STOP BADMOUTHING BIDEN?: SOME GOODMOUTHING FACTS, PLEASE! “FOURTH ESTATE IS THE MAKER OF REALITY’

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WPCNR THE LETTER TICKER December 2, 2023:

 

(RE: Ms. Paul NY TIMES “STOP BADMOUTHING BIDEN” COLUMN):

 You write: “‘Stop badmouthing Biden,’ some Democrats will say, as if acknowledging reality were akin to arming the enemy.”

The Fourth Estate is the maker of reality. When you and your colleagues in the So-Called Liberal Media join Fox in bashing Biden, his poor ratings becomes your fault. Thus when you demand that Biden step down (when it’s clear he won’t), it is not only feckless, it’s shameless.

You write: “But even if Biden has done a pretty good job as president, most Americans don’t see that.”

He’s not done a “pretty good” job, he’s done a spectacular job, and if Americans don’t see that, it is the fault of the same clueless, craven SCLM that helped elect Trump in the first place. To adopt your metaphor, you are the time bomb ticking under the table. Every time you write about Biden’s age while ignoring Trump’s – or the fact that Trump is far less healthy – mentally or physically – than Biden. My God, do you not have eyes? Or sense?

The Times’s “all-inflation-all-the time” coverage shamelessly buried the causes of inflation, including kinked supply lines and overdemand, when COVID money that would have been spent on vacations and eating out instead was spent on goods because Republicans resistance to the vaccine roll-out prevented re-opening of the economy, and of course CORPORATE GREED, while running human interest stories on how badly people (not SCLM reporters, of course) were faring.  If you had done your job, Americans would have had a much different impression of Biden.

Read your colleague David Brooks on Biden as a transformational president. He could be the anti-Reagan, rolling back 40 years of class warfare in which the bottom 90% transferred some 50 trillion dollars to the top 1%.

Biden played Republicans in the same way Reagan played Democrats (viz. letting Kevin McCarthy take credit for the debt ceiling deal after Biden got everything he wanted; or setting up Republicans at the SOTU to promise they wouldn’t touch Social Security or Medicare). What Democrat today can do that going forward? Biden learned from watching Republicans

Here’s a list of what Biden accomplished in his first two years:

• Cutting child poverty by 35% in 2021 by expanding the Child Tax Credit

• IRA is the greatest investment in green energy American history

• The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is the largest long-term investment in infrastructure and the economy in American history.

• The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is the first gun safety legislation in nearly three decades.

• The PACT Act is the biggest expansion of veterans’ benefits in over three decades and provides medical care for veterans exposed to toxic chemicals.

• The CHIPS Act invests in microchip production to make America more competitive with China and reduce our reliance on foreign sources for a vital component used by the defense industry. T

That’s not “a pretty good job.” That’s doing more with less than any Democrat in this or the last century. Some more metrics are below.

DO YOUR HOMEWORK. DO YOUR JOB. AND STOP ARMING THE ENEMY.

Michael

Michael K. Cantwell

Editor, The Delray Democrat

Delray Beach, FL

(Reprinted with permission of the author)

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WHITE PLAINS WEEK MONDAY AT 7 JOHN BAILEY ‘S DEC 1 REPORT–ON WPTV FIOS CH 45 COUNTYWIDE, WP OPTIMUM CH 76 AND RIGHT NOW ON www.wpcommunitymedia.org

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CITY PROPOSES NEW PARKING RATES FOR HIGH VOLUME DOWNTOWN LOTS $3 FOR 2 HOURS ENFORCED TO MIDNIGHT

MAYOR ROACH ON THE ROAD TO DUBAI — WILL ADDRESS WHITE PLAINS GREEN POLICIES

CON ED LIFTS BAN ON NEW NATURAL GAS CONNECTIONS FOR 2 YEARS ON OPENING OF DUBAI CLIMATE CONFERENCE — WHY? — THE FOSSIL FUEL MADNESS CON-TIN-UES!

MEANWHILE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD EARTH POLICIES ON CLIMATE CHANGE DEBATED

NEW JERSEY GOV. MURPHY CALLS CONGESTION PRICING RUSHED AND OPAGUE LAW SUIT PENDING

CONGESTION RATES AND EXEMPTIONS RELEASED

JOHN BAILEY AND THE NEWS

YOU NEED TO KNOW

EVERY WEEK ON WHITE PLAINS WEEK

SINCE 2001

 

 

 

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City Proposes Extending Night Street 6-9 Parking Enforcement to Midnight. Raising High Demand Lots to $1.50, Hiking Garage Overtime Fine to $20.  Council Not So Sure

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WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey.  November 29, 2023:

City Commissioner of Parking and Traffic, Kevin Livingston presented a new proposed scale of parking rates for the City of White Plains at Monday evening Common Council Work Session, which can be viewed on the City of White Plains website at

http://whiteplainsny.swagit.com/common-council–2

Under the new rates, non-permit parking would increase 25 cents to $1.25 bringing them in line with the parking structure rates.

High volume downtown parking lots would be raised to $1.50 an hour. Those lots rising to $1.50 are: Waller-Maple, Quarrropus Lot, Mitchell Place,  Court Street Lot.

The parking overtime fine in the city garages would rise from $10 to $20..

Council members Nadine Hunt-Robinson, Jennifer Puja and Victoria Presser were concerned about the increase in parking fee collection to midnight. Councilman Richard Payne raised the issue that doublE-Parking was a serious problem aggravating traffic and should be addressed. Victoria Presser asked why the increases were needed and why now. Commissioner Livingston said the technology was aging up and in order to replace (in a timely manner) the city needed the funds now.

At no time during the presentation was the current trend of parking fees and fines revenue stated as an issue prompting raising of fees.

In other matters,

The Common Council approved moving the December 4 regularly scheduled Common Council meeting to December 11 in order that Mayor Roach could attend the U.S. Conference of Mayors Delegation to the UN Climate Change meeting, beginning tomorrow November 30 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The Armory Senior Citizens Center residence detailed a zoning change to build 50 new residences and street retail with details to follow in coming months.

The 60 Broadway, former “Esplanade” appeared requesting a site plan extension. The Mayor, Ms. Hunt-Robinson, Ms. Puja, and Ms. Presser all spoke at length of the long delayed plans for the building chiding the Lennar, the developer for the long delay in completing the building. It is unclear at this time whether the extension will be granted. You can watch this lively exchange and indignation of the Common Council at the delay in its entirety on the city website.

 

The matter is most likely to be on the agenda on December 11, the next Common Council Meeting, which was voted to be moved from December 4  in order for Mayor Roach to attend the United Nations meeting on Climate Change in New York.

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HIGH INCOME WHITE PERSONS MORE VACCINATED THAN POOR. VACCINE AVAILABILITY EVEN IF YOU WANT TO GET VACCINATED HAMPERED BY GOVERNMENT DROPPING EMERGENCY STATUS: YOUR LOCAL EPIDEMIOLOGIST OBSERVES.

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IN THE AIR: CAITLIN RIVERS ON RESPIRATORY VIRUS SEASON

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BUILDERS INSTITUTE: CON ED WILL LIFT 4 YEAR NATURAL GAS MORATORIUM

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 Con Edison Announces the End of Westchester’s Gas Moratorium

Con Edison announced  that as of December 1, 2023, the temporary natural gas moratorium, which commenced on March 15, 2019 in most of its Westchester County service territory to address a supply-demand imbalance and support reliability of service to customers in the affected area, will end. In a letter to the Public Service Commission, Con Ed explained that said that the combination of increased supply from the Tennessee East 300 Project and lower forecasted demand resolves the Westchester supply-demand gap which prompted the moratorium on new gas hookups.

In the coming weeks, Con Edison will notify local agencies, elected officials, and those customers who had previously signed up on the gas service interest list which was maintained during the period the moratorium was in effect, even if they signed up on that list months ago. If you signed up on that list any time since 2019, you should expect further communication directly from Con Ed.

The BRI anticipates that Con Ed will both remove moratorium-specific web pages from www.coned.com as well as post information on how to request new gas hookups or conversions from oil to gas beginning December 1.

However, please note that this announcement does NOT change anything with regard to the requirements under the All Electrification Act, whereby there will be statewide ban on fossil-fuel use in new construction. The measure will start in 2026 for structures of seven stories or less. The ban for larger buildings starts in 2029.

To that end, one week after the lifting of the moratorium, the company will hold technical meetings with plumbers and general contractors and will also contact customers , and they will receive information about fossil-free alternatives. All customers who request new service are required to sign an attestation confirming their awareness of New York State clean energy policy goals and the availability of non-fossil fuel alternative heating options.

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WHITE PLAINS WEEK TONIGHT THE NOV 24 REPORT WPTV FIOS CH 45 COUNTYWIDE. WP OPTIMUM CH. 76 AND www.wpcommunitymedia.org ANYTIME

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JOHN BAILEY AND THE NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW

THE THANKSGIVING NOVEMBER 24  REPORT

EVERY WEEK ON WHITE PLAINS WEEK SINCE 2001 A.D.

THE SOLUTION TO COMING CONGESTION TAX IN NEW YORK CITY AT 60TH STREET SAVE TIME AND MONEY AND AGGRAVATION

REMEMBERING THE LEGACY OF PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY. HE WAS MURDERED

60 YEARS AGO ON NOVEMBER 22, 1963

JETELINA AND RIVERS YOUR LOCAL EPIDEMIOLOGISTS REPORT ON HOW TO HANDLE THE HOLIDAYS GOING IN COVID INFECTIONS PROJECT TO 3,000 NEW CASES IN COUNTY–9,000 LESS THAN LAST DECEMBER

THREAT OF VOTER REPRESENTATION LAWSUIT IN MT. PLEASANT AND A DEFINITE THREAT TO WHITE PLAINS “AT LARGE” VOTING SYSTEM

UNEMPLOYMENT UP IN WESTCHESTER COUNTY 3RD STRAIGHT MONTH

HALF OF PATIENTS BEING ADMITTED TO BEDS AT WHITE PLAINS HOSPITAL CONTINUE TO ALSO HAVE COVID AFTER ADMISSION 

 

 

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THANKSGIVING IN AMERICA’S HOMETOWN: PLYMOUTH, MASSACHUSETTS

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WPCNR Thanksgiving Portfolio, all photos by WPCNR:

On this Thanksgiving, let us remember the band of hardy intrepid souls who crossed an ocean in a boat no  bigger than a large Chris Craft and settled in an unforgiving landscape and started a country in the cold landscape of New England.

They were immigrants.

They were helped by Indians who welcomed them, without Indians’ compassion they would not have survived. And, remember, those pilgrims were immigrants.

A salute to this brave band. A salute, too, to the indians who accepted them without visas, without jobs, with no background checks no green cards. No border wall. No cages for children. No fear on the part of the Indians and their humanitarian leader, Squanto

The pilgrims sailed into a bay, dropped anchor and just carved out a living after living in incredible conditions in a ship’s hold for weeks, crossing the storm-tossed North Atlantic. Here are some views of America’s hometown by the WPCNR Roving Photographer.

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Plymouth Rock Landing. Plymouth, Massachusetts.

The Mayflower II. Plymouth Harbor.

Indian Statue of Squanto welcoming the Pilgrim Settlers. Plymouth.

Governor William Bradford Statue on the Shores of Plymouth Harbor

“Plymouth Rock,” The landing place of the pilgrims.

Settlers Home, left, circa 1690.

Church, Plymouth late 1700s. .

The Jury: Old Burial Ground, Plymouth. Last resting place of the pilgrims overlooking Plymouth Harbor. The sacrifices, bravery and perseverance of these persons stand as examples to Americans today.

How are we doin’?

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NOV 22, 1963 WAS THE DAY PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY WAS SHOT

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THIS IS THE DAY PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY WAS SHOT 60 YEARS AGO.

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WPCNR NEWS AND COMMENT By John F. Bailey. (reprinted from WPCNR ARCHIVES) UPDATED. November 22, 2023:

Someone made a big mistake again this year. The papers on November 22nd had no reference to the day John F. Kennedy was shot and killed. 

Today.

Three gunshots on November 22 at 1 in the afternoon just about an hour and a half ago in Dallas, Texas murdered President John F. Kennedy.

Today is the day in Dallas 60 years ago on a Friday afternoon when President John F. Kennedy was shot riding in his motorcade in front of the Texas Book Depository Building.

November 22,  1963. A most unfortunate coincidence that someone should have noticed.

Sixty years ago today at about midday eastern standard time, President John F. Kennedy was shot in Dallas, Texas.

When I heard the news, I was heading up the steps of  Gray Chapel at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio. It was sobering news. Then within the hour it was reported that the President was dead, and the search was on for potential suspects.

It was the first time in my life a national event had ever affected me.

Persons in their mid-70s can probably remember exactly what they were doing when they heard that electrifying news.

Disbelief. Concern. Sadness. Grief. Nothing you could do about it.

Who would shoot the President?  How could they? The President no matter who he was was revered and respected at that time — not ridiculed, mocked, vilified, and criticized for his every move as President Biden is today.

President Kennedy’s popularity was ebbing at that time in 1963.

The public was initially inspired by the vision of Camelot and the likable, energetic young president.

However, by the time he was assassinated, President Kennedy was coming under harsh criticism for his foreign policy and his inability to move an agenda through congress. (Sound familiar?)

He was pushed around by congressional heavyweights — eerily not too much different from our President today, who today pushes congress members to pass voting rights and immigration reform and is blocked blocked blocked by congressmen and senators who know better.

When Kennedy was shot, the American public, even those who disagreed with his politics and considered him in over his head in the presidency, were stunned by grief and horror.

Nothing had happened like that in America since 1901 when President William McKinley was assassinated.

An entire nation reflected in guilt for a week as the three television networks showed 24 hours a day assassination and funeral coverage. Walter Cronkite shed a tear on camera when he reported Kennedy was dead. No commentator would think about reacting in glee on the air as they do now at Biden presidential defeats.

And please, no congressional personality would ever show video of himself cutting the throat of a fellow member of congress. That throat slitter guy needs to be thrown out of congress or at least arrested for threatening Congresswoman Alexandria Castro Cortez.

Does this mean in today’s law, threatening the life of a member of congress is not a crime or at least a menacing charge???? Please.

Until the Trade Center Horror in 2001, this nation had not experienced anything on that national scale of reaction to an event.(With the exceptions of the Detroit riots in 1967 and anti-Vietnam War protests.)

Were we a more sensitive nation then? More sensitive to what killing actually is?  I no longer wonder.

In the fast-moving sensationalism of news ambulance and shootings chasers today, would the same sensitivity be there today? No. And it’s not!

Or, have we been hardened to violence, and do we now see violence as more of an acceptable solution to problems than to be avoided at all costs? Yes, we do.

We have an an ex-“president” who came out supporting a vigilante teen with an AK-47 who gunned down unarmed people in Kenosha Wisconsin as protecting himself. That takes my breath away. Whose Ak-47 was it? His? His parents? Very key question.

It seems so. With disgruntled, overly sensitive misfits just taking guns and shooting innocent people and they get acquitted on self-defense?

When persons take out a gun and shoot a “neighbor” over a property line. Hey. It’s the Wild West out there.

Time to check your guns at the door. And don’t bring your guns to town, Billy.

I remember how Americans sat mesmerized in front of their televisions as the Kennedy goodbye played out.

I remember, too how Kennedy’s death swiftly paved the way for the landmark Civil Rights act of 1965, legislated by Kennedy’s successor, Lyndon B. Johnson.

That legislation, without Kennedy’s assassination would probably never have been passed. I believe it passed because of collective guilt over Kennedy’s murder.

For 60 years, politicians, when their charisma is measured, have always been compared to Mr. Kennedy.

However, charisma does not get things done any more and it has lost its lustre as being a good thing.

Charisma and popularity does not make for change by itself.

The last four years we have seen the downside of charisma without compassion and thought.

It is nice but it achieves nothing unless you have some good solid ideas, management skills, and are willing to work hard for it. And compromise for the greater good. There are not people in congress both houses, who do that today.

Even, then, as a recent Kennedyesque President, with a license to use charisma, Barack Obama found out, it may not happen.

However, the political rancor and hysterical hatred of our President  Obama that was expressed in the Republican debates, on talk radio and by candidates who should know better back in 2016, created an atmosphere of disrespect for then President Obama and the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton exceeded even that aimed at George W. Bush.

The lack of respect for President Biden today and hatred of Democrats has created an atmosphere that is far more dangerous for the President and the country  than we can ever tell.

But we’re about to find out.

Mr. Trump, the former “president” polarized the nation into two warring camps with unprecedented name-calling, purely nasty, hurtful policies towards minorities and immigrants, bragging about the right to molest women, and supporting womanizers in his administration, and planned takeaways of health care, and blatant giveaways to robber barons on poshly appointed carpetted crags in concrete canyons reminiscent of the cruel British aristocracies.

 

The toxicity against the Presidents, both Obama, President Trump (though much is of Mr. Trump’s own immaturity and inability to manage) and now the pathological vilification of President Biden has been inflamed

Mr. Trump’s whining about the election being rigged is reckless and immature. Poor Little Rich Boy’s whining. No presidential candidate has ever acted this way before. But people bought it.

They stormed the capitol with Mr. Trump’s “Stop the Steal” campaign in the last 14 days of the worst American Presidency ever.

Mr. Trump is a winner in only one field: He has a solid grip on the title of “Worst American President” from Richard Nixon, Andrew Johnson, both George Bushes, and Bill Clinton.

Daily, Americans are assailed by website propaganda that tell them the economy is terrible.Social Security is going to be taken away. The Trump economy was better. They are believing that, forgetting the slow-to-act on covid situation. Truth is what you say it is today. And that is not good.

The job of the nation is to make sure they do not bring Mr. Trump to finish wrecking the nation in 2024.

Al Gore when he lost the 2000 election did not, to my memory come out and call for revolution.

Mitt Romney’s petulance in 2012 at his defeat by President Obama started a tradition of losing ungracefully.

Voters saw right through this Mitt “Guy Smiley” of a candidate they in their guts knew the phony he was. Voters were not as astute in 2016.

Romney’s comments to his donors, were echoed by  Michael Steele’s statement about Emperor Obama and his “reign of lawlessness” is exactly the sort of talk that paved the way for the Republican campaign of hatred in 2016. It was irresponsible of Romney and Steele.

A losing Presidential candidate has one job, unite behind the new leader. Romney is the only President in my memory ever to have not — until the Little Rich Boy with the forked tongue.

The Republicans’ inability to compromise has stalled the nation on recovery, immigration, health care…you name the issue, the Republican Party has stalled progress in their frantic effort to roll back the clock to the turn of the 20th century. (1899-1900) when white and rich were right no matter what.

Robber barons, oil tycoons, industrialists, bankers, ruled the roost.–until the great Teddy Roosevelt broke up Standard oil, forced the banks to support the economy and supported the union movement. Teddy Roosevelt was the enemy of the rich and powerful and he made them cow-tow. They hate that.

Now we have a misguided America think that the rich will help them thanks to the self-rights movement.

We should always remember The Republicans’ whining. Bullies always whine. Fixers always are sore losers.

Ideas and rhetoric are one thing, but to vilify President Obama on the scale of what we heard in 2016 was irresponsible. Because it was listened to by persons across the country who suddenly got the “OK” from Republican candidates and “leaders” that it was ok to hate, to blame America’s problems on immigrants, and trade policies, and ignore science on climate change.

When educated leaders in congress endorse the policies of hate and punishment people can be OK with that? Leaders are giving people license to hate and hurt, discriminate, exploit, kill and build up themselves at the expense of others.

5 years ago the American people elected a President who did just that. Just that.

He has already told you what he’s going to do.

If you let him. He will do it. Everything.

So when you sit down to turkey Thursday give a thought to be thankful for a nation that once did not rise up in arms whenever a leader is elected that a portion of the populace does not like. (Yet and yet, many did on January 6, 2017 year, at the urging of that “president.”)

Be thankful that the American people once spoke and felt as one, and hopefully will learn to do so again even though we disagree.

I hope so.

You must.

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