Cont: The Biden Presidency (3)

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Warp12 said:
Maybe he shouldn't be riding a bicycle, though. At his age a fall like that seems pretty risky. I bet he is sore today.

Once he retires he can skydive now and then, like Bush.
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There are many bike injuries that are pretty bad, but I can't run as I have had some foot surgery that leaves me mostly walking. The joints are the parts that are hard to repair. Knees, hips, shoulders. I fell on ice one December and ruined some of my shoulder. I'm not 70 yet.

Swimming? I really dislike swimming indoors in winter.
 
Brainster said:
Sounds like he's not that regular a biker then; I can't imagine not pulling out of my left cage when I stop; it's automatic. Still give him props for riding.
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He uses toe straps. They should be easy to get out of.

https://media.npr.org/assets/img/20...3c44cd281262ac353546a0af90f377-s1200-c85.webp

I have done exactly what he did on a bike path when unexpected events up ahead made me stop fast. I had to steer off the concrete path and fall on grass, as there was no way to pass the group that had fallen and stopped traffic both directions.

So when you are on a bike you can control what is going on as long as you are moving. If you can't move, or are almost stalled, options are limited. In city traffic I use flat pedal with no straps of any sort. The crummy 30 year old Cannondale.
 
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Brainster said:
Sounds like he's not that regular a biker then; I can't imagine not pulling out of my left cage when I stop; it's automatic. Still give him props for riding.
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I use Shimano SPD pedals on my road bike, but set pretty loose to be easy to pivot out of. Still, my last spill was missing a shift to my front “granny gear” going about 3 mph up a hill. Toppled head first into a guardrail before I could unclip my right cleat. Really glad I had a helmet on.

Using cages, I can see something getting hung up for even a split second while trying to slide out of the clip. Once you’re going over at a stop or very low speed, even an “automatic” action you’ve done thousands of times can fail you. The innate panic reflex is to put your foot down, not slide it back first. The whole incident is a “nothingburger”, something that happens to cyclists of all ages every day.
 
Ampulla of Vater said:
Yes, that is my opinion.
Trump is just as intolerable as Biden, as humans. Both are completely out of touch with reality and narcissistic asswipes.
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Psychological projection is such a weird, yet consistent, phenomenon.

Do you understand that "narcissism" doesn't mean "I don't like them"?

Ampulla of Vater said:
Both, in different ways, are dangerous as leaders of our country. Trump had much better policies than Biden.
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As has been pointed out, Trump literally tried to overthrow the Constitution. Trump, as a matter of policy, separated children from their parents and them in concentration camps. Trump spent billions on a border wall that wasn't even good security theater, let alone actual security. Trump permanently cut taxes on the super wealthy while only giving temporary crumbs to the rest of us. Trump capitulated to Putin at every opportunity, even leaking state secrets to him, except when he simply couldn't avoid it. Trump turned the pandemic into a partisan wedge issue instead of attempting to limit it's spread.

In what conceivable way were Trump's policies better than Biden's?



Ampulla of Vater said:
This inflation is out of control. Gas prices are insane.
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These are not a matter of policy.

Ampulla of Vater said:
Our spending is so out of control, I worry for my grandchildren.
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As well you should, and Trump spent his term pushing things that hobbled our ability to pay our bills without actually cutting spending.


Ampulla of Vater said:
We are in real trouble and Biden doesn’t know what planet he is on half the time.
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...and you think Trump does? He largely treated his presidency like it was a TV show.
 
Fast Eddie B said:
I remember Trump mocking John Kerry's bicycling and wearing bike shorts. What a douche.

It's commendable that Biden is still staying active at his age. Mocking him for a spill says WAY more about the mockers than it does about Biden.
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Trump posted a fake video on Truth Social of himself hitting President Biden with a golf ball and knocking him off his bicycle.
Always a class act.
 
Armitage72 said:
Trump posted a fake video on Truth Social of himself hitting President Biden with a golf ball and knocking him off his bicycle.
Always a class act.
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How far (?) we’ve come in 50+ years. From…

“In 1960, under President John F. Kennedy, the name was changed to "The President's Council on Physical Fitness." Kennedy was a firm believer in the pursuit of fitness goals for the entire age span, and wished to create more emphasis on family activities as well as adult- and elder-oriented fitness programs.”

To Trump mocking fitness.

Sad.

As an aside, did 14.9 miles on my bike this morning at age 72. My goal is to stick with it until injury or decline in balance renders it unsafe.

And the whole bicycle shorts fad? I started that!
 
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Brainster said:
Sounds like he's not that regular a biker then; I can't imagine not pulling out of my left cage when I stop; it's automatic. Still give him props for riding.
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It looks as if Biden, like me, is a right-foot remover, but he did not anticipate the stop well and waited too long. If he's going to ride that slowly and in formation and surrounded by press, he really should switch to flat pedals, but as the old saying goes, pride goeth before a fall.

I haven't fallen in this way for a while, but I did a few times when I rode with clips and cleats (the latter make it impossible just to pull back, and you really have to yank up too). These days (74, off the road forever because like the common law dog, "I've had my one free bite") I ride my usual dirt trail on SPD cleats, which unsnap very reliably, and anyway, I don't wait until the last second. SPD cleats come in two profiles, one of which floats less but unclips faster.
 
Lurch said:
So? Inflation and gas prices are a global problem. It's the result of supply and demand, and the way capitalism and economics work.

You think Biden--or anyone--can fix that all by themselves?
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Inflation in the US is around 8.6%.

Norway: 5.7%

South Korea: 5.4%

France: 5.2%

Australia: 5.1%

Israel: 4.1%

Taiwan: 3.4%

Switzerland: 2.9%

Japan: 2.5%

https://tradingeconomics.com/country-list/inflation-rate-
 
Upchurch said:
Yep, those'd be the cherries, alright.
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Examples. Countries that, in spite of inflation being a global problem, have managed to get their inflation rate substantially down below 8%. Obviously not all the developed countries are down that low, but it should be noted that some of them are. So why can't the US be among those, instead of among the ones with higher inflation rates?
 
theprestige said:
Obviously not all the developed countries are down that low, but it should be noted that some of them are. So why can't the US be among those, instead of among the ones with higher inflation rates?
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I'm no economist, but I'm guessing that in order to do that, the US Government would have to put price controls and other regulations in place that would have the GOP gnashing their teeth and rending their garments with cries of "Tyranny!" and "Communism!"
 
theprestige said:
Examples. Countries that, in spite of inflation being a global problem, have managed to get their inflation rate substantially down below 8%. Obviously not all the developed countries are down that low, but it should be noted that some of them are. So why can't the US be among those, instead of among the ones with higher inflation rates?
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You could make an argument about why you think it's impacting the US more, and then maybe perhaps how that's Biden's fault. Then maybe do gas prices like the post you're responding to cited as another global problem. (Ironically Japan has long been seeking higher inflation and a weaker yen, and now it's a problem for them.) Because until then you've shown that both are in fact current global problems.

One might even consider arguing not just how Biden has messed up specifically, but how the GOP or Trump specifically would have, or will in the future, address these problems. That's substantially harder as hating gay and trans people, outlawing teaching history if it makes the in group feel bad, and dumping pollution freely into the environment are laughable propositions to addressing any of this. 'Inflation is a problem? Take away free and fair elections! Gas prices high? Better ban abortion!'
 
Upchurch said:
I'm no economist, but I'm guessing that in order to do that, the US Government would have to put price controls and other regulations in place that would have the GOP gnashing their teeth and rending their garments with cries of "Tyranny!" and "Communism!"
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Fair enough. One thing we can note about the Biden presidency is that his adminstration has not come before the American people with an economically-viable proposal to cut inflation, with a fair assessment of the trade-offs, a rational argument for why he plans to enact that proposal, and daring the GOP to get in his way.

If the only thing standing between him and reducing inflation is his refusal to use the bully pulpit for that purpose, then he's a jackass.
 
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