Re: R.I.P. Republican Party

by OldTitan Thu May 13, 2021 11:24 pm

dusty7 wrote:
OldTitan wrote:
dusty7 wrote:
The whole 'hes better than Trump" argument had ran it's course.

Sorry, that will never "run its course" for me.

Biden may be the next Jimmy Carter - that is STILL better than President tweet-a-lot.

He is destroying the G.O.P.

Let me clarify the "run its course" comment. I am saying that as a country we need to move past the comparisons between what Biden has done and Trump. Too many people in the Republican party are still giving him credit and supporting him as a viable candidate, and like you said, it is destroying the GOP and the more rational members of the GOP are distancing themselves from the right and becoming more moderate. I think in time, more will move toward the center as we get closer to the election.

My issue with Biden is that it seems that he seems pretty quiet about all of the issues that are going on. I would love to see a press conference or an unscripted answer from him on any of these issues. When have we ever had a president who was told specifically not to take questions from the media? If his own administration/staff can't trust him to answer questions, how can America trust him to run the country?

I largely agree.

I really do fear Biden will prove ineffective like Carter. The jury is still out, but I don't know how anybody could be excited by his leadership thus far. Perhaps relieved, but not excited.

Having said that, the G.O.P. leadership is absolutely baffling me by turning the Republican party into a Trump loyalty test. If you are a conservative you cannot possibly justify replacing L. Cheney with Stefanik. I disagree with Cheney A LOT, but anyone examining her record has to admit she is very consistently conservative.

by dusty7 Fri May 14, 2021 8:29 am

Teetime wrote:I trust him. He will do the right thing.

He answers questions .. we don’t need a guy holding press conferences every day over the helicopter engine, saying nothing, but repeating it often.

He took questions after his big “pitch the masks” announcement today.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/05/13/remarks-by-president-biden-on-the-covid-19-response-and-the-vaccination-program-3/

I'm sure he did but question and answers were probably planned. My question is why such a sudden change in masking? I think it's a way to try and get more people vaccinated.

I am a firm believer that we don’t have leaders, we have followers in leadership positions

by Teetime Sun May 16, 2021 3:38 pm

OldTitan wrote:Having said that, the G.O.P. leadership is absolutely baffling me by turning the Republican party into a Trump loyalty test. If you are a conservative you cannot possibly justify replacing L. Cheney with Stefanik. I disagree with Cheney A LOT, but anyone examining her record has to admit she is very consistently conservative.

https://patriotdailypress.org/2021/05/16/ilhan-omar-boasts-higher-lifetime-conservative-rating-than-elise-stefanik-on-club-for-growth-scorecard/

by ramblinman Mon May 17, 2021 12:06 pm

dusty7 wrote:My issue with Biden is that it seems that he seems pretty quiet about all of the issues that are going on. I would love to see a press conference or an unscripted answer from him on any of these issues. When have we ever had a president who was told specifically not to take questions from the media? If his own administration/staff can't trust him to answer questions, how can America trust him to run the country?

Well we just got finished with a President who basically didn't trust his press secretaries to conduct press briefings and answer questions, so what's the difference?

by lefty120 Mon May 17, 2021 12:47 pm

ramblinman wrote:
dusty7 wrote:My issue with Biden is that it seems that he seems pretty quiet about all of the issues that are going on. I would love to see a press conference or an unscripted answer from him on any of these issues. When have we ever had a president who was told specifically not to take questions from the media? If his own administration/staff can't trust him to answer questions, how can America trust him to run the country?

Well we just got finished with a President who basically didn't trust his press secretaries to conduct press briefings and answer questions, so what's the difference?

Less is more.

by dusty7 Mon May 17, 2021 12:49 pm

ramblinman wrote:
dusty7 wrote:My issue with Biden is that it seems that he seems pretty quiet about all of the issues that are going on. I would love to see a press conference or an unscripted answer from him on any of these issues. When have we ever had a president who was told specifically not to take questions from the media? If his own administration/staff can't trust him to answer questions, how can America trust him to run the country?

Well we just got finished with a President who basically didn't trust his press secretaries to conduct press briefings and answer questions, so what's the difference?

There is a big difference in comparison to other Presidents. As I said, people need to get over the "he's better than Trump." The conditions we are facing right now are vastly different than when Trump was in office. Not sure about all of you here but I would like to know from the President's mouth the decisions that are being made.

Average Press Conferences Per Month:
LBJ - 2.8
Nixon - .59
Ford - 1.36
Carter - 1.23
Reagan - .42
Bush I - 2.85
Clinton - 2.01
Bush II - 2.18
Obama - 1.71
Trump - 1.87
Biden - .67 (Held 2 since January with COVID Pandemic, Border Crisis, Vaccination Issues, Rising Prices of Everything, Increasing Inflation, Weak Job Growth, Isreal and Palestine) - maybe it's just me but I think this would warrant more than 2 transparent meetings with the press.

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/statistics/data/presidential-news-conferences

by OSUBucks Mon May 17, 2021 1:46 pm

I think Biden’s handlers feel that he isn’t good at taking unscripted questions from the media. I would agree that it isn’t a strength of his . I think it was the same reason Reagan didn’t have many press conferences. Clearly in Reagan’s 2nd term he was suffering from dementia just like I think Biden is now. I think it’s still possible to be effective at your job if you’re surrounded by capable people and listen to their advice.

by ramblinman Mon May 17, 2021 5:26 pm

dusty7 wrote:
ramblinman wrote:
dusty7 wrote:My issue with Biden is that it seems that he seems pretty quiet about all of the issues that are going on. I would love to see a press conference or an unscripted answer from him on any of these issues. When have we ever had a president who was told specifically not to take questions from the media? If his own administration/staff can't trust him to answer questions, how can America trust him to run the country?

Well we just got finished with a President who basically didn't trust his press secretaries to conduct press briefings and answer questions, so what's the difference?

There is a big difference in comparison to other Presidents. As I said, people need to get over the "he's better than Trump." The conditions we are facing right now are vastly different than when Trump was in office. Not sure about all of you here but I would like to know from the President's mouth the decisions that are being made.

Average Press Conferences Per Month:
LBJ - 2.8
Nixon - .59
Ford - 1.36
Carter - 1.23
Reagan - .42
Bush I - 2.85
Clinton - 2.01
Bush II - 2.18
Obama - 1.71
Trump - 1.87
Biden - .67 (Held 2 since January with COVID Pandemic, Border Crisis, Vaccination Issues, Rising Prices of Everything, Increasing Inflation, Weak Job Growth, Isreal and Palestine) - maybe it's just me but I think this would warrant more than 2 transparent meetings with the press.

In his first three years, Trump averaged 1.42 pressers per month. The only reason why Trump averaged 1.87 press conferences per month over his four years was because 36 of the 88 (41%) total press conferences that he did hold were in his last 12.65 months in office. Not sure if most of those were because of COVID or because it was an election year -- I'll let you decide that one. Trump had a grand total of 1 solo press conference in his first year in office. Biden has equaled that with more than half a year to go.

On May 1, 2020, WH Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany held a press briefing, the first since March 11, 2019. Over 400 days. I agree that I would like to see Biden do more of his own press conferences, but this White House has been WAY more available to the press than the previous one. It's not even close.

by dusty7 Mon May 17, 2021 6:26 pm

ramblinman wrote: Trump averaged 1.42 pressers per month. The only reason why Trump averaged 1.87 press conferences per month was because 36 of the 88 (41%) total press conferences that he did hold were in his last 12.65 months in office. Not sure if most of those were because of COVID or because it was an election year -- I'll let you decide that one. Trump had a grand total of 1 solo press conference in his first year in office. Biden has equaled that with more than half a year to go.

On May 1, 2020, WH Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany held a press briefing, the first since March 11, 2019. Shameful.

As I said, it isn't just a comparison to Trump. If people want Biden to become this great President, it would probably be smart to stop comparing him to the President many consider the worst of all time.

by Teetime Tue May 18, 2021 11:39 am

dusty7 wrote:As I said, it isn't just a comparison to Trump. If people want Biden to become this great President, it would probably be smart to stop comparing him to the President many consider the worst of all time.

I think people make that comparison because they are about to start running against each other again.

by dusty7 Tue May 18, 2021 12:16 pm

Teetime wrote:
dusty7 wrote:As I said, it isn't just a comparison to Trump. If people want Biden to become this great President, it would probably be smart to stop comparing him to the President many consider the worst of all time.

I think people make that comparison because they are about to start running against each other again.

I sure hope that doesn't happen. No offense to the older generation but when Biden will be running for election at 81 and Trump at 77. Honestly, it may be a good opportunity for a 3rd party candidate. At this point I cannot see myself supporting either candidate if they choose to run. However, I'm sure that CNN, MSNBC, and FOX would love it for these two to go at it again. They are in dire need of viewers and money.

by Teetime Thu Jun 03, 2021 2:16 pm

Tweet

Richard Staff
@RichardStaff (from Twitter)

Watching the Dodgers score 11 runs in the first has to be the most upset Cardinal fans have been since they couldn't break into the Senate Chamber

by dusty7 Mon Jun 14, 2021 9:25 pm

Highest Inflation in 13 years and it's going to be getting worse - https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/10/cpi-may-2021.html

Chuck Schumer calling disabled kids retarded - https://news.yahoo.com/news/schumer-uses-outdated-term-disabled-150123255.html

Dems upset with a squad member comparing US to Taliban - https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57436573

Pipeline company paid $11 million and largest meat producer was hacked as well...this is just the beginning - https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/03/tech/ransomware-cyberattack-jbs-colonial-pipeline/index.html

And CNN hires back an employee who masturbated on a Zoom in front of coworkers.
This must be what it looks like when the left is winning.

by Teetime Mon Jun 14, 2021 11:12 pm

Dusty, you old culture warrior, you.

by Teetime Mon Jun 14, 2021 11:22 pm

Inflation hasn’t been this high since that lefty George W. Bush was in charge.

What drives inflation in the US is printing money. We printed a lot of money over the last four years.

Chuck Shumer’s choice of words and House Democrats arguing with each other isn’t going to change your life one little bit, is it?

Ransoms paid by big companies to criminals are not at all new. That has been going on for more than a decade. The federal government isn’t in charge of the cyber security practices of pipeline companies or meat packers. They make business decisions that say paying an occasional $11 million is fifty times cheaper than bringing all of their IT systems up to the level of “unhackable”.

by Teetime Tue Jun 15, 2021 8:33 am

dusty7 wrote:
This must be what it looks like when the left is winning.

Just picture the seditionists attacking and looting our Capitol building in your mind. It just happened five months ago. Picture them beating police officers with flag poles that still had the American flag attached.

That's what it looks like when the other side is in charge.

Would you rather have AOC arguing with centrist democrats in the House of Representatives over policy choices or assholes beating cops with American flags at the Capitol?

by dusty7 Tue Jun 15, 2021 8:52 am

Teetime wrote:
dusty7 wrote:
This must be what it looks like when the left is winning.

Just picture the seditionists attacking and looting our Capitol building in your mind. It just happened five months ago. Picture them beating police officers with flag poles that still had the American flag attached.

That's what it looks like when the other side is in charge.

Would you rather have AOC arguing with centrist democrats in the House of Representatives over policy choices or assholes beating cops with American flags at the Capitol?

I hate the comparisons with what we had a few months ago. It sucked then and it sucks now. Yeah the pandemic may have improved over the past few months but the discourse in US and Geopolitics has not improved, the economic/inflation is at a tipping point and something needs to be done.

I would rather our leaders stop bickering back and forth like an old couple. It is happening within both parties and both parties against each other and it needs to stop. They all need to stop using special interests to guide their decisions, stay off social media, and get something done to prevent a potentially devastating situation from happening.

by OSUBucks Tue Jun 15, 2021 1:58 pm

The previous post is spot on referring to our 2 political parties inability to work together. Here’s a good explanation on what caused our inflation and our prospects of getting back to normal soon.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bankrate.com/banking/federal-reserve/should-you-worry-about-inflation/amp/

by dusty7 Tue Jun 15, 2021 7:57 pm

OSUBucks wrote:The previous post is spot on referring to our 2 political parties inability to work together. Here’s a good explanation on what caused our inflation and our prospects of getting back to normal soon.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bankrate.com/banking/federal-reserve/should-you-worry-about-inflation/amp/

The stimulus and the subsequent stimulus was not needed by many Americans which we can now see due to the increased spending. It's the exact opposite of the Bush stimulus which was smaller and people chose to save and the policy backfired. The COVID stimulus have also backfired but in the opposite way. Combine that increased spending with increased and extended unemployment benefits, which has slowed job growth, you get our current situation.

Had the government used less of a knee jerk reaction towards the economy or used focused stimulus and just let the market correct itself we probably would have been okay.

The only issue with this is our dependency on other countries for pretty much everything we buy. One reason prices are so high is because of the logistical issues with shipping around the world. The first focus in my opinion would be to do everything we can to be more reliant on ourselves in the production of our goods. We shut down the Keystone pipeline which would supply oil, cheaply, efficiently, and more environmentally friendly. Now our oil prices, the most important piece of production and shipping, are at the mercy of other countries on top of creating more pollution by using trucks, trains, and barges to move that oil.

by Teetime Tue Jun 15, 2021 10:55 pm

The Keystone pipeline is up and running. Phases 1, 2, 3a and 3b have been running for years and continue. None of those make us energy independent. That is Canadian oil. The XL extension has been scrapped by the company.

We were already net exporters of oil without the Canadian oil.

It would have been tough on all of the airlines, hotels, entertainment and dining venues to shut them down by government decree and then let them recover on their own. The individual stimulus payments were not well thought out…all three of them.

by dusty7 Fri Jun 18, 2021 9:10 pm

Biden getting heat for some light nepotism in his administration. He promised to not do this and here he is but how dare we criticize this guy.

https://news.yahoo.com/former-obama-ethics-chief-says-205138291.html

My favorite quote, and people have been doing a lot of this...

“‘Not as bad as Trump’ cannot be the new standard.”

by dusty7 Sun Jul 18, 2021 12:15 am

Welcome to Biden's America

Inflation up 5.4%

Overall crime up 3% and murder up 25%. A mass shooting at the Nationals game on Saturday in the city with the strictest guns laws in America. I'm sure all involved were law abiding citizens band the gun was legally purchased.

Unemployment not decreasing as rapidly as expected yet there is a worker shortage in many sectors. States that have eliminated the unemployment bonus have a lower unemployment rate than those who are still distributing the extra funds.

Did not meet vaccination goal and places the blame on Facebook for allowing misinformation to spread. Now the feds are now censoring Facebook posts because that's the reason people aren't getting the vaccine.

Been fairly quiet on Haiti assassination, which involved individuals trained my Americans in Colombia and rebellion against socialism in Cuba.

Texan Dems leave on a private plane to delay quorum on voting bill and several come down with COVID, and were celebrated...if it were Reps it would be a terrible move and considered a super spreader event.

Immigration crisis is getting worse and more deadly and costly each day.

Defending the police backfired and the Dems are now trying to say it's the Reps fault which is complete BS.

Democratic control is really improving our country on all areas.

by general maximus Tue Jul 20, 2021 11:33 am

I am not a math teacher nor economist, but the unemployment crisis is out of control. However, I think it is pretty simple math.

From the IDES website:
$484 with no dependents. $577 with a dependent spouse. $669 with a dependent child or children.

From the Illinois.gov site:
FPUC provides an additional $300 per week in supplemental benefits to eligible claimants. The $300 benefit runs from December 27, 2020 through September 4, 2021. I think there was more prior to that, but lets deal with current numbers.

So that means that those qualifying for Unemployment will get at a minimum of 784 per week and could get up to 969 per week. My math equates that to 40,768 to 50,388 per year. Up until 2 years ago when I went to full time admin, I was not making the latter in base salary. I would also state that very few districts offer teachers that salary and do not take health care benefits out.

Minimum wage is $11/hour. If one works 40 hours per week for the entire year, that equals 22,880.

The current incentive is to not work to the tune of $17,888 at minimum or maybe even $32,500 as a difference.

Sit at home, pretend to look for a job, and collect 40 to 50K or work a crappy job and only make 22K. Nothing like incentivizing not working.

by dusty7 Tue Jul 20, 2021 3:01 pm

Exactly what GenMax said it what is happening. We are going to see a change in wages but this increase in wages will not improve the unemployment or inflation issues.

Raise wages, you create a Wage-Price-Spiral where people keep asking for higher wages to pay for the rising costs of goods and services and businesses counteract those additional costs by raising prices. They also counteract by employing fewer people.

There is no problem incentivizing work and labor. People need to and should work. If you are not happy with you job, go get a new one or get the training to improve your life. But I am a firm believer that some in the Dem party want to get more people to rely on the government for income for the sole purpose of winning elections. Why else open our borders and provide for hundreds of thousands of people with no money and no jobs. What other countries allow this to happen?

by lefty120 Wed Jul 21, 2021 7:24 am

Didn't a lot of the federal unemployment stuff happen during the Trump admin? I could be wrong, but it seemed to be a reaction to the pandemic. It's everywhere though...in Florida, DeSantis has the same issues...we went to numerous restaurants and had to wait for tables when there were open tables and the people consistently told us 'we can't find workers'. So this isn't just an Illinois or a Republican / Democrat issue.

Illinois is a mess, no question. Hey, maybe Darin Bailey from my neck of the woods will ouster Pritzker??

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