President Joe Biden's United States of America

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Agriculture is much lower value per unit water input than other sectors, so indeed that is what will be on the chopping block. Almond growers in California are ripping out their trees. We'll see it in higher prices particularly during the winter for produce as produce needs to be trucked from further away.

There is a lot of grumbling in the state on the water price differential between urban and agricultural users:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2015/04/03/agriculture-is-80-percent-of-water-use-in-california-why-arent-farmers-being-forced-to-cut-back/

Honestly urban centres can shift to desalination - and use EV to power it.

AoD

 

[Northern Light]

Well.........Abortions are now de facto illegal in Texas.

I can't imagine this will hold up for long, but the U.S. Supreme Court declined to issue an injunction to block it.

U.S. Supreme Court refuses to block Texas abortion law after 5-4 vote. Here’s what we know

The Texas law, which makes no exceptions for pregnancies resulting from incest or rape, deputizes private individuals to sue anyone who performs an abortion or “aids and abets” it.

www.thestar.com

 

[Northern Light]

Fareed Zakaria's Washington Post column this week is interesting........

It essentially suggests that President Biden is out-Trumping Trump on foreign policy; being more protectionist, more unilateral, and more bizarre (see his commentary on Cuba and Iran)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/09/16/is-biden-normalizing-trumps-foreign-policy/

 

[Northern Light]

While not specific to Biden per se; this is certainly interesting news about the United States; and very much political in nature, so I will post it here.

'Worst I've seen in 20 years': How the Epik hack reveals every secret the far-right tried to hide

'They are fully compromised end-to-end.'

www.dailydot.com

Epik servers, hosts to such right-wing sites as Parler and Gab appears to have been completely compromised.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Looks like the Dems are sleepwalking into disaster in 2022 and 2024.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/08/...olarization.html?referringSource=articleShare

 

[Northern Light]

Looks like the Dems are sleepwalking into disaster in 2022 and 2024.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/08/...olarization.html?referringSource=articleShare

Did you read the entire article?

I'm not sure it supports that conclusion.

I'm left w/the impression that they will be hard pressed to hold the Senate; but they don't seem to have any new/pressing disadvantages when it comes to the Presidential or House races.

That's not exactly a surprise.

The Senate is vastly overweight rural, predominately white areas.

The article only vaguely touches on how that might be addressed, other than through abolition (my preference); which would be by granting D.C. and Puerto Rico Statehood.

Demographic shifts will also likely shift Texas blue at some point, but that maybe another few cycles away.

 

[Admiral Beez]

OMG, watching this make me want to vote GOP. The level of woke cringe on the political left in America is driving people to the Cons.

 

[Towered]

OMG, watching this make me want to vote GOP. The level of woke cringe on the political left in America is driving people to the Cons.

LOL. Please tell me that was a parody video...it's unbearable.

 

[Bjays92]

Wait do they seriously need to highlight their race and ethnicity and personal features holy crap. Isnt the point to not differentiate us based on race instead of starting every program by pointing it out!?

 

[Admiral Beez]

LOL. Please tell me that was a parody video...it's unbearable.

Afraid not, here's the original vid from Microsoft

 

[Johnny Au]

From the New York Times, which is a progressive newspaper:

Many of these issues are also applicable to Toronto.

 

[Admiral Beez]

From the New York Times, which is a progressive newspaper:

Many of these issues are also applicable to Toronto.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a Dem or Rep, Con or Lib, we want the middle class dream of a good home, school neighbourhood and job… and once we get it we quickly side with those within and above our station and support politics that exclude anyone below us. The fastest way to make a liberal into a conservative is home ownership.

 

[Northern Light]

Oh....this should go over well........

Rittenhouse acquitted on all counts.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/us-verdict-rittenhouse-1.6253598

 

[Irishmonk]

Oh....this should go over well........

Rittenhouse acquitted on all counts.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/us-verdict-rittenhouse-1.6253598

Which makes him the perfect GOP candidate for Congress in '22 and Trump's VP choice in '24.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Expected...

Dated Nov 11, 2021,

Judge In Rittenhouse Case Slammed With Accusations Of Bias—Here’s Why​

From link.

Testimony in Kyle Rittenhouse’s double murder trial kicked off Thursday with the jury giving a round of applause to a witness called by the defense after Judge Bruce Schroeder advised the courtroom to recognize the witness’ military service for Veterans Day, the latest action by the judge that critics say show he is biased in favor of the defense.

Judge Bruce Schroeder reprimands Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger in his conduct in line of questioning while cross-examining Kyle Rittenhouse during the trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Wednesday.

Key Facts​

Schroeder, 75, has admonished prosecutors throughout the trial, telling Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger on Wednesday, "Don't get brazen with me!" after Binger mentioned Rittenhouse’s right to remain silent in front of the jury.

Schroeder's cellphone briefly rang on Wednesday with a ringtone of Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the U.S.A., which is commonly played at former President Donald Trump’s rallies.

The judge has not allowed prosecutors to describe the two men Rittenhouse killed as “victims,” calling it a “loaded term,” but said he would allow the defense to refer to them as “looters” and “arsonists” if they can prove that they were.

On Wednesday, Schroeder questioned whether prosecutors might be distorting evidence by showing a video on an iPad while pinching to zoom in, after the defense baselessly claimed the pinch-to-zoom feature could prompt artificial intelligence programming to distort the original video.

Schroeder called for a break in the trial Wednesday after Rittenhouse broke down on the witness stand, which many left-leaning activists and public figures dismissed as fake emotion.



Schroeder did not respond to a request for comment from Forbes.

What To Watch For​

Defense attorneys have filed a motion to dismiss the case with prejudice after Binger questioned why Rittenhouse had decided to remain silent about the case until taking the stand. Schroeder, furious, told Binger the right to remain silent is “basic law,” adding he didn't know what Binger was “up to” by making such a statement in front of the jury. Rittenhouse’s defense said it amounted to “prosecutorial overreaching” and called for a mistrial. Schroeder said he’d take the motion “under advisement” and could grant it at any time. Granting a mistrial with prejudice would mean prosecutors cannot try the case again, and Kyle Rittenhouse would walk free.

Crucial Quote​

“For a jury trial, if you get him, you are happy as a defense attorney,” Michael Cicchini, a criminal defense attorney based in Kenosha, Wisconsin, told the Washington Post when asked about Schroeder’s courtroom tendencies.

Key Background​

The politically charged trial has been closely watched around the country, with conservatives rallying behind Rittenhouse, who claims he only fired his rifle in self-defense, and those on the left calling for his conviction. Rittenhouse shot and killed two protesters in Kenosha on August 25, 2020—Anthony Huber, 26, and Joseph Rosenbaum, 36—amid rioting in the city after a Kenosha policeman shot Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, in the back on August 23, leaving him paralyzed. Right-wing figures like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) have publicly defended Rittenhouse, with Greene tweeting Thursday that Rittenhouse is “more of a man than the pundits.” Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), on the other hand, tweeted Wednesday to “Lock up Kyle Rittenhouse and throw away the key.” NBA star LeBron James has spoken out about the case, suggesting Rittenhouse was acting when he broke down on the stand.

On Tuesday, Schroeder was spotted flipping through a cookie catalog while behind the bench.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1458195360766169091