Bear Pit: now the sole domicile of politics at LuLa

[TechTalk]

He forgot the name of a man he recently (supposedly) nominated for the number one most important secretary position.

That would be Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who should prove to be an excellent choice by President Biden.

https://thehill.com/policy/international/blinken-to-appear-before-foreign-affairs-committee

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will appear before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday to discuss the Biden administration’s priorities for U.S. foreign policy, his first hearing in front of lawmakers more than a month after he was confirmed as America’s top diplomat.

House aides said the secretary is expected to face questions on “every topic under the sun,” including U.S. policy toward China, Iran and Russia and strategies for ending the war in Afghanistan.

Other pressing topics are the Biden administration’s commitment to engaging with U.S. allies and recommitting to multilateral institutions in efforts to eliminate COVID-19 and reverse the effects of climate change.

[James Clark]

Perhaps, but I find it to be a real issue. 

Well, sometimes you do.

 

[Alan Klein]

What does the face of someone trying to avoid and mask stuttering in public look like? Ahhh... you know what? Just go on with your skewed narrative of Biden and assign every verbal stumble, prolonged pause, or gaffe to cognitive decline. Nothing is likely to have any influence on your viewpoint when your desire to believe something is so intense.

While you get your next Biden narrative cued up, I'll just point out... Someone that can't remember the difference between simple words like then and than, or a host of other words, criticizing the cognitive abilities of someone based on their language skills seems pretty rich indeed, especially when it's aimed at someone with a well known speech impediment. [rich: as in, (of a remark) causing ironic amusement]

If his problem today was his speech impedment, it would have looked the same before.  But if you look at some videos of his public speaking when he was VP a few years ago under Obama, he didn;t have these lapses.  you cann see he's gone down substantially physically and mentally. 

[LesPalenik]

Joe Biden could be smarter than all his critics here and on other fora.
Elon Musk stutters also sometimes and he called himself bad public speaker, but nobody can accuse him of being dumb.

When Elon graduated from University of Pennsylvania back in 1995, he actually tried to get a job working for Netscape. He sat in the lobby for like an hour, but couldn't work up the courage to talk to anyone. So he ended up starting Zip2 instead.

Could someone like Trump or Ted Cruz come up with the following advice?

It will take 1,000 spaceships and “a million tons” of vitamin C to make life on Mars sustainable, says SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

[TechTalk]

If his problem today was his speech impedment, it would have looked the same before.

Yes, he does still struggle with the stutter he's had his entire life. Did you think it would go away after he was vice president?

But if you look at some videos of his public speaking when he was VP a few years ago under Obama, he didn;t have these lapses.  you cann see he's gone down substantially physically and mentally.

I've been watching Joe Biden for decades, much of that time on C-SPAN as a senator. The verbal issues have always been a nagging problem for him. I can see that he's gotten older over the years, but I've watched several extended interviews over the last couple of years from the campaign up to the present. He's quite well informed, knowledgeable, and willing—often eager—to talk at length on issues. Does he stumble and make gaffes? Sure he does, he always has.

You see in him what you want see and most likely are unpersuadable—regardless of the number of videos I could link to with lengthy Q&A sessions he has had over the last year or two.

[jeremyrh]

If his problem today was his speech impedment, it would have looked the same before.  But if you look at some videos of his public speaking when he was VP a few years ago under Obama, he didn;t have these lapses.  you cann see he's gone down substantially physically and mentally.

If he's such a basket case it makes you wonder how he won the election - how bad must the other guy have been?

[TechTalk]

No one gives two shits about most of the secretaries, especially of transportation

Yeah. I mean who drives on highways or interstate freeways; or flies; or uses trains. The Secretary of Health and Human Services, who oversees the FDA, CDC, NIH, NIAID, etc.,—who cares—right? Treasury, Commerce, Education, and all that other jazz—who pays any attention to that?

Ridiculous.

[Robert Roaldi]

... No one gives two shits about most of the secretaries, especially of transportation, but of Defense and State, they are paramount.  Not to mention he forgot the name of probably the third most recognizable and well known building in government.

You and Alan both are trying too hard with the Biden is senile angle. It's like people who look for ways to make their videos go viral, you just can't force it. It's just not plausible to hold this view, and it's even less plausible to think you'll convince others of it. It's very close to "what aboutism" on my part, but to believe this about Biden while letting hundreds of Trump incoherencies fly by without similar comment is pretty close to trolling.

As for no one caring about the various secretaries, that's probably true of the average political bar talk. If their names are not in the news associated with some sexting scandal then of course no one is going to know who they are let along care much about them. That does NOT mean that they are not important, it's just means that the average joe has a spectacularly unsophisticated view of how a country runs. There are a million little things that need to be done every day to make society work, the fact that most people don't know or understand what those are is not new.

[Alan Klein]

If he's such a basket case it makes you wonder how he won the election - how bad must the other guy have been?

He stayed hidden in his basement during the campaign as he is doing now.  His handlers are hiding him.  Meanwhile, the biased new media is covering for him.

[faberryman]

He stayed hidden in his basement during the campaign as he is doing now.  His handlers are hiding him.  Meanwhile, the biased new media is covering for him.

You need to get some new material.

[Alan Klein]

Yeah. I mean who drives on highways or interstate freeways; or flies; or uses trains. The Secretary of Health and Human Services, who oversees the FDA, CDC, NIH, NIAID, etc.,—who cares—right? Treasury, Commerce, Education, and all that other jazz—who pays any attention to that?

Ridiculous.

Quick.  Who was the Secretary of State and Defence under Trump?  Now, who was his Secretary of Transportation?  Interior?

[James Clark]

Quick.  Who was the Secretary of State and Defence under Trump?  Now, who was his Secretary of Transportation?  Interior?

Pompeo/which one?/Chao/Which one? - they were all political hacks

And no, I didn't have to look it up, though I admit that I forgot about Tillerson before Pompeo.  Damn, what a shit show the Trump Admin was. For a "CEO" Trump sure is a tragically incompetent one, employee retention being a key metric for the competency of management and all.  Remember when he said he only hires "the best people."  LOL

[Alan Klein]

You and Alan both are trying too hard with the Biden is senile angle. It's like people who look for ways to make their videos go viral, you just can't force it. It's just not plausible to hold this view, and it's even less plausible to think you'll convince others of it. It's very close to "what aboutism" on my part, but to believe this about Biden while letting hundreds of Trump incoherencies fly by without similar comment is pretty close to trolling.

As for no one caring about the various secretaries, that's probably true of the average political bar talk. If their names are not in the news associated with some sexting scandal then of course no one is going to know who they are let along care much about them. That does NOT mean that they are not important, it's just means that the average joe has a spectacularly unsophisticated view of how a country runs. There are a million little things that need to be done every day to make society work, the fact that most people don't know or understand what those are is not new.

  You make reasonable points.  The fact is we could get rid of Transportation, Education,  and a load of other departments of the government and never miss them.  We should also stop spending money on a lot of them and save the taxpayers money. Most of these things are handled better by the states and localities. 

For example, does your local school board need to check with the federal government?  What do we need a Secretary of Education?  Can't your state and county local school boards handle it?  They seem to be already.  60% of my property taxes go for local education.  Who needs the feds butting in? What do bureaucrats who know nothing about me and my neighbors are about the education and how we get it?  It's all politics.

What about HUD Housing and Urban Development?  All these departments are just places to award contributors and give jobs away to politicians' supporters after the election.  They're a waste of money for the most part.  Plus they're unconstitutional.  There's nothing in it that gives the federal government the power to get involved with these things.  The constitution left it to the states to handle them and regulate them, not Washington.  But the Supreme Court has allowed Washington's power to grow until the huge and expensive monster it's become.

[Alan Klein]

You need to get some new material.

Truth doesn't change.

[digitaldog]

Truth doesn't change.

Or your misunderstandings.
That comment is pretty rich, coming from a guy falsely accusing others of calling him a liar

[jeremyrh]

He stayed hidden in his basement during the campaign as he is doing now.  His handlers are hiding him.  Meanwhile, the biased new media is covering for him.

Oh yeah - silly me - the "biased media". Another stone in Alan's life of misfortune.

[faberryman]

You make reasonable points.  The fact is we could get rid of Transportation, Education,  and a load of other departments of the government and never miss them.

Is that really a fact? Sounds more like a personal opinion to me.

We should also stop spending money on a lot of them and save the taxpayers money. Most of these things are handled better by the states and localities.

I think we would need to do a detailed analysis of "most of these things" to see which are best done at the federal level and which are best done at the state and local level. I don't think simply making a sweeping generalization is the best approach. 

For example, does your local school board need to check with the federal government?  What do we need a Secretary of Education?  Can't your state and county local school boards handle it?  They seem to be already.  60% of my property taxes go for local education.  Who needs the feds butting in? What do bureaucrats who know nothing about me and my neighbors are about the education and how we get it?

How many school board meetings have you actually attended?

It's all politics.

That is one of your favorite phrases. Not only is it not true, it is meaningless.

What about HUD Housing and Urban Development?  All these departments are just places to award contributors and give jobs away to politicians' supporters after the election.  They're a waste of money for the most part.  Plus they're unconstitutional.  There's nothing in it that gives the federal government the power to get involved with these things.  The constitution left it to the states to handle them and regulate them, not Washington.  But the Supreme Court has allowed Washington's power to grow until the huge and expensive monster it's become.

Since the Supreme Court is the final arbiter of what is constitutional under our form of government, I'd say they are constitutional.

[faberryman]

Truth doesn't change.

Really? Not a fan of epistemology?

[MattBurt]

While you get your next Biden narrative cued up, I'll just point out... Someone that can't remember the difference between simple words like then and than, or a host of other words, criticizing the cognitive abilities of someone based on their language skills seems pretty rich indeed, especially when it's aimed at someone with a well known speech impediment. [rich: as in, (of a remark) causing ironic amusement]

That's probably just ignorance and not really his fault. Maybe he's the victim of public schools in a red state.

[faberryman]

He stayed hidden in his basement during the campaign as he is doing now.  His handlers are hiding him.  Meanwhile, the biased new media is covering for him.

I don't know why you think he stayed hidden in his basement. Everyone knew he was down there. He even communicated with the outside world now and then. It was a campaign strategy. Let the other guy self-destruct.  It worked. He is clearly not hiding now. I see him on the news every day actually doing something. As far as the biased news media goes, it seems to me that the fair and balanced news media on the right is doing a good job offering an alternative point of view.