Tag Archives: Joe Biden

crime news

My outrage is real

Mr. President, I have some news for you: I happen to be ahead of your call to make my “outrage” over gun violence central to my vote.

I made that call actually long before the Uvalde tragedy. Or even before the Buffalo slaughter in the supermarket.

You see, Mr. President, I am as outraged as you are — maybe even more so — at the cowardice exhibited by your Republican “friends” in Congress and their unwillingness to enact what you refer to as “sensible” gun-control legislation.

I listened intently to your remarks the other evening and I continue to stand with you as you grapple with the myriad crises that have befallen us.

President Biden Speech On Mass Shootings: “Make Your Outrage Central To Your Vote” In November | Video | RealClearPolitics

Our governor and lieutenant governor are up for re-election this year. Mr. President, I have heard your pleas for “unity” among Americans. I just cannot support either of these guys, Greg Abbott or Dan Patrick, because of their stubborn resistance to even discuss or debate gun legislation.

I also am going to ask our Third Congressional District candidates where they stand on gun control. I know what the GOP candidate will say; he’ll be a solid “no” on any legislative measure.

Furthermore, I also stand firmly on the notion that legislation does not have to mean we trample on the Second Amendment. I get it, Mr. President! So, to that extent you are preaching to the proverbial choir in our North Texas home.

I just feel the need to assure you, Mr. President, that you have many of us out here in your corner. Keep fighting, sir.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

State news

Tragedy transcends politics

Some moments of crisis would seemingly dispel any notion of partisanship, or of division between the major political parties and those who lead them.

Such as, oh, the massacre of school children and their teachers.

It happened again the other day in Uvalde, Texas. President and Mrs. Biden came to Texas to hug the necks of victims of the madman who walked into Robb Elementary School and slaughtered his victims before a Border Patrol tactical squad shot him to death.

My question, though, is this: Why weren’t the Democratic president and the Republican governor, Greg Abbott sitting next to each other, sharing in the nation’s grief, pledging a joint effort to rid the nation of this scourge of senseless, insane gun violence?

Abbott has decided to forgo any such appearance with a man he criticizes at will. Biden deserves a brickbat, too, as he could have extended an invitation to meet with the governor while he was visiting the victims in Uvalde. He didn’t.

I don’t expect these men to share a solution. They damn sure should share the goal of ending the violence. Of seeking common ground. They could proclaim their joint dedication to putting an end to this madness while vowing to work out the details later. Is that an impossible task?

The great chasm seems only to widen these days when crisis strikes. It mustn’t be that way.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

Bidens coming to pray and to seek solutions

President and Mrs. Biden — both of whom are familiar with the intense grief of burying a child — are coming to Texas to grieve with the families and friends of the 21 people who died in that horrific massacre that erupted at Robb Elementary School.

For the Bidens, this marks the second such community they will visit in the past two weeks. Recall that they went to Buffalo, N.Y., to extend the nation’s sympathy to the families of the10 victims of the shooter who walked into a supermarket and opened fire.

Now comes this latest unspeakable event.

Nineteen third- and fourth-graders died at the hands of the madman along with two teachers who were trying to shield the children from the bullets.

What does the president say? What can Jill Biden tell them? Yes, they buried an adult son who died from cancer in 2015. What’s more, the president’s infant daughter died in a tragic 1972 car wreck just before he took office as a U.S. senator from Delaware.

They have walked this lonely path before.

Their task, though, ought to be as well to mobilize men and women in Congress to do what they can to prevent future occurrences of this scope and misery. That, I dare say, will be a much steeper mountain to climb than merely hugging victims’ family members.

Still, it is good that they will come to Texas to express the nation’s sorrow over this hideous tragedy.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

International news

How do we measure Kim’s ‘sincerity’?

President Biden has laid out a fascinating pre-condition were he and North Korea’s tinhorn dictator Kim Jong Un ever were to meet face to face.

Biden said Kim must demonstrate that he is “sincere” about talks with the United States. Well … that seems to rule out any such bilateral meeting any time before the next Ice Age.

Kim Jong Un met with Donald Trump a couple of times during Trump’s term in office. I don’t recall the POTUS laying out any such pre-meeting requirement. Instead, he spoke publicly of the “love letters” he and Kim exchanged. It sounded a tad kinky, if you want my take on it.

Joe Biden isn’t inclined to shake Kim Jong Un’s hand without first getting some assurances that I do not believe Kim is capable of delivering.

No one on this side of the ideological divide can possibly trust a single thing that Kim ever would say. The guy has killed members of his own family; his people are starving while he pours billions of dollars into nuclear weapons.

Can Kim Jong Un be trusted? Nope. Thus, President Biden would be wise to keep his distance.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

Let’s wait on the political obit

Before we start dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s on President Biden’s political obituary in the wake of the upcoming midterm election, let’s revisit a couple of recent historical events … hmm?

President Clinton won election in 1992. The midterm election occurred in 1994 and you know what happened. Republicans took control of both congressional chambers for the first time in 40 years. They flipped dozens of House seats. Newt Gingrich became speaker.

What happened in the 1996 presidential election? Clinton won re-election in an Electoral College landslide.

OK, now let’s look quickly at what occurred in 2010. President Obama took office after the 2008 election. He had a Democratic Party majority in Congress. Then the 2010 midterm occurred. Republicans delivered what Obama called a “shellacking.” The GOP took control of Congress.

Oh, but wait! The 2012 election ended with President Obama winning re-election. The margin for Obama wasn’t as impressive as the victory scored by President Clinton.

So here we are today. President Biden and Democrats are facing strong headwinds moving toward this year’s midterm election. Republicans are poised to seize control of both congressional chambers. If they do, they will follow historical precedent.

Is that the end of the line for Joe Biden? Nope, not even …

You see, today’s GOP is now populated by election deniers, followers of the Big Lie fomented by the Liar in Chief. The GOP is fully capable of messing up what the voters appear ready to grant them, which is control of the legislative branch of government.

Given the quality of the rhetoric coming from the cultist who leads the Republican Party and the blind fealty to his blathering that his followers exhibit, I am betting President Biden and the Democrats won’t surrender anything.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

environmental news

Where is John Kerry?

President Biden made quite a show of announcing the appointment of John Kerry as the administration’s special envoy specializing in climate change. Do you recall it? Of course you do!

Kerry served as a U.S. senator from Massachusetts, ran for president in 2004, served as secretary of state during Barack Obama’s second presidential term. He fought for his country during the Vietnam War and has been an eloquent spokesman for whatever cause piques his fancy.

Biden wanted to bring him back into public life and gave him a special title with an extra-special responsibility: chief envoy representing our nation in the fight to combat the existential threat posed by climate change.

But, wait! He’s vanished. I think he has anyway.

Yes, I get that the Ukraine War has eclipsed a lot of issues. We have this inflationary fight erupting. Fossil fuel prices are skyrocketing, which to my way of thinking only elevates the importance of climate-change initiatives that Kerry should be promoting, pushing and arguing.

Joe Biden was right to declare climate change a key threat to our national security and our way of life. He wants to promote green energy initiatives. John Kerry is an important worldwide figure to make the case around the world.

But … dammit! We need to keep this guy front and center!

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

business news

POTUS pounded unfairly

My bias is clear and well-documented on this blog. I stand in support of President Biden.

That said, I need someone to explain to me just why he is getting pounded — in my view unfairly — for the rising energy prices that are taking an increasing bite out of our disposal income.

Supply of fossil fuel is down, demand is up. Russia has gone to war with Ukraine, forcing the United States and our worldwide allies to cut off Russian oil exports. The “supply chain” crisis isn’t letting up. Not only that, Americans are paying less for fuel than citizens of many other industrialized nations, meaning that this is a worldwide crisis.

And yet …

We hear from the right wingers that Biden is “doing nothing” to ease the pain at the pump. We hear he is feckless and clueless.

How in the world does the president of the United States control the worldwide supply and demand? What can he do to correct it?

Hey, I admit to being slow on the uptake on a whole array of issues. This is one of them. I don’t profess to know all the answers. Hell, I cannot even figure out how to correct some of the glitches in my TV streaming service at home.

I have said all along — and this argument has applied to presidents of both parties — that the POTUS never should take undue credit for success, nor should he received undue blame for problems that occur on his watch.

However, Joe Biden is the president of the United States. He has served in government long enough to know that the blame he gets just goes with the territory.

It’s just not fair.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

Loony bin wing strikes back

The loony bin wing of the Republican Party comprises two Texas congressmen who were among just nine House members to vote against legislation that aims to fast-track baby formula which — you likely have heard — is in critically short supply.

Reps. Louie Gohmert of Tyler and Chip Roy of Austin voted “no” on a bill that seeks to grant women on federal assistance greater access to the formula.

Texas is among the worst-hit states in this current crisis. President Biden has just invoked the Defense Production Act to facilitate delivery of the formula to families with infants.

The Texas Tribune was unable to obtain a comment from Gohmert. Roy delivered a message. The Tribune reported: “The only way to get more formula to American families is to fix the crony policies that prevent more U.S. companies from producing it, remove barriers to innovation, and allow imports from trusted nations; the legislation Democrats put forward does none of that,” he said. Calling the Biden administration “demonstrably incompetent,” he called the shortage “the direct result of unnecessary federal regulations and of a bloated bureaucracy that failed to recognize the problem before it spiraled out of control.”

Two Texas Republicans vote no on bill to help poor mothers get formula | The Texas Tribune

Well, Congress was able to act in that rare bipartisan fashion to approve the legislation, no thanks to the stubbornness of two Texas Republicans.

Shame on them.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

Biden delivers comfort, resolve

Joe Biden’s job description includes far more than signing documents in the Oval Office and making decisions that involve sending young men and women into harm’s way.

The president also must serve as comforter in chief. That role isn’t written anywhere. It’s just what presidents are called upon to do when the moment presents itself.

That moment arrived the other day when a white supremacist lunatic opened fire at a Buffalo, N.Y., supermarket; the gunman killed 10 Black Americans and injured three others.

Buffalo is shaken to its core. Its residents are horrified at the actions of a teenager who (allegedly) drove to the community, scope out the store and then committed the dastardly act.

Joe Biden demonstrated one of the key elements he brings to the presidency. He has suffered personal grief himself. He has buried two of his children and his wife. He spoke to Buffalo as a man who — and please pardon the phrase — feels their pain.

The president showed the entire world why many of us — such as me — are glad he is in the office he occupies.

Think for a minute of the Charlottesville, Va., riot in 2017. Klansmen, Nazis and assorted white supremacist goons gathered in that city to protest the taking down of a Civil War statue. A riot ensued when these individuals engaged with counter protestors. What did Donald Trump tell us? That there were “good people, on both sides.”

No. There were not.

The Editorial Board: Biden meets with survivors of the slain and lifts up a shaken and suffering city | Editorial | buffalonews.com

The Buffalo News offered an editorial that stated, in part: But it was Biden’s words that carried weight in Buffalo on Tuesday. He offered an emotional roll call of the dead, but promised their survivors that some unexpected day, a memory of their lost loved one would bring a bittersweet surprise: “It’s going to bring a smile to your lip before it brings a tear to your eye,” the president said.

The president of the United States performed one of those unwritten tasks. The goodness of this man was evident as he sought to lend comfort to a stricken community.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news, International news

Putin’s big aim? Pffftt!

Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine those many weeks ago to prevent an expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Hah! What happened then? Oh, Sweden and Finland have applied for NATO membership. Indeed, if Finland is accepted as a NATO member, the Russian tyrant will watch his country’s border with NATO expand by roughly double what it is at the moment.

So, this begs the question: How is it working out for you … Vlad?

It ain’t!

Russian troops are getting their butts kicked on the battlefield by dedicated Ukrainian soldiers and militia. Putin sought to conquer Kyiv and Kharkiv — Ukraine’s two largest cities — only to watch those efforts literally go up in flames.

Russian soldiers are suffering from low morale, lack of ammunition, faltering equipment, resupply crises and are showing signs of insubordination on the field of battle.

None of this is likely to stem the assault that Putin launched against a sovereign nation. He now is threatening Finland with reprisal if NATO accepts the Finns and the Swedes.

I must point out, too, that NATO — thanks to the diplomatic efforts led by President Biden — is more united than ever in its mission to stand as one against any threats from Russia.

If I were advising Putin, I would consider offering a suggestion for a way to declare victory and just get the hell out of Ukraine.

Johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com