It’s really baffling. You would think it would be in their best interests not to allow Trump anywhere near a position of power. He hates the press. It won’t go well for them.
To the owners, it's just another business. And Biden is threatening their power and prestige, what FDR called "their high seats in the temple of our civilization". The revival of antitrust under Lina Kahn is no doubt particularly threatening.
MSM bias against Biden evident from the start, CNN particularly. They'd prefer Christie, but....
That’s because none of the current pundits are generational peers of Biden and tend to believe no one older than themselves has a right to be in that position of power. They assume that Biden has no more value even after seeing his astonishing successes of the last 3-1/2 years.
Well, they are wrong. How many of them know about how Chamberlain risked the security of the UK by falling for Hitler’s lies and how even the King who abdicated the throne cozied up to Hitler? Because this is exactly what Roberts and his cronies did by giving a license to kill this country to Trump, whose biggest wish is to become the biggest, most ruthless, most powerful Fascist dictator the world has ever seen. And the arrogant punditry of the U.S. is aiding and abetting the entirely corrupt Republican Party who are conspiring to make it happen.
History is repeating itself, Roberts, you pig-headed misogynistic fool, and you just lit the fuse.
And that's why those of us who are old enough to have encountered and remember everything about the right's insidious journey toward fascism MUST SPEAK OUT.
Many of us saw it coming. Many of us watched it happen. We begged people to pay attention. They didn't. But we can't stop now.
Absolutely. I am very close in age to you. I know you hit the nail on the head. As Joe Biden said. " When we fall down we get up and keep fighting." I woudl rather have Joe Biden, with all his imperfections, than a traitor for President. A man that is so broken that thete are not enough adjectives to describe his immorality. He is very good at projecting his failures onto others. When he says fallen heroes are "suckers and loosers" one must realize that deep down that is how he feels about himself. His admiration for dictators is a display of his insecurity about his virility. He wants to dictate, deport, shoot on 5th avenue because he is a scared little boy wanting to be Superman. If Biden needs a cognitive test, the orange scourge needs a mental competence test. iM not so HO he is not fit to polish Joe Biden's shoes.
Lit the fuse, indeed, Susie. Churchill, for every chronicled fault, is the reason why our own democracy was saved until Roosevelt could no longer resist entering the war. FDR himself is another example of raw and unbending courage with significant physical limitation.
Roberts' tenure of this court will be as a failed and disgraced Chief. I believe we will be begin to see cases tearing this egregious decision apart over the next five or six years. Until then, every one of us needs to actively defend our democracy.
We can NEVER relax on defending democracy. That horrible radical MAGA wish list Project 2025 will NOT go away when Trump is defeated. The morbidly corrupt rich people who are supporting Project 2025 plan to use it as a blueprint for whenever an R president is elected. They will use the our open democracy to destroy it.
Debates used to be a way people could compare the knowledge, policy proposals, and thought processes of candidates and then make an informed decision. No more. Debates only work if the candidates are people of integrity who slightly exaggerate. They're useless now because Republicans have made a mockery of them. They're vehicles for propaganda while candidates like Joe Biden - a kind, decent man who has a ton of great ideas and a lot of know-how - come across poorly because they're still trying to honestly debate. If we learn nothing from the debate this week, I hope it's that we need to tweak or entirely do away with the current debate format.
I absolutely agree, Ramona, that age shouldn't matter. As you so aptly point out, running a country requires a team. Wise leaders choose the best people and then listen to them. I think Joe will have a fantastic 2nd term, especially if we do our job and elect a Democratic House and Senate. But should he falter, I'm confident that his second in command (Kamala) will easily shoulder the burden. I just hope my fellow Americans keep their eye on the ball and vote for the best interests of ALL, not just the monied class.
The current debate forms are more like “reality” or game shows and sporting events than serious expositions of policy. It wasn’t always this way. When presidential debates were hijacked by political operatives and for profit corporations Americans were the ones that lost. The LWV sponsored debates were outstanding. I wish Biden would insist that they are brought back to that position. You can see the difference in debates from 1984 and before, YouTube has examples.
And the Fairness Doctrine Law of the FCC to address media — “required the holders of broadcast licenses both to present controversial issues of public importance and to do so in a manner that fairly reflected differing viewpoints”
Trump uses the GISH GALLOP rhetorical technique to overwhelm to opponent with lies and BS to make him look confused. So many lies and non sequiturs and specious nonsense that the opponent doesn’t know where to respond first.
I am disgusted that Ruth Marcus of the NY TIMES and other “elite” east coast journalists don’t know this and give Trump a pass. Sad!!!!
It’s not Biden’s age , it’s his cognitive abilities. My Father had the same pattern as Biden. Good some days , others not good at all. Biden is the only man that makes the decision to push the button on the nuclear weapons. Having a bad day or depending on a team is not what instills confidence or projects strength to a our allies and/or adversaries in the World.
‘Good days and bad days”. That applies to every living person. Pinning a magnifier on Biden because he’s old and showing his age and looking for signs of senility or dementia is, in my view, reckless when the stakes are this high.
Unless you have absolute proof that Biden is losing it mentally and won’t be able to do the job, you’re simply adding to the uncertainty.
The goal is to vanquish Trump and the Republicans. Biden’s record as president is good and can’t be denied. His team is extraordinary. They’re working hard to stay in place and keep up the momentum, but they’ll need massive amounts of help.
That’s where we come in. I don’t know what else to say. We HAVE to win this.
Isn’t that age discrimination? Seriously. This is out of hand. I think that we, the base, have to address this directly to those anti-Biden idiots. But how?
I get your concern but people knew he was 80 when they voted for him during the primaries. The last time an incumbent Democratic president stepped down shortly before the convention, it was chaos and we got Nixon (which I think was the start of our political decline). Biden has the name recognition, the war chest, and the solid economic record to run on. No one else on our bench can match that even if they were so foolish to think they could step in at this late date and still win. For all those reasons and for the sole purpose of beating Trump and the Republicans, we all must be Ridin with Biden.
Last week I told my friends that the Dems should use sky writing for touting the goodness of this administration in order to stop counting on MSM. Dems are terrible at messaging but maybe straight talk/one sentence skywriting could get to the masses.
Our divergent narratives from news sources is bonkers. It’s all bonkers. I feel like I woke up in an alternate dimension of our world: puritan conservative hell.
I've been reading Heather Cox Richardson, Joyce Vance, Hubbell, and a few others. I'd say Ramona Briggs is equal or better than the best! Reading this just now makes my day. I support every word. The calls to nominate ... someone else ... as long as they aren't Kamala Harris ... are simply a way to throw chaos at the Dems. You know what? We will prevail. Thank you, as always, Ramona.
Heather Cox Richardson introduced me to the rhetorical technique of GISH GALLOP .
Overwhelming the opponent with so much BS and lies that the other person doesn’t know where to begin. Makes him look confused!
Medhi Hasan wrote about this a year ago in 2023 in the Atlantic on how to beat Trump in a debate. -Defuse the GISH GALLOP strategy. Where are Biden’s advisors? They prepared him for a professional debate and not a “TV show”! This was a TV show 📺!
I wish I knew! Thanks.
It’s really baffling. You would think it would be in their best interests not to allow Trump anywhere near a position of power. He hates the press. It won’t go well for them.
To the owners, it's just another business. And Biden is threatening their power and prestige, what FDR called "their high seats in the temple of our civilization". The revival of antitrust under Lina Kahn is no doubt particularly threatening.
MSM bias against Biden evident from the start, CNN particularly. They'd prefer Christie, but....
That’s because none of the current pundits are generational peers of Biden and tend to believe no one older than themselves has a right to be in that position of power. They assume that Biden has no more value even after seeing his astonishing successes of the last 3-1/2 years.
Well, they are wrong. How many of them know about how Chamberlain risked the security of the UK by falling for Hitler’s lies and how even the King who abdicated the throne cozied up to Hitler? Because this is exactly what Roberts and his cronies did by giving a license to kill this country to Trump, whose biggest wish is to become the biggest, most ruthless, most powerful Fascist dictator the world has ever seen. And the arrogant punditry of the U.S. is aiding and abetting the entirely corrupt Republican Party who are conspiring to make it happen.
History is repeating itself, Roberts, you pig-headed misogynistic fool, and you just lit the fuse.
And that's why those of us who are old enough to have encountered and remember everything about the right's insidious journey toward fascism MUST SPEAK OUT.
Many of us saw it coming. Many of us watched it happen. We begged people to pay attention. They didn't. But we can't stop now.
Absolutely. I am very close in age to you. I know you hit the nail on the head. As Joe Biden said. " When we fall down we get up and keep fighting." I woudl rather have Joe Biden, with all his imperfections, than a traitor for President. A man that is so broken that thete are not enough adjectives to describe his immorality. He is very good at projecting his failures onto others. When he says fallen heroes are "suckers and loosers" one must realize that deep down that is how he feels about himself. His admiration for dictators is a display of his insecurity about his virility. He wants to dictate, deport, shoot on 5th avenue because he is a scared little boy wanting to be Superman. If Biden needs a cognitive test, the orange scourge needs a mental competence test. iM not so HO he is not fit to polish Joe Biden's shoes.
Perfectly said!!!!
Thank you, Frank.
Lit the fuse, indeed, Susie. Churchill, for every chronicled fault, is the reason why our own democracy was saved until Roosevelt could no longer resist entering the war. FDR himself is another example of raw and unbending courage with significant physical limitation.
Roberts' tenure of this court will be as a failed and disgraced Chief. I believe we will be begin to see cases tearing this egregious decision apart over the next five or six years. Until then, every one of us needs to actively defend our democracy.
We can NEVER relax on defending democracy. That horrible radical MAGA wish list Project 2025 will NOT go away when Trump is defeated. The morbidly corrupt rich people who are supporting Project 2025 plan to use it as a blueprint for whenever an R president is elected. They will use the our open democracy to destroy it.
They will TRY.
So sensible and I wish everyone could read it. Thank you💙💙💙
Beautifully done, Ramona.
Thank you, Ramona. Spot on! 💙
Debates used to be a way people could compare the knowledge, policy proposals, and thought processes of candidates and then make an informed decision. No more. Debates only work if the candidates are people of integrity who slightly exaggerate. They're useless now because Republicans have made a mockery of them. They're vehicles for propaganda while candidates like Joe Biden - a kind, decent man who has a ton of great ideas and a lot of know-how - come across poorly because they're still trying to honestly debate. If we learn nothing from the debate this week, I hope it's that we need to tweak or entirely do away with the current debate format.
I absolutely agree, Ramona, that age shouldn't matter. As you so aptly point out, running a country requires a team. Wise leaders choose the best people and then listen to them. I think Joe will have a fantastic 2nd term, especially if we do our job and elect a Democratic House and Senate. But should he falter, I'm confident that his second in command (Kamala) will easily shoulder the burden. I just hope my fellow Americans keep their eye on the ball and vote for the best interests of ALL, not just the monied class.
The current debate forms are more like “reality” or game shows and sporting events than serious expositions of policy. It wasn’t always this way. When presidential debates were hijacked by political operatives and for profit corporations Americans were the ones that lost. The LWV sponsored debates were outstanding. I wish Biden would insist that they are brought back to that position. You can see the difference in debates from 1984 and before, YouTube has examples.
Yes, I remember ethics and decorum. We need that back
And the Fairness Doctrine Law of the FCC to address media — “required the holders of broadcast licenses both to present controversial issues of public importance and to do so in a manner that fairly reflected differing viewpoints”
That's an excellent idea!!
Get rid of TV pundits and get people such as Steve Beschloss, and other historians and non-media types.
I would personally love to see Heather Cox Richardson as the moderator!
Trump uses the GISH GALLOP rhetorical technique to overwhelm to opponent with lies and BS to make him look confused. So many lies and non sequiturs and specious nonsense that the opponent doesn’t know where to respond first.
I am disgusted that Ruth Marcus of the NY TIMES and other “elite” east coast journalists don’t know this and give Trump a pass. Sad!!!!
The Republican convention was more like a circus.
Joe Biden is a wise and decent man. Trump is a traitorous madman. Vote for Joe Not the Psycho
It’s not Biden’s age , it’s his cognitive abilities. My Father had the same pattern as Biden. Good some days , others not good at all. Biden is the only man that makes the decision to push the button on the nuclear weapons. Having a bad day or depending on a team is not what instills confidence or projects strength to a our allies and/or adversaries in the World.
‘Good days and bad days”. That applies to every living person. Pinning a magnifier on Biden because he’s old and showing his age and looking for signs of senility or dementia is, in my view, reckless when the stakes are this high.
Unless you have absolute proof that Biden is losing it mentally and won’t be able to do the job, you’re simply adding to the uncertainty.
The goal is to vanquish Trump and the Republicans. Biden’s record as president is good and can’t be denied. His team is extraordinary. They’re working hard to stay in place and keep up the momentum, but they’ll need massive amounts of help.
That’s where we come in. I don’t know what else to say. We HAVE to win this.
Isn’t that age discrimination? Seriously. This is out of hand. I think that we, the base, have to address this directly to those anti-Biden idiots. But how?
It seems that way. I don’t know how else to read it.
Ramona, you are so right on. It really makes me angry that there are people who are still ridiculing Biden because of one bad night.
I get your concern but people knew he was 80 when they voted for him during the primaries. The last time an incumbent Democratic president stepped down shortly before the convention, it was chaos and we got Nixon (which I think was the start of our political decline). Biden has the name recognition, the war chest, and the solid economic record to run on. No one else on our bench can match that even if they were so foolish to think they could step in at this late date and still win. For all those reasons and for the sole purpose of beating Trump and the Republicans, we all must be Ridin with Biden.
EXACTLY!
👏🙏💙🇺🇸 understand. I’m almost 90 and I support Joe Biden. But, he needs a supporting congress ❗️
That's so helpful. I really needed it and so does the rest of the country.
The truth sets us free.
Beautifully written Mona.
What a superb description of how we old folks are feeling! Thank you, Ramona. Your words should be put in skywriting across the country.
Thanks. That skywriting idea is intriguing… 😉
Last week I told my friends that the Dems should use sky writing for touting the goodness of this administration in order to stop counting on MSM. Dems are terrible at messaging but maybe straight talk/one sentence skywriting could get to the masses.
I will sign that petition!
You could not possibly have captured this better! 🙌🏻👏🏻🙌🏻👏🏻🙌🏻
Our divergent narratives from news sources is bonkers. It’s all bonkers. I feel like I woke up in an alternate dimension of our world: puritan conservative hell.
Amen! Powerful message.
You nailed it. You should submit this to the New York Times. Those guys need to be muted. Every thinking person needs your voice on this matter.
Please, do this, Ramona, in all the major papers, including The Guardian, and La Monde. The world is terrified.
I agree, Ramona. Please submit this everywhere. It needs to be read.
I've been reading Heather Cox Richardson, Joyce Vance, Hubbell, and a few others. I'd say Ramona Briggs is equal or better than the best! Reading this just now makes my day. I support every word. The calls to nominate ... someone else ... as long as they aren't Kamala Harris ... are simply a way to throw chaos at the Dems. You know what? We will prevail. Thank you, as always, Ramona.
Heather Cox Richardson introduced me to the rhetorical technique of GISH GALLOP .
Overwhelming the opponent with so much BS and lies that the other person doesn’t know where to begin. Makes him look confused!
Medhi Hasan wrote about this a year ago in 2023 in the Atlantic on how to beat Trump in a debate. -Defuse the GISH GALLOP strategy. Where are Biden’s advisors? They prepared him for a professional debate and not a “TV show”! This was a TV show 📺!
I appreciate your comments.
Thanks, Frank, and everyone else here in Ramona's safe haven of intelligence.
Thank you for your much needed perspective.