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September 22, 2023
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"An observer of actions" is what you claim.

If you really were that you'd not pick the side you obviously have.

President Bidens missteps are fodder for the right wing and that includes Stefanik.

As far as damage to our country...no progressives took part in what occurred on 1/6 which the Congresswoman won't even discuss.

That was domestic terrorism by the very people that support the agenda of grifter trump and his stooge Stefanik.

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September 22, 2023
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I make it a point not to argue with MAGA supporters.

Have a pleasant evening and enjoy the last day of summer

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Any type of violence is unacceptable but the events of Jan. 6 rise to a whole different level. Our democracy was at stake. That never happened before.

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September 23, 2023
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You believe the events of Jan. 6 were an exaggeration? I am stunned.

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“Is anybody there, does anybody care?” - John Adams, 1776.

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I question how many people, especially those who continue to vote for Stefanik, have a real clue how the economy works. Your summary of the NPR report should be blasted all over social media for those people.

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Exactly!

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The problem is the same people think NPR are the liars and Stefanik is telling the truth.

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That is sad.

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The only people who don't support veterans are people like Trump who demand that wounded veterans never appear with him in public again because "Nobody wants to see that." and Tuberville. I never heard Stefanik criticize either. As for the economic issue and gas prices, the Dems need to start shouting from the rooftops why gas prices are high. They need to get on Fox and do exactly what Jessica Tarlov (the only normal person on Fox so we know she won't last now that Rupert's son is taking over) does and state the truth over and over again on every channel, in every paper, on every political commercial, on every billboard. They need to get on the offensive and stop playing defense.

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At his welcome ceremony at Joint Base Myer–Henderson Hall, across the Potomac River from the capital, Milley gained an early, and disturbing, insight into Trump’s attitude toward soldiers. Milley had chosen a severely wounded Army captain, Luis Avila, to sing “God Bless America.” Avila, who had completed five combat tours, had lost a leg in an IED attack in Afghanistan, and had suffered two heart attacks, two strokes, and brain damage as a result of his injuries. To Milley, and to four-star generals across the Army, Avila and his wife, Claudia, represented the heroism, sacrifice, and dignity of wounded soldiers.

It had rained that day, and the ground was soft; at one point Avila’s wheelchair threatened to topple over. Milley’s wife, Holly­anne, ran to help Avila, as did Vice President Mike Pence. After Avila’s performance, Trump walked over to congratulate him, but then said to Milley, within earshot of several witnesses, “Why do you bring people like that here? No one wants to see that, the wounded.” Never let Avila appear in public again, Trump told Milley. (Recently, Milley invited Avila to sing at his retirement ceremony.)

That’s from the recent Atlantic piece on Gen. Milley. That thing where Trump embraces the flag makes me retch.

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He’s so vile but many of his followers have never heard this and won’t read it.😭

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I’m guessing most people think the Atlantic is lying too.

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And Milley.

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This story was on MSNBC last night. Trump is such a blight on society.

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Yes, I heard it there, too. I don’t watch TV but I listen to the podcasts of Nicolle Wallace, Chris Hayes and Lawrence O’Donnell.

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Jen Psaki joins MSNBC on Monday nights prior to Rachel Maddow. She is also on Sunday's at noon and 6:00pm.

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It’s true presidents have little ability to improve the economy in the short term especially when it comes to commodities - tho they can make a mess of the economy with things like tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum which I have some direct insight on and I’d be happy to address separately - but they can, with the help of Congress encourage policies that strengthen our economy such as the CAFE standards President Carter put in place to decrease our use of oil and our reliance on foreign oil. George W Bush singed legislation that phased out incandescent lightbulbs which spurred the switch to LED lighting. In practical terms when we switched a 60w incandescent bulb to an equivalent LED we saved about 85% on electric usage. In the US we use about 213 billion kWh of electricity for lighting each year and a typical coal fired power plant generates about 3.5 billion kWh, so the 85% savings was really significant. When you consider the necessity to stabilize the power grid the switch to LED - *conservation* - the value of the legislation became obvious. But when it happened lots of talking heads on conservative media decried having their god-given incandescent lightbulbs taken away. Who did they blame? Obama, of course.

Conservatives also rail against CAFE a standards and efforts to conserve oil. The person at the gas pump complaining about high gas prices is likely to be driving a monster pickup that cost $70,000 and gets maybe 18-20 mpg. Stefanik and her ilk are not going to tell that person they made a huge mistake in buying a big truck. Her objective is to feed the anger, to fuel division. But you already knew that. She does it because it’s easy, it works, and she benefits. The country doesn’t but she’s not going to say that either.

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An excellent analysis.

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She is a liar who atoms at nothing in her quest to be relevant and hold a seat in trumps world.

She's disturbing because she does know better.

She does NOTHING to help our community.

Her allegiance is to the MAGA movement and the criminal trump.

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* stops at nothing

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In replies to Stefanik's energy comments over the past year, I have tried to explain same facts as you just did. I apparently failed.

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You didn’t fail; she is politically married to trump and putin, so shuts out truth. ( purposefully not capitalizing their names as they deserve no respect).

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My 99 1/2 year old father, WWll veteran who communicated using Morse code during the Normandy invasion and then in the Philippines, has been involved with the VA since the 1980’s. They have been invaluable to him in so many ways. Every time we go for eye glasses, hearing aids, medicines, ENT and this year a social worker after he lost his wife of almost 75 years. They are caring, compassionate and my dad loves going. Due to my dad’s age and disability, he now has an integrated team who looks out for him when necessary. The VA has been a blessing for him and my Vietnam veteran husband.

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Sorry, but the way so many veterans have been treated in VA hospital means there are problems, too. Glad your experience was good, but as the report says, it is the leadership that is the problem not the front line workers.

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Please stop saying people like Stefanik "don't know" basic things. It lets them off the hook. She has a degree from Harvard. She knows exactly how the economy works. But more importantly, she knows exactly how politics works. She is not ignorant. She is much worse than that. She is dishonest in a purposeful, calculated way because she feels she can sell lies easier than truth. Her recent re-elections shows that this is accurate. The tragedy is that if she used her intelligence and work ethic for good, she could have been a stateswoman. But she chose evil. And she knew exactly what she was doing. Don't excuse her behavior by treating her as ignorant.

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Elise may have gone to Harvard, but that doesn't make her a constructive citizen. The motto for Harvard is VERITAS---- Truth. It is apparent that this means nothing to Elise. She only subscribes to her puppet master, Trump. What a despicable way to go through life.

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NPR and you recognize that oil prices are affected by Saudi Arabia's decision to reduce oil production. Why do you both choose to deny that President Biden's decision to reduce U.S oil production does not have the same effect, especially in the U.S.?

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How has he done that? Don’t say pipelines that have not been built, please. Or drilling on public lands. the U.S. is a leading producer and exporter of oil now so there has not been any limitations.

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Of course, she knows better. But she also knows that she represents a “safe” district so can say anything she wants to solidify her standing with the MAGA crowd effectively leaving 40-45% of her district unrepresented. It would be harder to actually debate, compromise and legislate to improve people’s lives there but it’s easier to gaslight them into thinking it’s someone else’s fault -- Democrats, immigrants, the urban poor, Biden. It would be up to the electorate to insist she actually do something, but as long as they won’t this is easier and protects her cushy pension (something almost no one who votes for her or lives in her district has, by the way.)

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Elies shapes her messaging with constant fear, lies and crimes.

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For most of my life I was a registered independent. (I switched to Democratic to vote for Bernie Sanders in the primary.) I have lived here in the North Country since 1992, and except for short stints by Gillibrand and Owens, my congressional representatives have always been Republicans. I thought John Sweeney was the worst, but Stefanik is the only one that has made me feel not only unrepresented, but actively disdained. The insults, the lies, the deliberately divisive and hateful speech, all show she has utterly abandoned any attempt to be a real representative. She started out as a party tool, what the Soviets used to call an apparatchik. Now she has finagled her way up the chain by being the best brown noser she can be. She has zero integrity.

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Hi Ken, Just read this editorial. Wish I had seen it sooner. First of all, I wish all editorials were this well written. Having said that I think if you want to display your true journalist credentials why not let readers how our system really works. Since Citizens United politicians have much less power. They have essentially become waiters taking orders from the wealthy DONOR class. Credit or criticism for any legislation should probably be assigned to that 1% of the population. Come on Ken, You know this is true! At this stage of your career why not inform readers of what our political has become.. We have a a uniparty! The daily food fight is all meant to distract. Politicians weather blue or red have to do this because they know how the system works. Elise is playing the same media game as Pelosi. Fear those dangerous "Others" This tactic provides cover as they deliver 0 for the average citizen. This sure isn't 1970! The slide continues

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