July 13, 2024

"When Mr. Biden referred to his political opponent, there were chants of 'Lock him up' — which the president did not discourage."

From "A Fiery Biden, Ignoring Critics, Attacks Trump to Chants of 'Lock Him Up'/Facing rising frustration in his party, the president brushed it off in an energetic speech in Michigan. Inside the room, at least, the Democratic mood was defiant, with cheers of 'Don’t go, Joe.'"
Mr. Biden thundered that his rival was a “convicted criminal” and a “business fraud,” and said that he had “raped” the writer E. Jean Carroll, whom Mr. Trump was found liable of sexually abusing by a civil court.

Should Trump sue Biden for defamation? Or is Trump's best move to say nothing while his opponent makes the mistake of becoming the bigger, more threatening blowhard?

You can watch the whole speech here. I listened to some of it live. I distanced myself because I hated the yelling. He's been criticized for speaking too softly — some say that's symptomatic of Parkinson's disease — so he's responding by speaking too loudly.

Can someone just be normal?

I think Trump is contemplating moving into the normal position. Let the other guy be the weird one. And I'm saying that as someone who voted against Trump in 2016 because, among other things, I could not visualize a President that weird. Here's something I wrote on July12, 2016:

Trump is tempted to appease those who think he's too weird, but whatever he chooses will be portrayed as a new dimension of weirdness. There's no getting to the illusion of normal. The trick, I think, is to be weird in the right way, the way that doesn't make us think: Why would we want a weird President?

89 comments:

rehajm said...

I like the defamation suit. Joe won’t be able to handle it. He’s coming Elizabeth!!!

Joe Smith said...

Trump should win the election and then wrap up the entire Biden empire.

Everyone except the stripper and the kid go to prison.

Temujin said...

Everything is relative. Joe has been weird in his own ways his entire career (and I'll assume- his life). As Joe has taken more power while getting more aged, and increasingly demented, his weirdness has increased exponentially. (I'm thinking Red Speech right now).

If Trump just said little, he'd seem normal around Joe Biden. Well...maybe more normal.

narciso said...

Hes an evil bastard isnt however when reptilian whitmer didnt bother

narciso said...

No you have drive him into the ground its possible he is incapable of humiliation

Michael K said...

Biden is now bragging about his lawfare. Pretty soon he'll admit it.

Breezy said...

He’s been a yeller for a long time, actually. He’s a fast yeller, also, which is really hard to listen to, imho.

Zach said...

Can someone just be normal?

For Biden,maybe he can't.

It seems like he has two states: low energy, faint monotone mumbling and high energy, aggressive and shouting. There doesn't seem to be any ability to modulate, and he doesn't do the high energy state very often.

My guess is that the high energy state requires stimulants, and he doesn't do it more often for health reasons, but that's just a guess.

Michael K said...

I wonder if the Democrats' "Lock him up" chants will decide the 34 felony judge to sentence Trump to jail?

Earnest Prole said...

Should Trump sue Biden for defamation?

If Trump has the urge to be Barbra Streisand, sure.

Iman said...

Yeah, he’s gonna reinstate Roe v Wade and close the border… all sorts of stuff.

Demented brokedick can’t even finish a sentence.

JAORE said...

Remember how awful "Lock Her UP" was just a few years ago. Remember how bad old Trump will use the DoJ to hurt political opponents just a few...uhhh... days ago.

Sebastian said...

"Why would we want a weird President?"

We righties tried normal. McCain, Mittens. Didn't work. I'd still prefer relatively normal--DeSantis. But Trump is the deporables' weird middle finger. Yes, progs maneuvered the right into this position. But there it is. And from now on, it may take some weirdness to withstand the 24/7 prog assault.

JaimeRoberto said...

If he was normal he wouldn't be a politician.

Kensington said...

The idea that Trump is uniquely abnormal has persisted amongst the most afflicted TDS revelers (I almost said "sufferers" but they seem to enjoy it too much for that description to be accurate) for almost a decade now, and it remains nothing more than prime gaslighting.

He's no worse than any other politician, and he's been better and more effective than many others.

Meanwhile, sociopaths/psychopaths like Biden are shoved down our throats as avatars of "normalcy."

narciso said...

he didn't get the memo that particular lawfare shop closed its doors, because the harridan in charge roberta kaplan was a jackass,

rhhardin said...

Normal is an understanding of structure and stability. Women don't have it.

Wince said...

Althouse said...
I distanced myself because I hated the yelling. He's been criticized for speaking too softly — some say that's symptomatic of Parkinson's disease — so he's responding by speaking too loudly. Can someone just be normal?

"How dare you, I have a voice-related medical condition... I suffer from voice immodulation. I’m unable to control the pitch or volume of my voice. Also known as Van Horton’s Syndrome, VI is a recognized psycho-medical condition which you may have read about in Newsweek or Cracked Magazine."

David53 said...

Biden, like many normal politicians, lies a lot. Never forget this doozy.

“If you’re vaccinated, you’re not going to be hospitalized, you’re not going to be in the ICU unit and you’re not going to die.” July 2021

Yancey Ward said...

"Yes, progs maneuvered the right into this position."

No, the GOP maneuvered the voters into this position by offering us McCain, Mittens, and both Bushes.

Hassayamper said...

@Zach: It seems like he has two states: low energy, faint monotone mumbling and high energy, aggressive and shouting.

Three states. You forgot the weird, creepy, conspiratorial whisper close to the microphone.

hombre said...

Trump probably shouldn't sue for defamation, although it is outside NY and DC, the lands "the law forgot." Michigan probably isn't a great venue, but still ....

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

Mr. Biden thundered that his rival was a “convicted criminal”...

Just like Mr. Biden's son, Hunter. People need to be reminded of that.

Drago said...

"Yes, progs maneuvered the right into this position."

Yancey Ward: "No, the GOP maneuvered the voters into this position by offering us McCain, Mittens, and both Bushes."

It probably shouldn't, but it remains astonishing to me how many supposed republicans will simply overlook decade after decade of GOPe absolute betrayal and backstabbing of the republican base with their serial Failure Theater and simply shift to a "well, the democraticals/progs just fooled those darn dumb Trump voters" "explainer" schtick as to why so many turned to Trump.

Hassayamper said...

@JaimeRoberto: If he was normal he wouldn't be a politician.

Those who aspire to power are rarely worthy of it, nor ever to be trusted with it.

I'd like to carry forward Bill Buckley's aphorism about preferring government by 100 people picked from the Boston phone book to rule by the faculty of Harvard.

I think serving in Congress should be managed like jury duty, with severe Texas-style limitations on the length of time it spends in session, and generous compensation that makes it decidedly not a hardship for most people. All taxpayers are entered in a drawing each year, from which one-quarter of the next year's Congress is selected to a single 4 year term, at a salary of something like $500,000 per annum. Only genuine hardship or a criminal record can disqualify you from serving. Net taxpayers only; we do not need loafers, welfare leeches, or retired people making decisions for the future.

gspencer said...

"so he's [along with juice-him-up cocktail] responding by speaking too loudly"

I think you meant "yelling." Like that Lets Hate Half the Country speech last September and the SOTU speech.

Grifter FJB and his grifter advisors aren't reading things. A huge percentage of the population is well aware of the phony lawfare that's been heaped on Trump, and the unfairness of it all annoys them. Explaining why the D lawfare plan isn't working.

Jess said...

Biden reflects the views of his supporters: Chaotic, poorly educated at top universities, lacking in any understanding of the working class, a strong sense of entitlement, rabid responses to anything not part of the narrative, and willing to spend the money of others to promote a cause. Of course he doesn't care if his supporters are shouting for ignoring the rule of law. Even his supporters in the Supreme Court are as ignorant as the rest. They all have drank from the well of Marxism and believe a well orchestrated mob is more important than individual liberty.

hombre said...

Other than the women thing that seems to be the assumed prerogative of rich guys and elected officials, Trump is more normal than the vast majority of politicians. That is part of his appeal as pointed out by Megyn Kelly at their initial encounter.

Jersey Fled said...

Speaking too loud are signs of Roid rage and cocaine addiction.

Narayanan said...

FJB could be sniffing Carroll for some of the moolah!

Fred Drinkwater said...

Normal: Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Shumer, Jerry Nadler, Harry Reid, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, AOC.

Would any sane person actually volunteer to be governed by any one of them?

Drago said...

"Yes, progs maneuvered the right into this position."

Yancey Ward: "No, the GOP maneuvered the voters into this position by offering us McCain, Mittens, and both Bushes."

It probably shouldn't, but it remains astonishing to me how many supposed republicans will simply overlook decade after decade of GOPe absolute betrayal and backstabbing of the republican base with their serial Failure Theater and simply shift to a "well, the democraticals/progs just fooled those darn dumb Trump voters" "explainer" schtick as to why so many turned to Trump.

Drago said...

Sebastian: "We righties tried normal. McCain, Mittens. Didn't work."

I think its fair to say that it is NOT normal for Presidential candidates for major parties spending the majority of their campaign time lecturing and hectoring their own voters and, in McCain's case, he desperately wanted Dem Senator Lieberman on the republican ticket.

Again, not really all that normal.

They’re eating the cats — They’re eating the dogs said...

I think Trump is among the few that would like Biden to stay in the race.

I hope this lesson is taken by both parties — a non-Trump Republican candidate would lead the poll by 20% by now.

mccullough said...

Normal people don’t run for office.

Politics attracts sociopaths. So does media and academia.

Oligonicella said...

Althouse:
Can someone just be normal?

You're not normal. I'm not normal. I don't think I've really met someone who is "normal" since that's a weighted abstraction. There'e always something off with everyone.

What people usually mean by saying someone isn't normal is that that someone is acting in a way they don't want them to act.

I prefer hanging with the weirdos as they're usually up front about who and what they are, which is why I frequent this blog.

Oligonicella said...

Hassayamper:
You forgot the weird, creepy, conspiratorial whisper close to the microphone.

Those are flashbacks. He's hallucinating he's over the shoulder of a little girl smelling her hair and murmuring in her ear.

Inga said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Doug said...

Althouse you're not nearly as clever as you think you are.

RMc said...

Can someone just be normal?

In this economy...?!

hombre said...

It's difficult to imagine people being stupid enough, or evil enough, or both, to want to saddle us with this demented grifter again.

I've said it before. It makes me proud to be an ex-Democrat.

imTay said...

I won't repeat what I said in the other thread except to say that Biden lied about Trump, saying that he was convicted or Raping Carrol is just one lie, he also lied about Trump calling Putin's invasion "Wonderful"

He also threw more gasoline on his Ukraine dumpster fire by calling the man who ever is US President in a few months is going to be forced to negotiate with a "butcher" and a "dictator."

Here is a hint, Joe, whatever they are telling you, the war is going very badly for Ukraine. Those F-16s need the same kind of pristine runways that the Concorde did, which is why they retired the Concorde. They are not going to change anything. Russia can blast runways anywhere in Ukraine and the Patriots are, well better than nothing, but they can't really defend anything the Russians really want to hit. They only keep Russia from brazenly flying fighters and bombers over the front.

Ukraine is rapidly running out of soldiers. Europeans don't want to fight there, Americans don't want to fight there. The Poles maybe want to fight, fulfilling George Soros '93 prophecy that we would use Eastern Europeans to fight the Russians.

But you go ahead Mr Foreign Policy Expert! You go girl!

Drago said...

LLR-democratical Rich: "I hope this lesson is taken by both parties — a non-Trump Republican candidate would lead the poll by 20% by now."

LOL

Doug said...


I hope this lesson is taken by both parties — a non-Trump Republican candidate would lead the poll by 20% by now.


Do your parents know you are posting to blogs?

Lance said...

There's no getting to the illusion of normal. The trick, I think, is to be weird in the right way, the way that doesn't make us think: Why would we want a weird President?

I don't think that's possible when the NYT, WaPo, CNN, etc. have dedicated themselves to smearing your reputation and character.

Biden expects his allies in the media to trash Trump so much, that Biden wins by default. That's been the "normal" way to win for at least the last twenty years.

imTay said...

"Althouse you're not nearly as clever as you think you are."

Here's your change to educate everybody then! We all would love to hear your takedown. I am not kidding here. If you can show us where she is wrong, with facts and logic and quotes that go to primary sources, not descriptions of quotes, bring it on! I don't want to be wrong, so rescue me.

Drago said...

Is Harry Sisson posting under "Rich" at Althouse blog?

Drago said...

"Althouse you're not nearly as clever as you think you are."

But what if Althouse is actually 3 times as clever as most others? Then, not being "as nearly clever as you think you are" would still leave her twice as clever as most others!

It's science.

boatbuilder said...

Selling out your political party because you have a personal vendetta against the candidate who beat your faction, by knowingly and actively promoting and assisting a false and slanderous treason hoax, in return for a week-long funeral extravaganza scripted by you, is not normal.

Mikey NTH said...

I thought when Trump supporters chanted "Lock her up!" it was the worstest thing evar!

But it is okay when Democrats do it.

Oligonicella said...

Doug:
Althouse you're not nearly as clever as you think you are.

A clever person would have explained why.

Michael said...



Ann asked: Can someone just be normal?

No. Next question.

john mosby said...

Can’t Trump sue anywhere the defamation was received via TV? Eg, Florida, Texas, Wyoming, etc?

Also, ref weirdness: “When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.” - HST

JSM

Deep State Reformer said...

Of course Old Joe didn't discourage the "lock 'em up" chant. The Lefties know good and well that civility and good manners is just a bourgeois pretense that can be discarded when when it would help the cause. And even Joe remembers that. It's a good move on Joe's part because what's Trump going to do? Complain about Joe being rude?

D.D. Driver said...

"I think Trump is contemplating moving into the normal position."

I curious where this is coming from? What have you seen to suggest this? It's been like two weeks since he was promoting televised military tribunals for his political opponents. This one of the least normal things I have ever heard from a candidate. Is there some trend I am missing?

PB said...

File defamation suit for $5 billion on Monday.

Inga said...

“Normal: Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Shumer, Jerry Nadler, Harry Reid, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, AOC.”


Abnormal: Matt Goetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, BoBo Boebert, Paul Gosar, Nancy Mace, Anna Paulina Luna, Tommy Tuberville, etc.

Drago said...

D. D. Driver: "I curious where this is coming from? What have you seen to suggest this? It's been like two weeks since he was promoting televised military tribunals for his political opponents."

Given your rather sketchy past in regards to the accuracy of your claims re: Trump, I think we are going to need a link with the specific Trump quote and context.

And take your time.

Inga said...

“I think Trump is contemplating moving into the normal position."

“I curious where this is coming from? What have you seen to suggest this?”

Is it wishcasting? Dunno, just guessing. Trump cannot and will not ever be “normal”. He may try to constrain himself for maybe 24 to 48 hours, but the real Trump demands to be heard, which is always a good thing for Democrats and other non Trumpists.

Drago said...

Apparently, Inga believes lists of names somehow makes it okay for biden to have showered with and sexualized his 12 year old daughter.

Such a strange response.

Drago said...

Inga: "Trump cannot and will not ever be “normal”. He may try to constrain himself for maybe 24 to 48 hours, but the real Trump demands to be heard, which is always a good thing for Democrats and other non Trumpists."

It's always strange reading the bizarre rantings of self-proclaimed mind-readers who spent years getting it all wrong.

Goldenpause said...

Biden wasn’t prosecuted by Special Counsel Hur because Hur concluded that Biden would come across to a jury as an elderly man with a poor memory. Not exactly a finding of innocence.

Rusty said...

Ann.
Define,"normal".

Inga said...

“Apparently, Inga believes lists of names somehow makes it okay for biden to have showered with and sexualized his 12 year old daughter.”

#TrumpPedoFiles still trending.

William said...

Joe Biden has an old man's gait. It's shuffling and hesitant. It's hard to look bold and forthright when you walk like that. I guess there's nothing he can do about it, and he's just stuck with it. There is, however, something he can do about that stage whisper. It's an affectation and quite irritating. I don't think people like Joe Biden better the more they see him.... In the last campaign he stayed mostly out of sight. That's probably the best strategy. No news conferences, no rallies, stay out of sight. Most Democrats will vote for a yellow dog over a Republican and most voters are Democrats. If the yellow dog has too much mange or is actively frothing with rabies, it's better to keep the yellow dog chained in the basement.....To protect democracy and keep America safe, Biden and Harris should refuse to do any more public appearances or debates for the rest of the campaign and, indeed, for rest of their public life. Maybe George Clooney can deliver the next SOTU speech. He's be much better at it than Biden.

Christopher B said...

Difficulty controlling vocal volume is often mentioned as a symptom or effect of one of the Parkinson's conditions. It could be that Biden's volume just drops, and people are over interpreting it

Humperdink said...

Inga's list of normals:

Pelosi ... had so many facelifts her face looks like Saran wrap.
Schumer .... look up perpetual snark face and there he is .. Sen. Scheemer.
Nadler ... visualize Humpty Dumpty sitting on a wall.
Harry Reid ... paraphrasing the movie quote from Big Jake: "I thought he was dead".
Strozk/ Page ... two lovers/ cheaters made for each other.
AOC ... normal? Really? Are you kidding?????

A virtual Hall of Fame for Inga.

Iman said...

Doug said… “Althouse you're not nearly as clever as you think you are.”

Don’t be abby normal, Doug.

Iman said...

Abbynormal: Whitmer, Lois Lerner, Aileen Wuornos, Igna, Lorena Bobbit

Drago said...

Inga: "#TrumpPedoFiles still trending."

Yes, I've read up on how you hoaxers moved on to that one.

Any details you'd like to share?

Mind-reading results?

Explanations for why Trump hasnt been charged with something by the weaponized DOJ liars?

Is this your newest security blanket because your moscow hookers hoax fell flat?

Tell the truth Inga: you really wish Ashley Biden had just kept her big mouth shut about Joey Dementia sexualizing her in the shower, dont you?

rhhardin said...

I thought everybody wrote pantyhose, so how did Trump do it? LBJ famously said that pantyhose had ruined finger fucking.

FullMoon said...

Mr. Biden thundered that his rival was a “convicted criminal” and a “business fraud,” and said that he had “raped” the writer E. Jean Carroll, whom Mr. Trump was found liable of sexually abusing by a civil court.

This is Biden acknowledging that he is a terrible person, but "Trump is terribler".

FullMoon said...

Inga: "#TrumpPedoFiles still trending."

What an a-hole.

Inga said...

“Inga's list of normals:

Pelosi ... had so many facelifts her face looks like Saran wrap.
Schumer .... look up perpetual snark face and there he is .. Sen. Scheemer.
Nadler ... visualize Humpty Dumpty sitting on a wall.
Harry Reid ... paraphrasing the movie quote from Big Jake: "I thought he was dead".
Strozk/ Page ... two lovers/ cheaters made for each other.
AOC ... normal? Really? Are you kidding?????

A virtual Hall of Fame for Inga.”

Read more carefully. This is not my list. I was quoting Fred Drinkwater @ 12:44.

Humperdink said...

@Inga. Maybe you could describe which large American cities run by democrats are normal. San Fran? Chi Town? New York?

As an aside, normal democrat city Chicago (I think that's a fair description), home to the Dem convention, had 117* people shot over the 4th of July weekend. Now that's some good ol' American fireworks.

*117 people shot = a war zone.

Jerry said...

Blogger Sebastian said...
"Why would we want a weird President?"

We righties tried normal. McCain, Mittens.

------------------------

The trouble is, they were still long-term politicians. The sad truth about DC is that the folks who work and scheme all their lives to get TO office in DC see themselves as deserving of everything they can lay hands on inside the Beltway. McCain was a loser, only where he was due to being at the top of the "Well, it's his turn due to seniority" Presidential Candidate list. Mittens was pushed out as a 'nice guy, no chance of winning' candidate against Obama. And once he was selected, the media destroyed him.

Most politicians used to be exquisitely sensitive about their status in the media - they were able to make or break the candidate. But with the rise of the internet and social media, along with their glaringly obvious bias at this point, they've lost probably 80-90% of the power they used to have.

They tried to destroy Trump. And any trad political figure would have slunk away. The trouble with Trump was he didn't care. He didn't need their approval, knowing them to be a declining power. Read that again - He didn't need their approval. There were problems and issues, and he communicated what he wanted to do to fix them.

The robuel with DC is that they don't 'fix' a damned thing. They 'manage' problems, which means keeping a status quo going that'll keep the issue live, so that money can be budgeted, allocated, and dispensed to the 'right folks' who are handling things.

Trump showed there was a different way - that the status quo isn't a good option.

DeSantis is another. We'll see if he get much beyond where he's at. I hope he does, we really need someone in office who can say 'No bueno, no dinero' when Congress wants to throw money around.

imTay said...

I personally would have found it pretty funny if Trump had paid hookers to pee on the bed where Obama slept. Not sure that it would have been disqualifying if it were true. Of course it was made up by people paid by Hillary under the label "legal expenses" when in fact it was a campaign expense. Wow, that sounds like a familiar situation, except the other person who was involved in a situation like this was arrested, tried, convicted, and faces sentencing soon in New York State on a charge bootstrapped out of a state "conviction" on a Federal law, for an incident the Feds looked at and declined to prosecute.

Why don't the prosecutions of Trump ever have the appearance of the even handed application of justice, but rather involve bizarre, unprecedented applications of laws that have been bent and twisted specifically to get Trump, nobody else ever. Even laws over a century old.

Humperdink said...

Inga said: "Read more carefully. This is not my list. I was quoting Fred Drinkwater"

Sorry I didn't see Fred's list as I came to party late. So you agree it's not your list of normals, it's a collection left wing loons?

loudogblog said...

"Should Trump sue Biden for defamation? Or is Trump's best move to say nothing while his opponent makes the mistake of becoming the bigger, more threatening blowhard?"

I think you've answered your own question. Even though Trump likes to sue people, I think that he's prefer to go against Biden directly. That's how he can get the most bang for his buck. Trump will constantly remind people that Biden promised to debate him in September and say how much he's looking forward to it. (Also, I don't think that Biden's people will allow the second debate to happen.)

Has Trump matured and gained wisdom with age? We'll see. Biden and the far left are making such outrageous claims about Trump that he would be a fool not to let them destroy themselves with all their irrational hate.

The Real Andrew said...

My father, in his later years, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Eventually the diagnosis was changed to a similar condition, progressive supranuclear palsy.

Except at the very end, when he basically became incapacitated, his speech and mannerisms were about half as bad as Biden’s are right now.

n.n said...

normal democrat city Chicago (I think that's a fair description), home to the Dem convention, had 117* people shot over the 4th of July weekend

They received their gun safety instruction on the set of Rust.

n.n said...

Inga: "#TrumpPedoFiles still trending."

What an a-hole.


A back... black hole... whore h/t NAACP.

ga6 said...

By the end of October the cry from the rabble will be:

"Off with his head" followed by "Will no one rid us of this meddlesome wasp?"

imTay said...

LOL, look at the size of that crowd!

Couldn't afford more than two or three buses? I guess the donors holding back is really beginning to bite!

Wilbur said...

MODO complains about Biden administration hectoring.

Biden engages in egregious hectoring in this speech.

Seems to be a theme today.

The Godfather said...

Going back to the opening theme here ("Lock her up!") -- When Trump became President in 2017, he certainly could have directed that criminal charges be brought (or at least investigated) against Hillary Clinton for her use of private emails for government business as Secretary of State (presumably to hide corrupt solicitation of contributions to her family "charity") and her destruction of evidence of such crimes, and her sponsorship of the phony anti-Trump "dossier". My guess is that at the time Trump was too innocent of the "ways of Washington". As President he did learn about VP Biden's corrupt "family business", but he didn't really follow through on it. He didn't send the FBI or appoint a special prosecutor unlike as (say) Biden later did against him.

Now, we have our incumbent president's campaign running against Trump on the grounds that Trump is "a convicted felon" for several made-up booking-keeping errors. Biden wants to scare people that if Trump is elected (again) the rule of law will be trashed, whereas it is Biden and his supporters who are subverting our political process.

Dr Weevil said...

And here's imTay inway ermontVay (1:01pm) repeating his usual Putinite talking points.

The fact is that Russia is the one running out of soldiers. Some on Twitter keep an eye on Telegram in Russia looking for obituaries and where-is-my-missing-husband posts and copy them to Twitter, usually with translations. There are hundreds of new ones every day. Here's an example: a 57-year-old North Ossetian, who looks like he's 77, killed in Ukraine: link. Any country accepting soldiers as decrepit as that is absolutely desperate for soldiers. And he's not the oldest: some of the privates are 60-64 years old! They've also started sending female convicts to the front, having run out of male ones. (Yes, Ukraine is also recruiting soldiers, but not the hard-core criminals. Russia released at least two serial killer cannibals to serve at the front.)

Many of the where-is-my-missing-husband reports are for soldiers who had only been in the army a week or two! There are also Russians complaining on social media that nine-tenths of their unit has been killed, that they were sent into battle after 3 days of training, that they have to drink water from ditches because the army can't supply them with bottled water, and that they're consequently getting cholera or typhus (50-60% fatal if untreated). There are pictures (posted by Russians) of wounded soldiers being sent back to the front on crutches, of soldiers being kept in open pits as prisoners for refusing to fight, and of soldiers going into battle on golf carts and scooters, because Russia is not only running out of soldiers, it's running out of armored vehicles and even unarmored trucks. They do have plenty of Chechens in 'blocking units' behind the front lines to shoot anyone who tries to run away.

Of course, imTay inway ermontVay knows nothing about F-16s or Patriots, or he would know that the main problem with both is that we are providing too few and too late to make as big a difference as we could. The US has hundreds of F-16s parked in rows in the desert, but has provided none whatsoever, and only given very grudging permission for the Netherlands, Denmark, and a couple of other countries to pass on the few dozen they have to spare. But Biden seems to want to allow Russia to slaughter Ukrainian civilians by the hundreds, rather than allow Ukraine to win.

Michael McNeil said...

Speaking of the Mueller investigation, Josh Blackman at the Volokh Conspiracy, writing in Reason, observes the following: {quoting…}

Earlier this week, I revisited the Mueller investigation in light of Trump v. United States. My conclusion: the entire basis of the investigation would have been void in light of the Court's decision. Virtually everything that triggered Mueller's appointment was a "core" presidential power. Moreover, nearly the entirety of the investigation probed Trump to determine whether he had "corrupt" motives–an inquiry that Chief Justice Roberts's decision foreclosed. In hindsight, this investigation should have never happened. I think we would have been all better off without that colossal waste of time.

{/unQuote}

MadisonMan said...

I don't read a lot of newspaper articles, but the one I read today, and yesterday, in the Wisc State Journal both described Biden's actions as forceful.
So I guess a memo to use that word has gone out.