President Biden: The NEW one and only politics thread

That's down a road we haven't reached yet, but should charges be issued, he'd almost certainly surrender to New York authorities after his attorneys had already negotiated bond with the prosecutor's office so that he's only in custody for a few hours.

If he turns himself into Florida authorities (in a hypothetical world where he actually does face criminal charges) not only does it create potential for political conflict with DeSantis, who holds all the cards in that scenario, it also means he's in custody in Florida until New York authorities come and get him to bring him back to New York. He's not gonna like being in custody for those two to ten days or so, even if it would play well to his base that already thinks he's a martyr.

Same for charges in Georgia if they come first (or at all).

 

I defer to expertise but 'it's my understanding' he needs to roll boxcars to avoid prosecution in any of these four theatres.

A gag order must be enforced - make the man shut up for even a week. That also would be fun to watch.

 

This is interesting. DeSantis and Individual-1 are political rivals, but DeSantis could suss out a way to score points with the MAGA by blocking extradition to New York or Georgia for state charges.

Here's the problem with that: Presidential candidates running to govern a country must, you know, travel across the country. The minute Twitchy lands in Pennsylvania or some other state with a less-than-friendly AG, the local Roscoe will cuff him and stuff him posthaste.

Once the Feds bat (and they always bat last), DeSantis will have no legal say.

I'd be relieved more than happy if the Agnew precedent were applied, as Maddow described this week. We'll let you off if you end your campaign immediately and agree to never run for office again.

 

God, you're so right about the four-day week. I've been thinking lately that that's what I need and wish I could have, while still being considered full-time. Because I still want to work, it's not that I don't. But four days instead of five would be perfect at this point. I'd have the energy for it, be productive and happy to be at work for the most part. It should be an option for people who are, say, 55 and older, particularly since 34 hours a week is considered full-time in a lot of places these days anyway.

As it is, the work I do is oftentimes so physical that I'm really dragging and barely getting through that last day before my two days off, during which my muscles ache deeply all the time, barely having enough time to feel recovered by the time I have to go back to work for another week again. Three days off a week would be just about right, for both sides, I think.

 

I've had a side hustle for most of my working life. Reporting is ridiculously sedentary (unless you have to walk up 99 steps to a non-ADA-compliant press box). I've had other jobs that require some lifting but mostly a shitload of walking (up to 6 miles a day according to my iPhone).

 

Me nourriras-tu encore, ou me saigneras-tu encore, quand j'aurai soixante-quatre ans ? Hoooo !

 

Yes. SS was originally designed, and sold as, a safety-net mechanism to avoid old people starving penniless by the millions, which had become a real thing in The Depression. It had to be sold on that basis to get past the GOP Ebeneezer Scrooges clamoring to send the lazy mooching octogenarians to the poorhouses (which mostly didn't exist).

After WWII and the quantum jump in overall living standards, the goal became not only to give Granny three hots and a cot but to live semi-comfortably (not luxuriously). With the boom in middle class jobs in postwar years, many or most had retirement benefits of their own, and when that bunch started retiring and piggybacking private pensions and savings on top of SS, the go-go luxury class retirement bacame common.

 

Yes, please.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/02/21/four-day-work-week-results-uk/

At the end of the experiment, employees reported a variety of benefits related to their sleep, stress levels, personal lives and mental health, according to results published Tuesday. Companies’ revenue “stayed broadly the same” during the six-month trial, but rose 35 percent on average when compared with a similar period from previous years.

 

Unionize.

Unions helped get us to the 5-day, 40-hour work week.

PolitiFact - Does the 8-hour day and the 40-hour week come from Henry Ford, or labor unions?

 

I work four 10s, and have worked five - 8s - if you have to get on a freeway to get to work - the four 10s are vastly superior. You save on gas, less stress and actually get more done because that's one less day for pointless meetings and the usual BSing with colleagues, that tend to happen on a daily basis.

I'd also add - having a weekday to run errands and get stuff done leaves more time for fun on the weekends.

 

I work four 10s, and the benefit goes far beyond "an extra day off."

It's three nights of 8 hours sleep instead of two. It's being able to see my wife 4 days a week instead of only 3 --- with a five-day week, I would not see her from the time she went to bed on Monday night until we woke up on Saturday. That's still not enough, and I still basically have four nights of only 5 hours' sleep. But it's an improvement.