Welcome to DU, ggma!

YAY! The time has come to step up and step forward! Glad you're here! And yes, you fit right in. (Hell, if they put up with me, you'll be an absolute cinch!)

Welcome to DU, Jm7603!

You got that right!

"But, but, but Hunter Biden something something laptop something"

Sure looks that way.

That's why I find myself wondering why Ukraine can't become a "Designated NATO Partner" or "NATO-Initiate" or something? "Pending NATO Member"? NATO Member-Nominee? "NATO Designate"? Shit, there are lots of ways we could label it, to call "DIBS!" and get the ball rolling on full membership! There's a list I saw that shows the NATO membership and when each country joined. There are several groups of "joinees" if you will. Several in 2004 and in other years. WHY couldn't Sweden, Finland, AND Ukraine be folded in, en groupe?

Just DO IT, DAMMIT!

From your laptop to God's screen!

I hope he campaign-stunts his whole party out of a job in the next election! Is he up for reelection, too?

Ain't it, though!?!

I LOVE this place. Consider me an addict!

Welcome! Glad you're here! You play a part in what makes DU GREAT!

Lordy Lordy I used to play this song on my radio show in college.

Did a Wednesday night three-hour rock show on the campus FM station, and took requests. First girl to get what we considered to be a "prime time slot" - 9-midnight. Took requests - from the dorms and anywhere else where people could hear us. Which was why we played "Stairway to Heaven" EVERY week! College radio ROCKS!!!

Exactly Exactly EXACTLY! (The Updated List, as of 4/9/22):

And it’s NOT like he hasn’t generated good material for us to talk about!

Here's the most recent “ask” that I've been updating for weeks. My Indivisible group has already put it in our weekly Call to Action email at least twice:

It’s worth remembering: How much good President Biden has done, not just for America, but now also for the world
Calm and trustworthy leadership, and getting things done, are what every American wants from the President of the United States. President Joe Biden has more than met those expectations, but all too often, we only hear criticism and political baloney-slicing. From time to time, we need to stop and do a reality check of what Biden has done, and the positive difference he’s made in Americans’ lives. His decades of skills in working with Congress to help people, his sincerity, compassion, and inspirational character, should uplift everyone. As he said in last Saturday’s speech in Warsaw, Poland: “Time and again, history shows us, from the darkest moments the greatest progress follows.”
The list of his achievements, not only for the U.S. but now also for the world in a time of crisis, grows longer by the day, as he lives up to the term “Consoler-in-Chief”.
• Sent the right team to make sure Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed as the first Black woman in history to become a Supreme Court Justice
• Chose an excellent and supremely-well-qualified Supreme Court nominee to replace the retiring Stephen Breyer
• United the NATO countries to stand firmly WITH Ukraine and AGAINST Russia’s horrifying aggression there
• Visited soldiers and civilians - many of them with their kids - setting a tone for solidarity, strength, and genuine compassion
• Signed $1.5 trillion omnibus bill
• Nominated the next Supreme Court Justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson
• Sanctioned Russia and its leaders
• Ukrainian relief aid as a result of Putin’s War
• Violence Against Women Act
• Increased funding for law enforcement agencies, both local and federal
• Fights fires with increased federal funding
• Increased funding for the climate change battle
• Rejoined the Paris Climate Accord
• Rejoined the World Health Organization
• Funded Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, or ARPA-H
• Revived the economy at a record pace
• Drastically cut child poverty
• The American Rescue Plan
• Signed a 1.2-trillion-dollar infrastructure bill while others spent years talking about it but doing nothing about it
• Added almost a million new jobs to the economy
• Cut unemployment from 6.3% to 4.6%
• Revoked the permit for the XL pipeline
• Blocked drilling in Alaska’s precious Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
• Stopped issuing new oil and gas leases on public lands
• Invoked the Defense Production Act to speed up COVID vaccine and mask production
• Made COVID vaccines widely available and cost-free; 492 million doses given, 202 million of us now vaccinated (61.3% of the population)
• Ended the war in Afghanistan
• Expanded access to therapy and service dogs for Americans returning from Afghanistan
• Boosted funding for the Affordable Care Act
• Protected tens of thousands of aviation jobs
• Provided disadvantaged farmers with debt relief
• Canceled student loan debt for more than 300-thousand Americans with severe disabilities
• Canceled student debt for students of for-profit schools ·
• Free lunch for school children
• Pension relief
• Heating cost relief
• Ended the Trump roadblocks to families trying to help undocumented children
• Restored veterans funding for mental health
• Fair Housing for LGBTQ Americans
• Repealed ban on transgender troops
• Established Juneteenth as a federal holiday
• Appointed the most judges by any President since Reagan
• Signed a bill streamlining emergency support for US Capitol Police to prevent another Jan 6th
• Unemployment down to 3.8% - We hit that in record time, and Biden’s American Rescue Plan helped.
• U.S. today is experiencing a 5.5% growth in GDP - (Gross Domestic Product - a measure of our economy).
AND THAT’S NOT EVEN THE WHOLE LIST!

(Use one or more of the bullet points below to compose your message)

Sens. Merkley/Wyden, Reps. Blumenauer/Schrader. Hi. My name is _______ and I live in __________(include ZIP Code). Thank you for everything you do on behalf of Americans, but the bigger picture is even more important. We need to Thank the Heavens for our President!
·
• I’m calling to BEG my representatives to get out there and talk up President Biden! Let the public know how many good things this administration has brought us!
• We can’t count on the media to portray a fair and accurate assessment of President Biden’s accomplishments. They’re always looking for ways to accentuate the negative.
• Democrats need to get in front of the public EVERY DAY to remind them how they have benefitted from the President's policies. Where have you been lately? We need YOU out there!
• When you’re interviewed by the media, PLEASE remind Americans how their lives are better since President Biden took office.

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-01-19/op-ed-one-year-presidency-biden - L.A. Times - One year in, Biden’s accomplishments have been shortchanged
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jan/19/joe-biden-first-year-press-conference-coronavirus - The Guardian - Joe Biden says his administration out-performed in first year
https://www.govexec.com/management/2022/03/10-major-takeaways-15-trillion-omnibus-spending-bill/362983/ Here Are 10 Major Takeaways From the $1.5 Trillion Omnibus Spending Bill
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/01/19/fast-facts-record-firsts-in-president-bidens-first-year/ - whitehouse.gov - Biden’s record of firsts in first year
https://capaction.medium.com/what-has-joe-done-for-me-lately-biden-administration-accomplishments-98c71f9ce2d8 - CAP Action - 100 accomplishments in 100 days: What’s Joe Biden done for me lately?

GREAT song!

Whatever works.

Visualizations can be powerful mental focusing tools. Illustrations can certainly help.

Perhaps it was written in an effort to dramatize the misogynistic psychology at work here?

Just guessing. Sounds like it could have been said aloud with a sarcastic tone of voice to dramatize how deplorable and indefensible and prehistoric the whole idea is.

Unfortunately, it seems clear that far too many take rape as anything from a small-time offense to an attitude of male "exceptionalism" - that it's just something they're entitled to assert, and to take.