I mean, the ongoing policy of the United States WRT Iran since 1980 has been we will impoverish the people of the country until they can stand it no more and force a change of regime. That’s basically still the policy today. That seems kind of…interferish?
Also, there’s a couple of other countries that we kinetically interfered with over the last two decades. Their names are escaping me at the moment, but hopefully someone else remembers them. I think its name had an “a” in it somewhere?
You mean the Republican policy towards Americans within the US, right?
I’ve been meaning to look into whether and to what extent the occupying regime played favorites with the various elections in both of those places while under occupation. I can’t imagine that the answer is to no extent, but I’m prepared to be surprised.
Timex
4460
To be clear, I know we’ve done it many times in the past.
But those big examples tend to be half a century ago, which is different than doing stuff today.
Scuzz
4461
Don’t things that happen in the recent past tend to have effects that carry over? I understand our known acts in South and Central America may be a couple generations old but things we did then still have consequences today.
Today we hire surrogates to disrupt other countries or we embargo them in hopes the “good” people within a country rise up and do it on their own. How has that worked out for us?
Sinema is apparently horrible to work for. This is actually pretty uncommon among Dems.
I got a good idea of this from a candidate I was able to support in 2020, who was a staffer for Alma Adams (who does a very good job for her district)
ShivaX
4463
This is a “Horrible person is horrible, news at 11,” thing for me.
Timex
4464
Hunter Biden is an idiot.
Hunter Biden has now shifted his focus to the art world. According to an interview in Artnet, Georges Bergès, the art dealer that will sell his work, plans to host a private viewing for the president’s son in Los Angeles and an exhibition in New York. The paintings cost anywhere from $75,000 for a piece on paper to half a million dollars for large-scale paintings, the dealer said.
That’s considerably more than a typical up-and-coming artist without much experience or many sales under his belt, and it’s one of the reasons Richard Painter, a White House ethics lawyer during the George W. Bush administration, says he’s uneasy about the arrangement.
“I’m baldly surprised at the pricing,” he said. “That’s part of the appearance problem.”
The concern, he said, is that regardless of who purchases the paintings, such high prices suggest Hunter Biden is profiting off his father’s name. Painter worried that foreign governments could fund the purchase through a buyer, or lobbyists could purchase the painting to win favor with those in Biden’s orbit, even if Hunter and his father don’t know the buyer’s identity.
Despite the fact that the right wing endlessly accuses hunter Biden of nonsense, this is pure scuzzery, and Biden doesn’t get a pass on it. He’s purely trying to cash in on his dad being president.
Nesrie
4465
Painter said that while the agreement concerning Hunter Biden’s paintings are not ideal, the administration overall has displayed a marked improvement on ethics matters over Biden’s predecessor.
“It’s minimal compared with Trump,” he said. “We definitely have far fewer problems with Biden.”
So he’s selling paintings in the world of high art where the pricing and selling of everything is pretty much a sham, and we’re supposed to be outraged because they think Biden’s son should just not have a career in art while his father is in office. I am not going to be outraged over this. Whether it works as intended or not, he’s clearly not trying to create a royal family like the last guy did.
ShivaX
4466
I’m in both these boats.
Hunter is his own person and as long as there is no White House/Joe Biden connection beyond their relation, I’m not even sure what Joe could really do about it.
On some level I get the concern, but I’m not sure what adult children of Presidents are supposed to do? Literally anything he (or anyone in his position) does would have these concerns. He’s milking it, but if stupid people want to curry favor with someone who has no power, I’m kind of in the “fleece the rubes blind” camp, I guess.
I agree. Hunter and his gallery are obviously milking the connection, but as long as POTUS doesn’t directly push that connection, I can’t get too worked up about it.
I mean, Hunter will have a long way to go to get to the Trump kids’ bullshit.
Timex
4468
This is not where the bar is. Saying “trump is worse” is not a justification.
Yes, obviously trump was worse.
He all of a sudden decides to become a “painter” after his father becomes President… And the only reason anyone would pay anything for his works is because of his father.
You are supposed to care because Hunter Biden is blatantly trying to enrich himself based on his father being president.
This isn’t hunter Biden’s career. He just all of a sudden decided to sell paintings, and the only reason this is remotely feasible as a means of earning money, is because now Biden is president.
Now, I’m not saying that this is some great crime by Joe Biden. I’m just saying, exactly what I said.
Hunter Biden is an idiot. And he is a piece of trash for doing this kind of thing.
Nesrie
4469
Have you spent a lot of time around artists? I mean it’s kind of how that plays out. Someone decides they think they can make something other people will buy. You could throw education or not into the mix but in the end, it’s a market of who you know or an Etsy shop.
I don’t believe children of elected officials are required to stop their careers or never change them or anyway be beholden to public other than they had better not be a backdoor to paying for favor. They’re going anonymous here, literally trying to avoid what you are accusing them of and there is just a guy in there who decided out of nowhere Hunter shouldn’t paint. Hunter isn’t a prisoner. If he wants to paint, he can paint. If someone values that… okay. Somewhere out there someone throws a bunch of paint tubes under the tire of a car and squeeze the paint out at random and for reasons no one really knows, people buy that shit too.
There is nothing inherently wrong about this plan.
Timex
4470
Yes, actually I have.
No, this is not how it plays out.
Like, for instance, of you were to suddenly decide you wanted to become a painter? No one would pay six figures for your paintings.
Hunter Biden is capitalizing on his father being president. That’s the only reason anyone would pay such sums for his works.
It’s just scummy.
Sure maybe you don’t care. That’s fine. You do you.
But this kind of thing will create an image of impropriety, and frankly, the way the white house is handing it is bad, because they can’t actually stop someone who buys such works from making it known to Biden. And it could then be perceived as a bribe.
When trump’s kids enriched themselves based on their dad being president, I criticized it. I’m not going to NOT criticize it just because I voted for Biden.
It’s “Scummy” because you are judging it as “Hunter is scamming the buyer” because his work is not worth it on it’s face. Call me if the buyer is somehow getting government favors as part of the purchase.
Timex
4473
Your YouTube based view of the art market aside, I’m telling you, if you decide to become an artist overnight, no one would pay six figures for your paintings.
Right? Because if they would… You would do that, right?
But you don’t. Because no one would pay you for them.
Are we supposed to believe that hunter Biden is some kind of untapped artistic genius? Even if that were the case, the FIRST paintings he sold would not go for that. A market might start suddenly for a talented artist, and like any market, you could have prices jump for seemingly no reason, especially due to the speculative nature of the art market at times.
But that’s not what is happening here.
Here, literally the only reason why hunter Biden is selling paintings for these amounts, is because he is the son of the president.
That’s it.
Hunter Biden is not merely “working in his career”. Hunter Biden is making “being the son of the president” his career. That’s unethical.
Nesrie
4474
We’re supposed to believe that Hunter Biden is a man of privilege who has networking and someone might just give a dang that he painted something enough to pay significant money for it.
You keep glossing over the fact they’re trying to keep this anonymous to specifically avoid improper payments. As far as art is concerned… people pay for a lot stupid shit. I have no doubt whatsoever someone will buy his paintings.
I am sure if Ivanka did finger paintings, some weirdo would buy that too, probably for… thousands.
