Comments by "KesArt" (@kesart8378) on "Face the Nation" channel.

  1. Reductio ad absurdem: "Smallpox is going to do what smallpox does. So just stay healthy, exercise regularly and think positive thoughts." How sad: America was founded by people who were enthusiastic participants in the Age of Enlightenment. As such, they embraced its belief that science would provide invaluable-indeed, critical- assistance necessary for humankind to continue to progress into the modern epoch. And today we have citizens who shrug resignedly and say, "The virus is going to do what viruses do." "Hey, you eggheads, cease and desist with that useless cancer research sciencey stuff. Everybody knows that cancer is going to do what cancer is gonna do. "Now take all your medical expertise and do something useful, like developing a pill that will cause me to lose fifteen pounds--without exercising and dieting--in time for my sister's wedding."
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  2.  @blanketyblank604  With respect, surely you have things to do, perhaps contributions to make, before you are done with this life. You have lived eighty-five years, certainly you have stories, anecdotes, memories, lessons learned that would be worth recording for your children and grandchildren. You ran a business that is still existent, not an inconsiderable accomplishment, that, and an accomplishment that makes you someone whose views and advice on running a business would prove quite valuable to others who are starting, or not doing particularly well. Rather than ramble on and risk being presumptuous, I wish you well and hope that you do know that you still have things to do, kiddos to keep in line, advice to dispense. Take care. Cheers
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  3. Twentysomething conservative columnist Greg Price tweeted that patriots need to take to the streets to stop the prosecution of "our President Trump. If they want a war, let's give them a war." How is this permitted free speech?
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  4. A shameless performance from a feckless, empty suit programmed to spout the party line in defiance of the glaring truth. Oh, heavens, Marco claims to know a woman who allegedly never was in Washington D.C. on January 6TH, yet is being "persecuted" by the One-Six committee. Wow, what specificity, and what competent lawyer would hesitate to build his case on one person's anecdotal account and some scurrilous generalities. People may not have been in the American capitol on that fateful day, yet still possess critical information about the events of that day, information about the planning, funding, and participants. The larger question, the heart of the matter, is not who were the marauding insurrectionists, but, rather, who were the planners, financiers, the enablers, for the attack most certainly was not a grassroots, independent martial action, but the culmination of the efforts of so many puppeteers, some of them elected officials, who rank as just as culpable and dangerous as the actual insurrectionists.
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  5. Marco Rubio faces a tight race for re-election and he has spoken most disparagingly of the DOJ/FBI search, as have other Republican partisans in the American Congress. Can Republicans on the Intelligence Committee be trusted?
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  6. The governour sounds too much the fast-talking politician/salesperson. He came across better in another interview with a different network.
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  7. And cue the Dr. Deborah Birx self-serving, "Rehabilitation Of My Reputation Tour" in which the good doctor tries her hand at creative nonfiction. Though not a writer by training, and thus at a bit of a disadvantage-a disadvantage compounded by facts that do not corroborate her fanciful narrative--Dr. Birx attempts to depict herself as a victim of sorts, a blameless party who did her level best to steer the USS COVID TASKFORCE through waters roiled by the ridiculously unpredictable Hurricane Donald, but kept running aground on the Shoals of Politics. However, digital records of the many interviews and briefings that Dr. Birx took part in do not support her account of events all too recent to have passed from memory. But why let grass grow under one's feet when there is history to be rewritten. And surely there's a book deal a-waitin' at some prestigious publishing house. Sadly, the account offered in this Face The Nation interview does not jibe with the facts. Dr. Birx, during her tenure with the COVID Taskforce, far too often assumed the role of team player and not that of proctor monitoring those unqualified to speak on complex medical issues. The mere arching of an eyebrow in response to the insane suggestion of injecting bleach, or hydrogen peroxide, into an infected patient's body hardly amounted to the unconditional refutation that such a lunatic concept rightly deserved. "Primum non nocere," or as English speakers say, "First do no harm," is the credo central to the practice of medicine, a credo learned by every first year medical student on day one. Somewhere along the way to the podium for another Donald Trump journey through "An Idiot's Guide To Virology," Dr. Birx lost sight of that crucial dictum. Her reticence on certain matters plus her support of other issues that demanded pushback, not collusion, make her part heir to the burden of responsibility for thousands of COVID deaths that were avoidable if truth had been allowed a stronger champion and not one quite as acquiescent. https://youtu.be/wuooYaeY-YY
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  8. If Stuart Rhodes (founder of the "Oathkeepers") did in fact attempt to reach Donald Trump by phone during the riot, then it seems fair to assume that Rhodes possessed Trump's private phone number as it would have been impossible for him to reach Trump via the White House switchboard.
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  9. Armed protesters?!? Such groups need to be squashed with all due haste.
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  10.  @rockycomet4587  I really like your nom de plume: "Rocky Comet" is funny, creative and bordering on being punny. Far better than the vulgar, scatological, and obscene monikers that some people gravitate towards. Cheers
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  11. McCarthy doesn't have the authority to speak for the Republican House members. The more radical far-right members will pull the figurative rug out from under McCarthy if they object to any proposal he raises with Biden, or they will do so just to prove that they can.
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  12. Did Senator Rubio assert that the American media is able to report on the specifics of what was found? If so, that is a misstatement: The media has only reported that documents were found, not the contents thereof.
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  13. Weasel words from a despicable man, a man who emits endless drivel and says nothing of consequence, and nothing truthful.
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  14. Several central questions remain to be answered about this matter, yet it has not prevented wild--as yet unfounded--speculation. An audience conditioned by the twenty-four hour news cycle demands immediate answers. However, given the nature of the documents involved--as well as the snares of partisans eager to capitalize quickly on the matter--we should not expect any resolution in short time. We should wait for the attorney--Republican Kenneth Hur--appointed by AG Garland to conduct a thorough investigation, one that hopefully will satisfy interested parties on both sides of the aisle.
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  15. If conclusion-jumping.were an Olympic event, Representative Turner would be a gold medalist.several times over.
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  16. Representative Turner managed to fit in world-class "Bothsideism" and wildly irresponsible conclusion- jumping. This might have been a personal best for the congressman.
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  17. AaronCross Why wasn't there a sequel to The Bourne Legacy?
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  18. In several states we have seen county sheriffs declare that they do not intend to enforce lawful mask mandates. Law enforcement should rise above the political fray, but too many examples exist where that is not the case.
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  19. Mike Turner described Project Veritas as a news organization. In what universe? Project Veritas is a vile propaganda organ that employs base tactics to promote right wing grievances and conspiracies.
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  20. Yes, by all means let's hear from Condoleeza Rice, one of the chief architects of the removal of Saddam Hussein--justified by manufactured intel about Iraqi WMDs and a supposed nascent nuclear weapons program, both of which proved false--and one of the key proponents of the use of rendition and torture against foreign nationals. Yes, let's celebrate her strong support of policies that led America into a "Forever War" in the Middle East and to the loss of so very much blood and treasure. What an amazingly forgiving climate wherein a person arguably worthy of the title of "war criminal" can find herself resurrected as an esteemed academic and valued expert on foreign policy. What a role model.
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  21. How many of these previously classified documents are now considered to hold information deserving of the "classified" designation? Some date back to Biden's time as an American senator. Years have passed since then.
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  22. My kids live in the state of Florida, a Republican dominated state helmed by a corrupt, dull-witted man, Ron DeSantis, someone who dislikes transparency and is, at heart, a fascist. He was among the last of the American governors to put mitigation measures in place and one of the first to reopen his state. And the state of Florida is a breeding ground for conspiracy theories, denialism of science and truth, good-old-boy politics, and venality. So my kids are not in any rush to abandon masking and social distancing, particularly given DeSantis' mismanagement of the COVID crisis--as reflected in the statistics on deaths, hospitalizations and rate of vaccinations per one hundred thousand citizens, as well as the fact that Florida has the largest "college outbreak" of any of the states--as well as his bungling of the vaccine rollout. Lastly, given how mutable this virus is, and, thus, how unpredictable, a bit more caution seems reasonable, particularly given that only some thirty-three percent of the American population has been vaccinated to date (hardly anywhere near enough for "herd immunity"), and "vaccine hesitancy" is rising, which consequently means that the rate of vaccinations in the states is declining. Thus, measured caution seems reasonable for a bit longer. (My son is a neurologist, my daughter-in-law an Associate Professor and historian, and my granddaughter is a gobsmackingly brilliant preschooler, and they are not ready to "return to normal", particularly given that no one knows quite what the "new normal" will look like.)
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  23. And there you have Gabriel and Sandy, dolts whose minds view all things through a highly distorted political prism. They have their talking points memorized, including the notion that a usurper-- Joe Biden--sits, illegitimately, upon the throne stolen from Trump. They hold disdain for science--Sandy worrying aloud that the vaccine might turn him into a robot (the paranoia that "Deep State" fiends are conspiring to rob patriots of their will)--and neither, highly educated souls that they so obviously are, do not believe the renowned experts respected the world over. Yes, these geniuses likely take daily plunges into Conspiracy World and swallow whole cloth concepts that an editor of a sci-fi fan mag would consider too ludicrous to publish. Yep, they remain ready to march forth in partisan battle to lead ignorance to triumph over reason. Sandy trusts his Mum before Dr. Fauci. Should listeners conclude that Sandy's Mum is a world class virologist/epidemiologist? Sandy and Gabriel also admire the incredible work done by Trump when he had "...no blueprint to work from..."-other than the copious studies and action plans--a kind of Idiot's Guide To Coping With A Pandemic- left by the Obama administration, and three in person "tabletop" exercises conducted by Obama officials for incoming Trump personnel, one of which involved how to tackle an epidemic. Wow, Gabriel, a man with seemingly quite thin bone fides regarding higher education, is a stay-at-home Dad who home schools his kids. Guess that he steers clear of any lessons in science...heck, he probably steers clear of anything of the modern/post-modern epochs. Doctors cannot cure stupidity...but they can heavily sedate it.
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  24. Many pundits have chastised Democrats for not playing hardball as Republicans near always do. "Democrats keep bringing slingshots to gun fights. They need.to get in the gutter where Republicans reside." Then, post Biden's feisty speech, the narrative changes. Pundits; "Didn't Biden cross a line of decorum with his inflammatory rhetoric? Isn't such speech counterproductive?" Damned if you do, and damned if you don't. American schizoid journalism at it's best. Now all jump on the bandwagon.
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  25.  @marley4251  With respect, how did you arrive at the calculation that Biden already lost millions of votes over the Hamas/Israeli war? The American election lies near a year off and much-including attitudes--can change in that length of time. Hopefully, in the interregnum, more Americans will develop the ability to see the big picture and not miss the wood for the trees. One can--and should- express dismay and even disgust over America's collaboration with Israel in a campaign of ethnic cleansing. However, the need to save America from autocracy should supercede such disgust. Big picture thinking, yeah? Cheers
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  26. A two-fer: You covered misogyny and ageism, but didn't stop there for you still had a head of steam and felt it necessary to attack her integrity and honesty. Congratulations, mate, on a bile-fueled mini-rant/character assassination built on pure speculation.
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  27. In a strict, literal sense, yes, unless one considers that all Republicans do not think alike and some "moderate" Republicans would support the bill if they knew that they would not suffer severe retribution from their party leaders, and the Trump base, for doing so. And none wish to roll those dice.
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  28. Surely Margaret Brennan knows that when a congressperson "walks away" from formal talks on a particular subject it does not mean that said congressperson has ceased discussing said subject with congressional colleagues.
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  29.  @jillfeatherman5523  With respect, Republicans held the Senate during the time period to which you refer. Thus, it was the province of Mitch McConnell, not Chuck Schumer, to put the bill to a vote, which he did...and it was voted down by Democrats, as well as a handful of Republicans, which stopped passage of the bill. As for the reasons that Democrats cited for opposing the bill, chief among them was that they felt that it did "not go far enough." Senator Scott's bill did not mandate the elimination of choke holds, nor did it end qualified immunity for individual police officers, and it did not demand a cessation of the transfer of excess weapons from the American military to municipal police departments. And though Democrats urged McConnell to let the bill be amended in committee before being sent to the floor, he refused, thus blocking the addition of any amendments. Furthermore, the fact that both the NAACP and the ACLU opposed Scott's bill did not help its chances of garnering Democrats' votes, nor did the fact that the Democrat led House of Representatives had already passed a tougher crime and justice bill. So matters are not as simple as one might think were one to rely solely on Republicans' account of the demise of Tim Scott's "JUSTICE" bill. Cheers https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/06/17/george-floyd-senate-gop-introduce-police-reform-bill/3202254001/ https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/apr/30/tim-scott/sen-tim-scott-says-democrats-blocked-his-police-re/ https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/24/how-police-reform-collapsed-in-the-senate-338332
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  30.  @jasonjames4254  Thanks for the kind words, mate. I try to remain positive, particularly since I hope that my granddaughter will grow up in an hospitable world. Take care. Cheers
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  31.  @jasonjames4254  As one grandfather to another, please accept my apology for being so presumptuous. I really do understand your anger. Some days all I seem to feel is bloody angry. But I am trying my level best to focus on those slender rays of positivism that shine through on occasion. (I live in hope eternal.) Cheers
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  32.  @jasonjames4254  I believe that you underestimate yourself. Surely a loving great grandfather such as yourself must have stores of strength: How could you not with wee ones to care for and run after. I believe that our profound love for our young-- as well as our Papa bear instinct to protect them--fuels us and strengthens our resolve to demand better of the poltroons who hold elective office. Take care. Cheers
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  33. I do hope that lipstick applied to said pigs was not tested on animals prior to be marketed. The pigs would not be pleased should they learn otherwise.
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  34.  @nc3826  And so that thousands of starved-for-attention youth could find a platform for their narcissism and exhibitionism--and perhaps become rich and famous while lacking any discernible talent other than self-promotion, self-absorption and rampant extroversion.
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  35.  @nc3826  If you find comfort in self-delusion, then have at it, mate.
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  36. With so many variables--and such differences among nations (e.g.: population density and degree of homogeneity, standards of medical care, vaccination rates, climatic status, tourism, etc.)--logic dictates that one not draw any conclusions from such flimsy data.
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  37. And yet the American people have yet to receive an assessment of the national security risks--real and hypothetical--posed by Trump's retention of highly classified documents in unsecured locations.
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  38.  @mam0313  Thank you for your valuable comments, comments that have the gravitas earned from real experience, not mere theory. Take care and be safe in these parlous times. Cheers
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  39. Does "hold people accountable" mean incarcerate more people, for that is a failed default solution promoted by too many Republicans. More police and more prisons will not address the roots of America's crime problem.
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  40. Because Capitalism has worked so well for the American people. (See staggering and growing income/wealth inequality.)
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  41. With respect, that is far too simplistic a diagnosis of a quite complex problem. Such reductive analysis amounts to a dismissal of the urgent need to confront the multi-layered issue/problem of policing in the United States. Cheers
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  42.  @dominickjvlogs  With respect, do you mean to assert that those who perform services that place their lives in jeopardy do not deserve greater compensation than "the average citizen"? ("Average citizen" is a highly inexact term. You might say that police should not be paid above the "median income" for their jurisdiction/municipality.) Also, though the word "weaponized" is certainly trending right now, it is hardly an appropriate term to use in regards to law enforcement officers whose training requires experience in weapons handling. (You might say, as many analysts have, that American policing has become "militarized" in the equipment and tactics it utilizes.) Cheers
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  43.  @dominickjvlogs  With respect, I was not making excuses for the murderous officers of "The Scorpion Squad." Rather, I was pointing out that your writing lacks precision of expression and that said imprecision muddles your message. (And the word is "conscience," not :"conscious." One can be unconscious and still possess a conscience.,) Cheers
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  44.  @dominickjvlogs  Again, with respect, it is both your writing and your analysis that are muddled. I asked if you were suggesting that those who work at truly hazardous jobs do not deserve greater compensation than your "average citizen." (Your terminology.) If your answer is, "Yes," then best of luck in finding police and other first responders willing to accept the average citizen's salary. Now if you had asserted that some police are paid at a higher salary than the ER doctor in your city, you might have had a case. Cheers
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  45. With respect, what possible relevance does a rote statement by an FBI spokesperson have to the matters at hand. I'm unclear as to your point.
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  46.  @BobJohnson648  I would rather not indulge in speculation unsupported by any facts. In the case in point,the spokesperson may have, as a condition of employment, signed documents that proscribe quite thoroughly what they can reveal in a public setting. Perhaps, as a hypothetical, this instance may have involved the oft-stated concern about revealing "sources and methods." (I realize that I am indulging in speculation, but absent further evidence, I would rather err on the less condemnatory side of the matter.) Cheers
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  47.  @BobJohnson648  I can't argue with you there, mate. And I would never disagree with the assertion that the American FBI has many sins, past and present, to atone for. Cheers
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  48.  @BobJohnson648  With respect, are you suggesting that the FBI covertly took part in the January sixth riot inside the United States Capitol? If so, then no, given the numerous revelations to date regarding the genesis of the January sixth riot it is not logical to assume that the FBI was involved. Admittedly the FBI seems to have left a noticeable footprint--through numerous informants and an undercover agent posing as a "bomb-maker"--in the alleged plot to kidnap Governor Whitmer. However, post the April 2020 storming of the Michigan state Capitol building by heavily armed citizens, the Bureau was criticized for not having paid greater attention to the threat posed by domestic terrorism, a justifiable criticism. Given the pressure to show that they were in fact regarding threats from within the states as seriously as they did foreign--primarily Muslim jihadist--threats, I can understand the impulse to act a bit overzealous upon receiving tips about the Michigan Wolverines militia group. I do not mean to excuse any questionable conduct by FBI agents in the Whitmer attempted kidnapping case, nor in cases in the past when agents crossed serious red lines. However, neither logic nor the evidence supports the unsubstantiated claims that the FBI played a meaningful role in the events of January sixth. Just because the Bureau has a rather checkered past does not dictate that agents should be assumed to have been involved in the byzantine plotting that led to that terrible day in January of 2020. Lastly, as for the alleged Whitmer kidnapping case, I always find myself leery of dubious characters claiming that they were "entrapped", gulled into committing acts that they would never have considered if not for the beguiling effect of some undercover plant enticing them to engage in deeds that they would never have imagined on their own. Can innocent, righteous people be conned into taking part in an attempted kidnapping? It seems quite dubious to me. Cheers
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  49.  @BobJohnson648  With respect, to whom do you refer when you say, "Americans have the distinct feeling"? Which Americans have this feeling and what percentage of the American population do they represent? Are you perhaps projecting your own suspicions onto what you imagine to be a large cohort of your fellow Americans? Sorry, mare, but the case you are attempting to build is rather weak tea, a jerry-built structure propped up with some rather flimsy assumptions. Take care. Cheers
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  50.  @BobJohnson648  I am Irish, but have lived in the states for decades, and I follow American--and UK--politics quite closely. As for your assertion that the latest polls "show that most Americans distrust the FBI," I cannot find any polling online that corroborates your declaration. In point of fact, the only polling that I encountered that addresses Americans' regard for the FBI indicated essentially an even split between Americans who distrust the FBI (47%), and those who view it favourably (46%). And said polling was conducted by the Rasmussen Organization, a conservative polling entity active since 2003. As for sensationalist headlines that blare that "Americsns Hate The FBI," those can be found in Star Digital News Media publications such as the Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Tennessee Star. Star has a decidedly conservative bias and is among a number of so-called "Baby Breitbarts" that have popped across America, all on a mission to promote Trumpism, part of which involves fostering distrust in Americsn institutions. If half of Americans do distrust the FBI and other intelligence agencies, as well as the judiciary, it should surprise no one given that Trump spent years attacking critical American institutions, as well as denigrating NATO and the American military. May I suggest that you check the bona fides of your sources, that you avoid sweeping generalizations, and that you incorporate precise figures and cite actual sources that support your positions. (Old habits: I'm a retired college professor and published author of non-fiction. So I value fact-checking, precision and attribution.) And now I must push off so as to be ready for a day of play with my brilliant five-year old granddaughter. Take care, mate. Cheers Below you will find a link to the article concerning the Rasmussen Poll that sought to measure Americans' level of trust in their primary institutions. https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/partner_surveys/voter_approval_of_fbi_declines
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