Flotsam and Jetsam - Debate Fallout Continues

Yeah, Biden's bad, no, awful performance at Tuesday's debate with Donald Trump is still the main topic. Stacy McCain hears Democrats Singing ‘Suspicious Minds’. "Democrats are caught in a trap. They can’t walk out. As much as they may want to dump Joe Biden, there are a few problems — perhaps insurmountable problems — with any scenario to replace him:" I think they find one. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair, Maher, Matthews: Why Won't Dems Just Hand the Nomination to Newsom? Becca Downa at TownHall, Ted Cruz Has a New Prediction on the Chances Biden Is Replaced After The Debate. Nick Arama at RedState says Ted Cruz Drops Big Prediction About Replacing Biden and Who It Will Be "He said Michelle Obama was the only person who they could put in and move Kamala to the side." Althouse finds "No conversations about that whatsoever. The Democratic voters elected, nominated, Joe Biden. Joe Biden’s the nominee." "Said Michael Tyler, director of communications for the Biden campaign, quoted in "There Are 'No Conversations' About Replacing Biden, Campaign Official Says/The official also said President Biden was committed to attending the next presidential debate in September" (NYT). This immediately called to mind a tag I don't know why I don't use more often: "things not believed."" Also, Why not a coordinated double-coup? "What's brewing here?" At WaEx, Obama weighs in on support for Biden following nightmare performance. If I want my puppet I can keep my puppet. And Gavin Newsom distances himself from replacing Biden after debate disaster. At Da Caller, Chip Roy Unveils 25th Amendment Resolution To Yank Biden From Office After Debate Implosion. Eric Cowperthwaite at Security and Cigars calls it A Genuine Constitutional Crisis "The President is clearly not capable of exercising his Constitutional powers and authority." At NYPo, Staggering 82% don’t think Biden should still run for president: Post poll. Fox, RFK Jr. warns Biden isn't running the country after panned debate performance: 'It's scary'. "Presidential hopeful argued Biden is unfit for a second White House term on 'Fox & Friends'."

Atop Da Hill, Bob Woodward brands Biden debate performance a ‘political h-bomb’. Eric Lyman at JTN reads 'Panico,' 'Panique,' whatever the language, Europe's headlines all screamed same about Biden debate. "Those within the EU hoped for some insight about the rise of conservative politicians ahead of their parliamentary elections, but Biden's halting performance overwhelmed opportunities for big-picture takeaways." At WaEx, Biden debate performance renews spotlight on Hur tapes. From Fox, WATCH: Dem. Rep. snatches phone in testy airport exchange over Biden's mental clarity: 'Who owns you?' "The Kaptur campaign says the man violated her 'personal space'." NewsMax reports A Private Call of Top Democrats Fuels More Insider Anger about Biden's Debate Performance. “I was hoping for more of a substantive conversation instead of, ‘Hey, let’s go out there and just be cheerleaders,’ without actually addressing a very serious issue that unfolded on American television for millions of people to see." Matt Margolis at PJM, The Weekend Update: A Big Week for the 2024 Presidential Election. 

Jon Levine at NYPo cites Trump who says Biden ‘choked’ in debate, was in ‘trance’ that was ‘plainly and openly felt onstage’. 

This side by side of Biden’s decline over the last 5 years is devastating.

Shame on everyone who covered this up and left our country in such a terrible position. pic.twitter.com/qacTgorqfx

— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) June 30, 2024

Across da pond at Da Mail What IS wrong with Biden? One of Britain's top doctors gives his view as President's 'senior moments' in key TV debate spark concern. He strongly suspects Parkinson's. It not right to diagnose from the videos, but he could be right. From the Free Bacon, 'I Don't Debate as Well as I Used To': Biden Leans Into His Own Decline as Colleagues Plot His Replacement. Biden friendly Anxious anxiously puts forward that there are Two Joe Bidens: The night America saw the other one. "Between the lines: Biden's miscues and limitations are more familiar inside the White House. The time of day is important as to which of the two Bidens will appear." NYPo, Biden, 81, has difficulty functioning outside of 6-hour window as aides attempt to spin prez’s horrid debate performance: alarming report. President from 10 AM to 4 PM, Resident the rest of the time. Hey, I can relate to that. Who wants a 24/365 job anyway? 

WokeSpy, CNN Commentator Implies Joe Biden Knew “Questions Were Coming” Ahead Of Disastrous Debate. I don't think they had to be tipped; I thought most of the questions were the one's that everybody expected, and I found them shockingly fair to both sides. Anxious, Biden's debate is a "DEFCON 1" moment for Democrats "He was over-prepared and relying on minutiae when all that mattered was vigor and energy," one person in Biden's orbit told Axios. "They prepared him for the wrong debate. He was over-prepared when what he needed was rest. It's confounding." Oh bullshit, under stress he resorted to his old rote, and usually imaginary stories. Capt. Ed at Hat Hait, "No one who saw that debate last night can possibly believe that Biden was "relying on minutiae." He was incoherently spouting platitudes and badly written zingers in between repeated verbal tics like 'the idea!' and 'here's the deal.' They're lying, but expect the media to run with it at some point." Scott Pinsker at PJM thinks Democrat Operatives Committed the Classic PR Blunder "It’s the takeaway that matters."

The Peacock, 'It's a mess': Biden turns to family on his path forward after his disastrous debate. WaEx, Jill Biden remains Joe’s biggest supporter — and the only one who matters. Victory Girls insist DOCTOR Jill Biden Is The Puppeteer. Althouse channels Paul Begala, "Jill Biden, lacking the detachment of a Melania and enjoying the role of first lady more, has been pushing — and shielding — her husband..." "... beyond a reasonable point. After Thursday’s embarrassing debate performance, she exhorted the crowd and played teacher to a prized student: 'You did a great job! You answered every question! You knew all the facts!' This, to the guy who controls the nuclear codes...." Sundance at CTH, asks What is Going on With Jill Biden? "Seriously, no snark.  Give me your opinion because at a certain point I will admit my analysis starts to look at people through a very dark prism.  Given what we continue to see getting worse by the day with the mental state of her husband, Jill Biden is really looking sketchy." Bob Hoge at RedState, Jill Biden's Ex-Husband Goes There: 'She's the One Who Wants to Be President Now'. At Ace's the Misanthropic Humanitarian pens a letter, Dear Mrs. Jill Biden "I will not accuse you of elder abuse. But, I certainly don't know how you can let your husband continue to be the POTUS let alone to serve a second term. Your husband is ill. I am not a doctor. But, I do know the signs of dementia as my beloved mother suffered and passed away because of it. Why would a physically fit and mentally alert man need you to go up to him and walk him off stage? Your husband entered the debate hall and ninety minutes later forgot where he came from." For a contrary view, Joe Cunningham at RedState says that After Thursday Night's Debate, We Finally Know Who Is Running the White House. ". . . the answers Biden gave on the stage Thursday night prove one thing beyond a shadow of a doubt: The man who can't form a coherent response to debate questions is the same man producing incoherent policies in the White House. It's Joe Biden all the way down."

 

GregGutfeld@greggutfeld, "remember: the media democrat complex is reacting in horror over joe's condition not because they saw it - it's because you saw it." The Free Bacon on the The Gaslighting of the American Public. Twitchy, Media BAFFLED By Biden at the Debate vs. Biden at Yesterday's Rally (It's Not Hard to Figure Out). Dave Keltz at Am Great, Media’s Lies About Biden’s ‘Mental Fitness’ Finally Caught Up To Them. From Fox, Biden debate debacle: 10 eye-opening media responses, from MSNBC panic to 'The View' calling for replacement. NewsBusters  note PolitiFact, USA Today Rate Trump, Biden 100 And 44 Percent False Respectively.  At OTP, Even CNN Admits Biden Plays Fast And Loose With The Truth. Da Caller, Gold Star Mother Calls For Leadership ‘Change’ After Biden Falsely Claimed No Troops Died Under His Watch. John Sexton at Hat Hair, gets Media Dispatches From an Alternate Universe. "The framing of this story is that suddenly, out of nowhere, everyone is shocked to discover there is another Joe Biden, one who seems hobbled by old age." WaEx's Paul Bedard's White House Report Card: No more hiding #Joementia. Breitbart, Jon Stewart Left Speechless by Joe Biden’s Debate Malfunctions. A welcome reaction.  Derek Hunter at TownHall reminds us to Never Let Anyone Forget How The Media Lied To The World About Joe Biden. 

Ben Whedon at JTN, Trump takes post-debate victory lap in Virginia in bid to flip the commonwealth to "red." “Our case to Virginia is very simple,” he said. “We will seal the border, we will make the American Dream affordable again, but we will bring back the American Dream."

Althouse notices Biden taunted Trump about his weight. "The debate has given us so much to talk about that something that ordinarily would have attracted a lot of attention has slipped by unnoticed: Biden brought up Trump's weight. He actually talked about the number of pounds . . . Even if he had been correct, and Trump weighs 235, it's not acceptable to call out the number of pounds you think somebody weighs. Most Americans are overweight, and we expect delicacy and consideration on the topic, certainly not taunting. Taunting is way off the norm." At Breitbart, WATCH: Donald Trump, Joe Biden Argue over Golf Swings During Debate and U.S. Open Champ Bryson DeChambeau Offers to Settle Trump, Biden Golf Handicap Debate "“Let’s settle this whole handicap debate. I’ll host the golf match on my YouTube channel,” he said in a post on X."

WaEx, Illegal immigrants from 85 countries caught at New England border since fall. NYPo, 21-year-old allegedly suffocated by illegal migrant in Syracuse fled Ecuador because of lover’s abuse and Jocelyn Nungaray’s mom ‘shocked’ by call from Trump minutes before he took debate stage  Jazz Shaw at Hat Hair, Migrants Being Evicted From Boston's Logan Airport. 

At Blaze, Joe Biden KEEPS refinancing his home — here are FIVE shady reasons why that might be. “ChatGPT didn’t come up with a single non-nefarious reason.”

At WUWT, Emily Arthur explains how Joe Biden’s Energy Policies Are Based on Fantasies and Fairy Tales.

The deck stacking in New York continues, at Da Signal,  Judge in Trump’s Manhattan Trials Reviews Risk Assessment by Anti-Trump Psychiatrist."Lee edited the book “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 37 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President,” first released in 2017. In May, she published a new book titled “The Psychology of Trump Contagion: An Existential Threat to American Democracy and All Humankind.”" It's considered unethical for a psychiatrist to diagnose without actually examining the "patient."  Sure why not, he knows he'll be overturned, so he's getting all the hits in he can. 

At Da Caller, Supreme Court Denies Steve Bannon’s Request To Stay Out Of Jail. Save a cell for Merrick Garland. “There is also no denying the fact that the government seeks to imprison Mr. Bannon for the four-month period immediately preceding the November presidential election,” his attorneys argued. “There is no reason for that outcome in a case that presents substantial legal issues.”

At WaEx, Supreme Court rules against Biden DOJ in high-stakes Jan. 6 case. Atop Da Hill, sads as Jan. 6 cases start being reopened after Supreme Court ruling. "Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement following the verdict Friday that he is “disappointed” by the decision, but the “vast majority” of rioters charged for their role in the attack “will not be affected by this decision.” The DOJ will take “appropriate steps” to comply with the high court’s ruling, he said." Politico whines that Trump calls for those arrested for Jan. 6 attack to be freed immediately "The comments came after a Supreme Court decision that federal prosecutors had overstepped on Jan. 6 obstruction charges." NewsWeek, Supreme Court Just Made Jack Smith's Job Harder   

Freedom Center, New York announces it will take citizen surveillance and censorship to the next level. "Like the plot to a dystopian movie, New York will now monitor social media writings, collect data, and use law enforcement to crack down on any expression it deems to be hate speech."

At Da Wire, Biden Admin’s Rachel Levine Met With WPATH As He Pushed For Removal Of Trans Surgery Age Restrictions. ET, Texas Supreme Court Upholds Ban on Child Transgender Procedures. From Campus Reform, UCSF features ‘drag-laureate’ that was awarded more than $50k in taxpayer money. 

Jazz Shaw at Hat Hair, Pro-Hamas Protesters Don't Care About The Big Guy's Fundraising. The College Fix counts There were 12 campus hate hoaxes this school year.

The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: Even Worse up and running at The Other McCain.

Reason #6720 That Trump Was Elected

From that bastion of conservative thought, NPR: Many Are Replacing Disability Checks With Paychecks A long story about several individuals who would rather work than collect disability checks. The article avoids mentioning Trump until near the end:

Izzie with her service dog, Zandra. Spinergy welcomed Zandra,
 who is able to retrieve things when Izzie drops them

The Trump administration wants to encourage more people with disabilities to work — both to meet the demands of a growing economy and to save the government money. The president's budget calls for savings of more than $47 billion in the disability program over the next decade.

One of Trump's economic advisers has long had a personal interest in the disability program.

"My dad was a steelworker, and when the plant closed down, he was out of work and in his late 50s," says Richard Burkhauser, a former professor at Cornell University who now serves on the Council of Economic Advisers.

Burkhauser encouraged his dad to apply for disability, rather than looking for another job. He later came to second-guess that advice. He suspects being out of work may have contributed to his father's death just a few years later. "Because his whole life was work, and I think it affected him," Burkhauser says. "As a last resort, I think it's fine to be on these rolls. But if we can get people with disabilities to get into the workforce, it would be much better."

Burkhauser says the hot economy has done more to move people off disability than any policy changes dreamed up in Washington. The drop in disability rolls has been so sharp, last month forecasters said the trust fund that helps pay those benefits will last 20 years longer than had been expected.

Izzie agrees that a tight job market is opening doors for people with disabilities. But she warns that many still face discrimination. If employers can overcome that, Izzie says, they will be rewarded with workers who are adaptable, flexible and persistent.
"The can-do attitude, the creativity involved in living life with a disability, honestly, that attitude is an asset to an employer," she says.

If nothing else, this reinforces the rubber nature of employments statistics. Bad times drive people who could work out of the work force, and eventually out of the job market, but good times long enough create enough incentive to get many of them back in. Thus employment numbers are slow to respond to  both good and bad times, and are not a good measure of "real" unemployment.

Linked by EBL in Wombat may need our assistance!, Stop Freaking Out About 🥑Avocados 🥑 and Don't Listen To Media Fake News, Super Sexy Bill Barr, Maite Perroni, Rolling Stones: Emotional Rescue and Emotional Support Animals, Barbie Hsu 徐熙媛, Deadwood: The Movie and Memorial Day Flashback: The Hollywood Canteen. Wombat-socho has a double stuffed Rule 5 Sunday: Morena Baccarin.

Reign of Pain Update: Justice Ginsburg on Furlough

Ace: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Will Skip Oral Arguments Due to Lung Cancer Recovery

She is infamous for sleeping during oral arguments. And State of the Union addresses.
As she's recovering from having cancerous nodes removed from her lungs, she's going to relax a bit and skip the napping at work.*

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg missed oral arguments Monday as she recuperates from cancer surgery.
It's not clear when the 85-year-old justice will return to work, though the Supreme Court’s public information office said she will continue to participate in official business from her home in Washington.
Despite Ginsburg's absence, a Court spokeswoman said the justice would participate in Monday’s cases by reading transcripts of the proceedings, then voting as normal.
Monday is the first time that Ginsburg has missed arguments since she joined the high court in 1993.

We're not there yet, but Ruth Bader Ginsburg may start taking off more and more days and merely occupying a Supreme Court chair rather than working in it.

Like I said, we're not there yet. But at some point it might turn into a political issue that must be forced. You can't actually force a Justice off the court, save for impeachment, but at some point it may be necessary to bring whatever political pressure we have to bear.

I don't wish her ill, but it's time for her to resign.

I know she doesn't have much of a life outside the court, but she missed an easy chance to resign and have a like  minded jurist appointed during the Obama administration. She may go down as the Cody Parkey of the Supreme Court.

via Gfycat

The Joys of Aging: Part Quatre . . .

Yesterday, as Georgia and I were walking on the beach, I saw something I had seen before, and hoped I would never see again. Fine filaments of black in my vision, swirling around and breaking up into tiny discrete dots in my left eye. A hemorrhage from the retina into the vitreous humor.

I mentioned it to Georgia, who asked if I wanted to stop where we were (at the Calvert Beach ramp) and have her come and get me in the car. I said no, and by the time we reached the car, the streamers of fresh blood had stopped, and the tiny dots were all over the visual field in my left eye, but not so bad that I still couldn't see clearly. This is the same eye that had the tear several years ago, that was apparently lasered up and healed without further complications. Once home, I called the retina guys office, explained what had happened, and arranged for an 11 AM appointment this morning.

Georgia went out on an errand, and while she was gone a neighbor called to ask about something, and while I was on the phone describing the symptoms, the streamers started again, and kept going. In fairly short order, the back of my eye had so much blood in it, it was like looking out through a thin layer of lumpy oatmeal.

I called the retina guy's office again and explained, and they seemed to think that it was OK to take the morning appointment, and agreed to move it up to 8 AM, but said if it was truly a sight or blindness emergency I could go to Wilmer's Eye Institue (part of Johns Hopkins) in Baltimore on an emergency room basis. I was kind of upset at this. Once Georgia got home, we managed to call Wilmer's and talk to a doctor there, who very kindly heard me out (and didn't assume I was an idiot), and explained that, given the symptoms I was describing, in all likelihood I would sit there most of the night waiting to be seen, only to be told to go home and wait a few days to see if the eye would clear enough to see the retina and determine if they could repair the retina with a laser or if more work was necessary. Oh, and don't eat anything after midnight just in case they want to operate. . .

After a restless night, we kept the 8 AM appointment, and after dilation and a vision test, which I totally flunked (the left eye can see an arm move, but not fingers, and the right which has a cataract for which my prescription is a year out of date), the technicians (nurses?) took pictures in both eyes, and did an angiogram (injected dye into my arm, and took pictures the back of both eyes, looking for leaks and abnormalities). They admitted that seeing much in the left eye was impossible. Finally, the retina guy himself came in, poked and prodded and shone bright lights in both eyes, and did a retinal sonagram to look for retinal detachment, which he did not find, thank heavens.

So, the guy at Hopkins was right. The current line of therapy is steroid eye drops to help clear the blood. and to come back in two days to see if it's clearing without further bleeding. The hope is that the eye will clear enough soon to see what's really happening, and maybe laser it shut again. I'm to watch carefully for any signs of retinal detachment (fixed black areas in the vision field), which are the emergency situation. Even assuming the tear can be patched, it possible the so much "gunk" has leaked into the back that my vision may be permanently affected, and may even benefit from a "vitrectomy", the removal of the remaining vitreous humor in the eye, and replacing it with clean fluids, an operation that both doctors, and a friend who had one said is best avoided if possible.

What causes it? In the previous case I had, it was the posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) pulling on the retina that caused it. In this case, they won't know until it clears, or until they go into to clean up, but most likely it's either the older scar pulling on a blood vessel, or a fresh rip caused by the expanding PVD.

Eric Clapton Suffers Potentially Career Ending Disability

Like the title said:

Reports in a British newspaper say that Eric Clapton has incurable damage to his nervous system which has made it difficult to play the guitar. According to Eric, “I’ve had quite a lot of pain over the last year. It started with lower back pain, and turned into what they call peripheral neuropathy - which is where you feel like you have electric shocks going down your leg.

Eric who is 71 added, “[It’s] hard work to play the guitar and I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that it will not improve. Because I’m in recovery from alcoholism and addiction to substances, I consider it a great thing to be alive at all. By rights I should have kicked the bucket a long time ago. For some reason I was plucked from the jaws of hell and given another chance.”

He told Classic Rock Magazine, “I can still play. I mean, it’s hard work sometimes, the physical side of it - just getting old, man, is hard. I don’t know how I survived - the Seventies especially. There was one point there where they were flying me to hospital in St Paul [Minnesota] and I was dying, apparently - I had three ulcers and one of them was bleeding. I was drinking three bottles of brandy and taking handfuls of codeine, and I was close to checking out. It’s amazing that I’m still here, really.”

“But I love to play, still. I sit in the corner of our front room with a guitar, and I play in the morning and I rest in the afternoon... Life is good.’ Eric released his 23rd album, I Still Do, but the good news is fans should not consider it a farewell. We all wish Eric continued health and happiness and thank him for his music.

He outlasted most of his contemporaries. It's too early to call the race between him and Keith Richards.



Thanks for all the music.

Midnite Music- "Oh Baby It's Wild World"

I'm so disgusted. He's better with his toes than I am with my fingers.

Dutch Treat

Eight Dutch ladies take the #ALSIceBucketChallange



See the rest.

Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly "Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup". Wombat-socho has the grand summary "Rule 5 Sunday: Peaches En Regalia" up at The Other McCain.

AC/DC Disconnected?

RIP AC/DC: 1973 - 2014, UPDATES ON MALCOLM YOUNG

AC/DC are ending their 41 year career on a terribly sad note.

Plans were underway for a new studio album, their first since 2008's monumental Black Ice, and a '40th Anniversary' world tour, 40 huge shows across the globe.

More than a month ago, founding member, rhythm guitarist, co-producer and co-songwriter Malcolm Young had a stroke, which left a blood clot on his brain.

When AC/DC reunited at the start of April to begin a month of rehearsals, in the lead-up to new album recording sessions, Malcolm discovered he couldn't play. At least, he couldn't play like he used to play.

Nothing has been officially confirmed, as of this writing, but friends and family members have been discussing what happened to Malcolm for the past couple of weeks. The blood clot, resulting from the stroke, is believed to be why Malcolm couldn't keep working.

Although friends have described Malcolm's condition as serious, it doesn't mean he won't recover. People do get better after strokes, and people do recover lost skills.

But friends and family of band members believe the decision was made last week to call it quits. . .

Another article doesn't shut the door quite as firmly: AC/DC guitarist Malcolm Young confirms illness

The rumors about legendary AC/DC guitaristMalcolm Young being ill are true. But the rumors about AC/DC retiring from music are not.

On Wednesday, the band posted a statement on its website: "After forty years of life dedicated to AC/DC, guitarist and founding member Malcolm Young is taking a break from the band due to ill health. Malcolm would like to thank the group's diehard legions of fans worldwide for their never-ending love and support. "In light of this news, AC/DC asks that Malcolm and his family's privacy be respected during this time. The band will continue to make music."

While the band would not reveal Young's illness, their close friend, Choirboys frontman Mark Gable, told Australia's ABC Radio that his condition is very serious.

"That is true, Malcolm is sick," Gable told ABC radio Wednesday morning. "From what I understand, and it's even been confirmed in part by his son Ross (Young), that it would appear Malcolm is unable to perform anymore.

"It's not just that he is unwell, it's that it is quite serious. It will constitute that he definitely won't be able to perform live.

"He will probably not be able to record."

I'm sure Malcolm won't object to my way of celebrating their music.

Why Do Democrats Hate the Disabled?

The answer, of course, is that they hate anyone who doesn't yield power to them without a fight.

Wendy Davis supporters caught mocking Greg Abbott’s disability

A video, captured under cover by James O'Keefe's Project Veritas, show Abortion Barbie's  supporter mocking her opponent for being confined to a wheel chair.

One of the sycophants asks: 

“I’m really wondering how this is going to work out since he’s in a wheelchair"

It worked out OK for FDR.

Of course, this is not a big deal; political opponents are quick to see the problems in the opposition, and slow to see them in their own camp, but this speaks to the all important hypocrisy question. Liberals would like to pretend that they are the party that supports the downtrodden.  To this end, they portray themselves as more downtrodden than is actually true; witness Davis' claim to the extended single motherhood, when in fact, she was being supported by her husband (whom she subsequently dumped, and left with custody of her kids) while she went to law school.  Similarly, they can't see the actual trials and tribulations of the people they oppose, and make fun of them when they think they are in congenial company.