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Search For President Biden’s Score Card

Search For President Biden’s Score Card

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Right after I wrote and posted Donald Trump Score Card I wanted to post a score card for President Biden.  My immediate research was a bit shocking because the web sites that I visited seemed to diminish the importance of Biden.  How could this be?   I got to think that because Biden was president for a longer time than Trump and done way more than Trump that there might be more instances of failed effort.  I had no solution until I went to my local Barnes & Noble Book Store and just by luck spotted a magazine that I had never seen before, Washington Monthly (Special Spring Books Issue) April/May 2024.  This magazine title showed “Who Got More Done? The Monthly’s presidential accomplishment index”.   That title sold me instantly!  I purchased the magazine without opening it up and when I got home I immediately used my computer to look up the reputation of Washington Monthly.  I was impressed.

I then open the magazine and turn to the page “Introduction:  Who Got The More Done?,  page 8.  and was immediately pleased to see a graphic showing how Biden ranked against Trump.

TRUMP +3

BIDEN. +14

 

I am really impressed with this magazine publication.

 

POSTED: 5/20/2024
Posted by Score Card.

 

 

 

 

Forces Of Alleged Greed Working Against The USA.

Forces Of Alleged Greed Working Against The USA.

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If we were to measure any single politician by his or her voting record, one might come up with some sort of accurate analysis of what that person believes in, stands for, and is wiling to fight for.  There is a sort of natural self serving  division or dichotomy that politicians often exhibit, self interests vs what is best for constituents. There is the wishes for what is best for the people, who the politician represents, and then the wishes of the political donors who typically give the most financial support.  So there may be three factors, self interest, donor interests and constituent interests.  It too often occurs that what is best for the people and the nation is not what the donor class wishes to take place.  This is an often obvious conflict.  This some times explains why a particular politician supports or rejects particular legislation and it often comes down to donor support.

Joseph Manchin III, an American politician, a “Democrat” and businessman and senior United States senator from West Virginia appears to be working for the Republican Party when looking at his alleged obstruction of pending Democratic legislation in 2021.  This senator along with Kyrsten Sinema  have vastly diminished the Democratic agenda and resulting reputation of that party.  This strongly works to improve the GOP but not the American public.

Why?  What could be the reason for allegedly working for the gains and betterment of the Republican Party?

One rather obvious answer is that the political contributors for Joe Manchin tell him that this is what they want.  They definitely do not want higher corporate taxes, spending that expands the national debt, restricts their industrial sector, and anything else that is perceived as being a negative factor toward their corporate success and profits.

Look at the donor list for Joseph Manchin provided below.  Note how many businesses in the list might work for the GOP and against the Democratic Party.  His donor list favors giving to Republicans.  The smaller amount of donations to Democrats just might be to Joseph Manchin to sway his vote to give back to his self serving libertarian billionaires.

Rank

Contributor

Total

Individuals

PACs

1

Tellurian Inc (Oil & Gas; Natural Gas transmission & distribution). 62.28% to Democrats, 37.72% to Republicans

$24,750

$19,750

$5,000

2

Starkey Hearing Technologies.  Pharmaceuticals/Health Products; Medical Devices & Supplies.   0.00% to Democrats, 100.00% to Republicans

$19,900

$17,400

$2,500

3

Votesane PAC.  73.91% to GOP and 26.09% to Democrats.

$19,500

$19,500

$0

4

SV Angel LLC

$11,600

$11,600

$0

5

United Distributors

$11,600

$11,600

$0

6

Student Systems Software

$11,600

$11,600

$0

7

Continental Resources.   0.00% to Democrats, 100.00% to Republicans

$10,100

$5,100

$5,000

8

Coterra Energy

$10,000

$5,000

$5,000

9

Apollo Global Management

$10,000

$5,000

$5,000

10

Arena Energy

$10,000

$10,000

$0

11

Nacero Inc

$10,000

$10,000

$0

12

SoftBank Corp

$8,700

$8,700

$0

13

Coury Financial

$8,700

$8,700

$0

14

Crow Holdings

$8,400

$8,400

$0

15

Baker, Donelson et al.   58.88% to Democrats, 41.12% to Republicans

$8,300

$5,800

$2,500

16

National Mining Assn  14.44% to Democrats, 85.56% to Republicans

$8,000

$2,000

$6,000

17

LHC Group. 49.93% to Democrats, 50.07% to Republicans

$7,900

$2,900

$5,000

18

Akin, Gump et al   44.59% to Democrats, 54.74% to Republicans

$7,500

$6,000

$1,500

19

CBRE Group

$6,800

$6,800

$0

20

Jones Walker LLP.   23.56% to Democrats, 74.34% to Republicans

$6,500

$1,500

$5,000

Source:  https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/joe-manchin/contributors?cid=N00032838&cycle=2022

We are now agonizing over two senators who control the future of this country due to apparent past American voter ignorance.

Summary:  It is incredibly unfortunate and somewhat stupid that the American voting public apparently really screwed up the last national election by not giving President Biden a larger working congressional majority.  2020 was the big win the Democrats needed and didn’t get.  The result is that the American public now really wants the President Biden’s three-part agenda to rescue, recover, and rebuild the country to succeed.  But the American public failed to view how to best improve their future as a result of their vote.  This situation is now, today, compounded by allowing just a few politicians to wield control over the Democratic agenda.  Just a couple of alleged corrupt Democrat politicians can now work toward their own selfish ends that their GOP donors wish them to while trying to hide who is paying them off using snowball theatrics.

Possible Solution:  The American public should consider not supporting any individual and corporation that is now, or in the recent past, who has been discovered working against the Build Back Better Agenda.  Let’s send these corporations a direct message that they can no longer hide behind their paid politicians when they work against what is best for the whole nation.  Corporate greed will no longer be tolerated!

References:  How Not to Let Corporations Kill Biden’s Agenda,  Oct. 21, 2021

Related Issue:  In The Atlantic magazine, November 2021 issue there is a very good article, The Men Who Are Killing America’s Newspapers, Inside Alden Global Capital, The Secretive Hedge Fund Gutting Newsrooms and Damaging Democracy by McKay Coppins.  This article reveals how Alden Global is diminishing, eviscerating, some of this country’s best newspapers to gain monetary gain over all other considerations.   This is just one more example of powerful corporate money interests working toward ruining the United States of America.  

Summary:  In the examples above, you should can come to realize that corporate greed often times works against the values and best interests of the American people.  Currently, the United States is under attack by the forces that want to remove our Democracy and replace it with an authoritarian form of government so that the plutocracy class of people gains control.  Congress should come up with some form of protections.

 

 

Posted October 23, 2021

The Alleged Utter Incompetence Of Some Businesses.

The Alleged Utter Incompetence Of Some Businesses.

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October 2020

AAA keeps changing our separate billing that my wife and I have for our separate accounts.  For example, I have a personal umbrella insurance, to only cover me, but all of a sudden my wife appears on the billing for this account.  I was sent a rebate check for an account that my wife was paying for.  They keep changing our billing.

The Week Magazine had me log in with one of my e-mail addresses and then gave me an account number.  I tried to renew the publication and used my e-mail address in the first login field and the account number in the second field.  This did not work. I called customer service and they said to add one or two zero’s before my account number and see if that would work.  It did not.  I decided to select the option that I forgot my password.  I had this company send me the procedures to reset.  I followed those procedures.  I was asked to check my e-mail for the account.  Nothing appeared in my e-mail account or my junk folder.
I then went to this web site: https://theweek.com/login.   My login did work using my e-mail and account number.  This process took way too long to complete.

COSTCO  sent me, by snail mail, an offer for receiving a $20 shop card if I signed up for a auto renewal for my account.  The offer described going to Costco.com.  They gave me a Membership Number.   I already had a COSTCO login for my account with them.  When I went to that web site address and logged in there was absolutely NO indication,  no offer, to get a FREE $20 Costco Shop Card.   

POPULAR MECHANICS sent me a snail mail bill showing that I owed $12.00 but if I pay now I get a -$3.00 reduction making my new bill $9.00.  Included in the snail mail envelope was a small flyer “PAY INSTANTLY AT pay.pooularmechanics.com.  I do not like making out checks and mailing the payments so I went to their web site address.  At that web site they allow me to pay the full amount but not the three dollar savings.    I decided to call them and wade through their rather long automated phone responses to talk to a liver person.  That person was able to give me the discount.  Why is it that the letter they sent me included a web site for payment card which failed to offer the discount?

BEST GUESS:  It is my best guess that these companies utterly fail to shop their own product.  What I mean by this is they do not seem to take the time to try to put themselves into the role of customer and try to log into their test customer account, view their account, buy their product.

ANOHER ISSUE:   It pains me to spend extra time to get anything completed that goes beyond normal expected time to complete any purchase or resolving any problem.  I do not have time for YOUR company problems.

 

Posted: October 2, 2020
Updated: October 5, 2020

Problem With Consumer Reports

Problem With Consumer Reports

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June 29, 2020 I decided to subscribe to Consumer Reports and did so.  I got a confirmation in part as follows:

“Your Print membership to Consumer Reports is now active.

Get started by creating your membership account on cr.org to access all your benefits. You can expect your first issue of Consumer Reports magazine to arrive at your home within 4-6 weeks.”

I mouse clicked on the creating your membership account on cr.org  and was sent to a web page asking me for my account number.  When I purchased the publication I should have been given that but was not.  This new web site page tells me that I now have to wait to receive my first print magazine so I can see my account number.  That is stupid.

“Your account number appears on your Consumer Reports mailing label”

I then call customer service, during their published hours, but no one answers and I get a recording that their mail box is full.

Looks like this is a failed operation.  There are so many businesses that fail to shop their operation.

National Geographic: The War On Science

National Geographic: The War On Science

I have lived over seven decades and I am shocked at discovering, all of a sudden, and with proof, that a whole huge population of humane beings are utterly stupid.  I have run into this view quite a few times by my acquaintances and friends saying this to me on occasion.  They refer to this or that group in foreign countries.  Let me be a bit more specific with one example that does not represent what my friends have told me but a singular instance, in this country, that really stands out in my mind.  I go to a gym almost every day and the major makeup of the people who go to that gym are conservative, meaning they are a mixture of Republican and Libertarian.  One person who is a friend of mine utterly refuses to believe in global warming.  If you don’t believe in global warming, this blog post is about you.  Well this guy cherry picks his examples from the most obscure Internet sources to try and verify his points.  I could not figure out why someone who is in most every other way intelligent is so stupid about this subject.  His family history sort of puts a light upon it.

Fast forward to March 2015, at COSTCO, I picked up the National Geographic magazine issue with the title “The War On Science” by Joel Achenbach.  I open to page 30 and see the huge words “The Age Of Disbelief”.  The article is a shock for me to read but at the same time a comfort that this mystery is explained of why some people seem so stupid.  I really recommend this issue for you to read.  The article is well written and makes a lot of very interesting points.

Here are some, not all, of the key points that I found interesting.  I am drawn in these points because I am currently writing about why there are terrorists coming out of the Middle East and these points seem to explain part of that problem:

  • Personal experience trumps the facts.  My friend, who refuses to accept global warming, had a father that hated unions because the union bosses were crooks.  His father’s attitude toward politics may have tainted the son’s views.  Thus, his father’s experience may have became his.  Parents have a tremendous influence upon their children.
  • We look for evidence that confirms what we already believe. My friend would peruse the Internet trying to find justification for his preconceived notions about global warming.  I found it quite amusing at his resourcefulness at finding “facts” that supported his beliefs.
  • “Our beliefs are motivated largely by emotion and the biggest motivation is remaining tight with your peers”.  Wow.  That was a surprise for me to take in.  The author seems to extrapolate this premise  from a study by Dan Kahan of Yale University.   This sort of makes sense because I am really struck by reading the importance of tribalism in the Middle East.  Tribalism appears to be one principal factor holding a whole host of nations backward and this is why this article seems important to my understanding of the Middle East problem.

In summary, the article tells us that reason and truth is secondary to our emotions, how we feel about a subject.   It may seem that global warming denial and Middle East terrorism may have similar roots because both go against well thought out inspection and arguments.  Stupid does rule for some people.

 

Updated: 3-6-19.  National Geographic Magazine link removed due to time out error.
How Not To Win A War

How Not To Win A War

You should seriously consider looking at and consider buying the March/April 2013 issue of Foreign Policy magazine (How Not To Win A War).  It does an excellent job of looking back to how the United States has done such a poor job at waging war.  I used the word “poor” while others may substitute the word “incompetent”.  The issue mainly cites Afghanistan in its analysis.  As part of this issue, they reveal how President Obama allowed for  similar failed administration process as George W. Bush for sanitizing people working on the war effort (revealed in Imperial Life In The Emerald City by Rajiv Chandrasekaran) by stuffing under qualified individuals into positions of war and “nation building” buy having each individual pass the political litmus test of allegiance to their “leader” (in the case of George W. Bush that would be Chaney and his neocon ideology).    A whole lot of ideas come out of this issue that are not explicit stated but one can most easily pull out of the issue:

  • Evidently no one in high office even thinks of conducting deep choice analysis prior to invasions of foreign countries.
  • The US Military method of waging war is land grab.
  • The US always takes on the method of looking down upon the country being invaded and imposing our views and methods.
  • The US Military can really run it off the rails when it gets involved in deciding policy.
  • The CIA can really ruin the war effort when it gets involved in deciding policy.
  • The U.S. State Department expertise is not appreciated, under utilized as a result, because their business is seen as making sausage.  Presidents seem unable to comprehend political complexity, want it simple.