Tag Archives: Joe Biden

media news

‘Protecting’ Bidens? Seriously?

The conspiracy theorists who populate the MAGA crowd really and truly just crack me up!

They contend with a straight face that journalists are “protecting the Bidens” from exposure for the crimes they reportedly have committed. Bribery, extortion, money laundering. They say it all leads to the top of the family food chain, which in this instance means also to the top of the U.S. government.

Wow! I now want to explain a little something about journalism and those who practice an honorable craft.

I keep my hand in the career I pursued for nearly 37 years. My days as a full-time journalist are long gone, as I am now an old man who still reads the news daily and enjoys the rough and tumble of journalistic combat.

OK, what do I know about the craft? It is populated by highly competitive individuals. Newspapers compete against each other. So do TV networks, streaming services, digital outlets. Those who continue to work in journalism vie with each year for recognition among their peers for the good work they do.

I offer this as my way of telling you the conspiracy theorists ignore the competitive nature of journalism, even in the form it is taking these days. No journalist worth a damn is going to sit on a story involving a politician with whom he agrees politically because he doesn’t want to “embarrass” him or her.

A journalist is going to expose anything he or she believes is worth reporting to the public. That is part of the job they all sign on for when they hit the streets in search of the next big scoop.

I also must remind everyone who reads this blog that journalists are not bound by ideology. They do not just “seek out conservatives” because they work for the “liberal media.”

Let me toss out a few names for you: John Edwards, Anthony Weiner, Jim Wright. Oh, wait … Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton! These all are prominent politicians, all are Democrats, all are so-called members of the “liberal elite.” They all were targets of aggressive journalists looking for the truth behind the assorted allegations that rocked their respective careers.

You can spare me the bullsh** notion that the media are “protecting” President Joe Biden and his son because they want to protect the president. In the real world of gumshoe journalism, such an allegation is as phony as it gets.

International news

Putin commits No. 1 blunder

In the annals of strategic blunders, it appears to me that an all-time mess-up might have been committed by Russian dictator/tyrant/goon Vladimir Putin.

He invaded Ukraine in February 2022 thinking the war would be brief, that he would install a puppet government in Kyiv, he could bring his troops home, he could force NATO to fall apart and could have his way in that part of Europe.

Wrong!

President Joe Biden declared this week on his trip to Lithuania and then to Helsinki, Finland, that Putin already has “lost the war” in Ukraine.

His military is third-rate at best; Ukraine has shown itself to be more than capable; NATO not only has held together, it has grown; Finland’s inclusion in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization effectively doubles the size of territory bordering Russia.

Oh, and the alliance has held because of Biden’s expertise in foreign policy and his steady leadership as president of the world’s pre-eminent military and economic superpower.

My sense now is that it might be time to start pressuring Putin to begin negotiating a way out of this war. We have supplied Ukraine with plenty of arms, ordnance, various supplies and training to handle the supposedly vaunted Russian military. The Russians have demonstrated time and again a level of battlefield incompetence that no one saw coming.

President Biden is not overstating what looks to be more obvious all the time … that Russia has already “lost” the Ukraine War.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

International news, military news

First things first in Ukraine

President Biden has laid it out there: Ukraine, he said, “isn’t yet ready” to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Hmm. That is code, of course, for the obvious reason why it’s premature for Ukraine to consider joining NATO.

Ukraine is the middle of a war with Russia. NATO happens to have a clause in its constitution that says, in effect, that an attack on one member nation is an attack on the entire organization. Translation: That means the United States goes to war with Russia, too!

Accordingly, Joe Biden is absolutely correct in asserting that Ukraine shouldn’t become a NATO member until the war with Russia ends.

The president is displaying his foreign-policy chops handsomely during his visit to Lithuania, which is playing host to NATO member nations. Ukraine has launched a long-anticipated counteroffensive against the Russian aggressors, seeking to take back territory the Russians seized when they launched the unprovoked, illegal and immoral war against a sovereign state.

Russian goon/strongman Vladimir Putin has been accused by the world court of committing war crimes against Ukrainian civilians, giving Ukraine more incentive to take the fight to the Russians.

This fight isn’t over. Our sincere hope ought to be that there can be a negotiated settlement found and that the Russians can end their bloody misadventure in due course.

NATO, meanwhile, remains strong and united in its effort to persuade Russia of the tragic mistake it is making. I will credit the president of the United States for keeping his cool and for assuring NATO remains strong and united in this fight to preserve democracy.

Once the fight ends, then we can talk about Ukraine’s future as a member of the alliance formed after World War II — let us never forget — to protect the continent against Russian aggression.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

military news

Cluster bombs: Too much, too deadly?

President Biden’s decision to send cluster bombs to Ukraine to aid the Ukrainians in their fight against Russian aggressors sends a slight chill up my spine.

I say “slight” because the president easily could place some restrictions on their use by Ukrainian armed forces.

Cluster munitions are the types of bombs break apart, sending explosives over a vast target area. They inflict astonishing damage on targets they hit. They also are known to inflict tragic collateral damage. Indeed, the Russians are using them against Ukrainians in their effort to conquer that sovereign state.

Joe Biden has accused Russians of committing war crimes in using cluster munitions, given the damage they have done to schools, hospitals and houses of worship.

It sounds like Ukraine could be sliding down that proverbial slippery slope if they use this ordnance against Russians, unless …

They are able to inflict the intended damage only to military targets.

President Biden’s decision to send these munitions to Ukraine comes at the recommendation of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Pentagon brass. Fine, Mr. President.

Please, though, tell Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to use them judiciously to avoid falling into the same category of “war criminal” as the madman who seeks to take control of your country.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

economic news

It’s still the economy, stupid

1 Comment

James Carville, the political guru who burst into notoriety while helping steer Bill Clinton to the presidency in 1992, once famously declared, “It’s the economy, stupid” as he led Clinton to victory over President George H.W. Bush.

I believe President Biden would do well to resurrect a portion of Carville’s winning mantra.

It’s still “the economy, stupid” as Joe Biden campaigns for re-election in 2024.

The numbers hold up well under careful examination.

Joblessness is near historic lows; we are creating more jobs each month than any time in our history; inflation is receding; our national budget deficit has been slashed.

Mr. President, you are entitled to gloat just a bit, reminding us that “Bidenomics is working!”

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

media news

World has gone bonkers!

I am not usually prone to wondering about the state of play in today’s world, wondering out loud about contemporary trends.

But so help me, I cannot fathom these public opinion polls showing Donald Trump actually defeating President Biden in head to head matchups prior to the 2024 presidential election.

The guy — that would be Trump — was impeached twice while he worked in the White House. He has been indicted twice for felony crimes; one of the indictments came from the Manhattan District Attorney, the other from the U.S. Justice Department.

It all makes me wonder: what the hell is wrong with this nation of ours?

I am heartened by the knowledge that we are a long way from Election Day. Polls can change.

Yes, I tend to trust polling as a stop-gap measure of the national mood.

I am just shaking my noggin.

Johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

economic news

‘Bidenomics works!’

Joe Biden has coined the phrase that, if you think about it, seems to roll off the tongue.

He declared today that “Bidenomics works” better than the “trickle-down theory” promoted by archconservatives.

The numbers bear out the president’s declaration.

The administration was able to pass the Inflation Reduction Act. The result? A “reduction in inflation.”

President Biden’s administration managed to enact a massive infrastructure rebuilding plan. The result? Thousands of jobs committed to improving our roads, highways, airports, seaports.

We now have the fast-growing economy of any nation belonging to the G-7 association of industrialized nations. We have added 13 million non-farm jobs to our payrolls in the past two years. The nation has whipped the COVID-19 pandemic that killed more than 1 million Americans. People’s faith in the economic future is improving. We have reduced the national budget deficit and taken bites out of our still-growing national debt.

Yes, Mr. President. Bidenomics is working!

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

International news, military news

Putin faces rebellion? Yes!

Vladimir Putin isn’t looking like such a tough guy after all, given the challenge mounted by the leader of what they call a “mercenary” army intent on challenging the dictator’s invasion of Ukraine.

The mercenary force was said to be marching on Moscow. Then the leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, reportedly ordered his Wagner forces to “stand down.”

What in the world does this mean? At first blush, it appears that Putin is likely to seek the harshest retribution imaginable against what he calls an act of “treason” against the Kremlin. Well, that’s not exactly how some of us beyond the Russian borders see it.

Prigozhin was acting out of a sense of desperation as Russian military forces are being defeated by Ukrainians seeking to regain territory taken by the Russians in their illegal and immoral invasion launched more than a year ago against Ukraine.

And it damn sure signals a serious fracture within the Russian military command that has acted incompetently and stupidly ever since Putin ordered the invasion in early 2022.

Meanwhile, the United States — led by President Biden — continues its aggressive support in providing aid and equipment to Ukraine.

This is serious stuff, folks.

Wagner Chief Marches on Moscow in Mutiny Challenging Putin (yahoo.com)

As Yahoo News reports: The insurrection is without precedent in Putin’s nearly quarter-century rule in Russia, jolting a country trying to sustain a war in Ukraine that’s the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II. It’s unfolding against the backdrop of a Ukrainian counteroffensive across some of the area where Wagner’s troops deployed for months in the war’s longest and bloodiest battle.

My strong hope is that Joe Biden continues to apply maximum economic pressure on Putin in a strategy he hopes will persuade the dictator to cease his aggression.

The United States cannot let up in its support of the valiant Ukrainians who are fighting for the survival of democracy in Europe.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news

There’s no ‘there’ to Biden probe

2 Comments

Republicans in Congress have begun their expected yammering over the plea deal struck by Hunter Biden with the Department of Justice.

Biden, the son of the president, pleaded guilty to tax charges and to illegally purchasing a firearm. He won’t go to jail, assuming that a federal judge approves the agreement.

The GOP caucus in Congress is now alleging that Biden got away with something. I am forced to ask: What precisely did he escape?

Republicans vow to continue their witch hunt against Biden until they find something they can hang around his neck.

Let’s understand something about this whole matter. Republicans have been “investigating” Biden for many years, dating back to before his dad became vice president. Have they found anything on which to file charges? Any criminality discovered?

The answer: No! Nothin’, man.

They will come up with actionable accusations the same way they promised to do so with Hillary Clinton and the alleged crimes she committed while serving as secretary of state.

As Gertrude Stein once said of Oakland, Calif.: There is no “there” there.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Joe Biden

Biden plea an end? Hardly

Hunter Biden worked out a deal with the federal government to plead guilty to two misdemeanor charges. He won’t get jail time.

Is this the end of the Republican Party’s ongoing battle to find something incriminating against the president’s son? Will this spell the end of a search that will have no end?

I think not.

No, it’s likely going to signal at least a temporary surge of interest among the MAGA morons who comprise part of the Republican base. They’ll want more, and more after that … and even more after that. To what end is anyone’s guess.

One of the charges involves some back taxes he owes; the other involves the purchase of a firearm when he was battling drug addiction.

Now, to be sure about this matter, Hunter Biden isn’t entirely clean. He did have an alcohol and drug crisis. He sought help. He got it. He’s now clean and for that he deserves high praise not damnable condemnation.

He also has to explain why he took that job with a Ukrainian energy company that paid him millions of dollars annually. He doesn’t have a thimble full of knowledge about energy exploration. Hunter Biden, though, was the son of the U.S. vice president when the firm hired him.

Now the former VP is the top man. Hunter Biden’s plea deal means he won’t be imprisoned. I am chagrined to report, though, that none of this signals an end to the “witch hunt” that has been ongoing for longer than any of us can remember.

It’s politics, man. It stinks.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com