Tag Archives: Joe Biden

The Week’s Best Cartoons: Hello 2021!

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, cartoons, Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Holidays, Political commentary, Re-blogs

I find myself unable to write a post this afternoon.  The nightmares that have plagued both my sleep and waking hours have left me in a dark mood, down a rabbit hole, and anything I would write today would not be worth reading.  So, I turn instead to that lady who, every week, scours the political cartoons to pick the best for our viewing pleasure, TokyoSand!  Thanks once again, TS, for this terrific selection!

Just like we were, editorial cartoonists were pretty focused on saying goodbye to 2020 and welcoming 2021. Here are my favorite cartoons from this past week.

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See All The ‘Toons!

Speaking Of The Planet’s Health …

Posted on by under Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Global Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Social commentary

Between the pandemic and the post-election chaos, both of which are still going strong, maybe the single most important issue in our lifetime, and the lifetimes of all future generations, has been largely ignored.  Yes, I’m talking about climate change, human’s destruction of the environment to satisfy their craving for more toys and conveniences.  There are, however, a few good things that have happened this year in respect to the environment, and an email I received today from Greenpeace highlights the most significant of them.  I thought it worth sharing, to show that despite Donald Trump and his love affair with the fossil fuel industry, others have been working to protect and repair the planet we call home.

Jill —

From the global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic to continuing the long fight for racial equality in the U.S. to the most important presidential race in memory, it’s been quite a year for the history books. In the face of all this hardship, our planet continues to suffer and the Trump administration’s anti-environmental policies and big polluters everywhere haven’t missed a beat. 

While there were many difficult setbacks, from the melting Arctic to the Amazon and West Coast engulfed in flames, the fact is we did make great strides in 2020 to help heal our planet and our future. Here’s a brief recap of how your support for Greenpeace made a difference this past year:

  • A court defeat for Trump is a win for the Arctic. Just weeks ago, a federal appeals court ruled that the Trump administration violated environmental requirements when it approved an oil drilling project in the Arctic Ocean. This ruling is a vindication of your hard-fought activism to protect the Arctic and roll back the expansion of the oil industry. Not only did we win this lawsuit, courts also blocked offshore drilling in the Arctic Ocean, cementing your people-power to Save the Arctic!
     
  • Greenpeace counters the plastic industry’s attempts to exploit the pandemic. As the COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing, the EPA decided it was the perfect time to roll back restrictions on pollution controls, and the plastics industry jumped in to exploit the pandemic by scaring people about the safety risk of reusable bags in transmitting disease. When trillions in taxpayer dollars became available, the fossil fuel industry scrambled to try to get a piece of the pie.

    We’ve been fighting back against the plastic industry for decades, and Greenpeacers like you were ready to take on this new challenge. We investigated the polluters and the politicians who enable them, exposed the corporate and political elites who hope their profiteering goes unnoticed, and we mobilized to stop them. And we had to do it online and on the phones — not in person. You responded, making thousands of phone calls and sending hundreds of thousands of messages to Congress.
     

  • One year of Fire Drill Fridays are in the books. Championed by our friend and fellow activist Jane Fonda, these weekly rallies included different speakers — celebrities, youth, Indigenous leaders, representatives from impacted and underrepresented communities, as well as movement and thought leaders — all demanding our leaders end fossil fuel expansion, pass a Green New Deal, and implement a plan for a responsible just transition to renewable energy as rapidly as possible. Hundreds of activists joined Jane in the courageous act of civil disobedience — even when our rallies had to go digital.
     
  • On the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, we committed to a plastic-free future. Plastic pollution is destroying our planet. As the fossil fuel industry doubles down on plastic as the new frontier for petrochemical production, we must do everything in our power to shape a new future that isn’t crafted by these powerful multi-billion dollar industries. That is why, on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day this past April, Greenpeace mobilized supporters to push for passage of the Break Free from Plastic Protection Act in Congress.
     
  • Joe Biden defeats Donald Trump to be elected the 46th President of the United States. With Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 presidential election, we can start the hard work of making up for lost time, addressing the climate crisis, and protecting the planet. Vital protections for the environment and democracy are now within reach. The Biden administration has the power to enact the changes needed in our political system to make bold climate action a reality. Greenpeace and our movement pushed Biden to adopt bolder climate positions in his campaign, are winning pro-environment cabinet nominees, and we will continue to demand the Biden administration fight back against the status quo and work with us to fight for a resilient, fossil-free future where all people have what they need to thrive.

As you can see, it’s been a busy year for Greenpeace, with much to look forward to in the New Year.

Sincerely,

Annie Leonard
Executive Director, Greenpeace

Stephen Meets The Bidens

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Election 2020, Humour, Law and justice, Political commentary, Social commentary

Today is family day in my household … putting up the tree, wrapping, and other holiday-related tasks, so in the interest of having time to spend with my gorgeous girls, but still not letting my wonderful readers down, I have asked Stephen Colbert to fill in for me today.  This is his interview with Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, the next President and First Lady of the United States!  We get to know a bit more about Dr. Jill Biden and frankly, I was impressed!  Such a difference from the current holder of that title.

Take a look, and I’ll be back tomorrow with my usual fare!

Filosofa Ponders Thanksgiving 2020

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Election 2020, Holidays, Personal, Political commentary, Social commentary

Today, in the United States, it is a holiday called Thanksgiving.  I won’t go into the history of the holiday, for frankly the history we all learned in our early school years was a white-washed lie.  But, for most of us the holiday lives on anyway, as we try to spend it with family and friends, remembering that no matter what is happening outside our front door, we still have much reason to be thankful … we live, we breathe, we have family and friends who love us, a roof over our head and food on our table … so much more than some people have.

That said … this year is a different kind of Thanksgiving.  The pandemic has had us in its grip for ten long months now, many of us have lost loved ones, our lives have been turned topsy-turvy, some have lost jobs and even their homes.  It feels … almost surreal, almost like a dream (nightmare) from which we keep hoping to waken.

For four years now, we in the U.S. have lived under a regime whose modus operandi was ‘divide and conquer’ and we have all paid a hefty price.  We are exhausted from it all, from trying to stay atop the latest ways in which our government was undermining our very foundations, blatantly disregarding our democratic processes, and indeed, our very lives.  We’ve lived with the most corrupt regime ever to occupy the highest echelons of the federal government in this country – if we thought that Richard Nixon was a crook … well, he looks like a cute puppy compared to the band of criminals whose salaries we’ve paid for four years now.

Today it was announced that new unemployment claims jumped to 78,000 from 18,000 the week before.  In the week of the election, nearly 26 million adults – 12% of all the adults in the nation – reported that their household didn’t have enough to eat.  As many as 40,000 people are behind on their rent or mortgage payments and at risk of losing their home.  When you look at this, you have to wonder – is there really anything to be thankful for?

My answer to that is that yes, despite it all, there is a lot to be thankful for.  We have just elected a good man, a decent and kind man to be our next president.  He is an intelligent man, has decades of experience in our government, first in the Senate and then for eight years as Vice President.  He is carefully choosing the best of the best for his cabinet and administration advisors.  He cares about the environment, he cares about the average person, he has a plan … he has a plan.  Joe Biden said something yesterday that was exactly what my favourite former boss once said to me … he said he wants his experts to tell him what he needs to know, not what he wants to hear.   That … that in itself is a breath of fresh air.

Yes, problems will still remain and I have no illusions that they can be resolved in a single four-year term, but … Biden and his team will do their level best to repair as much of the damage that has been done to this nation as possible.  Biden will be a president for the people, not just the wealthy CEOs of big corporations.  I listened to a clip from Joe Biden’s pre-Thanksgiving speech earlier tonight and I suddenly felt more confident, safer, and more hopeful than I have in the past four years.

The one thing, though, that We the People must do in order to help restore some semblance of order in our world is find a way to start resolving our differences.  This nation is more divided today than at any other time since 1865.  Hatred and violence are constant and exhausting.  We must begin finding ways to listen to one another, to forge a middle ground where we can meet halfway, for if we don’t, our nation will fail.  The ‘United’ States will become a conglomerate of separate countries, constantly at war with one another.

I will admit that my heart is not into the holidays this year, and were it not for the girls, I would be quite content to skip Thanksgiving and Christmas altogether.  I’m sure some of you feel the same.  But friends, when we stop and think about it, we do have much to be thankful for.  So, you can’t travel to Aunt Sadie’s for Thanksgiving dinner, or host Grammie ‘n Grampie.  It’s not the end of the world.  It’s sad, but it’s not the end of the world.  Take a deep breath, remember that tomorrow the sun will come up, it will be a new day, and 24 hours closer to January 20th.  And now, I ask you to listen to this short clip, just 2 minutes 45 seconds, of parts of Joe Biden’s Thanksgiving speech yesterday.  And then, off you go to cook that turkey or emu, as it were!  Enjoy your Thanksgiving, keep safe, don’t over-stuff your bellies,  and remember … you have much to be thankful for … we all do.  Love ‘n hugs from Filosofa.

FINALLY — Some Good News!

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary

I lost count of how many “Breaking News” updates hit my phone yesterday, but most contained good news, so I’m not complaining.  Four things among the maelstrom of pings, dings and knocks from my phone stand out, all of them positive, at least from where I stand, though I’m sure there are those who would disagree with me.

  • The first was that Joe Biden announced several of his choices for key cabinet positions. I’ll have more about this in future posts, for I will need time to research these people, some of whom I’m not familiar with.  But the one that caught my eye first was Biden’s appointment of John Kerry as special presidential envoy for climate.  This sends a message, loud and clear, that no longer will we shirk our duty toward climate change and the environment.  As Secretary of State under President Obama, John Kerry played a key role in negotiating the landmark Paris Climate Accord, which was adopted by nearly 200 nations in 2015 and was aimed at addressing the negative impacts of climate change. Trump withdrew the US from agreement, and Biden has pledged to rejoin it on his first day in office.
  • Next came the news that the election officials in Michigan certified President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. I let out a few YAHOOOOOOs over this one and found myself, inexplicably, with tears in my eyes.  Too much stress lately, I guess.  Pennsylvania and Arizona are close to certifying Biden’s victory, but despite having a BA and an MA in Political Science, I simply do not understand what the holdup is.  Yes, I know Donnie Darkness is protesting, continuing to claim that he actually won, and suing everybody and their brother, but his cases are consistently being thrown out of the courts because there is zero evidence of any widescale aberrations anywhere.  Trump’s legal eagles have failed to provide a shred of evidence.  It’s time for every state to certify the vote, to follow the law and the will of the people.  Trump lost by more than 6 million votes – he’d have to find a hell of a lot of “voter fraud” to overturn that!
  • Then there was this headline in the New York Times: G.M. Drops Its Support for Trump Climate Rollbacks and Aligns With Biden.  Trump is suing the state of California (isn’t that rather like suing one’s own family member?  Perhaps he forgot that California is one of the 50 ‘United’ States?) in an effort to strip California of its ability to set its own, strict fuel economy standards.  Initially, three U.S. automakers joined in the lawsuit:  General Motors, Toyota, and Fiat Chrysler.  With G.M. dropping their support, it is likely only a matter of days before Toyota and Fiat Chrysler join their competitor in dropping out.  In fact, G.M.’s CEO, Mary Barra, urged the other two to follow G.M.’s lead.  Score one for the environment!
  • And last, but certainly not least, came the news just around supper time, that Emily Murphy at the General Services Administration (GSA) acknowledged Joe Biden as the ‘apparent’ winner of the election. This move will give the Biden transition team access to federal transition funds, and will also allow the team to establish contact and working relations with federal agencies.  A day late and a dollar short, as they say, but … better late than never.  Trump attempted to take credit for the decision, but made a point of saying that he is not conceding the election, and that … “Our case STRONGLY continues, we will keep up the good … fight, and I believe we will prevail!”  I laughed at this … I really no longer care what he says, for he is quickly becoming irrelevant.  The sooner he, Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham and Kayleigh McEnany figure that out, the sooner our lives will become more peaceful!

I still have concerns, still do not trust Donald Trump, nor the congressional republicans, nor the Supreme Court, nor the white supremacist gun freaks who say they are planning violence when Joe Biden is inaugurated, but overall I think yesterday was a red-letter day for positive news … something we were sorely in need of.  We still have many problems, and yesterday was not quite a ‘jump for joy’ moment, but more a ‘sigh of relief’ one.  Perhaps soon we’ll even be able to sleep for more than an hour at a time.

Welcome to America, Where the Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Poorer

Posted on by under Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

Yesterday, I wrote of my frustration with this nation’s apparent inability or unwillingness to unite — left vs right, Republican vs Democrat.  Today, Robert Reich’s column in The Guardian shows us that the divide is a calculated one, a manipulation by those with billions of dollars in their portfolio, aided and abetted by the GOP.  Reich proposes that the real division is the 1% vs 99% and that a middle ground no longer exists, nor can it.  Take a look …

Trump’s refusal to concede is just the latest gambit to please Republican donors

Robert Reich-4by Robert Reich

Millions who should be ranged against the American oligarchy are distracted and divided – just as their leaders want

Leave it to Trump and his Republican allies to spend more energy fighting non-existent voter fraud than containing a virus that has killed 244,000 Americans and counting.

The cost of this misplaced attention is incalculable. While Covid-19 surges to record levels, there’s still no national strategy for equipment, stay-at-home orders, mask mandates or disaster relief.

The other cost is found in the millions of Trump voters who are being led to believe the election was stolen and who will be a hostile force for years to come – making it harder to do much of anything the nation needs, including actions to contain the virus.

Trump is continuing this charade because it pulls money into his newly formed political action committee and allows him to assume the mantle of presumed presidential candidate for 2024, whether he intends to run or merely keep himself the center of attention.

Leading Republicans like the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, are going along with it because donors are refilling GOP coffers.

The biggest beneficiaries are the party’s biggest patrons – the billionaire class, including the heads of the nation’s largest corporations and financial institutions, private-equity partnerships and hedge funds – whom a deeply divided nation serves by giving them unfettered access to the economy’s gains.

Their heist started four decades ago. According to a recent Rand study, if America’s distribution of income had remained the same as it was in the three decades following the second world war, the bottom 90% would now be $47tn richer.

A low-income American earning $35,000 this year would be earning $61,000. A college-educated worker now earning $72,000 would be earning $120,000. Overall, the grotesque surge in inequality that began 40 years ago is costing the median American worker $42,000 per year.

The upward redistribution of $47tn wasn’t due to natural forces. It was contrived. As wealth accumulated at the top, so did political power to siphon off even more wealth and shaft everyone else.

Monopolies expanded because antitrust laws were neutered. Labor unions shriveled because corporations were allowed to bust unions. Wall Street was permitted to gamble with other people’s money and was bailed out when its bets soured even as millions lost their homes and savings. Taxes on the top were cut, tax loopholes widened.

When Covid-19 hit, big tech cornered the market, the rich traded on inside information and the Treasury and the Fed bailed out big corporations but let small businesses go under. Since March, billionaire wealth has soared while most of America has become poorer.

How could the oligarchy get away with this in a democracy where the bottom 90% have the votes? Because the bottom 90% are bitterly divided.

Long before Trump, the GOP suggested to white working-class voters that their real enemies were Black people, Latinos, immigrants, “coastal elites”, bureaucrats and “socialists”. Trump rode their anger and frustration into the White House with more explicit and incendiary messages. He’s still at it with his bonkers claim of a stolen election.

The oligarchy surely appreciates the Trump-GOP tax cuts, regulatory rollbacks and the most business-friendly supreme court since the early 1930s. But the Trump-GOP’s biggest gift has been an electorate more fiercely split than ever.

Into this melee comes Joe Biden, who speaks of being “president of all Americans” and collaborating with the Republican party. But the GOP doesn’t want to collaborate. When Biden holds out an olive branch, McConnell and other Republican leaders will respond just as they did to Barack Obama – with more warfare, because that maintains their power and keeps the big money rolling in.

The president-elect aspires to find a moderate middle ground. This will be difficult because there’s no middle. The real divide is no longer left versus right but the bottom 90% versus the oligarchy.

Biden and the Democrats will better serve the nation by becoming the party of the bottom 90% – of the poor and the working middle class, of black and white and brown, and of all those who would be $47tn richer today had the oligarchy not taken over America.

This would require that Democrats abandon the fiction of political centrism and establish a countervailing force to the oligarchy – and, not incidentally, sever their own links to it.

They’d have to show white working-class voters how badly racism and xenophobia have hurt them as well as people of color. And change the Democratic narrative from kumbaya to economic and social justice.

Easy to say, hugely difficult to accomplish. But if today’s bizarre standoff in Washington is seen for what it really is, there’s no alternative.

Musings From The Rabbit Hole — Unity

Posted on by under Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Law and justice, Personal, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, religion, Social commentary

Joe Biden, who will take the Oath of Office in just 67 days, has promised to try to unify the people of this country … unlike the current occupant of the Oval Office who has done nothing but divide us.  I applaud that effort, and until yesterday I naively thought it might just be possible.  I still hope that it can be done … certainly if anybody can, Biden is among the best candidates to do so.  But today I have my doubts.  I don’t want to be negative or a naysayer, for we all need all the hope we can find, but I am nothing if not a pragmatist, a realist. Yesterday as I perused the news, considered what was happening, it occurred to me that a large number – about half – of the people in this nation do not want unity, but rather thrive on division and chaos.

Certainly, there have always been political divisions in this country and always will be, for we are a nation of humans, but what we are experiencing now goes beyond ideological differences and into the arena of personal hatred.  This “Reign of Cruelty” as I term the past four years, has changed us, has made us more willing to accept things that we once abhorred.  It has made us less human.

I hate that it has boiled down to Republican vs Democrat and the language of hate, the finger-pointing, the blame game is always … always the fault of everyone who identifies with one party or another.  I, too, have been guilty of saying, “The republicans only want …” or “The republicans are the cause of …”, and it’s not something I’m proud of, but admittedly it will likely happen again, for I am human.

Today, thousands of people are gathered in Washington to … what?  I’m not sure what they hope to accomplish, but they are protesting the results of the election, results that clearly prove Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States. They are parroting Trump’s false claim that the election has been ‘stolen’, that there was massive voter fraud, even though this has been disproven.  They’ve brought their guns, they’ve brought their Proud Boys, their maga hats, their Trump banners, and while so far nobody has been killed, I won’t be surprised if there is violence and death before the day is done.

I am neither a democrat nor a republican, but for the past twenty years or so, I have found nothing particularly valuable in the republican platform, while I do support the same sorts of things the Democratic Party supports, things like providing affordable health care for everyone, women’s rights, equal rights for the LGBT community, equal opportunities for people of all colours and religions in such areas as housing and employment.  I support raising the minimum wage, workplace safety, and perhaps most importantly, taking care of the planet that we have long neglected.

The pandemic perfectly highlights the differences between the two ‘sides’ in this nation.  We cannot even agree to protect each other from a deadly virus, cannot agree on something so simple as wearing a mask in public, else staying home.  If we cannot agree on even that, how can we possibly come to terms on such things as environmental regulations, universal health care, and ending systemic racism?

This nation was founded on freedom of religion, which also means freedom from religion, and yet today a growing portion of the population believes that their religious beliefs ought to be the basis of the laws that we must all live under, even those of us who do not share their beliefs.  This only further divides us … wars have been fought over this very thing, but we fail to learn the lessons of history.

The effort to unify will require compromise, and I just don’t see a willingness among the people of this nation to budge so much as an inch, let alone meet the other side at the halfway mark.  What will it take to bring the people of this nation together, united in a common goal?  Will it take bombs being dropped on us by an outside entity?  Will it take the deaths of half the people in the nation before we open our eyes and realize that we cannot keep killing each other?

Can we possibly set aside our vitriol and hate for a moment and think about the things we have in common?  Or do we still have anything in common?  I think we do … we all love our families and want the best for them, we just don’t agree on what is the best or how to achieve it.  We all have certain basic needs such as food, water, shelter, and breathable air … we just don’t agree on how to achieve those things.  We all want our children to have a good education … we just don’t agree on what, exactly, that is.  So yes, we have much in common, but we view it from different perspectives.  All of which would be fine, if we respected each other, respected others’ viewpoints and agreed to compromise.  Instead, we try to shove our views down the throats of others.

If you’re waiting for me to tell you how we can fix this … don’t hold your breath, for I have no idea.  I only hope that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are far wiser than I and can make decisions and policies that will help narrow what I refer to as the Great Divide.

President-elect Joe Biden-Rising to the Occasion

Posted on by under Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Re-blogs

Our friend Jeff reminds us today to focus on Joe Biden, on the fact that we have elected a president who is a good and decent man, who will give his best to this nation and the people — ALL the people. I couldn’t have said it better — thank you, Jeff!!!

On The Fence Voters

Since the inception of this blog in May of 2018, I’ve spent a good part of my time detailing the defeated current president’s misconduct and criminality. Not today.

I’ve also spent some time lamenting how Democrats are sometimes their own worst enemy, biting and sniping at one another instead of relishing victory, which we’re starting to see play out as we speak. But not today.

No, today is about Joe Biden and how, despite incredible odds and massive voter suppression, managed to achieve a resounding victory to become the 46th President of the United States.

And let’s not undersell this, folks. When it’s all said and done, Biden will most likely have 306 electoral votes in his column, as well as winning the popular vote by 5 million. We should give him his due and celebrate this victory to the fullest extent.

But perhaps more than anything else, what’s…

View original post 856 more words

Just A Few Snarky Snippets

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Global Issues, Political commentary

By all indications, Donald Trump is not working today, hasn’t worked since the election, in fact.  No word on what he is doing about the new surge of coronavirus cases, meetings with congressional leaders or cabinet heads, nothing.  The media, thankfully, is not covering his every word and move — they should have learned to ignore him long ago.  The silence is, as they say, golden.  On the other hand …

Joe Biden is already hard at work.  This morning he announced the members of his coronavirus task force, a group made up entirely of doctors and health experts, signaling his intent to seek a science-based approach to bring the raging pandemic under control.

Biden’s task force will have three co-chairs: Vivek H. Murthy, surgeon general during the Obama administration; David Kessler, Food and Drug Administration commissioner under Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton; and Marcella Nunez-Smith, associate dean for health equity research at the Yale School of Medicine.

“Dealing with the coronavirus pandemic is one of the most important battles our administration will face, and I will be informed by science and by experts. The advisory board will help shape my approach to managing the surge in reported infections; ensuring vaccines are safe, effective, and distributed efficiently, equitably, and free; and protecting at-risk populations.” – President-elect Joe Biden

Note the bi-partisan composition of the group’s leadership.  The 13-member task force also includes former Trump administration officials, including Rick Bright, former head of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, who, after being demoted, spoke out against the administration’s approach to the pandemic. Luciana Borio, director for medical and biodefense preparedness on Trump’s National Security Council until 2019, is also on the panel.

The group includes several other prominent doctors:

  • Ezekiel Emanuel, chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
  • Atul Gawande, a surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a professor at Harvard Medical School who is a prolific author.
  • Michael T. Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
  • Eric Goosby, global AIDS coordinator under President Barack Obama and professor of medicine at the University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine.
  • Celine R. Gounder, clinical assistant professor of medicine and infectious diseases at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine.
  • Julie Morita, executive vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a philanthropy focused on health issues.
  • Loyce Pace, president and executive director of the Global Health Council, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization dedicated to global health issues.
  • Robert Rodriguez, professor of emergency medicine at the UCSF School of Medicine.

Biden plans to call Republican and Democratic governors to ask for their help in developing a consistent message from federal and state leaders and will urge governors to adopt statewide mask mandates and to provide clear public health guidance to their constituents, including about social distancing and limiting large gatherings.

Joe Biden is actually going to DO something to try to help save lives!  What a novel thing for a president to do, eh?

Oh wait … I was wrong that Trump isn’t doing anything today.  Breaking news just in:  Trump has fired Secretary of Defense, Mark Esper.  Why?  Presumably because back in June, Esper disagreed with Trump’s plan to use active-duty military troops to quell Black Lives Matter protests in cities.  My best guess is that there will be more firings for petty, personal reasons … he has said more than once that he planned to fire both FBI Director Christopher Wray and Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, after the election.  He can’t actually fire Dr. Fauci, for only the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has that ability.

But back to Joe Biden, who is constructing rather than destructing, building rather than tearing down …

Biden and his team have planned a weeklong focus on health care, and Mr. Biden is expected to announce some key White House positions, including his chief of staff.  No doubt he and his transition team are also working on his cabinet picks, which they say will be announced later this month.

In other news, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Ben Carson, is the latest in Trump’s administration to fall prey to the coronavirus, after attending a pseudo-victory party at the White House last Tuesday night.  It’s interesting to note that Carson was a well-respected neurosurgeon in his previous career, before leaving to enter politics on Trump’s coattails, and yet he eschews mask-wearing and other precautions such as avoiding large crowds.  While I don’t wish the man any harm and do hope he makes a full recovery, I have to say he brought this one on himself.  There were some 200 people at that gathering … how many more of those, I wonder, will test positive this week?