Quotes Of The Day -- Saving Democracy, Again

 

"... We’re not far off from the time when the last living voices of those who fought and bled on D-Day will no longer be with us.  So, we have a special obligation.  We cannot let what happened here be lost in the silence of the years to come.  We must remember it, must honor it, and live it. 

"And we must remember: The fact that they were heroes here that day does not absolve us from what we have to do today. 

"Democracy is never guaranteed.  Every generation must preserve it, defend it, and fight for it.  That’s the test of the ages. 

"In memory of those who fought here, died here, literally saved the world here, let us be worthy of their sacrifice.  Let us be the generation that when history is written about our time — in 10, 20, 30, 50, 80 years from now — it will be said: When the moment came, we met the moment.  We stood strong.  Our alliances were made stronger.  And we saved democracy in our time as well." -- President Biden, speaking yesterday at 80th anniversary of D-Day ceremonies at the Normandy American Cemetery, Colleville-sur-Mer, France.

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" ... Biden addressed the bitter irony that haunted the commemoration ceremonies. While D-Day occurred eight decades ago, America is now just five months from an election that could bring to power a man and a movement who embody and celebrate the twisted authoritarian values of the enemies we sought to defeat so long ago.

"Fascism has not gone away. The tactics of the Nazis to employ racism and demagoguery to divide society and enable their seizure of power and their gutting of democratic institutions currently are the playbook of Donald Trump and the MAGA movement. [snip]

"And the implicit message for those who understand where we are today is that our generation faces a test just like those faced by our parents and grandparents in the 1930s and 1940s. How (and even whether) future memorial exercises will take place on the bluffs overlooking the beaches of Normandy will be determined by how we respond to that test.

"Unlike prior generations, however, we are fortunate. Thanks to them, at least right now, at least in the United States, we do not have to lay down our lives to defeat fascism. All we have to do is take the threat seriously and do our duty as citizens by voting.

"There could be no greater dishonor done to those who died on D-Day and around the world in World War II than to allow authoritarianism and fascism to triumph in November after so many had sacrificed so much so many years ago to defeat them." -- David Rothkopf, The Daily Beast, on Biden's text and subtext, reminding us of the imminent danger we face as we fight to save democracy in the very country those D-Day veterans were fighting for.

Quotes Of The Day

 

From President Biden, as the trial of his son Hunter on gun charges begins today in Delaware (please note both the judge and prosecutor are Republicans, but there's no savaging of them like a certain convicted felon savaged a certain judge and prosecutor in New York) :

“I am the President, but I am also a Dad. Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today.  Hunter’s resilience in the face of adversity and the strength he has brought to his recovery are inspiring to us. A lot of families have loved ones who have overcome addiction and know what we mean. As the President, I don’t and won’t comment on pending federal cases, but as a Dad, I have boundless love for my son, confidence in him, and respect for his strength.  Our family has been through a lot together, and Jill and I are going to continue to be there for Hunter and our family with our love and support."

 ____________________

From our Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) at the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic hearing today, where MAGAt Republicans tried to shift blame for the Covid response from the convicted felon Malignant Loser to Dr. Anthony Fauci:

"I want to join my colleague from Florida in apologizing to you that some of our colleagues in the United States House of Representatives seem to want to drag your name through the mud," Raskin said. "They're treating you, Dr. Fauci, like a convicted felon."

"Actually, you probably wish they were treating you like a convicted felon," he added. "They treat convicted felons with love and admiration. Some of them blindly worship convicted felons."

Dr. Fauci isn't the only one who knows how to deal with simple life forms!

QOTD -- The Veneer Of Civilization

 

"... I know these Days of Remembrance fall on difficult times.  But we all do well to remember these days also fall during the month we celebrate Jewish American heritage — a heritage that stretches from our earliest days to enrich every single part of American life today.  

"Great American — great Jewish American named Tom Lantos used the phrase, 'The veneer of civilization is paper thin.  We are its guardians, and we can never rest.'

"My fellow Americans, we must — we must be those guardians.  We must never rest.  We must rise against hate, meet across the divide, see our common humanity..."  -- President Biden yesterday at the U.S. Holocaust Museum's Annual Day of Remembrance ceremony held at the U.S. Capitol.  Here's more background of the National Days of Remembrance (pdf).

QOTD -- Deaf Ears?

 

"... I'm sincerely not asking you to take sides. I'm asking you to rise up to the seriousness of the moment. Move past the horse race numbers and the gotcha moments and the distractions, the sideshows that have come to dominate and sensationalize our politics, and focus on what's actually at stake..." -- President Biden at last night's White House Correspondents' Association dinner, admonishing our puerile media to recognize what's at stake in this election, even more so than it was in 2020 -- the preservation of our democracy.  Sadly, this likely fell on hundreds of deaf ears in the audience.  If you Google the dinner, you'll find the predominant top line coverage is of the President's "zingers" in describing the Malignant Loser, and of the pro- Palestinian protests outside the dinner venue.  Sic transit gloria, America.

QOTD -- Terrorists And Tyrants

 

"...The terrorist group Hamas unleashed pure, unadulterated evil in the world.  But sadly, the Jewish people know, perhaps better than anyone, that there is no limit to the depravity of people when they want to inflict pain on others.  
 
"In Israel, I saw a people who are strong, determined, resilient, and also angry, in shock, and in deep, deep pain.
 
"I also spoke with President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority and reiterated that the United States remains committed to the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and to self-determination.  The actions of Hamas terrorists don’t take that right away. [snip]

"I know we have our divisions at home.  We have to get past them.  We can’t let petty, partisan, angry politics get in the way of our responsibilities as a great nation.
 
"We cannot and will not let terrorists like Hamas and tyrants like Putin win.  I refuse to let that happen..." -- President Biden in his Address to the Nation, October 20. As Biden pointed out, the terrorism of Hamas and the terrorism of Putin in Ukraine have the common element of wanting to destroy neighboring democracies.  America and countries around the world are seeing threats to democracies, both internal and external.  That's the great struggle and demarcation of this era -- democracies (however imperfect and fragile) versus fascistic regimes and movements, like Putin's Russia and Hamas, which often don't represent the will or best interests of the people they rule.

QOTD -- On The Picket Line!

 

"Tuesday, I’ll go to Michigan to join the picket line and stand in solidarity with the men and women of UAW as they fight for a fair share of the value they helped create. 

 It’s time for a win-win agreement that keeps American auto manufacturing thriving with well-paid UAW jobs." --  President Biden announcing his trip to Detroit to support striking UAW workers, the first President to join a picket line. 

QOTD -- Big Enough For Everyone

 

"... For generations, Black Americans haven’t always been fully included in our democracy or our economy, but by pure courage and heart, they have never given up pursuing the American Dream. We saw in Jacksonville, Fla., yet another community wounded by an act of gun violence, reportedly fueled by hate-filled animus. We must refuse to live in a country where Black families going to the store or Black students going to school live in fear of being gunned down because of the color of their skin. On this day of remembrance, let us keep showing that racial equity isn’t just an aspiration. Let us reject the cramped view that America is a zero-sum game that holds that for one to succeed, another must fail. Let us remember America is big enough for everyone to do well and reach their God-given potential.

"That’s how we redeem the promissory note of our nation." -- President Biden, concluding his op/ed in today's Washington Post on the 60th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington.

 

QOTD -- Democracy In Peril

 

"I speak today near Capitol Hill, near the U.S. Capitol, the citadel of our democracy. I know there’s a lot at stake in these midterm elections, from our economy, to the safety of our streets, to our personal freedoms, to the future of health care and Social Security, Medicare. It’s all important. But we’ll have our differences, we’ll have our difference of opinion. And that’s what it’s supposed to be.

"But there’s something else at stake, democracy itself. I’m not the only one who sees it. Recent polls have shown an overwhelming majority of Americans believe our democracy is at risk, that our democracy is under threat. They too see that democracy is on the ballot this year, and they’re deeply concerned about it.

"So today, I appeal to all Americans, regardless of party, to meet this moment of national and generational importance. We must vote knowing what’s at stake and not just the policy of the moment, but institutions that have held us together as we’ve sought a more perfect union are also at stake. We must vote knowing who we have been, what we’re at risk of becoming." -- excerpt from President Biden's speech last night at Union Station, Washington, D.C., on the threat to democracy posed by Christofascist Republicans and their cult leader, the Malignant Loser.

Predictably, the reaction of our corporate media's puerile horse race "journalists" can be summed up in this tweet:

 

BIDEN: So, democracy: it's important, and at risk.

RIGHT-WINGERS: *show up at polling places with guns to intimidate voters, break into Pelosi's house with a hammer, intending to break her kneecaps; beat her husband.

REPORTERS: OMG Biden's gonna talk about democracy *again*

— Jamison Foser (@jamisonfoser) November 2, 2022

QOTD -- Demonization And Corrosion

 

"This is despicable.  There’s no place in America.  There’s too much violence, political violence, too much hatred, too much vitriol.  (Applause.) 

"And what makes us think that one party can talk about “stolen elections,” “COVID being a hoax,” “this is all a bunch of lies,” and it not affect people who may not be so well balanced?  What makes us think that it’s not going to corrode the political climate?"-- President Biden last night at a Pennsylvania Democratic Party reception in Philadelphia, commenting on the assault on the husband of Speaker Nancy Pelosi.  Speaker Pelosi ranks as one of the most demonized political figures in the country, along with Hillary Clinton.  Over the years, we've been deluged with ads for Christofascist Republican candidates that portray Speaker Pelosi as an evil presence representing un- American "San Francisco" values (see these clips).  The Republican Leader, the Malignant Loser, is also a regular source of vitriol directed at the Speaker.  It's not a leap at all to see the link between the hateful, often violent rhetoric and the actions of the person who attacked the Speaker's husband while looking for her.  It's also not a leap to believe that these attacks will continue and get worse as that "one party" the President referred to continues to corrode the politics of our nation with its hate speech, lies, and anti- democracy actions.

BONUS:  Then there's this Virginia peckerwood.

BONUS II:  Quantifying how the GQP has demonized Speaker Pelosi over the years.  Here, too.

QOTD -- Idiot Entitlement

 

"God love ya.  Let him go.  Let him go... Look everyone is entitled to be an idiot." -- President Biden at a rally yesterday in Milwaukee, WI, responding to a heckler idiot.  So, so many MAGA idiots...

BONUS:  At the same rally, Biden refers to Trump's cult as "Trumpies." They're going to hate that!

 

QOTD -- Biden Slams Republican Threat

 

“The MAGA Republicans don’t just threaten our personal rights and economic security. They’re a threat to our very democracy. They refuse to accept the will of the people.* They embrace — embrace — political violence. They don’t believe in democracy.

“This is why in this moment, those of you who love this country — Democrats, independents, mainstream Republicans — we must be stronger.” -- President Biden last night at Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville, MD, at a rally with Maryland Democrats.  Earlier at a fundraiser, Biden said what he saw in the Republican/ Seditionist Party today was "semi-fascism."  Welcome aboard, Mr. President!  We know you'll get to "full- on fascism" by the end of the mid-terms!

*BONUS:  Case in point -- Laura "Loony" Loomer.

Vid Of The Day -- Biden's "Weapon Of Choice"

 

Clever take, with President Biden "replacing" Christopher Walken dancing to Fatboy Slim's "Weapon of Choice," and dropping in some accomplishments, etc.

 

Biden and Democrats had a very good week, and clearly the zeitgeist has changed.  Let's keep the roll going!

(from Chunklz)

QOTD -- Putin's Historic Blunder

 

“Putin thought he could break the transatlantic alliance. But he’s getting exactly what he did not want. He wanted the Finlandization of NATO. He got the NATO-ization of Finland." -- President Biden, in his news conference Thursday at the NATO summit in Madrid, where both Finland and Sweden were formally invited to join the alliance. 

QOTD -- Tackling Inflation

 

"My plan attacks inflation and grows the economy by lowering costs for working families, giving workers well-deserved raises, reducing the deficit by historic levels, and making big corporations and the very wealthiest Americans pay their fair share.

"The other path is the ultra-MAGA plan put forward by congressional Republicans to raise taxes on working families; lower the incomes of American workers; threaten the sacred programs Americans count on like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid; and give break after break to big corporations and billionaires — just like they did the last time they held power when their top priority was a reckless $2 trillion tax cut going — the majority of that going to the very wealthiest Americans, which ballooned the deficit, and not a penny of it was paid for." -- President Biden today in a speech on inflation and the economy, contrasting his Administration's approach to fighting inflation with the economic royalist approach of the Trumpist Republican cult.

QOTD -- President Biden On Afghanistan

 

"Over our country’s 20 years at war in Afghanistan, America has sent its finest young men and women, invested nearly $1 trillion dollars, trained over 300,000 Afghan soldiers and police, equipped them with state-of-the-art military equipment, and maintained their air force as part of the longest war in U.S. history. One more year, or five more years, of U.S. military presence would not have made a difference if the Afghan military cannot or will not hold its own country. And an endless American presence in the middle of another country’s civil conflict was not acceptable to me." -- part of President Biden's statement on Afghanistan yesterday.  You can read the full text here.

As we noted yesterday, our obligation remains to "secure the immediate evacuation of those Afghans who served us as translators, clerks, embassy staff and more."  The "stab in the back" chorus that's featured every night on the national news and in other media should direct its fire to the corrupt government and inept military and security forces who, on paper, far outnumber and outgun the Taliban, but who are unwilling or unable to protect themselves or their wives, daughters and sisters. That's the harsh truth.

QOTD -- Help Or Get Out Of The Way

“If some governors aren’t willing to do the right thing to beat this pandemic, then they should allow businesses and universities who want to do the right thing to be able to do it. I say to these governors: ‘Please help. But if you are not going to help, at least get out of the way of the people who are trying to do the right thing.’” -- President Biden at yesterday's remarks on the status of the fight against the COVID Delta variant, speaking directly to such Republican governors as Florida's Ron DeSantis and Texas' Greg Abbott, who've resolutely gone counter to every public health and safety guideline in order to burnish their Trumpian creds.

(Image:  l., Greg Abbott; r., Ron DeSantis.  Looking at you, you culpable sociopaths)

QOTD -- R.I.P. Reaganomics

 

From President Biden's address to Congress last night:

20 million Americans lost their jobs in the pandemic – working- and middle-class Americans. 

At the same time, the roughly 650 Billionaires in America saw their net worth increase by more than $1 Trillion.  

Let me say that again. 

Just 650 people increased their wealth by more than $1 Trillion during this pandemic. 

They are now worth more than $4 Trillion. 

My fellow Americans, trickle-down economics has  
never worked. 

It’s time to grow the economy from the bottom up and middle-out.

The destructive Reagan/ Republican fantasy of "trickle down economics" has largely only benefited the wealthy and corporations (i.e., the Republican donor class).  For the first time we can remember, if ever, a President of the United States has spoken plainly and truthfully about the income inequality and the drag on the economy that this has engendered.  Democrats are defining themselves again in the best possible terms, in contrast to the GQP.