First 30 Days #160
by Hank Silverberg
Most presidents are evaluated by what they can get accomplished in the first 100 days of their administration.
We are now a month into Mr. Biden's term and so far much of the American public, including me, like what they have seen.
National Registered Voter Information – February 17, 2021 (qu.edu)
To me, the reason is pretty obvious. People are getting vaccine shots in their arms and for now Covid-19 cases are dropping, though the death toll has reached a startling 500,000 people in the United States.
But let's take a look at some of the other things Biden has done in just 30 days.
The United States is once again in the war against climate change, having rejoined the Paris Climate Change Accords this past week. Experts say we have about nine years to make some drastic changes or the world as we know it is doomed. The crazy weather we have been experiencing across the country these last two weeks has put the issue front and center again, even though they may not be related.
Biden also told G-7 leaders in a pandemic-era virtual meeting that "America is back" on the world stage which the Trump administration's "America First" policy had abandoned. Biden followed that statement up with recommitting the United States to provide $4 billion to Covax. That's a World Health Organization group which distributes the Covid-19 vaccine world wide and focuses on countries with limited resources. The logic is clear here. If we don't eradicate the disease everywhere, another pandemic is always looming.
On top of that, Biden has moved ahead with a proposal for immigration reform that could lead to a path towards citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants already in this country. So it's clear he's moving fast on his campaign promises.
But curb you enthusiasm. Biden has one major roadblock. It's the same one that hampered progressives in the Obama administration and rolled over for Donald Trump. It's the Congress of the United States.
Republicans have already declared the Immigration bill dead on arrival, as they have with every practical immigration bill in the last 35 years. (The last major changes were in 1996.)
And the GOP is already pushing hard to stop a $1.9 trillion, Covid-19 relief package which will get its first public hearing in the House Budget Committee this week.
Congress, of course, is there to provide checks and balances to executive power, and that is a good thing. But the Republican party seems totally stifled by its right wing. They are unwilling to do what they have to do to reach a deal through compromise.
Messing With Texas:
You may remember Trump was very slow to approve federal aid to states that hadn't voted for him, like California, when it was ravaged by wild fires last summer. Biden didn't hesitate to help Texas even though much of the problem in the GOP dominated state came from the arrogance of its political leaders who wanted to go it alone and not hook their power supply into the national grid.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott's first reaction to the loss of power in a state filled with crude oil and natural gas was to shake a fist at windmills, which supply about 23% of the power in the Lone Star State. He said the increased use of wind power that is heavily subsidized by the federal government was responsible, since some wind turbines froze up. In actuality, some windmills can operate in frigid temperatures if they are properly weatherized, something that is not the case in Texas.
Fact-checking claims about Texas wind power amid blackouts (statesman.com)
It was actually uninsulated pipelines and water intake pipes at natural gas, coal fired and nuclear power plants that froze and created the energy shortage. That's what left millions of Texans freezing, thirsty and in the dark while the pipes in their homes burst. The bottom line is they aren't prepared for frigid temperatures in Texas and they should have been.
That Texas arrogance may be best exemplified by Senator Ted Cruz. Faced with a weekend of helping his neighbors and using his staff and offices to provide some relief, chose instead to fly off to Cancun, Mexico, because his young teenage daughters supposedly asked him to.
'Obviously a mistake': Cruz returns from Cancun after uproar (apnews.com)
His reasoning was that there was not much he could do about the disaster other than request the federal help. He had planned to stay in Cancun the entire weekend but later, after sharp criticism, quickly flew back to Texas admitting it was "obviously a mistake." He didn't mention the part about requesting special help from the Houston Police Department to get him safely to the airport or safely home when he rushed back.
Several politicians from Texas found lots of ways to help. Congresswomen Sheila Jackson Lee and Sylvia Garcia went to a local food bank in Houston to help pack badly needed meals and opened their district offices as warming shelters. They got help from New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who came with $3.2 million in relief aid she raised from her constituents in Queens and the Bronx. Ted Cruz didn't even write a personal check as far as we know, though after all the criticism, when he came back from Mexico he was seen handing out some bottled water. I guess he remembered Trump throwing those paper towels to a crowd of hurricane survivors in Puerto Rico in 2017.
WATCH: AOC and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee Volunteer at Food Bank in Disaster-Stricken Texas (msn.com)
Bad Week For Political Dogs:
It was not a good week for dogs. Just ask Senator Cruz's poodle, ironically called "Snowflake." It seems as Cruz shuffled off to Cancun with his kids, Snowflake was left behind in his cold, dark Houston home. Cruz said later that the security guard watching his house was supposedly caring for the dog, too. Okay, maybe, but the Senator, after his actions this week, apparently has no compassion for animals or his constituents.
Ted Cruz Leaving His Dog Snowflake Behind in Texas Prompts Anger and Jokes (newsweek.com)
Meanwhile, over at the propaganda network that calls itself "Newsmax," a blowhard who is best known for spreading conspiracy theories named Greg Kelly, decided to attack President Biden's 12 year old German Shepard, "Champ." He said the dog looked unclean and poorly groomed and didn't compare to other First Dogs who had paid staff to spruce them up and make them look worthy of being a presidential dog.
Newsmax Receiving Hate After Making Fun Of The First Dog, 'Look A Little Rough' (ibtimes.com)
Anyone who knows anything about dogs knows that as they age their hair gets grey and a bit unkempt, and all the care and love in the world can't change that. Maybe he thinks grandma can look like a supermodel if she keeps up with her grooming and gets some hugs from the grandchildren. But aging in people and dogs just doesn't work that way.
What this right-wing TV purveyor of fiction apparently didn't know is that the Biden's adopted their other dog from a shelter. Major was adopted specifically as a companion for Champ to keep him active. They look pretty happy on their own twitter page.
That's Major on the left and Champ on the right resting on the South Lawn at the White House.
They are the latest in a long line of presidential dogs, including Falla (FDR), Heidi (Ike), Him and Her (LBJ's Beagles), Checkers (Nixon), Grits (technically Amy Carter's dog), Rex (Reagan), Millie (Bush 41), Buddy (Clinton), Barney (Bush 43), and Bo (Obama). Clinton also had Socks the cat. Truman briefly had a dog named Feller that was given to him as a gift. He later re-gifted him.
Trump had NO pets.
MARS!!!!
Touchdown! It took some "Perseverance," but NASA has landed a rover on Mars. The craft, which touched down on February 18th, traveled 300 million miles over the last seven months and so far, all is going well.
NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission: Live updates | Space
Like everything else these days, "Perseverance" has it's own twitter page @NASAPersevere, and has already tweeted more than 500 times. This one came after the craft landed on the Martian surface.
The $2.7 billion mission is pure science, including an attempt to answer an age-old question: is there now, or was there ever any life on Mars?
The rover will drill core samples, collect them and set aside a "cache" on the surface for later pickup. It will gather needed information that can be used in the future for possible human expeditions to Mars. For example, is there a way to produce oxygen from the Martian atmosphere that is breathable by humans, or is there any subsurface water that might contain life or be a source of water for people?
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| Perseverance |
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| Ingenuity |
A manned mission to Mars is being planned for sometime in the next 20 years or so.
I was in elementary school when the first space launches took place in the 1960's. It was predicted back then that we would have men working on Mars in 50 years. But, of course, like all massive human endeavors, some things got in the way. I'm still hoping to see human beings walking on Mars during my lifetime.
Finally, my dumbest quote of the week comes from Texas Governor Greg Abbot. When talking about the state's power problems during the deep freeze after a few of the state's improperly weatherized wind turbines froze up, he said:
"This shows how the Green New Deal would be a deadly deal for America."
As noted above, it was actually uninsulated pipelines and intake pipes at gas, coal and nuclear power plants that froze, creating the power shortage.
(Your comments and suggestions are welcome)
Copies of my book "The Campaign" can be purchased at the links below. Or you can buy a copy by emailing me at:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084Q7K6M5/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
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