WAGERS: Did staffers decide to take a chance?

TUESDAY, JULY 2, 2024

Who sent the president out there? Will history show that a Russian strongman engaged in a type of wager?

If so, historians—to the extent that such people still exist—may call it "Putin's wager." Such people will declare that Vladimir Putin, the Russian strongman, decided to put all his chips on this proposition:

Government of the people, by the people and for the people may indeed be induced to "perish from the earth."

At one time, President Lincoln was willing to bet that government of and by the people could in fact be preserved. Then again, one thinks of the wager someone decided to take leading up to last Thursday night:

Someone decided to let President Biden take part in an ersatz "debate." 

For ourselves, we had long come to believe that President Biden wouldn't be able to engage in some such event. For that reason, we were surprised when it was announced that the campaign had sought such an event, and had agreed to participate.

For a while, we kept thinking that the campaign might find a way to back out. When the event in question took place, we sat down and watched.

On what basis had we come to believe that such an event couldn't happen? We had seen a lot of tape in which the president seemed to display the unmistakable signs of a certain tragedy of advanced age—a tragedy which visits some people while sparing certain others.

We had seen a lot of tape in which the president seemed to convey that vibe. During that period, the invisible people behind the scenes apparently settled on their own wager:

They must have decided that President Biden actually could function well in some such event.

We don't know why they would have thought that; they may have had decent reasons. But after the debacle occurred, the dissembling followed.

The dissembling came thick and fast. Staffers and family members began to utter the ultimate cry:

Who are you going to believe, us or your own lying eyes?

Staffers stood in line to accuse us the people of being "bedwetters." They said the president had a cold that night. They even attributed what we'd seen to the president's stutter.

They pretended that other presidents have performed comparably in other presidential debates. This claim is baldly absurd, but staffers took numbers and stood in line, awaiting their chance to make it.

This too could be described as a type of wager. But as the staffers (and family members) engaged in this wager, Putin's wager advanced. 

Briefly, let's be honest. For reasons we'll start to outline below, "government of the people" has always been a somewhat unlikely wager.

Perhaps in line with such doubts, various citizens have fallen in line in the past few days, repeating the mandated talking-points in various comment sections.

That doesn't make them bad people; it doesn't even mean that they're "wrong." But as they repeated the mandated scripts, we thought again, as we often do, of the angry, unpleasant poem E. E. Cummings once published.

In this interview, Cummings said the poem's bitter outlook was generated by his arrest in France, where he was serving as a medic, during World War I. At any rate, the angry, bitter poem in question starts off exactly like this:

Humanity I Love You

Humanity i love you
because you would rather black the boots of
success than enquire whose soul dangles from his
watch-chain which would be embarrassing for both
parties and because you 
unflinchingly applaud all
songs containing the words country home and
mother when sung at the old howard

The Old Howard was a Boston vaudeville / burlesque house which Cummings frequented as a Harvard undergraduate. The famous old house was a bit of a Boston cultural landmark.

In his well-written memoir, Harpo Speaks, Harpo Marx said he got his first laugh onstage at Boston's famous Old Howard. 

(The laugh in question had been unintentional. The boys were still performing as "The Nightingales" at that point in time.)

According to Susan Cheever, Cummings once said that he based his unconventional approach to poetry on the structure of his favorite joke at the Howard. 

(The joke in question would barely qualify as a "joke" today. But it apparently triggered Cummings' decision to alter the rules of his format.)

At any rate:

In the lines presented above, Cummings bitterly described the tendency of us the people to defer to patriotic script when war is coming on. As he continued, so did his unpleasant portrait of the ways of us the people:

Humanity i love you because
when you’re hard up you pawn your
intelligence to buy a drink and when
you’re flush pride keeps
you from the pawn shop and
because you are continually committing
nuisances but more
especially in your own house

Oof! The portrait is not complimentary.

Rather plainly, Putin's wager aligns itself with the view Cummings expressed. Putin's wager is built upon such assumptions as these:

We the people just aren't especially sharp. In fact we're easily misled. 

According to Putin's wager, government for and by a collection like us is surely destined to fail, and especially so at complexified times like these.

(We need a strongman to lead the way. On our own, we the people will squabble and fight and fail.)

At any rate, a three-way clown show took place last Thursday night. At least fifty-one million people saw it happen, unless you're prepared to pawn your intelligence in favor of what the staffers and the family members are saying you actually saw.

(An historical aside: In September 1960, 65 million people watched the first Kennedy-Nixon debate. At the time, the nation's population was just a bit over half what it is today. The candidates delivered eight-minute opening statements.)

The Cummings poem continues along from there. It ends with a bitter denunciation of us the people writ large, of the ways of "humanity" in general. 

Yesterday, an assembly called "the Supreme Court" issued some sort of a ruling. Given the way our discourse works, warring groups of tribal elders swung into action, distributing alternate talking points concerning the ruling in question.

This afternoon, we'll briefly discuss that new debacle. For now, we'll end with this:

Someone seems to have made a wager about the president's ability to take part in a debate. Disastrously, the president crashed and burned last Thursday night. An obvious question might go something like this:

What sort of medical analysis might explain what happened? Also, what sort of medical analysis might explain the 90 minutes of crazy statements issued by the other candidate on the stage that night?

More broadly, what might a carefully selected medical specialist tell us about these guys? At present, our nation doesn't enjoy a discourse which addresses such obvious questions as these.

Instead, three days before last Thursday's debate, the New York Times published a guest essay beneath this promising headline:

I’m a Doctor and a Voter. Here’s How I’m Thinking About the Health of Trump and Biden.

We'd be inclined to describe that essay as an imitation of life. Putin's wager assumes that such tapioca is the best we the people can do.

As a general matter, our struggling nation's national discourse is an imitation of life. Tomorrow, we'll offer excerpts from the essay in question—an essay which comes to us, live and direct, from the general vicinity of Cumming's portrait of what we the people are like.

Did staffers decide to take a gamble last week? How about family members? Also, what explains the crazy statements the other guy has persistently made, down through the many long years?

(Are we sure this nutcase is "lying?" What makes us think we know that?)

With respect to President Biden, was Thursday's debacle some sort of unpredictable anomaly? Alternately, have staffers perhaps been whistling past a (metaphorical) graveyard? 

What explains what everyone thinks they saw last Thursday night? Inevitably, also this:

What happened last night was a major event. Whas the New York Times said?

Tomorrow: Also, Brooks interviews Steve Bannon


86 comments:

  1. "Such people will declare that Vladimir Putin, the Russian strongman, decided to put all his chips on this proposition:

    Government of the people, by the people and for the people may indeed be induced to "perish from the earth."

    Why is Somerby, all of a sudden, talking about what Putin believes? Putin has never supported government by the people. No one is confused about what Putin represents, except perhaps Somerby.

    Then Somerby says:

    "Someone decided to let President Biden take part in an ersatz "debate." "

    This implies that SOMEONE is making decisions for Biden about what he should and should not do. Someone is handling Biden. It promotes the view that Biden cannot and does not make decisions himself, which surely undercuts the view that Biden IS president and should be president.

    I find this outrageous, not only because it is contradicted by so much available evidence, but because Somerby is now obviously and clearly attacking Biden, his presidency, his position as our Democratic Party candidate for reelection, but Somerby is joining the right wing and media in attacking Biden.

    This is a politically motivated attempt to take Biden off the ticket before the American people have the chance to choose who will be their next president. If this direct attack on the Democratic Party's candidate succeeds, we will truly no longer be government by the people but will have become government of those with the money to manipulate the media into deciding who will be on a party ticket, on the ballot we voters will see in November.

    This is not how a democracy works. I voted for Biden in my state's primary. He has 90% of the votes overall. He is the incumbent and he deserves the chance to continue his highly effective presidency and it is not up to the NY Times or Somerby to tell us otherwise.

    I am voting for Biden. Somerby clearly is not, nor is he supporting the Democratic Party's frontrunner and putative nominee. He is aiding Trump and the extremist right wing in subverting Democracy. The only thing different this year is that Trump's plot has changed and now includes bought and paid for media, disqualification of the Democratic candidate before anyone gets to vote, and the installation of a criminal as Republican leader, expecting that he will walk into office with Biden removed.

    We cannot let this happen. Biden is leading his administration and his party. Biden made the decision to continue seeking office (not Jill and not Hunter and certainly not Putin or anyone unspecified ghost). I am deciding that I want another four years of Biden's excellent leadership. That is my choice and we should all be permitted to vote for the candidate of our choice in November, without this meddling by the NY Times, Axios, Bill Maher or Somerby.

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  2. "With respect to President Biden, was Thursday's debacle some sort of unpredictable anomaly? "

    Of course not. Others have had bad debates too, including Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. Biden has always had speech production difficulties, without anyone questioning his mental competence. This is happening because the right wing decided to attack Biden because of his age, since his record in office is too strong to be a campaign issue. This debate attack is no different than the edited videos of Biden supposedly wandering off or "confused" when in-context video show he was fine. Transcripts of the debate, which omit the stuttering and leave only the words he actually said, show that he was fine during the debate too, except for the same kind of gaffe he has always made during his entire political career, even as a much younger man.

    This is what propaganda and disinformation look like applied to Biden as an individual instead of an issue. It is just as fake. Note that Somerby is part of the attack on Biden, not part of the defense against this crap.

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  3. e.e. cummings would not support the use Somerby makes of his poem, but he didn't get that choice because he passed away in 1962.

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  4. Putin is a red herring, unless Somerby is suggesting that Putin engineered this attack on Biden. Putin wouldn't be that subtle -- he would have Biden assassinated.

    Somerby has not bothered to spell out what he thinks Putin's wager might be. That is because it is enough to evoke the emotional response to Putin without telling us how Putin relates to anything today (or yesterday).

    Putin and Trump are best buds. Putin didn't wager on Trump, he recruited him and funded him, and then demanded favors -- which is why Trump's every decision in foreign relations aligned with Putin's needs and agenda. That isn't a wager on an independent event -- it is controlling the outcome by manipulating the 2016 election.

    Putin screwed up in 2020, but he is perhaps taking no chances in 2024, by eliminating Trump's strongest competition ahead of the election. Again, that is not a wager but fixing the race. Trump did his duty, as instructed, by stacking the Supreme Court, and now the court is making the president a dictator. They would not do that if it weren't certain that Biden won't be reelected. This campaign against Biden is supposed to ensure that Biden is removed or fails to be reelected.

    But notice that my view of what is happening does not rely on Putin for credibility. There are just as many evil right wing extremists seeking to install a dictator, Trump, each as malevolent as Putin and holding the same goals. We might call that the Republican wager, that allying with the forces of evil (anything goes) will pay off for them in their political careers, give them unlimited power. Putin's name is thus a placeholder for whoever is behind pushing Biden out of the race.

    And Somerby is helping.

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  5. Ismail Kadare has died.

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  6. "The Next Step is to End All Prosecutions of Trump [Thom Hartmann]

    In other words, Clarence Thomas says Jack Smith should go back to the Hague and prosecute European war criminals, because American war criminals and fascists are now officially immune...

    Now that the Supreme Court has made any president into a king who chooses to corruptly use the power granted them by six Republicans on the Supreme Court, the next step will be to end all prosecution of Donald Trump, now and for forever.

    Clarence Thomas — writing on behalf of the billionaires who have been bribing tipping him, Alito, Cavanaugh, and Gorsuch — initiated the process with Friday’s “the president is a monarch” decision, reversing the Revolutionary War. He wrote in his concurring opinion:

    “I write separately to highlight another way in which this prosecution may violate our constitutional structure. In this case, the Attorney General purported to appoint a private citizen as Special Counsel to prosecute a former President on behalf of the United States. But, I am not sure that any office for the Special Counsel has been ‘established by Law,’ as the Constitution requires.

    “By requiring that Congress create federal offices ‘by Law,’ the Constitution imposes an important check against the President—he cannot create offices at his pleasure. If there is no law establishing the office that the Special Counsel occupies, then he cannot proceed with this prosecution. A private citizen cannot criminally prosecute anyone, let alone a former President.”

    In other words, Jack Smith should go back to the Hague and prosecute European war criminals, because American war criminals and fascists — as long as they hold the office of the presidency or are former Republican presidents — are now officially immune.

    While Thomas’ opinion isn’t entirely reflected in the larger Court’s opinion, it’s reasonable to assume it’ll be the next step once a lawsuit against Smith’s appointment reaches the “fascist six.”

    As many have speculated in the past 24 hours, President Biden could use his newfound powers to order the arrest and imprisonment of those corrupt Supreme Court justices for bribery, Donald Trump for any one of the hundreds of crimes he committed while in office and afterwards, and even rightwing talk show hosts for encouraging sedition.

    But he won’t. He’s a good man who believes in the America we had before six corrupt Republican Supreme Court justices changed everything. So Biden will, no doubt, continue to hold to the old laws, consequences be damned.

    Donald Trump, of course, will not be so restrained. The parallels between last week’s Supreme Court decision and Germany’s Enabling Acts — which were similarly ratified by the German Supreme Court right after Hitler took power in March, 1933 — are startling.

    That collection of laws ruled that whatever Hitler said in the context of an “official act” instantly became the law of the land. For all practical purposes, as the nation’s leader he became immune from prosecution under the laws that applied to every other normal German or elected politician..."

    https://hartmannreport.com/p/the-next-step-is-to-end-all-prosecutions

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  7. Today, the NY Times ran four anti-biden articles (including editorials against Biden).

    "L.B.J. Did It in 1968. Biden Can Do It, Too." [LBJ quit the race]

    "There’s No Reason to Resign Ourselves to Biden"

    "Should a Gusher of Donations Calm Democrats? President Biden's Campaign Said it Raised $127 Million Last Month, But Big Donors Were Still Anxious"

    "In a Staring Contest With Democratic Voters, Joe Biden Hasn’t Blinked"



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  8. Is Somerby equating Biden's staff with Putin's wager? Note that Biden's staff is imaginary, in the same way as Somerby's analysts and those future anthropologists living in caves are fictional. There is no evidence supporting this idea that there are staff managing Biden's senility to make him a puppet. The White House has also denied that Biden's family met to tell him what to do.

    But this IS the right wing talking point, the line. Cecelia was saying this kind of thing way before the debate. Somerby has equated someone/something to Putin (not sure what) but we all know Putin is bad, so Biden's staff and family and Biden himself must all be bad too. Even though Putin is supporting Trump (and vice versa) as he has in the past.

    Years ago, I pointed out that when you diagnose someone based on media clips instead of a professional evaluation, the label becomes name-calling. Somerby called for Trump to be pitied for his mental illness (because Bandy Lee said so without ever meeting Trump). Now the same kind of attack is being aimed at Biden, who has had no professional evaluation for senility (other than his doctor and medical statement, which have said he is cognitively healthy and capable of being president). That doesn't stop Somerby and the right wing from diagnosing Biden based on fake video clips and verbal gaffes, which show nothing about his mental status because they are the same kind of thing he has always done (even when young) and are not indicative of dementia at all (as several doctors have said publicly). Somerby is now applying the psychiatric name-calling to Biden in the same way he did to Trump -- and in the way I and others defended Trump against even though none of us are supporting Trump.

    What Somerby and the right are doing to Biden is unethical for doctors, but also ethically wrong in a campaign and dirty pool in every way. But those guys have no restraint. Only last week, Somerby maligned Biden by calling him a good, decent, empathetic man (right wingers care only about strength evinced through bullying). Now Somerby is calling Biden too feeble to resist his own staff's "orders." That is ridiculous. Biden is not being held hostage by ambitious staff members who have taken over the government. This is a right wing fever dream, disinformation, a vicious attack on the Democratic candidate with no support whatsoever, other than a bad debate that looks a lot better on paper without the stuttering. And Somerby is part of it.

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    1. If we can’t blame staff for Biden’s spectacular failure in the debate, then the blame must rest on . . . Biden!

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    2. Biden has accepted the blame, in his rally speech on Friday. And he said that when you are knocked down, you get up again.

      These mysterious staff that Somerby claims are Biden's puppetmasters are invented. He can't even name one.

      By the way, Biden's poor performance is in no sense spectacular. That is an exaggeration to suit your own narrative.

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    3. I'm anxious to see what the getting back up is going to look like.

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    4. The Friday rally was a sample.

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    5. 3:58 - Denial, that’s what you’re living through. Biden screwed up so badly that there are cries from many, many of his allies for him to get out of the race for the good of the country. “Spectacular” is what you call that kind of failure.

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    6. He’s got Nancy Pelosi questioning his condition IN PUBLIC!

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    7. No, she said Trump needs to be tested too, because Biden will benefit from the comparison.

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  9. From the ideas Somerby presents it would be very unreasonable to vote for Biden, and much more reasonable to vote for Trump.

    From this, it is clear that Somerby is a right winger endorsing the Republican, and not just any Republican, but one hell bent on being a fascistic leader.

    Somerby is becoming less coy, he openly says this:

    "Briefly, let's be honest..."government of the people" has always been a somewhat unlikely wager."

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    1. Yes, he is saying that democracy doesn't work and shouldn't be bet on, despite our nation's long history as the most successful democracy in the world.

      If you conclude what Somerby is quoted as saying, then what is the next step? Vote for someone explicitly undemocratic like Trump? Or support our democracy and the right of people to choose their leaders by not allowing Biden to be pressured out of the race by the media?

      Somerby used to complain about press treatment of Gore. This mistreatment of Biden by the press is much worse but Somerby seems to be believing it and condoning it and urging others to abandon Biden (along with the press). What has happened to Somerby?

      The charitable answer is that he needs money and sold out to the right back in 2015 (when several others did the same, accepting proven payments). The uncharitable answer is that Somerby is projecting his own cognitive infirmities onto Biden, the way right wingers always accuse the left of whatever their own sins are. Trump, the biggest crook ever, accused Hillary of being crooked (with no evidence beyond Republican lies). Etc.

      Trump is nearly as old as Biden. Somerby is older than Trump and only slightly younger than Biden. Trump is in poor health. So is Somerby. Biden is in excellent health (not just for an old man, but compared to middle agers too). The complaints against Biden are unsupported, especially this latest one about being controlled by his staff, that Somerby floats as right wing disinformation. Biden released his medical report for this year. It had nothing indicating dementia or any other cognitive problems. Trump hides his health reports. Somerby complains about his "lost time". The healthiest, most sane and mentally competent among the three is Biden.

      Does anyone really think Somerby could have done as well as Biden during that debate?

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    2. Somerby wouldn't beat Medicare.

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    3. 11:28 - “The charitable answer is he needs money and sold out to the right back in 2015”

      That’s your idea of being “charitable”?

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    4. The alternative is worse, or don’t you think so?

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    5. “Better than Trump” is the lowest standard known to human beings. You’d think we’d expect more from the President of the United States of America.

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    6. Funny, that is exactly what I said during the entire time Trump was President. I don't recall you helping to elect anyone better back then. Hillary was called the most competent and qualified candidate to ever run for the presidency and yet Trump won. Go figure!

      But the alternative referred to by @2:10 is the second explanation for Somerby's perfidy. That is that he is as crazy as Trump is and is old and senile and projecting his own state onto Biden:

      "The uncharitable answer is that Somerby is projecting his own cognitive infirmities onto Biden, the way right wingers always accuse the left of whatever their own sins are."

      Try reading before you type.

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    7. 'Better than Trump' has been the Biden campaign's entire strategy from the beginning.

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    8. 3:55 - Ah, so you’re reading it as he’s saying Somerby is either piss or shit, and “piss” is the charitable reading. And that’s your view of being “charitable.” OK, I guess that’s you.

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    9. @4:03 It is unfair to say that Biden is running on "better than Trump" when Biden has been running on his record of accomplishments during his term. I think his strategy is to convince people that he has done an excellent job as president and voters would benefit from having him continue.

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    10. I don’t think that’s true. For some reason I don’t understand, Biden gets no credit for pulling us out of a deep recession and ushering in a golden age of strong growth, full employment, and stable prices. So he campaigns primarily by warning us what a danger Trump is to our country. But those receptive to that message are already on board.

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    11. Actually, maybe I do understand. That’s the rap against Biden - truly great, incumbent president; running against the worst candidate ever; during a time of prosperity and peace; and with all those advantages, he’s such a bad campaigner that he’s losing.

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    12. The Democrats are going to have to let 2024 go. It's already lost. All the insiders know it. They will just have to spend the next couple years reorganizing the party. Hopefully they will shake it up and somehow become less slavish to corporate donors and offer a vision for the American people that is based more on pragmatism and results and less on gaslighting the public, including the people who support them.

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    13. PP, the polls have not changed. The people who say he’s losing are the ones trying to push Biden out of the race. This is a right wing press campaign to defeat Biden without having an election.

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    14. But you agree, right? Great president, lousy campaigner.

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    15. Great president, great campaigner. He beat Trump in 2020 and was on track to win in 2024 before this attempted take-down by the press & Republicans. This is nothing more than swiftboating (lies) based on age.

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    16. Those rosy-tinted glasses look becoming on you!

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    17. I wouldn't say great president. What is the basis for saying that? That we are in a time of "prosperity and peace"?

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    18. He inherited a trashed economy. He managed the recovery so well that we’re now enjoying the greatest economy since, well, forever. Strong growth, full employment, stable prices. Not a single American at risk in any war. As Larry David might say, “Pretty, pretty, pretty good!

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    19. Why would Americans care about any of that?

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    20. If I were running the campaign, here’s what I’d be asking: “Why is it that when Dems hand the economy to the Republicans, the economy’s always in great shape, and when the Republicans hand it back, it’s an unmitigated disaster?”

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    21. Americans are more depressed than ever. The rates of depression are as high as they've ever been. The number of suicides are as high as they've ever been. Americans are suffering from loneliness and disconnection. People are addicted to social media where they expose to themselves to the lowest forms of self-loathing, insecurity and pain. Not to mention institutional gaslighting. America is in the middle of a major mental health crisis. Biden doesn't say one word about it.

      Why would anyone care about what an 80 year old ultimate DC insider tells them about the GDP or job numbers? They don't give a fuck about that. They've made that very, very clear.

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    22. "Not a single American at risk in any war." Why would you think Americans would think that makes Biden a "great president"?

      Really, you can't be serious.

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    23. The mothers and fathers of returning dead soldiers might care.

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    24. PP - no offense. Your thoughts here reflect the Biden administration's talking points almost exactly. And I think you may consider that you both are a little bit behind the times. Perhaps a little less attuned to what's going on in the country and in the hearts of Americans that you could be.

      Did you see Zone of Interest?

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    25. "The mothers and fathers of returning dead soldiers might care"

      We are talking about the whole country are we not?

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    26. Yeah. Strong growth, full employment, stable prices as the primary reasons to motivate voters to Biden? As LD would say "I don't think so."

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  10. As of this morning, Hopium has raised $555.964.14 against a goal of $450,000. Their original goal was $100,000 before the convention, but the new one is now $750,000.

    Does that sound like grassroots Democrats are abandoning Biden because he is too old or had a bad debate? Dream on.

    I have these exact numbers because I made yet another donation myself, this morning. I urge other Dems to do the same because a show of support like this outweighs the garbage Somerby is shoveling, the claims that Biden is unpopular or that people don't believe in him.

    If this election cannot be run in a fair and transparent manner, then I too have my bag packed and will flee ahead of the tyranny suggested by Trump's imitation of Hitler. I don't want to be put in a concentration camp because I have a Hispanic name but don't routinely carry my passport or birth certificate (Arpaio put Hispanic citizens in jail as illegals and Trump rewarded him with a kiss on the lips!). I don't want evil people to represent me, take away my retirement income and health care, require my grandkids to learn about Jesus instead of math while books are censored. I don't want what Trump would give us all, so I am demanding that Biden stay in the race, with my donation to the Biden-Harris campaign. And as many of the down-ballot races as I can afford.

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    1. Biden is outpacing Trump on the number of individual contributions, and outpacing on the amount of those individual contributions on the order of about 70 to 1. This suggests Biden's support is broader and stronger than the polls indicate, even with Biden's post debate poll bump.

      Somerby is hoping to cause consternation among Dems in order to soothe his emotional discomfort and bitterness at failing to achieve the relevance and dominance he desperately desires; however, Somerby is so openly addled and ignorant that his methods are completely ineffective.

      Somerby is a lost soul.

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    2. “his methods are completely ineffective”

      His methods keep YOU reading.

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  11. Trump audibly farted in last week's debate, but new reports are coming in from experts who are now providing new details and context that strongly suggest, based in part on the "wetness", that Trump likely pooped his pants.

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  12. Dems and their media enablers haven’t yet learned this lesson: You cannot fool all the people all the time (attributed to President Lincoln, a great Republican, preserver of the union, and terminator of slavery)

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    1. I get it! The ones you can fool are Republicans!

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    2. "I love the poorly educated"

      -Trump

      11:37 gets it.

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    3. Good point anon 12:33

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  13. I am a Trumper, many in my family no longer talk to me because of this, I have paid a price for my stance.

    I do not care about Trump farting or having a small penis, lots of us suffer from the same.

    I do care about my country, and when the Supreme Court says it is ok to have a dictatorship, I have to draw a line somewhere.

    This is it, it is just too much. I am switching my vote from Trump to Biden.

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  14. Bob mentions Lincoln today, but notably Bob just name drops, he carefully avoids falsely attributing values to Lincoln as he has done in the past, and then was called out for it. Lincoln was not a "can't we all get along" person; Lincoln represents a fight against those looking to create hierarchies and coercive dominance, a brutal force against right wingers, Lincoln took no prisoners, said it was God's providence that defeated the slavers by wiping them out.

    Lincoln would be aghast at Trump and his Supreme Court.

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    1. “Lincoln … said it was God’s providence that defeated the slavers by wiping them out.”

      I’d rate that as something of a loose summation of what he said.

      Was it God’s “providence” that Lincoln was “wiped out” by Booth?

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    2. PP: Lincoln said “ if God wills that it [the scourge of war] continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword as was said three thousand years ago so still it must be said 'the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.'”

      So you figure out if he also would have believed that his assassination was ordained by God.

      It’s what he said.

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  15. Just watched part of Biden's speech about the Supreme Court decision on P:rediennatial immunity. He delivered it well. He sounded and looked good. It was a well-written speech. It made its points effectively.

    Of course, he was reading from two teleprompters. And, the speech was full of falsehoods, although that's normal for politicians arguing a POV. Nevertheless, the delivery of the speech strengthens the Biden supporters.

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    1. Using two teleprompters is normal -- Trump does it too. It is because a speaker needs to be glancing at both sides of the audience, not just in one place all the time.

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    2. "End of quote"

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  16. More promising headlines from the New York Times today.

    "The First Amendment is Out Of Control"

    23% of voters identify as Democrats. Who are these deranged people?

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    1. Pew Research says:

      "About two-thirds of registered voters identify as a partisan, and they are roughly evenly split between those who say they are Republicans (32% of voters) and those who say they are Democrats (33%)."

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  17. Guess who hates our democracy and the strictures of law?

    1. Defies SCOTUS on student loan debt
    2. Used OSHA to mandate the vax for 80 million Americans
    3. Activated DOJ to target political opponents
    4. Forced open the border in defiance of immigration law

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    1. SCOTUS is illegitimate and should be defied.

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    2. Also 1-4 above are lies.

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    3. Josh looks at SCOTUS:

      https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/yes-by-all-means

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    4. 12:18,

      Plagiarize much? Funny, I read the exact same list this morning on X written by the smarmy little twerp little Ben Shapiro. Can't you think of your own bullshit to post here?

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    5. Maybe Anonymouse 12:18pm is Ben Shapiro.

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    6. Tears on my eyes.

      It's so touching that the moonbats not only read Ben Shapiro, but steadfastly defend his copyright.

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    7. I remember the olde days when right wing maggots were all hysterical because Twitter would ban disinformation and Nazis. Now we have Elon Mush forcing me to see a non-stop stream of right-wing fascists including little squeaky-voiced Benny Shapiro. Maybe you're an idiot, Cecelia.

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    8. "Now we have Elon Mush forcing me to see a non-stop stream of right-wing fascists..."

      Tears on my eyes. What a sad, sad story.

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    9. I remember when you maggots insisted Twitter had to be neutral, meaning Russian disinformation must be allowed to be posted from Russian troll farms. It turns out maggots really believed the first amendment must be a suicide pact. Now you have a fascist making the rules on X and all is good for maggots.

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    10. I ain’t Ben Shapiro.

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    11. Moonbats threatening to commit suicide for being forced by Mush to read X, it upsets me greatly. So horrible. I can't stop crying now.

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    12. snotnosed little shits like 7:47 AM do not bother me. They are all quite cocky now that Clarence Thomas and Sam Alito have save Trump's corrupt ass. But America is bigger than them. They too will pass.

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    13. But if freedom of speech suicides all us Americans, only maggots will survive.

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    14. Anonymices, you of all mices in the world should be heavily promoting the possibility that someone with an audience might go under the label of anonymous to debate attention free, rather than responsibility free as you do it.

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    15. 8:40, no, shit-for-brains, it means the country - you know the UNITED States of America - would be committing suicide, not individuals.

      Cecelia, why don't you just fucking drop it. I caught the maggot copying the little twerp, Benny Shapiro, off of Xitter. Just take if like a man and move on.

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    16. Anonymouse 10:15am, the only imperative I have is not to do anything like an anonymouse. .

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    17. I'm sorry, Cec, you're right. It is probably little Ben Shapiro, the Pope of the Jews, posting here anonymously. That makes perfect sense.

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    18. You Cecelia know as well as I do that copying anyone with name "Shapiro" is treason. A crime against the UNITED States of America. I am calling the cops now.

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  18. Somerby says that those of us who believe Biden is in control of himself and not being run by staff are pawning our intelligence for a drink (as the poem states). How so?

    What is the drink? Is it the nearly four years of exemplary service Biden has provided this nation? If so, it was worth it. Is it perhaps the chance to keep Trump out of office by reelecting Biden? That too would be worth it.

    When you understand that Supreme Court immunity decision, it becomes clear that the fate of our nation depends on the character of the president. That makes the contrast between Trump and Biden even more stark. We MUST vote for Biden because we cannot trust Trump not to abuse his power (with the restraint of legal remedies).

    For myself, I would not trust anyone who pushed Biden aside in order to run either. A person who would do that is already showing the lack of restraint needed to be a good president in the absence of law.

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  19. There is only one word to describe the fallout from the debate especially in swing states. BLOODBATH.

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    Replies
    1. It's over for Biden.

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    2. It isn’t over until it’s over.

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  20. YouGov Independents
    Trump: 46% [+7]
    Biden: 29% [-9]

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    Replies
    1. Most people who call themselves Independents lean conservative.

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    2. If this uproar hurts Biden, it is as much because of press coverage as the debate itself.

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