Thank God, Joe Biden is president! His involvement in the Israel-Hamas hostage negotiations shows how much

[LaMouffette]

experience matters. There is so much to praise Joe about since his becoming president, including this latest negotiation over the hostages, but his foreign relations experience from his time as vice president and as a senator should NOT be forgotten.

I found this info on the Obama Whitehouse Archives website. There was a ton more than the four-paragraph DU limit, but here are some highlights:

Vice President Biden is the Administration’s point person for diplomacy within the Western Hemisphere. He has worked to realize his vision of a Hemisphere that is “middle class, secure, and democratic, from Canada to Chile and everywhere in between.” Launched and chaired the U.S.-Mexico High Level Economic Dialogue, which significantly advanced trade, investment, and border infrastructure between the two countries. Worked with the governments of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to create the Alliance for Prosperity Plan for the Northern Triangle of Central America and engaged with the U.S. Congress to secure $750 million of U.S. support for the region.

As one of the early supporters of Plan Colombia in the Senate, the Vice President was the first senior U.S. official to travel to Colombia after the Colombian congress ratified the peace accords in December. For his longstanding commitment to Colombia, he was recognized with Colombia's highest national honor by President Juan Manuel Santos, the recipient of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize.

Standing up for a Europe Whole, Free, and at Peace
The Vice President has been a leading architect of the U.S. strategic vision of a Europe whole, free and at peace. During his time in the Senate, the Vice President led the effort to enlarge NATO to include the former Warsaw Pact countries of Eastern and Central Europe after the collapse of the Iron Curtain. The Vice President’s speech at the Munich Security Conference in February 2015 laid out a vision for how to revitalize NATO, strengthen democratic institutions in Europe, prioritize investments to bolster energy security, and grow trade and investment ties across the Atlantic.

Successfully advocated for the release of political prisoners, including Nadia Savchenko of Ukraine and Khadija Ismayilova in Azerbaijan. Took leading role in reassuring NATO allies of U.S. commitment to their security after Russia's attempted annexation of Crimea and aggression in eastern Ukraine, including convening a summit with leaders of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in August 2016. Championed robust and sustained U.S. and international support for Ukraine's political and economic stability and promoted needed reforms. Instrumental in securing the Stormont House Agreement in Northern Ireland, which ensured the survival of the independent Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly and a more prosperous future for Northern Ireland.

[link:https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/vp#section-foreign-policy|

And yet, Trump humpers still insist that their cruel, ignorant, dumbass, fascist POS reality TV star with zero experience governing, apart from his four years of terrorizing our country and the world in general, would be a far better choice for the leader of the free world. I just . . . don't . . . get it.

[OAITW r.2.0]

1. What if Trump was in office?

"Hello, Vlad, any ideas on how I should respond to this?" "Yes, Donald, do nothing to help Israel."

[LaMouffette]

5. Putin would also say, "Oh, and thanks for the intel you gave us in that Oval Office meeting in 2017. Came in handy!"

[link: https://npr.org/2017/05/15/528511980/report-trump-gave-classified-information-to-russians-during-white-house-visit|

President Trump revealed "highly classified information" to two top Russian officials during a controversial Oval Office meeting last week, according to a report from The Washington Post.

The Post, citing current and former U.S. officials, reported Monday evening that the information relayed by the president to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak "jeopardized a critical source of intelligence" on ISIS:

"The partner had not given the United States permission to share the material with Russia, and officials said Trump's decision to do so endangers cooperation from an ally that has access to the inner workings of the Islamic State. After Trump's meeting, senior White House officials took steps to contain the damage, placing calls to the CIA and the National Security Agency.

" 'This is code-word information,' said a U.S. official familiar with the matter, using terminology that refers to one of the highest classification levels used by American spy agencies. Trump 'revealed more information to the Russian ambassador than we have shared with our own allies.' "

[yardwork]

2. President Biden is doing a great job.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

3. Thank you President Biden for your hard work in negotiating this agreement

Link to tweet

[Ace Rothstein]

4. Hopefully it still happens.

Sounds like it has already been pushed to Friday due to some disagreements.