The life and times of Congress can be confusing for people that don’t follow politics 24/7. We might be thinking different things. For instance, won’t the government shutdown soon unless an agreement can be reached? Sure, but the House of Representatives has more important fish to fry. So, it’s all Hunter Biden all the time.

The hysterics over Hunter come down to three different things. First, he has had a sordid history of abusing drugs in his adult lifetime. Goodness knows what his personal issues are. I’m assuming some of it could be related to losing his mother at a very young age. Some of it could be because he lost his brother to cancer. Maybe he is just one of those people that have an addictive personality.

This is obviously where Joe Biden comes in. The elder Biden is obviously like millions of other American parents. It is the same hard decision they have had to make. If you truly love your child you don’t want to see them suffer and yet you know they likely have to suffer some in order to get better. So, when do the handouts end and the tough love begins? Unfortunately, there isn’t a manual that gives you a simple flow chart you can follow.

The second thing they seem to be focused on is what Hunter Biden did while he was abusing drugs. Apparently, he frequented the company of women of the night. There were lots of pictures and a lot of sordid details. For many with more delicate sensibilities it was disgusting and unsavory. Outside of Nevada and some foreign countries it was also illegal.

Now, unless Joe Biden was also participating I’m not sure what this has to do with the price of whiskey in Ireland. Did he know about it? Again, there is more than enough documentation that the elder Biden knew that his son had a problem. One can only guess how much he knew about the depths of that problem. Did he know about the prostitutes? Maybe. Did he know about the pictures of his son’s genitals? Maybe.

We should keep one basic thought in mind. If two consenting adults take pictures of their exploits they are free to do so. If one releases those pictures without the other’s consent they have committed a crime in most jurisdictions. That is usually what is referred to as revenge porn. It should not matter that the offending party is female. We normally see this behavior from men, but it doesn’t mean that men can’t be victims. So, when someone in Congress broadcasts these photos they are aiding and abetting in a crime.

That brings us to the third consideration and the one that actually has some legs. If we go back to the first premise of drug abusers we go back to the very human desire for parents to shield their children from suffering. Some of that includes financial support and some of it includes using influence to get them breaks and opportunities others may not have. Did Joe Biden use his influence to help his son? I am almost certain that the younger Biden got positions and assistance that someone without his last name wouldn’t get. That by itself isn’t illegal. It is unsavory but it isn’t necessarily illegal.

If Biden primarily solicited favors for his son as a former vice president then he has done nothing illegal.  What makes it illegal is when someone accepts bribes or promises goods and services in exchange for the favor. It also can be very illegal if the person in power promises punishment or harassment if the favor is not given. Anything short of that and this is all a nothing burger. Given that there is no evidence of that then we all know this is a whole lot of nothing. Of course, we all knew that anyway.

I know it is not a good idea to ask people about their age, but I can reveal mine with impunity. This weekend is the 30th high school reunion. I attended the 10th and 25th. I imagine it will end up being about the same. It comes with a ton of mixed emotions that range from nostalgia, joy at seeing friends nearly forgotten, schadenfreude, and finally sadness.

The sadness comes from seeing what time has done to some people that were close friends in school. I remember having a running conversation with one of them prior to the last election. I think we got to the point where we were talking about the riots and I brought up the story about Trump supporters running Biden’s bus off the road along with the fact that a good portion of the damage in these “riots” was actually done by right wing extremist groups. That apparently was the last straw. We have not spoken since.

Obviously, within the conversation an obvious statement was made. I cannot condone anyone that hurts others or damages property. It was then that I discovered the extent of what had happened. Even though my friend was not a part of those right wing efforts or January 6th, he felt a kin to them and identified with them. So, when I started to criticize them it felt to him like I was criticizing him. If they were deplorable then he was deplorable. That sparked the reaction I got.

The 45th president has continually stoked this along the way. His message seems simple. All of this going on right now is a witch hunt and if they can put him in jail for specious charges then they can do the same to you. If you identify with the former president then it almost feels like they have indicted you. It feels like you are going to jail. They are persecuting you for merely being conservative. Let’s ignore the fact that 45 is not conservative. Let’s ignore the fact that 45 really doesn’t care about his followers. Let’s ignore the fact that he really has committed numerous crimes and wakes up out of bed committing more each day. You will never convince them of that because they have become so wrapped up in it that saying these things about him means you are saying it about them.

This is where the flip side comes in. They continually attack Hunter Biden and Joe Biden because they assume we are the same. They poke fun at him for his age. They question his support because no one carries a Biden flag or wears a Biden shirt. They are confused by this. Do I care that there was cocaine in the White House? Sure, I’d like to know that everyone working for the president is sober. Do I think it belonged to Hunter? Honestly I don’t. It may not have even belonged to a staff member. It was in a place where numerous people from the public could have left it.

Yet, here’s the difference. If it did belong to Hunter then he should go to jail. If it did belong to Joe then he needs to be impeached. If it belonged to a staffer then that staffer should be fired. It’s really that simple. We should definitely investigate this and not just assume anything. Our identity is not wrapped up in who we voted for. It can’t be. For those that find themselves attached to a politician, we really can’t help them anymore. We have to let it go. For those at the reunion, it just means talking about the past. The future for them is all too bleak anyway.

Okay, I have a confession to make. This probably makes me a bad Democrat and a bad progressive, but I need to get it off my chest. I have never voted for Hunter Biden. What’s more, I will never vote for Hunter Biden no matter what he’s running for. It’s a character thing for me. Maybe that makes me a hypocrite. After all, George W. Bush was a recovering alcoholic and alleged drug addict and millions voted for him. Of course, I wasn’t one of those but I have to admit that I saw him differently. He was clearly in recovery and had been for decades. We can’t be too sure about Hunter Biden.

What’s more, I am willing to acknowledge that he has gotten multiple opportunities in life that 99 percent of people in other walks of life would never get. He has made more money and put in more positions of prestige than anyone deserves. Maybe he should have served some jail time for his drug habit. Of course, I have never really been big on dolling out jail sentences for addicts, but I suppose fair minded people can differ on that point. Simply put, he will never get my vote.

The funny thing is that he has never been on a ballot. He has never held any position within any presidential administration in the United States. He is currently a private citizen and is likely to remain that for the rest of his natural life. If he’s committed a crime then he deserves to go to jail. I don’t know that the current president has ever said differently, but maybe he has and I’m just not aware of it. Maybe he has the location of Jimmy Hoffa, the real story behind the JFK assassination, and the location of aliens on his laptop, but I tend to doubt it. Maybe that laptop holds the key to inflation, the price of gas, and the secrets to solving the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Maybe it’s just a damn laptop.

Somehow, Hunter, his drug problem, and his laptop didn’t make it Twitter in the summer of 2020. Apparently, there were tweets about this that were taken down or not published for some nefarious reason. Somehow this “scandal” amounts to an affront to free speech and the kind of cheating that means the 2020 election was stolen. Yet, and I’m just spitballing here, no one that was undecided at the time gave a hoot about his laptop. Maybe no one that was undecided gave a crap about Hunter Biden. Maybe it was because Hunter Biden wasn’t on the ballot, but again I’m just spitballing. Maybe it was because they still haven’t proven a damn thing about why I should care. Maybe it was because we looked at the two candidates and decided that no matter what had happened with Joe Biden’s only surviving son, he couldn’t be worse than the worst president in the history of the nation. Of course, I’m just spitballing here.

There are two things that always get me when watching movies or reading books about the future. Of course, the comical thing is when they get things all wrong. “Back to the Future” told us of a turbulent time when cars flew, kids rode hover boards, and holograms were everywhere. Extremely weird stuff happened. Stuff like the Cubs winning the World Series. Well, that actually turned out to be true, but the other stuff was pure fantasy.

However, nothing quite compares when the crazy stuff predicted in stories of the past actually turns out to be eerily true. “1984” was meant to be a cautionary tale even back then. It chronicled the dangers of propaganda when the government became all powerful and no one was quite sure what was up and what was down.

A lie is still a lie even if it is repeated often. Yet, a lie is more easily believed the more often it is repeated. It seems that Donald Trump and the GOP are bound and determined to get you to believe whatever they would like you to believe on Hunter Biden. They are going to keep pushing that same story about the laptop until you finally believe it.

Of course, the fact that Hunter Biden had a laptop isn’t the lie. The fact that Biden has made deals where he has taken advantage of his father’s position is also not a lie. The idea that either of these two facts point to Biden as being the most corrupt president ever is the lie. The idea is not only false, but is laughable on its face.

Are Hunter Biden’s dealings problematic? I’m sure they are on some level. Nearly every president has had a brother, son, or wayward cousin they wish they could put a muzzle on and keep locked away for their own protection. Billy Carter and Roger Clinton were absolute embarrassments. Heck, George W. Bush was that embarrassment before he cleaned his act up. You’d have to settle for Neil Bush as the black sheep of that family.

Go back far enough and there is a stupid relative or friend that a president wish they didn’t have. Of course, depending on the president, these idiots either provided for temporary humiliation or were much more problematic. Of course, like in the case of Warren Harding, those scandals were much more about their own reaction than what their idiot relatives or friends did.

So, how is this situation any different? Well, on the first note, the people leveling the charge are so guilty it is not even funny. To accuse Hunter Biden of excessively profiting from the presidency or making shady deals is galling when compared to their own behavior. Heck, you could break it down by child and all of them made more combined than all presidential children in history. Ivanka and Jared Kushner probably did more than the others.

Even now, there are propagandists on Twitter trying to convince you that he and his children divested while Hunter Biden profited. Actual facts say otherwise. Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes truth for millions of people. Joseph Goebbels told us how the big lie works. “1984” told us too. Seeing Back to Future’s version of 2015 was hilarious enough. Seeing “1984” actually come to life is anything but hilarious.

Senate Republicans are whipping up yet another investigation over a fake issue, this time of Hunter Biden.  Risking stating the blatantly obvious, this investigation, like many others, is complete bullshit, and being timed to inflict maximum damage on Joe Biden, who is close to taking the nomination for president.  Elected officials’ kids used to be off limits, but Trump and and National Trump Party have shattered that norm, bringing to bear the full force of the federal government to persecute political rivals and their families.

Enter Mike Bloomberg (again).  Over the weekend on MSNBC, former Bloomberg campaign manager Tim O’Brien announced that if Republicans go after Hunter Biden, Bloomberg will use cash he had set aside for his campaign to go “scorched earth” against the Trump kids, exposing their legion of conflicts, nepotism, and illegal use of federal office to make profits.  The ads will go after profits being made by Trump’s hotels that are charging the Secret Service and foreign officials for stays and hospitality, Ivanka’s Chinese patents, and government paying for all the kids travel for private business.  The entertainment value should be huge, and will drive Trump crazy (er).

Finally someone has the resources to stand up to the Noise Machine in a flame war.  It should be epic.