A public record of some of my thoughts. Feel free to comment, but don't expect me to respond.
NPR reported there was a dispute in the Supreme Court over masks — that Roberts asked Gorsuch to wear one for Sotomayor’s sake, Gorsuch refused, so Sotomayor attended oral arguments from her chambers.
Roberts, Sotomayor and Gorsuch have denied the story, but NPR refuses to correct it.
I’m not interested in whether they had a disagreement over masks, but I am interested in how people react to this. Who is more trustworthy, and why?
What’s up with those other three?
“Two-thirds of people globally said that they believe that journalists and reporters purposely try to mislead people by saying things they know are false or grossly exaggerated.” Source.
Some people say you should only read the sports page and the opinion pieces. Just about everything on the sports page is true, and the opinion pieces aren’t pretending to be anything but opinions.
Serious question. Will he …
1. Serve out his full term and run for re-election?
2. Serve out his full term but not run for re-election?
3. Resign in 2024?
4. Resign in 2023?
5. Resign in 2022?
It’s very clear that he’s in trouble.
He’s playing to the worst, most extreme part of his base, and he’s not getting anything done. His administration is widely considered incompetent at best, and extremely partisan. His speech in Georgia was disgraceful, and he’s so toxic that Stacey Abrams didn’t even meet with him. And that was before his ridiculous speech!
If he had a popular vice president, there would be pressure on him to resign, but since Harris is very unpopular, Democrats are in trouble. What do they do with Biden?
The best scenario for the country would be that some grown-ups would intervene and push Biden towards the center. But who would that be? Not Pelosi or Schumer, who are possibly more partisan than Biden.
And that’s the other problem for Democrats. They don’t have a bench. There’s nobody of any stature waiting in the wings. It’s so bad they’re even talking of bringing Hillary back.
The most likely scenario is a long, lame-duck presidency. Republicans will capture Congress in 2022, and the presidency in 2024.
It would be nice to believe that after the Republicans take the Congress in 2022, Biden will come towards the center, the way Bill Clinton did after the 1994 election. That is the best scenario for the country.
Failing that, the best scenario would be a lame-duck presidency for the rest of Biden’s term, and the rise of some dark-horse Democratic candidate who can bill himself as a moderate, and the new leader of the Democratic party. I’m not sure who that could be.
Another option — not likely — would be to bring in Hillary in some key cabinet position, and have her become the de facto face of the administration.
Supply chain problems are starting to get bad in my area. Stores have empty shelves. Some are closing early. Almost every store has a help wanted sign.
The question: how many people are sick with Covid vs. how many simply tested positive?
I’m not sure which is more likely, that he believes the election was stolen, or that this is some kind of revenge for the Russia hoax. I.e., “you dogged me with a made-up story about Russia for years. Turnabout is fair play.”
Either way is embarrassing.