The Devil rose up in front of Ole Mitch, once again!

[Rebound]

7 hours ago, CdnFox said:

So therefore it's ok to revel in his medical distress?

It's ok to dislike the guy AND not act like an ass over his obvious health issues.  I mean if he just stumbled a bit then sure it's a little funny - it's funny when a young person does.  And show me a politician who hasn't said one thing or done another on the dem side.  That's just politicians.

But don't throw out your humanity for heaven's sake.

I did not revel in his health issues. But he’s embarrassing himself at this point. This isn’t going to stop and he needs to retire. His state has a Republican Governor anyway. 

[Michael Hardner]

21 hours ago, NYLefty said:

It is, and although the concept is not new it's is a shame that elected officials can inspire such adversarial reactions among the general public. 

You're speaking in a detached and analytical way about your own behavior though.

I see people wishing harm on Trudeau all the time, but they don't add this type of observation at the end as you have done.

Edited September 1, 2023 by Michael Hardner

[OftenWrong]

1 hour ago, Michael Hardner said:

I see people wishing harm on Trudeau all the time,

Wishing harm on him, "all the time"? Have not seen that here myself.

Pretty sure it's a crime to make threats toward the PM.

https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/when-the-pm-is-threatened-online-the-rcmp-investigates-average-users-arent-so-fortunate/wcm/8f82aaf3-328f-4a70-a461-4a901d77138b/amp/

Wishing he would fail politically is a different matter. 

[Nationalist]

Mitch is done and I dare say nobody but the military industrial complex will miss him.

[Michael Hardner]

1 hour ago, OftenWrong said:

1. Wishing harm on him, "all the time"? Have not seen that here myself.

1. I'm talking across platforms.  Beyond specific wishes of harm and misfortune there's a virulent hatred of the man that I don't get.  There was the same kind of thing when Harper was around too but lower volume.
 

[OftenWrong]

1 hour ago, Michael Hardner said:

1. I'm talking across platforms.  Beyond specific wishes of harm and misfortune there's a virulent hatred of the man that I don't get.  There was the same kind of thing when Harper was around too but lower volume.
 

Trolls, extremists and counter-trolls are everywhere. The very air abounds with them. And yet, my guess is they are small in number in this country. They are loud and love to put on dramatic, increasingly over-the-top displays in order to garner attention.

As we see here...

Edited September 1, 2023 by OftenWrong

[Michael Hardner]

8 minutes ago, OftenWrong said:

1. As we see here...

1. Yeah, you have pivoted my point off to an observation that trolls exist... 

My point was that the poster was themselves trolling then in the same post describing trolling as a negative phenomenon.  That's just weird - acting as though they are two people...

[OftenWrong]

1 hour ago, Michael Hardner said:

there's a virulent hatred of the man that I don't get

He is un-Canadian, and in fact taking us backwards.

There's a suspicion he is being backed and instructed by China.

He is himself intolerant, and a phony when it comes to racism, native and women's rights.

Canadians are more enlightened and progressive than him.

People may mis-identify hating the man vs hating what he is doing.

[Michael Hardner]

4 minutes ago, OftenWrong said:

He is un-Canadian, and in fact taking us backwards. There's a suspicion he is being backed and instructed by China. He is himself intolerant, and a phony when it comes to racism, native and women's rights. Canadians are more enlightened and progressive than him. People may mis-identify hating the man vs hating what he is doing.

Yeah a lot of this is hyperbolic but ok..

[OftenWrong]

32 minutes ago, Michael Hardner said:

Yeah a lot of this is hyperbolic but ok..

I do believe some of this is true, though cannot prove the China part since Trudeau will not allow it. His official probe on Chinese collusion was exposed as a sham.

Today, we hear the US Senate has called MP Michael Chong to give testimony about his experiences.

It's not such a low bar as "hyperbole".

Edited September 1, 2023 by OftenWrong
fixed quote

[Michael Hardner]

58 minutes ago, OftenWrong said:

It's not such a low bar as "hyperbole".

Calling the PM 'unCanadian' is quite something... I don't think I would say that about any Canadian PM.

[CdnFox]

51 minutes ago, Michael Hardner said:

Yeah a lot of this is hyperbolic but ok..

How is it hyperbolic?  Each line is demonstrably true and supported by reasonable evidence.

It is NOT in keeping with canadian values for a prime minister to suggest that a third of the population "shouldn't be tolerated", or to sow division and hatred. It is not in keeping with Canadian values to suspend civil liberties over a peaceful protest and seize bank accounts of people who supported it.

His track record with racism and women is demonstrable and at odds with his stated positions

And i think it's correct to say that many have hated what he's doing.

Where's the hyperbole?

20 minutes ago, Michael Hardner said:

Calling the PM 'unCanadian' is quite something... I don't think I would say that about any Canadian PM.

This one is definitely un canadian.

It is AGAINST canadian values for a prime minister to divide people and spread hatred by suggesting that anyone who disagrees with his stance on vaccines are " bigots" and "waste's of space" that "Should not be tolerated".    That is definitely un-canadian.

It's not canadian to suspend civil liberties over a peaceful protest.

I could go on - he is definitely un canadian.

[NYLefty]

2 hours ago, Michael Hardner said:

1. Yeah, you have pivoted my point off to an observation that trolls exist... 

My point was that the poster was themselves trolling then in the same post describing trolling as a negative phenomenon.  That's just weird - acting as though they are two people...

Mr Hardner. I believe you have a tendency to overthink things.

[OftenWrong]

1 hour ago, CdnFox said:

How is it hyperbolic?  Each line is demonstrably true and supported by reasonable evidence.

Yep. I gave the evidence, but if a person doesn't read entire posts before they respond, they won't understand.

Simply put Canadians are more progressive than Trudeau. He is regression.

Not even regression, it's not like Canada's going back to what it was like before. He is bringing in an alien culture. The Sino-fication of our country.

 

[robosmith]

On 8/31/2023 at 1:53 PM, Nationalist said:

Fauci paid for the China Virus and lied about it.

You're LYING ^here cause you have NO PROOF.

In FACT your own cite said he didn't lie in Paul's accusation.

[BeaverFever]

Pentagon-Funded Study Warns Dementia Among U.S. Officials Poses National Security Threat

Sens. Mitch McConnell and Dianne Feinstein, who have access to top-secret information, recently had public health episodes.

Ken Klippenstein  

September 12 2023, 3:17 
 

As the national security workforce ages, dementia impacting U.S. officials poses a threat to national security, according to a first-of-its-kind study by a Pentagon-funded think tank. The report, released this spring, came as several prominent U.S. officials trusted with some of the nation’s most highly classified intelligence experienced public lapses, stoking calls for resignations and debate about Washington’s aging leadership.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who had a second freezing episode last month, enjoys the most privileged access to classified information of anyone in Congress as a member of the so-called Gang of Eight congressional leadership. Ninety-year-old Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., whose decline has seen her confused about how to vote and experiencing memory lapses — forgetting conversations and not recalling a monthslong absence — was for years a member of the Gang of Eight and remains a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, on which she has served since 2001.

The study, published by the RAND Corporation’s National Security Research Division in April, identifies individuals with both current and former access to classified material who develop dementia as threats to national security, citing the possibility that they may unwittingly disclose government secrets. 

“Individuals who hold or held a security clearance and handled classified material could become a security threat if they develop dementia and unwittingly share government secrets,” the study says.

Most Read 

As the study notes, there does not appear to be any other publicly available research into dementia, an umbrella term for the loss of cognitive functioning, despite the fact that Americans are living longer than ever before and that the researchers were able to identify several cases in which senior intelligence officials died of Alzheimer’s disease, a progressive brain disorder and the most common cause of dementia.

“As people live longer and retire later, challenges associated with cognitive impairment in the workplace will need to be addressed,” the report says. “Our limited research suggests this concern is an emerging security blind spot.” 

Most holders of security clearances, a ballooning class of officials and other bureaucrats with access to secret government information, are subject to rigorous and invasive vetting procedures. Applying for a clearance can mean hourslong polygraph tests; character interviews with old teachers, friends, and neighbors; and ongoing automated monitoring of their bank accounts and other personal information. As one senior Pentagon official who oversees such a program told me of people who enter the intelligence bureaucracy, “You basically give up your Fourth Amendment rights.” 

Yet, as the authors of the RAND report note, there does not appear to be any vetting for age-related cognitive decline. In fact, the director of national intelligence’s directive on continuous evaluation contains no mention of age or cognitive decline.

While the study doesn’t mention any U.S. officials by name, its timing comes amid a simmering debate about gerontocracy: rule by the elderly. Following McConnell’s first freezing episode, in July, Google searches for the term “gerontocracy” spiked.

“The president called to check on me,” McConnell said when asked about the first episode. “I told him I got sandbagged,” he quipped, referring to President Joe Biden’s trip-and-fall incident during a June graduation ceremony at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado, which sparked conservative criticisms about the 80-year-old’s own functioning. 

Related 

Google Searches for “Gerontocracy” Skyrocket After McConnell Episode

While likely an attempt by McConnell at deflecting from his lapse, Biden’s age has emerged as a clear concern to voters, including Democrats. Sixty-nine percent of Democrats say Biden is “too old to effectively serve” another term, an Associated Press-NORC poll found last month. The findings were echoed by a CNN poll released last week that found that 67 percent of Democrats said the party should nominate someone else, with 49 percent directly mentioning Biden’s age as their biggest concern.

As commander in chief, the president is the nation’s ultimate classification authority, with the extraordinary power to classify and declassify information broadly. No other American has as privileged access to classified information as the president.

The U.S.’s current leadership is not only the oldest in history, but also the number of older people in Congress has grown dramatically in recent years. In 1981, only 4 percent of Congress was over the age of 70. By 2022, that number had spiked to 23 percent. 

In 2017, Vox reported that a pharmacist had filled Alzheimer’s prescriptions for multiple members of Congress. With little incentive for an elected official to disclose such an illness, it is difficult to know just how pervasive the problem is. Feinstein’s retinue of staffers have for years sought to conceal her decline, having established a system to prevent her from walking the halls of Congress alone and risk having an unsupervised interaction with a reporter.

Despite the public controversy, there’s little indication that any officials will resign — or choose not to seek reelection. 

After years of speculation about her retirement, 83-year-old Speaker Emerita Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., stunned observers when she announced on Friday that she would run for reelection, seeking her 19th term.
 

https://theintercept.com/2023/09/12/national-security-dementia-mcconnell-feinstein/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=The Intercept Newsletter

[CdnFox]

2 hours ago, BeaverFever said:

Pentagon-Funded Study Warns Dementia Among U.S. Officials Poses National Security Threat

Sens. Mitch McConnell and Dianne Feinstein, who have access to top-secret information, recently had public health episodes.

Ken Klippenstein  

September 12 2023, 3:17 
 

As the national security workforce ages, dementia impacting U.S. officials poses a threat to national security, according to a first-of-its-kind study by a Pentagon-funded think tank. The report, released this spring, came as several prominent U.S. officials trusted with some of the nation’s most highly classified intelligence experienced public lapses, stoking calls for resignations and debate about Washington’s aging leadership.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who had a second freezing episode last month, enjoys the most privileged access to classified information of anyone in Congress as a member of the so-called Gang of Eight congressional leadership. Ninety-year-old Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., whose decline has seen her confused about how to vote and experiencing memory lapses — forgetting conversations and not recalling a monthslong absence — was for years a member of the Gang of Eight and remains a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, on which she has served since 2001.

The study, published by the RAND Corporation’s National Security Research Division in April, identifies individuals with both current and former access to classified material who develop dementia as threats to national security, citing the possibility that they may unwittingly disclose government secrets. 

“Individuals who hold or held a security clearance and handled classified material could become a security threat if they develop dementia and unwittingly share government secrets,” the study says.

Most Read 

As the study notes, there does not appear to be any other publicly available research into dementia, an umbrella term for the loss of cognitive functioning, despite the fact that Americans are living longer than ever before and that the researchers were able to identify several cases in which senior intelligence officials died of Alzheimer’s disease, a progressive brain disorder and the most common cause of dementia.

“As people live longer and retire later, challenges associated with cognitive impairment in the workplace will need to be addressed,” the report says. “Our limited research suggests this concern is an emerging security blind spot.” 

Most holders of security clearances, a ballooning class of officials and other bureaucrats with access to secret government information, are subject to rigorous and invasive vetting procedures. Applying for a clearance can mean hourslong polygraph tests; character interviews with old teachers, friends, and neighbors; and ongoing automated monitoring of their bank accounts and other personal information. As one senior Pentagon official who oversees such a program told me of people who enter the intelligence bureaucracy, “You basically give up your Fourth Amendment rights.” 

Yet, as the authors of the RAND report note, there does not appear to be any vetting for age-related cognitive decline. In fact, the director of national intelligence’s directive on continuous evaluation contains no mention of age or cognitive decline.

While the study doesn’t mention any U.S. officials by name, its timing comes amid a simmering debate about gerontocracy: rule by the elderly. Following McConnell’s first freezing episode, in July, Google searches for the term “gerontocracy” spiked.

“The president called to check on me,” McConnell said when asked about the first episode. “I told him I got sandbagged,” he quipped, referring to President Joe Biden’s trip-and-fall incident during a June graduation ceremony at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado, which sparked conservative criticisms about the 80-year-old’s own functioning. 

Related 

Google Searches for “Gerontocracy” Skyrocket After McConnell Episode

While likely an attempt by McConnell at deflecting from his lapse, Biden’s age has emerged as a clear concern to voters, including Democrats. Sixty-nine percent of Democrats say Biden is “too old to effectively serve” another term, an Associated Press-NORC poll found last month. The findings were echoed by a CNN poll released last week that found that 67 percent of Democrats said the party should nominate someone else, with 49 percent directly mentioning Biden’s age as their biggest concern.

As commander in chief, the president is the nation’s ultimate classification authority, with the extraordinary power to classify and declassify information broadly. No other American has as privileged access to classified information as the president.

The U.S.’s current leadership is not only the oldest in history, but also the number of older people in Congress has grown dramatically in recent years. In 1981, only 4 percent of Congress was over the age of 70. By 2022, that number had spiked to 23 percent. 

In 2017, Vox reported that a pharmacist had filled Alzheimer’s prescriptions for multiple members of Congress. With little incentive for an elected official to disclose such an illness, it is difficult to know just how pervasive the problem is. Feinstein’s retinue of staffers have for years sought to conceal her decline, having established a system to prevent her from walking the halls of Congress alone and risk having an unsupervised interaction with a reporter.

Despite the public controversy, there’s little indication that any officials will resign — or choose not to seek reelection. 

After years of speculation about her retirement, 83-year-old Speaker Emerita Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., stunned observers when she announced on Friday that she would run for reelection, seeking her 19th term.
 

https://theintercept.com/2023/09/12/national-security-dementia-mcconnell-feinstein/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=The Intercept Newsletter

It's a tricky thing - do we buy into ageism and put a manditory retirement age on politicians? Maybe we should? On the other hand - the voters KNOW how old these people are and are making a choice.  It might be wrong to interfere with that.

 

"Sixty-nine percent of Democrats say Biden is “too old to effectively serve” another term"

That has got to worry the dems a little.