The Real timschochet

Fair question. Legally we don’t and should not have the right to insist that you be respectful of others in the way that we would like you to be. For example there should never, IMO, be a law that prohibits you from using the “n” word. But we have developed a society in which using the “n” word is generally considered offensive. I would like to develop a society in which transgenders are given a similar level of respect in terms of what names we used for them. I don’t have the right, ever, to insist that upon you or anyone else, but my goal is that we will get there of our own free will.

I haven’t heard a compelling argument for either but I am a layman, not an attorney. However the Court of Appeals heard both of these motions and quickly denied them.

So in another thread @RLLD listed what he liked best about Trump’s accomplishments while in office. @Strike asked me to do the same for Biden. I’m happy to do so but I can’t do it without listing what I believe are his drawbacks as well. Also keep in mind that I come to this from a centrist/liberal perspective: I reject both the current conservative or “Trumpian” positions on most issues, and the far left attitudes represented by folks like Bernie Sanders and AOC. If you disagree with on my perspective, you’re unlikely to agree with much of my analysis. But here goes anyhow: Note- I decided to start a new thread on this because hopefully we can limit the discussion to policy. The current Joe Biden thread is currently dominated by talk of his supposed corruption, supposed mental deficiencies, and supposed pedophilia. Those are three topics I personally have very little interest in discussing. 1. Upon taking office, Biden was given vaccines for Covid (thanks in large part to Trump’s Warp Speed policy) but with no organization for the distribution of the vaccine. Biden made the vaccine accessible very quickly to millions of Americans and thus saved unknown thousands of lives. 2. Biden’s spending bill in year one, a follow up on Trump’s emergency spending in 2020, probably saved our economy from collapse. On the minus side, worldwide inflation (not Biden’s fault) was made worse temporarily as a result of this spending. But that price had to be paid. 3. Biden’s decision to leave Afghanistan was the correct one. His execution was unfortunately, very poor and disorganized. He can be excused to the extent that there is no historical example of a military pullout that wasn’t a total disaster on the ground, whether or not it’s the US leaving South Vietnam in 1975, the French leaving Algeria in 1960, British leaving India and Palestine in 1948, etc etc. All total fockups. Still, we could have and should have performed better. 3. Biden’s reaction to the invasion of Ukraine is the brightest moment of his Presidency. By taking a stand against aggression and strengthening NATO, Biden acted in the spirit of Harry Truman, Eisenhower, Reagan, and FDR. 4. On the other hand, I do not understand why Biden is continuing Trump’s tariffs against China. The average import tax for most countries is 3%. For China it’s 19%. As a free trader I think this is hurting China’s economy while not helping ours. I don’t see the advantage. 5. The infrastructure bill and the falsely named “Inflation Reduction Act” (neither Biden nor Congress can do anything to lower inflation which is worldwide; it’s going down but Biden doesn’t deserve the credit) are good spending bills which are going to create an economic boom- it’s already started. 6. Biden removed Trump’s cruel and stupid policies at the border. This has created more chaos at the border but I think chaos is preferable to cruelty. What is needed is an overall policy, but at the moment that seems impossible given the sharp disagreement between Democrats and Republicans on this issue. I think overall Biden’s done a pretty good job as President. Not great but not bad either. I don’t mind seeing him in there for another 4 years. I don’t like him much; from what I see he’s a liar and a rotten human being. But for me he’s infinitely preferable to what appears to be the alternative at this time.

Uh oh. Pecker just testified that Trump is a micro-manager and paid very close attention to every check that was written. There goes that defense, what else ya got?

I think you got it wrong because Fox News and right wing talk show hosts have repeated a false meme about unequal treatment, not because the mainstream media didn’t report it. It’s true that the MSM focused more on January 6 because that’s what brings the ratings. People want to hear about it because it was a much more novel incident than the Floyd riots (which were only the latest in a long history of racial riots in this country). Jan 6 was something new, and it was based on a President falsely claiming he had been cheated out of an election. So of course people wanted to know a lot about it. The MSM does skew the news but for ratings, not out of poliical ideology.

If you can eat at Sardis after Tommy - classic Broadway dining experience, great steaks. MOMA is better than the Met IMO. If you love Italian food go to little Italy. The restaurants are all great there. And if you’re into the eclectic, visit Washington Square and Greenwich. Have fun!

But now you’re making a completely different argument. Which is that the media focused on the Jan 6 prosecutions rather than the Floyd riot prosecutions. I agree that they did, but not for the reasons you imply. But will you concede that your original assertion was wrong and that the actual treatment wasn’t unequal?

I think that is the point of this trial. The prosecution will have to make this argument convincingly to the jury or they will not secure a conviction. Let’s see if they can do it.

I didn’t know the answer to this so I looked it up: https://apnews.com/article/records-rebut-claims-jan-6-rioters-55adf4d46aff57b91af2fdd3345dace8 Looks like the answer is over 10,000 were arrested, mostly for minor stuff, but a few hundred have been prosecuted by the feds for more serious crime and the average is 27 years. It was pretty easy to find the truth on this. Perhaps you should do so before you repeat tired right wing propaganda.

Biden leads Trump by 9 points among likely voters: https://www.newsweek.com/joe-biden-leads-donald-trump-poll-actual-voters-2024-presidential-election-1892723 Looks like people are starting to wake up.

I’m frankly surprised there’s been no discussion of this. Jordan is likely to become Speaker tomorrow, and for MAGA types and modern day conservatives (which form the bulk of those posting here) this is in many ways nearly as big a victory as Donald Trump winning the Presidency in 2016, if not more so. If there was a civil war in the GOP, Jordan’s victory will mean it’s over. The establishment types have lost. The party has been fully transformed into the Freedom Caucus/Trump vision: nativist, nationalist, anti-woke, and no compromise with Democrats whatsoever. Since that is what most of you guys want, you should be pretty happy about it. If Jordan sticks to his pledges it will mean aid to Ukraine cut off, Joe Biden impeached, and an impending government shutdown unless spending on things Democrats love is severely curtailed. And that’s for starters. Of course we will have to see if any of this actually happens.

Well obviously I condemn that. I don’t, however, condemn students who are peacefully protesting against the actions of the current government of Israel. I think it’s possible to distinguish between the two. Going to a Seder dinner now. Happy Passover!

I just heard a couple of the student organizers on MSNBC. They said they do NOT support Hamas, and that they condemn all anti-semitism. They were celebrating the Seder tonight (Passover.) They are opposed to Netanyahu’s regime but not to Israel. Maybe they are lying for television, who knows? But i suspect this is not as simple as we are being told by some.

Only you would draw a comparison between MAGA and Swifties. Congrats?

I’m getting the sense that, just as with the George Floyd protests of 2020 that were very different from the riots that also occurred, we are not getting the full story here. There are many Jewish students involved in these protests, which are peaceful and not anti-Semitic. And then there are other groups going around spreading hate and violence. Typically conservatives will never distinguish between the two groups (it doesn’t serve them to do so) but thoughtful people should.

Yes I am a Nazi because I believe Trump should be prosecuted for election fraud (among other things.) Have you any idea how focking crazy you sound? Even to the other Trump supporters around here?

Election fraud.

Sure. I could repeat your arguments. Donald Trump, with regard to this and the other court cases, is certainly not being treated equally. He is receiving privileges that no other American would ever get. He should be in jail right now for contempt.

Because I have constantly condemned Hamas here and their supporters and constantly denounced anti-semitism from the left and right. Yet you and other idiots ignore that and accuse me anyway. You’re either dumb or dishonest. So I don’t see the point of discussing it further in a thread about Trump’s legal woes.

And she deserved it from what I’ve read. There are violent leftists and violent rightists. There are bigoted leftists and bigoted rightists. The difference is that on the right, the leader encourages the bigotry and violence. Thats why the threat is bigger on the right. Thats why the MAGA movement as a whole is so poisonous.

Why do you keep bringing up this stuff that has nothing to do with the topic?

They care about your whataboutism?

OK. lol. You sure you’re not on the spectrum?

Not necessarily. https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/564253-caitlyn-jenner-pledges-to-support-trump-if-he-makes-another-bid/amp/