Joe Biden is (currently) President of the United States

President Biden calls for Congress to pass the Equality Act with a message to trans Americans:

"For all transgender Americans watching at home, especially young people ... I want you to know your president has your back." pic.twitter.com/fQCXKQBWCS

— The Recount (@therecount) April 29, 2021

Lately I just assume that anything posted about Biden to any of these threads is some gotcha moment that makes him look like a clueless buffoon or racist or warmonger or fascist or whatever, so I end up watching or reading it several times, scratching my head, trying to figure out what he did or said wrong. Like seeing a New Yorker cartoon but struggling to get the punchline.

I thought his address dragged towards the end--I cut out at one point--but the first half was good. The one thing I thought he might get grief over was a throwaway aside: he was talking about cars lined up for food baskets and he said something like "and these were nice cars," as if that made the matter more urgent. Wasn't mentioned, though, in anything I've seen or heard.

blinkered Blinken needs to be shot into the sun and fuuuuuck all this posturing re China and po faced handwringing over leftist governments in S America, but I’ll say it: Biden is so far is the best prez of my lifetime. I have no illusions where his loyalties lie, or that he has anything approaching actual principles. but at least he (or tbh his handlers, cry about it) are attempting to respond to the moment in a way that makes some sort of sense. I know I’m gliding past a lot of gross shit re immigration and cop fondling and needlessly cruel healthcare policy and and etc etc, but hey

keep up the pressure imo and never ever stop bullying neolib politicians and their flacks online.

Probably the furthest left on economic policy since LBJ?

He’s gonna buy a military confrontation in the South China Sea with all those trillions

This is like a laser-guided missile at the top 0.1%:

Senior administration officials confirmed that the plan would include an increase in the top income tax rate from 37 per cent to 39.6 per cent for Americans earning more than $400,000, eliminate the preferential tax treatment of capital gains and dividends for those earning more than $1m and scrap provisions allowing people to pass unrealised capital gains to their heirs free of tax.

More like a half-filled water balloon, but I'll take it.

I mean it will be amazing if it passes intact. The Democratic party has rich donors too. But it's definitely bold by Capitol Hill standards.

And on top of their proposed international framework to end corporate tax evasion on a global scale, it's even more impressive.

Late to the party but wanted to point out that the image sic posted upthread

https://i.imgur.com/D8KQ4Ga.jpg

Was (on Reddit) accurately captioned "Joe Biden Fingering A Minor."

One could list the shortcomings of Biden's program—I could do without "beat China"—but these initiatives are all very good. The repudiation of trickle-down is a huge ideological shift. And it's massively popular—instant polling had approval around 80%. Didn't expect this of him.

— Doug Henwood (@DougHenwood) April 29, 2021

RIP Morbs.

Is Biden finally figuring out that the Democratic platform is actually popular?

it is kind of eerie how well biden's platform tracks with general sentiment (relatively left on economic issues, hard right on immigration)

So...you mean populist ethno-fascism?

not quite that far but I've posted that study before about how those positions are (depressingly) the most popular respectively

what is going on in this photo?? this is like how they shot Lord of the Rings

The Bidens and the Carters at the Carter home in Georgia, last week: @CarterLibrary pic.twitter.com/uz4yGsfAc1

— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) May 4, 2021

you can see the strings on Jimmy

looks like they're on the set of Three's Company

The suit is a little too blue

what is going on in this photo?? this is like how they shot Lord of the Rings

very Lynchian too

it's gonna hurt when jimmy dies

Joe Biden is (currently) a security risk to the United States

BuzzFeed News found President Joe Biden’s Venmo account after less than 10 minutes of looking for it, revealing a network of his private social connections, a national security issue for the United States, and a major privacy concern for everyone who uses the popular peer-to-peer payments app.

On Friday, following a passing mention in the New York Times that the president had sent his grandchildren money on Venmo, BuzzFeed News searched for the president’s account using only a combination of the app’s built-in search tool and public friends feature. In the process, BuzzFeed News found nearly a dozen Biden family members and mapped out a social web that encompasses not only the first family, but a wide network of people around them, including the president's children, grandchildren, senior White House officials, and all of their contacts on Venmo.

i'm pretty sure someone could discover Biden's family members and senior officials without hacking venmo. i'm not sure what exact risks are being postulated here.

what do you think "hacking" is

Sadly, Biden is cancelled.

pic.twitter.com/7Z2PZuzGjQ

— Bad COVID-19 Takes (@BadCOVID19Takes) May 17, 2021

Naomi Wolf is what happens when Gwyneth Paltrow becomes a doctor

— A Concerned Citizen (@teachrunlifteat) May 17, 2021

I'm not a real big expert on public intellectuals, but I'm curious - was she ever good? then just got crazy, or is this a case of the bad just becoming more noticeable?

If your job is “public intellectual” you’re probably pretty dumb

https://slate.com/human-interest/2021/03/naomi-wolf-beauty-myth-feminism-conspiracy-theories.html

it was probably her fault al gore lost

Joe Biden is (currently) endorsing IDF propaganda and the eradication of journalists.

Today the President spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, reaffirmed his strong support for Israel’s right to defend itself against rocket attacks from Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza, and condemned these indiscriminate attacks against Israel. pic.twitter.com/baHWh1b6Q2

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 15, 2021

lol

“In the White House there is a belief that the public will reward the president for reaching a bipartisan agreement on infrastructure.” https://t.co/UrPYt6Ft3y

— Blake News (@blakehounshell) June 1, 2021

🤡👟

Bipartisanship polls amazingly well. Whenever "the public" is asked about it in vague general terms they overwhelmingly approve of it. But its support is both tepid and shallow. The moment you poll about a specific issue then the usual ferocious partisanship instantly emerges.

iow, the White House is peddling nonsense. The question is whether they are peddling it knowingly, as a sop to the public's self-delusion about how nice bipartisanship would be, so that its just more political theater for the masses. Biden had a ringside seat for McConnell's treatment of Obama. He ought to know by now when he's being handed the dirty end of the stick.

Celebrate that bipartisanship.

Biden: "I hear all the folks on TV saying why doesn't Biden get this done? Well because Biden only has a majority of effectively four votes in the House and a tie in the Senate, with two members of the Senate who vote more with my Republican friends."

— Kathryn Watson (@kathrynw5) June 1, 2021

Remember the sales pitch about how he'd be the real President Deals and bring Republicans to the table? Good times, good times.

welp, Biden closed the sale and Trump didn't. Good times!

Not-so-subtle digs at Manchin and Sinema are a start, but he needs to step this shit up quickly.

Making voting the VP’s problem is not a good sign.

Dealing with voting rights attacks in at least 30 state legislatures and managing to squeak some kind of bill through the 50-50 Senate is going to be a hell of a complicated job. Biden is 78 years old. Harris is 56 years old. Delegating this to Harris seems to me like not such a bad sign as all that.

The person with no actual power (except to overrule the parliamentarian lol).

Biden 2024: Don’t Blame Me, I Told Her To Do It

Hey Dubya delegated everything to Dick Cheney!

Not-so-subtle digs at Manchin and Sinema are a start, but he needs to step this shit up quickly.

Why does he need to win them over? All the votes he's going to get from his Republican friends will outweigh two recalcitrant Dems.

(Giving the VP a responsibility or two seems like a sensible practice in general; Harris also seems likely to understand the importance of this one more than Biden does.)

Harris's power in this case is not based on the constitution, but based in her perceived ability to speak for the president. If Biden shows he'll back her up, then she will carry the power of his office by proxy. If he lets her hang out to dry, she'll be largely ignored. Presidents regularly employ VPs in both capacities, as Trump did by putting Pence 'in charge' of covid response. Too soon to know which way Biden is playing this, but it's obviously a critical issue, so he's got a big stake in her success.

Presidents regularly employ VPs in both capacities, as Trump did by putting Pence 'in charge' of covid response

Yes, using the VP as a patsy to evade responsibility is pretty much exactly why I said it’s a bad sign.

The Bidencare public option? I meant Harriscare, Jack.

Seems premature to read a 'bad sign' into it, but that reading suits your invincible cynicism about anything Biden or the Democratic Party does and who can say you're wrong at this stage of things?