Turnabout is Fair Play

If it is okay to compare Trump to Hitler, then it is okay to call Kamala Harris mentally disabled.  The gloves have been off for decades when it comes to Democrat attacks on Republicans (I can't remember a Republican presidential candidate who wasn't compared to Hitler), but when Trump replies in kind, everyone freaks out.  The milquetoast Republicans like Lindsey Graham are joining with Democrats to complain about the rhetoric.  This notion that Trump's name-calling is tearing the country apart, but Democrats calling opponents fascists and racists is acceptable is ludicrous.  Let the voters decide whether the rhetoric is appropriate or not.

As for claims that Kamala Harris is mentally disabled, have you listened to her responses to questions?

Spy Game (2001)

It is 1991 and an ambulance arrived at a Chinese prison.  There was concern of a cholera outbreak.  Among the medical personal is Tom Bishop (Brad Pitt).  He was 'accidentally' electrocuted while trying to plug in a medical instrument.  Declared dead, he was left on a gurney in an isolated area while technicians attempt to restore power, and the rest of the med team continued with vaccinations.  Tom awoke soon after and hunted through the cells until he found a particular prisoner.  Time was short.  The extraction was almost complete when the alarms sounded, and the prison was locked down.  The extraction failed and Tom was captured.

Nathan Muir (Robert Redford) awoke when his phone rang.  Harry Duncan (David Hemmings) called to report Tom's capture.  Nathan was a CIA operative and today was to be his last day.  He had hardly arrived than he was asked about his files on Tom Bishop.  Nathan had recruited, trained, and ran Tom Bishop as an agent for nearly a decade.  As such, he was called into a meeting with CIA bigwigs to provide background on Tom.  Nathan's explanations morph into flashbacks.  Tom was recruited in Vietnam in 1975, trained in Germany in the late 70s, and broke with Nathan during an operation in Lebanon in 1985.  During training, Nathan tells Tom never to risk himself for an asset; send flowers (to the funeral) instead.  Save money for retirement and never touch it.  Much of the advice in the training telegraphs exactly how the movie will end.

All the action of the movie is from the flashbacks.  In the present, Nathan plays a game of deception and delay.  He had already deduced that the agency would let the Chinese execute Tom and that it was up to him to prevent that outcome.  That all these CIA bigwigs are led around by this retiring operative is sometimes amusing but mostly unbelievable.  Then again, Nathan is acting against many of the rules he had outlined and, to all appearances, faithfully followed throughout his career.

Though the story is good and the performances are excellent, the movie is just so-so.  As noted, all the action is in flashback and thus has no stakes; we know the characters are alive in the current day.  In the current day, Tom is helpless and Nathan must finesse a rescue with limited access and resources.  Nathan's career is already over.  What is he risking?  One supposes he would be prosecuted and tossed in jail but that is never outlined so it isn't clear for the audience.  One of the least exciting spy movies I have seen.

The Boy and the Heron (2023)

World War II is underway and Mahito lives in Tokyo with his parents.  One night, the hospital, where his mother works, is left in flames after bombing.  His mother dies in the fire.  Soon after, his father Soichi (Christian Bale) relocates the family out of Tokyo to his wife's family's estate.  He has since remarried Natsuko (Gemma Chan), who happens to be his dead wife's younger sister.  No sooner have they arrived on the estate than a gray heron starts paying inordinate attention to Mahito.  He soon finds that it is a magical talking heron (Robert Pattison), which wavers between friend and foe.  The property has an old tower where his granduncle (Mark Hamill) went missing years ago.  There is also of story of his mother having vanished for a year in the tower only to return with no memory of the incident.  Of course, Mahito must investigate.

Like all Ghibli movies, the art is outstanding.  However, the story is lacking.  Mahito believes his mother might still be alive, clearly not yet reconciled with her death.  He does not get along with other kids at the local school and inflicts an injury to himself so that he won't have to go back.  Now with more free time, he followed the heron into the mysterious tower where he enters a fantastical world of giant man-eating parakeets led by the Parakeet King (Dave Bautista), villainous pelicans (Willem Dafoe), a strangely familiar fisherwoman (Florence Pugh), and Lady Himi the fire woman.  There are other bizarre denizens of this magical world that Mahito must navigate to save his stepmother and return home.  It is often confusing.

Obviously, it is a must-see for any fan of Studio Ghibli, but it is one of the weaker offerings.

Acting-President Jill Biden

For the first time in nearly a year, President Biden had a cabinet meeting on Friday.  He offered a two-minute scripted statement and then gave the floor to First Lady Jill Biden.  Jill offered remarks on progress regarding women's health, which took about 5 minutes.  Joe answered a couple of questions before the press was ushered out.  The cabinet secretaries cannot be blind to the obvious decline in President Biden.  Literally everyone knows that President Biden is not up to the task.  He has taken more vacation time than any president in American history because he is not really the president.  He's a figurehead and every cabinet member and Vice President Harris are entirely aware of that.

Section 4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

25th Amendment to the Constitution

Why has this not been invoked long since?  Everyone at that cabinet meeting and VP Harris know who is calling the shots and, so far, are happy to go along rather than remove President Biden.

However, this oddly timed and broadcast cabinet meeting does make one suspicious.  The ridiculously early June debate resulted in Joe Biden ending his re-election campaign.  Will this cabinet meeting provide similar basis for invoking the 25th Amendment and handing the presidency to VP Harris before the election?  Wow, that would be something.  Would a few weeks as President Kamala Harris improve her electoral chances?  This would be an unprecedented October Surprise.

Presidential Rankings - The Dead Ones

Three presidents did not serve long enough in office to merit ranking.  However, just to make sure that every president is listed, here are the rest:

William Henry Harrison: The oldest man elected president until he was surpassed by Ronald Reagan, Harrison was the first Whig President.  He died after only a month in office - the first president to die in office - and was replaced by Vice President John Tyler.  Virtually all of Harrison's cabinet secretaries resigned within six months of his death, erasing what little imprint he had left on Tyler's Administration.  How do you rank someone who served 1 month?

Zachary Taylor: The second Whig President, Taylor lasted longer than Harrison.  He died during the debate over the Compromise of 1850, the most significant legislation of the time.  Had he survived to shape it (he had different ideas than his VP, Millard Filmore), ranking him would make sense.  His was the longest presidency of the three at 16 months.

James Garfield: A Civil War veteran and long-serving Congressman, Garfield was assassinated by a frustrated job seeker.  He lingered for two months before dying from his wound.  He had been president for 4 months when he was shot and 6 months when he died.

All three were generals.  William Henry Harrison led troops during the War of 1812, though his most famous battle was that of Tippecanoe in 1811.  Zachary Taylor was a leading general during the Mexican American War, winning such plaudits that he was pursued to run for president.  James Garfield was an officer in the Ohio Volunteers who rose to Major General during the Civil War.

Graboyes didn't offer any details on them as they were excluded from his rankings.

Presidential Rankings - The Terrible Ones

These are the presidential disasters, highly-negative leaders who clearly damaged the well-being of the nation.

Franklin Pierce: An unknown politician unprepared for the presidency.  His last surviving child died shortly before Pierce assumed the presidency, sending him into alcohol and grief.  He pandered to slave owners and vilified abolitionists.  The Gadsden Purchase took place during his presidency.

James Buchanan: Most impressive resume prior to George H W Bush, but twiddled his thumbs as the country descended into Civil War.  Did nothing as the South seceded after the election but before Lincoln's inauguration.

Andrew Johnson: Lincoln's greatest mistake.  A pro-slavery demagogue who was entirely unsuited to the task of healing a nation in the aftermath of the Civil War.

Woodrow Wilson: Worst racist in presidential history.  Reversed racial progress rather than accept the status quo.  Set the stage for the rise of the Nazis and WWII.  Imprisoned political opponents, notably Eugene Debs.  Held constitutional limits in low regard, ignored civil liberties, refused to negotiate with Senate Republicans in foreign policy (which killed his League of Nations), and hid his debilitating stroke for more than a year at the end of his term.

Herbert Hoover: Tragic figure.  Brilliant, accomplished, and well-meaning.  However, he was a compulsive busybody whose efforts to fix the economy only worsened the Great Depression.  Began many of the New Deal policies that FDR adopted; they were all bad.

Jimmy Carter: Economic incompetence, foreign affairs disasters, angering allies and fawning over enemies.  Responsible for the rise of the Iranian mullahs.  Emboldened Islamic terrorists for decades thereafter by showing such astonishing weakness.  The malaise speech, the misery index, inability to get along with Congressional Democrats, let alone the Republicans.  Acted to undermine virtually every successor, regardless of party.

Yes, I can agree with this bunch.  Franklin Pierce wasn't even considered as the candidate until the 35th ballot.  The big guns - Lewis Cass, James Buchanan, Stephen Douglas, and William Marcy - could not assemble two-thirds of the delegates to capture the nomination.  Pierce was a dark horse who was enough of a blank slate that he won the nomination on the 49th ballot.  Is it any wonder he was not ready for the job.  The Democrats saw their error from 1852 and did not renominate Pierce in 1856, instead choosing Buchanan.  Despite a tremendous resume, he too failed miserably.  Like George H W Bush, Buchanan was groomed for a foreign policy presidency and was unsuited to domestic issues.  Andrew Johnson was a Tennessean who favored the Union.  Straddling both sides, one would think he would be ideal in the wake of the war.  Instead, he paved the way for Jim Crow rather than racial equality.  Wilson did not like the Constitution or the Republic it established.  He was indeed a horrible president.  Hoover had been part of the Harding Administration when Secretary of Treasury Andrew Mellon deftly turned Wilson's post-war depression into nearly a decade of prosperity.  Instead of trying to duplicate that, he tinkered and meddled, transforming a downturn into the Great Depression.  I would guess that Graboyes had first-hand experience with the Carter presidency based on the laundry list of failings.  I've always viewed Carter in much the way he paints Hoover: a well-meaning man who inadvertently did far more harm than good.

Responding to a comment regarding his rankings, Graboyes said that the six terribles led to hell: Pierce & Buchanan to the Civil War, Johnson to Jim Crow, Wilson to Nazism, Hoover to Depression, and Carter to Jihadism.  He also speculates that it might have been better to have 7 tiers rather than 5.

Presidential Rankings - The Bad Ones

To fall under the 'somewhat negative' category, Graboyes states that the president "governed badly, had serious personal failings, or both."

John Quincy Adams: A great man who rose to his highest level of incompetence.

Martin Van Buren: A fixer who was not suited to the top role.  Helpless against the Panic of 1837 that was the hangover of the Jackson years.

Lyndon Banes Johnson: One of the most skilled and competent presidents ever but his policies have left lasting damage, notably Medicare and Medicaid.  No personal ethics.  His handling of Vietnam.

Richard Nixon: Competent and skilled, he resolved LBJ's Vietnam disaster and established relations with China.  However, he embraced bad economic policies (price controls) and destroyed his presidency by his actions regarding Watergate.

Gerald Ford: Creditable job of post-Watergate leadership.  Bad foreign policy and economic policies.

Bill Clinton: Though he had the makings of a somewhat positive president with his political skills, moderated views, charming demeanor, and strong intellect, he poisoned it with his sexual scandals, financial shenanigans, perjury, and unpardonable pardons.

Barack Obama: Ended NASA monopoly on space which allowed SpaceX to flourish, took out bin Laden.  His embrace of racial division, frequent attacks on his predecessor, and beneficial treatment of Iran were harmful.  He created a cult of personality that his party has yet to overcome.

Donald Trump: Despite a long list of impressive accomplishments (Abraham Accords, Jerusalem embassy, smashing ISIS, energy independence, end of the Iran Deal, the COVID vaccine, roaring economy, low unemployment - notably for blacks and Hispanics, border enforcement, Space Force, and Judicial appointments), Trump more than offset it with his verbal diarrhea and J6 catastrophe.

Joe Biden: He reversed most of the positives of the Trump administration.  The end of energy independence once again filled the coffers of adversaries: Russia & Iran. Iran financed Hamas (October 7 attack in Israel and the latest Gaza War), Hezbollah, and the Houthis (Red Sea conflict).  Inflation.  Open border, mobs at homes of the Supreme Court, obvious signs of dementia.

Mostly, I'll agree.  He's a bit hard on Martin Van Buren.  He had some foreign policy successes that determined the borders of the United States and Canada, but that Panic of 1837 really sank him.  The Amistad was just a footnote.  Nixon established the imperial presidency, seeking to create executive positions that duplicated the Cabinet in order to expand those protected by executive privilege.  Given how many positives he lists for Trump, the negatives must really weigh a lot in his estimation.