Chaos in USA

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Biden, sharper than a box of rocks!*

Biden is apparently too senile to stand trial for classified docs offenses, but not too senile to be President (Hur Report).
His (cough) 'animated' defense of himself at a press conference has now been privacied on the White House website.

*Rocks must be river pebbles. Must be a spherical box. Offer not valid outside DC. Your mileage may vary. Always wear safety glasses. At participating news outlets only.

[Karearea]

With the greatest of respect for a Head of State: today I happened to watch a couple of minutes of video of Pres. Biden, I had not seen him for a while.

It struck me that his face now seems quite immobile, expressionless, as it can do in people with Parkinson's disease.
His voice seems quite soft these days, and I understand he has had a few trips and stumbles...

[Dushan]

Except for that sexual assault thing that the judge said was a rape.
But that was a civil case.
Adjudged to be $88,300,000 to the plaintiff.

PP

Yes, civil case, thus as was once said "Now, madam we are just discussing the price".

[bob2s]

Question, has the IQ of the citizens of the USA fallen off a cliff, there seems very little blowback as to the acceptance of Biden or Trump as a
candidate for president. In my opinion, voting for either is fraught with danger given that one is a bombastic fool and the other is a couple of months away
from being able to remember his name, to call either a world leader is a huge step in anyone's imagination, although it will be music to the ears of the
likes of China, Russia, Iran etc.

Standing by for incoming!

[G-CPTN]

I have always assumed that any head of state would have a team of administrators behind them and the nominated person would be just a figurehead with the civil serpents taking the decisions.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Question, has the IQ of the citizens of the USA fallen off a cliff, there seems very little blowback as to the acceptance of Biden or Trump as a
candidate for president.

Well, you could say the same of the party leaders in Canada also. But North America is very large, and what happens in the Capital, or is headline news for the media, makes very little difference out in the Boonies.
That was true when I lived in Arizona, and is here.
We don't much care what games the government plays. They leave us alone, and we leave them alone. And "You don't tell the gub'mint nuthin' " as an old lady told me not long after I moved here, not that I had any intention of doing so.

[PHXPhlyer]

Trump asks about whereabouts of Nikki Haley’s husband, who’s serving overseas
Michael Haley deployed with the South Carolina National Guard last year.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-e ... rcna138247

CONWAY, South Carolina — Former President Donald Trump made a fresh jab at his GOP opponent Nikki Haley’s husband during a rally Saturday afternoon, questioning his whereabouts as he’s deployed overseas.

While telling a story about Haley previously meeting Trump at his residence in Mar-a-Lago, he lobbed rhetorical and prodding questions to the rowdy crowd referencing Haley’s husband, who is currently on military deployment.

“Then she comes over to see me at Mar-a-Lago. ‘Sir, I will never run against you.’ She brought her husband. Where’s your husband? Oh, he’s away. He’s away. What happened to her husband? What happened to her husband? Where is he? He’s gone! He knew. He knew,” Trump said.

Shortly after Trump’s remarks, Haley said at a rally in Gilbert, South Carolina, that she was proud of her husband’s service.

“I am proud of Michael’s service. Every military spouse knows it’s a family sacrifice. … If you mock the service of a combat veteran, you don’t deserve a driver’s license, let alone being president of the United States,” Haley said.

The former South Carolina governor issued a challenge directly to Trump.

"Donald, if you have something to say, don’t say it behind my back. Get on a debate stage and say it to my face," she said.

Haley also blasted Trump’s comments in a post on X.

“Michael is deployed serving our country, something you know nothing about,” Haley wrote in response to Trump’s comments Saturday. “Someone who continually disrespects the sacrifices of military families has no business being commander in chief.”

Haley did not offer a theory of what Trump meant when he said, “He knew.”

Michael Haley also seemingly responded to Trump in a post on X, tagging him alongside a meme saying, “The difference between humans and animals? Animals would never allow the dumbest ones to lead the pack.”Touche'

The commissioned officer left for a yearlong deployment in Africa with the South Carolina National Guard last June, something Nikki Haley mentions at every campaign event during her stump speech.

In a speech last month, Trump referenced the state of the Haleys’ marriage to suggest that if the former South Carolina governor held a commanding lead in the GOP primary, Democrats would indict her and say she was having an affair.

“They’ll be indicted, because they’ll say she was having an affair or something, you know. That doesn’t mean it’s lying. But she’ll be indicted for something,” Trump said.

Haley has gone after Trump with new force since the primary’s focus moved to her home state of South Carolina. Earlier Saturday, the Haley campaign debuted a mobile billboard featuring photos of Trump and Biden as “Grumpy Old Men,” which was driven around Trump’s rally in Conway.

While debuting her brand-new campaign bus at its first stop in Newberry, South Carolina, on Saturday afternoon, Haley spoke of both Biden’s and Trump’s confusion.

“Why can’t they let go of the power and let a new generational leader come in there?” she said.

An audience member yelled out, “No grumpy old men!”

Haley responded by saying, “They are grumpy old men. But I’ll tell you: We can do better.”

Trump, the front-runner for the nomination, is polling well ahead of Haley in the South Carolina primary.

PP

[llondel]

I have always assumed that any head of state would have a team of administrators behind them and the nominated person would be just a figurehead with the civil serpents taking the decisions.

Having a good and competent team makes a lot of difference. That is one place where Biden scores higher

[Dushan]

Really? Who is so competent? KJP with her binder?
See what Maureen DOWD Says:

Mr. President, Ditch the Stealth About Health

But stealth about health is no longer possible, and the sooner President Biden’s team stops being in denial about that, the better off Democrats will be.

Jill Biden and his other advisers come up with ways to obscure signs of senescence — from shorter news conferences to almost zero print interviews to TV interviews mainly with fawning MSNBC anchors.

[probes]

OK, so I'd ask one more thing, and mind you, I'm just asking (even though I personally am passionate about UKR and I do think that tyrant bullies must not be awarded with territories of their neighbouring countries), as Americans make their choices and it's their right, but I'd like to understand.
How is blocking UKR aid supposed to help the Republicans and Trump? I mean, probably they'd like to be on the 'right side' of history (no pun intended; and btw I agree with Trump insisting on everybody doing their 2% of NATO financing), but how's that supposed to work?

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

How do you reduce corruption in Ukraine?
US stops sending aid. Now the Ukes themselves have to reduce corruption or lose.
Do remember that Syrskyi's primary objective, stated two days ago, is to speed up supply to the front. As I said last week, those delays are due to corruption.
So, the new Uke Commander is basically admitting that corruption IS Ukraine's biggest problem, and needs addressing as the top priority.

Next, the Ukes decided last year to fight a war of attrition. Those are expensive. And fighting a war of attrition that doesn't lose vast numbers of one's own troops, as Zaluzhnyi has been doing, is glacially slow.
I strongly suspect the threat of losing US financial support next January has forced a change of tactics on Ukraine, and why they now have a new commander who will look for more innovative ways to win the war this year. Which is what they should have done anyway.

How do you get Europeans to contribute more to NATO?
US stops sending aid to Ukraine. Now the Europeans spend more on Ukraine, and increase spending on their own armed forces because of the increased threat, and Ukraine reduces the amount NATO needs to spend because they are destroying Russian men and equipment. Same effect; the US can spend less on NATO.

Or it could just be that the threat of not sending it has forced the Democrats to isolate US border spending, which was the Republican objective.
And there's no point defeating Russia whilst the US is still being invaded over its southern border.

I don't know what goes through a Republican's head, or if anything much goes through Trump's head, but the above are all logical possibilities.
The world's getting uglier.
People don't do things because you ask them nicely, or bribe them, or pressure them.
Well, the people you and I know personally do, but corrupt countries don't, criminals don't, and illegals don't.
They do things because you take away every support and option except doing the thing or utter defeat.
Then it's an easy choice.

[probes]

Uhh, Fox, now it's the very rare occasion I have to totally disagree with you.
Do you really think UKR corruption can't be stopped by other means than blood on streets? What about corruption elsewhere (the 'collective West' included)? There seem to be ways less destructive than bombing from neighbours? The delays are said to be due to the decision-makers being afraid of putin's nuclear threats and lack of equipment (and I agree with Trump, more has to be done in NATO member states). AND corruption in some cases. As analysts say.

So, the new Uke Commander is basically admitting that corruption IS Ukraine's biggest problem, and needs addressing as the top priority.

UKR's biggest problem is putin's desire for an empire - the empire - and the gullible West(ern leaders) who have wanted to believe it's possible to have an agreement with putin (or ruz). Think of Minsk 1 and 2. And that the UKR voluntarily gave away their nukes (very foresightful of putin).

Next, the Ukes decided last year to fight a war of attrition.

What makes you think that they decided to do that? And that only now they have a commander to look for more innovative ways? It can't be done overnight, especially while fighting an army who claims all the video-proof of their atrocities is 'deepfake' and find several who believe it or are happy to get cheap oil?

How do you get Europeans to contribute more to NATO?
US stops sending aid to Ukraine. Now the Europeans spend more on Ukraine, and increase spending on their own armed forces because of the increased threat, and Ukraine reduces the amount NATO needs to spend because they are destroying Russian men and equipment. Same effect; the US can spend less on NATO.

Well, that won't bring any kudos to the US of A in the long run, will it? Like: The USA really boosted the NATO budget by the sacrifice of UKR blood?

Or it could just be that the threat of not sending it has forced the Democrats to isolate US border spending, which was the Republican objective.
And there's no point defeating Russia whilst the US is still being invaded over its southern border.

Once again, do you think it will prevent invasion from the southern border if one tyrant, putin this time, is encouraged? OK, well, not stopped. Probably the visual of the US retreating from Afghanistan boosted putin's hopes anyway, and he definitely has some 'good friends' over there (the other side of southern border) as well.

The world's getting uglier.
People don't do things because you ask them nicely, or bribe them, or pressure them.
Well, the people you and I know personally do, but corrupt countries don't, criminals don't, and illegals don't.
They do things because you take away every support and option except doing the thing or utter defeat.
Then it's an easy choice.

That's something I totally agree with, especially on the 'getting uglier' part.
But "They do things because you take away every support and option ..." - why offer new hope and options to putin, then?

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Just in...

The White House called Trump's statements about Russia and NATO "appalling and unhinged." Trump, in a South Carolina rally, boasted of pressuring NATO members to meet defense commitments and telling Russia to act freely against non-compliant allies.

https://mstdn.social/@noelreports/111912192880554995

So, it would appear to be my third point about NATO spending, at least as far as Trump is concerned.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

To answer your points

Do you really think UKR corruption can't be stopped by other means than blood on streets?

You asked what the Republicans were up to, not what I thought.

putin's desire for an empire isn't going to go away, and the Ukes can't change it. I therefore take it as a given, part of reality, not a problem. So what I should clarify is the corruption is the Uke's biggest problem that they have the possibility of solving.
Reduce corruption, win war, remove putin's capability for empire-building. Threat = intent + capability. The Ukes can't remove the intent.

Zeluzhnyi stated so, last year, that the objective was to make incremental gains. He wrote a load of stuff about breakouts, but stated that he intended to create the breakthrough incrementally. There was no attempt to do anything by surprise on a strategic level.

Well, that won't bring any kudos to the US of A in the long run, will it? Like: The USA really boosted the NATO budget by the sacrifice of UKR blood?

European countries won't contribute enough to their own defence, maybe they will contribute to Ukraine's? So, who is really sacrificing Ukrainian blood if they don't?
And I repeat, you asked what the Republicans were up to, not what I personally think. And Trump doesn't give much of a stuff about kudos with European politicians, as we have just seen in the above post.
And why did putin invade Ukraine? Because Europe could do nothing about it. He might not have done if the Europeans could have done something about it, as he would then have had to weigh up what they would do.
One does not have to concern oneself about the opposition's intent if they do not have the capability.

The southern border is a completely separate problem, the Republicans and Trump have always said so, and therefore they want them separated at the Congressional level. It's the Democrats who are trying to conflate the two.

So, I don't think we are in disagreement. You are in disagreement with Republican tactics.

[probes]

yeah, right, I did ask 'what the Republicans were up to, not what I thought'. Just came back to correct it .

[llondel]

How is blocking UKR aid supposed to help the Republicans and Trump?

In the spirit of "compromise". Saying to the Dems, "you want this, we're going to say no until you agree to something we want that we'd never be able to get otherwise". Even though arguably their actions are making the world a less safe place for Americans by not standing up to Putin (see late 1930s for comparison).

[Boac]

Just take your pick, you Septics.....

[llondel]

I've always assumed the purpose of the primary election process is to weed out the good candidates.

[Woody]

I will never understand the obsession with guns in the USA

One person has died and 21 people were wounded in a shooting in Missouri at the end of the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl victory parade.
Officials said they treated eight victims who were in immediately life-threatening condition and seven others who had suffered injuries that could prove life-threatening.
Nine children were among the wounded - all are expected to recover.
Police said they have arrested three suspects in connection to the shooting.

[1DC]

It seems to be getting worse!