Last night, President Joe Biden gave his second State of the Union address. It was difficult to watch at points. Biden made a series of questionable statements like claiming that he added 12 million new jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Biden has only added 2.7 million overall jobs. However, it was his statement on assault weapons that stood out for some of us who have previously flagged his claims as legally and statistically flawed. The claims have not improved with repetition.
The same lines appeared again in the address virtually verbatim from prior campaign speeches:
“Ban assault weapons once and for all.
We did it before. I led the fight to ban them in 1994.
In the 10 years the ban was law, mass shootings went down. After Republicans let it expire, mass shootings tripled.
Let’s finish the job and ban assault weapons again.”
I would truly like to “finish the job” and have the President drop this dubious claim. Biden again does not define what he means by assault weapons. He previously has included 9mm handguns in his proposed ban.
The President is referring to the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act or Federal Assault Weapons Ban (AWB) in the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. The law banned the manufacture for civilian use of certain semi-automatic firearms as well as some large capacity ammunition magazines. That ten-year ban was signed by President Bill Clinton on September 13, 1994 but expired on September 13, 2004.
That was before the Supreme Court recognized that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to gun ownership in District of Columbia v. Heller in 2008. The Act was not challenged under the Second Amendment in any major litigation.
Putting aside the constitutional challenges, the President’s factual claim is far from established. Indeed, there is no evidence that the ban had any appreciable impact on gun violence and most studies questioned the impact even on mass shootings. There does appear to have been a decrease during this period and an increase after the period. However, the cause-and-effect claim has never been well-established.
Support for this claim could be based on a 2019 study in the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery that found that “Mass-shooting related homicides in the United States were reduced during the years of the federal assault weapons ban of 1994 to 2004”. However, the authors said that this reduction was merely “observational” and that the Act was not clearly the cause of the reduction in shootings and deaths.
A Rand study found such claims “inconclusive” while the National Institute of Justice noted:
“A number of factors—including the fact that the banned weapons and magazines were rarely used to commit murders in this country, the limited availability of data on the weapons, other components of the Crime Control Act of 1994, and State and local initiatives implemented at the same time—posed challenges in discerning the effects of the ban.”
Even the Washington Post noted that “Part of the problem is that the assault weapons ban existed for only 10 years, and there are relatively few mass shootings per year, making it difficult to fully assess its impact.” The Post would only say that some studies show the law was “effective.”
A 2020 study published in Criminology and Public Policy found that “bans on assault weapons had no clear effects on either the incidence of mass shootings or on the incidence of victim fatalities from mass shootings.” This study noted that “most mass shootings do not involve assault rifles, but many involve the use of [large caliber magazines].”
A 2004 Justice Department study found little support for this cause-and-effect claim.
The obvious problem with this claim is that mass shootings are statistically rare. It is very hard to associate a decrease to the law, particularly with the abundance of existing weapons and the fact that many shootings do not involve the AR-15 or similar models.
The State of the Union should, in my view, not be just another stump speech. Just as members need to show greater restraint, so should a president.
Of course, we were spared the disgraceful act of “liberated” former Speaker Nancy Pelosi ripping up the speech of former President Donald Trump. It is doubtful that Democrats would be as thrilled and supportive of a “liberated” McCarthy shredding the Biden speech due to his own deep disagreements with it. He did not do so and it helped restored dignity to the chair and decades of traditions.
I admit that I am a bit of a purest on the decorum question. Kevin McCarthy could be seen mouthing words and shaking his head. It was reminiscent of the controversy over Justice Sam Alito mouthing objections in response to President Barack Obama. While it paled in comparison to the offensive conduct of his predecessor (who also would shake her head and roll her eyes behind Trump), it was still inappropriate in my view. The Speaker represents the entire body of the House of Representatives — Democratic and Republican — in the State of the Union. As difficult as it may be at times, it is better to remain stoic.
The worst part was the yelling and heckling from Republican members. They were clearly baited by the President and it worked. As I tweeted last night, it was wrong when the Democrats did it and it is wrong now when Republicans do it. At one point, Biden was called a “liar” for again claiming that Republicans want to cut social security (a position rejected repeatedly by the vast majority of Republicans). Biden responded that he was not saying “I’m not saying it’s a majority.” It was still a low blow. However, I continue to follow the old school view that members should remain respectful and silent. To his credit, McCarthy was seen glaring at some colleagues and on at least on occasion telling them to “Shush.”
The State of the Union captured the state of our politics and it is not good. While calling for unity, Biden took cheap shots at his opponents on issues like social security while Republicans like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R, Ga.) screamed “Liar.” We have lost the civility and, with it, the dignity of such historic moments. Joe Biden is our President. He is granted entry to the House once a year for this constitutional function. He is entitled to a respectful audience. He is also expected to be respectful and accurate in his own words. He also failed that test.
Things will not change in our country until we demand more from both parties and all of our leaders. Fortunately, my children are older now, but I always had them listen to the State of the Union addresses. I would have been mortified to have them watch this spectacle of sparing between the President and members last night. It goes against everything that we have sought to instill in them about mutual respect and civility.
If I was a member of Congress, listening to Joe Biden lie and lie about my party and the state of the union, we would have needed John Bercow shouting, “Order!” We do need honesty, decorum, and civility, but there is none of that in the White House, Congress, or briefing room.
It must get a bit hard to sit on your hands and listen to Joe Biden tell debunked lies to voters who will never check his story. What a helpless feeling, facing the tremendous Democrat machine that controls most information to the public. Truth is no defense against propaganda if you can’t get it out there.
I’m not defending the shouting. Just acknowledging the frustration.
https://youtu.be/6rRBLegvo5w
I will defend the shouting and the behavior of those Republicans. They were goaded into it by the Liar in Chief–the despicable person he is will finally be demonstrated when they get behind the decades-old influence peddling scheme he cooked up with his son and brother. Yes, decorum would be nice Professor, but it has to start at the podium. The audience gave him a chance to stay on the civil path and he rejected it. Actually, he spat on it. He got what he deserved–actually less than he deserved.
During the 2022 campaign Biden doubled down on Hillaries Deplorables remarks,
Identifying much of the country as essentially fascists and Nazi’s.
He is not entitled to civil treatment from those he refused to treat civily.
One of the great recent changes in politics driven by the left,
is that we have shifted from attacking the candidates of the other side,
to attacking voters.
Karen S: you again? Joe Biden didn’t lie about Republicans or the state of the union. What allegedly “debunked lies” did Biden tell to voters? Can you name one? In Turley’s little piece today, he claims that it is “misleading” for Biden to claim 2.7 million jobs were created under his administration, but it’s only “misleading” if you add back all of the jobs lost by Trump’s incompetence and the trade war he started with China and use this as a starting point. But that wasn’t Biden’s starting point. And, if you click on Turley’s link, it takes you to–wait for it–Fox “News”. Per CNN “fact check”:
President Joe Biden said in his State of the Union address that his administration has “created, with the help of many people in this room, 12 million new jobs — more jobs created in two years than any president has ever created in four years.”
Facts First: Biden’s number is accurate: the US economy added 12.1 million jobs between Biden’s first full month in office, February 2021, and January 2023. That number is indeed higher than the number of jobs added in any previous four-year presidential term. However, it’s important to note that Biden took office in an unusual pandemic context that makes meaningful comparison to other periods very difficult.
Biden became president less than a year after the economy shed nearly 22 million jobs over two months, March and April 2020, because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The jobs recovery then began immediately after that, under then-President Donald Trump, but there was still an unprecedented hole to fill when Biden took office.”
If, as John Say claims, Biden did nothing, we’d still have 22 million unemployed Americans. All you are doing, Karen S., is proving your discipleship and parroting back what you heard on Fox.
As to Republicans denying they proposed taking away Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and food stamps, Mike Lee of Utah most definitely proposed this, and it’s on video so you can look it up. He said he wanted to pull up these programs “by the roots”. Sen. Rick Perry of Florida proposed sunsetting all entitlement programs, which includes Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and food stamps. They got a lot of backlash over this, but they DID propose it. so feigning surprise is deceitful and denying they said it is lying. As Biden said, not all Republicans were on board with this proposal, but that doesn’t change the fact that Lee and Perry both proposed these measures in lieu of corporations and the wealthy paying a proportionate share of the tax burden. Biden maneuvered Republicans to agree, in front of America, that cutting these programs is off the table. It proves just how skillful he is.
Richard Stengle, Ladies and Gentlemen. Thanks for stopping by Dick.
Gigi;t is nonsense like this that is why no one beleives you about everything.
Turley is being kind over “misleading”.
The correct word is LYING.
Read your own rebutals.
Over 10m jobs were lost rapidly due to covid lockdowns.
Nearly all were regained rapidly when the lockdowns ended.
Regardless, we can fight about this all you want.
The Actual DATA from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics disagrees with YOU, and with Biden.
And not in a little way
I would note that the Employement losses from Lockdowns were entirely the result of Blue State Governors.
Regardless, all the stupid Covid policies that YOU supported, wreaked havoc on our country and should NEVER be allowed to happen again.
No one – not a republican, not a democrat should EVER be allowed to lockdown the economy ever again.
It is self evident to all but th most moronic that the harms from Covid policies greatly exceeded the harms from Covid.
It is also self evident that the harms from Covid were not avoidable by public policy – if at all.
You claim Trump F’d up Covid – I agree.
He did what YOU wanted.
He should not have.
The best govenrment response was NOTHING.
And Biden doubled down on Stupid.
Biden did not kill the 800K americans that died while he was president under Covid – any more than Trump killed the 300K that died of Covid while he was president.
But Biden like you did advocate for STUPID policies that did nothing about Covid and did harm to not just the economy, but to the people.
Excess deaths – in the US, in the UK, in the EU are now running about 3 times the number of deaths from Covid.
Are these from long term ill effects of vaccines ?
Are they from delays in treating serious diseases like Cancer and heart disease ?
Are these from increased Suicides ?
Are these from increased violence ?
Are these from increased Drug overdoses ?
What is certain is that whatever the cause, These deaths unlike Covid deaths were actually avoidable.
YOUR Policies caused these deaths.
Is Trump complicit ? Absolutely, But so is nearly everyone on the left.
Only a few of us – have consistently from the start being warning of the idiocy of the lockdowns and other Covid policies.
And those like YOU – and Biden have sought to silence us.
We were right, you were wrong.
And the smallest understanding of Math would have made that clear – not just today – after the fact,
But in Jan. 2020 when this started.
I beleive the estimated transmission rate for recent Covid variants is 30 – that means each infected person infects 30 others.
But even the initial values 2.8-3.4 were more than double that of the Flu.
And to anyone with a basic understanding of Math – UNSTOPABLE.
Did they actually teach you math in school ?
Someone failed to Teach Dr. Fauxi math.
Decorum left the chamber when Pelosi tore up the SOTU documents in front of the world. Screw the crying left. THEY poked and they poked and they poked, and they are stuck with what they started.
As Justice Brandeis noted over a century ago.
The remedy for Bad speech is more speech not enforced silence.
The remedy for a president that lies, is to call out their lies.
Not to sit silently.
We have right now the most devicive president in history.
One who lies constantly about important issues.
But worse one who not only maligns their political opponents, but half the american people.
This is partly a consequence of elections that are not transparent, can not be trusted,
and that involve mass censorship by one party of political enemies.
This ends badly.
OT
CHINA SAID “BALLOONS” TO THE JOKE BIDEN CLOWN SHOW
That’s gotta be embarrassing for the communists (liberals, progressives, socialists, demopublicans, RINOs, AINOs) in America.
OT: Who was responsible today for making sure George took his psych meds?
What, if anything, of a factual matter did you address, Boob?
Was that simply ad hominem and of no value whatsoever?
If one remains objective, one cannot possibly backslide into the realm of uncivility.
And your point is?
I posted earlier that Biden has been instrumental in the increase of fentanyl entering the U.S. A response by Gigi was that more fentanyl is being seized now than ever. Gigi is correct. More fentanyl is being seized today than during the Trump administration. Why should this not be happening now that the border is wide open to smugglers? Are they making more or less profit now regardless of the amount that is seized? Make it easier and they will come. When entry at the border was more restrictive as in 2019 less fentanyl was entering the country. EXHIBIT 3: U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION TEXAS FENTANYL SEIZURES, FISCAL 2019-2022. https://comptroller.texas.gov/economy/fiscal-notes/2023/jan/fentanyl.php. About 150 lbs in 2019 to 750 lbs. in 2021. Today its just easier to get it across then what it was in 2019. Lets see, mass murder by guns versus mass murder by fentanyl. No right wing propaganda here Gigi just facts. The propaganda about guns comes straight from the mouth of Joe Biden and he could care less how much fentanyl gets through undetected as long as he gets his talking points in.
E) I can tell by your reaction Jon, and the vast majority of people on this blog, that Biden ate your lunch last night.
B) He really did a good job of pointing out how in the pocket of the corporate realm R’s are. And he really highlighted how his administration has taken the wreckage of trump’s failed term and built a recovery of substance…
It was really beautiful to watch. And *newsflash* nitpicking the clear success of the ten year assault weapons ban, as well as gauging America’s statistical assault weapon mass killing record against the rest of the world…well, it just makes you look desperate today, Turley.
Anonymous, the Republicans are in the pockets of the corporate realm. Do you mean like Bill Gates an Mark Zuckerberg? Would you like a list of corporations that have Democrats in their pockets? Well here it is. https://daveseminara.com/complete-list-of-woke-companies-condemning-so-called-racist-voting-laws/. Do you ever research anything you say before it just comes from the top of your head?
I didn’t say no Dems were in the pocket of the corporate realm.
Two of them are brazenly, and others are to varying degrees….,but the difference between D’s and R’s is that there isn’t a Republican who isn’t. So the projection and avoidance is on you here…
The founders had no way to see how weak the Constitution would be at protecting itself against corporate intrusion, so the corporate realm is effectively the most powerful political entity. All of one party is in their pocket and some of another….
But that’s just reality. Love how Biden clowned you guys last night and love how butthurt you are by it.
Turley, the thought strikes me after seeing the fallout today of Biden’s dogwalking of the R’s last evening that the reason you’re trying to whip things up around the Assault Weapon ban is Rick Scott’s staff went into damage control around the practice of sunsetting legal protection…
They probably got with you and other paid influencers to try to land a discussion that Pushes ‘sunsetting’ as a harmless practice because, with Biden’s call out around R’s ancient desire to squash social security and Medicare they can’t go at them directly, they have to through sunsetting as the vehicle….
Just know that your profiting off this draconian desire puts you in quite despicable company.
“He really did a good job of pointing out how in the pocket of the corporate realm R’s are.”
LOL. Are you 110 years old or something? The dems are the party of big tech, big pharma, big medicine, big military, big insurance, big finance, and most insidiously, the NGO complex of slush-funds and nepotism.
This is not 1980. The commies, er dnc have morphed into a fascistic CCP-esque party.
The rest of what world?
The current administration is clearly determined to destroy America as we know it. And professor Turley feels that the few who object (weakly) lack decorum. This is why, with all due respect, I can never take professor Turley seriously. Always party over country.
In any case, the whole idea that the president should be treated with respect is perverse and un-American. A president is not a king. He is a functionary, of no more importance and deserving no more dignity than a janitor in a federal building, or a mailman.
A janitor removes filth. The current administration wallows in it. Therefore a janitor is far more deserving of respect than a Resident intent on destroying America and the American way of life.
“DIGNITY”
Geez! I had no idea. I treat my mailman with dignity. I generously tip my mailman every Christmas. Gonna have to put a swift end to that, right?
Since you brought up mailmen, isn’t it interesting that, sans acknowledgement or fanfare, every address received mail without disruption throughout the entirety of “China Flu, 2019.”
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night [nor “China Flu, 2019″] stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”
– Greek Historian Herodotus, Re: Persian Messengers, Engraved On James A. Farley Post Office, NYC.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Before entering upon their duties and before receiving any salary, all
officers and employees of the Postal Service shall take and subscribe
the following oath or affirmation:
“I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and
defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies,
foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to
the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental
reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faith-
fully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to en-
ter.”
it was wrong when the Democrats did it and it is wrong now when Republicans do it.
No. Abso-bleeping-lutely no. Under no circumstances can your position be accepted or even tolerated. The most fundamental rule of justice is that turnabout is fair play. It was wrong when the Democrats did it, but when did it and were not disciplined for it that changed the rule. It now became right.
The rules are established by precedent, and a new precedent always overrides the old ones. Heckling is now right and proper, and should happen whenever called for, unless the Democrats agree to make a new rule, which shall not take effect until there is a new president.
Until then, even if they repent their folly, they must be made to lie in the bed they made. Justice demands it. Dignity demands it. For the Republicans to sit there and endure Biden’s lies, knowing how the Democrats treated Trump, would simply turn them into doormats.
Indeed even if by some miracle he didn’t lie, he should still be treated with the same contempt that Trump was. After all, Trump didn’t lie (much) and was still treated with contempt. So that is now the rule.
@Milhouse,
Two Wongs don’t make a Wright.
Turley is correct… however… I agree with your sentiment in that if the MSM didn’t call out the Dems, calling out the GOP is hypocritical.
(Nothing new here)
Biden truly is the divider in chief.
-G
Biden is the “fundamentally transforminger” in chief.
First of all, the quote is “Two Wongs don’t make a white”.
Second, who said heckling is wrong? On what basis is it wrong? Once the Dems did it and were not disciplined THAT BECAME THE RULE. Heckling is now RIGHT AND PROPER, and nobody has any right to complain about it or condemn it. It would be wrong and unjust for the Republicans to allow Biden to get away without heckling. The Dems must be forced to live by the rules they made.
@Milhouse…
It was a fractured joke… a spin on the original. (Wright as in Wright brothers…)
But you’re being a racist when you provided the original punchline. (/sarcasm)
Heckling is not proper decorum. It shouldn’t be tolerated. That said… we can always look at the Brits where heckling and boos are proper.
I agree with Turley on this.
But I also concede your point that the Dems did it and now try to condemn it is pure BS. But beyond tit for tat… we should let it rest.
Milhouse, normally you are so laid back. I love it when you get your dander up. Keep it that way.
The communists (liberals, progressives, socialists, demopublicans, RINOs, AINOs) have been endeavoring mightily since “Crazy Abe” Lincoln to abrogate the Constitution and impose the Communist Manifesto. Now “Biden The Corrupt” intends to void the 2nd Amendment. Is there anything left of the Constitution?
Recently, the Supreme Court recognized the Constitution’s “manifest tenor” and overturned the clearly unconstitutional Roe v. Wade decision, acting retroactively by 50 years. The Supreme Court must now act retroactively by up to 150 years to overturn every unconstitutional act and program since Lincoln including, but not limited to, denial of secession at its consequences, matriculation affirmative action, grade-inflation affirmative action, employment affirmative action, quotas, welfare, food stamps, minimum wage, rent control, social services, forced busing, public housing, utility subsidies, WIC, SNAP, TANF, HAMP, HARP, TARP, HHS, HUD, EPA, Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Labor, Energy, Obamacare, Social Security, Social Security Disability, Social Security Supplemental Income, Medicare, Medicaid, unfair “Fair Housing” laws, discriminatory “Non-Discrimination” laws, etc.
Either Justices fulfill their sworn-oath duties to support the literal Constitution, or they must be impeached; without support and enforcement, the Constitution collapses, as it has. Congress has the power to tax for ONLY debt, defense and infrastructure, aka “general Welfare,” no power to “claim or exercise” dominion over private property, and the power to regulate ONLY the value of money, commerce among the States to preclude bias by one over another, and land and naval Forces.
Biden, Democrats and their Lefty propaganda machine would have loved to have Republicans just sit their like potted plants while Biden gaslit them and the American people. *uck that! Next time just get the SOTU in writing and do not invite the President into your house to conduct a campaign speech.
Had the GOP not fact-checked the president in real-time, the propaganda press would likely have promoted and validated Biden’s lie even further. Fortunately, thanks to the gusto of congressional Republicans, the takeaway from Biden’s Social Security and Medicare fear-mongering will not be imaginary GOP cuts, but instead all the booing, MTG calling Biden a liar, and the president ultimately renouncing his own narrative.
https://thefederalist.com/2023/02/07/liar-republicans-epically-fact-check-bidens-social-security-and-medicare-fear-mongering-in-real-time/
Hear, hear!
I note that the basis for Biden’s remarks during the 2022 campaign and the SOTU is Senator Rick Scott’s Plan to Rescue America, which calls for every Federal program to sunset after 5 years. Every program, includes Social Security and Medicare (and Scott acknowledges that), so the plan opens the door for Democrats to come in and make their claims. He has not amended the plan to specifically exmept Social Security and Medicare from the sunset and is expressing support for the plan (without amendment) today. While Scott says that popular programs like Social Security and Medicare can be renewed beyond the sunset, renewal could be easier said than done given the rigors of the legislative process. Rick Scott is not an isolated Senator either — he headed the Senate campaign comiittee during the 2022 cycle and he just received 10 votes (including his) for Minority Leader.
Every program, includes Social Security and Medicare (and Scott acknowledges that), so the plan opens the door for Democrats to come in and
make their claimslie about what Senator Scott’s plan would do.This is Senator Scott’s response to Biden’s lie in The Hill today:
Scott argues that his plan anticipates that Congress would quickly renew popular programs such as Medicare and Social Security — as well as defense programs — before they have a chance to sunset.
“Does he think I also intend to get rid of the U.S. Navy? Or the Border Patrol? Or air traffic control, maybe? This is the fake, gotcha BS that people hate about Washington. I’ve never advocated cutting Social Security or Medicare and never would,” Scott said.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3849304-scott-doubles-down-on-sunsetting-all-federal-programs-after-bidens-jab/
Olly, I don’t know how Scott explained the sunset provision or how the questions were worded. Scott may or may not have been artful in his wording, but such a provision IMO cannot be applied to things like Social security or Medicare because of the provisions within such laws. New laws would have to be written to comply with a 5-year sunset provision.
Democrats are making it impossible to save Medicare before it falls off a cliff. They want it to end with healthcare covered by the government so that seniors’ healthcare can be rationed. All one has to do is look at Ezekial Emanual’s life curve to know what is in store for seniors should the Democrats get their way.
I have enough to cover my own bills without insurance so I will get the care I need. I wonder if Svelaz and Concerned have adequate funds.
A couple of decades ago the government set up an experimental program based on a numbering system to determine who should get care. Those blind, deaf, and with other disabilities were greatly concerned and fought against it successfully. They already had points against them so their heads were the first on the chopping block. Democrats smile as they cut off your head, just look at the French Revolution.
Didn’t LBJ take social security out of its own account and deposite the money collected and deposite it in the general fund to pY for the Vietnam Nam war.
Concerned Citizen Not Free Citizen???
You sir, sinfully covet and steal. You are a good communist; you are an obtuse dependent and parasite in search of other people’s money, and you are a proponent of dependency and parasitism. The Constitution precludes, denies and strikes down “every [unconstitutional] Federal program.”
Read it sometime and do please cite wherein the Constitution provides for “every Federal program.” In fact, government was established merely to provide maximal freedom to the people while severely limiting and restricting government, implementing the American thesis of freedom and self-reliance, while enabling Americans to their own particulate endeavors to “pursue happiness.” You are confusing American freedom with the enslavement of the Communist Manifesto.
The entire communistic American welfare state is unconstitutional including, but not limited to, matriculation affirmative action, grade-inflation affirmative action, employment affirmative action, quotas, welfare, food stamps, minimum wage, rent control, social services, forced busing, public housing, utility subsidies, WIC, SNAP, TANF, HAMP, HARP, TARP, HHS, HUD, EPA, Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Labor, Energy, Obamacare, Social Security, Social Security Disability, Social Security Supplemental Income, Medicare, Medicaid, “Fair Housing” laws, “Non-Discrimination” laws, etc.
Congress has the power to tax for ONLY debt, defense and infrastructure, aka “general Welfare,” no power to “claim or exercise” dominion over private property, and the power to regulate ONLY the value of money, commerce among the States to preclude bias by one over another, and land and naval Forces.
Legally, you are correct. But that water passed over the dam about a century ago. The milk has been spilt. The toothpaste is out of the tube. There is no going back. Let’s preserve what we have left.
Try to visualize the American Founders hearing those words. I am visualizing some hisses, some boos and a vigorous spattering of expectoration. They’d put a big F-U in your FUTURE as they have a way with words (attribution, Blake Sheldon), no? Oh, my, you are so observant, so correct, so intellectual and so superior – let’s not disagree, you plebeian commoners in the audience. And “cold case” sections around the country should be defunded, right, comrade? Oops! How ’bout that upstart Supreme Court which recently acted 50 years retroactively, destroying that which is illicit, illegal, invalid, illegitimate and unconstitutional, Roe v. Wade. Shall we just admit our inferiority, acquiesce, surrender and give that back? Those pesky Ukrainians should just stop resisting the Russians, right, I mean it’s over, right? What a ——- dastardly milquetoast —–! Not to put too fine a point on it.
________________
“[We gave you] a [restricted-vote] republic, if you can keep it.”
– Ben Franklin, 1789
________________
“[We gave you] a [restricted-vote] republic, if you can take it back!”
– Ben Franklin, 2023
________________
“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”
– Declaration of Independence, 1776
Biden, himself introduced legislation to sunset Social Security and all federal programs in 1975. WE are in a lot more trouble today. What happened to THAT Biden?? He is corrupted and greedy. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-introduced-bill-sunset-all-federal-programs-including-social-security
“mutual respect and civility”
amen and amen!!
The State of the Union Speech: An annual farce when the House Chamber is turned into a second rate kabuki theater where reality is completely given away to pretense; a forgettable charade in which only frenzied and intolerant politicos partake.
Decorum is gone because there is very little middle ground. Democrats want to take guns, Raskin wants more censorship. They want control of your health with mandated vaccines, control of your children, control of what you drive even what you used to cook your food. Those of us that relish our freedom to make our own life choices have no reason to be civil when we don’t want to give in one iota on any of these issues.
They want to domesticate us. It’s obvious.
The minority that controls the mainstream narratives has no trust in the common American and less trust in their ability to withstand moral scrutiny that they have no alternative.
bobthere: “Them vs. Us”. You are a disciple. It’s obvious. The problem is that you are so deep into discipleship that don’t know or won’t admit that the majority of Americans voted for Joe Biden and not your hero and do not agree with the Republican platform (to the extent anyone can figure out what it is because, truly, they don’t have one other than trying to obstruct Biden’s “build back better” program and to try to “investigate the investigators” who proved your hero is a crook). You don’t speak for “us”, meaning most Americans. Republicans Rick Scott of Florida and Mike Lee of Utah DID propose sunsetting and/or abolishing Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and food stamps, proposals that the majority of us (which doesn’t include you and yours) don’t agree with. They tried to lie about it last night, but it wouldn’t fly. Biden played them like a fiddle. It was literally hilarious to watch Mike Lee’s phony “astonished look” when Biden brought it up. Check out videos on line wherein Mike Lee talks about pulling up such programs by the roots. The Democrat party does NOT control mainstream media–another lie you bought into because you are a disicple.
Nutchachacha’s gross dependency, affirmative action, etc., is unconstitutional by definition and must have been struck down upon its emergence under the doctrine of Judicial Review. Equity is the absence of bias and favoritism – Merriam-Webster.
The entire, communist, American welfare state is unconstitutional as Congress has the power to tax for ONLY debt, defense and infrastructure, aka “general Welfare,” no power to “claim or exercise” dominion over private property, and the power to regulate ONLY the value of money, commerce among the States to preclude bias by one over another, and land and naval Forces.
Communists (liberals, progressives, socialists, demopublicans, RINOs, AINOs) have been nullifying the Constitution for the benefit of themselves since “Crazy Abe” and his successors denied fully constitutional secession, prosecuted an unconstitutional war, of aggression, not common defense, against a sovereign foreign nation, usurped power and imposed unconstitutional martial law, imposed unconstitutional suspension of habeas corpus (the South’s act was secession not rebellion), denied constitutional freedoms of speech, press, etc., committed egregious dereliction by not enforcing extant immigration law in 1863, and corruptly and improperly ratified “injurious” amendments under the duress of brutal, post-war, military occupation and oppression, no quiescent environment suitable for amendment that.
We gave you a republic, said Franklin. America was designed and established to be a severely restricted-vote republic. Turnout was 11.6% in 1788. Never was America intended to be a one man, one vote democrazy subject to expropriation by communists.
The singular American failure was and continues to be the Supreme Court which has usurped power and executed decisions based on the principles of the Communist Manifesto not the Constitution of the United States of America.
See my previous comment.
—- your previous treason!
Gigi: your word salad doesn’t prove anything other than the need to obfuscate from the fact that the dnc is a criminal enterprise run by Bolshevik heirs that has no mission other than domesticating the populace for their own benefit. Biden is a moron, and so is anyone that believes that the dnc doesn’t control the vast amount of media narrative – the similarity of the content across the spectrum proves that.
I’d love to chat longer, but I’m interested in the wnba game that’s on…
Tony,
True enough and add to that, there is nothing civil about the other side. They are the most intolerant people preaching tolerance.
They are the heirs of the Bolsheviks, they are the most intolerant people PERIOD.
Who killed the Romanovs?
I always find it a bit ironic (understatement) when the Dems accuse pro-life advocates of wanting to control a woman’s body. Yet…well, the evidence of what they want to control is clear as you’ve stated. Biden was right on one thing, we are at an inflection point, aka the point of no return.
FJB actually required employers to exclude employees who refused to take one vaccine.
I don’t like the rift either, but I am glad the Republicans finally stood up for themselves. Another poster pointed out that is some countries the decorum would have been a great deal less, for what it’s worth. Biden’s lies – oh, the lies! The thing that’s galling is that they are so very, very easily debunked.
It also occurred to me that his statements about jobs and the economy were so eerily similar to Obama’s lies about the same toward the end of his second term (and Obama’s were replete with false charts). In my mind there is no question what is going on here. It isn’t just Obama’s third term, but another term for his entire gang, and I suppose that surprises no one that understands the machinations of politics.
Even putting all of that aside, I think Pelosi and her cohort permanently lowered the bar. It’s fight back or be steamrolled at this point, the days of senators from opposing sides grabbing cocktails together afterward are long gone for the most part, and the constituency – forget it. And the animosity is largely coming from the left. At least it’s still in the form of talking in Congress, even if passionately.
Personally: our living expenses have now officially gone up $10,000.00/year after more, recent, increases. I do not know where people find that kind of extra green in such a short span of time. That and the lockdown of grown and responsible adults are enough for me to have my sentiments.
James,
My inlaws have seen their electric bills go up 20% and 30% between two different house holds.
Many Americans are feeling the hurt and not just in utilities.
McDonald’s saw record profits. Why? It is cheaper for low income families to buy from a fast food joint then go to the grocery store and use electricity or gas to make a meal.
We see at the grocery store. Lunch meat. The good prime cuts like roast beef used to be $9.99/lbs. Now it is $13/lbs. The middle stuff that used to be $5-6/lbs, is now $9/lbs.
Same goes for things like American cheese.
Just the other day, some of the major meat producers are reporting they have an overabundance of product. It is not because they produced too much. The American consumer have cut back for cheaper food items, e.g. pasta, potatoes, etc.
Sorry Jonathan, Biden stood at the podium for 73 minutes and called Republicans liars. He basically said that Republicans are responsible for every mass murder in the last twenty years. Decorum should run in both directions. Biden talks about mass murder and guns while he allows Fentanyl to pour across our southern border resulting in 100,000 American deaths per year. Sometimes anger is justified.
Biden’s numbers regarding deaths from overdoses was intentionally ignorant and low. However, he did promise to reduce the numbers by checking Fed Ex deliveries, but never recognized the tons of fentanyl coming over the border, provided by China.
What do drugs do? The Chinese know from history [The Opium Wars]. Drugs destroy the fabric of a nation. What better way to destroy that nation without destroying its land?
S. Meyer, I stand corrected. Regarding the employment of “capitalism” as a pejorative, it would likely not have been young Marx in 1837 at 19 (Gates started Microsoft at 20). What we may understand then, is that Lincoln, himself, initiated the use of “capitalists” as a pejorative.
Thank you George for recognizing the obvious. Lincoln did not use the word capitalists as a perforative. He used the word as a noun that applies to people that use money for investment and trade. Some of those people (capitalists) wish the public to pay for their mistakes. Others (capitalists) don’t. He did not want the public to bail out bad capitalists. I think that coincides with what you want as well.
Bill Gates’ Microsoft didn’t ride the tail of IBM until he was about 25 and even then wasn’t prominent.
I’m going with opinion on that. I think Lincoln had a very soft spot for the proletariat. Read his writings. I think there was some venom in his usage of capitalist; it has the feel of a pejorative. Lincoln’s SecDef admitted to being a socialist and the goal of socialism is communism, per Lenin. You’d agree that Lincoln used as much brutality as the Bolsheviks when seizing power and as retribution, certainly, on his March to the Sea.
“These capitalists generally act harmoniously and in concert, to fleece the people.”
– Abraham Lincoln, from his first speech as an Illinois state legislator, 1837
__________________________________________________________
“Everyone now is more or less a Socialist.”
– Charles Dana, managing editor of the New York Tribune, and Lincoln’s assistant secretary of war, 1848
___________________________________________________________________________________
“The goal of Socialism is Communism.”
– Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
George,
“I’m going with opinion on that. I think Lincoln had a very soft spot for the proletariat.”
If what you mean by the proletariat is the working people (and working people with families), I agree. I have a soft spot for the proletariat. If I am correct, you are likely part of that group. Are you not?
I want to note that some might have a harsher meaning of the word and liken those people to the lowest possible class consisting of the rabble and the unwashed. Times were different when Marx used the word. There were no significant entitlements, and the working class often lived on the edge of life and death.
Today, I break down our society into three groups. The elite, the working class (professionals fit midway), and those permanently affixed to entitlements. I consider honest wage-working people (the proletariat) to be good people. By the above definition, I think most of this blog is the proletariat.
The left of today finds it of use to consider the proletariat the rabble, so they rise against ‘their masters’ (who are mostly the Democrat lefties of today.) But that is funny when one considers that many of this group have swimming pools, expensive new cars, and the ever-present, latest iPhone model.
The chronically downtrodden (not really) do not work. Instead, they are the recipients of our work product. Are they the new proletariat? That is who the New Marxists are appealing to.
S. Meyer, you’re on the precipice of ad hominem which is destructive to objective debate. Only royalty, nobility and wealthy fringes are outside of the proletariat.
Equity is the absence of bias and favoritism. The Constitution eschews bias and favoritism; Lincoln sought to award favor to the proletariat derived of his latent socialist-cum-communist ideology, which is antithetical, anti-American and unconstitutional. You are erroneously conflating insignificant personal proclivities with that which must adhere to or violate American fundamental law. Bias and favoritism toward labor, the proletariat or any other individual, specific or particular entity are unconstitutional for good reason; that reason is freedom, free enterprise, free markets and the resultant national prosperity, occasionally referred to as general welfare, in stark contrast to individual bias and favoritism.
Lincoln may not have grasped at the time, but he was rejecting the American thesis of freedom and self-reliance as a budding socialist-cum-communist. The facts bear that out; ultimately he destroyed the country for the benefit of one specific individual group, no matter how deserving (slavery must have been ended legally). Lincoln delivered the remnants of America into the slavering maw of global communism which soon “fundamentally transformed” them into the Fed, IRS, Bureaucracies, Social Security, Medicare, Obamacare and the entire spectrum of the unconstitutional, communist, American welfare state. After Lincoln, anything, including the implementation of the principles of communism, if not the Communist Manifesto, in all its splendid glory, itself was possible.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
“Everyone now is more or less a Socialist.”
– Charles Dana, 1848, Managing Editor of the New York Tribune, and Lincoln’s Assistant Secretary of War
____________________________________________________________________________________
“The goal of Socialism is Communism.”
– Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
“S. Meyer, you’re on the precipice of ad hominem which is destructive to objective debate.”
George, I can’t figure out what I said that would make you think that. The only thing I can think of is my putting you into a group of honest working people. I also defined the word proletariat I am using in this discussion to prevent confusion.
I don’t want to mislabel you, so you can tell me which group you are in.
*Elites
*Honest wage-working people (professionals or small business owners)
*Entitlement recipient (chronic)
I want to seek agreement or an understanding with you for future intelligent discussion.
“Lincoln sought to award favor to the proletariat derived of his latent socialist-cum-communist ideology, which is antithetical, anti-American and unconstitutional”
You haven’t demonstrated evidence for that position and I think I have a significant agreement with some of what you are saying.
“Lincoln may not have grasped at the time, but he was rejecting the American thesis of freedom and self-reliance as a budding socialist-cum-communist. ”
You have provided one errant quote from Lincoln. You need to provide evidence. I am listening.
“I think there was some venom in his usage of capitalist; ”
I have yet to see it. Where I have seen quotes from you, the truth is in the opposite direction.
We must recognize the times we are talking about when the conversation is historical. One cannot use the understanding of today to explore the world of yesterday. That is why I provided a definitional base for the word proletariat.
” You’d agree that Lincoln used as much brutality as the Bolsheviks when seizing power”
No! Brutality is relative, and motivation counts. War is brutal as is revolution. Stalin was cruel in other ways. Lincoln was not. Stalin only was concerned for himself. Lincoln was different. His concern was for the nation and its people. You might not like Lincoln for various reasons, but that is not a cause to color him as a Stalin.
General unconstitutionality, violence and oppression for four years benefiting not Americans, but unassimilable, foreign, illegal alien non-citizens is what Lincoln provided (Slavery must have been ended legally).
One million dead, damaged and destroyed climaxed by Sherman’s heinous March to the Sea.
Seems relatively brutal to many people.
War is brutal. That, however, doesn’t make Lincoln a Marxist.
“These capitalists generally act harmoniously and in concert, to fleece the people.”
Let me rewrite Lincoln’s statement so you can understand.
Some capitalists are nasty people and want to take money that is not theirs. They can act harmoniously with other dishonest capitalists and steal from the people. I won’t permit that, nor will I besmirch the name of good capitalists that have helped build this great country.
Did you deliberately ignore the potent descriptive “generally,” as in all, or the whole of, capitalists.
Collectively those pesky capitalists generally acted, all acted, or acted as the whole, to fleece the people.
(Incidentally, to all free people, take care of yourselves – caveat emptor).
You are being disingenuous; you can read and see the facts.
“Did you deliberately ignore the potent descriptive “generally,” as in all, or the whole of, capitalists.”
Lincoln was clearly talking about a group of nasty capitalists who he didn’t want destroying others who are honest capitalists. That is why he voted against their interests. Would you want him to vote to give people money they don’t deserve?
TIT: Biden doesn’t allow any such thing: in fact, under his administration, more fentanyl has been confiscated than any period in the past. I saw a piece the other day about how alt right media tries to spin this obvious success into some kind of indictment against Biden. Here’s a clue: confiscating more fentanyl than in the past proves that Biden is doing a better job of securing our border. More confiscations is what we want, and trying to use this as proof that our border security is weak and/or some inference that Biden is “allowing” more fentanyl into our country is just another alt-right lie. Republcians weren’t even on board to fund even more equipment to detect fentanyl or other illegal substances.
Biden also never said Republicans are responsible for mass murders–another deceitful spin by alt-right media. Republicans showed what classless losers they are last night. Mike Lee of Utah and Rick Scott of Florida both proposed cutting or sunsetting Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and food stamp programs as a negotiating tactic over raising the debt ceiling, and then feigned shock when Biden brought that up and said he’d never allow it to happen. Biden fought back when Republicans tried to deny it, and he forced them to concede this point. He played them like a Stradivarius. The bleached white trash hag from Georgia, dressed in her best Cruella Deville costume, kept yelling “Liar”. McCarthy, who sold his soul for the speaker’s gavel, tried to shush his caucus, but they don’t respect him either. Sitting there, he literally looked like a hostage because that’s what he really is–he gave up his power to the likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Bobert and Jim Jordan. Republicans refused to applaud for democracy. What a sh(t show by Republicans, and through it all, Biden showed grace under fire and preached for unity and progress toward a brighter future. So much for his being senile and mentally incapacitated.
@thinkitthrough
Though far be it from me to presume anything about a man I don’t know, and incidentally, one I respect a great deal, why is the Professor holding out hope that the dem party will ever be sane again? i see it time and time again, even though he calls them out all the time. I admire his fairness a great deal, but it has *got* to become obvious at some point that this fairness is not coming from the left, and as things stand – likely never will again. I do NOT know what it will take to shake generational liberals loose. I pray that it isn’t shots being fired.
I say this as an Independent that voted for Bill Clinton way back when, voted for Obama thinking he was what he said he was until around 2014 when it was too late, didn’t vote for POTUS in 2016, but voted for Trump in 2020, out of an impulse for survival as an *American* because it is so crystal clear what the DNC had become. Last night would not have happened were it not for modern liberals, and that is a concrete, indisputable, fact. And all said, it was still about 1,000 times more civil than anything Nancy presided over; her entire tenure was an Aristocracy 101, and I’m smart enough to know people on the right are a part of that (*cough*Mitch, the entire Bush family, the entire Cheney family*cough*. Old enough to remember when people, the same people praising Biden even though ignored him all the way through the senate to his time as VP and cannot likely name a single thing he said or did during those days, because they weren’t aware he was ever a senator and had been around for so long. Some people honestly believe presidential candidates appear out of thin air, from the lower struggling classes 🙄) as well.
The madness is tough to calculate over the past seven or so years, and that is with what we used to consider madness, when Hillary was SOS (boy is that an oxymoron). I could care less about whose spouse kisses whom; the rails we formerly traversed are gone. We are in the woods, picking out our own paths among the wolves. And they are the hungriest they have ever been on this planet we call our home.
I’m just going to say it: you have to be the biggest rube in history to continue to have faith in the left; and despite what you may have heard on Facebook, that does not automatically make you conservative. Believe it or not, human life, ultimately has very little to do with political affiliation, and the earth itself doesn’t give a toss if humanity survives. it will carry on throughout the eons without us.
I was wondering about something, why did Lee Harvey Oswald buy a gun on line when he could have just walked into a gun shop in Texas and purchased one over the counter.
I make it a point not to watch the SOTU.
I read the transcript the next day.
Just got done reading it.
It was a work of fiction. And not even very good fiction.
Biden exceeded my expectations. He didn’t accidentally declare war on Israel or Britain.
LOL!
Liars gonna lie
“He is entitled to a respectful audience” — not when he disrespects the audience, and the entire country, with his blatant lies. Lies are disrespectful. This cheap creep got what he deserved. In a country like the UK, the opposition’s screams would have been even louder. “Decorum” works only when both sides agree on it. The Democrats have decided to lie and sneak and cheat — they not only do NOT deserve respect, they deserve to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
I am glad to see that Professor Turley pointed out that “mass shootings” are statistically rare. They only happen once in a great while. For instance, there have only been about a dozen “mass” school shootings in the past 20 years and all but two of those involved high schools. The problem is that the media and politicians inflate them and make it appear that they’re regular occurrences.
Semcgowanjr: “am glad to see that Professor Turley pointed out that “mass shootings” are statistically rare.”
+++
Rare, yes. Unknown when I was young. Some think SSRI medications may be a factor. They are known to sometimes provoke thoughts of suicide and it isn’t a big leap from there to homicide.
We shove medications down the throats or into the arms of young people with little thought what harms they may do.
Though, in fairness, if I had to attend public school in its present decayed state I would want to be thoroughly stoned on something. Thankfully, it wasn’t quite so bad when I was in school and I could get by simply by ignoring them. They preferred that I do that.
Young, you might very well be right about SSRI drugs and other drugs as well legal and illegal.
Does population size have something to do with it?
1950 150,000,000 people
2020 340,000,000 people
Double the size, double the craziness?
1950 people were moving closer together. The family farm was disappearing. It’s hard to do mass murders surrounded by sheep and ducks.
There are so many variables to consider, but politicians and the news media blow things out of proportion and in the wrong direction. Then we have those committed to ignorance. What are intelligent people to do?
S. Meyer,
One thing I didn’t say was that we were a hunting community and almost all of us either owned guns or had access to them. I received my first rifle on my 12th birthday. Nobody could even imagine committing atrocities such as we see today, much less actually carrying them out. I have noticed that a fair number of these killers were on SSRI medications although I don’t think they explain every instance of homicidal depravity. The Texas tower shooter, for example, had a brain tumor. I don’t know if he was also medicated.
Young, the question is, is it the drug, selection or both? Those placed on drugs have more problems. Additionally SSRIs can take an inactive depressed person and suddenly activate him. Normal people do not commit mass murder.
S. Meyer,
I think the drug is a strong factor given that a recognized side effect is thoughts of suicide to the point of sometimes doing it. If you are convinced you are going to kill yourself it isn’t a big step to think of killing those who annoy you first. At least several of the young killers expected to kill themselves or be killed when they finished killing others. People were depressed or actually deranged before the mass killings became a thing. Then we began to control behavior with drugs. With the Covid vaccine we have seen how effectively new drugs can be promoted and how indifferent industry and captured agencies and captured minds can be to consequent harms.
Young, the personality trait existed before the SSRI is provided, so it is difficult to separate the two ideas. Personally, I believe that some incidents may have been partly due to the drug, but then I have to think the drug may have helped some not to kill. I won’t guess though we have agreement. Additionally, we are overmedicating our population and using such drugs as a cure-all rather than dealing with the problems presented.
Young and S. Meyer– I would add a lack of parental involvement in the lives of the young people who do mass shootings. With a solid family foundation, there probably would be much less need for medications of any kind. Although the left constantly preaches gun control, it seems to be doing all it can to encourage parents to be less involved with their children, especially in a school and social environment. On top of that, we have a government that ignores BLM’s deadly riots by holding no one accountable, and a so-called progressive movement that is calling for abortion up to (and even after) the moment of birth, to name just two signs of a broken society. Who can be surprised when mentally ill young people place little or no value on human life?
Honest,
The destruction of the family is certainly a factor. I was struck by your earlier post in another thread that young people have no answer when you ask who their heroes are. I am still mulling it over because it is so true and so tragic. It is a disaster that great men of history are attacked in our public schools if mentioned at all. Charles Murray warned that what makes an American is less a matter of race or origin than of shared ideals. Those ideals are not conveyed by fathers and mothers so much these days and they are attacked by our media and government. We aren’t making Americans and when one is discovered he becomes a target for censorship or social destruction by those in authority or influence.
S.Meter I think you have a good point about the population. Twice S many people, twice as wacky.
Much more than twice as wacky. The entire country has gone insane.
A little OT here, sorry, but I must say that I was disappointed in Huckabee’s Republican response last night. It sounded more like emotional jabs and comments often made on this blog. I regret that she missed an opportunity for a FACTUAL response, -citing the startling numbers of illegal aliens crossing the border, and the burden it creates/created; the harm caused by the jumbled COVID response; the “jobs created” only representing the restoration of what was LOST due to the COVID fiasco; the number of Caucasians killed by police–and the NON-RACIAL reasons behind all this; and the real reason previous China balloons were not detected vis a vis the incredible seven-day journey of this recent one.
I agree wholeheartedly. It seemed Gov. Huckabee was talking just to hear her own head rattle.
*Snowden for President 2024 ‘The Crown Jewels of National Security’
We were in bed by 8 pm. Besides, Biden lies.
I only now watched Sarah’s response bc of your comment. I enjoyed Sarah’s story about her mother’s spinal cancer at age 20 and striving against all odds to be a godly wife and mother, her own thyroid cancer and praising her treating physicians in Arkansas, mentioning the importance of family, neighbor and God. Still, she hit Biden and Dems hard wrt wokeism, inflation, censorship, crime and she did briefly mention the US Border. See link below. Did she fall short? Americans are not a deep, reflective, analytical sort.
Our country has succumbed to swashbuckling gotchas, lunge and parry, all anonymously, from a distance, ingredients to cowardice, slothfulness and pathology.
Be different.
Wake early. Have goals. Execute plans to accomplish them. Pray. Daily. Know your place in the Universe and observe God’s commandments just as America’s Founding Fathers did to Abraham Lincoln. Most importantly practice self-care, preventative medicine and be mindful of GIGO: garbage in = garbage out. Life is dangerous but we will get through it if we follow the same prescriptions our parents and grandparents did
https://www.youtube.com/live/GUpBVYHfA3w?feature=share&t=278
Huckabee looks like a man.
lin, Biden had 73 Minutes. How long did Huckabee have? She could only fit in a small response in a very short period of time. Her response was meant to point out the failures of the Biden Administration. In the very short time that she had she accomplished the task at hand. Her compassion counteracted Biden’s claim that Republicans are without compassion. Given more time she could have spoken more extensively about your concerns but the reality of the situation did not permit her to cover everything wrong with Biden’s policies. Stay tuned. There will be more to come when time permits a more extensive discourse.
Estovir and Thinkitthrough: Wasn’t expecting comments from you, but thank you for taking the time.
Respectfully, ask yourself, what is the purpose/ why is time allocated to the other party following SOTU (irrespective of how much)???? Is it to reflect on personal traumas and overcoming them as motivational? Or is it to respectfully rebut/dispute/offer an opposing view to what was just said by the president?
Respectfully, a good, effective speech [in this political arena] starts with a rebuttal introducing hard, solid facts, -then ENDS with a plea to emotion. Respectfully, Huckabee (I do like her) could just have MENTIONED the above things (and people would remember and nod), –and then Huckabee could have moved on with the rest of the time to build on her touching personal stories (which were, indeed, touching). For people who do not listen or view Fox, et al., this was an opportunity to speak to a wide swath of the nation.
Respectfully, a good, effective speech [in this political arena] starts with a rebuttal introducing hard, solid facts, -then ENDS with a plea to emotion.
You and I are both academics. IIRC you stating you authored several textbooks in your field. One of the joys of being in academic medicine is to dive deep in nitty gritty medical science content that few people would comprehend, while on the other hand, I get to tend to patients who are poor, uneducated, uninsured and need someone to “translate” medical science at their level. I also have to know my audience. Perhaps Sarah, at age 40, knows her audience? On the one hand she is Governor of a state where folks are largely my patient population, and on the other hand she worked on the firing lines of the Trump White House as press secretary. I have to wager that she knows the American audience. You and I are not part of that audience, i.e. we are outliers
Part of the reason why Ronald Reagan was so successful and popular amongst Democrat voters is because he spoke to them in their language: patriotism, family, religion, self-sufficiency, self-discipline, having goals to accomplish, etc. All of those values are rejected today by most Americans. Abraham Lincoln is skewered daily by George on this forum. Whether George is mentally ill or not is besides the point. Casting Lincoln as a Marxist is not patriotic. Patriotism does not sell today. Self-sufficiency has been exchanged with dependency on the state, e.g. Medicare and social security are dependency on the state. Reagan rarely talked about govt entitlements in a positive way. Self-discipline? Medically speaking, most chronic medical conditions are caused by patients lack of self-discipline. Young commented that children today are loaded with SSRIs and other pharma products. What he did not say is that the vast majority of Rx drugs are consumed by people in his age group precisely due to lack of self-discipline that lead to chronic medical conditions, e.g. type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, musculoskeletal pain, are largely due to obesity and sedentary lifestyle. I already covered the lack of self-discipline by commenters on here a few days ago. They are a microcosm of society. Family as an institution has been in decline since religion was ejected from society. The young population “snowflakes” at universities that conservatives often denigrate did not fall from the sky. They came from the “adults in the room”.
I would have preferred to have had Sarah present bullet points on what Biden said and her counter to that, which is what I believe you are saying. However, Americans today are a de facto emotive people. Again, the commenters on here are a window to what gets people going. Reasoning, logic, deep analytical thought, introspection are not skillsets most Americans possess unlike during Reagan’s time. Perhaps Sarah knows that or perhaps Sarah is no better. I do not know. I hope this clarifies what I wrote earlier
mens sana in corpore sano
Today, I note that others apparently had the same reaction as I–even from her home town:
” It got pretty dark and weird,’ Austin Bailey wrote in an editorial at the Arkansas Times. ‘A word salad of talking points and name calling, with some attempts at folksy relatability thrown in, Sanders’ rebuttal to Biden’s State of the Union address was light on policy, heavy on menace.”
“Conservative commentator Amanda Carpenter, a former aide to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, contrasted Biden’s speech focused on “the economy and concrete issues” with Sanders’ “deep plunge into dystopian culture wars…Biden, 80 years young, …tackling every tough subject on his agenda,…Sanders, 40 years old, droned on, her entire speech devoted to demonizing Biden.”
Steve Bannon and lou Dobbs: “If you’re gonna give a counter speech, you gotta talk about important issues,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong. The wokeism is very important. But it’s not quite the heart of the matter right now, right? It’s not the heart of the matter.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/%E2%80%9Cshes-not-intellectually-capable%E2%80%9D-knives-out-in-trumpworld-over-sanders-%E2%80%9Cterrible%E2%80%9D-sotu-response/ar-AA17i9175
Remember, I LIKE her and said in another comment that I thought she remained cool and professional before a constantly-hostile media. I would vote for her if I were an Arkansan…. But (as I said in another comment here), the speech was far more suited to her acceptance speech for governor, not a SOTU rebuttal….
Thanks for your thoughts.