Today In Biden Land

[NoSavingByTheBell]

Ready for another round?

https://madmaxworld.tv/watch?id=64ef...247075b9ea3b1b

[Kirkland Laing]

The New York Fed's inflation gauge that attempts to capture the underlying trend of inflation, called the "multivariate core trend," fell to less than 2.8% in July (June was revised down to 2.8% from 2.9%) This is the lowest reading since January 2021

https://twitter.com/NickTimiraos/sta...36065292914969

This is close to the Fed's two percent target. Central banks all target two percent inflation as it allows stable economic growth at that level. Since the 2000s it's been stuck at one point something or less. Not even huge increased government spending coupled with tax cuts coupled with super low interest rates during the Trump years managed to get it above two percent. The pandemic changed that but it's subsided nicely since then.

[NoSavingByTheBell]

It's a complete joke because they don't count food or rent, the two most important things to most regular people

[Kirkland Laing]

It's a complete joke because they don't count food or rent, the two most important things to most regular people

It does in fact include rents which are down about one percent over the past year.

What it doesn't include are food and energy prices which are volatile and governed by things that aren't affected by government policy, monetary policy and interest rates so they're left out and they're left out under every president or administration to give the financial industry and the Fed and the Treasury, the people who really matter, accurate information on inflation and its sources.


What do you think might happen to inflation in America should an authoritarian government take power? These kind of right wing governments don't have the best track record as far as inflation goes. Triple digits is actually on the good side of average outcomes. Add on there's never been an economy in the world ever that is so geared to rule of law, limited government interference, freedom of movement and so on and all of these things would be swept away by such a government causing significant inflationary pressures. What do you see as the positives from such a government that would outweigh the various negative effects it would have?

[TitoFan]

I'm not into the Prediction Thread, but I'll make one here.

Hunter Biden will help get Trump re-elected in 2024.

Hunter FUCKING Biden.

Yes... bring on all the graphs that show why I'm wrong. Fact of the matter is Hunter has LONG been a HUGE liability to Joe, whether people want to accept it or not.

From the strictly human standpoint, you gotta feel for Joe Biden. He's had a tragic personal life, which included the fatal accident that killed his first wife and his daughter. His oldest son died in 2015 from brain cancer. No one should have to go through such tragedies.

But Hunter has done his father no favors. If nothing else, be considerate of your father's positions in politics, damn it. Hunter has... to put it mega-mildly, placed his father between a rock and a hard place. He's Joe's lone surviving son... and realistically it must be difficult navigating Hunter's wrongdoings while campaigning for re-election. All of us can say how we would handle it... but none of us has ever had to walk in Joe's shoes.

Still, reality is what it is. Joe Biden has two huge liabilities. His fucking son... and his age.

Meanwhile... in the GOP circus tent full of wannabes and spineless flip-floppers... there is NO ONE who will realistically challenge Trump.

So we're fucked.

The only thing that can stop a Trump re-election in 2024 is jail... and so far I'm less than optimistic that is actually going to happen.

And once Trump is re-elected you can only guess what's gonna happen to free elections, right?

[Master]

I hope you are wrong but you are saying Hunter is the new Hillary to get Trump in.

[TitoFan]

In a way, I guess. Hillary was such an unlikable and untrustworthy candidate that people just went with (what they thought was) the lesser evil. Had Trump had a decent opponent in front of him, he would've never been President.

Hunter, I believe, is Biden's main Achilles heel in 2024. If Trump doesn't go to prison, Hunter may well be Joe's undoing.

[Kirkland Laing]

I'm not into the Prediction Thread, but I'll make one here.

Hunter Biden will help get Trump re-elected in 2024.

Hunter FUCKING Biden.

Yes... bring on all the graphs that show why I'm wrong. Fact of the matter is Hunter has LONG been a HUGE liability to Joe, whether people want to accept it or not.

From the strictly human standpoint, you gotta feel for Joe Biden. He's had a tragic personal life, which included the fatal accident that killed his first wife and his daughter. His oldest son died in 2015 from brain cancer. No one should have to go through such tragedies.

But Hunter has done his father no favors. If nothing else, be considerate of your father's positions in politics, damn it. Hunter has... to put it mega-mildly, placed his father between a rock and a hard place. He's Joe's lone surviving son... and realistically it must be difficult navigating Hunter's wrongdoings while campaigning for re-election. All of us can say how we would handle it... but none of us has ever had to walk in Joe's shoes.

Still, reality is what it is. Joe Biden has two huge liabilities. His fucking son... and his age.

Meanwhile... in the GOP circus tent full of wannabes and spineless flip-floppers... there is NO ONE who will realistically challenge Trump.

So we're fucked.

The only thing that can stop a Trump re-election in 2024 is jail... and so far I'm less than optimistic that is actually going to happen.

And once Trump is re-elected you can only guess what's gonna happen to free elections, right?

It won't be Hunter Biden that causes Biden to lose, it'll be the media's coverage of Biden and his various issues versus how they cover Trump.

It's all down to context. The vast majority of Americans don't pay nearly as much attention to politics as we do. They get a lot of their news from word of mouth and their freinds on social media or whatever. A lot of people only watch the news while they're doing something else, eating or whatever. I don't watch any media but whatever coverage the Hunter Biden issues are getting should be put in context. What happens is that the media show Trump's various issues and Biden's Hunter/age issues and give them fairly equal seriousness.

Even if every word they said about Joe Biden being involved with Hunter is true, and it isn't*, there's no comparison to Trump. I'm not talking about the coup attempt or the various other indictments, I'm talking about graft and grift while in office. Trump uniquely among presidents refused to divest himself of business interests when he became prez. He was running a business that suddenly for the first time went international and had loads of foreign governments and businesses paying him money. A short and incomplete list. Keep scrolling:

https://twitter.com/davidfrum/status...01835507060743


Half a dozen examples there id twitter isn't cooperating.


His daughter was given various business concessions by the Chinese governemt along with Trump who operated a Chinese back account while president. His son in law baled out having made the worst real estate deal in history and bankrupting his family business with hundreds of millions of dollars of Middle Eastern money while working in the White House. He has since been given a couple of billion dollars of Saudi money.

Trump operated a hotel a few blocks from the White House that was a huge source of income from various governments. Foreign governments would book entire floors of rooms at full price for weeks. Endless examples of documented graft just from the hotel.

The point is there was endless graft and corruption from Trump and his family while he was prez. The media should point out that comparing Biden's graft claims, even if true is ridiculous. But they don't so that, they're so constantly attacked for being the liberal media that in election runups they give equal time to the shit that both sides want to talk about. So the public ends up with the idea that both guys are corrupt.

It doesn't hurt as far as the media goes that Trump is a massive ratings machine and him and his people get a huge amount of free time to spout this bullshit because it makes the media money.


The media need to scrap this horserace even handed shot and point out that one party has completely abandoned the rule of law. Every candidate on the debate stage recently said they'd support a four time indicted nominee even if he's convicted of a felony. The election of Trump would be the end of democracy in America, a point what little establishment there is left in America is trying to make:

https://www.mediaite.com/uncategoriz...int-statement/


https://twitter.com/RpsAgainstTrump/...57958555820418





Twenty years ago a New York Times columnist pointed out how the GOP working the refs over perceived liberal bias meant they could now get away with endless bullshit. He said that if the Democrats said the earth was round and the GOP said it was flat the NYT headline would be Parties' Views On Shape Of Earth Differ. It's got a lot worse since then. If they're going to cover this election like it's relatively normal and not pooint out that one party is basically full on fascist we're probably going to end wp with a fascist government just over a year from now.

*The worst allegations about Biden are that he met with some of Hunter's business partners but didn't discuss any business. This is massively unethical and walks up the the line legally but isn't illegal. Still a bad look though but nothing at all compared to the previous guy. There's a lot more being said that is demonstrable bullshit but from the media clips I've seen on the internet they're not demonstrating that it is. Instead we're getting Republicans say this, the White House says this bothsides bullshit. They're terrified to tell people the shape of the earth because the GOP are so effective at working the refs and delegitimising them.

[TitoFan]

It won't be Hunter Biden that causes Biden to lose, it'll be the media's coverage of Biden and his various issues versus how they cover Trump.

If Hunter Biden was squeaky clean or at least reasonably guiltless... there would be no media coverage of him and his dad, now would there.

It's all down to context. The vast majority of Americans don't pay nearly as much attention to politics as we do. They get a lot of their news from word of mouth and their freinds on social media or whatever. A lot of people only watch the news while they're doing something else, eating or whatever. I don't watch any media but whatever coverage the Hunter Biden issues are getting should be put in context. What happens is that the media show Trump's various issues and Biden's Hunter/age issues and give them fairly equal seriousness.

Only proves my point even further. The dumbing down of America on full display. People are only too happy to grab onto snippets of what they think is trustworthy news. Social media wannabes are the new journalists. Loudmouths like Trump get legions of Minions groveling after their every thickheaded word (just look at a few examples on this forum). So Hunter's indiscretions (and I claim no more inside knowledge of the details than anybody else can) are wonderful fodder for the Trumpeteers. Whereas Biden's age is not some social media construct. It's a reality. IMHO, being well into your 80's while President is just not good policy. You and I have certainly disagreed on what it takes to identify new candidates. But none of that changes the fact that Biden's quickly becoming too old to effectively hold onto the reins of what might still qualify as the most powerful nation in the world.

Even if every word they said about Joe Biden being involved with Hunter is true, and it isn't*, there's no comparison to Trump. I'm not talking about the coup attempt or the various other indictments, I'm talking about graft and grift while in office. Trump uniquely among presidents refused to divest himself of business interests when he became prez. He was running a business that suddenly for the first time went international and had loads of foreign governments and businesses paying him money.

You know this. I know this. But the hordes of mindless Minions that follow Trump like the Pied Piper either don't know this... or know it but don't care. I don't know which is worse.


Trump finished off a process that was already occurring in U.S. society. The dumbing down, polarization, the need for instant information without the background, the importance placed on social media "experts", etc, etc, etc. All of these became incredibly and instantly magnified under Trump. Trump brought out the worst in people... and laughed all the way to the bank. What to call a (cough) President who calls other nations "shithole countries"? What to call a President that generalizes a whole nation as being "rapists and criminals"? What to call a President that makes fun of a disabled person and then lies about it? What to call a President that claims to want to "drain the swamp" and then proceeds to hire nothing but "yes men"? What to call a President who claims to know more about (fill in the blank) than anyone else?

No MAGA fans give a shit about Trump's profiting off the Presidency (him or his family). They just embrace the "us vs. them" mentality that Trump has so gleefully put forth.

So what continues to piss me off is how easily many things about Biden have played into MAGA Minion hands.