Friday Noticeboard

Today’s noticeboard is brought to you by Joe Biden’s State of the Noggin address, to be delivered early this afternoon Australian time. Or shortly after and before two of Biden’s medically-enforced daily nap times.

Guess who's just seen a seven-year-old

The New York Times is backing their man to land a knockout punch:

omg they’ve lost their minds 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/tlYUl0dEW8

— Te𝕏asLindsayâ„¢ (@TexasLindsay_) March 7, 2024

Hmmm. Firstly, as one commenter observes: “Wearing sunglasses to a boxing match is on point.”

And secondly, Biden better hope there isn’t a long staircase leading up to that boxing ring:

Regarding Donald Trump, Biden’s likely November opponent, the UK Spectator recently ran a useful editorial. To be clear, the Spectator is no fan of the Donald:

It is hard to look past Trump’s outlandish character and conduct, which has often disgraced his country and his office … his language has frequently been reprehensible.

Nevertheless, unlike many of the former president’s more rabid opponents, the Spectator is not blind to Trump’s considerable accomplishments:

Until Covid, which struck in his final year, the American economy had thrived under his leadership. In his first year in office, Trump passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017 and median household income hit a record high.

Poverty rates for black and Hispanic Americans reached record lows, as did unemployment.

Trump may not have built much of his vaunted wall to keep out illegal migrants from Mexico, but he made a better effort to control the US’s borders than either his predecessor or successor did …

During Covid, Trump made many mad remarks, but in truth his pandemic policy was at odds with the popular image of him as a reckless maniac who was happy to let the virus run riot. Trump deferred to the US constitution and let state governors control lockdown policies.

As commander-in-chief, however, he marshalled America’s medical resources to produce a breakthrough. He launched Operation Warp Speed, the public-private partnership which resulted in vaccines being developed in only a few months.

Trump’s manner may have upset western leaders, but with hindsight his foreign policy record looks impressive …

Under Trump there were no major new conflicts. The same cannot be said for Biden.

From the Taliban to Hamas to Putin, the world’s worst people have become bolder and more active since Trump left office.

The Spectator is also alert to history potentially repeating itself in 2024:

When Trump won the Republican nomination in 2016, his rise was treated around the world as a political horror show: the triumph of vulgarity over decency; proof of America’s decline; the end of democracy.

Yet, in many ways, the establishment’s response to Trump’s victory showed exactly why he had won: because of the refusal to engage with the concerns of his voters.

The will of voters across the civilised world is still being shunned. It’s why the world is becoming less civilised.

UPDATE. Please DO NOT refer in comments to any matters currently before local courts.