Tag: Pres. Biden

Biden’s Fond Farewell

Last night Biden took a lap around the nation in an attempt to put some sort of brave face on his administration…..my opinion….he failed.

President Biden bid farewell to the nation on Wednesday evening, taking pride in US achievements while warning of threats to “the idea of America”—including attacks on democratic institutions, misinformation spread by social media, and the rise of an oligarchy that concentrates money and power in the hands of a few Americans. One of the threats, he said, should be dealt with by amending the Constitution to say no president should have immunity for crimes committed while in office, the AP reports. After 50 years in public office—and listing accomplishments, dangers, and potential solutions—Biden closed his final address as president with, “Now it’s your turn to stand guard.”

As he spoke from the Oval Office of the White House with first lady Jill Biden in the room, the president committed to a peaceful transfer of power next week, giving the example of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire announced earlier in the day. “This plan was developed and negotiated by my team, and will be largely implemented by the incoming administration,” Biden said, per the Washington Post, adding that he told his team to keep President-elect Trump’s informed of the agreement, “because that’s how it should be.”

Acknowledging Dwight Eisenhower’s farewell address that warned of the rise of a military-industrial complex, Biden said, “I’m equally concerned about the potential rise of a tech-industrial complex.” Some of the world’s wealthiest people, including the titans of technology, have lined up behind Trump, per the AP. Biden warned of “dangerous consequences” if the “abuse of power” by the few goes unchecked. He also called for imposing 18-year term limits for Supreme Court justices.

“Farewell addresses are challenging, because they aim to put the capstone on an era at a time when most of the country has already moved on to the next one,” author Robert Schlesinger said. In leaving Wednesday night, Biden expressed “my eternal thanks to you, the American people,” as well as to his wife and family, members of his administration, service members, and Vice President Kamala Harris. He said he still believes “in the idea for which this nation stands.”

If he wanted to truly shine a light on the dangers then he should have pointed to the Lobbyists and special interests that are destroying this country.

He pointed to many things that are a danger and yet if these were known the whole time why did he and the Dems do very little to correct the problems?

Let’s not mince words here….while the nation may be safer the rest of the world is on fire thanks to Biden and Dems policies…..

Let’s look at the real legacy…..

A key measure of any U.S. president’s success is the ability or good fortune to leave his successor with a better international situation than the one he inherited.  Donald Trump inherited a relatively stable situation from Barack Obama, but his chaotic and unstable leadership did no favors for Joe Biden.  Trump now inherits a broad pattern of disorder in Europe, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific, and has named a national security team that seems destined to make all of these issues worse.

Sadly, Joe Biden is leaving the presidency with no awareness of his shortcomings.  He has charged Sudan with genocidal policies, but refuses to acknowledge his complicity with regard to Israeli genocidal policies.  Recently, Biden announced an additional $8 billion in fighter jets, attack helicopters, and artillery to an Israel that relies almost solely on sophisticated U.S. weaponry inappropriate for the terrain and the targets that Israel is facing.  Biden’s national security team ignored Israel’s right-wing attempts to undermine the rule of law, although the importance of the rule of law was Biden’s major campaign volley against Trump.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/01/14/the-dangers-of-bidens-legacy-and-trumps-inheritance/

Biden is not leaving office with the world in better shape….

As President Biden’s term approaches its end, the US and several parts of the rest of the world are significantly worse off than they were when he took office. While the president is frequently lauded by members of the foreign policy establishment as a successful foreign policy leader, his tenure has been marked for the most part by deepening US involvement in foreign conflicts that show no signs of ending anytime soon. US policies under Biden have served only to stoke destabilizing conflict, and the president has shown no inclination to bring any of the wars currently backed by Washington to an end. Biden’s presidency showed the world just how extensive the rot in US foreign policy is, and most other nations will not soon forget what restored American “leadership” wrought.

Biden ran on the promise of ending America’s forever wars, but after the withdrawal from Afghanistan he then spent most of his presidency going out of his way to involve US in conflicts where no vital American interests were at stake. The risk of great power conflict has also risen under Biden as he has pursued a China policy of containment and rivalry that the US can ill afford while US-Russian relations have sunk to new lows over Ukraine. In the Middle East, Biden has enabled Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza, backed their invasion of Lebanon, and supported their attacks on Iran. He has helped Israel sow chaos across the region, and he committed the US to a new open-ended and illegal war in Yemen. The president’s extreme ideological attachment to Israel led him to pursue an indefensible policy of unconditional support that has fueled the slaughter of civilians and created one of the worst man-made famines in modern times.

https://original.antiwar.com/Daniel_Larison/2024/10/31/bidens-destructive-legacy/

Let’s be honest Biden’s legacy will be one of making nothing better and assisting in a world on fire by arming those that would do the most harm.

Do I really mean that?

As the sun sets on Joe Biden’s presidency, the Commander-in-Chief and his top staffers are using their final moments in power to convince the American people that we live in a safer and more stable world.

“The United States is winning the worldwide competition compared to four years ago,” Biden declared Monday. “America is stronger. Our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are weaker.”

The claims that America is winning and strong are as laughable as when the mainstream media repeatedly attempted to convince the American people that Biden is as “sharp as a tack.”

Americans have witnessed Joe Biden’s physical and cognitive decline over the past four years, which perfectly personifies the American empire. Rather than becoming stronger, the treasury and arms depots were exhausted for the benefit of Ukraine and Israel. America is bankrupt; economic prosperity is increasingly elusive for the average citizen and enjoyed only by an exclusive class with access to government power.

https://original.antiwar.com/kyle_anzalone/2025/01/15/joe-bidens-legacy-waging-proxy-wars-spreading-terrorism-and-killing-diplomacy/

The world is on fire and Biden throws gasoline on it…..how does that make things better?

What say you?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Biden’s Shot In The Dark

Biden’s days are numbered and he will soon retire to someplace in Delaware and write a book. But before he goes he took a stab at looking like a president that cared.

His big announcement was about the environment….

President Biden is pledging to cut US greenhouse gas emissions by more than 60% by 2035 as he fights to ensure his legacy on slowing global warming, even as President-elect Trump vows to undo much of Biden’s climate work when he takes office next month. Biden said the new goal—which supersedes a previous plan to cut carbon emissions at least in half by 2030—keeps the United States on track to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions economy-wide by 2050, per the AP. The US is making a formal submission of the new target, known as a Nationally Determined Contribution, to the United Nations under terms of the 2015 Paris climate agreement, Biden said Thursday.

The new goal calls for reducing net emissions by 61% to 66% below 2005 levels in 2035. “I’m proud that my administration is carrying out the boldest climate agenda in American history,” Biden said in a videotaped statement. “We’re doing it by setting ambitious goals,” such as deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind and conserving at least 30% of US lands and waters by 2030, Biden said. His administration also has set strict new standards to cut air pollution from cars, trucks, and power plants and signed into law the most significant investments in climate and clean energy in US history, he said.

The proposal would require sustained changes across the economy, from power generation to transportation, buildings, agriculture, and industry, including significant increases in renewable energy and steep cuts in emissions from fossil fuels. The US pledge includes methane reductions of at least 35% from 2005 levels by 2035, Biden said. Cutting methane emissions is among the fastest ways to reduce near-term warming and is crucial to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The action by the Democratic president comes just over a month before he’s set to leave office. Trump has already promised to unleash a series of executive actions that will seek to undo most or all of Biden’s climate agenda as the Republican president-elect pushes for “energy dominance” around the globe. More here.

This is a bold proposal but where was it 4 years ago?

How will this be carried out when in just days the most climate hostile president will take office?

This was lame and a shot in the dark….kinda like most Biden policies.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Fly American!

No this is not some diatribe about American Airlines…..but rather a flag post.

It seems that the flag you fly in the front yard may not be American at all and the Congress wants to do something about that….

Soon, Old Glory will have to be born in the land of the free and not merely flying over it. Congress has passed a proposal to require the federal government to purchase only American flags that have been completely manufactured in the US. The US imports millions of American flags from overseas, mostly from China, and the sponsors of the proposal said it’s time for American flags to originate in the country they represent, the AP reports.

  • Supporters of the proposal, led by Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, said the change is more than just symbolic—they believe it will support American jobs and manufacturers while preserving the nation’s most recognized banner.
  • The American flag serves as a symbol of our identity, resolve, and values as one people. To honor its significance, the federal government should only use flags entirely manufactured in the United States,” Collins said.
  • Supporters of the proposal said Monday that they expect the measure to be signed into law soon. It was sent to President Biden on Thursday.
  • Federal rules currently require the government to buy flags that contain half US-made materials, supporters of the proposal said. The rule change, called the All-American Flag Act, requires government-purchased flags to be produced entirely with American-made materials as well as manufactured in the US.
  • The value of US flag imports in 2015 was well over $4 million, according to federal data. The vast majority of those imports came from China, supporters of the rule change said. In 2017, the US imported some 10 million American flags, and 99.5% of them came from China, supporters of the proposal said. Those figures include all American flags imported into the country and not just those purchased by the federal government.
  • Collins and Brown have been pushing for American flags to be manufactured in the US for several years. Previous efforts to change the rules to require US-made flags found success in the Senate but stalled when they reached the House of Representatives. The bill finally passed in the House last week.

How gracious of them to do this for the country.

But I believe there are many more problems that need attention….hunger, prices, housing pop in mind….but they do something this lame that could probably be done with an Executive Order.

So if you are flying an American flag made in China can you claim to be all that patriotic?

This effort is a waste of energy and time….but that is what Congress does best.

Anything?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

“We Are Not At War”

I realize that politicians have a way of skirting the truth when it suits them…..but I really hate when these same politicians blow smoke up my butt…..and Biden did just that in a recent speech….

President Biden falsely claimed in an address to the nation that the US was not at war.

“I’m the first president in this century to report to the American people that the United States is not at war anywhere in the world,” the president said.

About a half hour before Biden delivered his address, US Central Command announced that it launched new strikes targeting the Houthis in Yemen. Since January, the US has carried out hundreds of strikes in Yemen as part of a new war that has not been authorized by Congress.

US naval commanders have described the fight against the Houthis in the Red Sea as the largest naval battle the US has been engaged in since World War II. Back in April, US military officials said the munitions used in the Red Sea and other bombings Biden ordered in Iraq and Syria since October 7 had cost the US about $1 billion.

The US has also been involved in combat operations against ISIS remnants in Iraq and Syria. Earlier this month, CENTCOM said it had been involved in 196 partnered operations in both countries in the first half of 2024. US troops deployed in Syria are not welcomed by the government, making it an illegal military occupation.

At the end of 2023 and the beginning of this year, the US was fighting Shia militias based in Iraq that began targeting US bases in response to the US support for the Israeli onslaught in Gaza. In January, three US troops were killed in a drone attack on Tower 22, a secretive base in Jordan near the Syrian border.

The US launched multiple rounds of airstrikes against the Shia militias, which are part of Iraq’s security forces. The bombings enraged the Iraqi government, which asked the US to withdraw, and now the two sides are negotiating the future of the US presence.

The US has also bombed Somalia multiple times this year to support the Mogadishu-based government against al-Shabaab. The US also launched an airstrike that it said targeted ISIS in Somalia back in May.

(antiwar.com)

But ‘we are not at war’…..I guess his definition of war is different from mine….but then that is what crooked politicians do….making up a reality and sell it to idiots.

Just on a whim I wanted to know how many American ships had been targeted and so far I found one…..there may be more but I found only a single incident.

I want to know why it falls on the US to police the shipping lanes when our flagged ships are not a major target.

Must we protect the whole goddamn world?

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”

Should We Worry?

My biggest worry is that it is 5am and the temp is 90….but that is just me.

Should we worry…..more so than normally?

A political career, these days, lives or dies on the backs of campaign dollars…..and of course 2024 will be an expensive one indeed.

So I thought I would dive into the funding thing as soon as possible….these are the latest figures but that could change the closer we get to an actual vote.

Let’s begin with Trump and his minions that bankroll his sprint to the presidency….one would think a guilty verdict would stifle the cash infusion…..you would be mistaken….

Recall President Biden’s big fundraising lead over former President Trump? It’s nowhere near as big owing to a surge of donations following Trump’s May 30 fraud conviction in New York, the Washington Post reports. Trump and the Republican National Committee say they raised $141 million in May, per the New York Times, far outpacing the $85 million raised by Biden and the Democratic National Committee. Biden’s team had $212 million in the bank at the start of June, reports the AP. Trump’s total was at least $170 million, according to the Times, and that represents only a partial count.

Given that Trump was behind by $100 million in April, the trend is clear. Biden and the Democrats may still hold a cash advantage, but “almost four months before Election Day, Trump’s side is closing the gap—if it isn’t closed already,” per the AP, which describes Trump’s May haul as “jaw-dropping.” The Trump team says it raised $53 million in the first 24 hours after Trump’s conviction and $70 million in the first 48 hours, though the numbers won’t be verified July. Both camps also have benefited from mega-donors:

  • For Trump: Billionaire banking heir Timothy Mellon donated $50 million to Trump’s political action committee Make America Great Again on May 31, the day after his conviction.

What will $50 million buy from a president?

While Trump is raking in the dollars the Biden camp is not as lucky…..

Joe Biden’s campaign planned to bury Donald Trump in an avalanche of cash.

Instead, his allies are bracing for a slugfest without the benefit of a fatter wallet, as financial reports showed Trump outraising Biden in back-to-back months, hauling in huge sums after his 34 felony convictions and erasing Biden’s longstanding financial edge.

Democrats in recent days largely downplayed Trump’s new financial lead in the same way Trump’s allies had when Biden was running ahead in the money race — saying the president would have enough money to compete.

But privately, several Democratic strategists and donors were reeling.

“There was the strategy of raising all this money on the front end so we could have this huge edge,” said one Biden bundler, granted anonymity to speak candidly. “The whole point of it was to come out with a sizable cash advantage and, you know, we’re now even and it’s June. … I have no other word for it other than ‘depression’ among Biden supporters.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/06/23/biden-trump-finances-00164566

What is it they say about the ‘best laid plans’?

Dollars are not the only situation that is not looking good for Dems, at least the Dem candidate for president…..the Hispanic vote is slipping through the Dems fingers all on the back of immigration…..

Both Hispanic and non-Hispanic voters in the seven swing states trust former President Donald Trump and the Republican Party more on immigration than President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party, according to a new poll.

While 38% of Hispanic voters in battleground states trust Biden more on immigration, 41% trust Trump more, and 16% are undecided, according to a survey released last week by the polling agency Equis.

Additionally, 34% of non-Hispanic voters in swing states trust Biden more on immigration, while 49% favor Trump more, the poll shows. 

The results for both groups are outside of the poll’s 2.5% margin of error.

Hispanic voters have historically supported the Democratic Party, but the surveys show that support appears to be shifting towards Trump ahead of the 2024 election.

This poll was conducted April 20-May 5, 2024 with 3,569 registered voters in 11 states, including all seven swing states and four solidly Democratic states, and it has a 2.5% margin of error.

(justthenews.com)

Immigration looks like the hot button issue…..for now.

A lot can change in the months that lead up to the vote….but I do not see any of that actually happening, do you?

Change is something that most Americans have a rash when mentioned.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

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”

Biden Apologizes

WTF?

It seems that over last week the president set about apologizing to Zelensky for cash outlays delays….

Again I ask….’WTF?’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked President Biden for America’s support in his country’s fight against Russia—and Biden apologized for the six-month delay to the latest military aid package. “I apologize for the weeks of not knowing what’s going to pass in terms of funding because we had trouble getting the bill that we had to pass,” he said during their meeting in Paris on Friday. “Some of our very conservative members were holding it up. But we got it done finally.” Russia launched an offensive and gained territory in parts of Ukraine during the gap in funding from the US, the Hill reports.

  • “We’re not going to walk away.” “We’re still in,” Biden told Zelensky. “Completely. Thoroughly.” He added: “You haven’t bowed down. You haven’t yielded at all. You’ve continued to fight in a way that’s really remarkable,” per the Washington Post. “We’re not going to walk away from you.”
  • Zelensky pleads for WWII-style unity. Zelensky thanked US lawmakers for passing the aid package and called for unity, the AP reports. “It’s very important that in this unity, United States of America, all American people stay with Ukraine like it was during World War II,” he said. “How the United States helped to save human lives, to save Europe. And we count on your continuing support in standing with us shoulder to shoulder.”
  • Pointe du Hoc speech. Biden drew a parallel to Ukraine in remarks at a D-Day commemoration ceremony Thursday. He will make another speech in Normandy on Friday, at Pointe du Hoc, where Army Rangers scaled 100-foot cliffs on D-Day, the New York Times reports. Ronald Reagan delivered what was considered one of his most powerful speeches at the same spot 40 years ago. He praised the “boys of Pointe du Hoc” as the “champions who helped free a continent.” In remarks Biden is expected to echo on Friday, Reagan denounced isolationism, saying it “never was and never will be an acceptable response to tyrannical governments with an expansionist intent.”

Personally I do not see why an American president had anything to apologize for…..I mean Ukraine has gotten countless millions in cash and equipment….and the president apologizes?

There are countless programs in this country that would love to get uncountable millions….but it is far more important to keep some god awful war going.

Zelensky should be thankful for the assistance but instead he bitches that we and our allies have not done enough.

Personally I am disappointed that Biden felt he had to apologize for anything…..maybe using American ordinance to kill civilians if he must apologize for anything.

Then there was Biden’s Pointe du-Hoc speech where he invokes the words of Reagan on isolationism.

President Biden invoked the Army Rangers who scaled the cliffs on Pointe du Hoc on D-Day as he delivered a speech at the Normandy site on Friday, saying they’re “asking us to do our job, to protect freedom in our time, to defend democracy.” He described how the 225 Rangers ran toward Nazi gunfire and clawed their way up the precipice after Nazis cut their ladders and ropes. The heroes of that day, Biden said, would want Americans to fight Vladimir Putin’s aggression in Europe. In 1984, Ronald Reagan delivered a speech in the same spot in Normandy, warning against American isolationism.

  • “As we gather here today, it’s not just to honor those who showed such remarkable bravery that day, June 6, 1944,” Biden said. “It’s to listen to the echo of their voices. To hear them. Because they are summoning us.”
  • “They’re not asking us to scale these cliffs,” the president said, per CBS News. “But they’re asking us to stay true to what America stands for. They’re not asking us to give or risk our lives. But they are asking us to care for others in our country more than ourselves.”

(Seriously?  Care more for our country?  Is that why Ukraine and Israel get whatever they want and children go hungry in America?  Seriously?)

He threw out the hint of how bad isolationism is for our country…..while echoing Reagan….

Isolationism is the political and economic policy of avoiding involvement in international affairs. It is a strategy of protectionism which generally seeks to avoid economic entanglements with other nations. It is often used to protect a nation’s resources, economy, and citizens from the perceived dangers of international relations.

Isolationism is not synonymous with xenophobia, but rather a rejection of the idea that a nation must rely on foreign influence or support to remain strong. Examples of successful isolationist nations in modern history include North Korea and Cuba.

Wanting our money to remain here is not isolationism…for if you think that multi-national corporations will withdraw from the world economy then you are smoking crack.

Most opponents just want the US to stop or at least slow down the forever spending on forever wars….is that too much to ask?

On a side note:  Pres. Biden looks old and frail in his speeches….not a good look for his re-election push.

I have had enough of the tough talk….I want to see some action that illustrates the Congress and the president actually cares about the people of this country more that others.

So far I have not seen this at all.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Biden On D-Day

As usual the American president made his way to Normandy to celebrate the invasion and what has been called ‘the beginning of the end’……

An as usual the president stepped up to the sound system to make his speech.

President Biden marked the 80th anniversary of D-Day on Thursday by saying “we will not walk away” from the defense of Ukraine and allow Russia to threaten more of Europe. “To surrender to bullies, to bow down to dictators, is simply unthinkable,” he said during a ceremony at the American cemetery in Normandy. “If we were to do that, it means we’d be forgetting what happened here on these hallowed beaches.” D-Day was the largest amphibious assault in history, and Biden called it a “powerful illustration of how alliances, real alliances make us stronger,” the AP reports. He said that was “a lesson that I pray we Americans never forget.”

  • “The autocrats of the world are watching closely to see what happens in Ukraine,” Biden said, per the BBC. Ukraine, he said, “has been invaded by a tyrant,” he added, per CBS News.
  • Speaking about the American troops that stormed Normandy’s beaches on June 6, 1944, Biden said “let us be worthy of their sacrifice,” adding, per the AP: “We must remember that the fact that they were heroes here that day does not absolve us of what we have to do today. Democracy is never guaranteed. Every generation must preserve it, defend it, and fight for it. That’s the test of the ages.”
  • Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelensky and his wife were applauded when they arrived at the event, the Guardian reports.
  • Before Biden’s remarks, French President Emmanuel Macron told US veterans that “you came here because the free world needed each and every one of you, and you answered the call,” per the AP. Macron awarded the Legion of Honor to several of them, and he kissed them on each cheek as he pinned on their medals. Biden followed with handshakes and embraces.
  • Earlier, Biden and first lady Jill Biden met with more than two dozen American veterans near Omaha Beach, where the fiercest D-Day fighting took place.
  • Biden told a veteran that “you saved the world.” The president led the audience in singing “Happy Birthday” to another. Steve Spielberg and Tom Hanks, the Hollywood heavyweights behind movies and television shows about World War II, were nearby. When Army veteran Robert Gibson approached, the first lady clutched his arm to help him stand next to the president as they shook hands. “Don’t get old,” the 100-year-old man from New Jersey joked to the 81-year-old president, who was a toddler on D-Day. The BBC notes that Biden “will likely be” the last US president to have been alive during the operation.
  • In an interview with the AP a few days ago, Gibson said he was “living on borrowed time” but wanted to see the beach again. He was in the second wave of troops that landed on Utah Beach on D-Day. “Terrible. Some of the young fellows never ever made it to the beach,” he said. “It was so bad that we had to run over [them] to get on the beach. That’s how bad it was.”

His words were excellent to the vets that made the long trip…but I have a problem with using comparisons….the day was about the men that stormed the beaches of Normandy….the speech should have been totally about that and the sacrifices made….I bet the vets could care less about Ukraine on this day.

The surrender thing was dumb…the US surrenders to bullies and autocrats….i e Saudi Arabia, Israel….the US surrenders to their cash and influence.

I am sorry but this speech should been about the day of the invasion….make your brownie points later.

So far I have not seen any mention to the vet that died on his way to Normandy…..so I shall do it….

An American veteran of World War II died after traveling to Europe to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion by Allied troops, reports the New York Times. Robert Persichitti, 102, suffered a medical emergency on Friday while aboard a ship headed for Normandy, France, and died later at a hospital in Germany, reports WHEC 10, a TV station in his hometown of Rochester, New York. “He died peacefully, and he did not die alone,” said Richard Stewart, president of the vets’ group Honor Flight Rochester.

A friend traveling with him, Al DeCarlo, tells 13WHAM that the doctor treating him played Frank Sinatra, Persichitti’s favorite singer, on her phone for him as he died. Persichitti served in the Navy during the war, and he witnessed the iconic raising of the flag at Iwo Jima from the deck of his ship, the USS Eldorado. He served as a radioman on the ship in Okinawa and Guam as well as Iwo Jima, according to Stars and Stripes. Persichitti’s medical emergency was not specified, but he had a history of heart trouble.

May he now Rest In Peace and thank you for all you did for this country and the world.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Biden On Immigration–2024

The GOP has been hammering Biden on his lack of substance on immigration……now that the election is just months away he will try and silence some of the criticism with the use of the Executive Order process.

Plus this should provide a much needed diversion from is limp wrist policies toward Israel.

President Biden, under increasing heat to stem the number of migrants crossing the border, is expected to unveil his most aggressive move yet Tuesday in the form of an executive order. The New York Times reports that the order would essentially seal the Mexican border when the number of migrants reaches a certain threshold by prohibiting anyone who crossed the border illegally from claiming asylum. Instead, border officials would be allowed to quickly deport the migrants back to Mexico or their home country, per the Wall Street Journal.

Biden is expected to sign the measure at the White House in the company of mayors from border towns, per the AP. However, whether such an order can withstand a legal challenge is uncertain. The Journal notes that then-President Trump attempted to enforce a “nearly identical ban” back in 2018, but a federal court blocked him on the grounds that it violated longstanding asylum laws allowing anyone to seek asylum no matter how they entered the country.

Immigration has emerged as a top issue in the presidential campaign, with Trump and Republicans criticizing Biden as too soft on the issue. CNN reports that the White House is pushing to put something in place before the first Trump-Biden debate on June 27. While details remain under wraps, the Times calls the broad strokes of the plan “the single most restrictive border policy instituted by Mr. Biden, or any modern Democrat.”

This will do little to solve any problems we have at our borders or to silence that constant nagging by the GOP….it may give him a short burst of support before the election.

This will not solve any problems or help the criticisms….it will make the MSM happy for there will be yet another news story for them to blow out of proportion.

Will this satisfy the armchair geniuses?

Doubtful!

Onward and upward….as they say….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”