ScottN wrote: 
And if he doesn't then all is lost just like the election before this and the one before that and the one before that and.............?  I think Trump is an ignorant buffoon, but my life has never been better under his administration.  Does this have anything to do with Trump and his policies?  Possibly, but probably not.  Take solace in this disconnect.  We will survive regardless of who is elected President and if we do go down, it will probably be due to something far greater than who is the American President say like a pandemic or something.

 sirdroseph wrote:
 
That's correct, after hearing the evidence.  Her making a claim doesn't automatically make him guilty. 

He didn't say "all claims made by a woman are accurate and truthful".  He was acknowledging that it is generally hard to say things like this out loud, and so there is likely a reason.  When women said he was getting too close and making them uncomfortable, he accepted that their feelings were the only measure for that and apologized.  In this instance, when she's making very specific accusations about physical contact, he's saying it never happened.

I don't know who to believe...but don't we generally still believe in "Innocent til proven guilty"?  Worked for the Republicans.

 rgio wrote: 
Nice try buddy, but no dice.  I think that Trump, Kavanaugh, Clinton, Biden and many more of the accused have probably engaged in this type of behavior and have to do no calisthenics to explain this.   It is called being unencumbered by at all cost partisanship, you either believe the women or you don't. Now of course I am sure some women lie in some of these cases, but I agree with what Biden says above and have never wavered from this notion regardless of the political party of the accused. You should try it, there is no confusion.   If you try to make it more complicated than that then you should ask yourself why.  Also just an aside, if you were honest with yourself you could easily see all the above mentioned people engaging in this type of activity just by following their personalities and behaviors.  Just like Trump, Got knows Biden has plenty of red flags on video.  You either see it or you don't,  you should probably stay away from women claiming abuse subjects, seems to be too complicated for you.

 rgio wrote: 
The dems are very good at letting the perfect become the enemy of the good.  Biden will be the candidate.  Trump is a monumental disaster.  Biden must win for the good of the country and world.

 sirdroseph wrote:
 
If you listen to Biden, he has never wavered on this point.  There seems to be some sort of "gotcha" by people saying this, which is blatantly wrong.  He still says that.

Starting from the presumption that something did indeed happen, you then have to look at the facts and circumstances of the situation.  Since there is likely never going to be a known set of agreed facts, it then comes down to who you believe.  

This is exactly why Democrats lose so much.  They destroy their own in the name of honesty and fairness, and the Republicans vote Idoit Pussygrabbing Satin into the white house to support their beliefs and desires at any cost.  Kavanaugh did something wrong 30 years ago....Republicans say "who cares".  Joe did something wrong 27 years ago...and the liberals want to execute him.  I'm not supporting assault and if something did happen he was wrong and should have been called out for it as a Senator, but the guy was VP for 8 years and she never thought "I should tell someone at this point"?  Now, post #metoo, the Republicans actually are encouraging a character debate because they know so many Democrats will fall on their sword for even the slightest possible infraction.   

"For a woman to come forward in the glaring lights of focus, nationally, you've got to start off with the presumption that at least the essence of what she's talking about is real."

Joe Biden during confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh.

Thank you Antigone! That is the most meaningful thing I’ve read in a while, a positive reflection on Mr.Biden that for me carries a much needed healing and hopeful essence. Thank you 🙏

The story I’m about to share with you about Joe Biden is special — in fact, I’m fairly certain I’m the only living person left who actually witnessed it firsthand.

It was about 16 years ago, and I was a young rabbi, brand-new to Delaware, on my way to lead a shiva minyan — a worship service following a death of a Jewish person. I was from California. Back then, I didn’t know Claymont, Delaware from Scranton, Pennsylvania.

A quick bit of background: When someone passes away in the Jewish faith, we observe seven days of mourning, called shiva. We gather a group of ten Jewish adults together — a minyan — to say the Mourners’ Kaddish. It usually happens in a person’s home — somewhere intimate.

In this case, the deceased individual — her name was Mrs. Greenhouse, of blessed memory — had not been a person of means. She had lived in rent-controlled senior housing in a tall high-rise building off of Namaans Road. Her apartment had been too small to fit everyone into, so we conducted our worship service in the building’s communal laundry room, in the basement of the high-rise.

We assembled the ten elders together, and it was in this most humble of places that I began to lead the kaddish. Toward the end of the service, a door at the back of the laundry room opened, and who walks in but Senator Joe Biden, his head lowered, all by himself.

I nearly dropped my prayer book in shock.

Senator Biden stood quietly in the back of the room for the duration of the service.

At the close of the kaddish, I walked over to him and asked the same question that must have been on everyone else’s mind: “Senator Biden — what are you doing here?”

And he said to me: “Listen, back in 1972, when I first ran for Senate, Mrs. Greenhouse gave $18 to my first campaign. Because that’s what she could afford. And every six years, when I’d run for reelection, she’d give another $18. She did it her whole life. I’m here to show my respect and gratitude.”

Now, the number 18 is

significant in the Jewish faith — its numbers spell out the Hebrew word chai, as in “to life, to life, l’chayim!” But it’s also a humble amount. Joe Biden knew that. And he respected that. There were no news outlets at our service that day — no Jewish reporters or important dignitaries. Just a few elderly mourners in a basement laundry room.

Joe Biden didn’t come to that service for political gain. He came to that service because he has character. He came to that service because he’s a mensch.

And if we need anything right now when it comes to the leadership of our country — we need a mensch.

I know this is such a simple, small story. But I tell it to as many people as will listen to me.

Because I think that, in their heart of hearts, when people are trying to think about the decision they’ll make this year — this is the kind of story that matters.

Joe Biden is a mensch. We need a mensch.

Thanks for reading.

— Rabbi Michael Beals of Delaware

 kurtster wrote:
 

so, if we believe the right's narrative, we just got out of witch hunt, but lets turn the tables and start one of our own.  rinse, lather, repeat...

 kurtster wrote:
 

It's . . . 

It's . . . 


It's the Uranium One faux scandal all over again!!

kcar wrote:
 
Such is the fate of Donald Trump ...

.
But back to Biden ...  He may not last long as it becomes the democrats turn to face scrutiny over what they did in the 2016 election.  Something that they have been able to avoid so far.
.
NYT ran a devastating piece on Biden's self-dealing in Ukraine. So why is the headline about Trump?

and the actual article in question ... readable as the NYT paywall is down until May 5th

Biden Faces Conflict of Interest Questions That Are Being Promoted by Trump and Allies

.
What goes around comes around ...

 haresfur wrote:
 

 kcar wrote:
 

I respectfully agree. We do not need to hang Anita Hills mistreatment solely on JB.

I'm merely pointing out the not-so-good-timing of his entry into the race ... soon after a repeat of the National Screw Women have endured for decades since A.H.  He's a great guy. and my choices aren't based on genitalia. However, many, many of us women who graduated college in the mid 80s, worked all these years and assumed the ol boys club around assault and extremely uncomfortable work environment were over, are finding, ever more grossly, four decades later, we have been proven wrong.
An apology from CH means zilch,  However, I may consider one from Shlitz Kavanaugh.

Many, many women are disgusted that rape kits still sit in Police evidence rooms without funding to test them. Long after the statute of limitations is out.  
Kristine came out despite moving and death threats to her family. Yet one political party decided a lust for power and tax cuts was more important than listening to her.
Now, a stacked SCOTUS may take our autonomy away - colluding with a wanna-be religious state.

I am NOT a raging feminist. I subscribe to the sense that no one race, gender or religious affiliation has a monopoly on assholes.

But ... Truly how many men here have sisters, daughters, wives, mothers, women in their lives they love are not troubled by this?

 Isabeau wrote: 

Biden would make a great Vice President 

I don't like Joe much at all. However, if he is the nominee, I will vote for him.

 R_P wrote:
 

I am reading and hearing a lot of mediocre and poor reasons to not politically support Biden but his track record on foreign military adventures is a good reason not to vote for Biden.

More fundamentally, are American voters ready to elect a President who will defy Israel as well as raise excise taxes on polluting fuels?   Probably not so folks should  simply brace yourself for more wealth-destroying military "training".     Is the US$5 Billion per year spent on maintaining the naval fleet close to the Strait of Hormuz money well spent to maintain the US addiction to polluting fossil fuels and cheap energy entitlement?  You tell me.   One estimate suggests that the USA has spent US$18 trillion protecting the Strait of Hormuz.  

Frankly if it were not for full on support for the Israeli nation building process, would the USA have invaded and occupied Iraq and Afghanistan and currently be at loggerheads with Hamas and Iran?  

Will any Democratic Party candidate have the courage to stand up and directly question the US War on Terror?   Probably not.  

Biden is Wall Street and Corporations' choice, not ours. He is safe to them, he'll still look out for their interests. His immediate meeting and cash haul from Comcast says EVERYTHING we need to know about him.
Yet . . .
I'm behind whoever gets the nom. Just don't think ol Joe's past will pass muster with women and youth. The recent Kavanaugh Calendars and Confirmation spectacle brought back Anita Hill ...on steroids. Women are still fekked in 2018? A long ago sore spot has become a festered wound for many women now. Joe's part won't easily be forgotten or forgiven, unfortunately.

In addition to Biden’s disturbing record on domestic policy, he has been a consistent warmonger. He has supported every military intervention he’s been able to, including, most disastrously voting for the 2002 resolution authorizing war against Iraq and ushering the country into the endless war against “terror” we remain immersed in.