives him his best rally laugh and applause lines. But this kind of harsh treatment of everyday people is the inevitable result of putting dictators in power.
To my knowledge, Somerby has never discussed this problem. He seems to want to keep Trump out of office but he oddly urges lefties to watch Fox News (which he does himself 24/7, by his own admission) and takes pleasure when Stefanik attacks college presidents. That's a confusing way to support Biden, in my opinion.
There are a lot of us in CA with Spanish surnames, who have been in the US for many generations. We are the ones they will roust out of bed at 2 am to put on the buses (because truly undocumented people are harder to find and persecute). It will be the same all over the Western US. Because autocrats don't care about getting the details right, just about terrorizing their constituents in order to maintain power.
Will Somerby take a principled stand about this? Don't hold your breath. He won't even talk about it.
Today's E. Jean Carroll trial illustrates Trump's contempt for the law and for women. As the trial opens, Trump has reposted previous statements about sex by Carroll (from Twitter). E. Jean Carroll wrote a sex column for Elle Magazine, so these kinds of tweets were arguably connected to her job in journalism. It did not entitle Trump to sexually assault her or to torment her afterwards, as he was found liable of doing in his previous trial, in which Carroll was awarded $5 million for defamation. Here is today's article about Trump's behavior this morning (from Rawstory):
"Donald Trump dared a federal judge to hold him in contempt of court by having screenshots of his sex abuse victim E. Jean Carroll's smutty jokes on Twitter posted to his social media account as he sat in the courtroom.
The former president was last year found liable for sexually abusing Carroll in the 1990s at a New York City department store and then defaming her after she publicly accused him of rape.
As he sat without a phone in a federal courtroom for the start of a second trial in the case Tuesday, a series of posts about the writer went up on his Truth Social account.
"Can you believe I have to defend myself against this woman’s fake story?!" Trump posted, adding a video clip from a CNN interview Carroll gave about her allegations.
It's not clear whether Trump scheduled those posts to go up while he sat in court or whether a staffer posted them on his behalf, but they also included a series of screenshots of jokes about sex that Carroll had made over the years on her own Twitter account.
"Everything interesting on Twitter is about sex," Carroll posted in January 2014, while another May 2010 read: "Sex Tip I Learned From My Dog: When in heat, chase the male until he collapses with exhaustion ... then jump him!"
In the first trial, which covered comments Trump made about Carroll after leaving the White House, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan warned Trump's attorneys that social media posts about the case or his accuser could expose him to "a new source of potential liability."
Kaplan has already ruled that this trial, which covers defamatory statements Trump made as president, will not be a "do-over" of the first case, and he will not allow the ex-president to deny Carroll's allegations, discuss DNA evidence or mention her past romantic relationships."
This is the man who just won the Republican caucuses in Iowa with 51% of the Republican vote (admittedly just 17% of Republicans came out in the cold weather and half of them voted for Haley or DeSantis, conservatives without Trump's crude sexual behavior).
Will Somerby discuss this at all? Should a man who behaves this way toward court proceedings be trusted with the presidency? Should a man who mistreats women with impunity be elected to govern the 50% of our nation's citizens who are female? Somerby would most likely defend Trump against Carroll and join him in calling her names and implying that her sex-positive career choice has made her fair game for any monster and bully who thinks might makes right, even in a dept store dressing room.
I can't wait to hear Somerby's comments about this. And yet he has never urged anyone here to vote for Biden. Odd...
This is all a distraction from the fact an insurrectionist, with 91 felony counts---and who is currently out on bail---won the Iowa GOP caucus last night. They don't call him "a thug", because he's white.
No, one theory is that JFK was killed by the mob because brother Bobby (who was Attny General) prosecuted the mob. Bobby was killed too, when he ran for president.
In large cities with autocratic mayors, the organization controlling both politics and government is called The Machine, not the mob, which refers to organized crime such as Al Capone or the Mafia.
Those machines don't run elections but they do run campaigns. Daley in Chicago bragged about bringing in votes for JFK. Chicago is a very blue city and always has been, due to the influx of immigrants, black migrants from the South, large Catholic concentrations, and the strength of unions due to manufacturing in the area. Most voters there were already for JFK (recall that JFK was Catholic).
So, I think JFK would have won there without Daley's boasted help. Autocrats like to appear more important than they are, not that Daley wasn't powerful in Chicago. There was never any proof of rigged voting, just griping by Nixon who was a huge whiner in general, a paranoid man who also claimed the press was out to get him.
The GOP is never again going to allow our enemies to attack the USA, because of the "freedoms" our everyday citizens have. That's something you can bet on.
"Bill Clinton was not convicted during his impeachment trial, because a majority in the Senate echoed what the prevailing opinion in the country was at the time; that Clinton’s affair was a matter between him and his wife and lying about an extramarital affair, even if under oath, was not offense enough to remove a sitting President.
Clinton did not go unpunished. He was disbarred for lying under oath from his state bar association. That is not nothing."
Perjury is not often charged because it is hard to prove (depends on someone's intent and state of mind not externally verifiable facts) and there is little benefit to charging someone with it.
Clinton was charged with perjury as one of the articles of impeachment, but he was acquitted. Unless you don't believe in the rule of law, David, that should be enough for you.
There is no evidence that Clinton sold pardons. There is, however, evidence that Trump and his cronies did that at the end of Trump's term.
I can see how frustrating it is when criminal matters are decided via politics, as when Republicans have refused to convict Trump during his several impeachments, despite the solid evidence against him. He won't get off so easy in his more recent trials, because the juries are not craven Republican politicians but regular people who cannot be intimidated as easily. That hasn't stopped Trump from issuing death threats against judges and clerks and other people in the justice system. That itself is illegal, David.
If the Republicans had united on a single non-Trump candidate, Iowa might have been close enough so Trump might not have been the candidate. Alas, Trump has the nomination all wrapped up.
Donald Trump famously and accurately stated that the economy does better under Democratic administrations. That was before he lost his marbles. Now he states that buying a loaf of bread requires an ID.
I am Corby.
ReplyDeleteWhat a waste of a life.
DeleteWhy doesn't Somerby edit this spam out of his blog comments?
DeleteBob needs to curate is comments section before the deluge of dirtbags that need to be waded through makes it completely unreadable. If he cannot or will not do this, it’s on him.
ReplyDelete
DeleteThey are funded by Russia via Iran and Qatar.
Look at me: I am driving my imaginary Tesla now. I have no problems with my imaginary Tesla.
My word-salads are perfectly readable. My finger smells funny.
I am Corby.
What a waste of a life.
DeleteThe irony is that Somerby keeps calling for more discussion between left and right while the trolls make that impossible.
DeleteAnd Somerby keeps calling for Trump's mental health to be discussed when it is the Corby troll inhabiting his own comment section who is schizophrenic.
DeleteI play bridge. Somerby is an ass.
DeleteI am Corby.
Yes, Somerby is an ass because he doesn't moderate his comments. You couldn't play bridge if your life depended on it. Annoying others is about your speed.
DeleteThe comments are already unreadable.
Delete"Get out of my white blog comment section you uppity foreigners"
Delete@11:14 no one has said that here
Deletecommercial spam is not commenting on the blog
we want the trolls and spam to be moderated so that actual commenters can discuss relevant topics
your own comment, which is trolling, is an example of the kind of garbage Somerby should moderate
Kevin Drum sums up the good news about the economy in 2023:
ReplyDelete"Finally, for what it's worth, here's the actual state of the economy in the final quarter of 2023 compared to 2022. I feel like I should hardly need to say this, but everything that should be adjusted for inflation has been.
Real GDP growth: 4.9%
Unemployment rate: 3.7%
Inflation (CPI): 3.2%
[couldn't reproduce graph]
Inflation (CPI change from previous quarter): 2.8%
Stock market (S&P 500): up 12.3%
Consumer spending: up 2.3%
New construction: up 8.0%
Blue-collar hourly wages: up 1.1%
All hourly wages: up 0.8%
Productivity: up 2.4%
Housing starts: up 2.1%
Home sales are down compared to last year and manufacturing orders are slightly down. Those are literally the only major economic indicators that were even slightly negative at the end of 2023.
NOTE: There are a few economic indicators that still aren't available for December. For those, I used the Oct-Nov levels compared to last year."
Thank you Biden.
DeleteBack in the day, in 2019, when the unemployment was 3.4%, the moonbat talking point was that on the chart it looks like a continuation of the pre-Trump (Obama's) trajectory.
And now, when the unemployment is higher, it is, nevertheless, the current Great Leader's great achievement.
What gives?
It was 7.2% in 1984, and the media was treating it like Reagan had made the country great again, and should be gifted the 1984 Presidential election.
DeleteWhat gives, indeed?
So, 3.7% unemployment now is the greatest thing, even though it's gone up. While 3.4% unemployment was nothing-to-see-here in 2019.
DeleteDo I get it right?
Are you saying that reducing the unemployment rate following covid to a rate comparable to pre-covid, is no big deal? You guys will say anything, up to and including pretending covid never happened. (That is the only way a pre-covid comparison makes any sense.)
DeleteAnd let's ignore all of the other positive stats listed above and focus on the one that is exceeded by a small amount by Trump, BEFORE covid.
Trying to make an argument that Trump was competent as president is a losing proposition. He was a huge screwup with only one accomplishment -- giving rich people a huge tax cut at the expense of everyone who is not rich. Oh, and he also managed to achieve hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths while killing more people by recommending quack treatments.
Don't come here with your lies about Trump's performance. He was a disaster confronted by another disaster that he couldn't cope with. And he has no excuse for his screwups and lies to the American people while it was happening.
As Kevin Drum describes, we had the best health system in the world and yet achieved the second highest excess deaths from covid, because of Trump:
https://jabberwocking.com/the-us-has-the-best-public-health-system-in-the-world/
Trump tried to gaslight COVID, like it was some common NY Times political reporter. What a dope!
Delete
Delete"Are you saying that reducing the unemployment rate following covid to a rate comparable to pre-covid, is no big deal?"
Yes, I am. Ending lockdowns does it.
Rich, professional people continued working from home. Even Stephen Colbert. It was the poor people and the working class (people in meat processing plants) who had to keep going to work. Those who were laid off were in service occupations because those in lockdown stopped going to restaurants or movies. States without lockdowns also had job problems. Partly that was due to so many people getting sick, not to mention the dead.
DeleteBut the point is that Biden was in charge following covid, and Biden did the work to end covid and to recover from it. Not Trump. Not even Trump's convenient memory can put Trump in charge after covid. So Trump GETS NO CREDIT FOR JOBS AFTER COVID. He wasn't doing a thing to get people back to work while he was busy at Mar a Lago stealing classified documents and defending himself against prosecution for his many crimes (in and out of office). Ending lockdowns did not create Biden's strong economy. His economic expertise did that coupled with a functioning congress, before the Republicans fucked everything up after the midterms.
DeleteAgain: ending lockdowns does it. People go back to work.
Not to mention that considering all that free COVID money, I would expect much more robust post-covid economy that it actually was.
They don't go back to work if they are still working and continued to work throughout covid. You give too much weight to the lockdown. Places with strong lockdowns continued to function and their economies did as well as those without them.
DeleteAll that free money was diverted to conservative cheaters. Ask MTG what she did with hers:
"Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene had $183,504 in PPP loans forgiven."
https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1562916200866267138?lang=en
Grifters worked the system while small businesses suffered. You guys should be proud of yourselves.
https://www.statesman.com/story/news/politics/politifact/2022/09/06/fact-check-ppp-loans-forgiven-republicans-matt-gaetz-marjorie-taylor-greene/65470173007/
"All that free money was diverted to conservative cheaters."
DeleteOh? Was it part of the bill? A special secret clause? Or was it ordered personally by Mr Biden and Mrs Pelosi?
"They don't go back to work if they are still working and continued to work throughout covid. You give too much weight to the lockdown. "
DeleteWhere were they still working? I seem to remember all the shopping malls, stores, restaurants closed. Except for Target, in the area where I was at the time.
"Grifters worked the system while small businesses suffered."
DeleteThat's just Capitalism.
I lived in CA, a lockdown state, and stores did not close (people need stuff to live) nor did malls. They limited how many people could go in at one time, and they required masks but they were staffed and open. Many stores developed curbside or delivery services (such as Instacart) or mail order.
Delete"Of the 16.9 million people unemployed in July, 9.6 million (57 percent) were unable to work because their employer closed or lost business due to the pandemic."
https://carsey.unh.edu/publication/COVID-19-Economic-Impact-By-State
If you look at chart 2, most of the jobs recovered by 2021 were in accommodation and food service, retail, and health occupations with more growth needed there.
States with lockdowns allowed essential workers to stay employed; “essential workers” was broadly applied.
DeleteIn 2019 unemployment ranged from 4.0% to 3.5%, whereas for 2023 it ranged from 3.8-3.4%, therefore employment was better in 2023 than 2019.
Trump did nothing that contributed to lowering the unemployment rate, whereas Biden enacted various policies that did contribute to lowering the rate. Furthermore Trump bungled our response to the pandemic, contributing to an increase in the unemployment rate.
Wake me when a right winger offers a good faith argument, it never happens.
Dec 2019 unemployment rate: 3.6%
DeleteDec 2023 unemployment rate: 3.7%
Like I said: unemployment rate is higher now than it was in 2019. Let alone "following the trajectory started in 2009", which was the moonbat talking point during the Trump years. Like I said.
And if you don't understand that cutting corporate tax rate, introducing tariffs, renegotiating NAFTA -- and that's just off the top of my head -- create jobs, you're a moonbat idiot. And of course you are.
Jan 31, 2021 unemployment rate: 6.3%
DeleteJan 3, 2023 unemployment rate: 3.4%
A study published in fall 2019 in the Journal of Economic Perspectives found that by December 2018, Trump's tariffs resulted in a reduction in aggregate U.S. real income of $1.4 billion per month in deadweight losses, and cost U.S. consumers an additional $3.2 billion per month in added tax.
From Daily Kos: The Inconvenient Truth about Real Perverts
ReplyDelete"In an era where political divisions are starkly etched into the social fabric, a critical narrative has emerged, challenging the long-held stereotypes and accusations predominantly propagated by conservative factions. A TikTok video featuring lawyer Kristen Browde illuminates a disturbing reality: those who vociferously label progressives as ‘perverts’ are often the ones guilty of heinous acts against children.
Browde, through meticulous research, has compiled a comprehensive database spanning all fifty states in the United States. Her objective was clear: to identify which demographic poses the most significant threat to children in terms of sexual offenses. The results are startling and upend the conventional narrative peddled by right-wing voices. These conservative groups have relentlessly cast aspersions on liberals and progressives, accusing them of moral corruption and endangering children through education and inclusive policies.
However, Browde’s findings paint a vastly different picture. The database reveals a disproportionate number of sexual crimes against children committed by individuals often associated with conservative and religious groups. A striking example of their moral decay is the former chairman of the Republican Party in Florida, now embroiled in sexual assault allegations. Such cases starkly contrast the moral superiority often claimed by conservative figures.
The data further challenges the vilification of marginalized groups like transgender individuals and drag queens, who have been baselessly accused of ‘grooming’ children. Browde’s research shows that out of 6,368 cases of sex crimes against children, a minuscule fraction (0.061%) involved transgender individuals, and not a single case implicated a drag queen. This statistic is a damning indictment of the fearmongering tactics used by certain political factions to demonize these communities.
Moreover, the states with the highest per capita incidents of child sex crimes, as per Browde’s database, are predominantly Republican-controlled. This fact raises critical questions about the effectiveness and focus of their policies concerning child safety. West Virginia, a state under complete Republican control, reported over 2,700 victims of child sex abuse in just one year, a startling figure that further challenges the narratives pushed by conservative groups.
Browde’s work is a clarion call for a reevaluation of who the real threats to children are. It exposes the hypocrisy of those who use their positions of power and influence to deflect attention from their misdeeds by casting aspersions on others. Her database, available at whoismakingnews.com, is a testament to the importance of data-driven analysis in debunking myths and false narratives."
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/1/15/2217636/-A-lawyer-exposes-the-inconvenient-truth-The-numbers-say-the-perverts-are-the-ones-pointing-fingers?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web
We on the left already knew this.
Delete
DeleteI am driving my imaginary Tesla and spamming Somerby's comment section.
I have no problems with my imaginary Tesla, or with spamming Somerby's comment section.
Somerby is an ass.
I am Corby.
No, you are an ass. Your mental illness causes you to see asses everywhere you look. Even when you look in the mirror. That leads to an understandable confusion about who is really the ass in your life. Stop bothering other people and go buy a jigsaw puzzle. It is a better use of your endless spare time.
DeleteFrom Daily Kos, an ongoing series detailing Biden's accomplishments. This is the kind of thing Somerby should be discussing if he doesn't want Trump to win. His failure to EVER mention any of Biden's accomplishments is why I do not believe he wants to defeat Trump.
ReplyDelete"Almost 14 million jobs have been created since Joe Biden became president.
More growth than under any president. Ever.
How did he do this? Well one way is through the Good Jobs Initiative. His Department of labor embedded job quality and equity incentives into nearly $100 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds. And those investments help create good quality jobs that expand pathways to the middle class, particularly in communities that need them the most.
The availability of good jobs has been a part of Biden’s investing in America agenda which has created jobs through historic legislation he signed including the American Rescue Plan, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, CHIPS and Science Act, and Inflation Reduction Act. All of those had job creation embedded into them.
Experts agree:
Policies Boosted the Labor Market Recovery in 2021
Were President Biden’s policies the cause of this boom? This much is clear: The data show that his fiscal policies directly accelerated job growth, with the ARPA leading to the creation of 1 million to more than 4 million additional jobs since it went into effect.
The first year of Biden’s presidency was historic for job creation — the labor market added 6.7 million jobs in the first 12 months of his administration. No other president since World War II saw such strong growth in their first—or any—year in office
and this continued →
The U.S. economy added 4.5 million jobs in 2022, the second-strongest year for job growth in the past 40 years (after 2021), and a testament to the success of pandemic relief and recovery measures.
and continued -->
The economy created 2.7 million new jobs in 2023—a year when the unemployment rate was consistently below 4 percent—more jobs than during any year of the prior Administration.
Is there still more work to be done? 100%! Lots more work. But Biden did more than many people guessed could be done. And he deserves a lot of credit. AND he deserves to be re-elected.
What can you do to help?
Donate to re-elect Joe Biden!" Here: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/gnrprotectdemocracy
This is laughable propaganda with yet another base rate fallacy. The jobs were created after covid which is like claiming credit for rain after a drought. And the population is larger than any under any president. Ever.
DeleteIf you fall for this kind of stuff it's your business would you have to remember it's easily debunked online by Trump supporters which makes Democrats look even worse.
The stats are better than Trump's even before covid. Bringing our economy back to this condition after something like covid is that much more of an accomplishment. Don't kid yourself that Trump could have done it. He couldn't even deal with covid itself competently, much less the economic impacts.
DeleteCould you give us the number of the amount of money printed in the last few years, please. And the national debt trajectory.
Deletehttps://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/americas-finance-guide/national-debt/
DeleteHow about if you explain why Trump felt it was necessary to give the wealthy massive tax cuts while the debt was high. And also explain how Republicans shutting down the government will help our economy more than rolling back those tax cuts would do. Are you guys really proposing to balance the budget on the backs of those receiving social security or food stamps?
And please also explain this:
https://rubengallego.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/how-much-money-has-gone-directly-treasury-trump-family-bank-accounts
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/cost-corruption-waste-abuse-president-trumps-cabinet/
https://thehill.com/policy/finance/467933-house-democrat-presses-mnuchin-on-alleged-rampant-corruption-at-treasury/
https://www.salon.com/2020/06/12/jaw-dropping-corruption-mnuchin-refuses-to-disclose-which-businesses-got-taxpayer-backed-bailouts/
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/10/steven-mnuchin-trump-corruption-still-happening.html
Psst.
DeleteRaising taxes reduces spending, and lowers inflation*.
Do you really blame Biden for not increasing taxes on the rich more?
BTW, what economic moron lowered taxes on corporations and the rich recently?
*If inflation is caused by too much money in the economy.
It isn't really propaganda to tout the accomplishments of a political candidate who you support. It is only propaganda when those accomplishments are not real, as when people describe Trump using lies.
DeleteIt is called "campaigning" when you point out the good things your guy has done so that people who are less informed can make a better decision at the polls.
Somerby says he doesn' want Trump to win but he then turns around and says he think Trump will win, meanwhile he does nothing whatsoever to help Biden win. In fact, he leans over backwards to tell us that he thinks Biden is too old to run (never mind Trump's equally old age of 77) and Somerby never says anything positive about Biden's excellent recent speeches, his ongoing diplomacy in the Gaza War, his attempts to keep Iran in check, his strong effort to control immigration at the Southern border, and so on. Nor does Somerby point out Trump's increasing signs of dementia and confusion in his rallies, his decreasing attendance, his bad behavior in court, his money problems, his fraud convictions, or anything that would tend to make readers here detach from Trump and switch to Biden.
Somerby's behavior is inexplicable compared to his stated goals. That makes me think he holds different goals, that he has been lying about here while he tries to make Biden seem like a bad choice and Trump seem like a martyr (given that a liberal like Somerby is calling hm mentally ill).
In my experience, liberals tend to hold at least one or two liberal views. Where are Somerby's? Last week he defended Elise Stefanik. (Yes, I know it is odd for Somerby to defend a woman, but this one is a conservative and she was being attacked by a woman journalist, Wexler, so he apparently made an exception for her.)
Lowering the corporate tax is what countries all over the world do to create jobs, you know. And it worked here as well.
DeleteAs for the rich, I have the impression that Mr Trump's tax bill dramatically raised their taxes. Check out what the salt deduction is.
Biden didn't lower the corporate tax and yet he still created lots of jobs. Go figure!
DeleteTrump lowered the corporate tax rate at a time (before covid) when the deficit was arguably a worse problem than unemployment. Note that he also did absolutely nothing to keep manufacturing jobs in the US, after promising to keep people's jobs here. So I wouldn't really say it worked well. It is almost as if Republicans blow up the deficit whenever they want to leave a problem for incoming Democratic presidents. Sort of like the way Trump tried to pull all overseas Troops out of their postings immediately before Biden took office, but his military leaders wouldn't let him do it.
DeleteI don't know if he really did create lots of jobs.
But note that he hasn't raised the corporate tax. It's still where Mr Trump's bill put it. Creating jobs.
It is still in place only because we have a Republican majority in the House and cannot change it.
DeleteNote that it is still contributing to our deficit, which you claim is growing worse by the minute and desperately needs to be fixed. Why not give Biden a chance to do so?
"It is still in place only because we have a Republican majority in the House and cannot change it."
DeleteHow sad. But there was no Republican majority in 2020 and 2021. What's the excuse there?
Priorities. Look at the list of what Biden did in his first two years, with Republican help too. Antagonizing Republicans by trying to repeat that tax cut when there were so many other things that were important and needed Republicans to get behind, would have been stupid. Recall that Manchin and Sinema were voting Republican.
Deleterepeat=repeal
Delete12:20,
DeleteAnd those businesses did well, buying back their stock and laying off workers.
12:20,
DeleteI appreciate you defending Trump's HUGE tax break for corporations and the rich.
I can tell you aren't a Right-winger, because you admitted the reality that Trump gave a HUGE tax break to corporations and the rich.
Right-wingers would blame the HUGE tax break for corporations and the rich on Antifa, drag queens. or "the woke".
Anyway you look at it, Trump is going to defeat Biden and it's going to be ugly. Prepare yourselves for it.
DeleteOne thing to understand is that manufacturing consent is a different game today than it was 30 years ago. It's a different game today than it was 10 years ago and even 5 years ago. Posts like the one here from the original commenter and articles trying to scare people into thinking Trump is going to send Navy Seals to assassinate his political rivals are attempts to manufacture consent from a different time, from 30 years ago. Doing it today, in this different time is actually detrimental to the cause of the Democrats and ends up helping Trump.
Yes, the original commenter is helping Trump get elected unwittingly. It's wild to watch.
Yes, 1:16, touting Biden’s factually positive results of his handling of the economy … helps Trump. No doubt, no doubt. On the other hand, touting Trump’s handling of the economy, as other commenters here did, helps … Trump. The one is “manufacturing consent” and the other is … lol.
Delete1:16,
DeleteThey have no idea what Trump will do.
Remember, back in 2016, when they said Trump was going to lard his Cabinet with grifters, and all he did was put grifters like Betsy DeVos, Wilbur Ross, and Sonny Purdue in his Cabinet.
Or that Trump was going to put Right-wing activist judges on the Supreme Court , who would overturn Roe v Wade? What a bunch of clueless chicken littles. Trump showed them. He did no such thing. Instead, he put Right-wing activist judges on the Supreme Court , who overturned Roe v Wade.
And don't even get me started about how those delusional bastards said Trump would give a HUGE tax break to the corporations and the rich? Ha ha ha.
What a bunch of fools. There was no way Trump would ever do such a thing. After all, if he did, he's receive the wrath of all those economically anxious Republican voters, who aren't at all just a shit pile of bigots, turned on by Trump's bigotry (hat tip corporate-owned Right-wing media AKA the media).
When will they ever learn?
@1:06
Delete"I appreciate you defending Trump's HUGE tax break for corporations and the rich."
You're welcome, although you seem to have misunderstood the comment completely.
Are you one of the idiot-moonbats, by chance? That would explain it.
1:49,
DeleteRest-assured, I am NOT one of the idiot-moonbats.
I actually do my own research. That's why I 100% support Reparations for Slavery. All of us folks who do own research support it.
Sure, sure. But perhaps it would make more sense to get a job, instead? You know, in construction, for example. It might be fulfilling to actually do something useful.
DeletePeople have been saying that to Boebert too.
DeleteMaybe, maybe.
DeleteI push back on douchebags on the internet. That's good enough.
Somerby seems to always come down on the side of those perpetrating violence, not those opposed to gun violence. For example, Somerby defended Kyle Rittenhouse and Ethan Crumbley because they were excitable youths, much as he defended Tucker Carlson. Somerby has never supported gun control here.
ReplyDeleteFrom Daily Kos:
"America’s political killings continue to surge as Trump’s violent hate speech intensifies
by Alan Austin
Tuesday, January 16, 2024 at 7:24:07a MST
American children shot in 2023 reached an all-time high of 6,193. Chart: Chartgo/Independent Australia. Source: Gun Violence Archive.
Just over two weeks ago, on new year’s eve, 14-year-old Zykere Langley died from a bullet fired into his chest at close range in Greenville, North Carolina.
This young boy’s death took the total of American children shot in 2023 to 6,193, an all-time record. See yellow chart, above.
That appalling number – 6,193 children shot – was zero in most other developed countries last year.
Tragically, Donald Trump’s continuing violent rhetoric, amplified by Fox News and other Murdoch media outlets, made 2023 one of the worst years on record for firearms sales, political violence and gun deaths.
We do not know yet whether Zykere was a victim of politically-charged hatred. Police say it was a targeted shooting following an altercation on social media. So there is a fair chance. We will find out when the coroner eventually reports.
We do know Trump has ramped up calls for physical violence in recent months, labeling people he despises “vermin” – who, of course, must be exterminated. He has nicknamed prosecutor Fani Willis “Phony Fani”, called the New York judge hearing his business fraud case a “psycho”, and characterised special counsel Jack Smith as “deranged”. Trump routinely refers to President Biden as “Crooked Joe” who is “a communist, fascist and a tyrant”.
Violent rhetoric leads to deadly action
Thousands of Trump supporters were convicted last year of malicious hate crimes. These include the MAGA fanatic who broke into the home of former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and smashed her husband’s skull with a hammer.
More than 1,240 defendants have now been charged with offences committed on 6 January 2021 when Trump urged his followers to storm the Washington Capitol. Of those, 875 have pleaded or been found guilty, 763 have been sentenced, 592 to imprisonment. The others are still pending."
Crickets from supposed liberal Somerby.
From Political Wire:
ReplyDelete“The deportations will begin at noon, Inauguration Day.”
— Former Trump adviser Stephen Miller, on X.
What will this do to our economy? It didn't work out well for FL when they decided to eliminate immigration entirely.
Do you imagine they will be careful about who has papers and who doesn't when they start deporting anyone who looks like Bebe Rebozo, including professional baseball players, guys like Ted Cruz, and your gardeners, house cleaners, restaurant workers, and Melania's dad.
People on the right don't care that Trump listens to guys like Miller, who gives him his best rally laugh and applause lines. But this kind of harsh treatment of everyday people is the inevitable result of putting dictators in power.
To my knowledge, Somerby has never discussed this problem. He seems to want to keep Trump out of office but he oddly urges lefties to watch Fox News (which he does himself 24/7, by his own admission) and takes pleasure when Stefanik attacks college presidents. That's a confusing way to support Biden, in my opinion.
There are a lot of us in CA with Spanish surnames, who have been in the US for many generations. We are the ones they will roust out of bed at 2 am to put on the buses (because truly undocumented people are harder to find and persecute). It will be the same all over the Western US. Because autocrats don't care about getting the details right, just about terrorizing their constituents in order to maintain power.
Will Somerby take a principled stand about this? Don't hold your breath. He won't even talk about it.
Today's E. Jean Carroll trial illustrates Trump's contempt for the law and for women. As the trial opens, Trump has reposted previous statements about sex by Carroll (from Twitter). E. Jean Carroll wrote a sex column for Elle Magazine, so these kinds of tweets were arguably connected to her job in journalism. It did not entitle Trump to sexually assault her or to torment her afterwards, as he was found liable of doing in his previous trial, in which Carroll was awarded $5 million for defamation. Here is today's article about Trump's behavior this morning (from Rawstory):
ReplyDelete"Donald Trump dared a federal judge to hold him in contempt of court by having screenshots of his sex abuse victim E. Jean Carroll's smutty jokes on Twitter posted to his social media account as he sat in the courtroom.
The former president was last year found liable for sexually abusing Carroll in the 1990s at a New York City department store and then defaming her after she publicly accused him of rape.
As he sat without a phone in a federal courtroom for the start of a second trial in the case Tuesday, a series of posts about the writer went up on his Truth Social account.
"Can you believe I have to defend myself against this woman’s fake story?!" Trump posted, adding a video clip from a CNN interview Carroll gave about her allegations.
It's not clear whether Trump scheduled those posts to go up while he sat in court or whether a staffer posted them on his behalf, but they also included a series of screenshots of jokes about sex that Carroll had made over the years on her own Twitter account.
"Everything interesting on Twitter is about sex," Carroll posted in January 2014, while another May 2010 read: "Sex Tip I Learned From My Dog: When in heat, chase the male until he collapses with exhaustion ... then jump him!"
In the first trial, which covered comments Trump made about Carroll after leaving the White House, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan warned Trump's attorneys that social media posts about the case or his accuser could expose him to "a new source of potential liability."
Kaplan has already ruled that this trial, which covers defamatory statements Trump made as president, will not be a "do-over" of the first case, and he will not allow the ex-president to deny Carroll's allegations, discuss DNA evidence or mention her past romantic relationships."
This is the man who just won the Republican caucuses in Iowa with 51% of the Republican vote (admittedly just 17% of Republicans came out in the cold weather and half of them voted for Haley or DeSantis, conservatives without Trump's crude sexual behavior).
Will Somerby discuss this at all? Should a man who behaves this way toward court proceedings be trusted with the presidency? Should a man who mistreats women with impunity be elected to govern the 50% of our nation's citizens who are female? Somerby would most likely defend Trump against Carroll and join him in calling her names and implying that her sex-positive career choice has made her fair game for any monster and bully who thinks might makes right, even in a dept store dressing room.
I can't wait to hear Somerby's comments about this. And yet he has never urged anyone here to vote for Biden. Odd...
This is all a distraction from the fact an insurrectionist, with 91 felony counts---and who is currently out on bail---won the Iowa GOP caucus last night.
ReplyDeleteThey don't call him "a thug", because he's white.
They call him a thug because he is endorsed by the mob:
Deletehttps://www.silive.com/news/2024/01/trump-thanks-mob-hitman-sammy-the-bull-gravano-for-apparent-character-reference.html
https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-john-alite-mafia-hitmman-photo-b2268220.html
[not a deep fake]
What has happened to the good, decent people of Iowa? Maybe brain freeze?
DeleteWasn't JFK endorsed by the mob too?
And almost everyone thinks he made a decent president.
No, one theory is that JFK was killed by the mob because brother Bobby (who was Attny General) prosecuted the mob. Bobby was killed too, when he ran for president.
DeleteDon't be the asshole who makes remarks like this.
Didn't the Chicago mob get him elected?
DeleteAnd still, most people think he made a decent president.
In large cities with autocratic mayors, the organization controlling both politics and government is called The Machine, not the mob, which refers to organized crime such as Al Capone or the Mafia.
DeleteThose machines don't run elections but they do run campaigns. Daley in Chicago bragged about bringing in votes for JFK. Chicago is a very blue city and always has been, due to the influx of immigrants, black migrants from the South, large Catholic concentrations, and the strength of unions due to manufacturing in the area. Most voters there were already for JFK (recall that JFK was Catholic).
So, I think JFK would have won there without Daley's boasted help. Autocrats like to appear more important than they are, not that Daley wasn't powerful in Chicago. There was never any proof of rigged voting, just griping by Nixon who was a huge whiner in general, a paranoid man who also claimed the press was out to get him.
No periphrasis today.
ReplyDeleteperiphrasis definition: "an indirect and circumlocutory phrase"
DeleteSomerby says he will post later today, so it is too soon to say.
The GOP is never again going to allow our enemies to attack the USA, because of the "freedoms" our everyday citizens have.
ReplyDeleteThat's something you can bet on.
You can’t be serious.
DeleteLOL.
DeleteToo young to remember "They hate us for our freedom", after 9/11?
I’m just waiting for the ruling that says that presidents are immune from prosecution for anything they do in office. Biden would have a field day.
ReplyDeleteWhat, he would sell more Hunter's paintings?
DeleteDemocratic Presidents have long been immune from prosecution. E.g., Clinton's perjury.
DeleteJust because you didn’t like the sentence doesn’t mean he wasn’t prosecuted. He gave up his law license.
DeleteHe wasn't indicted, though. Neither for perjury nor for selling pardons.
DeleteFrom Quora:
Delete"Bill Clinton was not convicted during his impeachment trial, because a majority in the Senate echoed what the prevailing opinion in the country was at the time; that Clinton’s affair was a matter between him and his wife and lying about an extramarital affair, even if under oath, was not offense enough to remove a sitting President.
Clinton did not go unpunished. He was disbarred for lying under oath from his state bar association. That is not nothing."
Perjury is not often charged because it is hard to prove (depends on someone's intent and state of mind not externally verifiable facts) and there is little benefit to charging someone with it.
Clinton was charged with perjury as one of the articles of impeachment, but he was acquitted. Unless you don't believe in the rule of law, David, that should be enough for you.
There is no evidence that Clinton sold pardons. There is, however, evidence that Trump and his cronies did that at the end of Trump's term.
I can see how frustrating it is when criminal matters are decided via politics, as when Republicans have refused to convict Trump during his several impeachments, despite the solid evidence against him. He won't get off so easy in his more recent trials, because the juries are not craven Republican politicians but regular people who cannot be intimidated as easily. That hasn't stopped Trump from issuing death threats against judges and clerks and other people in the justice system. That itself is illegal, David.
Sorry, ladies. David supports a woman's right to choose, but not as much as he loves the warm comforting bigotry he gets from the Republican Party.
DeleteIf the Republicans had united on a single non-Trump candidate, Iowa might have been close enough so Trump might not have been the candidate. Alas, Trump has the nomination all wrapped up.
ReplyDeleteOr if the Democrats managed a better ratfucking:
Deletehttps://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/how-democrats-could-give-haley-a-boost-in-iowa-caucuses/ar-AA1mWMcZ
If Republican voters weren't just a bunch of bigots. Also, if my aunt had wheels, she'd be a car.
DeleteRachel Maddow's life partner, Susan, has died.
ReplyDeleteThis is not true. It isn't nice to use other people's lives as your trolling bait. Please stop this fuckery.
DeleteDonald Trump famously and accurately stated that the economy does better under Democratic administrations. That was before he lost his marbles. Now he states that buying a loaf of bread requires an ID.
ReplyDelete