Can Biden Recover From Bad Mouth? Who Calls The Shots? Art And Access. Worth Reinforcing. What Goes Around Comes Around. University Capitulates. More.

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It is difficult to recover from bad mouth attachments:

Biden approval rating continues to plummet: ‘Battered on trust, leadership, competency’ in poll
Samuel Chamberlain

President Joe Biden President Joe Biden's approval rating has dipped to the same "scrutiny of the Trump administration", according to the  Quinnipiac University poll  Samuel Corum/Pool via CNP

President Biden’s popularity continues to plummet over his foreign policy fiascos, inability to sell his keynote domestic agendas in his own party — and even his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A new   Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday shows just 38 percent of Americans approve of the job Biden is doing, down from 42 percent in the same poll three weeks ago and 50 percent approval in mid-February.

“Battered on trust, doubted on leadership, and challenged on overall competency, President Biden is being hammered on all sides as his approval rating continues its downward slide to a number not seen since the tough scrutiny of the Trump administration,” Quinnipiac polling analyst Tim Malloy said in a statement summarizing the devastating findings.

The poll puts Biden underwater on his handling of every major issue. Approval of the president’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which Quinnipiac put at 65 percent in late May, was down to 48 percent in Wednesday’s poll. Disapproval of Biden’s handling of the pandemic, by contrast, has shot up to 50 percent from 30 percent in late May.

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Biden also gets failing marks on the economy (39 percent approval, 55 percent disapproval), foreign policy (34 percent approval, 58 percent disapproval), and taxation (37 percent approval, 54 percent disapproval).

President Joe Biden leaves the White House.More than half of pollsters say President Joe Biden is not effective at running the government. Xinhua/Sipa USA

In addition, just 37 percent approve of the job he is doing as commander-in-chief of the armed forces,  while 58 percent disapprove.

But the president’s worst issue score comes on his handling of immigration (25 percent approval, 67 percent disapproval) and specifically the ongoing migrant crisis at the US-Mexico border (23 percent approval, 67 percent disapproval).

A plurality of respondents (46 percent) say the administration is not being aggressive enough in deporting  immigrants, while just 15 percent say the White House is being too aggressive with immigration enforcement.

Border Patrol agents on horses surround a group of Haitian immigrants on the bank of the Rio Grande in Del Rio, Texas on September 20, 2021.Border Patrol agents on horses surround a group of Haitian immigrants on the bank of the Rio Grande in Del Rio, Texas on September 20, 2021. John Moore/Getty Images

However, 51 percent disapprove of the Biden administration’s recent move to fly thousands of migrants back to Haiti from Texas without giving them a chance to apply for asylum, while just 37 percent approve.

Biden also received low marks for the botched US withdrawal from Afghanistan, with just 28 percent saying that the US did the right thing by pulling all forces out of the war-torn country and 65 percent saying the US should have either left some troops behind or not removed any forces at all.

On the question of overall competence, 55 percent of respondents believe the administration has not been effective at running the government, while 42 percent say it has been.

Biden’s everyman schtick appears to be wearing thin with voters as well. The poll finds that just 44 percent believe that Biden is honest (down from 53 percent in early February), with 50 percent disagreeing. When asked about the president as a leader, 41 percent believe Biden has good leadership skills (down from 54 percent in early February) while 56 percent do not.

Just 49 percent of respondents say that Biden “cares about average Americans”, down from 60 percent in early February.

But what may sound the loudest alarms in the White House are Biden’s numbers among self-described independent voters, just 32 percent of whom approve of the job the president is doing. By contrast, 60 percent of independents disapprove of Biden’s performance.

On the competence question, just 35 percent of independents say the administration has been effective at running the government, while 62 percent say it has not been.

U.S. Marines with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force - Crisis Response - Central Command, provide assistance at an Evacuation Control Checkpoint (ECC) during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan, on August, 21, 2021.Only 28 percent of pollsters agreed with President Joe Biden’s rushed withdrawal of military troops from Afghanistan. Staff Sgt. Victor Mancilla/USMC

Overall, nearly three-quarters of Americans (72 percent) say they are either somewhat dissatisfied or very dissatisfied by the direction of the US, with just 28 percent saying they are very or somewhat satisfied. More than two-thirds (69 percent) assess the state of the economy as either “not so good” or “poor,” while just 29 percent say it is either “excellent” or “good”.

The poll surveyed 1,326 adults nationwide between Oct. 1 and Oct. 4. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.

And:

Who calls the shots?

After Biden’s cave-in to leftists on his spending bills, it’s clear who calls the shots

By Jonathan S. Tobin

When Democratic primary voters coalesced behind the candidacy of Joe Biden in 2020, their motive was clear. They embraced him to stop the hard left — led by a surging Sen. Bernie Sanders — from capturing control of their party. They knew that if they wanted to defeat President Donald Trump, they had to provide an alternative who was not an avowed socialist.

In the campaign that followed, Biden made policy proposals aimed at keeping his party’s left wing happy to avoid having Sanders supporters sit out the general election. But the Democrats’ overall pitch was to claim that he was a traditional moderate who would steer the country back toward the middle.

That was hard to challenge since he went into hiding during the pandemic and the mainstream press and social-media oligarchs never tested him on it.

Even after the election, Biden adopted the rhetoric of national unity, and his apologists asserted that his administration would reverse the polarization of American politics fueled by Trump. Yet the assumption that Biden would be the leader of his party’s moderate faction and keep the left in line turns out to have been badly mistaken.

As we saw last week, when confronted with the split in his party between moderates and progressives over whether to push through a $1 trillion compromise infrastructure bill backed by some Republicans and, later, lobby for his $3.5 trillion Build Back Better plan, the president left no doubt which side he was on: Though House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had promised the moderates in her caucus a vote on the smaller bill (reversing an earlier pledge to far-left progressives), Biden opposed that idea, and she backed down. The prez was all in with the House’s 100-member “Progressive Caucus.”

This faction is already unhappy that the laundry list of left-wing ideas in Biden’s Build Back Better scheme was cut down from the original $6 trillion price tag. The left is equally dismayed that centrist Democrats in the Senate, particularly Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, are insisting it be further reduced. It’s not just a collection of leftist loud mouths (most prominently, “Squad” regulars like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar); it now has the full backing of the White House.

The issue here is more than just the irresponsible spending and tax increases Democrats are trying to foist on the country. Or their assertion that the cost will be zero, a bogus claim that goes beyond chutzpah to outright gaslighting.

Nor is it solely the fact that their program — which involves a vast expansion of government power and entitlements — is being done in the name of rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, when in fact even the cheaper $1 trillion package is packed with items that have little to do with infrastructure.

Rather, it’s that the independent voters who provided Biden‘s margin of victory — as well as the moderate Democrats whose wins in purple districts gave their party control of the House — were had. (The same goes for any Senate Republicans who voted for the $1 trillion spending plan on the assumption that they were bolstering bipartisanship.)

Fact is, the Democratic Party that now controls the White House and both houses of Congress may have many genuine moderates in it, but the people who are really calling the shots are not remotely centrists nor even traditional liberals, like Pelosi once was.

No, Bernie Sanders and the Squad were the real winners of the 2020 election because their radical ideas — which, unlike Biden, they are honest enough to label as democratic socialism — are the ones driving this administration’s agenda. It was Bernie himself who wrote the $3.5 trillion spending plan.

The stakes couldn’t be higher. Manchin (who just upped his top line from $1.5 trillion to $2.2 trillion) and Sinema (and moderate Senate Republicans) need to stop pretending that being co-opted by the left is an acceptable compromise. They need to stand their ground.

Stop avoiding the fact that the Democrats have been captured by an extremist faction whose goals have little to do with repairing bridges or tunnels and everything to do with remaking America along socialist lines.

And:

What about Hunter's art show at a Hollywood Gallery?  For $1/2 million you can own a piece of crap art and gain access to The White House. 

Will  Hunter be allowed  to paint  "Papa's " official portrait?

Of course, had Trump's son or so-in-law been doing the same thing the mass media would be screaming for another impeachment.

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Somewhat a repeat but worth reinforcing:

I believe America's decline is associated with at least 10 major/seminal and recent events:

1) Rejection of authority associated with the '60's

2) The wrecking of educational standards.

3) The decline in the family structure.

4) Creation of a dependent citizenry and disregard of national indebtedness.

5) The acceptance of losing wars.

6) The impact of job loss on the middle class.

7) Splintering of America's political parties.

8) A nation that will not work will not survive.

9) Flirtation with socialism.

10) Prospect of more entitlements and federalization of election

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What goes around comes around. 

Democrats flirted with attacks on Trump while he was campaigning and now it has boomeranged:

Irritated Biden Addresses ‘F*** Joe Biden’ Signs After Chilly Reception In Michigan

By  Amanda Prestigiacomo

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a visit to the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 324 training facility in Howell, Michigan, U.S., on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021.

An irritated President Joe Biden on Tuesday evening reacted to his chilly reception in Michigan, boasting to his hundreds of protesters — many holding “f*** Joe Biden” signs — that he won the 2020 election with a record 81 millions votes.

“Not withstanding some of the signs I saw coming in … that’s why 81 million Americans voted for me,” Biden said, emphasizing that he has a mandate to implement his “Build Back Better” agenda (video below). “The largest number of votes in American history — a clear majority!”

Biden on Tuesday was greeted by an estimated 500 protesters in Howell, Michigan, many holding signs that said “f*** Joe Biden” and “Stop the Spending,” as well as other pro-Trump flags and anti-Biden gear.

And"

What hypocrite liberals do even to their own:

Senator Sinema hasn’t succumbed to the bullies in Congress. And she’s not going to for the bullies who come at her in the airport, on the plane, in the bathrooms, or in her classroom, either.

She’s been ridiculously bullied because she won’t just give Biden his “Build Back Better” plan. Biden even sided with the bullies at one point. So, now we know the level the liberals are willing to stoop to.

Read on to see how heavily Sinema is being harassed.

Fighting for Freedom,

Sarah Taylor

Finally:

Another University Capitulates to the Mob

By Rajan Laad

Dorian Abbot, an associate professor of geophysics from the University of Chicago, was scheduled deliver the prestigious Carlson Lecture at MIT  on climate and the potential for life on other planets

Everything seemed in order until an insane mob began banging at the door.

The mob had discovered a Newsweek piece that Abbot co-wrote back in August where he argued that diversity efforts at universities violated equal treatment. The article proposed that “university applicants be treated as individuals and evaluated through a rigorous and unbiased process based on their merit and qualifications alone.”

Previously Abbot has also posted videos on  YouTube denouncing the rioting in Chicago that erupted following the killing of George Floyd.

Decades ago, condemning riots and asking for merit-based enrolment at educational institutes was so obvious that there was no need to state it in plain words.

But those days are over.

For the anti-riot videos, Abbot was targeted for cancellation  by a group of graduate students at his University. However, the President of University of Chicago issued a strong statement in support of faculty free expression which emphatically resolved the matter.

The mob emerged again in another form, upon learning of Abbot’s scheduled Carlson Lecture at MIT.  This MIT Twitter mob, comprising of students, post-doctorates, and alumni, vehemently demanded that Abbot be uninvited because they disagreed with the contents of his Newsweek article.

This time it worked.

MIT cancelled Abbot's Carlson lecture to ‘avoid controversy.'

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This isn’t the first time that a prestigious university yielded under pressure and it will not be the last if remedial immediate actions are not taken.

One wonders what could have been accomplished if the innovation and drive that is shown towards cancelling people were to be applied towards something meaningful.

Not so long ago, this may have seemed like stating the obvious, but owing to this climate of insanity it essential to reiterate basic principles regarding education.

It is an axiomatic fact that to be effective places of education, colleges and universities have no option but to be a forum where absolute freedom of expression is allowed.

This includes the right to opine and criticise without repercussions. It also includes the right to offend, to insult, to satirize, to express hateful and obscene ideas and to ridicule anything under the sun including the state, religion, public figures, the news media, the Almighty and above all their teachers.

What is hateful to one may be compelling to another. What is prejudiced to one may be a fresh perspective to another. What is disgusting to one can be riveting to another.  What is pornographic to one may be artful to another. What is crass to one may be hilarious to another. What is crude to one may be hard hitting to another.

A bigot to one may be a maverick to another. A liberal to one can be a fascist to another. A rabid ‘right-winger’ to one is a voice of reason to another. A ‘left-wing’ loon to one may be the sole voice of hope to another. We cannot allow personal taste to dictate what is permitted in any forum of ideas.

An educational institute must be A place where students are exposed to a variety of ideas and perspectives.  The exposure should result in them being eager to learn about contrarian perspectives. The forum should enable one to vehemently disagree without being disagreeable and engage in healthy debates. 

It the healthy exchange and debates, not echo chambers, that facilitates growth as students learn to understand and even empathize with the opposing point of view. Denying an individual his right to free expression is denying yourself the right to be exposed to it. 

Freedom of expression emanates from freedom of thought and it is often these thoughts that have led to great works of art and literature, inventions and discoveries.

If an individual had not dared to be different, and more importantly dared to express this difference of opinion without fear, we would probably be living in the stone age.

Quite often a solitary contrarian voice that begins like a flickering flame, but with support it results in illuminating everybody. If a society that sticks to convention it ceases to grow.

The is the only way to train students to think freely and make informed decisions is to expose them to every possible thought.  Any decision that is taken with incomplete information is usually the wrong decision. This evolution of the mind upon being exposed to new ideas is the core of education. 

In Abbot’s case, the students could have organized a debate or a discussion forum where they could have engaged and even disagreed with his ideas

But we must not blame the students; they are young, impressionable and uninformed; they are allowed to be petulant and vacuous. It is the adults in the room who should be taking charge of the situation and standing up for freedom.

But often the adults are either too scared themselves since they want to hold on to their job or they just don’t want to be bothered with what they consider as gratuitous disputes.

Hence they bow before the mob, forgetting that every inch of their surrender of freedoms is an inch closer to totalitarianism. Wokeism which ‘cancels’ individuals for daring to express ideas that do not adhere to the groupthink is merely a euphemism for totalitarianism.

Someday the mob will turn on their appeasers because no individual, irrespective of how cautiously restrained they are, cannot always hold the mob-approved thoughts.

The mob always claims to be standing against fascism; perhaps they fail to see the irony that it was fascists who suppressed opposing views and Nazis that burned books that they considered dissenting.

Quite often the propagandists masquerading as teachers are leaders and organizers of the mob. They pride themselves on their sway over students such that they are able to incite credulous young minds. 

This is because the perpetually insecure propagandists live in fear that the contrarian ideas may be persuasive to students and soon their influence will melt into thin air. Hence instead of engaging, they shut down their opponents.

It is not just universities and colleges; the abhorrent wokeism seems to be infiltrating schools. Indoctrination at a very young age is often irreversible, parents have understandably reacted by expressing grave concern and anger.

Recently it was announced that the FBI would investigate “a disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence against school administrators, board members, teachers, and staff.”  

Many have seen this as another pretext to shut down critics of the undesirable occurrences within educational institutes. The mob isn’t just a group of unruly students and rogue teachers, they are being shielded by the powers that be.

A senior professor at the at a college I once lectured at told me that “If you want to destroy a nation, you first destroy its foundation, that is the education system”

Silence is no longer an option.

It is time for the responsible adults within and beyond the education system to take charge again to save your education and your nation before it is too late.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.

And:

Then there is the consequence of Biden's  loose/incompetent handling of the Afghan's admission to the United States:

The skies over Sparta have never been as busy as when the Biden administration decided to dispatch 13,000 Afghans, including at least one pedophile, to Wisconsin.

Sparta, a small town of less than ten thousand souls, whose claim to fame is being the “Bicycling Capital of America”, could only watch as a population of Afghans outnumbering its own population created a new Afghanistan on the premises of Fort McCoy.

None of the Afghans at Fort McCoy have a Special Immigrant Visa. Biden left the SIV visa holders behind in Afghanistan. The Afghans who have overrun the Wisconsin base are the ones whom the Taliban, for their own reasons, decided to allow through their checkpoints.

Read more...

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Israel warns of Iranian attacks:

Israel has reportedly warned its diplomatic missions around the world of an Iranian terror threat, following the arrest of an Azeri national over an alleged plot to assassinate one or more Israeli businesspeople in Cyprus.

Lapid, Blinken to discuss nuke deal »

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Regulate Big Tech the Right Way – Unleash the Lawyers Kurt Schlichter +++

McAuliffe Starts to Panic Larry O'Connor +++

Democrats Attempt To Provoke Violence Derek Hunter +++ America and 'The Dying Citizen' Victor Davis Hanson +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The future is always amazing. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ New Poll Shows GOP Hold Major Advantage Over Dems A new Gallup poll revealed most respondents trust Republicans over Democrats on the issues of security and prosperity. See It Here +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++