Indifference Could Carry The 2024 Election

The election is just a few months away and we already know who the combatants are……I have stated many times that I find nothing admirable in either candidate…..I believe I said something like ‘I would not hit a pig in the ass with either candidate’…..but it looks like I am not alone in my dislike….

One-fourth Americans have unfavorable views of both President Biden and Donald Trump, Pew Research data show—the highest level of any of the past 10 presidential elections. The share has almost doubled since the 2020 election, making this fall’s contest “the most dreaded election in modern political history,” Axios says. On the other hand, Pew’s survey found that 39% of Americans view Trump favorably and 37% feel that way about Biden. The survey was conducted before Trump was convicted in his New York criminal trial. This is a shift: At least one candidate had a favorable rating of at least 50% around this point in every campaign between 1988 and 2012. Through 2004, both nominees had favorability ratings of at least 50%, Pew reports.

  • Trump’s weekend: The Republican candidate campaigned in the battleground state of Michigan. In Detroit, Trump attacked immigrants in the US illegally in speeches at a Black church and to a group known to attract white supremacists, the AP reports. “The people coming across the border—all those millions of people—they’re inflicting tremendous harm to our Black population and to our Hispanic population,” Trump told the Turning Point Action convention on Saturday night. He also challenged Biden to a cognitive test and brought up his “Person, woman, man, camera, TV” success. Trump praised Rep. Ronny Jackson, a White House physician during his presidency, per the AP, but called him “Johnson.”
  • Biden’s weekend: The Democratic incumbent spent Saturday night raising more than $30 million in fundraiser in Los Angeles after skipping the Ukraine summit in Switzerland. Barack Obama costarred at the Peacock Theater event supported by Hollywood stars such as George Clooney, Julia Roberts, and Barbra Streisand, the AP reports. Jimmy Kimmel interviewed the former running mates. When he asked Biden what his proudest accomplishment is, Biden said, “We have the strongest economy in the world today,” adding “we try to give ordinary people an even chance.” When Kimmel asked what the president can do about a TV host who makes fun of him nightly, Biden asked, “Ever hear of Delta Force?”

WE have had some unimpressive candidates before but this time it boils down to a hold your nose vote…..it has been a long time since we have had one of those.

Or is this possibly open the field up for an independent candidate to make some small in-road into this rigged system?

I shall be writing about the hold you nose thing at a later date.

Any thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Answers Needed

This is a re-post from my other blog, The Daily Agitator, as I explain there these are questions I have asked several times and not one good answer…..hopefully if I separate them out someone will have an answer for me to respond to in the future.

Questions Need Answers

Hopefully the platitudes and crap will be left behind and someone anyone will have answers for the questions.

I can only hope.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Peace In Our Time

I am sure that most knowledgeable people recognizes those words (if not look it up)…..but this time it is used in conjunction with the conflict in Ukraine.

The world has seen enough carnage and stupidity and they have come together to try and work out some sort of peace for Ukraine…..

Officials from more than 100 countries gathered in Switzerland over the weekend to discuss ways to end the conflict in Ukraine, devising a “peace formula” even as Western leaders continue to flood the battlefield with weapons.

The conference kicked off on Saturday near the city of Lucerne, where delegations from the US, Germany, France, and scores of other states met to consider how to achieve a “just and lasting peace for Ukraine.” However, a joint communique issued by the participants on Sunday offered no new proposals, instead repeating generic statements about Ukraine’s “territorial integrity” and the “principles of sovereignty.”

In place of a workable peace plan, the joint statement outlined three basic points regarding the safety of nuclear facilities in Ukraine, the importance of food security and the global supply chain, and the need for prisoner of war exchanges between Kiev and Moscow. It went on to reiterate past United Nations resolutions calling for an end to the war.

Ahead of her speech at the meeting on Saturday, US Vice President Kamala Harris announced an additional $1.5 billion in aid for Kiev. This includes funds to rebuild infrastructure, $379 million in humanitarian assistance, and another $300 million to support “civilian security.” The new package follows the over $50 billion in US military aid already supplied throughout the war, including long-range missiles, main battle tanks, and other heavy weapons.  (I have a problem with the cash for interior stuff….a good place for corruption to take control….and what the Hell is “civilian security”?)

Ukraine’s War Backers Hold ‘Peace’ Conference

Good idea but for one small thing….Russia was not included and for this to work they need to be heard.

Putin put out his own version of a ‘peace’ deal….

Russian President Vladimir Putin laid out four conditions for Ukraine that he said would lead to an immediate ceasefire and, ultimately, an end to the conflict. According to the Kremlin, Kiev’s neutral, non-aligned, non-nuclear status and the lifting of all Western sanctions are necessary conditions for ending the conflict.

In a speech to the Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday, Putin said that if Ukraine withdraws its forces from the four regions annexed by Moscow – Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson – then he would order a halt to operations and begin negotiations to end the war.

Putin Makes Public Peace Offer to Ukraine

This is a no go for the territories involved are one of the biggest disputes of this as well as Ukraine and NATO….NO I am not supporting Russia’s claim to anything….just that it could be a starting point for massive negotiations.

This is not the first time that ‘peace’ has been attempted….there was an offer in 2022….

In April 2022, Ukraine and Russia were on the brink of signing a deal to end the war just weeks after it began. The New York Times published documents showing President Vladimir Putin was willing to make concessions to get an agreement signed.

According to the documents, Putin initially sought to have Kiev recognize Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea. However, a draft agreement from April 15, 2022, suggests both parties were prepared to set aside the issue to end the conflict. “Paragraph 1 of Article 2 and Articles 4, 5, and 11 of this Treaty shall not apply to Crimea and Sevastopol,” the document says.

In December, Ukrainian negotiator Oleksandr Chalyi explained that an agreement was reached in the spring of 2022, stating the two sides “managed to find a very real compromise. We were very close in the middle of April, in the end of April, to finalize our war with some peaceful settlement.”

Documents: Putin Was Willing To Compromise To End War in 2022

Now if they were close then what changed?

Why is no one actually aggressively pursuing a peaceful road?

I have an idea why….but it is too gruesome to mention and I hope I am wrong.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”