Tuesday, October 01, 2024

{35} Welcome, October! 🍁 Happy 100th Birthday President Jimmy Carter!

( ^ click!)

VP Debate Tonight! (on CBS, PBS, CSPAN, CNN, etc. at 9pm EDT, 8pm CDT, 6pm PDT)

51 comments:

  1. I'm not absolutely sure, but it looks like absentee ballots can be submitted in Georgia starting Oct. 15th. Sure hope Mr. Carter can manage it.
    ------Alan

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    1. I guess I'm showing my age; I should have said "longshore strike." Many women operate the big container cranes at ports. [In defense, I remember when ships were loaded and unloaded with cargo nets.]
      ------Alan

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    2. *shrug* Longshoreperson just doesn't have the same ring as longshoreman.

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  3. ‘Everything is dead’: Ukraine rushes to stem ecocide after river poisoning [Click] “Russia is suspected of deliberately leaking chemical waste into a river, with deadly consequences for wildlife.” And Kyiv is downstream.
    ——Alan

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  4. I am listening to a special report on NPR--BBC is covering Iranian missle attack on Israel. --nordy

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    1. This morning I was struck by Israel's "order" to residents of southern Lebanon to evacuate.
      ----Alan

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  5. The article does not mention what, for me, is Carter's greatest political accomplishment: he proved that a Southerner could become president of the US. In the context of the times that was almost as big a breakthrough as Obama's win 32 years later.

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    1. I have not read the article, but fully agree with you, WA.
      ----Alan

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  6. I had two guidance meetings (on Zoom) today. Between them, I came downstairs to grab a snack and Wil had the TV news on...around 12:30 and there was a Special Report about ballistic missiles being sent from Iran into Israel. I watched until a few minutes before my 1:00pm meeting, with a wonderful Jewish professor. She hadn't heard, so I was the one to tell her, now, just before the High Holy Days. Like the majority of Israelis, she is opposed to Israel's military actions that have lead to this moment.

    You have to remember that Israel is about the size of Vermont. Netanyahu is nuts.

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    1. I don't think Netanyahu is nuts. I think he's smart enough to keep the war going and thereby guarantee his continues tenure in office. Already his poll numbers are up. -- nordy

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    2. Oops ... Just wanted to say it once -- nordy

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    3. It bears repeating.
      ----Alan

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    1. It's a very thoughtful article.
      I wonder how today's events will factor into tonight's debate.

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    2. I am very willing to be surprised, but I expect that Mr. Vance will use the news to say something awful/outrageous/insane.
      ------Alan

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  8. How Are 7 Million Unemployed [American] Men Actually Surviving? - Nicholas Eberstadt [Click] This is the most outstanding item I have found on the Internet today. At least three thumbs up.
    ——Alan

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  9. Vance keeps saying the problem isn't their plans, it's that people don't trust them. 🤣

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    1. Let us know who you think had the upper hand (Walz, I hope).
      ------Alan

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  10. BTW, I got BINGO awhile ago. 😆

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    1. TWICE, actually. Second row and fourth.

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    2. THRICE. Lower left to upper right.

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  11. Vance: The problem isn't guns and flimsy background checks, it's that we have a huge amount of mentally ill people and need to fortify our schools.

    Walz: Finland has common sense laws and their kids don't have to do shooter drills. And we don't need to put a stigma on mental health issues, because many mentally ill people are not dangerous.

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    1. I understand that Finns have a lot of guns (both registered and not), and frequent shooting contests (for both men and women) -- the better to discourage Russians should the need again arise. I have heard that there was a widespread rumor (?) among Russian soldiers of blonde Estonian women sharpshooters (who would pick off Russian soldiers as they moved their bowels) serving in the Finnish forces.
      -----Alan

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  12. I have never seen a debater stop exactly at the 2 minute mark as frequently and exactly as Tim Walz! He's masterful!

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  13. Vance keeps saying Harris has plans but hasn't done them already as VP. Generally, these are decisions of the President or Congress. Clearly, Vance doesn't understand the job of the office he is running for. Duh.

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  14. Vance says, basically: "These guys make all these claims that if DT is Pres terrible things will happen."
    And as he's speaking, Tim is nodding vigorously. 🤣

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    1. Woot! And not wasting a moment of his speaking time.
      -----Alan

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  15. Tim has been AWESOME!!

    Vance thinks there should be no censorship at all (hello, Elon Musk).

    "What about hate speech?"
    "You can't yell fire in a crowded theatre."

    With regard to the insurrection and the coming election, Vance would NOT say that he would uphold the will of the people. And Tim got that and highlighted it. He said that Kamala Harris chose him because she knows he would stand up to her if she didn't uphold the election results. And he said he think America has a clear choice on this one!

    AMEN, Tim! Amen!

    If you didn't watch the debate, definitely catch that last part!

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    1. By all means put me down as cynical fellow if you wish (the truth won't hurt me), but for the past several weeks I have thought various Democrats had been downplaying Walz's upcoming debate performance, for the two classical reasons: to make it look better, and to make his opponent overconfident.
      -----Alan

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    1. To clarify, Vance was slick while Walz was bumbling. Sure, everything Vance said was rubbish at best and lies at worst, but he *seemed* smooth, practiced and sincere - "Always be sincere, whether you mean it or not." Walz kept stumbling and stammering and, no, that did not strike me as folksy and charming, it struck me as unprofessional. On substance, needless to say, Vance lost by a country mile. On optics, atmospherics, superficials, he won hands down IMO. And, unfortunately, most people only grock superficials. Hence, my comment above.

      Fox News is going to have a field day with this. Let's hope the conventional wisdom obtains, and the VP debate does not change minds or move votes.

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    2. Sadly, I think you're right. Certainly Walz should not have called himself a "knucklehead." My hope is that enough people will be turned off by Vance's slick evasiveness. -- nordy

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  17. Van Jones of CNN always has the words. He said that DT is the Gaslighter in Chief and Vance is his loyal lieutenant.

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    1. Gas lights are dim and flickering; I remember them.
      ------Alan

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  18. Who will the press and punditocracy anoint as the winner? NBC commentators didn't waste any time giving it to Vance. The first news story I read, by the AP, wrote it straight down the middle, but AP tends to do it that way. -- nordy

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    1. Well, here's something from political wire that makes it look like a push. A CBS News instant poll of vice presidential debate viewers found 42% believed J.D. Vance won, 41% thought Tim Walz won and 17% said it was a tie. -- nordy

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    2. Of course, these are ordinary people, not pundits. -- nordy

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  19. Six light years there is 12 light years there and back. Beyond our capabilities now, but someday ... --nordy

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  20. AP is moving a fact check on the debate, which is the kind of work the press should be doing instead of always treating the presidency as a horse race. -- nordy

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