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Otto Lidenbrock

Otto Lidenbrock's Journal
Otto Lidenbrock's Journal
June 26, 2019

What will depress turnout in 2020 is disinformation tactics like this

“I mean, we may not want to demonize anybody who has made money. The truth of the matter is, you all, you all know, you all know in your gut what has to be done. We can disagree in the margins but the truth of the matter is it’s all within our wheelhouse and nobody has to be punished. No one’s standard of living will change, nothing would fundamentally change.”


1) "We may not want to demonize anybody who has made money"

2) "You all know in your gut what has to be done"

3) "We can disagree in the margins"

4) "No one's standard of living will change"



1) It is not a crime to be rich

2) But the rich must pay their fair share

3) You might disagree with the rate of tax

4) But increasing your taxes won't fundamentally change your standard of living


It's pretty clear what Biden was saying. You can tax these guys 70% and they will still be well off. Gov. Dean agrees:


https://twitter.com/GovHowardDean/status/1141354582456590336

But hey...lets ignore the entire passage and just take the last line to spin everything around.

https://twitter.com/davidsirota/status/1142899561460948993

The irony is Trump supporters and his surrogates are painting Biden as a socialist because he has said several times on the campaign trail he will roll back the tax cuts and raise taxes on the wealthy

https://www.atr.org/biden-tax-cuts-will-be-gone-if-i-m-elected

I have nothing against Bernie Sanders. I have a lot against his surrogates who behave like total hacks. We saw this in 2016. I said back then while "corporate Republican-lites" Bill and Hillary Clinton were fighting for healthcare reform the actual Republicans (of which Cenk Uygur was a voter) fought tooth and nail against it.

Rant over.


June 24, 2019

I like Beto but this is a bad idea

https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1143099867897716736

I have supported many of his plans with climate change, healthcare and immigration but this is a bad take. The US government increased military spending to $700bn. Our military build up keeps getting bigger while our Veterans are struggling. Coincidence? The government are misusing the military budget. That is where we should look to as the means to look after the Vets rather than spend it on war and never ending build up. A tax like this only hurts the poorer of society.
June 22, 2019

Biden's speech at the Civil Rights Commission Nomination Hearing in 1983

First some context into the hearing:


In 1981 President Ronald Reagan, looking to move the commission in a more conservative direction, appointed Clarence M. Pendleton, Jr., as the first black chairman of the Commission. A Howard University graduate, he was a conservative who opposed affirmative action and many of the Commission's activities. Pendleton reduced its staff and programs.[10]

In 1983, Reagan attempted to fire three members of the commission. They sued the administration in federal court to stay on. The authorizing legislation stated that a president could only fire a commissioner for "misbehavior in office," and it was clear that the terminations were the result of disagreements over policy. A compromise brokered in the Senate resulted in the current hybrid group of eight, half appointed by the president and half by the Congress, with six-year terms that do not expire with the inauguration of a new president. Since that time the commission has struggled to remain independent, and its agenda has oscillated between liberal and conservative aims as factions among its members have ebbed and waned.


The United States Commission on Civil Rights said today it was ''disappointed and concerned'' that President Reagan had not appointed more blacks, women and Hispanic Americans to full-time, high-level positions in the Federal Government.

The commission's appraisal came less than three weeks after Mr. Reagan announced his intention to replace three members of the panel. It follows 19 months of growing conflict between the White House and commission members who have defiantly questioned the President's commitment to civil rights in education and employment, among other fields. All six members, including the chairman, Clarence M. Pendleton Jr., voted in favor of the statement today.


This clip of Biden speaking at the hearing was for the nomination of Reagan's nominees as Reagan tried to politicise the commission for his own benefit.

https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4804001/biden-civil-rights-commission

Interestingly he mentions he was strongly in favour of affirmative action. We know he opposed busing but I hadn't heard about affirmative action before. Reagan's appointed chairman opposed it as mentioned above.

June 12, 2019

An observation about Beto and the "media darling" syndrome

Beto's Senate run got huge publicity and made him nationally well known propelling his Presidential campaign. Yet since declaring I don't see or hear much about his campaign anymore in the media. At the start pundits were saying he was too full of platitudes, style not substance and that a lot of his appeal was that he was against Ted Cruz...and now that shine has worn off. Standing on tables, waving hands got a lot of laughs.

Well today Beto has published his stance and plan for LGBTQ rights. Following on from his comprehensive climate plan. Following on from his immigration plan and gun control plan. He has a team in place in Iowa to go with his retail politics skill. He has Obama campaign alumni on his campaign.

His Presidential campaign is full of substance. But his polls do not reflect it and that has to be down to the media ignoring him. It's like there is a notion that he had his 15 minutes during the mid-terms so they have to move to the new shiny toy. I don't think that is right and it certainly isn't fair.

June 11, 2019

The reaction to Biden's comment emphasises why We MUST win the Senate in 2020

Joe Biden - the so-called moderate candidate - has people saying he is deluded in thinking he can work with the Republicans. In that case Bernie and Warren are lame ducks before even being sworn in if the GOP hold the Senate.

You can have all the plans in the world but it is pointless if it does not have the votes, or more importantly if it is not even brought to a vote.

2020 is not just about removing Trump. We have to remove McConnell and his cronies!

June 9, 2019

Is there something to take from the New York Governorship Primary last year?

If you followed it on social media Andrew Cuomo was seen as a conniving bogeyman while Cynthia Nixon resonated with lots of positivity and following. Nixon did several national TV appearances to further boost her national profile as an actress turned progressive candidate while Cuomo was not very visible at all. In the only debate Nixon threw a lot of jabs at Cuomo calling him a liar, corrupt and corporate. He said Medicare For All is a noble cause which one day will be enacted but through the federal level first citing economics...she disagreed wholeheartedly saying the state can act first. He stumbled through the debate defending himself but his main cause for re-election was New York needs someone to take on Trump.

On all the metrics of who campaigned harder and whose campaign garnered more enthusiasm she won by a mile. Yet on the most important metric - the ballot - he won. Very easily in the end.



June 2, 2019

Biden's most recent public comments (elaborated) on environmental policy

January 2019, speaking at the Mayor's conference.

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