You can't make this stuff up

      Katie Britt's response to the SOTU and Scarlett Johansen's spot on parody on Saturday Night Live could have been run interchangeably as far as I can tell and it says something about today's Republican party.  Not in a good way.   Britt's breathless delivery as she delivered a string of lies about the Biden administration's policies was perfectly captured by Johansen's characterization of the Alabama senator as "the craziest bitch in the Target parking lot".

     After being fact checked on a particularly egregious lie about human trafficking, Britt was forced to walk it back at various right wing media spots over the weekend.  At least she was willing to do that much.  As we all know, tRump would never apologize for lying to the American public.  In fact, his policy is to double down on the issue, the truth by damned.  Welcome to today's Republican party.

Whaddya know, Joe

      the Democratic nominee for president showed up last night at the State of the Union address to Congress and for the most part he wowed the nationwide audience.  Joe Biden looked and sounded invigorated by the spotlight as he pounded tRump and the GOP for an hour and a half while giving the Dems something to cheer about.

      If this is the Biden who hits the campaign trail in the weeks and months to come, he'll be giving the opposition nightmares as November nears.   The president wasn't perfect, but he didn't need to be.  He just had to show that while his body may betray him on occasion, his mind remains sharp and up to the rigors of the campaign trail.

Wages and prices

      Wages for the bottom 20% of American workers have increased in real terms faster than any other segment over the past 4 years.  In large part this is because in many states, the minimum wage has risen to over $15./hr.  This has in turn put pressure on prices which leads to apocryphal stories of $18. Big Mac meals (our local McDonalds is at $12.19 for that deal).

     Fast food prices have always been a source of discontent for consumers who have counted on cheap food to boost their spending power.  Any rise in prices is seen as an affront.  Wages typically make up the biggest single factor in fast food pricing, so, rising wages affect pricing more directly than other inputs such as rent and food pricing.

     Ironically, as lower income workers wages increase, middle income workers resent the gains, feeling they come at their expense.  Overall, reductions in wage inequality are good for the economy.  However, long run gains come at the cost of short term pain.  In other words, a $12. Big Mac may be the price we all pay for worker dignity.

Same as it ever was

        Having read Evan Osnos' 11,000 word essay on Joe Biden's quest for a second term I was torn between two responses.   The 72 year old me on the one hand wants to cheer the 81 year old president for his surprising stamina, while at the same time being horrified by the toll he is inviting on himself.  As with many of us, the spirit is willing, but will the flesh respond?

      Osnos gently grilled the president on issues both domestic and foreign and Biden responded with alacrity.  You may not agree with all of his solutions, but you have to respect his reasoning.  His Achilles heel is his age.  He really can't do much about it.   Running the country while campaigning non stop for months is something new for him.  Cheeto Jesus has no such impediments.  It will be a photo finish, but as Rachel Maddow pointed out on Monday night, it is a binary choice.

It ain't over til, etc.

            The most recent polls of the presidential race have Democrats doomscrolling and reading a spate of articles suggesting the party dump Joe Biden in favor of "Johnny Unbeatable" or whoever is the flavor of the moment.   Let me just say the time for Biden to step aside would have been a year ago at the very least.   Despite talk of a brokered convention, there is no way short of a health emergency that Biden will not be the nominee.   It is time to think positive.

         The race is now in a statistical tie.   A sizable majority of the population has no idea who the nominees will be at this point.  In the first tRump-Biden matchup, the more people saw the unhinged GOP candidate, the less they liked him.   There is no reason to think it will be different this time around, especially as tRump exhibits more and more symptoms of dementia.

      The economy continues to do well and more and more people are buying into Bidenomics.  The only other issues people continue to harp on are crime and immigration.  Statistics say violent crime is at a 50 year low.  Meanwhile an immigration bill designed to address border concerns was blocked by tRump.  The Dems have 8 months to change minds on these issues.  All in all, I would rather be a Democratic strategist than a Republican at this point in the race.

Hot tubs and frogs

     We set a couple of new record high temperatures last week and it looks like another record will fall today as we get into the upper 50s to lower 60s here in New York's north country.  Most of us will be glad to shed our winter coats for the day and I'm sure some kids will be wearing flip flops to school, but, (play ominous music), this is not just a freak thaw.  It is a continuation of long term trends.  I feel like a frog in a hot tub with the temperature set too high.  It feels good right now, but... 

Always be lying

       As I have said before, unlike political junkies such as myself, the vast majority of Americans don't pay attention to politics until a couple of months before the election.  The latest Supreme Court ruling doesn't play in Peoria since understanding it would require more effort than most people are willing to expend. A sizable minority probably can't name their congressional representatives. 

    A political economy such as this is ripe for a congenital liar to exploit.  tRump lies as naturally as breathing and most of us allow the lies to slide, creating a slippery slope to believability.  This is especially pernicious with the "I'm rubber, you're glue" type of argument at which he excels.  He has managed to convince a fair number of people that Biden is an abortion opponent moments after bragging he is responsible for the demise of Roe vs. Wade.

    It is going to be a long eight months to the 2024 elections.  We are in for a tsunami of lies and misleading statements from Republicans in general and tRump in particular.  Keep your BS detectors on.