Brooks and Capehart from 1/28/22

 

The latest New Rules from Bill Maher

 

On this International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Never Forget the 12 Million that Perished or How this Hell Came to Be in the First Place

Today (January 27, 2022,) is International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

It is a day to honor and remember the 12 million victims of Nazi and Nazi-Collaborater barbarity during World War Two.

Six million of the victims were Jews.

Others perished because of their:

• sexual preference.
• mental or physical disabilities.
• being Gypsies.
• being Jehovah's Witnesses.
• being political or war prisoners.

People should never forget these horrors inflicted by humanity's most monstrous. They should remember it every day along with the other acts of genocide or attempted genocide committed against other groups throughout history like the Native Americans in the United States, the Armenians in World War One, the Cambodians by the Khmer Rhouge, and in Rwanda during the 1990's.

People should also never forget what led to these acts of horror in the first place.

It started with a group of fanatics saying they could make their country great again. It then led to suppressing Democracy, banning and burning books, and attacks against the other through proclamations and violent acts.

Sound familiar.

Think of what is being proposed in state legislatures like Arizona's with anti transgender legislation, book banning, and voter suppression.

Think of the rise in hate crimes over the last few years.

Think of the cult of Trump and how it's movement parallels what happened in Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany.

Never Forget.

Do not let history repeat itself because it can happen here if we do not push the forces of reactionism and hate back.

Editorial Cartoons for the Week

 

Brooks and Capehart from 1/21/22

 

Are We Better Off Than We Were Last Year: You Bet

Photo from the New York Post

By most measures the Biden/Harris Administration has had a successful first year.

That does not mean that they accomplished all their goals.

They did not.

However, after their first year in office, many objective observers can point out that the Biden/Harris Administration has outperformed the mediocrity and embarrassment that was the Trump/Pence team.

After the first year of this Administration:

• Jobs are up.
• Unemployment is down.
• People with affordable and accessible health insurance is up.
• COVID vaccinations are up.
• People combatting food insecurity is down.
• Child poverty is down (but is creeping up again thanks to Mr. Manchin's and Republicans resistance to expanding the chid tax credit.)
• Infrastructure investments are happening including the electric grid, broadband expansion, and green venues like electric charging stations, wind and solar.
• Efforts to replace dirty water pipes with clean ones are underway.
• Judicial confirmations that reflect the diversity of America are up.
• The most diverse Presidential cabinet in United States History.
• Stronger vehicle emission standards.
• Greater aid to local governments and schools.
• An expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit.
• American forces are no longer in Afghanistan.
• Has started to restore its standing in the global arena.

This is a record of accomplishment that should be bragged about every day until the 2022 and 2024 elections.

Now much work remains.

Inflation needs to be tackled. COVID needs to be dealt with as a new normal in our nation's healthcare system. A form of Build Back Better which includes as much of the Biden/Harris socioeconomic agenda needs to be passed. The Administration needs to take as many steps as possible to secure voting rights and protect election integrity. Rising crime rates in some parts of the country, including domestic terrorism, need to be addressed. Russian and Chinese aggression in their regions need to be contained.

But if someone asks if we are better off than we were last year, the answer should be: You Bet. 

Joe Biden Holds Close to Two Hour Press Conference a Day Ahead of One Year Anniversary of the Start of his Presidency

 President Joe Biden made a lot of news in the close to two hour press conference a day ahead of the first anniversary of his Administration.

Some of it was good. Some of it was well...not so much.

Pointing out the progress his Administration has made since coming into office in COVID vaccines, the American Rescue Plan, the Economic Recovery (over six million jobs created and unemployment under four percent,) child poverty falling forty percent (for now) and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan, the President, again, acknowledged that challenges remained (getting inflation under control, securing voting rights, and passing components of Build Back Better) and mistakes (like not producing COVID tests fast enough last fall) needed to be corrected.

Among the news Mr. Biden made at his conference was:

• COVID 19 is the new normal and society needs to adapt to the new reality where the virus becomes more of a seasonal illness as opposed to a full blown pandemic.
• Acknowledging that provisions of the Build Back Better legislation would be broken up and the parts everyone has agreed on (the climate provisions, child care, Universal Pre K) would be voted on.
• Inflation could be brought under control by getting the supply lines in order and passing Build Back Better.
• Challenging Republicans to say what they are for. Given their opposition to democracy, voting rights, tax cuts for the poor, lifting people up, Build Back Better, and mandating COVID 19 safety precautions, it is fairly easy to tell what they are against. The President should have made a better presentation articulating that.
• Claiming that he was surprised at the level of Republican opposition to his policies. Really. He was a Senator during the Bill Clinton Presidency. He was Barack Obama's Vice President. The real surprise is the President did not see this coming from the former Party of Lincoln.
• Saying that the response to Russian aggression against Ukraine would be determined on the severity of the action. He also predicted that Putin would invade Ukraine. Mr. Biden tried to clean up his comments later but immediate post conference commentary from international sources on CNN showed people in Ukraine were in shock of the Biden comments.
• Questioning the integrity of elections if Trumpist officials get the power to influence vote counting and election certifications.
• Kamala Harris will be his running mate in 2024.
• Pledging to go out and meet the public more, seeking more advice from outside the White House, and campaigning hard for Democratic candidates in the 2022 elections.

Honestly, it was not Mr. Biden's best performance in front of the press. The Presidents presentation (and responses) could have been better and more focused. Since the end of the press conference, White House staffers have been cleaning up his Ukraine comments.

It may be advisable to schedule another press conference in the near future for President Biden to clean up what he said today and get back in the right direction.