Biden / Harris Focused Discussion

[Edge-]

I mean, if you look at the reasons for the lower approval, they're almost all things that will continue to get better from here on out. As time goes on, people will be more glad that we're out of Afghanistan and not want to go back. Also, COVID will decline and the economy will recover.

And more than likely, Biden's approval will go up.

Hey, at least Republicans finally blinked on the debt ceiling (at least in the short term), so I guess they're not quite yet willing to try to completely ruin the country financially to own the libs. Yet. We're still dealing with the fallout of their terrible, awful, no-good tax cut that's still historically unpopular, which is an astounding and impressive feat for any tax cut. Thanks Republicans, you've even managed to show that you can somehow make one of the most universally popular things - a tax cut - unpopular! And lower government revenue/run the debt of massively in the process, just so they can remember they pretend to care about deficits and debt when a Democrat is in office again.

Ain't craven, bad-faith politics grand?

[Kaleredar]

Hey, at least Republicans finally blinked on the debt ceiling (at least in the short term), so I guess they're not quite yet willing to try to completely ruin the country financially to own the libs. Yet. We're still dealing with the fallout of their terrible, awful, no-good tax cut that's still historically unpopular, which is an astounding and impressive feat for any tax cut. Thanks Republicans, you've even managed to show that you can somehow make one of the most universally popular things - a tax cut - unpopular! And lower government revenue/run the debt of massively in the process, just so they can remember they pretend to care about deficits and debt when a Democrat is in office again.

Ain't craven, bad-faith politics grand?

It's ultimately not advantageous for the GOP to refuse to raise the debt ceiling. The financial turmoil would be bad for the stock market and, therefore, their wealthy benefactors.

It was always just posturing to show their "resistance" to the democrats.

[Endus]

My favorite part about the Afghanistan topic is that, yet again, it was one of the ticking time bombs left by a Republican president that exploded under a Democratic president who didn't have full control over what their predecessor did. It's almost like clockwork that this happens, Republican presidents leave ticking time bombs due to bad policy and choices, Democrats deal with the fallout and get wrongfully blamed for it.

Also, was it actually badly executed?

They withdrew, on schedule. Rapidly when the circumstances changed, no less. Was Biden responsible for the collapse of the Afghan government? Can't see how that's the case, unless you're arguing that Afghanistan was a client state of the USA and thus the USA had continuing obligations there, and that's flatly not true. Did some Americans choose to stay behind? Sure, but they had months of warning that this was happening.

The one real shitshow was the denial of visas to Afghanis who'd been promised them, and that's entirely down to goose-stepping Stephen Miller being a Nazi fuckbag and the Biden administration not realizing how badly things had been fucked in that regard until too late. Still a problem created by Trump, for no reason.

[PhaelixWW]

The one real shitshow was the denial of visas to Afghanis who'd been promised them

The mistaken drone strike was a definite misstep of the Pentagon and by extension this Administration. But that's the worst of it.

[Endus]

The mistaken drone strike was a definite misstep of the Pentagon and by extension this Administration. But that's the worst of it.

That had slipped my mind, and it shouldn't have, though I'll say I don't really consider that a part of the withdrawal, directly. It's not like the USA's held back much from drone strikes over the years, even when they weren't an occupying force.

There should be a pretty massive investigation into that drone strike, particularly into who called for it and whether Biden was involved. Frankly, whoever called for that strike should be facing prison for murder. Especially given that they lied about the facts of the situation, which demonstrates that they knew full well what they'd done and were trying to not face justice for it.

[Lenonis]

So Republican, it was written behind closed doors without a Republican present.

Incorrect. So embarrassingly incorrect.

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Pot, Kettle

bOTh siDEs.

I criticize democrats all the time. If you want to call me out maybe have a clue about what I've actually said here.

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If you like polls, here's a new one for you:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ll/6024631001/

President Joe Biden's approval rating hits new low in latest Quinnipiac poll

Get a new schtik will you? It's boring at this point.

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Hey, at least Republicans finally blinked on the debt ceiling (at least in the short term), so I guess they're not quite yet willing to try to completely ruin the country financially to own the libs. Yet.

I'm not confident in the sanity of the GOP but I am confident in their drive for self preservation and holding power. Defaulting the country would likely hurt the rich the most. Investments, banking, credit -- all of that would go haywire. I'm sure the GOP knows driving the country into a default while giving political ammo to use on people who don't know how anything works would also really hurt their wealthy donors. And if there is one group above all they don't want to upset it's their wealthy donors.

Although...they seem to be ok pissing some of them off to continue being the cult of Trump so maybe my theory isn't so great.

[draynay]

Incorrect. So embarrassingly incorrect.

A person has to be incapable of embarrassment to post the things tehdang posts.

[Breccia]

Biden called a Pennsylvania hospital to see why a friend of his couldn't be admitted.

"Oh my God! He pressured them to take a personal friend! That's unethical!"

I mean, it feels that way, at least a little. Thing is, if I had called a hospital, that happened to have a doctor whose child I was teaching, it would be hard to draw that line.

Here's the real take-away. I don't think Biden called with extortion-style demands. I think he mostly needed a personal anecdote. Why couldn't his friend be admitted? All the beds have COVID patients. Biden is a storyteller, and he's been pushing the vaccine as if he cares about human beings and shit. Now, he has another story, and it's personal.

I’ll bet every one of you can name somebody who got sent to the hospital with something other than COVID and couldn’t get it taken care of. How many people do you know — I know — who’ve had to put off elective surgery — surgery they need done — but they couldn’t get a hospital room? It didn’t mean they were going to die, in many cases, but some places in the world, that’s happening. You can’t even get to the — do the elective surgery that’s necessary, particularly for a lot of cancer patients.

So, look, things are changing, and we can end this. We can end this thing. It’s easy, it’s accessible, and it’s free to get the vaccine.

Again, if the President calls to ask why so-and-so can't get admitted, that's going to at least look and feel like pressure, no matter what the intent was. That sucks, because it makes Biden look bad for demanding personal favors, whether he was or not. But the flip side is, if even the President's friend can't get a hospital bed because everybody's got COVID and shit, you know it's bad.

As @Benggaul keeps saying, stay safe everyone.

[Hollycakes]

So pressuring the DOJ and states elections results is ethical and ok.
Trying to get someone into a hospital is unethical and not.
Got it.

[Breccia]

So pressuring the DOJ and states elections results is ethical and ok.
Trying to get someone into a hospital is unethical and not.

Well, I mean, it should at least be viewed that way. Again, friend or not, the President called a hospital about a specific patient. Even if he didn't use the words "admit my friend" and didn't intend to give that vibe, there's going to be some of it there.

But yes, Trump supporters have no right to complain without admitting hypocrisy.

[Edge-]

Trump tried to claim privilege on his Jan. 6 communications. Biden said nah - https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/whi...jan-6-n1281120

Good job, Biden. It's a low bar to clear, but you cleared it.

[Breccia]

Trump tried to claim privilege on his Jan. 6 communications. Biden said nah

I mean, I'm not even sure what people will be looking for here. Wasn't most of it Trump yelling at people? Is there someone who follows Trump around and writes down everything he yells? IS THAT WHY HIS TWEETS ARE IN ALL CAPS?

[Endus]

I mean, I'm not even sure what people will be looking for here. Wasn't most of it Trump yelling at people? Is there someone who follows Trump around and writes down everything he yells? IS THAT WHY HIS TWEETS ARE IN ALL CAPS?

If any of that communication demonstrates Trump knew about the potential for violence before the events of Jan 6, or supported that violence even in a "heh, look at those fuckers go" kind of sense, it provides context that frames his actions on that day as direct support, and that makes him guilty of insurrection or rebellion against the USA. Could be texts to compatriots, could be e-mails he angrily sent telling people not to send the National Guard, could be anything.

[beanman12345]

Trump tried to claim privilege on his Jan. 6 communications. Biden said nah - https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/whi...jan-6-n1281120

Good job, Biden. It's a low bar to clear, but you cleared it.

So what's the next step? House votes to hold in contempt and throw it to DoJ? That'll should be an easy vote. Guess we'll finally see if Garland has been castrated or has some balls.

[Breccia]

The top story on FOX News is Biden refusing to take questions from the press.

"When Trump did the s--"

No. FOX News is being hypocritical. EDIT: Oh, and not a single top headline about the WH turning over documents. Something about "poisonings" at the border -- sounds like Haitian AIDS to me -- a missing teenager, two things about the Brie Laundrie case and a shot at CNN.

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So what's the next step? House votes to hold in contempt and throw it to DoJ?

I think the next step in this case is "then the White House hands the info to the Jan 6th committee". They have the documents, well, the official ones. Team Trump have been using back-channels since they got into the White House because of exactly this.

[beanman12345]

The top story on FOX News is Biden refusing to take questions from the press.

"When Trump did the s--"

No. FOX News is being hypocritical. EDIT: Oh, and not a single top headline about the WH turning over documents. Something about "poisonings" at the border -- sounds like Haitian AIDS to me -- a missing teenager, two things about the Brie Laundrie case and a shot at CNN.

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I think the next step in this case is "then the White House hands the info to the Jan 6th committee". They have the documents, well, the official ones. Team Trump have been using back-channels since they got into the White House because of exactly this.

Ahh thanks, sorry thought this was connected to the privilege with the folk ignoring subpoena's today. Well, I hope the treasure trove of documents doesn't delay them getting on that.

[Breccia]

Ahh thanks, sorry thought this was connected to the privilege with the folk ignoring subpoena's today.

No, I think there's a lot of everything flying around.

Bannon has announced that he cannot comply with the subpoena.

We must accept his direction and honor his innovation of executive privilege. As such, until these issues are resolved, we are unable to respond to your request for documents and testimony

"What issues?"

Executive privilege, of course.

"But...that was just resolved."

No, Bannon basically said the Trump lawsuit over privilege hasn't been resolved yet.

"Oh, Trump sued?"

I don't believe so, no.

A statement from the committee implies some degree of cooperation from Meadows and Patel but warned Bannon against hanging his hat on a suit that has yet to be filed.

“While Mr. Meadows and Mr. Patel are, so far, engaging with the Select Committee, Mr. Bannon has indicated that he will try to hide behind vague references to privileges of the former President. The Select Committee fully expects all of these witnesses to comply with our demands for both documents and deposition testimony,” Chair Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.) and Vice Chair Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said in a joint statement.

“Though the Select Committee welcomes good-faith engagement with witnesses seeking to cooperate with our investigation, we will not allow any witness to defy a lawful subpoena or attempt to run out the clock, and we will swiftly consider advancing a criminal contempt of Congress referral,” they wrote, adding that the committee “will not be deterred by those who seek to obstruct our efforts.”

"So Bannon is going to just not comply with a subpoena, citing a nonexistant lawsuit?"

It seems that way. Trump threatens lawsuits all the time, and you'd think he'd have moved on this one. Like, been ready to go when the pull timer hit 1. Nope. Maybe he doesn't care about Bannon, because Bannon is not Trump.

"But...Bannon could tell them everything. Under oath. At metaphorical gunpoint."

Correct. And he might have no choice.

Even if the Trump camp does try to assert executive privilege, it's not clear why such an argument would cover Bannon. While Bannon worked at the White House in the months after Trump was inaugurated, he was later dismissed. He was subpoenaed due to his involvement in planning for the rallies on Jan. 6, well after his White House career.

Trump’s deadline for filing a suit to assert executive privilege is quickly approaching. If the four men don’t show up for a deposition by the mid-October deadline they could face criminal charges.

[Edge-]

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...ut-2021-10-08/

First official meeting with the Taliban, the head of the Afghan government sadly, coming up. Seems the top priority is making sure they hold up their end of the previous agreement with the Trump administration to not allow Al Qaeda or ISIS to establish a presence there, and to ensure that they continue to leave Americans in the country (for whatever reason) alone and not fuck with them.

I'm optimistic we won't make any more deals as bad as Trumps deal was, but not optimistic that the Taliban will be honest partners.

[tehdang]

Taliban say they won't work with US to contain Islamic State

The Taliban on Saturday ruled out cooperation with the United States to contain extremist groups in Afghanistan, staking out an uncompromising position on a key issue ahead of the first direct talks between the former foes since America withdrew from the country in August.

Senior Taliban officials and U.S. representatives are meeting this weekend in Doha, the capital of Qatar. Officials from both sides have said issues include reining in extremist groups and the evacuation of foreign citizens and Afghans from the country. The Taliban have signaled flexibility on evacuations.

However, Taliban political spokesman Suhail Shaheen told The Associated Press there would be no cooperation with Washington on containing the increasingly active Islamic State group in Afghanistan. IS has taken responsibility for a number of recent attacks, including a suicide bombing Friday that killed 46 minority Shiite Muslims and wounded dozens as they prayed in a mosque in the northern city of Kunduz.

“We are able to tackle Daesh independently,” Shaheen said, when asked whether the Taliban would work with the U.S. to contain the Islamic State affiliate. He used an Arabic acronym for IS.

IS has carried out relentless assaults on the country’s Shiites since emerging in eastern Afghanistan in 2014. It is also seen as the terror group that poses the greatest threat to the United States for its potential to stage attacks on American targets.

The weekend meetings in Doha are the first since U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan in late August, ending a 20-year military presence as the Taliban overran the country. The U.S. has made it clear the talks are not a preamble to recognition.

https://apnews.com/article/business-...65169889d05ff1
So much for that counterterrorism partnership.

Filed in news that shouldn't surprise anyone.

[postman1782]

Taliban say they won't work with US to contain Islamic State


https://apnews.com/article/business-...65169889d05ff1
So much for that counterterrorism partnership.

Filed in news that shouldn't surprise anyone.

So, they are welching on their deal with Trump? Another reason to not negotiate with fucking terrorists like Trump fucking did.