Tag: Joe Biden

Republican National Convention 2020

Barred from using their official position for partisan political purposes

2020 Republican National Convention Official Logo
2020 Republican National Convention Official Logo
Not being a masochist, I watched only excerpts of the Republican National Convention. I had decided that I didn’t want to have to get a new television because I had thrown my shoe through the set.

And by the end of the week, the GOP may have largely succeeded in achieving its goals. The fact that some of its actions were inappropriate, probably illegal, and largely false may not really much matter.

Who cares about the Hatch Act?

Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo’s speech, while on an official visit from Israel has incinerated norms. The Hatch Act bars State Department employees from using their official position for partisan political purposes. Surely, this was partisan political activity while on duty. But the boost to the reelection campaign may have been achieved. “Using Jerusalem as the venue, Pompeo has further politicized the U.S.-Israeli relationship with an electioneering pitch.”

Compare this with what Colin Powell said in 2004. “As secretary of state, I am obliged not to participate in any way, shape, fashion, or form in parochial, political debates. I have to take no sides in the matter.” But Pompeo is a politician, not a diplomat.

The naturalization ceremony for five people – hey, djt LIKES immigrants! – was a nice touch, if incongruous with his 2016 campaign and regime. And a surprise political event for two of the women being sworn in. Having acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf on hand could also be a violation of the Hatch Act.

But if you remember Kellyanne Conway’s repeated violations of the Hatch Act in 2019 and earlier caused her no consequences. That’s because of guess who protects her.

Plus the White House was used as a backdrop for Melania’s well-received speech. I did LOL when she said her husband “has not, will not lose focus on you.” The setting may not have violated the law, only precedent, and decorum.

“America is not racist”

You know that conversation America has been having about race recently?

And among the greatest examples of racism? The guy running for reelection. As though you didn’t know.

Of course the regime does not believe in systemic racism. “But it’s so real that Merriam-Webster is changing the definition of racism to include it.” The accomplishments of speakers such as Nikki Haley and Tim Scott rather proves the point that they succeeded despite their struggles.

Beware the “radical left”

Instead of attacking Joe Biden directly, much of the GOP seems satisfied with attacking those around him. Joe is a puppet of AOC and her ilk, the narrative goes. Republicans are attempting to convince voters that nothing less than “Western civilization” was at stake. So registered foreign agent Pam Bondi attacks Biden for … corruption? Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa tells the crowd that Joe is going to ban farm animals?

Biden, correctly, I believe, thinks the GOP is seeing the unrest in Wisconsin as a “political benefit.” Perhaps that’s why the RNC gave prime time to vigilantes.

In his too long speech, the Republican candidate painted Biden as a radical, which will come as a shock to most Democrats.

But even Ann Coulter, in bashing the media, notes the ineptitude of IMPOTUS. “As the country burns, Trump (the president) sits in his bed sending out gratuitously bad-ass tweets… followed by utter spinelessness. He talks like he’s Yosemite Sam, then does nothing. This is the worst of everything…

“Trump claims he’s the antidote to the mass riots in cities across the country, but what powers will he have after being reelected that he doesn’t have right now, while he’s already President?”

Acid reflux

Washington Post editorial board: “But beyond the low unemployment rate he gained and lost, history will record Mr. Trump’s presidency as a march of wanton, uninterrupted, tragic destruction. America’s standing in the world, loyalty to allies, commitment to democratic values, constitutional checks and balances, faith in reason and science, concern for Earth’s health, respect for public service, belief in civility and honest debate, a beacon to refugees in need, aspirations to equality and diversity and basic decency — Mr. Trump torched them all.”

“In this alternative reality, the pandemic has virtually passed — thanks to the heroic efforts of Trump — the economy is roaring back, peace abides in the Middle East, and lions frolic with lambs in prosperous urban Opportunity Zones.”

I worry he can win. Incumbency, which he’s used to great if unethical advantage, is powerful. “With a blaze of fireworks and a burst of heated rhetoric… [he gave] his acceptance speech from the South Lawn of the White House…” And more than 1,000 supporters “packed the grounds on Thursday evening to watch his speech, with few masks in sight, in a spectacle that flouted social distancing guidelines.”

Somehow the guy is “trying to run as both the incumbent and the outsider.” He is right, though, about one thing. “The choice… is stark, calling this ‘the most important election in the history of our country.’” Polling in August does not win elections in November.

Brock Turner’s crime

“Do not talk about the sad way your life was upturned because alcohol made you do bad things. Figure out how to take responsibility for your own conduct.”

stanford-rape-case-brock-turner--400x300When something sucky happens, it’s natural to want to find some semblance of a silver lining. Back in January 2015, Brock Turner, a Stanford University student and All-American swimmer, sexually assaulted a young, unconscious woman behind a trash dumpster. And HE portrays HIMSELF as the victim.

“I’ve been shattered by the party culture and risk taking behavior that I briefly experienced in my four months at school,” writes the former college undergrad. “I’ve lost my chance to swim in the Olympics.”

“Turner blames the sexual assault he committed on a campus culture of excessive alcohol consumption, peer pressure, and ‘sexual promiscuity.'”

Ah, yes, Brock Turner was not schooled in knowing that his newly-found “sexual promiscuity” does not, in any way, equate to sexual assault. Yet he got a judge to feel bad for his sorry self, who gave him a mere six months in the county jail, which is functionally three months, rather than the six years in prison the prosecutors requested, or the 14-year maximum for the three charges for which he was convicted.

People are outraged, naturally, because Brock’s father, Dan sighed: “That punishment was a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action.” He’s referring to his precious son, of course, NOT THE VICTIM OF THE CRIME. “He will never be his happy-go-lucky self.” Boo frickin’ hoo.

Was the judge’s extremely lenient sentence a function of gross sexism, racism, and/or classism? Any or all, though that classic affluenza defense, which got a light sentence for that drunk kid in Texas who killed four people, must be considered.

In Turner’s case, “further scrutiny on the judge’s remarks at sentencing appear to suggest he concluded the defendant had ‘less moral culpability’ because he was drunk, and that a light sentence would be an ‘antidote’ to the anxiety he had suffered from intense media attention on the case.” Brock Turner’s anxiety.

But I’m convinced there’s an additional factor. The judge, Aaron Persky, was captain of the lacrosse team. At Stanford. I think it’s the alumni jock thing, protecting the tribe, that came into play. His decision has led to a drive to recall the judge, which they can do in California, and I’d support that.

Now, obviously, there IS a rape culture in this society, in the military, on college campuses, and elsewhere. And I think this travesty of a sentence does nothing to stop it.

The parody site The Onion ran a piece College Basketball Star Heroically Overcomes Tragic Rape He Committed back in February 2011. It’d be funny if it weren’t so true.

Still, I might have let this story go, or at least not write about it. But there was a blogger in the Times Union, my local newspaper, who wrote a post which I, and several others, believe was classic blaming the victim. It was so incendiary that it got lots of hits for the TU website, and will be featured in today’s dead tree version. Fortunately, another blogger responded with more patience than I could have mustered.

So what IS the upside of this whole ordeal? The survivor’s statement, where she was able to control the public narrative without giving up her privacy, able to say the things that others in her situation could not.

She writes, in part: “I have done enough explaining. You do not get to shrug your shoulders and be confused anymore. You do not get to pretend that there were no red flags. You do not get to not know why you ran. You have been convicted of violating me with malicious intent, and all you can admit to is consuming alcohol. Do not talk about the sad way your life was upturned because alcohol made you do bad things. Figure out how to take responsibility for your own conduct.”

Vice-President Joe Biden wrote of the survivor of Brock Turner’s attack: “I do not know your name—but I see your unconquerable spirit.” Both she and the Veep have noted the decency of the two young men who came to her aid.

I also appreciated To Brock Turner’s Father, From Another Father. And other women, outraged by this decision, were likewise emboldened, such as this one.

Remember, consent is like tea. OK, it’s an overly simplistic concept, but it makes a useful point.

I blame Joe Biden

It’s interesting to me that a lot of people I know did not know that Joe Biden was even coming to town.

joebidenThe Wife was driving me to work last Tuesday afternoon when we were rear-ended by a car. We all were a little sore, and I, more than a little irritable about it.

My spouse blamed the other driver, very rational since that person, in fact, did drive into us, fortunately, not going very fast.

My daughter blames the superintendent of the Albany school district, for she had canceled school on a day no other district in the area had done so, though there had been delays elsewhere. If the Albany district were open, The Wife wouldn’t have been driving me at that hour.

However, I blame Vice-President Joe Biden, in Albany that day to meet with Governor Andrew Cuomo about disaster preparedness in the wake of climate change.

Just before we turned northbound on Everett Road, we see a low-flying helicopter, a tipoff that the VP was on the move. One could not actually travel across the Everett Road I-90 overpass, so the eastbound cars exiting I-90 at Everett could only turn right towards Albany, or go straight, right back onto I-90. We were stuck waiting for cars to reenter I-90 when we felt that familiar sound, and moreover, feeling of the vehicle you’re in being hit from behind.

This was The Daughter’s first car accident, and while a relatively minor event, I know *I* felt achy in my head and lower back for hours. The Wife was likewise affected, and the Daughter was mostly complaining about pain in her shoulders.

Ironically, by the time phone numbers had been exchanged, the Biden contingent had passed and Everett Road was clear again.

It’s interesting to me that a lot of people I know did not know that Biden was even coming to town. I was reminded by Megan Cruz of Channel 9 YNN Time Warner Cable News that morning, who was out doing a stand-up in the bitter cold, for no newsworthy reason, and one could tell she was freezing; it was about zero Fahrenheit, or below. She needed a hat.

The buses were rerouted several times that morning, apparently. The police had blocked I-787 for a time, by plows and when my colleague tried to come back to work after lunch, ended up taking city streets instead.

There’s lots of speculation that Biden and Cuomo are vying for the 2016 Democratic nomination for President, but its WAY too early for me to care.

N is for National Elections: November 6

As a New Yorker, I don’t see many of the ads that run in states such as Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, and Virginia.

If you’re not from the United States, you may not be aware of the fact that the US is having its national election on Tuesday, November 6.

CONGRESS

Approximately 1/3 of the US Senate is up for election. Senators are elected on a statewide basis for six-year terms.

All 435 members of the House of Representatives are up for election. The number of districts in each state is dependent on its population. The breakdown changes every 10 years, after the decennial Census. The results of the 2010 Census will alter the makeup of the House for the 2012 election.

From the Census Bureau:
“Among the eight states gaining seats, Texas will gain four seats and Florida will gain two seats. The other six states (Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah, and Washington) will each gain one seat. Of the ten states losing seats, two states, New York and Ohio will each lose two seats. The other eight states (Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) will each lose one seat.”

Even the states that have the same number of seats will have to change its Congressional boundaries (except for the states with only one House member, of course), to reflect population shifts within the state, based on the doctrine of One person, one vote.

THE PRESIDENCY

The Democratic Party is fielding the incumbent, President Barack Obama of Illinois, with his running mate, Vice-President Joe Biden of Delaware. The Republican Party candidate is putting up former Massachusetts governor Willard Mitt Romney, with his running mate, Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. Since about the year 1800, the President and VP have run as a ticket. There are a number of “third party” candidates who have approximately a zero percent chance of winning the election.

The nomination process is rather peculiar for both major parties. Some states have what are called caucuses, while other states have primaries. But even the rules of primaries vary from state to state, with some having “closed” primaries (only members of that party can vote) while others have more “open” primaries, (voters who are not enrolled in either party may vote, and in a few states, voters from the OPPOSING party may participate!)

The Presidential election is not decided by the popular vote nationally, but rather by the vote in each state, which gets representatives to something called the Electoral College. Each state gets electors equal to its number of members of Congress (House plus Senate); the District of Columbia also gets three electors.

In 49 of 51 geographies, except for Maine and Nebraska, there are winner-take-all contests. Thus, some states are not generally contested by the candidates. New York, it is surmised, will go to Obama; Texas is safe for Romney. Therefore, the race is generally run in the so-called battleground states.

As a New Yorker, I don’t see many of the Presidential campaign ads that run in states such as Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, and Virginia. A good political map can be seen at Real Clear Politics.
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Re: “the dozens of political tell-alls…that appear each election cycle.” The Center of Gravitas Best and Worst Seller List helps “you navigate which books would be likely to fly off the shelves and which would be reduced to the bargain bin.”

ABC Wednesday – Round 11

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