October 24, 2023

What majority of House GOP says is disqualifying for speaker is a prerequisite for Democrats

...Tom Emmer couldn't get a majority of republicans to vote for him because they believe he's not extreme enough in voting to certify the votes in the presidential election; one of only two who voted to certify even in the running, so far.

Election denial, however, is a non-starter for Democrats. I'd guess that's not the only non-starter for most of the party, as well, so there won't be any big move to have a handful of our party vote 'present' in support of any of an increasingly, decidedly rabid republican field of prospective nominees.

MAGA extremist politics is as unworkable in the House as it's proven unpopular in the country as a whole. But republicans in Congress have never cared much about what most Americans want out of their elected representatives.

The most glaring obstacle for republicans electing a speaker is their inability to acknowledge or validate anything outside of their own party politics prevents them from making the most sensible move forward.

They refuse to reach out to Democrats in any way, except to rebuff them. It's their party...

October 23, 2023

Kudos to news orgs and others pinning down the source of the explosion outside the Gaza hospital

...and presenting evidence that it was a failed Hamas missile that struck the parking lot outside the hospital.

What I'm wondering is why we haven't seen the same effort by news orgs and others with reasonably impartial leanings to identify the sources of the other bombs dropped on civilian areas in Gaza.

I'm not one who conflates Palestinians in Gaza with Hamas, or believes it's soley their responsibility to get out of the way of Israel's defensive assault on the city.

It's a wonder to me how so much reporting has been done on this one explosion, and virtually nothing reported by major news orgs on Palestinian casualties - at least nothing as comprehensive as the analysis of this one, apparently errant bombing.

It's not as if we can't see the deliberate explosions in Gaza coming from Israel. Is this omission because it's assumed the civilians are somehow complicit?

Or is it a timidity that they'll be attacked as pro-Hamas for even suggesting the civilians in the way of Israel's reprisals have a right to live, or too afraid of U.S. public backlash to portray Palestinians with the same sympathizing manner as they have Israel's citizenry?

I'd think that the evidence that Hamas had callously lobbed a bomb at Israel that hit the parking lot of the hospital in Gaza would generate some sympathy for the Palestinians killed, but all of the focus is on making certain Israel isn't blamed.

That's worthwhile, in an effort to slow the inflaming of the wider Arab community in response. But there looks to be a serious disconnect between the focus on this one errant missile, and the deliberate bombing campaign going on right now by Israel into Gaza which is also killing Palestinians.

Most all of the focus on that explosion outside of the Gaza hospital is on blame, not on those reported killed. If the concern was for the Palestinians killed, there should be a similar concern for the rest of the civilian deaths in Gaza.

If Hamas is to be assigned responsibility for deaths, there also needs to be more than just an assumption that civilians caught in the way of Israel's missiles (many U.S. supplied missiles) are mere casualties of war.

The dearth of coverage of their plight underneath of the Israeli defensive assault on Gaza is a tacit acknowledgement that the media has adopted the Israeli attitude that these deaths are merely collateral consequences of Hamas' original attacks.



I don't now, maybe the tide of coverage will turn...

TODAY @TODAYshow 2hrs ago
@NBCNews’ team in Gaza say last night saw the most intense Israeli airstrikes since Israel began its bombing after Hamas took hostages and killed Israelis. Medical officials in Gaza say it was the deadliest night with hundreds of Palestinians killed. @richardengel reports.

https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status/1716416983124549697

October 20, 2023

I used to watch Joe Biden speaking on the Senate floor, pacing into the aisle

...he had a seat where he could wander back and forth a bit as the camera followed him.



I used to watch for hours, mesmerized by his lectures on foreign policy; probably only one of a few C-Span viewers looking in most of the time.

This was the Joe Biden I remember, speaking tonight - able to explain our nation's foreign policy commitments and needs in ways that bridged differences between parties and helped advance important initiatives with bipartisan responses.

He brought old-school rationality and understanding to a difficult subject for many Americans to reconcile between the people and groups in conflict with each other, and spelled out the challenges Americans face going forward as Israel responds to the violence sparked by Hamas militants' attacks.

watch:

October 18, 2023

We should be careful not to conflate Hamas' militarism with the Palestinians

...it wasn't just 'Hamas' who initially supposed the deadly explosion outside the hospital in Gaza was from Israel.

Many people on the ground, including reporters, had questioned whether Hamas had the capibility and firepower for such a devastating blast. The resulting ripple of accusations from the wider Arab community was actually an echo of a generational struggle between Israel and that mostly Muslim population. It shouldn't be viewed in isolation of these current events.

The media isn't a stranger to that back and forth fight, either, and most all of the reporters made certain to hedge their descriptions of what happened to say that there would be an investigation to determine the actual cause. That's an understandable consequence of the fog of violent conflicts.

The accusations against Israel following the explosion happened (and will likely persist among people who are not Hamas) because Gaza residents and others aren't strangers to Israeli bombs falling on their hospitals and their civilians.

The accusations and recriminations against Gaza residents and others will persist because of the violence suffered by Israelis at the hands of Arab militants.

What I think is a danger here, is that the latest attacks become shorthand for whatever incident occurred, and both Israelis and Palestinians are going to view each other through the lens of that violence that's perpetrated or is incidental against them and cast blame.

This back and forth doesn't end with this incident, because there will be countless more bombings which each side will represent as a defense against the other.

One of the most important things to stress for those of us looking on from the outside (here in the U.S. and elsewhere) is that the overwhelming majority of Palestinians in Gaza or anywhere else aren't the ones committing violence.

There isn't a militant or combatant force in Gaza that has anywhere near the coordination and support that the Israel military has right now, all arrayed against and surrounding the Gaza strip on land and sea, and none of that militarism directed at Israel has been approved by Palestinians in anything resembling the Knesset and their unified decision to wage war against Hamas.

There isn't any Palestinian parliament or council to direct or restrain Hamas. Non-combatant Palestinian civilians are experiencing violence and other assaults on their lives and living conditions, and it doesn't make a material difference in any of that in who they chose to blame. They don't control the factions which are fighting. They're just victims of it all.

The U.S. posture toward Gaza residents and inhabitants can't be the same as Israel's. That American attitude can't be the same as it was when our own military was dropping bombs on sovereign citizens across borders in Iraq and Afghanistan in a fight against a terrorist group that had mostly fled and was in hiding.

It shouldn't be the same posture most Americans assumed against the Muslim world when our own country was attacked. Or even the same attitude most Americans took toward those violently resisting our military occupations and killing our soldiers deployed there.

Most of the coordinated and supported military attacks by Israel are directed against the land Palestinians inhabit to the tune of 2 million. There is no Palestinian army stood up against an Israel mobilized to war, only refugees trying to get out of the way of the falling missiles.

Gaza residents are not going to be understanding about any of the latest violence stemming out of the original attacks Hamas directed against Israel. But why should it matter who they blame? This wasn't the first Gaza hospital to suffer the mayhem and destruction of the continuing war between the combatants.

October 14, 2023

I need these animated space bots commenting on current events to always be here, for everything

...if you're not already watching Ben Meiselas' youtube posts on his 'Meidas Touch Network, you're missing the most comprehensive news analysis available on the internet.

Today Ben introduced us (me) in his latest post to a youtube phenom effort called 'Alien Super Show,' which is basically a couple animated space characters commenting on political events and political figures with hilarious slams on republicans in the news.

If you're interested you can laugh along with Ben here...

...or just hop onto the Alien Super Show post for some unaduterated fun.

October 9, 2023

The Snake

...as he's done for years on the campaign trail without a trace of self-awareness, the Criminal Defendant recited a parable about a snake again today.

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on the Donald Trump’s latest speech in New Hampshire where Trump reads “The Snake” poem and shows that he is The Snake the Republicans let in.

watch:

...revisits one of the best opposition videos ever.

October 9, 2023

NO justification for Hamas' terrorists violence and killing

...no justification for terrorism.

None, never.

To be more clear, the people involved in the attacks in Israel are just murderers deserving no attention at all to whatever cause, manifesto, life history, or vendetta they use to justify their barbarism.

No one should give any mind to the voice, grievance, or screed of these terrorists' violence. They don't represent anything except their own inhumanity.

October 8, 2023

Smokin' Jobs Report - American Economy, American People Keep Getting It Done

...from Simon Rosenberg:

Friday, October 6th - The October Bureau of Labor Statistics monthy jobs report is out and it’s another good one:

336k net new jobs, 119k more w/upward revisions, for a total of 455k new jobs - smokin’!

Average hourly earnings up 0.2% in October and 4.2% over the past 12 months. With inflation now at 3.7% over the past 12 months, real earnings over the past year remain firmly in positive territory.

The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow livecast is showing the Q3 GDP number coming in at 4.9%. We will get the real number later this month but this is very encouraging.

With this new data our monthly jobs tracker clocks in at:

33.8m jobs - 16 years of Clinton, Obama

13.9m jobs - 32 months of Biden

1.9m jobs - 16 years of Bush, Bush and Trump

Biden's 13.9m jobs are more than 7 times as many jobs as were created in the 16 years of the last 3 Republican Presidencies, combined. Since 1989 and the end of the Cold War, the US has seen 50 million new jobs created. Remarkably 48 million of those 50 million jobs - 96% - were created under Democratic Presidents. Essentially all of them.

Biden's economic track record has been so very good:

Best economic recovery from COVID in the G7

GDP growth has been on average 3% in Biden’s Presidency, 3 times higher than Trump. No recession on the horizon

7 times as many Biden jobs in 32 months as last 3 GOP Presidents combined over 16 years. Rs averaged 120k jobs per year, 10k per month over 16 years - a truly terrible record. This past month was the equivalent of almost 4 years of job growth under the last 3 R Presidents

Inflation has come back down to pre-pandemic levels - bouncing around between 2 and 3% now

Lowest unemployment rate in peacetime economy since WWII

Lowest poverty/uninsured rates ever

Very elevated wage gains and new business starts. Worker satisfaction is at an all time high. Real earnings were up in 2022, real wages are back in positive territory

1.4 job openings per unemployed person - an amazing stat - while declining still well below historic norm. Remains a very good time to find a job

Domestic oil production is on track to set records in 2023, and we are making huge gains with non-carbon-based energy production

Historic investments in our future prosperity (infrastructure, CHIPs, climate, health care)

more...

https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/a-smokin-jobs-report-american-economy

https://twitter.com/SimonWDC/status/1710279006346437032

https://twitter.com/BidenHQ/status/1710337099356872864

https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1710273198896370126

https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1709901246860001693

https://twitter.com/USDOL/status/1710298364946854261

October 4, 2023

FWIW

...I closed a post of mine musing about Gov. Newsom and the seat he was tasked to fill due to the very sad passing of Sen. Feinstein.

I closed it because it's moot. He picked Laphonza Butler.

But, more importantly, this new Democratic senator has been sworn in. I'm not interested in debating her qualifications or record. She's clearly qualified, and she's an inspiring pick by the governor who will bring her broad and extensive life and career experiences to the Senate, and the Democratic Party is fortunate to have her there.

Besides, I make a habit of defending and supporting Democrats, and shy away from challenging them publicly with my differences over anything that would denigrate any of our Democrats, save the ones who make a habit of pulling away from our party or initiatives important to me.

I don't want a debate about her on this thread either, if that's okay (nt). I just wanted to make clear that I'm not standing in opposition to the new legislator in any way.

I thought maybe some folks here might take that notion from that moot post of mine, so.... I do like being openly opinionated about candidates and races at primary election time, but this isn't that time, and I'm not all geared up for that anyhow.

It's going to be cool seeing new Senator from California, Laphonza Butler, in the Senate. I look forward to hearing her weigh in on Senate business after she gets oriented and settled in.

September 29, 2023

Remembering Dianne Feinstein

...before the Kavanaugh hearing.



Bo Erickson CBS @BoKnowsNews 4h
This is how I will remember Sen. Feinstein: I snapped this pic in Sept. 2018 in the middle of Kavanaugh’s SCOTUS confirmation hearings. Sen. Murkowski (right) was weighing her support, and…Feinstein moved in.

A few days later, Murkowski opposed the nomination (Only GOP Senator Voting Against Kavanaugh). @cbsnews