Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I really should read my own blog.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

T R E 4 5 O N

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

We still have time to mess this up!

Roe isn’t about choice, it’s about freedom.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

You are here: Home / Politics / Biden Administration in Action / Open Thread – President Biden Delivers Remarks on Russia

Reader Interactions

86Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    Oh my. Someone is going to be on a Twitter rampage later.

    Oh wait….no, he’s not. Hahahaha.

  3. 3.

    natem

    @Baud:

    “So-called President Biden (everyone knows he didn’t win I did) trying to be tough on Russia, but he is hurting America instead and now the world laughs at us like a dog”

  5. 5.

    NotMax

    Truly open thread? How refreshing (pun intended).

    So, girded up the loins enough to open this quarter’s Medicare bill without blanching. (Few things worse than blanched loins, right?)

    Cost dropped from the amount of the prior bill. By a mere 1% but down is down.

  6. 6.

    mrmoshpotato

    @natem:

    and now the world laughs at us like a dog 

    I could see the Kremlin’s orange shitstain writing something this stupid.

  14. 14.

    Brachiator

    @natem: 

    “So-called President Biden (everyone knows he didn’t win I did) trying to be tough on Russia, but he is hurting America instead and now the world laughs at us like a dog”

    Odd. Whenever I turn on the international news, I see other countries praising us and applauding us, and happy to work with us.

    But the GOP base lives in their own special reality.

  15. 15.

    zhena gogolia

    Thanks for this. It is such a relief not to have a POTUS who’s VVP’s lapdog.

  16. 16.

    Cheryl Rofer

    That was short and to the point.

    Biden’s said it before: he’ll work with Russia when he can, but he’ll respond to meddling in US elections and threatening military action in Europe.

  17. 17.

    mrmoshpotato

    @natem:

    I spent way too much time on Twitter the last four years 

    No judgement.  Dump’s bullshit wasn’t something you could really ignore, even if you wanted, given his position at the time.

  18. 18.

    debbie

    I apologize for not being able to keep up with everything, but has Biden announced new sanctions yet? I thought I heard a number of Russian officials would be expelled/deported/whatever.

  19. 19.

    zhena gogolia

    The President of the United States has the interests of the United States at heart. What a refreshing change.

  22. 22.

    Jeffro

    @Cheryl Rofer:Biden’s said it before: he’ll work with Russia when he can, but he’ll respond to meddling in US elections and threatening military action in Europe.

    Fox: “Biden indecisive, trying to have it both ways”

  24. 24.

    Jeffro

    Might be a good time for some info about trumpov & Co and Russia to come out, just to remind everyone that the former guy was Putin’s bootlicking stooge.

  25. 25.

    Cheryl Rofer

    @debbie: Yes. New sanctions on a number of Russian officials and businesses. Looks like a move toward cutting Russia out of the international financial system. Also some Russian diplomats expelled.

    White House Fact Sheet

    I understand your not being able to keep up. The past few days I’ve felt like we’re back to the constant news cycle. But this time, some of the news is good, and none of it is that the president has threatened to nuke some country or revoke out constitutional rights.

  26. 26.

    zhena gogolia

    @Jeffro:

    I think the Trump-Manafort-Kilimnik-Russian intelligence linkage that was made by the Treasury Dept. today is a pretty big story, or should be.

  27. 27.

    Another Scott

    @Cheryl Rofer:  I liked that he made it explicit that he could have gone much further. It leaves Putin an opening to ratchet down his actions.

    I wonder if the Summit will be before the Duma elections. I’m sure Vlad would want it before…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  29. 29.

    zhena gogolia

    It’s as if we were living in a house with no locks on the doors for four years and now the locksmith has come. I know the analogy is silly, but it was my gut feeling after seeing this statement.

  31. 31.

    Cheryl Rofer

    @Another Scott: There was a tweet earlier today quoting Putin that he wouldn’t attend a summit, but I haven’t seen it confirmed.

    Biden is playing hardball. Putin will look like the junior partner, but there are many reasons for him to participate in a summit.

  32. 32.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Jeffro: Do you really want detailed information about how Dump sucked the Kremlin’s asshole for at least the past 4 years?

  34. 34.

    zhena gogolia

    Some are complaining that he didn’t mention Navalny. I didn’t expect him to do that at all. That would just be dangerous grandstanding.

  35. 35.

    Cheryl Rofer

    @zhena gogolia: Thanks. I was going to include that Kilimnik linkage in an earlier comment and forgot. The Treasury Department, of all places, is saying that Manafort shared campaign polling information with Kilimnik, who sent it on to Putin. The most that any US government department has said about that very strange activity.

  38. 38.

    fuckwit

    Corporations are not leftist. Corporations occasionally side with leftists because some core right wing values– racism, sexism, transphobia, homophobia, xenophobia, anti-immigration prejudice– are bad for corporation’s top-line sales and available labor pool for talent.  But that is only an alliance of convenience we should leverage. When it comes to labor rights, progressive taxation, regulation, and a number of core leftist values, corporations are and will always remain our enemies.

  40. 40.

    debbie

    @zhena gogolia:

    I’ll tell you what’s refreshing: Government documents with punctuation so good, a very long sentence is not at all ponderous:

    This includes, in particular, efforts to undermine the conduct of free and fair democratic elections and democratic institutions in the United States and its allies and partners; engage in and facilitate malicious cyber activities against the United States and its allies and partners; foster and use transnational corruption to influence foreign governments; pursue extraterritorial activities targeting dissidents or journalists; undermine security in countries and regions important to United States national security; and violate well-established principles of international law, including respect for the territorial integrity of states.

  42. 42.

    Jeffro

    @zhena gogolia: yes!

    @mrmoshpotato: no!

     

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    I was going to include that Kilimnik linkage in an earlier comment and forgot. The Treasury Department, of all places, is saying that Manafort shared campaign polling information with Kilimnik, who sent it on to Putin. The most that any US government department has said about that very strange activity.

    You mean…that very strange activity that showed Russia where and how to really concentrate its online disinformation efforts?

  43. 43.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Cheryl Rofer: If a Biden-Putin meeting, whatever it is called, is held to discuss (among other things) Russia’s occupation of Ukraine and Ukraine is not a full partner to that phase, as it looks from what I’ve seen of the preliminary leaks, that will be very bad. Ukraine has agency – this would be like Mom and Dad discussing plans relative to their grown, emancipated child’s future in that child’s absence.

    Ukraine’s Ambassador to Germany, today, quoted in German press (sorry, only link at this time in Ukrainian) says Ukraine has two choices: NATO membership or rebuilding the nuclear capability they gave up in 1993. Yes, I know those were Soviet weapons, not Ukrainian, but who reasonably believes they do not have the technical capability now?

  48. 48.

    Cheryl Rofer

    @Gin & Tonic: Michael McFaul, former ambassador to Russia, agrees with you.

    It’s going to take time to set up a summit with Putin. Let’s see how this goes.

  49. 49.

    Another Scott

    @Gin & Tonic:  I’m sure that Blanken’s team is talking with Ukraine, but it would be inappropriate for them to have a seat at the table with Biden and Putin. It’s a get reacquainted meeting to lay down markers and figure out a path forward for better and more meaningful relations going forward, not a peace summit (or whatever) to redraw borders.

    tl;dr – It’s fine and appropriate for them to speak up now, but the will lose if they demand to be at the table at this meeting.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  50. 50.

    zhena gogolia

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    I would be very surprised if they did not consult Ukraine first. They don’t strike me as people who haven’t thought of issues that have occurred to us on BJ.

  51. 51.

    Cheryl Rofer

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Yes, I know those were Soviet weapons, not Ukrainian, but who reasonably believes they do not have the technical capability now?

    ?‍♀️

    They have no enrichment facilities, nor the radiological facilities to handle and form the fissile materials. I doubt that their explosives industry has the capability for the high precision required. They do have a very good missile factory.

    If you mean in terms of intellectual capability, I agree. But it’s a long way from there to building bombs. The ambassador is making (largely) empty threats.

  52. 52.

    Spanky

    @mrmoshpotato:

    Do you really want detailed information about how Dump sucked the Kremlin’s asshole for at least the past 4 years?

    Yes. I want to see it in the indicting documents.

  61. 61.

    Seanly

    Wow, I just watched the video of Gym Jordan questioning Dr. Fauci. He was harping on how the pandemic response is such an affront to all of our 1st Amendment rights while Fauci stuck to his guns that it’s a public health. Jordan just comes across as an aggrandizing asshole – asking a 2 minute question and then throwing out another question before Fauci can finish answering the first rambling question.

  66. 66.

    burnspbesq

    @NotMax:

    I’m curious to see what happens to my monthly Medicare bill after I file my 2020 Federal income tax return, which will show about $150k less income than my 2019 return.

  67. 67.

    burnspbesq

    @mrmoshpotato:

    Dump sucked the Kremlin’s asshole for at least the past 4 years

    Gee, thanks for that. I’ll be over shortly to vomit on your carpet.

  69. 69.

    trollhattan

    Tots and sprayers.

    Former Vice President Mike Pence underwent surgery to have a pacemaker implanted after experiencing “symptoms associated with a slow heart rate,” CNBC reports.

  70. 70.

    Mary G

    Auntie Maxine gives Gymnasium Jordan the fuck around and find out treatment. Good for her.

    O/T since I am now often sleeping through the night, including at 3 a.m. here when Anne Laurie’s fantastic coronavirus report comes out, I am so glad to be able to say that Orange County CA, despite the shenanigans of a few idiots in Huntington Beach, had only 65 new cases of covid reported today, the lowest number as far as my eyes can see the tiny chart, since April 23, 2020.

    Plus, the youngest covid fighter to date:

    Little ? boi #Piglet #Rescue #NeuterMe pic.twitter.com/jBxBFoBxZg— M_Crouton (@m_crouton) April 15, 2021

  75. 75.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Gin & Tonic: Hospodi Bozhe, don’t get bent out of shape. I credit you with more than enough familiarity with Central & Eastern European history that I was gobsmacked it wasn’t the very first thing that occurred to you.

  76. 76.

    Ajabu

    @Spanky:

    Michael Jackson’s youngest child, Prince Michael, was nicknamed Blanket but after years of bullying now calls himself Bigi. He’s 17.

    A full service blog…

  79. 79.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @trollhattan: My kneejerk reaction waas that he won’t be microwaving his own lunches​ from now on…but apparently that hasn’t been a thing for a good long while. (Dang.)

  80. 80.

    SargassoSink

    @debbie:  That’s fairly ponderous, for me. If you’ve written a sentence where the clarity would be materially enhanced by structuring it as numbered subsections, it’s probably too long.

  85. 85.

    Another Scott

    @Ajabu: Thank you.  I kept going through the lyrics to “Billie Jean” and not getting it…

    Cheers,

    Scott.

Comments are closed.