Flat Footed..

 “Joe Biden was supposed to be the expert at dealing with all of these issues. What is it that he’s done right? What has he done that’s come off really well?”

Few months into his administration, the fate of Biden’s social-spending and climate package is more uncertain than ever. The pandemic he promised to bring to heel rages out of control. 

Inflation is at a four-decade high, canceling out rising wages. The border is a mess. Violent crime continues to climb. His approval rating has sunk to the low 40s. 

In the eyes of many Americans, “it’s just been one disappointment after another,” says Iowa-based nonpartisan pollster J. Ann Selzer.

 One year in, there’s a growing sense that the Biden presidency has lost its way. An Administration that pledged to restore competence and normalcy seems overmatched and reactive. Biden has been caught flat-footed by not one but two COVID-19 variants. 

He has repeatedly failed to close the deal with the Senate he boasted of mastering. The former chair of the foreign relations committee has presided over escalating tensions with Russia and China as well as a chaotic pullout from Afghanistan. 

The consequences to America’s credibility abroad could be lasting, says Ryan Crocker, former U.S. ambassador in Kabul. “What could be more damaging to internationalism in this country than an internationalist who is perceived as having just completely screwed the pooch?”

Riddled..

 

A Brooklyn-based federal judge was selected to serve as an independent arbiter to review the materials seized in the FBI's search of former President Donald Trump's Florida home.

 Judge Raymond Dearie also served a seven-year term, concluding in 2019, on the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

 In his role as a FISA judge, Dearie was one of the judges who approved one of the Justice Department's request to surveil former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page as part of the federal inquiry into Russia 2016 election interference.

The department's process for securing FISA warrants for Page was riddled with errors and sloppiness, a DOJ inspector general review later found. The IG's review pointed to omissions and mistakes in the FBI's court filings supporting the FISA applications, including in filings submitted to Dearie.

It came back in full circle. is this another attempt by the Democratic Party, timed at the election?

Capping..

US, UK and European governments freezing Russia energy prices risks blanketing the Continent in power blackouts, a Wall Street investment bank has warned today. 

“The more reductions [in energy consumption] we see, especially in summer… the less likely Europe is to face blackouts or lack of heating in the winter,” Goldman added.

The UK and European energy market has been grappling with a shortage of gas after Russia squeezed flows in response to western sanctions. Weaker than usual supply has propelled gas prices to record highs, triggering cost of living and Inflation crises in Britain and across the Continent.

Businesses will need to respond to swelling energy costs by curbing economic activity to ensure the UK and European government do not impose energy rationing measures, Goldman said.

Marth's Yard..

 

The roughly 50 migrants who were sent by plane to Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts by Florida's governor this week will be transported to a military base Friday to receive shelter and humanitarian support.

The migrants will be sent to Joint Base Cape Cod, said Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, who added he's activating up to 125 National Guard members to assist the relief effort.

The migrants "will be housed in dormitory-style spaces at JBCC, with separate spaces accommodating both individuals and families," and families will not be separated, the release reads.

Baker lauded a temporary shelter that the 1£Martha's Vineyard community set up for the migrants in "a moment of urgent need."

Ultra Rich Democrats in Martha's Vineyard are facing a problem they talked about it from a a thousand miles distance for years. Now they are here.

The Chickens have come home, Sweet Home, to roost.

The big fish started saying " This is un-American." 

Godard..

 

Jean-Luc Godard is a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the 1960s French New Wave film movement, and is arguably the most influential French filmmaker of the post-war era. According to AllMovie, his work "revolutionized the motion picture form" through its experimentation with narrative, continuity, sound, and camerawork.

The Soul..

 

This President is focus on one thing. How to keep the Democratic party in power. Nothing else moves his soul. The President tried to divert the attention of the Country from their performance of Covid-19, Inflation, Gas prices, Migrants and the south border, the Afghanistan withdrawal fiasco, to something else. He also blamed everything on everybody else. You can't feed your family, it is Putin Fault, not the White House reaction to the Ukraine war, and sanctions imposed on Russia but is hurting US and Europe. 

Can anybody admit to the mediocracy here, and there. Just a thought.

Disaster..

 

Ours

 

FYI: The US economy, Europe and UK's economies will be in recession for the coming three years. It started already due to the actions of this administration on spending, then No Fossil Fuel, No drilling Kiddo" and the reaction to the Ukraine war, ie the misguided sanctions that will ruine the economies in Europe for years to come. Just a thought.

Liquified..

 

The European Union wants the United States’ help in kicking its addiction to Russian natural gas. But President Joe Biden faces big limits in what he can promise when he visits the continent this week.

Europe’s main request is more liquefied natural gas from the U.S., whose output of the fuel has surged over the past five years. But American gas exporters are already shipping their LNG overseas nearly as fast as they can, with little new capacity due to come online during the next two years. And Biden cannot command the activities of private oil and gas companies — who will typically sell their product wherever in the world they can fetch the highest price.

The energy crisis for America’s cross-Atlantic allies is still forcing a shift in policies for the Biden administration, which had come into office pledging to drive a transition away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy.

Biden can't just stop talking. The outcome is disastrous to the US and Europe. Energy problems that he created then blame Putin [didn't stick] but he tried.  Just a thought

Salvini..

 

Western sanctions against Russia are not working and actually harm Italy. Matteo Salvini, the leader of Italy’s far-right League party.

Speaking at a conference of political leaders Sunday on Lake Como, Salvini said the sanctions meant to punish Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine had in fact helped Russia, resulting in an export surplus of $140 billion, during the year ending July 2022.

“I would not want the sanctions to harm those who impose them more than those who are hit by them.” 

Salvini’s remarks come just weeks before Italians head to the polls on September 25 in a national election in which a right-wing coalition that includes the League is expected to win. His comments could therefore raise concerns about the future government’s resolve against Russia. 
Is there a European split in Biden's unsuccessful sanctions against Russia? Just a thought.