Uncle Joe

[Sparko]

The throat punch party is not a fan of capitalism. Likes grifting much better. That scratch off will get them into the club seats.

[Shirley]

Some days you eat the bear, some days the bear eats you.

OPEC's planned oil output boost could lift Biden's re-election hopes, analysts say

U.S. crude oil fell for the fifth straight session Tuesday to settle at its lowest level since early February, adding to the previous day's losses brought on by the OPEC+ decision to start unwinding some voluntary additional production cuts in October.

The planned unwind has added to jitters about oversupply in an environment where traders are already spooked about high interest rates weighing on global economic activity.

"The price weakness on the oil market suggests that market participants doubt that OPEC+ will be able to gradually reduce its voluntary production cuts without risking oversupply," and OPEC is "apparently counting on a significant revival in oil demand," Commerzbank's Carsten Fritsch said, according to Marketwatch.

"It's a bit of a severe reaction, [but] it doesn't take much to tip this market into relative oversupply," John Kilduff of Again Capital told Dow Jones, also citing concerns that "the fissures in the cartel are real and there are worries about it holding together."

"The technical picture in oil has turned very bearish," FxPro analyst Alex Kuptsikevich said, according to Dow Jones. "OPEC+ agreed to an impressive extension of low production quotas, but markets are paying more attention to the short-term supply-demand balance and viewed the move as underwhelming."

"We believe the market got the wrong signal from OPEC, [as] OPEC failed to convince the market that their tapering of voluntary cuts was going to be data dependent," Price Futures Group's Phil Flynn said.

Front-month Nymex crude (CL1:COM) for July delivery closed -1.3% to $73.25/bbl, its lowest settlement value since February 5, and front-month August Brent crude (CO1:COM) closed -1% to $77.52/bbl, its worst settlement since February 2.

U.S. Nymex natural gas (NG1:COM) reversed the prior session's gains, with the front-month July contract closing -6.1% to $2.586/MMBtu.

ETFs: (NYSEARCA:USO), (BNO), (UCO), (SCO), (USL), (DBO), (DRIP), (GUSH), (NRGU), (USOI), (UNG), (BOIL), (KOLD), (FCG), (UNL)

Some analysts say President Biden may have received a timely election boost from OPEC's production decision, which potentially keeps a lid on gasoline prices through the end of the year.

OPEC's move "could keep gasoline out of the headlines through the summer," Jim Lucier, managing director at Capital Alpha Partners, told Bloomberg. "They are opening the door for their OPEC partners to produce more, but trying to maintain enough discipline to avoid a price collapse."

The OPEC policy shift also provides "a beneficial backdrop for U.S.-Saudi grand bargain negotiations," RBC Capital's Helima Croft said, according to Bloomberg. "The decision to provide taper forward guidance will likely please officials in Washington who consistently maintain that a moderate oil price will help build congressional support for a deal."

[Shirley]

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index set new all-time highs today.

Thanks, Joe!

[Shirley]

Man, watching these 98, 99...103... y/o surviving veterans at the 80th Anniversary of the D-Day Invasion stand up from their wheelchairs to have Presidents Macron and Biden pin medals of honor on their chests and shake their hands is really something. To think of what they were willing to give and sacrifice for the US and the world to save it from Hitler and the Nazis is humbling beyond imagination. 9,000 Americans died that day. A number of them have talked about the bodies and blood already floating in the water as their landing vehicles arrived to drop them off. To say we owe them doesn't begin to describe it.

[KUTradition]

^^^^^^^
that level duty, to country and fellow man, seems to no longer exist

[RainbowsandUnicorns]

Man, watching these 98, 99...103... y/o surviving veterans at the 80th Anniversary of the D-Day Invasion stand up from their wheelchairs to have Presidents Macron and Biden pin medals of honor on their chests and shake their hands is really something. To think of what they were willing to give and sacrifice for the US and the world to save it from Hitler and the Nazis is humbling beyond imagination. 9,000 Americans died that day. A number of them have talked about the bodies and blood already floating in the water as their landing vehicles arrived to drop them off. To say we owe them doesn't begin to describe it.

I'll spare you my Israeli analogy and just share that one of my greatest Washington D.C. memories was when I visited the WWII memorial. There was a group of old Veterans assembled and taking photos of each other. One of the Veterans came up to me and asked if I would take a photo of the entire group (being that one Veteran was always taking a photo - so at least one was not in a group photo).
I happily obliged. Right after I did it, one of their younger family members approached me and told me that they were in the first wave of D-Day and it was the first time since then that all of them had been assembled together. I actually got choked up. I told them all it was an honor for me to have obliged and thanked them for their service to our country. It hit me that they could have conceivably have had a bearing on the ability for everyone who was at the memorial that day to be together and to pay our respects to those who had fallen.

Somewhere I think I have pics of them. After I get to the office I am going to try and find the pics and share them on here.

[Shirley]

Man, watching these 98, 99...103... y/o surviving veterans at the 80th Anniversary of the D-Day Invasion stand up from their wheelchairs to have Presidents Macron and Biden pin medals of honor on their chests and shake their hands is really something. To think of what they were willing to give and sacrifice for the US and the world to save it from Hitler and the Nazis is humbling beyond imagination. 9,000 Americans died that day. A number of them have talked about the bodies and blood already floating in the water as their landing vehicles arrived to drop them off. To say we owe them doesn't begin to describe it.

I'll spare you my Israeli analogy and just share that one of my greatest Washington D.C. memories was when I visited the WWII memorial. There was a group of old Veterans assembled and taking photos of each other. One of the Veterans came up to me and asked if I would take a photo of the entire group (being that one Veteran was always taking a photo - so at least one was not in a group photo).
I happily obliged. Right after I did it, one of their younger family members approached me and told me that they were in the first wave of D-Day and it was the first time since then that all of them had been assembled together. I actually got choked up. I told them all it was an honor for me to have obliged and thanked them for their service to our country. It hit me that they could have conceivably have had a bearing on the ability for everyone who was at the memorial that day to be together and to pay our respects to those who had fallen.

Somewhere I think I have pics of them. After I get to the office I am going to try and find the pics and share them on here.

Thanks for sharing that Gutter. Like you, I would have been honored to have the opportunity to help them out. I got chocked up watching the remembrance today, seeing those old veterans's faces, and thinking about what they did and the sacrifice they made 80 years ago, many as teenagers, and reflecting on my father's service during WWII. The tears were rolling down my cheeks, and I couldn't understand how those who were present could possibly maintain their composure.

At the end of Biden's speech they did a 21-gun salute with cannons up on the land facing out over the ocean and beach where they landed, adjacent to the cemetery and those rows upon rows upon of white crosses where the dead are buried. Then, they played taps. It was something. I wish I had been there.

[Sparko]

If we could just cage the Nazis at home. We have our D-Day this November 5th

[twocoach]

My daughter did a choir tour of Europe in summer 2019 and they performed at the Memorial in Normandy, France. She said it was pretty awe inspiring just to stand there and look out over the beaches trying to imagine what it looked like that day. I can't imagine how scared those kids were back then.

[ousdahl]

If we could just cage the Nazis at home.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
POTD

[Shirley]

What a touching moment:

Video Link

[Sparko]

Oh my! Thanks Shirlz. Wow

[Shirley]

Dammit Joe!

Today in: When good news is bad news?

The May 2024 jobs report is in, and unfortunately, job growth during the Biden Administration remains very strong. This is "bad" because it reduces the likelihood that the Fed will cut interest rates anytime soon. Strong job growth means the economy is strong, despite the Fed increasing interest rates by > 500 basis points in < 18 months to try and tamp Biden's economy down. However, the strength of Biden's economy is such that even after the Fed raised rates at a nearly precedented rate, the economy has remained so strong, unemployment has been at or below 4% for > 2 years, something that hasn't happened in > 50 years. On the bright side, when unemployment is low there's more competition for workers so business owners have to increase wages in the competion to find workers, and this is reflected in wage growth which thankfully has been higher than the inflation rate.

Thanks for nothing, Joe?

[DeletedUser]

3% interest rates pronably aren't sustainable anyway.

[zsn]

We were in Paris on 6 June 2014. There was a GIANT French flag on the inside of the arch. In that central area were several WWII veterans, most in a wheelchair but not all. To say they were mobbed would be an understatement. It certainly was a moving experience.

There were also French, US and UK flags on all the lampposts on Champs Elysses.

BTW Pres Obama had also gone over for the observance. We saw him (he waved to us, because we were the only ones standing there!) in front of the palace in Brussels a few days earlier.

[Shirley]

Thanks, Joe!

Inflation is cooling, just like we've hoped. Every parameter below came in lower than was estimated it would:

USA CPI (MoM) For May 0.0% Vs 0.1% Est.; 0.3% Prior

US Core CPI (Month Over Month) (May) +0.2% vs +0.3% Est.

USA CPI (YoY) For May 3.3% Vs 3.4% Est.; 3.4% Prior

USA CPI (YoY) For May 3.4% Vs 3.5% Est.; 3.6% Prior

[jfish26]

I very strongly endorse this.

Joe Biden Won’t Give Up on Hunter or America

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/hunter-bid ... -toughness

WE GET IT, AMERICA. You think Donald Trump is tough and Joe Biden is compassionate, and therefore not tough enough. But you’ve got it exactly backwards. Trump whines so constantly about “what I’ve been through” that he should adopt “Poor, Poor, Pitiful Me” as his campaign song.

Don’t mistake Biden’s empathy for weakness. The major challenges he has confronted in his first term have required focus, discipline, and strength—from the death, destruction, and global destabilization of two raging wars to his own son’s prosecution on gun charges and the jury’s guilty verdict Tuesday.

Persistence, restraint, forcefulness, forbearance—these qualities speak to an underlying toughness, and Biden has demonstrated them all during his presidency. The Hunter Biden saga is no exception.

Here’s what I mean:

When he took office, Joe Biden retained Delaware’s Trump-appointed U.S. attorney, David Weiss, to finish an investigation into whether Hunter Biden falsified a gun form and evaded taxes while he was addicted to drugs. Joe Biden did not attack the justice system when a Trump-appointed judge—Maryellen Noreika—questioned Hunter’s plea agreement, which ultimately fell apart. Joe Biden didn’t comment or intervene when Attorney General Merrick Garland—his own appointee—elevated Weiss to special counsel status, allowing him broader authority to investigate and bring charges.

When his son went on trial in Wilmington, again in Noreika’s courtroom, Joe Biden did not attack the judge. He also said he would not pardon Hunter if he were convicted. After the guilty verdict Tuesday, the president said he was proud of “the man he is today” and added: “As I also said last week, I will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal.”

Although prosecutions in gun cases like Hunter’s are rare, as even some conservatives have noted, Biden did not call the system “rigged.” He did not howl about the unfairness of it all. And he left it to others to make a point that should be obvious: Trump’s convictions last month are not the same as Hunter’s. As filmmaker/TV producer Morgan J. Freeman joked shortly after the verdict, “How will this affect Hunter Biden’s campaign?” Exactly.

Patti Davis, a president’s daughter and a self-described former speed and cocaine addict, wrote this week that Hunter’s actions and illness forced Joe Biden “into a choice between the primal urge to protect a child and the public responsibility to uphold the law. That is a terrible place to be.”

—

BIDEN WAS STRONG ENOUGH AND TOUGH ENOUGH to choose upholding the law. He was also tough enough to keep a speaking engagement with gun-safety advocates, many of whom have experienced personal tragedy involving guns, a few hours after his son was convicted on all three gun charges. And he was tough enough to weather what happened at that event.

“Never give up on hope,” Biden told the audience at the conference hosted by the group Everytown for Gun Safety. Then a protester began shouting at him about “genocide,” upset about deaths in Gaza amid Israel’s fierce response to last fall’s Hamas attack. The Biden-friendly crowd erupted into chants of “four more years,” drowning out the heckler. Biden’s response was remarkable: “No, no, no, no,” he said. “Folks, folks, it’s okay. Look, they care. Innocent children have been lost. They make a point.”

Then he dove into a modified campaign mode, asking his “folks” if they remembered when “my predecessor” told an Iowa community to “get over it” after a school shooting. (They did remember.) “Hell no, we don’t have to get over it,” the president said. “We’ve got to stop it. We’ve got to stop it and stop it now!” Cue another round of cheers and applause.

Talk about a crucible. And all on the day his son was convicted of crimes that could have resulted in tragedy, but did not. Hunter owned the gun at the center of the federal case against him for only eleven days, and his lawyer said he had never loaded or used it.

It also takes strength and discipline for a president to let the Justice Department do its job without fear, favor, public criticism, or outright meddling. Trump expected the department and his attorney general to do his bidding. In the case of his pardon powers, he bypassed official channels almost entirely so that he could, as the New York Times reported, “wipe away convictions and prison sentences for a roster of corrupt politicians and business executives,” as well as an assortment of cronies, allies, advisers, celebrities, and operatives. And their crimes actually harmed people, unlike the crime for which Hunter Biden was convicted. (Not surprisingly, some recipients of Trump’s careless largesse are in legal trouble again, ABC News reports.)

The definitive indictment comes from Amanda Carpenter and Grant Tudor of Protect Democracy: “He created a new class of ‘henchmen pardons’” to protect himself, reward loyalists, and encourage violence, they write. That’s not toughness, it’s fear and self-preservation.

THIS IS NOT A COMPLETE LIST—you can probably think of your own additions to it—but here’s where I see Biden being tough-minded:

* Navigating the extremely complicated Israel-Hamas war. He has empathized with traumatized Israelis and Palestinians, criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s tactics, and denounced Hamas for its brutality, sexual abuse, and slaughter of Israeli civilians last October. But he has been adamant about looking to the future, a future of compromise, coexistence, and self-government, and on May 31 boldly promoted an ambitious ceasefire proposal that, miraculously, is still alive.

* He has displeased and frustrated a chunk of his own party by doing what’s necessary on political, logistical, and humanitarian grounds to secure and bring order to the southern border. After cynical Republicans killed a bipartisan compromise so they could prolong the “crisis” and campaign on it, he’s been willing to attempt a fix on his own.

* He understands the urgency of standing with and for Ukraine, and is gradually seeing the need to unshackle its military to strike inside Russia.

* He is putting up with endless carping about his age (81) and calls to step aside, and handling it mostly with jokes. Not that it matters, but Trump turns 78 on Friday.

*He is running for re-election, yes, but not to stay out of prison or the courtroom. Not to pardon his friends and punish his enemies. Not to quash the two federal cases against him, or pardon himself if that fails. Not to be a dictator on Day One, or however many days he feels like it. No, as Biden often says, he is running to “finish the job.”

* As it happened, a shooter opened fire at an Atlanta food court while Biden was talking to the gun-safety advocates in Washington. “We all agree: We are not finished,” he was telling them. “You’re proving that you’re powerful and you’re relentless,” he added. “We have no choice. We cannot give up trying.”

And then he went home to Delaware, where Hunter and his family were waiting for him.

[Shirley]

I very strongly endorse this.

Joe Biden Won’t Give Up on Hunter or America

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/hunter-bid ... -toughness

WE GET IT, AMERICA. You think Donald Trump is tough and Joe Biden is compassionate, and therefore not tough enough. But you’ve got it exactly backwards. Trump whines so constantly about “what I’ve been through” that he should adopt “Poor, Poor, Pitiful Me” as his campaign song.

Don’t mistake Biden’s empathy for weakness. The major challenges he has confronted in his first term have required focus, discipline, and strength—from the death, destruction, and global destabilization of two raging wars to his own son’s prosecution on gun charges and the jury’s guilty verdict Tuesday.

Persistence, restraint, forcefulness, forbearance—these qualities speak to an underlying toughness, and Biden has demonstrated them all during his presidency. The Hunter Biden saga is no exception.

Here’s what I mean:

When he took office, Joe Biden retained Delaware’s Trump-appointed U.S. attorney, David Weiss, to finish an investigation into whether Hunter Biden falsified a gun form and evaded taxes while he was addicted to drugs. Joe Biden did not attack the justice system when a Trump-appointed judge—Maryellen Noreika—questioned Hunter’s plea agreement, which ultimately fell apart. Joe Biden didn’t comment or intervene when Attorney General Merrick Garland—his own appointee—elevated Weiss to special counsel status, allowing him broader authority to investigate and bring charges.

When his son went on trial in Wilmington, again in Noreika’s courtroom, Joe Biden did not attack the judge. He also said he would not pardon Hunter if he were convicted. After the guilty verdict Tuesday, the president said he was proud of “the man he is today” and added: “As I also said last week, I will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal.”

Although prosecutions in gun cases like Hunter’s are rare, as even some conservatives have noted, Biden did not call the system “rigged.” He did not howl about the unfairness of it all. And he left it to others to make a point that should be obvious: Trump’s convictions last month are not the same as Hunter’s. As filmmaker/TV producer Morgan J. Freeman joked shortly after the verdict, “How will this affect Hunter Biden’s campaign?” Exactly.

Patti Davis, a president’s daughter and a self-described former speed and cocaine addict, wrote this week that Hunter’s actions and illness forced Joe Biden “into a choice between the primal urge to protect a child and the public responsibility to uphold the law. That is a terrible place to be.”

—

BIDEN WAS STRONG ENOUGH AND TOUGH ENOUGH to choose upholding the law. He was also tough enough to keep a speaking engagement with gun-safety advocates, many of whom have experienced personal tragedy involving guns, a few hours after his son was convicted on all three gun charges. And he was tough enough to weather what happened at that event.

“Never give up on hope,” Biden told the audience at the conference hosted by the group Everytown for Gun Safety. Then a protester began shouting at him about “genocide,” upset about deaths in Gaza amid Israel’s fierce response to last fall’s Hamas attack. The Biden-friendly crowd erupted into chants of “four more years,” drowning out the heckler. Biden’s response was remarkable: “No, no, no, no,” he said. “Folks, folks, it’s okay. Look, they care. Innocent children have been lost. They make a point.”

Then he dove into a modified campaign mode, asking his “folks” if they remembered when “my predecessor” told an Iowa community to “get over it” after a school shooting. (They did remember.) “Hell no, we don’t have to get over it,” the president said. “We’ve got to stop it. We’ve got to stop it and stop it now!” Cue another round of cheers and applause.

Talk about a crucible. And all on the day his son was convicted of crimes that could have resulted in tragedy, but did not. Hunter owned the gun at the center of the federal case against him for only eleven days, and his lawyer said he had never loaded or used it.

It also takes strength and discipline for a president to let the Justice Department do its job without fear, favor, public criticism, or outright meddling. Trump expected the department and his attorney general to do his bidding. In the case of his pardon powers, he bypassed official channels almost entirely so that he could, as the New York Times reported, “wipe away convictions and prison sentences for a roster of corrupt politicians and business executives,” as well as an assortment of cronies, allies, advisers, celebrities, and operatives. And their crimes actually harmed people, unlike the crime for which Hunter Biden was convicted. (Not surprisingly, some recipients of Trump’s careless largesse are in legal trouble again, ABC News reports.)

The definitive indictment comes from Amanda Carpenter and Grant Tudor of Protect Democracy: “He created a new class of ‘henchmen pardons’” to protect himself, reward loyalists, and encourage violence, they write. That’s not toughness, it’s fear and self-preservation.

THIS IS NOT A COMPLETE LIST—you can probably think of your own additions to it—but here’s where I see Biden being tough-minded:

* Navigating the extremely complicated Israel-Hamas war. He has empathized with traumatized Israelis and Palestinians, criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s tactics, and denounced Hamas for its brutality, sexual abuse, and slaughter of Israeli civilians last October. But he has been adamant about looking to the future, a future of compromise, coexistence, and self-government, and on May 31 boldly promoted an ambitious ceasefire proposal that, miraculously, is still alive.

* He has displeased and frustrated a chunk of his own party by doing what’s necessary on political, logistical, and humanitarian grounds to secure and bring order to the southern border. After cynical Republicans killed a bipartisan compromise so they could prolong the “crisis” and campaign on it, he’s been willing to attempt a fix on his own.

* He understands the urgency of standing with and for Ukraine, and is gradually seeing the need to unshackle its military to strike inside Russia.

* He is putting up with endless carping about his age (81) and calls to step aside, and handling it mostly with jokes. Not that it matters, but Trump turns 78 on Friday.

*He is running for re-election, yes, but not to stay out of prison or the courtroom. Not to pardon his friends and punish his enemies. Not to quash the two federal cases against him, or pardon himself if that fails. Not to be a dictator on Day One, or however many days he feels like it. No, as Biden often says, he is running to “finish the job.”

* As it happened, a shooter opened fire at an Atlanta food court while Biden was talking to the gun-safety advocates in Washington. “We all agree: We are not finished,” he was telling them. “You’re proving that you’re powerful and you’re relentless,” he added. “We have no choice. We cannot give up trying.”

And then he went home to Delaware, where Hunter and his family were waiting for him.

But, if only we had a choice.

[KUTradition]

one is competent, one isn’t

[Shirley]

one is a fascist, one isn’t

^^^