Month: June 2024

All Hail “Spaving”

Good morning my friends and welcome.

It is another lovely Sunday and time to drop the usual FYI on my readers….

Ever heard the term ‘spaving’?

What the Hell is ‘spaving’?

It is very simple the sales pitch is ‘spend more to save more’…pretty simple huh?

Do you have subscriptions?  Maybe for food or pet supplies or clothes or even marital aids….then you are a victim of ‘spaving’.

The idea has been around for a long time but in today’s economic climate it could be disastrous.

Stores have been enticing shoppers to spend more so they can save more for ages, but in today’s economy, financial experts warn that what’s come to be known as “spaving” can backfire on one’s finances. While the marketing ploy isn’t anything new, CNBC, Fox Business, and CBS News all have stories exploring how spaving is contributing to Americans racking up record amounts of debt.

  • Ways we spave: Businesses have shown creativity in the ways they encourage more spending, including store credit cards, spending minimums for free shipping, subscriptions, and the classic “buy one, get one” deals. All are legal, savvy tactics that have proven effective in getting consumers to keep their tab going—and they’re more common than ever: between March 2023 to 2024, temporary price reductions increased by 72% and overall promotions by 15%, per CNBC.
  • More debt: But spending to save isn’t translating into savings. Fox notes that credit card balances rose 47% between 2021 through 2023, the steepest increase on record. At the same time, the amount of income going to savings has been decreasing, down to 3.6% in April compared to 32% in April 2020.
  • Deal FOMO: Money coach Nicole Victoria tells CBS that stores create a sense of urgency around deals that make them harder to resist. “It’s about loss-aversion, or the perception of loss. You feel like you’re losing money by paying for shipping, and you’ve invested time and resources into filling up your shopping cart, so you’d rather gain something more.”
  • Hidden consequences: For many, padded receipts add to credit card debt, which can affect finances and long-term money goals. Incurring debt may tank credit scores, and in turn come back to bite someone who wants to purchase property or items that require financing down the line.
  • One suggestion: “The best way consumers can approach a spaving deal is to pretend it’s not even there,” says Kuderna Financial Team Founder Bryan Kuderna, “like they never saw it.” He tells Fox that people can resist the pressure to spend more by making an effort to only “buy what you intended to buy.”

This is one of those times when ‘consumer beware’ is accurate.

Always think your purchases out to decide if it is good for the wallet….will there be any benefit or just a tug on your wallet.

But to give you more information so you will not be trapped in this sneak attack.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/spaving-what-is-it-and-how-to-avoid-it-301178242.html

****Keep in mind if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.****

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

IST Saturday News Dump–29Jun24

That magical time again when we at IST find and post the best stories of the past week.

Time for the “Dump”!

The debate is still top news….people are still dying…..and leaders are still thumping their chest like demented primates.

Local news….as I put together this post,Summer in the Deep South as of this writing, 5am, the temp is 91 down from the high of 111….oh the joys of Summer in the South.

Let’s get to the grits and gravy….

The climate is on most people’s mind these days….Denmark has decided to do something about it….

In a world first, Denmark will tax livestock farmers for the greenhouse gases emitted by their cows, sheep, and pigs beginning in 2030. The country is targeting the major source of methane emissions as part of an effort to reduce Danish greenhouse gas emissions by 70% from 1990 levels by 2030, said Taxation Minister Jeppe Bruus. Details from the AP:

  • The tax: As of 2030 (and factoring in an income tax deduction), Danish livestock farmers will be taxed about $17 per ton of carbon dioxide equivalent. The tax will increase to $43 by 2035. CNN reports that, based on the roughly 6 tons released per cow each year, at the lower tax rate that works out to about $100 a year per cow.

  • Methane’s role: Although carbon dioxide typically gets more attention for its role in climate change, methane traps about 87 times more heat on a 20-year timescale, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

  • Its source: Livestock account for about 32% of human-caused methane emissions, says the UN Environment Program. Of what livestock contribute, some 90% comes from the way they digest, through fermentation, with the resulting methane released as burps through their mouths. Cows—Denmark has about 1.5 million of them—make up most of this belched methane. Most of the remaining 10% of livestock methane comes off manure ponds on both pig and cattle operations.
  • A failed attempt elsewhere: New Zealand had passed a similar law due to take effect in 2025. However, the legislation was removed from the statute book on Wednesday after hefty criticism from farmers and a change of government at the 2023 election from a center-left ruling bloc to a center-right one. New Zealand said it would exclude agriculture from its emissions trading scheme in favor of exploring other ways to reduce methane.

I think this is a cop-out…..if they want to do something then maybe focus on the major causes….humans.

How many of you like your seafood?

Do you know where yours come from?

In the world of marine life, some big news. The United Nations, via its Food and Agriculture Organization, is out with its 2024 report on the state of the world’s fisheries and aquaculture—the practice of breeding, raising, and harvesting aquatic organisms on farms—and for the first time, the global volume of fish, clams, shrimp, and other aquatic creatures culled via the farms has surpassed those harvested from the wild, reports the AP.

  • Stats: In 2022, there were 91 million tons of aquatic animals caught in the wild (down from 91.6 million the previous year), but 94.4 million tons created via aquaculture, or 51% of the total aquatic animal production, per a release. The total haul worldwide was 185 million tons.
  • Fish in farms vs. the wild: The AP details the types of fish you’d more commonly find in a fishery (Alaska pollock, skipjack tuna, and Peruvian anchovies), versus those on a fish farm (carp, tilapia, shrimp and prawns, and clams). The vast majority (90%) of all of this marine life is consumed by humans, while the rest is used in fish oils or to feed other fish.
  • Aquaculture’s dominance: Experts tell the AP that the limitations of Mother Nature have led to a stagnation in fishery hauls over the past 30 years or so. Ten countries now dominate aquaculture, mostly in Asia, producing nearly 90% of the aquaculture total, per the release: China, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Bangladesh, the Philippines, South Korea, Norway, Egypt, and Chile.
  • Environmental impact: The Grist takes a closer look at how both harvesting fish from the wild and aquaculture affect the environment. Both have their cons: Aquaculture, for instance, can lead to nitrogen and phosphorus being released, damaging aquatic habitats. Farm-bred fish can also spread disease among their wild counterparts and breed with them, leading to what the Grist calls “genetic pollution.” However, catching fish in the wild can leave the collateral damage of inadvertently killing off other species, thanks to certain “destructive” fishing practices, while some fisheries may harvest fish more quickly than they’re breeding.

I do not eat it so it matters little to me where it may originate…..but you might to check it out before your fall for any marketing scams.

Now for refrigerators…..an appliance that we all take for granted.

When we lived in Spain we had an ice box the original refrig….but think about what the refrig has done for you lately…..

The cheeseburger emerged a century ago, not too long after the dawn of refrigeration, and it’s no mere coincidence, writes Nicola Twilley in the New Yorker. If you tried to make one from scratch—harvest grain for the buns, slaughter a cow for the meat, grow some lettuce and tomatoes, age cheese, you’ll find that the timing is all but impossible without refrigeration. It’s just one example of the countless ways the invention has fundamentally changed the way we eat, though it’s not the primary focus of Twilley’s piece. Instead, she examines how refrigeration changed the very flavor of our food itself. Sometimes, in direct fashion—Twilley explains how the components of certain foods evolve in the fridge overnight and why leftover chili or soups might taste better to some as a result.

But perhaps more surprisingly is this: Our food and drinks have grown sweeter as an indirect result of refrigeration. “At least three of our basic taste receptors—sweet, bitter, and umami, or savory—are extremely temperature sensitive,” she explains. “When food or drinks cool the tongue to below fifty-nine degrees, the channels through which these receptors message the brain seem to close up, and the resulting flavor signal is extremely weak.” A warm Coke or a bowl of ice cream doesn’t just taste weird because it’s warm: Because “they’re intended to be consumed cold, they need to contain too much sugar in order to boost the signal, and to register in our brains as sweet at all.” This helps explain why food manufacturers have been putting so much extra sugar into products—if we drink a cold beverage with our meal, the accompanying food needs that sugar to pop.

As long as we are talking health stuff…..are you a coffee drinker?  Good news for some.

Researchers have long warned that sitting for most of the day is bad for your health. But if you’re drinking coffee while you’re sitting, the picture is better, according to new research. In a study published in the journal BMC Public Health, Chinese researchers who analyzed data on more than 10,000 Americans said that the higher mortality rate associated with sitting for long periods was only found in non-coffee drinkers, Medical Daily reports.

  • According to the study, people who sat for more than eight hours a day had a 46% higher risk of death from all causes, and a 79% higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
  • Lead researcher Huimin Zhou at the Medical College of Soochow University’s School of Public Health in China tells the Washington Post that sedentary coffee drinkers had a 24% reduced risk of mortality compared with those who sat for more than six hours and didn’t drink coffee.
  • Researchers also found that among those who drank at least two cups of coffee a day, the risk of deaths from all causes was reduced by 33% and the risk of death from cardiovascular disease was reduced by 54%.
  • The study used data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey participants over a 13-year period.
  • “The association of sedentary with increased mortality was only observed among adults with no coffee consumption but not among those who had coffee intake,” researchers wrote. “Given that coffee is a complex compound, further research is needed to explore this miracle compound.”
  • The study doesn’t mean that “drinking a lot of coffee permits you to sit around all day,” says Mallika Marshall at CBS Boston. “There may be other factors at play, but it does offer more evidence that drinking coffee may provide some health benefits.”

Think about that if you sit at a computer all day…..

Do you take your morning vitamins?

Think those multivitamins you pop daily will stave off disease and extend your life span? Scientists now say not only does that not seem to be the case, but that taking multivitamins on the regular could actually up the risk of a premature demise. Per Medical Daily, 1 in 3 US adults take daily multivitamins to supplement their diet, hoping that doing so will send them into a ripe old age. In a new study published Thursday in JAMA Network, researchers from Maryland’s National Cancer Institute decided to test that theory, tracking nearly 400,000 more or less healthy US adults who took part in three major studies over 20 years, looking specifically at their multivitamin use and how it affected longevity, per the Guardian.

The researchers found that those who consumed daily multivitamins didn’t exhibit a lower risk of death overall than those who remained vitamin-less, and they also didn’t show decreased mortality risk from cancer, heart disease, or cerebrovascular disease, per a release. In fact, those who took multivitamins each day showed a slight (4%) uptick in mortality risk overall in the first years of the follow-up period compared with those who didn’t take the multivitamins, per Medical Daily. It’s not completely clear why that risk might jump for vitamin takers, though one suggestion researchers offer is that people who are older or already not in the best of health might be more prone to start taking multivitamins in the first place, skewing the results.

A commentary published alongside the study talks up some of the benefits of certain supplements, such as vitamin C’s ability to ease scurvy, while zinc and vitamins C and E seem to slow down age-related macular degeneration. But researchers also note the harm that some multivitamins have the potential to cause, such as iron overload, which can raise the risk of dementia, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. In short, the researchers don’t see a big benefit to being a daily multivitamin consumer. “Micronutrients come most healthfully from food sources,” they note, per Medical Daily. “When supplementation is required, it can often be limited to the micronutrients in question.”

Sorry to be a bummer….but you may not be doing yourself any favors by taking those vitamins…..just producing expensive pee.

Lastly a controversial topic that always gets juices flowing….gun violence.

The US surgeon general on Tuesday declared gun violence a public health crisis, driven by the fast-growing number of injuries and deaths involving firearms in the country. The advisory issued by Dr. Vivek Murthy, the nation’s top doctor, came as the US grappled with another summer weekend marked by mass shootings that left dozens of people dead or wounded. “People want to be able to walk through their neighborhoods and be safe,” Murthy told the AP in a phone interview. “America should be a place where all of us can go to school, go to work, go to the supermarket, go to our house of worship, without having to worry that that’s going to put our life at risk.”

To drive down gun deaths, Murthy calls on the US to ban automatic rifles, introduce universal background checks for purchasing guns, regulate the industry, pass laws that would restrict their use in public spaces, and penalize people who fail to safely store their weapons. None of those suggestions can be implemented nationwide without legislation passed by Congress, which typically recoils at gun control measures. Some state legislatures, however, have enacted or may consider some of the surgeon general’s proposals. Murthy said there’s “broad agreement” that gun violence is a problem, citing a poll last year that found most Americans worry at least sometimes that a loved one might be injured by a firearm. More than 48,000 Americans died from gun injuries in 2022.

Murthy’s advisory promises to be controversial and will certainly incense Republican lawmakers, most of whom opposed Murthy’s confirmation—twice—to the job over his statements on gun violence. But he has faced mounting pressure from some doctors and Democratic advocacy groups to speak out more. A group of four former surgeon generals asked the Biden administration to produce a report on the problem in 2022. “It is now time for us to take this issue out of the realm of politics and put it in the realm of public health, the way we did with smoking more than a half-century ago,” Murthy said. A 1964 report from the surgeon general that raised awareness about the dangers of smoking is largely credited with snubbing out tobacco use and precipitating regulations on the industry.

There you have it….my ‘Dump’ for this Saturday.

Have a wonderful day and as always….Be Well and Be Safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Now Panic Sets In

Now time for some reality.

Keeping with the meme of the day….the debate….I would like to talk about the Democrats.

I gave my analysis earlier about this disastrous debate….disastrous in the case of Joe Biden….his performance was slip shot at best and now the Dems are scrambling to explain his poor showing….from he has a cold to whatever else the spin doctors come up with to explain his lack of clarity.

But in case you missed anything…..

President Biden’s campaign hoped the first presidential debate would push him ahead of Donald Trump in the polls. Instead, some Democrats are calling for him to step aside after a hoarse, faltering performance. His performance “left the field largely clear for Trump, despite the former president displaying his usual tendencies toward hyperbole and belligerence,” writes Niall Stanage at the Hill. He writes that for once, “virtually no one outside of the most hardcore partisans” disagreed about who won and lost the debate. David Graham at the Atlantic calls the debate a “disaster” for Biden that was “at times almost physically uncomfortable to watch.”

  • Biden’s “biggest weakness exposed.” Hopes that Biden would alleviate concerns about his age “died within minutes,” according to Shane Goldmacher and Jonathan Swan at the New York Times. With his voice raspy, Biden “grasped to recall some specifics, and labored to articulate the statistics he could remember,” they write. “In one early answer, he confused trillionaires with billionaires. Sometimes, he lost his train of thought entirely.”
  • Biden “lost in the first 15 minutes.” Biden “lost this debate within the first 15 minutes—probably the highest-viewed portion of the debate,” according to Elena Schneider at Politico. “Biden landed some strong rebuttals to Trump, particularly on Trump’s role during the Jan. 6 insurrection. But voters might’ve missed it if they turned off the debate after the first 30 minutes.”
  • A “low-water mark.” Biden, who “seemed to embody the right-wing caricature of the president as an old man who has lost the plot,” lost the debate, but Trump digressed into “bouts of verbal diarrhea” and showed “flashes of menace,” writes Tim Dickson at Rolling Stone. “This debate was a disgrace,” he writes. “It will stand as a low-water mark in American electoral politics. Despite profound differences on policy, neither man seemed capable of clearly outlining their intentions for the country’s future.”
  • A failed gambit. Molly Ball at the Wall Street Journal describes the earliest presidential debate in history as “Biden’s attempt to shake up a race that has appeared stalemated for months.” His campaign “believed Trump was benefiting from being somewhat out of the spotlight and that voters whose view of Trump was unduly colored by nostalgia would recoil when confronted anew with his abrasive persona,” Ball writes. “In the end, Biden may have succeeded in jolting the race out of its long stagnation, drawing a sharper contrast with his rival—just not in the way he wished.”
  • Mutual dislike was evident. The debate was “more personal than policy-focused,” and the candidates’ “mutual dislike shot through a night filled with invective and name-calling,” Goldmacher and Swan write at the Times. “Instead of a steady drumbeat about the stakes, the debate devolved to the point where the two men had a prolonged discussion about golf handicaps.”
  • False claims from Trump. Trump delivered his “usual stream of false and misleading claims,” Aaron Blake writes at the Washington Post, including his “false claim to having capped insulin costs before Biden did; blue states executing babies after birth; there being no terrorist attacks on his watch; Biden’s wanting to quadruple people’s taxes; and Biden’s having indicted him.”
  • Memorable lines. “We finally beat Medicare,” Biden said in a bungled description of healthcare initiatives. Later, talking about Trump’s hush-money trial he told him: “You have the morals of an alley cat.” The Guardian reports that in a “historical first for a presidential debate,” Trump replied: “I didn’t have sex with a porn star.”
  • Other winners and losers. Stanage at the Hill has alternative Democratic candidates alongside Trump in the winners’ column, as well as CNN, which “pulled off a coup in getting the debate in the first place.” Beyond Biden, another loser was the facts, Stanage writes, noting that the “amount of actual falsehoods uttered was striking,” and not all of them came from Trump. After Biden claimed that he had been endorsed by the Border Patrol Union, the union pushed back with a post on X.

Even this early there are some that are shaking their heads and thinking that maybe it is time for the old geezer to go…

Biden needs to step aside—for the sake of his own dignity, for the good of his party, for the future of the country.

President Joe Biden needs to end his campaign. The first presidential debate, held on Thursday night, was a disaster. It was clear from the outset that Biden looked old, sounded old, and yes, is in fact very, very old.

This has been rumored for a while. Thursday night, it was confirmed.

Panic seemed to set in among Democrats within minutes of the candidates taking the stage—on social media, at shell-shocked “watch parties.” Full freak-out mode was achieved by the 20-minute mark.

(theatlantic.com)

A fine idea and some of us have been saying that since March….I personally have never thought Biden was the best person for the job….but that is just me.

But how can it be accomplished…Biden being removed that is…..

Panicked Democrats might be ready to shove President Joe Biden to the side. But they need him to take the first step.

Within minutes of Biden’s poor debate performance concluding on CNN, the network’s commentators were openly discussing the possibility of replacing Biden on the ticket.

For apoplectic Democrats, the good news is that there is a way to do it before November.

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/06/28/can-democrats-replace-biden-00165684

But not to worry I do not see the Dems having the balls to rep[lace Biden.  If he loses they have something to piss and moan about for four years and a stage for the next election.

Nowhere does that benefit the people just the party and after all that is what this system is all about in the long run.

I believe you are stuck with Biden and unless something changes you are stuck with another 4 years of Trump and his strong arm tactics.

Again I wish I could say who I will vote for at this time but I am still making that decision and standing at a crossroad (future post).

The most pathetic showing ever!  I told them it was way too early for a debate and did they listen….Noooooooooooooo!

Better luck next time.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Debate Of A Lifetime?

Last night the worse possible thing for TV was the debate between Biden and Trump…..billed as an ‘anticipated moment’ left me a bit flat and a bit giggly…..it has been thrown around that it is a pivotal moment in history….can’t see that either.

Plus some said this debate could have been the ‘most consequential’ in history….not once did I consider that option…..and whoever made that statement was smoking crack.

I said early on that it would be a clown show….and I was not disappointed.

The reports are in….shall we dive in?

The short analysis….Trump lied….Biden stumbled.

So you want more?

First let me say that the idea of asking about UFOs did not make the cut  (thank god)

Early on the debate became chaotic….Biden looking out of sorts….

—the first-ever debate between a sitting president and a former president. The first question of the night for President Biden and former President Trump centered on the economy, but another early focus has been on stumbles made during the debate by Biden:

  • “Things were in chaos,” Biden said of the state of the economy he inherited by Trump, per the New York Times. The president blamed his predecessor for contributing to that by mismanaging the pandemic. “All he said was, ‘It’s not that serious, just inject a little bleach in your arm.'”
  • Trump rejected all of the above, declaring that he created “the greatest economy that we’d ever seen,” per CNN. And he hit Biden on a crucial point in the eyes of voters: “Inflation is killing our country.”
  • In an another early question, Biden “appeared to just lose his train of thought, concluding (incongruously) with, ‘We finally beat Medicare,'” writes Reid J. Epstein at the New York Times. Trump quickly took advantage: “He did beat Medicare—he beat it to death.” Biden likely meant to say, “We finally beat pharma,” notes the Washington Post.
  • Quick analysis on that: “Not only was that a tough moment—and the kind of moment Biden’s allies feared—it also teed up Trump to go on offense on Medicare,” writes Phil Mattingly at CNN. “That’s an issue Democrats always view as their advantage. Trump just grabbed it from Biden.”
  • On that front, Cleve R. Wootson Jr. of the Washington Post noted, even before the Medicare moment: “In these early moments, how Biden is talking seems to matter as much as what he is saying. His voice is a little raspy, even strained. Voters routinely, without prompting, bring up concerns about his age. I don’t know if he’s assuaging those concerns.” Colleague Josh Dawsey adds: “It’s hard to follow exactly what Biden is talking about on some of these answers on abortion and immigration.”
  • About 20 minutes in, Trump said of Biden after an immigration answer: “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence,” per Politico. “I don’t think he knows what he said either.”

Then of course the attacks got all personal…..

  • Biden: “The only person on the stage that is a convicted felon is the man I’m looking at right now,” Biden said. This came after Trump called Hunter Biden, the president’s son, a “convicted felon,” notes the Washington Post.
  • Trump: “Joe could be a convicted felon as soon as he gets out of office.”

Then the age old (no pun intended) question of age was thrown at them….

Biden: Moderator Dana Bash of CNN pointed out to Biden that he would be 86 at the end of his second term and asked him how he would reassure voters worried about his age. Biden began by joking that he was for much of his political career considered young in comparison to his political peers. He then talked about his accomplishments as president as proof he can do the job. “I’m not sure this Biden answer is helpful when it comes to concerns about his age,” writes Abby Phillip at CNN.

Trump: The former president would be 82 at the end of his term, and he was asked the same question about worried voters. “I took two cognitive tests—I aced them,” Trump said, challenging Biden to do the same, per the New York Times. He added, “I just won two club championships, not even senior. To do that, you have to be quite smart, and you have to hit the ball a long way.”

Golf handicaps? Biden suggested Trump has lied about his weight. “Take a look at what he is,” he said, adding, “I’d be happy to have a driving contest with him.” The two then argued a bit about their golf handicaps. “Let’s not act like children,'” Trump said. Biden shot back, “You are a child.”

This was when the silly reared its ugly head.

My favorite part of this whole night was the question about election results…

One of the last questions put to former President Trump during Thursday’s debate was on whether he will accept the results of the 2024 election even if he loses. He declined to make that pledge unequivocally:

  • Dana Bash: “Will you pledge tonight that once all legal challenges have been exhausted, that you will accept the results of this election, regardless of who wins?” asked the co-moderator, per the Guardian. “And you will say right now that political violence in any form is unacceptable?”
  • Trump: “Well, I shouldn’t have to say that, but of course, I believe that it’s totally unacceptable,” said the former president, focusing on the notion of political violence.
  • Trump II: “But the answer is, if the election is fair, free, and I want that more than anybody—and I’ll tell you something, I wish he was a great president, because I wouldn’t be here right now. I’d be at one of my many places, enjoying myself.” He then began a critique of Biden, accusing him of putting the US on a path toward war.
  • Trump III: The third time Bash pressed him for a direct answer on accepting the results, Trump said: “If it’s a fair and legal and good election, absolutely.” As the New York Times notes, however, Trump already has begun accusing the Democrats of fraud.
  • Biden: The president pointed out that Trump’s 2020 fraud claims have been rejected by the courts, per Politico. “I doubt you’ll accept it,” Biden said of the 2024 results, “because you’re such a whiner.”

This was more interesting than I had originally thought….but the viewers learned nothing other than the days of quality candidates has long slipped away.

This was a slap fight of two old geezers trying to look important….and they failed.

You want winners and losers?

Winners….not a goddamn person.

Losers….Two old farts, CNN, and especially anyone interested in our country…..I weep for the nation and its people.

Dems are in a panic after a dismal night for their candidate….

Politico uses the term “freaking out” to describe how Democrats are reacting to President Biden’s debate performance Thursday night, and that seems to be a near-universal take when following analysis of the first presidential debate of the 2024 election:

  • “Toast.” Politico was texting with Democratic operatives and activists during the debate, and one—the co-chair of Martin O’Malley’s 2016 presidential campaign in New Hampshire—said, “Biden is toast—calling it now.” Another said, “Time for an open convention.”
  • Biden’s health: At least two Democrats familiar with Biden’s condition said the president has a cold, which would explain his raspy voice and, perhaps, the seemingly confused nature of some of his answers.
  • Even so: On MSNBC, Joy Reid said that despite the president’s cold, the Democratic campaign operatives she was texting with throughout the debate had a reaction she described as “somewhere approaching panic,” noting that Biden actually performed worse than some had expected. Watch it in our gallery or here.
  • “An embarrassment.” On NewsNation, Chris Cuomo said Biden, Donald Trump, and the entire debate are all an “embarrassment” to America. However, he warned an open Democratic convention would be “chaos,” and suggested no Democrat is going to attempt to force Biden to take himself out of contention unless the president agrees.
  • “Personally painful.” That’s what Van Jones said it was like to watch Biden’s performance, and he said, per the Daily Caller, “we’re still far from our convention and there is time for this party to figure out a different way forward if he will allow us to do that.”
  • “I’ve seen enough.” That was Nicholas Kristof’s take in a piece at the New York Times. “We see the world through narratives, and one of the narratives about Biden is that he is too old. His performance reinforced that narrative when he needed to shatter it. Biden, unable to puncture Trump’s repeated falsehoods, allowed a convicted felon to win the debate,” he writes. But he echoes others in saying that Biden will need to make the choice himself to step aside in order for it to have any shot at working.

No one was converted to the other side by either performance…..the only reason people watched was to see if the other guy screwed up….no minds were changed.

In a society that is ate up with youth and beauty and these are the best people to represent the country….it just baffles me.

Let the spin begin!

I am at a crossroad for my vote (a post is forthcoming).

Are the two most capable candidates….think long and hard on your vote.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Putin: The Next Peter The Great?

I know while we await the big event of the evening to begin let’s talk about Putin…..every armchair expert’s favorite subject.

Some think that Putin is trying to regain the lost territory from the USSR days….while others think he is trying to become yet another Peter the Great…..

Even Vlad the Invader is thinking of myself as another Peter the Great…..

Russian energy giant Gazprom is reported to have been hit particularly hard by sanctions imposed as a result of the war with Ukraine. An internal report – obtained and published by the Financial Times – has forecast that the company is unlikely to recover gas sales lost as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for at least a decade.

But Gazprom chairman Alexey Miller is apparently pressing ahead with his plan to build an 82-metre triumphal column in front of his company’s landmark St Petersburg Lachta Centre skyscraper. The column will celebrate the defeat of Sweden in the great northern war, after which Russia declared itself to be an empire for the first time.

The conflict was fought by Russia at the head of a coalition including much of what would become Poland and Germany as well as Britain, by virtue of its king, George I, also being the ruler of Hanover. It pitted one of the dominant historical figures of the age, Charles XII of Sweden, against Peter I of Russia – also known by the epithet “the Great”.

On September 10 1721, Russia and Sweden signed the Treaty of Nystad, which awarded Estonia and large parts of what is now Finland to Russia and enabled Peter to declare Russia to be an empire. St Petersburg, which the tsar had founded in 1703 at the mouth of the River Neva on the Baltic Sea, was the seat of the empire and would remain so until February 1917 and the abdication of then tsar Nicholas II.

So Vladimir Putin’s enthusiasm for the project could be said to reflect his own aspirations and ambitions for 21st-century Russia under his leadership. There are a number of parallels the Russian president is keen to stress as part of his projection of himself as a modern-day Peter the Great.

https://theconversation.com/how-vladimir-putin-projects-his-image-as-a-modern-day-peter-the-great-232612

I know a lot has been said about Putin’s ambition and this article takes a good look at those ambitions.

Is he the next Peter the Great?

My thought is no he is not…..in his mind he may be but in action he will fall way short.

Does anyone have a thought they would like to share?

I Read, I Write, you Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Tonight’s The Big Night

The ‘most anticipated moment’ of the 2024 election will be held tonight and hosted by CNN….the Biden/Trump debate.

My thinking is that since most people have already made up their minds that this would be a bust for viewership…..I may have been mistaken…..at least according to the news reports that is….

Most US adults plan to watch some element of Thursday’s presidential debate, and many think the event will be important for the campaigns of both President Biden and former President Trump, according to a new poll from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Both men remain broadly unpopular as they prepare to face off for the first time since 2020, although Trump maintains a modest enthusiasm advantage with his base compared to Biden. Stats:

  • About 6 in 10 US adults say they’re “extremely” or “very” likely to watch the debate live or in clips, or read about or listen to commentary about the performance of the candidates in the news or social media, per the AP. The poll suggests tens of millions of Americans are likely to see or hear about at least part of Thursday’s debate despite how unusually early it comes in the campaign season.
  • USA Today reports Americans have tuned in to a Biden-Trump debate in great numbers before: The candidates’ September 2020 debate was one of the most-watched ever, with more than 73 million viewers, per Nielsen Media.
  • Both sides see the debate as important: About half, 47%, of Americans say the debate is “extremely” or “very” important for the success of Biden’s campaign, and about 4 in 10 say it’s highly important for Trump’s campaign.
  • Biden and Trump are each entering the debate with low favorability ratings, with about 6 in 10 US adults indicating they have a very or somewhat unfavorable view of Biden; a similar number have a negative view of Trump.

If someone has already made up their mind then why watch this clown show?

We all know that this could be a disastrous night for either one or maybe even both candidates…..and what if is is disastrous?

Here is an opinion on that issue….

When Joe Biden and Donald Trump met on a debate stage in October 2020, the result was…something.

The Washington Post called it “the worst presidential debate in living memory.” For media analyst Tom Jones at Poynter, it was a “dumpster fire” full of “constant interruptions. Constant talking over one another. Name-calling. Juvenile bickering.” A transcript of the debate reads like gibberish. Some commentators suggested that the planned rematch a few weeks later should be scrapped (it happened, but the moderators came armed with a mute button).

One of the few positive reviews came from Reason‘s Jacob Sullum, who argued that the debate was “good for the republic” because it shattered the “unfounded respect for the people who rule us.” Fair enough.

Welp, we’re doing it again. Except this time the candidates are four years even older, the country is $7.8 trillion further in debt, and the number of swing voters to influence is (probably) even smaller. And rather than taking place in the final weeks of the campaign, as debates typically do, this absurd spectacle is unfolding before the two old men on stage have been officially named the nominees of their respective major parties.

In that last detail, however, shines a faint silver lining.

What if Thursday night’s debate is a complete train wreck? And not in the same way as before. What if the debate doesn’t merely descend into uncivil nonsense—which is the bare minimum of what should be expected—and doesn’t simply confirm what the Biden-Trump debates in 2020 showed: that these men deserve neither our respect nor our affection?

Why a Disastrous Biden-Trump Debate Could Be the Best Outcome for America

Does anyone think that no matter what happens tonight that minds will be changed on voting?

Personally, I do not think it will change many minds no matter how good or disastrous the night maybe for one or the other candidate.

But no to worry the Old Professor will return tomorrow with a detailed post on the night’s festivities.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

2024–The Worse Election Ever

Lots of crap being spread through social media about this upcoming election….some on how violent it could be and some that it could be the worse election ever for the US.

Will it be the worse?

Of course, these political sparring matches leave many voters dissatisfied, as any Gore, Trump, or Sanders supporter will certainly tell you, but their pain is surely less than those felt in 1876. The bloody election lead to sweeping reforms and the secretive Compromise of 1877.

…

Grant served two terms in office before declining to run for a third. With so much bad blood brewing between the Republicans and the Democrats, the North and the South, the election was incredibly bitter. Rutherford B. Hayes (R) and Samuel J. Tilden (D) were the primary candidates, though Hayes was a compromise candidate after the frontrunner was unable to secure enough support at the Republican National Convention.

The election was fraught with allegations of electoral fraud, election violence, and disenfranchisement of Black Republicans. The Democrats relied on the White League and Red Shirts, para-military groups that violently disrupted rallies and suppressed both white and Black voters. In South Carolina, 101% of all eligible voters had cast their votes in a clear case of election fraud and an estimated 150 Black Republicans were murdered. Democrat ballots deceived illiterate voters by using the Republican symbol of Abraham Lincoln to steal votes. During the inevitable recounts, these votes were discarded.

(any of that sound familiar?)

https://wegotthiscovered.com/fyi/if-you-think-2024-will-be-the-worst-election-of-all-time-its-time-to-revisit-your-history/

This was not the first ugly election….think back to 1804….

I could write about this but since most people cannot concentrate to read I shall let a video do the deed.

So you see that Trump is not the only person to turn a vote into something ugly and contentious.

This election saw a Electoral College debacle that the House of Representatives had to sort out.

We are still paying for that POS today.

There is your short but sweet history lesson and since this is my special day I will bow out and see what gifts have come my way.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Does War Come To Lebanon?

It is Summer in the Deep South, 91 at 5am, and speaking of heating up.

The Gaza War is slowing down….deaths and hunger is still the major costs but will Israel be satisfied with a ‘win’ in Gaza? (There is no winning this conflict just a termination of actions).

Will Israel turn eyes North to Lebanon?

They probably will for they are already bombing the border regions as I type….but will it expand?

Well if BiBi can be trusted (hysterical laughter) and we take him at his word (which would be a mistake)….

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the current phase of fighting against Hamas in Gaza is winding down, setting the stage for Israel to send more troops to its northern border to confront the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, the AP reports. The comments threatened to further heighten the tensions between Israel and Hezbollah at a time when they appear to be moving closer to war. Netanyahu also signaled that there is no end in sight for the grinding war in Gaza. The Israeli leader said in a lengthy TV interview that while the army is close to completing its current ground offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, that would not mean the war against Hamas is over. But he said fewer troops would be needed in Gaza, freeing up forces to battle Hezbollah.

“We will have the possibility of transferring some of our forces north, and we will do that,” he told Israel’s Channel 14, a pro-Netanyahu TV channel, in an interview that was frequently interrupted by applause from the studio audience. “First and foremost, for defense,” he added, but also to allow tens of thousands of displaced Israelis to return home. The Iranian-backed Hezbollah began striking Israel almost immediately after Hamas’ Oct. 7 cross-border attack that triggered the Gaza war. Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire nearly every day since then, but the fighting has escalated in recent weeks, raising fears of a full-blown war.

The top US military officer warned on Sunday that any Israeli military offensive into Lebanon would risk an Iranian response in defense of Hezbollah, which is much stronger than Hamas, possibly triggering a larger, region-wide war involving other Iranian proxies and perhaps Iran itself that could put US forces in the region in danger and cause heavy damage and mass casualties on both sides of the border. Air Force Gen. CQ Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Iran “would be more inclined to support Hezbollah.” He added that Tehran supports Hamas militants in Gaza, but would give greater backing to Hezbollah “particularly if they felt that Hezbollah was being significantly threatened,” the AP reports.

But will the US have the stomach for more war in the Middle East….of course it will….

Deputy assistant to the US president Amos Hochstein has signaled that Washington would get behind an Israeli incursion into Lebanon, reportedly telling Beirut’s PM that Tel Aviv intends to shift focus to Hezbollah after fighting in Gaza winds down.

As reported by the Middle East Eye, citing an unnamed senior Arab official, this message was conveyed during talks with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and parliament speaker Nabih Berri on Tuesday. Hochstein bluntly warned that the US plans to support an Israeli attack should the two sides fail to deescalate tensions.

…

Hochstein also stated that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would shift “full focus” to Israel’s northern border following the Gaza pause, with the goal of pushing the Hezbollah away from Israeli soil. Such an escalation would almost certainly undermine future peace talks.

Israel and Hezbollah have traded tit-for-tat strikes around the border region on a near-daily basis since the war with Hamas broke out last October, with IDF raids pushing deeper into Lebanese territory in recent weeks. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced on both sides of the border due to the ongoing fighting.

While Hochstein traveled to Lebanon in a bid to quell the hostilities with Israel, Tel Aviv has all but confirmed that it intends to go ahead with an attack regardless. On Tuesday, the IDF announced that it had approved “operational plans” for a larger offensive in Lebanon, but shared few other details.

During a speech on Wednesday, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah issued a stark warning against an Israeli offensive, saying the move would trigger a war “without rules or ceilings.”

(antiwar.com)

It is not like Israel has not invaded Lebanon before and with disastrous results.

Is the invasion of Lebanon a logical step?

Many in Israel share the US’s apprehension, accusing the prime minister of perpetuating the Gaza war to stay in power and out of jail (he faces domestic criminal charges in addition to the ICC). Invading Lebanon would be a logical next step in this mad progression.

Let’s say Israel goes full tilt North….what will be next….Syria?

I am sorry but the slug BiBi is making the likelihood of a wider war possible….and the US is just stand by and feeding the angry beast.

What will the US do?

As usual a strongly worded letter…..

The Biden administration is concerned that the violence on the Israel-Lebanon border could soon escalate into a full-blown war and that Israel is rushing into the conflict without a clear strategy, Axios reported on Wednesday.

US officials told Axios that the administration has cautioned Israel against the idea of a “limited war,” warning that Iran could intervene and militants in Iraq and Syria could join the fighting.

Can the US prevent a wider war?

Nope….why?

During a trip to the Middle East last week, President Biden’s deputy Amos Hochstein told Lebanese leaders that Washington would be unable to constrain Tel Aviv. According to Axios, Hochstein warned, “The US won’t be able to hold Israel back if the situation on the border continues to escalate and that Hezbollah needs to indirectly negotiate with Israel instead of ratcheting up tensions.”

If the US is powerless then why bother with the Middle East at all?

Talk about looking weak to the world.

The report said the White House believes a ceasefire in Gaza is the only thing that could reduce tensions on the Israel-Lebanon border. However, Israeli officials have previously threatened to escalate in Lebanon if a truce is reached in Gaza.

This will not end well….it is just a feeling I have.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

“…If I Quacks Like A Duck….”

This is just another re-post from one of my many blogs…..this time it is the Daily Agitator…..

There are so many labels thrown around today that it gets mind numbing…..socialist is a popular one to use in describing Dems…..but it is made by people that have no idea what a socialist is about….there is NOTHING socialist about Dems….if you doubt me then look up socialism do yourself a favor it will prevent you from looking stupid.

Now the popular word to describe the hard Right is fascist….but is that fair?

This post explains why I use the term….it is up to you to make your own mind up.

Is It American Fascism?

There is a crossroad approaching and now is the time to dig in and learn what you can about the candidates stop listening to the noise….make up your mind.

Take some time and challenge your biases.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“cognito ergo me agitare”

Least We Forget

Apologies this should have been posted much earlier.

We Americans spend a lot of time remember those that have died in service to this nation…..and yet we totally ignore deaths that came at the hands of our staunchest ally.

I apologize I usually post on this subject on the day it happened but this year with Sue’s chemo and doctors it slipped by without me noticing.

June of 1967 the US Naval ship, the USS Liberty, was attacked by Israel planes and boats killing 34 American sailors….but here is the post that I usually give to my readers…..there is a lot of info there but take the time and see what happened on that day and then explain why you refuse to acknowledge their deaths.

Remember The USS Liberty!

This incident deserves closure but so far there has been NONE.

This is why I have NO use for the state of Israel….they murdered 34 Americans and got away with it…..why?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”