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Ukraine and Biden family corruption — 81 Comments

  1. The only problem with your blackmail hypothesis is it doesn’t work on shamelessly corrupt people who know everyone will cover for them. Anyone with the slightest curiosity knew about Hunter. Hell, Brandon’s even on tape bragging about how he blackmailed Ukraine over it with his influence on US policy when he was VP.

    Everybody who cared to look knew that Biden’s sympathies lay with his benefactors in foreign countries rather than with the US. For the Comintern Left that is a feature, not a bug. And for the, “I don’t care but everybody I know says it, so F*** Yeah! Get the evil Nazis! Go team virtue!” crowd just keep it off Blather and Gurgle and the other monopolies they’ve grown and nurtured, and you’re golden. If that’s not enough, the dead, and the fictitious, and the illiterate don’t care who you tell them to vote for.

    So blackmail doesn’t work, but if he’s still greedy enough to keep up the money spigot for him and his insatiable offspring, then you’ve got a hold on your favorite foreign politician.

  2. I’d really prefer you not use the double “y” when writing the Ukrainian president’s name. It doesn’t exist in any language, including Ukrainian, which uses the Cyrillic alphabet. It adds no clarification to the pronunciation, a single “y” would suffice as it does for transliteration of the common adjectival/surname suffix “-sky” from any other Slavic language, and there’s something annoyingly PC and compliant about the usage of this counterintuitive spelling.

  3. It’s odd. On the surface the fact that Joe Biden is so compromised doesn’t seem to play as obvious a factor as it perhaps should thanks in no small part to our media and tech overlords. We all know that there’s been no shortage of extremely comprising, cringe inducing pictures and videos of Hunter Biden out in the wild since at least late October of 2020. And for years now, there’s also been no shortage of extremely comprising pieces information about Hunter and Joe’s various dealings with foreign companies (re-Burisma and others) that are fairly difficult if not impossible to fully discredit or dismiss as some sort or mis- or disinformation.

    Yet, does it make a difference? I mean… Biden’s still president (for now at least, perhaps if the Republicans take both houses in November… well…) despite mountains of pretty damning stuff floating around out there. So what if Russia or China or Iran have more information. Wouldn’t our wonderful tech overlords and media do a blackout on such information anyway? And even if they didn’t, would it make any more of a difference at this point? Would it “move the needle” any more than it already has been? Would the NYT eventually, grudgingly report it?

  4. It is not only the Bidens (but many others, almost all Democrats) who have been involved in the massive corruption-racket which is (alas!) Ukraine, nor has this changed under Zelensky. It is for this reason that many (some, but by no means all, on the left) consider Ukraine to be a puppet-regime of the U.S. and Zelensky to be incapable of serving the best interests of the citizenry (our supplying Ukraine with arms and false hope in a conflict which Ukraine could only possibly hope “to win” by ensnaring the U.S./NATO into what might become a truly catastrophic war is hardly helping matters). One should also remember the highly unethical (perhaps criminal) pressure placed by Biden on Ukraine against the prosecutor working to uncover the corruption at Burisma, which paid the laughably unqualified Hunter millions for doing nothing.

  5. je:

    So, what Vlad has been doing is in the best interests of the Ukrainian people?

    Maybe, maybe not.

  6. “I’d really prefer you not use the double “y” when writing the Ukrainian president’s name…..”

    One could write out the speech from Khrist speaking in the clouds upon his return and there would inevitably be some internet yokel piping up about speling. Piping up with the tedious “correcshun” flatulence until the last ding-dong of doom.

  7. If Marisa speaks one or more of the Slavic languages, as she seems to, seeing a poor transliteration must be jarring. I’m assuming Neo is doing it because all the American news sources seem to have decided to add the extra y.

  8. Biden’s family connection to years of Ukrainian corruption certainly don’t help the situation. To my mind, however, the more important contribution to the Russian decision to go for full-on war is related to Biden’s obvious weakness as president. I think Putin thought we wouldn’t do anything because of the administration’s general incompetence and indecisiveness; and indeed, Biden has had to be dragged to some of the sanctions.

  9. Yet, does it make a difference? I mean… Biden’s still president (for now at least, perhaps if the Republicans take both houses in November… well…)

    A little known aspect of our constitutional republic is that one doesn’t have to be a member of Congress to be elected Speaker of the House by the House of Representatives. Should the Republicans take both houses in November, to rectify the flaws and frauds of the 2020 election, they can elect Donald Trump as Speaker and proceed to impeach both Biden and Harris. It would be perfectly constitutional.

    It would also be a terrible precedent, but the Democrats have made the new rules.

  10. Oh, Barry Meislin, I forgot that the Biden tentacles were in Kazakhstan as well.

    So far as we can tell neither Belarus nor Kazakhstan has committed troops to this effort. I don’t know if this is because they think this isn’t going well.

  11. “Kate on March 19, 2022 at 3:34 pm said:
    If Marisa speaks one or more of the Slavic languages, as she seems to, seeing a poor transliteration must be jarring. ”

    Yeah. But we don’t care. And resent being asked to care.

  12. I have a Slavic married name, and a Slavic-named son-in-law. I’ve seen lots of Slavic names, in English, but never before one with two “y”s or two “i”s.

  13. Most certainly the Bidens are compromised by all these bad players, China, Russia and Ukraine. But having brought Sundowner to the dance the media, all of them, have lots to answer for.

    Kate – I have a big hobby in Czarist Russia and so have many books with actual people involved. Never noticed double yy, think double ii but not positive, but curious now.

  14. I always that it was changed to “YY” for reasons chromosomal….
    (I.e., Zelensky has the biggest pair on the planet….)

  15. “Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and the timing probably seemed right to him because of this administration’s demonstrated incompetence and weakness in just about everything. We don’t know how the Biden family’s Ukraine dealings factor into that calculation of Putin’s.” neo

    I agree that “this administration’s demonstrated incompetence and weakness in just about everything” had to be the determinate factor in Putin’s calculus.

    I’m a bit doubtful that the Biden family’s Ukraine dealings factored much into Putin’s calculations. Too easy to label it as “Russian disinformation”. Plus, what Frank said.

  16. Thank you Marisa for clearing that up, I’ve wondered which was correct. Since Cyrillic appears ‘backwards’ to my western orientation, I leaned a bit toward two y’s… it being weirder;-)

    Johann Amadeus Metesky,

    I like it! Though it would set a terrible precedent, you fight fire with fire. Rather doubtful that the GOPe would agree to install Trump as Speaker however.

  17. I had never seen that double “y” anywhere until the run-up to the current war. Like with that ugly, neutering term “Latinx,” somebody, somewhere decided it was the proper spelling and just every media dutifully followed suit.

  18. @Frank The issue I notice in your issue regarding

    “The only problem with your blackmail hypothesis is it doesn’t work on shamelessly corrupt people who know everyone will cover for them. Anyone with the slightest curiosity knew about Hunter. Hell, Brandon’s even on tape bragging about how he blackmailed Ukraine over it with his influence on US policy when he was VP.”

    The problem I see is assuming Biden knows everyone will cover for them. But I do recall a lot of drama about conflict and power struggles between the Bidens (Slow Joe and his Wife) and Harris, with the administration and influencers sort of dividing between the two. That and stuff like the public acknowledgement of Hunter Biden’s Laptop and Biden’s transparent age and unpopularity (with a soupcon of knowledge that you can exceed the two term limit if you are a Vice President that assumes the POTUSship at some point after midway through your predecessor’s term) makes me think Biden was always viewed as a sort of milquetoast compromise candidate who the plan was to remove. So there’s the significant possibility that some factions on the Left wish to release the info now or slightly in the future to push Biden out.

    While these people are in turn opposed by those who would favor either Biden remaining in power or the replacement of both Harris and Biden with someone else.

    Simply put, Team Biden might not want to risk the added pressure Putin’s blackmail being made public would give to their internal rivals.

    I’m not sure I actually BELIEVE this is the case, but as far as diagnostics go I think it’s a possible explanation for the “problem” you identified.

  19. “Joe Biden’s ‘Transition Away From The Oil Industry’ Is Strangling America’s Economy”—

    I ask everyone who says we have to transition off fossil fuels to “sustainable” wind and solar if they can show me any evidence that wind and solar can carry the electric base load necessary to carry supply a modern economy’s needs. The answer is always no, but that’s because no one has really tried to find the necessary storage technology. They believe, with no proof whatsoever, that technology will somehow,
    some way solve the problem. It’s a belief in miracles. A fairytale belief. It scares me. They are going to ruin this country because of a FAITH in an unproven theory of climate change. 🙁

  20. Barry Meislin,

    Isn’t that a nasty piece of fascist legislation? It appears they just can’t resist playing with fire.

    Gerard,

    Wake up this morning on the wrong side of the bed? I’ve never seen you so irascible. Pet peeve?

  21. Credibility and trustworthiness. Presidents have to have some. (News media should strive for some.)

    People are dying. Biden is in the spotlight. Trust and credibility matter. Anyone want to tell parents that their soldier died because Biden needed to keep his criminal graft a secret? It would be horrible just to wonder.

    By the way, since we are talking about credibility and trust — we now know that the vaccines increase the susceptibility to omicron. We already knew that leaky vaccines are a terrible idea because of the multitude of side effects including many that are disturbing and permanent impairments to DNA.

    Some experts are very concerned that the vaxx may affect women and their ability to get pregnant or have healthy babies. What happens to the Democrats as a party if this turns out to be true? I suspect it would go the way of the Whigs. Joe Biden and Democrat governors and mayors put all their chips on the table when they pushed the vax. If the mandated vax turns out to be a terrible and dangerous mistake, their party owns it. What an awful bet — little to no upside if the vax turns out to be beneficial and possible political extinction if the gamble proves wrong. Of course, ignorance of the consequences is no excuse. It is precisely that ignorance that requires a decision not to mandate.

  22. Johann Amadeus Metesky on March 19, 2022 at 3:39 pm:
    “A little known aspect of our constitutional republic is that one doesn’t have to be a member of Congress to be elected Speaker of the House by the House of Representatives.”
    After rereading Article I, Section 2; and Amendment XIV, Section 2; I am not confident that is actually true, although it may not be iron clad wrong.

    * The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second year by the People of the several States, …
    * Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, …
    * When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the [state] Executive Authority thereof shall issue a Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.
    * The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; …

    I gather there can’t be more than 438 reps (at this time — including DC). The House does not “elect” their speaker but “chuses” him/her. It would appear they have to chuse from among their membership, not just from any one in the population, as (1) that person might not even meet the age or citizenship or residency requirements; and (2) it would add someone beyond the total allotted number of reps.

    But the path you are commenting on might occur if:
    1) an existing rep (in FL?) were to retire/resign/die and the governor of FL issues a Writ of Election; Trump runs for that election and wins, to fill that vacancy; the House chuses him as their Speaker; Biden and Harris are impeached; and then Trump ascends to the Presidency [maybe as #47 or #48 rather than #45??] [And upon thinking about the wording “a Writ of Election”, I had to double check that it meant a call for an election to elect a new rep, not just the selection of a new rep by the Governor, which was my prior thought. But (per Amendment XVII) a vacancy in the Senate can be filled temporarily by the Governor if that is allowed by state legislation.]
    2) Trump runs for the House in 2022 in an appropriate district and gets elected; is chosen as Speaker; etc.

    Neither of these options is likely, but appears more probable than the path per your comment. Am I missing something??

  23. JJ; (perhaps you know this already, but I found it very persuasive) —
    this Ted Talk by Michael Shellenberger: Why renewables can’t save the planet [17 min] (on 1/4/19) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-yALPEpV4w
    also highlights the large quantity of land, energy, and materials (some exotic and limited) needed to build wind or solar systems at scale. I was surprised to learn just how much steel and concrete it takes for the foundation for a wind mill; multiply by hundreds or thousands for a wind farm; and the amount really adds up several fold over what is needed to match the equivalent power from a nuclear plant (reactor vessel, etc.).

    He has another earlier Ted talk: Why I changed my mind about nuclear power [20 min] (11/17/17) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciStnd9Y2ak
    that may also be useful. Some of the comments/ criticisms about the risks/issues of mining for nuclear fuel vs. the alternative mining for nat gas for equivalent power are also worth reviewing.

  24. I’m doubtful that Trump would accept the Speakership.

    I don’t think that Trump’s personality would allow him to work collaboratively as “a first among equals”. He sees himself as the boss not as a member of a team.

  25. “They are going to ruin this country because of a FAITH in an unproven theory of climate change.”

    That’s what it looks like, doesn’t it?

    Nonetheless, I suspect they’re only using “climate change” as a pretext, as a very handy excuse. (After all, they ALWAYS have to frame things AS THOUGH they truly, madly, deeply CARE about…something/everything— whether it’s “the people” or “the planet” or “the economy” or “crime”, or “transportation” or “infrastructure” or “public health” or “the military” or “the border”…or “the country”, etc., etc., which means that they are constantly looking for pretexts, for handy excuses, for nifty-sounding rationalizations: here’s one, for example—We must sign this new Iran “deal” to enable peace throughout the Middle East))

    Therefore, I would—respectfully—change the quote above to:
    “They are going to ruin this country because…THEY WANT TO.”

    …NEVER FORGETTING for one instant that they’re doing so for “THE COMMON GOOD”….

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  27. Geoffrey Britain on March 20, 2022 at 1:52 am:
    “I’m doubtful that Trump would accept the Speakership … He sees himself as the boss not as a member of a team.”

    I agree, although as Speaker he would be the “boss of the House”, thus able to lead the impeachment parade, even if he then has to rely on McConnell and some possibly still RINO senators to pull off the actual conviction and removal from office.
    While we might well be able to identify several impeachable high crimes and misdemeanors for Biden (and eventually Harris), the Dems prior two impeachments of Trump have lessened the shame and approbation we previously would have associated with impeachment, such that Biden not being convicted would be waved away as TDS, etc. Trump would not want to remain Speaker under that circumstance.

  28. After rereading Article I, Section 2; and Amendment XIV, Section 2; I am not confident that is actually true, although it may not be iron clad wrong.

    I’m confident that is true. The parliamentarian and other officers of the chamber are not members of the chamber.

  29. Over at American Greatness, Rodger Kimball speculates that the Democrats may be ready to get rid of Bidet. If so, he further speculates that, they’d have to get rid of Harris first.

    https://amgreatness.com/2022/03/19/bidens-handlers-are-preparing-to-eject-him-and-kamala/

    I agree, though Kimball doesn’t speculate on how they might go about getting rid of Harris. If that is part of their plan for 2024, then they have to have some way of forcing Harris out. Ideally, something that would force her to resign.

    Whatever that might be, my first hesitancy in accepting this was in wondering who they would get to replace Harris and then Biden. Nancy Pelosi is next in the succession but she is far too controversial and old to be considered for the 2024 run.

    Then the answer came to me. The House Speaker position is an elective post voted upon by the House members. A Democrat majority in the house can vote Pelosi out at any time. There have already been calls for that several times. Much better to have Pelosi resign at the right time. And then the Democrats can elect whomever they wish to be the Speaker.

    So, Harris is forced out and the new Speaker of the House
    becomes the new VP. Then Bidet is forced out by whatever means necessary. The new VP, becomes the new President. And the even newer Speaker of the House becomes the VP.

    Giving the Democrats a much more viable ticket for 2024.

    I’m not at all certain who the Democrats would choose but I do think it’s likely that their pick for a President would almost have to be a black woman, as wokeness demands it.

    Obviously other political considerations may apply.

    Throw-in some electoral fraud in a few key swing States and the election is in the bag… easy peasy.

  30. You have hit the target, Geoffrey.
    Obviously, “Mike” would be a popular black female candidate.
    And she already has experience.

  31. Giving the Democrats a much more viable ticket for 2024.
    –Geoffrey Britain

    Which may be a pretty low bar compared to Biden/Harris. Not very inspiring either:

    “We f***ed up in 2020, but you can trust us in 2024!”

    Perhaps it’s time to wheel out a lone nut and a Dallas-style motorcade… Just because the CIA destroyed all the data from MK-ULTRA doesn’t mean they didn’t learn a thing or two about building assassins.

  32. Edward,

    I take it you mean Michelle, I think a Speaker probably does have to be elected from the House members.

    huxley,

    They’re probably counting on the short attention span and easy manipulation of their low info voters.

    I also think it likely that even before the election, the democrat leadership had already figured out how they’d go about forcing both Harris and Bidet to resign.

  33. They’re probably counting on the short attention span and easy manipulation of their low info voters.

    Geoffrey Britain:

    The polls say that a lot of independents, mainstream voters and minorities have already bailed on the Democrats.

    –“Democrats just lost the most support in one year in Gallup poll history”
    https://fortune.com/2022/01/19/democrats-party-preference-falls-gallup-poll-history-republicans/

    And that was two months ago. The story has only gotten worse.

    I don’t see that the Democrats have some grand strategy in place. In 2020 Biden was a desperate band-aid to keep Bernie Sanders from winning the nomination then losing to Trump.

    They are riding the tiger.

  34. huxley,

    I dont think they have a grand strategy either. But they have to have given a lot of thought to what to do about the Biden/Harris albatross. If ever there was a time to dump them, it seems like before the mid-terms is that time.

    Yes, they’ve lost a massive amount of support. So if they keep that albatross upon the Party’s neck, the Nov election is going to be a slaughter. Which is why I think Kimball has the right of it.

    Biden and Harris have become symbols of incompetence.

    The democrats are indeed upon a tiger of their own making. Getting ‘safely’ off that tiger has to be their #1 political concern, which starts with getting free of that symbolic albatross… unless of course their ideological loyalty has become fanaticism.

  35. Geoffrey,
    The Constitution does not require that the speaker be chosen from an elected Representative.
    https://www.thoughtco.com/speaker-of-the-house-of-representatives-3322310
    And if the demonkraps are sufficiently panicked, I can see them breaking with ALL tradition and going outside the elected representatives if they have sufficient votes.
    Of course, if the republicans win sufficient majority in 2022, they could (OMG) elect Trump as speaker. That would be hilarious!

  36. Geoffrey Britain:

    Furthermore, if the Democrats (and our Oligarchs) are riding the tiger, then we all are.

    I worry what sort of madness they may come up with this year as the Writing on the Wall becomes clearer that they are going to be beaten terribly in the mid-terms and the current administration becomes the most lame duck in memory.

  37. Huxley,

    The demonkraps are indeed in a tough bind.
    The tried and true Foreign War Option is not available, because it has been worn out by Iraq/Afghanistan and the fiasco of the withdrawal/defeat. They can certainly get us into a war, but it will not play well in the US. It will only make the hoi polloi angrier.
    Maybe another plague … hmmmm … China has started publicizing deaths due to the latest variant of (dare I say) Wuhan Plague. Maybe #JoeChina has asked for a little distraction…
    About 6 years ago I would have classified that idea as crazy conspiracy theory.
    Now … not so much.

  38. Edward,

    “The Constitution does not require that the speaker be chosen from an elected Representative.”

    Arguably that is so but if the Constitution doesn’t specifically require it, logic and reason do. The Speaker is by definition, a member of the House, the Speaker votes as do all the representatives. A representative must be elected by American citizens in an official election.

    If a Speaker was selected from the unelected citizenry, upon what basis would they be able to cast a vote? Whereas, if they refrained from voting and merely led, then you are reduced to the House acting at the direction of an unelected bureaucrat.

    huxley,

    Yes, we are all being dragged along in the wake of the tiger upon which the democrats desperately cling. And desperate men, often act rashly as their day of reckoning approaches, giving little thought to the possible consequence of “collateral damage”.

    Don’t know if you’ve looked into it but the Russian’s new hypersonic missile is one scary weapon. It can be configured to carry a conventional or nuclear warhead, flies at 7000 mph. 12 mile ceiling, manueverable in flight, can be programed to fly nap of the earth, can have a stealth coating applied to its surface and can be launched from fighter jets. If nuclear, it could easily take out an entire US Carrier Fleet. At that speed little time to intercept it. 2000-3000 mile range. The Pentagon has admitted we have no certain defense against it. A conventionally armed one just took out a NATO supplied Ukrainian ammo dump near the Polish border.

  39. the Russian’s new hypersonic missile is one scary weapon.

    Geoffrey Britain:

    I live three miles from Kirtland Air Force Base.

    What, me worry?

  40. Correction: 2000-3000 km range a kilometer is about .62 of a mile. So 1200-1800 mile range.

  41. huxley,

    In the aftermath of a nuclear war, the survivors may consider themselves to be the unlucky ones.

  42. the Russian’s new hypersonic missile is one scary weapon.

    Geoffrey Britain:

    I was in Cambridge, Massachusetts at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis. A Soviet sub came within 1 vote (of three required) from launching a nuclear torpedo at US blockade destroyers.
    I was at ground zero for a minimum of five 25 megaton warheads.
    WHAT? Me Worry?

    P.S. Upon what basis have the demonkraps curtailed our liberty over the past half decade? Upon what basis have they let criminals run free after burning and looting our cities while holding trespassers in solitary for more than a year with no formal charges. Upon what basis have the demonkraps impeached a sitting president TWICE? They need no basis for their illegal activities. They are a law unto themselves.

  43. Edward,

    I was living about 35 miles from Homestead Air Base in Florida when the Cuban Missile Crises occured.

    If we throw out the Constitution like the demoncRats have done
    nothing is left but politics by ‘other’ means. There’s a very good chance that it’s going to come down to that. But “to everything there is a season” and the season is not yet here.

  44. Geoffrey,

    I lived in Orlando. I was in high school when a B47 flew over hanging on one wing. The subsonics of its crash were awesome.
    Pinecastle AFB was then renamed McCoy AFB in honor of the pilot who made sure he did not crash on us.

    According to the demonkraps, the Constitution is a 100 year old LIVING document, so it can be changed AT THEIR WILL to mean anything. It has already been thrown out by the party in power.

    I no longer live in the country that I was born in. It has changed into something very different. And I am pissed.

  45. Perhaps it’s time to wheel out a lone nut and a Dallas-style motorcade… Just because the CIA destroyed all the data from MK-ULTRA doesn’t mean they didn’t learn a thing or two about building assassins.

    Lee Harvey Oswald shot Gov. Connolly, killed Pres. Kennedy, and killed Ofc. Tippitt. You’ve had 57 years to assemble the evidence for some other conclusion, and you’re not even to square one. Give it up.

  46. Edward,

    The only thing ‘living’ about the Constitution is the amendment process. Any new laws or regulations must be consistent with the Constitution as currently formulated.

    No room for “interpretations” inconsistent with its stated provisions.

    In rejecting that clear understanding, the democrats are courting a terrible reckoning.

    I too am mightily pissed.

  47. Some skepticism about the new Roosian hypersonic wonder weapon, 7000 mph, and nappy earth don’t play well, and stealth too.
    Something about friction from near sea level flying at those speeds would give a nit of an infrared signature.

    But it probably has 6G, slices bread, and had zero carbon emissions.

  48. Lee Harvey Oswald shot Gov. Connolly, killed Pres. Kennedy, and killed Ofc. Tippitt. You’ve had 57 years to assemble the evidence for some other conclusion, and you’re not even to square one. Give it up.

    Pope Deco:

    Do you need a smiley emoji? Apparently so. You just assume everyone is more stupid than you and your main objective in commenting is to crow about it.

    I’m on record here multiple times supporting Oswald as the Lone Assassin, including the most recent JFK assassination topic.

  49. Finally, I am very angry that our “betters” are fattening their own wallets at our expense. At least in the days of the robber barons, you could see who the crooks were and there at least was yellow sheet journalism to report on them.

    Today our political class is corrupt. Very few do leave “service” without becoming multimillionaires and having three to five monster domiciles in the choicest locations. I think it should be a requirement that all politicians should have to report their net worth each year and a graph of its growth over their time in office published on the internet. That goes for all federal and state positions wherein the taxpayer pays their salary and expenses. The public would be surprised at just how much they amass on their stated earnings. They fatten on us, like wolves on sheep with no guard dogs.

  50. Now if the Russian hypersonic wonder weapon falls into the hands of the WEF/Dravos (and Mini Me) crowd I will really be worried.

  51. Two thoughts:

    1) there is sort of a vibe emerging that makes me think if Putin is going down, he’s going to release all the stuff he has on Biden.

    2) is Xi Jinping starting the worry that while you might be able to buy American politicians….they don’t necessary seem to stay bought? And/or maybe that they can weather any outing as long as the MSM choose to ignore it?

  52. Riding a tiger with an albatross around our neck is a good metaphor for our country’s situation at this time.

  53. “Biden and Harris have become symbols of incompetence.”

    Um, no. I.e., respectfully disagree. (AKA “beg to differ”).

    Joe Biden and his colorful “XX” sidekick are doing EXACTLY what they’re supposed to be doing.

    As far as the upcoming elections go, I’m sufficiently jaded and cynical to believe that the 2022 mid-terms will be suspended (due to a “National Emergency” from which the country must be protected—by their saviors, the Democrats, of course) OR…there will be an Executive Order permitting illegal aliens to vote (joining all those deceased voters and multiple voters, so many of whom seem to be loyal Democrats) while forbidding those awful, and dangerous, “INSURRECTIONIST” and anti-Constitutionalist–heh!—Republicans to vote.

    OTOH, “Biden” may just decide to ban the Republican party outright (or most of it)…those “TRUMPIST INSURRECTIONISTS” (to make it all the more convincing).

    Of course, I’ve been wrong so many times before that one must pray—fervently—that I’ll be wrong again….

  54. In re the question of yy or yy not?

    I read the post North/101 linked, which claims to give the exact spelling (in Cyrillic, which WordPress won’t copy correctly) on the Prez’s passport, which ought to settle the Ukrainian spelling; English speakers typically transliterate it directly with the double-y, or change it as they please (we’re good at that).

    As to why he chose that spelling (assuming it’s not his original family version), this jumped out at me because it had already occurred to me (due to some acquaintance with the reason why brand names contain egregiously misspelled words – normal ones can’t be trade-marked):

    “Another consideration in such stylistic decisions is what spelling makes it easiest for search engine users to find news coverage. A search for “Zelensky” returns roughly 247 million results, far more than the 63.6 million for “Zelenskyy”, which indicates the former transliteration is far more common.

    And that the Cyrillic of the former, clearly just from comments here, is also more common. (And the latter not unknown, unless it’s typos all the way down.)

    If you are a (not-yet-high-profile?) entertainer, do you want to have the common name, or the less common one?
    And the search hits for Zelensky necessarily include Zelenskyy, but not the reverse, making it much easier to find refences specifically about YOU.
    (I just tested it on that post: 11 for the former, including the 5 for the latter.)

    If you didn’t follow all that, Mr. Psmith would like to have a word with you.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psmith

  55. @ Barry > “Rep. Thomas Massie Warns Shocking Broad Powers Given To Biden Tucked Into Russian Sanction Bill”

    You made me look.

    Massie: “This was slipped into the Russian sanctions bill on pages 19,20,21. It gives the President broad authority to sanction virtually anyone, anywhere in the world, whether they are connected to Russia or not.
    Interventionists at the State Department are doing the happy dance now.”

    The vote was nearly unanimous. Any guesses on the hold-outs?
    “In a 424-8 vote the U.S. House votes to remove normalized trade relations with Russia.”
    The 8 reps (all Republican) voting no:
    Bishop
    Boebert
    Biggs
    Gaetz
    Greene
    Groth
    Massie
    Roy

    Do congresscritters even bother to read what they are voting for?

  56. AF, I wonder if SCOTUS has the ability (or wherewithal) to declare such a Stalinist power-/coercion-grab unconstitutional….

    …as one wonders why all these Republicans voted for it…(but no doubt, this is part of the effort to magnify the “fog of war” instead of trying to cut through it, to actually see/understand what’s going on… Just another “never-let-a-crisis-go-to-waste” moment for “Biden”, I guess….)

    The general rule for EVERY proposed law seems to be Pelosi’s, “First pass it, then read what’s in it”….

    (No doubt that’s THE reasons the proposed laws are so long and convoluted. Still, the Congress-critters are NOT doing their jobs.)

  57. Barry Meislin,

    “Joe Biden and his colorful “XX” sidekick are doing EXACTLY what they’re supposed to be doing.”

    In general, I agree. Harris is being directed and Bidet ‘guided’ as much as possible.

    What I meant is that an increasingly greater percentage of the public sees them as incompetent.

    AesopFan,

    “Do congresscritters even bother to read what they are voting for?”

    The larger the bill, the shorter the time in which to read it and whether they automatically vote the party line or whether it directly concerns their donor’s interests determines whether they do their due diligence.

    In any case, the broader interests of the citizens they have been elected to represent and the even broader interests of the nation itself are at the bottom of their priorities. Their silence and failure to act on our border and the unconstitutional imprisonment of the Jan 6th protesters reveals just how little they care.

    But it is not a case of incompetence. There’s no way that the rest of Congress is not aware of the reasons why the 8 Reps above voted against the bill. So its knowing complicity upon the part of all who voted for that bill.

  58. om,

    Absolutely, friction from near sea level flying at those speeds would produce a large infrared signature.

    But that would be of little help if you can’t detect that signature until too late. Plus even if detected, since its maneuverable in flight and flying so much faster… stopping it is, at best problematic. Nothing we have can match that maneuverability and speed. Sheer luck to intercept it.

    Worry solves nothing, stupidity and/or cowardice dismisses what it doesn’t want to face.

  59. Geoffrey:

    Skepticism. Flying 7000 mph over the water at near wave height is not the same as flying nap of the earth with actual topography that will spoil your day.
    Skepticism about the engineering required, reaction times for control systems etc.

    But you were listing all the things this wonerdul system can do. And a new sucker is born every day, or every 13 minutes.

    You think that maybe, just maybe the DOD has been thinking about these systems? Or that in the real world that there are always trade offs for each and every feature in a weapon system?

    No they are cowards and ignorant too.

  60. OR…there will be an Executive Order permitting illegal aliens to vote (joining all those deceased voters and multiple voters, so many of whom seem to be loyal Democrats) while forbidding those awful, and dangerous, “INSURRECTIONIST” and anti-Constitutionalist–heh!—Republicans to vote.

    There is no such executive order which would ever be binding on anyone. The only people who would attempt to implement it would be the most corrupt of state judges and officials.

  61. You just assume everyone is more stupid than you and your main objective in commenting is to crow about it.

    You’re not the best judge of other people’s motives.

    Do you need a smiley emoji?

    Try just saying something that’s actually amusing.

  62. “…the most corrupt…”
    Well, I certainly hope you’re right.

    OTOH, I suppose one COULD argue that this never happened:
    “Whitmer jobless benefits scandal: Unvetted workers enabled to disburse $39B in taxpayer funds;
    “Michigan’s unemployment agency relied on staffing agencies that employed 47 workers with one or more felony convictions, including embezzlement, illegal sale and use of financial transaction devices, identify theft and armed robbery, according to state watchdog.”—
    https://justthenews.com/nation/states/center-square/uia-didnt-screen-5508-workers-some-werent-trained-working

    (Just one of the reasons “Biden” needs BBB: All those “friends” out there that need to be paid off…since what are friends for? And also to assuage Obama’s special sense of humor, in this case that the taxpayer is on the hook towards “helping” “Biden” pay back ALL those friends….Tee hee…)

    And so, “Bribe Back Better” is “Off to the Races”….
    – – – – – – –
    Speaking of corruption—yawn…—here’s just another Hail Mary (or is it?) from the “Uncontested Election” desk:
    “Georgia ballot harvesting probe advances as state elections board approves subpoena;
    “Action allows Secretary of State investigators to compel testimony, delivery of evidence”—
    https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/elections/georgia-ballot-harvesting-probe-advances-state-elections-board-approves

  63. Over at American Greatness, Rodger Kimball speculates that the Democrats may be ready to get rid of Bidet. If so, he further speculates that, they’d have to get rid of Harris first.

    He offers a grievous mischaracterization of Spiro Agnew. Agnew was a sharp and interesting character who might have made a more than satisfactory president. Unlike Nixon, he would have arrived in the President’s chair as an experienced executive.

    Regrettably, he’d insisted on kickbacks from public contractors when he was Governor of Maryland (and was too proud / mendacious to admit it when caught). Contra Kimball, Agnew contrived a way to conceal the kickbacks which had to be sussed out. Note also, the prosecutor larded his case with not-very-credible allegations, e.g. that Agnew was making demands of contractors after he’d left office as Governor. Agnew should have shut his trap after he resigned, but he insisted on claiming publicly that he’d been traduced (which may have been true to some degree) and also that he’d been threatened physically (non ci credo). His response to getting caught is more repellent than the original crime. The disdain for Agnew derived from his time as a prominent figure on the national stage (1968-73) was not valid, however. The man really merits a full dress biography from someone without an axe to grind, but I don’t think one has been written yet.

  64. Art,

    At that time, I was a liberal and accepted without question the media’s characterization of Agnew as much too corrupt to serve. Given the media’s antipathy toward Nixon and all who worked with him, it doesn’t surprise me that there’s more to Agnew’s story.

    That said, Kimball’s article only tangentially refers to Agnew.

    His larger point regarding Bidet and Harris comprises the core of the article.

    om,

    No weapon system is perfect and granted, the Russians may well be exaggerating. That said, to discount its potential performance without confirmation is the most basic mistake in evaluation one can make. Given the risk in lives, taking seriously claims of a game changing weapon system is not playing the sucker, whereas unfounded dismissal is most definitely playing the fool.

    I’m sure the DOD has top people on it… Top People. Pay no attention to the DOD’s failures from naval ships colliding with commercial shipping to Afghanistan. Not to mention our military’s upper echelons’ insistence upon a woke military.

    Why would anyone doubt that our top military personnel don’t have their eyes firmly on the ball?

  65. R2L on March 20, 2022 at 12:00 am said:

    “Johann Amadeus Metesky on March 19, 2022 at 3:39 pm:
    “A little known aspect of our constitutional republic is that one doesn’t have to be a member of Congress to be elected Speaker of the House by the House of Representatives.”
    After rereading Article I, Section 2; and Amendment XIV, Section 2; I am not confident that is actually true, although it may not be iron clad wrong.”

    If the House chuses a non-Representative Speaker, what’s going to stop them? Neither of the other two branches, nor the Senate, have any enforcement mechanism which they can use to interfere.

    I suppose Slow Joe could have the Speaker seized by the military or law enforcement, but that would be the end of the Constitution and the beginning of the Official Banana Republic.

  66. HBD,

    Arguably, we are already in the end stage of the Constitution and the beginning of the Official Socialist Banana ‘Republic’.

  67. Geoffrey objects to skepticism and lumps the entirety of the DOD under one big bale of straw. For example CDR-salamander had quite a few episodes about Navy fiascos sea-keeping, maintenance, damage control (USS Bonhoime Richard), LCS (Little Crappy Ships), DDG1000 that has no gun, (ammunition far far to expensive) etc. And then he has content addressing where things actually work.

    Skepticism about the new shiney thing old man, especially from a regieme as notablly corrupt and hostile as Russia.

    So I would gently suggest that you are talking out of your other orifice.

    And Geoffrey also ignores the concept that US defense contractors over promise but not the Russians?

    Focus, Geoffrey, focus.

  68. “Official Banana Republic”….
    Alas…
    “Man Told by an Officer That He Could Enter the Capitol on Jan. 6 Now Faces 20 Years in Prison”—
    https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/robert-spencer/2022/03/21/man-told-by-an-officer-that-he-could-enter-the-capitol-on-jan-6-now-faces-20-years-in-prison-n1568195
    Opening graf:
    ‘On Jan. 6, 2021, a protestor, 40-year-old Brady Knowlton, says that an officer at the Capitol told “You can go in, as long as you don’t break anything.” At 2:35 p.m., Knowlton did, entering through the Upper West Terrace doors. He looked around inside the building, walked through the Rotunda, lobby, and Senate chamber gallery, obeyed the officer’s injunction not to break anything, and left the building at 2:53 p.m. For that, Knowlton now faces twenty years in prison in Old Joe Biden’s vengeful banana republic….’

    Yep, it’s official, unfortunately.

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