Wednesday, June 28, 2023

The Biden/Harris Administration Announces Grants for Broadband Expansion


Photo from the News and Sentinel, West Virgina. 

Knowledge is Power. 

So is the rapidity of how that knowledge is transmitted. 

History recognizes the invention of the Gutenberg Press as a transformational focal point in Western Civilization where the resulting advances in literacy and the transmission of knowledge helped bring about the second half of the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Age of the Baroque, the Age of Reason, and the Enlightenment. 

Fast forward to 2021 through 2023 and Americans can see the Twenty-First Equalvelent of the advent of The Gutenberg Press: the spread of internet broadband expansion, thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (that all of Arizona's Congressional Democrats voted for and none of the MAGA Republicans supported,) in neglected communities like those in rural and highly impoverished areas. 

On June 26, 2023, the Biden/Harris Commerce Department announced that a $42.45 grant program to help all 50 states and United States territories expand broadband has been finalized. 

The range of awards is $27 million to $3.3 billion. Each of the 50 states will receive a minimum of $107 million. 

Arizona will get $993,112,231.37

According to a press release from the Arizona Democratic Party:

  • "Under the Biden-Harris Administration, Arizona has already received $1.8 Billion in funding to provide affordable, reliable high-speed internet to everyone in Arizona."
  • "423.3K households in Arizona are saving $30-75 per month on high-speed internet through the Biden-Harris Administration’s Affordable Connectivity Program."

According to a fact sheet released by the Biden/Harris Administration: 

"These investments are part of the nearly $500 billion in private sector manufacturing and clean energy investments spurred by the President’s Investing in America agenda. The Investing in America agenda represents the most significant upgrade to our nation’s infrastructure in generations—an investment larger than FDR’s Rural Electrification effort, Eisenhower’s effort to build the Interstate Highway system, and the construction of the Panama Canal."

These infrastructure investments, along with narrowing and closing the digital divide, will also see an increase in high-paying blue and green-collar jobs. 

In a statement on the grant program, President Joe Biden, in touting his Bideonomics program of building the economy from the middle class out and the bottom up, said:

"It’s the biggest investment in high-speed Internet ever, because for today’s economy to work for everyone, Internet access is just as important as electricity was or water or other basic services. Think of the parents and students sitting outside of McDonald’s or outside your office to be able to get on the Internet — in a parking lot just so their child can go online to do their homework..."

"...For around 24 million Americans across this country, there is no high-speed Internet.  And for millions more, their Internet connection is limited or unreliable. High-speed Internet isn’t a luxury anymore; it’s become an absolute necessity.  That’s why we acted as soon as we did — as soon as we came to office — with the American Rescue Plan.
It included $25 billion — $25 billion for high-speed Internet in places where it was out of reach, for schools and libraries to help students connect to the Internet if they couldn’t do it at home. After that, we signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, a once-in-a-generation investment to rebuild roads, bridges, ports, airports, and deliver water and high-speed Internet to every American..."

"...And today, we’re taking another big step toward Internet for all.  We’re announcing over $40 billion to be distributed to 50 states, Washington, D.C., and territories to deliver high-speed Internet in places where there’s neither service or it’s too slow...The funding for each state and territory is based on their specific needs, how many of their residents currently lack Internet access, and what it will cost to provide that access. With this funding, along with other federal investments, we’re going to be able to connect every person in America to reliable high-speed Internet by 2030.  I promised to be a president for all Americans, whether or not they voted for me or whether or not they voted for these laws.  These investments will help all Americans.  We’re not going to leave anyone behind..."

As proof that the President means it when he says these investments are for all Americans and no one is going to be left behind, please note that red states like Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas are all receiving grants of over a billion dollars. 

One wonders how the MAGA Republican leaders and power brokers in those states will react when their rural base is hopefully exposed to more information based in reality on the expanded broadband that is set up thanks to the Biden/Harris Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Vice President Kamala Harris also offered a comment on the broadband expansion, describing a visit to the Lousiana rural community of Sunset:

"Sunset is like many other small towns in America. It has a Main Street with a bank, a church, and a donut shop. 
And Sunset is similar to many rural communities for another reason: Almost 40 percent of households in that area do not have high-speed Internet, in large part because the fiber-optic lines that connect most Americans to the Internet just never made it to Sunset. But here’s what that means: In Sunset, I met with parents who cannot apply for remote-work jobs because they do not have a high-speed Internet connection at home. In Sunset, I met with entrepreneurs who struggle to start or grow a small business because they cannot get online. And I met with students who, when public buildings were closed during the pandemic, had to sit in the parking lot of a local library just to submit their homework over Wi-Fi. And these stories are not uncommon. Today, 24 million people in our country do not have access to high-speed Internet, either because they cannot afford the monthly cost of a plan or because they live in communities that have not yet been fully connected to fiber-optic networks. But let us agree: In the 21st century, in America, high-speed Internet is not a luxury; it is a necessity."

Remember all the members of the Democratic Congressional Delegation voted for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Most of the Republican Delegation did not support expanded broadband, modernizing and repairing roads and bridges, an increase in electric vehicles, helping combat extreme heat, and the growth of high-paying blue and green-collar jobs. 

Voters need to continue to remember that when going to the polls in 2024 and beyond. 

Friday, June 23, 2023

Democratic Party Launches AD Reminding People that MAGA Republicans Are Against Reproductive Freedom

 If Donald Trump's alleged crimes, the fact that most of the current vintage of the Republican Party honors the traitors that attacked the Nation's Capitol on January 6, 2021, and the reality that many members of the former Party of Lincoln hold positions contrary to the views of the majority of the American People like climate change is real are not enough to sway undecided voters in 2024, then this new ad from the Democratic Party should remind voters and crystalize for them what is at stake should the MAGA folks regain the White House and Senate and keep the House with regards to reproductive freedom.

In the ad, viewers can see leading MAGA Republican Presidential Contenders Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Mike Pence, Niki Haley, and Tim Scott either congratulating themselves for making the overturning of Roe v Wade a reality or pledging to sign a Congressionally passed National Ban on Abortion. 

Talk about the gift that keeps on giving. 

If not convinced that the Republican Party is now a refuge for Fascist-Authoritarian wannabes who think the penal code applies to everyone but them, feel reality is what they say it is, and profess plutocracy is a virtue, then look at this ad and remember what is at stake for your wife, your girlfriend, your sister, your daughter, and your granddaughter if these anti-reproductive freedom zealots gain power over all the levers of government again. 

It is not an inclusive future for all Americans that these MAGA Republicans propose but a society based on The Handmaids Tale.

The MAGA Lunatics are at it Again in the House of Representatives


Photo from ABC News

Washington Post Editorial Columnist Dana Milbank may be onto something when he referred to the current Republican Majority as the "House of Recriminations."

Except they should probably be labeled the "House of False Recriminations."

Why?

Because over the last couple of weeks, most of these MAGA-Trump enabling, White Nationalist, Big Lie promoting, Reality adverse, Personal Freedom attacking, anti-law and order, and Enemies of Democracy lunatics have been launching hearings and holding votes on measures promoting disproven conspiracy theories and falsehoods from the alt-right universe. 

The first example comes from the farcical event, masquerading as an actual hearing, hosted two weeks ago by Matt How Old is She Gaetz and Majorie Jewish Space Lasers Cause California Wild Fires Greene where Republican conspiracy enthusiasts and January 6 supporters, disguised as House Representatives, attempted to paint the insurrectionists who were the Domestic Terrorist attackers on the Nation's Capitol on January 6, 2021, as heroes and victims. 

This was the same hearing where Paul No One in My Family Will Vote for Me Gosar suggested putting a bounty on finding the undercover officers and Antifa members who he claims were the real spearheads of the attacks. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8FF4LvPONY

Let us be clear. The attackers on the Nation's Capitol on January 6, 2021, and their Quisling associates like Mr. Gosar are traitors, criminals, and Enemies of the People.

The other examples occurred this week when MAGA lunatics, after a failed earlier attempt, were able to secure, after threats to be primaried from the Mad King American Duce Trump, to censure California Representative Adam Schiff for his leadership and being an agent of truth during the first impeachment of Donald Trump and the earlier Mueller investigation oversight hearings. 

Readers should click on the video link below to see all the House Democrats gathered around and supporting Schiff, yelling "shame," "Adam, " and "No," at Speaker Kevin Spineless McCarthy for even allowing this farce. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCP1VFpagNw

That the House Republicans, led by Jim Jordan, held a hearing on the Durham Report, with Mr. Durham, under oath, acknowledging many of the Democratic claims with regard to the Russia investigation and Trump's behavior, did not phase these MAGA lunatics when they held their vote afterward. 

It is reasonable to conclude that if the roles were reversed, Mr. McCarthy would resign rather than face a censure vote for all the damage he has committed and the false statements he has made as Speaker. 

Then there is the latest competing efforts from MAGA Lunatic Lauren Guns are People To Boebert and the aforementioned Jewish Space Laser Greene to be the first to race to the finish line to get a vote on articles of impeachment on President Joe Biden. 

Apparently, Ms. Greene did not appreciate Ms. Boebert's efforts that upstaged her own and called her "a little bitch" on the House floor. 

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8HwgSONjOq4

Yesterday, the MAGA Lunatics voted to refer Boebert's suggestion to Committees to conduct hearings on these articles.

Good luck with that.

If these MAGA lunatics do manage to impeach President Biden on more falsehoods and big lies, they could kiss goodbye to their House majority in the next cycle because all the 18 Republicans in districts will, if they have not already, be condemned for, along with their blind support for Donald Trump and measures to let the debt ceiling lapse and tax cuts that will fuel inflation, being too extreme to serve. 

So to all the MAGA lunatics that want to pursue this kamikaze course: Knock yourself out. See you in November 2024. 

Friday, June 16, 2023

In a Recent Lincoln Project Ad, California Governor Newsom Beats Back MAGA Hannity and Shows How to Tout President Joe Biden

Democrats in Arizona and across the country would be well advised to watch this recent Lincoln Project Ad, titled "When Dems Fight," where California Governor (and probable 2028 Presidential contender) Gavin Newsom totally beat back questions from Fox's leading MAGA and Trumpists enabler Sean Hannity attacking the record of the Biden/Harris Administration.

Starting off with a caption stating "Some People Say Democrats Can't Fight...We Disagree," the California Governor is shown immediately pouncing on MAGA Hannity's assertion that the Biden/Harris Administration is a failure, noting the bipartisan passage of the CHIPs and Science Act, the Infrastructure Law, Raising the Debt Ceiling, and Gun Safety legislation, saying they "are real results. I'm rooting for our President's bipartisan results. Real results. Job Programs. Your President, Donald Trump lost 2.6 million jobs during his four years. We've created 13.1 million. Biden's created more jobs, six times more jobs than the three previous Republican Presidents combined."

To be fair, the Trump Job Contraction and the Biden Job Boom were, in part shaped by the reaction 9including the poor steps taken by the last administration and the pro-science ones taken by the current one) to the Coronavirus Pandemic and people resuming their lives afterward.

When MAGA Hannity pointed out that two-thirds of Americans lived paycheck to paycheck, Newsom countered "It was 70 percent under Trump but let's talk about inflation. It's down 40 percent since last summer, ten (now 11) months in a row."

When MAGA Hannity questioned Biden's cognitive ability, Newsom responded "I have conversations with him all the time, yes. I think he's (unlike his twice indicted, twice impeached, twice KKK endorsed, and found liable for sexual assault Liar in Chief predecessor,)  a man of decency and character, I'm really proud of the President. I'm proud of what he's accomplished."

When MAGA Hannity asked if President Biden was strong enough, the California Governor replied "Look what he  just did to McCarthy (during the debt ceiling talks.) I know he's capable. I see results."

Again, Democrats should follow Newsom's example and run with it across the country when MAGA Trump Enabling Pundits recite their line of big lie questioning.

 

 

 

 

Editorial Poster from We the People on Facebook


 

Sunday, June 11, 2023

Dear Donald: Hillary, Joe, and Mike Did What They Were Told; You Did Not

 Dear Former President Trump.

We understand from the world of reality and common decency that you feel persecuted because the Special Council, Jack Smith, and his team have indicted you for keeping sensitive documents in unsecured locations at your home at Mar A Largo including one of the bathrooms.

 Photo from CNN[/caption]

You are also perplexed that they have also indicted you for your refusing to turn over those documents in a timely manner like the day you left office and do not understand why they raided your home for the documents after you and your team stonewalled the government for over a year when your predecessors turned over their documents on day one.

You are probably further dismayed and feel cornered that former buddies like your Attorney General, Bill Barr, former lawyer Ty Cobb, and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie have said on numerous occasions that your actions were very very bad.

Barr, as relayed in a recent op-ed by the Washington Post's Jennifer Rubin, stated to CBS News last month and last week.

"In May, he told CBS News, “It’s very clear that he had no business having those documents.” He explained, “He was given a long time to send them back. And they were subpoenaed. And I’ve said all along that he wouldn’t get in trouble, probably, just for taking them, just as [President] Biden I don’t think is going to get in trouble or [former vice president Mike] Pence is not going to get in trouble.” Barr added, “The problem is what did he do after the government asked for them back and subpoenaed them. And if there’s any games being played there, he’s going to be very exposed.”

After you were indicted, Mr. Barr said of your actions:

"This is not a case of the Department of Justice conducting a witch hunt. … This would have gone nowhere had the president just returned the documents, but he jerked them around for a year and a half. … There is no excuse for what he did here.”

Your former lawyer, Mr. Cobb, cited in the same Rubin piece, offered:

“I think Trump is in an enormous amount of trouble. This indictment is about as carefully structured and evidentially supported as any indictment in history.”

Your former Transition Chairperson (before vindictive son-in-law Jared Kushner fired him) Chris Christie, in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, stated:

“The fact is that these facts are devastating...The facts that are laid out here are damning in terms of Donald Trump’s conduct, and that’s what I think we as a party should be looking at...The bigger issue for our country is, is this the type of conduct that we want from someone who wants to be president of the United States?”

These are not the words of your political enemies, Donald.

These are the words of the people who once supported and worked for you.

We also understand that you think there is a double standard being applied to you because Hillary, Joe, and Mike have not been indicted.

That is because as your former Attorney General said and history has recorded, Hillary, Joe, and Mike all cooperated with the Justice Department when their document retention cases unfolded.

It is worth repeating that Mr. Barr is right when he said to CBS after you were indicted:

"This would have gone nowhere had the president just returned the documents, but he jerked them around for a year and a half. … There is no excuse for what he did here.”

You are also, surprise surprise, lying about the 1,850 boxes then-Senator Biden donated to the University of Delaware after he left that upper chamber to become Vice President.

Newsflash: there is nothing wrong with what Senator Biden did with the documents from his Senate Career.

So, Donald, you have no one to blame for this except yourself.

You created this mess and no amount of lying and distractions will change that reality.

Be an adult for the first time in your life and for once take responsibility for your latest transgression.

While you are at it, take responsibility for all the proven allegations against you like knowingly spreading the Big Lie about the 2020 Presidential Elections and encouraging the gullible-deluded MAGA minions that followed you (even though you were not with them) on their domestic terrorist attack on the Nation's Capitol on January 6, 2021.

For once, do what is in the best interests of the country and not the Donald.

Withdraw your candidacy for the 2024 Republican Presidential Nomination, make a plea deal with the Special Counsel, spend some quality time (six months to two years) in a government-paid room with minimum security where you can have visitors like Melania and Stormy, and then go away and never be heard from again.

Sincerely

The World of Reality and Common Decency

 

Editorial Cartoons for the Week from Blog for Arizona

 














































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