DeSantis & Disney [ EDUCATION ]

Education , Sex Ed , and DeSantis .

 Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vowed that Walt Disney Co. will “pay its fair share of taxes” — denying that local residents will foot the bill for the Republicans’ move to dissolve Disney World’s special self-governing district. DeSantis verses Disney is a classic case of political demagoguery . So what was all the fuss is about ? The  (1)>>Walt Disney Company is taking wokeness to a whole new level, threatening millions of children with political propaganda.It all started with  (1.1)>>DeSantis trying to give parents the right to know what is being taught in schools in regards to gender (  to say plainly sex education). The bill was not about just "don't say gay" at all , was not about that  ., but  Supporters hailed the need for parents, and not teachers, to have control over such discussions, part of a broader push to control the content of classroom lessons. To my understanding of the language of the bill there is nothing banning that. The concepts of homo/heterosexuality and general sexual education just can’t be part of the actual curriculum, until after 3rd grade.That’s quite early in my opinion. I can’t imagine how screwed up I’d be if I was taught about all these complex concepts that early age . (2)>>Even at a 3rd grade level should a child even know exactly what the hell the teacher is talking about in the fist place . Let alone the naughty thinking , the shock value of it. NOW  as far sex ed , look wait  till the 5 grade for proper "talks" . AS the STORY goes , the public education system has replaced the parent over the last 40 years . Parents don't talk talk about sex to their children in the first place , you know too embarrassing a subject . So public ed took over the sex talk as the nanny. So that is not just the problem too.  (3)>>The state curriculum has gone through various political influences that brought agendas , philosophies into the text book . One of which during the last few years has been "wokeism" . Now let's take a spin on this , originally woke had to do with "alert to racial prejudice and discrimination" that originated in African-American Vernacular English  " . You read it .  Race was FIRST  at the center of woke for a time , during the last four years, that changed vary rapidly  . Now the  (4)>>Woke culture has been hijacked by radicals who center around the cancel culture , even worse,  for example of some latest leftist material appears more  anarchistic in nature , was becoming  more , more part of the nations educational system. Which has become a pawn of ideology for grooming .  Now the (4.1)>>Critical Race Theory is just a "theory, not about black struggle anymore "" it's banning in Florida was just the beginning . HB 7, formally called the "Individual Freedom" measure, bans educators from teaching certain topics related to race and is designed, in part, to prevent teachers from making students feel guilt or shame about their race because of historical events. The bill was officially delivered to DeSantis he signed it into law at Mater Academy Charter Middle/High School in Hialeah Gardens. "We believe in education, not indoctrination," DeSantis said at a news conference. "We believe an important component of freedom in the state of Florida is the freedom from having oppressive ideologies opposed upon you without your consent."

NOTES AND COMMENTS:

 (1)>>Walt Disney Company is taking wokeness to a whole new level. DeSantis and the Florida GOP are angry at Disney for opposing the recent "Don't Say Gay" bill (after initially trying to play both sides). Go woke, go broke.  IThe weeks-long public feud has upended the once cozy relationship between Florida and Disney. It's also just the latest salvo in the political right’s battle against “wokeness.”BUT  usually don't wish misfortune on anyone but in Disney's case, I would be quite happy to see them come tumbling down.They're threatening the RCID's special status, but popular sentiment overall seems to be that it's all bluster and no teeth. Nothing would ruin central FL more than Disney deciding to sell off their assets and leave the state - they are the single largest employer in Florida - so it seems like the threats are more to show their supporters that they "oppose Disney being woke" and less actually following through on the threats of trying to ruin the relationship between the company and the state.People are often shocked that Disney runs everything there, from the local police, the fire department, the hospital. You even hear jokes about "Disney jail." But Disney World is huge. It's the size of a county. So it makes sense, if you control an area of land the size of a county, it needs county police, fire fighters, ambulances, etc. The new law, set to take effect in June 2023, will cost Disney tens of millions of dollars a year. The Disney-DeSantis dust-up marks a sharp escalation in the GOP push to get corporations to stop mixing politics and business. Disney employees rose up in opposition to the new law, prompting Disney’s CEO to apologize for not fighting against its passage. Governer DeSantis responded by pushing for the end of all of Disney’s historic special treatment.DeSantis is a rare republican, unafraid to break republican rules. In Florida, he was the first to realize that it works. The governor’s fight is not going to close the magic kingdom, Epcot, animal kingdom, Hollywood Studios. The company has already announced plans to transfer 2,000 California employees to Florida because of economics. That’s not going to change either, and with $102 million in the bank, DeSantis probably thinks he can win re-election without Disney’s deep pockets. (1.1)>>DeSantis trying to give parents the right to know what is being taught in schools .  Most Americans support Ron DeSantis’ Parental Rights in Education bill when shown the actual text. Most Americans want this, including most Democrats. Speaking at Classical Preparatory School in Spring Hill DeSantis said the bill will give parents more control and authority over how their children learn about sexuality and gender identity."The last couple years have really revealed to parents that they are being ignored increasingly across our country when it comes to their kids' education," DeSantis said.SB 1834 "Parental Rights in Education" passed its latest vote in the Florida Senate's Education Committee with six yeas and three nays. The House version of the bill, HB 1557, also is under consideration.And now DeSantis passes a bill that says public schools can’t teach kids about sex as part of the curriculum until they’re in 4th grade and it’s being falsely labeled as “anti-LGBT.”Get the picture? They’re after him 100% for political reasons. They’re desperately trying to find a “gotcha.” Nothing to do with “authoritarianism” or “bigotry.” Zero. They’re scared he’s going to take Queen Kamala’s throne in 2024. They know DeSantis is the one Republican candidate that is extremely popular among conservatives yet doesn’t give them ammunition like Trump does. That’s the ONLY reason they’re doing this. (1.2)>>The bill was not about just "don't say gay" at all , was not about that  . Perhaps you should read the Parental rights bill its only 7 pages. There is no such thing as a Don’t say Gay bill and the Parental Rights bill does not even mention Gay or any other group. Why even chime in on a subject you know nothing about? You are misinformed as are so many with big mouths.“Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 OR in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”Any sensible person agrees, no need to teach anything about sex/Gender Identity in K-3, maybe even K-5. Fox News and the like keep screaming “liberals want to teach sex-Ed to K-3!!! REEEEE!!”…   (2)>>Even at a 3rd grade level should a child even know exactly what the hell the teacher is talking about in the fist place .  MAY BE  it's not unreasonable to limit or even prohibit discussion of sex -- be it heterosexual or homosexual -- or gender identity until students are older. Certainly it's not unreasonable to believe children in kindergarten through third grade are too young for such a curriculum. Who knows what a child at k-3 level has the capacity to understand subjects that should be taught later . Changes to school sex curricula over the years have seen updates to include same-sex relationships, different contraceptive devices and methods, HIV and AIDS education, healthy relationships and the importance of consent.Children cannot make choices without parental consent first . (3)>>The state curriculum has gone through various political influences that brought agendas , philosophies into the text book .  But public institutions funded with public dollars do not exist to groom activists for particular causes, shame children for their immutable traits, or deny them their agency or their childhood.Recently, the nation’s two largest teachers’ unions, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, announced that they had jumped on the bandwagon. At its annual meeting earlier this month, the NEA adopted a proposal stating that it is “reasonable and appropriate for curriculum to be informed by academic frameworks for understanding and interpreting the impact of the past on current society, including critical race theory.” More, the organization pledged to “fight back against anti-CRT rhetoric” and issue a study that “critiques empire, white supremacy, anti-Blackness, anti-Indigeneity, racism, patriarchy, cisheteropatriarchy, capitalism, ableism, anthropocentrism, and other forms of power and oppression at the intersections of our society.” American schools are ‘going down the tubes’ because they have been ‘infected’ with ‘woke culture’ that has ‘sacrificed the idea of excellence’ by ‘indoctrinating’ students, according to a leading critic. Vivek Ramaswamy spoke out in response to two separate controversies that impacted elite New York City prep schools where parents complained their children were being brainwashed with BLM  ideology.Unfortunately, the job of academic leftists in training young activists is getting easier and easier.  That is because public schools are doing more and more to condition students to accept a wide array of leftist notions — notions that make them highly receptive to further leftist teaching and calls for them to act against perceived enemies of the social justice agenda.(4)>>Woke culture has been hijacked by radicals who center around the cancel culture. In previous discussions about woke school curriculum I've seen a hundred comments from Dems claiming the things we are claiming happens never happens. Then these videos show up. Though straight from the source they claim it's disinformation. Woke-ism has been hijacked simple . Woke first appeared (1930s) to inspire oppressed Black Americans to stay alert to the social headwinds they face ("stay woke"). The Black Lives Matter movement embraced it as a slogan to remind its followers to stay vigilant. Campus radicals (woke police) latched on, and began chiding anyone who misspoke and shutting them down. Backlash came hard from the right, who countered by attacking anyone even remotely progressive as "woke" - thereby disregarding their views entirely as being so out of touch as to be ignored.Weaponizing wokeness by the radical left is as reprehensible as haters being deliberately offensive on the radical right.It's seemed to me that "woke" is the latest version of being PC or politically correct. Don't see a link to your article, but I think like a lot of the meaning is based upon the context in which it is used. I've also seen it used in reference to advertising with the expression, "get woke, go broke". Companies trying to use a social message to appeal to their customers but it ends up having a large and negative backlash.(4.1)>>Critical Race Theory is just a "theory, not about black struggle anymore".Disney’s critical race theory–based diversity program, which taught employees that America was founded on “systemic racism,” separated minorities into racially segregated “affinity groups,” and encouraged white employees to complete a “white privilege checklist.”Disney’s plan to indoctrinate children was a response to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recent bill keeping sexual orientation and other related topics out of the classroom between the ages of kindergarten and third grade in Florida.  Disney believed it had the right to be the children’s moral voice on topics of sexuality. Disney executives' progressive LGBTQ agenda became known as the execs pushed a "not-at-all-secret gay agenda" at the company which also saw the execs state they are eliminating all mentions of "ladies," "gentlemen," "boys," and "girls" in the Disney theme parks in order to create "that magical moment" for children who do not identify with traditional gender roles.According to Hold the Line founder Sean Feucht, who helped plan the California rally:“They’re going to feel this in their earnings reports, and they’re also they’re going to feel this as people cancel their subscription as they raise their voice. It always starts small… but I feel like there’s a snowball that’s happening.”“This is the year of the parents in America, 2022 is the year of the parents. And this is another opportunity for us to rise up and to hold the line.”Many Americans agree with Feucht’s concerns. More specifically, parents expect their children to be safe at school and learn safe and child-appropriate material. To that end, they oppose any efforts to sexualize their children.We’ve reached a strange crossroads in the culture wars. It is not enough to have equality or respect for others. Also, Disney is marching ever forward with their modern-day, aggressively-woke agenda by labeling sweet and innocent “Tinker Bell” as “problematic” because she “perpetuates negative stereotypes.” “Tinker Bell” isn’t the only beloved Disney character to be publicly shamed by the company for merely living her truth. “Captain Hook” was slammed by Disney for being his authentic self as well. Here are the specifics on why Disney is so offended by each of these characters, but not the massive revenue that these characters generate for the company on an annual basis.  It is not enough for Disney to include a gay or transgender character in their features — now there must be 50% representation in films. Children must now be subject to left-wing propaganda even as they seek only to enjoy a movie or show.

TWITTER and MUSK.

Musk's attempt to buy 
Twitter looks more like
a stock market manipulation 
scheme .

Elon could have gotten a whole lot more bang for his bucks if his interest in free speech had piqued earlier. Smooth and orderly are not exactly what the world has come to expect from mercurial billionaire Elon Musk. He relishes moving markets with his tweets as much as he loves sharing duck memes with his more than 82 million Twitter followers. I remember a few days ago there was news that Elon was going to join Twitter’s advisory board. Then that deal fell through and things were quiet for a few days. (1)>>Now he apparently wants to buy twitter.Over the last several weeks (1.2)>>Elon Musk (the richest person in the world) bought up enough Twitter stock to become the single largest shareholder. As a result, Twitter offered him a seat on the board of directors of the company which would have allowed him some sway over the company but not any authority to make direct decisions. For instance Musk suggested that anyone could get a verified (blue checkmark) account and that Twitter should add an edit button. However Twitter clarified that even if he joined the board of directors (2)>>Musk's suggestions wouldn't necessarily become company policy. Musk's attempt to buy Twitter is probably  he's just manipulating the stock to get people to buy into it to then sell his shares. Elon Musk seems to be the only one abusing this power, but I feel like any billionaire could have the same effect. Can you imagine if Warren Buffet made a statement every week like "hmmmm, maybe I'll buy Walmart tomorrow" or "Berkshire Hathaway is way overvalued in my opinion"? He could toss the market around like his own personal play thing if he really wanted to.Former Reddit CEO Yishan Wong said Elon Musk is "in for a world of pain" if he buys Twitter, arguing that the Tesla CEO doesn't fully understand the challenges of content moderation and enforcing free speech on the internet.  "Elon is not going to fix some problems. I am absolutely sure of this. He has no idea what he's in for," Wong said in now-viral Twitter thread. What’s very funny is that Wong reveals Silicon Valley’s real bias, which is toward coding fun stuff. (This is much like journalism’s real bias, which is to get the news out as fast as possible. This bias often leads to mistakes!) Most programmers and execs at social media companies don’t want to have to police users’ bad behavior. But they are nonetheless spending a lot of time preventing us all from creating flame wars that could engulf all of online. This is a lot less fun than making, for instance.If he owned Twitter he would also be able to make whatever changes he wanted to the company.  (3)>>He (among others, especially Donald Trump) have shown the incredible power that comes from having a large following on social media. But, of course, the social media companies are able to regulate what appears on their platform and ban users who repeatedly break the rules. It's also pretty evident that it is very difficult to get a new social media company up and running (for an example look at the failure of Truth Social). At this point it's easier for someone like Musk to simply buy a social media company. It would ensure that he has total control over his online platform (and could never be de-platformed by having his account banned) which he uses to bring attention to himself and make money.Since Musk regularly attempts to manipulate the stock market and crypto value using tweets (for instance last year Musk added #bitcoin to his Twitter profile which caused the value of bitcoin to jump 20% which would have also increased the value of any bitcoin he personally held) many see his current interactions with (4)>>Twitter as another manipulation. His offer may simply be an attempt to raise the price of Twitter's stock to increase the value of the stock he already owns (which has already happened since he made the offer - the speculation is that he has made somewhere around $700 million)..The purchase comes less than two weeks after Musk criticized the company, polling people on Twitter about whether it adheres to free speech principles. “Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy,” Musk tweeted. “What should be done?”

NOTES AND COMMENTS: 

 (1)>>Now he apparently wants to buy twitter.The day after Musk announced his proposal to buy Twitter, the company’s board responded with a poison pill. This is basically the board’s way of saying, “Thanks, but no thanks.”The poison pill consists of a new “shareholder’s rights plan” to give certain shareholders the right to purchase more stock if Musk or another buyer attempts to seize control. And it signals that Twitter’s board intends to fight Musk’s bid to take sole ownership of the company.  (1.2)>> Musk (the richest person in the world) .Musk, the world's richest person with a $273.6 billion fortune according to a Forbes tally, rejected an invitation to join Twitter's board on Saturday after disclosing his stake, a move analysts said signaled his takeover intentions as a board seat would have limited his shareholding to just under 15%. read more.  (2)>>Musk's suggestions wouldn't necessarily become company policy. Elon Musk offered to buy Twitter to save free speech. “I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy,” wrote the Tesla and SpaceX billionaire — who recently acquired a 9.2 percent stake in Twitter — in a filing. “However, since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company.”It’s not clear how this gambit will play out, but there’s also a more fundamental question: what does Elon Musk think free speech is, and who’s threatening it? Free expression is a cornerstone of an open society, and with governments across the world eyeing crackdowns on internet platforms, there’s a complicated interplay between different visions of what should be allowed online. But despite his sweeping declaration, Musk’s eye seems almost entirely focused on the far smaller question of Twitter’s own internal rules.(3)>>He (among others, especially Donald Trump) At some point you read Donald Trump’s last tweet and you didn’t even realize it.Fifteen months after his Twitter ban, Trump unfortunately still dominates the social network's timeline. The MAGA diaspora continues to using hashtags and Journalists race to Trump's deliberately tweet-like statements that his office sends over email. All the media has the same discourse. There is no space to think different. All the ones who disagree are considered pointed or discredited. All the super rich tell us what is good or bad. We are being directed and brainwashed.Musk made point today that Twitter should be slower to implement permanent bans. Think good question for @elonmusk to answer would be if Trump would get a ban/permanent ban if Musk were running Twitter in 2020/2021?(4)>>Twitter as another manipulation.  There’s an odd irony to Elon Musk’s ability to move the market, while attacking what he sees as unnatural market forces in short-selling,Musk disclosed that he bought a 9.2% stake in Twitter, making him the micro-blogging site's largest shareholder and triggering a rise of more than 27% in the company's shares. The filing said that March 14, 2022, is the date of the event that required the disclosure. read more. While Musk’s Twitter actions have had a particularly pronounced affect this week, he’s been shifting stocks and cryptocurrencies for a while now.In a court filing (pdf) earlier this month Musk’s lawyers said the SEC agreement violates Musk’s free speech. But the SEC disagrees. In a federal court document filed today (March 22) the agency said as long as Musk uses his Twitter account to give information to investors, the SEC “may legitimately investigate matters relating to Tesla’s disclosure controls and procedures, including Musk’s tweets about Tesla.”Musk’s proposal at this point in time may not quite be a “hostile takeover” in the way the tactic is usually described — he is not (yet) trying to do an end-run around Twitter’s board — but it sure is a hostile attempt to take over.“I am not playing the back-and-forth game,” Musk told Twitter board chairman Bret Taylor of his unsolicited offer. “I have moved straight to the end. It’s a high price and your shareholders will love it.”

The Mid-Terms Election PREDICTIONS .

Oh NO the Midterms 
Cometh.

2022 midterm elections are just months away, and with control of Congress – and, invariably, the second half of President Joe Biden's first term – at stake.The Fear Factor is coming for the Democrats in 2022 .No doubt. But 2022 is pretty unlikely to be good for them.  (1)>>The whole economy in the U.S. is tanking .Angry voters slammed by higher prices and scarred by two years of fighting the pandemic are poised to (2)>>punish Democrats in midterm elections, according to some of the leading experts in consumer sentiment and behavior.  Biden is personally unpopular, but Biden isn't even running in 2022. Biden is accused of being aloof, disengaged, overly distant, somehow boring and not compelling, and overly reluctant to be available to the news media (and by implication the American people) because he does not give daily or weekly press conferences.Over the last few months, unflattering stickers of President Biden have been popping up at gas stations across America. They've been spotted in places like Georgia, Ohio, Idaho, and along I-95 between Washington, D.C., and Florida. The stickers typically show Biden pointing at the price of gas, saying "I did that! (3)>>The narrative of Biden's "failed presidency" is based on public opinion polls showing that his levels of support have fallen to the level of Donald Trump's, or lower, on several occasions. This is taken as proof that the American people have turned against Biden and his policy agenda.The generic ballot shows Republicans up by 1 point. That suggests they might flip 10-15 seats. It would flip the majority, but it's hardly a blowout. The Democrats basically only need the polls to move 2% in order to be in the lead. Biden in a bad place right now. He allowed Manchin to walk all over him and it undermined everything. The best hope is for him not to run for President. It's the only way to get Democrats to the polls. The Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, said Republicans will force Joe Biden to govern as a “moderate” if the GOP retakes Congress in November. (4)>>The twists and turns of the pandemic and inflation will probably remain the biggest factors at play. Either they abate and life feels pretty normal again or they remain problems and the public remains angry. Even if they gradually fall out of the headlines would be helpful. Since the media no longer has the latest Trumpian outrage/scandal to cover they've seemingly settled for "pandemics and inflation suck" and the usual  (4.1)>>"Democrats in disarray". No one learns anything (eg inflation causes or filibuster gridlock) as the coverage is superficial and lazy but voters get continuously irritated by reminders of lousy news about Ukraine will dominate the news through the whole year.At this point (5)>>I see Biden going the way of Jimmy Carter. A fairly unremarkable president who leaves no real impact once out of office. I’d be surprised if he gets a second term(it really matters who he’s going up against and what his health is like at that point cause he’d be so damn old by then) and the democrats will definitely lose power. I’m pretty sure no one really likes this guy. He keeps screw up and continues to show just how much of an idiot he is that honestly nothing he does really surprises me. Just another moderate democrat who’s not going to do anything really important while in office. But hey at least we got Juneteenth as a holiday now🙄The mad thing is the Dems are going to lose control because of Biden's horrible positions, statements, and flip-flopping. (6)>>Kamala's "black girl magic" seems to only have the ability to make her disappear. The ruling party almost always loses in the midterms and young people especially don't vote in midterms. So I'm not sure how much of an affect this would have had either way. Still sucks he wont do it though.Of course, there are still 10 months between now and Election Day 2022, so it’s difficult to say what will happen to (7)>>Biden’s approval rating in that time.Unfortunately for President Biden, voters show a strong tendency to blame presidents for economic problems (and credit them for economic gains), whether or not their policies are the actual cause. The White House has been toying with a messaging strategy to try and deflect inflation blame onto the monopoly power and greed of Corporate America  But recent developments mean Democrats aren't as likely to face the political apocalypse threatening them last year.

NOTES AND COMMENTS: 

 (1)>>The whole economy in the U.S. is tanking .Inflation is here to stay. Violent crime is up around the country. Biden’s chaotic withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan was nothing short of a catastrophe, with reverberations on the international stage, and with Russia’s war in Ukraine, we are again seeing the results of his failure to lead. The only thing Americans seem to be united around is their mutual disapproval of his administration’s performance — and some groups apparently have had enough. But inflation is affecting virtually everything, including the price of food. Then there are knock-on effects, such as mortgage rates that have risen sharply, making it harder for people to buy homes.The history is clear: Misunderstand why you’re in the Oval Office in the first place, move too far to the left, too quickly, and pay the price. Yet based on Biden’s first two months in office, it appears no one in his White House has learned the lessons.   (2)>>punish Democrats in midterm elections Okay, on the one hand, Biden and Congress have passed some pretty epic legislation including another Covid Relief package and the Infrastructure bill (the later with Republican support). This shows that he can get things done. and I would count these as major successes.On the other hand, the BBB is not getting done this year and has been watered down, inflation is being seen as a major issue and Republicans are running and winning on a platform of immigration fear, CRT and other culture wars crap.In short, things are not looking good but there is still potential for victory. So how do the Democrats save themselves in 2022 and by extension 2024?(3)>>The narrative of Biden's "failed presidency". It is clear Americans aren’t buying the bill of goods Mr. Biden has tried to sell since entering office. Everything from inflation was “transitory,” immigration “seasonal,” the Afghanistan debacle the “biggest airlift in U.S. history,” and calling the supply chain crisis a “high-class problem” due to Americans consuming too much.We are witnessing a president who is out of touch with reality, spends his weekends resting in Delaware, refuses to take a leadership position on the world stage, and blames everyone but himself for the problems facing our country. Mr. Biden was primarily elected on his competency and promise to unify the country. He’s failed on both accounts. Maybe Biden wants to distract the American people from his failed presidency. It is possible that he and his radical progressive engineers believe that the Ukraine crisis allows them to implement the most radical elements of their agenda (like the Green New Deal) under the imprimatur of “standing up to Russia.”(4)>>The twists and turns of the pandemic and inflation will probably remain the biggest factors at play. Yep and all this economic destruction. I do feel bad for those that have died, but the economy is going to suffer tremendously for a long time to come. It will take decades to recover from the shortages we are experiencing. The global economy shut down like a train coming to a complete and sudden stop last year , is barely in recovery . Otherwise the Pandemic is NOT REALLY GOING AWAY even if the Republicans take over .Inflation is a persistent issue coming out of the COVID lockdown economy and continues to create a great amount of confusion for the stock market , as well as the war in Ukraine as part of the uncertainty .(4.1)>>"Democrats in disarray". The problem with the Democrats is that the interest of their Donors and their voters oppose each other. Because of this they always prop up a villian or the Republicans to explain why they couldn't do any of that stuff they wanted to. But if you vote for them next time, they will try harder. Joe Biden’s recent plunge in popularity: the Omicron-fueled resurgence of COVID-19, the return of 1970s-style inflation, and most of all, Democrats’ failure to execute their legislative agenda. Joe is the most establishment president we’ve had since Bill or before. He’s one of the biggest politicians on corporate payroll and has profited off of Obama’s presidency just like those senators that traded stock just before this CoVID stuff. (Obviously, comparing three covid trading and joes, covid is the worse of the two, but hey, both are corrupt.) Democrats not only have to come up with some unifying compromise. Democrats … by preemptively spinning what could be a monumental but imperfect victory into a bitter political defeat, the criticism contributed to a potential long term demoralization of Democratic voters —(5)>>I see Biden going the way of Jimmy Carter. The contrast is stark between Carter, who became president with minimal relevant experience, and Biden, who had 44 years in the Senate and as vice president. Carter pushed innovative policies with bipartisan support. Biden hasn’t. Carter learned on the job and changed policies in response to events. From Biden, we’ve seen nothing so far but stubborn persistence.Both Carter and Biden promised to bring the country together after the tenures of Republicans reviled by the media elite. But instead of national unity, they are embarking on policies that will make it hard to bring people together.(6)>>Kamala's "black girl magic". "Black Girl Magic" Coloring Book featuring Kamala . Aside from coloring books , Harris is vary unpopular . Now, imagine a 2024 election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. It would be MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction). It would be a huge loss to the Democrats , they know it . He put Harris in charge of addressing the crisis at the southern border, which has grown exponentially worse since she took on that responsibility. And Biden occasionally sends her off to make speeches. But that’s turned out to be even worse than her handling of the border crisis — because a vice president’s only real job is to not embarrass the president and the administration. That’s something Biden is able to do, and often does, without any help from Harris.(7)>>Biden’s approval rating in that time. Biden has a net negative job rating of 45% approve to 50% . Right Now opinion of the president’s job performance is lower than ratings given to other Democratic officeholders.Every few weeks we see commentary about a new poll claiming increasing dislike of President Biden. People have a negative view of how things are going, and whenever that's the case, they blame whoever's in charge, regardless of whether or not they have anything to do with what they're mad about.The president obviously doesn't have full control of these things, but because they claim they will fix these issues in their campaign, there is some kernel of accountability imposed on them.People here a reaching for so many reasons for his falling approval but in reality it all comes down to one question, are you personally better off than before he took office? People are watching their lives get harder financially day by day and he doesn’t appear to be making any changes to provide relief. We can argue about what he has done/could do but that doesn’t matter as much as the perception that he’s not taking their suffering seriously enough. Deep down, people don’t care about Ukraine now or Afghanistan withdrawal in comparison to food, gas, housing, medical and child care costs. People just want to see a light at the end of the tunnel and his brief and scarce media appearances are not speaking to the problems they are having in their daily lives.But outside of that, we have insane gas prices, insane grocery prices, our pay is not improving while inflation is at insane levels. Our country isn't anymore unified than when trump was in office, people don't have faith in this president either. The dems had the house, senate and office, but couldn't pass their big bill last fall. Things aren't going well. And it's not all attributable to the politicians, but they don't seem to be helping at all. It took a year to get us a couple thousand bucks for staying home during covid, it took them like 24 hours to send Ukraine billions more.

The Aftermath : WHO IS GOING TO REBUILD UKRAINE ?

We should be all thinking who is going to 
pay for the rebuilding of Ukraine if
the war ever ends .
Kharkiv in Ruins .

With all the sympathy towards the people of Ukraine .  There is a lingering question . Who ever wins the war . Either Russia or Ukraine, someone has to rebuild that country. WHO is going to fork up the trillions of dollars ?  (1)>>Now out of touch , probably war delusional  , Zelenskyy said, "We are already working on programs to rebuild our country after the war. I am confident that we will be able to rebuild our state quickly. Whatever the damage ... It will be a historical reconstruction, a project that will inspire the world". Yes what a word "inspire ". (1.2)>>The Truth , Ukraine is a F**cken mess. Ukraine was a dirt poor hell hole before a war flattened it, a chunk of its people died and another chunk fled to Europe. Lots of people have changed their face book photo but I'm not sure hundreds of billions of dollars will follow to pay for reconstruction .Yes, it has lots of oil , a lot of oil that it can't sell because of American go Joe Biden Green polices . Even the oil could not pay for all the reconstruction. The cost thus far has included financial sanctions and possible criminal liability for war crimes, but it should not end there. If  (2)>>Ukraine manages to repel Putin’s army and regain its independence, it will need a massive influx of cash to recover and rebuild Why the conflict in Ukraine is going on . Why it happened . Am against any war first . I see the how this war devastation has ruined Ukraine . Costs of war lives , people and buildings .There is question here. After this war ends , hopefully it will not get worse . (3)>>Who is going to rebuild Ukraine ? . Is it Russia ? Or the US ? China ? The estimate cost of the war plus minus the Ruble , the Dollar , Yuan could exceed into hundreds of trillions of $€¥£ , that would exceed entire budgets of combined EU , US , UK , Russia and China . Consequence is famine , displacement of population , world economic consequence . SO FAR since 2014 , the United States has spent nearly a trillion dollars in Ukraine in Weapons . Now that a humanitarian crisis looms in Europe , the disaster could through the EU into a frenzy . NOW Estimates are up to 10 years or more at this point.I think it’s a complex issue, because while normally reconstruction of a country takes decades, I feel like Ukraine will have a stupendously large amount of volunteers and funds to start clearing and building back fast, once the border were to be secured If Ukraine is fully rebuilt . It really depends on how fast the money comes in for the rebuilding. I JUST CAN SEE  (4)>>AMERICA forking up MONEY on this rebuild [American Tax payer sucked up the tab] for this . The problem is that much of Ukraine won't be a pleasant place to live while the construction is going on. (5)>>Making over 10 million people NOT homeless is going to be a logistical mess. A lot of these refugees may not start returning for years, if at all. Population flow may be negative for quite a while after hostilities cease. Remember how catastrophic this is for the economies of the EU, and the US because they may have to house these refugees . If Russia is not completely curb-stomped and the threat of another invasion looms, Ukraine may not recover.The Ukraine war has barely started. Honestly, if you think it’s over or even almost, then you truly do not know what’s going on. Eastern, southeastern, and parts of northern Ukraine are about to get more shellacked. If Ukraine troops go east to come come behind Russian troops, Belarus will probably flank them along with Russian troops from Crimea.The task will be made more difficult by the fact that Ukraine is now effectively cut off from international financial markets and its  (6)>>Hryvnia currency has collapsed.Some EU politicians have called for the use of Russian assets frozen by the West, including some $300 billion of Russian central bank reserves, as reconstruction money for Ukraine once the aggression ends.Although the outcome of the war is uncertain, one can start thinking about the future reconstruction of Ukraine. The war might last two years to be exact , prolonged by NATO- US weapons proliferation . However, the cost of reconstruction increases with every additional day of the war and at any increasing rate.

NOTES AND COMMENTS:

(1)>>Now out of touch , probably war delusional  , Zelenskyy. I am constrained to ask, what type of man is this? Is he delusional or does he just pretend to be? I cannot possibly describe him as a hero.Yet, the bitter truth is that all that President Volodymyr Zelensky has to do to stop the relentless slaughter of his people is to state clearly and categorically that Ukraine will never join NATO, that Ukraine will never allow foreign military bases on her soil and that Ukraine will maintain her neutrality like Sweden and Finland.He also has to allow the Russian-speaking people of Donetsk and Eastern Ukraine to exercise their right of self-determination and either form their own independent country or become part of Russia. Finally, he has to renounce Ukraine’s claim to Crimea and accept the fact that this strategically-placed seaport and region is now, and will always be part and parcel of Russia.Instead of offering these guarantees and taking these steps, he is giving fine speeches to western parliaments whilst his people are being slaughtered and butchered in their churches, offices, homes and houses and whilst his villages, towns and cities are being bombed, burnt, bombarded and utterly destroyed.(1.2)>>The Truth , Ukraine is a F**cken mess .Ukraine’s grubby politicians and oligarchs have tried to frustrate Western aims without openly defying them. The corruption is decades long fueled by US interests against Russia .Ukraine’s anti-corruption reforms haven’t yet brought its oligarchs to justice. Now Ukraine is a mess , battered looking like the Gaza strip in a more gigantic form . The "west" dubiously should have "known" the consequence of a Russian invasion for along time. Instead the war hawks in the US were trying to checker a deal with Ukraine's oligarchs for oil consumption . In between this , Ukraine was engaged in a civil war fighting the Russian separatists in the east for nearly eight years and it was not well reported in the western media . World leaders should be making a greater effort to get a ceasefire in Ukraine. This raises the suspicion that some leaders want this war to continue in the hope that it will result in a civil war in Russia. A civil war in Russia could result in China backing one side and NATO backing the other side? A sure prescription for World War 3?(2)>>Ukraine manages to repel Putin’s army and regain its independence. When planning his invasion of Ukraine, Putin could count on many known facts. He knew that militarily Russia dwarfs Ukraine. He knew that Nato would not send troops to help Ukraine. He knew that European dependence on Russian oil and gas would make countries like Germany hesitate about imposing stiff sanctions. Based on these known facts, his plan was to hit Ukraine hard and fast, decapitate its government, establish a puppet regime in Kyiv, and ride out the western sanctions.But there was one big unknown about this plan. As the Americans learned in Iraq and the Soviets learned in Afghanistan, it is much easier to conquer a country than to hold it. (3)>>Who is going to rebuild Ukraine ? . Is it Russia ? Or the US ? China ? The estimate cost of the war plus minus the Ruble , the Dollar , Yuan could exceed into hundreds of trillions of $€¥£ , that would exceed entire budgets of combined EU , US , UK , Russia and China . To ADD MORE to the economic chaos of combined budgets it would be impossible to bring Ukraine back as a whole nation . The rebuilding of Ukraine promises to be one of the most challenging and ambitious undertakings of the twenty-first century. The task ahead requires a comprehensive approach that goes far beyond funding the reconstruction of Ukraine’s devastated infrastructure and ruined cities . According to preliminary estimates, $565 billion is needed to rebuild Ukraine after the war with Russia. That is just a 'estimate' but it not complete if you add the Ukraine population . My estimate could be over 100 trillion dollars . No one NATION has no budget that would fill a reconstruction project that would take decades . (4)>>AMERICA forking up MONEY on this rebuild.With all this Ukraine.. what about.. i dunno… the people suffering in our own Country!? Can we cut them millions of tax payer money?8 months to pass a $600 stimi for Americans. 8 hours to pass a $14mil care package for another country. And they got raises..!?! They must have to pay for their own gas. This makes me think of the aid (American Tax Dollars) sent to Ukraine. Does anyone honest with themselves truly believe a dime of that went to the actual people of Ukraine? Or was it to replenish their slush fund assets that Russia froze? I wonder...How much money has been given to Ukraine since the start of the conflict? (All countries combined)What is the value of any military equipment provided to Ukraine? (All countries combined)What was the amount of the 2021 national tax revenue of Ukraine?Who is going to pay to restore Ukraine after the conflict? How much will that cost?There is a lot of money changing hands. Some accountability would be nice.I predict untold billions or even trillions will be poured into Ukraine after the war and it will be a gigantic clusterfuck in which money intended for rebuilding a city just vanishes and ends up in some oligarchs pocket. (5)>>Making over 10 million people NOT homeless. The Invasion triggers the worst refugee crisis since WWII. NOT as MUCH Russian aggression , but the U.S. Proxy war with a puppet government , the Ukrainian people caught in the middle.There are now almost as many Ukrainian refugees as there were Afghan refugees fleeing the (first) Taliban regime in 2001, according to figures compiled by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). They represent about 9.1% of Ukraine’s pre-invasion population of about 41.1 million – ranking the current crisis 16th among 28 major refugee crises by share of population. This whole thing is extremely expensive . Biden announced that the US will resettle 100,000 Ukrainian refugees. He also pledged $1B to on-the-ground humanitarian aid to the displaced, both in Ukraine as well as neighboring countries. It can be argued that Ukraine government’s phenomenal PR strategy during this crisis has helped convince other nations to be more welcoming. But, that doesn’t account for the drastic difference in reception of these two groups of civilians in need of refuge. It feels like the willingness to allow refuge of displaced individuals is tied to an overarching feeling that one group of individuals is worth more than another. One significant difference between the groups being their skin color. Many nations have freely opened their borders to Ukrainian refugees. The narrative in the mass media and social media has largely been “visas have been waived, we’re here to support you.” Comparatively, when Syrian, Lebanese, and other refugees of color sought refuge in neighboring countries in past years, they were met with reluctant acceptance or sometimes, outright denial. The narrative always included a discussion about lack of housing, the increased job competition, an increase in crime, and so on.(6)>>Hryvnia currency. Is the National Bank of Ukraine propping up Ukrainian currency? I'm curious to understand what's happening.Ukraine’s crisis of politics and territorial integrity has left its mark on the exchange rate of Ukraine’s currency, the Hryvnia.The value of Ukraine’s hryvnia to the dollar plummeted as Russia launched an attack on Ukraine on February 24, falling to just under UAH30 to the dollar.  I have just read with horror that Ukrainian refugees who fled here with all their cash are no longer able to exchange their money into Euros and many are now left with no funds at all in addition to the terrible war, the loss of their homes and presumably many of their loved ones. The total amount of aid the U.S. is providing Ukraine exceeds the $13.6 billion in the spending package. Which is weapons , not material sustenance for reconstruction . Humanitarian needs will also be stark. This is not a black and white situation. Even if the entire Ukrainian government is corrupt and serves only to launder money for global elites, there are still a few million women and children being forced out of their homes into neighboring countries. They’re innocent and are actual refugees unlike the millions of economic migrants which poured into Western Europe for the last 10 years. I don’t trust the mainstream media at all, but denying these people sanctuary is not the way. Post war resources are required to re-build infrastructure, so I guess steel, forest, water, electricity, oil would be required.

The STRANGE Disappearance of Covid in America ?

Dr. Fauci is really GONE???.

Maybe because Covid has gone away, for now, we don't need the expert epidemiologist? (1)>>Is he going to speak about Putin's invasion? Gas prices? Y'all are legit idiots.Well if any one noticed lately that no longer are Covid cases counted by (1.2)>>news media particularity CNN , the daily tally roll of infections and deaths are gone from the TV screen . While Ukraine has dominated the news now . What's really interesting is we are again being played that things are getting back to normal. So far for 2 years we have had media manipulation of Covid numbers.(2)>>The way COVID just vanished into thin air since Russia attacked Ukraine makes me wonder if it was ever real in the first place. Let's embrace a new concept: 'Smart Masking' ALL OVER AGAIN !! Where was flu or a cold during covid? Mysteriously vanished yet replaced by a virus with identical flu symptoms for exact duration. No scientific curiosity about it only silly comments that masks helped yet the mask box says otherwise. World wake up your critical thinking skills. The Omicron wave is receding, but (3)>>Covid hasn't vanished and is still a potent risk and China gain ? to a huge portion of the population. Strange how when the polls turned against Democrats’ insane COVID policies Fauci just vanished . It seems reasonably obvious to me that were the health department actually encouraging more people to seek testing that positivity rate would drop well below that 5% threshold and there would be no plausible excuse for keeping schools closed. Way back in 2020 there was some data manipulation to inflate the numbers . RIGHT now its the reverse , now the numbers are being hidden. With mask mandates dropping all over the country and virus transmission rates falling as well, the future of our pandemic is starting to look a little brighter. RIGHT . OR is the (4)>>US government "hiding" the data for political reasons Every state has its own standard for reporting. It’s stupid and part of the reason no one trusts anything. In New Jersey, we had the opposite problem. They were holding back bad numbers for weeks and releasing them undated to make things worse than they were. Lowering the curve that way helped explain policies that made no sense and hit a lot of the mistakes, like the needless deaths of seniors in nursing homes.I would also point out that the health department advertises they have the ability to test several thousand more people per day than the number who seek testing. My point being even the professional scientists and physicians can't seem to agree on an approach, so it is hard to work up a lot of outrage over the issue of data manipulation. The omicron variant SEEMS  is fading, and so far, no other variant has taken its place.  (5)>>They don't want Fauci on TV trying to explain why covid mandates are suddenly being dropped as the covid case level has never been higher. We know ..it's the midterms. BUT its is also worth to mention that China has had a resurgence of cases and lock-downs , while in the US we are seeing mask mandates being lifted .It don't make any sense ONLY if perhaps Covid was not a big deal after, all of you think about it.

NOTES and COMMENTS:

(1)>>Is he going to speak about Putin's invasion? On February 25th, 2022, the CDC moved the goalposts. Manually, arbitrarily, directly. Here's a graphic that explains why COVID vanished - perhaps not coincidentally, one day after Russian troops entered Ukraine, effectively banishing COVID from media attention. ALSO Anyone else find it strange that since covid started the winter flu which claims thousands of lives every winter has vanished and the government don’t announce these figures anymore The media got the war they wanted, and Covid vanished for a bit. Now, a major Covid outbreak in China has led to another lockdown of 51 million people, in the NE province of Jilin & southern cities of Shenzhen & Dongguan. - ABC News reported.  . (1.2)>>news media particularity CNN .Any US citizen that is so blind to reality that they listen to US bureaucrats and the media deserves all the insult that can be heaped on them.CNN is fake news. They had low reporting standards years ago and 5 years ago moved into being a tabloid. Apologies. Our mainstream news prioritizes what sells (so sensationalized stories) rather than conducting actual journalism. Unfortunately, it's a byproduct of the corporate capture of journalism. CNN is neo-liberal, corporate globalist, trash media. The media keeps the overton window set away from the topics that would expose their shenanigans with central banking, forced immigration, and supra-national control. The terms liberal and conservative are a distraction. They should be replaced with globalist and populist. (2)>>The way COVID just vanished into thin air . Call it a mystery. Society is plunged into sudden crisis yet again. A new hyper-infectious wave of Covid explodes. And yet, mysteriously, our leaders are nowhere to be found. They appear to be missing in action. Seen any of them lately? Conveniently, they seem to have disappeared into thin air. One of the most bizarre features of the alleged COVID-19 ‘global pandemic’ has been the mysterious disappearance of the seasonal flu in medical and public health record keeping. It’s as if the Flu just vanished into thin air after being the most common perennial seasonal respiratory virus.Is there no flu this year or is flu “the second wave of Covid?” Don’t expect any honest answer from health authorities. They have the fear running strong, so strong that people are submitting to needless lockdowns that are causing economic havoc to their lives and to mask mandates that do more harm than good.What is it all about? Is it simply about vaccine profits for Big Pharma?More lockdowns? Put economies back on life support? What about all those profiteering billionaires? Shut borders? Close airports? Our leaders are running scared, because they’ve bungled the pandemic from the beginning, only now the consequences are becoming disastrously clear, and who wants to own up to that? (3)>>Covid hasn't vanished and is still a potent risk and China again ? . Its really strange that the US is lifting mandates , sorta going back to normal with what appears going to endemic stage . At the same time China , Europe are having cases crashing upwards. We never had real lockdowns in the US, though. Where I live in  California (AKA Calabama), it was mostly BAU, other than a few forced business closures. People like dentists had to close down and lose significant income, but my next door neighbors had huge parties, and no one enforced mask mandates. If we ever get a really bad strain of covid or another virus, we're screwed. Half the country will think they don't have to obey the rules, and the people who are in charge of policing them will be on their side. I don't think China is lying. To become the #1 superpower, they need to keep up with high productivity. Lockdowns cause low productivity. China is just seemingly paranoid about COVID. Maybe they suspect it causes long-term effects, like strokes or heart issues 5-20 yrs after? Who knows.I feel like China are more worried about long-term Covid effects than we (Western countries) are. All governments would presumably have access to the same health advice but I guess here the short-term economy comes first.  (4)>>US government "hiding" the data for political reasons .  While China going back to lock downs , the US is "opening up" . There are questions to the whole thing . Still the US "according " to the CDC data , over 980, 000 deaths from Covid . Again CDC claims that a daily average we have 25, 074 daily infections . The numbers are still high to merit a lock down. STILL we have to challenge the accuracy of any CDC data . Prevention has collected data on hospitalizations for Covid-19 in the United States and broken it down by age, race and vaccination status. Probably not a very popular opinion...but im sick of the collective gaslighting into pretending that the pandemic is over & wont overwhelm everything like it has repeatedly. Nevermind the issues with long COVID that the government just wants to sweep under the rug. Our lives and their value...has become incredibly transparent.  But it has not made most of the information public.Two full years into the pandemic, the agency leading the country’s response to the public health emergency has published only a tiny fraction of the data it has collected, several people familiar with the data said. So is the data in question being hidden from the public , so we have a false sense of normality ? It looks to me that the daily covid nonsense is being hidden from the public . Pure speculation on me , but the fact Covid just vanished should be pretty strange to anyone who can see through the last two years of government over reaching to control the spread of the virus. (5)>>They don't want Fauci on TV. May be that Dr. Fauci is less significant because now Russia - Ukriane war is in the news. Now what gets me is that the Ukraine refugee crisis could be a "super spreader " for a new virus . With its 35 percent vaccination rate, Ukraine was especially vulnerable even before the invasion forced 10 million people from their homes. That much of the population must now cram together in packed train cars and basement bomb shelters will not help matters.  After the invasion, reporting on case counts slowed to a trickle. Just LIKE IN AMERICA RIGHT now . What a coincidence . AGAIN NO FAUCI . Dr. Anthony Fauci, said that the coronavirus pandemic won't end with the elimination of the virus. That's a bit scary .