The Long March to 11/24

cannabineer said:

The thing most myopic Americans see is that everything from gas to restaurant food to a new pickup costs 1.5x what it did just before the pandemic. In that time my monthly check went up about 1.15x.

The correlation with that man’s ouster is read by so many as causation.

That is why a mendacious framing of the economy is working so well for the Republicans.

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Yeah, I'm aware of the focus on inflation and absolute prices rather than purchasing power. Gas prices are not a means to measure the economy. I wanted to include it in my post, but couldn't find a good link/screenshot. There's this one talking head I listen to, often on repeat as the tv channel he's on is my background tv during most afternoons. He was asked about Biden's shrinkflation piece before the super bowl. Down-to-earth reasonable decent guy thus clearly favoring Biden, he argued that of course shrinkflation and inflation (paying the same for less or more for the same) is effectively the same thing, inflation, and, more importantly, what really matters is purchasing power, real wages.

Not even 'immigrants' is a more covered issue in NL and Germany than purchasing power. Before elections, most political parties submit their plans to an independent bureau that calculates what the effects will be on the economy, and more importantly, purchasing power. What can you buy with your monthly income. And overall, US, Biden, is doing far better in handling that too:

• Real wages have risen since before the pandemic across the income distribution. In particular, middle-income and lower-income households have seen their real earnings rise especially fast. And in the past 12 months, real wages overall have grown faster than they did in the pre-pandemic expansion.
• Household purchasing power has increased as a result. In 2023, the median American worker can afford the same goods and services as they did in 2019, plus an additional $1,000 to spend or save—because median earnings rose faster than prices.
• The U.S. economy now has over 2 million more jobs than pre-pandemic forecasters expected. Therefore, more and more workers are benefitting from increased purchasing power, thanks to the strong and resilient labor market.
• This pattern of rising purchasing power is particularly American: other advanced economies have generally seen lower, and in many cases negative, real wage growth.

I realize that isn't the case for every individual. Like those with scandalous low minimum wages or not having received salary increase or tax reduction to compensate for the inflation in recent years. Overall, it is the case. For the rest, Trump isn't going to fix that, expert opinion is the opposite, his plans will increase inflation again, he will fuck it up while those who don't even look at the gas prices get a little more rich.

Sativied said:

Yeah, I'm aware of the focus on inflation and absolute prices rather than purchasing power. Gas prices are not a means to measure the economy. I wanted to include it in my post, but couldn't find a good link/screenshot. There's this one talking head I listen to, often on repeat as the tv channel he's on is my background tv during most afternoons. He was asked about Biden's shrinkflation piece before the super bowl. Down-to-earth reasonable decent guy thus clearly favoring Biden, he argued that of course shrinkflation and inflation (paying the same for less or more for the same) is effectively the same thing, inflation, and, more importantly, what really matters is purchasing power, real wages.

Not even 'immigrants' is a more covered issue in NL and Germany than purchasing power. Before elections, most political parties submit their plans to an independent bureau that calculates what the effects will be on the economy, and more importantly, purchasing power. What can you buy with your monthly income. And overall, US, Biden, is doing far better in handling that too:

https://home.treasury.gov/news/featured-stories/the-purchasing-power-of-american-households

• Real wages have risen since before the pandemic across the income distribution. In particular, middle-income and lower-income households have seen their real earnings rise especially fast. And in the past 12 months, real wages overall have grown faster than they did in the pre-pandemic expansion.
• Household purchasing power has increased as a result. In 2023, the median American worker can afford the same goods and services as they did in 2019, plus an additional $1,000 to spend or save—because median earnings rose faster than prices.
• The U.S. economy now has over 2 million more jobs than pre-pandemic forecasters expected. Therefore, more and more workers are benefitting from increased purchasing power, thanks to the strong and resilient labor market.
• This pattern of rising purchasing power is particularly American: other advanced economies have generally seen lower, and in many cases negative, real wage growth.

I realize that isn't the case for every individual. Like those with scandalous low minimum wages or not having received salary increase or tax reduction to compensate for the inflation in recent years. Overall, it is the case. For the rest, Trump isn't going to fix that, expert opinion is the opposite, his plans will increase inflation again, he will fuck it up while those who don't even look at the gas prices get a little more rich.

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In my instance, my check comes from Social Security (a program that man wants to end —and try to personally pocket those almost $3 trillion) which is adjusted by our Cost Of Living index. This is in my experience a lowball accounting that falls well short of the increase of real costs. So I am not a participant in the rise of real wages.

That said, it’s good to see the (working) lower percentiles catch a break in terms of purchasing power. A skilled Democrat might point that out (over and over … a depressingly successful tactic) in the course of the campaign …

With the stakes being so high in this election, early polls favoring Trump are unsettling. I find it hard to believe that people can overlook what Trump did on Jan 6 and what Republicans did to women's rights in 2022/are doing in red states right now. I don't find it hard to believe that a majority of voters see only that prices went up with Biden in office and judge him on that. Do these two factors offset each other and help explain why the trend is tilting toward a man who openly says he'll destroy our democracy?

cannabineer said:

…
The correlation with that man’s ouster is read by so many as causation.

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The irony is that much of the economic crap with which Biden was left to deal
was deliberately set up by that man and his flying monkeys.

So not only is the Republican base not seeing that, they’re ill-equipped to find out (think Fox will run a documentary series?) it’s actually the other way around.

Confucius say: interesting times call for good weed.

Fogdog said:

View attachment 5370134

With the stakes being so high in this election, early polls favoring Trump are unsettling. I find it hard to believe that people can overlook what Trump did on Jan 6 and what Republicans did to women's rights in 2022/are doing in red states right now. I don't find it hard to believe that a majority of voters see only that prices went up with Biden in office and judge him on that. Do these two factors offset each other and help explain why the trend is tilting toward a man who openly says he'll destroy our democracy?

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My reflexive response is No (!) Way.

But then again I’m out of touch with the folks who voted in the “Freedom” Caucus.

In this red district, I find myself talking to folks who think Jan 6, and the incitement thereto, were a display of patriotism.



(Talking to these fellow Americans has been an effective crash course in not blurting my opinion.)

Van Jones rips ‘loser’ Trump over GOP loss in race for Santos seat
CNN analyst Van Jones took a swipe at former President Trump for sowing distrust in early voting after Republican candidate Mazi Pilip lost in Tuesday’s special House election in New York, where a severe storm may have impacted in-person voting.

During a roundtable on CNN, Republican analyst Scott Jennings pointed to how GOP skepticism about early voting may have been a disadvantage in the race in New York’s 3rd Congressional District.

“Voting early, voting by mail, ballot harvesting, getting your votes in, it looks to me like the Democrats here crushed in the early voting in Nassau, where the Republicans had to do well, and you’re always just one snowstorm away from some kind of a turnout problem,” Jennings said, correctly predicting a win for former Rep. Tom Suozzi (D).

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper then quipped “Who could have possibly given the Republicans the idea that it’s not a good idea to —”

Jones interjected with the hypothetical question, “Who could have given you such a stupid strategy? I’m just trying to think to myself, is there someone who’s just a perpetual loser who loses over and over again, who also has a losing strategy when it comes to not voting early?”

Neither Cooper nor Jones directly named the former president, though it was a likely reference to Trump’s repeated criticism of early voting. After winning the presidency in 2016, Trump lost in 2020, while the GOP lost control of the Senate and holds a narrow majority in the House, despite predictions of a “red wave” in 2022.

Suozzi went on to beat Pilip in Tuesday’s special election to fill the seat of former Rep. George Santos (R), who was booted from the lower chamber in December in the wake of various criminal charges and a scathing Ethics Committee report.

Suozzi’s victory flipped the district back to blue, threatening the House’s already razor-thin GOP majority.

The district, which includes parts of Long Island and Queens, was one of several areas across the mid-Atlantic and southern New England to be slammed with a nor’easter that brought heavy snowfall and rain Tuesday.

This piece is so poorly constructed it seems the appropriate link to post:

Sativied said:

This piece is so poorly constructed it seems the appropriate link to post:

Why Russia's Putin backing Biden for the US presidency is not what it seems

Had he backed a Trump presidency, it would have been a bigger gift for Joe Biden, says Steve Rosenberg.

www.bbc.com

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Interesting how BBC's correspondent in Moscow is carrying Putin's water for him. And Trump.

Sativied said:

This piece is so poorly constructed it seems the appropriate link to post:

Why Russia's Putin backing Biden for the US presidency is not what it seems

Had he backed a Trump presidency, it would have been a bigger gift for Joe Biden, says Steve Rosenberg.

www.bbc.com

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Am I missing something? I don’t think this is a pro-fascist hit piece. I see the reporter pointing out that this is Vladolf playing reverse psychology in order to disgust any fence-sitting voters into backing P01135809.

Biden’s campaign could make use of this. “Of course the dictator endorsed me. He wants me to lose the election and reinstall his docile puppet.”

cannabineer said:

Am I missing something? I don’t think this is a pro-fascist hit piece. I see the reporter pointing out that this is Vladolf playing reverse psychology in order to disgust any fence-sitting voters into backing P01135809.

Biden’s campaign could make use of this. “Of course the dictator endorsed me. He wants me to lose the election and reinstall his docile puppet.”

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It's all over other news sites too. I read a few on this particular topic and this one in particular was so poorly written/constructed (like a forum post) that it felt appropriate to post that one instead of for example Reuter's piece on it:

Sativied said:

It's all over other news sites too. I read a few on this particular topic and this one in particular was so poorly written/constructed (like a forum post) that it felt appropriate to post that one instead of for example Reuter's piece on it:

https://www.reuters.com/world/putin-says-he-prefers-more-predictable-biden-over-trump-2024-02-14/

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I’m annoyed with Reuters. Three times I registered, and each time the site did not recognize my account. So I have to wait for their timer to reset before I can view content.

So I read it on AP. It is certainly more informative than the BBC short, which strikes me as barely concealing a sarcastic value judgment. AP also took the opportunity for a lateral swipe at Carlson.


A slightly different take that calls Murdoch’s Moloch out on taking the bait in his characteristically content-free style. Emphasis mine. (edit: added link)


Trump said without evidence that Putin would prefer Biden because he's not as harsh against Russia in the wake of the country's bloody invasion of Ukraine.

"I got along good with him, but he doesn't want to have me," Trump said.

From Britain, a synopsis of Biden’s response. This does not sound like the words of a weak or senile man, Robert Hur notwithstanding. Here’s the whole article.


President Joe Biden delivered a blistering attack on his predecessor Donald Trump Tuesday for encouraging Russia to attack NATO allies, as he urged Republicans to back a spending bill that would send $60 billion to Ukraine.

He accused opponents of playing into 'Putin's hands' as he used the backdrop of the State Dining Room to bring the election campaign into the White House.

'Are you gonna stand with Ukraine or are you going to stand with Putin,' he said in an impassioned speech. 'Or are you going to stand with America ... or Trump?'

His address came hours after the Senate passed a long-sought $95 billion military aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. It is certain to face stiff opposition in the Republican-controlled House.

Biden used the issue to slam Trump for undermining the core principle of NATO, when the former president said he would he not want to protect allies from a future attack by Russia if they had not met their defense spending commitments.

In fact, he told a rally crowd the story of how he apparently said to a fellow world leader that he would encourage Russia to 'do whatever the hell they want' to countries not meeting their targets.

The result was unease from NATO members and fury from Biden.

'No other president in history has ever bowed down to a Russian dictator,' he said.

'Let me say this as clearly as I can. I never will. For God's sake. It's dumb. It's shameful, it's dangerous.'

Trump is the frontrunner to be the Republican nominee in this year's election. And Biden told his audience that the nation was at an 'inflection' point.

'I can't imagine any other president walking away,' he said. For as long as I'm president, if Putin attacks a NATO ally, the United States will defend every inch of NATO territory.'

He said Trump's comments were 'unAmerican.' And he pointed out that the only time NATO has invoked Article 5 of its self-defense clause — an armed attack against one or more of its members shall be considered an attack against all members — was in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on the U.S.

Biden also used the speech to tell the American public that the security bill would create jobs at home.

'Places like Arizona where the Patriot missiles are built, and Alabama where the Javelin missiles, and Pennsylvania, Ohio and Texas for artillery shells are made,' he said.

Republicans, under the influence of Trump, have opposed foreign military aid packages which do not include money to secure the border with Mexico. Yet, Senate Republicans torpedoed a bill that did that last week.

In the meantime, the White House has ramped up its messaging efforts. In a memo released Tuesday, an official tied the security bill to efforts to rein in Iran and its territorial ambitions.

cannabineer said:

Trump said without evidence that Putin would prefer Biden because he's not as harsh against Russia

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There it is. I was going to reply to your previous post, the Trump campaign can use it to: "Putin's just scared of the US having a strong leader like Trump instead of ol' Biden".

cannabineer said:

I see the reporter pointing out that this is Vladolf playing reverse psychology in order to disgust any fence-sitting voters into backing P01135809.

Click to expand...

Which would make it seem what it seems, malicious behavior from Putin, the obvious, and why I object to the title of BBC article already. He suggest it's not a genuine sympathetic endorsement from Putin...

Sativied said:

… the obvious

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To you and me, because we are intelligent observers whose view of these events and conditions is not drawn in crayon.
However many readers do not see it.

All told, this brings my regard for the BBC down a notch. They usually don’t publish that sort of subjective content as news.

Less name calling and more comity in our debates, thanks.

cannabineer said:

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Im still reading through this thread too, but a rule of thumb I came up with for myself, if I ever say "I was just kidding", chances are very good I was being a dick and should just apologize and try to figure out why when I'm not all defensive from being called out.

CunningCanuk said:

Progressive scholar Cornel West says he will mount third party presidential bid

https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/05/politics/cornel-west-third-party-2024-bid/index.html

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Couldn't find a meme with green typeset.

A disturbing analysis imo. The last few loyal Republicans leaving in disgust.

Tim Miller, in this podcast:

The Dying Star Witness

At 19:35, the panel launches into an deep and emotional discussion about what just happened regarding the Biden impeachment inquiry. These are former Republicans and they seem more angry than Democrats are over this. They also make a great point. If Democrats had done anything like this, it would be as if a tidal wave had crashed through Washington DC. But despite the shocking news that the key witness was a Russian spy, we are hearing little about it in the news today.

Tim Miller launches into a rant that could become a classic regarding his frustration at how little attention this story is getting. He's amazed and angry that the story of the spy who planted the Hunter Biden false conspiracy theory and Republican Congress's role as Putin's tools to attack our President has such little attention.

This is a great rant:

"Putin has found such useful idiots in these Republicans, that HE SUCCEEDED! He had the Dan Akroyd of spies to come over here to plant absurd information about Joe Biden and it WORKED, kind of. I mean like he ends up getting arrested but Elise Stefanik, who went to Harvard, by the way, Elise went to Harvard, at least you would think that she would be a little more astute than this. She said the claims made by Smirnoff could be the biggest corruption scandal in a hundred years, she said. That was Elise Stefanik's statement in (a newsletter) this morning and she might be right in a way. Not the way that she means it (laughs).

Isn't the fact that the Russians, in the midst of invading their neighbor, in the midst of assassinating their biggest political rival, in the midst of coopting Tucker, they plant a piece of information that is central to the impeachment effort against a sitting American President. An entire political party runs with it and PROMOTES that information and it's on Fox all the time.

Millions upon millions of people believe it and they will never hear otherwise and there will be tens of millions of people who still believe there is a Biden Crime Family and that he got 5 million dollars from the Ukrainian company. Because, what? Do you think Fox is covering this news today? How many minutes do you think Fox has spent, debunking this story about the Biden crime family?

Shouldn't it lead the nightly news? If you step back from everything and think; The Russians sent a spy over to America, I guess he IS an American -- the Russians coopted an American double agent (laughs), and had it plant false information about Joe Biden, and that information ended up being central to an impeachment inquiry. And leadership in the Republican Congress echoed it and pushed it for MONTHS! As True! And it was totally fabricated and by the way, we are in the middle of a war with the Russians? Like, what is the equivalent of that story?"

What is the equivalent of that story, indeed. Say, maybe, Republicans are taking down the Ukrainian war effort by withholding aid to Ukraine, maybe? Or maybe the two are linked? Where is there discussion about a special prosecutor to look into this matter?

Fogdog said:

Tim Miller, in this podcast:

The Dying Star Witness

The Dying Star Witness

Ad-free version.

www.thebulwark.com

At 19:35, the panel launches into an deep and emotional discussion about what just happened regarding the Biden impeachment inquiry. These are former Republicans and they seem more angry than Democrats are over this. They also make a great point. If Democrats had done anything like this, it would be as if a tidal wave had crashed through Washington DC. But despite the shocking news that the key witness was a Russian spy, we are hearing little about it in the news today.

Tim Miller launches into a rant that could become a classic regarding his frustration at how little attention this story is getting. He's amazed and angry that the story of the spy who planted the Hunter Biden false conspiracy theory and Republican Congress's role as Putin's tools to attack our President has such little attention.

This is a great rant:

"Putin has found such useful idiots in these Republicans, that HE SUCCEEDED! He had the Dan Akroyd of spies to come over here to plant absurd information about Joe Biden and it WORKED, kind of. I mean like he ends up getting arrested but Elise Stefanik, who went to Harvard, by the way, Elise went to Harvard, at least you would think that she would be a little more astute than this. She said the claims made by Smirnoff could be the biggest corruption scandal in a hundred years, she said. That was Elise Stefanik's statement in (a newsletter) this morning and she might be right in a way. Not the way that she means it (laughs).

Isn't the fact that the Russians, in the midst of invading their neighbor, in the midst of assassinating their biggest political rival, in the midst of coopting Tucker, they plant a piece of information that is central to the impeachment effort against a sitting American President. An entire political party runs with it and PROMOTES that information and it's on Fox all the time.

Millions upon millions of people believe it and they will never hear otherwise and there will be tens of millions of people who still believe there is a Biden Crime Family and that he got 5 million dollars from the Ukrainian company. Because, what? Do you think Fox is covering this news today? How many minutes do you think Fox has spent, debunking this story about the Biden crime family?

Shouldn't it lead the nightly news? If you step back from everything and think; The Russians sent a spy over to America, I guess he IS an American -- the Russians coopted an American double agent (laughs), and had it plant false information about Joe Biden, and that information ended up being central to an impeachment inquiry. And leadership in the Republican Congress echoed it and pushed it for MONTHS! As True! And it was totally fabricated and by the way, we are in the middle of a war with the Russians? Like, what is the equivalent of that story?"

What is the equivalent of that story, indeed. Say, maybe, Republicans are taking down the Ukrainian war effort by withholding aid to Ukraine, maybe? Or maybe the two are linked? Where is there discussion about a special prosecutor to look into this matter?

Click to expand...

Made me think about how the left troll rags are doing in covering it:

Click to expand...

Almost like it didn't happen. Similar in how they covered Butina.

https://www.rollitup.org/t/the-great-reset.1039126/post-15974731
https://www.rollitup.org/t/rollitup-endorsements-biden-for-president.1034723/post-15889522

hanimmal said:

Made me think about how the left troll rags are doing in covering it:


Almost like it didn't happen. Similar in how they covered Butina.

https://www.rollitup.org/t/the-great-reset.1039126/post-15974731
https://www.rollitup.org/t/rollitup-endorsements-biden-for-president.1034723/post-15889522

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I think what you are pointing out is that Tim Miller's frustration at the supine attitude the entire news reporting industry are showing over this issue is not due to the inattention of the media. The supine position of the media and quiet reporting of another instance of a Russian psy ops attack on the US with the cooperation of Republicans is intentional.