Tag Archives: 2024 election

Joe Biden

Stop the armchair diagnoses!

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Everyone’s a doctor, a scientist, someone with inside knowledge on what makes total strangers tick.

You hear it especially when a prominent individual is forced to answer questions about his or her mental acuity. The most prominent person on Earth, President Biden, is facing those questions these days. He endured that hideous debate performance the other evening and now is being pressured to drop out of his race for re-election to the presidency.

Biden says he ain’t going to do it. He says he plans to soldier on. He says only he can defeat Donald J. Trump, which he did four years ago. A whole host of things now work in his favor: Trump’s convictions on felony counts; the nation’s economic revival; Trump’s continuing blather about The Big Lie; Biden’s ability to rally international support against the immoral Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Then the 81-year-old president stumbled badly in that debate against the consummate liar.

I’ll lay out my bias for you. Biden is not diminished to where he cannot do the job to which we elected him. Trump is patently unfit at any level one can imagine for the job he seeks. I base my assertions about Biden on what I have witnessed, albeit from a distance. I concluded long before he won the 2016 election that Trump’s professional experience and his personal proclivities render him unfit for public office.

I am going to hang with the president until he decides all by himself whether he wants to keep fighting for his job … and fighting for you and me.

national news

Turning away from debate

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All eyes are turning — or at least many of them are doing so — toward the Atlanta stage where President Biden and Donald J. Trump are going to joust in that much-anticipated first presidential debate of the 2024 campaign.

This blog post is going to point itself elsewhere for the time being.

We have a lot of issues to settle in this angry world of ours.

How do we negotiate a settlement between Russia and Ukraine? How do we do the same in Gaza where Israel has gone to war with Hamas? How do we make sure Iran doesn’t acquire nuclear weapon capability? How do we secure our border? How do we control inflationary pressure on those things we purchase at the store? How can we improve public education?

Biden and Trump aren’t likely to come close to providing any solutions. We instead are going to focus on the show biz aspect of the joint appearance.

I am going to concentrate my energy on seeking solutions to the critical problems facing this nation. I am sure my phone will ring tonight after the debate. My friends and family will ask who I thought “won.” I won’t be callous and say, “I don’t know and I don’t care.,”

I suppose all of this is my way of lowering expectations for what happens this evening. Two men who are thought pretty universally to be profoundly unable to face the problems that trouble us won’t provide any answers,

It’s all for show, man. Got it? Good.

national news

Stop at nothing? Oh … really?

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The gallery of politicians who have become the masters of the obvious has grown by one … a member of the U.S. House Republican caucus, Nancy Mace.

She told the Fox Propaganda Channel that the “left will stop at nothing to ensure” President Biden’s re-election.

My jaw damn near hit the deck as I thought: No … sh**!

You see, the MAGA right wing cult is gearing up to do precisely the same thing as they tell lie after lie to ensure that Donald J. Trump wins the election.

These right-wing pols can cease with the declarations about the mean ol’ woke politicians on the left.

political news

Stakes are um … huge!

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One week out and I am trying to recall the last time I looked forward to a presidential debate with such trepidation.

I cannot remember when that occurred. Maybe it never did.

President Joe Biden and Donald J. Trump will go toe-to-toe next week in the first of two planned joint appearances.

Biden and Trump are running neck-and-neck. Why is that? That’s beyond me. However, the polling suggests a photo finish this election cycle.

Here is my hope for a debate outcome.

My hope is that President Biden brings his “A” game. That he remains cool, calm and collected. That he reminds viewers of what lies ahead if voters are dumb enough to send the former numbskull in chief back to the Oval Office. That he reminds us that we cannot possibly elect convicted felon to the nation’s most glorious public office. That he tells us of the existential threat to our democracy if Trump is able to give Russian goon Vladimir Putin a free hand in his immoral invasion of Ukraine.

And that he just lets Trump zoom into orbit with his nonsensical rants about The Big Lie and how much “love” was shown during the violent assault on our Capitol on Jan. 6.

This debate could be the game changer that many of us hope occurs.

national news, political news

Bizarre season awaits

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, friend and foe we all are standing on the doorstep of the craziest, most bizarre and unexplainable political season in history.

That is no hyperbole. It is for real. It is a sickening reality of the state of the American political system and how it has transformed from a process that selects only the very best men and women among us to run for president to one that perverts the rule of law and allows for a major-party POTUS candidate to challenge the very integrity of the system he could take an oath to defend and protect.

Oh, my. Pass the Pepto.

Donald Trump will face a sentencing hearing on July 11 after being convicted on 34 felony counts of paying a porn actress illegally to keep her quiet about a sexual encounter she said the two of them had in 2006. The 45th POTUS denies it took place. The actress, Stephanie Clifford — aka Stormy Daniels — said it did. The jury believed her account and handed down the 34-count guilty verdict.

Less than a week after the hearing, Republicans will gather in Milwaukee to nominate their next candidate for president. It will be — yes, that’s right — the aforementioned convicted criminal.

Is this utterly bizarre, or what?

I was thinking recently of a long-ago time when a vice-presidential candidate was forced to withdraw because of reports he had electro-shock therapy to treat him for depression. The VP nominee was Thomas Eagleton, whom the 1972 presidential nominee George McGovern had selected to run on the Democratic ticket with him. I remember at the time that the media went ballistic over the revelation of treatment; it was successful, by the way. The party, though, got the nervous nellies over it and forced Eagleton to step away. McGovern and the new VP nominee, Sargent Shriver, lost to President Nixon in a historic 49-state landslide.

Now we have this prospect awaiting the next major-party candidate. The POTUS candidate is now convicted of a felony. He is awaiting trial on two federal charges and a third charge in another state court. He has been accused of inciting the assault on our government on Jan. 6, 2021; of hiding classified documents taken illegally from the White House; and of pressuring Georgia officials to “find” enough votes for him to declare victory in that state in 2020.

Are these the kinds of things we now should expect in our presidential candidate? Are we now set to elect this convicted criminal to another term as POTUS?

What in the name of Almighty God have we become if that is the case?

Let us all hold on, gang, for the roughest political ride we’ve ever seen … or likely will ever see.

crime news

Conviction changes the game

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A 34-count felony conviction of a former president of the USA enables us now to take a fresh look at the political depths to which this nation has sunk.

Donald Trump was found guilty this week — unanimously, by a jury in New York City — of illegally paying an adult film actress hush money to keep quiet about a tumble the two of them took in 2006. He said the event didn’t occur; she said it did. The district attorney’s office provided proof of a payment to the Stephanie Clifford, aka Stormy Daniels.

So, the man seeking the Republican Party presidential nomination for the third election cycle in a row will seek that nod as a convicted felon. The party is likely to do little more than blink, wink and shrug at the prospect before anointing him as the party’s 2024 nominee.

The former moron in chief called the verdict “rigged.” He called the judge corrupt. He said he did nothing wrong but did “everything right.”

His supporters call the trial a “sham.” Let us remember one critical point: The jury of seven men and five women was cleared to hear the case by legal counsel on both sides. Yes, Trump’s team OK’d the 12 jurors selected for this historic task. That it delivered a decision not to their liking, though, gives them zero license to challenge the criminal justice system’s integrity.

Republican convention delegates will gather soon in Milwaukee to nominate their next presidential candidate. He’s the same individual who has denigrated a Vietnam War hero, a Gold Star family. a reporter with a physical handicap, who has admitted to committing sexual assault, who was impeached twice by the House and now is a convicted felon.

GOP delegates don’t give a damn about their candidate’s (lack of) character. If this idiot returns to the Oval Office, we are in far greater danger than many of us ever imagined.

crime news

More on conviction …

Fascinating, yes, how some folks are reacting to the New York jury ‘s unanimous decision to convict the former POTUS for illegally paying hush money to an adult film actress regarding a tryst the two of them had before he sought the presidency.

One reaction came to me in the form of a question, followed by a commentary. It reads: At any rate, I was wondering if Trump wins in November, will you accept that outcome? On an interesting note, it seems the sham conviction is giving Trump quite the boost.

Well …

OK, my first reaction is to not engage anyone who calls the verdict a “sham.” It was nothing of the sort. Jurors reached their decision in accordance with the rule of law. Donald Trump was convicted on all 34 felony counts and faces a possible prison sentence. He has the right to appeal, which he said he will do.

Would I accept a Trump victory in November? I’ll just say: Yes, I would if it comes cleanly and without any hint of “rigging.” I accept Trump’s 2016 victory. He achieved it according to the rules laid out in the Constitution. He garnered fewer popular votes than Hillary Clinton but won enough Electoral College votes to take the oath of office.

This particular critic of High Plains Blogger, though, tosses aside any notion of dialogue with me if he insists that the verdict is a “sham.”

Get a grip, dude.

crime news

Run, felon, run!

Two dates are staring the next Republican Party presidential nominee in his orange-hued face.

July 11, 2024 is the first date. New York District Juan Merchan has set that date as the start of a sentencing hearing for the former POTUS, who on Thursday was convicted on all 34 felony counts related to the hush money payment he made to an adult film actress.

Then it gets even hairier for the former Philanderer in Chief. On July 15, 2024, Republicans are likely to nominate the felon as their party’s next presidential candidate.

It has come down to this. Republicans now are relying on a man convicted of 34 felony counts to carry their party banner in the next election against an incumbent who defeated him four years ago. The defeated GOP nominee never had the good grace to accept defeat and to pledge cooperation with the new president … which Barack Obama did in 2016 when the ex-Liar in Chief won the election.

Do we live in a topsy-turvy world … or what?

I suggest we all hang on with both hands, because the ride is going to get seriously wild.

Joe Biden, national news

Yes, he will ‘leave’

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Robert DeNiro kinda got ahead of himself today when he launched into a highly emotional rant about the presumed Republican Party presidential nominee.

The two-time Oscar-winning actor said that POTUS No. 45 “will never leave” if he’s elected president in 2024. He said it repeatedly.

Oops. Yeah, he will leave.

Here’s the deal that DeNiro has declined to acknowledge. POTUS 45 is 77 years of age, just a bit younger than President Joe Biden. No human being is immortal. No one! We all meet the same fate, which is that none of us gets out of here alive.

Sooner or later, the former Liar in Chief is going to croak. He’ll be gone. We won’t have this old man to kick around any longer. Eventually, it’ll happen. Eventually!

Do I wish that moment will arrive sooner rather than later? Hah! As my dear Mom used to say: I’ll give you three guesses … and the first two don’t count.

national news

Head vs. heart

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My head and my heart have declared all-out war against each other and today I got a chance to verbalize my concern over that inner struggle with a good friend of mine.

Tom asked me today about how I think the current political struggle is going to play out. He meant the presidential election … even though he didn’t say it. He didn’t have to say it.

My ticker is pulling hard for Joe Biden’s re-election as president of the United States. He remains on top of his game. Do I worry about the occasional gaffes, misstatements? Hell no! I make many of the same mistakes as he does. I happen to believe I am still bringing my “A game” to this business of blogging.

My noggin, though, suggests a different outcome could be on tap this November. The man President Biden defeated in 2020 wants his old job back. What he intends to do with it simply scares the living sh** out of me!

He vows to sic the Justice Department on the media and on his political “enemies.” He said he might pardon those accused of storming the Capitol on Jan. 6; he calls them “political hostages,” and not the criminals they have been accused of being and in some cases convicted of being.

POTUS 45 pledged to bring in the “best people” to serve with him when he was elected in 2016. The “best people” turned out to be a gang of bumbling nimrods who didn’t know whether to sh** or wind their watches. The next batch would be a gang of blind loyalists who will swear an oath to be loyal only to the man who selects them and not the Constitution they all should swear to support and defend.

I told Tom that my heart hopes for all its worth that this country is smarter than to allow this moron anywhere near the Oval Office. I also said my head tells me I might be overselling out nation’s collective intelligence.

God help us if my noggin wins this war!