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SEPTEMBER 1, 2022

A DISGRACEFUL SPEECH:  When we first heard that Joe Biden would give a speech about the soul of America, we thought it was a bad idea.  Having now heard it, we admit that we underestimated its mediocrity and mean-spiritedness. 

The last week in August is probably the worst time for a president to get his message out, so at least the damage from Biden's speech might be limited.

It is reported that the president met with a group of "historians" recently, some of whom compared his situation to Lincoln's or FDR's.  That is what is being taught to day's college students.  Maybe Biden believes it is true.   

His speech was filled, not with unity and inspiration, but hatred and contempt.  If you voted for Trump, you're now considered an awful human being.  Joe Biden says so.  From Fox: 

President Biden Thursday aimed to frame the state of U.S. politics as a battle between "equality and democracy" and a GOP allegedly assaulting those principles in a campaign-style speech at Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

The president's address continues a recent pattern of increasingly aggressive and divisive broadsides against his political opponents. Biden recently said Republicans are embracing "semi-fascism."

And it comes as Democrats feel they have increasing momentum ahead of the November elections, owing, they say, to voters motivated by a revulsion to GOP policies on social issues like abortion, and to former President Donald Trump himself.

"These two documents, and the ideas they embody – equality and democracy – are the rock upon which this nation is built," Biden said of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, both written at Independence Hall.

"But as I stand here tonight, equality and democracy are under assault," Biden added. "We do ourselves no favors to pretend otherwise."

The tone and setting of the speech underscored Biden's effort to portray the upcoming congressional elections as part of what a White House official said is "the continued battle for the Soul of the Nation." The president leaned on that sort of rhetoric regularly during his 2020 presidential campaign and appears poised to bring back some of those talking points ahead of the 2022 midterms.

With the elections coming up, Democrats more broadly appear to be moving to emphasize attacks on Trump and social issues like abortion, which has risen in importance for voters, according to a Fox News Poll last month. They say GOP actions on these sorts of issues represent fundamental threats to Americans' rights.

Biden hammered Republicans on those topics Thursday.

"MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards," Biden said, referencing Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan. "Backwards to an America where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry who you love."

Republicans, meanwhile, say soaring inflation and the economy are the key midterm issues. In the same Fox News Poll, inflation was still by far the top issue on voters' minds as prices have increased significantly under Biden's presidency.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., attacked Democrats on a litany of issues, including inflation, in an address ahead of Biden's Thursday speech.

"How many of you can afford to give up one month of your income? I bet not many,"

McCarthy said during an appearance north of Philadelphia in Scranton, Pa. "But if you had a constant salary for the past year, you've had more than one month of your income taken away."

McCarthy added: "Democrats have had total control in Washington… So let me ask you this. How have they done?"

The minority leader also took a shot at Biden for his "semi-fascism" comment. He said Biden should "apologize for slandering tens of millions of Americans as ‘fascists.'"

Biden during his remarks slammed Trump, the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, Republican efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, and Trump's MAGA supporters.

"Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our Republic," Biden said. "MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution. They do not believe in the rule of the law. They do not recognize the will of the people. They refuse to accept the results of a free election."

The president said that he does not think "every Republican, not even a majority of Republicans, are MAGA Republicans." But, he said, the GOP overall is "dominated, driven and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans."

COMMENT:  It is absurd and vulgar.  But it may work.  Democrats often run fear campaigns, and Biden is the most expert of the fearmongers.  He once suggested to African Americans that they would be sent back into slavery if Republicans won.

It is, of course, the left that is the real threat to democracy.   It is the left that is behind, or associated with, the violence that has wrecked our cities, the cancel culture that is destroying our universities, the identity politics that is weakening our institutions.  Does Biden really think it is Trump Republicans who are defunding the police? 

Democracy is on the line in the coming midterm election, just not in the way that Joe Biden thinks, or claims to think.

September 1, 2022       Permalink 

AUGUST 31, 2022

THIS FINAL NOTE FROM THE MONTH OF AUGUST.  YOU CANNOT MAKE THIS UP,   FROM FOX WEATHER: 

LOS ANGELES – Days after announcing a ban on the sale of many gasoline powered cars in the state starting in 2035, California is asking residents to avoid charging their electric vehicles during peak usage hours to save energy as a late-summer heat wave grips the Golden State. 

With temperatures expected to be upwards of 30 degrees above average in most of California, the state's Independent System Operator asked residents on Wednesday to limit use of major appliances, avoid charging electric vehicles and turn off unnecessary lights between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. when demand is highest. 

PG&E, California's largest utility provider, is also encouraging consumers to conserve energy any way they can, especially after 4 p.m. Experts say other easy ways to conserve energy is by avoiding laundry, vacuuming, and dishwashing during peak energy times. They say costumers can also set their thermostat at 78 degrees or higher.

For the nearly 40 million residents in the state, there are only around 500,000 registered electric vehicles – representing about 1% of residents. 

Charging electric vehicles can have the same strain on the power grid as most major appliances. A typical electric vehicle charging on an at-home level 2 charger will use about 7,200 watts or less, according to the United States Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. For reference, that's less than a typical electric furnace uses but more than an air conditioner. 

The request comes nearly a week after the California Air Resources Board banned the sale of new gas-powered cars in the state after 2035. Several states, including Virginia, are expected to follow California’s lead on banning the sale of new gas-powered vehicles.

Governor Gavin Newsom proclaimed a State of Emergency for the heat wave that is expected to last through the Labor Day weekend.

Heat alerts, including Excessive Heat Warnings, Excessive Heat Watches and Heat Advisories, have been issued as temperatures soar into the 90s and over 100 degrees for areas in California. Those are temperatures upwards of 30 degrees above normal.

COMMENT:  For those with electric cars who'll follow Big Brother's instructions and not charge their vehicles, and who suffer an emergency, they're not completely out of luck.  They can find someone with a gas guzzler.  He'll get you there, and then you can report him to the People's Energy Minister.  It's a win-win.

August 31, 2022       Permalink