Biden's America Last Program

[GURPS]

Media: ‘Biden’s Economy Is Great Everywhere’ — Except Where It Counts​

Sunday night, I hated myself for spending $6.99 plus tax on a blasted can of ReddiWhip (What can I say? The weekend wrought a homemade pumpkin pie situation and thus whipped cream desperation). Needless to say, that fresh sticker shock made it easy Monday morning to hate The Washington Post for running an article titled “Biden’s Economy Is Great Everywhere Except in the Polls.”

In it, Matthew Yglesias treats readers to 800 words of Biden slobbery, lamenting poll results showing a majority of swing-state voters preferred Donald Trump’s economy over Joe Biden’s and that only 35 percent trust the incumbent on the issue. (Independents trust Biden even less, with only 25 percent.)

“As the US economy continues to improve, President Joe Biden continues to not get credit for it,” Yglesias whines.

[clip]

The problem is that when it comes to Biden’s approval, all the arguments are losing ones. Thus the media resort to doing what they always do: telling you to stop believing your lying eyes.


According to Yglesias — and, if you’ve been paying attention, the rest of the “inflation-is-cooling” media — the inflation situation is “greatly improved,” “Americans’ inflation-adjusted net worth surged between 2019 and 2022, and real incomes are up as well,” the bounceback from government-mandated Covid lockdowns were “rapid” and “robust,” and Americans are definitely better off than they were before.

See, the real problem is those incredulous voters whose memories serve them better than the commander-in-chief’s. If only they would just “forgive and forget.”

But it’s hard to “forget” your present reality. Just ask the dad slapping another layer of duct tape on the minivan bumper because outlandish used-car prices mean even a modest upgrade isn’t feasible. Or any coupon-clipping mother in the grocery store, who’s likely paying some 70 percent more to feed her family than just a few years ago, a number not reflected in the consumer price index. Americans priced out of air travel can’t expect to find road trip-friendly prices at the pump. And forget graduating from renter to homeowner. In this competitive market, rapidly rising interest rates just add insult to injury with each rejected offer.

Contrary to claims from the media and economic “experts,” Americans are emphatically far worse off than they were a few years ago. According to the same Morning Consult/Bloomberg poll Yglesias cites, “Roughly 3 in 4 swing-state voters said the country’s economy is headed down the wrong track and they are more likely than not to say their personal financial situation was better off under Trump than it is under Biden.”

With these unfortunate circumstances rightly coloring voters’ perception of Biden, Yglesias says his best bet at winning again in 2024 is the likelihood of Trump being his opponent. “Republicans aren’t planning to run a fresh-faced outsider onto whom the public can project its hopes and dreams,” he writes. “Donald Trump is a known and disliked quantity who is more plagued with scandals and legal problems than he was at any time during his presidency.”

Never mind that most voters can discern from whence these “scandals and legal problems” stem (ahem, Biden’s Justice Department and Yglesias-boosting media), but beyond that, the problem with this conclusion is two-fold — and simple.

 

[SamSpade]

I'm STILL waiting for Biden's economy to halt the losses in my 401k. I've been losing a lot for months.

 

[Kyle]

I'm STILL waiting for Biden's economy to halt the losses in my 401k. I've been losing a lot for months.

The last two years have been a wash in the market. Only specific sectors thrived.

It's not gonna fix itself until a couple more corrections... one in the real estate market, and the other when Biden gets a foot in his ass.

 

[herb749]

I'm STILL waiting for Biden's economy to halt the losses in my 401k. I've been losing a lot for months.

I keep seeing the news talk about the stock market doing so well, then look at my wife's 401K notice letter and she lost money.

 

[herb749]

Media: ‘Biden’s Economy Is Great Everywhere’ — Except Where It Counts​

Sunday night, I hated myself for spending $6.99 plus tax on a blasted can of ReddiWhip (What can I say? The weekend wrought a homemade pumpkin pie situation and thus whipped cream desperation). Needless to say, that fresh sticker shock made it easy Monday morning to hate The Washington Post for running an article titled “Biden’s Economy Is Great Everywhere Except in the Polls.”

In it, Matthew Yglesias treats readers to 800 words of Biden slobbery, lamenting poll results showing a majority of swing-state voters preferred Donald Trump’s economy over Joe Biden’s and that only 35 percent trust the incumbent on the issue. (Independents trust Biden even less, with only 25 percent.)

“As the US economy continues to improve, President Joe Biden continues to not get credit for it,” Yglesias whines.

[clip]

The problem is that when it comes to Biden’s approval, all the arguments are losing ones. Thus the media resort to doing what they always do: telling you to stop believing your lying eyes.


According to Yglesias — and, if you’ve been paying attention, the rest of the “inflation-is-cooling” media — the inflation situation is “greatly improved,” “Americans’ inflation-adjusted net worth surged between 2019 and 2022, and real incomes are up as well,” the bounceback from government-mandated Covid lockdowns were “rapid” and “robust,” and Americans are definitely better off than they were before.

See, the real problem is those incredulous voters whose memories serve them better than the commander-in-chief’s. If only they would just “forgive and forget.”

But it’s hard to “forget” your present reality. Just ask the dad slapping another layer of duct tape on the minivan bumper because outlandish used-car prices mean even a modest upgrade isn’t feasible. Or any coupon-clipping mother in the grocery store, who’s likely paying some 70 percent more to feed her family than just a few years ago, a number not reflected in the consumer price index. Americans priced out of air travel can’t expect to find road trip-friendly prices at the pump. And forget graduating from renter to homeowner. In this competitive market, rapidly rising interest rates just add insult to injury with each rejected offer.

Contrary to claims from the media and economic “experts,” Americans are emphatically far worse off than they were a few years ago. According to the same Morning Consult/Bloomberg poll Yglesias cites, “Roughly 3 in 4 swing-state voters said the country’s economy is headed down the wrong track and they are more likely than not to say their personal financial situation was better off under Trump than it is under Biden.”

With these unfortunate circumstances rightly coloring voters’ perception of Biden, Yglesias says his best bet at winning again in 2024 is the likelihood of Trump being his opponent. “Republicans aren’t planning to run a fresh-faced outsider onto whom the public can project its hopes and dreams,” he writes. “Donald Trump is a known and disliked quantity who is more plagued with scandals and legal problems than he was at any time during his presidency.”

Never mind that most voters can discern from whence these “scandals and legal problems” stem (ahem, Biden’s Justice Department and Yglesias-boosting media), but beyond that, the problem with this conclusion is two-fold — and simple.

I think people are catching on with the distrust of the media saying these things. They can see it daily. On the other end what would the media be saying about the economy if a republican was in office. I'd say it be the worst economy ever.

 

[SamSpade]

I think people are catching on with the distrust of the media saying these things. They can see it daily. On the other end what would the media be saying about the economy if a republican was in office. I'd say it be the worst economy ever.

Of course. I made a crapload of money in my retirement under Trump. Lost almost all of it under Biden.

I may not be an economist, but keeping gas prices down REALLY DOES A LOT for the cost of everything.

 

[Hijinx]

Being old is tough. I was at the Dollar Tree (sorry: the Dollar and a Quarter Tree) and I saw a Snickers bar there for $1.25 . I remember when they were a nickel.

 

[stgislander]

I had lunch with my financial advisor yesterday and commented on my retirement statement for Jul-Sep and the hit I took over the 3 months. She said that hit was just from one month.

 

[Sneakers]

I had lunch with my financial advisor yesterday and commented on my retirement statement for Jul-Sep and the hit I took over the 3 months. She said that hit was just from one month.

Talked with mine recently too. He's an optimist. Reminded me that we've gone thru these kinds of downturns before, and it will recover, it will get better. What he says is true, but things just feel different this time. I'm fortunate that I have enough put away that the downturn really isn't affecting my daily living, haven't had to tighten my belt yet, but it's really discouraging to see the IRA numbers drop month after month. Changed some of my investment strategies for the short term.

 

[stgislander]

Talked with mine recently too. He's an optimist. Reminded me that we've gone thru these kinds of downturns before, and it will recover, it will get better. What he says is true, but things just feel different this time. I'm fortunate that I have enough put away that the downturn really isn't affecting my daily living, haven't had to tighten my belt yet, but it's really discouraging to see the IRA numbers drop month after month. Changed some of my investment strategies for the short term.

One reason for meeting with mine was to talk about dialing back the aggressiveness of my mutual funds. Of course she said it was up to me, but because I did not need to begin pulling from my funds immediately upon retirement she would probably leave them where they were.

 

[Sneakers]

One reason for meeting with mine was to talk about dialing back the aggressiveness of my mutual funds. Of course she said it was up to me, but because I did not need to begin pulling from my funds immediately upon retirement she would probably leave them where they were.

I did the same for the majority of my investment, but had some "slush" funds not doing much, so they got re-invested in high yield short term CDs. The gain isn't a lot, but it's guaranteed positive gain, better than losing.

 

[stgislander]

I did the same for the majority of my investment, but had some "slush" funds not doing much, so they got re-invested in high yield short term CDs. The gain isn't a lot, but it's guaranteed positive gain, better than losing.

I was looking around and short term CD seem to be paying the most these days.

 

[GURPS]

Secretary of State Antony Blinken: Americans Must Accept Migrants​

Blinken did not urge his government peers to enforce the immigration laws that protect Americans from employers who hire illegal immigrants that undercut Americans’ bargaining power in the labor market. He also did not mention the many polls showing the growing public opposition to Biden’s mass illegal migration.

Instead, he described migration as a natural and inevitable process — an opportunity for government officials and experts to better manage, exploit, channel, and redirect. “We are going to make migration safe, humane, and orderly, which we have to do,” said the veteran Democrat appointee.

“What the executive branch has to do is enforce the laws on the books as written,” responded Jon Feere, who held a senior job in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for President Donald Trump. Feere added:

That’s what the executive branch has to do. That’s why the executive branch exists in our Constitution — and if they’re not going to do that, they do delegitimize their own existence. [Blinken’s attitude] is a post-American mindset. It’s a post-democracy mindset in many ways. Why are we putting laws on the books of the people running the executive branch can just ignore them?
That’s so destructive to our society. It’s so destructive to our way of life and our constitutional order, and maybe that’s their goal.

No, No We Do Not.

 

[GURPS]

Biden’s Global Chaos Vindicates The Strong Foreign Policy Of His Top Rival​

Stark Contrast​

Does it not strike one as strange that the Biden administration lectures the leaders of nations with whom we share strategic interests while cozying up to America’s sworn enemies in Iran? One must admit, it is a strange perch from which to constantly claim the moral high ground.

As Biden would say, here’s the deal. In my experience working under Trump, I observed a president with a unique capacity to endure criticism without wavering, which makes outcomes that previously seemed out of reach — such as the expansion of Middle East peace — suddenly possible. He has the courage to do what’s necessary to deter America’s enemies, who can smell weakness like sharks smell blood in the water. And he’s willing to do business in tough neighborhoods when a deal could spread peace, increase stability, and serve America’s interests.

And these examples are from just one region of the world. Let’s also not forget that Russia invaded Georgia under President Bush, took Crimea under President Obama, and invaded Ukraine under President Biden. Yet when Donald Trump was president, Russia did not seize territory from any of its neighbors. The same principles apply. Ditto for the reasons China wasn’t seemingly on the precipice of seizing Taiwan for those same four years.

Unlike Trump, Biden is not shaping global events so much as he is reacting to them. So when their approaches are presented side-by-side, it becomes clear why Obama’s Secretary of Defense Bob Gates famously said Biden “has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.”

 

[GURPS]

Federal Authorities Warn Of Iranian-Backed Terrorists Trying To Enter U.S. Southern Border​

“Foreign fighters motivated by ideology or mercenary soldiers of fortune may attempt to obfuscate travel to or from the US to or from countries in the Middle East through Mexico,” the bulletin said.

Officials specifically included patches of three Islamic terrorist groups that are backed by Iran: Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah.

Officials warned that possible indicators for agents to watch for were military-aged males, military gear, insignia of terror groups, single travelers, no return plans, and those who have ties to the Middle East.

The bulletin directed agents to ascertain if any encountered suspects have any personal or familial association with Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PLFP), or any other similar groups.

 

[GURPS]

Israel Delays Ground Invasion Because US Is Unprepared to Defend Itself​

Oh FFS.


The story about why Israel has yet to make a ground invasion of Gaza is becoming clear, and it is yet another embarrassment for the United States under Joe Biden.

Israel has been prepared to enter Gaza to eliminate Hamas, but the ground invasion keeps getting delayed. The reason why?

The US is unprepared to defend US military installations in the area.

 

[SamSpade]

Being old is tough. I was at the Dollar Tree (sorry: the Dollar and a Quarter Tree) and I saw a Snickers bar there for $1.25 . I remember when they were a nickel.

Yep. Well not a nickel. But I was in high school in the 70's and we had, in the cafeteria, a whole separate stand just for junk food - candy, chips etc. and at the time I had the good fortune of regularly sitting at a table that was within a few feet of it. Most candy bars were a dime and Reese's and gum were a nickel. Elsewhere, at stores, there was actual "penny candy" - stuff like Bazooka Joe's and jawbreakers that did actually sell individually for a penny.

Before I left high school - because those were the Jimmy Carter years - the dime candy was 15 cents. Yeah, it's a *nickel* but it's also 50%.

 

[GURPS]

Largest Christian university in the nation alleges it's being unjustly targeted by federal agencies​

GCU President Brian Mueller was asked if he believes the federal government's investigations are religiously motivated, to which he answered he hopes that is not the case.

"Well, they haven't said it is, and I certainly haven't said it is. And I hope that it's not, but that the two largest Christian universities in the country are being investigated," Mueller told Fox News Digital, referring to an ED probe into Liberty University in Virginia. "And so is that [a] coincidence? I don't know."

Mueller's comments came in the midst of the Arizona-based university facing a number of investigations from ED and other federal agencies.

 

[GURPS]

DHS sued over college program that linked conservative groups to neo-Nazis​

Heritage’s attorneys said they hope the lawsuit will determine whether the group had “been targeted by DHS” as it had been compared to “some of the most foul and noxious organizations in the United States.”

“DHS does not profile, target, or discriminate against any individual for exercising their constitutional rights protected by the First Amendment,” a DHS spokesperson told The Post.

“The Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevent Grant Program has been administered across several administrations and it provides funding for communities to expand their prevention and intervention activities or address gaps in current prevention capabilities.”

The agency told Heritage on Aug. 9 that the FOIA search results were “voluminous” and asked for the group to narrow its request.



The program linked the conservative group, Fox News and the Republican Party to militant neo-Nazi groups.Media Research Center
Homeland Security approved the funding in fiscal year 2022 as part of its Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grant Program, saying the money would help “develop and implement modules on the risks of and protective factors for radicalization to violence related to media literacy and online critical thinking for students.”

Dayton’s PREVENTS-OH program took the grant after holding a seminar at the university’s Human Rights Center that featured a “pyramid of far-right radicalization” connecting mainstream conservative organizations with neo-Nazis.

 

[GURPS]

The single greatest threat to America is hiding in plain sight​

A startling poll was released last week showing that a majority of voters not only view the opposing party as a threat to the nation but justifying violence to combat their agenda. The poll captures a crisis of faith that I have been writing about for over a decade as an academic and a commentator. Many now question democracy as a sustainable system of government. It represents the single greatest threat to this nation: a citizenry that has lost faith not just with our system of government but with each other.

The polls by the University of Virginia Center for Politics shows a nation at war with itself. Fifty-two percent of Biden supporters say Republicans are now a threat to American life while 47 percent of Trump supporters say the same about Democrats.

Among Biden supporters, 41 percent now believe violence is justified "to stop [Republicans] from achieving their goals." An almost identical percentage, 38 percent, of Trump supporters now embrace violence to stop Democrats.

Not surprisingly, many of these people have lost faith in democracy. Some 31 percent of Trump supporters believe that the nation should explore alternative forms of government. Roughly a quarter (24 percent) of Biden supporters also question the viability of democracy.