PS

RE: "I can't believe I read the whole thing"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZKg-GYsvtg

I guess the line originates with this 1972 tv-commercial for Alka-Seltzer; "I can't believe I ate the whole thing."

I, like the esteemed, skillful, and cheerful Adam Smith, was born in the decade following the 1970s. The year 1972 being a considerable time before my birth, I can't have seen the commercial. But I did see The Simpsons in the 1990s (and quite often; it used to be on twice a day, every day, on network TV, and was for some time quite the habit). I immediately recognized the line from there.

The exact line "I can't believe I ate the whole thing" was, in one episode, shown as Homer Simpson's "Yearbook quotation," the way people used to write little personal slogans that somehow sum themselves up. That was Homer's. In the show's timeline, he will have graduated from high school about that time. The Simpsons was absolutely chock-full of cultural references like this, which to kids in the 1990s meant nothing, but they learned them via parody and homage.

It's been an interesting time, as an adult now for these many years, running into the "originals" of such things. I'd never seen the 1972 commercial, but thanks to Peak Stupidity, another Simpsons cultural-reference is resolved. I think that as a boy seeing that "Homer Simpson: "I can't believe I ate the whole thing" was just some zany made-up line about a man who loves to eat.

PS: Good afternoon, everyone!

https://i.ibb.co/4jQ0V2B/I-Can-t-Believe-I-Ate-The-Whole-Thing.jpg


▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▓
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▓▓▓
▒▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░▓
▒▓░░░░▓░░░░▓
▓░░░░░░▓░▓░▓
▓░░░░░░▓░░░▓
▓░░▓░░░▓▓▓▓
▒▓░░░░▓▒▒▒▒▓
▒▒▓▓▓▓▒▒▒▒▒▓
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▓▓▓▓
▒▒▒▒▒▓▓▓▒▒▒▒▓
▒▒▒▒▓▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▓
▒▒▒▓▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▓
▒▒▓▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▓
▒▓▒▓▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▓
▒▓▒▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓
▒▓▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▓
▒▒▓▒▒▒▒▒▓


☮️

PS: "Someone close to Biden should remind him that he agreed to step down."

Haha, I can see that. Jill, oops, I mean DOCTOR Jill: "Honey, you told us the day before yesterday that you were going to write that resignation letter. Did you forget? I did it for you, because I know you were busy, watching "The Young and the Restless" and gumming down your creamed corn. Just sign here."

In a low voice: "Oh, the small print. I can't find your reading glasses, dear. It's just something about .... making me President."

PS: Also, Mr. Hail, I have read most of Steve Sailer's post on his new(?) substack-"powered" site. I've read all comments, as there aren't many yet, and have seen yours therefore.

I saw 2 posts of Sailer's in a row that I didn't agree with the basic point of. Then - your comment here on our Gerontocracy reminded me - his recent post that started off mentioning Romania (not gonna try to spell the dude's name right now) in '89 had something right off that made no sense to me. The rest of the article was great, however:

Steve said that individual Romanians realized that there were lots of others who felt the same way, and that's why they were able to overthrow the Commie Tyrant and execute him and his wife (saw the video - wish it was better quality))

Whaaa? Of course, for 40 years inside the East Bloc, Romanians knew that they all hated the system. However, there was Totalitarianism - does Steve even get how that works? One guy who waited in line for 3 hours for a head of cabbage and works his ass off in the cold for peanuts, and must be extremely careful what he says around even his own kids is gonna figure that his buddy for whom, well, DITTO, is gonna feel the same. However, you protest, and you die and maybe even someone in your family does too.

What happened in '89 in Romania, as with nearly the same time in E. Germany, etc, is that people realized they could act in unison and beat their oppressive system. It was the time, that's all. Just days before, if one guy spoke out, and no crowd of Romanians stuck with him, that' s the end of him. It takes a critical mass with each element knowing that others will put themselves out there too.

Now what about J6? I'd written that they can't arrest thousands of us. They didn't at one time, but they have sure slowly done this afterwards. Next time, people will figure, "Why NOT bring the guns?"

Wheww, that was way off the subject.

PS: You're welcome on the Buchanan book, Mr. Hail. As with a lot of history books that are meant to be on one subject (such as "Blacklisted by History" about Sen. Joe McCarthy - reviewed here), often one can find out about many other subjects. In this one, it wasn't just about Nixon, as there was a lot about other aspects of those couple of years.

I meant to write more on that book - had 6 bookmarked areas to write about - but after 2 years out of the library, I felt kinda' bad...

I assume you know that PS Book Club is Mr. Adam Smith. Thanks again, Adam!

PS: Mr. Hail, Carll with 2 "l"'s sounds like a real piece of work. I can't stomach reading that much lying and stupidity in one serving. More power to you for being able to. "I can't believe I read the whole thing!*

I read all the comments here, but let me say it might be best to have another post on what the D-squad will do now. First, however, I'll put up yours and Old Soldier's comments together, as a general wrap-up of this entertainment, but then there's too much to make fun of for me to pass up. However, there are also some points I want to make re: the Tucker/iSteve interview.


* Sorry, Adam, and some others. That was from before your time.

PS

I have tweeted out this solution - I wonder what will happe:

Someone close to Biden should remind him that he agreed to step down.

PS

Moderator says: "I'm sure glad Trump wasn't so stupid as to pick him for VP candidate. OTOH, there's lots of stupid in the guy to come, I'm sure..."

There is some talk that Trump will choose the sychophantic Vivek Rammambaswamamiey. Others say J.D. Vance, who is still a bit of an unknown quantity (though more known that the big-talker Vivek, who in my view resembles the classic "con-man" all the way). Earlier reports that he would choose a woman as VP are said to have been discarded.

PS

Thanks for the "Greatest Comeback" links, Mr. Moderator and the helpful P.S. Book Club minder who pops up from time to time.

PS

-- Niall Ferguson says "We're All Soviets Now" --

The right-wing-sympathetic historian and professor Niall Ferguson, originally of Scotland but long-active in elite academia in the USA, published an essay about two weeks ago that is worth revisiting. The mid-2020s now feel a lot like the mid-1980s, except for one important difference: the USA is now the USSR.

In case you are interested, find the essay here:

https://www.thefp.com/p/were-all-soviets-now

None of his insights there are novel, exactly. He's writing for a "Newsweek"-style general-audience (in older years he actually wrote for Newsweek, always provocatively). Some have been making these same points for years.

Among other things, Ferguson compares the U.S. and Soviet "gerontocracies." The whole "Covid" debacle of the early 2020s, of demanding shutdowns and social-distancing and injections and mandates, the huge damage it all did, and all so unnecessarily... The rest of us looked all over for answers. Some proposed that it had all been a sign of the power and influence of the "Gerontocracy," which demanded the rules and the Panic regime to protect itself at the expense of everyone else (the younger age-cohorts). That rung true, to an uncomfortable degree, not just because the old demanded the young be sacrificed for the old, but because they so easily got their way. It was a sign the median-point of social, cultural, and political power is now very old indeed.

Biden's poor debate performance is a symbol of the larger thing, and brings to the surface many of these feelings, often repressed or subliminal.

It feels embarrassing, but also less than surprising. There is a "gerontocracy"-like feeling to a lot of the USA now, and not just in the presidency. A skilled observer who is effective at capturing details, like a Tom Wolfe, could really "go to town" on the subject. It's everywhere.

As if to prove my points here, Nancy Pelosi has come out in defense of Biden, when few others are doing so. Says Pelosi: "I think Joe's still got it. I mean, I'm even older than him, and look at me!" (paraphrased).

Nancy Pelosi, born March 1940 (Fauci was also b.1940); Pelosi is still a U.S. Congress member, as of today; stepped down as Speaker of the House, January 2023 (near 83rd birthday); her retirement as Speaker of the House (but not from Congress) was after twenty-or-more years at or near the top (Speaker, or Minority Leader, or like roles). Pelosi is in a safe-seat encompassing the city of San Francisco. She will be elected again in November 2024 easily. If the next one is her last term, she'll retire from Congress in January 2027, soon thereafter turning 87...

If Joe Biden is reelected, he would be 86 when he finishes his second term.

PS

-- At the 24-hour mark... --

The June 2024 Trump-Biden debate feels like a big deal, the sting lingering in the air like stale tear-gas after a suppressed riot, people on the ground trying to cry it out and others wandering around dazed, no one sure what's going on.

The feeling of shock or sadness, or whatever mix of feelings it is, goes far beyond the borders of the USA, and this seems to be on a lot of minds given the surprisingly large number of stories quoting foreign diplomats, foreign press, foreign governments, and the pouting partisans of Holy Ukraine.

The latest Trump guy to go to prison is Steve Bannon. They found a way to convict him of something, and on Monday he reports to prison for a four-month term, possibly more later. He gave his final interview, today, to the popular Megyn Kelly Sirius-XM show (also posted free on Youtube and elsewhere), and he says he's worried that Biden looked so bad that it will encourage China to attack Taiwan or other adventurism by somebody.

Steve Bannon also pointed out that the Biden debate debacle came on the same day as the shooting of Archduke Ferdinand in 1914, and compared the Biden debate debacle to that. This is all the usual fare from Steve Bannon, but with the unhinged reactions mostly across the board by Regime insiders and the wider Left, Steve Bannon no longer looks so crazy or agitated, I mean relatively. Steve Bannon, by the way, still worships Trump.

Meanwhile, the "538" polling experts released their result showing a minimal shift from Biden to Trump. Despite 80-20 agreement by their respondents that Biden lost the debate, only 1.5% or so say it changes their vote. Another poll, conducted after the debate and rushed to release, shows Trump-Biden still in the margin of error among Likely Voters, but a big advantage for Trump among All Adults. In other words, the more-political element of the population is still leaning pro-Biden. There are a lot of people who don't like Biden, or have lost confidence in him, but who will choose to not vote rather than vote for DJT.

PS: In case anyone would like to read...

The Greatest Comeback: How Richard Nixon Rose from Defeat to Create the New Majority by Pat Buchanan (22mb .pdf)

https://tinyurl.com/2t6ty6uz

☮️

PS: Thanks, Achmed.

It should go back together pretty easy. Unlike the video below, I had to take out the front driveshaft and the transmission support bracket to get enough clearance to remove the shift motor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSH6AvwjOLE

Assuming the part is "of quality" (and it should be at almost $300 dollar bucks!) I'll have it all back together in under an hour. (Maybe half an hour?) I was a little disappointed that I couldn't finish it the other day, but it is what it is. Sometimes the parts we get just aren't right. (Happens more often than it used to.)

I may have been able to force the connector together, but I didn't want to risk ruining the (truck side) connector or creating a future problem for the next time the shift actuator fails in 5 or 10 years.

It's a little weird how difficult it is to get parts for these 3rd generation Dodge Dakotas. Don't know why. Seriously, I have a much easier time finding parts for my e34 or Mrs. Smith's w210.

Ok, so I looked for the production numbers...

"The Dakota was regularly selling over 100,000 units a year in the U.S. from 1992 to 2005, then after they dropped the manual V8s, those numbers plummeted to around fifty thousand units in 2007, half that in 2008, and barely over ten thousand units a year from 2009 to 2011."

That might explain it. Seems they only made a couple hundred thousand 3rd gen Dakotas. (For reference, 1,333,412 e34s were produced.) I don't know. I would think parts for these trucks would be easier to find. But whatever.

Good luck with your coax project.

I'm gonna go read "A study of White ethnic-dispossession and ‘replacement’: Maryland’s Prince George’s County, 1970s to 1990s".

Later. ☮️

PS: Good luck with the electronic shift actuator, Adam... when it comes in.

I'm about the same, waiting on a friend to put together a couple of pieces (with connectors - my crimp tool is gone) of coax for a project. That's holding up the rest, but then I'm busy anyway, even counting being lazy, errr, busy, writing posts and comments.

Mr. Hail has a new post up, and it's NOT on the Tucker/Sailer interview.

PS: "We finally beat Medicare!"

I am so very thankful that the Dark Brandon administration fast-tracked that Medicaid vaccine in record time.

I've already taken my Medicaid jab, and I'll be going to get my booster next week. Anyone who doesn't take the Medi-RNA is killing grandmas and ought to be looked in his home with no food deliveries. Bastards!

PS: We finally beat Medicare!

https://twitter.com/EndWokeness/status/1806557731244986521

☮️

PS: Greetings, Mr. Moderator!

Yes. I'm still here. Being lazy because I'm waiting on a four wheel drive shift actuator for a 2005 Dodge Dakota. (They say it will be here Monday) The new part that I had on hand has something wrong with the electrical connector and I really don't want to damage the connector on the harness attached to the truck because it would probably be a nightmare finding and installing a replacement for that. So, until my new part arrives I cannot finish putting the truck back together so I can take it off the lift and move on to my next project.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=15197637&cc=1430649&pt=10323&jsn=516

Dodge verb To Avoid

Instead of being lazy I should probably be outside mowing grass and tending to my garden or something.

Yet here I am. On the internet. Being lazy.

Cheers! 🙂 ☮️

PS: Alarmist, I'd seen that BB headline but not read it yet. That was a real LOL: "Hey, I didn't do anything!" Trump told authorities. "He was like that when I got here!" Hahaaa!

Mr. Hail, at your service, Sir, since nobody else around here knows how to search anything up without logging in. ;-}

This is my review of that book. (I had it out of the library for 2 or 3 years! I don't kid here - no fines - what'd Reagan say about "if you want more of something?"

Richard Nixon and The Greatest Comeback - Pat Buchanan

https://www.peakstupidity.com/index.php?post=1460

PS: Mr. Hail, regarding your further comments:

I see that theory is being bandied about that Bai Dien was set up to fail, giving an opportunity for the excuse "hey, you're right. He IS senile. Gotta do something else." Yeah, but that sure demonstrates some big lies from, what a week ago, that Conservatives have been doctoring up videos to show Bai Dien this way. Additionally, it admits we've been right.

Then again, with the short memory of the population, I suppose they can get away with this.

I figured Gavin Newsome too. However, nobody should underestimate the sheer blind ambition of the Hildabeast, not until she has been proven to be dead. (I would use a stake, just to be sure.) What about Jill Biden? That sounds pretty far-fetched, but then on video (a clip from after the debate), she looks like she is running the show. Does she have the same feminist ambition as the Hildabeast? Sure, it'd be quick notice and very Banana Republican, but who knows? What about Big Mike? (Too stupid and hard to control, I'd figure.)

On the polling data, I suppose all that is is advance warning to the election vote-makers. "You've got your job cut out for you. Godspeed!"

I suppose I'm glad to see that, though. I don't have any idea of just how much cheating the left can accomplish.

PS: Mr. Hail, I could put your longer synopsis of the debate in a post too, if that's fine. I did look at your BLM meme - that still reminds me of the old sign the secretary had on her office wall - yes, secretary, it being that long ago, that ended with "Dumb looks are still free." Ha.

As for RFK, Jr, he is definitely an outsider, as in not part of the UniParty. Hence, he was going nowhere as a D. I did like his idea of answering the questions in synch with the debate questions. That was clever. However, besides his opposition to the Kung Flu Totalitarianism and a few more things, he is hard left, with the Climate Alarmism and so on, and so on.

I'm sure glad Trump wasn't so stupid as to pick him for VP candidate. OTOH, there's lots of stupid in the guy to come, I'm sure. (Trump, that is, hell, all of 'em!)

PS: We can only hope, after his June 27th 2024 7:55PM MST post and maybe 10 more minutes of debate, that Mr. Smith is still with us, with greater functionality than guys I've recently seen on my wife's phone. We will look for more comments after a few days(?)

;-}

PS

-- anti-Biden palace-coup plot --

The seeming unanimity of the calls for Biden to withdraw, when looking at the loudest and boldest names calling for withdrawal, they all seem to come from members of the most influential ethnic-group in the USA, the one that dominates his cabinet vis-a-vis traditional White-Christians or especially against White-Protestants (of whom there are very few).

The influential economist Thomas Friedman says "Biden is my friend; he MUST bow out of the race"; Nichola Kristoff (New York Times); Harold Meyerson (Newsweek); Mark Leibovich in The Atlantic ("Time to Go, Joe"). All the same message, all within hours of the debate.

Meanwhile, non-members of that ethnic group are negative but are NOT demanding his head:

-- "Biden cannot go on like this," says Frank Bruni.

-- Patrick Healy says: "I'm hearing high anxiety from Democrats over Biden's debate performance." These are not demands for blood.

There does seem to be a concerted effort to stage a palace-coup against Biden, by the leading element of the leading ethnopolitical coalition in the USA.

PS

Commentary from hardcore fire-and-brimstone Trump-hater, author Carll Tucker (Yes, his first name has two L's), worth reading as representative of that side's views:

______________

DE PROFUNDIS (a.k.a., Gulp)

Biden, bless him, isn’t up to this fight. He thought he was, he figured he’d earned his shot, he strove mightily, but in this image-addicted nation he flubbed big-time, putting civilization itself at risk. Performing is essential to leadership, always has been, and Biden’s performance was cringe-worthy. Even I don’t much want him in the job, who reveres his goodness, competence, decency, and accomplishments.

To retire is not to fail, it’s to face facts. Living is losing, strength by strength, till our final loss. “To every thing there is a season,” said the preacher. “A time to get and a time to lose; a time to keep and a time to cast away; a time to rend and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love and time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.”

If President Biden concluded he wasn’t up to this fight, he should cede his place to one with a better chance. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, otherwise a giant, betrayed her trust by staying too long: generations will be paying for her obstinacy. If President Biden realizes that to save democracy, he must say goodbye, the logistics can be managed. If he decides to go down with the ship, it will be the ship of state.

Who if not Biden? To my thinking the best candidate is young, centrist, charismatic, experienced, and (alas) male and white. Before we mend our nation, we must save it. This recommendation is heartsick, unjust, unkind, but when human freedom is at risk, decency must defer to practicality. Our best leader now is the one with the best chance to win.

If Biden still believes he’s best for this assignment, we must do all we can to buttress him – and pray. After that tsunami of a debate, I’m not optimistic – but what choice do we have? Do we go with Satan or the other guy?

______________

https://carlltucker.substack.com/p/62924-de-profundis-aka-gulp

PS

I think Pat Buchanan also writes about the 1968 DNC convention's theatrics and riots and acrimony in a full chapter of his 2014 book titled The Greatest Comeback. That book was a political-biography of Nixon in the period 1962-68, and Pat Buchanan, being a close aide in the latter part of that period (and later), was as good as any to write it. Also reviewed on Peak Stupidity somewhere back there.

PS: Thanks for all the comments, Mr. Hail, and Adam Smith, Old Soldier, and Alarmist too. (O.S. I may just append your comment as a quick summary in another post, if that's OK.)

I'll respond later today, as I have people to meet...

In the meantime, just this one thing: Mr. Hail, I wrote a quick post about Buchanan's enjoyment of the 1968 Chicago D violence in '18 (you can check out his own column, which I linked to in my post):

Pat Buchanan on American political history - 50 years ago

https://www.peakstupidity.com/index.php?post=644

PS

It was way past my bedtime … I’ll have to look for a highlight … lowlight??? Video on the net. But I think the Bee said it best

Trump Indicted For Murdering Elderly Man On CNN

ATLANTA — Tonight's presidential debate ended abruptly when Donald Trump was served with papers notifying him that he had been indicted for the murder of an elderly man on CNN.

"Hey, I didn't do anything!" Trump told authorities. "He was like that when I got here!"

Sources: https://babylonbee.com/news/trump-indicted-for-murdering-elderly-man-on-cnn

🕉️

PS

Here is one clip someone made of one of Biden's incoherent and surreal responses:

https://x.com/justin_hart/status/1806585746499031504

The audio is genuine. The video-cuts are done by this Twitter-guy Justin Hart, to keep the focus on Biden. CNN's cameras were cutting to wide shots, to Trump reactions, to side-by-side shots, back and forth. This Twitter uploaded smoothed it out, which explains some of the grainy or choppiness of some of the video. It is not AI, it is manually video-edited.

The audio is 100% genuine, but far from 100% coherent. This was also one of multiple times when the moderators assisted Biden by doing a quick "Thank you" and pivoting to Trump.

The question was about abortion policy.

PS

Dieter Kief says this, on what Biden looked like:

________________

"if you look at the vid without sound - President Bidens hand alone - - - my dear lord: You feel ashamed - and I thought right away: It is not right to show an old man in this way - whether he too wants that (for whatever reason . . .) - or not.

You see (and I felt) the disruption of - Body and Soul - - - I know Parkinson patients - quite some of them - - - this is usually not so automat-like. It is - usually - a rather gentle dysfunction - President Biden looked automaton-like instead."

_____________

https://x.com/DieterKief/status/1806577995479413099

PS

CNN did a scientific live-poll
of 565 registered voters
who watched the debate.

(Before the debate...)
- 55% expected Trump to win the debate
- 45% expected Biden to win the debate

(After the debate...)
- 67% said they feel Trump won the debate
- 33% said they feel Biden won the debate

These were not necessarily people from that strange class of Undecided Voters. Just random registered voters, many with strong commitments to the D-team or who hate Trump. So the 12-point shift to Trump there is bigger than it seems, and is outside the margin-of-error.

The previous polls of this kind, during the 2020 debates, all showed huge lopsided wins for Biden of around 75-25 and 80-20. So this 67-33 result for Trump; people really did think Biden lost the debate. But maybe not quite as decisively as the media class has been chanting.

If that CNN poll is representative, it does translate to a several-point shift to Trump overall. That on top of recent polling, would clinch the victory for Trump. The only question would be how many electoral votes, and what effect on the Senate and House races.

As Ann Coulter, Mickey Kaus, and others point out, a worst-case scenario for immigration-restrictionists would be Trump in the presidency and a strong Democratic-controlled Congress, because the chances would increase of a "grand bargain" that includes blanket amnesty for illegals and a ticker-tape parade of "green cards" for shiftless foreigners.

PS

Chuck Todd, the influential political host at CNN and inheritor of the "Meet the Press" show, is said to have come out, sweating and agitated, not quite in favor of replacing Biden but angrily denouncing the Biden team for taking five days to rest and prep the man (Biden) who turned out such a poor performance.

He is known to be pro-Democrat; he is directing his fire towards the relevant parties so they listen.

Last week, Chuck Todd said that "he has been hearing a lot of talk" about how Gavin Newsom would be an excellent replacement candidate, or successor to Biden. He also says he's heard Gretchen Whitmer (Michigan governoress) and Rafael Warnock (!) (Black politico in Georgia), and Mark Kelly (Senator, Arizona), as all appealing replacements for Biden-Harris in some combination.

If there is a conspiracy to stage a palace-coup against Biden by the Blue-team by arranging for him to be humiliated on the debate stage, Chuck Todd is as likely as any public figure to be involved.

PS

Somebody's explanation for the Biden debate debacle, its strange timing, and the goals of those who set it up --- a DNC or similar conspiracy is alleged:

______________

1. The insiders knew Biden was like this.

2. They didn’t have to agree to any debate at all. They certainly didn’t have to propose and show up for the earliest debate in history.

3. So they humiliated Biden deliberately, but only after the primary voters get no say, yet early enough pre-Convention for the insiders to pick his successor before the fall campaign.

This has been the plan for a long, long time.

(Rod D. Martin)
https://x.com/RodDMartin/status/1806530209736450238

_____________

Like all 'conspiracy' theories, there are questions being 'begged' here. To what end would they be doing this? Replace Biden with whom? For what greater goals? Why do such a complicated maneuver towards a palace-coup? The theory feels less strong than it appears.

But as I already wrote in the long report, earlier, a lot of serious people were entertaining the idea of dumping Biden and replacing him. I watched the debate and was shocked by just how negative these reactions were. Almost as if the reactions were also coordinated as part of Rod D. Martin's posited gambit to get rid of Biden.

Ann Coulter, among others, believes the new nominee will be Gavin Newsom, the smug California governor.

PS

The Robert F. Kennedy Jr. debate was on Twitter, not Youtube as I wrote.

https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1OdKrjDkZqwKX

What they did was air the live-stream of the main debate but pause it after Trump and Biden gave responses to some questions, and then had a third moderator repeat the question to Kennedy, who was on his own stage.

If you go to the 34:00 mark there, you'll soon see him start speaking in his first response. I don't know if there's anything of great value there, though would be interested in how he responded to the "deport illegals or not" question.

PS

I endorse everything Old Soldier wrote.

I'm glad I watched the debate, or most of it, in its full form -- by which I mean not clips curated by partisans or social-media addicts, but the debate as aired. I also watched without following any rolling commentary on social-media or elsewhere during. Afterwards I saw reactions from the various sides, including CNN, MSNBC, Fox, Univision, and the interesting network NewsNation. I'll give here all that I can remember.

Newsnation seems to hire anchors fired from elsewhere (Chris Cuomo a host; Bill O'Reilly, an analyst; Geraldo, same) and aim for a happy-go-lucky big-tent centrism. The tone is definitely different and happier feeling that the big players.

NewsNation brought on Robert Kennedy Jr., who, it was explained, had "held his own debate" on Youtube. RFK Jr. answered all the same questions asked by the CNN moderators, for a Youtube audience of his fans. I didn't see any of that. He is not excelling in the polls.

Chris Cuomo suggested to RFK Jr., on the air, that he (RFK) ought to make some calls to the DNC. He could now find receptive audience for an arrangement for the DNC to ditch Biden and nominate him, RFK Jr., as the Democratic nominee for president after Biden's terrible performance. Chris Cuomo said it's because "you have such solid Democratic credentials," because he's already in the field and has an enthusiastic following, and because Biden had failed so shockingly at the debate, the stars had aligned. RFK seemed to say that would never happen. The DNC hates him and is inundating his campaign with legal harassment to try to keep him off ballots or otherwise harm him. He seemed really resentful against the DNC.

Biden's constant rifting off, trailing off, staring into space, mumbling, speaking too softly, all looked bad, of course. But I was, I think, more taken by the 'canned' nature of all his responses, a point Old Soldier brings up. I don't know if I agree that Biden "definitely" had the questions fed to him before the debate (although Hillary Clinton did have that advantage in her CNN debates, it was later revealed). But what is for sure is these were rehearsed lines. The problem is, Biden couldn't remember his own rehearsed lines and constantly bumbled them. A good thinker, who is also a extemporaneous speaker, doesn't need to memorize set-piece lines like that. There were also times I wondered whether Biden had a secret ear-piece in which someone was correcting his missteps live, because he often corrected himself after misspeaking. But maybe that just happens with someone trying hard to recall memorized lines.

Biden's points were the "same-old, same-old" ones he always uses. This always happens with "old" people, of course; some people are still sharp in the early eighties (Biden turns 82 later in this year), but almost all people, by that age, find it hard to truly live in the time they are in. Instead, they are always re-living some time of the past and applying it to the present. There were moments when this also came through from Biden, ranging from re-living the talking-points of the 2010s, including some proven to be false; but also dropping in the word "segregation" when the topic of Blacks came up, a word from the 1960s when Biden was in his twenties.

Another observation: Biden's facial reactions, body-language reactions to Trump were mostly muted. He sometimes condemned him as an evil person or a liar, but when Trump was making points he just stared blankly, like he was confused.

Someone produced this 'meme' during the debate, which hits the points I am making there:

https://hailtoyou.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/blank-looks-matter-biden-debate-june-2024.png

MSNBC strangely brought on the California governor, Newsom, for a strangely long and strangely toned soft-ball interview. It was supposed to be a reaction to the debate, but it turned out to be, in my opinion, a long Gavin Newsom For President infomercial. All grins by the mixed-race anchor for interviewed him, the four-night-a-week successor to Rachel Maddow.

I did see some of the MSNBC reaction. Rachel Maddow, their star, was on hand and in the driver's seat of their large panel of experts. Her anti-Trump hysteria about Russia-Russia-Russia, and all the rest of what she traded in for so long, was absent tonight. She looked shell-shocked and said frankly that Biden gave the worst possible debate performance short of falling off the stage and begging for help on live TV (she didn't say any of this, this is my interpreting her mood). She looked like a general who had just received intelligence that the enemy had him surrounded, supplies would be cut off, and there was no easy way out. A restrained panic. That would characterize the mood of most of the anti-Trump commentators.

However, MSNBC tried to focus on the anti-Trump line (playing to their audience) and tried to go neutral on Biden. CNN, meanwhile, which had a panel of its own experts that looked to be about twelve people, was really anti-Biden, and kept putting things on the air like "Influential Dem: Biden as nominee is problematic" and more. CNN brought on Kamala Harris who attacked and mocked her interviewer, but some on the panel of experts praised her for it, which was also strange.

On Fox, the response was as would be expected. The smart-alec Jesse Watters, who is Tucker Carlson's replacement, said he was shocked tonight, not at anything from the debate stage but from within his own chest. He said he felt repeated pangs of sympathy for Biden, he felt bad for Biden. The performance, supposedly, was SO bad (for Biden) that it induced sympathy, "someone help this old man" feeling in him, a well-known Biden-hater.

I think CNN had the old anti-Trump hack Chris Wallace, the Jewish son of longtime journalist Mike Wallace. Chris Wallace was long of Fox, so I'm not sure why he was on CNN. (It turns out he went from Fox to CNN in early 2022; who knew?). Chris Wallace was on the warpath against Biden, saying it was a deep national shame that a man with clear signs of dementia was running for president, and there was no defense for this. Biden had a job to do, and he failed to do it. One or two co-panelists tried to contradict him, but he slammed them and morally attacked them for trying to defend Biden here. This is a Jewish debating tactic that I've often seen used, and is a large part of what's behind the crassness of political commentary now, especially its cable-TV form. It's take-no-prisoners moral-shaming.

Chris Wallace, who is a Democrat and hates Trump, was clearly trying to use his considerable influence to get Biden replaced. Although millions were watching all this chattering, a lot of it was, I think, aimed at the donors and the DNC bigwigs. The DNC has enough "superdelegates" that they might be able to maneuver a way to defeat Biden at the convention and replaced him with someone else. No one knew who that might be. A few names came up, one (I can't remember from whom) was: Josh Shapiro. He was elected governor of Pennsylvania in 2022.

Bill O'Reilly, on NewsNation, said he guaranteed that Biden would not be the nominee. He wasn't certain of that position before the debate, but now he is certian, he says. From the signals CNN was sending, it's no longer implausible that an anti-Biden palace-coup will occur within the DNC, before their convention in mid-August of this year, at Chicago. Geraldo and Bill O'Reilly laughed at both being old guys who remember the 1968 DNC convention in Chicago and its legendary chaos (I recall Pat Buchanan narrated himself witnessing the chaos from atop a high building). The 2024 DNC convention is also in Chicago. Bill O'Reilly then added that the role of left-wing violent protestors from 1968 would now be played by "pro-Hamas people."

There was also a live-translation Spanish simulcast on Univision. It's a remarkable skill to be able to do live-translation in that way. It must've been especially tough to do it for Biden when he was at his least-coherent.

The Univision commentary, which I also saw some of, was neutral and lacked the alarmist tone of CNN and MSNBC, and the gloating from Fox. From what I've seen of Univision's news coverage, they strive to be several things: (1.) pro-Hispanic, always (in which news is given from a "things happening with Hispanics always lead); (2.) serious news and not overt propaganda; (3.) not too serious, a lightness of touch, in the way you get from local news or from English newscasts of many decades past now.

Univision had two commentators on, one Republican, one Democrat, both White men with thick glasses who spoke reasonably and politely and were completely without histrionics and urged caution at jumping to any conclusions.
But as I've already said, histrionics ruled the day for the agenda-setting talkers of the Left.

What's disappointing to me about all this drama, which is easy to get swept up into, as a sports mega-fan can be swept up by some big tournament. (Univision chose to air the debate and follow-on commentary instead of the latest "Copa America" soccer match, which it's been airing since the Western Hemisphere's biggest soccer-tournament began last week.) But in the debate itself and in the avalanche of reactions, of which I've given what I remember here, I heard little about actual policies.

Will Trump debate illegals or not? He dodged the question (which was asked to him twice), and instead he just used his usual talking-points. He bashed Biden for letting them in and focused on the dubious idea that most are directly exported from prisons in other countries, or insane asylums. He still wouldn't say if he'd deport them or not. What's his policy? Who knows? It all becomes a personality-game and a gotcha-game.

Trump is a clinical narcissist and, like all such people, is good at charming audiences. He won't even say for sure what his policies are, though. And given his record, we have no way to rely on him even keeping what promises he does make. So you're not voting for a set of policies but just kind of a vague apparition, a tendency, a mood, a gust of wind.

PS
The things that were apparent to me during the debate: (a) Biden definitely knew the questions in advance and had carefully prepared responses programmed into his mind...but couldn't possibly speak the responses clearly because his over-drugged brain was too drugged for him to say anything clearly (b) Biden looked like death warmed over (c) Biden was slurring most words to the point where his words were incomprehensible and his sentences were just garbled sounds that even he did not understand (d) Biden seemed totally lost and confused throughout the debate. I could go on and on, but there's no point.

After the debate, the liberal commentators worked diligently to put a positive spin on Biden's responses and they're now fact checking everything Trump said while fact checking NOTHING that Biden said (but maybe the fact checkers couldn't understand Biden any better than I did???).

PS: So, it's a drinking game, now?
(Does Australian Chardonnay count?)

I really didn't know/care it was happening.
But (the lovely 🥰) Mrs. Smith, evidently, was kinda into watching it.

So I watched too...

Brb... I'm gonna go inject a whole marijuana...

☮️

PS: Trump aced his cognitive test. So there, Steve Sailer!

PS: We beat Medicaid? Oookkayyy... Haha, that's one shot, Adam.

Wait, I thought it was beer... I am really looking forward to the next one.

PS: Good evening, Achmed and Frens!

https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Do-children-want-the-vote.pdf

☮️

PS: We Beat Medicaid! ☮️