Dictator Biden?

By his own definition is already governing like a dictator.

Now I understand that 13 of them were to counter act Emperor Trump's EOs, but that still leaves 29 in the Executive Over Reach category.

And then the DEMs seem fine with passing another Massive COVID Spending measure without GOP votes.

No wonder GOPers are beginning to say that Biden and the DEMs are doing there election work for them.

I like this heading... Biden's centrist words, liberal actions  or GOPs view of Biden so far

Just Think:  Only 21 Months until the mid-terms !!! :-)

Senior Discounts

Thank you for all the Birthday wishes on FaceBook on my 55th Bday.

Now all you old duffers can tell me where the "best discounts" are... :-) 

Simple Majority Issues

 Budget Reconciliation allows a slight majority to make BIG Changes. 

It allowed the GOP to pass unnecessary tax cut and increase deficits.

And soon the DEMs will use it to pass more COVID money handouts that will increase the deficits even more.

Thankfully it looks like the filibuster will stay in place.  Thanks in large part to Senator Manchin.

Some of my very Liberal FB friends were dreaming of the DEMs trashing the filibuster and passing some extreme Liberal agenda.  I said that it will just doom them in 2022...  They did not seem to care, apparently they are okay with the ever changing policy pendulum.  I am not sure how us citizens and businesses will keep up?

I mean just think of Biden stopping the Keystone project after 300+ miles has been built.  I assume they will just leave it there and hope that in Jan 2025 they will get to move ahead again?  This is starting to remind me of India where huge projects half done before being shelved by the next coalition government.

This was an interesting 538 post.

"Public opinion flips between two extremes

But wait, you say: Isn’t America moving in a much more liberal direction? And, if nothing else, won’t that put pressure on the GOP to moderate? It’s certainly easy to think America is moving in a much more liberal direction if you look at trends in public opinion over the past few years. Historically, though, public opinion is most liberal precisely when liberal policies are least likely to be enacted (like now, and especially in 2017 and 2018, when Republicans had unified control in Washington).

Once Democrats regain control, however, and then try to enact more liberal policies, public opinion will likely shift against them, in a more conservative direction — or at least this is how it has worked historically. Americans favor government until they get it. (Remember in 2009 when it was fashionable to proclaim a permanent Democratic majority?) This is the great irony of American public opinion: It mitigates against moderation because it tells the out-party that they don’t need to move to the middle — that public opinion is moving in their direction. That is, right until they win and start governing based on it."

One more interesting article regarding the media and citizen polarization.

MN Election Divide

 Discussed in detail.  I am slowly starting to understand that many conservative truly want to suppress the vote of the poor, young, etc by:

• making it harder for them to vote 
• making it harder to get information to them
• reducing the hours or polling place in their districts 

It was hard for me to acknowledge this, but when I have looked at the kind of law suits they have been filing, there is no doubt that they are trying to fight the US democratic process for their own agenda. 

Which is pretty sad.  Of course the DEMs seem obsessed with fighting even the simplest photo ID laws, so I am not impressed with them either.

Unbreaking America

Divided We Fall has been showing up on my Facebook as this Video which is hosted by Michael Douglas.  It seems centered around this Anti-Corruption Act.  Here is more detailed information regarding the act.

Since I am unhappy with both parties and really dislike most politicians, this makes great sense too me.  Am I missing anything?

Live by Pen, Die by Pen

 Trump Orders Undone Easily  The problem with Trump pretending he was an Emperor and not actually working with Congress to pass laws... The irony now though is that the GOPers are attacking Biden for doing what Trump did.  Such hypocrites.  

By the way, Trump issued more EOs per year than every President since Carter.

List of initial reversal Executive Orders.

List of new Executive Orders.

Biden's Request For Unity

 Praised by some GOPers.

And Chris Wallace though it was wonderful.

You can watch the Speech Here

Welcome to Our New President and Vice President

Trump's Patriot Party?

 Excellent !!! Crazies join up and Republicans can become Main Stream again. :-)

I bet they could even attract a bunch of Moderate DEMs to join... :-) 

I know I am just thinking crazy wishful thoughts again... Romney for President in 2024 !!! :-)

Trump Ends with Lies, Like he started...

 As this fact check piece explains.  And as this fact piece explains.

Not My President Comparisons

By the Washington Examiner. This actually was a pretty interesting comparison.

Both the DEMs and GOPers are really poor losers.  Of course, only the GOPers tolerated a President who claimed fraud with no proof and resisted a peaceful transition of power, even after the courts ruled.

As I said, shame on the GOPers who are working to suppress voting and damage people's faith in USA's voting system.  No good can come from attacking our free and fair election system.

On the upside, Trump's approval rating hit a new all time LOW. (34%)  And he is the first President that failed to ever reach 50% approval since Gallup started measuring in 1938. I see this as a very positive thing because it indicates that most Americans can spot a con man.  Though it still amazes me that Trump is doing okay?

6 State COVID Update

 And SD takes the Lead. Unfortunately. :-( 

Since tomorrow we will likely pass the 400,000 Americans dying from COVID threshold, I thought I should update my 6 State region numbers.

Thankfully MN is still doing better than our neighboring states at saving the lives of our residents.

Behave Like A Child. Please.

 This is SO TRUE !!!!  We teach our kids to share, use their words, be polite, be nice to and help others, tell the truth, follow the rules, etc.  Simple behaviors that seem to be eluding adults lately. 🙂 🙁

Noem Blames Teachers?

For the Civil Unrest.  Really? Blame the Teachers for people who are obsessed with their own reality?  People who obsess about their "news" sources, their "social media feed", their "real" news, etc? Really?

A friend shared this on FB and I felt an intense urge to reply.

I'll bite, how would this have helped prevent the mess at the capitol?

I am pretty sure most people understand clearly that we have:

- a Presidential election every 4 years in November

- the winner is the individual that gets 270 electoral votes

- the states are in charge of their system and counting the votes

- courts determine if any foul play occurred

- states submit their final tallies in mid Dec (ie winner named)

- Congress officially certifies the results in early January (ie ceremonial step)

On the other hand I guess there is one man who does not seem to know this... 🙂

Maybe he had a poor education?

A candidate won by 4 states and ~7 Million votes, and still many people question this reality. I don't think a civics class is going to help with this. Especially since many of the folks denying this reality went to school 30+ years ago.

Thoughts?

John Birch Society Reincarnated?

 And what GOPers should remember.

Strangely, some older people I know used to make fun of the John Birch society members as being the crazy extremists.  Ironically now they subscribe to many of those beliefs. :-(  This is an interesting piece from the linked article.

"Goldwater responded with a letter to the National Review that called on Welch to resign from the society. “Mr. Welch is only one man, and I do not believe his views, far removed from reality and common sense as they are, represent the feelings of most members of the John Birch Society,” Goldwater wrote in the letter, published in the magazine’s next issue. “We cannot allow the emblem of irresponsibility to attach to the conservative banner.”

Here is some old satire from a MAD magazine

Sedition has Consequences

and Trump should pay for his choices, actions and words. I mean is their any doubt that he encouraged and is encouraging people to rebel against the US Government, the States Governments, The Laws, The Processes, the Civil Servants, etc? 

Sedition: conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a state

Definitely something that a President should not be doing.  I mean imagine the out cry we would have heard if Obama had declared Hillary winner in 2016, and told people to rise up and fight the legal process at the steps of the Capitol Building?

The only thing that puzzles me is why do ~41% of Americans still support him?

He is not a "patriot" working to free us from England, he is a seditionist working to undermine our country's stability.  And yet people still support him and apparently his sedition?

The big question is what is the GOP going to do?  Are we going to let Trump's cronies drag the party down with him or are we going to say "enough is enough" and cut him loose?

The good news is that the banks, donors, corporations and pretty much every main stream group is running from him like he has the plague... :-)  

Right to Incite Violence?

 and Spread Lies?  Well Parler is learning that even if they are happy making money by hosting liars, white supremacists, conspiracy mongers, domestic terrorists, etc... Their business partners have no obligation to be part of their activities.

And now they are working to sue Amazon, even though they blatantly violated the terms of their agreement...  Good Luck with that. :-) 

Now I understand that I have free speech, however that does not mean that anyone else has to listen to me or publish my words.  That seems like a pretty GOP belief, and yet these folks businesses should be forced to violate their companies own rules regarding content and allow people to lie on their platforms.

Now I am happy to post almost any guest comment on G2A, but if you want to lie, incite violence, propagate blatantly wrong conspiracy theories, etc. It is not happening here.

Choose Your Words Carefully

 An excellent PBS piece that explains the challenge in choosing the correct words.

And here is a piece that explains the differences and similarities between Fascism and Communism.

I have been having lively debates with FB folks about if the Trump supporters are Facism enablers or Freedom lovers, and there is a good argument on both sides. I mean to folks who are supporting Trump:

• have historically supported lower taxes, less government, less regulation, law / order, etc.  They have been Conservatives or Conservative Libertarians.  In essence the opposite of a Totalitarian.
• however now these folks seemingly want to violate the USA laws so that their chosen President can remain in power against the will of the people. And worse yet they want to use government and regulations to keep "different" migrants out of the country, to allow them to treat LGBTQ people differently, to force expectant Mothers to comply with their beliefs, etc. 

Now there is no doubt that Trump is only worried about Trump, this has been the reality for 4+ years. And he certainly would love to be the Vladimir Putin of the USA. He checks nearly every box of the Fascism Checklist. 

So the questions are... 

• Do Trump's supporters truly want him as a Dictator even though that means the end of our democratic self rule?  
• Or are they just naïve anti-government folks that he has manipulated for his benefit by giving them some of their desires?

I would have assumed it was the latter, but I just can not understand how they have bought into his lies. given how extreme they have been. :-(

Should Trump be Impeached?

 From Laurie.

New topic idea: Should Trump be Impeached- We are having a disagreement about this in my house.

Here is an informational link that does not argue either side to this question.

Explainer: Trump is heading for second impeachment. Here's how it could play out

Who is Shaking the Jar

and why are so many people like ants? My guess is the usual suspects:

People who want money, power, fame, control, etc... 

And are fine with lying to and manipulating foolish people to get it.

My question is why do so many Americans have the mental capacity of ants??? 🙂

And why are they so inconsistent? 🙂  Thoughts?

People are Weird

To me it is so strange...

When people on the Left misbehave and perform civil disobedience. The folks on the Left cheer them on and say that they are fighting for... And the people on the Right call them thugs, law breakers, etc.

When people on the Right misbehave and perform civil disobedience, The folks on the Right cheer them on and say that they are fighting for... And the people on the Left call them thugs, law breakers, etc.

I will never understand the thinking Tribe Left and Tribe Right members?

Me personally I would toss all law breakers in jail... Whether you are occupying the capital or occupying I35W. 

Will GOP Voters Learn?

Cult following Trump Cost them the Presidency and likely the Senate.

Now we have that loser Trump Rabble Rousing.

And the Rabble are causing disturbances and getting arrested.

Thankfully Pence and McConnell are being professional and law abiding.

My Question is... 

Will the GOP Voters keep acting like crazy conspiracy theorists or will they learn from this disaster, grow up and act responsible citizens? 

I mean they know us Moderates / Independents dislike the Crazies on the Left...  Why do they think we would like the Crazies on the Right?

Trump is Corrupt and an Idiot

 Transcript of GA Discussion.  I am thinking of sending Brad Raffensperger a thank you card.  No Secretary of State should have to put up with this insanity. :-)

Great Start to New Year !!!

Trump Loses on Many Fronts !!!  And only ~19 days left of his failed embarrassing Presidency !!!

Let us count his recent defeats:

1. Judge throws out another lawsuit
2. Senate over rides his Defense Bill Veto 
3. His $2000 socialist pipe dream got flushed
4. Called out for his failed Vaccine rollout

The 20th can not come soon enough. :-)

Living Above One's Means

creates a Hollowed Out Middle Class.  This piece caused me to ponder the challenge that many Americans seem to face.

They want to live "their dream life" whether their income / situation supports it or not. Which of course leads to high debt loads, small rainy days savings and a LOT OF STRESS.

Of course, apparently the alternative is worse from their perspective. You really think I should:

• buy and stay in a smaller home
• take driving vacations rather than flying to Mexico
• buy and keep a cheaper, older and less fashionable vehicle
• have my children attend a public school
• mow my own yard and shovel my own snow
• etc

Now I am thankful that all these crazy folks keep our economy booming, though I simply can not understand it.  Of course, I was lucky enough to be raised by stingy parents who loved working, old stuff, saving and investing.