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rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

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Consistently wrong since 2002

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

The real work of an opposition party is to oppose.

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It’s a good piece. click on over. but then come back!!

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“Facilitate” is an active verb, not a weasel word.

Let me file that under fuck it.

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The “burn-it-down” people are good with that until they become part of the kindling.

You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / Biden Speech To Munich Security Conference

Reader Interactions

76Comments

  2. 2.

    Cheryl Rofer

    Unambiguous commitment to NATO and to Article V, which says an attack on one is an attack on all. It’s the center of the NATO commitment, and Donald Trump refused to support it until he was clearly forced to.

  5. 5.

    p.a.

    I wonder how much Joe’s reassurance of a ‘return to normalcy’ in US int’l relations will really resonate after tRump and his fascist followers, now including elected reps in the federal gvt, are one new election away from taking over again. The rail can’t really be unbent unless and until tRumpism is crushed.

  8. 8.

    cain

    @p.a.: ​
     
    I think we are still in deep shit and I hpoe the 84 million understand that – and that we need to keep the GOP from power. Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina – are pickups. Getting DC into a state – fair voting rights – all of that.

    It’s too bad we are in a pandemic and we shot our load with once again pulling our asses out of the fire. But we need that civil rights and voting act laws in so that we can sue states like Georgia from doing that.

    Also I would like to say fuck Roberts who claiming that we are post racist now. There should be enough evidence now that we are very much still living in racist times. So much that the right is willing to plan an insurrection with the highest office in govt.

  9. 9.

    Cheryl Rofer

    “If we work together, there’s nothing we can’t do.”

    He cites yesterday’s landing of the Mars rover in support of this.

    It’s as much a peptalk and what Baud said at #3 as anything. Nothing new announced. There was speculation he would announce something about negotiations with Iran, but that took place at a lower level yesterday.

    It is such a delight to see people who put everything together in support of a consistent message.

  10. 10.

    bnateAZ

    What about a NY Post article saying Biden doesn’t care about the Uighur “re-education” camps and partial genocide? My Libertarian (God are Libertarians annoying) posted this and I haven’t the energy to refute it’s a bad look.. I would hope America can put pressure on China to stop this insane culture purification against the Uighur…

  15. 15.

    MisterForkbeard

    @bnateAZ: It’s bullshit. Take this bit, for example:

    President Biden continued in his response that he is “not going to speak out against” the Chinese Communist Party’s belligerent actions in Hong Kong, against the Uighurs, or in Taiwan. Note from MisterForkbeard: This sentence is editorializing crap completely countermanded by literally the next sentence

    “I point out to him no American president can be sustained as a president, if he doesn’t reflect the values of the United States,” the US president continued. “And so the idea that I am not going to speak out against what he’s doing in Hong Kong, what he’s doing with the Uighurs in western mountains of China and Taiwan — trying to end the one China policy by making it forceful … [Xi] gets it.”

    This is Biden saying he IS speaking out and will continue to do so, and the Xi gets it – but the article says the exact opposite. The whole thing is a giant steaming pile of bad faith and out of context quotes. There is a huge difference between speaking out about genocide and Taiwan and trying to end the ‘one china’ policy.

  17. 17.

    Steve in the ATL

    @bnateAZ: ​
     

    What about a NY Post article

    Same about any Fox “News” story. Deservedly ignored.

    And this issue is not in the top 1,000 of crises that Biden needs to address.

  20. 20.

    bnateAZ

    @MisterForkbeard: Exactly my initial thoughts. I figured it was just a hit job piece as is par for the course by NY Post but then to talk about I’d have to argue with a dude who likes to read Glenn Greenwald.. so…

  23. 23.

    Cheryl Rofer

    @MisterForkbeard: Many thanks.

    We are going to see a lot of bad faith takes from Republicans and their media, of which the NY Post is part. They are lying about the administration’s stands.

    Another example is dealing with Iran. Withdrawing from the JCPOA and “maximum pressure” have brought Iran much closer to a nuclear weapon than letting things ride would have. But the advocates for the Trump plan, many of whom desperately want violent regime change in Iran, are shopping the same old worthless arguments they had in 2015, when the JCPOA was negotiated. The arguments were in bad faith then, and they remain so.

    I take that personally, because I was heavily involved in those 2015 arguments. The nice part was that a State Department employee who had been involved in the negotiations and couldn’t say anything thanked me afterward for getting accurate information out.

  24. 24.

    Ken

    It wouldn’t be done in public, but I hope the administration is checking with our allies to find what kind of pressure or demands Trump was making. Especially if any of them involved paying him directly or signing contracts with his companies, in exchange for setting US policy.

  25. 25.

    Patricia Kayden

    Attending to foreign and domestic affairs like a boss!! I love President Biden.

    President Biden says he’s planning to visit Texas next week, dependent on conditions:“When the president lands in any city in America, it has a long tail … if I can do it without creating a burden for the folks on the ground … I plan on going." pic.twitter.com/U1J7ebV0JJ— The Recount (@therecount) February 19, 2021

  26. 26.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @Immanentize: Thanks for the shout out, my friend.

    Anyway, the ongoing battle is exhausting enough as it. Why engage in imaginary struggles with people who are not on your side?

  28. 28.

    Ken

    @Patricia Kayden: @Cheryl Rofer: I’m ambiguous about such visits, though I expect Biden’s team will do what it can to minimize the disruption. I’m sure it won’t require shutting down production for a day and throwing away the vaccines used as background props, to pick a completely hypothetical example.

  29. 29.

    BellaPea

    Hi, guys! I apologize for being OT, but as a long-time lurker I want to do a Cat Rescue post and I’m not sure what to do. Any suggestions?

  31. 31.

    trollhattan

    @p.a.:
    Trump created a lot of dissonance about presumed American reliability in international affairs. He severed the remaining Republican party connections to reality and patriotic duty and “his” judiciary, shaped by Federalist Society belief in having an American monarch will retain that power for future Republican presidents.
    Shorter me: nobody can trust us over the long haul. “America first” =  no loyalties or commitments.​
    ​
    ​

  32. 32.

    Brachiator

    @bnateAZ: 

    What about a NY Post article saying Biden doesn’t care about the Uighur “re-education” camps and partial genocide?

    This is part of the bullshit Trump/GOP foreign policy that China must be our enemy.

    Trump didn’t care about tyranny anywhere in the world. The only thing that bothered him about his fellow autocrats was whether or not they were his boyfriends.

    Me to NY Post: Drop Dead.

  34. 34.

    Mike in NC

    Trump treated NATO like a mobster running a protection racket, squeezing each country for as much as he could wrangle. Supposedly he wanted to drop out entirely to please his master Putin, but some aides talked him out of it.

  35. 35.

    germy

    in two months we've gone from all the networks covering every White House press briefings to not only none of the networks broadcasting them, but @cspan not even covering them online

    — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 18, 2021

  36. 36.

    germy

    Just got first dise of the vaccine. Moderna. Go back for round two on 18 March.— John Cole (@Johngcole) February 19, 2021

    I thought he was a youngin. Does he have some sort of preexisting condition?

  37. 37.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @germy: in fairness, normal daily briefings are mostly exercises in saying as little as possible. “As the President has said…” “Our position is…” “I’ll get back to you on that…”

    and that Doucey nepotist hire trying to get Uncle Lachlan to notice him and maybe get him his own timeslot

  38. 38.

    Bluegirlfromwyo

    @Immanentize: Democrats are demonized for not fixing things fast enough by doing nothing and letting it all work out. Only conservatives are allowed to do something, bonus points if it’s start a war.

  43. 43.

    PJ

    @germy: ​  Have you ever seen a photo of Cole?
    How can I put this delicately – unless he suddenly dropped 100 lbs, yes, he has a co-morbidity.​

  46. 46.

    Ken

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: “As the President has said…” “Our position is…” “I’ll get back to you on that…”

    “As I just said to the reporter before you, who asked the same question…”  Probably won’t hear that from Psaki, though I bet she thinks it.

  47. 47.

    zhena gogolia

    @germy:

    There is no uniformity. I have friends my age who got it weeks ago in other states. At this point I have an appointment for March 5.

  49. 49.

    zhena gogolia

    @germy:

    You’re right. Maybe he got it as a teacher. Some states are including university teachers.

    Not available to us yet on that score either.

  50. 50.

    germy

    @zhena gogolia:

    Wow.  I’m 63, and I don’t expect my jab until probably late summer.

    I don’t begrudge anyone.  The more needles in arms, the better.  Let’s get this over with.

  51. 51.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Ken: I did catch her the other day calling someone out for selectively quoting Richard Trumka’s criticism of Biden shutting down Keystone, again. As it happened, I heard one of the first times it was done, about a week earlier.

    If I had better google skills, I could probably find out if those reporters had ever been so fond of quoting Trumka when trump was say, fucking up the NLRB, or ruling with the bosses on overtime.

  52. 52.

    Cheryl from Maryland

    I’m happy for John Cole, but my husband is 64 on dialysis and can’t even register for a shot in Maryland.  Of course, the governor of the state, Larry Hogan, is a member of the GOP and for the rich people (we don’t live in a county he won).  We are frustrated.

  54. 54.

    MomSense

    @germy:

    I can’t register, yet.  My blood disorder isn’t on the list so I’m out of luck that way, too.  Under my age category it just says summer 2021.

  55. 55.

    Citizen Alan

    I had the first shot and will take the second next Friday. I’m only 51, so yeah for diabetes and morbid obesity.

    I also have a job interview in another state the day before and I’m already sick over it. It’s for a federal pro se attorney position and if I get it, I will basically be set for life in terms of financial and health care security. But first, I have to get through an interview … with a Trump-appointed judge who’s ten years younger than me. I’m worried I’ll develop lockjaw from the fake smile I’ll have to maintain for an hour or so.

  56. 56.

    germy

    @WaterGirl:

    Be honest.  I heard all the front pagers moved to the front of the line.  Apparently, there’s a clause for blog hosts who receive over a hundred comments per thread.

    /

  57. 57.

    Cameron

    Sorry, but an imbecile like me doesn’t understand why we need NATO, other than giving big paydays to defense contractors.  Also don’t understand not rejoining Iran agreement day one along with Paris climate thang.

  58. 58.

    Jeffro

    Glad to see that Biden and the Dems are working to rapidly increase the size of the IRS, increase the number of audits of the rich and corporations, etc

    almost like Warren would do…?

  59. 59.

    Timurid

    @germy:  Ouch. Ages 40 – 65 are the coffin corner of the vaccine distribution scheme… old enough for significantly higher risk of a serious case but too young to hit any age-based priority triggers (in most states those stop at 65). I’m 52 but likely will not have any higher priority than the college students I teach. All of my classes are online this semester, and that one fact may send me all the way to the back of the line.

    The good news is that I am quite healthy for my age. I do technically have one comorbidity, high blood pressure (hereditary, from both parents). It’s pretty well controlled with meds, so I doubt it changes my priority much. I’m just not looking forward to spending another spring and summer cooped up in this apartment…

  60. 60.

    germy

    @Timurid: Ages 40 – 65 are the coffin corner of the vaccine distribution scheme

    Yes.  It’s so wonderful to fall within that magic circle.

    I have to assume we’ll be getting yearly booster shots.  So many new variants, the latest mutation in Japan.

  63. 63.

    lafcolleen

    @Citizen Alan: I worked in the staff attorney office for a federal.district court for a few years.  rather than be dealt with in chambers, we handled all the pro se prisoner civil rights and habeas petitions for all the judges.  I learned a lot about sovereign citizens movements!

     

    I also found that the lawyers for the defendants would routinely throw in a one paragraph qualified immunity defense on every responsive pleading – without ever actually engaging.

     

    I began including draft language asking for supplementary briefing on the qualified immunity issue on poorly written briefs.  it almost always got stripped out  y my supervisor before it went to the judge.  a couple of times it went through!

  65. 65.

    JMG

    After yesterday’s fiasco here in Massachusetts, where on the first day Alice and I were eligible to sign up for vaccination the state Website crashed, and the math where the state releases 70,000 new signups a week while there are 1 million of us in the 65-74 and two co-morbidities demos, I have become depressed and pessimistic about my chances of being vaccinated until sometime in the spring. Best case: Easter. Worst case: Memorial Day. State has screwed this up six ways from Sunday.

  69. 69.

    Nutmeg again

    @germy: Yep–also there in age, also have the –uh —upholstery — comorbidity. But I do not need to be in contact with other humans, so I’m waiting my turn. I pick up my groceries in the store parking lot, and my Rx in a drive thru.  I understand that here in CT if I pushed hard and spent days online/on the phone I could wangle a shot, but I will let others go first. I feel safe (all digits crossed).

  70. 70.

    H.E.Wolf

    @Cameron: … doesn’t understand why …. don’t understand

    This is why God created Google. Don’t disrespect Her work; and do some of your own.

    If you aren’t sure how to tell truth from lies when you read material on the internet – a problem we all have to deal with – here’s a good article with which to start:

    https://nucleardiner.wordpress.com/2019/12/05/disinformation-is-coming-to-a-computer-near-you/

    You’ll notice it’s written by the same person who wrote the blog post on which you commented. It’s a small world sometimes!

  71. 71.

    jonas

    Did anyone else see “Westlessness” in that title and think it was the Elmer Fudd pronunciation of “Restlessness”? “Be vewy, vewy quiet. Wussia is getting westless!”

  72. 72.

    Barbara

    @Cheryl Rofer: ​ Regime change has become a holy grail for a generation of foreign policy mavens like Bolton who feel personally aggrieved by the fact that Iran kicked our puppet out and took our people hostage. I don’t have any truck with the Iranian regime and I have no doubt it is responsible for terrorism to some degree, and presents a greater than average risk to Israel, but these people have complete tunnel vision not just regarding Iran generally but regarding the fact that Iran is a big country with a highly professional army. The most likely outcome of attempted regime change would be something worse than what already exists.

  73. 73.

    Geminid

    @Jeffro: If the Biden administration is beefing up IRS, that should mean bringing meaningful audits of the Q45 Carbon Capture Tax Credit. This is a promising technology, and the carbon neutral oil production it encourages may be valuable in the clean energy transition, particularly for jet fuel. But without strict auditing, the Q45 program is a waste of money. Right now regulation is not much more than an honor system.

  75. 75.

    Geminid

    @Ruckus: Yeah, right now there definitely are companies raking in piles of unearned tax credit dollars. I still think it could be a useful program if the IRS provides strict supervision.

    In his March 2019 Journal of the Atomic Scientists article “”Green New Deal: the View from Across the Pond,” British climate scientist Myles Allen expressed doubt that the world can achieve the UN IPCC target of a carbon neutral economy by 2050 without substantial deployment of carbon capture technologies. (Allen worked on the IPCC report published October 2018). All the more reason to make the Q45 program work as intended.

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