The Era of rivalry, Biden vs. Trump and their respective parties

The evidence against Bryan Kohberger, the 28-year-old accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November, is scant at best.

Now a Washington court unsealed search warrant documents used to retrieve evidence from the home and office has been revealed, convincing many that prosecutors have very little on Kohberger and his arrest.

Perhaps they don't want to spoil the jury pool, but they may be doing the very opposite. Their reticence, if there is reticence, is convincing potential jury members that the guy is innocent.

The victims were found murdered in an off-campus home on November 13, killed with what investigators believe was a knife.

According to CNN, investigators linked Kohberger to the crime scene after DNA on a tan leather knife sheath found lying next to one of the victims was linked to DNA on trash recovered from Kohberger’s family home, according to the probable-cause affidavit that led to his arrest. They also traced the ownership of a white Hyundai Elantra seen in the area of the killings to Kohberger. Investigators have not said the sheath belonged to Kohberger.

That is it. Now to the unsealed search warrant.

CNN reports, "Items retrieved from his residence included “a collection of dark red,” cuttings from a pillow of reddish-brown stain, and part of a mattress cover with stains. Other items listed include a nitrate-type black glove, store receipts and a Dickies tag, several hair strands, dust from a vacuum, a Fire TV stick and a computer tower, among other things."

That is a big fat nothing. Prosecutors have still not found any link between Kohberger and the murdered victims, and they have not found the murder weapon.

CNN added, "A judge last week scheduled a preliminary probable cause hearing to begin June 26 after Kohberger waived his right to a speedy hearing."

It is convenient for prosecutors that we will not hear any more about this for six months.

 

All of those excuses are irrelevant. One document, or 100 is the same. There are people sitting in prison RIGHT NOW for accidentally taking home a single file on a thumb drive they forgot was even on their person. But that's just the beginning!

• Why did the initial event happen prior to the mid-terms, but we didn't hear about it until a week ago or so?
• Why were there additional discoveries after his mouthpiece assured everyone that was it?
• Why were those disclosures done on a weekend evening?
• Why was Hunter paying WAY ABOVE MARKET rent for his father's house where some of the documents were found?
• Did Hunter have clearance to see them? (Rhetorical, he didn't.)
• What about all his party friends he invited over?
• Why was Hunter paying such an extremely high price for 'rent' of his dad's house? (Sounds like a GREAT way to launder money to me!)
• Why were his personal attorneys allowed to do the 'search'? Especially considering some of them didn't even have a security clearance to even look at them?
• Why are the press and other dems making excuses for him, while they crucified Don for the exact same thing?

Do I even need to continue? Because I can, without much effort at all.

"What was he thinking" - Joe Biden, speaking about his predecessor taking work home. Just a few weeks before it was discovered he had documents he wasn't even cleared for himself in his possession (and who knows whom else's) for six years!!!

Biggest hypocrite ever. Frankly, I'm not sure what's worse- The idea that he knew he had them, or the idea that he didn't.

And you are ignoring that since ol' joe got himself elected, and stopped the wall, ended "remain in Mexico" and desperately wants to get rid of Title 42, and is funding other country's border control needs, but not even our own!!!!

And since we have made it so very easy to register to vote, with no proof of citizenship required, I suspect the reason is they think a lot of broke, unskilled people, most of whom speak less English than I do Spanish (which ain't much), and who want some free gubmint sh|t are more likely to vote for them than the ones who want to cut those programs and shut the border down. I'm getting closer and closer to endorsing the idea of automated machine gun turrets all along the Rio Grande and the rest of the border, but I'm afraid that isn't going to happen.

And spare me that crap about how there is no voter fraud out there. That's like telling me there's no underage drinking if all a would-be buyer has to do is check a box promising that they are of age, but without having to actually prove it.

 

Who is going to blink first?

Perhaps it is not a matter of blinking, but, if the Republican Party carries out its threat, the consequences will be catastrophic for Americans and their country.

We must bear in mind that Republicans agreed to raise the debt limit three times under Trump, while raising the National Debt by almost $7.8 trillion. Under Biden, they have conditions. https://www.indems.org/fact-check-i...-to-national-debt-under-trump-administration/

ABC reports, "The United States on Thursday reached its borrowing limit, the Treasury Department said, teeing up a congressional showdown later this year with potentially devastating economic consequences.

"The federal government can pay most but not all of its bills with the tax and other revenue it takes in, and it must borrow the rest of the money. But Congress enforces a limit on how much debt the government can incur and when that limit -- currently about $31.4 trillion -- is reached, lawmakers must increase it before the government can borrow more funds.

"Republicans in the House say they will insist on deep spending cuts in exchange for their cooperation in again raising the debt ceiling. But Democrats, led by the Biden administration, want a so-called clean hike without concessions on spending and they are publicly signaling they won't negotiate on the matter."

CNN adds, "Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wrote that she expects the extraordinary measures to last until early June, though she noted there is “considerable uncertainty” around that forecast.

"Once these measures and cash on hand are exhausted, the debt ceiling crisis would start having very real impacts.

"If the government is no longer able to borrow, it would not have enough money to pay all its bills in full and on time – including interest on the national debt. So it would likely have to temporarily delay payments or default on some of its commitments, potentially affecting Social Security payments, veterans’ benefits and federal employees’ salaries, among others."

Americans are already paying for the GOP manufactured crisis. Yesterday and today, Americans have lost millions of dollars in their investments because the stock market takes a dim view of the Republican threat of having our country default on its debts.

This is what the rural base of the Republican Party wanted. They voted for the persons wholly responsible for the looming and very real crisis.

There is little doubt their silence on the issues will continue.

 

Our President's administration is working to lower inflation, and there is some good news on that front.

CNN reports, "Mortgage rates fell this week as economic data showed inflation is fading.

"The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.15% in the week ending January 19, down from 6.33% the week before, according to Freddie Mac. A year ago, the 30-year fixed rate was 3.56%.

“As inflation continues to moderate, mortgage rates declined again this week,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

"Americans can once again buy cars for less than sticker price.

"A year ago, record tight inventories meant 80% of buyers were paying more than the manufacturers’ suggested retail price (MSRP), or sticker price, according to data from Edmunds. For decades, car buyers had been able to negotiate a discount.

"Today, only 36% of buyers are paying above sticker. After paying an average of $700 above MSRP in the spring, buyers paid an average of $300 less than sticker in December."

I love it when a President quietly goes about simply doing his job. It's refreshing when we recall the other guy. We fired him.

 

Americans have a serious problem. The educationally challenged rural voters in the Republican base selected representatives who supported a Constitutional crisis and a Republican President who incited far-right extremist groups to invade our capitol and threaten members of Congress and the life of our vice-president.

yahoo!news reports, "The new leadership of the House of Representatives is filled with Republican legislators who voted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

"After a historic 15 ballots, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., became House speaker late Friday night. McCarthy was one of 139 House GOP members who voted against certifying the election results on Jan. 6, 2021.

"Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., is one of the most right-wing members of the Republican caucus, Greene had her committee assignments stripped away by the previous Congress due to her history of embracing conspiracy theories and making antisemitic remarks.

"Rep. Scott Perry has been investigated by the Justice Department for his role in the events of Jan. 6.

"Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., is being investigated for fabricating much of his biography during his 2022 campaign.

"Behind McCarthy in the Republican House leadership are a number of fellow 2020 election deniers. Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana, Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik of New York and Republican Policy Committee Chair Gary Palmer of Alabama all voted to reject Biden’s win."

I could go on. After all, there are 139 Republicans with questionable pasts, but the reader gets my point.

The point being, beginning at the grassroots level and extending into the halls of Congress, taking into account the report above concerning the debt limit along with this report, there are serious doubts Republicans know what they are doing.

One could argue that, collectively, Republicans pose a threat to America as we know it.

I would love to hear arguments that they don't, but one of their main faults is they avoid direct confrontation with serious issues. Serious issues like those in this report.

 

Is this whole thread just a personal diary, or do you actually converse with others?

 

As expected, not a word from the forum's Republicans. They can't even defend their own party.

As you can see, I encourage Republicans to defend their own party. Your post came directly after such an invitation, making your comment a little silly.

But, like you, Republicans did not respond to the damaging indictment of their party.

 

I am hoping and praying that this isn't the start of something.

ABC reported, "Three suicide drones attacked a U.S. base in eastern Syria on Friday, wounding two Syrian opposition fighters, the U.S. military said. No Americans were hurt in the attack.

"It was not clear who was behind the drone attack, but Iran-backed fighters in the region have carried out such operations in the past. Sleeper cells of the Islamic State group are also active in the area.

"Two of the drones were shot down and the third struck the compound at al-Tanf base where the borders of Syria, Iraq and Jordan meet, the U.S. military said.

"The military said the drone that struck the building wounded two members of the Syrian Free Army, who received medical treatment."

Unlike Trump who, as President, got the U.S. military involved in several actions and caused the U.S. to be kicked out of Middle East diplomacy because he unilaterally declared Jerusalem the capital of Israel, our current President has kept us out of Middle East military confrontations.

In fact, our President got us out of America's longest war, Afghanistan. It was a military operation with only thirteen casualties, making it a resounding success despite the surprise surrender of the Afghan army.

The expert view is that this incident will not change anything insofar as our military is concerned.

 

The debt limit issue is begging for clarification on certain points. Since several House Republicans seem unaware of these facts, it can easily be surmised that the rural grassroots Republican is equally ignorant of the truth about the debt limit controversy.

To help with this clarification, I will employ the Brookings Institute.

Brookings notes, "There is a legal maximum on how much debt the federal government can accumulate—often called the “debt ceiling” or the “debt limit.” Citizens and the media misunderstand the issues surrounding the debt limit. Policymakers often fuel this misunderstanding with misleading statements that distort the debate.

Contrary to what House Republicans are saying and what most grassroots Republicans believe, "The issue is really quite simple. The debt limit doesn’t cause the debt any more than a thermometer causes a fever. Debt grows when spending exceeds revenues. That’s it.

"The limit has been raised 78 times since 1960, including 20 times since 2001. Congress usually raises (or suspends) the debt limit before it is reached. Along the way, the party out of power demagogues the debt limit, blaming the other party for its profligacy.

Most importantly, "Voters often incorrectly assume—and lawmakers often incorrectly assert—that a vote to raise the debt ceiling is a vote for more debt. In fact, raising the debt limit is about paying for past choices."

In other words, it is like a family's mortgage or credit card bill. The debt limit is to allow payment for current debts, not new ones.

Republicans under Trump knew this. They raised the debt limit three times while he was President without so much as a whimper.

But now we have a Democratic President, and Republicans are making foolish demands that have no relationship to the debt limit.

How is that? Today's House Republicans under McCarthy and led by the far right of their party fail to realize the fight for new spending should be fought when new spending becomes an issue. Duh!

Maybe even Republicans can understand that logic. We can always hope because failure to raise the debt limit will have tragic consequences for every one of us, you, me, everybody, and House Republicans are being very foolish.

 

Sandy Shanks said:
Republican-led Alabama joined predominately Republican-led states in allowing people to carry a concealed handgun without a state permit, which also eliminated the need for a background check.

As the Republican intelligence challenged rural voters, mostly farmers and rural shopkeepers, buy guns without any checks to protect themselves from other farmers and rural shopkeepers the NRA is loving it. Business is good.
********************************************************************************************************************************************************

ABC reports, "One person is dead and nine are injured following a shooting on New Year's Eve in Mobile, Alabama.

"The shooting happened around 11:14 p.m. local time on the 200 block of Dauphin Street, according to the Mobile Police Department.

"When officers arrived, police found a deceased 24-year-old male. Nine other people suffered gunshot wounds, according to police.

ABC reports,"A family of eight people, including five children, were found dead with apparent gunshot wounds in a Utah home on Wednesday after police conducted a welfare check, according to the officials in Enoch City, Utah.

"No suspects are at large, and there is no threat to the public according to a press release from Enoch City,.

"Enoch is a rural city with roughly 8,000 residents in the southwest corner of Utah."

The Times reports, "A 6-year-old first-grader at an elementary school in Newport News, Va., shot a teacher on Friday afternoon during an altercation in a classroom, the authorities said, leaving her with “life-threatening” injuries and renewing calls for greater gun restrictions."

What started as Monterey Park’s largest event of the year, ended in tragedy after a gunman killed 11 people at a dance studio just hours after the city’s Lunar New Year festival. Nine more were wounded. A SWAT team found the suspect. He had shot himself while inside a white van, according to the sheriff. The suspect was identified as 72-year-old Huu Can Tran.

A search warrant was executed early Monday. Among the items found were a 308-caliber rifle, and "hundreds of rounds" of ammunition, the sheriff said.

From 2015 through 2020, there were at least 2,070 unintentional shootings by children under 18 in the US, according to a report from Everytown. Those shootings resulted in 765 deaths and 1,366 injuries.

There have been 36 mass shootings in the United States so far in 2023. That's more than there have been at this point in any year on record.

CNN assisted in the writing of this report.

 

Republicans are often their own worst enemy.

George Santos lied his way into office. The Republican leadership in the House, led by vulnerable Speaker Kevin McCarthy, refuses to do anything about it.

Then there is Stefanik, who has managed to make a complete fool of herself.

CNN reports, "Cascading revelations about New York Rep. George Santos’ pattern of lies and deception are putting increased scrutiny on powerful New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, the fourth-ranking House Republican and a vocal supporter of Santos during his 2022 campaign.

"Stefanik was a key validator for Santos in their shared home state and often touted the candidate in public and private forums. Several prominent GOP donors told CNN that they gave to Santos, who was largely unknown to them, because Stefanik, the state’s most influential elected Republican and a prolific fundraiser, backed him."

Speaking of fools, Marjorie Taylor Greene is a Republican member of the House from rural Georgia. She has some choice words of wisdom.

Greene suggested joining the military is "like throwing your life away" while discussing the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan on Fox News. "Not my son, and I know a lot of young people don't want to have anything to do with that. It's like throwing your life away. Not to mention how they've been forced to take the vaccine, and the ones that didn't want to take it have been discharged. Who wants to be treated that way?"

On July 4, seven people were fatally shot at an Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Illinois, and two police officers were gunned down in Philadelphia. Greene said: "Two shootings on July 4: One in a rich white neighborhood and the other at a fireworks display. It almost sounds like it's designed to persuade Republicans to go along with more gun control."

On global warming, She said: "We have already warmed 1 degree Celsius and do you know what has happened since then? We have had more food grown since then, which feeds people."

The Hill reports, "The House GOP Steering Committee selected Greene to sit on the House Homeland Security and Oversight Committees.

The rural base of the Republican Party wanted this. There will be no response from the forum's Republicans.

 

There is no party of Biden. The party is turning on him. Classified documents being found in his possession.

I'd say republicans aren't the party of Trump. There is a growing contingent in the Republican party supporting DeSantis.

There really isn't a such thing as a part of a person.

 

Sandy Shanks said:
What started as Monterey Park’s largest event of the year, ended in tragedy after a gunman killed 11 people at a dance studio just hours after the city’s Lunar New Year festival. Nine more were wounded. A SWAT team found the suspect. He had shot himself while inside a white van, according to the sheriff. The suspect was identified as 72-year-old Huu Can Tran.
*******************************************************************************************************************************************************

Republican-led Alabama joined predominately Republican-led states in allowing people to carry a concealed handgun without a state permit, which also eliminated the need for a background check.

As the Republican intelligence challenged rural voters, mostly farmers and rural shopkeepers, buy guns without any checks to protect themselves from other farmers and rural shopkeepers the NRA is loving it. Business is good.

ABC reports, "Alabama on Jan. 1 will become the latest state to allow people to carry a concealed handgun without a state permit that requires a background check.

"The new state law ends the requirement for a person to get a permit to legally carry a concealed handgun in public.

"The National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action, which lobbied for the Alabama legislation, said in April that 25 states now allow permitless carry."

As mass murders have become a pandemic in the United States -- Uvalde, Texas, Buffalo, New York, Colorado Springs (twice in past 2 years, Boulder, Colorado, Sacramento, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, El Paso, Texas, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Santa Fe, Texas, Parkland, Florida, Plano, Texas, Dallas, Texas, Orlando, Florida (50 dead), Paradise, Nevada (Las Vegas 61 dead), Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting (28 dead), and hundreds more -- it just goes to prove there is no end to abject stupidity.

To illustrate that stupidity, we have the solemn words of comfort from Rep. Shane Stringer, the legislation’s sponsor. “It’s going to be a big step to help the average law-abiding citizen to keep them from having to go through the hoops of getting a permit to carry their weapons. It's not going change who can and cannot carry a gun. People that are prohibited now are still prohibited.”

Stringer noted the law only impacts the permit requirement.

This dumbass doesn't even know his law removes the need for a background check.

But the rural voters of Alabama will believe every word. After all, they voted for him.

As long as people continue to be stupid when it comes to guns, Americans are going to die.

 

Could you cram more hate, bigotry and disinformation into your post? The Monterey Park shooter, 72-year-old Hoo Can Tran, what connection are you claiming that he has to Republicans, Alabama, rural voters, farmers and shopkeepers? Are you unaware of the fact that all public gun sales are subject to a background check?

There blood of the innocent hasn't even cooled before some on the Left are out like vultures using it as a pretext to heap hate on those that see key issues differently from them. I do not believe that even you buy your own disinformation.

THIS WOULDN’T HAVE HAPPENED IF THE JUSTICE SYSTEM HAD DONE ITS JOB: Chicago Man Shot by Concealed Carry Holder on Green Line Train Has 32 Arrests in Last 10 Years.

The vast number of firearm homicides are committed by felony gang members, illegally armed, who operate openly in our Blue Cities. If you gave an actual damn you would be demanding to know why they continue operate, illegally armed, and who they are paying off.



'Darius Moss is no stranger to police in Chicago. Since 2014 Moss has been arrested an incredible 32 times since 2014; a rap sheet that has also resulted in at least four felony convictions during that same time period.'

Catch and Release repeatedly turns a dangerous person out to continue to prey on our innocent civilian population.

'Moss’s latest arrest came on Friday afternoon, after he robbed a man at gunpoint on a Green Line train. Since Chicago bans firearms from all CTA premises, Moss may have (rightfully) believed that the odds of his victim also being armed were pretty slim, but the repeat offender ended up winning the armed citizen lottery by picking a guy, who had a gun of his own, as his intended target.'

'Moss approached a 25-year-old man on a CTA Green Line train near the Laramie Station and tried to rob the younger man. That second individual, who has a CCL and valid Firearms Owner’s Identification Card, produced his gun and shot Moss.' The properly prepared citizen wasn't hurt, the felon was shot in the leg and later arrested.

 

Sandy Shanks said:
Republican-led Alabama joined predominately Republican-led states in allowing people to carry a concealed handgun without a state permit, which also eliminated the need for a background check.

As the Republican intelligence challenged rural voters, mostly farmers and rural shopkeepers, buy guns without any checks to protect themselves from other farmers and rural shopkeepers the NRA is loving it. Business is good.
*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

ABC reports, "One person is dead and nine are injured following a shooting on New Year's Eve in Mobile, Alabama.

"The shooting happened around 11:14 p.m. local time on the 200 block of Dauphin Street, according to the Mobile Police Department.

"When officers arrived, police found a deceased 24-year-old male. Nine other people suffered gunshot wounds, according to police.

ABC reports,"A family of eight people, including five children, were found dead with apparent gunshot wounds in a Utah home on Wednesday after police conducted a welfare check, according to the officials in Enoch City, Utah.

"No suspects are at large, and there is no threat to the public according to a press release from Enoch City,.

"Enoch is a rural city with roughly 8,000 residents in the southwest corner of Utah."

The Times reports, "A 6-year-old first-grader at an elementary school in Newport News, Va., shot a teacher on Friday afternoon during an altercation in a classroom, the authorities said, leaving her with “life-threatening” injuries and renewing calls for greater gun restrictions."

What started as Monterey Park’s largest event of the year, ended in tragedy after a gunman killed 11 people at a dance studio just hours after the city’s Lunar New Year festival. Nine more were wounded. A SWAT team found the suspect. He had shot himself while inside a white van, according to the sheriff. The suspect was identified as 72-year-old Huu Can Tran.

A search warrant was executed early Monday. Among the items found were a 308-caliber rifle, and "hundreds of rounds" of ammunition, the sheriff said.

From 2015 through 2020, there were at least 2,070 unintentional shootings by children under 18 in the US, according to a report from Everytown. Those shootings resulted in 765 deaths and 1,366 injuries.

There have been 36 mass shootings in the United States so far in 2023. That's more than there have been at this point in any year on record.

Reuters reports, "On Monday, a gunman in Half Moon Bay opened fire on employees at Mountain Mushroom Farm, where he had previously worked, and Concord Farms, about a mile away. The suspect, 67-year-old Chunli Zhao, was taken into custody later after he was found sitting in his vehicle, parked outside a sheriff's station. He killed seven and wounded one, and all of his victims were Hispanic and Asian Americans.

ABC reports, "At least one person is dead and seven more people were injured in a shooting in Oakland, California, on Monday night. The shooting -- which comes only hours after the one in Half Moon Bay, California, where at least seven people were killed -- took place at approximately 6 p.m. local time

"A man accused of fatally shooting three people at a Circle K convenience store and gas station in Yakima, Washington, early Tuesday is in custody following an hours-long manhunt."

The NRA-sponsored Republican Party opposes all forms of gun control measures.

 

Some gun sales!

Current federal law requires background checks to be performed for anyone purchasing a firearm at a federally licensed gun dealer–however only 40% of guns sold in the US are sold through a federally licensed dealer. In most states, sales at gun shows, flea markets, and private gun sales are not subject to regulations.

 

You claimed that shop owners were selling guns out of their shops without background checks. You have an opportunity to double check your claim, and if necessary, correct it. I suggest you take advantage of that opportunity.

I also notice that you have dropped all your claims about a connection to the following:

1. Republicans
2. Alabama
3. Republican-led states
4. Intelligence challenged rural voters
5. farmers and
6. rural shopkeepers

 

Weeks ago I stated that the inadvertent misplacement of classified documents by a staffer helping to move a vice-president or President out of government quarters has happened many times in the past. The mistake is hardly newsworthy, and, when discovered, the documents are quickly turned over to the National Archives.

It is newsworthy today because of Trump's theft of over 300 classified documents, his expressed desire to keep them, his obstruction which lasted for several months, and returning them to their proper place required an FBI search warrant.

Soon the media will understand those circumstances and focus their attention on Trump's theft and obstruction, noting that Biden, and now Pence, are cooperating fully with the DOJ and the National Archives. In other words, there is no there.

CNN reports, "A lawyer for former Vice President Mike Pence discovered about a dozen documents marked as classified at Pence’s Indiana home last week, and he has turned those classified records over to the FBI.

"The FBI and the Justice Department’s National Security Division have launched a review of the documents and how they ended up in Pence’s house in Indiana.

"Pence asked his lawyer with experience handling classified material to conduct the search of his home out of an abundance of caution. Sources said that the attorney, Matt Morgan, began going through four boxes stored at Pence’s house last week, finding a small number of documents with classified markings.

"Pence’s lawyer immediately alerted the National Archives, the sources said. In turn, the Archives informed the Justice Department."

In other words, Pence acted much the same as our President, and far different from the circumstances involving Trump. The latter is where the emphasis should be, not on the victims of a mistake.

 

The intelligence challenged rural voters in the Republican Party have made their collective decisions regarding members of the House.

Axios reports, highly vulnerable Speaker "McCarthy vowed revenge after Democrats and a handful of Republicans voted to remove Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) from their committees in 2021.

"McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Tuesday formally removed Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) from the House Intelligence Committee.

"It's a controversial move opposed even by some of McCarthy's caucus members and a stark escalation of an ongoing tit-for-tat with Democrats over committee assignments."

Schiff and Swalwell were active in the impeachment of President Trump for inciting the ransacking of our capitol and endangering the lives of the vice-president and lawmakers. Schiff was a vocal member of the Jan. 6 Select Committee.

McCarthy's reasons for the dismissal were pathetic. After all. he had to say something. "McCarthy told reporters during a press conference on Tuesday that he would forge ahead with removing the two lawmakers over Swalwell's association with a Chinese spy and Schiff's promotion of the Steele dossier," Axios.

"Schiff, Swalwell and Omar said in a statement that McCarthy "capitulated to the right wing of his caucus" and "struck a corrupt bargain in his desperate, and nearly failed, attempt to win" the Speakership."

Marjorie Taylor Greene is a Republican member of the House from rural Georgia. Greene suggested joining the military is "like throwing your life away" while discussing the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan on Fox News. "Not my son, and I know a lot of young people don't want to have anything to do with that. It's like throwing your life away. Not to mention how they've been forced to take the vaccine, and the ones that didn't want to take it have been discharged. Who wants to be treated that way?"

Greene offered this on global warming. "We have already warmed 1 degree Celsius and do you know what has happened since then? We have had more food grown since then, which feeds people."

"The House GOP Steering Committee selected Greene to sit on the House Homeland Security and Oversight Committees."

The rural base of the Republican Party wanted this. There will be no response from the forum's Republicans.

 

Our President approved the sending of 31 M1A1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine breaking a dispute with Germany, and showing that he is not concerned about the constant, almost daily, threats from the Kremlin.

CNN reports, "After weeks of Poland and other NATO members openly pressuring Germany to permit the dispatch of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, finally it appears the United States and some of its European Union allies will send armor – a move that was unthinkable months ago – to the frontline against Russia.

"It is a momentous decision, partly because these – unlike the air defense systems, or the anti-tank missiles – are not defensive weapons. Like the artillery and rocket systems that preceded them, they are intended to hit Russia’s troops hard in a ground offensive. But unlike those systems, they are unequivocally about Ukraine retaking territory. This is new, and fierce, and it portrays a NATO unafraid.

"America’s plans to send a largely symbolic 30 Abrams tanks to Ukraine have emboldened Germany enough to drop its objections to the Leopard. It provided a NATO umbrella for the move, even if it will take months, maybe years, to get the logistically complex American main battle tank into play.

"Servicing and maintaining these tanks across Ukraine’s enormous expanses will be a stark challenge. But Washington’s willingness to take this task on speaks volumes about its commitment to the war and how it views Ukraine’s prospects for a wider victory."

"This latest burst of Western help says two things. First, these nations are not concerned about breaching Russian “red lines.” The long-held belief is crumbling that some elements of NATO assistance to Ukraine could risk provoking a nuclear power too far.

"Second, these NATO members are less concerned about being attacked by Russia itself in the imminent future: they are handing over weapons they would urgently need in the event of such a conflict," CNN added.

 

CNN reports, "Ex-Vice President Mike Pence has clear designs on Joe Biden’s job. But for now, the potential 2024 Republican candidate may have done the president a favor. And he might also have done one last service to his old boss, Donald Trump.

"The discovery of classified documents in Pence’s home in Indiana, as first reported by CNN Tuesday, took the heat off Biden’s struggles to explain his possession of such material from his own vice presidency. And it made Pence the most popular man in the White House Tuesday. For one thing, the rumbling saga of secret documents had a new front man.

"This was a huge embarrassment for Pence, exposing him to mockery and accusations of hypocrisy since he’d claimed moral high ground over Biden when the president was under fire for keeping documents and the Indiana Republican said he didn’t have any.

"Biden’s aides leapt at the chance to draw a more innocuous comparison between the behavior of the president and Pence than the more damaging one that’s been suggested for days between Biden and Trump, who appears to be in far greater trouble over his classified documents storm.

"Neither Pence nor Biden appeared to obstruct investigators once modest batches of documents were discovered at their homes.

"Still, while the Pence revelations clearly do Biden a favor, they also provide an inadvertent political opening for Trump. That’s because it may be difficult for many voters not steeped in the details of the document saga to distinguish the nuances of the trio of cases. The more such stashes are unearthed, and the more top current and former executive branch officials are involved, the more it seems that such discoveries are no big deal or that everyone involved is equally at fault."

"Voters not steeped in the details of the document saga to distinguish the nuances of the trio of cases." That would be the educationally challenged rural voters in the Republican Party.

The vast majority of Americans will be able to distinguish the difference between the inadvertent misplacement of documents and willing cooperation with the DOJ as in the case of Biden and Pence and the circumstances involving Trump's theft of over 300 documents. Biden and Pence were unaware of the 20 or so documents. Trump was aware of the documents and wanted to keep them. For months he fought the DOJ in the courts. It took a court-ordered FBI search warrant to retrieve the documents.

Anyone dumb enough not to see the difference should not be allowed to vote.

I don't expect a response to all this from the forum's Republicans. That says a lot.

 

CNN reports, "The more Russian President Vladimir Putin tries to break NATO, the stronger it gets.

"Not for the first time in the war in Ukraine, President Joe Biden took decisive action that closed fissures in the alliance. He announced Wednesday he would ship 31 advanced US tanks to Kyiv’s military in a move that prompted a reluctant Germany to drop its resistance to sending its own tanks and could unlock similar moves all over Europe.

"This represented a significant symbolic, political and military win for Ukraine. It hopes what it calls its new “iron fist” will punch through entrenched Russian lines in the east, could fuel an advance on Russia’s land bridge to annexed Crimea in the south and will stave off a feared Russian spring offensive.

"It took Biden’s statesmanship to end the most public and damaging Western rift of the war so far. The US had previously said its Abrams tanks were too complex and too high maintenance for the Ukraine war and didn’t suit the terrain. But Biden’s change of heart, which gives Germany cover, underscores Washington’s view that Western unity against Putin is critical to saving Ukraine."

 

CNN reports, "Obviously I can’t comment on any specific investigation, but we have had, for quite a number of years, any number of mishandling investigations,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said today.

"The National Archives is formally asking former presidents and vice presidents to re-check their personal records for any classified documents or other presidential records in the wake of classified documents discovered in the homes of former President Donald Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence and President Joe Biden over the last year.

"The Archives sent a letter Thursday to representatives of former presidents and vice presidents from the last six presidential administrations covered by the Presidential Records Act (PRA) – from former President Ronald Reagan’s White House to the present.

"The letter, which was reviewed by CNN, requests that they check their files to ensure that material thought to be personal does not “inadvertently” contain presidential records that are required by law to be turned over to the Archives.

It appears the federal government and the media are finally coming around to where I was when all this started.

To put it a different way, there is no there there.

Just as our President said.

 

Sandy Shanks said:
Contrary to the experts and Republicans who are predicting a recession happening soon, the Biden economy is on fire.

Republicans hate that.
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More bad news for Republicans. Turns out the Biden economy is doing great.

ABC reports, "The U.S. economy grew robustly at the end of last year, defying recession fears and weathering an aggressive series of interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve, government data showed.

"U.S. gross domestic product grew by a 2.9% annualized rate over the three months ending in December, according to data released Thursday.

"The labor market has proven resilient. Hiring remained strong last month as employers added 233,000 jobs and wages grew a robust 4.6% compared to a year earlier.

"Meanwhile, inflation has softened. Consumer prices rose 6.5% last month compared to a year ago, extending a monthslong slowdown of price hikes after reaching a 40-year high in June."

"Fewer Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week as the labor market remains tight. Applications for jobless aid in the U.S. for the week ending Jan. 21 fell by 6,000 last week to 186,000, from 192,000 the previous week.

"It's the first time in nine months that number has been below 200,000 in back-to-back weeks."

Hard to believe, we still have the naysayers.

"Most economists expect a recession later this year, as interest rate hikes weigh on the economy, according to a survey released by Bloomberg last week. Forecasters expect gross domestic product to fall over the second and third quarters of this year, the survey found," ABC.

"Most economists expect a recession." How long have they been saying that? Try a year. It has not happened yet, and the Biden economy is as strong as ever.

 

CNN writes, "With the war in Ukraine growing more tense by the day, and the United States playing a pivotal role in preventing Russia from succeeding in its efforts to win an unprovoked war, one might be excused for thinking the new leadership in the US House of Representatives would restrain its impulses to politicize some of the most sensitive areas of foreign policy. But no such thing is happening.

"On Tuesday, the speaker announced that he was rejecting the appointment of the former chair, Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California, as well as Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California to the committee. It is no coincidence that the two played major roles in the two impeachments of former President Donald Trump.

"McCarthy tried to paint the decision as one of high-minded, security-conscious patriotism. But it was precisely the opposite of that.

"A year ago, he pledged that if Republicans became the majority, they would strip Schiff, Swalwell and Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota from their committees, as payback for what Democrats had done."

Many House Republicans sided with President Trump on Jan. 6, 2021, when he incited a mob to attack our capitol and endanger the lives of lawmakers and the vice-President. 139 House Republicans voted to reject Electoral College votes, violating our Constitution and our laws. Democrats removed some of the more extreme Republicans from committees.