Monitoring Biden and other Contemporary Events

There is absolutely no link—none whatsoever—between youth and, in this case, good political leadership. Take a hard look at Europe’s rising far right. It’s led by relatively young people, for politics—in their 40s, often. Shall we say that just because someone is younger, it makes for a better leader, then? Surely only a fool would conclude that.

Kadia Goba@kadiagoba
28m
Former speaker Kevin McCarthy’s in the Capitol and tells reporters “he probably lies about who he sleeps with too” about Rep. Matt Gaetz.

Do you also believe that Israel allowed the Hamas attacks to take place as a precursor to invading Gaza?

Galloway said that Hamas never committed rape, only one baby had been killed “by persons unknown” and that anyone stating the contrary is a “war criminal".

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Please share with me the evidence that convinced you of the rapes alleged by Israel.

“The forty beheaded babies has been downscaled to one dead baby, not beheaded, and killed by persons unknown.

Quote:

Please share the evidence that convinced you that Hamas beheaded 40 babies.

Two thirds of Israelis killed on October 7 were military personnel. The killers of the remaining third are definitely to revealed to have been in part the Israeli Armed Forces themselves."

Quote:

Do you have evidence that this is not true? I have not yet seen any evidence about how many dead from that day were military personnel (because almost 100% of Israelis must serve in the IDF--and the Nova festival was near a base--a large percentage could have been military personnel. Additionally, it has been reported that Israel employed the Hannibal Directive on Oct 7 and was therefore responsible for most of the deaths at the Nova festival. Hamas carrying out firebombings of 300 vehicles from their handgliders is much less believable.

“Those with influence who spread propaganda to the contrary stand exposed as War Criminals and now much blood stains their character for ever. It is a spot which will not out."

Quote:

I won't disagree with that sentiment, although I wouldn't expect it to stand up in court. Another truth I can't get out of my head is Israel indignantly saying it is antisemitic to expect them to provide evidence for their claims. (shakes head) That bird just don't fly..

Lash wrote:

Go G E O R G E.

Go G E O R G E

Jacob Shamsian ⚖️@JayShams
NEW: Donald Trump spent more than $52 million in donor money on legal fees, per FEC filings.

$40 million of it, we found, went to law firms that worked exclusively on Trump's personal problems — totally unrelated to his presidential campaign.

https://businessinsider.com/donald-trump-legal-fees-pac-donor-money-personal-cases-2024-2

Decision Desk HQ@DecisionDeskHQ
10m
Decision Desk HQ projects Tom Suozzi wins the special election for New York's 3rd congressional district.

#DecisionMade: 9:58pm ET

Democrat Tom Suozzi has won the New York special election to the U.S. House, according to an AP race call. Suozzi will serve out the remainder of the term for former GOP Rep. George Santos, who was expelled from the House last year.

The victory further narrows the already razor-thin majority for Republicans in the House. The race was seen as a test of Democrats' ability to overcome attacks over President Biden's handling of the U.S. border with Mexico and convince voters that Republicans are unable to legislate in Washington.

Sure proved the polls wrong, didn't it? A good solid win.

Attorney General Ken Paxton@KenPaxtonTX
17h
This is a question all Texans should be asking. Unbelievable that @JohnCornyn would stay up all night to defend other countries borders, but not America. x.com/mqsullivan/sta…

Senator John Cornyn@JohnCornyn
14h
Ken, your criminal defense lawyers are calling to suggest you spend less time pushing Russian propaganda and more time defending longstanding felony charges against you in Houston, as well as ongoing federal grand jury proceedings in San Antonio that will probably result in further criminal charges.

Taniel@Taniel
36m
! Democrats won tonight’s legislative special election in Pennsylvania, in the northern suburbs of Philly, by 36%: 68% to 32%.

Biden won by 10% here.

David Weigel@daveweigel
2h
The verdict from #NY03 is clear: Suburban voters want Joe Biden to be even older.

"
Former President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner said Tuesday that he would not join the administration if Trump is elected.

Kushner was a senior adviser in the Trump White House. 🙄😣

"I’ve been very clear that my desire at this phase of my life is to focus on my firm," Kushner told Axios during a livestreamed interview at the publication's summit in Miami. "I’ve really enjoyed the opportunity as a family to be out of the spotlight. Both my wife and myself were working in the White House, which is a 24/7, high-stakes job, and so we both really enjoyed the opportunity to be down here in Florida with the kids."
"
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/jared-kushner-says-not-join-second-trump-administration-rcna138733

I wonder if more people will opt out of voting this go 'round or if the protest votes are higher than ever.

Who are the Rochdale byelection candidates – and what do they stand for?
With Labour withdrawing support for its candidate, the vote has been blown wide open.

With Labour withdrawing support for its candidate, Azhar Ali, at the 11th hour, the Rochdale byelection on 29 February has been blown wide open. The candidates on the all-male ballot paper include George Galloway, who has been canvassing support among the Muslim population, and the seat’s former MP Simon Danczuk, who has appeared as a last-minute candidate for Reform UK.

Here’s a run-down of the candidates and what they stand for:

Azhar Ali – Labour
Ali has spoken out frequently about Palestine, going further than the leadership and calling for an immediate ceasefire.

He is the leader of the Labour group on Lancashire county council, a former government adviser under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown and has received an OBE for services to his local community. He described Rochdale’s late MP, Tony Lloyd, who died from blood cancer in January, as a “dear friend”, adding that he wanted to “continue his legacy”.

But at 5.30pm on Monday, Labour pulled its support for Ali over controversial comments he had made about Israel.

It had emerged over the weekend that he said Israel “allowed” the 7 October Hamas attacks to happen so the country could do “whatever they bloody want”.

Ali issued a statement “apologising unreservedly” for his words, and initially the Labour leadership stood by him – but when further comments emerged this week, they disowned him.

It’s too late for Labour to remove Ali from the ballot paper, so he will still stand as a Labour candidate, but if elected he will have the whip removed and become an independent MP.

Simon Danczuk – Reform UK
There is talk that Labour members could switch their support to Danczuk, who is standing for Reform UK – the former Brexit party, led by the multimillionaire Richard Tice.

He was Labour MP for Rochdale from 2010 until 2017 but was suspended from the party for sending explicit messages to a 17-year-old girl and blocked from standing again.

Danczuk has described himself as “old Labour” and criticised Starmer’s politics for going from “work to woke”. He believes his ticket to success will be focusing on local issues in Rochdale, rather than the Israel-Palestine conflict.

“It’s now a fight between Galloway, who will prioritise Palestine, and me, who will prioritise Rochdale,” he said on Monday.

Iain Donaldson – Liberal Democrats
Donaldson, a former councillor in Manchester for 19 years, is focusing on key Lib Dem byelection campaign issues such as the cost of living crisis, the NHS crisis and sewage dumping in Rochdale’s rivers.

He has received the endorsement of Paul Rowen, who served as Lib Dem MP for Rochdale from 2005 to 2010, and who said Donaldson would be a “fresh start” for the seat.

Donaldson has accused Labour of “taking people for granted”, while saying the Conservatives had inflicted the “double whammy of a cost of living crisis and an NHS on its knees”.

Paul Ellison – Conservative
Former Rochdale Man of the Year 2020, Ellison is making the most of his “Rochdale born and bred” credentials and homing in on local issues – improving the town centre, cracking down on antisocial behaviour and protecting green spaces.

He runs a landscaping firm and is known for his efforts in bringing Royal Horticultural Society in Bloom initiatives to the town. He said he wanted to overturn negative perceptions of the town and instil pride in local residents.

George Galloway – Workers party of Britain
Former MP Galloway has focused his attention almost entirely on Palestine and has been seen walking around majority-Muslim areas of Rochdale in a Palestine scarf and megaphone calling on them to vote for him in the “ultimate protest” against Labour.

His previous election campaigning has been known to stoke division, particularly along religious lines – in Rochdale, Muslims make up 30% of the population, and Galloway is targeting these voters.

Starmer’s refusal to back a ceasefire in Gaza, and the ensuing dissatisfaction, particularly among Muslim voters, has been used as ammunition by Galloway, but some question whether he has the widespread appeal needed to top the ballot.

Guy Otten – Green party
A retired solicitor and tribunal judge, Otten is the Green party candidate on paper only, after the party withdrew its support for him last week only days after he became candidate.

This was reportedly in response to some remarks he had made on social media, criticising the Gaza conflict and “Islamic religion”.

Otten said he would “leave the stage” after his party withdrew support, and has not taken part in any campaigning, hustings or media interviews since.

Others
Other candidates standing in Thursday’s election include William Howarth, a co-founder of Parents Against Grooming UK, and Rev Mark Coleman, a climate campaigner who spent five weeks in prison last year for taking part in an Insulate Britain sit-in protest in London.

Local businessman David Tully is standing as an independent, Ravin Rodent Subortna for the Official Monster Raving Loony party, and Michael Howarth, a businessman who owns a number of bars in the area, is also standing as an independent.