१५ डिसेंबर, २०२४

"Some historians who follow the presidency say Biden has always shown flashes of anger when he feels underestimated."

"While they are far more fleeting than Trump’s brandishing of grievances, they have at times been unmistakable. 'There has always been this issue of resentment with Biden. He resented [former president Barack] Obama and crew for supplanting him in 2008 and for telling him not to run in [2016], and he has many other resentments,' said Tevi Troy, a presidential historian who recently published a book on the relationship between presidents and CEOs. 'But can you imagine how resentful he is of the shifting narratives and the way he’s been pushed aside and manipulated and not treated fairly. So yeah, I can see him being resentful.'"

Lots to talk about there, but I want to focus on "brandishing" — Trump’s brandishing of grievances. This is an article about Biden, his resentfulness, but Trump must be inserted, and he must be worse. Biden has  fleeting flashes of well-founded anger, but Trump has grievances, and he brandishes them. So Biden briefly displays resentment but Trump waves his resentment around like a weapon. 

If Harris had won and money for her inaugural festivities were flowing in, we wouldn't see phrases like "curries favor," "frenzied activity," and "brandished checks." They'd be saying "shows the love," "tingling excitement," and "lavished donations."

And back in August 2018, discussing the Charlottesville car attack, I asked "Is 'brandishing' really a sensibly journalistic word?" The arrested man, according to NPR, had been seen "brandishing a black shield." I answered my own question:

Plainly, no. To "brandish" is "To flourish, wave about (a sword, spear, dart, club, or other manual weapon) by way of threat or display, or in preparation for action" (OED). Even if it were a real shield and not a cardboard "mock up," a shield is not a weapon....

In the comments to that post, I wrote about the OED definition of the word:

[J]ust about any word that expresses something concrete can also be used figuratively. The OED has a section on "brandish" used figuratively, with examples:
1649 Milton Tenure of Kings 2 Laws which they so impotently brandish against others. 
a1764 R. Lloyd Familiar Lett. Rhimes in Wks. (1774) II. 78 Your eyes that brandish burning darts. 
1847 J. Martineau Endeavours Christian Life II. x. 163 Brandishing the threat of infliction. 
Notice that the idea still needs to be that the thing that is brandished is a weapon. My observation is that a shield is not a weapon. It's the opposite. It could be repurposed as a weapon if you lifted it up and moved it with a gesture that made people feel that you were going to hit them with it, but the normal way a shield is held is the opposite of brandishing.

If they couldn't say he was threatening to hit people with his shield, they shouldn't say he was "brandishing" it. Journalists should be especially careful about using figurative language. Sometimes they are lazy about language and are just carelessly groping for different words that seem colorful. That's bad writing even if it isn't slanting in some particular direction.

In that light, think about "Trump’s brandishing of grievances" in the new WaPo article. Is Trump's display of his "grievances" regarded as a threat? Maybe! 

And here's my oldest discussion of the use of "brandish," from June 2009. Andrew Sullivan had written something about "the surrealism and narcissism of the Wasilla nutcase" (AKA Sarah Palin)":

"So brandishing a special needs infant as a campaign prop was putting your family off-limits? Pushing your own daughter into the klieglights to divert attention from your own fantastic lies is family-protective? Pushing Bristol Palin into an absurd abstinence campaign to gin up support from the Christianist right is looking after your kids? Palin reaps what she sows...."

I wrote:
Now, this is absurd. Nearly all politicians display their families. Do they brandish them? Brandish means to shake or wave (as a weapon) menacingly/to exhibit in an ostentatious or aggressive manner. Occasionally, one reads of some criminal swinging a baby around like a cudgel, but with politicians, the displaying of the family is non-aggressive and without any weapon connotations. Obama displayed and continues to display Sasha and Malia in the conventional political way, and I'm sure Sullivan would be steamed if anyone mocked them or said anything sexual about them....

I've just created a tag for the word "brandish." It's a power verb, so notice who's using it and why. 

AND: I've gone back and added the tag "brandish (the word)" to every post in my 20-year archive where the word "brandish" appears.

There are surprisingly few, and in all but one of them, the word comes up in something I'm quoting. 

Above, I discussed old posts where I noticed the word and then talked about it, and there's even one more like that:

It was June 5, 2020, and I was quoting Joe Biden: "The president [Trump] held up a Bible at St. John's Church yesterday. I just wish he opened it once in a while.... instead of brandishing it...."

I wrote:

To "brandish" is "To flourish, wave about (a sword, spear, dart, club, or other manual weapon) by way of threat or display, or in preparation for action" (OED).

"Brandish" is a key word in the Bible — Ezekiel 32:10 
I will make many peoples appalled at you, and the hair of their kings shall bristle with horror because of you, when I brandish my sword before them. They shall tremble every moment, every one for his own life, on the day of your downfall....

The blog archive contains 3 other appearances of "brandish," 2 of which are in quotes.

One of these is another example of dramatizing Trump. It was November 9, 2020, and I was quoting Axios: "Trump plans to hold rallies focused on the litigation [challenging the announced result of the election], and brandish obituaries of people who were recorded as voting but are dead." Brandish obituaries!

In the second one, from December 29, 2005, CNN, reporting a murder, uses "brandish" in the most basic and literal way: "She said she looked on helplessly from the corner of the room as he then killed the three girls -- Bano, 8, Sumaira, 7, and Humaira, 4 -- pausing between the slayings to brandish the bloodstained knife at his wife, warning her not to intervene or raise alarm."

There is only one usage of "brandish" in the history of this blog that originated with me. It was August 22, 2009, when I asked:  "Did CIA interrogators stage mock executions and brandish a gun and a drill to frighten detainees into giving up information?"

१०९ टिप्पण्या:

rhhardin म्हणाले...

Brandish is a penis reference. It's an envy word.

blade of a sword, prow of a ship

Jaq म्हणाले...

He is a reckless dotard, and yes, loss of the ability to mask anger is an indicator of senility. But he always was an angry and reckless man who acted in his own self interests first.

Jaq म्हणाले...
ही टिप्पणी लेखकाना हलविली आहे.
Jaq म्हणाले...

I think it is related somehow to "blandish," in the way that cleave has opposite meanings, but I couldn't prove it.

doctrev म्हणाले...

Oh boy, grievances. Sure he survived two assassination attempts, the full weight of lawfare from the federal government, universally hostile media attacks, and open treason from legislators who really should have known better. But none of it is a legitimate complaint like BLM is, you guys!

Honest to Jesus, I have zero idea why these people ever thought President Trump SHOULD avoid punishing them, let alone a good reason for him to do so.

Jaq म्हणाले...

Where we saw genuine score settling was in the Biden Administration. Look at the unprecedented ruin of Rudy Giuliani for daring to take that laptop full of state level crimes involving sex and minors to the Delaware State Police.

tcrosse म्हणाले...

Outlandish.

Kate म्हणाले...

A shield is a weapon, just not a pointy one. It's an instrument of war carried into battle. A sword can be held defensively and a shield can bash.

Krumhorn म्हणाले...

feels underestimated, resentment with Obama, unfairly treated

Has Biden ever enunciated those feelings? We know that he buries his face in the hair of little girls. Does he feel pedo feelings? Or does he just like the smell of My Little Pony Chamomile Shampoo?

- Krumhorn

James K म्हणाले...

Any criticism of Biden must always be accompanied by a "Trump is worse" statement. (WaPo style guide)

rhhardin म्हणाले...

Blandish is Japanese.

AMDG म्हणाले...

“Some historians who follow the presidency say Biden has always shown flashes of anger when he feels underestimated”

Is it even possible to underestimate Joe Biden?

Dixcus म्हणाले...

The problem with Trump is that he's all brandish and no action.

Or as we say here in Texas, "all hat and no cattle."

Caroline म्हणाले...

Althouse, you deserve to be paid for your faithful service as Ombudsman for the NYT.

Cappy म्हणाले...

It takes great athletic skills to brandish while pouncing!

robother म्हणाले...

Let's Go Brandish!

Lazarus म्हणाले...

Admen know that some things are brands, and others are only "brand-ish" or brand-adjacent.

You know it's Festivus season when grievances are being brandished, but the article gets it absolutely wrong. Trump's grievances are for the stage. They're part of the show. He'll call up Maggie Haberman or Bob Woodward. He'll flirt with Jill Biden. He feels things, remembers snubs, and likes to air his grievances in public, but he doesn't try to act on them -- or at least, he hasn't so far.

Biden has "Irish amnesia." He's forgotten everything except his grievances, and he's not above acting out of spite. He hasn't been above little furtive "I showed them" or "I fixed their wagon" comments. That's understandable, but the way he tries to hide his resentments and the way they seep out can be a little unsettling. Trump's comments are cathartic and get the resentment (or at least the bitterest part of them) out of his system. Biden seems to be bottling up resentments going back all the way to when he had to repeat second grade.

Paddy O म्हणाले...

The use of historians as observers of current events is an odd approach. Logical fallacy really of utilizing supposed experts. Anyone who has followed politics for the last 40+ yrs has equal observational authority. And know exactly who Biden has shown himself to be

rhhardin म्हणाले...

The sun doth shine,
The world is mine,
My bones are full of marrow;
O for a wench
That has a trench
Where I may push my barrow

-- A.D.Hope (Australian poet-laureate)

Mary Beth म्हणाले...

blade of a sword, prow of a ship

I see someone else looked up the etymology. I look up the origins of words fairly often, but quite often it's after reading a post here.

doctrev म्हणाले...

I feel worse for Gonzalo Lira, but yes. Expect President Trump to not merely pardon Giuliani but restore him outright.

Meade म्हणाले...

Brandish… scorned for the one who ran.
What do you do when your brandish
And you know you’re a penis?

hawkeyedjb म्हणाले...

Biden will soon be gone, and almost nobody will ever pay attention to him again. He is a mediocrity who found an occupation where those of limited morals or intellectual capacity can succeed. Like any midwit, he has resorted to plagiarism because he has never had an actual thought. His is the anger of the unaccomplished, ever jealous that someone might receive praise for actually achieving something. He will be forgotten soon, but not soon enough.

AMDG म्हणाले...

The dog that doesn’t bark - in an article discussing Biden’s legacy there is no mention of the border, no mention of Afghanistan, and no mention culture.

Instead the focus is on things that might happen due to the Inflation Reduction Act the CHIPS Act, and the Imfrastructure Bill.

The Inflation Reduction Act will fail because the decarbonization of the economy, especially in such a short period of time without a big push for nuclear is idiotic. See what Germany is going through. Well, at least Pete Bootyplug can use his excellent implementation of charging stations to brandish his Presidential qualifications.

The CHIPS act implementation seems to be designed by HR departments.

The only thing Biden will be remembered for will be as warning to not have dementia addled men serve as President.

Perhaps a Constitutional Amendment can passed setting age limits for federally elected officials. We could call it the “Biden Amendment”.

Anthony म्हणाले...

Excellent summation. Applies to probably 90% of government employees.

pious agnostic म्हणाले...

When I see the word "brandish" in any Joe Biden context, I think of "Let's Go Brandon."

Yesterday, I drove past a store that had closed a couple years ago. Their sign (still) read "Let's Go Brandon".

I laughed. "Let's Go Brandon" indeed.

William म्हणाले...

I'm sure that shields were invented not long after the invention of sharp pointed weapons. I'm also pretty sure that such shields were also used to inflict pain and suffering upon the enemy. Didn't some shields have their own sharp edges and protuberances? In total warfare--and most warfare ends up being total--everything is a weapon. In Ghostbusters, we saw how marshmallows given sufficient mass can be fashioned into a weapon of mass destruction.

JAORE म्हणाले...

"This is an article about Biden, his resentfulness, but Trump must be inserted,..."
Holy COW! Is water still wet? Will the sun set in the west tonight?

Do NYT readers ever acknowledge this ingrained pattern in their comments? Or does every subheading contain an unspoken what-aboutism to follow"?

Do the NYT staff even have a glimmer this is a sign post on the road to ruin? One hopes not. Perhaps a crossword only subscription would be a fitting legacy.

Peachy म्हणाले...

Biden is clearly controlled by others. That alone would make anyone angry.
Joe Biden is also a total fraud and a lying international pay to play crook - who is in fact - above the law.
That is not democracy.

Earnest Prole म्हणाले...

Brandon-ish.

Peachy म्हणाले...

Biden is not who we are. Right O'-Clooney?

Jaq म्हणाले...

OMG, loved that show, and The Rifleman.

John henry म्हणाले...

a week or so back I mentioned that the MSM treatment of President Trump (He really is pretty much president already, isn't he?) is one of his superpowers.

For example, he "brandished" the 25% tariff at Canada and Mexico. The MSM response was that this was a terrible thing to do. But (superpower) they also said that he was crazy enough to do it.

Schienbaum (Mexico) and Trudeau do drink their ownkoolaide and think he really is crazy enough to do it.

So they brandish all sorts of big words about how Canada will cut off oil to the US. Scheinbaum brandishes big words about how President Trump can't tell here what to do and yadda, yadda, yadda. Nobody takes them seriously. Canada is going to cut off our energy? Their biggest source of revenue? Yeah, right. BTW, Junior, if he puts a 25% tarrif, He not you, is cutting off the flow. There will be damn little left for you to cut.

In the meantime, Scheinbaum is turning back migrant caravans, raiding fentanyl distribution. Junior is visiting President Trump at MAL to explain that he will bend the knee to avoid the tariff.

Canada and Mexico brandish and the world yawns. They are sane and rational.

President Trump brandishes and gets results because he is seen as not same and rational.

There is no need for actual 25% tariffs. All we need is to brandish them to get the desired results

John Henry

William म्हणाले...

I read a lot of history. It's possible for everyone to be wrong and for everyone to lose. Just one example: WWI.......There's a theory of history that teaches that there's nothing useful to be learned from the study of history. I think A J P Taylor said we should study history to learn interesting stories but there's not much use beyond that........Whether you call it original sin, the id, or the reptilian brain, it's the the literal base of humanity . We're destined to be stupid, brutish, and selfish. Nothing exemplifies this more than the Biden Presidency but Trump's not much of an exception.

Jaq म्हणाले...

" Old French brandiss-, present participle stem of brandir "to flourish (a sword)"

"Old French blandiss-, present-participle stem of blandir "to flatter, caress."

I will stick with my interpretation that it's a verb like "cleave" that has split into opposite meanings.

NKP म्हणाले...

Perhaps an age limit would deny us the oft longed-for Great White Hope.

RCOCEAN II म्हणाले...

Joe Brandonish. Joe Biden his time to retirement. Wasnt there a TV show called "Brandish" starring Chuck conners and his waving around his broken sword?

That's Joe Biden. He's got his shoulder straps torn off, his POTUS sword broken in half, and full of resentment, he's about to be thrown out of the Fort. "Brandon. Brandon. Marked with a failures shame. What do you do when youre Brandon and you know you're a man?"

Jaq म्हणाले...

When we "trim" a Christmas tree, do we remove parts of it, or add decorations to it?

Yancey Ward म्हणाले...

I have been observing Joe Biden for over 40 years- the man is the living and walking definition of mediocre. Now, almost all people are mediocre thus there is nothing intrinsically wrong with being so- the problem arises when a mediocre person doesn't realize it and demands to be treated as non-mediocre- that is Joe Biden.

Original Mike म्हणाले...

Biden has always been a prick.

RCOCEAN II म्हणाले...

BTW, whenever the MSM talks about "Historian X says", insert the adjective "Leftwing Democrat" before "Historian. Because they all are. They wouldn't be quoted otherwise. Plus, Academia votes 90-10 Democrat. Bechloss would be presented on PBS as some sort of objective "Historian" so he could give us his pearls of wisdom, but if you look at the guys twitter feed, he's so anti-white, anti-Republican party, and Leftwing its hard for him to write the name "Trump" without exploding with rage.

RCOCEAN II म्हणाले...

I must I was suprised at what a hard-core, unethical, unpatriotic Leftist Joe Biden turned out to be. I knew he was liberal, I knew he was mediocre, I knew he was slightly corrupt and had a tendency to fib and lie. But wow, the crap he pulled as POTUS was unbelievable. Refusing to enforce the immigration laws, breaking the RR workers strike, approving of the FBI raid on Trump's residence and the DOJ's crimnial prosecutions, calling Trump supporters "Nazis", supporting genocide in Gaza and an endless bloody war in Ukraine, laughing at all the j6 being thrown in jail while Antifa and BLM protesters roamed free, etc. etc.

Without a doubt the worst POTUS ever, ever. ANd beloved by Mitt Romney and Mitch McConnell. Let that sink in.

Wince म्हणाले...

By the time Biden leaves office, Cody Jarrett will have gone out with less spite, more dignity and less destructiveness than Joe Biden.

Made it, Ma! Top of the World!.

cfs म्हणाले...

I wish I could find it now, but a few months ago I saw a video where the "on the street" reporters asked passers-by to tell why they supported Biden without mentioning Trump's name. None could do it.

Journalists can't mention Harris or Biden or even the Democrat party and their policy faults without mentioning Trump. During the campaign, no one could explain why they were FOR Harris or any of her accomplishments without mentioning Trump. They can't even list the crimes Biden is accused of without adding "but Trump"

The Democrats brandish the word "Trump" as if he is a weapon.

Sebastian म्हणाले...

"While they are far more fleeting than Trump’s brandishing of grievances" Already covered by JAORE, but worth noting nonetheless, the but-Trump trope. Progs just can't help themselves. Nor, in their bubble, can they hear themselves. You'd think that after the election they'd have reason to, but apparently not enough.

Lem Vibe Bandit म्हणाले...

Dissing the Trump brand is what journalists do best.

Aggie म्हणाले...

I'd say history has underestimated his talent for avoiding punishment for a career marked by rather obvious corruption, influence peddling, and Pay to Play.

mikee म्हणाले...

"Brandishing" a firearm is a crime. I would suppose the word is used here to bring "criminal" to mind regarding Trump. Ho hum. It must be a day ending in "y" again for a Trump opponent to toss out a smear.

As to Biden, some folks with dementia become angry due to the confusion and loss of cognition, others become happier for the same reason. I guess we see where Dementia Joe is going. Too soon for pity, too late for forgiveness, is his problem.

Lem Vibe Bandit म्हणाले...

Someone should collect these journalist swipes at Trump in book form or website form.

Aggie म्हणाले...

What will the Biden Presidential Library hold? What will be its exhibits, a display of bags and sacks? I can see prospective donors getting the letters soliciting donations - but they'll have been sent by simple functionaries, with Joe's scrawl stamped at the bottom. Joe won't have any other connection to them. They'll read it and ask themselves, "Biden Presidential Library ? What for ?"

tommyesq म्हणाले...

Brandon's resentments are only fleeting, says the author who immediately cites one (against Obama) that is 16 years old. Odd definition of "fleeting."

Bill, Republic of Texas म्हणाले...

Let's go Brandish!

Marcus Bressler म्हणाले...

In the Captain America comic books (created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby), his shield (more so after he was reintroduced into the modern age in Avengers #4) was made into a weapon. I believe Tony Stark (Iron Man) created a new one made of titanium and it would return to Cap if thrown in a certain way -- after knocking the bejesus out of the evil character.

Wince म्हणाले...

I'm waiting for the first use of "brandish" and "without evidence" in the same sentence.

Lem Vibe Bandit म्हणाले...

YouTube: Now say Nuclear Wessels

Third Coast म्हणाले...

Trump always brandishes his cudgel-like rhetoric to bombard his enemies in a blitzkrieg of fibble-fable nonsense.

Quaestor म्हणाले...

Brandish goes with bravado. It implies an impotent display rather than cold menace. Brandish cancels courage and determination. Brandish goes with Saddam dancing in the Baghdad streets with a gold-plated AKM promising “the Mother of All Battles”, and finishing in a hole with a supply of candy bars.

Quaestor म्हणाले...

The subject this morning is not yourself, Third Coast.

Skeptical Voter म्हणाले...

We can expect to see a lot of passive aggression versus the Bad Orange Man from the dogs in the punditry and press. Ankle biters all. But the dogs bark and the caravan moves on.

Third Coast म्हणाले...

Is it true that many NYT and WaPo writers are graduates of the Deolali school of journalism?

Dave Begley म्हणाले...

The true cost and damage that Biden did to the US will never be calculated. It is truly shocking to me that millions of people don’t realize it.

Aggie म्हणाले...

That's Hedley.

gspencer म्हणाले...

"So yeah, I can see him being resentful.'"

What?

I, we, should be super-resentful that this nothing got into the US Senate simply because there was no one else around in the 1971-1972 DE D machine. And then proceed to exploit his elected position to enrich himself, This guy is nothing but dreck, from stem to stern.

Steven Wilson म्हणाले...

I would submit that Biden has always shown flashes of resentment when he is correctly estimated.

The Democrat party has paid, once, for foisting this shelf item on the Republic, but if there were any justice, and there isn't, they would be punished for several election cycles.

Anyone who ever saw him as anything other than a buffoon should never be allowed to voice an opinion about politics. While it's true that the buffoonish exterior was a facade covering the venal thug beneath, it's understandable that most people couldn't see that as the MSM carried the water for Joe (affable, my ass) just as they have carried for Democrats since FDR. The MSM like the Democrats (but I repeat myself) have a lot to answer for. They have brought us to the brink of WWIII with a rutabaga as commander in chief.



Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

Stop with the italics please! If you don't know how to turn them off, don't turn them on!

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

Ugh! I can't even turn them off

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

There. Finally.

Whiskeybum म्हणाले...

I just came here to say that it would take a feat of strength worthy of a Festivus champion to underestimate Joe Biden.

Dagwood म्हणाले...

Didn't Obama warn us never to underestimate Biden's ability to something-something up?

Original Mike म्हणाले...

I've sometimes had to do it twice.

Steven Wilson म्हणाले...

Apparently he forgot that when he picked him as VP and then anointed him the nominee in 2020. So what does that say about Obama's judgment?

n.n म्हणाले...

Obama, too. Clinton is infamous for fracturing glass ceilings. Generally, liberals have demonstrated extreme em-pathetic responses to moderation. But I'm progressive is a byline.

Josephbleau म्हणाले...

At tthe entrance to the beiden library you wont see a plastic box for you to put dollar bills in, there will be a cardboard cutout of hunter holding a bag.

tommyesq म्हणाले...

Obama's judgment was spot on, particularly when you consider that Obama's main goal seems to be to f**k America up.

pacwest म्हणाले...

I wonder how many decades the comparison of future presidents with Trump will continue. For good or bad "compared to Trump" will be around for a long time.

loudogblog म्हणाले...

"Flashes of anger" is an overly polite way of saying that this person has a really short fuse.

As for Trump, he was treated so badly by the media I think that he's entitled to airing a lot of grievences.

I wonder how many copies of The Art of the Deal can $15 million buy for the Trump library?

loudogblog म्हणाले...

BTW, if you do a Google search for "brandishing a...", the first hit is "brandishing a weapon."

AMDG म्हणाले...

Biden is the only the Fredo Corleone of American politics.

“ It ain't the way I wanted it! I can handle things! I'm smart! Not like everybody says... like dumb... I'm smart and I want respect!”

Lawnerd म्हणाले...

The worst thing Obama did was naming the absolute moron Biden as his VP. But for that, Biden would never have been President and we would have been spared this disgraceful piece of shit.

Josephbleau म्हणाले...

I think beiden has been our first truly insane president. Greedy, criminal, yes, but also insane.

TaeJohnDo म्हणाले...

He's a hard man to overestimate except when it comes to his hate and pettiness. But it does explain why he is angry all the time.

gilbar म्हणाले...

Biden has 36 more days, to destroy America (and the Entire World)..
Can HE??
WILL HE?
Don't bet against it!
Never Underestimate Joe's ability to F*CK things up

gilbar म्हणाले...

well, if we define insane as being NOT SANE..
and sane as (at least) being mentally competent..
Then YEP, Joe Biden is NOT SANE..

However, if we look at his past...
He BRAGGED about 'finishing in the upper half of his law school class'
[as IF, not being below average was an accomplishment]
and Yep; he was LYING when he said it

He BRAGGED about being recruited for the Major Leagues, but had to turn them down, because of his acceptance to West Point..
and Yep; he was LYING when he said it

He BRAGGED that HE was Neil Kinnock..
and Yep, he was LYING when he said it

He BRAGGED about sexually assaulting Corn Pop in the swimming pool

He had an affair with his children's baby sitter, the knowledge of which caused his wife to commit suicide..
He then MARRIED the baby sitter

He BRAGGED about forcing his teen aged daughter to take nude showers with him, where he would sodomize her

Insane? or just a perverted deviant psychopath? hard to say for sure

Former Illinois resident म्हणाले...

Biden is not a nice guy, not a good person. His political career, and his personal life trajectory during his entire political career, demonstrate his supreme attention to one matter, Biden himself, and probably Dr Jill to a substantially less degree. Hunter Biden is ultimately a victim of his father, as his relatives, siblings, in-laws, ex-wives, et al. Biden's last six months have destroyed his legacy, and reputations of his close aides and enablers. Truly, the Biden-version of House of Cards has fallen, dragging the integrity and welfare of Federal Government with it, grievously harming our nation's security and future. Biden has gone from being a typical if inherently corrupt politician to a destructive force of vengeance and blatant retribution against all Americans.

RCOCEAN II म्हणाले...

Italics shouldn't be a problem if you use and then at the end maybe people are using italics and then not ending the posts with a normal non-italic word.

Per the internet: run italics is usually caused by : "Typically this is caused by an open HTML tag in one of your posts or in a text widget. You must locate it and close it." But then Althouse already knew that, so I'm stumped.

RCOCEAN II म्हणाले...
ही टिप्पणी लेखकाना हलविली आहे.
Peachy म्हणाले...

rug Lords, Ponzi Schemers, and Corrupt Officials: Meet Joe Biden’s Clemency Recipients

Read the list. and know - when democrats sing "Nobody is above the law" -they are complete lying assholes.

Peachy म्हणाले...

One example: Biden's pardon list:
Rita Crundwell, former Dixon, Ill., comptroller and treasurer who embezzled more than $53 million from the city in what the DOJ described as "the largest theft of public funds in state history." Crundwell used the money to breed racing horses. She was sentenced to more than 19 years in prison in 2013. Dixon city officials blasted Biden's reprieve for Crundwell. "This is a complete travesty of justice and a slap in the face of our entire community," said city manager Danny Langloss.

Narayanan म्हणाले...

what effect if initial comment is deleted?

Christopher B म्हणाले...

The comment software has a bug. It will accept a closing tag with the slash FOLLOWING the tag letter as a valid tag but it will not be processed correctly by browsers

tcrosse म्हणाले...

It is not possible to underestimate Joe Biden.

hawkeyedjb म्हणाले...

“Rita Crundwell, former Dixon, Ill., comptroller and treasurer who embezzled more than $53 million…”

So, that would be how much for The Big Guy?

Original Mike म्हणाले...

"what effect if initial comment is deleted?

That seems to fix it. A couple of times I have not closed my italics, and fixed it by immediately deleting my comment. I don't know what happens if new comments intervene first.

Iman म्हणाले...

Biden may have been underestimated… but has he been misunderestimated?

tcrosse म्हणाले...

FWIW I do not have the persistent italic problem on my Chrome browser/Chromebook.

Clyde म्हणाले...

Biden presided over a failed presidency. He will be remembered in the same breath with Jimmy Carter, if he's lucky. The things he sees as accomplishments will be remembered by the rest of us as damage to our country that his successor will have to try to repair.

dubbyhesspdx म्हणाले...

Posts like this are the reason I keep coming back. Thank you.

Mason G म्हणाले...

If you want to advance in the Democratic party, it doesn't hurt to have that on your resume.

Christopher B म्हणाले...

I use chrome, too, that's not it. If you view comments in the threaded list by clicking on the "comments" link for a post there's something added to the display that clears the tags for each comment. The issue only shows up if you view the comments in sequential order by clicking on the post heading link.

YoungHegelian म्हणाले...

Orthodox observances of Festivus features "The Airing of the Grievances" . Reform observances of Festivus sometimes modify it to be "The Brandishing of the Grievances".

Christopher B म्हणाले...

I was hoping somebody would throw out a Festivus reference.

I don't think he has Irish amnesia one bit, however. His campaigns, especially the primary in 2020, have been littered with odd outbursts at random voters but consistently those who got in his face. Remember the guy he challenged to a push-up contest? "hey, fat"? "dog-faced pony soldier"? He went on a rant about a voter's IQ and then repeated the fake story about how he graduated at the top of his law school class.

Mike (MJB Wolf) म्हणाले...

Yes he's been challenging reporters and citizens in anger for over forty years, usually when someone publicly questions his questionable credentials.

Mike (MJB Wolf) म्हणाले...

Ah so the text explains it far pithier than I.

n.n म्हणाले...

Is Sullivan the guy who stalked Palin?

walter म्हणाले...

Photoshop is Brand-ish.

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

"I was hoping somebody would throw out a Festivus reference."

I contemplated a Festivus reference when I was writing the post, but had to reject it as a distraction. I needed to ramble to deal with "brandish," and a *side* ramble, based on another word, "grievance," seemed ill-advised.

Rusty म्हणाले...

Wan't that "Branded"?

Rocco म्हणाले...

Marcus Bressler said...
"In the Captain America comic books (created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby), his shield (more so after he was reintroduced into the modern age in Avengers #4) was made into a weapon. I believe Tony Stark (Iron Man) created a new one made of titanium and it would return to Cap if thrown in a certain way -- after knocking the bejesus out of the evil character."

Cap's shield was a vibranium/steel alloy, actually.

MacMacConnell म्हणाले...

Biden has always been a shallow angry small man. Small men always lie about their lives. WTF, how many of you middle class folks got a Corvette for a wedding gift from your parents?