Tag: Joe Biden

Look Ahead To 2021

This post just ask a couple of question that needs to be considered before one places their “X” in the box on election day.

Let’s look ahead….and theorize that the Biden/Harris ticket wins the election……

So Joe Biden is president….now what?

Assume Joe Biden wins the presidency. Assume as well that he genuinely intends to repair the damage our country has sustained since we declared ourselves history’s “Indispensable Nation,” compounded by the traumatic events of 2020 that demolished whatever remnants of that claim survived. Assume, that is, that this aging career politician and creature of the Washington establishment really intends to salvage something of value from all that has been lost.

If he seriously intends to be more than a relic of pre-Trump liberal centrism, how exactly should President Biden go about making his mark?

Here, free of charge, Joe, is an action plan that will get you from Election Night through your first two weeks in office. Follow this plan and by your 100th day in the White House observers will be comparing you to at least one President Roosevelt, if not both.

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/08/13/joe-biden-wins-then-what

With said…let’s jump ahead to 2024.

Biden will be a one term president and his VP, Harris, will likely be the Dem candidate for president in 2024…..the question now is …can she win the presidency?

Since John Adams first held the VP post in 1789, 14 of 47 vice presidents have gone on to become president,1 making it the most likely — albeit still far from certain — stepping stone to the White House. The number of vice presidents who have sought the presidency has really skyrocketed in modern times, too. Of the 13 VPs since the end of World War II (excluding Vice President Mike Pence), eight — or more than half — have gone on to become their party’s presidential nominee. However, as you can see in the table below, far fewer — just three — have won a presidential election, and just four have become president at all. Biden, of course, is hoping to become the fifth modern VP to accomplish this feat.

That’s not a great batting average, especially when you consider that both Lyndon Johnson and Gerald Ford first became president because their predecessors could not finish their terms — in Johnson’s case, because John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and, in Ford’s case, because Richard Nixon resigned. At 77, Biden is the oldest major-party nominee in history and, if elected, would be the oldest president to hold the office, so without getting too macabre, there could easily be a scenario in which his VP must finish his term.

Could Kamala Harris Win The Presidency In 2024? Here’s What History Tells Us.

I am going out on a limb….Harris will not be elected president….the only way she will make to the Big Chair is if Biden dies in office.

Sorry if that is a downer for you…..

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A Biden 2021 To Do List

AS 2020 comes to an end let us look ahead to issues that need addressing by the new president…..

Soon our new president Joe Biden, will be taking the oath of office and there are things that this country needs and he should focus on the greatest needs and leave the crap for the donors for later.

First, Biden needs to spend and spend big…

Expec­ta­tions are high for the incom­ing Joe Biden admin­is­tra­tion, not because the polit­i­cal cir­cum­stances are advan­ta­geous, nor because of Biden him­self, but because our trou­bles are so great. 

Tens of mil­lions of Amer­i­cans are unem­ployed. The death toll from Covid-19 in the Unit­ed States now tops 300,000. An avalanche of evic­tions and fore­clo­sures is on its way. And this is on top of our ongo­ing polit­i­cal cri­sis: A stub­born minor­i­ty of vot­ers refuse to rec­og­nize the results of the elec­tion, while many of Pres­i­dent Trump’s sup­port­ers remain unwill­ing to observe ele­men­tary safe­ty mea­sures to reduce the fur­ther spread of the virus. In Wash­ing­ton, D.C. last week, a ram­pag­ing mob of fas­cist goons assault­ed ran­dom passers-by and van­dal­ized black church­es — osten­si­bly as a way to show feal­ty to Trump. To put it mild­ly, Amer­i­ca is in bad shape.

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/12/20/biden-needs-spend-big-and-fast-here-are-4-immediate-priorities

Next he should repair the voting rights in this country….

Manufactured claims of fraud to explain away Trump’s loss of the popular vote in the 2016 election led to the creation of a sham commission that eventually disbanded after failing to provide any factual evidence to support Trump’s preposterous statements that millions of people had voted illegally. And following his loss of the 2020 presidential election, Trump has led a rabid assault on American democracy, which has eroded the public’s faith in the outcome of the election and catapulted efforts to subvert the will of voters by overturning the results of the election.

Undeniably, there are problems with our democracy that must be fixed. But these issues do not arise from purported voter fraud. Rather, they are the legacy problems of our republic: systematic efforts by politicians to erect voting barriers and to discriminate against voters of color to tip the balance of power. These problems are enduring, persistent, and verifiable.

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/12/20/president-elect-bidens-voting-rights-do-list

This should definitely be a priority because the GOP are looking for ways to limit voter participation….

Changes to the way millions of Americans voted this year contributed to record turnout, but that’s no guarantee the measures making it easier to cast ballots will stick around for future elections.

Republicans in key states that voted for President-elect Joe Biden already are pushing for new restrictions, especially to absentee voting. It’s an option many states expanded amid the coronavirus outbreak that proved hugely popular and helped ensure one of the smoothest election days in recent years.

President Donald Trump has been unrelenting in his attacks on mail voting as he continues to challenge the legitimacy of an election he lost. Despite a lack of evidence and dozens of losses in the courts, his claims of widespread voter fraud have gained traction with some Republican elected officials.

They are vowing to crack down on mail ballots and threatening to roll back other steps that have made it easier for people to vote.

Republicans Plotting New Ways To Make It Harder To Vote

What about the massive student debt?

Do not look to Biden for much help on this front.

A coalition of 236 mostly progressive groups, including close allies like the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association, called on the president-elect on Wednesday to cancel student debt using his executive powers on the first day he takes office.

In a letter to Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, the groups did not specify how much debt they’re asking to be canceled. But they noted that Biden pledged during the campaign to cancel $10,000 of each borrowers’ debt “immediately” as part of his response to the coronavirus epidemic.

“Before the COVID-19 public health crisis began, student debt was already a drag on the national economy, weighing heaviest on Black and Latinx communities, as well as women. That weight is likely to be exponentially magnified given the disproportionate toll that COVID-19 is taking on both the health and economic security of people of color and women,” the groups wrote, saying “bold action is needed.”

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/11/19/biden-urged-cancel-student-debt

More on this issue…..https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/12/24/unacceptable-and-immoral-say-progressives-after-biden-admits-he-will-be-unlikely

These are not all the situations that a Biden presidency will face but they are some of the most pressing and the ones that will help the people….again leave to donors until all else is done.

The big question….who Biden really be working for?  I have an answer and Biden supporters do not like it.  Something Biden said recently says it all for me….” Biden proclaimed that, as a president who wants to “avoid inflaming a closely divided Congress,” he plans to “tread lightly when it comes to using his executive power.” Biden seems very confident that his passivity won’t “inflame” any of the remaining progressives in a “closely divided Congress.” Biden’s been on or around Capitol Hill for 45 years and he hasn’t witnessed any uprising from the Congressional left yet. He must feel he’s on pretty safe ground.”

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Will There Be a Biden Space Force?

Most of my regulars know that I have been keeping an eye on the doings over at the US newest military branch, the Space Force…..and now we have a new president will he continue the trend to put our military might into orbit?

Well I have been writing that while I believe our future is space I do not think it should be militarized.  And some Progressives have asked Biden to shit can the Space Force.

But true to his Centrists lack of backbone he will ignore the plea…..

President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have vowed to take the United States in a sharply different direction on issues like the coronavirus pandemic and climate change.

But with regard to space and its importance to national security, analysts and industry insiders believe the Biden administration will largely stay the course.

The arrival of a new administration “does not portend any immediate abrupt changes to U.S. national security or civil space programs. Space continues to be a bipartisan policy area and Joe Biden’s campaign has articulated their belief in the importance of the domain,” the Washington aerospace and defense-focused consulting firm Velos said in an email to clients.

Biden has “expressed no plans for structural changes to U.S. space programs,” Velos noted. “The Democratic Party national platform supports continuity within NASA and the Space Force.”

Biden likely to stay course on Space Force and defense investments

What makes me think that it will be yet another siphon on the treasury?

The U.S. Space Force plans to almost triple in size and add a Reserve element in 2021, the service’s top general said Tuesday as the newest military branch neared its first birthday.

Gen. Jay Raymond, the chief of Space Operations, will officially become a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Sunday when the Space Force marks its one year anniversary. The space chief told reporters that he was optimistic about his plans to grow the force from about 2,400 active-duty troops to about 6,400 by the end of 2021.

“We were up and running on day one, and we have not let our foot off the accelerator ever since,” Raymond said in a telephone news briefing. “The progress we have made far surpasses anything that I would have would have expected.”

https://www.stripes.com/news/us/space-force-plans-to-nearly-triple-in-size-in-second-year-could-accept-army-navy-transfers-1.655445

Nothing here will change from the Trump years…..is that what you voted for?

Of course the Space Force will continue…..Biden is owned by M-IC and they always get what they want…..even with Biden.

BTW….our Space Force troopers will be known as “Guardians”…(seriously?)

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Biden And Nukes

I have been writing a lot about the policies that the president-elect, Joe Biden, will most likely pursue once he takes the oath of office….I admit that there are not many of the policies of his that I can say I agree with…….all I can say is that at least he is not Trump….

I have tries to cover all policies that he would likely attempt….many of them are not what the American people need…..like the idea of nuclear power….

Then there is the offer of ‘clean energy”….something the Biden/Harris team will probably push…..

Although possibly a sad comment on his predecessors, incoming U.S. president, Joe Biden, is offering the most progressive climate policy so far of any who have previously held his position.

As Paul Gipe points out in his recent blog, the Biden-Harris climate plan uses the word “revolution” right in the headline — a bit of a departure from the usual cautious rhetoric of the centrist-controlled Democratic Party.

But ‘revolution’ is proceeded by two words which let us know we are still lingering in conservative ‘safe’ territory. They call it a “clean energy revolution”, which Gipe rightly refers to as “focus-group shopped terminology.” He goes on:

”Clean energy is a term forged by Madison Avenue advertising mavens in the crucible of focus groups. It ‘polls well,’ as they say. It means one thing to one interest group, something else to another. So it’s perfect for politics in America.

“To environmentalists, it means wind and solar energy, often only those two forms of renewable energy, and sometimes only solar. It also means good times to the coal and nuclear industry. (Ever hear of ‘clean coal’?)

“So clean energy is one of those misleading words that party leaders and, importantly, fundraisers can use to elicit money from donors of all stripes. Why say renewable energy, when you want to raise money from the coal and nuclear industries?”

In Promoting New Nuclear Power, Biden-Harris Back Fiction Over Science

Just like the lie of “clean coal” the lie of “Clean nuke energy” will do nothing but create a bigger problem from the waste it will generate….

Another fine mess the Centrists will get us into.  Go Team!

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Biden On Climate Change?

There is a subject that seems to be off the grid for now…..that issue is climate change.

I really have not heard much from Biden but the usual platitudes that Centrists seem to have on speed dial…..since he has not been forthcoming….what should he do for the climate.

On January 20, 2021, when President-elect Joe Biden takes office, he will be able to undo some of Trump’s damage to the environment by executive actions. Environmental organizations want these to include investigating and prosecuting fossil fuel polluters; ending fossil fuel subsidies and fossil fuel extraction on public lands; and denying permits for new fossil fuel infrastructure.

Of course, executive orders only go so far. Equally important are the signals Biden sends regarding climate policy through his recent appointments and the names he has floated for his Cabinet. And how does the President-elect’s Climate Action Plan compare with the Green New Deal—to address not only the climate crisis but also the economy, health care, housing, and other issues related to environmental and social justice?

Environmental organizations are cheering Biden’s choice of former Secretary of State John Kerry as climate envoy within the National Security Council. It is the first time a seat on the council has been devoted to climate change, reflecting that the Biden Administration deems it a security issue informing domestic and foreign policy.

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/12/07/how-biden-should-tackle-climate-crisis

Scientists want Joe to try these things to fix the climate….

The election of Joe Biden has changed the prospects for action. The former vice president ran on a platform that included specific, ambitious measures to tackle climate change, including rejoining the Paris climate agreement (which the U.S. exited on November 4) and setting a goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Climate scientists and environmental advocates have applauded these goals but warn that it will take substantial work to reach them. Among other things, the Biden administration needs to help transition U.S. energy systems, gird against future damage from climate-fueled disasters, and make sure policies incorporate considerations of equity and justice.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/heres-how-scientists-want-biden-to-take-on-climate-change/

But what are his actual plans?

The Biden Plan will:

  1. Ensure the U.S. achieves a 100% clean energy economy and reaches net-zero emissions no later than 2050. On day one, Biden will sign a series of new executive orders with unprecedented reach that go well beyond the Obama-Biden Administration platform and put us on the right track. And, he will demand that Congress enacts legislation in the first year of his presidency that: 1) establishes an enforcement mechanism that includes milestone targets no later than the end of his first term in 2025, 2) makes a historic investment in clean energy and climate research and innovation, 3) incentivizes the rapid deployment of clean energy innovations across the economy, especially in communities most impacted by climate change.
  2. Build a stronger, more resilient nation. On day one, Biden will make smart infrastructure investments to rebuild the nation and to ensure that our buildings, water, transportation, and energy infrastructure can withstand the impacts of climate change.  Every dollar spent toward rebuilding our roads, bridges, buildings, the electric grid, and our water infrastructure will be used to prevent, reduce, and withstand a changing climate. As President, Biden will use the convening power of government to boost climate resilience efforts by developing regional climate resilience plans, in partnership with local universities and national labs, for local access to the most relevant science, data, information, tools, and training. 
  3. Rally the rest of the world to meet the threat of climate change. Climate change is a global challenge that requires decisive action from every country around the world. Joe Biden knows how to stand with America’s allies, stand up to adversaries, and level with any world leader about what must be done. He will not only recommit the United States to the Paris Agreement on climate change – he will go much further than that. He will lead an effort to get every major country to ramp up the ambition of their domestic climate targets. He will make sure those commitments are transparent and enforceable, and stop countries from cheating by using America’s economic leverage and power of example. He will fully integrate climate change into our foreign policy and national security strategies, as well as our approach to trade.
  4. Stand up to the abuse of power by polluters who disproportionately harm communities of color and low-income communities. Vulnerable communities are disproportionately impacted by the climate emergency and pollution. The Biden Administration will take action against fossil fuel companies and other polluters who put profit over people and knowingly harm our environment and poison our communities’ air, land, and water, or conceal information regarding potential environmental and health risks. The Biden plan will ensure that communities across the country from Flint, Michigan to Harlan, Kentucky to the New Hampshire Seacoast have access to clean, safe drinking water. And he’ll make sure the development of solutions is an inclusive, community-driven process.
  5. Fulfill our obligation to workers and communities who powered our industrial revolution and subsequent decades of economic growth. This is support they’ve earned for fueling our country’s industrial revolution and decades of economic growth. We’re not going to leave any workers or communities behind.

Sorry but those are platitudes….vague promises that will go nowhere…..and only #3 would be likely to be enacted…..the rest are vague promises that we always get.

Finally this part does not pertain to one party or the other (although it should)…..

I have reported on the brain eating thing before…..and now it can be tied to climate change……

Climate change may have sparked a disturbing migration. A new study says infections tied to Naegleria fowleri—or “brain-eating amoeba”—are occurring farther north than they once did, LiveScience reports. The single-celled organism is typically found in warm bodies of freshwater, per Newsweek, making it historically more common in southern states. But now more cases are occurring in the Midwest. Such cases arise when N. fowleri is ingested through the nostrils, allowing it to enter a person’s brain, which causes a rare and often fatal infection called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). The findings—which note that the annual case count remains steady—are based on 85 cases of PAM over 40 years.

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Gay Transportation

Please do not let the title confuse you…..

The news has broke…..Mayor Pete a candidate for the Dem nomination in 2020 has been tapped to be the next SecTrans…..and we will be beat about the head and shoulders with this news….you see in case you forgot…..Pete is gay.

Another of Joe Biden’s former primary foes is getting a key role in the new administration. The president-elect will nominate Pete Buttigieg to serve as transportation secretary, reports CNN. Assuming he’s confirmed by the Senate, the 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, will be the first openly gay Cabinet secretary, notes Politico. Buttigieg was widely expected to land a significant role. The Washington Post recounts that when Buttigieg dropped out of the presidential race, he endorsed Biden at a pivotal moment before the Super Tuesday primaries. Biden then compared Buttigieg, who served a tour in Afghanistan as an intelligence officer in the Navy Reserve, to his late son Beau.

“It’s the highest compliment I can give any man or woman,” Biden said at the time. “I promise you, you’re going to end up, over your lifetime, seeing a hell of a lot more of Pete than you are of me.” Biden has not formally announced the move yet, but after Reuters first reported the pick via anonymous sources, a slew of major outlets have confirmed it through sources of their own. One area of possible friction: Reuters notes that progressive groups and Black leaders fault Buttigieg for not doing enough to fight systemic racism during his mayoral reign in South Bend.

I say congrats to Mayor Pete….but the news needs to let his orientation go…..is he qualified?

His sexual preference should not be news.

Sorry to be a downer here…..

Once again Biden is rewarding the Centrists with NO policy ideas and ignoring the idea people of the party….and that tells me where this country is going…..nowhere…..his gayness does not alter the facts.

Predictably, Biden’s sterile roster of cabinet picks seem geared toward appeasing a mythical political center that no longer exists, if it ever did.

Biden is a politician who is unlikely to disappoint his followers for the simple reason that he has few truly devoted adherents and offers them little of substance. Mostly, he delivers on small things, tiny symbolic acts that serve to mask the broader betrayals of movements and aspirations he claimed to represent but never had any real interest in. Unlike Obama, idealism was never Biden’s calling card. His entire career he has sold a brutal brand of pragmatism behind a dental implant smile.

At least Pete is NOT an Obamite…..he can be said to be the future of the party…..I say nope….maybe his personality but NOT his policies.

Remember that “Blue Wave” that was predicted…..it fell on its face because there was NEVER any proof of this mythical “Wave”…..https://lobotero.com/2020/11/30/the-massive-blue-wave/

THe government is stuck in the “Centrist” mud……spinning its wheels and going nowhere.

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Biden On Education

Our president-elect has made so many statements it is hard to write about them all…..so let me do one about a subject that is extremely important to most Americans…their kids education.

What is Biden’s plan for his “first 100 days” (damn I hate that term and we have to hear it every 4 years)….here are some of the policies that he should pursue (he won’t but it is a good thought)……https://lobotero.com/2020/12/04/those-first-100-days/

What about Joe’s ideas for education…..

Joe Biden pledged Tuesday to bring the coronavirus pandemic under enough control to open most of the nation’s schools during his first 100 days as president—going much further on the issue than he has in the past, even while warning that the US is facing a “dark winter.” The president-elect said that promise is dependent on Congress providing sufficient funding to protect returning students, teachers, and campus staff, the AP reports. He made the promise during an event in Delaware to introduce a team of health experts set to help the new administration combat a virus that has already killed more than 285,000 Americans. The first coronavirus vaccine, from drugmaker Pfizer, is expected to be endorsed by a panel of FDA advisers as soon as this week, with delivery of 100 million doses—enough for 50 million Americans—expected in coming months.

Biden said he’d call for all Americans to wear masks for 100 days and would distribute at least 100 million vaccines during his first 100 days in the White House, in addition to seeking to reopen most of the nation’s schools over the same period. He said officials will prioritize getting vaccines to educators “as soon as possible” after health care personnel and people in long-term care facilities have gotten them. Biden’s comments won praise from the nation’s two major teachers unions. “All I can say is hallelujah,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. “We finally have a president-elect who understands that we need resources and strong public health measures in order to reopen school buildings.”

Waiting for more plans for the making of education by the new president…..you know stuff like…… teachers pay…..student debt….renovation of schools….etc.

The one big policy that could make him the ‘hero’ is to do something like forgive student debt….

There is an easy option available to President-elect Joe Biden to ease the economic suffering of Americans on the first day he takes office, and that is to cancel outstanding federal government student loans. Senator Elizabeth Warren made the case during a recent Senate Banking Committee hearing, saying that, “All on his own, President-elect Biden will have the ability to administratively cancel billions of dollars in student loan debt using the authority that Congress has already given to the Secretary of Education.” She added, “This is the single most effective economic stimulus that is available through executive action.”

She’s right. About 45 million Americans have a whopping $1.6 trillion of student loan debts, and a significant number have made no progress in paying them off. After home mortgages, student loans are the second most common debt in the United States. There is no mystery as to why this is the case. While the cost of higher education has risen, wages have simply not kept up, and debt has slowly ballooned. The burden of debt repayment has held people back from buying homes, moving out of their parents’ homes, having children, pursuing further education, starting businesses, and more. In other words, it has dragged down lives and the economy.

Why Biden Should Forgive Billions in Student Debt

Now that could show that Biden is a true progressive and not the gutless Centrist I believe he is.

But this would go against the corporations that own him and his staff.

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Biden’s Legal Problems

That would be legal problems for Hunter not Joe.

We all have written about the legal problems that our current president has been facing for the last four years…..and it is a simple joy to have a president-elect that is not facing legal questions…..Joe is not but son Hunter is facing investigations.

Hunter Biden, son of President-elect Joe Biden, confirmed Wednesday that his tax affairs are under federal investigation. “I learned yesterday for the first time that the US Attorney’s Office in Delaware advised my legal counsel, also yesterday, that they are investigating my tax affairs,” he said in a statement, per the Hill. “I take this matter very seriously but I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisors.” Hunter Biden, who served on the board of an energy company in Ukraine while his father was vice president, was attacked by Trump allies during the presidential campaign, with Rudy Giuliani claiming he had a laptop with proof of criminal conduct.

The tax investigation “is not connected to the attacks the Trump campaign and their allies made against Hunter during the campaign,” an insider tells the Washington Post. “President-elect Biden is deeply proud of his son, who has fought through difficult challenges, including the vicious personal attacks of recent months, only to emerge stronger,” the transition team said in a statement. GOP Rep. Ken Buck urged Attorney General William Barr to appoint a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden before Trump leaves office in six weeks, saying it “would be wildly inappropriate if his dad’s AG was involved in this matter.”

What could possibly the problems and/or issues that Biden is facing?

The investigation into Hunter Biden’s tax affairs centers around business deals with China, a source tells the AP. Specifically, officials are looking into whether the younger Biden and his associates violated any tax or money laundering laws, sources tell CNN. The probe was launched a year before Joe Biden, who is not implicated, announced his presidential run, but the younger Biden didn’t learn of it until this week; sources say that it was a Justice Department policy barring “overt investigative acts” that might impact elections that prevented investigators from disclosing the probe to Hunter Biden earlier. Now that the election is over, federal prosecutors are serving subpoenas, including one for Hunter Biden, and seeking interviews.

President Trump was, perhaps not surprisingly, crowing about the probe on Twitter: “‘10% of voters would have changed their vote if they knew about Hunter Biden.’ Miranda Devine @nypost @TuckerCarlson But I won anyway!” the POTUS wrote Wednesday. “‘If you’re looking for Election Rigging, look no further. That’s what this is. They kept information from the public in order to influence the outcome of the Election. They RIGGED it.’ @TuckerCarlson.” Needless to say, this whole issue could prove quite tricky for Joe Biden, who has pledged to keep the Justice Department free of political influence; whomever he selects as attorney general could ultimately oversee the probe into his own son if it has not been resolved by January.

It will be interesting to see if the MSM jumps on this as hard as they jumped on the Trump kids….

If he, Biden, is guilty then he needs to be prosecuted…..as the Trump kids should be.

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“lego ergo scribo”

Infrastructure Again

Since Bill Clinton there has always been these vague references to our aging infrastructure and Biden is NO different.

He has promised…..the same promises made by every president since GW Bush…..to save our crumbling infrastructure……and sadly I do not believe it will be any different with a new president.

But what does it take to constitute infrastructure?

Infrastructure is the general term for the basic physical systems of a business, region, or nation. Examples of infrastructure include transportation systems, communication networks, sewage, water, and electric systems.

How will it change in 2021?

Another presidency has passed, four more years during which grandstanding over America’s crumbling infrastructure problem once again produced very few results. Our bridges still need fixing. Yes, our airports are falling apart. But as these projects languish, the very way we use our cities and transportation networks has been changing. New technologies are providing new answers to old problems. The election of Joe Biden brings a conversation about infrastructure that has long been waiting in the wings to center stage.

Biden ran on promises to address the long overdue repair and modernization of highways, roads, bridges and airports. However, his administration’s ambitions go further, with a plan to address the infrastructure America will need both to combat climate change and modernize urban transportation. This includes a plan for 500,000 public charging stations for electric vehicles, changes to our cities that allow drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, and others to safely share the road, and investment in critical clean energy technologies.

Simply put: infrastructure today is not just about filling potholes and repaving. Of course, when we can’t even pass an infrastructure bill despite it being the one issue that Democrats and Trump could agree on during his term, it might seem difficult to imagine how we will get from being unable to fix critical roads to the lofty goal of zero emissions by 2050. But frameworks are already in place, and many of the infrastructure projects we need do not bear the kind of price tags that traditional infrastructure upgrades do.

https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/new-president-same-infrastructure-problems-heres-why-different-this-time

In other words…..same as it ever was….an aging electric grid….roads and bridges falling apart…..transportation sucks…..and oh so much more…..it all will remain and graded as “SUCKS”…..

What will Biden accomplish with the infrastructure?

I want to hear from his die hard supporter.

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Why Do You Dislike The SecDef Nominee So Much?

President-elect Joe Biden has designated Michele Flournoy as the new Secretary of Defense…..and I have not agree with his choice….my earlier thoughts…..https://lobotero.com/2020/11/19/will-michele-be-the-new-secdef/

I am a what use to be called a pecae-nik….I abhor war in all its forms…and Flournoy is the very best example of a warmonger….

“Flournoy was wrong about Iraq, as Biden has acknowledged he was. But she was then also wrong about Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, and Libya,” Ellsberg said in a statement released by RootsAction.org, part of a coalition of progressive advocacy groups pressuring the former vice president to pick a defense secretary committed to peace and without ties to the military-industrial complex.

“She is wrong right now in opposing the congressional ban on all arms sales to Saudi Arabia, and in planning to maintain Minuteman-type land-based ICBMs, the hair-trigger to the Doomsday Machine,” Ellsberg continued. “Her unquestioned intelligence and competence have long been in service to her serious interventionist misjudgments and to her own involvement in a revolving-door military-industrial complex.”

To the chagrin of progressives leading the charge against Flournoy, the former Pentagon official has gained the support of some prominent organizations, including the Ploughshares Fund and the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Other anti-war groups have yet to speak out publicly about Flournoy, who is still considered the Biden team’s frontrunner for defense secretary.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/12/04/because-she-was-wrong-about-iraq-afghanistan-syria-yemen-and-libya-daniel-ellsberg

I guess if you have been interested enough to pay attention to the past then Flournoy is perfect fit with Biden….for he was for all our wars before he was against them.

If confirmed then we will continue our endless wars….putting our people in danger and wasting valuable time and money on unwinnable bullshit.

Flournoy like Biden decisions are made from politics not conviction….and that is what gets Americans killed for no damn reason other than to keep profits coming in.

Does that help explain why I dislike his choice for SecDef?

If not then you are thick!

Sadly all my work to show why she would not be the best choice was for naught…..Biden nominated another M-IC hardliner as SecDef…..

President-elect Joe Biden will nominate retired four-star Army general Lloyd J. Austin to be secretary of defense, according to four people familiar with the decision who spoke to the AP. If confirmed by the Senate, Austin would be the first Black leader of the Pentagon. Biden selected Austin over the longtime front-runner candidate, Michele Flournoy, a former senior Pentagon official and Biden supporter who would have been the first woman to serve as defense secretary. Biden also had considered Jeh Johnson, a former Pentagon general counsel and former secretary of homeland defense. Biden offered and Austin accepted the post on Sunday, according to a person familiar with the process. Three sources who spoke to Politico say a formal announcement could come as soon as Tuesday. Austin’s nomination, however, is already proving controversial.

As a career military officer, the 67-year-old Austin is likely to face opposition from some in Congress and in the defense establishment who believe in drawing a clear line between civilian and military leadership of the Pentagon. Although many previous defense secretaries have served briefly in the military, only two—George C. Marshall and James Mattis—have been career officers. Marshall also served as secretary of state. Like Mattis, Austin would need to obtain a congressional waiver to serve as defense secretary since he has not been retired for the necessary seven years. Congress intended civilian control of the military when it created the position of secretary of defense in 1947 and prohibited a recently retired military officer from holding the position. Austin is a 1975 graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point and served 41 years in uniform. He retired from the Army in 2016.

If you cannot get a bureaucratic warmonger then you go to the M-IC and the revolving door of retired generals for your pick.

No change here…..just do the favor for your high dollar donors.

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I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”