Who do y’all think he goes for?

doesn’t say the venue that I saw

Long article in WSJ but I'll paste some key parts. 2024 was the first time I voted for trump. I wrote in Dan Crenshaw in 2020. I had never voted for Trump until this year. There is no defense for Democrats defending Biden. Democratic leaders are serial liars and will do anything to hold power. If you can defend any of this behavior, please do so. I'd like to see it.

There is a lot more to this and time consuming to copy and paste one paragraph at a time. Too important to not share some of this. Just disgusting. Enjoy...


"This account of how the White House functioned with an aging leader at the top of its organizational chart is based on interviews with nearly 50 people, including those who participated in or had direct knowledge of the operations."

OPENING


Aides kept meetings short and controlled access, top advisers acted as go-betweens and public interactions became more scripted. The administration denied Biden has declined.

During the 2020 presidential primary, Jill Biden campaigned so extensively across Iowa that she held events in more counties than her husband—a fact her press secretary at the time, Michael LaRosa, touted to a local reporter.

His superior in the Biden campaign quickly chided him. As the three rode in a minivan through the state’s cornfields, Anthony Bernal, then a deputy campaign manager and chief of staff to Jill Biden, pressed LaRosa to contact the reporter again and play down any comparison in campaign appearances between Joe Biden, then 77, and his wife, who is eight years his junior. Her energetic schedule only highlighted her husband’s more plodding pace, LaRosa recalls being told.

This account of how the White House functioned with an aging leader at the top of its organizational chart is based on interviews with nearly 50 people, including those who participated in or had direct knowledge of the operations.

The message from Biden’s team was clear. “The more you talk her up, the more you make him look bad,” LaRosa said.


The small correction foreshadowed how Biden’s closest aides and advisers would manage the limitations of the oldest president in U.S. history during his four years in office.

To adapt the White House around the needs of a diminished leader, they told visitors to keep meetings focused. Interactions with senior Democratic lawmakers and some cabinet members—including powerful secretaries such as Defense’s Lloyd Austin and Treasury’s Janet Yellen—were infrequent or grew less frequent. Some legislative leaders had a hard time getting the president’s ear at key moments, including ahead of the U.S.’s disastrous pullout from Afghanistan.

Senior advisers were often put into roles that some administration officials and lawmakers thought Biden should occupy, with people such as National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, senior counselor Steve Ricchetti and National Economic Council head Lael Brainard and her predecessor frequently in the position of being go-betweens for the president.

Press aides who compiled packages of news clips for Biden were told by senior staff to exclude negative stories about the president. The president wasn’t talking to his own pollsters as surveys showed him trailing in the 2024 race.

LATER


The president’s slide has been hard to overlook. While preparing last year for his interview with Robert K. Hur, the special counsel who investigated Biden’s handling of classified documents, the president couldn’t recall lines that his team discussed with him. At events, aides often repeated instructions to him, such as where to enter or exit a stage, that would be obvious to the average person. Biden’s team tapped campaign co-chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg, a Hollywood mogul, to find a voice coach to improve the president’s fading warble.

Biden, now 82, has long operated with a tightknit inner circle of advisers. The protective culture inside the White House was intensified because Biden started his presidency at the height of the Covid pandemic. His staff took great care to prevent him from catching the virus by limiting in-person interactions with him. But the shell constructed for the pandemic was never fully taken down, and his advanced age hardened it.

The structure was also designed to prevent Biden, an undisciplined public speaker throughout his half-century political career, from making gaffes or missteps that could damage his image, create political headaches or upset the world order.

The system put Biden at an unusual remove from cabinet secretaries, the chairs of congressional committees and other high-ranking officials. It also insulated him from the scrutiny of the American public.

The strategies to protect Biden largely worked—until June 27, when Biden stood on an Atlanta debate stage with Trump, searching for words and unable to complete his thoughts on live television. Much of the Democratic establishment had accepted the White House line that Biden was able to take the fight to Trump, even in the face of direct evidence to the contrary.


***
Yet a sign that the bruising presidential schedule needed to be adjusted for Biden’s advanced age had arisen early on—in just the first few months of his term. Administration officials noticed that the president became tired if meetings went long and would make mistakes.

They issued a directive to some powerful lawmakers and allies seeking one-on-one time: The exchanges should be short and focused, according to people who received the message directly from White House aides.

Ideally, the meetings would start later in the day, since Biden has never been at his best first thing in the morning, some of the people said. His staff made these adjustments to limit potential missteps by Biden, the people said. The president, known for long and rambling sessions, at times pushed in the opposite direction, wanting or just taking more time.

The White House denied that his schedule has been altered due to his age.


If the president was having an off day, meetings could be scrapped altogether. On one such occasion, in the spring of 2021, a national security official explained to another aide why a meeting needed to be rescheduled. “He has good days and bad days, and today was a bad day so we’re going to address this tomorrow,” the former aide recalled the official saying.

Arkansas beats Michigan in NYC. Man, SEC might get 11 bids. League has never been this deep.

This isn’t HS recruiting where he can just wait till the last minute and sign with us then bama couldn’t do anything about it.

He has to get in the portal and then he wouldn’t be “locked in” with us till class starts in late January. Bama was going to find out in plenty of time to match or beat an offer not to mention all the other schools that would find out.

David Johnson and his CBs get on my nerves too but I fail to see how he or anybody ruined this.

I’ve heard this before, and it was confirmed to me recently. Why are we there?

Game.
1. Get your team ready to play every week.
2. Play the players that will help you win
3. Take the points.

Finishing up work and thinking about how fun Oxford would be right now in preparation for a home playoff game.

They could win it all. Complete team. I believe it was mentioned on the podcast a few weeks ago, but a futures bet on them winning the Natty could very well cash

He sucks

I have dual insurance right now. I changed jobs and was without insurance for a few months, so I got on my wife’s insurance. I later got insurance from my employer in August. Took a trip to ER back in beginning of September. Was not in the best of mind and provided an old insurance card and my wife’s insurance card. They filed claim against my wife’s insurance I’m on. However neither of these were my primary at the time, I didn’t even have a card from my primary at that time, less than 1 month enrolled.

Went over my wife’s insurance and realized all of my claims this year were denied. Realizing the issue was we weren’t filing with my primary, I went back and tried to make a claim on my primary, but they’re saying it’s outside the acceptable time range to claim. We never got any notifications the claims were initially denied by secondary.

How F’ed am I?

Primary is Cigna and Secondary is Aetna

Trying to find the best organic meat ordering service with high quality meat but affordable price. Any suggestions?

Only bowl game on January 2

Diaz: Duke has won 5 straight bowls. First time for Duke in the Gator Bowl. We're humbled and honored to be selected for this game. This team has taken pride this year in doing things that Duke has never done or hasn't in a long time. Beat FSU for first time. And we knew the more wins, the warmer destination. We went 3-0 in November and finished well. Now the warmer you go, the opponent is really good. We draw an outstanding opponent in Ole Miss. Lane does a great job and I admire that program. This challenge is what we need in building our program. Excited for Jacksonville. I've been in this game for a long time.

Kiffin: Extremely excited to come down there and like Manny said, to be there for a really big matchup. Manny has done a great job and the way they've played, they've created a lot of chaos on defense. Typical of Manny, they create problems defensively. Our players are excited. It's a while until we play, but even our players who thought of opting out, as of now, they say they are playing. Says a lot about this team in an age that's not always the case. It shows how they feel about each other and this game. A number of players have said they are going to play and are excited. I saw they've put it on social media. Great respect for Manny and what they've done this year and an SEC-ACC matchup in a big bowl.

Kiffin: Last week I asked Dart if he'd play in the bowl game and told him possible bowls we were hearing, and he said he is definitely playing and wants to play last game. He's encouraged other games in that in-between position of what to do. Majority are headed toward playing in that game. Pretty neat and he's an amazing leader. Set a bunch of records and how he's been as a leader and this university is awesome. This is another example of it.

Diaz: I have a ton of respect for Murphy and our story as a program doesn't happen without Maalik. He's everything we could hope for. I'm excited for his story and what's ahead and grateful for him when he was with us. We'll get our quarterback here ready to go and go from there. I don't know... Lane is on the call... can't say what we'll do offensively. I'm not sure about other opt outs. I think guys want to play.

Kiffin: It's who Dart is... he said of course I'm playing. Unbelievable leader and teammate. I think of him like another son to me. He's been awesome to see him grow and treat people. Amazing and I'm really proud of him.

Diaz: This is all new with the QB so not sure if we'll pick one or have them other guys compete. What Ole Miss does defensively is outstanding. The chaos index is off the charts. Any QB will have a tough day, but we'll put a plan together whether it's one or two of them.

Diaz: From our standpoint, handling bowl and portal is the new normal. However already having signing day takes some stress out of this time. We adapt to this landscape as needed. We adjust to what we need.

Kiffin: We make the best of the situation with the portal and bowl. It's a dumb system. The QB went into the portal. The season isn't over yet. There's as free agency open. Imagine this before the NFL conference title games. Hopefully some day it'll get fixed.

Diaz: I was curious observer when Penn State played Ole Miss in Atlanta and to watch Dart's ability to execute at a high level against a talented defense with arm and feet. If a QB can beat you with his feet and arm, that's such a big deal. Guys like that are the ones who give you nightmares and he has experience and intangibles. Teams respond to leaders like that. It's part of why they've had success to this point.

Kiffin: As of now, but things could change, we've had conversations with all of the guys. No one has said they aren't playing. Still a lot of time between now and game, but it's maybe headed in that direction.