Tag: interview

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President Biden’s Interview On CNN’s Outfront Show (05/08/24)

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On 05/08/24 U S. President Joe Biden sat down with Outfront CNN host Erin Burnett in Milwaukee Wisconsin, for a wide ranging interview that included his reelection campaign, the economy, his thoughts about his Republican challenger Donald Trump, AI, the crisis in Gaza… The interview provided an excellent compare and contrast situation between president Biden and his Republican challenger Trump, thanks in large part to excellent questioning by host Erin Burnett.

As host Erin Burnett correctly pointed out at the start of the interview, President Biden was in the battleground state of Wisconsin to tout plans for the creation of a massive Microsoft AI (artificial intelligence) data center, that will reportedly bring some 2,000 union construction jobs to that region, plus provide AI training to some 100,000 people (more job opportunities). As Erin pointed out, Trump, while president, promised the creation of some 13,000 FoxConn jobs in the same area, a promise we now know, never panned out. Only about 1,000 jobs exist right now, as opposed to the promised 13,000.

Asked why Wisconsinites should believe his jobs promise after clearly being duped by his predecessor Trump, Biden’s response boiled down to this(1:42): “He [Trump] has never succeeded in creating jobs, and I’ve never failed. I’ve created over 15 million jobs since I have been president. 15 million in 3.75 years and secondly, Microsoft is a serious player, and they are very much engaged in making sure that they pick this area as the home base for their AI initiative in the nation. They are going to do it.” Biden then delivered a body shot to Trump (liver shot if you will), telling host Erin, “When has he [Trump] ever done anything that he said? I’m not being facetious…” You get the drift–Trump is all talk, or as they say in Texas, “All hat and no cattle”.

Next up on the interview was the economy, where host Erin Burnett pointed out that recent polls show his challenger Trump beating him when it comes to the question as to who voters think would handle the economy better. Specifically, Erin asked whether he was worried that time was running out for him to turn around that sentiment. President Biden responded in relevant part (7:31), “We’ve already turned around. Look at the Michigan survey. Over 65% of Americans think they are in good shape economically. They think the nation is not in good shape, but they are personally in good shape. The polling data has been wrong all along…” Yours Truly has warned about these mainstream media “polls” in a previous post.

The next major topic was the crisis in Gaza, which is having ripple effects way beyond the Middle East.

Host Erin Burnett(10:26): “I know that you have paused, Mr President, shipments of 2,000-pound U.S. bombs to Israel due to concern that they could be used in any offensive on Rafah. Have those bombs, those powerful 2000-pound bombs been used to kill civilians in Gaza?”

President Biden: “Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they [Israel] go after population centers. I made it clear that if they go into Rafah…I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities, to deal with that problem…” Simply put, the United States will continue supporting Israel in its efforts to counter terrorism, but it will no longer just rubber-stamp and supply weapons for anything Israel does to Gazans. The Biden administration will hold the Netanyahu government to some human rights standards, a commendable position indeed. As for the related protests popping out at U.S. institutions of higher learning, and the legitimate questions such protests have raised regarding the first amendment, President Biden said (13:06): “There’s a legitimate right to free speech and protest…They [students] have a right to do that. There’s not a legitimate right to use hate speech. There’s not a legitimate right to threaten Jewish students.There’s not a legitimate right to block people’s access to class. That’s against the law.”

Next up was a discussion about the real potential for a repeat of a January 6th style insurrection if Biden defeats Trump again. Specifically, Erin asked how seriously President Biden takes the remarks by Trump, that he will not accept the election results if he loses. President Biden responded(16:44): “Very seriously, just like I did with January 6th. The guy is not a democrat (small d)…You can’t only love your country when you win…He may not accept the outcome of an election? I promise you he won’t.”

The interview concluded with a question as to whether former President Obama, who did very well in his election and re-election, and who Biden served as vice president, was giving him any advice on how to run his re-election campaign. President Biden admitted that he was indded getting advice from Obama, adding that the advice was, “You’ve got to organize, block and tackle, people knocking on doors, putting up signs…”. One has to admit, that is as “Obama-esque” as it gets. Hopefully Team BidenHarris heeds his advice and get the results Obama always delivered–kicking Republicans in their you know what!!

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Trump Wants To Reinstate Eisenhower’s Infamous “Operation Wetback” Immigration Policy

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A bombshell segment on MSNBC’s Alex Wagner Tonight show (04/30/24) delved into a recent interview Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump had with Time Magazine. As host Alex Wagner correctly pointed out, the biggest bombshell from the Time interview was Trump’s admission that if elected president again, he would be open to a draconian immigration policy that mirrors former President Eisenhower’s infamous “Operation Wetback.”

Time Magazine’s Eric Cortellessa(2:35): “You’ve said you’re gonna do this massive deportation operation. I want to know specifically how you plan to do that.”

Trump: “So, if you look back to the 1950s, [President] Dwight Eisenhower was very big on illegal immigration not coming to our country. And he did a massive deportation of people.”

Any reasonable person presented with Trump’s response would conclude, as host Alex Wagner did, that if elected president again, Trump intends to craft a draconian immigration policy that mirrors Eisenhower’s “Operation Wetback”.

It will be interesting to see how Hispanics, who Trump has successfully peeled off from the “reliable Democrats” tent, will react to this bombshell revelation. As host Wagner correctly pointed out, a lot of U.S. citizens of Mexican descent also got swept up in Eisenhower’s militarized “Operation Wetback” raids, and got deported illegally to Mexico.

Will a potential “Operation Wetback 2.0” be a game-changer with MAGA Hispanics in 2024, making them pull the lever for Biden? Hmm, as Trump famously says, “We’ll see what happens.”

I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out the fact that in the interview, Trump also appeared eager to expand law enforcement’s “qualified immunity” to a point where it is practically “absolute immunity”. This would dramatically roll back progress that has been made–and there has been progress–in the fight against police brutality, especially as it pertains to Black and Brown communities. Will this be a game-changer for the so-called BlacksForTrump? Hmm, we shall see.

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Jordan’s Queen Rania Slams The West Over “Glaring Double Standard” Regarding Israel-Palestine Conflict

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In an interview with CNN’s Christian Amanpour( 10/24/23), Jordan’s Queen Rania Al Abdullah took issue with the way the West (read United States) has handled the Israel-Palestine conflict, after the terrorist attacks by Hamas on 10/07/23. Queen Rania, who is of Palestinian descent, slammed the West over what she called a “glaring double standard” in the way they treat Israel vis a vis Palestine.

Queen Rania specifically said: “The people all around the Middle-East, including in Jordan, we are just shocked and disappointed by the world’s reaction to this catastrophe that is unfolding. In the last couple of weeks we have seen a glaring double standard in the world. When October 7th happened, the world immediately and unequivocally stood by Israel and…condemned the attacks that happened. But what we’re seeing the last couple of weeks, we are seeing silence in the world. Countries have stopped expressing concern, or acknowledging the casualties, but always with the preface of declaration of support for Israel. Are we being told that it is wrong to kill an entire family at gunpoint, but it’s okay to shell them to death? I mean there is a glaring double standard here, and it is just shocking to the Arab world. This is the first time in modern history that there is such human suffering, and the world is not even calling for a ceasefire, so the silence is deafening, and to many in our region, it makes the Western world complicit…Many in the Arab world are looking at the Western world as not just tolerating this, but as aiding and abetting it…and this is just horrendous, and deeply deeply disappointing to all of us.”

There is no other way to interpret Queen Rania’s remarks other than, she is calling for cessation of hostilities by both sides (Hamas and Israel) so that the world can focus on the humanitarian conditions of the desperate millions of people trapped in Gaza. It is a concern shared by many, including Yours Truly, who reflexively side with Israel. Simply put, every reasonable person wants the eradication of the terrorist group Hamas from the region. Let’s however do it in a way that does not also wipe away millions of innocent Palestinians.

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Green Party Presidential Candidate Cornel West Addresses “Spoiler” Charge

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U.S. presidential candidate Cornel West (Green Party) appeared on CNN’s The Source show (07/13/23) where he among other things, addressed the charge that he’s playing the role of “spoiler” for incumbent President Joe Biden in the upcoming 2024 election. You’ll remember back in 2016, Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein was blamed for helping Republican Donald Trump eke out wins in the key battleground states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, thus securing enough electoral votes to win the presidency. Coincidentally, the same Jill Stein is now Cornel West’s campaign manager, as former President Trump appears poised to be Biden’s Republican challenger in 2024.

Asked by host Kaitlan Collins about the spoiler charge, and the fact that Jill Stein, who many blame for sinking Hillary in 2024 is his campaign manager, West dismissed the charge, adding(2:50): “The Democratic Party is so unsocratic, as well as undemocratic…Examine yourself. Examine why it is, you did not speak to the issues of poor and working people, and therefore you lost. If you’d rather lose than change and examine yourself, then you’re going to have third parties popping out all over the place because people are suffering out here.”

Asked whether he plans to endorse President Biden if the presidential race gets too tight, Cornel West gave quite an interesting response–the kind you’d expect from a seasoned intellectual like him. He said both Trump and Biden are bad choices for the presidency because Trump is leading us towards a second civil war, and Biden is leading us towards a third world war (an obvious reference to Biden’s pro-Ukraine stance).

It remains to be seen what effect Cornel West’s presidential run will have on President Biden’s reelection prospects. Will West cost Biden the White House in 2024 like Jill Stein cost Hillary Clinton in 2016? Only time will tell. What’s impossible to ignore however is the Trump-Jill Stein nexus when it comes to U.S. presidential elections, especially given the fact that they are both very friendly with Russia’s dictator Vladimir Putin, an avowed U.S. foe. This image of Jill Stein dining with Putin and other Kremlin officials, formed the basis of the allegations that she was a spoiler candidate in 2016.

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Senator Chris Murphy Wants U.S. Led Probe Into Shireen Abu Akleh’s Death

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Senator Chris Murphy(D-CT) appeared on MSNBC Prime(07/13/22) to discuss President Biden’s trip to the Middle East, and especially his trip to Saudi Arabia which has drawn condemnation, given Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s implication in Washington Post Columnist Jamal Khashoggi’s brutal murder. During his interview , Senator Murphy also delved into another controversial topic, and that is, the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh by Israeli troops.

An investigation conducted by the Israel government into Akleh’s killing concluded that IDF troops shot her by accident. Naturally, this conclusion has generated a lot of criticism from around the globe, and especially from press freedom advocates. Senator Murphy is calling for an independent U.S. led investigation into Shireen Abu Akleh’s death.

Asked by host Ali Velshi why it was important for the U.S. to conduct an independent investigation, Senator Murphy responded(video at 4:57):“Senator Murphy told host Ali Velshi(video at ):”First and foremost, any time an American dies overseas, we should apply the highest degree of scrutiny to make sure we get to the bottom of the story as to how an American citizen was killed, and in this case, given that it might have come at the hands of foreign security forces, that inquiry is even more important. We are simply asking that we do a thorough review that we are not confident the Israeli authorities have done themselves. So I think it’s important to get to the bottom of this even if the bottom involves some unsavory truths about what an important ally of the United States may have done, or elements of their security forces may have done to contribute to this American’s death.”

Bottom line folks, Israel has been, and remains America’s closest and dearest foreign ally. Ordinarily, Yours Truly would be inclined to accept Israel’s explanation of Shireen Abu Akleh’s death at face value but where, as here, the death in question is of a U.S. citizen, Yours Truly has no choice but to agree with Senator Murphy, that the United States needs to conduct its independent investigation. however unpleasant the results may be. Israel and the United States will forever remain close friends, so there’s no harm in finding out the truth behind Shireen Abu Akleh’s death. The Biden administration owes her family the truth regarding the circumstances of her death overseas.

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Senator Shaheen Says Havana Syndrome Most Likely Caused By “Microwave Directed Energy Attacks”

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Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) appeared on MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reports (12/15/21), where she gave an update on the investigation into the causes/origins of Havana Syndrome. Senator Shaheen said Russia remains the chief suspect, adding that she agrees with the assessment of the National Academy of Sciences, that these are most likely “microwave directed energy attacks.”

Sen Shaheen said part of the defense authorization bill currently being debated in Congress, seeks to provide a coordinator who will look into Havana Syndrome cases across all federal agencies, and keep Congress apprised on any new findings.

Sen Shaheen told host Andrea Mitchell:“What we want is a coordinator, not just within the various agencies where they’ve had personnel attacked, but also someone who can coordinate the entire effort, and that’s part of the amendment that’s in the defense bill, as well as a regular reporting to Congress. We want to know exactly what’s going on so that we can respond. It’s very troubling that this happened years ago, five years ago, and we still don’t know who’s responsible, we don’t know exactly the cause of the attacks, and we’re not sure who’s doing it.”

Neither Senator Shaheen nor MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchel addressed the growing elephant-in-the-room question regarding directed energy attacks, and that is, growing complaints by regular civilians in the U.S.(not diplomats), who claim to be victims of directed energy attacks, leaving them with symptoms of Havana Syndrome–complaints similar to the one below. Will the designated Havana Syndrome coordinator also hear from such regular civilians and report back to Congress? Hmm

Bottom line folks, the U.S. constitution intended for members of Congress to function as representatives of their constituents. Where, as here, we have Congress totally ignoring cries from regular civilians(their constituents) of directed energy attacks, while at the same time enacting a scheme to compensate and treat similarly afflicted government employees, one can only conclude that the era of representative government is long gone–a sad state of affairs indeed. At some point, hopefully soon, Congress will have to entertain Havana Syndrome complaints from regular civilians. Then, and only then, will the public have confidence in the government’s investigation into Havana Syndrome.

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Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo:”Texas Is Being Run From Maralago”

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Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo appeared on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show (09/24/2021), where she blasted elected Republicans in Texas for giving in to former President Trump’s baseless demands for an audit into the state’s 2020 election results. The decision by the Texas Secretary of State’s office to conduct an audit into the election results of Collin, Dallas, Harris and Tarrant counties, came literally a few hours after Trump’s demand, which led a visibly upset Judge Hidalgo to tell host Maddow that Texas was “being run from Maralago.”

Judge Hidalgo told Maddow:“We have to remember we had incredibly successful elections here in Harris County in 2020. We had innovations that led to record turnouts from both parties, the highest in 30 years, I mean it was beautiful, and since then, no evidence has come out that would in any way cause the need for this kind of audit. All we’ve seen is [former]President Trump exhorting the state, or [Governor]Abbott, to have this audit…The reality of it is Texas is being run from Maralago, and that is dangerous, and it’s not appropriate…it’s extremely concerning.”

Judge Hidalgo added that time had come for politicians in Washington to get off the sidelines, and actively join the fight against voter suppression in the states, telling host Maddow, “We need the federal government to act, I mean, this has gone too far… This should be another call to action. We’ve got the writing on the wall. We’ve got to get off our chairs and get moving on all this.”

Bottom line folks, as Judge Hidalgo correctly pointed out, time has come for some decisive action to be taken against these naked efforts by Republicans at the state level, to restrict the voting rights of minorities. Democrats in Washington cannot just sit on the sidelines, and watch their counterparts in Republican-led states like Texas, go to war against GOP’s efforts to restrict minority voting rights. Simply put, time has come for Democrats in Washington to finally do away with the filibuster, and institute a national voting standard geared towards making it easier for people to vote, as opposed to GOP’s scheme of limiting access to the ballot box. As Judge Hidalgo correctly put it, congressional Democrats need to “get off their chairs and get moving” on a comprehensive federal voting rights law.

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