Just So Ya’ Know…PART II
This is a political post.
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This is an astonishing, epic success story. Yet, the media has fallen all over itself to portray just the opposite.
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Yes, that sounds successful. But it could have been managed better, much better. We were unprepared and disorganized. It was a reaction to the swift take over by the Taliban which was woefully underestimated. We were not proactive. We were put on the defense, it was rushed and it showed.
I watched Rachel Maddow, who I trust. I heard the report on the translator trying to get his family out. Jumping through paperwork hoops and in the end it was his military boss who pulled some strings with some personal favors and got him and his family out. Someone who knew someone that could get it done. It shouldn’t have to work that way.
We are still dealing with Trump holdovers putting up paperwork roadblocks. Like many, my feelings are just put them on a plane and sort the paperwork out when they are out. The U.S. made promises to our translators that we would take care of them and we are not fulfilling that promise. Trump pretty much destroyed the reputation of the U.S. and our “word” when it came to promises, assurances and treaties. This is our opportunity to do a lot of repair along those lines.
Here at home my biggest beef is that DeJoy is still destroying the USPS from the inside. Why is it taking so long to get rid of him? Or maybe others haven’t had more mail lost in the last year than in the previous decade. Now DeJoy has declared that all First Class mail will be trucked and there will be no more 3 day turn around, not even for those letters that are delivered within the same city. No more air mail for anything except packages. The rates will go up and the mail will take longer to get where it’s going. He also gave a billion dollar contract to his own company.
Not happy on his positions on leaving wolves off of the endangered species list.
A lot of what the last administration did has to be undone or reversed. If he continues to just follow through with what Trump’s previous decisions then why did we elect him in the first place? It’s been 8 months and I just don’t see the progress I expected. He could have staff cranking out executive orders reversing Trump in stacks just waiting for his signature. The slowness of any sort of progress just reinforces the image that Biden is old and not up to the task.
Dear mlaiuppa,
One thing I always caution myself against is damning a president for not having a magic wand.
Presidents have very limited power. Washington is incredibly complicated. Politics is 16-dimensional chess.
For example, it infuriated me that Obama reneged on a campaign promise: he would close Guantanamo. But he didn’t. Not in his first term. Nor second. And it’s open to this day, still.
WTF????????
Then I read Obama’s book where he details his sincere efforts at closing Guantanamo. And why wasn’t he successful? Because no Democratic or Republican Congressperson wanted Guantanamo prisoners in their state! So, BOTH parties refused to help Obama.
Oh. And, all at once, my anger at Obama vanished. Because, yes, he didn’t have a magic wand.
You’re mad at Biden about gray wolves. But, again, Biden doesn’t have a magic wand. It was Trump who ended protections, and the Biden administration HAS been working to reverse this. But, darn, their lack of a magic wand prevents this from happening overnight!
Here: “We’re grateful to see that these terrible Trump administration regulations that undermine critical protections for endangered wildlife will be rescinded or revised,” said Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center for Biological Diversity.
You think that leaving Afghanistan should have gone better. How? How, exactly? Trump set in motion our troops leaving, but WITH NO PLAN IN PLACE TO HELP PEOPLE. Even BLOCKING efforts to help people, efforts which remain in place. This is the fucking mess which Biden inherited yet you damn him for, again, not having a magic wand. Rather than applaud Biden for getting almost 71,000 people out during the last ten days, with no loss of life, you damn him.
You damn him.
Sorry, I furiously disagree.
You also damn Biden for DeJoy. I despise DeJoy but, again, Biden DOES NOT HAVE A MAGIC WAND. He cannot just summarily replace the evil DeJoy. Only the USPS board can do that. And there is…JFC…a Democrat on the board blocking DeJoy’s removal. A Democrat who has now been revealed to be benefitting from DeJoy remaining in place.
But, sure, go again and blame Biden.
Lastly, you wrote: “just reinforces the image that Biden is old and not up to the task.”
Wow. You just repeated a made-up Republican talking point. Wow.
And with such a statement you appear to think that Biden operates in a vacuum, rather than the reality of his being surrounded by incredibly qualified, brilliant people.
All this reminds me of the early Obama years. He inherited a FULL BLOWN DISASTER created by his Republican predecessor and the media and even Democrats kept slamming him for not, overnight, waving a magic wand to make everything just fine & dandy.
Mlaiuppa, governing is hard, messy, fucked-up, and time-consuming. It’s never perfect or smooth. And, as much as I wished otherwise, governing never has a magic-wand option.
As such, I refuse to damn elected officials for not performing miracles. All I ask is that THEY TRY THIER BEST, AND WITH GOOD INTENT.
Oh, and the Democratic party? They are the only party protecting democracy against fascism. So, you might wish to give them a hug rather than slamming them.
And the Democratic party is the only party with a proven track record of actually helping 99.9% of Americans.
So, you might wish to give them a hug rather than slamming them.
I don’t damn him. I know things are complicated.
The intentions may have been good but they did not try their best.
Those advising him were way too optimistic. Civilians including the interpreters and others that supported US troops should have been evacuated before troops were withdrawn. Before the plans were even announced. Planning should have started in November after the election when his team was getting together and setting agendas and all that goes with it. Once the decision to abide by Trump’s decision was made, the planning should have started, a timeline established, process organized and implemented before withdrawal. Including evacuations of the sympathetic Afghanis we promised to protect.
It was optimistic by whoever was making those decisions (or poor analysis by intelligence) that the Taliban wouldn’t come in as fast as they did. All those brilliant minds he’s surrounded with and no one could see this coming? I think a pessimist would have said fine, but let’s prepare for the worst and act on it, just in case. So now it looks like a mad dash tossed together at the last minute.
71,000 in 10 days. That’s great. But would we be stuffing planes over capacity (850+) if we had been a bit more organized and planned a bit better? Okay, so Trump had no plan. What else is new? But if the administration decided to follow through on Trump’s non-plan, there were at least 6 months to create a plan and start acting on it. If we can evacuate 70,000 people in 10 days we could have done better if we had started a month ago. Or earlier. If the decision was to follow through on withdrawing it could have been done better. B+ for intentions but C- for execution.
I had plenty of issues with Obama too. But I voted for him twice, plus the primaries. And Hillary. But I did not let any of that blind me to their faults and weaknesses.
I believe that without criticism there is no improvement. I’m saying there is room for improvement and 8 months is enough time to keep my mouth shut. It’s almost September. Now I’m pointing out improvements that could be made. Because we’ve only got until the midterms and then McConnell might be running the senate again. (hawk spit)
I’m not damning Biden and his administration so much as simply not slapping them on the back and congratulating them on a job well done. Because it wasn’t well done. It was by the skin of our teeth, slap dash. A C+ instead of an A-. Better than Trump’s straight Fs but it could have been better. Could have been better is not damning. It’s calling it as it is.
He doesn’t get a trophy for participation.
I understand the DeJoy thing, the wolf in Democrat’s clothing on the board. (What brilliant mind suggested his appointment? No background check?) Biden has the power to appoint the board. There were openings, enough to tilt the board. There are also ways to get resignations. Seems that it’s been put on the back burner, though. Meanwhile my mail is getting lost, rates are going up and deliveries will be delayed. No more air mail for first class postage.
I didn’t repeat a made up talking point. I pointed out that it feeds the image the GQP are pushing. They are grasping at anything to paint Biden as a senile old man and this sort of thing plays right into it. To ignore how the opponents will use it is foolish.
I’ll admit, Biden was not my first choice (and neither was Harris) but they are far and away better than any Republican’t Talibangelical the GQP would elect to push this country farther toward fascism.
Right now I’m dealing with the political shit in California and the possible fallout from that. The GQP using Newsom’s dinner at a restaurant during Covid lockdowns as grounds to recall him and they’ve rigged the ballot so that if he is recalled the next governor will be chosen instantly from the list of dozens of ambitious, unqualified wannabees. Even if Newsom gets 49% of the vote, he’s recalled and some clown with only 13% of the vote or less could become our governor, likely a Republican because that is the only way they can win. And if Diane Feinstein dies (and she should never have run for re-election) then that Republican Governor will replace her with a Republican senator. And then Moscow Mitch McConnell will become Senate Majority Leader again. And we all know how that’s gone for the country in the last decade. Biden will never get to nominate a Supreme Court Justice if an opening happens if McConnell holds a majority of the senate. Yeah, our California recall could tip the Senate way before the midterms. I’m ready to get a lawyer and sue that the election is a violation of my rights under the California Constitution I’m so spitting angry.
But I’m not damning Biden. I’m not praising this particular action either. I am pointing out weaknesses and how they are perceived and can be turned against him. To think they won’t be is naive.
I don’t expect magic. But I do expect a bit better planning since none of this was a big surprise. Yeah, I know about all the delays before the inauguration. Still not an excuse for not hitting the ground running and getting up to speed. 8 months.
I don’t care if I’m a Devil’s advocate or just bluntly honest. But I’m not going to fawn all over Biden just because he’s a Democrat and his administration managed to pull a modicum of success out of this clusterfuck.
It may sound critical, and it is, but make no mistake. I will NEVER for for a Republican. Any Republican. EVER. The Republican Party has gone too far towards trying to remodel the U.S. into an Authoritarian Fascist State. That said I have plenty of criticisms of the Democratic Party, but Churchill said it best. “….except for everything else.” The Democratic Party has its faults but it’s still better than the alternatives. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to call them as I see them.
Dear mlaiuppa,
Morning!
Yes, it sure seems to me that you are damning Biden. Over and over and over. And you do appear to blame him for not having a magic wand.
AFGHANASTAN
You’ve no idea what is happening. You’re an armchair military strategist.
You wrote: “Before the plans were even announced.”
Trump is the one who made the deal and announced it. And it was Trump who had ZERO plans for getting people out.
The whole world could foresee a disaster in the making. And guess what? They closed their doors and hid behind their sofas. The profoundly evil Stephen Miller (working for Trump) put in place measures denying a place for refugees in America. The European Union said no to any Afghan refugees. Canada has spent months dithering on the minutia of taking in refugees. And on and on.
So, just as with Guantanamo, you can’t remove people from X if there’s no Y to place them.
And Trump shut Biden and his team out of the transition. So, more critical months lost.
Biden did delay the Trump-set departure date. None of us know why. Perhaps he wanted the extra time to resolve this intractable refugee issue. Biden is a very compassionate man. Do you really think he hasn’t done everything in his power to help in this situation? Really? Do you really think that about Biden? I don’t.
It would not surprise me to learn that Biden and his team has been expending super-human effort since January to resolve the refugee issue but, with where to put them blocked at every turn, his team took a new approach: Announce a departure date for our troops, thus forcing the refugee issue into the limelight. And that has certainly happened. Now, all of a sudden, A YEAR AFTER THE TRUMP DEAL WAS ANNOUNCED, countries are stepping up to help the refugees.
If this is was happened, it was a masterstroke. Yet, all you can envision is failure.
You wrote: “we could have done better if we had started a month ago.” You state this as fact. But, it’s an assumption. YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT COULD’VE BEEN DONE. You’re just guessing.
DEJOY
You wrote: “I understand the DeJoy thing”
No, you do not appear to understand.
The so-called wolf was put on the board by…yep!…Trump. The board is required to have both Rs and Ds, so Trump scraped the bottom of the barrel and found an evil D. They do exist.
Also, Biden HAS appointed board members. Then Congress took months to approve them. But as long as the evil D is still there blocking change, there will be no change and BIDEN DOES NOT MAVE A MAGIC WAND to change this.
You seem to have no awareness that there are many powerful people in DC who hate DeJoy as much as you and I. Including, quite likely, Biden. But, America is not a dictatorship. Biden cannot just bend every situation to his will.
It infuriates me that DeJoy is still in power. But, unlike you, I don’t blame Biden.
THE OLD MAN
Yes, you’re pushing a Republican talking point.
You wrote: “They are grasping at anything to paint Biden as a senile old man and this sort of thing plays right into it. To ignore how the opponents will use it is foolish.”
Biden could discover a cure for cancer and the GOP would slam him 24/7. That’s what the GOP does. And, where you see Biden as looking incompetent, I see strength.
The Biden team has, IMO (and wholly contrary to yours), done a remarkable job with the massive pile of steaming shit they were handed. It’s not just Afghasastan and DeJoy but Covid and a ruined economy and a handful of bad Democrats and a GOP determined to destroy democracy and on and on. This all reminds me of Obama’s first year when he, too, and his team, was daily being beaten by the massive pile of steaming shit they were handed. He writes about this in his book. He states that they were all working around the clock, exhausted, but pleased that their efforts were making a difference. But the public and the media just kept bashing Obama. “Why isn’t he doing MORE?”
And this is what happens in America. Over and over. Republicans fuck everything up and the media goes: More, please! And the American people just absorb the latest body blow.
But when Democrats come in to fix the mess? The media screams: WHY AREN’T YOU DOING MORE???????? And the public screams same. Just as you are doing.
For me, it’s intensely painful to watch this play out over and over again.
UPDATE:
As of this morning, 90,000 people have been evacuated.
When people comment on Biden’s age, don’t they realize he’s only 3 years older than the orange guy? A fake tan and bad hair piece seems to fool so many people. I, personally, am so in awe at what Biden has managed to do in such a SHORT TIME. There is so much crap happening. (And yes, I’m upset about the post office – did you know if you have your flag up on your mail box for an outgoing letter, but there’s no mail to be delivered to you that day, the postguy can just walk right by your mailbox (and mine does) because his union says he doesn’t have to stop? And I’ve had mail lost, take for ever to get something I’ve ordered, not to mention in my very small town, it takes almost 3 wks to get my statement from my local bank!) I wish I did have a magic wand to give to Biden. As for Afgan. I think it would be a mess no matter what we do. The people have a totally different set of values and norms from us. There is no win scenario for this. Even veterans have acknowledged this. Hang in there Ross! 🙂
I knew that, although I think he’s a bit of a turd not to just stop and take the letter if the box is right there by the sidewalk.
Did you know if you move your mailbox farther away from the sidewalk, you risk not getting your mail delivered? I learned that when I moved my mailbox from one side of my front door to the other after I bought my house. There was a narrow “portrait” box between the door and window. I wanted a larger “landscape” box and the only place there was room was on the other side of the door, closer to the porch steps. So, about 4 feet closer to the sidewalk. Closer is fine. But if I should ever decide to put one back in the original spot, I might not get mail as it would be 4 feet further away from the sidewalk.
He actually walks across my lawn – 6 to 10 feet away! to go to neighbors house! Amazing. 🙂
When I moved in, the mailman used to walk diagonally across my front lawn. Wore a dirt path through the grass.
I put in a retaining wall to level the front, with brick and iron fencing and a front gate. Uses the front gate now. (Well, that guy is long retired anyway.)
But still, I thought it was rude to cut across the lawn when there was a walkway.