A Deeply Fractured US

[mariomike]

Section 4 of 25A is supposed to be used when the president can't perform his duties, and not merely because some people think he can't perform them well.

25A has been in the news for the past eight years.

The U.S. has not had a president die of natural causes while in office since WW2.

Either way, both teams have potential pinch-hitters. The question is,

Feb 09, 2024

With aging U.S. presidential hopefuls, how much will their running mates matter to voters?​

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/us-presidential-candidate-age-biden-vice-president-1.7111017

For Team Blue:

Kamala Harris

For Team Red:

Trump short listed Mini-Me’s

Ron DeSantis

Tim Scott

Vivek Ramaswamy

Kristi Noem

Byron Donalds

Tulsi Gabbard

 

[Brad Sallows]

25A has been in the news for the past eight years.

Yes, the Democrats have a habit of breaking norms that come back to haunt them later.

 

[FJAG]

There aren't many problem dogs; there are lots of problem owners. When an owner has more than one ill-behaved dog, I can easily guess the faults lie with the owner.

I'm a dog guy. I like dogs. But there are problem dogs which to a large extent is breed dependent. There's a reason why Shepherds are used as working dogs. They're intelligent and can be trained but do have an ability to be aggressive unless trained out of that. In a situation as complex as a president with ever changing shifts of agents who stay close they can easily be confronted with situations where they slip up.

All that said, to have this many incidents is simply ludicrous. These two dogs should have been removed from any place where Biden and his security team are to a calmer household at the first sign of trouble. That's on Biden that this didn't happen much, much earlier.

 

[mariomike]

I'm a dog guy. I like dogs. But there are problem dogs which to a large extent is breed dependent. There's a reason why Shepherds are used as working dogs. They're intelligent and can be trained but do have an ability to be aggressive unless trained out of that. In a situation as complex as a president with ever changing shifts of agents who stay close they can easily be confronted with situations where they slip up.

All that said, to have this many incidents is simply ludicrous. These two dogs should have been removed from any place where Biden and his security team are to a calmer household at the first sign of trouble. That's on Biden that this didn't happen much, much earlier.

Major and Commander certainly put the royal corgis to shame in the biting department.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

There aren't many problem dogs; there are lots of problem owners. When an owner has more than one ill-behaved dog, I can easily guess the faults lie with the owner.

Princess Louise, our horse mascot in the 8 Hussars, was the same. Trot her out for the cameras, she was fine. Do her stables on the weekend and she was a right bitch.

Biden has dogs because his handlers said he needs dogs. Not because he wanted them.

 

[Remius]

Princess Louise, our horse mascot in the 8 Hussars, was the same. Trot her out for the cameras, she was fine. Do her stables on the weekend and she was a right bitch.

Biden has dogs because his handlers said he needs dogs. Not because he wanted them.

I find the whole dog thing for presidents a bit odd but I guess it fits in with American family culture.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

I find the whole dog thing for presidents a bit odd but I guess it fits in with American family culture.

The smart thing would be to adopt a dog that has been professionally trained. Not a puppy that runs around pissing on everything in the Executive Residence, chewing furniture, expecting Biden to take interest. I'll bet the dog spends about 22 hours a day in a cage.

 

[Remius]

The smart thing would be to adopt a dog that has been professionally trained. Not a puppy that runs around pissing on everything in the Executive Residence, chewing furniture, expecting Biden to take interest. I'll bet the dog spends about 22 hours a day in a cage.

I can see the whole dog thing with a president with kids. Would make sense to keep the kids busy. My wife and I are entertaining getting a dog at some point but decided to wait until one of us retires when we can dedicate real time to that endeavour. Neither of us nor my son has time to do it properly right now.

I can’t imagine that a presidential schedule is very conducive to training and bonding with a dog. Especially a breed that needs attention.

 

[Blackadder1916]

I find the whole dog thing for presidents a bit odd but I guess it fits in with American family culture.

LBJ and "Him"



Incidentally, "Him" was killed when he was struck by a car driven by a Secret Service agent.

 

[Brad Sallows]

I can’t imagine that a presidential schedule is very conducive to training and bonding with a dog. Especially a breed that needs attention.

The main problem with the presidency is the environment. Dogs tend to prefer predictable stable routine lives, and do better emotionally under those circumstances. Again, this is an "owner" problem.

 

[Quirky]

With aging U.S. presidential hopefuls, how much will their running mates matter to voters?

 

[KevinB]

View attachment 83297

Nikki Haley.

 

[Quirky]

Nikki Haley.

RFK Jr?

 

[KevinB]

RFK Jr?

The only one potentially worse than DJT and you go there?

 

[Quirky]

The only one potentially worse than DJT and you go there?

 

[dapaterson]

LBJ and "Him"

View attachment 83295

Incidentally, "Him" was killed when he was struck by a car driven by a Secret Service agent.

I'm sure there are conspiracy theories about LBJ and that death, too.

 

[Navy_Pete]

Tucker Carlson just won't stop.

Russia paychecks just keep on coming I guess!

 

[Brad Sallows]

Russia paychecks just keep on coming I guess!

Well, he's not a politician so he can't just ask for a little help by saying that he'll have more flexibility after his re-election.

 

[Kirkhill]

A curiousity....

CBS faces uproar after seizing investigative journalist’s files

The position of CBS has alarmed many, including the union, as an attack on free press principles by one of the nation’s most esteemed press organizations.

thehill.com

There is trouble brewing at Black Rock, the headquarters of CBS, after the firing of Catherine Herridge, an acclaimed investigative reporter. Many of us were shocked after Herridge was included in layoffs this month, but those concerns have increased after CBS officials took the unusual step of seizing her files, computers and records, including information on privileged sources.

The position of CBS has alarmed many, including the union, as an attack on free press principles by one of the nation’s most esteemed press organizations.

I have spoken confidentially with current and former CBS employees who have stated that they could not recall the company ever taking such a step before. One former CBS journalist said that many employees “are confused why [Herridge] was laid off, as one of the correspondents who broke news regularly and did a lot of original reporting.”

That has led to concerns about the source of the pressure. He added that he had never seen a seizure of records from a departing journalist, and that the move had sent a “chilling signal” in the ranks of CBS.

CBS is one of the world’s premier news organizations, with a legendary history that includes figures from Murrow to Walter Cronkite to Roger Mudd. That is why the hiring of Herridge was so welcomed by many of us. The network was at risk of becoming part of the journalistic herd, an echo-chamber for Democratic and liberal narratives. It had been mired in third place for ages, and it was moving in the wrong direction by alienating half of the country.

Herridge had been a celebrated investigative reporter at Fox News. An old-school investigative journalist, she is viewed as a hard-driving, middle-of-the-road reporter cut from the same cloth as the network’s legendary figures.

The timing of Herridge’s termination immediately raised suspicions in Washington. She was pursuing stories that were unwelcomed by the Biden White House and many Democratic powerhouses, including the Hur report on Joe Biden’s diminished mental capacity, the Biden corruption scandal and the Hunter Biden laptop. She continued to pursue these stories despite reports of pushback from CBS executives, including CBS News President Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews.

 

[Brad Sallows]

A curiousity....

Trust us and subsidize us; we are important to democracy!

[Add: CBS was the fake-but-accurate memo scandal shop. They've come a long way.]