Tag Archives: Joe Biden

national news

Custom gets flushed

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Customarily, presidential inaugural speeches are intended to appeal to Americans’ highest ideals, setting a tone for the incoming administration to follow.

But … as is always the case with POTUS No. 47, custom got flushed down the crapper today. Donald J. Trump took his oath of office and then launched into all the campaign talking points he used to win the election in November.

He didn’t bother to thank his predecessor, President Biden, for his five decades of public service, or to congratulate his 2024 opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, for the spirited campaign she waged against him.

Oh, no. None of that grace was to be heard in Trump’s speech. He railed yet again over what he called the decline of our nation, vowing to “make America great agaiin.”

It was vintage Trump. Frankly, it sickened me.

I decided to watch his speech hoping I might hear a word of grace from the man who violated the very oath he took in 2017. I hoped he might have learned a lesson or two from what I consider to be a failed presidency the first time around.

I was disappointed.

Just maybe, though, I shouldn’t have set my hopes too high.

Uncategorized

Will new POTUS follow this custom?

Presidents take their oath of office and, dating back for a good while, often open their inaugural speech with a tribute to the man who preceded them immediately in the high and exalted office.

Americans have seen a lot in recent days of President Carter turning to his predecessor, President Ford, and thanking him in 1977 “for all he did to heal our land.”

Every president since then — except for one — has issued a word of thanks for their predecessor’s service to this land. The exception, of course, was President Biden, who in 2021 took office while his predecessor, Donald Trump, was flying to Florida after refusing to concede that he lost the 2020 election.

We have another presidential inaugural on tap. Monday at noon, Trump will take an oath and then will stand in front of the world to deliver a speech that normally sets the tone for the presidency. Will the new president thank his predecessor who, after all, has stayed the course and helped transition from one administration to the next one?

I won’t predict what Trump will do or say. My hope is that he will turn to his predecessor and finally — finally! — put the Big Lie to rest once and forever by declaring that Joe Biden won the 2020 election.

I know. My expectations at times are unrealistic.

International news, military news

Is peace now possible?

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In this season of never-ending negativity, we now might be able to rejoice in some seriously good news … from the Middle East of all places!

Israel and the terrorists known as Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire that begins Sunday. Furthermore, they have agreed to a significant swap of hostages, meaning that the families of Israelis and Americans held captive since the Oct. 7, 2023, rocket attacks can be set free.

I am going to hold out hope that the cease fire agreement holds up and that the violence that erupted with Hamas’s brazen and bloody attack will end. Let us not call it a peace agreement, because the cease fire only means the bitter enemies will stop killing each other for the time being.

Let’s be clear on a couple of key points. Israel vowed to destroy Hamas and said the only path to peace would require the destruction of the terrorist leadership; it appears that Israel has accomplished its stated aim. However, it has come at a horrific price for the Palestinians caught in the middle of the fight between Israel and Hamas. Thousands of innocent people have died since Hamas started this war.

Thus, the ceasefire — brokered in large part by President Biden’s team — requires an immediate rebuilding effort. It must commence fully, not on a piecemeal basis. It must include massive deliveries of food, water, construction equipment, medical supplies and personnel to help Gaza residents seek to restore their shattered lives.

To that end, Joe Biden and his team deserve the highest praise any of us can give for their tireless work in bringing an end to the bloodshed in Gaza.

Now, though, the hardest task of all awaits … finding a path to a permanent piece in a region that knows only heartache and despair.

Donald Trump

Trump’s angry because of this? What … ?

Donald Trump has expressed displeasure over the nation’s salute to one of his predecessors at the time of a presidential inauguration.

Small-mindedness has hit a new low.

President Biden ordered all flags to fly at half-staff for 30 days to honor the late President Jimmy Carter. Trump will be inaugurated on Jan. 20, while the flags will still be flying at half-staff. Trump thinks that disrespects his return to the presidency.

Give me a break … man!

Carter died near the end of the year just passed. President Joe Biden’s order was totally proper and in keeping with longstanding national tradition. Of course, Trump doesn’t respect any tradition that he deems diminishes his own role, which this one does not!

For the incoming president to bitch about flags flying in honor of a great statesman only sullies Trump’s already rotten reputation.

crime news

Biden guilty of loving his son

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Joe Biden should plead guilty only to a single “charge,” which would be that he loves his son so much that he is willing to take flak for issuing a pardon to possibly keep him out of federal prison.

President Biden this weekend issued a broad pardon for his son, Hunter, who was convicted by a federal jury of purchasing a handgun illegally and for some assorted tax charges.

Hunter Biden faced the possibility of prison time. I doubt he would have gotten it. Then again, I am a terrible predictor of such things.

The president had declared he would let the system do its job and he wouldn’t pardon his son. Then he changed his mind.

Here is what is most maddening about the criticism that has erupted. The MAGA crowd is attaching some false equivalency to what Hunter Biden and the actions of the Jan. 6 insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol Building aiming to overturn the2020 election results. To equate Hunter Biden’s lying about drug use with the machinations of the traitorous mob is ridiculous on its face.

Donald Trump might pardon some of the mobsters when he takes office and the MAGA goons will applaud him for it.

Joe Biden’s pardoning of Hunter Biden is a demonstration only of a father’s love of his son. This story will disappear once Donald Trump takes office… and you can take that to the bank.

crime news

Biden pardons son … yawn!

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Joe Biden said he wouldn’t pardon his son Hunter on a federal conviction related to an illegal purchase of a firearm.

Then the president had second thoughts and issued the pardon. I know what some of you must be thinking. How dare the president renege on his promise. The son needs to do time!

My thought? So … what!

Hunter Biden likely wouldn’t go to the slammer for a piss ante conviction that was brought for political reasons in the first place. He lied about his drug addiction when purchasing a gun; it’s a crime and a jury convicted him of it.

His father vowed he wouldn’t issue a pardon for his son. Then a lot of things changed for Daddy Biden. He dropped out of the 2024 presidential campaign, making him a lame duck the moment he pulled out. Vice President Kamala Harris’s loss on Nov. 5 sealed the end of Joe Biden’s influence on national policy.

So, he pardoned his son. Big fu***** deal, man!

The pardon will give conservative talking heads some chatter grist for a while, then it will fade away … just like Joe Biden and his family.

The president served the nation with distinction for more than 50 years. This act of compassion for a son he loves beyond measure speaks only to his devotion as a father and family man.

national news

Biden shows his class

Joseph R. Biden Jr. is a much better man than I am … and he’s a damn sight better man than the nimrod who will succeed him as president of the United States at noon on Jan. 20.

I was frankly moved by the demonstration of class and grace that Biden showed toward Donald J. Trump in the Oval Office the other day when the two men met to discuss policy matters and the transition of power from one administration to the next one.

This was the sort of photo op media event that Trump denied Biden four years ago after Biden defeated Trump’s bid for re-election to the presidency. Accordingly, after what Trump did on Jan. 6 and after all the phony claims of being robbed of victory by unproven voter fraud, I would have expected Biden to say something crass to his successor. He didn’t go there … to his enormous credit!

I am going to say something nice about Trump, too. He accepted Biden’s hand and said that “politics is tough” and “not always nice,” and added that he looked forward to a smooth transition of power. As with almost everything that Trump declares out loud, it good to question his sincerity. I won’t do so — just yet!

Biden’s reverence for the institution of the presidency steered him toward the show of grace and dignity. To be honest I do not know what guided Trump’s demonstration in response to the president.

I want the new president to turn the page and act like a man who reveres the office he will inherit. Wanting it and expecting it, however, remain distant possibilities.

national news

Joe Biden: institutionalist

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Joe Biden’s love of tradition and his inherent grace were on full display today as he welcomed his successor to the job he is about to inherit.

President Biden, to put it bluntly, has demonstrated tangibly that he is a far better man than Donald J. Trump ever thought of being.

Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris continues to send tremors throughout the world as leaders seek to assess what all this means for U.S. standing in the world community.

I also need to remind anyone who needs reminding that Joe Biden today offered the very thing that his predecessor, Trump, denied him when Biden defeated Trump in the 2020 election: a peaceful transfer of power.

Biden values the tradition associated with the presidency. He vowed today to provide a complete and peaceful transfer of power to the Trump team. I shake my head in amazement that President Biden would be so inclined. But that’s why he was elected POTUS in the first place. Biden represents the very best among us. Trump embodies, well, far less of American culture.

I don’t expect Donald Trump to reflect for a nano-second on what President Biden has pledged. He isn’t wired to reflect on anything other than how he can benefit. Still, I just want Joe Biden to know that his magnanimity has not gone unnoticed.

Well done, Mr. President.

national news, political news

Shut up, Mr. President

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I have a simple, straightforward and admittedly painful demand to make of President Biden.

Shut … up, Mr. President. The 2024 election no longer is your fight, as you handed the Democratic Party banner over to VP Kamala Harris.

Biden decided to weigh in with a comment on the MAGA moron who called Puerto Rico an “island of garbage floating in the ocean.” The idiot made that remark while speaking to a rally at Madison Square Garden.

However, President Biden just couldn’t keep his trap shut. He said the “only garbage I see are Trump supporters.” Do you recall Hillary Clinton’s infamous “deplorables” comment describing Trumpkins pulling for the GOP nominee in the 2016 contest?

Biden’s gratuitous cheap shot reminded me immediately of another “deplorables” moment. Biden seemingly forgot one of the cardinal rules of politics: When the other side makes a hideous error, just let ’em stew in their own juices … and allow the political gods take care of matters.

Mr. President, you aren’t in this fight. Sit down and shut the hell up!

national news, political news

Trump hits new low … again!

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Donald Trump’s lying seemingly plunges into a bottomless pit, but hold on, because it’s likely nowhere near the bottom of the abyss.

As emergency services personnel in Georgia, and the Carolinas struggle mightily with rescue and recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Helene’s devastation, the Republican Party’s presidential nominee started fomenting the lie that the federal government is withholding resources to deliver to the struggling Americans.

Trump tossed despicable falsehoods contending that money that should have been spent on hurricane relief instead has gone to assist those who have entered the national illegally. The government lacks the money to provide help for hurricane victims, the numbskull nominee has alleged.

President Biden has called Trump out directly, accusing him of undermining relief efforts, of sowing fear among victims. Vice President Harris asked out loud “where is the empathy, the compassion?” that Trump should be exhibiting. I have an answer for the Democratic presidential nominee. Both traits are MIA, that Trump possesses neither of them!

And yet this idiot continues to draw cheers from the MAGA cultists over his profoundly stupid accusations.

Wait for more of the same rubbish to fly out of this nincompoop’s mouth. It is an endless array of lies that he has turned into some sort of perverted art form.

Dude is dangerous to the nth degree.