AE and Politics Today

[pigfarmer]

I find myself in agreement with Thomas Morrison, a rare enough event a bit too late. I might not necessarily phrase it the way he did and am cautious of conspiracy theory but he said that there are no real distinctions between parties and that a vast oligarchy is in control. There are times when you almost see it at work, but again, that's a slippery slope. But it is food for thought if nothing else.

I tend to take whatever the current political environment may be something less than seriously as a matter of my own mental health. Example, a family member is a shut in programmed day and night by CNN and will thunder from the mount regularly. To be fair, she's not the only one in the family to do so. We get FOX and sometimes MSNBC lectures too. Pick your poison. Have to pay attention and stay relatively well informed but to me that means deriving my 'news' from multiple sources, all of which have some bent to them obvious or not. I prefer several news apps and do not tweetbook or any of that.

History is my preference. True that it tends to become two dimensional immediately before the Langoliers gobble it up but in general we've had time to chew the cud and get the understanding that can only come with hindsight. I can look back several decades to ruinous decisions by members of both parties that have led us to where we are now and am not terribly surprised. As I have said and will continue to say, it's the immediacy of communication that we are struggling with that's at the root of many of our problems right now. News cycles and media influence always existed but not on this scale and with such rapidity.

Star belly sneetches and plain belly sneetches writ large. We're at one another's throats while others profit.

 

[AlienView]

I find myself in agreement with Thomas Morrison, a rare enough event a bit too late. I might not necessarily phrase it the way he did and am cautious of conspiracy theory but he said that there are no real distinctions between parties and that a vast oligarchy is in control. There are times when you almost see it at work, but again, that's a slippery slope. But it is food for thought if nothing else.

I tend to take whatever the current political environment may be something less than seriously as a matter of my own mental health. Example, a family member is a shut in programmed day and night by CNN and will thunder from the mount regularly. To be fair, she's not the only one in the family to do so. We get FOX and sometimes MSNBC lectures too. Pick your poison. Have to pay attention and stay relatively well informed but to me that means deriving my 'news' from multiple sources, all of which have some bent to them obvious or not. I prefer several news apps and do not tweetbook or any of that.

History is my preference. True that it tends to become two dimensional immediately before the Langoliers gobble it up but in general we've had time to chew the cud and get the understanding that can only come with hindsight. I can look back several decades to ruinous decisions by members of both parties that have led us to where we are now and am not terribly surprised. As I have said and will continue to say, it's the immediacy of communication that we are struggling with that's at the root of many of our problems right now. News cycles and media influence always existed but not on this scale and with such rapidity.

Star belly sneetches and plain belly sneetches writ large. We're at one another's throats while others profit.

One distinct possibility..........

The Unseen Hand: An Introduction to the Conspiratorial View of History​

by
Ralph Epperson

"
It is the contention of the author that the major events of the past, the wars, the depressions and the revolutions, have been planned years in advance by an international conspiracy. This view is called the Conspiratorial View of History, and is definitely not the view held by the majority of historians today. The more traditional view is called The Accidental View of History, and it holds that no one really knows why events happen--they just do.

Ralph Epperson started researching this book 20 years before it was published even though he didn't realize it at the time. He graduated from the University of Arizona."



Interesting book - better than most conspiracy books/theories!!!

 

[pigfarmer]

One distinct possibility..........

The Unseen Hand: An Introduction to the Conspiratorial View of History​

by
Ralph Epperson

"
It is the contention of the author that the major events of the past, the wars, the depressions and the revolutions, have been planned years in advance by an international conspiracy. This view is called the Conspiratorial View of History, and is definitely not the view held by the majority of historians today. The more traditional view is called The Accidental View of History, and it holds that no one really knows why events happen--they just do.

Ralph Epperson started researching this book 20 years before it was published even though he didn't realize it at the time. He graduated from the University of Arizona."



Interesting book - better than most conspiracy books/theories!!!

Cool. Think I’ll order it and put it on the pile. Most things that appear conspiratorial are just a collection of events. Synchronicities are coincidences that appear to be something more. In fact, ufology is rife with that sort of thing.

Dan Carlin talks about a Man of Destiny vs an Historical Arsonist. He used it in reference to Ghengis Khan. I think an argument could be made that DT is exactly that, an historical arsonist that flew in over the left field fence and disrupted the normal flow of events.

 

[pigfarmer]

I’d add that conspiracy theory usually doesn’t stand up to serious research. I have my nose in Gordon Prange’s At Dawn We Slept. No, FDR didn’t deliberately invite the attack. Nonsense.

I wonder about JFK. Not the mechanics of the assassination itself but suspect that many details related to it would be unpleasant or embarrassing or both and that’s what’s behind the continued classification of certain documents

 

[nivek]

Latina ex-Democrat tells MSNBC she switched parties because she's for ‘God, country, family and hard work’​

Latino voters in border states told MSNBC they were moving away from the Democratic Party this November, with some saying they identified more with the values of the Republican Party.

On "Jose Diaz-Balart Reports," the journalist spoke with Latinos in Arizona and Texas to highlight the shift heading into the midterm elections. One Texas voter told the former Telemundo anchor that the party "has changed a lot" and she now identifies more with the Republican Party's values.

"We're for God, country, family and hard work," Maria Batres told the MSNBC host.

Fellow Texas voter Jose Arreola told the network that he also became a Republican because he was most concerned about immigration and "beefing up border security."

"The fact of the matter is, we don't feel safe anymore," the Texan told MSNBC.

A new Quinnipiac poll of Texas voters published last week named the Texas-Mexico border as the most "urgent" issue in Texas, with 36% of Hispanic voters ranking it their top concern.

Diaz-Balart also spoke with an Arizona Democrat who was disaffected by her party because she felt like they hadn't fought hard enough to secure abortion and voting rights. She told MSNBC that she felt taken advantage of by the Democrat Party and expressed doubts about who she'd vote for this November.

However, MSNBC found that Latinos, like the rest of the electorate, were most concerned about inflation. "But our [NBC/Telemundo] poll found the top issue for Latinos was cost of living," Diaz-Balart revealed.

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[michael59]

However, MSNBC found that Latinos, like the rest of the electorate, were most concerned about inflation. "But our [NBC/Telemundo] poll found the top issue for Latinos was cost of living," Diaz-Balart revealed.

Inflation and cost of living are the same thing.

 

[nivek]

Actually there is a difference...Cost of living is the expense or cost of maintaining one's desired standard of living which varies for different individuals, however, inflation is a general increase in price for goods and services...Inflation can raise the expense levels of cost of living because inflation makes goods and services cost more, but there is not a direct relationship between the two, since cost of living expenses can be adjusted higher or lower by adjusting one's desired standard of living but inflation cannot be adjusted by the consumer...

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[michael59]

Actually there is a difference...Cost of living is the expense or cost of maintaining one's desired standard of living which varies for different individuals, however, inflation is a general increase in price for goods and services...Inflation can raise the expense levels of cost of living because inflation makes goods and services cost more, but there is not a direct relationship between the two, since cost of living expenses can be adjusted higher or lower by adjusting one's desired standard of living but inflation cannot be adjusted by the consumer...

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That's a good point, for most. I live on 2 disability pensions, one is federal and the other provincial. When the federal gives us a yearly cost of living raise/adjustment, the provincial removes that exact amount they contribute to each pensioner. The only way we get to adjust is by lowering an already impossible monthly budget.

Just this year, rent, parking, gas, groceries....basically everything has gone impossibly higher and yet we haven't had an adjustment/increase in pay for 12 years.

 

[nivek]

That's a good point, for most. I live on 2 disability pensions, one is federal and the other provincial. When the federal gives us a yearly cost of living raise/adjustment, the provincial removes that exact amount they contribute to each pensioner. The only way we get to adjust is by lowering an already impossible monthly budget.

Just this year, rent, parking, gas, groceries....basically everything has gone impossibly higher and yet we haven't had an adjustment/increase in pay for 12 years.

Pay increases or lack thereof is not a metric for cost of living...Generally speaking, if people live outside their means and wages then they've set their standard of living too high...

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[nivek]

Expect gas prices to exponentially rise throughout the rest of the year and into the next year, since Biden wants to take credit for causing the gasoline prices to fall somewhat over the oat couple months, then we can also give him credit for the rising prices too...

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[Standingstones]

It’s a good thing we in the US aren’t living in the EU countries or the UK. Fuel prices will be skyrocketing this winter. This is what happens when you tie your country to buying fuel from Russia.

 

[wwkirk]

Okay, time for a conspiracy theory. If TPTB decide they don't want Biden to run for reelection, they may use the indictment of his son as a tool.

Feds weigh charges against Hunter Biden, outcome of yearslong case could be 'imminent': source

A source told Fox News Digital that an outcome to Hunter Biden's case could be "imminent" as federal investigators weigh whether to charge him with various tax violations and more.

www.foxnews.com

 

[pigfarmer]

It’s a good thing we in the US aren’t living in the EU countries or the UK. Fuel prices will be skyrocketing this winter. This is what happens when you tie your country to buying fuel from Russia.

Venezuela and Saudi Arabia aren't exactly places to go for a picnic either.

Here's a crazy thought. Imagine they didn't eliminate federal MPG requirements for new vehicles, rather they maintained and gradually increased them along with stricter emissions. Then for a truly out-there notion imagine we continued domestic fossil fuel production while at the same time building an infrastructure that would increasingly support hybrid and electric vehicles. OK, hold on - we use our own vast resources to engineer all this here at home and actually employ our own citizens and production facilities. Maybe even offer incentives for young people to get engineering and technology related degrees.

Thank God we're pandering to instantaneous media and news cycles, worrying about our genitals, rooting out Nazis - oops I mean racists - printing money like it's going out of style, paying for college degrees in questionable disciplines and allowing our borders to be overrun by so many people we literally can't keep track of the, Thank God for all that otherwise we'd be in a real fix.

 

[nivek]

We will probably see 5 dollar a gallon gasoline by Christmas if not sooner...Let's go Brandon!...

...

Joe Biden has hampered domestic energy industry while pleading for more foreign oil​

President Joe Biden has taken a number of steps to curb domestic fossil fuel production since taking office but has still turned to foreign dictators for oil as prices have ticked up.

The Biden administration has aggressively pushed its climate agenda, which includes a transition from fossil fuels to green energy, over its first 20 months in office. For example, it has taken aim at oil and natural gas pipelines, restrained leasing on federal lands and waters, moved forward with stringent climate disclosure rules for the private sector and introduced burdensome environmental regulations.

"Americans are taking it in the shorts because the Biden administration has basically declared war on American affordable, abundant energy," Dan Kish, a senior fellow at free-market think tank Institute for Energy Research, told Fox News Digital in an interview.

While the administration has sought to restrict domestic oil and gas production, it has also turned to foreign regimes led by dictators, including Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. After the Saudi-led Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced a major 2-million-barrel-per-day output cut Wednesday, Biden expressed disappointment.

(More on the link)

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[Standingstones]

What is galling is that we have had decades to come up with a solution to our fuel problems. Between the oil companies and the politicians we are still on square one.

 

[nivek]

Republicans demand answers from Biden officials on report China opened police arm in NYC​

Several Republican House lawmakers sent a letter to Biden Cabinet Secretaries Antony Blinken and Merrick Garland demanding answers on a reported Chinese police presence in New York City.

Republican Study Committee chairman Jim Banks of Indiana alongside Reps. Michael Waltz of Florida and Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin led the letter to Garland and Blinken demanding answers on why China’s Fuzhou police were reportedly able to open a U.S.-based police arm.

"The Department of Justice and State Department must explain why the Biden administration has allowed CCP police to set up an office on U.S. soil," Banks told Fox News Digital in a statement.

Waltz told Fox News Digital it is "mind-boggling that we are allowing China’s Fuzhou police to operate on American soil."

"The Chinese Communist Party uses these stations to go after political dissidents abroad, while also endangering the national security of the United States," Waltz said in a statement. "We must protect the American people and Chinese freedom activists from the CCP’s gross abuse of the American justice system," he added.

Gallagher warned in a statement that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) "has used Fuzhou overseas police service stations to push propaganda and spy on Chinese citizens abroad."

"The presence of one of these stations in New York City not only raises serious human rights concerns, but also raises concerns about whether the United States is allowing a hostile foreign adversary to conduct its own law enforcement activities within our borders," the Wisconsin Republican continued.

(More on the link)

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[nivek]

Inside China's secret police station in NEW YORK that hunts down dissidents and forces them to return home​

A new report from Safeguard Defenders, a human rights watchdog, revealed that Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has at least 54 'overseas police service stations' in 30 different countries, including the US (inset). New York's station (main), located on East Broadway between Chinatown and the Lower East Side, was open on February 15. Like many of police stations around the world, the New York site is promoted as a place to assist Chinese nationals through bureaucracy, but since the programs launch in April 2021, China reported that it had 'persuaded' 230,000 Chinese nationals to return home. Although the CCP claims the stations are meant to keep an eye on 'fraud and telecom fraud' committed by citizens living aboard, the human rights group condemned the stations. Laura Harth, the Safeguard Defenders' campaign manager, said it was shocking to learn that China was carrying out police operations in foreign countries.



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[nivek]

Top Saudi official says it's BIDEN'S fault US gas prices are high, because president hasn't increased domestic oil production ​

Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi Arabia's Minister of State, spoke to Fox News Friday and said it's Washington's fault for not increasing domestic production. Al-Jubeir said, 'With due respect, the reason you have high prices in the United States is because you have a refining shortage that has been in existence for more than 20 years. You haven't built refineries in decades.' His comments are a response to Washington's outrage at the Saudi-led OPEC+ decision to cut oil production by two million barrels a day that, in a huge boost for Putin ahead of the European oil ban, shows it is aligning with Russia.

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[nivek]

A President not even in control of his own White House, much less in control of his own actions, worst President ever...

...

GOP react to report Jill Biden upset over Joe's last solo presser: ‘knows a train wreck when she sees one’​

Republican lawmakers reacted to a report that first lady Jill Biden was upset that nobody tried to stop President Biden’s last solo press conference nine months ago. The New York Times reported on Sunday that, following the president’s latest solo press conference in January where he did not follow then-press secretary Jen Psaki’s cue to wrap it up, the first lady tore into top White House officials demanding to know why no one intervened.

Several GOP lawmakers shared their thoughts on the report with Fox News Digital, with Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., quipping Jill "knows a train wreck when she sees one."

"Apparently the First Lady knows a train wreck when she sees one," Scott told Fox News Digital in a statement. "I think everyone in the White House is concerned that the President will accidentally reveal the Biden-Harris administration’s true agenda."

Senator Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., told Fox News Digital it is "apparent" the president is "not in control" of the West Wing. "The American people are watching the situation with the President very closely. So are other world leaders," Blackburn said in a statement. "It is apparent he is not in control of the White House, his staff and the issues of the day."

House Republican Conference chairwoman Elise Stefanik of New York quipped that the "President of the United States should not need a babysitter when he talks to the media." "Apparently Joe Biden does," Stefanik added.

Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., told Fox News Digital: "The American people put Joe Biden in office and deserve to hear directly from the president himself. Our country does not operate under surrogates in Chief."

"If Joe Biden is not able to perform his duties as president and talk to the American people on a regular basis, then he should not be running the greatest country in the world. The American people deserve answers. Not from his staff, not from his press team, but from the President of the United States," Van Drew continued.

Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, accused the first lady and senior White House staff of "running a cover up operation to protect their own self interest" and took aim at the president's cognitive state. "Bravo to the staffer who exposed Joe Biden by confirming that he isn’t the one calling the shots in the White House. Nine months ago, the First Lady unloaded on the White House staff for allowing her husband to humiliate himself at a solo press conference," Jackson said. "We all know Joe Biden isn’t capable of making his own decisions and needs constant supervision."

"This administration has practically turned the White House into an assisted living facility. The fact that Jill Biden and the senior White House staff are running a cover up operation to protect their own self interest is dangerous for this country," the Texas Republican continued. "As a physician to three U.S. Presidents, I know firsthand what it takes, both mentally and physically, to perform the most demanding job in the world. America and its allies cannot continue to have a cognitively impaired puppet as our Commander-in-Chief and the leader of the free world," Jackson said. "Joe Biden is too far gone."

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[Standingstones]

A President not even in control of his own White House, much less in control of his own actions, worst President ever...

...

GOP react to report Jill Biden upset over Joe's last solo presser: ‘knows a train wreck when she sees one’​

Republican lawmakers reacted to a report that first lady Jill Biden was upset that nobody tried to stop President Biden’s last solo press conference nine months ago. The New York Times reported on Sunday that, following the president’s latest solo press conference in January where he did not follow then-press secretary Jen Psaki’s cue to wrap it up, the first lady tore into top White House officials demanding to know why no one intervened.

Several GOP lawmakers shared their thoughts on the report with Fox News Digital, with Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., quipping Jill "knows a train wreck when she sees one."

"Apparently the First Lady knows a train wreck when she sees one," Scott told Fox News Digital in a statement. "I think everyone in the White House is concerned that the President will accidentally reveal the Biden-Harris administration’s true agenda."

Senator Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., told Fox News Digital it is "apparent" the president is "not in control" of the West Wing. "The American people are watching the situation with the President very closely. So are other world leaders," Blackburn said in a statement. "It is apparent he is not in control of the White House, his staff and the issues of the day."

House Republican Conference chairwoman Elise Stefanik of New York quipped that the "President of the United States should not need a babysitter when he talks to the media." "Apparently Joe Biden does," Stefanik added.

Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., told Fox News Digital: "The American people put Joe Biden in office and deserve to hear directly from the president himself. Our country does not operate under surrogates in Chief."

"If Joe Biden is not able to perform his duties as president and talk to the American people on a regular basis, then he should not be running the greatest country in the world. The American people deserve answers. Not from his staff, not from his press team, but from the President of the United States," Van Drew continued.

Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, accused the first lady and senior White House staff of "running a cover up operation to protect their own self interest" and took aim at the president's cognitive state. "Bravo to the staffer who exposed Joe Biden by confirming that he isn’t the one calling the shots in the White House. Nine months ago, the First Lady unloaded on the White House staff for allowing her husband to humiliate himself at a solo press conference," Jackson said. "We all know Joe Biden isn’t capable of making his own decisions and needs constant supervision."

"This administration has practically turned the White House into an assisted living facility. The fact that Jill Biden and the senior White House staff are running a cover up operation to protect their own self interest is dangerous for this country," the Texas Republican continued. "As a physician to three U.S. Presidents, I know firsthand what it takes, both mentally and physically, to perform the most demanding job in the world. America and its allies cannot continue to have a cognitively impaired puppet as our Commander-in-Chief and the leader of the free world," Jackson said. "Joe Biden is too far gone."

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Unfortunately for now, the alternative is Kamala Harris.