President Biden thread

43 minutes ago, Beerman said:

Duh.  That's what we do here.  Share opinions.

Polls and the the upcoming bloodbath for the Dems would suggest that most Americans disagree with you.  

That's a admirable attempt at deflection.  And, your left-wing opinion.

Yep. Opinions, some of them better and more widely informed than others. 

We will see. Of course, we also must anticipate that a host of republican candidates won't accept vote results should they lose.  That's also a tool in authoritarian toolboxes to undermine democracies. 

37 minutes ago, Beerman said:

The power of the Senate resting on their two opponents is frightening, imo.  It's a matter of political preference.

I've held the sad belief for a long time that for a variety of reasons, we don't have our best and brightest or most ethical, from either side, leading our country.  The unfortunate fact is that Walker, Oz, and their opponents probably aren't any worse than most of those who currently serve.

And Republicans in those states are willing to overlook the obvious dishonesty, immorality or challenged ethics of their Trumpian candidates. They'll get what they want, I suppose.  If Georgians elect Walker they will have elected a Trump sycophant who will do as he is told in the senate, regardless of how that impacts them. I would agree that Walker isn't much worse than MTG or Boebert or Ron Johnson or a host of other Republicans who put fealty to Trump above pretty much anything else... including democracy. 

23 minutes ago, toomuchbaloney said:

Yep. Opinions, some of them better and more widely informed than others. 

We will see. Of course, we also must anticipate that a host of republican candidates won't accept vote results should they lose.  That's also a tool in authoritarian toolboxes to undermine democracies. 

Really?  Authoritarians and Nazis as the left likes to say, don’t lose elections.  So there goes that narrative.

3 minutes ago, toomuchbaloney said:

And Republicans in those states are willing to overlook the obvious dishonesty, immorality or challenged ethics of their Trumpian candidates. They'll get what they want, I suppose.  If Georgians elect Walker they will have elected a Trump sycophant who will do as he is told in the senate, regardless of how that impacts them. I would agree that Walker isn't much worse than MTG or Boebert or Ron Johnson or a host of other Republicans who put fealty to Trump above pretty much anything else... including democracy. 

He’s not worse than those but so much better than the left who thinks a man can put on a dress and be allowed to use a girls changing room.

7 hours ago, toomuchbaloney said:

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/06/14-gop-controlled-states-have-passed-laws-to-impede-free-elections/

https://www.texastribune.org/2021/10/01/texas-election-official-hood/

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/08/02/rnc-stop-the-steal-advocates-poll-workers-00049109

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/01/gop-contest-elections-tapes-00035758

https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/voting-laws-roundup-may-2022

Republicans are busily undermining confidence in elections so that they can make votes less important in election outcomes. Some people don't care and that road leads to chaos and an end to our democracy. 

And it's quite obvious that the idiots who devise these voting "safety" gaslit ideas have never worken at the polls.  They don't understand the process.  However, having said that, I still can't understand how mailing out unrequested ballots to everyone can be a safe system.  It's not that I believe it's corrupt, I just don't understand how it works at the down in the trenches level.  It's a lot easier to place false flags into our system than it is to confront other more existential issues that are more urgent.  It keeps tiny, little minds occupied.

Eye rolls about Biden talking about Twitter when they deleted misinformation. 

There's long been a feud between Musk and Biden.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/17/elon-musk-blasts-joe-biden-compares-him-to-anchorman.html

Musk claims that activists against him want to destroy "free speech".  But the question is free speech for whom?

There was a study done a while back that fake news travels faster than truth on Twitter.

https://www.science.org/content/article/fake-news-spreads-faster-true-news-Twitter-thanks-people-not-bots

I already posted that racists and hate speech has increased on Twitter.

Quote

Separately, researchers from Montclair State University found that the 12 hours immediately following Musk's takeover of Twitter saw a much more "hostile" environment on the platform. The team looked at tweets filled with "vulgar and hostile" rhetoric aimed at people based on their race, religion, ethnicity and orientation, such as the "n-word," "k-word," and "f-word," to find out just how bad it got. They found an "immediate, visible, and measurable spike" in those terms.

 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/elon-musk-Twitter-advertisers-massive-drop-in-revenue/

Also it's interesting to note that those campaigning on election denial get more engagement.

Quote

“What these data show is that promoting lies about the 2020 election is profitable for both candidates and social media platforms themselves,” said Nina Jankowicz, vice president at the nonprofit group Centre for Information Resilience, which aims to counter disinformation. “Candidates recognize that if they fall in line with the prevailing rhetoric about stolen elections they are rewarded with incredibly engaged supporters.”

https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2022-election-denier-republican-social-media/?leadSource=uverify wall

I said that I would keep my Twitter as I find it interesting and lies and fake news tend not to show up on my feed, but also I'm finding myself a bit incompatible with what's going on and decided to deactivate it.  I have 30 days to change my mind.   Sometimes I can take what I like and leave the rest, other times I can't.  Still mulling it over.

I think some users are in a dilemma because they might not like what's going on, but it's an important part of promoting their brand, ideas, etc.  

1 hour ago, Tweety said:

Eye rolls about Biden talking about Twitter when they deleted misinformation. 

There's long been a feud between Musk and Biden.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/17/elon-musk-blasts-joe-biden-compares-him-to-anchorman.html

Musk claims that activists against him want to destroy "free speech".  But the question is free speech for whom?

There was a study done a while back that fake news travels faster than truth on Twitter.

https://www.science.org/content/article/fake-news-spreads-faster-true-news-Twitter-thanks-people-not-bots

I already posted that racists and hate speech has increased on Twitter.

 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/elon-musk-Twitter-advertisers-massive-drop-in-revenue/

Also it's interesting to note that those campaigning on election denial get more engagement.

https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2022-election-denier-republican-social-media/?leadSource=uverify wall

I said that I would keep my Twitter as I find it interesting and lies and fake news tend not to show up on my feed, but also I'm finding myself a bit incompatible with what's going on and decided to deactivate it.  I have 30 days to change my mind.   Sometimes I can take what I like and leave the rest, other times I can't.  Still mulling it over.

I think some users are in a dilemma because they might not like what's going on, but it's an important part of promoting their brand, ideas, etc.  

Why a consortium of banks would lend Musk around $14,000,000,000 to buy a failing business is unclear and astonishing considering that they have already lost so much money recentely with leverages buyouts.  I use Twitter infrequently just to make me laugh.  I don't trust that Musk has an E.Q. functional enough to make it work.  As I've said before, when someone posts his address with threats to his family, he will have to change his mind about "free speech" and start deleting immediately, as he has already done.  He is waaay to unstable to make any decisions about free speech on  privately owned media.

2 hours ago, Beerman said:

Interesting comments by Biden yesterday regarding the coal industry.  Especially considering he'll be in PA today.  I'm sure Fetterman would rather he hadn't said those things.

Manchin sure wasn't happy.  Strong comments right before election day. 

Btw, this story seems to be being ignored by CNN, WaPo, NYT, MSNBC, and the like.

“Comments like these are the reason the American people are losing trust in President Biden and instead believe he does not understand the need to have an all in energy policy that would keep our nation totally energy independent and secure,” Manchin said in a statement. “It seems his positions change depending on the audience and the politics of the day.”

https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-election-energy-biden/biden-comments-on-coal-fired-plants-slammed-by-manchin-ahead-of-u-s-midterms-idUSKBN2RV0A7

The Biden - Manchin feud and Machin's ties to big coal are legendary.  Yawn...but I do suppose it could be alienating in a time of midterms in coal areas, but those areas are most likely lost to Democrats already.

BTW it might "seem be to ignored" but not really, CNN covered it although it seems tailor made for conservative news and not going to be headlines news anywhere else.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/05/politics/joe-manchin-joe-biden-coal-plants/index.html

Liberal Yahoo News covered it

https://www.Yahoo.com/news/biden-comments-coal-fired-plants-152524704.html

Washington Post covered it.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/manchin-bidens-coal-comments-are-divorced-from-reality/2022/11/05/827b32ae-5d25-11ed-bc40-b5a130f95ee7_story.html

2 hours ago, Beerman said:

I stand corrected on the media coverage. 

Yes, Biden and Manchin have feuded before, but Manchin gave him a big win recently.

Biden is delusional if he thinks we can be completely rid of coal anytime soon.

Machin is presiding over an industry in decline.  It's understandable he would be defensive given his base.

Quote

In the mid-1900s, coal employed more than 100,000 people in the Mountain State. Over the years, new technology enabled companies to mine more with fewer workers. Then, beginning in the mid-2000s, the shale revolution saw natural gas challenge and ultimately, in 2016, replace coal as America’s leading energy source for electricity production. In 2019, the last year for which data is available from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, coal employment in West Virginia was down to roughly 14,000.

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/west-virginia-coal-industry-grapples-impact-climate-crisis-rcna2397

But you're correct.  The coal industry is not going anywhere anytime soon, especially when you look at worldwide trends.   

Quote

The commodity is the world’s most carbon-intensive fuel, and every energy scenario compatible with net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 features a rapid decline in its use. The opposite is happening, though, sending more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. 

Last year, the world burnt the largest amount ever of coal to produce electricity. And under current trends, total global consumption, which on top of power generation also includes industrial uses such as in steel and cement, will hit a record high this year, according to the International Energy Agency.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/energy/far-from-dying-the-coal-industry-is-actually-booming/2022/01/28/7fb02ff0-8019-11ec-8cc8-b696564ba796_story.html

At the end of the day with inflation being the big concern and everything is pointing to that not changing under Biden, he has to grasp what straws he can  that his base is concerned about....climate, abortion, democracy.  Can't blame him.

Quote

Despite this year’s major climate change legislation, that issue ranked last among the seven issues CNN asked about in the September/October poll, with only 38% of registered voters calling it extremely important to their vote – although the issue had far more resonance among Democrats (60% of whom called it extremely important) and voters younger than age 35 (46% of whom did). 

https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/05/politics/voters-issues-economy-midterms-2022/index.html

I don't think Biden was starting a feud with Manchin, I think he merely was stating a stance he's long had.  

4 hours ago, subee said:

I was trying to be nice.  He has referred to himself as bi-polar and I think he makes that obvious.  I'm still trying to figure out why the banks were willing to bankroll him.  And I never called him stupid.  That he is not but I think he has mental issues which would prevent me from loaning him money to leverage a buy of this magnitude.

He's good for the money and so he's not really a nonpayment risk.